Vacation Part 3

Part 3 of our vacation begins with us getting back to my parents house, Erin and Cecelia driving in, followed by Matt and SueEllen. We woke up and went to the Henry Ford Museum. Which is more than just cars. Its planes, trains, automobiles and CHOCOLATE!!!! (it was a special exhibit for the summer)




Inside a model airplane. Supposedly the real size of passenger airplanes back in the day.



Other than that, we just hung out at my parents house and let the kids play. Chris and I went to see Dark Knight which was really really good, but I'll admit I was shaking through much of it. Never knowing who the Joker was going to kill, or more importantly how, it was very intense for mild mannered Mary. Good thing the girls went out to see Mama Mia the next night. Now thats more my speed. LOL!



On Saturday, we went to the 77th Gillie Family Reunion. I'm in there somewhere...
SueEllen did face painting

and Eli did a pinata.
This was our ride home. The babies with their bottles. So we're good to go!!

These are my favorite pictures. Great Grandma with the kids, and all of the girls in our family (minus SueEllen who was in Ann Arbor)



There was one eventful thing that happened on the way home. Poor Eli. We got on the airplane and during takeoff, Eli said he had to go potty - but the fasten seatbelt sign was still on so he had to wait. 10 minutes later we were all sleeping. Seriously. All 4 of us. Well we woke up to Eli having wet pants. We made a potty break before getting on, so I don't know why he had to go so bad. We would have had no clothes with us, but on my way out of my parents house (after all the suitcases had been packed and we were walking out the door) I looked in the upstairs bathroom to find Elis clothes from the night before that he had taken off before his bath. THANK GOODNESS Chris put them in the carry on/toy bag. Otherwise it would have been a VERY long trip home. Too bad I left that bag on the shuttle getting us back to our car. Oh well. We got it back, but Nathan had to have his nightime bottle in a sippy cup because all of our bottles were in there. I broke my only mom rule. Always have a change of clothes for the kids when on a trip... ALWAYS

Vacation Part 2

The second part of our vacation was going to my brother in laws house in Chicago. Doug and Ruth have the most GORGEOUS house, although if you knew Ruth, she could make a shack look like a million dollars... Anyway, they had a guest suite upstairs. Sorry for the unmade bed, but there was a room right when you walk upstairs with a futon (pulled out for Eli to sleep on) then through the door was this room, and the bathroom was through the door. There was a box of chocolates on the pillow... it was wonderful. We played rummy that night (Ruth won) and Nathan woke up crying with a full body rash. (see post below) We went in to downtown Downers Grove on Tuesday. It definitely lived up to the song by Emo Phillips... just the perfect little quaint downtown. We got ice cream cones and Eli got a ladybug cookie while Chris and Doug won 1st prize in their golf tournament!! Chris was a little disappointed in their prize though... I think they had a good time. Thank you so much Doug and Ruth for everything!!



After their house we went to the beach. St Joseph and Benton Harbor to be exact on Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day, but the water was freezing. This was as close as Eli ever got to the water.






That night we drove down to South Bend to eat dinner at my sister in laws house - Sue and Toms. They have a pool in their backyard, but since Eli had spent the entire day in our hotel pool, we didn't bring his suit. It was so nice to just spend a few hours with them. Dinner was great, and the kids were relatively good. I'd never been to their house, and I guess Tom built it from the ground up. Now I think Amy's is the only house I haven't been to. ;) Thank you so much Sue and Tom. It was great to see you guys! Next time we'll try to stay a little longer.

Vacation Part 1

The first part of our vacation was quiet and uneventful. We had to get a couple new suitcases, because the ones we had were finally wearing out. So this is Eli and Nathan *helping* me pack. Our flight was good, and getting whisked up to the front of the security line just because I had kids was awesome! They were both well behaved, but a little bored, so we survived.

The day after we got in just happened to be my birthday. My mom (and Eli) made me this beautiful cake with strawberry jam in the middle. It was actually 4 layers as my mom cut 2 round cakes in 1/2. It was SO good. Thank you Mom!!!

Allergies

Well we're on vacation... I know I said I was on a blog break. ;) I just can't help myself. I'm here at my brother -in-laws house in Chicago. We're 72 hours in to our vacation, and if this keeps up, we're never going to leave the house again! Ok, so its not all that bad, it was great to see my Mom and Dad and Grandma and Aunt Rae, but Nathan is teething and horribly clingy and fussy. He is definitely NOT himself.
Last night was hard on him. I put him down and he fell asleep as normal but he woke up after 45 min. Very unusual, so I went and checked on him to find he had a dirty diaper. He was mad when I put him back down, but he did go to sleep only to wake up AGAIN after 45 minutes. What the heck? So again went to see what the problem was and his face was flushed (from what I could see in the dim light) and his ears were bright red. I thought it was just because I let him cry for a minute. So I check his bum again and he is fine. I lay down on the bed with him just to calm him down and he almost falls asleep on my chest. I put him in the crib and its bloody murder again! Well after taking him in to some actual light realize he has a full body rash. He was having an allergic reaction to something. Chris thinks it was the sheets because he is allergic to Gain detergent which is what Ruth uses... it could also be a small tomato that I gave him at dinner or some goldfish crackers that he had never had before. who knows. After an undressing, and a bath, we get the crib out that we had used at my moms and he slept fine after that. But today he is scared to be left in his crib so he won't take a good nap to save his life. I take that back, I finally got him up there and hes been asleep about 2 1/2 hours, but this is his first one of the day.
Then poor Eli. He goes back to jump on the trampoline and he comes out with a flushed face. Not surprising, but it quickly turns in to a red itchy face and he has a droopy eye. So we wash his hands and face and it starts to clear up - but what did he touch? ugh. These kids... Other than that, we're having a very nice time. We're headed to the beach either tonight or tomorrow and I think I'm going to get to see Mama Mia on Friday again! YEAH!!!! I had so much fun on Girls Night I just have to take my family. Can't wait. So pray that the rest of our trip will be uneventful. No more allergic reactions!!!!

T-minus 24 hours

AND COUNTING!!! We leave for Michigan tomorrow morning!!! Can't wait. Packing is an issue... I'm probably 50% finished, but its all the little things. Sunscreen, shampoo, snacks, airplane toys, etc. When I get home, I take the dog to the kennel and get home around 4pm. GNO starts at 7pm, and I figure I'll have to vacuum my car out (because of the dog hair from taking her to Ogden), make dinner, put the rest of the laundry away, vacuum downstairs, put the clothes actually IN to the suitcase, pack a carry on, lay out tomorrows clothes, I need kleenex for my purse, a ton of baby wipes, Nathan toys.. sorry. I've had this mental list for about a day and a half, so I'm writing it down for my own sake. You are welcome to stop reading.
Then me and the girls are going to Costa Vida for dinner, and to see the movie Mama Mia! with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. They sing ABBA songs in it. ;) It looks wonderfully girly - so it works well for a girls night. I just hope I finish everything on my to do list before 7pm!!
See you tomorrow Michigan!!
(and I'll probably be on a blog break for a week and a half)

Good Charlotte Rocks!!

Well, I found someone to go with me to Good Charlotte. Actually 3 girls. Yes, they were 17 years old, but I got to go!! Thank you to Chaslee, Krystal and Valerie (sp?). They reminded me a lot of myself at that age. But they put up with an old lady for the night, and we got to go to the concert. Good Charlotte is still great in concert. So if you've never heard them before, here are a couple examples. The River is their 'new' song, and the one all the teeny boppers knew the best. It was the one I knew the least. oh well. They played my favorite song, which is Young and the Hopeless. Don't ask why its my favorite... it just is.

The River...


Young and the Hopeless...


Anyway, so that was my night last night. It was so much fun. I don't think I'll ever get sick of hearing them in concert. Of course, I'll have to get more old lady friends and go hang out on the balcony. The good news is, I was NOT the oldest person there - by any stretch of the imagination. That was nice. And for any tabloid readers, if the main singer looks familiar, yes he was the one who got Nicole Richey pregnant. And the lead singer and one of the guitarists are identical twins. So anyone want to 'try it out' next time they come in town?? LOL!

Big and Little changes

Little changes first. Poor little Nathan. He is 9 months old and off the charts tiny. He is proportional (and even a little chunky) but he is short. 16lbs 15oz and 26" long. Eli was that at 6 months... And to top it off he hasn't reached many (if any) milestones, so the doctor is going to watch him. hoy vey... I know my kid is fine. He is developing perfectly normal for his age, but because I don't play pat-a-cake with him and he doesn't say 'da da da da da' - he is slow. Good grief. He is however starting to get his legs under him like he'll be ready to crawl soon. Look out world! Nathan is coming!!!

So now we're on to the BIG changes. Chris brought up to me the idea to quit my job. I guess he planned a lesson for Elders Quorum and the talk was about roles in parenthood, and staying at home. Then there was that article in the Ensign about following the prophet, then the fact that the guy they were supposed to hire and move me to Kaysville didn't work out... and my lack of motivation in going to work (a big one). Anyway, there have been a lot of things that have all kind of happened at once. It's something that I've thought about since Nathan was born, but I think I finally have the courage to do it. Don't get me wrong, I talk myself out of it twice a day, but I'm always back where I started. 10 years from now, what will I regret more, being a few years behind in my career, or miss all the little things in my childrens childhood? I realize I've already missed out on many of Eli's years which makes me very sad, but now is a good time for me to be there for him. He is at the age where learning responsibility and respect are very important. And Nathan is at the beginning of it all. I've just never NOT worked. So its very scary to leave the only thing I've ever known.

I think the kids are going to drive me insane most of the time, ;) but I have to do it. Give me another month/month and a half, and it'll happen. But I'm going to need your help! All you stay at home moms out there... I need friends! I need ideas of things to do (preferably free)! and I need support! I'm going from '0' kids during the day to '2'. Its going to be a crash course for about a month or so.
And Jen (or anyone else connected to JUB) - if you're reading this... shhh... I won't be telling Mike for a few more weeks and I would hate for it to get around before that. ;) Thanks.

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Wow, we just got home from an EXTREMELY long evening and I am exhausted. But here I am before my head hits the pillow to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. I love you all.
We had a great 4th. We met up with the Chris' sisters family as we always do, but his sister hurt her back, so she was not with us. We just go over to our city fireworks. They always do a nice job, and I don't think I've ever been disappointed. Here are some pictures through our day. I think they pretty much tell the story...
Mind you we arrived at 5pm, so when I say 'our day' I really mean 'our evening'.
The day started with the large blow up slide. Eli thought it was fun, but really wanted to go with Canon. Unfortunately Canon was in no mood to go on the slide.



And this is what the boys did for the next hour...



So then we go to find some dinner and hang out at the blankets until dark.


This is a great picture of my little observant boy. He is such a people watcher. He wants to see what every noise is, every exciting thing happening around him... He just can't get enough.
Finally it starts to get dark and we 'attempt' to get Nathan to fall asleep. I believe this picture was taken about 9:30. Bedtime is typically at 8pm and everyone is still awake and kicking!

Fireworks start at 10pm and Nathan is still wide awake. I was worried about how he would do with all the loud noise. The loud noise STILL bothers Eli and he has his hands over his ears the entire time. Nathan however in his very observant gaze just looked and looked. He seriously could not get enough. He sat perfectly still in my lap for at least 10 minutes. And even when he finally did move around, he was always more interested in the fireworks than anything else. I actually tried to hand him the pacifier about 1/2 way through and he just slowly pushed my hand away saying 'not now Mom... I'm busy'.
And just MINUTES before the finale, the eyelids became too heavy and we lost him. But since it was just before the finale, it didn't last.
Overall I think we had a very fun day. Now everyone is sleeping and I am off to join them. Sleep sounds very good right about now.
Good night!!

Working Moms gotta go

Ugh. I hate days like today. I get to work this morning and my boss catches me in the foyer and says 'I just tried to call you... I need you to go to a meeting in Rgn 1 in 45 min'. (Rgn 1 is 50 minutes away) so I don't even go to my computer, I just turn back around and walk out the door. Go to the meeting, and realize I have a heck of a lot of work to get done today. It gets done however, and goes back to UDOT for review. They were supposed to take 1 hr and review it. The clock ticks, and time goes by... 1 hour... 1 1/2 hours... 2 hours... NOTHING! I called them twice asking about it and each time I get - "its coming". Well guess what - I have a life. I was supposed to have picked up my kids 45 minutes ago and here I wait for MORE changes because you all are too nitpicky to allow anything through! Sorry... I'm starting to vent a little more than I would like. Anyway, so I give up and go pick up my kids. Mind you I am now 1 hour late in getting them. Go back to work, and my final changes have finally come... make the changes and get home at 5pm!!! My poor kids. Luckily Eli had been asking all week to go to McDonalds for a Kung Fu Panda toy, so it was a good reward for him being patient with his momma.
You know the worst part of it all was? Nathan had a doctors appt at 3pm. I picked him up from daycare at 3:30pm... you do the math. I realized it while I was heading back to the office and made another appt for Monday. Obviously it all turned out alright, but I just got so caught up with everything I had to do... It doesn't happen a lot, but every once in a while work comes before my kids and I don't like days like that.
::sigh:: at least the day is over and I can enjoy my 4th.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!

Reality? What's that?

Well, my saga is over. I have finished Gilmore Girls. I embarrassed to admit how quickly I got through them. I mean - that took a month?? 7 seasons in a month?? Thats pretty sad. I have to admit though it was a fun month. It was weird to watch them all, because I remember things happening, I just don't remember the order they happened. So I kept thinking something about Lukes hat.. but we were getting down to the last few episodes and it hadn't happened. Then of course it happens and I'm happy, but I swear there was a few days where I thought I was going to have to rewatch them all because I knew I had missed that part. :) There were a few times that happened.
So I'm back to reality. I turned on the tv this morning when Nathan woke up and I just didn't know what to watch. Real tv stinks! I do have some shows in the DVR that have been waiting for me, but I haven't started them yet. So if anyone has any must see shows this summer, let me know. And if not, looks like I'll be going to bed at 8:30pm every night. Probably not a bad thing. ;)

Magnum

This one is for Caleb. My son has been called several names by my friends and family... because he is not the smiliest (is that a word) baby in the world. He smiles, just under his own terms and when he is NOT in the company of strangers. I get comments from people at church, from the babysitter, from Uncle Caleb... ;) He is just a very observant little boy who takes it all in and watches people. He isn't quite sure what to make of them I think.
Well, just to prove to you that number 1, he does make noise and number 2 that he smiles...

Here he is being a little noisy. Usually he is screaming at the top of his lungs during bath. Of course, the camera isn't on when he does that... At least he isn't just sitting there staring since SOME people think that is all he does :)


And smiling...
And what the heck... for comparison sake... lets take a look

"Magnum"And Nathan

(or)
I'll let you draw your own conclusions. I'm going with no.

This is a picture of my boys when we went to the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District where they have all these plants that are great with not needing much water.

Time for a vacation

Nothing to blog, but I'm bored. I'm ready for my vacation. Its still weeks away, and I'm ready for it to be tomorrow. Probably because everyone else I know has already gone on vacation, and I feel left behind. :( 25 days to go... but who's counting...
Things are good in the Porter house. Just the same old stuff. Chris put up our closet doors last week and I'll be honest, I was surprised to see what a difference it made. The rooms look so much nicer. Maybe because you can close the door on all the clothes clutter. Ok, I'll admit, I still haven't put away the winter clothes yet. Nathan and Eli have a whole pile of clothes on their closet floor that need to be put away. Actually, you want to know something funny? Nathan was in his pajamas the other night and I noticed his toes were getting a little scrunched. I had the thought that it was time I put this one away too... so I looked at the tag assuming it was a 3-6 month outfit. NOPE! 0-3 months. He is almost 9 months old and he was in a NEWBORN OUTFIT!!!! Ok, so to be fair, it was the largest of the 0-3 month clothes, and it really wasn't fitting him that great now, but STILL!!!
Actually on the Nathan homefront, I noticed him laying on the ground and getting his knees under him like he is ready to push up on all 4's. He hasn't pushed up yet (thank goodness) but the thought came that within another month or two this kid will most likely be crawling. sniff sniff. Eli started crawling at 11 1/2 months, and I hope that it takes at least that long for my baby. Most likely it won't, but its wishful thinking.
So anyone want to buy a house? I have a couple friends who are moving out of my neighborhood and I want them to go to good (and normal) people. I have half a mind to buy my one neighbors house. Its a traditional 2 story, all brick (very colonial), hardwood floors, finished basement, 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, new fence and new windows. Its so much bigger than our house... man that would be nice. They're selling it by auction on Saturday. Wouldn't that be nice? To just sell your house and be done with it? It'll be a stressful week, but then its over. I'm curious to see how it turns out for them.

More blog friends

I have more blog friends! Thanks to Girls Night Out, I now have 3 more friends who have blogs I need to check. But thanks to Mindy, I found this amazing little thing called Google Reader. Why did I not know about this before?? I check upwards of 12-15 blogs and it can be a little cumbersome to switch through all those bookmarks. Well not anymore!!! Obviously it doesn't take much to make me happy. GNO was fun though, and very much needed.... as always.

So I'm sitting here at work with more to do than I have had all week and all I want to do is go home. Why is that? I've been sitting on this traffic circle project for a month now waiting to sit down with the County and our project manager to get some design issues figured out, and they've done nothing! Now they're mad that its not done yet. I hate that. But I worked some things out and I think I can move forward at least a little more... and we can have a walk thru with the County before its finalized. I just don't like getting blamed for it. Oh well. Its Friday, so I get to forget about all of it for a couple days. Although, tomorrow is my summer work party, so I'll see everyone tomorrow. With any luck, we'll refrain from discussing actual work and enjoy the BBQ. One can only hope.

Happy Fathers Day!

Maybe I should let Chris write this so he can give you his side of the story... Today started very early with some cries from Elis room. He puked about 3:30... lovely. Then Nathan woke up (as usual) at 4:30am. I got up and spent some time with Nathan until he was ready to go back down then we both got a short nap. He got up again around 7:30/8:00 and we made daddy breakfast. Both kids were being loud, so I assumed Chris was up and brought him breakfast in bed. Nope! Not awake... oops. Anyway, I stayed home from church with Eli and its been a pretty lazy day ever since. Eli still doesn't feel well, and I believe him and daddy are resting upstairs. :( We tried to go on a walk... but that was right before Eli got sick again. Oh well. If nothing else, I'm coming right along on Gilmore Girls. I'm watching the Season Finale of season 3 at the moment, and will probably be one or two in to season 4 before I go to bed. ;) An excellent waste of time if I do say so myself. LOL! Tonight is crockpot Italian Chicken and rice. And that is it for Fathers Day. Chris never told me what he wanted, so he didn't get anything, although I think we might go see Ironman on Friday. (what do you say Chris - you up for it?) ;)
On a better note, or maybe related to the throwing up, we went to the movies last night. (...popcorn... too much soda...) anyway, Kung Fu Panda was an excellent movie. I think he really enjoyed it. Mommy enjoyed it too. Daddy was painting doors at home with Mike or it would have been him there instead of me. Anyway, I leave you with this. My favorite picture with Chris and the boys.

I have an addiction

I'm addicted to Gilmore Girls. I admit it. My name is Mary Porter and I have a problem. I started the series over a couple weeks ago and am already 3/4 the way through Season 2. But I can't help myself! I love it. I love all the people and the quirks and jokes and fights... I figure I'll have the thing finished in a month - so its a short lived addiction... but one none the less. I'm right at the point where Jess and Rory got into the car accident. The beginning of the end for Rory and Dean. :)

We have teeth!!!

Nathan got his first two teeth recently. Actually I think the first broke on our trip out to Nebraska and the second broke on our drive back. He didn't fuss or anything. You would have never known. I just can't believe they came this early. He was a week shy of 8 months. I think Eli was around 11 months before he got his. Sorry the pictures are so blurry. Its hard with a wiggly kid, one finger in his mouth and one finger on the camera. Oh well

And this was after I gave up. I just love this picture. Its like he was looking at me saying 'you're nuts mom... leave my poor teeth alone'.

This is the last thing I'll share. Its just a video of the 2 of them playing. It seems whenever I turn the camera on they stop whatever they're doing, but this is pretty accurate of how they play together. Just imagine Nathan shrieking constantly....