Race for the Cure

We had a great time! We got up bright and early and Kaitlyn was none too pleased that "it was TOO bright in her room". But she quickly got over it when her hot chocolate was ready and blueberry muffins to eat. We took the light rail downtown, and that was an adventure in itself. The trains were only running every 15 minutes. The first one was full so we decided to wait for the next one - which was a mistake. That train was even fuller, so we crammed our way on. Luckily the light rail is fast and it was only about 20 minutes to downtown!

We did the 5k co-ed walk. It was such an amazing experience.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored us - it went to a great cause! We really enjoyed our family day!

Us at the start of the day - Kaitlyn was super excited! She got a hat cause the guy at the donation station thought she was especially cute! Which - she is!

On our way to the start line! The race started on Speer above I-25

Kaitlyn especially loved all the bands that played along the way!

On Federal near 29th

walking past Invesco Field

Heading for Colfax - This actually (for me) the coolest part of the whole race. This is really where you get to see the sea of people. It's really breathtaking and moving.

On Colfax - So cool. LOL this is the one and only time is SO Cool to be walking on Colfax.

SHUT UP. I know I opened myself up to a whole slew of comments....

Looking to the North East over Auraria Parkway

the I-25 on ramp from Colfax. From above it forms a ribbon. So amazing.

I didn't get a pic of the finish line because Mike and I got separated in all my picture taking. I spent 30 minutes trying to find him. But - when we got to the Auraria campus, Kaitlyn was excited to see Ronald McDonald!

The day was great - the weather was awesome and my heart felt full.

Day at the Museum

Last week Mike and I met our friend Sarah at the Littleton Museum and Historical Society. I have lived here my whole life and never knew this place was there! It was so cute! It has 39 acres, the museum consists of two living history farms (one from the 1860’s and one from the 1890’s), a small lake and a really cute museum. It was such a great family day - I highly recommend it, and the best part is that it's FREE! :-) There are several farms and they sell all the crops at local farmer's markets. The people that work their dress in period costumes.

Here are some pics of the day!

Here is Jane and Kaitlyn in the blacksmith shop.

Kaitlyn, Jane and Jane's cousin checking out the pig! I just love these shots from behind like this!

The cutest pic ever of Jane

Kaitlyn jammin on the 1800's piano. This was in the house on the 1890's side I think (or the 1860's I really can't remember but it was SO cute!) I wish I had gotten more pictures of the house - I was too busy looking around.

Posing for a pic in the flower garden.

Mike taking a "time out" LOL! This was one of many outhouse's but it was the only one you could go in. Mike took this as his opportunity to stake his claim!

Another out house - This was outside of the "little house on the prairie" style house. That's not what it's called its just what I call it.

The inside of the house - upstairs is a loft style bedroom.

Pretty Corn

This is one of the barn's and it Kailtyn loves brooms - mostly because she is obsessed with the wizard of "hoz" now and she was being the "wicken witch of the WEST!"

My Angel

Sarah's Angel

Not the best pic - This was outside the ice house.

Inside the school house. This was the original school house in Littleton and it was used for quite a while.

The ham's LOL!

It was a really great day! We had a nice time and I'm sure we'll visit again!

Race for the Cure

I walk for Jennifer, Aunt Shirley and all my "girls"!

I wanted to ask everyone for their support with a cause that is near and dear to my heart - The Susan G. Koman Race for the cure. I have participated in this event in the past and have found it to be a truly moving, remarkable and breath taking experience. Breast cancer has affected so many people in my short lifetime - I feel every step I make will help toward curing this awful disease. I know personally that the Susan G Koman foundation has helped MANY women, including those in my personal family circle, with their battle of breast cancer - whether financially or through a community of support.

Did you know that one in eight - ONE IN EIGHT - women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime? This fact has convinced me that I need to get involved and help eradicate this awful disease.

So - I would like to invite you to join me in the 5k walk/run (as you know I won't be running - unless some crazy lady in pink is chasing me) on Sunday, October 5Th.

If you can't join me - I ask you to pledge me! Your tax deductible pledge will help women everywhere!

Every cent counts!

Please visit my personal page here:

http://www.komendenver.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1184161&pg=personal&fr_id=1070

(If for some reason you can't find me just go to the home page: http://www.komendenver.org/site/PageServer?pagename=rfcd_homepage and enter a pledge under my name)

Thank you!

A little of this and that...

It's been a while since I've updated - mainly because not a lot has gone on. We've just been working, cleaning and eating. Pretty boring really!

Here are a few pics so this isn't a total loss:

June bug loves to do EXACTLY what her daddy does - at times its a bit concerning but sometimes it's really cute. Mike was lying in bed watching a show (with his shirt off as you can see) and K decided that in order to watch the show with him she would have to take her shirt off too!

This is her "just like daddy pose"!

I came home from work the other day and discovered that Kaitlyn got in to my make up. Sigh. But it was cute - so I took a pic. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been!

My little super model!

My time lately has been occupied with making pumpkins for a display at work - Here are a few I've done so far!

Well that's all I have for now! Mike is cleaning out the garage - so I need to go monitor to make sure he doesn't throw out all my stuff! :-)

First Timer

While at my mom's (and during a less painful tooth moment) we took the 4-wheeler's out! We had a great time! Mike and I explored the roads and took a few we had never taken before. The sun was on my face, the sky was blue, the weather was warm and I was totally calm and relaxed. The scenery was gorgeous! I was humming along - when Mike shouts at me "Is that all the faster that thing goes?!" with a familiar smirk. That did it! All the bliss went flying by and I wanted to leave him in the dust!

June Bug had her first 4-wheeler ride! After two days of coaxing she finally decided she would be a big girl and try. She loved it! We were riding along and Mike took off ahead of us and she looked and me and shouted " GO FASTER! I WANT TO CATCH UP!" We couldn't get her off!

The trip up there was fun (painful, but fun) and I had a good time playing games!

Ouch

So I finally had to go to the dentist to get my tooth fixed. Uggh
I had to get a root canal and a crown...
So here's the back story.
I got our dental insurance last July. So I have had coverage for almost 14 months. I chipped my tooth about 6 months ago or so ... but it wasn't that painful - a bit sensitive to hot and cold but nothing that I couldn't deal with. So - I thought to myself ( I do that often) "I can wait for a few months until my I have had my insurance for 12 months - so it's covered!" Decidedly proud of myself for being so thrifty... I move on with my life. Two months ago a teeny-weenie piece of a filling fell out of said tooth. When I say "teeny-weeny" I mean like the size of a piece of pepper. The kind in the cheap can, not the fresh ground. It started hurting more. So - I looked up my insurance coverage to see what it was going to cost. I WASN'T COVERED YET! Seriously?! I was on an 18 month waiting list. Freaking great!
So - I thought - OK. I just wont chew on that side and I will be extra extra careful. Oh wait - I forgot to tell you that to get the tooth fixed it would be almost $2000.00! Yes - 2K! So obviously I wanted to wait until my insurance covered 50-80%.
Last Saturday we decided to go up to my Mom's in the mountains. I had a cold - so I thought I should chew some gum to help my ears pop (because they were plugged without the elevation). I put a piece of watermelon bubble gum in my mouth. Chew for approximately two minutes. Then it happened. THE MOST EXCRUCIATING PAIN I HAVE EVER FELT IN MY LIFE! And - as you know I've given birth. I broke out in a sweat - my hand shook - my face was numb and hot - I couldn't hear out of my right ear. My neck and shoulders immediately were stiff. I was pretty sure I was having a stroke (or something that serious). Nope. My tooth cracked and hit the root. Sigh.
Needless to say the weekend get away had a major "damper".
Oh - here's a bit of advice. If you do break a tooth (or have tooth pain etc) swish your mouth with one ounce of warm water, and 3 drops of tea tree oil. Yes - I said tea tree oil. No - it doesn't taste good. BUT it helped. It got me through the weekend and kept the break clean and infection free! (It was in my mom's natural remedies book). Too cool!
Anyway - the pain was so bad I had decided I just wanted the tooth pulled. My husband was like " Um.... no. I think it will make you feel self-conscious."
I think he just didn't want a toothless wife! LOL - It wasn't like it was a front tooth or anything. But (and don't tell him) he was right. I'm sure I would have felt very aware of it.
I decided to go to Comfort Dental - because I heard their prices were cheaper than regular dentist's. NOT!
The dentist did a great job - the dental assistant was nice. All of that was overshadowed by the fact that I was informed they didn't have a payment plan (when the guy - DAVID - I spoke to said "they'll work with you for anything.") AFTER they did the work. So- here I am with a swollen face, sore mouth and gums, a temporary crown and a headache when they tell me "That will be $1600.00 please. I almost chocked on my numb swollen tongue. After some arguing and a call to my husband, the Dentist informed me "I have a headache, I've worked hard all day and I don't need this!"
Can you believe that?! HE?! HE HAS A HEADACHE?! Well I'm sure all of you know how I responded. I really can't post it here. Just use your imagination.
We are set up with a payment plan now. :-)
That's all .... just had to rant a bit.

My thoughts on the Democratic National Convention

I just finished watching Barack Obama's speech. I am speechless.
Many of you know me- and you know that RARELY happens.

Most of you know that I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton. I was disappointed that she couldn't continue her race for president. Since then - I have been following this election, from a distance.

Having said that - I was moved by Barack's speech. I was moved almost to tears. He is an eloquent speaker, visually painting a picture- but aside from that, I believed what he was saying.

Maybe I'm hormonal but I truly was inspired by his words and I truly believe he is THE BEST PERSON TO RUN OUR COUNTRY.

I will not go on and on and spout my political beliefs but I will say how important it is for EACH AND EVERY PERSON that is able to VOTE!!!!!

Please don't call me a "flip flopper" or taking the popular vote. I have viewed both candidates as a "team" of sorts. I thought either would do a magnificent job of running our country - Let's face it - anything is better than the boob that is in there now! :-)

Let's take back our country and let's show the rest of the world how great America is and how lucky we are to live here! Make your voice heard!

Again?!

So, like Sarah I don't have much to report other than today is my day off and I have been taking it really slowly! I was thinking of running some errands later but the later it gets the less I want to go!


I am posting this photo and video only because it's the 2ND time it's happened in two days. Yesterday's was much worse (most of the roll) and I was in NO mood to record it for posterity. Today I got some rest and I thought it might be funny later on.







Well, That's really all I have for today!
Fish taco's for dinner tonight! YUM!
OMG! I almost forgot! I saved $118.00 on my grocery's at Safeway the other night with all my coupons! WOO HOO GO ME! Thanks to Sarah who motivated me to use my coupons to their fullest potential! :-)

My daughter cracks me up

One more thing - before I forget!

Kaitlyn has been on an arguing kick lately. Its a nifty little thing she recently picked up - "no i didn't - yes you did - no I didn't - uh-huh, uh uh, uh huh... blah blah - you get the picture.

Last night, after a fun filled day of arguing with a three year old (which I will address later) this is what happened:

"Kaitlyn, you need to go potty on the big girl potty before bed."

"No I don't"

"yes you do"

"but i don't"

"but you do"

"I already went pee pee."

"when?"

"yesterday!"

"Kaitlyn go pee pee right now please"

"fine-uh (another nifty little thing she picked up)"

"Mommy - did you dump my pee pee?"

"yes"

"no you didn't" "yes i did" "no" "YES" "but you didn't" "but I did" "No" "YES!"

Then i shout "KAITLYN - JUST LOOK! IS THERE PEE PEE IN THE POTTY?!"

"No, (she says with a smile)"

"See -?! (I say) Mommy was right! MOMMY IS RIGHT! STOP ARGUING WITH MOMMY! I AM RIGHT!"

She announces "I am left".

What else could I do but bust out laughing.

File this under unforgettables!

You may be asking yourself why? why am I arguing with a three year old child?

The answer is quite simple. I will give you multiple choice and all the answers are correct.

1. I love fighting a losing battle.

2. I am insane (at least lately).

3. Because I don't have enough on my plate that I feel I need to occupy my few spare moments in idle chit chat.

Deep breath in - and out. There I feel "bettert" as Kaitlyn would say!

My favorite site!

So, I was browsing through one of the emails that I subscribe to from babycenter.com and I discovered one of my favorite articles that I used to read - now has a BLOG! WOO HOO

Well actually - she's had it for some time and I just haven't paid attention.

It's called Very Violet and I read it from the day Kaitlyn was born until the time they stopped the article (which was at the end of Violet's first birthday). Violet and Kaitlyn are only months apart and I just loved the way Joyce wrote. It was very picturesque and charming. It's the kind of writing I aspire to! I remember feeling so much better about my parenting skills (or lack there of) after I read her article. It really helped me feel like I was normal - and the things I was experiencing was normal. And, above all - KAITLYN was normal!

So - I am super stoked about this and I guess you all know what I'll be doing in the coming weeks.... checking up on Joyce and Violet!

If you all want to check it out for yourself I put a link under my "friends". Or, just go to babycenter.com and go to "momformation". Her blog is called very violet!