So Zach and his friend, Bret, got the Pilot unstuck. Woohoo! Doozie (that’s what we call Dailah) is still under the weather and is presently taking a nap. I didn’t get much sleep with sickie mcsicks so I’ll be hitting the pillow in T minus 2 minutes.

But praises! We’re out of the ditch. The contractors made it. We had enough Butterfingers and coffee this morning to dull the aches and pains. Today is lookin’ up!

Or at least I hope I like you a little more than today. Not that today was all bad, but certainly would not make my Top 10 in the “Best Days” category.

It started with Dailah waking up feeling a bit warm. I decided I’d go to church while Zach stayed home with the kids. So I took the car down our looong drive and immediately noticed it was slippery. No sooner had I noticed than it turned sideways and proceeded to head into the ditch. So there I was, stuck. Freezing rain coming down. I walked back up to the house to get Zach. He decided to get the camp truck to pull the Pilot out of the ditch. We loaded up. When we got near the Pilot, the truck decided it had the same fate and smashed into the Pilot. We ended up (after lots of maneuvering from the hubs, he’s a genius when it comes to those kinds of things) getting the truck unlodged from my beautiful car but also managed to get the truck stuck a few feet in the same ditch. We did our walk of shame, carless, back to the house.

Dailah’s fever hasn’t subsided, my butt hurts from sitting down all day rocking her, and reading and cramming into our rooms. Trysten and I jumped at the chance to fetch the beer and root beer from the lodge. Mine, admittedly, was the anticipation of a cold one hitting the bloodstream while Trysten’s had more to do with fresh air and a good it-won’t-get-me-in-timeout scream at the top of his lungs.

So what was good about today? I got to sleep in a bit. Trysten took a 3 hour nap. I heard from Tony, of the “Julie and Tonys” about their trip to Ethiopia which made me ever more excited about ours. What else? My mom and dad brought Valentine’s Day goodies for the kids that included mini Butterfingers. Those butterfingers and the aforementioned brewskis, teamed up with a family that is bliss even in the worst of days, made me hoping for a better ‘morrow but somehow thankful for today.

Last night we celebrated my brother-in-law, Frank’s, engagement to Emily. We went to a nice place downtown and then walked to their apartment for dessert and drinks. LOTS of fun! I’ve always thought in my head (and ventured to say out loud once in awhile) that I feel like everyone who meets the Klipschs, wants to be one. Perhaps it’s just because I love being one so much…tough to say. Anyway, last night I had no doubts. When we got to the apartment my BIL, Jake, obliged me and did his famous shin slaps (or tibia slaps, depending on who you are talking to) with just his boxers on in front of quite a few strangers and some family. It was a big hit…video to come as soon as I know how. Then Frank and my husband challenged each other to walk on their hands down the hallway. Frank went first, using his toes on the wall (while scuffing them nicely) for support. Then Zach went, as you can see he didn’t use the foot method. It was quite amazing and I was proud of him until…his foot went through the blinds on the window and knocked down the nice herb garden they were growing. Luckily everyone thought it was funny and no one was mad; except Zach’s mom who pulled on his ear a few times and demanded he cleaned up after himself. Either way it was a lot of fun and here are the pics to prove it.

Okay, so I want this REALLY badly. I’ve talked myself into why I NEED this. If any of you know anyone who willingly throws around money to moms with some cute kids, let him/her know about me..and my kids…and this stroller. I am not above taking donations.

http://tinyurl.com/2f37ck

That is what I’m blaming on my lack of Valentine’s Day post. It has been proven that I have a higher level of testosterone than most women (and somewhere around the world everyone I know says, “ah ha!”). That is why, I’m guessing, I’ve never been big into Valentine’s Day. I was oh so happy to find a mate in Zachary who thought Valentine’s Day was silly and who shares my affinity for showing love every other day of the year. So Valentine’s Day snuck up on me which obviously shows you how good of a mom I am. I had no Vday cards, candies or gifts for my kids. I’m not losing any sleep about it, but one of these days I’ll get my stuff together and be as good as my mom was about showing the love on this Hallmark holiday. I did manage to get my betrothed a very fitting card and he got me one as well with a beautiful plant to accompany it. So bless his heart. In the card he wrote, “I Love the fact that after 6 years and 3 kids, it still feels like we are playing house. Here’s to 70 more years of playing house together.” Seriously, how in love are you with this guy? Sorry ladies (and some gents) he’s taken.

But it was a good day. We got Trysten’s hair cut professionally for the first time. It was starting to look more like a helmet than a hair cut. The guy said he’d never seen hair as thick as his on a kid before…duh. So anyway, here are some pics of my valentines. The hubby didn’t get a chance to assert his presence in this essential blog but I assure you, he looked especially handsome yesterday!

In case you were wondering if there were other people besides your parents and siblings who were excited about your arrival, check out these pictures. Today your mommy, brother, sister, aunt Leslie, cousin Oliver, cousin Eli, Jody, Max, Quincy, Cassie, Lani and Ayla all teamed up to make your favorite foods. Check out the Doro Wot and Injera. I must say…though it looked nothing like the picture, it tasted terrific and I can’t wait to see your expression when you first try your mothers version!

I couldn’t help but feel a little closer to you. When I let the spices linger in my mouth and watched as the injera soaked up the excess sauce, I felt a little giddy. Kinda like I do when I see a new tube of cookie dough, I felt like that. Knowing your mouth salivates like mine and your eyes grow wide like mine at the thought of our favorite foods, makes me believe for a second that we’re no so far away. I love you (and so do these folks!)

So we’re getting there. My ear is still making me have somewhat tunnel hearing and Trysten continues to sniffle to no avail but we’ll make it.

Today was an interesting day. Made it to the land that is Wal Mart for the first time in 3 weeks which meant a hefty bill and a looong trip. Kind of bummed because one couple who got through court the same day as we did is traveling February 21st and a few others are traveling February 28th. We’re still waiting to hear about our I-600A though it sounded like it’d be good to go this week. It’s frustrating, all so frustrating.

Tomorrow will be heading to Jody’s with Leslie and Cassie to try to make Tariku’s favorite foods, Doro Wot and Injera. Look for the report tomorrow. Could be interesting!

Today woke up feeling a little under the weather and watched as it digressed throughout the day. I heard Trysten coughing all night and he woke up with thick, green snot. So we went to the doc. Trysten’s got a sinus infection and bronchitis. I’ve got a sinus infection and ear infections. One ear is completely blocked and hurts. HURTS!!!! But we’ll pull through. Here are some pics to make everybody feel better! (The one of Tariku was an update we got on New Years, the one with Dailah and her braids was a daddy creation while I was gone.) By the way, it was SOOO much fun to be able to post pictures of all three of my kids!

Calves sore…2
Feet sore……2
Knees sore….1
Lbs lost……..6
Weekend…..Priceless

So I had a great weekend in the great white North. It was all good except for the fact that St. Paul is the coldest place I can remember living and that includes Vermillion, SD. Seriously…-34 degrees? Can thermometers even register that? I don’t know but it was mind numbing freezing. The people of St. Paul were overall very nice, especially the ones at Starbucks, love me Paul from the St. Paul Starbucks.

Regardless of the cold, it was an awesome weekend. LOTS of working out but I’ve discovered it seems to be more than a passion for me. My “obsession” is watching people reach a level of fitness they didn’t even dream they could reach. That was achieved by many fellow instructors this weekend and it was a blessing to witness.

Another blessing is the sound the contractors are making by hanging drywall…mmmm, home improvement. Another blessing was coming home and seeing the hubs (isn’t he hilarious?) and the kids. I think they’ve grown 20 inches and gotten more mature in the face.

So it truly was ironic that we got the great court call literally 10 minutes before I left the state. But it worked wonderfully. I was needing a bit of a break from all things electronic to forget about worrying and forget about dates and times, etc. It was soo refreshing. I’m sure now that I’m back home things might revert back but I do hope I can hang on to the perspective I gained this weekend for at least a few moments throughout the day.

Overall, it was awesome when I was introducing myself to the group this weekend and I got to say I was officially a mom of three. Wow, three Klipschs of the Zach and Tesi tribe, this could get dangerous.

It’s like raaaaaaaaiiiiiiiin……….On your wedding day
Its a free riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide………When you’ve already paid
It’s the good adviiiiiiiice……….That you just didn’t take
And who would have thought………That my wife would be gone the day that such big news has happened in our lives and she can not blog about it to everyone in the world.

Isn’t it ironic, just you tink.

I purposely chose the word “tink” in the final line because it is so much funnier to say. I will prove it, sing the last line with tink in it really loud and then compare that to using the word “think”. See how boring the line is with think in it.

So apparently I have a big job to do today. My wife is out of town all weekend and wouldn’t you know that this is the day that our paperwork in Ethiopia is approved and we are now allowed to post our picture of Tariku on the internet.

An additional pressure that has been put on me is that right as I was getting off the phone with my wife a minute ago, she says to me, “and be funny, I told everyone you were really funny.” So, I got that going for me……which is nice.

Funny

Funny

Funny

Funny

So there is a really embarrassing story that happened to me one time and it is pretty funny. One time I was sitting on the floor next to our bed before our kids bedtime. Trysten was jumping on the bed and attempting to get into his PJ’s at the same time. A little while later he climbs onto my shoulders. Then he sits down on top of my head. This in itself is not out of the ordinary. I regularly put him on my shoulders and let him stand up on them sometimes as well. The odd part of this story is that Trysten was sitting on my head. Again, not unusual, however this time he was buck naked….that was unusual. So basically I was tea-bagged by my 4 year old. For those of you, Leslie, who do not know what tea-bagging is, ask your husbands. They know.

Well, I am spent. I hope you enjoy the beautiful picture of our new son Tariku. We are excited to introduce you all to him once we are able to welcome him in as part of our family. Thank you for your time. Have a great day.