The Lombard Clan

Somewhat Chaotic life

2010-04-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

So its been six months since my last post and so much has happened! Besides Kids getting older (Kristina is 8 1/2, Connor is now 18 months, and Annika is 3) we moved 2500 miles away to Oregon!!! Mike is now in San Antonio, Texas completing officer training. We will then be stationed in Ft. Lewis, Washington. The awesome thing about that is that we are only 2 hours away from my parents and friends. I moved early so I could start looking for a house to buy, but I think we decided to live on base for awhile to figure out neighborhoods. The move was such an interesting experience! I've moved back and forth from Oregon to Arkansas and vice versa several times as a kid so I new what to expect...okay so I thought I knew what to expect. Being the adult with all the kids is way different than being the kid going along for the ride. It was such a short notice move that I planned the trip in a week and packed an entire 3 bedroom house in one week as well. We planned it so that me and the kids would leave for Oregon the same day Mike left for Texas. My dad flew down so that he could drive the 26' U-haul (the biggest one they make) and I got to drive the van with all 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a cat. Took 4 1/2 days to drive from Fayetteville to Troutdale, Oregon. I think driving was the easy part. Trying to lug kids, pets, luggage, and pet care products into a hotel room every night and then back to the car every morning was exhausting!! I do have to say that the kids and pets did awesome on this trip (even with the kids breaking a cord to the dvd player the first day, thus no movies the entire trip)!! Kristina was as helpful as could be, Connor didn't fuss to much, Annika did well, and the cat only meowed a little each day, oh and zoey the little dog did awesome as well. The new puppy, Roxy, however I could have KILLED!! She peed twice in my drivers seat without me knowing. Climb back in the car after grabbing food to sit in a wet drivers seat. The kids and my dad found it highly amusing, I of course was not a happy person. Don't worry, I love my pets so she wasn't left on the interstate haha. Overall the trip went well, just very exhausting. We are staying with my parents until mike is gets here. So several months in a packed house with 8 people and 7 pets!!! It's so chaotic!!! I love my parents and brother so much and I am so appreciative of everything but I do look forward to being back in a home of my own. My ways and my schedules. In the meantime, Kristina is loving her new school and I'm enjoying getting together with old friends and letting all of our kids play. I'm missing my husband so incredibly much, I guess the old saying is true: absence really does make the heart grow fonder. We've realized through all of our ups and downs we really have done the right thing by staying together and persevering. I can't wait till we are together again. Only a few more weeks to go! The 28th of may he will be able to drive up here! From there its get a house on base, unload the storage shed (literally packed from top to bottom) with all of our belongings, move all 3 kids/pets/belongings up to Washington (fortunately only 2 hr drive), and then unpack it all and make it our new home and life together. I'm looking forward to getting settled into our new life in the Army and in Washington. So that's the somewhat chaotic life we've been leading.

Loving Fall

2009-10-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this time of year....The cold (but not too cold yet), all the pumpkin and fireplace smells, the cloudy gray skies, the rain..just everything about fall! I finally got all my decorations up, way later than most years I might add. Of course with all the b-days this time of year is becoming more hectic. I can't believe my little one turns one next week, and we just celebrated Kristina's 8th b-day! Of course the con to this season is having two of the three kids sick and being cranky. I'm also really excited because in a month my dad will be coming down to hunt and then my brother will join Thanksgiving week. I can't wait to have Thanksgiving with them and it will be really great to see them with the kids. Last time they saw Annika was a little over a year ago, so she wasn't even 2 yet, and they haven't even seen Connor yet! The girls are ecstatic that papa and uncle nic will be in town soon. Of course they will be in Hot Springs so that means we will be traveling down there on the weekends as much as possible but that's fine by me. I'm just really enjoying the season at the moment, and getting excited to decorate for Christmas (though all the shopping that will have to be done can wait even longer ha ha ha).

So Tired

2009-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I can't seem to get enough sleep these days! I go to bed earlier than I ever have (between 9:30 and 10) and I'm still so exhausted these days! It doesn't help that the allergies are kicking in and giving me a sore throat, and Connor hasn't been feeling well either. He's teething and has a virus. I just wish I could get more sleep these days and feel awake during the day. I don't like wanting to do nothing but sleep!!
On a positive note, I am really looking forward to the Tuesday morning Bible study that is about to start up in a few weeks! And MOP's is starting up soon as well! I love being able to get together with other women, it really makes my weeks better! It was such a great time and experience going to Flavor last night. A nice little break from the kids too. Although I did feel bad leaving Connor with Mike since he has been so cranky and fussy from not feeling well. I came home to Connor fussing (apparently he had slept a little) and Annika was happier than usual to see me. She was so upset for me to leave that she cried herself to sleep and woke up just a little bit before I got home. All in All it went well and I really enjoyed myself.

Summer is ending

2009-07-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

The summer is ending, and WOW has the summer really flown by this year! I swear every year things just fly by quicker and quicker!! Kristina is getting ready to start second grade on the 6th of August, and she is super excited! Annika just keeps getting bigger and bigger and becoming more and more of a "big girl" and not just my little toddler. She's become my mini me and literally does and say's everything I do and say. She even runs to get her baby doll when I'm doing something with Connor. Speaking of Connor, just started pulling himself up onto his knees in his crib yesterday and this morning I walk in and he's standing up completely!!! Time to lower the crib!! He's been doing the army crawl for several weeks now but hasn't really tried to pull up...until yesterday.
We had a great family vacation last week. Just to Hot Springs, but we stayed in my Aunt and Uncle's lake house and it was great! We went swimming...an adventure since Annika is scared of everything, took about an hour to an hour and a half to coax her into the water. Then she had fun of course. Connor LOVES the water and loves to splash so he was completely happy swimming. We had lunches and dinners with family and even took the kids to Pirate's Cove, a miniature golf place. Everyone had a blast and it was a very much needed vacation for us all!
Now that we are back, we are just trying to get into the swing of things. Kristina has one week of summer left, I've taken on more kids to watch (so I have 7 counting my 3....Some day's I'm not sure what I was thinking ha ha), and Mike has a new promotion starting this week! I love it, he now works office hours Monday through Friday, so he has evenings and weekends off finally!! I think this will be a great change for our family! It was so nice to sit down at the table and eat as a family last night! I don't remember the last time that happened!
We are still up in the air about when we will be moving. As of now we are hoping to have Mike at Officer training in the middle of October and me and the kids in Oregon at that time. Though if we decide to let Kristina finish this semester of school then we wouldn't go to Oregon until Christmas break. Mike HATES the idea of me and the kids being here by ourselves....and while I would prefer not to, I think we would be just fine. I just HATE not being able to plan for anything. As of now our duty station will be Hawaii, right outside Honolulu. We are still really excited, just tired of the waiting game.
So all in all, the Lombard Clan is doing well...Just waiting to try to prepare for the so many changes we know are a head of us.

Just an update

2009-06-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

So there really isn't much going on around here. Kristina is finishing up her last week of school and then we will be going to Hot Springs to visit family over the weekend. Connor is finally rolling over...YaY! Now if he will only start crawling! I always expected him to do the same stuff at the same time as Annika did, which was 6 1/2 months for everything (except walking) and he will be 8 months on the 22nd. And yes, I do know that all children are different, but still lol.
Other than that we are just taking it easy now that I am finally done being sick. I had some sort of cold or allergies two weeks ago, and then the weekend after that we had a neighborhood yard sale and because I always seem to forget to put sunscreen on myself, I ended up with a nice sunburn and a touch of sun poisoning. But all that is behind me now and I'm feeling good now! So other than all this and trying to figure out about moving that is all that is happening around here.

One of those days!!!

2009-05-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

So today is definitely one of those days! To start things off, I am sick and don't feel well and haven't since Saturday. Of course we all know mom's have no day's off even when we are sick. We are out of everything so going to wal-mart was a must today so as soon as Kristina jumped off the bus, off we went. Connor was cranky most of the time, though I tried seeing if he would be okay sitting up in the seat instead of his infant carrier...he kept falling over. Finally laid him down in the seat (I have one of those seat covers so it was some what soft and clean for him)..this seemed to do the trick until I went around one of their freight carts and not realizing how far over the side his little feet were, I squished his poor little foot between the cart and the other thing...I feel like a horrible mother!!! Poor guy started screaming so I carried him for awhile and let Kristina push the cart which made her happy but gave me more work since it was a little heavy for her and she kept running into things. Annika of course was trying to open everything and bite into the hot dogs, and kept standing up (almost falling out a couple of times). Gave her two spankings and guess they weren't good enough because it didn't seem to phase her much but of course I still got several horrified looks from other people. We finally make it home and I start putting away groceries when Annika had gotten a hold of a glass frog tape dispenser (with out me noticing) drops it on the floor...Glass goes every where, she screams and runs away. I ran after her to check her over and she had two nicks on her foot but was fine. So I sweep the whole dinning room and kitchen and then mop it real quick to ensure all glass is put up. In the middle of this Annika some how pees all over my entry way...I say some how because I'm not exactly sure how since she had on a pull up. Hmmmm. So I stop what I'm doing, rush her to the bathroom and clean the pee up. Now I have to mop my entry way as well. Then in the process of doing this I decide to clean the cat's box being that tomorrow is trash day and if the picky cat does not have a perfectly clean box he will pee on my bed...It has been done before...always on mikes side of the bed oddly enough...makes me laugh slightly but not him ha ha. During all this Annika spills a drink in the living room. I run to clean that up hoping and praying its not spilled on Mike's lap top...Thankfully it wasn't, just on the floor. During the whole ordeal the girls are fighting non stop and Connor is fussing because he's not getting the attention he wants. I finally manage to get everything cleaned up and groceries put away just in time for Annika to pick up the cats/dogs water dish full of water, drop and break it (getting glass every where once again)and soaking her and the floor.....which when she spills something on her like that, she screams bloody murder and it takes a few to calm her down. So It has been one of those days or nights..whatever. I'm exhausted and still need to cook something...think it will be hot dogs since mike is working...and go buy another dish for the pets. UGH!! Well thanks for listening I actually feel slightly better now after venting! Maybe I won't lock my children in the closet for the night....Just kidding, I wouldn't do that...Just think about it ha ha ha :D

Finally a new post!

2009-05-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am way over due to post something!! I need to get a ton better about this especially if we are moving! So anyway.....The newest thing going on in the Lombard Clan is that Mike is officially an Army Officer!! He is a 2nd Lt. and I couldn't be more proud. Just wish I could start planning our big move to Hawaii, but can't do that until we get orders which won't happen until Mike takes the Nclex exam to get his RN license. Other than that the kids are growing so fast! I can't believe Connor will be 7 months this week!! I'll post some pics of him later when I switch over to mikes laptop. I have got to organize my picture files....they are spread out over 3 computers which is part of the problem on me posting new pics lol. Anyway, here are some pics of the commissioning ceremony and Kristina's spring pic.

Exciting news!

2009-03-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been way too long since I have posted anything!!! So much has happened since the last blog! Miss Annika has since turned 2 and is in the midst of potty training! We're letting her go at her own pace and it seems to be going well! So as I said in title, We have some very exciting news....We are going to be stationed in Hawaii!!!! We are nervous and excited about it. Not sure when we will be going. Mike will graduate and be commissioned in May, but will have to take his nclex exam to get his license. It will take the UA to send the state board of nursing a while to get them the proper paper work so it will probably be in June when he can take the test and then 2 weeks on top of that to get results and licensing in. Then he has to go to OBC (the army officer training) and that is 3 months long and is unaccompanied (so me and the kids can't go with him). Typically they send you to OBC before being sent to your duty station, but if the next session is to far off then they will station you first. So basically no idea when we are moving yet. We will post more when we have more to tell! Kristina is so excited about the weather since she thinks she'll be able to play outside every day lol. We're starting some research on the housing market, schools, and just what it will be like there. None of us have ever been there before so this will truly be our new adventure!

The real pants wearer in the family

2009-01-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

Apparently Annika wears the pants in this family lol. Here she is in my jeans (of course her sister was kind enough to cinch the belt around her waist and roll up the pant legs lol). Just thought it was too funny not to post!

Annika is turning into a big girl

2009-01-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

So Monday night I decided (and I'm not sure what made me decide to do this) to convert the crib to a toddler bed. We plan on getting a different bed for her in the next month or so, that way we can use the crib with Connor. While converting the crib, Annika of course had to "help" me but she was so excited about getting a "big girl bed." We are very into being a big girl at the moment. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with how well she did! She stayed in bed all night and went right to sleep (except she did fall out once and scared herself) and wouldn't get out of bed until I walked into her room. I had put the baby gate up in her doorway just to ensure that if she got up, she couldn't get into anything but her toys. Nap time the next day went awesome as well and last night's bed time. She just simply goes right to sleep and still won't get out of her bed until I get her out. I even went in there this morning and told her she could play with toys because I wasn't ready to get her out of her room just yet, she still didn't get out of bed lol. Guess the next step in this new "big girl" adventure is to get her completely potty trained. She is doing great at peeing in the potty (well when I make her lol), so I guess I should stop being lazy and really get the ball moving! So if any of you other mom's have any great tricks let me know :D

Just an Update

2009-01-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Wow! Its been way too long since I've updated this site lol. I have several pictures from Christmas that I will post later. The picture posted is of Connor, he's getting so big so fast! He'll be 3 months next week already! I decided to try to feed him some rice cereal with applesauce to help fill his tummy. The child is already drinking 6 oz bottles and has been for some time. This was about the time I started feeding Annika baby food as well. I know what the books and doctors say, but I say I know my child way better then they do..I'm just not a by the book kinda mom. He seemed to really like it, although he decided it was time to smile and coo at me making the feeding take longer and a little more difficult lol. That is what the picture above is of. Of course, the minute the camera came out he stopped smiling for me and then started up again once I put it away. We had a wonderful Christmas with the family and the kids loved all their gifts. I still need to write thank you notes...fell a little behind. Well that's it for now I guess, I'm about to head to bed for the night...after a snack :) I'll post more pics later.

holiday baking

2008-12-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

So I should be finishing all the candy making that I need to, but thought I'd blog instead lol. I'm making peanut brittle, chocolate covered pretzels, cherries, marshmallows, truffles, sugar cookies, and a cheese ball. Think we have enough sweets?! I guess I also need to start really working on the potty training thing with Annika as well. I was putting her in the bath and asked if she wanted to go potty first so she sat down on her potty and went like a big girl again! We're trying out big girl panties, but I have a feeling I might be cleaning up pee at some point today lol. Guess I should go clean and bake some more!

Kristina's 1st grade Christmas Musical

2008-12-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

Mike and I spent our 4th wedding anniversary at Kristina's first grade Christmas musical Thursday night. She was the Mama Bell in "The littlest bell that could not ring." She had several lines that she had to memorize and she did awesome! We're so proud of her! I can't believe that Mike and I have been married for four years and have three wonderful children. We truly are blessed!

2008-12-17T21:15:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Picture with Santa

2008-12-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

So I took the kids to see Santa tonight, and despite the horrible evening leading up to Santa, the picture came out great! Everything was fine today until we left for the mall. I had taken Connor to get his shots this afternoon but up until we left he was perfectly fine, but of course the instant we leave he starts screaming bloody murder in the backseat. I had gotten all the kids dressed and fixed the girls hair but by the time we reached the mall (and its literally maybe 5 minutes from my house) Annika had taken out her pigtails and broken the elastic bands holding them. So I had to try to put them back up using her hair bows only. Then as I was getting Annika out of her car seat she fell forward busting her lip open on the back of the drivers seat. Not sure how, but she managed not to get any blood on her white shirt! So I get everyone inside the mall, clean them up, fix hair, make a bottle and head to Santa. The line wasn't too bad just slow moving, but of course Connor screamed the entire time and spit up all down the front of my shirt, lovely right?! and after a bit of dealing with him and trying to make sure Annika never ran off or got into anything, we finally got up to Santa himself. I was so worried that after the evening we were having that Connor and Annika would do nothing but scream at the poor guy, but to my surprise they did great! Annika waved and smiled at him and went straight to him when he held out his hands and Connor was perfectly fine as well. Of Course when I picked him up out of Santa's hands he began screaming once more and continued all the way home. But the picture came out perfect! I'm so happy with how it turned out. So that was this year's Santa Claus experience!

i'm a dork...

2008-12-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

So I'm a dork...I somehow didn't post the pictures that I was talking about in the last blog! So here they are and read the blog before this one, it will make more since that way! hahahah :P

Pictures and More

2008-12-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

So I just thought that I would post some pics from this weekend in Hot Springs. The first one is of my Grandmother with most of her grandchildren (one of my cousin's and Kristina were not in the picture...and of course I never realized when taking the picture that my daughter had her finger in her nose the whole time..lovely right?! So lady like I tell you! The next one is cute because my other grandmother is playing the piano and helping kristina remember her lines in the song for her school play and Annika thinks that she is being so helpful by "playing" the piano too. Then there is the picture from today with Annika trying to curl her hair with my curling iron...poor child her hair is so horrible that she knew she had to do something with it lol. Other than that I am really excited...Miss Annika peed in her big girl potty tonight!!!! I was so surprised. I was in the middle of changing her diaper and got up to get some diaper cream for her and she ran into the bathroom and sat down on her potty. Of course she played on it for about ten minutes and every time I asked her if she was done she'd say no and shake her head at me lol. I pushed on her tummy to kind of show her and a few minutes later she had some gas and started clapping at herself lol, and then she peed. I was so proud of her!!! She is fascinated with toilet paper ( I foresee a future problem with this lol). So she got lots of hugs and cheers and a little piece of chocolate as a reward. I bought her some big girl panties so that maybe that will do some encouraging...and if this is just a one time thing for a while, well its a good start at that :D So that's my excitement for the day!!

My Birthday

2008-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

So my birthday was Friday and I was pleasantly surprised! It started off at midnight when Mike texted me happy birthday (which I had completely forgotten that it was my birthday that day lol). Then of course Connor decided to keep me awake the majority of the night as usual. Mike and I had decided that for my birthday, our anniversary, and our (not the kids of course) Christmas that we would post-pone it until later and just celebrate them all at once. But when I woke up that morning to him coming home from work, he had brought me breakfast from Chick-fil-A (my absolute favorite)and a card. I thought it was so sweet that I gave him a big hug. When I pulled back he had a jewelry box in his hand. I opened it to find a really pretty white gold chain with a white gold heart with yellow gold Mom written inside of it. I have been begging for a nice chain to put my cross on for months now, but I haven't asked for a mom pendant in well over six months. He said that he really thought about it and decided that this was the best gift because I can interchange the mom pendant for my cross or vice versa. It is so obvious that he put so much thought into it and that meant so much to me! I just couldn't get over that he remembered that I wanted a mom pendant since I had forgotten that I had asked for it. Thanks Sweetie!!! So that made my day....and then I made a four hour drive to Hot Springs with the kids that night to see family and exchange Christmas gifts lol. I'll post a couple of pics of that tomorrow after I get home and get back to my computer :)Until tomorrow....

We've been Elfed!!!

2008-12-07T19:34:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Just some pictures

2008-12-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd put up a few pic's. I took one of Connor today just because I can't believe how big he is already getting! He is beginning to fit into his 0-3 month outfits, though a few newborn onesies still fit. And of course the instant Annika saw me take a pictures of him she started screaming cheese at me so of naturally I had to take one of her as well lol. She used to never smile for the camera but that is beginning to change. There are two pic's of Miss Annika as well. One is the day before Thanksgiving with olives on her fingers. She refused to eat them but loved it when I showed her how to put them on her fingers (and yet I keep trying to get her to NOT play with her food lol). The other one of her is of her in my high heeled shoes after bath time. She absolutely loves to run around in either mine or Kristina's dress shoes. I think that is a perfect present she'll be getting for Christmas.....play dress shoes! Now I just need to get a picture of Kristina on here! Enjoy!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!!

2008-11-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

YaY! It's Christmas time!! I'm so excited that its Christmas time, it's one of my favorite times of year. So I pulled out all the decorations and the tree and put it all up. Now all I have to do is the outside....Which will be a lot of fun and interesting being that this is the first house I've gotten to do the outside (we've always lived in apartments until now). I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year because we will be having it at our house for the first time. My family will be coming here and so I will be starting new traditions. Also it's Connor's first Christmas (not that he'll know whats going on ha ha) and I know Annika will understand whats going on and have a blast. I can't wait to see her open presents and her stocking!!! Well Connor is crying....again...and I want to finish my pumpkin pie and go to bed. Hopefully I'll start posting things more often lol..I've gone too long this last time!

Halloween and More....

2008-11-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

So the kids had a blast on Halloween. Kristina and Annika were fairies and Connor was going to be a lion but his costume was too big; of course being a mom, I had to have pictures of him in his too big costume lol. I think he looked adorable, but I'm not too sure he would agree with me lol. We started the night off with pizza with the Pursley's and got the kids ready and went door to door trick or treating together.....a very nice change from the mall scene that we typically do! We all had a great time! Annika wasn't too sure of what was going on, but she did want to eat all the candy....and still does (she has realized that I keep it on the top of the refridgerator and always runs to the kitchen and points at it..sometimes even saying please haha). I've posted a couple of pictures from the night as well as a couple from the photo shoot Annie did of me and the girls the day before Connor was born. They turned out so awesome! Thanks Annie!!

2008-10-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

The newest edition to our family

2008-10-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Connor James Lombard has finally arrived! Well a week ago, I'm just finally getting around to posting something and some pictures hehe. He was born at 7:50 p.m and weighed 6lbs. 7oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Healthy as can be! I must say the transition of going from a family of four to a family of five is going much smoother than I thought. The girls absolutely adore him! I knew Kristina would be fine, but Annika adores him just as much as her older sister does. Annika always has to give the baby kisses and the instant he cries, she's running to his bassinet pointing at him and telling me "baby, baby." She also has to try to "help" me with diaper changes and feedings hehe. Of course there is some jealousey but not as much as I had expected! YaY! I have to say I feel so blessed with the family God has given me. Also the ton's of family and friends willing to help out at anytime has been such a blessing. Thank you to all of you who have brought meals (and will be bringing them), have helped out, and just for praying for us! My grandparents and parents for all that they have done.......Thank you so much! I don't think I can convey how much all of it is greatly appreciated by us. And thank you Annie for all the pictures you have/will be taking :D I love them! Well I guess its time for me to get back to folding laundry, changing diapers, and feeding kids haha! Enjoy the pics!

Getting Started

2008-10-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to listen to Annie and create a new blog on this site! Any tips are appreciated :) Hopefully I'll be quick about posting pictures and blogs. On another note, I'm really excited because we broke Annika of pacifiers!! YaY! It was so much easier than I expected it be. I just didn't give it to her one night and poof she was off of them! We also bought her a potty chair, not sure how that will go. If she's interested great, if not then we wait. But she does tell us when she needs a diaper change, so thats a start!