Please Don't 'X' Me Kathleen!

At the risk of being 'X'ed by Kathleen, I thought I better do a quick post. It's not going to be very long or interesting, just letting everyone know we're still alive. I haven't been able to do any posting because our keyboard stopped working. We're working on fixing the problem. I'm typing on Carson's laptop that he brought home from work so he could do his homework. So as such, I can't post any pictures. Be on the lookout for some more fun posts. I've been doing a lot of home improvement projects and have been doing some serious nesting so I have fun pictures to show everyone.
If anyone is interested, my dance company had our annual photoshoot and this year we did it at Red Rocks at sunrise. So early but so awesome! If you want to check it out, our photographer posted some of the pics she took on her blog.
http://blog.stacieannsmith.com/
They aren't necessarily the pics that are going on our website and they haven't been retouched either, but they are a fun preview of what's to come!

That's What She Said

It turns out we do know how to make a boy baby. We went to the doctor yesterday and weasled a quickie ultrasound and found out that we are expecting a little boy. We're so thrilled. I actually have thought through the whole pregnancy that we were having a boy. However, I thought the same thing when I was pregnant with Audrey so I didn't take the inclination too seriously. I'm so glad that my mommy instincts were correct!

In other news, if you are an Office fan, and lets face it, who isn't, and you have a Target near you, head on ever to the dollar section and you will find soooooo many Office/Dunder Mifflin items that will make you smile. And in some cases, it might even brighten your day. They have magnetic lists, mouse pads, dry erase boards, magnets, sticky notes, all kinds of things and they are all decked out in your favorite character and quotes. And yes, I did stock up. I needed post-it notes anyway so what's better than a post it note that says 'That's What She Said'.

Oh Michael Kors, Your Cattiness Will Never Cease to Amaze Me!

Or, I just got done watching three hours of fashion/design shows and I loved every minute of it...even if my husband didn't.

I got home from teaching this evening just in time to see the real meat and potatoes of Top Model. I know the ratings are going down and Tyra is continually making herself look like a complete fool, but I just can't help it. Unfortunately, it is too early to tell who the front runners will be and I'm really not invested in any of them yet. Time will tell. After Top Model was done, I flipped to Bravo so I could watch Project Runway, but I was an hour off, so I watched Top Design. Fun times. Then the finale of my self made marathon, PR. Again good times were had by all. Fine holiday fun. I love the Avante Garde challenges. It's really fun to see how out there the designers can be without being costumey. But it's really fun when they're costumey and you're like what were they thinking. I'm glad that Carson can actually tolerate Project Runway. And when I say tolerate, I really mean tolerate, because he's usually watching it so he can avoid doing homework. I'm now very inspired to do some fun creative improvement on the house. I'm going to reupholster and paint and old rocking chair (remember that Kinko's one Meredith and you re-did in gingham for me?) and we rearranged our bedroom. I feel it has a much better flow and is really improving my chi!

Somehow, My Family Became Very Deliciously White Trash

While I was teaching my first of the day, hip hop, Carson called me up and said there was an emergency at work and he needed his laptop which somehow found it's way into my car. (He works 4 10's and takes Weds. off). So anyway, I handed my class off to my friend Jen so I could run the laptop home. Thankfully, she was teaching a hip hop class so it didn't really matter. Well, I got home and Carson comes outside in his undershirt and jeans with no socks or shoes, and then I see Siobhan and Audrey in the doorway and they were a sight. Siobhan had changed her clothes while she should have been napping and she was in a shirt meant for a 9 month old and no pants or shoes and Audrey was in her little tunic top that she had on early and random pj pants that are actually too big. What did I let my family succumbe to?

Labor Day Fun

Everyone is posting all of these great stories of their adventures on Labor Day so I thought that I would add to the mix a little. Unfortunately, we didn't do a whole of fun activities. I wasn't feeling well so that didn't help either. We got a lot of project done around the house which is always nice. We got all of the yardwork done and did a lot of organizing in the garage and that's always a good thing. The highlight of my Labor Day was going to see a screening of a movie called Orgasmic Birth. The name is a little deceptive-it's not about what you think it's about. It's a documentary following 7 families and their decision to have a natural childbirth. I went with my friend Jaime, who I dance with, and she happens to be a huge proponent of natural childbirth. But not in a weird way. She actually just had her second baby naturally. Very inspiring. The movie was really well made and very enlightening. Basically the whole premise was about how we should be able to enjoy giving birth and not have it be so restricted to one 'socially acceptable' norm. Basically just opening women's and couple's eyes to the fact they have a choice as to how they want to give birth. I'm getting really excited to have this baby and I know the whole labor experience is going to be wonderful and I'm really happy that I have a doctor who will support me if I choose to give birth naturally. I just have to get my husband on board. I'm all for it, he on the other hand needs a little more convincing.

Park Time

I needed to get out of the house this afternoon and Carson suggested taking the girls to the park. He said that when he walked to the park on Saturday with Siobhan, it 'wasn't a bad walk' and since the weather was nice today, it would probably do all three of us a lot of good to get out into the fresh air. Well, the walked that 'wasn't that bad' turned out to be a little harder then Carson had described it, but I think that is because he's never done while pushing the vertually un-manuveralable double stroller while pregnant. Not to mention the fact that both there and back there was at least one significant incline. Oh well, I'll forgive him because it was a really good idea. So we packed a picnic and headed for the park. We had a great time and of course Siobhan was being her fearless little monkey self and climbed up the hardest ladder and went down the longest slides. Adurey hated the swing and hated being set down in the barkdust. She hates being on any surface other than carpet. What a goof! Lot's of pics coming up!

Our Little Dare Devil

Mommy and Adurey Watching Big Sister Play

The Face of a Little Girl Who Hates the Swing

The Face of a Little Girl Who Loves the Swing

Fun on the Swings....well, fun for Siobhan

I think she might have a career as one the American Gladiators. She scaled that wall faster than I would be able to.

Audrey having fun just prior to mommy putting her down in the barkdust!

The Two Cutest Girls in the World!

Please read the next post for a little more expanation as to why they are so adorable!

I Wish I Grabbed The Camera

As you can tell from the title, I don't have any pictures of the event as I'm pretty sure it would have made the whole situation worse. But I'm sure that nobody will have trouble with visualizing the image.
So Siobhan and Audrey share a bedroom and by and large, it's been a good experience for both of them. Sure we've had our issues with Siobhan climbing in the crib and Audrey waking up in the middle of the night and waking up Siobhan. But for the most part, I can't complain. Well, a few weeks ago I moved all of their toys into the bedroom closet and gave them sort of a playroom. What can I say, I was sick of toys being all over the house all the time. We haven't really had any issues with it until Siobhan recently started to remember that the toys were in the room.
I've caught her playing with toys when she should be napping or I've gotten her up in the morning or from a nap and find that interesting (and uncomforable) toys had mysteriously made their way into her bed over night. On Tuesday while I was teaching, Carson put the girls down and a little while later he heard happy little giggles and squeals coming from the room. He went up to investigate and found Siobhan in the crib with a plethora of toys playing so well and sharing with Audrey (The sharing thing really never happens). Well, last night when I got home from teaching, I got to experience it first hand. About an hour after they should have been asleep, I hear the tell take squeals of way too much fun. I went up to find not only Siobhan and the toys in the crib, but so many toys that at first glance I had trouble picking out Audrey amongst the stuffed annimals, the doll house, the farm toy, instruments, etc. It wasn't until she looked up at me with the biggest grin and delighted little smile that I really found her. I'm really not kidding, every inch of the crib mattress was covered. And again, Siobhan was sharing. I would also like to add that when Siobhan was put to bed, Audrey was sound asleep and all of the lights were off. Yet Siobhan climbed up her dresser to turn on the lamp. I love our little monkey.
Through all of that, it was so hard to keep a straight face and dish out the punishments. And why does she choose the middle of the night to share with her little sister?

P.S. I just peeked in on them and I found them both in the crib sound asleep. So adorable. I had to grab a picture of that! I wonder if Siobhan is having trouble adjusting to the idea of another baby coming?

Week Two of the Beijing Olympics (The Ups)

I know the Olympics are over, but I'm having some serious withdrawl. So I figured that I would relive some key moments to make myself feel a little better.

1. 8 Golds in '08
Uh, big surprise, Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals. And he did it totally on his own without any drugs. I would venture to say that that is probably an impossible feat, however he proved us all wrong. Although he did hit the jackpot in the genes department because he really is built like a fish (7 foot wingspan, ginormous hands, double jointed in almost every joint, legs of a 6 foot tall man with the torso of someone 6 ft 4, etc.). And he was totally classy about it and wasn't ever like, 'oh, I'm Michael Phelps, bow down.' No, he seems like a totally down to earth guy, really someone to look up to.

2. Beach Volleyball Just Became Exciting!
Both the mens and womens Beach Volleyball win gold! It was awesome! But I do have to wonder, what is Misty May-Treaner thinking now that she's going to be on Dancing with the Stars? Just because she won a gold medal, does that make her a star? And if she is a 'star', is it falling rapidly enough that she needs to go on that show where everyone goes in a last stitch effort to shine again? Just my thoughts.

3. Maybe Next Time, The Can Be the Dream Team Again
U.S. Men's basketball did it! I can't believe that Carson and I attempted to stay up for it. He did better than I did in that even though he slept through the first half, he saw all of the second half. I on the other hand would like to think that me asleep on the floor was sufficient moral support as I saw about 30 seconds of the entire game. I think that the victory was in large part due to Coach K (here is where I wax phylisophical on B-Ball strategy). He actually played people who deserved to be played based on their ability and not their reputation and popularity. They should always have a college coach in my opinion. Oh yeah, women's basketball won too.

4. Women's Soccer Has 'it' Again
That game was awsome and the game winning goal was beautiful! I was going to say that they still have it, but apparently they lost it for a while.

5. We're Not Just Good at Swimming Relays
Even though both our men's and women's track teams terfed it in the 4x100 relays do to baton mishaps, both teams came back redeemed themselves in the 4x400 securing gold for both! It was awesome. But really, I don't think our men had a chance in the 4x100, so it's probably for the best.

6. I'm With Dwight, Maybe it Should be the Centathalon
Visit www.officetally.com and watch the video, it's hilarious. But on a more serious note, our American Bryan Clay won the decathalon. So cool. I can't even imagine doing that many events and having to do them all pretty much perfect. Very impressive. Does that qualify you to be Superman in realy life?

7. Yay for Kenya
Kenya won it's first ever gold medal in the marathon! Now I, like a lot of people I think, always figured that Kenya was really good at the marathon. Well, they are, just not in the Olympics. Who knew? Anyway, they won and it was super exciting. Almost as exciting was the heated discussion that Carson and I got into over whether or not it's harder to grow a baby and give birth to said human, or run a marathon. Guess which side I was on.

8. Big, German Weightlifters do Have Feelings
This total underdog won the gold medal in one the weightlifting event and during the medal ceremony he held up a picture of his wife. Come to find out his wife had recently passed away and when she found out he made the olympic team, she started a savings account so she could go watch him. Unfortunately, that wasn't able to happen. So he held up a sweet picture of her. I was in tears.

9. Men's Indoor Volleyball Wins Gold
That one was a nailbiter. It was a little more exciting than I had previously given credit. They played really hard and I was happy for the coach that even though terrible things had happened to his family, he had something positive to show for his experience in Beijing.

10. Closing Ceremonies
Again, what a phenomenal display of artistry. I really enjoyed it. I did however think that the David Backham thing was a little overdone in the build up. He was there for like 30 seconds and didn't say anything. And has he ever played int he Olympics before? Anyway, the acrobats were awsome and as usual the fireworks were really cool. I also enjoyed the Chinese pop stars. Although, I don't remember Jackie chan being considered a pop singer. 'Beijing, Beijing, Wo Ai Beijing'