New Blog Is Ready

Just after i gave so many my blog address I have decided to go ahead and start blogging on my new one. I hated always saying raeraes...people would look at me like what??? So new year, new beginnings right?? Not much will change, if anything. I have the lovely music, new pictures, and well yeah that's about it. Can I just say AGAIN how much I love the song 'Piano Song' I have on my music?? I'm not sure why it's called Piano Song but the words are so powerful!! Making me cry. It's playing in the background as I type this up.
Anyway so the new blog. http://www.talesfromthefarmhouse.blogspot.com/ yeah I'm thinking that's a mouthful too but at least it sounds better then raeraes, that sounds like some call girls name or something.

So hop on over here to continue to read updates on the coming and goings of my life, our life, and maybe even your life:)

See you there!! And bring some 'followers' with you!!

Random Thoughts

Seems I have so much I could blog about but don't feel like typing and typing. So here's the ideas I'm thinking about with a brief how I feel:)
-Special election in MA for Ted Kennedy's senate seat. I wish for just this one day I was a Massachusetts resident. This has been a Democrat state since 1977 I believe i heard on the news. Republicans have a chance, a good one even, at finally turning that state around. This is a closely followed election on all the news channels. And my friends I met at FL I hope you voted:)
-The Haiti earth quake. We were so out of connection when this all happened with us being in FL. I would give my right arm to adopt one of the orphans. It is weighing so heavy on my heart. Is it on yours? I'm curious is this is a normal feeling amongst us or if b/c of our adoption experience it tugs at my heart more. (there is no wrong answer) Its so sad to see to see all the devestation that an earth quake can do. They are talking 100's of thousands dead. Thats worse then what any terrorist attack. Unbelievable. Have any of my readers been to Haiti? Anyone with any experience from adopting from Haiti? How do you know which organzations are good to donate money too. I've heard to so many things saying that so often the money doesn't even get there!?
-Weather-looks like we're going to get an ice storm! Oh yeah. NOT. We came home to maybe 11 inches of snow. That means that 10+ inches melted. We've been having dense fog for quite awhile. The trees are so pretty but you know when we have fog like this in the winter a good storm is brewing.
-Caucuses are THIS SATURDAY for Iowa residents. My IA readers, go here to find your polling location. We here in my county, have our central committee meeting tonight. If you need more details I will be able to provide it after tonight. Looking forward to our meeting tonight and being way more involved with the process then I was able to two years ago.
-Kids-they are doing well. They are so happy to be home and play with their toys. That means they do not want to leave the house. Miss A says 'i want to play with my toys'. C'man had a hard time wanting to go to school He didn't like his jeans. I'm quite certain it's b/c he can't get them unbuttoned to go potty. Since he waits till the last possible minute, it's a mad rush to get it done. Then he can't get them buttoned again. Poor kid. But what do you do. He can't always wear sweats. (I can, but not him) He continues to love the Shamu (daddy and baby) and his Dolphin (mommy and baby) that he got @ Sea World. He loves them so much.
-Livestock or I guess the chickens. They are doing great! I cleaned out the house Sunday b/c it was so nice out. I swear it was warmer here Sunday then it was the Saturday before in Orlando. I moved the nest and found lots of eggs. Was like an Easter egg hunt LOL. I got 12 eggs that day. They must have missed me LOL. Altho one flew the coupe and hung out in a tree all day Sunday. Then on Monday when I went to get him out I fell thru a snowbank. i had no gloves and had snow up to my knees. I screamed, the chicken flew away. I think he's back with the others. Stupid white chicken.

Alright for not having much to say I guess i did:) What's new by you all??

Home Sweet LAUNDRY"

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days. EXHAUSTED is an understatement for the way I felt! We continued on our marthon of parks. With our other niece Carrie visiting her sister, Megs, we wanted to do as much as we could. On Thursday DH, me and the kids had another character meal @ Magic Kingdom. Miss A got to wear her 'Belle' dress up. She was adorable. As our most of the kids dressed up. Miss A dug the characters, C'man still didn't even by the end of the trip. Then it was time to hit the park as nieces were there. We did Magic Kingdom then Animal Kingdom and ended up at Epcot. Hmmm..I feel like I might have posted about this already!?
Friday was Sea World. We spent from 9 till about 130 there. What a difference a week makes weather wise. We could ditch almost all 20 layers to just t-shirt jeans/shorts. But we missed Shamu show as it was full to capacity. That was a huge bummer b/c the park was dead. We were very thankful we saw it last Saturday, in the freezing cold! Oh I was forced to ride Mantis roller coaster. I thought I was going to die, much like the guy on that youtube video. It was CRAZY and NUTS! I hated it. You were like harnassed in and then tilted forward.I screamed so much my back still hurts. I didn't open my eyes ONE TIME and I just cried out to Jesus to end the ride NOW!
Hugely entertaining for DH and Carrie. Kind of like when we rode Space Mountain. I screamed the entire time. I'm not sure why I did that time but I did. (sorry no real good videos on youtube b/c it's such a dark ride.Loved that ride tho.
Later in the afternoon the girls, oh and C'man, did some retail therapy. Hit the outlet malls. Didn't get a lot but got some cute things for me and the kids. Nieces-NOTHING. What the heck!? After shopping DH called and said to just have me dropped off at Epcot. Ok no prob, till i realized I was wearing FLIP FLOPS!! My achen feet. DH thought we should walk around the world, and he wanted to do it twice! I was like oh heck no. I'm not sure why we had to do it once.
Then after we had our walk around the world, and ate, C'man and DH went on his space ride. I stayed with Miss A who had SUCH a fit no one sat even within 500ft of us. She dropped the stroller on my foot, which now really really hurt. She wailed for at least 15 min. I wanted to start screaming for my daddy too!!
Now Saturday we left. But we had one more breakfast with the characters. I didn't eat b/c we only had one adult meal left on our meal plan. But we had 2 more kids ones. We decided to make some magic for others and bought 2 other families there one childs meals. We hope they returned the favor some way to some other guests. It was better then letting them go to waste. Oh and this was @ Hollywood Studios we ate. Our breakfast was with JoJo's Circus. Great for Miss A but C'man just wanted to be left alone.
We left our hotel by 1230. BUT now with out me being in the cafateria trying to use up our remaining counter and snack services. I ended up with like 15 bottles of juice, 3 meals (GREAT sandwhich for me that I ate on the airlplane, and hot dogs for the kids) and then tons of snacks (rice crispie bars, muffins, cookies, etc) It was so crazy tho trying to do all of this during lunch time with a 5 year old! Eventually this nice lady that brought me my sandwhich (b/c I was running around getting everything) had C'man sit with them while they, and he, ate. That was so kind b/c it was driving me nuts running here there and everywhere with a 5 year old who loves to dilly dangle around. What a putzer that kid can be:)
So anyway, we made our plane and we are now home! Home sweet home. I did a couple loads of laundry already last night and now today. As I type this i'm looking right at the fish tank that so desperately needs to be cleaned. BUT it's like BALMING here. It's warmer here now then it was in FL those first couple of days:) I even got the chicken house cleaned out.
My parents are coming this afternoon to bring Boji back. DH is at the farm getting KDee and cleaning off his parents roof. Like so many others, the snow is melting and lots of leaking is happening. I think will be ok. Miss A is napping and C'man is with DH.
In the coming days to come I'm going to recap what to do, avoid, stay, eat, etc while at Disney. We met a lot of families that this was there first, 3rd, 100th, time here and each one had great recommendations. After I list mine I'd love to hear yours! We plan on going back, just not for 2 years. That was what one family from Boston does. Great idea.
And if any of those families, people, etc that we met have a blog, please post it. I'd love to read it!!!

OK OK i must get cleaning this fish tank. I'm feeling really sorry for them. Oh wait, I can't see them even!

You Tired? To Bad Keep Walkin....

I swear by the number of miles we walked this week I could have competed in the 1/2 marathon they had here on Saturday. I think i'm fully trained for one. Oh wait i've been eating pasta, dessert, lots of diet cokes, crap probably not the diet an 'in training' person should eat.
Oh well. But seriously we have walked and walked and just when we thought our feet could go no more, we went to another park. After walking a mile TO the park, you walk 10 IN the park. Then b/c they think you haven't already walked enough, they put your bus stop 2 miles from the enterance. My goodness....
We are fairing good. Today niece Carrie is here with Megs. SO that meant FOUR adults. We started our AM off with a character breakfast at 815! AM folks AM! Miss A loves the characters, Mr. C could care less, especially when they take his Shamu!! Shame on Pluto.
After breakfast we met up with the girls and started riding. We rode Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and then hit Space Mountain. OF which this is my grip today with Disney. They are so inconsistent. C'man had ridden every ride that he needs to be 44 inches. honestly he's like 1/2 inche TO short but most attendants let him on. But there's the inconsitenancy. We got all the way IN Space Mountain. We measured before, he was fine. He's funny tho b/c he stands up on his tip toes. Most of the workers don't catch that, some do. well today they did. Once all the way in and getting ready to get on, Mr Complex wouldn't let him on! I'm like get outta here you jerk. He's ridden this ride more then you! No matter how big a fit Meg and I pitched, we were out of luck.
We decided that he had 'short man's syndrom' You know the short guy who thinks he's actually 6'7 and all that. He must have been deprived of such experiences as a child b/c he was to short, therefore being still bitter about it, he would take it out on others. Needless to say C'man did not get on it.
We headed to Animal Kingdom where again the above workers twin brother must have been working @ Mnt Everest. And again C'man had only ridden it 4 times prior. But this time we out smarted him! We took a pair of my socks and triple layered them and stuck them on C'man. Good thinking Megs! He passed with flying colors HOWEVER a girl was working now and they are so much kinder. I have the most HILIRIOUS pictures of us all on Mount Everest but not sure I should post. Me being the funniest of all:) We shall see.
We ended the day @ Hollywood where we took on Tower of Terror. There another memory i'd rather forget. That would be the person who puked while in line and we all stepped in it. I'd like to thank them. My jeans are now sitting in a bag outside the hotel door. If they are gone in the AM, so be it. No kids this time on that ride. But we all enjoyed it!! We caught Fantasa?? which is a show with lights, fire works, water, etc and I thought it was scarry. The kids said they liked it but Miss A is quick to tell us she's not going to see it again. We also had supper @ Hollywood. It was so funny b/c C'man fell asleep during supper. Just sitting straight up he crashed.
Miss A managed a nap in Animal Kingdom after she got to ride her 'farai' (Safarai). She slept a good 1 1/2 but that's still not enough when we get back to the hotel. EVERY fricken night she pitches such a fit about getting her jammies on. AHHH you'd think by this point she'd know the drill. But NOOOO every night i swear it's not worth it to listen to the 3-10 min fit she has.
So that was our day. An exhausting day. Oh and another day of observations. Today's was the shoes people wear! Really you think you can 'do Disney' in 9 inch HEALS?? REALLY??? Or how about flip flops?? That's not as impossible for me to imagine but still. Oh and the 'heals' they weren't on no kids either! Next time we're putting C'man in 5 inch cowboy boots:) Oh and of course the obervation of people in wheel chairs for various reasons. Some need it, some are just to large to walk it. Really, you think Disney is the place to come when you are 70 yrs old and can hardly walk?? Or to large to fit in any of the rides?? i mean I guess more power to them, but why disney?? Oh and the honeymooners. Really, you'd want to come honeymoon with 10,000 + people, wait in line for 40 min, share intiment moments?? like little smooches with 5 year olds looking at you?? I'm not getting that one.
Pick somewhere you dont' have to walk and walk, lounge on the beach, lock yourself up in a mountanous resort....whatever just please not disney.
But again, to each there own. This is just 'my own' thoughts.

An in closing. I have shared by blog with many really neat people. I do hope they continue to visit me here and yes, even leave comments. Share with my other readers your best Disney secret?? or tips? thoughts? etc I have met a farmer who used to milk from PA, a family that sat behind us this AM @ the breakfas-they had no camera so i took pictures for them and will be emailing them to them (in a couple days friends!!), a lady from the DC area who ran the marathon (God bless you, I was cheering you from my bed) and I think that's it. i'm sure I missed someone. Sorry, really.

I must get butt in bed!! Heading back to Sea World tomorrow!! Maybe even some shopping at the outlet malls in the afternoon. Wooohooo...I'm looking forward to Sea World. Much better weather tomorrow. Oh like 100% better. I was even in T-shirt and jeans today! Tomorrow i'm going to be daring and wear capris! Partially b/c jeans stink and I have only one other pair to wear on airplane.

Tata faithful readers!!

Doin Disney and Thawing Out

Hi ho....yes we are thawing out here. I actually got down to 2 long sleeve t-shirts today! Only going to get warmer. It feels like an Iowa Fall actually. Or maybe like an early April Spring day. Not complaining. ALTHO this daughter of ours....3 1/2 is TO YOUNG for Disney. I stand by that forever and ever. Last year was good. This year with her, AWFUL! She is crabby from lack of sleep (nap in stroller after lunch today so we didn't come back to the hotel) and probably over stimulated. The worse is coming back at night. Like right now, she is wondering around and screams like we're beating her if we tell her to get in bed. I keep waiting for the police to knock on our door wondering what we are doing to her.
OK so recapping:
The AM we headed back to Epcot. I feel like we're there ALL THE TIME. DH wanted to get C'man on Mission Space of which he got him on. I did it one time with him and just like last year, I didn't like it. Even the 'easy' mission was to much. C'man went on 3 times and loved it. We did Soarin again but by the time C'man and I went on he was getting tired of it. Miss A doesn't like it so her and I did Finding Nemo. Continues to be a favorite. We also road the futuristic ride within the Epcot 'ball'. The kids love it. I hate how they talk about how thing evolved. BUT not as much as the ride with Ellen DeGeneres, Universe Energy, where we start from how energy evolved. She was funny, the story line out of line for our beliefs. It started with Big Bang Theory. Then we went in to dinasour 'land' and yeah, it was just loud, scarry in parts, and out of line with our beliefs. It was 45 min too! A family asked us what was in there. Told them and they said, is it worth it? We shook our heads and said NO WAY!!
OH and this brought me to another observation. Another 'extended family' looked like a G'pa, daughter, son in law and 3 kids.  2 of the kids were crying. Daughter was 'didn't you know that it was going to be this way?' G'pa is standing there going 'I had no idea it was like that' Son is standing there thinking WHAT HAVE WE GOTTEN OURSELVES IN TO!'

Moving on. By mid afternoon we made it to Animal Kingdom. Kids wanted to see Nemo the musical again. Parents didn't. Since it was starting ASAP we had to decide fast. DH did not want to see it. We sent him for fast passes and the kids and I saw it. This time we sat right up front along the stage. It was AWESOME!! Totally awesome. I can not even begin to explain in a way that would give it justice. It's a live show and the characters were right there. Miss A sat in complete aw. C'man was on the floor a couple times b/c he said it was scarry??? My sensitive child. After that we hit Expedition Everest roller coaster. We LOVE that ride. Wish C'man would keep his eyes open, but none the less, he loves it. We got pictures of us on it and I will post later. After riding that to many times, we hit Dino Land where I went on another rollercoaster which was like the Mad Tea Cups. The kids and DH road the Dinasours which was like Dumbo. We wrapped up the evening with supper there and headed back.

We have an early AM tomorrow as we have breakfast with the characters at 830. We haven't woken up before 8 since we got here. Tomorrow should be interesting. As soon as I'm done posting this I need to lay our clothes out. It'll be nice enough that Miss A can where her 'Belle' custom. She's so cute in it. Our other niece from Iowa flys in tonight and will be joining Megs and us tomorrow and Friday. I think tomorrow will be a marathon day for us. Not sure how long will last but will sure give it a try. You think the last couple days have been busy, we're going to cram in FOUR parks in ONE DAY! Will need to pick certain rides at each park and move on. Not sure if we even can b/c while fast passes are the way to go, you can not feasibly get them at each park and they run out. So will see how it goes. Hitting Magic Kingdom first. That park is where i feel like we spent the least amount of time. We may end up staying there for most of the AM and maybe even early afternoon.

Flexible is what we continue to be:) Altho I'm getting tired of the food. It's not that is all deep fried, greasy, just not real good. Rich, heavy, etc. I can go in to futher detail on eating another time, or please contact me for details. We have lots of suggestions on what to hit and what to avoid.

The fireworks are going off @ Epcot while i type this. The kids are laying in bed, still awake. It's 915. We all should be sleeping. Stay tuned for the next posting:)

Disney Is Thawing

Praise to MICKEY it's warming up here! Evenings are still cold BUT we are down to wearing just one sweatshirt, instead of two which underneath you have 2 or 3 layers!
I'm back right now with Miss A as she is napping, in her stroller, beside me as I type. DH and C'man are off hitting more rides. I have to say the park hopper is the way to go. Why? Because we started off this AM @ Hollywood Studios, my least favorite, and then hopped over to Animal Kingdom. Not sure where DH is now, but at a different park. OH wait, they went back to Hollywood Studios. With the bus systems after the initial hike to the buses, it's all good:)
Some of the rides we have been doing are:
Tower of Terror-with BOTH kids and they did NOT like it. It's so funny to ask Miss A if she's ready to go on a ride she didn't like and she's like NOOOOO. But she'll try anything once. Last night I didn't want to take her on Tower of Terror but she kept saying 'it not scarry' I'm like ok, suit yourself. Her faces on these scarry rides is so priceless. We have been buying pictures b/c it's so priceless.
Mount Everest which is an AWESOME roller coaster. Miss A isn't tall enough but C'man is. Again love the shots the camera's take. Just to bad you get these strangers in your picture with you!!
We saw Finding Nemo live and that was great!! Loved it. Actually the Nemo ride @ Epcot is one of the kids' favorite. We walk in and C'man is already saying 'Nemo, where are you???' After Nemo is Turtle Talk and it's an interactive show. The kids get to sit up front and can even ask questions. C'man LOVES it. All you can see from behind are his cheek bones b/c he's smiling so much. And then him laughing is a riot. He got to ask 'Crush' a question yesterday, but all he got out of him was telling Crush what his name was. When they asked him what his question was, he looked back at us. Or when they asked where he was from, he looked at us. Hey we taught the kids not to talk to strangers right!?
It was a late night for us last night. Because we are staying within the park, we got extended hours @ Hollywood Studios. We ate at this Sci-Fi restaurant where we sat in old cars like we were at a drive in theatre. It was cool.  We ended our night with Mickey Mouse Live Stage where we all got to dance with characters like Handy Mandy,Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, etc. The kids weren't that excited about that.

So yeah, it continues to be lots of walking and again I continue to observe 'families' here as an entire unit. Mom, dad, g'ma, g'pa, sisters, brothers, etc and all their kids. I don't recommend that. But yet I also wonder how do they do it? I see g'parents here with young g'children. Again, don't recommend. It's lots of walking and unless you can ride the rides with them, be willing to stand in lines for 30-45 min, AND run them all over when they say they have to go potty, well then more power to them. ALTHO you'd have to have 2 g'parents and it might be a little more managable.

We did ride from HWS to Animal kingdom with an elderly couple mid to late 70's maybe older?? that said they live in FL and bought season passes. I asked what they do in the parks? We ride the rides!! I said ALL of them?? You bet!! I was like way to go! You guys rock!! in that case you could totally send a g'child that was say 10 or older! With g'parents like that it would totally rock. But they are not rides where you send the g'kid or even kid, in line while 'you wait over here'. the lines are just to long, wind every which way, and to many strangers.

So yes, i continue to be amazed at all the people. We are having fun but need to take more down time. Last year we had to figured out where we ate and then came back to the room. This year we find ourselves going longer and later b/w breaks. I think it's taking a toll. C'man spilled his soda @ lunch and I about lost it. HOW many times have i told him to SIT STILL! Or Miss A when she doesn't get her way just screams and everyone looks at you and you find yourself talking very loudly that she'd 'better knock it off'. Then you get those parents (yes g'parents too) that look at you like oh you'll make it thru. I'm thinking don't look at me, hand me a freakin DRINK!!

Needless to say we miss Megs! She's back at work BUT her sister, is coming starting Thursday. Will have 2 days with 2 nieces!! Woohooo

Untill next time....

Shamu Froze

Just kidding, but he could have! If that water wasn't heated he'd freeze. Or those that swim with him would. My gosh could you imagine having your wet suit freeze on Shamu's nose!? Ok I'll stop right there with my 'thoughts'. (keepin it PG)

Yes it's down right frigid here. For Flordia standards it is and for my standards from Iowa, it's cold. BUT we braved the conditions and headed to Sea World today (Saturday). The park was DEAD! I mean as in NO wait for anything but hot chocolate! We manage to ride one ride? that was indoors. Megs and Mr C'man rode this crab jumper and DH and Miss A did this tea cup ride but Shamu 'style'.

Watching the Shamu show was AWESOME! C'man LOVE LOVE LOVED it! He had to have a Shamu and now his stuffed Shamu is doing all the tricks Shamu did! Miss A liked the penguins and she is sporting a 'little' penguin and another one for her cousin.

It worked out pretty good with the weather the way it was. There was a lot of indoor things we could do. We could walk thru the aquariams which was a huge hit with us all. Without further ado, lets get some pictures posted!

We started off the day dressed like so for the kids:

Blankets, double/triple layers on top and mittens. It was raining so i had brought poncho's with me.

the first show we watched Miss A was quite impressed with the pirates and seals that were 'acting' too.

Us still ok as far as warmth. Ok maybe we were already cold. I had on ankle socks. WTH was I thinking. BUT i had on TWO sweatshirts

Having fun in the aquariams.

C'man just LOVED it in here. He was so busy asking the attendant there all sorts of questions. It was so cute. But then an alarm went off and we had to leave NOW! (I was worried Miss A pulled a fire alarm or something. Meg informed me she didn't) I think the employees just wanted to go home where it was maybe warmer!?

On to the penguins. We had so much fun watching them! C'man laughed and laughed at them.

Pics of Shamu are on the other camera so skipping ahead. After Sea World Meg and I dropped off the kids and DH to warm up and we went on a mission for hat and sweatpants. Who knew I could do all our suvinior shopping at the local walmart:) (hate that store) But anyway.....this is how the evening ended:

Note stocking caps and fleece pants oh and a hooded coat for C'man. I think the kids have on at least 3 layers!

Supper was @ Downtown Disney @ Wolfgang Puck. It was good. Here's our food. Yes I made everyone pass the camera around and take a pic of the food and dessert:) I said last time I didn't get enough pictures. I'm making sure that doesn't happen.

My Salmon with asparagus. DH had a salmon pizza (it was ok, it was cold Salmon so I wasn't to crazy about that. Meg had steak, I think c'man ate 1/2 of it)

And with our meal plan (again, the only way to go) we get dessert. Here's are variety:

Ok my key lime dessert is not in there. Note the little hand in the picture. Miss A could not WAIT for her chocolate dessert.

While waiting for our meal Meg spoiled them with sucker. They also entertained them while we waited. Note Shamu in C'mans arms. As I type this, Shamu is putting on a show in the hotel room.

This is enough for tonight. Tomorrow we're hoping it's above 45 so the rides are going. We plan on going back to Sea World to hit a couple more things but I think tomorrow we're hitting Epcot. We have to ride Test Track as I guess it's closing for a month. That's C'mans FAVORITE ride.

Oh and while we were watching the Shamu show this is what my SIL was texting us:

This would be the machine shed back at the farm. Yup the roof collapsed from all the snow. BTW store roofs are doing the same as well as a roof in a school! Not to much damage to any equipment WHICH is good b/c I guess insurance does not cover roof collapses b/c of snow!

As SIL said no one was hurt, yet!

I'm also going to leave you with pictures of our trip down here.

We waited some 20 min to get thru one lane traffic b/c of this HUGE machine trying to clear out 8ft high drifts across the road. (yes i was stressed out about making it to the airport on time)

No this was not us. You think they had clean underwear after this??

ok I have to end this. Need to find stuffed animals so kids can SLEEP!!

Mickey Mouse is Frozen

We made it. From one ice land to another. Oh wait, it's to cold at home for anything to freeze, but here, that's a different story.
We left earlier then planned b/c of another snowstorm that descended upon us. There were MANY spots where the road was one lane only. It was crazy. At one point we didn't move for 20 min. b/c of this monster snow blower that was trying to clear the north lane. BUT we maded to the airport and really road conditions could have been a lot worse.
The flight?? As typical 'me' fashion there had to be drama. Don't know if drama is the right word but DH sat with the kids and I sat behind them WITH a dad and his 8 month old baby. Baby? FINE! Dad?? Annoying as all heck could be. Making these awful annoying noises that all i could think was dad you are already embarrasing your daughter. She was NOT impressed. Needless to say i was even less impressed. The entire airplane (it was a large plane) had to have heard him make these growling noises that sounded like a sick bear! Even my ipod couldn't tune it out.
I was so ready to land. At one point they said we had one hour left. I popped earphones out and said 'how long?' he said one hour. I was like really? Another HOUR!! He said yeah I thought we still had two hours! Gosh I would have jumped ship then! Oh and the baby? She just wanted to sleep. Daddy was constantly moving her. I wanted to just take her wrap her blanket around her and let her sleep. (mom had flown out earlier in the day)
OK so moving on. yes, it's cold here. In fact it's rather rainy out with sleet. Not sure what our plans are going to be today. Probably be short lines on the rides if you care to FREEZE! I did bring hats and mittens but no winter coats.
Megs is on her way over. God bless her!! She had subs waiting for us in the car, oh shoot she forgot the wine! She found the cutest wine called 'middle sister' how cute is that??
Our hotel is less then impressive but will do. We were so spoiled last year by Animal Kingdom.

I must go. Megs will be here any minute and i'm still in my jammies!! Stay tuned FOR SURE!!!

Medical/Miscarriage Help Needed

I'm typing this on Wednesday while it's fresh on my mind. I'm SOOO fricken confused. The PA called today about my miscarriage 'results'. Use that term loosly b/c i'm not sure we have results like I wanted. She told me 'it was the baby'. Well YEAH but what do you mean. She said they took tissue....still confused and when I told her to dumb it up for me she was just like what do you mean you don't understand?
So something was wrong with the baby??
But what? Was there a birth defect? Can that be determined that early in a pregnancy? Can they tell if it's hormone related??
I just felt like I was the one that didn't know anything and now am more confused then ever. When I asked 'so basically the test results aren't telling me anything? she said 'yeah'.
So is that what I go with?? HELP!! I have to go get my hemoglobin tested when we get back from Disney and will hopefully have more time, and questions, to ask her.
She did say tho that she wants to refer me to an OB, no surprise there, and to not even try to get pregnant for another 6 months. Of which I whole heartdly agree.
I told her that when I miscarried in May and got pregnant the following December, and miscarried, that my cervix still showed signs of the May miscarriage.

I know I have people going thru Infertility and dealing with miscarriages that read my blog. If there is one bit of advice I can give, and Lord knows I could give LOTS, it's PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let your body recover after a failed cycle and or miscarriage. I strongly feel the worst thing one can do is hurry up and get pregnant again. I know many docs just say well lets try for next month and I seriously think they are WRONG! Your body had a tramatic event happen to it. Failed IVF cycle, clomid cycle or a miscarriage it needs to reset itself. It takes at LEAST 6 months to do that. I could find research to support that but I'd rather just speak from personal experience. We all know there is research to combat everything you find too.

I know that's not what you want to hear b/c you so want to be pregnant. Trust me it'll help in the long run and possibly prevent you from further heart aches. I will say that IVF cycles are a little different b/c your body is controlled by stong arse meds. But even there it's generally  2-3 cycles before you can start up again.

But back to me.... hehehe can anyone advise me on what I should ask? Or can anyone explain based on the little bit I know?? Or ask me some questions and I can tell you if she said anything about that? Comment or email me if you would.

Red Neck Fun

Grab a milk jug or in our case, OJ since we drink raw milk:) out of recycling. Needless to say recycling bins are FULL b/c garbage man could not make it into our driveway. Grrrrr....We won't visit that subject anymore, right DH???

Get it AWAY from dog!!! (NOT an easy task)

Bury it deep into the snow. Probably some 12 inches:)

Get the heck out of there but since the snow is up to your knees getting out before the dog buries you in know is quite a task.

Dog retrieves jug and now will NOT give it back to you. (barely see it but jug is in b/w his paws and he's watching C'man approach him)

Child and mother get frustrated with dog not wanting to cooperate. Therefore you move on to sledding down a hill. Dog not happy.

Dog grabs shovel now and is coming after you or anything in it's path. True story, this dog will flatten you on your back before you even see it coming. Ask DH about that. One minute he was standing and not even a second later he was flat on this back.

I'm thinking you need to be put to work dog!! Grab shovel by crawling on ground so as to not get clocked in the head.

DEFEATED!!

Now I'm thinking about spreading food, fat/grease, whatever all over the deck and seeing if he can get the snow off the decks.

How About Some More Snow

As if the 20+inches we have on the ground now isn't enough, we're getting another 4-7inches as I type this. Where are we go with all of this??
Not only is it just us that has the snow and BITTER cold temps but all over the country. It'd BETTER warm up by Monday in FL or I'm going to be really cross. Of course the 63 they are having now will be a heat wave to us.
Some news highlights in our neck of the woods:

Yep, it's snowing again and there will most definitely be enough to shovel, plow, and snow blow. This strong Alberta clipper will bring an Arctic front through the region this afternoon and this will lead to 25-35 mph winds this evening and Thursday. The snow should lighten up tonight and tomorrow morning, but that's also when 40-45 mph gusts could cause a ground blizzard. We'll end up seeing 4-7" of fluffy snow, afternoon temperatures below zero for Thursday and Friday, and -20's by Saturday morning. I am increasingly confident that a warming trend will begin Sunday and we should be closer to average, if not above freezing a few days next week.

Today: Snow likely. High: 15 Wind: SE 5-10/NW 15-25 mph

Tonight: Lt. snow, blowing snow. Low: -3 Wind: NW 25-35 mph


How about this extended forecast! Minus FIVE for a HIGH?? Are you kidding me????? Our tires are going to freeze to the road driving to Des Moines!

Being that right now is probably the nicest it's going to be, the kids and I headed outside. Me to scoop paths, altho seeing that the wind is supposed to pick up I'm quite certain you won't be able to even tell I scooped. Here's some snap shots.

I am standing on the snow. That is the door BELOW me!

That would be the kitchen window. Look how happy he is. He is our snow boy. He could stay out till it's to dark to see. Miss A?? She came in after 20 min deciding that a nap was better then staying out in this! This 2nd picture I heard him yelling. I turned around to see he had fallen, literally:) And yes that is the stroller on the side. In effort to clean it before leaving for Disney I decided to put it outside. Right now it's tipped over being cleaned.

The tractor wondering it it'll EVER see Spring and dirt!! It wants field work, not snow moving. BTW that would be my chicken house in the background.

Keep at it kids. Only 15 more inches left. Break for 20 but you'll have 5 more inches to clean off. It's going to get dark soon. Getta move on......(just kidding of course) Now if I could just get them to put the shovel AWAY so that when I walk and it's covered in snow it doesn't come up and smack me in the head!

Why am I not suprised that HE is pulling HER!!!

Need I say more:)

Oh Disney....

Oh my are we starting the new year off COLD!!! We leave Friday for Disneyworld. It can not come soon enough. Stay tuned to my blog for updates live from Disney. However, before we can get there we have to stay well. On my way home Sunday from a day of returns I got a text from the sitter that C'man wasn't feeling well. When I called her he just threw up! I didn't know whether to speed home or go slow. The thought of vomit on the floor just about made me gag!
I guess the germs from my family that all got sick over Christmas must not have been gone by the time we visited my parents on Friday. (the ENTIRE family, spouses and kids, got sick at my parents on Christmas!)  He is not a puker so he's only puked about 5 times. Poor kid wants to drink water, begs for it! But he'll just puke it back up. However since late last night he's been puke free!
I'm wondering who will get it next? I'm going to call doc's office and see if there is anything he can prescribe to offset 'it' should it hit before we leave or while we're gone. I think there is something isn't there? Tamflu or something like that??

Yuck enough of 'sick' talk. I continue to work on my new blog and hope to start using it in the weeks to come. I've greatly enjoyed the blogs you all have shared with me and looking forward to reading them. I will also be posting blogs i read on a frequent basis, if you would like yours listed, please let me know. Not sure if one should ask permission before posting it or not? But since I'd probably appreciate it, I'm going to ask:)

Now time to go clean that darn fish tank.....

New Year New Beginnings

Hey all. I think i'm going to try and mess around with my blog more. I finally got rid of all the backgrounds I had going on and hoping to get some new pictures up. In addition I'm thinking about changing the url to something different as well. Stay posted:) In the mean time, I'm needing some new blogs to follow. What are your favorite blogs? I'm open to anything! Seriously. From other SAHM's, life as a single dating girl:), life from someone over seas, you get the idea. I'm open. I'd like to add more blogs to my list of blogs I read.

Yup It's Over

Finally made it to the doc yesterday. My regular doc was out sick. I didn't care who I saw at this point. I left the kids with my MIL and poor DH had to work and couldn't get his sub to sub for him. I headed up there alone. As is normal with me there is always something to blog about. Such as my waiting room experience. Wanting to sit out of everyones sight the office is set up like a U shape with the reception in the middle. I went down one side and sat on this love seat like thing. In walks this LARGE family. Mom, daughter and son. Daughter has hiccups and can not keep her mouth shut for nothing. I think crap they are going to sit RIGHT HERE!! Sure enough. I debated about moving but thought that might look rude and really other then sitting in the front area there was no where to go.
Mom turns TV on for kids (ages 7 and 10??) and son sits next to me. Mom on the other side of me and STILL hiccuping daughter on other side of brother. I was like are you KIDDING ME?? And what does Mom turn on?? Caliou!! Like hello i have let my kids watch more tv in the last week then there entire lives and I get away from that and I have to watch THIS! Please please please call my name!!!
No go. Daughter continues to hiccup, mom continues to laugh and offer wierd advice and son's glasses are obviously to small for him and his nose is running and he has something to say about both. I tried texting everyone I could to keep myself OUT of the conversations and wanting to just disappear into the wall.

I eventually got out of there and the fun began. Doc examined me and was like yeah...I guess i don't need to exam you it's pretty obvious. YA THINK?? She sent me over to X-ray for an ultrasound. I had to walk THRU the cafateria of which it was close to lunch time hoping knowone knew me. To the X-ray reception that only 2 weeks earlier I was at waiting to see my baby. I LOST IT!! The receptionist told me to have a seat and I looked at all those people and thought I'd rather sit in the bathroom. She must have heard me gasp for air amongst my tears b/c she quickly said 'honey come this way instead'. She lead me to an area with 2 chairs one behind a wall, right outside the ultrasound room. I seriously broke down at that point. I thought I was going to hyperventalate!  I got a grip and waited.

Of course there was nothing there and the ultrasound HURT! It was back to the docs office meaning walking BACK THRU the cafateria of which by now there was twice as many people. I was put back in the docs room quickly and the doc came in and said you need a D&C right now. Do you have people to call? Seriously I hardly had anytime to make ph calls before I was being prepped for surgery. Call Jeff who by now was frantic b/c not only was I going in for a D&C but he was STUCK in a snow drift! Call MIL to keep kids longer and my parents b/c i didn't know what else to do.

By 130 I was in surgery. Can I just say how much I LOVE that feeling of going off in to lala land. If I could get an IV of that oh say maybe once a week, i'd just be happy as could be. OK maybe once/month. I don't want to end up like Michael Jackson b/c apparently he liked that feeling too:)

In true Rachel fashion when I came to I was tossing my head relentlessly. I'm not sure why I do that but i do. As in I'm having a seizure! The nurses are always freaked out and can't help it:) They did ask me if I was having a nice dream and I said yeah. They asked what I was dreaming off and I said CHRISTMAS!! chuckle chuckle. IT was such a wonderful Christmas after all:)

My parents were able to come down and get me. Altho i think I could have drove:) Sounded like my dad now. All is well now and i'm feeling good. Emotionally exhausted but physcially i'm doing good. I am SOOO looking forward to Disney World. We leave one week from Friday and I'm ready to have fun as a family!!

So there ya go:) Sad story with some humor right??

It is with much sadness that i must type this post. My pregnancy has ended. It started last night and Christmas Day it was working on being gone. It's so freakin frustrating. TEN WEEKS. Everything was looking great! What the heck happened?? Why Christmas? Last year i lost a pregnancy on C'man's b-day. This year it's Christmas. God trying to play a cruel joke on me? I know he's not. Really I do. But a small part of me can't help but wonder.
As you saw from other posts I was sick this week. Even by Thursday the anti-naseua medicine wasn't helping. Did i have an infection?


DH is really upset with the doc's office. I called earlier in the week to tell them how sick i was feeling and they prescribed meds over the phone. I called yesterday saying I think i should come in. They told me they weren't seeing patients. He doesn't have high thoughts of this hospital/docs to begin with and now this. He said to me 'we spent $10g of dollars on IVF when we didn't have it, $20g+ on adoption and still didn't have it and how we have it and we can't stay pregnant. What do we nned to do to find out what's going on.' After the week I had with being sick and NO energy I was beginning to wonder if I was even going to survive my pregnancy, seriously. That's how awful I felt. My body literally could take no more and yet no doc wanted to listen to that. They just chopped it up to me being pregnant.

Needless to say i cried even harder. We're in that place of hurt feelings, you said/I said, I feel, you feel, etc state and all both of you want is it to all go back to normal. What is normal??

It's hard now b/c we know we can GET pregnant. During the IVF days it was low sperm count for DH, bad eggs for me and only one tube. But here we sit 3 miscarriages later. What changed? BUT we wouldn't trade our adoption for NOTHING either. And seriously my pregnancy with Miss A was TEXTBOOK!! What is going on then?

This gets hard b/c in many ways I am content with the 2 miracles we have. DH would like more but I'm not sure how much more I can take. I would adopt in a heartbeat again. He wants to keep trying for more. Of course we will revisit this in the months to come as now is not the time.

Here I am again with another ultrasound picture that I will file away. I'm sure i'll come across it again and grieve again. But for right now I must just say it is what it is. At 10 weeks (today) there is not a lot that can/could be done. If I had been further it would have been worse. I'm not the first and I'm not the last. Right now my body and soul just need to heal and continue to rejoice in the two absolute miracles we have. I know all children are miracles but i tell you what, you deal with 5 IVF's, chemical induced menopause, adoption, pregnancy and 3 miscarriages, one should see how big of a miracle the two children I have, are!