Let the Countdown Begin....

Had a doc appointment yesterday. If I don't go by next Friday, they are going to induce me!!! (If you could only see the smile on my face through a computer!!!!) I can't complain about this pregnancy to much. The first trimester was kinda tough. I was nausious through most of it, but other than that, it was fine....up until the last 3 weeks that is. I haven't been able to sleep very well cause of back pain, and we all know sleepless nights can lead to some pretty long days. So I'm anxious for this little bambino to leave my body!

The girls are very excited & very curious all at the same time. Reese keeps asking "how the baby is going to get born". It's adorable how she says it.

And Lauren is a little upset that she can't be there when the baby is born. She keeps saying it's not fair that she has to go to school that day and Daddy gets to go the hospital w/ me! We keep reassuring her that as soon as the baby is born Grandma & Grandpa will bring her straight to the hospital to see us.

Lauren still wants a boy and Reese still wants a girl. I guess one of them is bound to get their way!

Spring is FINALLY here!

Well, it's only been about a month since my last post. No excuse, I just simply didn't have much to post about and have been a little preoccupied. Either way, I'm back. But probably not for long. The baby is due in 16 days, but I'm hoping to get induced in 12 days. After he/she gets here, I'm gonna guess my blogs might be a little short for a while also. But, I'll do my best to get pics out there of the little one.

Anyway, here are some pictures from Easter. I don't have to many as our Easter was a little different from years past. Troy's grandma turned 80 this year, so his extended family had a get together in Des Moines. Troy gave me the most wonderful present in years.....TWO WHOLE DAYS HOME ALONE! He and the girls left on Friday morning and got home late Saturday night. It was an amazing couple days, relaxing and having me time. I was able to watch a couple chick flicks, spent quite a bit of time washing bottles, bedding, toys, etc. getting ready for the baby. But by Saturday night, I was more than ready for them to come home. Seriously, what did we do before we had kids!?!?!?

Easter Sunday was very nice and relaxing as well. We went to church early, slightly afraid the 10:00 mass might be a little long for our blessed second born who 99% of the time asks "Mom, how much longer?" just as Father is giving his opening prayer! After mass, we went out for breakfast as a family and came home w/ nothing on our agenda other than to wait for Grandma & Grandpa to arrive home from Arizona!

Mom and dad pulled into our driveway about 7 that night to surprise the girls which was a wonderful way to end the day.

This weekend we didn't have much on the agenda either (notice a trend here?). I just haven't been feeling very comfy the last couple weeks, and hanging out at home in my fat pants is about the only place I care to be lately. We did go out for our "last supper" Friday night w/ Paula and Jason to Tony Roma's. It was very nice but w/ one 8 1/2 month pregnant lady and another 4 1/2 month pregnant lady, needless to say the night didn't get to twazy! I think we were home and in bed by 9:45! HA!

The girls had a great weekend playing outside. I don't think they came in once yesterday. Which resulted in Reese passing out on the couch at 7:40 last night. Lauren proved to be a trooper tho, staying outside w/ the neighbors until after 10. And yes, she has been VERY tired today.

The neighborhood girls had their first lemonade stand today. It was so cute. They were SO excited. It was like a bunch of little entrepreneurs w/ all these ideas on how to make this even more successful.....which I do have to say, they made over $17. So we either have very thrifty neighbors or we really need to push these girls into business school at a young age!!!

Lighten the Mood

So after such a heavy blog about Paula and everything going on there, I figured I'd lighten the mood a bit.

On my way home from the hospital last week, I called Troy to chat. After I got off the phone, he must have told the girls about Paula and described it as an infection in her blood. So, an hour or so later I get home and here is how the conversation goes b/w me and my youngest challenge:

Reese: "Mom, how's Paula's butt?"
Me: "What?"
Reese: "Her butt? How's her butt?"
Me: "Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"
Reese: "Dad said she has an infection in her butt...........how's her butt?"
Me (trying to hold back some much needed laughter): "Ha! Do you mean her blood?"
Reese: "Oh."

God obviously knows how to deliver much needed laughter when needed the most! Thanks for the laugh Reese....You're always good for a few here and there!

The Power of Prayer

The power of prayer can work miracles.


My best friend Paula, who is the closest thing I have to a sister, is sick. She went to the hospital last Saturday, with what they believed was a kidney infection, but her symptoms rapidly got worse, and they ended up rushing her to the University of Iowa Hospitals on Tuesday.


After multiple tests, and alot of long days, they officially diagnosed her yesterday w/ what is called Transverse Myelitis. By definition, this is a neurological disorder caused by inflammation across the spinal cord. They are going to start her on a treatment called Plasmaphofesis.

Anyone that knows Paula, knows she is the definition of fun & love. The girl can't sit still for longer than 30 seconds on a good day, and would move heaven and earth for any of her friends and family. I am so blessed to have her in my life and can't imagine my world w/o her.

So, I figured I'm throw this post out there in hopes that whoever reads it can say a quick prayer for her full recovery. It's seems so unfair when this kind of thing happens to such unbelievable people, so all I can hope is that there is a reason for this that I can't possibly comprehend at this time, but someday will.

Paula, our friendship means the world to me and I hope you know that. Love ya bud.....

A Little Vacation

Every year, the girls and I take our annual 10 day trip to Arizona to visit my parents. It's always a wonderful way to break up the winter (and basketball season) for all of us. But unfortunately, w/ being 33 weeks pregnant this year, it just wasn't going to work out. So instead, we decided to have a little family get together in Peoria, which is a middle ground for meeting my brother and his family from St. Louis! Mom and dad flew in Friday and the girls and I went to meet them. It was a great weekend. The kids got to do everything they wanted....which was SWIM all weekend long!

Unfortunately, Troy wasn't able to join us due to ball, so Grandpa was in overdrive the whole weekend playing dad to multiple grandkids, making sure they enjoyed every minute in the pool. I'm pretty sure he'll sleep for 2 days straight when he gets back to Arizona!

I don't know what it is about little kids in goggles, but I can't help myself but take blackmail pics like this! What goofballs!!!

Grandpa of the year! (The poor guy doesn't even know how to swim!)

Ring around the rosey......we all fall down! (Except Grandma!)

We also celebrated Reese and Chloe's 4th birthday. Reese turned 4 January 18th, and Chloe turned 4 February 8th. The two of them play so good together. They are like 2 pees in a pod, buddy buddy the entire time.

Dianne, Chloe's mom, made an amazing Cinderella cake for the girls too. They loved it! (Much better than my store boughten Hy-Vee cake!)

All the Steger cousins: Kaitlyn (10), Reese (4), Lauren (6), Maddie (6), Chloe (4) & Ben (6). Missing is Ted's youngest, Megan.

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for a great weekend! We were so excited to see you and spend some time w/ you. Can't wait until you come home in April.

So Sweet....

A couple random things to post about this week.....

Below is a snapshot of the Valentine Reese made for me and Troy. The teachers at her school ask them what they want to write down and no matter how silly their response is, they ensure us, what was written came straight from them. I had to share her Valentine. I love the innocence of kids.....Hy-Vee.....HA! Classic!

This weekend was actually nice enough to go outside for the first time in a long time. And thank goodness, cause these kids needed to burn off some energy. February always seems to put cabin fever into high gear in our house.

And finally, I had to take advantage of this moment. Lauren got a Tag reader for her birthday. It's a Leapster thing that allows kids to read the Leapster books on their own, w/ the help of the Tag reader, that white thing she's holding. She really enjoys it and so does Reese. I'm 100% convinced Lauren is bound to be a teacher. She loves acting like the older kid and "help" Reese w/ stuff like this.

The Ice Cream Bucket(s)

Blog Posting Disclaimer: I will try to keep specific details of the past week to a minimum, but in order to truly feel the pain that we've lived this past week, I might have to describe a few items in detail. No worries, I will not post any pictures!!!

It has been quite the week/weekend in our house. It all started last Wednesday night. We got home from dance and Lauren said she didn't feel well and wanted to go to bed. RED FLAG! In the 6 years that girl has been on this earth, she has never spoken those words. So she went to bed at 7:30 w/ no supper. At 8:30 I walked Reese into their room. (Remember, they share a bed now!) Anyway, she hops in and says, "Ewe Mom, it's all wet in here." Lauren had proceeded to get sick in bed and slept right through it. It was a wonderful discovery! (Note: First round of laundry).

This was the beginning of a very long night. She proceeded to get sick every half hour on the hour until about 4 am. And the look on her face every time broke my heart. All she wanted was for it to stop and there was nothing I could do to help her.

Fast forward to Friday night. Lauren is feeling 100% better and able to go school on Friday, so I feel pretty safe going to Troy's game at Beckman Friday night. We get to the game about 6:30. The girls are playing around having fun and 30 seconds after tip off, Reese looks up at me, face white as a ghost and says, "Mom, I don't feel so good." To which my only response was..........RUN! We managed to get to the van and started on our way home when she first got sick. (Note: Second & third round of laundry).

I get her home, in her PJ’s and lying down in our bed. I decide to go clean out the van a little bit. When I get back, I lay down next to her and start to feel sick to my stomach. Not sure if it was just the smell of everything that had gotten to me, I just roll over and try to ignore it. After about 12 seconds of ignoring it, I realized I too was coming down w/ this wonderful bug. (Note: Fourth & Fifth round of laundry).

So there I lay, a bucket to my right for Reese and a bucket to my left for me. I proceeded to get sick every half hour on the hour until about 9 am Saturday morning.

Needless to say, it was a pretty uneventful weekend in our house!