Raspberries

No, I am not talking about the fruit.

I am talking about the unnerving blowing on any bare skin.  

Ki has an extreme fascination with giving raspberries, much to my annoyance.  This fascination is somewhat funny however I have become rather weary of it.  No bare skin is safe from the slobbery and sometimes snotty blows of Ki.  

Yesterday as I was hunched over the toilet cleaning it my shirt had come up and there was a small patch of skin showing between my shirt bottom and the tops of my shorts.  As my head was behind the toilet scrubbing the wonderful markings of a little boy I felt these cold little fingers grab my sides and low and behold the slobbery and snotty face of Ki smooshed against my skin to the infamous raspberry.  He pulled away for a second to catch his breath only to smoosh his face against my back once more, and yet again!  After three puffs he pulled back and let out a big ol' belly laugh.  Trust me, my frustration was there that I was ambushed from behind, but there were some quiet chuckles on my behalf! 

This evening as I was cleaning up from dinner I was ambushed yet again... this time under my dress.  I know craziness!  I was standing at the sink washing dishes and Ki pulled up my dress from behind and grabbed hold of my thigh and gave it a big raspberry.  After which he came out from under my dress and shrieked in excitement.  He had found his new fun game for the evening.  After a few surprise raspberries and the dishes being complete I decided that I had to change out of a dress and get something on that covered a little more skin.

He is one silly little guy - I must say!

Swat Team

After a three hour cleaning session in my house I have decided that I need a to hire a swat team.  No not because I have hazardous mess in my house, but I need a few more people.  I need a handy man that is available for my various petty items.  I need a nanny/housekeeper - either or, most likely more a nanny.  I actually enjoy cleaning my house, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I am done - however with the two monkeys that I have it makes the whole process a heck of a lot harder.  I will admit that during this three house cleaning I did at one point employee the baby gate that is still up and "locked" the boys in the lower living room.  I was trying to sweep and mop my kitchen floors.  Without the two in lockdown it is nearly impossible.  Ki likes to snack on the items that I have swept into a pile, I think he thinks that I am just collecting all his snacks for his enjoyment.  Zeke on the other hand loves to "dodge" the mop - and not very successfully either.  He runs over the clean floors and inevitability leaves little footprints on the clean, wet floors.  At one point I was yelling at the top of my lungs, "Just leave me alone, let me get my chores done."  I had to chuckle later at my sheer madness - Michael often has to remind me that the two monkeys are my biggest chores.  Yes, I know that, however when I am sticking to my floors as I walk warrants the need for some serious cleaning.  So with all that said, a swat team might be needed - I am not picky, I would take a swat team every two months.  Don't worry that doesn't mean that I will only clean my house every two months, it just means that I can take advantage and get some of the "bigger" jobs done. 

Heart-A-Beatin'

Well I feel a little more at ease today!  Today was my first OBGYN appointment and after a much longer waiting time than I was use to with my former doctor, I got to see that our little one is there and heart is fluttering.  Nothing is quite like that first appointment!  Being that I can't feel the baby moving nor was really believing that I was pregnant (just without a period for the last two months)... seeing that little alien shape and hearing the whooshing noise of that little heart made my anxious heart relax.  My heart must have been a little more anxious than I thought because my blood pressure was awful high, which has caused me to skip the four week appointment schedule and bump right up to the two week appointments.  So, in two weeks I will be meeting with the doctor to discuss the possible need to put me on a low dose of blood pressure meds as a means of being proactive in the hypertension department. 
My due date is still the first week of March - however after talking with the NP she said that we will most likely be planning an induction date due to my past history and a means of controlling the pace of labor and delivery.  So with that said we may actually be looking at the end of February of 2011.  Michael jokingly said that I need to be about five week late... to have three April babies, I don't think the NP thought that was too funny - she just kind of looked at him with funny look and a tilted head.  I could almost hear her thoughts of, "When was the last time you carried a baby?"  It did make a chuckle inside I will admit!
I am sure that there will be more information to come as we continue down this unplanned adventure!  One thing the NP said that made me smile was after I explained my concern about having been on birth control and maintaining my pill regiment and my possible concerns about the baby's development, she simply said - "This baby was meant to be and there is nothing on the ultrasound that would lead me to be concerned about the current development."  So this little one may have been unplanned by us, but God knew from the very beginning and has a very special plan for it!  I guess we will just have to sit back and see what is to come of our little number three!

Busy...

I wish that I could tell you what exactly has been keeping me busy, however I don't even know!  All I know is that there really has not been nap time to myself and therefore by the time night time comes around I am usually sacked out myself.  I guess growing a little one as well as chasing after two could be a good excuse. 
A new season is in transition for me... tonight is my last Mothers & More obligation and then next weekend I will be gone on my very first MOPS retreat.  I will admit that I am kind of nervous about this retreat... this will be the first time I have ever been away from my boys.  Granted I was away from Zeke when I was in the hospital having Ki, but Zeke still came and visited me.  The longest I have ever been away from Ki is like three hours - max!  The retreat starts on Friday evening and goes through Sunday afternoon.  That is a lot of "three hours"! 
This morning we are full of appointments - Zeke has his OT appointment, of which he has every week and loves.  In between every appointment he asks me when he can go and see Miss Susan (the OT therapist).  After Zeke's OT appointment we will grab some lunch and then head to my first OBGYN appointment.  I am very excited about this appointment, being that I am still early in the process of growing, each appointment is so nice to see/hear the baby's heart beat. 

Much to Update

On July 6th I took Ki in for another ear infection... we are not going to make it to the end of August in one piece I fear.  I got home from the doctor appointment to overhear Michael telling our neighbor that we were leaving to vacation the next afternoon.  I politely correct my husband and remind him that we are not leaving on the 7th but the 8th.  Michael gives me his Kulow grin and says, "Nope we are leaving tomorrow the travel trailer guy called and said we could pick up the trailer on Wednesday for free, oh and the house sitter will be here in a few to go over the house stuff."  As I am sure you can imagine my head was spinning!  Had to get the house cleaned up, get everything packed and make sure that everything is in order one day less than I was planning. 
Everything went off without a hitch.  I got everything packed... oh yeah and Michael packed just about the entire kitchen, garage and house!  We left our house around 8pm on Wednesday in Michael's truck pulling a rented 27 foot travel trailer.  Yes, I know camping to most means sleeping in a tent on the hard ground - well not for us, we have upgraded due to the fact of having two small boys that would need naps (and a daddy too!).  Upon our first stop in Larime, WY we pulled into a WalMart to sleep and discovered that we had encountered our very own oil spill.  Don't worry it sounds a lot worse than it really was!  Our pantry had opened and all of the contents spilled out, included in the contents was a full bottle of Crisco vegetable oil!  Yep, it was a huge mess!  Michael and I spent the next hour and a half cleaning the trailer and trying to salvage hat we could of our food.  I am glad to announce that after that little mishap our trip was pretty much problem free!

We arrived in Heber, Utah for the biannual family reunion for my side of the family.  We surprised everyone as our plans were not to arrive for another day.  Thankfully our site was open and we set up our trailer and spent the next six hanging out.  There were a few days that it was just Michael, Ki and I and then towards the end Michael and I got to spend some time by ourselves as the boys hung out with Papa and Gigi.  We spent some time jet skiing, we took a few day trips around the area including Heber Valley train, Bridal Falls, and Timpanogos Caves.  All in all a great trip!
After a week of "roughing" it in the travel trailer Michael and I are convinced that is the only way to do camping now! 

On our way home from our trip Michael and I got to talking about just how comfortable our family feels.  We are loving the ages of our boys and thinking that things are great.  While talked I inform Michael and I had a feeling that I was pregnant.  Michael sighed and said that we needed to find out for sure.  So as we drove into Littleton we stopped by WalMart and picked up a pregnancy test.  Thursday morning I woke up early to discover that our Kulow family of four was now a Kulow family of five.  After a trip to Planned Parenthood it was confirmed!  Michael and I are expecting our third baby in March - I am seven weeks pregnant.
After day of utter shock, Michael and I are excited about what blessings are to come from this little bundle.  Friday I spent the afternoon with a friend getting a pedicure.  Upon my arrival home Michael said we were leaving to get in the car.  He wouldn't tell me where we were going but just to get in the car.  After a quick drive to downtown Littleton I discovered that we were looking at a new car.  Saturday it was settled... Michael bought me a new GMC Acadia.  Okay not new but a 2008 - fully loaded and they took my truck as a trade in.  Michael told me that it was just time to do it, with the new baby on the way and before we have to put new brakes on my truck we traded up!  I am so excited about it - I have not seen the new car yet, they were fixing a ding in the back hatch and so they were repainting the area so it was baking.  So as for now I am breathlessly waiting for the call informing me that the car is ready - they said it would be ready by Tuesday at the latest. 
Yeah for me!  A wonderful week of family vacation, news of a new addition to the family, a girl date, and a new car! 

Sunday School

So today was my day to help at church in the Sunday School class.  I guess during the summer parents of regular attendance have to help one weekend during the summer as there is often teacher on vacation and such.  Well today was my day.  Let me first say that I have a new appreciation for good Sunday School teachers, they never know who will be showing up in their class or how many.  My next thing is I think that just about every child that was in the class was a little more "rough around the edges".  My thought was, I am sure that the parents just need a little break from their kids and therefore they are at church for that break!  My last thought - in the nicest way as possible is... there are not enough good Sunday School teachers!  Bless this poor ladies soul, she must have a heart for kids but her classroom management was sorely lacking and her overall knowledge of the age group was lacking even greater!  I was running the class and she kept saying things like, "Oh that is a good idea, oh I would have never thought of that..."  By the end of service I felt like I wanted to pull my hair out!  There was a part of me that felt like I needed to say something to the coordinator, however I was afraid to for fear that she would ask me to be a teacher!  Is that bad?  I guess I know the answer however that was and still is my thought!  I know that it is hard to find good Sunday School teachers but I feel that there should be some sort of bench mark set, maybe a class taught or something - this woman I am sure had her heart in the right place but her knowledge of the kids and managing the class were way out of wack. 

Biggest Loser

So the Potter family decided back in March that we would do a family biggest loser challenge.  I decided that I would join in on the challenge since heaven knows I have some baby fat to get rid of.  On March 30th I weight in at 172, yikes I know!  However now three months later I am proud to say that I have lost twelve pounds.  There was a time where the weight was just falling off, I had gotten down to a weight loss of seventeen pounds but unfortunately some of that found it's way back onto me.  More importantly I feel is that I am in better shape.  I have started jogging while I take the boys for walks, that of which I claimed I wouldn't do unless someone was chasing me and even then would be questionable - but I have been doing it!  I have tried to adjust our families meals to be a little more healthy, instead of white rice we have brown, instead of butter I use olive oil... little steps to get everyone on the right foot.  One of the best things I feel is that Michael has been able to notice some of the body improvements through my hard work and has begun complimenting me on them - it is nice to know that my hard work is noticeable, if only for my husband! I will say that I am a little bummed that I was not able to loose my goal weight of thirty pounds but I suppose that would be a little ridiculous in three months time.  So I will find out in a week if I was the biggest loser for the family challenge, part of me is thinking that I am not but it should be nice if I was - you know that competitive side of me needs a little bump in confidence! 

Summer

I don't know why I thought that I would be good at blogging during the summer but somewhere in my mind I thought, "Oh, no sweat - I will be on just as much as I was before school got out."  NOT!  I guess the biggest reason is the boys and I are out and about and by the time we get back home I am so stinking tired and have to being the evening rituals, which include making dinner, getting the boys bathed and then cleaning up from the days activity. 
Our days mostly involve early morning wake up calls, compliments of Ki... gurrrr!  A few hours of breakfast and house cleaning since we have them before anything opens.  The last two weeks we have been heading to the pool around 9:30 every morning for Zeke's swim lessons and then some days we just pack a picnic lunch and play at the pool until nap time, around 1:30 or we head out for an activity.  Last week was so stinking hot and of course that was the week that I planned a few outside days - Ouch is all I have to say!  I was worn out between the dry heat and the dang temperatures by Saturday I was worn out.  And of course I pick the weekend to be tired and worn out that Michael is gone, so Saturday the boys and I hung out in jammies, left all the blinds closed and snuggled on the couch with the air conditioning blowing.
Last week I posted about our little trip to Waterton Canyon and then on Friday the boys and I headed to the Denver Zoo.  Our first time going, I have to say that I have had this snobbish pretense and have not wanted to venture over there thinking "nothing can compare to the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park".  Snobbish I know!  However I broke down and we headed over after morning swim lessons.  We got to the zoo around 11:30 and hung out there until 3pm.  Granted while we were there we probably saw just about everything you could see, but it was AWESOME!  It is a great place to go.  The animals are up close so that the boys could see all of them.  The park itself had a bunch of grassy places to sit and have a picnic, which we did and it was not too expensive - it cost $21 for the boys and I to go.  Needless to say as I was leaving I was feeling ashamed for being such a San Diego snob!  I am even thinking that we might get a year membership for a whole whopping $90 for our entire family.
Well today is the first of July... sakes time sure has flown by!  Like I said Zeke has been taking swim lessons and he is doing awesome.  He can float on his back and now has forward motion in his swimming.  He is having a blast.  This weekend Michael's step sister flies in for a little visit, we will be getting together at Grandma and Grandpa Kulow's on Saturday.  And before we know it we will be leaving for the Dion family reunion in Utah on the 8th.  I am excited for a little vacation for Michael's sake as well as a chance to see my family.
Zeke's speech update... I contacted CHP+ and they said that there is nothing that they have to offer so I called the school district and Zeke has an appointment scheduled for the 22nd of July for a hearing, vision and speech evaluation.  I am kind of bummed that we have to do them all again since we have just finished doing them through insurance but, oh well!  We will know more the end of July hopefully.  The one huge bummer is that for Zeke to receive the services he will need to be attending a public preschool, that of which both Michael and I are very bummed about.  I suppose that it is all in God's hands and we as parents will need to know that there is a plan and a purpose for everything!
Here are a few of the latest summer pictures.  Hope that you too are enjoying your summers.

I gave Zeke the job of map boy at the Zoo and oh boy did he take the job very seriously!

Like I said the animals were all really close... for some of them it felt a little too close

No matter how many times I tried to get a picture of both of the boys looking at me I failed... so here is one of Zeke looking at the camera and Ki licking the fish tank!