Rocking Horse

Hey all my blogger friends! I feel like it's been a while since I've been a consistent blogger but I've been working long days to cover for a coworker so I'm just plain tired. Maybe in a few weeks, when she comes back, I'll have energy to do things around my house, catch up on projects, and blog more consistently. We shall see :)

In the meantime, my hubby finished his project for our baby :) A rocking horse. It is beautiful and even though our son won't use it for a while, it will be fun for him when he gets older :) So, here is the finished project!!
Happy Thursday! I'm hoping that my next blog post will be about my new niece?? We're still waiting :)

Flood of 2010

It is flooding here....like, hard core flooding! Thankfully a dike has kept all water out of our neighborhood! However, the town that I work in has had some crazy flooding going on....I took some pics today:

Hwy. 169

One of the many bridges closed in St. Peter

This is one of the roads that I usually take...

It has been crazy and I hope that people stay safe during these conditions! In the meantime, I'm driving WAY out of my way to get to work....while it's inconvenient, I've actually rather enjoyed the longer commute :) It's given me more time to pray and think before I dive into work so, I won't complain :) Hope you're all having a fabulous Monday!

Come, October, Come :)

This week has been a little blah....I kept trying to think of a blog post this week but nothing came. Instead, my feet were swollen from working, my brain shut off on Monday, and I scared my husband by being 4 hours late coming home today (I'll explain in a bit)

But, today I thought of a wonderful thought: It's almost October :) Not that I'm trying to wish Sept. away, but I will love October for these 4 reasons:

1) It's by far my favorite month of the year
2) My niece is coming oh so soon!!!! Perhaps by next week?
3) I have two cousins getting married which means seeing extended family 2 times!!!
4) I start the third trimester!!Almost 28 weeks!!!

Ahhh....I'm excited :) Things are good....even after a blah week :)

So, back to how I scared my husband.....
7:30 AM: I tell my hubby goodbye and nonchalantly tell him I'm working an 8 hour day today to fill in for my coworker. I thought he heard....he thought I said, "See you at noon" like every other Friday
Noon: Aaron calls my phone, no answer (I can't bring it into work)
3:00pm: Aaron tries to occupy his time so he doesn't worry....tries to call my work, no answer (we were outside go figure!), tries to figure out what to do about my absence, hears a firetruck down the road and thinks the worst
4:00pm: 8 missed calls later, I call my husband, thinking that my sister-in-law had her baby (with 8 missed phone calls, I thought something was up!) Poor guy!

Although I felt awful for having scared my husband, I did feel very loved when I was greeted with a huge hug, a kiss, and a "Don't ever scare me like that again!" Goes to show what a "minor" miscommunication can do!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Scuba Diving Weekend

We're back!! Since nobody knew that we were going to be gone, I suppose I should let you in on our very spontaneous weekend getaway!!

Aaron needed to go to Wazee Lake in Wisconsin this weekend to get his second certification in scuba diving SO after a really random turn of events, I decided to go with him (like at midnight on Thursday night and we left on Friday afternoon) :) We've been wanting to get away for SO long now (and especially before Baby Willey gets here!) but Aaron works almost every weekend so it was never feasible. We are so so sooooo thankful for a weekend to get away.....even though Aaron spent half of it in the water while I napped and read :)

It was an incredibly relaxing and fun getaway and I can even say that I was little tempted to grab a wet suit and jump in myself (even though I'm scared of deep water). Maybe Aaron will talk me into it someday? :) So, here are some pics:

Preparing for the first dive....

Future diver! (I think he should dress up as Mr. Incredible for Halloween with this costume! It would be perfect!!)

Getting all the gear ready

And, the goggles just complete it :)


While Aaron was diving, our son was kicking, jabbing, and moving....I'm preparing myself to run after him ALOT after he is born!

Ahhhh...did I mention how much I LOVE fall yet? :) The trees are JUST starting to change!
*sigh* So, that was our weekend :) And I feel so refreshed and ready for a new week! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend as well!

Nothing in Particular

I don't have alot on my mind today so prepare yourself for a relatively boring post. :) We're into the routine of things and starting to get used to our schedule.....Work and being in college really does make life fly by and I find myself getting more and more excited as each month passes by. One month closer to December :)

*Speaking of December, I don't know HOW I'm going to be able to bend over and tie shoes, sit "crisscross applesauce", put coats on preschoolers, and guard my stomach from kids who like to hit and kick when I'm 9 months pregnant. It's hard enough to do these things now! Hmmm...I guess we'll cross that bridge when it comes :)

*Our spelling debate has come to an end as we've officially decided on the name of our son. And.....Aaron won. Oh well :) I just think it has been SO fun to be Erika with a "k" all my life that I envisioned my children having names that were spelled just a little different. But, the more and more I wrote the name, the more I liked the spelling that Aaron liked. Debate over....now we just have to keep it a secret until the little guy comes.

*That's about it....See? Nothing in particular :)

P.S. Oh, and, Aaron liked the porch color :)

While the Cat's Away....

the mouse will.....PAINT! :)

I randomly decided to paint our front porch yesterday. It was so blah before and just needed a spruce of color! I can't wait to see the look on Aaron's face when he sees the completed project today! (I tried to keep it a secret but when he asked what I did all day, I couldn't resist spilling the beans!) I don't think he's going to want to leave for a weekend again :)

Before:

After:

Before:

After:
Now I'm getting inspiration to decorate for fall.....yay!! I LOVE fall!! :)

Wicked

Ha! What a title :) What I'm referring to is seeing Wicked at the Orpheum last night!! A few of my cousins and I had an incredible girls night out as we watched this musical together! I loved it!! :) Thanks for a fun night out, girls!!! :)While I did this, my dear hubby was SCUBA DIVING! Ha, what a crazy guy :) He is getting certified this weekend and just a little too excited about it :) Anywho, hope you're all having a great weekend!

Things Are Not Always As They Seem.....

Take this picture for instance.....

If I were to "put words into the mouth" of this picture, I would say something like this:

Erika: Aaron, the baby just kicked!

Aaron: (reaches down to feel, eyes light up when he feels a kick) Wow! That's incredible!

The couple stares longingly into each other's eyes.....*deep sigh* Oh so romantic :)

Seems likely, right?? Well, this picture made us both laugh last night because the conversation actually went like this:

Erika: Aaron, I need a belly pic for my blog. I haven't updated for a while.

Aaron: (Looking up from his homework) Maybe in a bit?

Erika: (Impatient) Just really quick! Just stand up and look at me.

Erika pushes the timer button before Aaron can change his mind

As the timer is going off....with one or two clicks to go before the picture is taken...

Erika: Oh, wait, put your hand on my belly...that would look cool

Aaron: What? Smile creeps upon his face

AND....this picture came about. And, we both laughed hysterically because of the story behind it :)
Remember, things are not always as they seem in pictures :)

Science Museum

Today we went to the Science Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit! It was a blast!! Above is the Landmark Center....SUCH a cool building in downtown St. Paul (my Sister-in-Law Monica took me here last year and I was so bummed I forgot my camera that day, so this time I made a point to capture the beauty of this building!)

Just outside of the Science Museum.....it was WINDY today!

Fun, fun day! Hope you all are enjoying your Labor Day weekend!!

Little House

This has been a long week. No particular reason why (just good ole' drama) but I just wanted to escape all responsibilities this week and forget about how LONG this week was going. So, I did what I love to do....immerse myself in a really good book. I looked around my house for all the books that I've only read 2 times or so and found that my "library" is getting slim. I finally looked at my children's books and found my Little House on the Prairie set. Beautiful....

I ate up every word last night and WANT to be in Laura's world. I want a simple life in which we have to grow our own food, trade supplies, and get just enough fabric to make a simple dress. Ahhhh....I only wish. I've been wanting a simple life so much lately that I've tried to think up ideas of how to be more frugal in living. If only I could build a log cabin and build my own fire to cook over.....I would finally be the definition of frugal!

But, alas, sometimes it feels like we're trapped in this world of buying everything "precooked" and clothes already made and while the convenience IS nice, I only wish we could have a glimmer of what it would be like to do without.

Those are my thoughts lately....wanting to be more frugal and finding inspiration from Laura Ingalls Wilder :)