What's been going on

May has been a rather rainy month, thus far... but despite the rain,
we have been having fun painting....

Going to the Zoo! The Flamingos looked especially pink under a cloudy sky!

We went to a Rockies Game! Xander was a gem! He loves music and dancing and the game was exciting, so he was completely entertained the whole time! And he was FREE! 2 and under can sit on a lap so we were all able to go and take Xander!

The row ahead of us, won some prizes for the Lotto, and the "Balls" were in our area! Xander loved them! And charmed all the young workers. One guy said, "Your little guy and his personality is what makes my job worthwhile." We had a fun family night at the game!

And of course, Xander has been turned into a computer junkie...the almost 3 year old can completely navigate and play pretty much play all games on the Nick JR website. And if I am not careful, he has been known to play for 3 hours straight.

But he is pretty smart because of it. He has knowledge of Letters, Numbers, and Shapes!
And he plays on the computer while I work on the computer, so then when I am done, we go outside and play :)

Turtle Pool

Xander was really not into playing in the turtle pool.
At first he was in clothes...
but they were getting wet, "I don't like that"
So I got a swim diaper that was a little small.
"I don't like this swim diaper"

Then I just put him in his swim suit, without a swim diaper.
"I don't like swimsuit" As he tries to pull it off with the high pitched whining...
Think, Nichole, Think!
Distraction....when complaining starts, my instincts tell me to distract, change the subject, scenery, interests.

I spied the orange plastic slide. "LIGHT BULB" little slide that will fit in little pool...
SUCCESS!

Swim suit stays on.
Enjoys wearing swimsuit.
Goes up and down and up and down
and enjoys, very warm day at the pool.

I enjoy sticking my already starting to swell feet in cold water.

What a great day!
Now to think of something to do tomorrow.

OH Yes, just so you all know, I did not buy this plastic. Although it is very fun plastic.
You know how much I don't like Big plastic toys.
So Turtle Sandbox, that I use as a watering hole, was found on the side of the road, that someone was throwing away, and Orange Plastic Slide was given to my Mom by my Sister Cyndi.

SO We were Very GREEN with this find, as I prevented Big Plastic from going into a Land Fill!

Monster versus Tower

Mighty Police Man protects Tower

Teeth are clinched to keep Monster away

Monster invades City

City is destroyed

But because Police Man is a member of the LDS Broomfield 2nd Ward. The City is completely rebuilt again and Police Man gets Dinners for a Week to protect the City
Once again.

Home Birth

Life is great!

I am feeling better and food has never tasted so wonderful. I still have not been to the doctor, but I feel good so hopefully everything is going good.

By the time I get in, it looks like I may know what this little one is going to be. So I have an appointment with a Midwife on May 11th. Which means this maybe a home birth baby. Crazy I know, but I am 85% sure I want to have this baby at home.

I was C-sectioned with Xander and I just feel that if I go to a doctor, that will be my fate. Some hospitals will not even let you VBAC. I was completely healthy with Xander and did not feel like I had to be C-sectioned. I just think it was the easiest and quickest route and because I was strapped down to a bed. I was not allowed to move around and help him out.

I kind of look at it...Like training for a marathon or sky diving, or traveling alone all around Europe. There are risks and possible things that could happen and I know it may hurt a little more then an Epidural birth, but I am strong and I really think this is something I would like to cross off my bucket list.

Plus...I am told it can be a very spiritual experience. Maybe I will understand a little what it was like to be a pioneer and have a baby in a tent.

I am just so excited for Xander, to have a teammate. He loves people so much. We have "Unofficial Playdates at Mc Donalds" Where he always makes friends with whoever is there. We go at least 1 time a week.

I am also thinking of teaching a preschool for him next year. I just need to find 4 or 5 kids to join him.

Ranting and raving

So I am going to do a little complaining....

So, Jeremy has a job. I have a job. At the present time neither of our jobs have Health Insurance Benefits. So we sacrificed and got our own private health insurance, so we are covered. At 610.00 a month that covers Jeremy, Xander, and I and the 3 step children.

Jeremy was married before me. His wife at the time divorced him. She did not want to be married to him. Bless his heart, he would have endured to the end despite the fact he was not very happy in the marriage. But he did not want a divorce. (Now he is happy he got one) :)

We pay $858 a month in Child Support + 150.00 a month in Health insurance for the children. Which takes a big chunk out of our income every month.

So I am pregnant, and Maternity is not included in private health insurance. I look into Medicaid to help cover the cost of our pregnancy as in the application it states that you can deduct expenses like Child support and health insurance premiums. With those deductions, We very much do qualify for some help and support.

We get a letter in the mail saying we were denied because we make too much money. I call, thinking they do not understand that we pay almost 1,000 dollars a month in child support. First of all, I get a response that they don't believe We pay it. So I print out bank statements from the past year stating, We do very well pay child support, faithfully every month.

Then today, I get a call, that even though we pay $858 a month in support. We only get a $50.00 credit for that payment making us still over the income limit so we do not qualify.

So I am understanding why so many "Dead Beat Dad's" out there just don't pay child support.

You get no tax credit, for dependents since they do not live with you. (Not by our choice, by the court)

You get no appreciation for making the payments to the X-spouse as they see it as their right. And they are entitled to "their money".

And now, all the money you do pay, you only get credit for $50.00 that you do pay. So does that mean, I can keep the $800.00 to help support my family. So it is fair to make one family suffer so another family receives "support".

Ok....Post edit.

Learned that Medicaid and Chp are two different things.

We qualify for ChP based on our income, but, because I have Private insurance, even though it does not cover Maternity. We are not qualified. So if I would have spent the money on a Health Club Membership, cigarettes, etc..... We would qualify and I would have insurance to cover my pregnancy. But because I made a responsible choice to cover our family COMPLETELY out of pocket.

I do not qualify for help even though I have no insurance to cover Maternity.

So I am praying seriously about having a home birth. It is a little scary for me. But Government programs don't work.

Easter Sunday!

Loved the outfit I found at JC Penny. (On Sale) :)

Loved watching Xander find eggs in the Living Room.

And the big Cheeser he gave with every find!

Loved having Jeff Downs family come over for Easter,
So Xander could have someone to share his "Big" sandbox with.

They played in this box for a good 2 hours. So I guess size really doesn't matter. :)

Easter Egg hunt and Dying Eggs

This was Xander's first year of Egg Dying.
He was not to shabby, although by the end, most of his eggs looked like the color eggs are supposed to be. A nice brown hue, due to the transfer from color to color.

The first dip...

Don't most people color the eggs while they are being dyed?

We mostly enjoyed the experience..Vs being PC in Egg Dying technique.

This is the one shot I got of Xander at the Eagle Trace Egg Hunt. It was Snowing. There were a lot of kids and they didn't break it up in age groups. So Xander got a big 2 Eggs...Where some of the other older experienced egg hunter kids I think carried out buckets of 50+. But he was completely thrilled with 2 eggs and really, does it matter? When he is 7 he can come home with 50+.

It is all about enjoying the moment. Which despite the snow. He did.