We're Having A Baby!!!

We've tried (rather unsuccessfully...love you Mom!) to keep this to ourselves for a bit but since the word is out thanks to some family members (again, Mom), I figured we might as well share it with everyone, so we're having another baby. 

We had some complications thus far so we've been a bit worried but today we had an ultrasound and we got some really good news. Dr. Worrall said we now have a "viable pregnancy." We have a heartbeat, we have an embryo, and nothing looks particularly worrisome. Once you see a heartbeat, the odds of having a miscarriage go WAY down so we can breathe a little now.

It really seems real to me now. I have to admit that until this point I haven't truly believed it but then when I saw that heart just pounding away, my breath caught in my throat. He wont admit it, but I'm pretty sure that huge grin on Kelly's face was also accompanied with a little wetness around the eyes. We both saw it almost immediately before Dr. Worrall even pointed out anything and we were both ecstatic. 

So, that's our news and we're very surprised but also very happy. Be ready to add another O'Neil come December 28th (or if he/she is like the other two, a few weeks before)! :)

Family Sunday...

Sunday is usually our family day and last Sunday we had a particularly nice one. We started out the day by going out to breakfast at the Cookie Jar. The kids each had their eyes on an Alaskan themed stuffed animal that they sell out front so I surprised them with them when we paid our bill.

Vaughn got a moose.

Bailey got an owl.

Vaughn figured that was right because he had of course announced to us that the moose was his when we came in. Actually, he proclaimed it to all that would hear with his "My moose!" cheers.

We then drove to Creamer's Field to check out the cranes. We were surpised by how many were there. Bailey loves the cranes so I wasn't at all surprised when she was moving and wiggling in the truck trying to get a better view. I was shocked though by how much Vaughn enjoyed the birds. We stayed in the truck because is was still like a swamp out there but we opened the windows and all you could hear were the honks and hoots of the cranes. The kids just loved it! Sadly though, we had to head about our day and Vaughn shed a few tears to say goodbye to his new feathered friends.

We were off for our regular grocery shopping and then home, only to rush out again to take Bailey to a classmate's birthday party while Vaughn and Kelly napped. Bailey and I were barely back in the house when a friend of mine called and invited us to come and cook with her. She was teaching us how to make Chinese dumplings...Yummy! Bailey loved it and the food was awesome! Thanks Mei!

Back home again where Kelly had a nice dinner waiting for us. After dinner we decided to end the evening with a family baking project. We made cookies with "Fundough." It's like playdough only it bakes into cookies. Vaughn didn't get it at first but after we pulled out the sprinkles, he was sold. Bailey was her usual artistic self creating art with sugar that I am still having trouble eating because it's so pretty. I made very nice circles and Kelly of course made a light saber. Here are only some of our creations.

It was a busy day but oh so lovely to have spent so much time together as a family doing wonderful activities. I hope we have many more Sundays just like that!

Vaughn In Print!

My mom submitted a picture she took of Vaughn to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and they put it in the paper. I love this picture and her sweet comments.
Check it out!
http://newsminer.com/photos/galleries/my-best-photo---april-2009/1976/

Happy 2nd Birthday Vaughn!

2 Years has passed so quickly. My handsome little boy has gone from this...

To this...

In only two short years. Some things never change though...he still drools better than anyone I know (notice the shirt in the first picture and the wet spot on his chin in the second).

We are so proud that our little boy is learning so much and becoming such a smart, unique, and wonderful person. I am constantly amazed at how much he can do, how well he expresses himself, and how wonderful it is to get to know the person he is becoming. He was our miracle blessing and I never forget that. We love you Buddy. Happy Birthday!

Hey Sisters...How's the diet going?

I'm sitting here eating my salad for lunch (way fresh and super yummy today) and am wondering how it's going for you two. So, thought I'd do a a little check-in, you go girl, kind of thing.

I have to say that I haven't been so good lately. I could blame it on Kelly's bad influence or the fact that I've been sick so I needed soft foods...but it's still on me that I didn't hang in there.

Oh well, am back on the horse and as soon as I'm healthy again I'll be back to exercising too. I'm now down 17 pounds and hoping to make it 18 soon.

So...how is it going for you?

Those three magic words...

Tonight I heard those three wonderful words...no, it wasn't "I love you," or "Pretty please Mom," or even "Uh-oh Mommy, Yucky!" No, today my husband said the three words that when he says them, they still take my breath away...Here's the story.

I had to go to work today extra early. For me, that meant starting my day around 4:00am. I worked my regular job with extra tasks today only to head off to my second job as soon as the first finished. Needless to say, by the time my work day was ending, I was reasonably exhausted. As I was driving to pick-up the kids I was dreading the evening of cooking and dishes. Also, being Wednesday, I was hitting my mid-week lonely cycle. Most of you know that Kelly and I work opposite schedules so other than a kiss hello while I'm asleep in the evening and a kiss goodbye while he's asleep in the morning, we don't see each other all week. We communicate mostly by phone calls though we are starting to join the texting generation. Anyway, I picked up the phone to call Kelly (don't tell Bailey I was talking on my phone while driving or she'll yell at me!). I called his office line...no Kelly. So, then I called his cell phone and though the connection was bad and there was a lot of commotion, I finally got him on the line. Knowing how busy he was just from the fact that I had to track him down, I tentatively asked "Is today a bad day for us to come have dinner with you?" Kelly hmm'd and haa'd, explaining that he was really busy, and I realized I was forcing him to feel guilty and I didn't want that so I told him that it was okay, I understood, we'd do it another day.

Then he said it. Oh, it makes my heart flutter just to think about it. Girls it's the sexiest line, I'm telling you. Are you ready for this...my wonderful husband said "No, it's okay, I'll make time. Come and we'll have dinner." He'll make time for me. He will take time out of his busy day, pay the consequences of being pulled away from his tasks, and make time for me. Could there be any better way to say that he loves me? Diamonds, BAH! Give me your time and my heart will forever be yours. Truly, I think there is no better feeling than your husband specifically making the choice to give you his time even when it is not convenient or even downright difficult to do so. Someone can tell you over and over that they love you but when they sacrifice to be with you then they are showing you that they love you.

So we had a nice dinner. We talked about our day. We laughed at the kids. We dealt with a Vaughn toddler tantrum as a team. Now, I am getting ready to go to bed alone but it's okay because my heart is full because he made time for me. I think sometimes we take those simple things like a dinner together as a family for granted but for Kelly and I, a midweek family moment is truly a gift.

Thank you Kelly for making my day, my week...my lifetime. Thank you for doing something so simple yet so important as making time for me. I love you!

A Bad Day...

***Update at Bottom***

It's good that if we're gonna have a bad day that we get it all out at once...so, with that, today was one of those bad days where we got out all that bad luck.

Bad day event number 1...

Yesterday I got a call from a buyer for our house making an offer. The offer was what we considered fair and so we verbally accepted the offer and began to put it in writing. My broker stayed up late last night getting the contracts all written and after talking to the buyer, emailed them out to her. Then, for reasons I'm still unclear about, the buyer decided they no longer wanted the house. They really gave very little explanation, they just pulled out. To say we were disapointed is an understatement. To be honest, even though the smart part of me reminded that so many things could go wrong so I shouldn't get my hopes up, my heart had already packed the boxes and had ironed out the plan for the major change in our lives. When I got the call canceling the offer, all those moving boxes in my head had no where to go and I spent a great deal of time this afternoon feeling especially sorry for myself.

Bad day event number 2...

We were invited to my parents house for a lovely dinner. After dinner, Vaughn was putting on a real show for us in the living room. He had one of those books that you push different buttons to play music and so he would push a button and dance around the living room in all kinds of silly ways. After about 20 minutes of watching him dance while my mom and I giggled at his antics, Vaughn got a little too silly and made himself dizzy and when he did, he fell face first into their stone fireplace hearth. I got to him as quickly as I could and flipped him around to see the blood dripping from his face. I pulled his lip up and his mouth was a mess. Perhaps I was a bit over-protective but I headed for the ER to see if he needed stitches as there were several flaps of skin pulled away from his gums and a large area of just raw open wound with bleeding. So, I met Kelly at the ER and we had Vaughn seen.

The wait wasn't too long so I was impressed with that. The doctor examined Vaughn and said that it was probably the worst mouth injury she had seen in that type of wound for a toddler and that he had ripped off the top layer of skin across his gum line on his upper lip. Vaughn was a real trooper and let the examine him and didn't even cry. Anyway, an exam and a $125 co-pay later, the doctor said that there was little they could do and that it just needs to heal on its own even though it looked horrible. She said it may bleed for days and that he will be uncomfortable for awhile but that he should be okay. They said his nose got bruised too but on the positive side, his teeth were okay and looks like he managed to miss them completely. On the downside, he now looks like The Joker is his father but we're hoping that will be gone quickly.

Here is a picture of Vaughn with his fat lip. It's not the best picture but the boy was wiped out so I did the best I could. Keep in mind that the damage is on the inside so the outside really doesn't look as bad as it could.

All in all, the experience with Vaughn certainly put the house thing in perspective. I realized that until I sat down to type up this entry, I hadn't even thought about the house as Vaughn was the only thought on my mind. I wish I wouldn't have had Vaughn put on the chopping block to teach me a necessary life lesson but anyone that knows me knows that the quickest way to get me to take notice is to go through my kids. Perhaps if I wasn't so stubborn and worried about material things, I wouldn't have needed that lesson and next time I hope I can avoid it but at least for this time, I'm willing to sit back and be thankful that my children are healthy and safe and that we have a nice home for them to find comfort in and that's truly all we really need.

***Update***

So Vaughn woke up this morning looking as if he'd done 6 rounds with Mike Tyson. Poor little guy. He's smiling here so he's not feeling too bad (I hope!)