Thanksmas

This year in Chicago was a blast as always. We had a pretty uneventful 6 hour drive to Marilyn and Tom's gorgeous house in Bull Valley, just north of Chicago. This is what we call Thanksmas. Our annual get together for the Thies family, a little after Thanksgiving and a little before Christmas, hence; Thanksmas! It's so nice to be able to come together in one place with our entire family. There are enough beds for everyone to sleep and stay in one place. This allows the children to romp and play and the adults to have fun all at the same time. We do a gift exchange for the kids and the adults do a really fun rob-your-neighbor style gift exchange. My girls wore their cute little dresses for the Saturday Celebration!This is Kayla after she opened her adorable matching Barbie and Me cheerleader outfit. She basically wore this for the rest of the weekend. Never mind the fact that is was about 20 degrees outside with SNOW on the ground.
This is what happens when Paige needs a nap (for some demented reason I just love this picture):

This is Paige playing in the snow for the first time ever. She was so cute. These boots were making her walk a little stiff and she bent over to touch the snow for the first time and did a nice face plant. We were all laughing so hard, she look sort of like a little turtle stuck with her arms flailing about. I know this is a little mean, but at least I did not take a picture. Plus, she didn't even cry. She loved every minute of the snow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

So here is the view I get from my couch when I am watching TV. I love this. I am so excited about having our decorations up so early this year! Christmas is so special this year with the girls being older. Especially Kayla, she is so excited about the holiday. She thought Thanksgiving was going to be Christmas this year. She woke up really early and comes in our room Thursday morning.......(whispers)"Mom....can we wake up Paige? She will be so excited about today" I reply, "NO...DO NOT WAKE YOUR SISTER UP!!!!!". Kayla: "ok Mom". So she goes and lays in front of Paige's bedroom door and waits. I fall asleep until I hear her....."Kayla. Are you kicking the wall?"

She is so cute, I see her laying there and she thinks we are going to run out to get lots of presents. I had to take a moment to explain that this is only Thanksgiving where we see our family and eat lots of turkey. This is something we are thankful for. I think she was a little disappointed, but when I told her we would see her cousins she perked right up.

This weekend is our annual trip to Chicago for what we call Thanksmas..stay tuned for a blog:)

Happy Holiday's Everyone!

Learning Something New

So I decided to try something new:) Knitting! It started out a little shaky, but I think after my "ugly" ear warmer I am actually getting better. And......IT'S FUN! Instead of sitting around twisting my hair all day (I might add this is pretty much what I do every day all day) I can create something with my twirls.

The perfect thing to do at the Farm while the men are out on a hunt:

I do feel a little old for some strange reason (possibly because everyone keeps calling me Granny):

I am good at twirls....SEE:

Now if I just had a little more patience. The only problem with the craft, it takes forever to finish one single thing. I am going to try and stick with it. I can only get better and faster with more practice. Until next time.....

Naughty or Nice?

I think.....NICE!

Wordless Wednesday.....

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Okay here it goes.....
This weekend I certainly did not make fun of my husband for getting "buck fever" and shaking so bad that he missed his giant trophy buck...TWICE!

In a fog of "Deer Season Drinking" Saturday night I did not "forget" my dogs outside in the pouring rain all night! They would never stalk and kill a opossum and leave their trophy in the yard for all to see, as my payback.

There is also no way I would give my 1 year old 3 BOTTLES this weekend to sooth her crankiness. I so did not give the babysitter trouble last week for giving in to this same temptation. I would never pretend that I was stronger then her.

When we got home late last night after a terrible drive in the rain, it was not me who crawled directly into bed to watch "Desperate Housewives" and fell asleep:)

Happy Birthday Paige Evaline!

My little Ballerina

Kayla had her first dance class yesterday at NV Dance Force and she "loved" it soooo much! I was so proud of her. She will be doing ballet and tap. She was the cutest little ballerina I have ever seen:) I had tears in my eyes watching her, gush gush.....

Another Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

So Paige learned to walk this week, and now she is doing the Cha-Cha Slide! Thanks Kayla......."one hop this time"

Giveaway from the Veater Family!

This is just the neatest idea ever for a kid.
http://veaterfam.blogspot.com/2009/09/mjm-books-review-and-giveaway.html

Look out World....Here She Comes!

Paige has a new method of asking to be picked up. Instead of the normal arms in the air with a squeal, she can now balance enough to stand up slowly and then reach her arms in the air with the squeal. I guess she is just that many inches closer, so she thinks this method works better. I was trying to get her to do this for Daddy in the kitchen last night and.......SHE TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!!!! Yay, three little Frankenstein steps right to me. The best part was Mommy and Daddy were totally watching when it happened. How rare is that? She did it again this morning for the babysitter! It won't be long before she is chasing Kayla around, yikes.

If I Could Pay Mr. Fettig in BJs.....I would..

I am a loyal follower of "tons" of blogs.....1: of my favorites
http://bohophotography.blogspot.com/
she.is.awesome.

So as some of my close friends know, I have always dreamed.....(umpa, umpa, umpa-di doo) of having dreadie,dreadi, dread locks, So being the soul rebel I am......A GIANT FACE SLAP HAS BEEN STOWED UPON ME by my uber vanilla hubby(who I love and kiss on the lips every DAY). I do love him so, but this is one of those things that I sort of NEED to do and only because he is worried about the connotation that goes along... I am forced (once in my life...or twice) to conform to "dreams of Dreads"..i should totally write a book, which pretty much blows. It blows so bad that I am willing to (insert evil laugh here) blow him...someone should start a petition, seriously!

p.s. i.am.sorry.for.the.vulgarity.but.it's.who.i.am.

To whom it may concern:

Dear Autumn,
I can not wait to see your gorgeous colors and feel your cool air.

Dear Summer,
I miss you already.

Dear Bank Account,
Please grow.

Dear Church Cookbook,
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you have helped me bring to life in my home.

Dear College Friends,
I am so excited to see you all this weekend, it has been too long.

Dear Daughters,
Mommy will miss you both dearly. Have fun and please behave for your MiMi and PaPa.

Dear Life,
Thanks!

Love, ME

Wordless Wendnesday......

Who doesn't love a great Giveaway!

Check out this cute little blog for a fun make-up giveaway! Enter to win. Good Luck!
http://www.unnecessarydrama.net/2009/09/my-elf-studiomineral-giveaway.html

These Girls are seriously spoiled!

The building is pretty much complete for the Equine Riding Arena at MiMi and PaPa's house:

This is were the girls will be riding horses for years to come:

" It's Shake 'n' Bake and I helped".

Tonight was a real treat............ Kayla decided she wanted to help with dinner. The outcome was pretty sucessful! Here are the pictures to prove this (Dinner= delicious pork steaks with Praire Dust seasoning from Lone Star, "fresh" sweet corn from the Farmer's Market, some noodles that Kayla made & some Tomatoes from Di Di's garden!). Paige and Daddy were on "Clean Up Crew".

working on the noodles.

Good Night my Loves...........

Nik

burdens

Life is full of them, burdens that is. Heavy burdens that are sometimes hard to cope with. For the last couple of months I've had overwhelming anxiety and I let these burdens take over my life. I have always considered myself the eternal optimist. You know.....the glass is half full, there is always a bright side to everything. Lately, that whole eternal part is fading. I have such a heavy weight in my chest for things that would have fluttered by in my past. I miss that girl, and I know the people I love miss her too. I don't want her to get so far out of my reach that it affects my relationships, but at the same time I don't know how to coax her back and push away this negative person that I feel I am becoming. Sometimes it helps to do this blog, in fact, in this blog world that I have entered, I see others struggling with everyday burdens. I read how they relate to my situations and how they struggle at times to find resolve in sometimes unresolvable journeys. The older you get, the more complex life becomes. I guess it does not help that the world we are living in just seems to be more and more depressing everyday. I am such a product of what media and television and technology has created, and this is something I am not proud of at all. I want to be better, I want to live simpler, I want to ignore the negativity that resonates from my TV. But, I want to see the season finale of True Blood and see what celebrities are doing and wearing all at the same time. I want to wear recycled clothing, I want to bake from scratch and have my own garden. But again, I want my recycled clothes to come from expensive shops like poorpitifulpearl.com and I want to go out to eat and pay too much. Where does the happy medium fit in here? Today I emailed my husband about what a terrible day I am having and how under appreciated I am for the hard work that I do at my job and I write to him: Sometimes life is too hard for me, when did I stop being the optimist? I want her back, and I know everyone in my life does too. This is not me, who writes that kind of stuff? I read the Nie Nie Dialogues at http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ and she motivates me to see the positive in life. My problems seem insignificant to others, but they are my problems and they are important to me. She has an amazing life and and amazing struggle of survival that sends me to the moon and back when I read her story! I guess we learn to take things one day at a time. We have to learn to teach our children that life is full of ups and downs (whether we are down or not). Life is too short to wear our worries on our sleeve and to Hell with these burdens. I am going to try to be the best Nikki I can be for my family, my loved one's and most importantly for ME!

Great Giveaway for the Kiddos!

http://suzysunshine-suzy.blogspot.com/2009/09/natural-art-supplies-giveaway.html
Come visit this fun blog and enter to win this coloring set! Super fun!

Time to get moving.....

I am ready for fall to start, but the only problem I am facing at this point is the dreaded "baby weight" still hanging around. After my first pregnancy I had no problem losing the weight, it seemed to just disappear after a pretty short time. I did go up one whole dress size, but that was okay with me. I looked at it as an opportunity to do a little wardrobe revamp and I could still squeeze into most of my favorite pieces. Fast forward to pregnancy number two and things are not quite as simple. Now don't get me wrong, my efforts to lose the weight are nothing to write a cheer about, but I have barely lost any weight since Paige was born (NINE MONTHS AGO!!!!) and I'm at my breaking point. As the fall weather is right around the corner, I started to go through my pre-Paige winter clothes and they are like 2 whole dress sizes down from my weight now.........UGG! I have never in my life experienced this problem. Growing up I was teased for being the skinny girl and now I long to have that 12 year old boy frame back. Okay, so not quite that far. But, for goodness sake there has to be some medium! No pun intended, but I am tired of buying the size large. The worst part about finding the motivation to actually do something and stop complaining is my body image is HIGH. WTF! I don't feel uncomfortable in my skin, so I am having a hard time commiting to the new workout plan. So, I have found a new motivation. For those who know me, I am a shop-aholic and love nothing more than buying clothes for myself and the girls. This year, instead of going out and getting all new clothes in size "BIG" I am going to treat myself to................FITNESS! I know I will be energized, less stressed, positive, healthier and best of all I am going to lose this weight that does not belong on my body. I will fit into those size 8 jeans again. I will wear those cute little tops that make my now post baby belly make people say, "are you having another one?". Note to those people, unless you are sure....DON"T ASK> For the last 3 weeks I have been extremely diligent about exercise. I have started to walk, run, bike and strength train for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I am writing this blog as a reminder to myself that this is a goal, a goal that can be achieved and will be achieved. Maybe by putting it out there, cyberspace can also hold me accountable. So next time you see me grabbing for the bottle of ranch to pour on my pizza, FOR God's SAKE.......STOP ME! I have to say my favorite, yet hardest exercise right now is biking. I take the girls along and do about 4 miles at a time (maybe more when I am ready). They are a heavy load those girls:

Kayla, Paige thanks for giving Mommy that extra little push (or pull in this case) on my ride. I love you both!

Another great giveaway!

These hats are super cute and just in time for fall. Happy Birthday to the blogger, and thanks for treating us to a giveaway!
http://emmstarr.blogspot.com/2009/08/birthday-giveaway.html

Super Fun Giveaway!!!

THis one would be a great gift for someone:) I love this kind of stuff. Please check it out.
http://missiekrissie.blogspot.com/2009/08/u-want-it.html

Colorado Trip

The entire Fettig family just spent the last week in Colorado attending a Beer & Bluegrass festival in Keystone! It was quite the trip indeed. I was a little stressed about a 15 hour car ride with the girls, but I have to say they were both about as perfect as could be in the car. Kayla entertained herself with toys and talking and Paige pretty much watched her sister. That was all she needed to stay happy. Thank the Lord! We arrived in Denver late on Thursday evening and Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to watch the girls in the hotel room while we went to a bar to visit our good friend Zummy:We got the chance to meet his girlfriend Melissa and she was super sweet and we had a great time. We wished they could meet us in Keystone on Saturday, but they went out of town for a wedding and could not make it. Maybe another year:( We met up with the rest of the Fettig Clan: Jeremy, Jackie, Dylan, Steph, Mark, Jack, and Sammy on Friday morning and headed into Keystone, this was the view from our condo deck:

Just stunning. We settled in and started to party. The next day we headed out to breakfast with the family and then to the Beer and Bluegrass Festival which was so much FUN!!!!! For $30 they give you a 3oz. tasting glass and there are about 50 different Colorado breweries that set up tents and pour at free will!! YUM! I found lots of new beers that I love and some that I do not Love:( The kids loved the trip and the music certainly kept them entertained:

Paige and Kayla were so good all weekend and Paige got carried around in her little backpack that Anrazel and N from http://companiontothewind@blogspot.com/ bought for Kayla when she was just a wee little sprite! She was so darn happy in that thing.

Now here comes the drama.....you know we could not have an entire family vacation without some form of drama, and ohhh did we ever. Late Sunday night all the kids go to bed and Kayla with her sweet little smile gets a kiss goodnight from Daddy:
Then about 6am the next morning she awakes to projectile vomiting all over the top bunk bed she was sleeping in. Now I must preface this part with the fact that Paige was vomiting up like a real person on Wednesday morning before we left STL and Steph (Zach's sister) was sick as a dog for the 1st two days of CO, laying in bed and poopin and pukin'. THen both Dylan and Paige got the runs in the diapers for about two days..... I mean up the back and out the sides business. GROSS, sorry for the gorey details:) SO poor little Kayla got the flu and vomited about 14 times on Sunday. SHe was such a trooper, every time she would tell me ahead of time and do her best to stay a party girl and puke when necessary. I was so scared for her. She did not go to the bathroom for over 24 hours and when I called the doctor they told me by Monday morning if she had not urinated to take her to an emergency room. Now I am crying at this point. My normally spunky little girl was bound to the stroller and did not even have the energy to walk. Needless to say, no pictures were taken on Sunday which was going to be the family shot, oh well. So Monday we were starting to trek home and Kayla was feeling better. She did vomit all over me in bed (covered my entire hair, pillow, and wall), then Daddy wakes up vomiting. So all the way to "almost" Topeka, KS we had one kid screaming of boredom, one shitting her pants cause she finally ate real food and could not control her bowel, and one Dad stopping every 30 min on the side of the road to vomit. SUPER!!! This is officially a true, memorable family vacation. We all made it home, and thank GOD I have all the great photos from the beginning of the trip. I am so happy to be home, let's put it that way:)

this blog thing is hard when you are so busy

So I have spent most of my computer time on a project for Kelli's wedding lately and with that, two active sugar pies and a Daddy................it's been awhile. Without further a do I must turn back time to Kayla's first soccer function:

So she is finaly in soccer at St. Peter's Vetta indoor and she loves it so much. All the pics that I took are so blury, but that is because girl is quick. I think I have these same pictures of Zach on 35mm film from college. I was the photographer for the Culver Year Book ( Iknowcool ) and she looks good! I was pretty proud and I'm pretty sure this guy was pretty proud too...........

So don't worry girls, she still has a little of me in her too:

Love her so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please check out this awesome Going dot com birthday bash contest over at tip junkie! This site is really cute and great for Mom's!

Way Back Wordless Wednesday......let's give it a try!

Check out this contest

Another contest for a cool item, check it out!
http://www.joyshope.com/2009/06/shey-b-camera-strap-cover-giveaway.html

I won a contest!

Oh my goodness, this blogging rules. I just won a contest on a fellow blog site...angelfacedesign! She will be sending me a necklace just for entering her contest. This stuff is paying off. Hopefully I will find the time to add something new to this blog, I have lot of events, mostly weddings, coming up so stay tuned! Yay, Yay, Yay. I'm the wiener!

CONTEST

Check it out
http://leilasmom.blogspot.com/2009/05/feeling-generous-giveaway-time.html

Congratulations Whitney!

My little sister is graduating Vet tech school on Saturday. I am so proud of her. She never really liked to go to school when she was young and I think she had a hard time deciding to take this challenge on. She has outdone herself, and graduated on time with really good grades! She walks the stage on Saturday morning and my entire family will be there to see her. What an achievement.

We are 10 years apart in age and for most of our life growing up we were as close as sisters can be with that age gap. Over the last couple of years, Whitney has transformed into a fun, charismatic woman and we are closer than we have ever been. We have so much in common and I would not trade our time together for anything. She is one of my best friends and I love to share my thoughts, ideas, and fun times with her. I hope she continues to be ambitious, and I wish her all the best. Spread your wings and fly little sis! Love, Nik

Corporate Naps

I will start by saying, my Mother's Day was wonderful. I got to see all the Mothers in my life, and enjoyed my daughters to the fullest. Though it is hard to complain about life, I am so damn busy!

Let me just mention yesterday for example; Wake up feed children, go to work until about 4pm, Nuclear Medicine Meeting from 4-6pm, ride Metro home, start laundry, go for run, plant more flowers in yard (thanks to Aunt Tonya for the Mother's Day gift of plants), feed Paige, more laundry, make dinner (mind you, it is almost 8:45 at this point), eat, put kids to bed, enjoy a few glasses of wine, clean up laundry and kitchen, BED. I don't think my head hit the pillow until 11:45pm and the only time I really sat down was to eat and digest, UGG. Sadly this is about the most relaxing night of the week I get.


I have always been a really busy person. We are rarely ever home during the week, which is why the nights at home become mass chaos for me. I find myself having a much harder time coping with the business when I have 2 kids, and nice weather sometimes fuels the Craz. I get to work and have a hard time focusing due to exhaustion. Which finaly brings me to my point here, I think we need corporate naps: http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/09/19/Napping-Centers-for-Executives THese people have the right idea. This would help not only the working mother, but everyone who has a busy life and can't find the time to sit still during the day. Even if I had the chance to go home in the middle of the day, or early in the afternoon..........like I'm going to be able to lay down and rest, RIGHT!

LONG LIVE THE NAP!

I love this weather.....

So we made it to the farm this weekend, and it was a total blast! We fit lots of activities in. Zach did a little Turkey Hunting, we celebrated Derby Day, hiked, fished, and just spent time shootin' the shit with friends and family! Kayla is getting so old, and it's times like this that really make me realize what a little girl she is turning into......SO FAST! Our friends came up on Saturday and we planned to go on a hike, so Kayla of course wanted to join along. This terrain is not bad, but in my mind I thought no way a 3 year old would be able to keep up, and no one wants to carry her, that's for sure. When we started to leave she ran in the house crying and pouting about not being able to join us. I felt so terrible and so did Zach, we decided to let her join us. She did such a great job! I was so proud of her, the only time she needed to be carried was down the steep hill, other than that she kept right up fighting through the tall grass and all:

What a big girl she was, she did do a little complaining the next day about her ankles hurting, but so did Mommy! Paige had fun too, she got to play in the exersaucer that is at the farm and she loved it:

Kayla got to play with her new Gator that she got for Christmas this year, and we needed to weight it down a little so she could get some traction............maybe this was not the best thing to use, but it sure did make for a cute picture.

It was such a fun weekend, and I can't wait to go back again:)