Problems with Internet

Hi All !! This is Rachel's friend Laura, from New Jersey passing on a message from Rach.

She wanted me to let you all know that her internet is having problems b/c once again...she has reached her FAP threshold (happy to report...we don't have such issues in NJ).

She'll be back on the airwaves as soon as she can. She's headed to sell purses this weekend and hoping to find a wireless connection there, but in case she doesn't she'll be back on Sunday, from her parent's house.

She says: "Please don't give up on my blog!! I'll be back, just have to limit the amount of pictures that I download. GRRRR...I HATE wireless"

Change Of Pace

Going to stop with the vacation updates just once. Our town is celebrating it's 125th b-day this weekend, do any of you others have this? Besides all the other stuff I'll be doing, parade entry, working for the community center food/beer stand which I'm just SURE will come with it's own drama, I've been asked by my pastor to give my testimony.

I declined the first time she asked but she asked me to reconsider. Sooooo being the kind of person that i am, i agreed. I really do have a testimony but just wasn't sure this was the place i wanted to start sharing it. But I'm doing to do it. I'm basing it on a verse out of Matthew about having faith as small as a mustard seed. Those that read this and know me via this or in real life (IRL) please send me some input. I have the rough draft written but it's very interesting to hear what other people see. For instance my pastor could write it for me and i used some of what she said. Do any of you have anything you think i could use?? I'm not going to get to personal in that I'm not going to talk about the many Clomid cycles, the IUI and then the 5 IVF's, the fits of rage i had after the last failed cycle i did and the ever so lovely filling of being over stimulated. Ahhh i just thought about those times. WOW i really can't believe i survived. Heck i only have 3 minutes:)

When it's done I'll post it on here for you all to see my soul bared. Of course i think i bare my soul more here then i will Sunday. BFF-E is coming too this weekend. little does she know how much i have her doing. She offered, i took her up on it:) She didn't want to sell beer, neither do i, so i have her helping with my purses and kids! Boy will i need help with that part!

Please share with me some ideas, sentences, etc i could use. I would forever be grateful!

Vacation Recap #2

Boy i wonder how many recaps I'll have? EVERYONE is sleeping, C'man, DH and Miss A. The kids need it too. C'man hasn't napped in days and with Bible School these past couple days he is CRABBY!!

OK but this is about vacation. I left off Thursday i believe.

Lincoln Tunnel

Friday was the big day where we went in to NYC for the Broadway show of Spamalot. We left mid afternoon. Laura's friends daughters watched the kids and i think they all had a good time. We had a great time. When growing up we would head in to NYC every summer for 1 or 2 days. I never was to fond of the city but it's better now that I'm older. Still very loud, smelly in some places and lots of people but now that I'm an adult it's not as daunting as when I was younger. We ate at a great restaurant called Carmine's. Shout out to the new friends we made while sitting at the bar. I gave them my blog so say hello if you're reading this. It's a family style Italian restaurant where the portions are HUGE and you share it. It was great. Here are some pics.

It was this evening too that we started talking about tattoos. Maybe it was the one to many $11 drinks I had, but if there had been a tattoo shop right out the door and i knew what i wanted, I'd probably had done it. No regrets either:)

Then we walked to Broadway to catch the show. It was just amazing seeing a show IRL (in real life) The sound effects, the backgrounds, just EVERYTHING was way cool. Of course no pictures were allowed but Drew Lachey was in it and did a great job and then Stephen Collins who was the dad on 'Touched By An Angel' I believe that's the show, was the lead. Great job by all. It was just a great evening. I could use a weekend like that, NYC, Adults only, food, drinks, etc and i really hope someday we can do that. See me in there!?

Oh and we took a cab and i was busy looking for the 'Cash Cab'. Do any of you know that show?? Well we didn't find the Cash Cab, maybe next time. I used to watch that show with the guys i worked with and was hoping we could find it b/c b/w Laura, Mario and Jeff i know without a doubt we'd win some $$. Sorry, I'd had been no help at all! L & M had never even heard of it....have you?

We got home that evening by midnight so that wasn't even bad. But we didn't get to bed till 130! See a pattern here. That's why i say i think we averaged 5 hrs off sleep the entire time we were gone. But is it ever worth it.

On Saturday L & M had a wedding to attend mid afternoon. We spent most of the day just hanging out by the pool. It's so divine. C'man is a swimming machine with his goggles and swimmer floaties and just loved jumping off the board. Once Miss A got IN HER floaty, she loved to just float around the pool.


That evening my brother, his wife and there new baby came to visit. They were already in NJ so they stayed over night by us. I don't have many pics of Baby 'O' and hoping i can scam some off of my bro and Laura. He's ADORABLE! When he cries he sticks his lip out and it's SO funny! I was to busy huggin and lovin him to take pictures AND making sure my kids didn't have to much fun with him. So cute.

OK I'll leave off here and save the next recap for another day. I promise they won't all be this long! Shout out too to my niece Megan. Her and I talked today over facebook. She just came out of a relationship and I'm worried about her. She's down in Florida and trying to not think of the bastard, ass hole, sorry 'guy'. I told her I may have to come down and kick his ars and then get her in to gear:) Sorry for the harsh words but doesn't it make you mad when someone you love and care about gets hurt or is hurting??? She'll pull thru i know she will. I gave her my blog so that will leave her with lots of reading to do. Don't forget Meg's gotta leave comments or better yet, you could start your own blog.

Vacation Recap #1

I think we're finally getting back in to the swing of things. However C'man has decided he's done with naps. Therefore it really limits my time to blog. But he's outside playing now so i have a couple minutes. I may have to do my vacation recaps in stages.


Marley and Dreyfus

OK so from the beginning. These two dogs are how Laura and I met. We breed our Chocolate Lab 'momma mocha' with another lab. I then listed the pups on the Internet and somehow Laura found me. They had lost there beloved dogs years earlier and were ready for another and thought 2 would be the way to go. The every day communication began. They were going to be a surprise for her husband. In the course of 3 + weeks of communication I often wondered why they didn't have kids. Having just completed my first IVF i was yearning for someone to share my journey, sadness, hopelessness, despair, etc with.

I'm really not sure how it came up but she too had been thru IVF and knew EXACTLY what I was going thru. What an answer to prayer! It really turned out to be a small world b/c Laura and Mario live in New Jersey, that was where my mom was born and raised. Then they, like us, loved labs AND the infertility left bruises on their heart just as it was beginning to on ours.

Flash forward the dogs are now 5 years old?? and our friendship continues just as strong as ever. She surprised me by coming out for a baby shower in honor of C'mans arrival. What a surprise that was. Anyone that knows me knows that surprises are very hard to pull off. She stayed the weekend and we were able to bond in person. Then she and my mom, were the first to hear C'mans cries as he entered the world. At 5 1/2 weeks of age C'man and I flew out to there house for a week and then the next summer she came here for a couple days. This trip was the 2nd summer we've been out there.

It's pretty amazing how God brings people in to your life for a reason. I can not express how amazing God's timing was in this friendship. Feeling such loneliness and despair she is just what i needed.

OK so back to the vacation. We flew out of Omaha Wednesday late afternoon. Everything was fine till we laid over in Detroit. We ended up taking off 1 hr behind schedule. I'll spare you the details but just say how relieved i was that unlike another lady we met, we didn't sit out on the runway for FOUR hours!! I'm not kidding, i would have plead insanity if I had to be on a runway that long. Heck i wouldn't have to plead it i would BE IT.

We got in at 1145PM and were home and in bed by 2AM. Late night. Thankfully the kids were just amazing. They slept most of the way from Detroit to Philly and the once in the van they quickly fell asleep again and we were able to put them to bed at Laura's with no problems! Thank you GOD!!!

Thursday we hung out in there beautiful pool. Here we are living the good life. What vacation is all about! Friends, pool and drinks!

Enough for today. It's already taken me hr to do this much and now both kids are up and ready to go. Say a prayer tho if you could, for my dad. He is very sick and in the hospital. He's had diarrhea for a number of days and then high temps. Docs don't know whats wrong. Pray for knowledge for them and peace of mind for Dad. He is very down about having to be in the hospital and still feeling rotten. Poor guy I'm so sad and hope he comes out of this all soon!

We're Home

We made it back to Iowa last night. No delays on the way home this time, however the kids were a little more buckie. We got back to our house shortly after 11pm. I tried to drive home but i could not stay awake in fact i don't even remember driving. DH took over and i fell asleep immediately. Still very exhausted today. I think we averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep/night! I'm not used to that at all. But it's all worth it.


This was us a week ago:






I'd post a picture of me now but it's to scary:) We had a fab time. NYC was great, food, socializing, the beach all just amazing. I really loved the beach. Laura's sister in law rents a house just 6 houses down from the beach. That sure was nice for us to have some where to change, shower, etc. Wouldn't that be divine to rent a beach house for the summer?

We all have great tans and colds:) The kids did amazingly well. C has Bible school this evening. I hope he's not to tired.

I'll download the pictures some day soon but for right now i need to get things cleaned up and put away.

Thanks Laura for the amazing time!!!

Tattoo ideas

I want a tattoo and needing ideas. Those that know me, and don't know me, tell me what you think? What should I get? Where should I get? I am thinking of getting it either on my big toe or shoulder. I would like to be able to 'hide' it if necessary. Keep in mind i'm on the more conservative side of this.

Broadway was AWESOME last night! We ate at a great restaurant, Carmincs. We sat next to a nice guy at the bar, sorry we never caught names although I did give him my business card WITH my blog, and the bar tender. Hi guys if you're checking in! The food and drinks were wonderful. Maybe to wonderful with the drinks.

I just can't say how amazing last night was. It was fabulous. We are so lucky to experience broadway, NYC, Time Square, etc. Having vacationed in the NYC area growing up it looks a lot different at night. What a lot of people and hustle bustle everywhere.

Ok the laptop is getting HOT on my lap. I must get going and continue my search for my tattoo! Please give me ideas!

New Jersey

We have made it and having a great time!! I'm actually sitting in Mario & Laura's beautiful kitchen listening to the kids play, DH is putting silverware away for the last 30 min and two dogs are sitting peacefully by me. Tell just now when C'man dropped something and they jumped 5 ft off the ground.
Getting here was a little interesting. Real quickly Omaha to Detroit was fine accept for the man sitting next me had to use the bathroom 40 min in to the flight and A had just fallen asleep. I was rather cross to say the least.
Then in Detroit L told me that N'west had laid off 4000 people. N'west was what we were flying. Our plane was delayed do to mechanical problems so they had to bring in another. Then one of the 2 wingman needed to back the plane out 'walked'. That was our 3rd strike!
Eventually we got in the air. Our kids were great considering everything. There was a baby on board and older kids that were far worse then ours. I heard the mother tell her 3 kids to shut up! You could feel the tension in the air by everyone.
We got in one hr later then planned. So that wasn't bad. We were here and in bed by 2AM!!
OK this lap top keeps skipping around on me!!!

Yesterday was spent in and out of the pool! They have just a beautiful pool, back yard, and house. Laura cooked a delicious supper of chicken, hamburgers, shrimp and a variety of salads!YUMMY!

Here shortly the 4 of us are going to the outlet malls!! This afternoon by 2 M&L will be home from work and we will be heading in to the city, NYC, for Spamalot!! We can not WAIT!! I hope and pray the kids cooperate for the babysitters b/c they've been a little bit of a handful!!

Gotta run!!

Prepare For Take Off

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we fly out to LAURA and MARIO'S!! We are SO excited. I'm busy packing suitcases and trying to stay with in the generous 50lbs they allow us!! Kidding of course. However, since we purchased 3 tickets that allows us 3 suitcases. My plan is pack 3 large suitcases 1/2 full. But looking at a half empty suitcase only makes me think i can pack more. Oh dear.



4th of July was nothing exciting here. I've been incredibly sick with a kidney infection and very dehydrated. This past week has been hell. I'm fully on the mend and can now fully agree how important drinking water is. How much better i felt after drinking and drinking! Amazing! We, well the kids didn't, see any fireworks this year. That is just to late for my little ones to stay up to. Especially with us leaving on vacation. I enjoyed some from the bathroom window upstairs and fell asleep to the banging. Yes living way out in the country we still can hear the booms. The dogs can too thank you very much!!



Here's some pics i attempted to take on Sunday before church. You can judge for yourselves how well it went. Typical
Miss A having a fit and then remembering she doesn't like grass.
ok so a little better. Not the height of the corn. This lines our backyard. I love it when it's this high. Feels so private back here.
Of course C'man can ham it up so good for the camera. Mr Photo Man
Now i REALLY am mad and this dam grass. GET ME OUTTA HERE!
How about daddy. I wish we all could have our picture taken but i haven't taught the dogs how to do that yet. BFF-E when you come that's your mission:)

When C'man sees a plane in the sky he says 'someday', his 'someday' is coming tomorrow buddy!

Happy 4th

I can't believe it's the 4th of July already!! The summer is 1/2 over!! Celebrate our independence today and be thankful you have it!! So many don't and pray for those that are fighting for it!!!



We leave Wednesday for NJ so lots of things going on in preparation!! I'll leave you with some pics of my favorite little life guard in training!!!

Picture Problems

Get out of HERE!! I just had a post ready and it disappeared. GRRR So TAKE 2:

I'm having a problem with some of my pictures in that i click on say, a cute picture of the kids in the pool, and get ME looking like a dork. Anyone know what's going on? It's not all my pictures, just a/b 30 or so, but they are the cutest ones of the kids. Please help.

Then anyone know how i can reference back to a post or blog, with out listing the entire URL. I want to be able to say click here and have it take you to it. Or in what i'm going to share now from Wendi's blog i'd like to have it where you just click her name and it takes you. Oh wait!! i figured it out!! Golly darn!! OK now i have to see if it works.

At any rate please check out Wendi's blog. Her and her DH adopted a beautiful little boy and she recently found out she's pregnant. STOP right there!! Don't even think yeah that's what happens or say anything out loud to that effect. Read her post and you'll see why. I couldn't have said it any better then she did and i feel pretty darn close to the way she does.

Take a moment and read it please.