Aurora Staples Inn

Did I ever show you my pictures of our room at the Aurora Staples Inn we stayed at for our wedding in Stillwater?  No?  Okay, I know, I know.  So I was really lazy for a loooooong time and didn't want to lift a finger to blog.  Okay, I'll show you now.  Keep in mind that I took these pictures before we left.  The bed isn't made perfect and there are things of ours laying here and there in the pictures.

We rented the carriage house, which is the old garage of the Inn turned living quarters.  I didn't take a picture of the bathroom, but take my word that it was plenty big with a large tiled shower.  And beautiful.  Neither Jeff or I were particularily fond of the breakfast they served, but that would probably be the case at any bed and breakfast we would have gone to.  Thanks to our mothers, we like home style hearty breakfasts.  The service was prompt and very polite.  We will definately go back to enjoy the peace, quiet and relaxed atmosphere.  No TV, lots of rest.  Just what we wanted and needed.

The most comfortable bed in the world.  I spent most of my time right there on the left side.

The four person tub.  Um... who want's to take a bath with four people?  I'll stick with two, but thank you.  It was so big, I couldn't keep myself grounded. 

The door to the bathroom.

 Lovely furniture.  Nevermind the men's clothes left in the bottom drawer. 

The sitting room.  I didn't sit in it.  Who sits in it when there is such an awesome bed!

 Another little sitting area with table.

The house itself had lots of history behind it and suprised us a bit when reading through the details dating back.  We would recommend this bed and breakfast if anyone is ever looking to stay at a bed and breakfast in Stillwater.  The Inn Keepers were very accomdating and great to work with. 

http://www.aurorastaplesinn.com/

To see the rest of the photos from our wedding you can visit Mandy Guth Photography.  Mandy is located in Stillwater and I'd highly recommend her doing photos for you if you're in the area.  Stillwater has so many awesome locations for photos.  If you're adventurous enough to have pictures taken when you're away from home, it's the place to do it.

http://www.mandyguthphotography.com/f446572571

20/20

20 weeks down.  20 weeks to go!

We're smack dab in the middle and things are going great.  Josie and Elias joined us for the big ultrasound yesterday.  We did a lot of laughing throughout because the kids had lots of weird questions and observations.  It was a bit uncomfortable laying on a table with your belly exposed, the Ultrasound Tech moving the probe over your stomach and you can't stop laughing.  She was great about everything though.

The Tech estimated the weight of baby off of the measurements she took to be 13 oz.  My weekly pregnancy update emails said the estimated weight of babies at 20 weeks is 10.5 oz, so we're right on track.  Between weeks 10 and 15, I had only gained 1 lb.  Friday, 9/14/12 we'll have our follow up from the ultrasound/20 week appointment.  The doctor said he wasn't too concerned about the low weight gain the last time, but I'm curious to know if I've put on sufficient enough pounds between weeks 15 and 20.  I'm feeling like my belly is quite large-- but pretty much all baby-- and straight out.

We didn't find out the gender of the baby at the ultrasound.  We'll leave you all guessing-- we'd love to hear your predictions though!  I'll list some things that I've heard people base their predictions on:

• I've been feeling great throughout this pregnancy, with the exception of being drop dead tired, a little "off" feeling and not having much of an appetite between weeks 6 and 12.  My appetite hasn't reappeared completely, but I'm no longer nauseous at the sent of certain foods, especially cooked meat; I just eat a little less. 
• Fruit is probably my biggest craving right now, or from the very beginning really.  I guess it's a good craving to have! 
• The baby's heartbeat was 144 at our 15 week appointment and 135 at the 20 week ultrasound.  
• I don't think I'm "carrying" the baby high or low.  You be the judge through.  Based on my pregnancies with Josie and Elias, everyone predicted the opposite of what they were. 
• Elais *knows the baby is a boy.  Josie *knows the baby is a girl.

Now you've see Baby Sticha on the outside, lets get on to the ultrasound pictures!

During the ultrasound Baby Sticha was quite active and I noticed when I would feel the movements, the arms were the things moving around on the screen.   

 Showing off those muscles already!

 

 And our favorite moment of the ultrasound was watching the baby YAWN.

I'm pretty sure we all left the ultrasound room with big smiles on our faces.  It was pretty sweet to get this glimpse of our new family member we all can't wait to meet.

 

So, so sweet.

A New Year

I always feel as the beginning of the school year is more significant than an actual New Year or even birthdays sometimes through the eyes of kids and parents with kids.  Don't you think?  Maybe because along the way during the school year, time flies and life gets busy with homework and activities that the beginning of the school year is a fresh start for what you can learn and accomplish for the next 9 months.  A sign of maturing minds... or, so I hope for my kids. 

Sometimes I wonder. 

Just today when I told Josie that the door needed to be opened all the way, she replied, "No closed," to which I repeated myself and she repeated herself again.  I shook my head and let it be, because that's what I've learned to do- pick my battles.  Determining if a door needed to be opened or closed was not worth the effort.  Although... a few seconds later I heard an "Oh yeah, OPEN.  Ha ha ha ha." 

At least she corrected herself.  I have much to be proud of.  *wink *smile*

Today she turned an 8th grader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We set our alarms for 5:30 am, so we could have enough time to get ready, breathe, eat breakfast, breathe, and not rush out the door only to breathe once we got in the car.  Trust me, that's our normal morning routine.  I woke up 7 minutes before my alarm went off to use the bathroom, then of course, crawled back into bed.  Hey, I had 5 whole minutes!  And, no I didn't fall back asleep.  I tried.  Soon enough I heard the kids alarm going off and it was fairly quickly turned off.  I knew it was, none other than, Elias.  The smoke detector could go off and Josie would sleep right through it.  By the time I got myself back out of bed and grabbed my towel to head to the shower, Elias was dressed, brushing his teeth and just about ready to go. 

 

He was so excited for his first day of 6th grade.  First day of Middle School.

Josie rated her first day of school as a 9.8 out of 10.

Elias rated his first day of school as a 9 out of 10.

 

I would have to say that because our morning went very smoothly, they got to school on time, both kids showed up after school when they were expected, I got to make them cookies when we stopped home, and they had smiles on their faces, it's a definate 10 for me. 

 

Happy new year.