What a Christmas!

Well we had a great Christmas. Again the kids were spoiled as ever, but I guess we were as well. We started out on Christmas Eve celebrating at my Dad's in Adams. He made the traditional oyster stew and chili (for those non-oyster eating folks) for lunch and then chow mien for supper. We watched a movie, opened gifts, and relaxed until 8pm or so.

From there we headed back to Rochester in time for Christmas mass with Dave's family. It was a beautiful mass with lots of Christmas music! We were home close to 11:30pm and decided we wanted to open gifts. Everyone was wide awake and looking forward to see what was under the tree. In addition to opening our Christmas presents, Dave's Mom and sister surprised me with a little baby shower. It was such a fun surprise! I had went to change into my pj's before opening gifts and when I returned to the living room to find baby shower decorations, a cake, and baby gifts. Apparently they had planned to surprise me with the shower at Dave's Mom's family Christmas the weekend before, but we had to cancel and reschedule due to the weather. Since they already had the cake, they didn't want to see it go to waste so they decided to surprise me with it then instead. It was so fun! We even played a couple games. The highlight was guessing the size of my belly. Dave's Dad won with an exact guess of (shhhh....a whopping 45 in). He even won a prize, which was a tape measure. We ended up staying up until close to 3am, by the time all the gifts were opened and everyone was ready to head to bed.

In the morning, the kids were up by 8:30 to see what Santa had brought them. I was surprised they were up that early given how late we went to bed. Dave's parents and sister also came over to see what the kids had gotten and brought some delicious breakfast. Before we knew it, it was time for us to leave. The kids had their bags packed for their Dad's and we were off to volunteer at the Salvation Army Christmas meal. It was such a great experience. The kids really enjoyed spending part of their Christmas giving to those less fortunate. I think it will be a new tradition at our house. As you may have noticed from my previous post...Kyle was interviewed by the TV station. He did such a great job with the interview....we were so proud of him.

From there we took the kids down to Dexter to spend the rest of Christmas Day through Saturday with their Dad, and Dave and I returned to his parents in Rochester. We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening, relaxing, watching TV/movies in front of the fireplace, playing cards and enjoying an amazing supper.....steak and lobster! It was SO good!

Friday and Saturday were spent working on projects around the house and getting our wardrobe from IKEA setup in our bedroom. Dave's parents gave us this as our Christmas present (big thanks to John and Nancy for this!). It looks amazing....now baby Ava will have her bedroom all to herself and won't have to share her closet with mommy!

Saturday evening after the wardrobe was all put together, we headed to Adams to pick up the kids from there Dad and then went to visit my Grandpa Dick and Grandma Shirley. We took down KFC chicken for supper and enjoyed visiting and seeing them for the evening.

Sunday, Dave and Kyle went to the Vikings game (which was one of Kyle's X-mas presents) and Allicia and I stayed home to continue working on projects around the house.....number one being getting baby Ava's room and closet organized, in addition to washing up her clothes, packing our bag for the hospital, etc. We are now officially ready for her whenever she decides to arrive. As we were working around the house we were also watching the amazing game on TV. Kyle and Dave had a blast a the game! To Kyle's surprise....following the game Dave's sister Jen, had arranged for Kyle and Dave to meet up with Matt Birk's(Viking Center) wife, for her to get them into the Vikings family locker room. This was the highlight of Kyle and Dave's day! They met many of the Vikings players and were even able to get their autographs. On the top of Kyle's list was Addrian Peterson! As you can imagine, Kyle was on cloud nine. I don't think he will ever forget that experience.....I'm sure it will be a day he will tell his kids about someday.

Look for another post very soon with pictures from our all of the events above!

News Clip

Check out the Ch. 6 KAAL website and look for the Salvation Army video clip. Kyle was interviewed when we volunteered at the Salvation Army Christmas meal on Christmas Day. It was a great way to spend part of our day as a family giving to those in need. http://kaaltv.com/.

Very Odd Cravings

Ok, so I have been meaning to post about this for a while, but just hadn't gotten around to it. As all of you know, pregnant women often have strange or unusual cravings. Well, I may be on the top of the list of women with very unusual cravings. I'm not sure if any of you know or remember, I had one very odd craving when I was pregnant with Allicia. Well with this pregnancy I really didn't have cravings until just recently, but I have to admit, my very odd craving has come back. You may be curious by now to know what this craving is...well brace yourself, because it is an odd one. Are you ready??? Ok...the craving I have is dryer sheets. Yes, you heard me correctly...dryer sheets! When I was pregnant with Allicia, it was really bad. I will even admit to you that I would carry them in my bra strap or shirt pocket if I had one. I
absolutely LOVED them...the smell would just make my mouth water. Yes....I did just say that.

Anyway, recently I realized my odd craving has returned. Until not so long ago, I was using un-scented dryer sheets because Allicia has sensitive skin. I hadn't been exposed to them because we were seeing if un-scented dryer sheets and detergent helped her. When we recently ran out of dryer sheets and detergent I went to the grocery store, but they were out of the brands I had been using. Since I didn't want to make an extra trip to another store I just picked up what they had. The smell immediately consumed me. I didn't think much of it, because I have always liked the clean smell, but I should have realized what was happening. Anyway...I bought the dryer sheets and detergent home thinking we would use these and see how Allicia's skin reacts. Well, after putting the groceries and the dryer sheets away, I immediately found myself thinking about that smell and wanting to do laundry. A HUGE red flag went up, because I don't EVER want to do laundry. Now, whenever I go into my basement, I can smell the dryer sheets in our laundry room (even if the door is shut) and yes, my mouth begins to water just as it did when I was pregnant with Allicia. I have yet to wear them around like I did when I was pregnant with her, but I have to admit I want to. And although I hadn't let myself get to that level...I will admit, only to those reading this post, that I have taken the dryer sheet and rubbed them on the inside of my shirt, so I can smell it throughout the day. SHHHHH....it is our little secret! ;) So, now that you're thinking I'm really odd, I will end my post with the list of cravings I have had with each of my pregnancies.

Kyle - Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Spirals (not the regular ones only the spirals), really big pickles (that I would get at the concession stand at wrestling tournaments), and the idea of Tuna Hotdish (as soon as it was made and in front of me....it just wasn't that great, but I always thought I wanted it).

Allicia - One the top of the list....dryer sheets (specifically Snuggle brand), Corn (which I hated and would not eat as a child, but now love), the skin off of fryed chicken (especially from the Adams Chicken Fry), and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (again specifically spirals).

Ava- Ice chips (Dave gets annoyed with me crunching ice all the time...and I love the small pellet ice from the cafeteria at work), really cold water, Country Crock Macaroni and Cheese in the microwaveable tub (although Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Spirals would work too), and last but not least....dryer sheets!

Several New Posts!

As you will notice, there are several new posts below. Enjoy reading them!

Rock Band!

Thanks to my Mom, our family has become addicted to our new favorite game for PS 2...Rock Band. Believe it or not, it even kept me up past 8:30pm last night....and not much can keep me up these days. Here we are jamming away! BTW....Maddie, our dog, was not the biggest fan and either was Ava. Ava kept kicking at the guitar I was playing, which was not to easy given I have a very large belly at the moment, and Maddie became fed up with trying to fall asleep on the couch. She eventually headed down to sleep with Allicia, who had already went to bed.

Christmas Cookies

This weekend we made our Christmas cookies and decorated them. It ended up being a two day process....Saturday mixing up the batter and decorating on Sunday. Decorating cookies has always been a favorite activity for my kids, especially Kyle.

Kyle

Allicia

Dave's Dad John and Kyle's friend Johnny (our neighbor).

The finished product!

Enjoying the Snow!

Kyle, Alex and Allicia playing away in the many inches of snow. Oh how I remember doing the same thing as a kid.

Maddie wanting to play too.
Kyle in his fort.

Here is Allicia in hers.

And last but not least....this is Alex in his fort.

They were very ready for the hot chocolate I had ready for them when the finally came in.

Watch out Alex....it's really hot!

Baby Update and Latest Belly Pictures!

Today David and I had a doctors appt. We are just over 33 weeks. Everything looked great, other than the fact that I am still measuring about 2 weeks ahead. This has been consistent ever since our ultra sound. So, the doctor said their is a possibility that Ava could come earlier than we thought. He doesn't see the need to change our c-section date, but said if I were to go into labor before that date we would just do the c-section early. So I guess we will see what happens. I'm still hoping for a Jan 26th baby, but will take her earlier is she comes. : )

It is also time for me to take another belly picture. Again, be prepared for what you are about to see. Ava is definitely growing. Doctor said not to be surprise if she is over 8lbs or more.

Summary...since the last time I posted!

So, its been a while since I posted. I've been meaning to post, but just didn't get around to doing it like I had hoped. So I'll update all of you on what we have been up to for the past week or so.

Allicia has been a busy girl. On top of her usual 2 nights a week of dance, last week she attended a Big Sister class to get her ready for our arrival of Ava. She was able to see where mom would be and what will happen when we go in to have her. She also learned how to swaddle a baby and how to change a diaper. She had a lot of fun and is certainly ready to be a big sister. She also went to the Nutcracker Ballet for a class trip at school. This was a fun day...she dressed up in a new dress and we curled her hair all pretty. She looked absolutely beautiful. Then she ended her week with a birthday sleep over on Saturday. She had lots of fun, they went to The House of Bounce and stayed up till 1:30, doing who knows what.

Kyle was busy with wrestling practice, homework, practicing his french horn (which BTW...I never have to hound him about. He is seriously such a good kid), and staying up to date with the latest sports news. Man that boy cannot get enough of Sports Center and any online sports sites. He was extremely pumped that the Vikings won yesterday and now thinks more than ever that the Vikes have a chance to go to the Super Bowl. I guess we will see.

Other than that, last Thursday night was busy. I decided last minute to have the kids pictures taken for our family Christmas card. There is a new portrait studio in Rochester I decided to try, Portrait Innovations, definitely worth checking out. But after I made the appt I realized that Kyle's hair was looking quite long. So, Thursday evening Dave and the kids picked me up from work, all dressed in the outfits I bought them....seriously the night before. We ran Kyle to The Men's Barber Shop to quickly have his haircut. I had packed my hair straightener in my purse so I could fix Allicia's hair while we were waiting for him to get his hair cut (nothing like time management). Then we rushed over to the portrait studio to get their pictures taken. Believe it or not, we were 15 minutes early! Amazing huh!?!? So, expect a Christmas card from us fairly soon. Nothing like being last minute, I know!

And believe it or not after all of that, Dave and I were even able to fit in some time doing things we enjoy as well. Dave played poker on Thursday night at the neighbors..after the kids picture appt (as if we could fit one more thing into that evening). This is a weekly event for Dave and usually fits into our schedule well, because by the time he leaves we've already had supper, cleanup up the kitchen, finished homework, and we're just about ready to head off to bed. We barely even notice he's not there. J/K...no Hun, that does not mean it is ok do this more often. :) Then, Friday we had a birthday party for his friend Gene...and had a great time playing cards and laughing. Finally, on Saturday I spent the morning baking cake balls and truffles with Julie. So see, even Dave and I had some time for fun!

So another busy week ahead....we certainly keep our schedule packed full of activities. This week will consist of Christmas parties, c-section class for Dave and I, my sister Joni coming home, knee surgery for Dad, and maybe even trip to the cities or the Christmas Market in downtown Rochester. I guess we will see what we end up having time for. Look for updates later this week!

Thanksgiving Pictures

Sorry I am a little late getting these posted. Our Thanksgiving Day was perfect....and thanks to the kids, all of the food was delicious and ready to eat, right on time.

Alli helping Mom peel potatoes and Grandpa Pete observing.

Kyle working on his favorite appetizer.....pickle roll ups.

Allicia helping chop the veggies for our stuffing. She wasn't a fan of cutting up the onions. She did quite well until her eyes started filling with tears, then Mom had to take over and finish up.
And here we are enjoying our feast. The long day of cooking paid off. We had tons of left overs, but everyone left the table with a full belly. Especially me! : )

Giving Thanks

As I can't sleep early this Thanksgiving morning, I decided to reflect on the many things in life I am grateful for.

I'm Thankful For.....

Our entire family and for each healthy day we have to share with them.

This healthy baby growing in my belly....who is consistently reminding me of her presence as she wiggles around inside me. I can't wait to meet her and welcome her into our life. What a blessing it is to experience pregnancy and motherhood. It truly is a miracle.

The faith of God and the many blessing he has given us.

Memories of good and bad times through life.

The broken roads that brought us to where we are today.

Great friends to walk through the blessings and trials of life.

A warm home and a steady job.

Our freedom and endless possibilities.

There are so many things in life to be thankful for....It is my goal to remind myself of that more and I encourage you to do the same. Not only today but everyday.

I'm looking SO forward to this day to begin!

For my beautiful children to wake up, for us to spend the day baking, making memories and building traditions. In the hopes that they will someday share those memories and traditions with their children.

For the good food we will eat in the presence of our loved ones......thinking about those that cannot be with us and wishing they were here.

I hope all of you have a blessed Thanksgiving filled with many memories. Look for a future post with pictures from our day!

Give Thanks ~ Theresa

"A" Honor Roll

Way to go Kyle! I am so proud of you! You work very hard to do well in school and to do well in everything you do. Keep up the good work. I am EXTREMELY proud of the young man you're turning out to be. Love Mom!

First Reconciliation

Allicia celebrated her First Reconciliation on Saturday. It was a big morning for her...she was very nervous and we worked hard for many weeks preparing for this day. She will celebrate her First Communion in the Spring.

We Miss You Joni!

Today was family day at Fort Jackson, the Army base where my sister Joni has been for the last 12 weeks. Tomorrow she graduates from Boot Camp or Basic Training. I SO wish I could have traveled down to see her, but it just didn't work out. Fortunately my Mom, Dad, and other two sister's were able to make it. Yeah, it stinks....I am the only one who couldn't go. Needless to say, I have been thinking about them a lot today and will again tomorrow. We are SO very proud of Joni and know she will make a great soldier! Following graduation tomorrow, my Dad will transport Joni to an Army base in Missouri where she will continue her training to be a prison guard. We have been told it is a very intense program and very difficult. She will be home for the first time around Christmas....we can't wait to see her. Way to go Joni! We miss you a lot!!!

Our Oversized House Guest!

For the next week or so, we have an EXTREMELY large house guest with a drooling problem. My sister Joni is graduating from boot camp at the end of the week. Her dog Lucy (an English Mastiff) has been living with my Dad since she left almost 12 weeks ago. Now, since my Dad is traveling to Fort Jackson for Joni's graduation.....guess who gets to take care of Lucy? You guessed it.....we do! Last night was our first night with Lucy....and it was a long night. Lucy was very home sick and scared of her new home. She barked at every noise and creak throughout the night. In addition to that, Maddie (our dog) insisted on tormenting the poor girl. We're hoping tonight is a better night. As of now, both dogs are resting soundly. I think they had a long day playing....lets hope it lasts!

Wicked!

Yesterday we had our Schmitz women's outing....we went to the musical Wicked! It's playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. I would highly recommend seeing the show. This was actually my second time seeing it.....it's that good! After the show we went to a nice dinner at The Local, a Irish Pub on Nicollet. Below are a few pictures of our entire crew!

The Aunts

Mary, Louise, and Peg

The Cousins

Back: Kathy, Ellen, Patti, Paula, Myself, Peggy, and Jane

Front: Leslie, Bette, Jeri, Sue, and Michelle

(Missing....Jacki and Joni)

Our DaughtersBack: Laura, Morgan, Molly, and Madilyn

Middle: Destiney, Amanda, Lauren, Anna, and Kelsey

Front: Sophia, Allicia, Brynn, and Maria

(Missing....Olivia and Nora)

David's Mom, Nancy and sister Jen were also part of our group, unfortunately they had to leave before we took the pictures.

Our week!

Well, every week is busy and has some sort of excitement, so this week was no different.

Each weekday is pretty similar, school for kids and work for Dave and I, but our evenings tend to be quite busy. After a few weeks off from football practice. Monday, Kyle had his first day of wrestling and as usual Allicia had ballet. Tuesday, Allicia had jazz and I had an evening appointment. Wednesday was busy...Kyle had wrestling and both kids had bible school, followed by much needed grocery shopping. Our excitement for the week occurred
Wednesday, when Kyle had his clothes and shoes stolen while he was at wrestling practice. Thankfully, they caught the kid...who was wearing Kyle's clothes! He was able to get everything back, but his belt. NICE, huh?!? Thursday (today), the kids went with their Dad for supper, while I went to water aerobics. Then Dave took Kyle to sign up for ski club just before picking me up at the fitness center. We arrived at home, just in time to do homework and Dave went to poker night at the neighbors. Last but not least, tomorrow is an early release day for both of the kids. Dave's Dad is planning on sitting with the kids until Grandpa Pete arrives to spend the evening so Dave and I can go to a work outing. Thank goodness for our yahoo calendar!

After looking at our busy schedule, I often wonder how we get it all done...in addition to making meals, reading, homework, french horn practice, etc. But we do...and after seeing the kid's report cards today....we must do it well. Kyle's current GPA is 4.0, earning an A+ in one class, A- in another, and A's in all of the others. Allicia's report card was just as good...she obviously doesn't get letter grades, but it was full of great marks. I am SO proud!

I do have to say, a big thanks must go out to my wonderful husband, who does a great job of being a taxi driver to most events (with little complaining)....along with another big thanks to his parents, who help out in so MANY ways as well! I couldn't do it all without them!

In conclusion....I am so thankful it is almost the weekend, as is the rest of the family.....but we have a lot planned for our weekend as well. All I keep thinking is...what will we do when we have a little one to add to our madness?!?!? It will be an adjustment, that's for sure.

YIKES!!!!!!!!

I just uploaded my latest belly picture....OMG! I knew I have been getting bigger, but seriously I didn't think I had grown that much! Or should I say, Ava had grown that much and to think...we have 11 weeks to go. Do you think my belly stretch anymore!?!?!?

Publishing Day for Allicia

Today Allicia had a publishing day in her classroom. Parents were invited to join their children to help them publish a story they had written. When we arrive the parents were asked to listen to their children read their story, ask them questions about their story, proof read it, and then write it in the final book while the students read it again. After the book was written the students were given time to illustrate their book, and then read it to other parents in the room. We had lots of fun and I was even able to eat lunch with Allicia.

Halloween!

Below are a couple of pictures from last night. Allicia was a dalmatian puppy and Kyle was Dracula.

The kids were with their Dad last night, so Dave and I decided to go out after we handed out candy. I was a pregnant nun and he was a priest. Or as he would put it...he was the "Father"!

Carving Pumpkins

Our lazy dog!

How could you not love this face?!?

Maddie is such a lazy bum. Lately Dave's Dad has been picking Maddie up while we are at work, so she can play and run around with Roxy (their dog) during the day. As you can see from the picture above, she is exhausted by time she gets home. For the most part, it is a good thing...but anyone who knows her, also knows that she snores really loud. As I am writing this she is sawing logs and out like a light. What a tough life she lives!

A Time to Give!

Today I signed our family up to work Christmas Day at the Salvation Army serving a Christmas meal to those less fortunate. We have been talking about doing it for a while, so today I finally took the time to get us signed up. I think it will be a great way to spend a couple hours on Christmas Day giving to those that really need it.

Monday Morning Scare!

Well, let this be an warning to everyone. This morning while I was in the shower getting ready for work, I started smelling smoke. Kyle was still home from school,so I had him look around to see if he could see where it was coming from. He couldn't find anything and said it was only in the bathroom where I was. So, I finished washing my hair and got out. By that time the smell was stronger and I was starting to think that it might be the vent in our bathroom. So I went and put on my clothes. When I came out of my dressing room I could see the smoke filling the entire upstairs. I started to look some more and yelled at Allicia to get upstairs. I noticed smoke coming out of the corner cupboard in my kitchen, so I grabbed the phone and decided it was getting pretty bad, so we should get out of the house. As I was leaving the house, I was debating on who to call or what to do, but as I looked back into the house filled with smoke I knew I had to call the fire department. A couple minutes later they arrived and sure enough we had a small fire that started in our laundry room. Thankfully I was home and caught it before we had a lot of damage. The fireman told me it was a good thing I hadn't left for work, because our house would have been gone! Our only loss was a laundry basket, a paint can and Maddie's bed cover.

Above is the location of our fire. Maddie's bed cover was sitting on the floor next to the water heater. The fire department said that it was probably a spark from the pilot lite that caught part of the bed cover. They suggested that we build something around the water heater so it cannot happen again. They said it is one of the most common calls they get. So, let this be a lesson for everyone. When you go home make sure there is nothing next to your water heater and make sure to cover it so nothing can fall against it and cause a fire. We will definitely be building something around our ASAP!

Pete's 53rd Birthday!

Yesterday was my Dad's 53rd Birthday. We celebrated by meeting him at the chicken fry in Adams and then decided to head to Diamond Joe's Casino. We loaded up two car loads and left town about 10pm. After a couple of hours of loosing everyone decided it was time to head home. Just as we were walking towards the door Dad looked over at the roulette table and said, "Hmmm, they haven't hit on number 18 yet,"which is the date of his birthday. So he went over to the table and put a $20.00 on number 18. We all figured he would kiss that money good-bye, but the woman spun the wheel, and surprisingly the ball dropped right into #18. It was Dad's lucky night! He ended up winning $720.00!

The End of Football Season.

Kyle had his last football game on Saturday. They played against Hunt Drug and did very well. The final score was 14 to 12. Kyle had a few highlights during the game. He caught a pass and had a great fumble recovery to save the same. Great job Kyle!!!

Dinner party!

Last night we hosted a dinner party for Carolyn, Lionel and his sister Lynnette visiting from Singapore. The kids and I prepared the food during the day, thankfully I had the day off because of MEA. We made homemade bread, chicken/vegetable pot pies, and apple pie for dessert. The food all turned out very well and the evening was perfect! We always have such a great time when we get together. : ) Kyle cutting apples for the pie. As you can see from the bowl, he cut up a lot of apples.
Mom and Alli working on the pie crusts....we were full of flour by the end of the day.
The finished product, minus the homemade bread.
Finally, we're enjoying the food.
I had to add this one....doesn't Dave look cute in this small chair?!? :)

Kyle's first school dance!

I honestly can't believe Kyle is this old. I remember my first school dance and now I am the mom of a middle schooler. CRAZY! Anyway, Kyle had his first school dance on Friday night. Leading up to the day he wasn't too excited about going, but he came home all excited and said he had a great time. I asked him how many songs he danced to and he said all of them except the slow songs. I was so surprised because he is has never been a dancer. He also came home wearing these goofy glasses full of multi-colored flashing lights and this mouth piece full of lights too. I tried to take a picture to upload but it didn't work of very well.

Conference Time.

This has been a busy week. On top of the normal running to sports activities, we had school conferences for both of the kids. I have to say that I am more than proud of both of my children. It is so nice to hear their teachers say great things about them. Allicia's teacher said she is such a pleasure to have in the classroom, that she is a VERY hard worker, and she wishes she could have a whole classroom of students just like her. Kyle's teachers had many great things to say as well. He had A's in all of his classes and they are even thinking of putting him in an independent Math since he is doing so well. I am so proud!

I Love Fall!

Today we took a nice drive over east with the kids, my Dad, sister Leslie, Bryn and Beau. We took off around 11:00, met them in Spring Valley and then headed to Preston. In Preston we went to a couple apple orchards. I picked up some apples for making pie and the kids picked out their pumpkins. Then we went into Lansburo for a nice lunch and a little shopping. It was such a nice day for a Sunday drive.