Saint Louis

Friday we checked the kids out of school early...we were going to St. Louis!  We had planned a DOC (Diabetes Online Community) meetup for this weekend (but at the last minute it fizzled out), and since our room was already paid (and we couldn't get a refund!), we went anyway.

Friday night we only had time to eat out and go to the Chesterfield mall-the temperature had dropped so we needed a visit to Justice to get a sweater. ; )  We only checked out a few stores since we were all really tired-and the mall closes at 9! : )

Saturday morning started bright and early-the kids couldn't WAIT!!  We told them the first place they got to go..(Clay prefers it to Disney-even the RiDeS!)..was the City Museum.  I'm sure if you've been following me, you've heard about this at least a couple times already.  We always think we've done it all...but then they add caves, secret passageways-and we found the 10-story slide for the first time and a HUGE rope swing!  They evolve too-love it!

Here are some pictures from our City Museum visit (before my camera went kaput.) : (

We usually park in paid street parking, but this time-we were so early, there was room in the PARKING LOT!  We usually come in the evening-DAY is where it's at! : )  Check out those airplane fuselages and caged tubes to crawl through!

There is the school bus hanging over the rooftop (above the 10th floor), and see that big cage with a metal spire (remember where that is for future reference!)

The kids super excited planning their day!  And doing some oooh's and ahhhh's!

But first?  A train ride.  Through tunnels and around the third floor of the museum.

And then some fun new goofy things, like the Midwest Spatula Museum. ; )

And the hall of mirrors, where flashes aren't really your friends.

And something to make you think.  "What if imagination and art are not frosting, but the fountainhead of human experience?" -Rollo May      ...I always agree.

So..use your imagination.  Who wore the largest underwear in the world? ; )  Oh, and don't touch them.

Love an opportunity to stick your head through a hole!

A good visit with creatively built robots would foreshadow the remainder of our day. ; )

Fun Zone!  I don't know if you can see, thanks to the gorgeous sun, but Clay is crawling across the ceiling in those white bars, Mary Claire is crawling over the rainbow bridge, and Ethan is in the big ball pit.  Love the exercise they get!!

Toddler Area..only lasted a few minutes.  And there are movie theater seats all around the kids' zones. = Happy Mommas.

Big quarter and half pipes.  They run up them after getting a good start, then s-l-i-d-e!  All around us are little holes/walkways in the walls-they are all part of a huge maze with tons of exits.  Clay assures us he knows his way around, and he comes out where planned.  Is that possible?

Then on to the concrete inner shell shapes.  Ethan is a conqueror.  He has to run up the steepest side, and hold on for dear life.  Then he slides to the bottom. : )

I got a picture...of all three!  Then they scattered again.  If I'd never been there, I'd have panicked, but they really do know their way around.

Love the rope swings.

And then they played piano.  Can you see all the carvings in the wood?  There isn't a bare spot on it!

Clay's happily playing solo.

And then...I check out, and check into Watching/Photographer Mode.  They are crawling through the wire tunnels out to the first airplane fuselage.

And now..they have crawled out to the second airplane, and onto the castle rooftop.  Can you see the tiny red on top?  That's Clay standing on the roof, outside the caging, me freaking out. Ches is with them, but I'm still freaking out.

Then they crawl back to the first airplane.

I'd be petrified!  Even when I'm not pregnant, I've never crawled out there.  Ches has to be the brave one.  I do Disney roller coasters, he does wire crawling.  It's a deal.

And then they are crossing over to the tree house-thing.  There are two people in front of them going v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, and Ethan is right up on them.  I can't figure out where Ches is.

A little boy freaked out (like I would do!), and his mommy had to set him on her legs and crab walk out of there!  (Who would take me out?)

He finally crosses when they are almost done-he said the tunnel was shaking with that many people, and he wasn't going out till he could go straight across!

Then..on to the ROOF!  There's so much more to do!  They started with the giant slide.  You walk/pull yourself up the right side, then slide down.  (There are steps along the left side if you aren't into the climb.)

Another slide.  You walk up the caged area on the top, then slide down under the walkers!

Remember that caged spire on the roof top?  Eleven stories up, by the edge?  Yep, there's my boy at the very top!  Ahhhhh!!!!

Very proud of himself.  It makes me nervous.  But I think...how would it be to keep them in a bubble, and not let them live?  What if he got sick in a couple years, and I'd kept him safe at home for years?  I'd totally regret it.  I vote Experience.  I hope it pays off in the future..and not with a daredevil career.

The sister can do whatever her brother does..and with style! ; )

Above the city.

Hark-a new toy!  It's a HUGE dome, and you can crawl up the insides, and swing from the thick rope swing!

Looking up..and there's my little monkey!  He's fast.  Ches ran up the stairs outside-to be on the top when he came out!

Clay in the cage right above the rope-and he bounced.  Fear strikes me here.

Mary Claire scaling up the wall (they are caged against the wall by welded bars)-who invented this place??

They certainly have a sense of humor.  This is the mens/boys/rooster bathroom.

And the women/men/disabled bathroom.  This is where my camera broke.  I hung it on the door handle, locked it, and Mary Claire thought it'd be funny to wiggle/shake the door handle from the outside.  When the door handle was turned, the strap fell down, and the camera hit the floor.  Now the lens won't totally go in, so you can't get the lens cap on..and it won't focus anymore.  So, a few scratchy pictures later...and it died.

So, from here on..no pictures till I get a new camera. : (  We still had fun, and after some lunch, caves, and the ten story slide, we left for new territory.

We went back to the mall, watched Real Steel in IMAX, then had some Macaroni Grill for dinner.  The kids just love to color on the table! ; )

(and we found a gas station in St. Louis that is giving out free car washes to black and orange cars on Halloween.  Cool.  (Ches claims discrimination, but my van is black!) heehee

Ok, a note on the movie.  It was PG-13, but the only thing they hadn't seen.  We checked the ratings, and it was the same as Dolphin Tale...but I'll tell you: LOTS more language.  Lots of words I didn't like (some just used over and over again), some robot violence-they are boxing, and one adult kiss.  Mary Claire was grossed out over the kiss and language, so I had to apologize profusely to her, Clay said it was fine, and Ethan didn't really notice.  He just did some boxing moves afterward (and I wondered if he'd continue..but they're gone!)

Now it's Sunday, and we are headed home.  Only one trip back to the room to get the blanket I left (and a small panic attack over my sunglasses-but we found them!).  We are planning to stop at Ches' mom's house on the way home to visit, but we'll be home by bedtime.  It's a long drive!

And..I think we finally figured out her on-the-road pump basal!  We tried adjustments a couple times on the way here, and kept rechecking (you'd think we'd have nailed it on our 24-hours-each-way trip to the east coast this summer, but no.).  But, 170% seems to be her magic number.  I think we may have had other issues on that trip, but she's fine now.  We did really well!

At the City Museum, we had some constant checking-all that activity kept driving her low!  So she had a free mini-lunch.  We can't mess around with those 50's.  She left her meter with me while she was in those high-in-the-sky wire tubes, so I made her take her vial of Nerds with her...just in case!  That makes me as nervous as the high climbing, I just try not to let on too much-I hate to ruin a great day.  And it was pretty great. : ) 

 

Ultrasound Pix and What I Think About

I can't believe all the years I spent being unthankful for the kids' health when they were babies (and when they were preborn).  I used to smile when the doctor listened to the heartbeat, but I expected it.  I didn't think bad things really happened to people like me.  Now...it makes me cry to hear a heartbeat.

I had a good doctor's appointment last Friday-an ultrasound then doppler to see if we could pick it up yet (my doctor's good like that-he knew if we did doppler first, I'd freak out for a few minutes till we saw an ultrasound!), but we couldn't.  But everything was fine, and we knew since we'd just seen a strong heart on ultrasound.

Today, different story.  We went in just for doppler, to hear the heartbeat (we thought I was ready.  Ha!)  We saw a new doctor (they called at nine last night to say my doctor had a family emergency, and they rescheduled me), and she was sick, but wonderful.  She got it.  (Very Important.)  She tried doppler for a few minutes, but no luck.  We were sent down to the high tech ultrasound (finally...abdominal ultrasound!), and I experienced some déjà vu right away.

The last time I'd been in that room was with the twins last March.  I was also 12 weeks exactly.  So to sit on that table..was surreal.  Then she started the ultrasound, and last year came flooding back-my ignorance that there was no sound coming from the babies, my ignorance when she said she was going to get the doctor.  All of it, was right there in the room with me.

I just cried when I heard the heartbeat and she measured the sound waves to get a strong heartbeat of 164.  Just relief and thankfulness.

Real Sound Waves!

The baby was moving all over the place, but she caught a side profile ; )

My friends tell me all those prayers we prayed for all those babies were saved up, and they are for this baby.  I don't know, I just trust that God has a plan, I'm in it, and and currently we have a very healthy, exact-size-for-date baby growing.  Could it really be the real thing?  Could I really meet this child?  That's what I think every day.

That and I wish it was easier to go to the bathroom.  Pregnancy and progesterone really slow down your system.  I only share this for selfish reasons.  ADVICE??  Yes, I'm eating fiber, fruits and vegetables, beans...but dairy is my enemy.  And I need calcium!  I'm going to work on it-I just looked up top sources of calcium and get this, here they are in order:

1. dried herbs (!)

2. cheese

3. sesame seeds

4. tofu

5. almonds

6. flax seeds

7. yogurt, milk, and other dairy (really, down at #7?)

8. green leafy veggies

9. brazil nuts

10. herring (no, thanks)

See?  I'm going to be okay.  I'll eat some dried herbs and almonds, and lots of sesame seeds. : )  (and don't nuts have fiber?)

Praying for all my pregnant friends, and those that desperately want a child (I know how that feels too), that they may see the joy in a sweet baby, new from Heaven.  And for friends and relatives newly in Heaven-that they rock the babies already there.

Lost in a Maze, but a Razorback Maze...Woo Pig Sooie!

We're gonna do some catching up! ; )  We have been enjoying our sweet fall days-sweaters in the morning, shorts in the afternoon..and lots of pumpkins! : )

Last week, Clay had a school Musical, School Daze! : )  He had a solo, so we were excited to hear him-he's had speaking parts, but not a singing part before.  He did really well!  Ethan opted to sit on the row in front of us, with our neighbors! : ) ..until he leaned back and hit his head -wham!- on the seat.  Then..he was all ours again! ; )  He's in turquoise squished in the row below:

Here's Clay (in blue stripes) singing his solo!  It had a High School Musical (basketball/PE) vibe!

And then..we jump to my newest wreath!  I started with fall leaves/sunflowers/pumpkins, but it looked really plain from the street.  I decided to dress it up for Halloween with some orange sparkly tulle, a black/silver bow, and a big black J that was just sitting in the laundry room waiting for a job!  Kinda busy, but I'm not a plain girl. ; )

Oh, look what I found.  My broken lamp.  A picture from my phone for posterity (and a baby book!)

Clay playing catcher at his game last game.

And Ethan yesterday making Momma cry.  He got stuff out of the Recycle bin, and was copying the letters off the boxes and cartons onto the driveway with sidewalk chalk! : )  He's so smart!  And he was singing the sweetest songs, but I couldn't catch them on the voice recorder.

And yesterday?  An awesome time at Sandra's house with the kids carving pumpkins!  I know she took great pictures, but I was plagued with an awful headache (today makes three days..) so I didn't take any.  I just enjoyed watching the kids.  And I made a big "J" on my pumpkin, but the holey part of the J fell out-I'll do better next year.  It's an arty J now!

And today?  The Ozark Corn Maze!  Here is an aerial picture of the maze (Can you say, AWESOME?):

Can you see the big Razorback leaning on the A?  And the Go Hogs?  We were lost in there! ; )

 

The girl scout juniors (and sisters!) before the Corn Maze!

Cute photo op...except the blue pumpkin-headed scarecrow is tired of pictures.  Or just plain tired.

They had a petting zoo-with goats and sheep.

They were feeding the sheep hay!

They were conning this perfectly sane goat to go UP this crazy contraption!  Here is the bottom..

..and here's the top!  Can you imagine?  (When we pulled into the parking lot I was freaking out thinking the kids were going to climb up to see the corn maze from above!  S-C-A-R-Y!

Then we rode the tractor/wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch to find our very own pumpkins..

Mary Claire loved the teeny ones!

We stayed till they closed down, and the sun was setting-a great trip! : )

American Girl Fashion Show!

Hey ya'll!  It's definitely been too long.  I'll have to fill you in on the exciting stuff...both good and bad! : )  I am never bored.

I'm better, lots of rest and some antibiotics later!  I think I may actually be catching back up (well, not in laundry, but am I ever caught up?)  So, Saturday we started with an exciting show..

We went with friends to the American Girl Fashion Show!  It was at our Art Center of the Ozarks (where they have choir and musicals) on Saturday.  Sandra got us great seats together!  They were right in front of the stage (the one the girls walked out on, the "catwalk"!), and we could see perfectly!

The girls all sat together, and Nora sat by me! : )  Mary Claire is right next to her-they were SO good during the show!

Right after the Fashion Show, we had a reception-and the girls LOVED it!  Tiny colorful treats, yum!

The theme was Hawaiian (I think for Kanani, the American Girl!), and they had colored gold fish, cupcakes with sprinkles, and a tiny bowl of strawberry sorbet with a teensy spoon and umbrella.  So cute!

They also had pink lemonade, which she really wanted.  I was so worried it'd be all sugary, but it was NOT! : )

There were two "stores" set up: Barnes & Noble had books, kits, and mini dolls there...decisions, decisions.. and then the clothing/gift shop.  Obviously we got too busy in there to take pictures!  She chose a shirt, pink capris, and the accessory kit (white shoes, scarf, and fingerless gloves!).  They were so cute, and all had special AG Fashion Show tags!  They also had hats, bags, and shirts for both big girls and dolls.

She wanted to buy raffle tickets for all the giveaways, so I had her fill them out!  I'm guessing we didn't win..

All the girls together! : ) (with their dolls!)

And me and Mary Claire! : )  She never took her jacket off, so you couldn't see her dress!  I wish I'd dressed up more! ; )  ..(I was feeling big-ish, so it was hard to dress me.)

Really, we had a wonderful time!  The girls on stage did a great job and looked so cute.  Our girls were well-behaved, and they were so sweet!  Mary Claire knew a couple girls and told one of them how pretty she looked. ; )  I was proud of her.  And the goody bags?  Rocked!  A paper doll kit, complete with three American Girls, stencils, lots of fabric-printed papers, shoes to color, a hanger for doll clothes-it was an awesome bag!


Then we transitioned to the ball field!  We had four games again, and we started at Ethan's-I had to feed them while Ches was coaching!  I got them hot dogs and popcorn (ooh, so healthy!) and then went over to watch Clay and feed him.   He was already playing-I feel bad for him when Ches is with Ethan, and no one is there to watch him!  He played at first base, catcher, and outfield.  He is doing the best at catcher I think.  He has a pretty good arm, and can catch most of the balls (if they don't go over his head!).  He has to hustle back to cover home plate if the bases are loaded, so that's hard!  I always yell out if there's a runner on third to be watching!  (maybe that's why I feel bad if I'm not there?) ; )


Then, we had a little down time at home-I knew Sunday was coming, and I get tired!  We got everyone washed and ready for church.  We were all exhausted!  The kids swam for a little while..we are stretching summer..I'm not ready for fall!  We'll close the pool by Halloween, but they just want to get a few more days in.  Now, to be comfortable, they like it above 86 degrees!!  It takes a full day to get it up there with our nights in the 50's!


...I won't give you the entire negative update..but suffice it to say that a big boy has learned you don't write a "Stay Off My Top Bed" sign in marker on your carpet, two boys have learned you don't climb to the top of a 20 foot tree between Sunday school and Mass, and those same boys learned you don't play in your church clothes all afternoon on a trampoline (blackness), and while playing with black walnuts (ditto, but more brownish). (Oh..and you don't clean the soppy wet marker carpet with your nice monogrammed towels.)  ..and a little one learned not to come sliding down the stair banister with a shovel in hand-when there's a glass lamp along the way.  Yep, I'm in the market for a new lamp.

I learned that when you think you have a double dental appointment, you should call to make sure to prevent a revisit the next day! ; )  We also learned that being snappy telling the microwave repairman that you'll just buy a new one instead of pay for the $225 part plus $80 labor wasn't so smart.  There's not another microwave short of $1100 that will fit into that hole.  Hmm.  And..if you want to get waxed, you should call more than a day in advance.  Otherwise, you are waxing on lunch hour (but she's so nice to fit me in!).  I also found out that if you wait too long to talk to someone, their friend might have passed away. : (  Gosh-a week makes a whole difference in someone's life.


Blood sugars roller coaster, our temperments roller coaster, our microwaves fail us, and we learn.  Thank goodness for those bright spots in our week (home runs at practice, a great fashion show, and a flawless stove top.) ; )