a really long 10 miles...

Maggie and I make the drive from Norfolk to Omaha and back at least once a week, sometimes more, we know the drive better then most and even she knows what town is coming next, where the next horses will be and she can occasionally point out spots where we've stopped to have "friendly" chats with state patrol officers.  But today's drive was not like most.  We were in a hurry because we had just under 2 hours from leaving preschool until we were supposed to arrive at the doctors office in Omaha...Maggie was having her picnic lunch in the backseat and about 30 miles into our drive all of the sudden I heard it...the cough that is always, always followed by PUKE.  We pulled over and I did my best to clean her up with the napkins I had stashed in the glove box, but it didn't really do much to help the problem.  We continued on down the road and stopped at the first gas station in Westpoint, we went inside, Maggie announced to everyone (that's alot of people in a small town gas station at lunch time) that she was covered in puke and we changed into clean clothes.  The we got a BIG icy cold diet coke, and back to the car we went. I just happened to have a 2nd carseat in the back of the car (that never happens), so I didn't have to clean out the carseat in the freezing cold, I just shoved Reagan to the back of the car, and put the carseat on the other side, started to load Maggie in....and she kicked over the diet coke :( I shouldn't have set it there...lesson learned, there wasn't time to get a new diet coke, so we buckled up and were off again. We made it half a mile down the road and all of the sudden Maggie was SCREAMING, not fussy whinny crying, but "I'm in pain!" screaming....I turned around and somehow she had gotten her thumb stuck in the cup holder on the side of her carseat...so once again, we pulled over, I got out of the car, we dislodged the thumb and off we went!  We made it to Omaha and were only 2 minutes late, thankfully we didn't have any friendly visits with officers today, we definitely would have deserved it! 

what an adventure....I hope our flights tomorrow are less hectic, but I think I'll pack an extra change of clothes in our carry on just in case!

On a side note baby Potato weighs about 3lbs and has tons of hair.  So much hair we could see it clearly on the ultrasound.  The tech said that it pretty unusual to be able to see at this point, so she must really have alot of it.  I'm afraid she might be born with more hair then her big sister has.  I'll remember to pack a few ponytail holders in the hospital bag. 

Sorry there aren't any pictures for todays post, but I promise if there were pictures, you wouldn't want to look....

A weekend at home...

We don't very often spend a weekend at home, I actually can't think of the last time it happened, probably sometime in the late summer or early fall.  To be completely honest, I kind of like it that way.  I would much prefer to be on the go, traveling, spending time with family and friends, working, experiencing life with Maggie and Arnie, etc... BUT this weekend, we had nothing we had to do and nowhere we had to go...it was a nice break. 

Yesterday Arnie headed out to shovel off the deck, Maggie really wanted to go help, despite the freezing cold temperatures, so we bundled her up and off she went.  She really wanted a shovel like daddy, but of course I couldn't find any of the sand shovels or the little gardening shovels in the garage, so we turned to the next best thing....a big kitchen spoon.  I'm not sure how much she actually "shoveled" but she loved flinging spoonfuls of snow around.  They tried to build a snowman, but this just isn't good snowman snow, so instead the piled a bunch of snow in the middle of the deck and made a snowman head...Reagan has since eaten all the lifesavers that used to be eyes and a mouth, but it was really cute while it lasted.  Reagan LOVES this weather, she comes in looking like a live snowman and leaves a trail of little snowballs and puddles in her wake. 

Last night we watched the Panthers beat Creighton Prep and had a great evening with dear friends.  Before I moved to Norfolk I never would have thought of a high school sporting event (that one of my kids wasn't playing in) as a Saturday night activity...but now, it just seems so normal :) 

Maggie has been asking to go sledding since she got a new sled for Christmas, and today her daddy agreed.  After bundling up, again...we went to skyview lake, they made a couple of runs down the hill....it's a HUGE hill, Maggie was loving the riding down but having a really hard time with the getting back up, so we decided to get back in the truck and go to a little bit smaller hill in Grandma and Pop's front yard...that was a good idea.  While Arnie still had to do most of the work getting them both back up the hill, at least it was more manageable and she could go down over and over and over.  She had to be freezing (her little gloves kept falling off) but of course she still didn't want to quit, we finally drug her back to the truck.  Last year we pulled her around a little on the snow and I think she rode down the hill with Arnie a couple of times, but this was really her first sledding experience and like she does with most things in life, she jumped in with both feet, had no fear and LOVED every minute. 

Since mommy isn't such a lover of all things cold (I took pictures from the truck most of the time they were sledding) and this is cruddy snow for building a snowman...this afternoon we made an indoor snowman. He turned out pretty cute.  I think the highlight for Maggie was getting to use the scissors, she loves to cut!

This is turning into a rather long post, who'd of thought I'd have so much to say after just spending the weekend at home...

We have a busy week ahead, Maggie has a couple of days of school, then Tuesday we get to go see baby Potato again.  I'm thankful that the doctors are watching her so carefully and it's fun to get to glimpse into her little world so frequently....Maggie's been talking alot about Potato playing with toys in my belly, I wonder if she'll notice there aren't any toys in the picture?  Wednesday we're headed to Mexico, and at the last minute Grandma decided to fly along (she says it's because she's worried about me traveling alone so pregnant, but I think it might have more to do with the sub-zero forecast???? hmmmmm.... Either way it will be really nice to have the help and we're thrilled she's coming.)  Next weekend Mom and Arnie will trade places and he'll join us for one last vacation as a family of 3.  I'm not planning on slowing down much once we're a family of 4, but it will definitely be different for all of us.  I can't wait to meet Little Miss Potato but I'm also trying to take in every moment of the remainder of Maggie's only child days. 

I'm sure we'll have lots of exciting updates to come, I can't imagine we'll be spending another weekend at home any time soon :)

I wonder who tucked her in....

this is what I found when I woke Maggie up for school this morning. 

I'm sure Daddy is very proud.

5 years, 3 months and 19 days....

So much has changed and yet so much is still the same.  I'm a lucky wife and mama...

We made it home from Arizona late yesterday afternoon...When we took off it was about 60 degrees and sunny, when we landed it was 2 degrees and windy... This morning the temperature here was -2...maybe we should have stayed in the sun!  Maggie was excited to see the snow and is already asking about using her new sled.  Hopefully it will warm up a bit before the weekend and she and daddy can really test it out.



Maggie is a busy girl...

We've had a great visit to Arizona.  We're all enjoying the sunshine and Maggie is having a great time keeping Grandma, Pop's and Lucy busy.  We were supposed to head home today, but since it sounds like there is quite a snow storm in Norfolk, we're going to wait until tomorrow to pull on our boots and find our stocking caps.  Darn!

While we've been here, Maggie has been very busy with lots of things...

She had to teach daddy how to swim...Pop's heated up the hot tub for them because it's been to COLD to get in the swimming pool.

She's played lots of ipad games...Tom the Cat is her new favorite, I'm not sure who is more entertained by it, Maggie or Pops (Thanks Aunt Amy!)

We got to spend the day with Tucker and his family, Maggie loved the bouncy place that we went, and she loved seeing "Baby Tucker"...she keeps asking when he's going to "grow big".

I think she did a good job teaching Tucker to run from little girls, especially the ones that want to hug and kiss him all the time.

Arnie and Shawn have been friends for a long time, I'm guessing in their college days no one would have believed they would spend a Saturday afternoon during the NFL playoffs chasing their toddlers through the bouncy maze....such good daddy's they are!

Saturday night we drove up to Cave Creek for a balloon festival.  Maggie was a little bit afraid of the fire and noise that came with the balloons, but she loved the 2 Bumble Bee balloons and she really liked the school bus we rode from the parking lot to the festival.

Maggie had to show Pop's that even without cheating she could whoop him in Candy Land (a few times).

There have been lots of laps on the tricycle.

and of course Lucy has gotten lots of attention.  Maggie loves taking her to the dog park or going on walk with her, the highlight of todays walk was coming home for a "POOP bag".

There have also been lots of games, stories and a trip to the Phoenix Children's Museum.  Our little girl sure knows how to pack alot of activity and energy into a few days.  I'm sure there will be more pictures to share when we finally get home...

Busy couple of days

It's been a busy 48 hours at the Robinson house. We had 2 mornings of preschool, christmas de-decorating, the regular craziness of our house and a flight to Arizona. Here are a few pictures to share....

If you don't have bath crayons, GET SOME! I don't know where I've been, but I hadn't ever seen them before, Maggie got some for Christmas and she loves them. They make the bath water a funny mix of colors but they are lots of fun.



It's chilly in Arizona, so last night after we got here Maggie and Pops needed a little fireside picnic to warm up. Maggie was so excited to see Lucy and she was even happier when Lucy slept with her.



This morning Maggie and daddy are doing a "project" they are among maggie's favorite current activities. Today they are decorating a little mailbox with glittery stickers...Arnie is getting very good at girly things.




And now as I bring this to an end...I just overheard the following conversation...
ARNIE: "Maggie, where did you come from?"
MAGGIE: "Norfolk, why?"

Happy Weekend!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Scottsdale, AZ

Perceptive Little Girl...

This morning Maggie was laying in bed while I picked out her clothes for school and very seriously she said "Mommy, why are you getting so round?"  I think she's getting tired of baby Potato taking up the space on my lap.

We've had a busy few days.  We spent New Years Eve at the Ries' with great friends, too much good food and lots of laughs.  We're lucky to have such wonderful friends here, they really are like family to us.  (and can you believe I didn't take a single picture!, what the heck!)

Saturday/Sunday was the annual Westerfield Family Christmas...it's total chaos, but a great time.  People sleeping everywhere, kids screaming, way too much food, lots of germ sharing, and a great time had by all. 

Maggie and Great-Aunt Bobbie worked on getting breakfast ready.

Maggie & Alex got new sleds, but the only place with any snow was the sidewalk, so Great-Uncle Jeff ran up and down pulling them...I think he was ready to quit before they were.

Maggie thought she would give it a try (I think it was still more work for Uncle Jeff).

Tuesday Grandma Karen and Maggie spent the day at the Children's Museum, this picture pretty much sums it up... I thought she would sleep all the way home from Omaha, but I was wrong, she talked non-stop, I've kind of gotten use to the chatter, but yesterday even I had a hard time keeping up.

And now it's officially time to take down Christmas at the Robinson house.  I hate to see the decorations go, but I'm sure before I know it, it will be time to put it all back up again.  Maggie had her own little live tree in the kitchen this year, she was very sad to see me haul it out to the trash and made me PROMISE that we could have another one next year.

Tomorrow after preschool we will head to Arizona to visit Lucy (and Grandma & Pops too) for a few days.  I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share when we return....AND finally my studio is under way, so as it comes along I will share some pictures of it as well.  I can't wait to have the beautiful space to capture baby Potato's first pictures!!