he fits right in!!

My favorite number is 28. It has been for many many years.

My address is 28
my wedding anniversary is 08/28
robs bday is 09/28
alivia's bday is 07/16/05-if you add that together it equals 28

and the most recent addition to this 28 thing is maddox.
he was born at 8:28 am.
weird huh!

Alivia has a towel with her name on it. We usually use this towel when she goes swimming. The other night we came home and her towel was hanging over the shower in my bathroom. She went in there and noticed it and pulled it down. She said (from the bathroom) "daddy, did you use my towel?" he said "no, maybe mommy did" he had no idea what towel she was talking about, i had seen the towel hanging up in there so i knew what she meant i said "no liv, i didn't use your towel" and i said "rob, she's talking about that pink towel over the shower" and he said "oh, yea, i did use it, i didn't know it was yours liv" she walked into the bedroom with the towel and said "daddy, this is my towel, it has my name on it, see...it says a-liv-i-a, not daddy, this is not a towel for showers daddy, it's for pools" i was cracking up as she was going off on him, he played along and said "i'm sorry liv i didn't realize it was yours"

Ya know they say that every pregnancy is different and for the two I’ve had I can’t really say it was that way for me. The two pregnancies itself were very similar, the only real difference was that Alivia was born at 37 weeks and Maddox wasn’t born till 40 weeks. The labors on the other hand couldn’t have been different. With alivia I had pretty painless contractions and was in labor for about 14 hours. With Maddox, however, I had very painful contractions, no drugs and it was over in about 3 hours!! I guess there are pros and cons to each of these methods! With alivia it was very laid back and painless for the most part with Maddox it was anything but laid back, it happened so fast. I still can’t believe it. Wednesday was my last day at work and I had a dr appt that afternoon, the dr said I was dialated to 2 and about 80% afaced. I was scheduled to be induced on Friday morning. When I got home Wednesday I was laying down watching tv and I was having what I would call cramping, didn’t feel like the contractions I had with alivia. Amber came over and brought us dinner and I got up and ate and started moving around and the pains completely stopped. I was planning on spending the day Thursday cleaning the house and doing laundry. I went to bed Wednesday night feeling fine. I got up Thursday morning at about 5:30 and was having the same cramps that I was feeling the night before. I got up and started walking around the house thinking maybe they would go away like they had the night before. It was pretty much a constant pain and I couldn’t really tell when they stopped and started. After about an hour of that I called my mom, rob was at work and it would have taken him at least 45 minutes to get home. My mom and dad came over and picked me up and the pains got even stronger on the way to the hospital. We called him and told him he better get to the hospital! When we got there they checked me to see if I was dialated. I asked the nurse if I was and she said “ um, you’re about ready to have a baby!” They wheeled me into a room and everything just happened so fast, the pains were getting worse and all of a sudden my water was breaking. My mom asked me if I had told them that I wanted an epidural, which I hadn’t. My mom asked the nurse if we had time and the nurse said she didn’t think so. Before I knew it they were telling me to push and then a few minutes later Maddox was here. It was so crazy. Rob got here about 15 minutes after he was born. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He’s so perfect! I think he looks like alivia did when she was born. Noone else seems to think so but I think once they pull out the pictures of the day she was born they will see! He is a very good baby so far, very low maintenance, we’ll see how long that lasts!

Alivia decided she wanted to play with her squirt gun outside last night, then she found a water bottle outside and decided she wanted to fill that up with water and water the drive way and my flowers! After coming in and out of the house about 5 times to fill it up I had enough and told her she was done with that. I guess the neighbor kids decided they would just go play with their hose-btw-their parents are out of town and my neighbor kids are crazy wild! Alivia asked if she could go to their house I told her I didn't care, then she came back in and asked if she could water their tree with the hose, I told her no. It was like 8:00 by this time. Then she came back in again and asked if she could water the grass with the hose, again I told her no. She came back in about 3 more times and kept asking if she could do stuff that involved the hose. I finally raised my voice and said "NO, quit asking" She put her hand on her chest and told me I was hurting her heart!!! She said I wasn't letting her have any fun!! I told her to either go back outside or go in her room. 2 minutes later she came back in and asked why I wasn't letting her play with the hose. I said "That's it, you're done outside, you're in for the rest of the night" Well, of course, that didn't make her very happy. I told her it was bathtime so I started the bath and she got in. I walked past the bathroom and she was sitting there with her head back saying "I'm missing out on all the fun" she kept saying that over and over again. I was laughing to myself, ahh, little girls..... By the time she was done taking a bath she had forgotten the whole thing and actually fell asleep watching tv at like 9:00, i'm gonna guess she probably didn't get a nap at the babysitters house.

I think the neighbor kids think I'm pretty mean because I don't let her run wild like they are able to do. They are gonna think I'm REALLY mean after the baby gets here because they are not going to be allowed over when the baby is sleeping. That should be fun....

The Avocado Tree

In early april I ate lunch at Chevys with my mom and sister. When we were leaving the kids got a balloon. There was a little brown bag stapled to the end of the balloon string that contained an avocado seed and directions for how to grow an avocado tree. I thought it would be cool to try it so I read the directions and followed them very carefully. First, I had to suspend the seed over a glass of water with toothpicks and fill the cup with water so that the seed was half in the water and half out. Then you basically wait for about 5-7 weeks for the seed to crack and grow a root. Next I went out and bought a pot to plant the seed in, I already had the dirt. I planted it and set the pot outside. You're supposed to leave the seed half in the dirt and half out and keep the soil moist. I was doing everything I was told to do!!! It had rained almost everyday so the soil was very moist. I was so proud!!! About a week ago I was walking to my car in the morning and noticed there was nothing sticking out of the pot!!! An animal dug it out and ATE IT!!! I couldn't believe after all my hard work the seed was gone!!! Oh well, maybe we'll try again some other time, but next time I'll have to figure out where I can put the pot so animals won't get into it!!

Baby updates

I went for my monthly checkup the other day and the dr is still concerned at the size of the baby. She said she may do an ultrasound soon to determine exactly how big he is. I'm at the point where I will be going to the dr every two weeks. Every time I go she measures me. Well, this week I measured 34cm. That pretty much means 34 weeks!!! Except, I should only be 31 weeks.

I gave Rob a deadline of July 4th to have the room done, that's when the furniture will be out of layaway and I want to have the room done so I can put all his stuff away before he gets here!

When I had Alivia, I didn't have her bag packed or mine. I had to pack it on the way to the hospital. I also made her bed up before I left to go have her, we didn't have a car seat or a stroller!! I want to make sure I have all of this taken care of in plenty of time.

People are obviously noticing that I'm pregnant and are asking when I'm due, what it is and what the name is. I've noticed when I tell anyone over age 50 that the name will be Maddox-they pronounce is like Mad-docks. That makes me CRAZY. Even when I've just said Maddox (pronounced Mad-dix). This has happened 3 times with 3 different people-apparantly there was some show years and years ago that had a Maddox (mad-docks) that all three of them mentioned!! I hope this isn't a reoccuring thing because I will have to correct everyone who prounouces it wrong!!

When I had Alivia I didn't know of one single person with her name spelled the way hers is spelled. THE DAY I had her, the nurse said "My neices name is Alivia" I couldn't believe it!!!
I thought we were so original! And now of course there are Alivia's everywhere.

As of now, I don't know of anyone named Maddox but I'm sure the second he's born there will be a million of them!

My little girl is growing up so fast!

I've noticed over the last few weeks that Alivia just asks a million questions about everything. Rob gets a little frustrated with the "Why?" questions but I told him that's how she learns things. She wants to know how everything works and why! It's so funny.

Last night we were outside and she had my slippers on. I thought I heard her say "That sucks" I said "What did you say?" She said "I have grass in my toes and that sucks!"

We were driving down Mid Rivers Mall Dr last night and I noticed that Blockbuster had closed. I was looking a little too hard and when I looked back in front of me traffic had stopped so I hit the brakes.

Alivia: What are you doing?
Me: Slowing down so I don't hit the car in front of me
Alivia: Why?
Me: Because I don't want to get into an accident
Alivia: I want you to crash
Me: Why would you want to do that?
Alivia: Just DO IT!
Me: No, are you crazy?
Alivia: Well then can we drive in the grass?
Me: No
Alivia: Is it hard to drive in the grass?
Me: No, but I really don't want to
Alivia: But I really want you to crash
Me: Why? We could get hurt
Alivia: Fine

I have no idea where that came from.

She is like a little sponge and has been picking up all kinds of things. She can write her first and middle name by herself and if you tell her the letters she can write her last name. She is recognizing all of the letters of the alphabet. She can count to 50 with a little help. She knows her right from her left. I love teaching her new things. I can't believe she's turning 4 soon! I've already started planning her bday party. I've rented a princess castle bounce house and I ordered her invitations today. We're not doing a huge party with Jack this year because I will be 37 weeks pregnant at the time! I just wanted to do something kinda simple at our house-as simple as it could be with me planning it! Can't wait!

Scary...

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1967 vs. 2008

Scenario 1: Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.

1967 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2008 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins.. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2008 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged them with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3: Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.

1967 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2008 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin.. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt..

1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.

2008 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1967 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.

2008 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6: Pedro fails high school English.

1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.

2008 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.

1967 - Ants die.

2008 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1967 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Some Shocking News!

I had a gut feeling that I was having a girl, at my last ultrasound they said they weren't 100% sure but if they had to guess they would say it was a girl, the heart rate has been 150, 148 and 146. Typically numbers for a girl. Last week I ordered a bag and had it personalized with "Ava" along with a pink blanket. I ordered furniture and picked out a bedding set. Today I went for another ultrasound and was told "It's a boy" I'm in such shock. I went online to change my registry and it feels so weird looking for boy stuff! I'm not upset about having a boy, I really don't mind, I feel blessed to have a boy or a girl, I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my mind around this change!!!

I'm not able to change my order for the things I had personalized, not sure what I'm gonna do with those yet....and the furniture is pretty neutral so no problem there. We do have a boy name picked out and I was actually a little bummed that we wouldn't be able to use it when I thought I was having a girl.

It's such a weird feeling to just know for so long that it was a girl and for them to tell me different today... I'm trying to snap out of it!

We have a bird stuck in our fireplace. It's up in the flue part and we can't get to it and I'm not about to dismantle my fireplace to save a bird!! The other night rob kinda stuck his head up there just to see if he could see anything, he asked me to get him a flashlight. Alivia went running into her room saying "I'll get one daddy" I went into the kitchen to get a flashlight for him. She got back before me and he was kinda bent over looking into the fireplace and liv said "Here you go daddy" he kinda held his arm out behind him to grab it and wasn't looking. She handed him her disney magic wand. I was cracking up. He said "What am I going to do with this?!?" She showed him how it worked but the lights and music didn't help him see in the fireplace. It was so funny. She's such a good little helper!

Here's my day so far:

My babysitter called last night and she is in the hospital so amber is watching alivia today.

My heat in my house is not working AGAIN! We got a new furnace in 2007 but apparantly something is wrong with the electric that's going to the furnace so it keeps blowing a transformer. We had to have someone come out on xmas day to fix it. Last week someone had to come out again and then this morning it's not working again.

I go out to start my car this morning and the battery's dead, good thing I have AAA, they came out and put in a new one.

Our toilet downstairs runs constantly, last month my water bill was $75!! I finally wised up and turned the water off going to that toilet, we're not down there that much anyway. This morning I was downstairs waiting for AAA and alivia said she had to go potty. I turned the water, when she was done, I went to turn it off and the handle wouldn't turn, I didn't want to force it so I just turned the water off to the whole house.

I can't believe I'm still in a decent mood!!!

Baby Update

We are now 17 weeks pregnant and def starting to feel the effects! I officially cannot wear my pants anymore. Only stretchy maternity pants for me! Which I don't hate! I had acid reflux so bad when I was pregnant with Alivia and was hoping I wouldn't have to go through that again but those dreams are over....it's back and in full force. I've had to start carrying tums with me-great. I went to a checkup yesterday and according to them I've lost 2 pounds since getting pregnant so I'm happy about that! I was just able to schedule my ultrasound for Friday March 20th. So hopefully the baby will cooperate and we will be able to tell what we are having, although I'm thinking a girl, we will see. We leave for Vegas in a week and a half and am sooooooooooooo excited. That's all for now...

For Sale

1993 Chevy Cavalier

148,000 miles

5 speed

2 door

no radio

runs great

$1,000

(314) 393-5310

I think my child has A.D.D

This morning I was getting ready for work and told Alivia to go into her room and pick out some pants. She went into her room and came back and said :

Alivia: (handful of pajamas) These jammies were in my pants drawer (i know they weren't but ignored her)
Me:Go get some pants
Alivia: (with a pillow case) Mom, I found my tinkerbell pillow case
Me: Go get some pants
Alivia: (now wearing the pillowcase) mom look, what am i wearing?
Me: that's a pillow case, go get some pants
Alivia: (carrying a pillow) look mom, i put my pillow in my pillow case
Me: great go get some pants
Alivia: (now with a new pillow case) mom, i found my other tinker bell pillow case
Me: GO GET SOME PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alivia: mom, i have pants on

I look over at her and she is wearing a huge pair of snow pants. I couldn't help but laugh. So after all of that I ended up going into her room and getting the pants myself. So much for saving time this morning!

It's not for me!

Every once in awhile I will cook something that calls for beer. I don't have beer at my house so I always have to make a special trip just for that. I used to buy a six pack but it would stay in my fridge forever. So the last couple times I have just bought a 40 ounce. I always feel the need to explain that It's not for me to drink! Last night was no exception. I decided I was going to make cheese fondue. I went to dierbergs to get everything and picked up a 40 ounce beer. I got up to the checkout and the idiot ringing me out says "Nice choice" I said "I'm not going to drink it, I'm going to cook with it" and he said "Oh, well I'm sure it will be delicious" It was a natural light that cost $1.09!! I said "Well, I hope so, I just picked this kind because it was the cheapest." He says "Well, that's why I drink it too because it's so cheap"

OMG.

This article was in last weekends journal about my aunt and uncles diner!

MY WORLD: Nothing finer than a good local diner

By Karen Diekamp HitchcockSaturday, February 21, 2009 3:13 AM CST

Sometimes you have to look no farther than almost your own back yard to find a little adventure and a good piece of pie.Valentine's Day dawned like any other Saturday at our house, which meant that Hubby was up early to fix his coffee and I was putting pillows on my head in bed upstairs trying to drown out the sound of grinding coffee beans.It is always a competition between Hubby and the local birds as to who gets up the earliest. Usually, Hubby wins.After waiting a few hours to see if breakfast in bed would be my Valentine treat (no such luck), I finally dragged myself out of bed to see what the day would bring. Surely my better half had planned a special day for us.He had indeed. He pronounced he was going to work in the yard.


I'll skip over a recitation of how many tree branches he cleaned up, and how much he complained about his sore muscles after, and get to the good part. The part with the pie.After running an errand on Elm Street in St. Charles, we decided to drive up Kingshighway, not a side of town in which we usually find ourselves. It's a perfectly nice part of town, but we just don't usually have business to do there. It turned out to be a serendipitous change in routine.As we got near Lindenwood University, we saw a quaint little place called Allin's Diner. The word "diner" hooked me. I yelled quickly at Hubby to turn into the parking lot.I love diners. I love the sleek, '50s, "Happy Days" kind of ambience. I love the smell of burgers and the cozy small-town feel.This place has all that, plus a friendly owner named Dave Allin. It turns out this little gem of a place is going on its fourth year, and has a lot of lucky regulars who discovered this place a long time before we did. Their pictures line the walls. It seems one of the waitresses also is a photographer, and she snaps customers' pictures every Wednesday. I spied a certain St. Charles mayor's photo up there (I guess she likes good hot wings, too).Hubby and I had a very nice waitress named Jessie, who recommended her favorites, but I'd already decided to have a cheeseburger (Hubby had a Reuben). I am a connoisseur of cheeseburgers, and this one didn't disappoint. It was big, sloppy and juicy, just like Mom used to make, and served on ciabatta bread, which made it even more texture-filled and delicious.I made a mental note to come back to try other things on the menu, like the meatball-ziti soup, the meatloaf and the smoked hot wings.We were inspecting the whimsical little silver-framed fun facts on each table (sayings like "The Statue of Liberty wears a size 879 sandal") when a piece of coconut cream pie appeared before our eyes."Compliments of the owner," Jessie said.Oh my, happy Valentine's Day to me!The owner appeared shortly thereafter to see how everything was. He shared his food philosophy with us. "Food is fun," he said simply.I asked him how he got started in the food business."I drove past this place 25 years ago and told my wife, 'I'm going to open a restaurant there someday,'" he explained.Her response: "You're crazy!" But she did encourage him to go to school, so he enrolled in the culinary arts program at Forest Park College. He also kept an eye out during the next 25 years for his dream location to come up for sale. His dream came true several years ago.Allin has had a lot of other careers - over-the-road truck driver, warehouse worker, forklift driver - but food always has been his passion. He might have picked up a few pointers from his grandma, mom and wife Vicki, all excellent cooks he says, but he also honed his skills at a local country club and Lindenwood University.Now he's his own boss, and he has high standards. I could tell as he described the ingredients of the coconut cream pie that here was a chef who didn't cut corners."It's real food," he summarized. "Nobody's doing what I'm doing."His regulars will testify to that. Jim Tyrell, formerly of Chicago, discovered that when he found his way to Allin's Diner a couple of years ago."He hooked me with his pancakes and keeps me with his wings," Tyrell joked as he and a pal played cards at the counter.Allin's Diner, 130 N. Kingshighway, is open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m.-2 p.m. on weekends, but is starting to be open certain nights for dinner. For more information, call 636-946-5556.Karen Diekamp Hitchcock of St. Charles is a medical secretary who writes a semimonthly column for the Journal. She can be reached at kdhitch1@hotmail.com

13 week checkup

I went to the dr today for a regular monthly checkup. This was the first time I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. The heart rate was 150 bmp. I'm pretty sure when I was pregnant with Alivia, her heartrate was always in the 150's. I did some searching on the internet and found some old wives tales that say if the heartrate is 140 or under it's typically a boy and anything over a 140 is typically a girl. I'm not going to be painting the room pink or anything yet but am wondering if it's another girl. I'm ok with that. It will be a heck of alot cheaper since I already have everything for a girl!!! Rob has been very sure that it's a boy this time, he also has Alivia convinced it's a boy too. I really don't care either way but i'm starting to get the feeling we're having another girl!

Every couple of years Rob starts talking about getting into martial arts again. Before we met he studied regularly but he was bowling and playing softball so often that something had to give and that's what he chose to give up. Every few years he says he wants to get back into but he never actually does. His sister and brother in law own a martial art school. He had his sister get him a martial are book so he could start learning the technique again. We were coming home from there the other night and he was looking at the book in the car and said to me "Are you going to help me study this?" I said "What do you mean?" I didn't know if he wanted me to read the book to him while he practiced or what. He said "I need someone to do this on!" I looked at him like he was nuts. I said "I'm pregnant you idiot and you want to practice martial arts on me?!?!" He started cracking up laughing when he realized what he said. That wasn't exactly what he meant but that's how it came out. It was pretty funny.

update

So, we're now 12 weeks pregnant. I've been feeling pretty good, no more sickness, so that's good. I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 6 pounds since finding out I was pregnant so that's pretty exciting! I've got a few to spare so I'm sure it's fine! We've started to clean out the babies room, I'm ready to decorate but of course I can't do too much until I know what it is. I guess I've got another 8 weeks until I find that out. Don't have too much else to say just wanted to give an update!

My good deed for the year.

Rob and I went to Tony's for dinner on saturday night and had a FABULOUS dinner and then we went to the casino. I was waiting in line to get money out of the ATM. When it was my turn I swiped my card and did my thing, When it dispensed my money it literally spit $20 out at me. I had to bend over and pick it up off the floor. When I stood back up to get my money the little door was kinds stuck and I had to manually lift it up to get my money, when I counted it, I had $20 more than I was supposed to. I figured it belonged to the lady that used it before me. I turned around and she was no where in sight. I went and told Rob what happened and of course he was like "Cool" I kinda felt bad so I went up the cashiers cage and told them what happened, they asked that I leave the money there and if the lady came up asking for it, they would have it. I really didn't want to do that because if for some reason she didn't came back I wasn't sure what would happen with it. A little while later I saw a lady who I thought was the ATM lady and I went up to her and said "Excuse me, did you use the ATM over there earlier" she said "Yes" I said "Do you remember if I was behind you" she said "Yes" I said "Did you happen to notice if the ATM shorted you?" She said "Oh, I don't know I didn't count it" So I said "Well I'm pretty sure that it shorted you $20 and I left it at the cashiers cage " she said "Ok, thanks" I was totally bummed because here I thought I was doing a good deed and this lady didn't even notice nor did she care that she was missing the money and I could have kept it!!!! Oh well, hopefully it will bring me good karma!!

Oh and on a side note:
Yesterday alivia said to me "I don't have a baby in my belly, I just have junk in there!"

New Years Resolution

My New Years Resolution for 2009 is to start coming to work on time! In my job, I don't clock in and out and I really don't report to anyone so it's very easy to come and go as I please. Which I have taken full advantage of in the past two years! If I wasn't scheduled to be here at 9:00 AM then I wouldn't set my alarm and I would wake up whenever and show up then. That has been nice but I really need to get back on track and be a little more disciplined. I started this yesterday and I'm 2 for 2!!

The saddest sight

Before:

This was Alivia's bday present for her 3rd Bday. There are deer in the background too!

After:

We woke up New Years Eve Day to this!!! It was pretty windy Tuesday night and I guess this tree was dead. Alivia came into my room later that day and said "I'm very sad about my playground! Do I look Happy?" None of us heard this happen. I'm not sure if we can save any of this yet or not.