And then the snow came...

So we had a fantastic sunny day...and then it snowed. Not just a little, but 8 inches worth (8.7 at the airport technically). While I am not a fan, and I think Rob is just completely done with the snow, the boys still love it. Today it is was actually sunny with the snow still on the ground, so the boys trekked on out to enjoy it all. At one point, I looked out and saw Gabe and Anthony just laying in the snow like two little puppy dogs. Didn't get it on film (jpeg) but still makes me smile to think about it.

Here are a couple of pics...hopefully the last from this year...of the boys in the snow.


But the funniest thing by far today was Anthony doing his homeless impression. He made himself a little house out of the news paper. I thought it was super funny. When I asked if he would like it to only have a house of newspaper, he said no, because it would not keep him warm like our house. Very astute.


Oh, and have mentioned lately how much I love my camera. I mean truly love. I didn't know I needed a new camera till Rob bought me this one. He is the best husband ever. My old camera tended to blow out the whites and make them all the same shade. Not this one. Even in high contrast, I get beautiful whites with very little effort. Thank you baby for the amazing camera! Here are a couple of snow/sunny pics keep in mind this is my low res jpeg, and not even the good file.

Finally Sunny

So today is finally a warmish sunny day. This winter we have been plagued with cold and snow. Usually the Midwest sees at least a couple of weather breaks in January and February, but not this year.

The boys have been running around and loving the sun. Rob managed to get the last of the lawn prep from Spring done, and I am getting a little alone time.

Everyone is Irish

Why celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Because deep down we all long to be a bit Irish. We want to drive the snakes of winter out and drink good beer. I can live without the corned beef and cabbage, but the Guinness is enough to keep me going through the day.

This year, we celebrated in historic downtown Leavenworth with a parade to make any small town jealous. I have to admit, it made me smile and think of parades in North Pole AK where the real reason for the parade was something to do and a little alcohol.

The parade was cold. Really, really, really cold and windy. So we sat with friends and watched the local Irish clans in trailers, trucks and other vehicles parade past. There were some firetrucks and old cars. A few horses. No band or music. We sent the guys for hot chocolate and coffee and just hoped for the best. All in all, not a bad day...but still made me laugh that this was called a parade.

When in Doubt, Bake

With all the cold weather, I have taken up baking. Not cakes or sweets, but breads. I now make our daily sandwich bread and rolls from scratch (and everyone seems to really like it). I have also experimented with a few specialties, one of which is bagels.

Being from New Jersey, Rob is a bagel snob. I have made two batches so far, but we are not quite there with taste. Rob claims I am just not Jewish enough to make really great bagels...but these will do until we revisit the Northeast.

The boys like to help with bagels because they are really hands on. Even though I have an amazing Kitchen Aid Pro-grade mixer, I find they turn out better if kneaded by hand. I love watching them in their little aprons get excited about baking stuff. Anthony will come in as soon as they are out of the oven. He will rub his little tummy and what is that yummy smell. Then I get big hugs and kisses as he attempts to convince me to give him one right away. Needless to say with a super sweet face like his, I cave pretty quick.

The ER Part 2

So, apparently our house is monkey see monkey do.

After Gabe's little trip to the ER on Wed, Anthony decided he needed to go. Last week Anthony had an ear infection. The doctor said they were bulging pretty bad and she was concerned about them rupturing before his body could heal on its own. So, we started an antibiotic (Omnicef for my med friends). It is pretty strong and it literally tore his body up. It destroyed every good bacteria in his body. So, he had a bloody poop on Thurs and Fri. Then the vomiting started on Fri morning. UGH! Off to Urgent Care because getting a same day appt wasn't going to happen.

Urgent Care takes blood (yeah, he really hated that). Result was they sent us to the ER. The ER takes blood and runs the same test...grrr. Angry mommy starting to appear. Poking children unnecessarily is very dumb!!! Guess what, same test, same result.

So, they poke him again for a different test. Couldn't we have done this all the first time? And worse, they stuck him and didn't have everything ready so it took way too long with me having to hold down a screaming child. Bad nurses!

We have now been here for two hours, and they have done nothing to actually move us to the recovery road. They took XRays...to make sure there wasn't anything that he swallowed. Nope.

Poked him again to give him a cath to be able to do the IV...but wouldn't start that for another hour even though he was clearly dehydrated (dry lips, white nails, etc). They told him not to drink. I ignored that...some medical advice is just not smart.

Finally started the IV. Gave him 2 Popsicles (which at 10 cents a piece were probably the best medicine he could get). Told me to take him home. Clear liquids for 12 hours followed by bland food for another 12. This took all together 7 hours. SERIOUSLY!!!! I could have gotten this from my home remedies book.

Lessons learned: No more strong antibiotics for Anthony. We go to the ER first and skip Urgent Care (would have saved me at least 1 needle stick and about 2 hours). Give child Popsicle before going anywhere to see if that fixes the problem.

BTW: he had colitis and a stomach bug because I got the stomach bug on Sunday and it laid me out flat!!!

The Aftermath

Here is Gabe's lip the morning after.

Lawrence Aquatic Center

We drove out to Lawrence to go to the indoor aquatic center. They have a slide, a warm water pool with basketball hoops, a lily pad crossing and a bunch of kids toys in a zero depth entry pool. Considering it only cost us $4 for the whole family to go...it is quite the deal. Our plan was to swim, meet some friends, play some more, then grab a bit of dinner. I had dreams of going to Local Burger where we could get an awesome locally made burger and french fries that actually start with potatoes.


However...

Gabe had other plans.

We did get to play in the pool. Then the boys wanted snack. No problem...I brought some :-). As Gabe is climbing up on the chair when he slips and busts his lip. Blood everywhere. As I work to staunch the bleeding and comfort him, I notice that it is really deep. So after much debating, I decide to go to the hospital in Lawrence to have it looked at.

Anthony rode home with our friends. My poor friend's kid got sick in the car on the way home so she is stuck with mine as well as her 3, one of whom was sick.

After 2 hours, it was determined that Gabe did not need stitches. In fact, his lip is nearly healed and it is only 4 days later. The only way I could convince Gabe to calm down after being 'forced' to leave the pool under protest, then watching his brother get to go in a friends car was to offer ice cream as a treat. Truth be told, mommy needed one too.

Final Swim Lesson

At least for a while. I may try again in May when Rob is done with his K-State Classes. It is just too hard right now for me to get the kids out of the pool and dressed...and I doubt a newborn will help make it any easier. Instead we are now doing gymnastics which only requires me to get shoes and a coat on them after class. Acceptable levels of insanity.

I am really proud of both kids after 4 months of lessons. We will probably do this again in the fall. Anthony is much more confident in the water. He likes to swim and jump...a big change from last summer. He will even swim with a kick board or noodle unassisted. Best of all, he is so proud and confident. Goal accomplished!


Gabe is actually the opposite...he has a lot more respect for the water. He isn't fearful, just respectful of the idea that he could drown and that swimming is hard. He fell in one day. I think he was tired and got mesmerized by the water. In diving, we refer to it as the call of the deep where a diver will just keep going a little deeper and deeper even though you know it is beyond where you should be. Anyways, he fell in. His teacher pulled him right up, but it scared him. After he calmed down, he said, "Mommy I kept trying to swim up but it was really hard. I think I still need help to swim without my blue life jacket." That was all I wanted him to get from swim lessons this year. Another goal accomplished!

Yep, Snow

The kids went out to play in the snow. Yep, again. The best part was watching them eat the snow and call it snow ice cream. We actually make real snow ice cream with sugar, 1/2 and 1/2, vanilla, and of course snow. But I guess in a pinch just a big hunk of snow will do.

Alaska

I have been thinking a lot lately about Alaska. Partly because I am having my first baby since living there. Partly because assignments are being announced and I know a number of people heading there. Some are excited about the adventure, others are very apprehensive. But everyone always asks us why it was such a great assignment...after all, wasn't it really cold there. Truth be told, I had trouble explaining it. Alaska, especially Fairbanks, was COLD. When I got there, there was no Walmart...much less a Barnes and Noble or Old Navy. But that isn't what I remember about it.

Then we had a Superbowl Party. I now can easily see why Alaska was our best assignment. As I looked around the room, almost all of the people there were friends from Alaska. Don't get me wrong, we invited others, they all just had other stuff to do.

However, in Alaska, there is never a reason to turn down doing something with friends. And it always ends up being fun. Friendship is what makes being cold in the middle of nowhere bearable. Even now, the people I knew in Alaska are my most enduring friendships. I am willing plan vacations around them. They are the first people I think of when I have news (good or bad). They keep me grounded and believe in me even when I am unsure. As a group, I keep in contact with more people from our Alaska assignment than I do from all other assignments combined.

Alaska is still the only assignment where I cried when I arrived and when I left, but for completely different reasons. For all the friends from there, thanks. I am so glad we get to keep in touch and occasionally run into each other as we criss-cross the nation.

All About Gabe

So while Anthony went Colorado with Dad, Gabe and Mom got to have a great weekend together. I must admit that Gabe was not at all excited about the prospect of his brother leaving him. In fact, he cried so hard that he cried himself to sleep in the papasan. I felt really bad for the little dude, this is the first time he hasn't gotten to tag along with big brother.

To celebrate, we watched the Olympics and had hot chocolate. He also wanted to watch Toy Story, and I thought 'no problem.' I was in and out during the movie and forgot about the mean kid who takes Woody and Buzz. I came down to find Gabe crying...I felt so bad.

The next day we went shopping and had lunch.

On Sunday, we went to a car show so he could see "The Fabulous Hudson Hornet." Gabe really liked it, but we were both pretty tired when we got home. Later, Ms. Christi came over and made Gabe her Valentine. She gave him a new little stuffed puppy and he had paper flowers for her. He just worships her. Every time she left the room, he would ask if she was coming back.





By Monday, I was too tired to do anything else, so Gabe and I watched the Olympics and just chilled out. Here's Gabe getting ready for his ski jump.

Anthony's Ski Weekend

Anthony and Rob met my dad in Colorado to ski for President's Day Weekend. He was so excited to go. He packed his backpack and little suitcase (it holds like 3 dinosaurs) to take on the plane. He put on his shoes and coat and then sat on the steps next to the door waiting on Rob...for over an hour.

Even better, he had a great time. He told his teacher at school all about it. When we watched the Olympics, he said he could ski like that because he was fast and brave. Here are some pics and a little movie Rob shot. Thanks Grandpa Keith for joining them.

Rob was super impressed with his progress in just 3 days. They have a cool magic carpet that takes the kids up instead of a tow rope. Anthony liked it because he could ride by himself. I think we are going to try and go again on Wed to our local hill which has almost 100" of base in some places. Rob said Keystone (in CO) only had 20-25 in most places due to crummy snowfall this year.

Maternity Photos

We did photos with a local photographer. Here is her blog preview of the pictures.

http://centerstagephotography.blogspot.com/2010/02/heathers-maternity-session-kansas-city.html

Burnt Biscuits

A friend sent this to me and I just love the story.

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God.. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

I am thankful my husband doesn't come home and turn his nose up when the only thing I can manage for the night is spaghetti and meatballs (frozen from another meal). He also rarely complains that the house isn't straight...even though most of the time it is a disaster. That most days when he comes home and sees me at the end of my rope, he just takes the kids to play downstairs and gives me some space.

We are on our way...

to Ft Stewart in Savannah GA. That is right. It was #5 on our list...wish we had gotten one of the others, but this is way better than Ft Bliss or Ft Drum, and it is near an ocean.

Too much Discovery...

So Anthony has 2 dolphin toys. The larger one is a puppet, the smaller a beanie baby. So he stuffed the small one in the puppet. Then he made the puppet swim around really fast so she could have her baby. Here is his commentary:

"Look mommy, my dolphin is having a baby. She has to swim around really fast to shake it out. First the tail comes out, then she shakes some more and the whole baby comes out. Now she has to help the baby to the surface to breathe. Dolphins need air like us...they aren't fish. Now she will give him her mommy milk. Aren't they sweet?"

Then he asked if I was going to shake my baby out...I guess that is a technique.

Swimming with Grandma and Grandpa

For Gabe's Birthday, we took him to a local hotel that has an indoor water park similar to Great Wolf Lodge. It was a lot of fun for the boys and my parents to get to play in the water there. Best of all, no over night stay which is really hard on us since Gabe doesn't ever sleep well the first night in a new location.

Gabe is 3

Wow, Gabe is finally 3. This year he requested a dinosaur cake, so of course I made a stegosaurus cake for him. Actually he wanted a Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a plant eater dinosaur, but that is way over my head. We also did dino cookies and chocolates.


We were lucky to have my parents in town for his birthday.


But the big event was Gabe's crash 30 min prior to the guests arriving. The cake was done, the food was made, last minute cleaning was happening and Gabe runs full force into our Chinese Medicine Chest and puts a major gash in his head! Yep, 6th head injury in 3 months. He probably needed stitches, but we didn't want to have to cancel his party. So he soldiered on. Truth be told once everyone arrived, he seemed to feel just fine. Eating cake and getting gifts seems to solve a whole host of problems.

The perfect snow day

So today was the perfect day for playing in the snow. First, the boys went to school! But after lunch we went out in the fabulous sun and stomped in the snow. They dug holes, tried to make a snowman, pulled each other on a sled, and just had a great time. They really liked scaling the mountain of snow next to the driveway.

I got part of the driveway cleared so Rob could get in. Took me 30 min to clear half of the bottom driveway. Took Rob 30 min to clear all the top driveway and the other half of the bottom driveway. Oh well, guess that is why I keep him.

Snowball fight with mom

The Next Ice Age is Coming

Skiing in Weston MO

We took the boys skiing today at Weston MO. They have a very small 12 run slope. It's certainly not an Olympic style hill, but it'll due for a 4 year old and 3 year old. I didn't ski due to my 'delicate condition.' It worked a lot better having one parent on the slope and one parent doing clean up.

Both kids did really well. They had a blast and kept wanting to go which is important. Even when they fell, it wasn't a big deal...they just got back up. Anthony insisted on riding the chair lift and skiing the 'big' hill. He loved it! Gabe was less thrilled, but still had fun. Poor Rob's back may never recover from bending over for 2 hours of skiing. I think if we go again, we will put them in a lesson now that we know they like it.

Check out the fabulous shots my camera takes. I love it!





The best part for me was that Gabe made it through the whole event without an accident in big boy underwear. WooHoo!