Da' girls, in Da-lute!

I had a great weekend away with 5 of my dear friends! We were blessed with a whole weekend together in a hotel up in Duluth, MN. Our friend, Jody's husband does a lot of travel with his job. They had a lot of points stored up for hotel stays, and she graciously covered the hotel fees using their points~ thank you so much, Jody!! It was so much fun to go away and be Sarah for the weekend. I did bring little Cole with me, because I am nursing...and he is only 3 months old today! I still can't believe he is 3 months old already! Anyway, my husband came home at about 11 on Friday (April 3rd) and I was getting ready to go. I was the designated driver, because I am one of those cool moms who drive a mini van! ~lol. I first picked up Anna, then Lisa, next Jeannie, and finally Jody and her princess~K. It was a full van with 5 women, 2 babies (and their car seats)...not to mention all of our stuff.

I am the driver, Anna is in the passenger seat, Jeannie is behind me, and in the front of this picture you see Jody on the left and Lisa on the right. Baby K is in between them.
We all did a good job packing lightly, and I have to say I am mightily impressed!
Friday night, we had dinner at the Giant Panda (a Chinese restaurant). We all enjoy Chinese, but I think we were all a bit disappointed with this restaurant. They didn't put in fresh food, or restock what ran out, we didn't get our beverages refilled~ actually the waitress never came back, except with the bill, and their ice cream machine was broken (looks like it had been like that for a long time). I would understand if they were super busy, but that wasn't the case. At least we still had fun and great conversations. I was shocked at this lady that was there, though. She came over to us and wanted to see Cole. No biggie...but then, she squatted down to see him and was touching him over and over. I am very uncomfortable with strangers touching my kids, especially my newborns. I don't mind people admiring my cute kids, but caressing their cheeks, putting their nuk in their mouth, touching his chin and his hair....PLEASE, have some common courtesy. What do you do? Do you tell them to back off and stop touching your baby? She just talked on and on for about 10-15 minutes. I think it was a bit rude, especially since we were all there to socialize. There is something to be said about manners and etiquette.
Anyway...we were off to the Comfort Inn and Suites. We had 2 double beds and a hide-a-bed couch in the room. We also had a refrigerator and a microwave. It was just right for our girls weekend lock-in! We had to snap a few photos of us all giddy. Jeannie had a timer on her camera, so she jumped on the end of the bed to get in the photo for these.
From Left to Right: Lisa, Anna, me, Jody, and Jeannie. See our hands? Yeah, it was planned.
Time to make the kissy faces! We had this on-going teasing about the "control freak" a.k.a. Lisa, but come to think of it, I think I may have stole that role for the pictures...I kept saying, "Now lets do this...."

I love this photo best! I love how happy we look to have such a special weekend away together!
Psst...I didn't have my foot up for this photo, either. Opps, I missed that instruction! :)
This picture is of us in the van driving down the super big hill. You can see Lake Superior from this glance. The lake is HUGE...one of the biggest, and it is beautiful anytime of the year.
This is a photo of the back of the hotel. There are walk paths all over. Duluth is a big-time tourist city. It is a favorite city of mine living here.
The three amigos! We always have a grand time together! I think Jody should get square-shaped glasses, too!
Sweet baby Cole sleeping so soundly. I love watching him sleep! He is so snuggly~
The babies loving on each other. Cole is not going to let her go.
We had a great time, soaking our feet, painting our nails (fingers and toes), and Jody and I died our hair. I gave Jody a hair cut, too! It was fun to pamper ourselves and each other!
Me and Anna!
Miss K, Lisa and I! I love the look Miss K is giving us!
Jody and I!
Jeannie and I! Notice my hair color? This is pretty much my natural color these days. Terry didn't notice, although I really wasn't surprised. It is OK, it just isn't his thing to notice that.
Yep, we had a pillow fight on Saturday night. This was so much fun! Lisa and I had a blast! My favorite was tackling her down on the bed. We even got security to come and knock on our door from the racket! Yes!! We got in trouble!
Two on the bed, and the little one said, "Roll over, roll over...."
Sleeping so peacefully! Doesn't he look snug as a bug?? The beds were very comfortable and great to sleep on. We did get a night in the hot tub. A few of us jumped into the pool~ literally...Jeannie was happily floating a long, and Lisa and I did a cannon ball near her! It was a hoot! I wish I would have had pictures of us gals in the hot tub. None of us thought of it, though.
Here are the little ones on our trip...Cole and K. It was their first weekend in a hotel together. They were so good the whole weekend! They got along great, too!
Brrr....it was chilly, but great to have this photo! We asked a guy who was running by, and he got a bit overwhelmed when we all handed him our cameras. He joked and even said he could go get his camera.

Then, we headed home. It was sad to end our time together...but we had a grand time! We definitely want to plan something like this again! It was so refreshing and therapeutic! This is a good portion of ladies from my monthly ladies night out that I talk about. We so much enjoy each other's company. Thank you Jody, for supplying the means to escape life for awhile, and thank you to all of you ladies for a great weekend...and lasting memories!

eenamaria's stylish bags

When my adorable Workin' Weekend Baby Tote from eenamaria came in the mail, I seriously had to try and sweet talk my 2 year old to giving it to me. She thinks the tote is hers, and has claimed it to be so. The Baby Tote is super cute and chic! The outside of the bag is shiny, and I think that is what my daughter loves so much. However, she is totally into zipping and unzipping zippers right now, and the eenamaria's zipper glides open and shut easily! The zipper has a pretty silver tab with the eenamaria logo on it to make it easy to open the zipper. The outside of the bag is made with a washable vinyl. The colors are vibrant! There are 3 storage areas in the Workin' Weekend Baby Tote: two on the outside, and a big one in the center. I love how this Tote does not look like the typical diaper bag, and actually I may just use it for my day trips. I think this bag would be perfect to tote around a laptop. I wouldn't put any small items in the center of the bag, because the zipper has two open areas on either side of it. So, if you are like me and bend down while carrying a bag (picking up your baby), you may have items fall out of your bag. However, if you just carry larger items in the center of the bag, you will have no problems!

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Sarah has truly made herself; someone to watch out for. Not only has she been nominated twice for the Fashion Group International's 'Rising Star Award', but she will be airing her new line on QVC this February. With her placement on QVC, Sarah hopes to share her new collection with women, such as those who read blogs, who are modern, confident and strong women on-the-go. Sarah hopes to inspire and empower any woman who wears her bag – creating bold looks that represent an attitude and lifestyle that is full of passion and adventure.

I highly recommend Sarah's bags found at eenamaria! You can buy eenamaria's bags at ebags.com. Thank you eenamaria and Family Review Network for this review opportunity!

We had a busy weekend...

Friday night, I went to the monthly Ladies Night out at our church. This month we did a Christmas-y themed get-together. It was a cookie exchange (which I didn't do, because it wasn't until last minute that we decided I could go...so no time to bake). Plus, it was a $10 white elephant gift exchange. I brought 2 books that I have reviewed previously, to give as gifts. It was such a fun night, and we even had new visitors. Lisa, Jody, and our friend Anna did the planning, organizing and preparations. You ladies did a fantastic job, and I want to say THANK YOU for all your work to make it a great night!
They did a fantastic job! They decorated the ceiling with Christmas bulbs hanging, table clothes on the tables, and we each had name tags. The name tags were fun because they all related to Christmas or winter. I picked the name Vixen because I thought it was fitting to me. ~lol. We each wore a pin with balls hanging on it to play a game. We had to use our "nick names" when we addressed each other, and if you "caught" someone using the person's real name, you could take their balls away. The winner with the most collected balls was given a prize at the end. That was a fun game!
To get our white elephant gift, we played the game where you roll dice to get double numbers to get a prize. Then, once we all had a gift, we opened them, and then did another 10 minutes of rolling dice where we could "exchange" our gift with someone else. I had originally opened up a butter container. It was an OK gift, but my eyes were on the Mikasa martini glasses (set of 4). I did end up getting them, and I was so thankful! Not only do I LOVE Mikasa, Terry and I do enjoy martinis and entertaining. Of coarse, I haven't had a martini in a long time, and they are saved for special occasions, but they are tasty. These beautiful glasses can be used to put dips and desserts in them, too. I was so happy that I got it. The lady I had switched with ended up really needing the butter container, too...so it was a win win.
After the gift exchange, we played games. Lisa had 3 new games that we needed to help her try out. She got the games to review, and it was fun new games to try. The night ended about 1:30'ish this time. I wasn't planning on staying after 1:00 AM, because we were leaving early in the morning, BUT it was Ladies Night Out, and that just happens once a month. I really hope to make it next month. It is right around the time when my baby is due...so we will see.
Saturday morning, we finished up packing, loaded the car and headed on our way to my husband's side family Christmas. On the way, we stopped at a train show. Terry and the boys went to the train show, and Madelyn and I went to the mall for girl time and shopping. We had a few items to pick up, and a few Christmas gifts to purchase. It was fun to have some one on one time with Madelyn, and Terry had a great time with the boys. After that, we stopped for lunch, and went up North. There were a lot of people in Grandma's house! We snacked, opened gifts, and had supper. Then, Terry, our family, his brother and his family, and Terry's Mom went downstairs and did our family Christmas. It was fun to have that time together. Madelyn got a little cell phone with a purse, dress up shoes, and a necklace...then, when it was all on...she wiggled her little booty and said, "Oooo, Look at Me! Look at me!" It was so funny!
Sunday, we went to church, and then watched the kid's Christmas program. It was snowing and blowing like crazy, so we knew we needed to head for home right after church. We did stop at Terry's Grandma & Mom's house to grab a bite to eat and pack up the van. Then, we made our way through the snow and ice. We did get together, part way home, at my friend's house. We had planned on getting together to celebrate our friend's birthday. It was a fun time to get together, eat some great food, and just touch base again. I miss the days that we just went up to Perkins and talked for hours and hours. Now, with marriage and kids, our lives have become so busy. I was thankful for our time together, though.
It was a great weekend, and now it is good to be home. We got snow and ice over the weekend, and I think more snow is in the forecast. I do love snow, just the -40 below wind chills are a bit much.

Weekend update

It was a great weekend away with Terry! It was super having time together and away~

We left early Friday morning...6:00 AM. We stopped for fuel and breakfast. I am pretty sure that was our only stop until we were in Waukesha, WI. We had a tour of Kalmbach Publishing Company. They are the publishers of several magazines of hobbies, particularly we were interested in Model Railroader. It was fun to tour their company, and see the great layout. Terry was really excited about all this because he has seen so many of the sections of layout the company uses in their stories that are in the monthly magazines. We were there for about an hour, and then we were on our way to Walthers in Milwaukee, WI. Before we got there, we stopped and had a light lunch at Taco Bell.
Terry and I are dealers with Walthers for most of our ordering trains and accessories for our store. It was interesting to see the location of the warehouse and their hobby shop. It was interesting to see how our orders are assembled and shipped. Then, we went to our hotel for check in. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites in Brookfield, WI. What a great hotel to stay in! It was probably my most favored of hotel stays in my life. I have stayed in quite a few hotels, so that is something to say! The hotel was very clean, had a super hot tub and pool, a great room~we even had a living room space in our room!, a very comfortable bed with great pillows, and a HOT continental breakfast! The breakfast was eggs, bacon/sausage, biscuits and gravy, toast/english muffins, oatmeal, waffles, fresh fruit, yogurt, juice, milk, coffee and water. What a great spread, and it was super! We got Train Fest ticket prices, since we were there for the train show. So, we got a great deal on our hotel price, free tickets for both days of the show, and breakfast was included! Talk about a great deal! We will stay there for sure next year!
Friday night, we ate at the Champps Restaurant attached to the hotel. It was great food. That night, we went swimming and sat in the hot tub! It was grand! I am in my third trimester, and I have heard from several Dr.'s that it is OK to be in a hot tub in the third trimester~ I just have to know when I am getting hot. If that happens, just get out. Plus, the water wasn't that hot~ it was just like a warm bath. Then, we went back to the room and we ordered a movie from the TV. We watched Baby Mama....what a great movie! I laughed so much! You should see it!



The next day, we were up...had breakfast, (had to make a trip to Walmart~forgot to pack something...) then, went to the show. There were over 50 train layouts, a ton of vendors, and fun things for kids to do! We didn't even see it all on Saturday. It was a lot of walking around, looking, and admiring. I had to sit down a few times throughout the day. I saw some great layouts, though. In the evening, we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which was attached to the hotel, too. It was great tasting food. I had a seafood pasta. It was tasty! Then, we went back to our room and got ready to sit in the hot tub! What a great way to unwind from the day! Then, that night we ordered the movie, Hancock~ with Will Smith. That was a great movie, too, and really took us off guard with the twist the movie gave! There is some rough language (name calling) but I think overall it was a pretty good movie.



We slept great both nights. Sunday morning, we got up and got ready. Terry brought some things down to the vehicle, and he noticed that the battery was dead! OH Great! After 2 different people helping and trying to jump the battery, a worker of the hotel graciously brought Terry to Walmart to buy a new battery! That was above and beyond customer service! We made it to the show after another HOT breakfast. We stayed at the show for about 2-3 hours. I have to admit, I was "trained" out by this time. I didn't want to rush Terry, but he was ready to go around noonish, too. I can say that most everyone at the show had to "look" at my preggo belly. I am now 31 weeks pregnant. Here is a photo:

Seriously, if people didn't know how obvious their looks were, they were out of it. I had some really interesting comments, but the one that really struck me and Terry was this one....
"So, was it worth the night of passion?"
Can you believe that someone would say that? I wanted to say something like, "What are you talking about?" OR, "Which time?" OR. "What are you implying?" Some people asked when I am due, (without asking if I was preggo...what if I wasn't?)~~ then, I told them the beginning of January. Here are some of the comments to my due date:
"OH, honey, you won't make it until then!"
"Were all your babies big?"
"Wow, you got a ways to go yet!"
"You look like you dropped!"
I don't know why, but to some comments I felt like I needed them to know that this was my 4th baby, and fifth pregnancy. Some of them I just wanted to smack them! Seriously, some people have no tack.
We stopped for lunch, fuel and a quick supper on our drive home. It was great to get home and see the kids. They had a great time with Grandma over the weekend. Grandma tried potty-working with Caleb. Caleb wasn't really working with it too much. He did have a successful pee on the potty when we got home, and after much praise, Grandma treated him to DQ (and us) with a potty-party! Today, Caleb wasn't interested in the potty chair. I am not a fan of letting him run in his underwear and cleaning up mess after mess either. But, we are trying to encourage him to sit on the chair, and work on him knowing what "wet" means, etc. Wish us luck~
It is good to be home.