I only took me 6 years and 3 months...

I finally ordered a wedding album for Adam and myself. Check it out here.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

October photos update 1

Here are some photos of our trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Janessa and her preschool kids.

Honest feelings about having two kids

I really don't know how people do it. 5 kids, 10 kids, multiples... I've been having a hard time imagining how I'll handle things when I just have 2!

Lucy has always been a pretty easy child: relatively compliant, no health problems... When she turned two, I was expecting the worse with the "terrible twos" but she never really entered that stage... until now. I really though that by waiting to have a second baby after Lucy was 3, that I would have perfect timing and I wouldn't have to deal with the terrible twos at the same time as having a newborn. Well, common consensus has been that threes are worse... why didn't anyone tell me this a year ago? Why on God's green earth do they call it the terrible twos, then? *sigh*

Well, Lucy's attitude is what's getting the best of me and I'm struggling to be consistent in the way I handle it. I want to nip it in the bud, but her will is stronger than mine. When I struggle I really wonder "how the h*ll am I going to juggle two kids?" One was SO easy. And in just 18 short weeks, I'll have 2--one three-year-old, flat out telling me no when I ask her to do something, and one newborn, helpless and needy and demanding every ounce of my attention.

I know Adam will be available those first few days as will my mom, and that should help. But I'm freaking out a little realizing that soon, I'll have to do it on my own and I don't know what to expect!

These realizations make me feel horrible. Because deep down, I think, I shouldn't have had another kid. It's not about who my kids are, but more about who I AM and I'm not sure I can do it. I watch mothers who have it all together and their kids are obedient and little joys and while Lucy is a joy, she's not obedient all of the time and I worry that her defiance will become stronger as I need it to be weaker.

Being pregnant with these realizations also make me feel like I'm the only terrible mother who's ever questioned her choice of having another baby. I feel like these are things I should have really thought about and considered BEFORE getting pregnant! Too late. I'm screwed.

October Update

I've been very out of the habit of posting photos and updates on our lives so I'm going to make more of an effort and especially when the new baby gets here.

Which is a great intro into our October Update blog post. I'm 21 weeks now and feeling OH-SO-better. It's amazing what a couple of weeks can do. I just can't believe I have 18 more weeks to go! Seems like forever. BUT I have the holidays to sustain me... Halloween's in a week, Thanksgiving's in a month (it'll be at our house this year, yay!), and we start to decorate for Christmas December 1 (my best friend from grade school's birthday!). After Christmas is Lucy's 3rd birthday, her party will be in the beginning of January and "Princess Pirate" themed (at her request). Then I have a little down time in January and February to nest and settle and spend our last few weeks as a family of three.

I've been meaning to schedule a photo session for just the three of us. We have NEVER had a family photo taken. I know, I'm so bad. Well, I really want one before baby #2 gets here! So hopefully I can get that together in the next week or so.

We've had a lot of fun this month. In the beginning of the month we went to Chico to meet the Bryson's new baby Emilee. So sweet and tiny! She's perfect! We also celebrated Gramma Marian's birthday at the Chinese Buffet which made this pregnant momma VERY happy. I got to go on a women's retreat the next weekend with my friend Janessa and it was a nice time away to reflect on my relationship with Christ and just relax with no whiny kids, no house cleaning, no bills, no cerfew! Last weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch with our friends from Oroville, Logan and Robin Wilson, and their two precious sons, Cason and Hunter. The kids had so much fun playing and searching for pumpkins and it's always nice to connect with my friend Robin (of over 20 years!).

Amid all the playing we had a couple doctors appointments... one very important Dr. appointment was our ultrasound to find out the gender of our little growing baby. Adam and I had decided from day one that we would be happy with whatever sex the baby ended up being, leaning back and forth between our preference; a girl would be "easy" because we already know what we're doing and we have a ton of girl stuff left over, plus they'd be sharing a room; a boy would be fun because it would be new and exciting and then we'd have one of each. As the weeks went on, Adam was more convinced it was a girl, and I was more convinced it was a boy. I even referred to it as "him." Well, the ultrasound revealed that "he" was a "she." Yes, we are having another girl and are overjoyed! We will name her Lydia Jane.

October is coming to an end and hopefully I'll get some photos up soon of the Pumpkin Patch and a precious photo of our Lydia's profile. Stay tuned!

Untold Story of Ashley Bolger

I'm sitting here (in an open classroom where my student has yet to show up), thinking, "It's time for a new blog post!" and I thought I'd write about some of my thoughts from yesterday.

As I folded laundry while watching Grey's Anatomy, I couldn't help but think how differently my life could have been if it weren't for a turn of events that occurred in 2005. Yes, this is the same year I got married, but my marriage had nothing to do with it...

In Fall of 2004, I attended Humboldt State where I rowed on their NCAA crew team. I was horrible. But I LOVED being out on the water (ironic since I get incredibly sea sick), so I worked really hard to get in shape and be as good as I could be (for a spaz). Rowing crew meant early morning workouts, I had to maintain a grade point average, and early night curfews. Because I was a Junior, I was a couple years older than most of the first year rowers and I was not able to survive on 5 hours of sleep and a RockStar. Because of my 5 am schedule and the fact that I lived in a Freshmen dorm, sleep was hard to come by. I had a perpetual migraine.

Let's skip to more relevant details. By Winter I was off the crew team due to a relentless injury (and to maintain what was left of my dignity), and I was able to resume a normal sleep schedule and give myself time to heal. My injury healed after months of physical therapy, but my headaches didn't go away. After one giant 6-month headache, my mom took me to a neurologist. The neurologist said I had migraine headaches and put me on an anti-seizure medicine. He ordered MRI's to make sure there was nothing else going on. I don't remember exactly what kind of MRI I had, but I had to have it done at UC Davis and they injected some radio active dye into me so they could see where the dye was going in my brain. It may have even been a CAT... either way, I had more tests done.

Spring semester resumed at HSU and I continued my classes and moved out of the Freshmen dorm. Other than my giant headache (which the anti-seizure medicine kept under control), life was pretty good... I was planning our wedding, I was VP of the Resident Programming Board, the "Ashley Bolger" that everyone knew.

Between Spring semester and into the following Fall is when the story gets "untold" or "weird" and even like it happened to another person. I really think the only people who knew were my parents and Adam.

It was April that I got a call from my Neurologists receptionist:
"Hi, Ashley. I want to make you an appointment  with the doctor to talk about treatment for your epilepsy."
"Uh, my what?"
"Your condition, epilepsy?"
"I don't have epilepsy."
"Oh, um... the doctor has notes here that you've been diagnosed from your scans done at UC Davis."
"Well. Ok then. This is the first I'm hearing that I have epilepsy."
"Well, what day works for you?..."

Isn't that a nice way to find out that you have a life-altering condition? Over the phone? From a receptionist? ALONE IN A DORM ROOM WITH YOUR MOMMY 200 MILES AWAY?! To say the least I was shocked and did call my mommy and daddy and I can't remember, but I probably cried a little bit.

My headaches were my only symptom. I'd never had a seizure (that I know of). I'd never had as much as a leg twitch and I was being diagnosed with epilepsy. Good thing I was already on anti-seizure medication, right? We made an appointment that April to see the doctor to follow up and make sure that we were using the correct treatment plan for my case.

The doctor threw so much new information at us it made our heads spin: you have to take your medicine consistently, if you don't take your medicine, you could have a grand mal seizure which could lead to more problems, and if you don't take your medication I'll tell DMV and your license will be suspended, surgery is an option to fix the problem, but you may lose some of your memory... It was like a whirlwind! I remember feeling like everything was upside-down and backwards and inside-out.

Medication for the rest of my life didn't seem like a good option for me considering I couldn't remember to take something as simple as vitamins every day. I panicked at the thought of surgery becuase I didn't want to have a shaved head for wedding photos, but if I had the surgery after the wedding I might not remember it.

In June we decided to see an epilepsy specialist at Stanford. However, on the way, we stopped at UC Davis to pick up copies of my films, and they LOST them. Yea, weird, huh... but somehow it figures. Once we got to Stanford the doc asked some good questions, some were hard to answer, or, it was hard to give the right answer...? Like, have you ever spaced out? Duh, I'm blonde. Have you ever lost track of time? Really? Some of the questions made me wonder, who hasn't? If those were qualifying questions for epilepsy, I wondered, who DIDN'T have it?

More importantly, the doctor asked. "Who diagnosed you? What tests did he do?"
Upon answering this questions the doctor sat back and asked, "He didn't perform a EEG?"
Nope, never.
The words I was longing to hear then came from that wonderful man's mouth: "You can't be diagnosed with epilepsy if you haven't had an EEG."
YES.
There was a catch however. "Your brain does show abnormal activity however," referring to previous MRI's done in Chico, "so let's do an EEG just to make sure."
Sure! One more test to make sure that I'm normal? Why not?

The EEG was not fun, but it wasn't horrible. I had nearly 30 electrodes glued to my head and had to sit in a room with boring old movies for several hours. Once the test was over they didn't even have a shower for me to wash the glue out. My mom and I ended up stopping at a salon on the way home and paid them to wash my hair. The results of that test were "inconclusive." Seriously?! My wedding was just over a month away and we decided to wait until after the wedding to follow up with any more tests.

We were married and went on our honeymoon in August. We moved to our "precious" little apartment in Eureka and within 5 days of moving in, I flew back down to Stanford for a week long EEG. Again, I was bored, under constant surveillance, but at least I had newer movies. Three days in, my mom drove down and kept me company during the day and stayed at a local hotel at night. By day 5, we were prying the doctor for answers. He said that they had not seen any seizure activity but something in my brain activity "was not quite right." Those were his exact words! "Not quite right." That same day, I checked myself out AMA and never looked back.

So, yes, we all know I'm  "not quite right." Haha...

But can you imagine had I not sought a second opinion? Can you imagine if I opted for surgery? I can't imagine if any of it were true! If I were still on medication.

Thank God I am me. And not that breif nightmare of who I could have been...

Two month sabbatical

It's been over two months since my last post. And of course my last post was just a photo to announce that we're expecting again. I've been holding off on writing for a few reasons, none really valid, other than the fact that I've been really tired and this will make my 100th post. I guess I felt like it should hold some significance...

So while there may not be any kind of ultra significance to this post, it's time for an update!
We are expecting Lefebvre #4 in March 2012. This baby is much anticipated as we tried for nearly a year. This is my 4th pregnancy overall (we had two miscarriages before Lucy joined us), so I've been very nervous about this pregnancy and honestly "waiting for the other shoe to drop." We got pregnant at a time when I had almost given up and was rather surprised when we got a positive test. It's almost like I was unprepared--and so I felt pretty out of control. Which I am anyways, right? Who really has control over their unborn child? Ha, even their living breathing children!?

I've felt way more tired with this pregnancy and even had stronger bouts of morning sickness. I don't throw up. I'm my father's daughter and it just doesn't happen unless there's a virus involved. So while I know that makes me automatically luckier than some other women, this has been a difficult pregnancy. I basically sat on the couch for 8 weeks straight unable to eat without feeling sick, and needing to eat because I was so sick. Without throwing up once, I lost 10 pounds.

At 11 weeks, I started spotting. Spotting is a common occurrence for most women in pregnancy, but not me. The only other times I've spotted, I've lost the baby (twice). So you can understand why I ran to the emergency room. There would have been nothing they could do, but I couldn't have slept that night without knowing what was going on. Baby was fine! He was kicking and punching and had a strong heartbeat. That was a relief and it was nice to see my blob of a baby seen at 8 weeks had evolved into a little tiny person just 3 weeks later.

Two weeks later I started spotting again while camping and I felt much more relaxed about it. I had a little more time to feel "prepared" and didn't feel the need for control. I do still worry daily about the baby but what saves my sanity is I can now feel him move. Movement is a good sign! It's just little flutters at this point (nothing like feeling Lucy trying to stand up inside of me while taking a walk at 25 weeks), but it's a relief.

So I'm 15 weeks on Monday, and into my second trimester. I've left the couch and feel much better. I still feel uncomfortably pregnant, but I can eat more than just cereal and I know that I will end up getting more uncomfortable as this pregnancy progresses.

I've always describe pregnancy to my friends like this: your body is a piece of metal, and every pregnancy is a bend in the metal. After pregnancy, your body bends back, and with every pregnancy the metal bends in the same spot--bent metal gets weaker and weaker. Now, I know my body is not "bent" as much as other bodies, but I must just be made of weaker metal than other women! Once my 2nd trimester his with Lucy I was flying high, I felt great. I am still a long way away from feeling the way I did with Lucy.

Explaining this to people has made them smile coyly and snicker "It's a boy!" Honestly, I don't disagree. In the very beginning we were hoping for another girl because Lucy is so easy going, relatively obedient (perfect). But as the weeks go by I've got that "feeling." Mother's intuition is usually right, I think, and I'm expecting (and now hoping for) a boy.

Car for sale!

Hopefully it'll sell soon and you won't have to see my million posts on facebook and craigslist... But in the meantime here's our ad on ebay--please let me know if you or anyone you know is interested!

UPDATE: We traded in the car for a Honda CR-V. :)

Attempting Disneyland with a Toddler #2

My first blog was about Money, Flying, Strollers, and Food; the 4 most expensive elements to our trip to Disneyland--as well as with any trip, really. This second blog will be shorter and about being a Mommy in the park, Visiting Characters and going on Rides, and Disneyland from the Eyes of a two-year-old.

Being a Mommy in the Park
This goes for any parent, daddies, too.
Imagine yourself packing for a trip... do you have everything? Nope, there is SOMETHING you forgot. Checked your list twice? Too bad, you forgot (dot, dot, dot). It happens to the best of us, and I say that because it ALWAYS happens to me. You'd think I'd have learned by now, but no.
Aside from parenting our children, a major part of our job is providing what they need, right? While in Disneyland, this begins with the diaper bag, or as I'd like to call it, the Mother Ship. Don't over-pack, but don't under-pack. There's a fine art to predicting what you will need, fitting it all in one bag, and not forgetting a thing. 
So what is my diaper bag recommendation for a trip to Disneyland? Ditch the Petunia Pickle Bottom beauty you got from your great aunt at your shower, and dig up the good ol' reliable Jansport you retired when you graduated from college. Two straps, one loop, two or three pockets--that's all you need. And it fits great over the handle of your stroller (personal or rented), on someone's back, and it doesn't scream, "I'm a $180 diaper bag; steal me!" 
Now, while I recommend a backpack of some sort for this purpose, there are some additional attributes to take into consideration. I used Adam's from college and while it was awesome for school, it really had too many pockets. I tried to utilize each one and couldn't remember from diaper change to diaper change where I stashed the wipes. One main, one in front (and an optional water/milk bottle pocket) is plenty. oh, and a carabiner! I gotta have my carabiner! My BFF. Whether it held her crocs, the coffee mug, the bag of goodies we bought, it was and always is a diaper bag necessity.
Inside... now let me first tell you what I did pack for our first venture into the park:

• Diapers and Wipes (I used night-time diapers because they hold more and I new I didn't want to run to the restroom to change her diaper every time she was wet. Some of you may gawk at this, but it's a fact and you know you'd do it too.)
• Individual Horizon Organic Milk Boxes (These undergo a special process so the milk does not have to be refrigerated.)
• 27 oz. Klean Kanteen (It can always be refilled at a water fountain and ice at a food venue is free.)
• Lysol Wipes
• Hand Sanitizer
• First Aid Kit
• Activities for Lucy (from the Dollar Store)
• ~$35 worth of food from Dormzy.com (this was to share with my parents, siblings, and my family of 3)
• Hats and Sweatshirts for the three of us 
• iPhone (instead of a camera)
• what was left of my sanity

This is what I should have brought:

• Twice as many diapers, because even though night-time diapers hold twice as much, I'm naive to the fact that my daughter drinks like a horse and we were in the park much longer than I predicted.
• Wipes
• Lysol Wipes
• Same milk
• 1/2 sized Klean Kanteen
• ~$50 worth of food 
• iPhone

Less is more! We didn't need 1/2 of the stuff I brought in, and I brought in wrong proportions. If you have something that takes up a lot of room like extra clothing just rent a locker--it'll save you the hassle of juggling it all day.

So what happens when you DO forget something... As I briefly touched on, I should have brought more diapers. By 5:00 pm, we ran out! We were in line for Dumbo when I could smell Lucy's newest brew, and I mentioned to Adam, "we're out, what do we do?" A very kind couple behind us (with their own brood) mentioned that over at guest services, they have diapers. What a brilliant idea! Disneyland has millions of people come through every year and I KNOW I'm not the first mother to run out of diapers. We dashed on over to Main Street and found the Baby Care Center. B.R.I.L.L.I.A.N.T. I was so impressed. I was a little nervous to find out the price of the diapers. If a corn dog was $5.99, would a diaper be $4.99? Come to find out, they were selling diapers at only $1 each. Great price considering... plus I was in a pinch! (Poopy dipe) Inside the Baby Care Center is a nursing station, a large changing station (forget those Koala Kids plastic thingies), high chairs, and even toddler toilets! It was so quiet and serene, I wished I was a breast feeding mamma just so I had an excuse to stay in there!

Ok, Back on track... Being a Mommy in the Park can include a lot of other elements. You are there to show your child a good time. Show your child excitement. Let them experience Disneyland in their way. This leads me to my second, third, and fourth points: Visiting Characters and going on Rides, and Disneyland from the Eyes of a two-year-old.

These three really go hand-in-hand because of our expectations as parents who were once kids. Let me repeat that: Our expectations as parents who were once kids. We were kids once upon a time, but now it's their turn. By no means am I saying you're not supposed to have fun, but your two-year old is going to move at a different pace. That pace may be faster or slower, depending on your child. But it's important to guide them through Disneyland in a manner that will give them the full experience without pushing them in the direction of Point A that makes them miss out on Point B. Let me clarify:

Visiting Characters

Oh, the illusive Characters... now you see them, now you don't! Characters can be a big part of your trip, especially if you WANT to see them. Keep in mind that there are often LINES to see characters... L-I-N-E-S. Full Hour lines. Is this how you want to spend your vacation? There are special appointments and attractions for particular Characters as well as meals you can arrange with Characters. Depending on your toddler's interest level in Disney Characters, there may be one or two that work better for you. Be sure to check out the Character Experiences page to plan ahead. As I mentioned in my first blog, you are going to need more than one day, so if your family wants to meet characters, perhaps plan one of those extra days for meeting characters.

Please please please do not be one of those parents that pushes their child to the front in order to get a hug and autograph from Mickey. Thankfully they have additional cast members to keep parents from doing this, but it's just sickening, and there's nothing wrong with your child learning the virtue of waiting, patience, and letting others go before them.

Going on Rides

Speaking of L-I-N-E-S. Waiting is a big part of the game at Disneyland, but there are two ways you can cut down on your time in lines when it comes to rides.

1. Plan your day around your Fast Passes. You can have two at a time--you will want to go to big attractions first to obtain your passes (i.e. Space Mountain). Such a quick and easy way that the geniuses at Disney have created to make your experience that much better.
2. There will be rides (i.e. Space Mountain) that your toddler will not be able to go on because of height restrictions. Another system Disney have in place is called Ride Sharing. How this work: Parent A waits in line for the ride of choice. When he gets to the front of the line and sees an attendant, he mentions that he wants a ride share pass (don't quote me on this jargon). After he enjoys his ride, he is able to meet Parent B at the exit (where she and the kiddo have been waiting or returns to after a little shopping), and the attendant at the exit will let Parent B on the ride with little to no waiting time while Parent A takes the kiddo. It's a great system! Otherwise you'd have to wait in line twice while one or the other parent has your kid.

Disneyland from the Eyes of a Two-Year-Old

Lucy is a very smart girl and sometimes I forget that she's only 2. I brought a bunch of activities for her to do while waiting in lines, thinking that she'd be bored. But to a two-year-old, there is something exciting and magical in everything at Disneyland. I can't say enough about Disney and how GENIUS they are. There is something to look at EVERYWHERE. Whether you see it or not, is up to you, but it's there. Lucy saw most of it. She was delighted to watch trickling little fountains, talking Tikis, begging parrots, mist-spraying space ships, everything was eye-candy to her. 

I've had to check myself and make sure I'm not a parent who tries to create magical or memorable moments. Without trying, Disneyland already provides that for my daughter (and still for me!). Lucy has taught me more to "go with the flow."

Our trip to Disneyland was so great, we're hoping to go again in 3 weeks, and again in September. She can't stop talking about it. It was worth every penny, and if I had it, I would have spent more to see the joy on her face, hear her talk about it every time she's on the phone with Grandma, and know that we've created a precious family memory without even having to work hard at it.

Monday musings.

Our froggy friend

I told Lucy to clean up her room. This isn't what I had in mind.

Attempting Disneyland with a Toddler #1

I've always been one of those moms who's vowed to wait until her children were "old enough to remember and appreciate" something. Disneyland in particular. I wanted to wait to take Lucy so that she would remember it and know what's going on, who the characters were, and also so that I could hold off on spending $100 a head on a trip to what may not be "the happiest place on earth."

BUT. We did it. And might I add: successfully. We had an amazing trip and so much fun, that I thought I'd blog about why it was successful and how you too can have a successful trip to Disneyland with your toddler.

Because there are many elements to traveling and to Disneyland, I'm going to split my blog into two. This first blog will be about Money, Flying, Strollers, and Food. These are the 4 most expensive elements to this trip. The second blog will be about being a Mommy in the park, Visiting Characters and going on Rides, and Disneyland from the Eyes of a two-year-old.

When you go is not important. It's always busy, but a weekday is less busy... I guess. If you have social anxiety, start taking your pills now. "There will be a lot of people and it will be OK." This was my personal mantra for the week. Also know that there is never enough time to see everything, so don't set that expectation. You WILL need a couple of days between the two parks and there WILL be things that you miss. Fact.

First let's talk about money. I didn't not have to pay a cent to get into the park. This was one of the deciding factors to even go to Disneyland in the first place. My sister works for Disney and graciously gave us her 6 free passes for the day. It didn't hurt that Lucy is under 3, so she got in free as well. If you are going to spend the money on a trip to Disneyland, I recommend getting a 3-day park hopper. The best deal I've seen is at Safeway (of all places) or booking through an insurance agency like AAA. Booking through AAA will give you other perks as well. That's all I have to say about that. I have no experience in this area otherwise.
*Every offer is different but if you visit Disney Rewards Visa and sign up for their credit card, they will send you a Disney Gift Card (our offer was for $200).


Flying
Driving 10 hours in a car with a 2 year old didn't sound like my ideal way to start a vacation. So what I probably would have spent on admission to the park, I spent on flying to LAX from Reno. TOTALLY WORTH IT. Lucy loved the plane and we were there in under 2 hours and she still talks about it every time she gets on the phone with a family member.

There are a lot of articles I found online that helped me prepare for flying with a toddler. Very helpful. Check them out here: Family.com and Babycenter.com
I took her car seat flying out of Reno on the plane. I'm glad I did because flying out of Reno was like riding on a pioneer's covered wagon with one square wheel. While I white-knuckled it, she hardly noticed and was high enough in the car seat that she could see out of the window. On the way home, flying from LAX I decided to check the car seat because it was one less thing to juggle. It was easier to move her around once in flight, she could sit on my lap so we could both see out of the window; it was the better choice for us. I could imagine that if you have a rambunctious kid that might squirm his way out of the lap belt, the car seat would be ideal.
FYI: Southwest lets you check up to 3 bags per person under 50 lbs for free and airlines HAVE to let you check safety items for your baby such as car seats, playpens, strollers at no extra charge. Double check with your airline, but this was very useful info for me while planning what to bring. Also, 2 years and up is a full adult priced ticket depending on the airline; bummer, but nice when you get to check all that extra baggage and give her her own seat.

Back to the park itself...
Stroller
Chances are you'll be travelling with a stroller. We traveled with an umbrella stroller borrowed from a friend. This was a good choice because it was light weight, it folded up easily for the airplane. However, when we got to Disneyland, we opted to rent one of their strollers. This was a GOOD choice for us. The rental stroller was only $15 per day. This is a good value if you a) have a $400 stroller you don't want to "leave alone" in the park (trust me, you will abandon your stuff several times in the day), b) your stroller doesn't have a large under carriage for storage, c) you do not have front swivel wheels. As petty as these points may be, it really did influence our decision. We saw many people at the park with phil&ted strollers and even bugaboo and it is a safe place. But knowing it could rain, someone could barf, etc, I would rather take the rental and know I don't have to pay for professional cleaning or worry that my investment is being destroyed.

I can understand why they would want to take their reliable, well made strollers however. I saw many people with cheap umbrella strollers struggling over curbs, monstrous doubles trying to weave through people traffic. These strollers are similar to a mid-level jogging stroller with height, swivel wheels, under carriage storage, and strudy enough to have your bag full of stuff hanging on the back and not tip over when your child's not in it.
At $15/day (or $25/day for 2) it's was totally worth it with Lucy's age. If she were older and were doing more walking, I probably would have taken the borrowed umbrella stroller (which we did take our 2nd day which was only 1/2 day in the park).

Food
What ever you think your food budget is for the park, double it. Right now. While the food is excellent and of good quality, you'll pay $5.99 for a hand dipped corn dog and $2 for a green apple. The only thing that seemed reasonably priced when it came to food, was the espresso drinks (comparable to Starbuck's prices), and the Bowl of Gumbo in New Orleans Square ($8.99).
The park does however allow you to take in food so that's what we did. We probably saved ourselves a good 50+ bucks, but it is hard to resist the temptation of a mid-afternoon pick me up espresso drink, and getting the full-experience of New Orleans Square, waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion, while sipping a Mint Julep.

Keep in mind that while perfect planning can propose and perfectly joyous vacation, toddlers are unpredictable and I saw more than one major meltdowns in the park (none by my sweet Lucy, of course). Things occur that were unplanned, both good and bad--It all comes down to how we handle it!

So hold on tight while I develop blog #2 and start planning your trips now--because my conclusion after actually doing it--it's worth it!

Blog

I thought I'd take some time today to just update the world of what's being going on in Casa Lefebvre for the past two months.

Not a whole lot, but not too little.

It has been two months so... March flew by. I had a show in Chico with my friend Carla, and it was my dad's birthday. Before we new it, April was here, and now we're 1/2 way through....

My friend Janessa had her little baby boy on April 4 and has taken a month off from running her in-home-day-care, so I've taken on one little girl 3 days a week. McKenzie also happens to be one of Lucy's closest friends, and her mommy Tina, is one of my closest friends here in Susanville. It's been a nice arrangement. That said, it does occupy a little more of my time in ways that my time was not occupied before. But I've loved it! Lucy loves having a friend over so often, and it's actually given me more time to do what I need to around the house.

Speaking of the house, we've attempted a refinance with no avail. The comparables in this market are just too low, even though we've invested over $15k in the house, unless we wanted to pay $500 for an appraisal (something we just can't swing right now), the comps were coming at only $75k! Darn this recession and all the forclosures! Oh well. It wasn't something we NEEEEEEDED, just something we wanted to attempt to change our financial situation and to remodel a little more.

THAT being said, we are going to remodel some more even without the refinance this summer. We're going to convert our downstairs living area, AKA my office, guest room, playroom, to a master bedroom. I need an office with a door that can shut, and we need an extra closet... so the conversion will benefit us in the present and will likely increase our home value.

I leave in 3 weeks to visit my sister. No, I will not be taking Lucy to Disneyland without her daddy. While that would be fun, I'd rather just go with my sister and leave Lucy at home with uncle Joe (hint-hint). It'll be a nice week off from the monotony of my world and a good week to hang out at the beach and just relax.

I've been potty training Lucy off and on for a month now. I'm not too stressed about her progress, however after a day like yesterday, I'd like to ship her off to potty-training-boot-camp and make it someone else's problem. We have really good days and then days where I just don't have the patience. It'll be interesting seeing how she does when we fly to LA. I think I need to invest in pull-ups.

Adam and I have been trying to expand our family for over 9 months. I went to the Dr. yesterday just to "chat" and they took some blood work, so by Monday I should know what it says. 9 months is not a long time in the scheme of things, but it makes me anxious to know that I was Fertile Myrtle 3 years ago (3 pregnancies in 18 months) and now I'm having difficulty. No worries though! I'm positive, waiting on God's timing, and still playing the game of baby-making.  It WILL happen in God's timing, I have no doubt... I just wish his timing were more in line with MINE ;)

Well, I've rambled enough to make up for the two months of absence. Cheers!

Waiting...

There are a few things I am learning patience through... additional patience, I might add, because I feel like I'm already pretty patient. Some things I'm waiting for:

• Right now I'm literally waiting for Lucy to wake up. 
• Tonight we're staying at Ashley Candler's and that should be really fun. Lucy's such a flexible playmate; she hasn't seen a lot of her playmate here in months, but she just jumps in and befriends them like she plays with them everyday.
• I'm just waiting to go home... I've enjoyed my stay in paradise for the week, but that's a long time to not see Adam, the dirty pile of dishes, the laundry that needs to be folded on the couch. Plus I'm SO done with these dogs. It's not that any one is bad, I am just done with having 4 at a time.
• I also want to go home because of all the stuff I've ordered that is probably just sitting on my front porch: new glasses, new proactiv, sports caps for our klean kanteens, a tent for Lucy, hopefully Lucy's birthday present (yes, a month late).
• 8 more days until our little mini vacay.
• I can't wait for our tax return! We plan to pay off our credit card and hopefully NEVER use it again.
• I lied: I will be using the credit card again but just to buy a round trip ticket to see my sister in Huntington Beach.
• Janessa's baby should be here in 2 months and I can't wait!
• I'm ready for our family to expand and this is probably what's testing my patience the most.
• I can't wait to get paid again. I found some cute clothes that I want.
• I'm excited for our birthday's. I know what I want and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to get Adam.
• I'm looking forward to the new season of Dexter, and the next DVD of Breaking Bad. 
• While I love living in Susanville, after being in Paradise for the week, I'm looking forward to the potential to living closer to convenient amenities: Costco, Trader Joes, family. I'm so GLAD we work for USFS because they'll pack us up and move us to where ever Adam gets transferred. I'm just not anxious to move, but I know it is kinda inevitable. I guess I don't want to think about it as much because I've made such GOOD/GREAT friends in Susanville and I LOVE their kids.

Whell......I guess I better go. Lucy's up and I have to go beat the dogs. Just kidding...

Norah's Adoption

As I mentioned a few posts ago, the daughter of my friend who passes away is going to be adopted by my friends sister and brother-in-law, Jenni and Brett Goodlin. While this will take about a year, it will also take funds. The Pampered Chef is sponsoring a fundraiser to help aid in these funds. 30% of sales placed on my website will go directly to the Goodlins.
To support this adoption process, visit www.pamperedchef.biz/ashleylefebvre
Click SHOP ONLINE
Enter Nora's Adoption as the organization name
Shop for your favorite kitchen items and be sure to have them directly shipped to you
Please feel free to comment with your questions.

A Heart of Order

This morning I woke up after 3 lovely days off (we had Dr. appointments in Chico so we went to visit family and stayed an extra day for sanity), to my alarm reminding me that I had to go back to the real world. I rose to find my glasses, flattened my fuzz of a hairball head, got the fire going, and walked through the kitchen to my office. Dishes were undone, stuff was cluttered on the kitchen table, paperwork strewn across my desk. A minute version of chaos--but one that I felt could wait until later, I had to teach.

As I was waiting for my second student to show up, I updated myself on everyone else's blog (i.e. Kait built forts as a kid, Lynae had creative song writing skills that I never new about, and most people are still reeling for the death of Carrisa). One blog I read occasionally is called Passionate Homemaking. I occasionally read this blog because while I love being a stay at home mom, baking bread and finding green alternatives for make-it-yourself beauty products is not something I want to waste spend my time doing. But the photo on my blog dashboard caught my eye and caused me to read the post titled Understanding the Heart of Order.

How I miss Eden. I've obviously never been there, but how my heart longs for the joy of the life we have been given on Earth AND the joy of having an intimate relationship with God.

I've always had an admiration for people who are "Longing for Heaven" but have never felt it myself. I don't long to leave Earth. While I am at peace with the fact that life does come to an end and there is something much greater afterward, I have not longed to leave. Maybe because I am in good health, my child is healthy, and my relationships are healthy. Health... hmmmmm.

I do have physical health. My my heart is very ill. I am a killer, a hater, a judge, a glutton, a spiteful person. I definitely need healing from these malicious cancers.

But I do not need to wait for healing! I guess I'm one of the lucky ones that my cancer can be cured! Trust me, it keeps coming back, but the blood of Jesus Christ makes it go away like it was never there.
Eden. Orderly. Serene. It's such a bummer that we screwed that up. I love this world (not everything in it) but what God has created in it and what he has given me in it!

I wanted to insert an anecdotal little comic about Eden, but they were all stupid, so this is what you get.

Anywho.. this is supposed to be about the heart of order just as God created the Earth with order. It has give me a new charge to be a little more orderly. Ok, a lot more orderly, but baby steps, right?

Photo Updates

I knew I was behind on posting photos, but I just realized that the last time I posted a photo of Lucy was from Halloween... so here you go!

 

Just Chillin with Daddy-O

Lucy's first sleep over at Micah and Kayla's (1/1/11)

 Bowling in the New Year with the guys

 Uncle Matty and Daddy

 Lucy's 2nd Birthday

And now that they're all uploaded they're all out of sequence, so good luck figuring it out. Blasted blogger.

2011

It's a new month, a new year, a new decade, a new week, and just 3 hours away from a new day.

This is perfect timing for a new post following my last one, which was dismal, hopeless, disappointed, sad.

This is perfect timing because I just read a friends blog which contained such good news! As I mentioned in the last post I mentioned the death of a dear friend, Carrisa, who left behind her grieving friends, a family in pain, and an 18 month old daughter. Carrisa was in many ways the glue that held Adam and I close to our Paradise friends--sending us birthday packages, making sure to invite us to parties. Carrisa's death upset me in many ways, but in the celebration of her passing and meeting her Jesus, self-pity set in when I realized I wasn't a very good friend in return. This is the ONLY photo I have of me with Carrisa, and of course it's the whole group of us and this was taken over 6 or 7 years ago.

To quote my friend Lynae (probably the one taking the photo above) "The weight of life that makes us forget to be friends. But then death reminds us to be friends again." It sucks that Carrisa's death has made me realize, I haven't taken the time to be in more photos--which represent memories--sharing priceless moment with friends and people I love.

But we're obviously not to the good news yet! First bit of good news is, I'm vowing to be a better friend, to share more memories. AND I'm choosing to be happy!

Second bit of happy news is about Norah! So many exclamation points because I'm so so happy! Read here. What a joyful answer to prayer!

2 days in and 2011 is beginning to look a lot less bleak. In our darkest moments God DOES answer prayer, but we have to remember that it may not be the answer we are looking for and it most definitely won't be in the timing we are expecting. AND we have to be willing to listen.