Spiderbaby turns 2 / Mom visits

Happy Birthday Spiderbaby! I Love You!!

My littlest girl turned 2. Poor baby had teh worst bday of her life. I 'm glad we had her bday dinner party the night before her big day, as she spent her big day being sick and cranky. Her dinner party was a blast. She had two little guests, Baby Daniel and her sister Princess. Her nana flew in town for the weekend, and Mouse's cousins who live in the Springs came too. Our good friends Heather and Ed came down from Denver and it was a party. I have been enjoying cooking in my new kitchen and cook almost all of our meals anyhoo. I made a great dinner all from scratch for her bday, spinach lasagna, italian herb bread and homemade vanilla ice cream (love our new ice cream maker). She and her friends played pin the nose on Elmo and ate cake and danced. She got a lot of great presents, including new pjs, a princess Barbie, art supplies and a check for a children's theater series. It's going to be a fun year for her.

My mom came out to visit and will tell you this is a great place to visit. Luckily, Mouse got a few days off after working 12-15 hour evening shifts all week. Friday night, we all went to a chuckwagon dinner at teh Flying W ranch. Food was good but we all recommend skipping the beans if you go. Entertainment was amazing - 5 talented cowboys singing and playing their instruments. One of the cowboys is a 5 time world champion fiddler. We also saw some great native american dancers and a world champion hoop dancer. Touring the town at the chuckwagon was a lot of fun and I bought my new perfect Colorado jacket - it is a light purple suede with big fat rhinestone buttons up the front and a big fur collar. Love it. Now I'm a real southwestern momma.

Saturday, pre-spidergirl bday party - Princess had her first soccer game. She was too cute and did well. Can't wait to see her grow as an athlete.

Sunday, Mouse took mom and Princess on a hike at the Garden of the Gods, Old Colorado City and to Manitou Springs. Monday, we covered a lot of town and went to the Ghost town (tourist trap big time) and panned for gold (my mom got lucky), toured the Van Briggle Pottery, toured Patsy's chocolate factory (big recommend) where they loaded us up with fresh samples- my favorite being the choc. adn almond covered toffee. We hiked Helen Hunt falls, drove by the Broadmoor, and the Cheyenne Mountain zoo. We finished the day by going to the Current Catalog Outlet and we shopped!

Tuesday, the ladies all toured the US Air Force Academy visitors center, hiked .3 miles with the little ones to the Cadet Chapel, and toured this amazing landmark. We hiked back and went bowling and had lunch. We planned to go horse back riding but the little ones fell asleep on the way there.

We did so much, but there is much to do here! Next on the list - the North Pole, US Olympic training center, camping at the academy, Falcons Football game on the 20th. I love it here and can't wait to get out more. Everyone here keeps getting sick. Mouse is out for the count and is on bedrest for 48 hours. Princess was sick for 2 days and Spidergirl is on the mend. Next, the hurricanes need to go away so my Mouse can go back to working days. We're surviving.

Shout out to my Just moved group in Pittsburgh. I'm praying for a good day tomorrow as you start your fall class. I'm thinking about you and missing you all.

Life Update

Over the past week or so, I've spent everyday in a hospital or Military Treatment facility in the Springs. First Mouse gets it. It's like food poisoning and he is up all night. Next day, I take him to the doctor. He's at home sick as a dog for 2 days. He starts to get better. Next day, I check on Spiderbaby before I went to sleep, and she is the hottest baby I've ever felt. I pick her up and she pukes on me. 104. Off to the hospital we go. Twice because her fever won't come down and it is a weekend. Two more visits to the doctor's office and her fever is under 100. Thank God. And Princess gets sick somewhere in there. Momma is earning her keep for sure here.

Just as everyone starts to heal, Mouse gets called up to work 12 hour shifts (which last night was more like 15 hours) from 7pm to 7am indefinitely every day of the week to monitor the Hurricanes. Nights. Not so easy on the body or or the tummy. Mouse gets sick again. The kids miss dad and we evacuate the house during the days so the Mouse can sleep in a quiet house. He gets up and is with us for 2 hours and heads back to work. It's tough. We still feel blessed. He is home with us. Not in harm's way. I am home full time and can hold down the fort.

This too shall pass and we'll go back to exploring our wonderful new home and report all the fabulous things we are getting to do and experience.

Next on our list:
-CAMPING!!! We think the kids are old enough and we are going to give it a shot. There is a family camping weekend at the Air Force Academy and if Mouse is off duty - we go.

Until then, my house will not be staged, so enter at your own risk. If you want to chat, call my cell during the day so that Mouse can sleep. Forgive me if I haven't responded to your email.

Next: Spiderbaby turns 2! Party report this weekend. Elmo will be there.