November 2008 Archives

Today was our first real snow.  Now, I admit: I love the snow and I'm the one who's been asking for it for weeks!  But the cold?  I did not request that!!!



We bundled up to brave the cold and make snow balls, snow angels and just to run!



Her aim sucks, but Carter's got the idea of snow balls down!



And, if the snow balls don't work, just dump snow on Mommy and Daddy!



3 very chilly Chalupa's!

Principal has this tradition (or maybe it's the geeks in Andy's department!).  Whenever someone is expecting, they bake chocolate chip cookies and bring them to work.  An email is sent inviting everyone over for a cookie, and nothing needs to be said.  That IS the announcement.

So, Carter and Andy made "baby cookies" today for Monday.  The new is out!



"Just like this," Daddy shows Carter just what to do



Cooking Chalupa's!

A Thanksgiving tradition at Grandma and Poppy's has always been to put up the Christmas tree during the turkey holiday.  Grandma and Poppy had the tree all set up for us, so we got to enjoy decorating.  As Carter's getting older, she's able to decorate more than just the bottom three inches of the tree.  She still does, however, fixate on decorating only a branch or two!



Icicle ornament for the tree.  Carter "loved" this one!



Pretty Carter, pretty tree

Happy Thanksgiving all!

With an unsteady year, I think it's safe to say we've all got so much to be thankful for this year.  Andy, Carter and I were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with our loving families.  Our awesome parents have always supported us (even when we made stupid mistakes!) and have been our loudest cheering section.  They're times two when it comes to Carter Kay.  Our uncles and aunts and extended family are happy and healthy, which is more than anyone could ask for. 

We've got a strong and silly "extended family" made of the best friends ever.  They're our family in Des Moines, and also scattered across Iowa and soon to be beyond!  They may not be family by blood or marriage, but they're just as close and they keep us out of trouble, sometimes in trouble, and always happy. 

We have a house to call home and we're warm with full tummies.  We both have jobs that make us happy ("find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life.") and keep us paying the bills.  With a year full of financial crunches, we're still able to go have fun ... occasionally!

At the top of my list of things to be thankful for is Carter.  Our rambunctious three year old has been changing from a wild toddler into a caring, loving, smart little girl.  She's the most curious kid ever, which just makes her smarter by the minute.  There isn't much in life she's not interested in or isn't willing to try, and she always does so with the most beautiful smile on her face.  She's our sunshine!

And, just when you think it can't get much better and you're thankful meter must be at its height, life gives you even more.  As you found out with Hangman, we're pregnant!  Carter is going to be a big sister, and she's so excited!  She wasn't supposed to tell, we wanted the website to spread our news, but she spilled the beans at daycare ("I have grapes!  And my Mommy has a baby in her belly!") and tried to tell Andy and Rory at dinner last week ("See Mommy, I'm not talking about the baby!").  If we're even half as lucky the second time around, we'll be beyond blessed!  We're about 6 weeks along right now, with a due date of July 22, 2009.  So far, I'm feeling fine.  Just a little tired, but nothing an 8:30 bedtime doesn't take care of!  We're looking through the baby name book for ideas, which has been a battle!  Our second appointment is scheduled for January 5th at 1:00, and we'll get to hear a heartbeat.  Until then, we'll continue to discuss name choices and paint colors, and Carter will talk to her sibling via my belly button, and life will be sweet and perfect!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the ones you love (chances are, they're probably the people we love, too!).  Take a second to be thankful for all that we have, and maybe think about giving back to those who aren't as lucky as we are.  Even when it's hectic and wild, life has been very good to us!  Happy Thanksgiving and  enjoy the holiday season!

We've got a secret, but it doesn't come for free. Solve the Hangman puzzle to learn it.

Word to guess


Letters guessed so far

Enter your next guess.

Hangman Game courtesy:
Mastering JavaScript, Premium Edition
by James Jaworski

ISBN:078212819X
Publisher Sybex CopyRight 2001

"Worms that Rhyme" is Carter's cute little way of saying she wants to spell words in the bathtub.  Generally .... she's pretty good at it!




Such a hoot!

.. and the joy of getting together!

Zach, Stephanie and Isaac hosted dinner, kids fun and Monopoly (which, per usual, ended with the drama!).  Lauren, Richard and Olivia came, with cake!, all the way from Illinois, along with Andy, Rory, Andy, Carter and I to celebrate all the birthdays we've had and that are to come in our new future.

Dinner was tasty, as always, and allowed everyone to catch up.  The kiddos played and ran and giggled together.  Carter just adores Isaac and Olivia (she's asked about them all morning!).  Lauren brought one of her delicious and almost-too-good-to-eat cakes and Isaac, with the help of his lovely assistants, opened his birthday presents.  Then we let the cherubs play together while we played couples Monopoly.

Now ... if you somehow haven't heard of our Monopoly track record, here's the short of it.  I always lose, 95% of the time miserably to Andy Chalupa, and have been known to chuck pieces down hallways and scream not-so-nice things.  So it was quite monumental that anyone wanted to play with me.  I figured: It always works out for Andy Chalupa, so I was on his team.  Not so much.  I guess my loser-ness outshines his winner-potential!  After wheeling and dealing, we were bankrupted, followed by Andy and Rory, who after losing their "no rent" agreement with us sold their fortune to Zach and Stephanie for a mere $200.  In the end, Richard and Lauren claimed Monopoly victory and Andy and I have new names while we play: B*TCH and BITTER.  You can decide who's who.

Thanks for hosting, and thanks for hanging out everyone!  We had a great time!



Pals Olivia and Carter



Isaac, Olivia and Carter (yes, carrying around safety scissors!) enjoy CAKE!

Carter and I "did make-up" this evening.  How totally cute are we?!?



Blue up to our eyebrows!  That's how we roll!

What sounds better on a chilly November day than home-made Chex Mix?  Yummy!



Home-made by this Punky?!  It doesn't get any better!



Poured with true love!

What's this ... year 4?  There was Minnesota with Sheena, West Des Moines with my gut-rot (that was the worst!), Minnesota with my 3 bestie girls, and this year. 

It's tradition.  To pack up the car with necessities, including chocolate and Chex Mix, and head to Minneapolis for a weekend of girly fun.  This year was scaled down to just Kelsey and I, but we shopped with Janine and Mackenzie in mind (my credit card thanks you!). 

We left Thursday afternoon, having Palmer's in the car while catching up.  We hit IKEA (and I have great ideas, but need the Durango and another trip in December!) and part of the Mall of America.  At the mall, we stumbled across Lush (www.lushusa.com), my new favorite place ever!  It's an organic bath store.  We got free hand treatments and face masks, all the ways to get me to return Friday for the $20 coupon!  We dined at Chevy's, the best Mexican restaurant in Minnesota, and talked of the future to come.

Friday we returned to the mall.  We found deals upon deals, had lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company (they have the best onion rings!), and returned to Lush, where I went nuts (remember - www.lushusa.com for all of your holiday needs ;)  ).  Then we headed to Target outside of the Twin Cities for the majority of my shopping.

I'm nearly done!  And I had a wonderful outing with my bestie!  Thanks for picking me up, haulting me around and listening to all of my stories!



Our delightful (and free!) face masks.  Rejuvinated and ready to shop, shop, shop!



Yes, my credit card is sobbing!

Do you think Van Gogh started off this way?



That's painting with determination!



And when she'd filled up the space directly in front of her, she loaded her brush and found some empty space!



Don't interrupt a muse in progress!



Painter's war paint



THIS is how Van Gogh must have looked prior to chopping off his ear!  Crazy artists!

The final birthday adventure: Madagascar 2, also referred to as "Abagascar" by Carter Kay!

This was opening weekend (good idea, huh?!), so there were roughly 1 million children accompanied by an adult packed into the theater.  No movie's a movie without popcorn and soda, either!  So, thankfully, we were early, got our treats and settled in.  We giggled and munched popcorn while we waited for the movie, then enjoyed the show. 

Carter appears to really "get" a lot of these movies.  She'll ask why "that boy is sad?" or "Where's her mommy going?"  Thoughtful responses to what she's seeing.  I love that it's something we can enjoy and do as a family!

What a great wrap-up to a super birthday weekend!



It's totally worth the $20 in matinée tickets and $15 in snacks! 

This evening some of our great Greystone neighbors and Andy and I celebrated birthdays at the Grand Piano Bar in the East Village.

We met up with Terri and Jerry and Scott, Kelly and Melinda, who also celebrated a birthday this week.  We had a delicious dinner (you can't beat the GPB for food and drinks!), then rocked to our favorite songs set to great piano music.  Thanks to Scott, Kelly and Andy, Melinda and I were called up to the stage for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and some good ol' humiliation!  We pulled our chairs up on stage, and every time the singer sang a song starting with a B, I'd stand, then the next B word, I'd sit and Melinda would stand.  This continued through "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean," and all was good until "Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonny to me!"  And it was all lost from there!  For the second verse, I lead the men in the room, while Melinda lead the women.  Our ribbing was wrapped up with a restaurant-wide singing of Happy Birthday!  As silly as it was, I had a blast!  We both giggled!  It could have been worse: we could have been one of the bachlorette's!  I also had to giggle - after a conversation between the mom's about pediatricans and family doctors, a drink get delivered to our table.  Our waitress explains that it's a "picnic," and it's from Brad and Marnie Loftus, a collegue of Andy's and our favorite doctor!!  Who's doctor buys them drinks?! 

We had an awesome night!  My favorite song of the evening: either the Bon Jovi medley or "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille."  The piano players, direct from Michigan, we super and the company was outstanding!  We're a pretty lucky family to be surrounded by such great neighbors!



The Devil ...



.. and Johnny!  Very creative!



Andy and I.  He might tell you differently, but Andy had a good time!  He liked it!!!



Melinda and I on stage, totally Scott, Kelly & Andy's doing!



... not really sure if we're at "Bring" or "Back," or who should be standing!



(Part) of the Girls of Greystone: Kelly, Melinda, me and Terri



The crew: Scott & Kelly, Melinda, Terri & Jerry and Andy & I

Happy Birthday, Melinda (and me!)!!  And thanks for celebrating with us guys!  We really are lucky to have such great neighbors and friends!!!

My last official "good year" begins its course as of now.  After 29, it's all down hill!

Today was a great day!  My associate decorated my desk and brought cake, the kids were on good behavior and my cooperative teachers ordered pizza!  I also got my usually wish of snow (you're welcome!)!

This evening, we went to the Riverside Casino to live it up, live it up, LIVE IT UP!  We had the super buffet, which was great for two reasons.  #1: I like potatoes and dessert.  #2: Janine, Kelsey, Shane, Andy, Rory, Andy and I all got to hang out and catch up!  It was super!  After filling our bellies way too full, we proceeded to the casino.  I got $10 in birthday cash from the casino, which was neat.  On my third pull at some Bejeweled-like slot game, I won $38.30!  I really should have quit there!  Within three hours, my small empire had been squandered away, along with the $20 I came with.  But, my intention was always to play and have fun, with the idea of losing it anyway, so all's good!  Kelsey ended up about $20, Shane won some craps money, Janine was up a nickel, Haning won $80, and Andy, the one whom "it always works out for," won $300!  Now, technically this is like "our" retirement fund we split, right???  $150 of that is mine, right?!?

Thanks, guys!  I had a great time!!!  Love ya!



The start of a great day!!!



Andy and Andy and the $300 slot machine!



The girls: Janine, me and Kelsey



Rory and I had fun, but we are losers!  Poor us!



Andy and I, ready to evenly split "our" winnings!



WINNERS!  Kelsey, Andy, Andy and Janine

This week was Parent's Week at Encore Dance.  Miss Evie invited parents to watch dance class.  I have never seen anything more adorable!  And we were both so proud of Carter!  She was listening, participating and having a blast!  Dance has definitely been a good thing for her!



Miss Kaylee and Miss Evie with the girls.  Carter was telling her about her day!



Our little ballerina's



Carter putting on her ballet shoes and headband!



Smile Tiny Dancer!



Look how excited she is to volunteer!

What a busy day!



It's Election Tuesday.  Whether it be for the Republicans or Democrats, GO VOTE!



By 7am, our day care/voting site was crazy-busy!  I guess voter turn-out is good!



After lunch, I picked up Carter, then picked up Andy and we had gourmet pizza at Centro.  It was so good!  And Carter got a little safety-scissor practice while we waited for our check!



We went downtown to meet with Dr. Willy about the alleged egg allergy.  They tested Carter for only egg.  The top line is direct contact with an egg white substitute, the middle is the control group and the bottom is the histamine contact that causes a "bug-bit like reaction."  For her to truly be allergic to eggs, the bottom and top lines should be of equal redness.  So?  There's a reaction, but not a severe one, which means we stay the course and steer clear of eggs.  I doubt she would have eaten them anyway at this point, after three years of telling her "they're bad."

Oh yeah!  And the presidency thing!  Embrace the change, everyone!

This evening, Carter and I went to Recess (she took a late nap, waking up at 5:15pm, and was in desperate need to run some of the excess energy/crazy off!).  She was a CRAZY!  She was all over the joint, jumping, climbing, crawling, and of course, making new friends!

My best efforts to wear her out were thwarted: she didn't fall esleep until at least 10pm.  At one point, while I was watching TV in bed, she got up to go potty, then came into our room to scold me about being awake!  "You need to go to sleep, Mama," she said, while pointing her finger at me!



The big inflatable slide.  She's never been able to get up the steps, but tonight was the night!  She's so big!



Her pal, Davis!  Only Carter could make a friend instantly everywhere she goes!




C R A Z Y   G I R L !



Sneaking across (and above me) the rope bridge.  She was "Pooh" and I was the "Trolly Birds."  What great comprehension connections!



Loving the airplane ride!!!