We're still here....

Well, I haven't had much to say the last couple of weeks. And really, I don't have a whole lot new to say right now. But life does go on. So here are some pictures of life in the last few weeks...

First, Aiden got a much needed hair cut.

This is before:

And this is after!!! There WAS a boy hiding under all that hair...

We caught some ants to put in the ant habitat Aiden got for his birthday. It took them about three days, but the ants are finally digging tunnels. We're going to catch more to help with the work tomorrow.

Finn decided that mixing mud for mud pies in my flower pot was great fun.


And then, Mama gave him part of a leftover brownie with whipped cream on it. He smiled after the picture was taken, of course....

I guess we need to move the kids' watercolors to a higher shelf. Or feed Finn more...

The weather finally warmed up enough to get out the requisite three-ring inflatable kiddie pool for summer. I love this pic of the kids jumping:

Along with warm weather and "swimming" comes picnics in the backyard. Good times.

Check the little one's curly hair. Every now and then, we get actual ringlets.

Then there's always time for a silly self-portrait with mom. We had a couple pics of dad, too, but they were from the kids' photography stock....

In the next couple weeks, we're looking forward to a trip to LaGrande to hang with some good friends for a couple days, swimming lessons, and more sunshine.

I'll have more blood work and another doctor's appointment, but hopefully nothing too exciting comes from that.

*Sigh* part II

I'm avoiding my blog. And I think it's avoiding me. We'll give it through the weekend.... Maybe next week I'll feel like sharing our lives again.

Our (crazy busy) week in review...

Well, if I had been a good blogger, I would have captured the adventures of this past week day-by-day. Hmmmmm.... Guess I'm not a good blogger.


So much has happened this week that I barely know where to start. So, in the name of brevity (and mommy brain), I'm only going to hit the highlights. But there are still plenty of those!!!

1.) Our wonderful IFs (intended fathers, for those of you who do not speak the language of surrogacy) traveled from their home in Europe here to our little town to meet me, Chris, and the family in person. They were here for three short (but packed) days. We all had a great time getting to know each other, and were sad the visit had to end so soon. For more on what we did, visit my other blog. The pic below is Finn enjoying his first corn on the cob during dinner with our IFs.

2.) While our IFs were here, we celebrated Aiden's 7th birthday. Goodness, where does the time go??? He is getting SO big! Aiden had a How to Train Your Dragon bday party this year, so my assignment was a dragon cake. It actually turned out pretty well. We went to the farmer's market in town that morning, then had a small party at the house that afternoon. Chris pointed out that Aiden's "over halfway to being a teenager"......

3.) During Aiden's birthday party, my mom and dad arrived to spend the better part of the week with us. Our original plan was to fly to Boston this last Tuesday for my medical screening appt. My parents were going to watch the kids for us while Chris and I were gone. Unfortunately, that trip was postponed, but we were happy to have the visit with my parents instead. They met our IFs, celebrated Aiden's bday with us and his kindergarten graduation, we watched Avatar for the first time (awesome!), and we caught up on the last couple of months.



4.) We said goodbye to our IFs after 3 days, then I worked 2 nights. Crazy to stick the work nights into a week that already had us running.... Last Tuesday morning, I checked into the hospital for some tests. They were a follow up to everything that happened after my gallbladder surgery last summer. Some of my lab values are still high, so my doc decided to do a little further testing. I had to have an MRI, and a liver biopsy. But I was home again and happy after just a few hours. Now I'm just waiting on the results. *sigh* I hate waiting....

5.) Aiden is officially a Kindergarten graduate.... So, next year will bring first grade, and all day school. I'm still trying to figure out what we are going to do about school lunches. The kid is so picky!!! New Horizons is finally getting its own dedicated building, so he will have to move schools. But the building is brand new and gorgeous, so that shouldn't be a hardship at all; and it doesn't hurt that the new building is just a tad closer to the house. Aiden's report card reflected what we already knew- we have a very smart kid on our hands. And learning in two languages does not seem to be slowing him down at all. Below is Aiden with his teacher. She was awesome, and we'll miss her!




6.) Paige also celebrated her last day of school this week. She will move on to the "4 year old class", as she calls it, next year at her school. I tried to get a picture with Paige and our all time favorite preschool teacher, but Paige though it was more important to be photographed with her new purple bucket...... Lol.... Lucky for us, we have the same teacher next year. We'll get the obligatory pic then.

7.) Did I tell everyone that Chris got a job??? Well, he did. It's working with a marketing research firm that he hoped to work with (woo hoo)! So, on top of all this, he had to try to find time to squeeze in hours with his trainer. It's so strange to ask what time he has to be to work in the morning..... ;)

Well, I'm sure I've left things out.... When you're that busy, some things are guaranteed to fall through the cracks. As of today, we are going to settle into our summer schedule. I think we'll still be busy, but not like it's been for the last week and a half or so. Oh yeah, the other good thing that happened this week- my schedule flipped back to normal. I'll be working 3 out of four weekends again, with a schedule that is predictable and perfect for us.

If that's not enough, then I don't know what is!

Busy busy....

It's been awhile. Again. I'd say sorry, but I've been waaaay busy.

Work is killing me; I'm going to be so glad to get back to my "normal" schedule again. The end of this month has just been nuts. 3 nights on, 2 off; then 3 nights on, 2 off; then 2 on, 2 off....... There's not much "off" time there. And on those couple days off, I have to sleep, keep up with things around the house (read: the never-ending piles of laundry), plan for Aiden's birthday in a week, and prepare for my parents coming, as well as the couple we are going to surrogate for. All in the next week.

On top of that, I'm trying to pull the house together and finish up some projects that are long overdue. Like tonight.... Chris and I are going to paint the craft room. I have decorative mirrors to hang, pictures to rotate, and couch cushions to flip.

At some point, I'm going to have to go back to the grocery store, and Costco. Oh yeah, and get ready for the trip to Boston that Chris and I are taking- the week Aiden has his kindergarten graduation and Paige has her last day of school. Thank god soccer ended today- one less thing on our plate. Though we do have two soccer parties to attend in the next two weeks.

Speaking of soccer.... Today was the Jamboree; or the last day of soccer games that was supposed to be like a little carnival. However, Mother Nature had other plans for us. Both the kids only played one of their two games. It was cold (like winter coat cold), damp, and then it started to rain. And rain, and rain......

Where was Spring again???? Oh yeah. Not here.

Right now I'm trying to recharge in the relative quiet. Paige is on her computer, Aiden is cutting out dragons, and Chris is on the X Box. Finn is sleeping soundly in bed. But the quiet moment is fleeting. In 5 minutes, I'm going to get the kids in bed, then break out the paint.

And life goes on.

Pretty awesome Monday night...

Okay, I'm falling behind on the blogging. I know. But let's face it.... Blogging takes time. And sometimes I just don't have that much extra time. And when I do have extra time, I'm usually trying to catch up on a good book, or shows I have on the DVR. Case in point- right now I have 2 episodes of V and an episode of Glee waiting for me. Not to mention all the 16 and Pregnants, and 19 Kids and Counting...... So, I feel like I'm doing pretty good if I get on here once a week.

It's been a great week so far.

Chris and I went to a concert Monday night; one we've been waiting 4 months for. Two of our favorite bands are Sick Puppies and Breaking Benjamin. We've seen Sick Puppies in concert several times, and had always hoped to see Breaking Benjamin (but they don't make it to our part of the world very often). To have them show up in our little town together was unprecedented. Neither one of us cared much about the headlining band- Nickelback.....

The concert rocked. Sick Puppies opened, and we were disappointed that they only had time to play about 4 songs. When they play a smaller venue, and have a chance to get going, they really get the crowd going and rock the house. Even though they were just getting warmed up, their songs were great. And of course, Chris drooled over the bassist, Emma. I just drooled over her boots....



Next was Shinedown. I wasn't too familiar with their music. Overall they were all right. Fit in with the vibe of the music. But I won't be running out to buy their CD any time soon.

Next was the band I was waiting for. Chris and I didn't have very high hopes for Breaking Benjamin's live performance. we love their music on disc, but had seen bits and pieces of recorded performances that didn't look that.... energetic. Thank god we were wrong. Ben and the boys actually put on a really good show. Lively and LOUD- just the way I like it! They also didn't get a chance to perform as much as I would have liked. If I'd had my way, they would have been the headliners....... Maybe someday.

Last was Nickelback. Chris and I were lukewarm about seeing them live. I like their music, and even have one of their CDs, but they're not my favorite. We were so lukewarm, in fact, that we contemplated not even staying for their performance. I'm glad we changed our minds. While not as fantastic as BB or Sick Puppies, they actually rocked. They are very, very good live performers- both the music and their between song entertainment. The lead singer is hilarious, and sounds kinda like Dane Cook when he talks. I think he's funny like Dane Cook, too.....

Overall, it was an awesome night and we had a great time. I had a ton of fun, and would definitely pay the money again to see them. Well, all of them except Shinedown. Now if only Sick Puppies and Breaking Benjamin would tour again together. Alone......

Another note of good news this week.....

Chris got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!! He'll be working part-time for a national market research firm. It's the perfect place to start. He gets to work from home, and has to go out in the field between 10 and 20 hours a week. This means that we will still be day care free. And maybe, in the coming years, this could turn into an opportunity to grow with the company. Only time will tell!!!

If you aren't following my other blog, things on the surrogacy front are going well, too. Chris and I have been matched with an awesome couple who live in Germany. We have been emailing them regularly, and have talked on the phone once with plans to do so again tomorrow. I have my first medical appointment with their IVF doctor the first week of June. If all goes well at that appt, and once our contracts clear, we will be good to go for meds. And then a transfer!!!

All in all, live is very good for the Ida'vasas these days.

Nothin' new

I keep hoping that spring will show up soon. The afternoons are getting sunnier, but the weather is still cool, and the wind just keeps blowing.

Although it is pretty cute to hear Aiden yelling up at the sky, "Mother Nature, can you puh-lease make the wind go away????"

Yeah, May soccer should definitely NOT look like this:

The rest of the week was dedicated to mundane tasks. Finishing up washing clothes. Yes, they still all need to be put away. But hey, halfway done is better than not at all! We mopped the floor, Chris did some vacuuming and fan cleaning. And we all helped to clean out the garage. Yes, nine boxes of stuff and two bags of clothes later, our garage is a little cleaner and the Youth Ranch has more things to shelve.

Next up: painting the craft room. Hopefully I'll get to it sometime next week.

Have a Happy Mother's Day!!!

Spring, oh spring.... Where are you????

It's the first of May. Happy May Day!!!!

One would think that by the first of May, the weather wold be at least starting to warm up. After all, summer clothes have been in the stores for 2 months, soccer has been underway for 3 weeks, the trees have bloomed as well as some of the flowers. The world is looking green again.

So, why then was I seeing my own breath this morning, at 9am nonetheless, at soccer???? Wearing two layers of clothing and wrapped in a quilt???? Chris had to take Finn to the car halfway through the first game because his little hands were like popsicles! And I swear it just got colder as the morning progressed!!!

Don't get me wrong- I'm not begging for 106 degree weather... I'd just like to see the mid- 70s. On a regular basis.....