Going Private

I am going private. I sorta forgot to warn people though. So I will leave this message up for a while, and if you want to be a reader of this super cool, always interesting, fabulously glamorous, ever-exciting blog, please email me or leave a comment with your email address.

And while I am at it, I will recommend this super good book. It is a "body, mind, spirit" book, but the author isn't coo-coo like in most "self-help" books. And I wouldn't describe it as a self-help book, but more of a self-improvement book. It is how to make your "body, mind, spirit" as healthy as you can and to gain more energy in the process. It has actually worked with me, and not to mention I have lost eight pounds as well. Just a recommendation if you are interested. (It gets you thinking.)



And if you end up reading it, call me or email me. I would love to know your thoughts and discuss it.

San Diego - My New Favorite City

First of all, I made my mom take a picture of me looking like a serious artist too:




At the pool, we rented a family bicycle thingy (I need to learn the real name of it) and rode all over the beach/marina park. It was my favorite time of the whole weekend and Maddie loved that she got to sit in front of us and "tell" us where to go.



For some reason Maddie does this "rockstar" hand gesture to flag down the trolley. (She claims she learned it from cousin Emma?)



This is Maddie at the top of the world! Isn't this a gorgeous view?



Of course, Josh had to go to the baseball game. The weather is just gorgeous, and they have a very cool "park in the park" area that is all grass with a sandpit for kids to play around and families to sit comfortably.



This is how much fun the Madster had at the San Diego zoo.



One of my favorite things at the zoo was the insect area. They are disgusting (like my face in this picture) and fascinating.



Maddie loved the butterfly ride in Balboa Park.



Josh, the geography nerd, planned out our whole zoo experience with the map.



This is why I like the San Diego zoo so much! They actually have a huge, two story bus that you can ride around on and they take you to see all the animals and you don't even have to walk. It is perfect for lazy parents, and the kids get to see all of the animals still! Yeah!



My favorite animal I saw: "grizzly bear playing in his pond." Josh's favorite animal: "the pig playing in the mud." Maddie's favorite animal: "kitty cats." (Uh, does she mean the lions and tigers and cougars?)



And to finish it off, they have those cool rides that take you over the whole, gorgeous, green park with amazing views.


We had a wonderful time. And the coolest part is that this city is close enough to drive, and I don't have to change time zones, and the weather is perfect, and there is still so much to do in that city!

2 Big Announcements (with a long explanation)

So.....I always wanted to go to law school (long before I met Josh). But then we had a (happy) surprise with our little Evan, and I decided I would have a bunch of babies first and then in about five years, I would go to law school.

Well, after Evan died, the doctors told me that every baby I had would have a 25% chance of having SMA like Evan did unless I did an expensive and grueling in-vitro process every time I got pregnant. Well, at the time we were living off Josh's student loans and we couldn't afford it. So instead, I went to law school. After a semester of crying every single day on my drive to and from school, my mom (generously) offered to loan us some money to try to get pregnant. THANK THE HEAVENS ABOVE that it worked and we were blessed with our little Miracle Maddie after a very difficult pregnancy and delivery. So then I thought, okay, I'll just pop out one or two more kids and go back to law school once the last one was in preschool, right?

Well, Maddie is almost four years old now and we haven't been able to get pregnant again. Rrrrr.....

So, I have been sitting around, twittling my thumbs and biting at the bit to get back to law school. But I still want to have more babies! What the heck do I do? Well, I did some research and found an online Law School (Concord). I know it sounds ghetto, but I was really impressed with the program. Well, today was my very first official day. We have online "classes" and video lectures with our professors, and the textbooks are the regular thousand page legal books that I remember from before. I am beyond excited that I get to "go back" to law school.




But the best part about it is that I can still go through the hellish trying-to-get-pregnant procedures, and if I get stuck on bedrest for six months again, it won't even matter! I can still do my classes straight from my bed! Plus, I will have control over my schedule, so it (should) work with newborns, toddlers, and all of the other fun mommy stages. SO, we are once again going to try to get pregnant. Even though we are starting this oh-so-fun procedure now, it will be months before the actual implantation and when I know if it worked or not because of all of the oh-so-fun testing and pre-implantation procedures.




I just wanted to explain WHY I have to do the in-vitro procedure because a lot of people don't understand that I do not have an infertility problem. You would be amazed at the very weird (and personal) things that women have told me to try to get pregnant. (For example, this old, weird lady told me to try a white vinegar douche, because she swears that is how she conceived her daughter 23 years ago.)

Anyway, wish me luck on my two huge endeavors starting this week!

Artists In the Making

I just started my first art class ever (Drawing 101) at the Community College with my mom. This is what we were supposed to be drawing:


This is my drawing, that I was really proud of:


Until the teacher told me that I should "try to do it more like your mom:"


Here is a picture of the natural artist. (Apparently I am not one of those!)

Some Summer Fun Times

Maddie and her best bud/cousin Emma.



Picking grapes and berries with Grandpa Stucki in Utah.



What I saw every single evening after dinner during our week vacation in Newport. (They are the cutest.)



Josh is determined to make Maddie enjoy baseball and takes her to the batting cages with him. (She is a good sport.)



You can usually find Maddie in her "Art Room," or as she calls it, her "office," in the little room under the stairs.



Maddie is taking computer classes at her preschool and her favorite thing to do is play computer games now.



With Dad Josh while hiking in Red Rock Canyon (just up the street from our house).



With Aunt "Gi" (a.k.a. Juli Harris) in Red Rock Canyon.



Slip and sliding in Vernal with the cousins.



This picture shows how Maddie set up her Barbies. She said they were doing the yoga move "downward dog" and working out! I have been trying to work out more often and doing more Yoga and Pilates, and apparently Maddie's Barbies are trying to lose their love handles too!



Maddie and Josh "grocery shopping" at the Las Vegas Lied Children's Discovery Museum. She never wanted to leave this part of the museum. (Which is exactly like her mom. This was my favorite part too about 15 years ago.)



Maddie "performing" on the stage with her dad Josh directing her at the museum. (Nobody was watching, but she still had stage fright.)



Maddie was singing at the top of her lungs to "Part of Your World" from Ariel. Her voice was on loud speaker over all of the second floor at the museum. She was quite a hit.



I bought this train set a long time ago when I was trying to buy politically correct toys (no gender bias in my house!) Maddie had not been the least bit interested in this until recently. Now she builds the train tracks all over my kitchen floor in the weirdest patterns.