Bridgit's World

Aaron makes Corbin laugh!

2011-03-23T19:12:00.000-04:00

Big brother Aaron gets Corbin to laugh for the first time!

Turn up the volume. It's dark for the first few seconds, hang in there.

RSV :(

2011-02-24T23:13:00.001-05:00

For several days both Corbin and Cameron had stuffy noses and then coughs developed on Thursday 2/17. We had been doing the usual treatment of saline drops, nasal bulb suction, and a humidifier/vaporizer. With the coughs starting, we thought it was time to have them checked out with the doctor. However, the only appointment time available with our doctor's office for both of them on Thursday was during Aaron's concert, so I took them both to an walk-in clinic to be seen earlier. Their lungs were clear and their ears were fine, so just a virus. Roy was sick with a stomach bug on Friday 2/18, so I came home early to take care of the babies.

On Monday 2/21, their coughs were worse and lots of snot in their noses. We called their doctor's office and got a 7:30 p.m. appointment. Around 2:45 p.m. Lily was holding Corbin when he vomited all over her. Not just spit-up, projectile vomiting - Lily had to go take a shower! We were afraid he had the stomach bug that Roy had on Friday.

Roy left for work at 3:00, and before he was even out of the driveway Cameron threw up too! Aaron was holding Cameron away from him just in case, so Aaron wasn't "hit", but Lily said, "HA HA, Cameron threw up on you!" anyway. I was really glad we had that evening appointment already, especially since both of them had lost their feedings.

When I took them to our doctor at 7:30 p.m., their lungs were clear and ears fine again. Vomiting was likely from all the junk they were swallowing from their nasal congestion. She said to watch for "retracting", hard pulling while breathing in, so much that you can see their ribs. They also wouldn't be able to eat if that happened, since they'd be working so hard to breathe, much less eat.

All day I hadn't felt well, stomach upset, and I must have looked pale because their doctor got a basin out for me during their appointment - luckily I didn't need it there! So I had Roy's stomach bug, but the babies didn't seem to have it.

Roy and I spent Monday night in the recliner and on the couch, each of us with a baby on our chests so they could be elevated and breathe easier. It was a long night, especially since I wasn't feeling good either.

Tuesday during the day the temp agency (Grandma) sent Papa Bob over to help, since I still wasn't feeling well. We kept the babies on our chests again for the most part. By the time Roy left for work at 3:00 I was feeling better. Sarah came over to stay with the babies (with Lily's help, because she doesn't need a babysitter), and I got to go to Aaron's concert all by myself! I sat in the front row much to Aaron's chagrin. He sang his heart out! He's such a good singer - gets it from Daddy, not from me!

Once Roy got home and we got the big kids to bed, we were downstairs with the babies when we noticed Cameron was really having a hard time. He wasn't really crying, just mewling, and his skin tone seemed really pale. I tried nursing him and he just couldn't breathe. We were suctioning his mouth with the bulb syringe when he threw up again. By then his breathing was really labored and ribs pulling in - retracting - so I brought him into the ER around midnight Tuesday night/morning. His oxygen saturation was 88% (should be near 100%), so the nurse took us straight back to an ER room. There were about 12-15 people working on him at one point! Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, you name it. 2 NICU/PICU nurses came over from the children's center too. One of the PICU nurses was getting off shift, but came over anyway - bless you Ms. K! She ended up being there a few more hours.

Cameron's first IV was straight into his leg bone at a 90 degree angle - barbaric looking! They did that to get him started on Ketamine and fluids asap. Once he was sedated (somewhat) they got him intubated with a breathing tube. Since it was the ER, they had to find a tube small enough for him. He was still fighting it! Once it was in everyone relaxed a little bit. The respiratory therapists took turns hand-ventilating him. The PICU nurses took care of getting an IV in his arm. He had a good pulse in his wrists, but was really hard to stick and actually get blood. It seems that he has my veins - mine roll around and are a hard stick too. Finally they got one in his right wrist, but he wasn't happy about all the pokes!

One of the respiratory therapists was an old friend from Kenwood Elementary days, and one of the PICU nurses was also a Kenwood Kid! She was 2 years ahead of me, and grew up a block away from Mom and Dad's house. It was really reassuring to have those two familiar faces there in the middle of the night. Small world, big God!

I was holding up really well until I had to leave the room for his x-ray. Not being able to see him was bad, I started crying then. A very young male nurse with a Justin Bieber-style haircut brought me a box of Kleenex - so sweet!

I got myself together when I went back in. They got him all stabilized and we finally headed for the Women's and Children's Center. That was a long trip through the basement tunnels to the PICU. Kinda neat how it's all connected, but it's a long trip!

I'll write more later, must sleep sometime.

So cute!

2011-01-17T20:49:00.003-05:00

Our photographer and friend Tiffanie took some incredible pictures of Cameron and Corbin. Here is a preview from her blog. If you ever need a patient photographer, Tiffanie is incredible! Be sure to mention us if you give her a call. Her website is http://www.tiffanielloydphotography.com/.

http://tiffanielloydphotography.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-of-kind.html

More random snapshots here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60424&id=629331190

An Interesting Night - God With Us

2010-12-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

God takes care of us. Last night about 2 a.m. I was heading to bed, but needed to feed the babies first. Corbin was fussing, and Cameron was sleepy, so I put Cameron in the pack'n'play and picked up Corbin. As I turned toward our bed I felt blood dripping down my legs. It's been a week since the c-section, so I thought I must have passed some clotting. I handed Corbin to Roy and told him I was going to clean up.
When I got into the bathroom, I couldn't figure out where the bleeding was coming from. The blood was thin too, and dripping a lot. Roy asked me if it was my incision, and he was right. He put the baby back in the pack'n'play and came to help me. I grabbed a towel and he helped me back to our room where I laid on the bed. "Honey, what do you want me to do?" I told him to call 911, this wasn't normal. So as Roy is calling 911, both babies wake up and they are hungry and screaming. Roy handed me his phone to call my mom to come over, and picked up the babies. Aaron woke up and Roy told him what was going on. As Aaron was tearing up, he said, "Daddy, do you want me to take a baby?" Aaron was upset but calm. Thankfully Lily was spending the night at her bff's house, or she would have been really, really, really upset.
We also called our friends that live around the corner to come help with the babies.
I remembered from the c-section that when the spinal/epidural was put in my blood pressure dropped and I felt very nauseous. I was feeling pretty normal though, so I thought my blood pressure must be okay.
The ambulance got there, 2 EMT's and 1 student EMT. Roy had told 911 I was conscious and holding pressure on the wound, so they didn't use lights or sirens. They took my vitals and my blood pressure was 142/80, a little high. I was able to walk down the stairs and out to the stretcher. Of course, I'd bled through my undies, so I'm parading out the door in just a hoodie, sleep bra and the towel I was holding over my incision. They put a very warm heavy blanket on me as soon as I got on the stretcher, which kept me mostly covered and warm. We only live 5 minutes from the hospital, so they had just enough time to check my vitals again in the ambulance, and let the rookie/student EMT call ahead to the hospital.
The ER was not busy at all, so I was seen right away by a doctor, P.A., and 2 nurses. Dad brought Roy down right behind the ambulance, so they were both there right away too.
The steri-strips were soaked with blood and fluid, so they were taken off. I had pictured my incision "unzipping" or something terrible like that, but it was just a small area less than 1/2 an inch that was leaking. The doctor checked it out and showed me how it wasn't thick blood, it was mixed with fluid, like when a blister pops or leaks. He used an ultrasound machine to see if he could see any pockets of pus or fluid, and nothing showed up. He consulted with the OB/Gyn doctor on call, Dr. Barker. He's been around a long time, and agreed with the ER doctor. If it was bright red blood or really thick, it could have been an arterial bleed, but the drainage seemed to be stopping on it's own. The official diagnosis is Wound Dehiscence, or wound failure. We'll keep an eye on it and change the dressing as needed. I could have more drainage, but not like the first gushing/dripping that scared us so much.

Despite the intense situation, GOD WAS WITH US, because:
1. Lily was spending the night with her best friend, so she didn't have to go through such a traumatic experience.
2. Mom and Dad were home and came over right away.
3. Rhea and Andy live 6 houses away and got to our house in no time. Rhea's mom was staying with them for the holidays, so their kids were taken care of at home.
4. My sister Sarah started praying for me as soon as I called her.
5. Ambulance/EMT's were at our house in 3 minutes or less.
6. Blood pressure/vitals were stable.
7. We caught the injury right away, since we were still up with the babies.
8. Roy thought to check my incision site.
9. Aaron sprang into action right away and helped Daddy with the babies. (Aaron wouldn't go to bed until we got home).
10. Despite leaving half clothed in the middle of a very cold night, I was kept warm and got to the hospital and treatment without issue or delay.
11. Dad thought to go back home and get me some clothes and my coat.
12. A family from church had brought us an extra meal for tonight, so that's one less thing to worry about today.
13. The nurse that discharged us and the twins last Friday had given us extra pre-made Similac for the babies, just in case we needed to supplement. Rhea, Andy and my mom were able to feed the twins immediately and get them to sleep.
14. We were awake when it happened, so there was no delay in treatment, and Roy was right there with me the whole time.
15. I didn't have to stay in the hospital, which was very good since I'm nursing the twins. As soon as we got home I snuggled in with Corbin for a good long nursing session. That was the best medicine for me. We woke Cameron up to eat too, then we all slept a few hours.

I'm grateful for my God that watches over us before we even know what's happening, for family and friends that will drop everything at 2:30 a.m. and take care of my babies and lift me up in prayer, my oldest son who stepped up with a maturity I've never seen from him before, and my husband who loves me and takes care of me even when he's scared to death. I am truly blessed.

TMI Alert - The babies are born!

2010-12-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

What an adventure! Tuesday, Dec 21st we welcomed Corbin and Cameron into the world. The c-section went well. I was nervous about the spinal, but after 2 or 3 tries it went in. My feet and legs immediately started feeling warm and tingly as they laid me down on the OR table.Then my blood pressure dropped and I got very nauseous, like they had a tube and a puke tub under my chin. They had warned me it may happen, but I'd had no food or drink since midnight, so it was just dry heaves. Not fun but it subsided as my blood pressure went back up and I felt fine. The anesthesiologist was very diligent in telling me what to expect, what may happen, asking how I was feeling, etc. He said Dr Olson was pinching me really hard, and I didn't feel a thing - ready! By the time Roy was brought in I was feeling good again, grinning from ear to ear. He held my hand as they got started.
There was some Christmas music playing, and as the babies were born at 12:03 and 12:04, one of my favorite Christmas songs came on, Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra with little kids singing. I said to Roy, "I love this song! I have it on my iPod! And the babies are being born to it!"
The baby on my right side had been referred to as Baby B in the womb because he was up higher than Baby A. However, the baby on the right was actually born first, so he became Baby A. I was pretty sure it was the one on my right that came out first. No pain, but there's definitely tugging and pressure with pulling out a baby. Then some more tugging and pressure on my chest and Baby B (formerly Baby A in the womb) was born! Suddenly I could breathe again, without all that weight in my belly. What a relief!
Then hearing them both screaming and crying made me smile and cry all at once. A nurse brought Roy over to the babies! He said "they have dark hair!" Finally they called out their weights. Baby A was 6 lbs 14 ounces - "What?! WOW!" and Baby B was 6 lbs 9.4 ounces - "They're SO BIG!!" The atmosphere was so happy, joyful and full of celebration! I wasn't able to have my glasses on during the c-section, just in case I needed an oxygen mask, so they brought the babies in nice and close for me to see. Baby A had dark hair and very long fingers. His skin was so soft! Baby A looked a little different than Baby B, but dark hair too. The nurses asked Roy their names and he said, "Oh no, I've got to consult with my wife before we decide who's who!" Roy followed the babies into the recovery room across the hall, where I could still hear them crying and crying!! Before long I was all stitched up and transferred off the OR table and back into a bed. Then I was wheeled into the recovery room too. Roy came right over and told me they were perfect! His said his gut said Baby A was Corbin and Baby B was Cameron, but he wanted me to see too. Once I saw them, I agreed with Roy, it just felt right.

More later!

Random things I've learned with a 38-week twin pregnancy

2010-12-19T21:46:00.001-05:00

No matter how big you buy maternity shirts and pants, only 1 or 2 are going to still fit at the end, if you're lucky.
Being tall helps with carrying babies, but not with keeping your belly or ankles covered.
Being hugely pregnant in winter is nice because it's not hot outside, but it would have been nice to just throw on a giant maxi dress every day.
My belly measured 53 cm (53 weeks) as of 37 weeks along.
I swelled up like a water balloon the last 2 months.
You will need help getting dressed, at least socks and shoes/slippers.
Buy big slippers that look enough like shoes to get by. I wear a women's 11, had to buy men's 11/12.
A good foot soak equals an instant nap.
Lotion on stretch marks doesn't help, but it feels good.
I got huge lumpy stretch marks. They look like veins, only lighter. Ick.
My belly button never popped out, but it stretched so much I wish it would have just to relieve the pressure.
Edema (swelling) doesn't necessarily mean pre-eclampsia, but it made me worry. My blood pressure and protein were fine at every visit.
Blood pressure cuffs get tighter with every visit.
The babies can still squirm around enough to be ornery during non-stress tests, even at 37 weeks.
My hair grew like crazy - thicker, if not longer. I had a haircut every 4 weeks, and we thinned it out every time.
Sticking with a low-carb gestational diabetes diet really wasn't that hard, if I ate at home or brought my own snacks and lunches. Trying to adhere to a low-carb diet while out to eat or at someone else's home is killer though, especially around the holidays.
I swallowed my pride and used a motorized shopping cart twice, once at Target, and once at Walmart. The Walmart one was more comfortable, and the backup/reverse beeping wasn't insanely loud like the Target cart. Walmart was nicer about helping with the cart too. They brought me a fully charged one from the other entrance without a problem.
My incredible husband has had to take on everything at home. He's doing laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc, while I sit with my feet up or take a nap. That's a really guilty feeling.
Our older kids (8 and 11) also help, but they are kids. They load the dishwasher, then Daddy comes home and rearranges it!
I've learned some standard answers to most twin-specific questions, like fraternal or identical (we won't know until they're born), do they run in your family (they do now), they'll probably be small (about 6 lbs each so far), was this planned (one baby was planned, but God gave us two). No really rude questions yet, but I've been forewarned by other twin moms!
Straight chairs with armrests are my worst enemy. Can't lean forward to eat because there's no room for my belly.
The swelling in my fingers and feet leaves my fingertips and toes feeling cold all the time, but they feel warm to other people. When Lily and I soaked our feet in a warm bath, my feet finally felt warm. If I hold onto a cup of hot cider, my fingers eventually feel warm too. So my typing has been somewhat sloppy, which drives me crazy - I am a spelling/grammar freak!
The handicapped bathroom stall is always for pregnant women too. Wait for it if you need to, sometimes you'll need the handrails to stand up!
An SUV with a 3rd row seat will not work for twin babies and two older kids. Get a van, preferably a Toyota Sienna - Swagger Wagon.
Involve the older kids. Our 8 year old daughter loved helping fold the baby clothes, and came along to an ultrasound. Our 11 year old son said the whole ultrasound thing was "creepy", but he helped out a lot around the house. He talks about his "little bros".
With the 2 older kids, baby gear was purchased or given to us as we needed it. With the twins, everyone was incredibly generous and literally gave us everything, all at once. Now that's overwhelming!
I bought new bottles, and my friend reminded me that she gave me the same kind - 13 of them! Took the new bottles back - duh. Eventually we figured out that we had 3 infant bathtubs (only need 1), and way too many 0-3 month clothes. We kept the clothes that we really liked, and gave the rest away. I hope we don't regret it later!
Most baby websites and books are for single pregnancies. They might have a section or chapter for multiples, but it's worth it to get twin/multiples books specifically. I also liked twin-pregnancy-and-beyond.com. Other MOMs (Moms of Multiples) are invaluable resources too - both for info and for what you'll really need with twins.
My family has officially diagnosed me with "baby brain". I can't remember anything for long, or it takes me a little longer to get a joke or comprehend what they're talking about (with everyone, not just the kids). So I've resorted to lots of note writing, and then I forget to read the note anyway. I have multiple reminders set on my phone for everything, IF I remember to enter it. Roy gets me to all my appointments on time though. He's only missed 3 appointments - the 12 week ultrasound when TWINS were discovered (I'll never live that down), and two NST's. He says any time he can't make it, something weird happens - like that very first ultrasound - "Oh, I see there's two babies here." TWINS!
Roy couldn't come to the last non-stress test (NST) because school was delayed for the older 2 kids. Baby A wasn't cooperating so they had to bring in a 2nd nurse to help find his heartbeat. I was changing position, eating an apple, drinking some water, anything to get both babies active. Then they brought in an ultrasound machine and the doctor on call to find it their heartbeats. It was hard to see anything on the ultrasound because of all the swelling/edema, but once they got both babies' heartbeats on the monitors, they passed the test without any further problems. We said if Daddy had been there, they would have been good!
At this point, I'm 2 days away from our c-section date, and WE ARE READY TO MEET THESE BABIES!!
Roy would like a redhead, and I'd like a Latino baby. Maybe we'll get one of each!

37 Weeks and Counting

2010-12-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

Nope, no babies yet. I'm officially on leave from work as of today. I have extreme swelling in my feet, legs, and hands, but no pre-eclampsia - blood pressure has been insanely normal. We plan a c-section on Dec 21st, and my doctor is pretty sure we'll get there. I have some mini-projects to do yet, but mostly getting lots of rest for next week. Last night I had a few Braxton-Hicks contractions, which freaked Roy out, but they were far apart and nothing to worry about.

The babies have passed their weekly non-stress tests, although Baby B likes to get off the monitor just enough to make the nurse re-position it. We wonder if these trends will continue after they're born?! Both babies are around 6 lbs as of our ultrasound this past Thursday (Dec 9th). My belly is measuring 52 weeks. We wonder how big these babies will be in 1 more week?!!

I have swallowed my pride and used the motorized carts at both Target and Walmart, and I must say Walmart's carts are way more comfortable. The kids were slightly embarrassed, but I can't walk around for more than 5 minutes without major back pain. I just make sure my belly is sticking out enough for everyone to see (ha!).

Roy got a ton of groceries over the weekend, so I'm set to be home this week with plenty of healthy snacks. He's under so much stress doing everything at home now too - we're usually partners with the household stuff. Aaron and Lily have been very helpful too, but they're still kids. They loaded the dishwasher, then Roy re-loaded it, but the idea is there that the kids need to clean up after themselves (i.e. rinse your cereal bowls!). We got a fabulous new laundry sorter so our hallway doesn't become a big laundry heap (again). I do wonder how the pets will react to the babies. Loki (dog) has been my shadow lately, always under my feet or nearby. He knows something's up. The cat doesn't care at this point, but I bet she hides in the basement a lot after the babies are home. It's her "safe place". Fine w/me.

Off to nap!

21 Weeks Today

2010-08-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

At our ultrasound on Thursday both babies were head down, which means the low kicks I've been feeling are probably punches. Baby A is lower and kind of lounging diagonally from my top left to my bottom right side, and Baby B is above Baby A in much the same position. The babies weigh approximately 13 oz each right now - about as much as a full can of pop I suppose.

I get a weekly email reminder from Babycenter.com with fetal development and helpful tips, not to mention plenty of shopping links. Here's a synopsis (I changed some wording for babies instead of baby):
"Your babies now weigh about three-quarters of a pound and are approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like they are practicing martial arts as their initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to their activity as you get to know them better. In other developments, your babies' eyebrows and lids are present now."

Well, martial arts practice is pretty accurate. I keep wondering if they'll punch out my belly button - never did have the popped out belly button with Aaron or Lily. Today at work I kept leaning different directions to get them to ease up - not so much! During my frequent trips to the bathroom, I try not to waddle, but it's getting harder to not do that. The lower back pain is definitely showing it's ugly self. I had back labor with Aaron, and that's the same spot/area that feels it now. At church we worship and sing standing up, and about the 3rd song I have to sit down. Then I can't sit very long during the sermon, so I tend to get squirmy like a little kid. I've learned to take a water bottle and a hair clip to church with me. I just get too hot with all the clapping and joyful noise-making!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Aaron and Lillian - yay!! Aaron is going into 6th grade - MIDDLE SCHOOL. He is excited, and a little nervous I think. We dropped off his supplies tonight and got his locker combination. He got the hang of the lock after a few tries, then he practiced some more. Hopefully all will go well tomorrow. It's so strange having him go to the same middle school that I went to 20 years ago! There is still a counselor and a teacher that were there when I was a geeky middle schooler. I didn't actually have that teacher, but I remembered him. Big notice that 6th grade has changed from 20 years ago: Standard supply list includes a 1G flash drive! We got Aaron a 4G since it was on sale. He'd better not lose it, or his house key! His school is very good at communication - School Website, Google Calendar with homework, and Twitter for school announcements.

We went shopping for some jeans and gym shoes for Aaron, and it turns out he's a SIZE 8 SHOE. They even measured, he wasn't just trying to wear a bigger size. Yikes, he's almost caught up to me. No wonder he keeps wearing my socks. At the beginning of summer, he got a pair of Converses that were size 7, and they had plenty of room in the toes. Growth spurt!

Lillian is going into 2nd grade!! She's taller than most of her classmates, not by a lot, but enough that I notice. She and her best friend O. are in the same class = ECSTATIC GIRLS!! Actually, ALL of the 2nd graders are in 1 class this year - 30 kids total. I love her teacher, the same one Aaron had for 2nd grade, and I'm sure she can handle it, but I hope she has helpers every day!

Of course, since I took Aaron shopping, Lillian had to get a few things. She can't wear flip-flops to school, so a pair of athletic shoes was in order. That turned into a few shirts and capris too. While Roy and Aaron had a nice relaxing afternoon at home, I waited 40 minutes sitting outside the Target dressing room while Lily tried on clothes and came out to model them for me. She's pretty efficient about it, but she tried on 20 things I swear!

Almost halfway!

2010-08-04T22:02:00.000-04:00

Monday was 18 weeks of pregnancy, and wow am I showing. The babies sure seem to be up high under my ribs so far. A friend told me my face is looking thinner, so the babies must be getting all the nutrition! I'm still eating a lot of meat for protein and iron, dairy, fruit, and veggies. This week I've been wanting Chinese food or pineapple. I had a few bites of red potatoes for lunch yesterday, and the babies didn't seem to hate it like the last few times I had potatoes, so maybe they got over it. Aaron said the babies are like him, since he doesn't like potatoes either! I'm taking that as Aaron bonding with his baby bros.

Our neighbors and friends are sure generous! Two friends have promised tons of baby clothes and gear ever since we announced this pregnancy. A neighbor up the street had a yard sale and didn't sell her gorgeous cherry wood Eddie Bauer highchair, so she offered it to us. Another neighbor got new furniture, so we're taking a dresser for the babies' room from her. Everything sure is starting to come together!

We're turning the dining room into a downstairs baby area/nursery since we rarely use that room anyway. We're freecycling our extra desk, the other desk is going in Aaron's room, and I have our dining room table & chairs up for sale on craigslist. Soon we'll be able to fill the dining room with baby stuff!

Aaron and Lily are enjoying the last days of summer before school starts again. Aaron went on a field trip to Lost Island with his summer program class. They had a blast, plus DQ on the way home! He's been mowing our friend/neighbor's lawn for the past few weeks to make some $$. He's hoping to save enough for an iPod Touch. We'll see if he can actually save enough for one - he's a spender like his momma. We're really stressing the value of responsibility with chores around here - like most 11 year old boys, he's not interested in doing a good job, just in getting it done enough to go back outside on his scooter. He's got a nice golden tan and hair that's too long. We're picking our battles with the hair, but it's really obnoxious. We keep teasing him about looking like Justin Bieber (he can't stand him). Aaron will be in 6th grade this year - yikes!

Lily has been playing with her friends all summer. She's been a homebody about sleepovers, but occasionally she'll actually spend the whole night at a friend's house. When she's only a block away, we don't really mind going to pick her up at 10 p.m. so she can snuggle with mommy and sleep in her own bed. Let her snuggle while she still can. Once these babies are here, it will be harder to do! She's also a Wii master, kicking anybody's booty in Wii Bowling. It's been so humid outside that the Wii has been a good way to get up and move without getting too hot and sweaty. Lily is looking forward to 2nd grade!

Ultrasound

2010-07-23T19:42:00.000-04:00

Roy, Lily and I went to the 16-week ultrasound yesterday afternoon. Baby A (on my left) cooperated nicely and the tech let us know that Baby A is a HE! Lily was still holding out for Baby B (on my right) to be a girl, and this one didn't cooperate so well. Baby B's legs were facing my back at first. The ultrasound tech really moved the wand around a lot to prod Baby B to move. Finally Baby B moved enough to show HIS little boy part! So we are having two boys! Lily wasn't exactly thrilled, but she's getting used to the idea of being the only Diva/Princess in the house. I'm the queen, of course.

Coming up on 16-week ultrasound!

2010-07-21T21:32:00.003-04:00

Our 16-week ultrasound is tomorrow afternoon and Lily gets to come along. Aaron is really weirded out by the alien babies, so he's staying home. Maybe he'll come around once we get some more pictures.

I suppose it's too much to ask what genders these babies are (too early), but I want to know so bad! I'm going to at least ask the ultrasound tech for her best guesses. For some reason I would really like a boy and a girl. I suppose it's my OCD tendencies, as my sister would say.

I've felt some tiny kicking here and there, mostly when laying down quietly. More on my right side than my left. I have noticed quite a bit of squirming. One side of my belly gets tight, like maybe a head or a tushie sticking up?! So weird knowing there's two babies in there.

I'm hoping to keep working until at least October 16th, my 10-year anniversary with TFS. Then I'll have a lot more paid leave time if I need it for bedrest and maternity leave. Really, my job is not stressful and I'm sitting on my booty all day. Barring no complications, I should be able to work for a good long while yet. Please God?!

I've had more energy now that I'm in my 2nd trimester. I actually loaded the dishwasher last night - wow, Roy was impressed. Roy and Aaron have been working on cleaning out the basement to make space for Aaron's new room. I'd love to just throw everything out, but my hoarder tendencies get in the way. We plan to set up a downstairs nursery area in the dining room while the babies are little, especially since I'm having a c-section again. Stairs = Ouch. A c-section is definitely planned, no other option for me. I'm fine with that, really! I just won't make the mistake of trying to sleep on a regular bed in the hospital like I did when Lily was born - that was too much too soon.

TMI ALERT..........
I've been reading up on nursing twins at the same time. Maribeth U. has been very helpful with my questions! Hopefully we can get breastfeeding established with both of the babies without too much trouble. We have a deep-freeze lined up for pumped milk, extra food, etc.

I mentioned to my sister that we were thinking about making our own baby food with a food processor, and she said, "Yeah, right!" So maybe that won't happen, we'll see.
I admitted to Roy that I've been "milking it" sometimes, so he's been pointing it out now and then. We were at Sam's and I wanted to get a 24 pack of pop, and I looked at him expectantly like, "Are you going to get that for me?" and he called me on it. "What would you do if I wasn't here?!" Ok, I'd pick it up no problemo. Got me.

I've bought some maternity clothes, and some loaners from friends and my sister. I should be set for awhile! I outgrew my regular clothes in no time, plus it was depressing to wear the bigger clothes I'd just slimmed down from (I'd lost 25 lbs with Weight Watchers before the pregnancy). I bought the new maternity clothes in the next bigger size, so hopefully they'll fit all the way to the end. 37 weeks will be December 13th. Will we make it that far? I hope so, only God knows. We keep praying for healthy babies, healthy momma, and no bedrest! I'm looking forward to being home and cozy with the babies during the cold winter, at least the 8 weeks of maternity leave I'm planning on.

Well, this is long, and I'll post more tomorrow after our 2-hour ultrasound and appointment. Good thing I have Thursday afternoons off!

Weird Dreams

2010-07-01T18:49:00.000-04:00

I've had some of the weirdest dreams EVER. Mostly too creepy to talk about, much less the odd people included. If I look at you weird, you were probably in one of them. Sorry.
Roy knows it's been a bad dream if I wake him up to hold me. I've had to start sleeping on my side. Too much belly to sleep on my back or stomach anymore. I went to the chiropractor today, and it was so nice to lay down on my stomach! The table folds down to make room for my tummy. Ahhhh...drool.

Eating for Three

2010-07-01T18:46:00.000-04:00

I've learned from books and other twin moms to eat PROTEIN and lots of it! At first, I tried eating a lot of meat, which my body just isn't used to processing. I felt awful on Monday. I posted a status about it on Facebook and got tons of unsolicited advice - okaaaaay!
Those protein shakes are really good, and I've been drinking chocolate milk and paying attention to balanced snacks that have protein - apples and peanut butter, bananas and cheese. Honey Nut Cheerios and Milk has a ton of protein too. So far I've avoided the pregnancy curse of constipation - lots of fruit!! TMI. TMI. I know.
I seem to be craving Culver's a lot, both the food and lemon ice coolers with raspberries. Cottage cheese has sounded good off an on too. I've been avoiding tomato-based foods and sauces because I get an icky tummy, but the only food that I can't stand has been popcorn. Weird.

BOGO! (13 weeks)

2010-07-01T18:41:00.000-04:00

When we thought we were having one baby, we had already decided on the name Cameron for a boy, and Camryn for a girl. Since we need to think of more names, I suggested "BOGO" (Buy One Get One)" or "Bo" until we know their genders! I am a dork, but Roy loves me that way.

On Sunday at church, we got to talk to the head pastor and his wife. They also had "just one more baby" and ended up with twins - 4 kids total! She said she just cried and cried when they found out about their twins. Roy and I just laughed - I keep saying, "God must know what he's doing, because we don't!" We had everything planned out for 1 more baby, and boom! - here's TWO. We had already ordered a RAV4 with a 3rd row seat, thinking that would be plenty of room for a carseat and everyone else. Now we're not sure, but we'll make it work. I see a minivan in our future though - sigh.

Sunday night Roy took me out on a date. We went to Granite City and I chowed on Idaho Nachos so much that I couldn't eat any of my chicken wrap. It made a nice lunch on Tuesday though. We finally got to talk about logistics of TWO babies. We had already planned to build a non-conforming room in the basement for Aaron, so the babies will share Aaron's old room. We're going to Freecycle the dining room table and chairs, and make a downstairs mini nursery area, especially since I'll be having a c-section again. Stairs are not a good thing after a c-section, trust me. Unfortunately the only bathroom is upstairs, but it'll work.

We have very good friends that have 1 year olds and want to give us their baby stuff. Once the dining room is cleared out, we'll have a place to put stuff so we can figure out what we'll still need. Sarah told me we won't need two of everything, really, especially the big stuff.

I've had no energy to do anything. I can fall asleep in 5 seconds flat. Since I'm 13 weeks now, I hope to get some energy back soon. I've been eating practically non-stop I swear! Our friends down the street gave me some yummy protein shake mix to try. I had one this morning mixed with chocolate milk and it was SO good. I'm going to try one with fruit later. Food tastes SO good or SO bad. I can't stand popcorn, even the smell of it. Somebody at work had made microwave popcorn at 8 A.M. the other day. Yuck!

It's Sinking In....

2010-07-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

It's been a week since we found out about the twins on the way, and the news is sinking in. We usually say "babies" now, instead of "baby". We found a book about Twins, Triplets, and Quads that is pretty helpful about nutrition, although fairly extreme about eating meat. I've had some advice from friends/family about how to add protein to my diet without just eating meat all the time. My belly is definitely growing! I read that I'll measure about 6-8 weeks ahead of a singleton pregnancy, so I look about 20 weeks prego now. I was kind of wondering why I was showing already (before the ultrasound). It helps to know it's because of two babies!

I spent most of Friday getting nothing done at work. I showed the twins' ultrasound picture to anyone that walked by, plus some people at lunch, on break, etc. I couldn't shut up!! I think the more I told people, the more it sunk in for me.

On Saturday we went to a wedding, and I could still wear my empire waist dress - good! I told one of the wedding guests we were having twins - a complete stranger! I am a dork.

The reception was outside, and it was a very humid day, so I didn't last long in the heat. We came home and relaxed in the air conditioning for awhile. Ahhhh.....

Ultrasound Surprise - TWINS!!!

2010-07-01T18:18:00.001-04:00

These past few days have been very interesting. On Thursday afternoon we found out we are having TWINS! At our 11-week visit with Dr Olson, we decided to have a screening for Down's Syndrome, which includes a blood draw and an early ultrasound, between 10-13 weeks. Down's is not likely at aLl, but we would want to know to prepare if that was even a possibility. Since I was 12 weeks, 4 days on Thursday, it was perfect timing. I told Roy he didn't need to come with me, because it would be quick and it's too early to find out the gender anyway. Was I wrong about now having him there! I laid down on the bed and the ultrasound tech barely got started when she said something like, "Looks like two babies here." WHAT?! All I could do was grin with a "deer in the headlights" look on my face, I'm sure. I asked her how she could tell so fast and she told me "18 years of experience". Okaaaay. She just said it bluntly, but I suppose people would react in all kinds of ways to that kind of news.
The twins (!) are looking great. One measured 12 weeks, 4 days, and the other measured 12 weeks, 5 days, so our timeline was right on. Their neck measurements (the reason for the ultrasound) looked normal. They'll do another measurement in a few weeks to compare. The twins each have their own placenta, so likely they are fraternal.
We'll have an ultrasound every 4 weeks now - next one at 16 weeks might be too early to determine their genders, we'll probably need to wait until I'm 20 weeks for that info.
After the ultrasound, the tech let Dr Olson know about the twins, and she made room at the end of her day to see me for a quick chat. She greeted me, "Hi there Fertile Myrtle!" Love her! She knew we were planning on just 1 more baby, so she wanted to make sure I was okay with the news. I was still stunned, but goofy happy about it. She told me to gain about 10 extra pounds, and to eat lots of meat/protein to keep my iron up. And drink lots of water.

I was at the office for close to 2 hours! Roy and the kids had gone swimming with some friends, and I was going to meet them after my appointment, since I wasn't planning on a long visit. I called my sister on my way to the car and told her about the twins. She said, "You're lying! No way!" I had to convince her, telling her exactly what the ultrasound tech said. It must have been the same tech they had - told them about their twins the same way - BLUNTLY.

I wanted to tell Roy in person, but Mom's office is very close to the doctor's office, so I called to see if she wanted to see the ultrasound pictures. She reluctantly agreed - "how much can you tell from those anyway?". Dad was picking her up that day, so he was already in the parking lot waiting for Mom. I got in the van and didn't say a word about TWO babies. I handed him the pictures of Baby A, which he said looked like David (what?!), then I showed him Baby B. He caught on that they said "Baby B? What's that?" I said, "There's two!" and Dad said, "Well, outstanding!" and chuckled. Then I showed him the pictures of the babies together.
Mom came out and I showed the pictures to her the same way - Baby A, then Baby B. She asked me why the pictures were flip-flopped, "Do they take an ultrasound from your back now too?" "Nope, there's two babies!" "WHAT?!!!" Her boss Jo came out and I showed them the pictures of both babies.

I'M STILL ROYALLY STUNNED AT THIS POINT. Roy and the kids were wondering where I was, so I headed home to change into my swimsuit, since I didn't let on about anything. I just couldn't text or call him about TWINS!!!
When I was almost to the beach, I asked Roy to come to the parking lot and help me carry stuff - I wanted to catch him alone to tell him. He was waiting for me, so I showed him the pictures. He had his sunglasses on, so I couldn't see his eyes, but his mouth was hanging open! He accused me of using my sister's ultrasound pictures of her twins! I showed him my name on the pictures - definitely our babies!! He just started smiling and chuckling, again with the deer in the headlights look on his face.
Our friend Beth and her kids were also at the beach, so I showed her the pictures of the twins together. It took her a little bit to catch on, then she couldn't believe it!! She laughed because we'll have more kids than them now!
We called Aaron and Lillian over and told them about TWO BABIES! They both took it in stride, grinning and surprised like us.
My sister and her twins came out to the beach too, mostly to see how we were taking the news. Everyone was about done swimming, so we went to grill some burgers and brats near a playground area for the kids.
We spent the evening just looking at each other with glazed looks on our faces, in shock! My sister got a big kick out of us, since she'd been through that whole experience herself. Gee, thanks!
After she left, she texted our brother Jared to be sure to call me back. He was surprised, that's for sure! I told them to be careful, as the odds for twins in our family seems to have suddenly changed. Uncle Jared was happy for us.
Roy took uploaded a pic of the TWINS!!!!!!!!!!! ultrasound pic to Facebook, and soon the whole world knew!

Cedar Rapids Library Staff Award

2009-01-27T21:40:00.003-05:00

This article includes an interview with our next door neighbor Tamara Glise, who is the most humble interim library director ever!

Comment from a little sister

2009-01-16T23:34:00.002-05:00

Lily said, "Aaron, you're not as funny as you think you are."

Aaron's new guitar!

2009-01-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

DSC02733 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Catch me on Facebook

2008-07-28T21:41:00.001-04:00

So I haven't been on my blog in a long time. It seems it's easier to stay in touch with people on Facebook. "Staying in touch" usually means a game of Scramble with friends or relatives, and a picture comment now and then. I do miss the art of emailing back and forth, as the "Wall-to-Wall" option is so popular. At least in email no one else can read your conversation!

I do have a bone to pick with Facebook though. Facebook gave me the option of sending invitations to people in my Gmail contact list to come try Facebook. At first, it had everyone selected. I de-selected all, and proceeded to checkmark a few people's names. Right in the middle of that, Facebook sent the invitation email to everyone in my Contacts list. I was so mad!! I am technologically savvy, or so I thought! I got some interesting comments from some people, but no one seemed mad. What really ticked me off was when I got banned from Freecycle!!
Freecycle does not allow mass-emailing, of course, and I broke the rules, even though it was Facebook's fault! Oh well, a new Yahoo ID later and I'm back in the game.

Twinnies!

2008-04-16T18:18:00.000-04:00

"Aunt" Nicole put together this beautiful video of David and Zoe

Lily's Videos

2008-04-16T18:11:00.002-04:00

Some people aren't signed up for YouTube, so I'm embedding Lily's videos here:

I LOVE this movie!

2008-04-16T18:10:00.001-04:00

The World Traveler

2008-04-02T20:56:00.004-04:00

Aaron just returned from a two-week trip to Nicaragua with Roy's parents. He had a wonderful time and is still talking about everything! If you ask him a question, he'll answer, "Si", and he pronounces "Nicaragua" like a native speaker. He's so much more independent now, doing things for himself and making his own decisions. He's really grown a lot, although he still doesn't like to take out the trash. I can't possibly tell about his trip, so here's a link to Aaron's pictures, from Aaron's unique point of view.

Lily Sings Her Favorites

2008-03-28T00:05:00.001-04:00

Just posted 3 videos of Lily singing her favorite songs.

Duff Girlz

2008-03-19T18:27:00.006-04:00

It's time again for the annual Duff Cousins Weekend, filled with giggling and cultural events. Here's a short video of last year's festivities in Decorah, IA.

Florida Trip

2008-03-12T17:15:00.013-05:00

In February we took a whirlwind trip to Florida for Roy's cousin Carolina's wedding.
The Plan: Rent a minivan with Roy's parents and drive to Florida all together
Monday: Snafu with rental place, Roy's dad found a better deal online, with pickup in CR
Wed-Thurs: Driving straight through to arrive in time for Rehearsal at 5 p.m. Thursday. We tried to see a lunar eclipse on Wed night (in Tennessee), but the clouds got in the way.
Thurs Noon: Arrived in Coral Springs, FL. Spent time at Tia Ligia's house, where the kids got t-shirts from Carolina saying "Coin bearer" and "Ring bearer". Checked into La Quinta Inn, very nice accommodations. Went to Aaron's tux fitting, minor tailoring to be done by Friday. Lily's dress fit well but straps were too long - dropped it off at the seamstress' house, to be done by Friday. Rushed to hotel to get ready for Rehearsal. Kids did a great job at Rehearsal, of course! Rehearsal dinner afterwards at Romano's Macaroni Grill. VERY good food.
Friday: FUN DAY! While Grandma Myriam stayed behind to do the wedding cake, Roy, me, Aaron, Lily and Grandpa Dale went down to the Miami Seaquarium, about an hour away. A relative's mother-in-law works there, so we had free tickets!! LOTS of pictures from the Seaquarium in the video at the bottom.
Friday evening: Pickup Aaron's tux and Lily's dress. Kids go swimming in Tia Ligia's pool, with quick warm-ups in the hot tub!
Saturday morning: Aaron gets into his tux, dubbed "The Monkey Suit"; the pants are a little short, but the jacket sleeves are better. Lily's dress straps are just right, and her dress looks good. We have a family photo shoot in Tia Ligia's backyard. Aaron and Roy's cousin Daniel head to the groom's house for pictures. Aaron is SO excited about riding in Daniel's Mustang.
Saturday afternoon: Lily gets to ride in the limo with the bride and her 5 attendants, the junior bridesmaid, and Tia Ligia and Uncle Pat too! The wedding starts about 20 minutes late, but it's Florida time! The kids do a wonderful job. Aaron is the ring bearer, and Lily is the coin bearer or "treasure girl" as she calls it. She carries the "arras", which is a small ornate box that holds thirteen gold unity coins (arras) which are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. This represents the bride's dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom. The kids walk down the aisle together, and Lily later brings the "arras" up to the stage. Carolina and Carmine are married in a traditional Catholic wedding.
After a few pictures at the church, the wedding party sets off in the limos to Carmine's parents' house. Lily rides in the limo again, but we're going back to Tia Ligia's house! Roy's cousin Christian volunteers to drive behind the limo and pick Lily up, just so she can have another ride in the limo.
Saturday evening: The reception has a "Rockstar" theme, complete with VIP passes for every guest, CDs of Carmine & Carolina's music, and party favors. The kids each have gift bags waiting for them with activities to pass the time. Myriam's cake is gorgeous, and she even had time to make a groom's cake for Carmine. It's a replica of his favorite black hat, complete with silver buckles. The wedding party is announced, and here comes Aaron, with Lily on one arm and the flower girl on the other! Carmine and Carolina have their first dance with the guests surrounding them. Dinner is excellent, with choices of Prime Rib, chicken or salmon. There is a slideshow of Carolina and Carmine growing up. Carolina's family is Latino, from Nicaragua. Carmine's family are New York Italians. And there was an Irish priest! Sounds like the setup for a joke, right?! We dubbed the reception "West Side Story", as the two families were seated on opposite sides of the room, with the dance floor in the middle.
The DJ gets the music started early. Aaron and Lily love to DANCE! And they're pretty good at it, too! Roy even gets me out on the dance floor a few times. Finally, at 10 p.m., Myriam asks why the cake hasn't been cut? Oops! The bride and groom cut the cake, and it is delicious! We get back to the hotel very late and fall right into bed.
Sunday: We mentioned going to the beach today, so Daniel (Roy's cousin) and his girlfriend Angel volunteered to take us to their favorite beach in Fort Lauderdale, about an hour away. The ocean is calm and we can see the sand on the bottom. Aaron and Lily get in the water, and Lily sputters, "Why'd they put salt in it, Mommy?!" I told her GOD did, and the ocean has the most colorful fish because of the salty water. The kids swim and collect seashells. Aaron makes a friend but doesn't ask her name. They start digging in the sand until the waves get a little bigger and start filling in their holes. Lily takes some time to tan. Even with SPF 50 she already has a tan line going.
We walk to a place called Sloppy Joe's for lunch. It's a restaurant on the 2nd level of a store, so we can see way out in the ocean. Gorgeous! The food is excellent. Aaron even had popcorn shrimp! After lunch we start looking for t-shirts for the kids. Lily finds a pink and blue tie-dye one, but Aaron wants one with sharks. When the beach starts to get insanely busy, we had for the van. Parking is so scarce by now, that we had three cars waiting for our spot. One woman spotted Roy with the remote in his hand and asked if we were leaving. When he said yes, she jumped out of the passenger side and came and stood by the van, then blocked the spot so her husband could park there. Yikes! Another car had to back up just so we could get out of the parking space.
Then we went to the Discovery and Science Museum. WOW, that place is cool! Lots of hands-on activities for everybody: fly an airplane, test wind resistance, take a ride on the NASA moon rover, check your weight on different planets, and even a volleyball game on a big screen! Aaron found a shark t-shirt in the gift shop too! Daniel bought some Astronaut Ice Cream (freeze-dried), which wasn't too bad, but the Astronaut Strawberries were better. We spent so much time on the exhibits, we didn't get to the IMAX movie we had planned to see there. Luckily it rained while we were at the museum, and it had stopped by the time we left. We got back to Coral Springs later than we planned, but we had a great time.
Monday morning: One last breakfast with Uncle Pat, Tia Ligia, Abuelita, Christian and all of us (including Roy's parents). On the way back, we managed to stumble upon the Russell Stover Factory Outlet somewhere in Florida. Not very much chocolate made it all the way back to Iowa though.
Monday-Tuesday morning: Driving home. We came up through St Louis to avoid driving through a major snow/ice storm. The roads were cleaned off by the time we made it to the Missouri/Iowa border. We were NOT excited to see all that snow again. The next day, Lily begged to wear just a jacket and sandals, because she missed Florida so much! Enjoy the video of our pics:

Ah, water.....

2008-02-09T22:35:00.001-05:00

Sometimes nothing feels as good as a hot shower!! And brushing my teeth!!! We had our water back on by 8:30 this morning, despite my pessimisticly whiny last post. The Water Dept guy was very nice and fixed the problem - the master valve was off (outside where the city had been working before), so he had to put a very long pole down the valve and twist it on. He came in to check the water pressure to make sure it was full blast, which is was! He even patted Loki a couple of times. The roadblocks were removed this afternoon too, so we can get to our driveway from either direction again. It was weird having our street so quiet, with no buses or cars zooming past us.

Later on the kids and I discovered the only toilet in the house wasn't
filling with water - uh oh! So, we spent the day at Aunt Sarah's!!
Roy got a replacement part at Menard's and the toilet should be working
much better now. Hopefully our water woes are over?!

My new 2008 Scion xB was delivered yesterday, and as soon as it's not minus bazillion outside I'll take some pics and post up more details - YAY!!!

Like Moses in the desert....I need a rock!

2008-02-09T09:03:00.001-05:00

The City of CR has been doing some repair work to a water leak on the city's side of our yard and our neighbor's yard. (i.e. Not our cost!) Our street is blocked off right after our driveway, and they had a huge hole dug down to the water main.

On Thursday, our water was off from 11am-7pm, but they told us it would be. It was back on Thursday night, and everything was fine yesterday morning.

Lily and I got home around 5 yesterday to find the street still blocked, but no work trucks or backhoe, and the hole was filled back in. The water pressure was low, but working in the kitchen. We weren't home very long, and though nothing of it.

We went to Scion Hockey Night in Ames, where the Cyclones suffered a last minute defeat by 1 point. We hung out at Old Chicago with our buddies, and headed home.

We got home very late, around 1:30 am. Guess what? NO WATER, NO NOTE, NOTHING.

I woke up at 5:30 am very thirsty, and found we only have milk (eww) and Dr Pepper Cherry Chocolate (EWW) to drink.

So, at 7:15 this morning I called the Water Dept Emergency Line and someone is coming to check it out.

It's 8:03 and he's not here yet.

Warning! Undersocialized Homeschoolers

2008-01-29T19:08:00.001-05:00

While at a local restaurant, I saw a middle schooler with a t-shirt that read, "Warning! Undersocialized Homeschooler." We love our homeschool friends and all they do, even if it's not a choice I'd make myself! This video pokes fun at the "cliches" surrounding homeschooling, from a homeschool dad - comedian Tim Hawkins.

Newsweek Video

2007-12-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago a reporter from Newsweek came to our church to interview some of us for an online piece on Iowans in preparation for the caucuses. Roy and I were army-volunteered to interview (thanks Sarah!), but thankfully we made it to the cutting -room floor.

The video prominently features our pastor, Richard Marsceau. It also happens to show lots of our friends at church, plus Sarah holding David, and me holding Zoe. The reporter told me my little baby was so cute, but I had to correct her - "She's my niece!"

Click here for the video (updated link).

Whiners on Parade

2007-12-13T20:48:00.001-05:00

Sick, sick, sick! Everyone in my house is sick, except me! Could it be a flu shot? Nope, only Lily got one of those, and she was vomitus muchus yesterday. Papa Bob watched her for us, which consisted of snuggling on the couch most of the afternoon. Roy is very ill today, and Aaron seems to be hopping on board too. Me? Nope! I think it's all the Airborne I've been cramming down my throat. I got the Target/generic brand, which just isn't as tasty, but I've been drinking it anyway. Get away Sickies, eww! And wash your hands WITH soap!

So, everyone except Mommy is sick. What does that mean? WHINERS ON PARADE. Lily was sick yesterday, so Roy kept her home today. Lily was feeling better today, but Daddy wasn't. When I called to check on Lily, she said there was nothing to do, and Daddy wouldn't play any games with her. The guilt trip earned her a quick game of Candyland before Daddy said it was naptime (for both of them). I got an email from him this afternoon that said, "I just want someone to take care of me." WAAH, you're a grown up! He went up to bed at 6:00 p.m.

Since no one was hungry except me, I ordered a delicious pizza with
mushrooms, ham, black olives, and green olives - YUM!! The other
members of my family are boring pepperoni-pizza only people. Eww.

Aaron and Lily are on the couch fighting over who gets to pick the TV show. Aaron has a temp now, but no upset stomach - yet. Lily is still Miss Whiney-pants because she feels better but not 100%. They're both trying to eat some ramen noodles and/or Jello. Eww. Is it possible to whine and eat at the same time? YES IT IS.

I'm counting the minutes until bedtime.

Aaron

2007-11-16T20:11:00.001-05:00

Drama Queen

2007-11-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

Since Lillian is starting Kindergarten next year, it was time for immunization shots yesterday. She was all geared up for it, and Papa Bob had promised he would take her our for ice cream if she didn't cry. She brought her Carebear along for moral support.

The first part went fine. Her height/weight ratios are great, and she's very smart. The doctor we go to often has students working with her. The student doc asked Lily what a curtain is, and she said, "It's so people can't see you, for your privacy." That one wasn't a typical 5 year old answer! He asked her to copy a square, then to draw a person. She did all of it, but acted like, "Duh, I can do that, can't you?" She also hopped on one foot and did the sobriety-check walk (heel-toe, heel-toe steps).

The time came for shots. 4 immunizations plus a flu shot. The flu shot was the one that did it, I think. They did them all at the same time, with both the nurse and doctor each taking a leg. She said she only felt one poke, but they kept "pushing on it, and it really hurt, and I DON'T want any ice cream Mommy." She alternately fussed and wailed out of the doctor's office, even when I told her she might scare some "little kids", which usually gets her to put on her big girl/brave face. NOT TODAY. She said her leg burned and it felt like a bruise too.

I promised to get her some pain medicine, then we'd go to McDonald's. We went to Walgreen's for some children's ibuprofen, and she wouldn't even walk! I put her in the cart, but it bent her legs too much. She finally sat up on the edge of the cart, holding on with both hands. Not the safest position, but by this time I was picking my battles. We got drivethru at McDonald's, then came home to rest. She was all propped up on the couch, with her blanket and her Carebear. She called Papa later and said maybe she was ready for ice cream, but we were watching the twins last night, so maybe tonight or Saturday.

When we were watching the twins, her pain reliever wore off about 8:35 p.m. Whew! She turned into a puddle, couldn't sit, couldn't walk, she was done. I know she's dramatic, but WOW, that took the cake. She fell asleep on the way home, so I carried all 43.6 pounds of her in the house, dosed her up again, and helped her into her pajamas, since she wouldn't do it. Drama Queen!!!

From my all-time favorite movie scene - You know you love it too!

2007-11-07T18:16:00.001-05:00

This is SO wrong, but SO funny

2007-11-07T18:10:00.001-05:00

There goes the neighborhood

2007-11-03T15:56:00.001-05:00

Our neighbor had a Haunted Yard for Halloween this year. He made everything himself, out of wood, PVC pipe, and styrofoam, including the fence. Take a look:

Bill had planned this for months. He waited until the kids were in school to set everything up, so they were VERY surprised when the got home from school. He had a crew of 8 actors to jump out, stalk, and otherwise scare people from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Two air compressors were in our shed, so no one could hear them, and he even changed our front porch bulb to a lower wattage blue bulb, to create more of a shadow on one side of the house (Roy ok'd that, but didn't tell me!). The only thing that didn't work was the lightning effect, due to a blown fuse. Otherwise, it went off without a hitch!

The faith of a little child

2007-10-22T20:25:00.000-04:00

On Sunday morning, Lillian brought her little pink purse to church, with her little pink wallet. Usually we'll give her a dollar for the offering plate, but she said she had money already - she put in her only $2 bill.
Then at lunch, Papa Bob had a $2 bill for each of the grandkids! I pointed out that she gave her money to God at church, and he gave her another $2 bill!!

Then on the way home Sunday evening, we saw lots of black smoke up ahead-something was on fire. We turned off on our exit before we saw what it was. The kids were riding with Roy, and he told me Lily said, "Daddy, should we pray for the people in the fire?" So they prayed. Turns out it was a semi that had flipped on it's side and was completely on fire. But you know what? The driver made it out before the truck caught on fire! I told Lily later that the driver was safe - her prayers worked!!!

If you're up for a heart-wrenching, completely inspiring, guaranteed bawl-out-loud crying jag, click here.

Knobbly Knees

2007-10-04T22:07:00.000-04:00

What do two Scottish descendants and their lad and lasses do on a sunny Saturday afternoon?
Sarah and I took Lillian and the twins to Celtic Fest at Usher's Ferry in CR! We saw our cousin Pete in a kilt (yikes!) and learned a lot about our Scottish heritage and traditions.

One tradition that I had no clue about was the Knobbly Knees Contest.
Somehow I was picked out of the crowd to be a judge - maybe it's the reddish hair?? Now, having never seen a "Knobbly Knees" contest, much less even heard of one, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It's a contest where men or boys (kilts required) come up on stage, and a judge or two feels their knees to see how "knobbly" they are. Yes, I was a judge, and I felt lots of knees, including some very rough knees, and some very ticklish knees, and some very knobbly knees! Bribes were abundant - a dollar for each judge tucked in the top of each stocking, a bit o' whiskey offered from a flask pulled out of a sporran. There were lots of taunts and barbs between the contestants too, such as, "A real Scotsman would never give away TWO dollars."

The man that won the contest had very knobbly knees, it felt like 3 knobs on each knee! His prize was a bottle of Scotch or whiskey and the title of reigning champion for the year. All I got was a dollar!

Pics are posted here.

Small World

2007-09-30T19:53:00.000-04:00

Due to my work schedule, and Roy being in Kenya, Dale and Myriam took the kids overnight Friday. We met in Manchester for the kid hand-off, and I stayed at home Friday night. Saturday I drove up to Garnavillo after work and stayed last night. The kids and I drove back today. That's WAY more driving than I'm used to, usually Roy drives when we go up there. I finally found my way around the construction in Strawberry Point, so was later than I planned last night. On the way home, we took the posted detour. Duh, me.

We went to the Elkader Evangelical Free Church today. We've been there a few times, when we're staying in Garny for the weekend. I mentioned to a friend there that Roy was in Kenya, so he added him to their prayer requests during the service. It went something like this:

"This lady over here is a Duff from the Volga Duff's, and her husband Roy is on a mission trip in Africa with some eye doctors. She has that square car out there." After the worship service, a man from the Volga area talked me up about the Probert and Duff families being the first in Volga, about how they inter-married between the families, etc. He mentioned all the work my cousin Pete had done in Volga and that I should go see it sometime. Then he said I got the Scottish red hair, so I talked about the Celtic Fest, and they wanted to go but didn't this year. SO, after we left Roy's parents' house, we went to Volga and saw the new fountain, and we went to the Highland Cemetery and found pretty much all the Duff tombstones, including my Grandma Lillian's. There were lots of Robert Duff's there, kinda weird. Aaron was fascinated by all the tombstones. We saw old tombstones from the 1800's. Visits to the cemetery may seem morbid to some people, but I think it gives us a sense of our history, and respect for the people who lived before us. I only wish we'd gotten some flowers for Grandma Lillian's stone. It's been 5 1/2 years since she was gone, and with our Lillian's 5th birthday this week, I've been thinking about her.

He's a traveling man, made a lot of stops, all over the world...

2007-09-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

Roy leaves for Kenya with a medical missions team on Thursday and will be gone for 10 days (until Oct 7th). He's going with his boss Dr Fitzgerald and 4 other people, a PA, and RN, a photojournalist, and another optometrist from their office. They are going as a humanitarian mission through Dr Fitzgerald's non-profit organization, but they are partnering or being sponsored by Empowering Lives Int'l (ELI).

They are going to a village called Kipkarin, which has a medical center. Part of ELI's mission is to train native Kenyans to sustain themselves, while still spreading the Word of God. The team plans to set up an optical lab so they can manufacture their own lenses after the team leaves. So far the only electricity is generator power, but the village is supposed to have electricity soon (as in within 5 years??). Roy has extensive lab experience, so he will be helping mostly in this area. He is very excited!

We would appreciate everyone's prayers for Roy and the team as they travel and work over there. Last year no one got sick and everything made it (27 boxes!). This year they're taking 25 boxes so are in the same situation. Please pray for protection from injury, disease, and no tariffs/taxes on the boxes.

Thank you,

Bridgit

They Say It's Her Birthday!

2007-09-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we celebrated Lillian's (it's no longer Lily if you ask her) 5th birthday. Her actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, but Roy is leaving for Kenya, Africa on Thursday, so we needed to have it this
weekend. Her brother gave her a present of his own choosing - a Transformer toy of his that she always plays with. She was NOT pleased about getting a "boy" toy and stared him down a couple of times until they both started giggling.

She also got LOTS of High School Musical (HSM) stuff - blanket, dolls, singing card, handheld game and even an HSM UNO game. Also Barbie clothes, My Little Ponies on top of her cake, an art set and paper, her very own scrapbook with paper and supplies, and a picture album of her very own. A Sorry game, girly stuff like lip gloss and headbands, and various other items that a spoiled 5 year old girl loves.

We got her some books for her LeapPad, a bike helmet and new knee pads, elbow pads and bicycle gloves. But no new bike? Well, Papa played along with us and pretended he was going to the bathroom, but he really went outside and got her new bike (from Mommy and Daddy). Papa teased her as he brought in the bike, and said "Lily, look what I found in the bathroom!" She was confused for a little bit until we told her that Mommy and Daddy bought the bike for her! She was wearing a long straight skirt, but she still put on all the gear and tried out her new bike!!! The training wheels will come off very soon.

Lily, oops, Lillian starts Kindergarten next year since she has a late September birthday. The babysitter's daughter is a year older than her, but she's in school most of the day so Lillian gets to be the big helper and she loves that position. They do lots of phonics and one of her favorite quiet activities is writing letters and short words on "school" (dash-lined) paper. The fall and winter seasons also mean lots of crafts.

Aaron is 8 1/2 and in 3rd grade. He is becoming a block-out-everything reader. We have to call him a couple of times to get his nose out of a book. He tends to choose books that are too easy, so Roy got him the first two Harry Potter books. Of course, Roy read them first since they were really for him anyway!

2007-09-01T22:57:00.000-04:00

Be sure to checkout lots of new pics in PARTY TIME and DAVID & ZOE!

I can't possibly sleep Mommy

2007-08-30T17:03:00.001-04:00

Since Lily has a sore throat, we went to HyVee for some pudding. After taking her sweet time eating 2 cups of pudding - 1 lemon and 1 chocolate, I told her it was time to lay down. She begged me to let her sleep on the couch with the TV on. An hour later, she informs me that she just can't sleep, it's too hot, and she can't sleep with it noisy or quiet. I gave her the choice of laying down in her bed in her room, or she could clean her closet. She huffed upstairs and told me she would try to clean her closet all by herself. It's been 30 minutes, so I just checked on her.

Yeah, you guessed it:

She's asleep.

Who knew the last 2 weeks would be so......?

2007-08-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

My twin niece and nephew were born on August 14th, and both got to go home on Aug 17th. Since then, life has been somewhat chaotic!
Monday the 20th I drove my sister to the hospital, where she was admitted for 2 days due to fluid retention in her lungs, high blood pressure, and a host of other complications. Diuretics, blood pressure medication and 2 pints of blood later, she's home by the 22nd.

Tuesday August 21st Aaron starts third grade. The ensuing attitude of a sophisticated young man develops rather quickly (see previous post).

Thursday night something possessed me to think I could stay overnight and help take care of the twins. It went fine, I'm just out of practice! Luckily I had Friday off to sleep, right?
Um, no. I went shopping at this great consignment store, and it was fill a bag for $20!!! I even got a box of free plastic hangers! Then i had to eat lunch, and finally laid down for a nap around 1:00. Then I read my book until I fell asleep around 2:30. Then I had to get up at 4 to pick up Lily & Aaron. So Friday night Mommy was CRANKY! Saturday morning came too soon, but I was doing better.

The kids and I spent Saturday with Sarah and the twins, and the kids noticed David's diaper contents were orange. They teased Aunt Sarah about feeding him carrots!

Sunday at church was great, we had an excellent sermon from one of our "young" elders - I think he's about my age. His sermon was initially about grief, but developed into more of a message about hope.

By Monday the 27th, David's diapers were looking red, as in blood. Sarah and Brett took him to St Luke's hospital here in CR, where they conducted lots of tests. The likely culprit was a severe milk allergy. Amazingly, David was calm and not fussy or screaming, like most babies do with a milk allergy. He is a laid back little guy, but this was definitely the Hand of God for him not to have any pain. Monday night David was taken to the U of Iowa Hospitals in an ambulance, so he could see the pediatric gastroenterologist there, to confirm the milk allergy. Sarah and Brett had a hard time finding the UI Hospital, as St Luke's gave them the wrong map, and valet parking was closed by the time they got down there. David, Sarah and Brett spent the night at U of I. The grandparents took care of Zoe back at home.

Tuesday the twins were 2 weeks old! David had an endoscopy (scope up his bum), where the doctor found a small inflamed area that was likely causing the bleeding. They also took a couple of samples for a biopsy to be on the safe side. The specialist was reasonably sure the problem was the severe cow's milk allergy as suspected. They sent him home with a special formula called Similac Alimentum. Sarah says it smells like dog food, but David likes it, and his diapers are now a weird greenish color, much better than red!

Papa Bob and Grandma Iris got to take Zoe to her regular 2 week check up on Tuesday. We joked that people wouldn't be able to guess if they were the parents or grandparents! David weighed 6 lbs 10 oz at the hospital on Monday, and Zoe weighed 6 lbs 10 oz at the doctor's office on Tuesday. They're twins, but who knew they'd weigh exactly the same at 2 weeks old??!

Due to all the hoopla, we didn't see the twins until last night (Wed the 29th). Wouldn't you know, they both look BIGGER?! David's cheeks have even filled out, though I doubt his cheeks will ever be as chipmunky as Zoe's! She was born with those cheeks! When I changed Zoe's diaper she peed on me as usual. She's peed on me more than anyone else I think. Luckily I'd taken off her sleeper since i knew she had a nasty #2 in there. She still managed to soak the changing pad and table cover. David likes to pee on people too, as he has a boy shooter. We told Sarah she should put a target up on the wall by the changing pad.

Sarah got a call from UI last night that David's biopsy was normal!! They can continue on the Alimentum formula, or try breastmilk or another formula. Miss Cheryl from church was there dropping of a meal, and she shared how 2 of her grandsons had milk allergies, and it took months of switching formulas to figure it out. Brett and Sarah have decided to leave David on the Alimentum, as it's working well and he's not having any problems. God has blessed in so many ways!

It amazes me how much our kids love taking care of David and Zoe. There's still some boy/girl favoritism, Aaron wants to hold David first, and Lily wants to hold Zoe first. They both love to feed the twins their bottles, and change diapers. Aaron didn't even mind too much when David peed on him. They can't stand it when we get there and the twins are sleeping, but we just explain that babies sleep - A LOT!

Today (Thurs the 30th), Lily's babysitter emailed me that Lily had sore throat and a low grade fever. I picked her up and took her to the doctor. She was really brave when they did the strep swab with the giant Q-tip. She even got a Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia sticker! (That's VERY cool). Luckily it's not strep throat, just a virus. We'll have to stay away from the twins for awhile.

Wow, long post, and that's not even everything. I forgot how exciting baby diapers are, right?! If anyone is grossed out, you've probably stopped reading a long time ago, so no apology here!

Bridgit

Photos!

2007-08-26T23:42:00.001-04:00

Our kids, Sarah & Brett's babies, etc. Click HERE! and on the album below. Sorry it's such a cheater post, I'll actually type more later, I promise.

Photobucket Album

On the first day of 3rd grade...

2007-08-21T21:23:00.000-04:00

...my mom made my dad take my picture. He actually came in the building, in front of my friends and everyone. Don't they know I'm a third grader now? This is SO not cool. He even gave me a hug goodbye.

Notice his shirt says, "Parents for Sale: Buy One Get One Free".

Little Mama Lily

2007-08-18T20:03:00.000-04:00

Lily and I spent the day at Brett & Sarah's. Lily was a BIG helper - held the babies, helped change diapers, washed dishes, and helped me boil bottles and put them back together. No wonder she fell asleep on the way home!
I am a terrible Auntie though, I forgot to take my camera! We took lots of pictures on Brett & Sarah's camera, so they'll be posted soon enough.
Aaron is at Adventureland with his best friend Trey, for Trey's birthday. They are very excited, as they are in the same class this year - 3rd graders already. They haven't been in the same class since Kindergarten, so this was a big deal. School starts Tuesday. Summer flies by so fast!

The Hansels are home

2007-08-17T21:25:00.000-04:00

Sarah, Brett, David & Zoe are at home! We stopped by so the kids could meet David (he was in the NICU before), and hold Zoe again. They both held each of the babies a few times. Those little ones sure do put up with being shuffled around! Auntie Bridgit was a little too quick with the camera, so there were a lot of blurry pictures. I've posted the best (viewable) pics here.

Lily really really really wanted to be home in time for the premiere of High School Musical 2 on the Disney channel at 7 p.m., but guess who didn't want to leave the babies?!! We had to drag her home!

TWINS update!

2007-08-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

Both babies are doing very well. David is still in the NICU, but breathing on his own, they will keep him there for a total of 48 hours. Tomorrow evening hopefully he'll be back with his sister and parents. Zoe is a little ham, making lots of faces and expressions. Her cousins Aaron & Lily got to hold her a lot tonight, and Aaron said he likes her even though he thought David would be better since he's a boy, but now he changed his mind.

On the way there, I told Lily she could hold Zoe, and said she'd need to be very careful and use a pillow underneath. Lily assured me she "knows how to hold a baby Mommy". Oh yeah, she does that all the time right?! When she got to hold Zoe, she looked over at Uncle Brett and said, "See Uncle Brett? This is how you hold a baby." I think he's got the hang of it already!

Sarah is doing much better today, she feels like herself again. Brett is a proud daddy!!

Brett took me upstairs to see David in the NICU. David has his own little room where it's nice and quiet. He looks smaller than Zoe, but I think it's because he didn't have a hat on. His nose is a little different from Zoe's, and his hair looked darker to me. I hope I can compare them side by side sometime soon here. Either way, they're both CUTE!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF THE TWINS!

Babies!

2007-08-14T18:20:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone, Auntie Bridgit here! My twin niece and nephew were born today, whoo-hoo!!

Zoe Elizabeth weighed 6 lb 1oz - 20" long.
David Jacob weighed 6 lb 5oz - 20" long.

The babies are doing fine. Sarah is very groggy and tired. Brett is a proud daddy! Grandma Iris says the babies both have dark hair, and they look so much alike you'd think they were identical (they aren't!). Zoe was sucking on her fingers like crazy.

Update:

Zoe is doing well under the warmer in the nursery. Once her temperature is stabilized she'll have a bath! David had a little trouble breathing and is in the NICU for the night as a precaution, but should be fine. Both of the babies are so long!

Sarah is still groggy, but the nurse was getting ready to help her up for walk when we left tonight. Brett is beaming! He took us (Roy, me, Lily & Aaron) to the regular nursery to see Zoe. When we got to the nurses station, he said, "I'd like to see my daugh-daughter." It was so cute, it was the first time he'd said "my daughter"! Zoe has plump little cheeks and long feet, and Grandma says David looks just like Zoe. We can't wait to see David tomorrow, and hopefully hold them both!

I'll post a few pictures of Zoe, hopefully I'll have pictures of David tomorrow!

G'night,

Auntie Bridgit

A dash of sarcasm

2007-08-12T21:39:00.000-04:00

On the way home from Garnavillo today, the kids were playing "I Spy". Roy and I joined in...

Daddy: "I spy with my little eye, something blue."
Aaron: "My butt?"
Daddy: "If your butt is blue, we need to get you to a hospital!"

A few minutes later...
Mommy: "I spy something orange."
Aaron: "My butt?"
Lily: "We need to get him to a hospital!"

Our children are thoroughly brainwashed, and we like 'em that way

2007-08-06T20:15:00.000-04:00

This weekend was Scion-filled family fun time! Saturday we stayed out in the cold pouring rain for the first Cedar Rapids Scion Show. Everyone got a t-shirt, stretchy wristband, backpack, hanging dice, and other miscellaneous items of frivolity. For the raffle drawing, Roy brought home a 12" subwoofer & amp! It was cold and wet, but we all had a great time, especially afterwards at Granite City.

When we got home, the kids had their sweatband/wristbands on, and Lily's boyfriend Austin was all concerned and asked her, "Lily, what did you do to your arm?!" He thought she had a cast on, because it covered her whole forearm. Lily & Austin are so cute, they have no idea what boyfriend/girlfriend is, but their older siblings seem to think it's funny, so they say keep it up. Austin is 5, and Lily is 4 1/2. At Vacation Bible School, I picked Austin up to wipe his face, and Lily came up to me a little while later and asked, 'Why did you have your hand on my boyfriend?" SASSYPANTS!

Anyway, back to this weekend.......We had planned to have some Scion buddies staying with us, so the house was moderately clean. Then no one stayed with us, and we had a clean house, so we had a bunch of the Scionoids over on Saturday night. Being the old married couple w/kids, we stayed at home when they left to go to a bar at 11 p.m. When they all got back for their cars at 4 a.m., we were very glad we stayed home in bed like normal people. They assured us they'd been at Perkins for a couple hours, and were sober enough to drive. Hope so!

Aaron had a great time with G&G Brandt in Garnavillo. He and his cousin Mitchell got to stay Thursday-Saturday. They went to the Clayton County Fair both Thursday and Friday nights, which Roy said was totally unfair- he never got to go for two nights when they were kids!
Aaron also came home with a new pair of Crocs (yess!) and a CD from the Coupe Devilles, who were playing at the fair I assume. Aaron is less than forthcoming with all the fun details, as he is an 8 year old almost 3rd grader with a mini-attitude. Grandma Myriam also washed all his clothes - bonus!!!! Aaron was back for roughly 20 minutes when he and Lily starting picking on each other as usual.

Lily leaves for G&G's on Wednesday, but she's convinced she's leaving tomorrow. She's already packing! She gets to go to G&G's with her two cousins, Laurelle (5) and Adriana (a young 4). Usually Laurelle and Lily are little mommies to Adriana, so they should be fine. We made sure her flashlight is working, as nighttime on the farm is pretty dark - I'm still not used to it up there, although the morning sun seems to stream in without much difficulty.

Anyway, back to this weekend........on Sunday, we went to the Quad City area for a Scinergy meet/picnic. I went to HyVee with another wife and we decided a cake would be a great idea. There isn't an official Scinergy chapter there yet, but I dubbed their club, "ScinergyQC", which we had them write on the cake. It was cool.
While we were at the park in Milan (hello Uncle Keith & Aunt Michele!), one of the guys who happens to be an electrician and Best Buy employee installed Roy's new subwoofer & amp (see above). The ride home was thumpin'!

As we got close to home, my sister (pregnant w/twins and on bedrest) called and said Brett was extremely bored, so we stopped by. Stopping by ended up being supper and a couple of baby-prep chores. Roy and Brett installed the bases for the carseats, and Lily and I helped pick out the babies' outfits for coming home from the hospital. Sarah keeps getting the runaround about when the babies will arrive, but it should be soon - she's 36 weeks already, with high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia. We can't wait to see David & Zoe in person!!

When we were leaving, Roy and Aaron went out the car and set the music thumpin'. Lily and I came out and started dancing in the headlights, until Roy busted up laughing. We didn't know that Brett had stuck his head out the garage door to see us bustin' loose! oops!

On the way home we discovered the radio was set on "Neutral", so we bumped it up to "Hear". WOW, big big thumps now!! We're obnoxious and we now it, clap our hands.....

What NOT to do for family fitness

2007-07-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

I had a great idea last night - let's walk down to the nicely paved Cedar Lake Trail. Of course, that meant Aaron rode his bike, Lily rode most of the way in the wagon, and hyper-dog Loki came along on his leash. One lady said I needed another arm - no kidding! Especially the 180-degree rotating kind of arm! At one point, we had Loki's leash looped through the wagon handle, and he was helping me pull the wagon. Did I mention Loki likes rabbits and squirrels?!!! He only got off track once, but he is quick!

AND, it's 6 1/2 blocks to the trail each way, and we walked maybe 2-3 miles on the trail. UGH! I'm not used to exercise!

P.S. Definetely sore today too - must try again tomorrow, but maybe without the dog!

Roy and Bridgit, the Twilight Years

2007-07-19T17:50:00.000-04:00

http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/4552

Passing fancy..

2007-07-11T13:17:00.000-04:00

Why is it that our neighborhood popularity (with the kids anyway) depends on the size of our pool?!!

We had a pop-up pool, the kind with a pump and chemicals, but it started leaking around the hoses and we took it down. So yesterday Roy got a regular inflatable pool for the kids and set it up. One of the older neighboor kids came over in her swimsuit and asked why we got rid of our old pool. I explained, and told her she was welcome to swim in the new pool. She did for awhile, then went to play with another girl who has a BIG pool. Whatever!!

On another note, Roy bought a new lawnmower at WalMart last night. It's so quiet, just putts along. Roy said it didn't shake and rattle like our old one, and his arms didn't feel like rubber when he got done mowing. This is the first NEW mower we've had, as family members (DAD) always seem to get their hands on a "good used one". WOW, new is nice!

Over their heads

2007-07-06T19:35:00.001-04:00

Don't you hate it when you say something really clever, but the kids don't get it?!

We were driving by the credit union and I pointed out there was an ambulance in the parking lot with it's lights flashing. I said, "Somebody got a high interest rate!", but the kids didn't get it.

Renault R25 Formula One singing engine

2007-06-27T19:52:00.001-04:00

I am a total car chick/geek, I am well aware. Keep your comments to yourselves.

Spot the REAL doll

2007-06-25T21:12:00.001-04:00

Ever have one of those moments where your kids are doing something so innocently cute that you just have to get a picture?

Fasting

2007-06-18T18:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday at church, someone mentioned "electronic fasting" on Sundays. I had to agree with someone else who admitted "electronic fasting" would be harder than fasting (not eating). I find myself constantly checking the news websites, email, shopping, other blogs, etc when I'm home. I can waste hours online sometimes if I don't get interrupted. So yesterday, I half-heartedly tried to abstain from electronics, but failed. When we were out in the backyard, I used Roy's Blackberry to check my email. I read a couple sections of the newspaper at a friend's house. I checked the golf score on their TV.
Was I expecting an important email? No.
Was there an article that interested me in the paper? No.
Anyone I knew in the Milestones section? No.
Did I care who won the golf game? No, I don't even like golf.
Was it worth it? No.
When I realized what I was doing, it seemed so irrelevant. The news, email, etc will be there tomorrow. Who says I have to read emails immediately, or even respond immediately?
Today at work I realized I spent my morning and afternoon breaks (15 min each) just checking email and the news. I could have taken a walk around the floor, walked to the breakroom, chatted with a friend. Instead, I'll probably get eyestrain from no break from the computer screen! I also listened to my iPod most of the day to tune out the phone reps around me. Another way to drown in electronic media!

I'm realizing it's okay to not check my email every time I think of it. I don't need to know the latest news, and I don't care who won the golf game! Ironic that I'm putting this on my blog, I know, but I'm not going to check for comments until at least tomorrow. For me, that's a step in the right direction.

The jig is up!

2007-05-30T21:19:00.001-04:00

So Lily and I are just nicely home around 5 pm, when 4 of Aaron's friends show up, with bathing suits on and towels in hand. One of their dad's had brought them over, and he was under the impression that I was aware of this whole plan. The only problem is - no I wasn't aware, Aaron hadn't asked or said anything about it! And, Aaron wasn't even home yet! So, I went to pick him up and he says, "Oh yeah, I meant to tell you I told them to come over to swim tonight". What??? You meant to tell me? We had a talk about asking permission first before he invites friends over. I let them stay though, being to cool, level-headed mom that I am (sputter-cough-choke).

The dad stayed for awhile too, so I wasn't the only adult to watch 6 screaming monkeys jumping in our little pop-up pool. All the kids were good, and they had lots of fun. Most of them only stayed an hour, and the last two were leaving by 6:45. By then the kids and I were starving, so I whipped up some Kraft mac & cheese on the stove. I'm such a culinary mastermind.

The whole summer better not be like this!

I'm Iowa-bred and proud of it!

2007-05-29T18:07:00.000-04:00

You have 87% Iowa in you!

Wow! You're almost all Iowa. No wonder you're such a likeable person. Isn't it great being so close to the greatest state in the country!

Do you have Iowa in you?

Out of the mouths of babes

2007-05-21T20:34:00.001-04:00

On the way to church Sunday morning, Lily asked, "Do I look stinkin' cute Daddy?". She got really mad when we started chuckling, but we assured her she looked "stinkin' cute".

She had on a black halter dress, with a ruffled hem and bright embroidery on the top. She looked VERY Latina in it, especially when she shook her booty.

Lime pickles

2007-05-21T19:57:00.000-04:00

Tasty tasty. Dad brought over some lime flavored pickles from Arkansas awhile ago, but we all balked - lime pickles???? He left the jar here and I just tried them on some brat burgers - yummy!!!
We had another whirlwind weekend. Friday night was the fundraiser/comedy show for the next Kenya trip. The comedian was excellent, and the crowd was wild! I'm sure a lot of money was raised for the next trip to Kenya in October (see Roy's blog for info about the first trip).
Saturday the kids, Aunt Sarah and I made the rounds at Robins' city-wide garage sales. They were few and far between, but we got some great deals. The Peppy's ice cream truck seemed to be stalking us, but we didn't succumb to it.
One garage sale was finishing up, and had a big FREE sign on the rest of the stuff, so we got an Exersaucer for the twins F-R-E-E! That was the deal of the day. We found various other baby things, receiving blankets for 5 cents, outfits for Zoe, one measly shirt for David - poor kid, the girl always gets more stuff. We were on the lookout for a snowsuit for David, but the only boyish one we found was powder blue with little clouds on it - not exactly manly. We passed on that.
I almost made an offer on a dining room table, but it didn't have any leaves, and with the Duff/Brandt family, we need leaves for our table sometimes! I found an unopened audio Bible CD set called "The Bible Experience" (New Testament). The lady said she got it for Christmas but never opened it. It's a $50 value, and I paid $1.00!!
Aaron waited all day for a garage sale with boy stuff, and we finally happened upon a boys' size 8 Nike shirt/short set, which he changed into in the car. He also got a zippered wallet that fit around his Nintendo DS, including the games.
Lily picked out a green and navy dress for $5, and a flowered denim hat. At the last garage sale she got a flowered shirt and a crazy tiger-print skirt, which she promptly changed into in the car. It sure didn't match, but when you're 4 1/2, you can wear whatever you want!
THEN, since we had avoided Peppy's ice cream all day, we went to Dairy Queen the end the afternoon.
For supper, we went to Culver's, where the kids had ice cream AGAIN. I just couldn't eat any more ice cream in one day - ugh.
On Sunday, Roy and Aaron went to the Camp Courageous Car Show after church. There were 3 Scions, and 2 of them placed in their category. Of course, there were only 4 vehicles total in their category.
Lily and I went with Brett & Sarah to our cousin Alan's high school graduation party in Elkader. He's going to Coe here in CR this fall. Sarah made a list of contact numbers for those of us in the area, including helpful hints like, "Empty-nesters like to take you out to dinner." and "Jared will show you all the unsavory things your parents' don't want you to know about." Our cousin Jenni works in the dean's office at Coe, so he can also "name-drop" as needed. The party was great, with cake made by my mom-in-law. I haven't had her carrot cake in a long time, and it was GOOD!

Aaron is the biggest Scion fan

2007-05-15T18:28:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted about Aaron's birthday yet - shame on me!
Aaron turned 8 years old on April 27th.
For Aaron's birthday, he begged Grandma Myriam for a Scion cake. Roy just happened to have an extra Scion emblem, which ended up on the cake.
Aaron also had a sleepover with 3 friends on his birthday, which was intensely loud and boisterous. Whew! We won't do that again for a long time. They had a blast, but I stayed up with them until 2 a.m. we were TIRED the next day and the day after that too. Click below for pics of the whole birthday weekend.

Photobucket Album

Blank Park Zoo

2007-05-15T18:09:00.001-04:00

Remember when I said the kids hadn't been to a real zoo? Well now they have! It was 2 1/2 hours of family fun. We fed a giraffe, and saw lots of animals. Both kids had a great time. Sometime soon we'd like to take them to the Chicago Zoo or Omaha Zoo, so they can see even more animals.

We were exhausted on the way home after the All Scion Show on Friday night/Saturday, and the zoo on Sunday. Driving home I chatted with my sister to keep me going, and Roy called his Mom (it being Mother's Day and everything).

Photobucket Album

All Scion Show 4.0

2007-05-15T18:08:00.001-04:00

It's our 4th Annual All Scion Show in Ames, IA! The pictures pretty much tell the whole story, or you can go to www.allscionshow.com if you're really interested.

For the raffle drawing for all registrants, I won an xB steering wheel that doesn't fit my car. BUT, it fits Roy's car, and it looks good!

An xA owner/friend won Putco grilles for an xB (like $599 retail people!), and she actually gave them to me!!! Roy put them on yesterday, and now my xB looks fierce. That's right, I said FIERCE! I'll post pics soon, I promise.

Aaron was one of the first group of people to ride in the 2008 xB that was brought from out of state just for the show. It's a lot different from the original xB (1.0), but it's growing on me.

Photobucket Album

Alien babies, weekend plans

2007-05-08T11:44:00.000-04:00

Today the kids and I went with Aunt Sarah to her ultrasound. Aaron seemed very interested, and he pointed out some things, a spine, a head, and then we saw Baby A's feet kicking. Both kids were excited about that! The ultrasound tech said Baby A was kicking Baby B in the head, but we couldn't really tell. Lily was more interested in looking at the ultrasound wand on Aunt Sarah's tummy. We dubbed them the "alien babies" the first time we saw the 3D pics. They looked weird!! I think Baby B (Zoe) will be a little princess. She was calmer than Baby A (David). Sarah said David keeps kicking her like crazy.

The ultrasound was at 8:30, so I called Aaron's school and said he'd be late, probably by 10:00. Aaron did not like the idea of being late for school, but he wanted to go with us. We brought his backpack with us to the doctor's office, and we got him to school by 9:15 - only 10 minutes late! He was very glad he wasn't that late, but anxious to get inside. As usual, I only got a kiss blown to me - you never know who might see you kissing your MOM goodbye - yuck!

Lillian stayed home with me for a little while. She helped me do dishes - I washed, she rinsed, and I helped put them in the drainer. I took her to Michelle's around 10, I have to work in a little while. It's nice to have the morning off, but the afternoon kind of drags once I get to work. At least it's not a full day!

We're looking forward to camping this weekend. It's our annual All Scion Show 4.0 weekend in Ames, IA! I'm doing lots of laundry since with camping we'll need to run the gamut of spring/summer clothing, including jackets, sweatshirts, jeans, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, etc. You get the idea. The Scion Show begins Friday night with a "Night Glow" contest - best lights after dark. Then Saturday is the big show with judging beginning at 12:00. It will be a long, hot day in the sun, but a blast! COME ON OVER TO WILSON OF AMES FOR THE ALL SCION SHOW 4.0 on Saturday!!!

On Sunday we plan to take the kids to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. My G&G took my brother and I there as kids, and I remember loving it. We went to Living History Farms with G&G too, but I don't know if we'll have time to do both on Sunday. I thought about going to the zoo because Lily and I went to the Bever Park Old MacDonald's Farm "zoo" last week on my day off. It's a small farm zoo with just farm animals and ducks. She like the goats, donkeys, sheep, etc, but kept asking where the hippos and giraffes were, like Daddy saw in Kenya. Time for a "real" zoo!!

I love headlines....

2007-04-21T15:10:00.001-04:00

Clinton would make husband roving ambassador

Didn't he kinda do that already?

Cousins Weekend in Decorah

2007-04-15T17:39:00.000-04:00

Check out the pictures, I'll post more after my nap!
Decorah Weekend

Lots of monkeys in the family tree

2007-04-09T21:21:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a family tree online at http://mrsxb.tribalpages.com. I'm going straight from memory (and a quick phone call to Mom). If you are family, take a look and let me know about any errors and give me more info where needed. I especially need info on the out of state relatives. I blocked the birthdates for privacy, but if enough people are interested I can assign a visitor password.

Overheard in the car...

2007-04-02T21:24:00.001-04:00

Aaron: "Whew, what smells like horse crap in here?"

Lillian: "It's my nuts!"

She was eating peanuts, and Aaron thinks they smell bad.

Grandma Rules

2007-03-31T21:44:00.000-04:00

The kids and I went to 2 stores for groceries today. After arriving home and getting everything inside before it rained, I started putting away the fridge & freezer items. I opened the freezer, and there staring at me was a Dairy Queen quart of ice cream, with big giant block letters saying, "FOR AARON AND LILLIAN ONLY"

Thanks Grandma, now Roy and I have to wait until bedtime to sneak out for our OWN DQ treat.

We had tacos for supper, but due to a picky husband and son, we didn't actually use taco meat. I added sausage seasoning to the ground pork, which was pretty good. I also had my black olives, tomatoes and sour cream, so I didn't complain about the meat. Lillian is the only one in the family who likes refried beans, but I forgot to buy them. We all like different things. On pizza delivery night (usually Thursday!), we order a pepperoni for Roy and the kids, and I get my favorite pizza - ham, mushrooms, and black or green olives. SO weird, I know. Lately Lillian has been wanting just cheese pizza, so we'll take off the pepperoni. I'm NOT getting 3 pizzas yet!

Emotional Reunion - Sailor Suprises 6 year old Son at School

2007-03-31T21:08:00.001-04:00

You will cry, trust me.

A random test for everyone

2007-03-28T21:26:00.000-04:00

I see there's some country music fans out there. Anybody Old Skool? I grayed out the ones that have been guessed. I need the Song title, the Artist is bonus points. I added a few more words to some of them. There's always Google if you get stumped. Keep going!

I borrowed this idea from my buddy Chris, who got it from somebody else. Such is the Internet!
Step 1: Put your iPod on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.

Either email me at birdit24@yahoo.com with your guess (with the correct #), or post your comment here. Thanks for playing!!

Take my hands, take my feet, take the music to the street
She grew up in a Indiana town, had a good-lookin' mama, never was around
Love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring
Like a hawk on the wind and the sun on the rise
Darlin' you've got to let me know
Baby lock the door and turn the lights down low - Just to Be Your Man, Josh Turner
Shake shake shake senora
Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
I beg your pardon - I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Chrome, she can see herself - Chrome, Trace Adkins
We rock forever we stop whenever
He was sittin' there his brush in hand
I thought number one would surely be me
I play chicken with the train - Cowboy Troy
And I'm amazed by you
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, for our Lord God Almighty reigns
It's easy or not to be wise
Billy Ray was a preacher's son
Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace - Ob la di, Ob la da (Life Goes On)
Hello darkness my old friend - The Sound of Silence
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
In my hometown for anyone who sticks around
Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin
Save me from this prison
Long awaited rains are falling hard upon the thirsty ground

Kidbits

2007-03-18T16:32:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night we went to Sarah's for supper. Lily talked to Grandma on the phone before we left, and promptly told her, "We can't come to your house tonight, Grandma. We are going to your other daughter's house, the one that's having twins." Grandma Iris was floored, as she hadn't said a word about coming to her house, and it's not like she has a ton of daughters either!

Roy and I had to work yesterday, so Mom & Dad (Grandma & Papa) watched the kids. I called over lunch and talked to Aaron first.

Aaron: "We're watching the St. Patrick's Day parade. We're in Chicago, and we took a plane here. We'll be home later though."
Me: "How did I call you on Grandma's home phone if you're in Chicago?"
Aaron: "She brought the phone with us."

Then Lillian gets on the phone:
Lillian: "He is LYING Mommy! We are NOT in Chicago, we're watching the parade on TV!"

I think sarcasm runs in the family.

An interesting article

2007-03-13T19:48:00.001-04:00

A Peculiar Prophet: Meeting and Being Met by God

Major silliness at our house

2007-03-08T20:20:00.001-05:00

Roy has gained 40 pounds of LILLIAN!!!

Getting big...

2007-03-08T20:19:00.001-05:00

My firstborn will be 8 next month, as he keeps reminding me. He can't decide whether he wants a sleepover, a pool party, bowling, or skating for his birthday party. We'll narrow it down in a few weeks. I have limited the guests to 3.

Cabin Fever

2007-02-25T21:19:00.001-05:00

ICE STORM 2007 - as KCRG has dubbed this latest weather. Roy's office closed at 11 Saturday morning, so went sent him to the store on his way home, just for milk. Of course, he came home with 2 bags of stuff plus the milk. By Saturday afternoon, I was starting to feel icky like the kids did on Friday - upset stomach, etc. I'll spare you the details.

The lights were flickering all day, but we have a gas stove, so we thought it would be fine to cook a lasagna, because the oven would stay on even if the power went off. We lost power around 7 last night, and the kids immediately freaked out. Roy had plenty of flashlights to go around, so the kids calmed down with their own flashlights. Oops - the oven has an electric start, so when the power went out, the oven didn't stay hot. We did take the lasagna out and put in the freezer though. For supper, Roy lit a burner on the stove top, and made mac and cheese.

At first Aaron was reading a book to Lily by flashlight, then he got his Gameboy out and Lily started watching a movie on Roy's iPod. Roy was reading a book on his PDA, and I was just trying not to move because my stomach hurt so bad. I had some silent prayer time though, since everyone was absorbed in their own thing. After a little while, we realized how ridiculous it was to each do our own thing when we could be doing something together as a family, so we played a game of Pirateer by lantern and candlelight. We all headed to bed around 9.

When I woke up at 12:30 am the electricity was back on, and my clock was blinking 12:09, so it must have just come on. I keep hearing a buzzing sound, which turned out to be our oven timer. Aaron had made sure to flip his light switch so his light would come on, so I turned out the lights downstairs and his light, and went back to bed. It wasn't too much colder than we usually have it at night.

Church was cancelled, so we spent a lazy morning at home. After spending every single minute with the kids since Friday, I was about to go stir crazy! This afternoon we braved the roads to go over to Brett and Sarah's. We stopped at Handimart to get some pop, and Roy found a cell phone in the parking lot. He turned it in at the front counter, and it belonged to an employee who was very grateful! Brett commented that half of CR was either at Hardee's or Handimart, and I think he might've been right. It was packed!

We finished cooking the lasagna at their house, and Sarah had 2 loaves of garlic bread, so we had a nice supper. We watched some movies, played games, and looked at old pictures. We came home by Roy's work, just to make sure the lights were working there, which they were. However, the whole strip by Westdale Mall was dark - Wynnsong Movie Theater, Culver's, Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse, and may other businesses. It was so strange to see it dark, when it's usually very brightly lit over there!

Brett's parents still don't have power, so they're staying with Brett Sarah at least for tonight. We drove by their place, and about 2-3 blocks on one side of their street are out. It's weird to see lights on one side of the street, but dark houses on the other side. They said their house was 59 degrees this morning, and this afternoon it was down to 43 degrees. Barb said it was fine until you had to use the bathroom - too cold!!!

Time to put the kids to bed...

A Day in the Life...

2007-02-23T16:55:00.001-05:00

I'm home with both kids today, for the obvious reason shown below:

We've learned that trash cans double well as puke buckets. Lily needed one last night, and Aaron's been complaining of a stomachache, though no evidence yet (GOOD!). Neither one of them have fevers. Lily seems fine today, but you never know. The nasty flu bug has been going around at her daycare, so I didn't want to take any chances. We rented a ton of movies since we're home today and we're supposed to get snow/ice/freezing rain starting tonight. YIKES! Maybe Roy won't have to work tomorrow?? Not likely, it would have to be pretty bad to shut down businesses.

Hope you all are nice and warm! We had 1 gorgeous spring-like day this week, and then it turned cold again. I think it was up to mid-50's! That's Iowa for you, can't predict the weather, any time of year.

Aaron's Debut

2007-02-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

Aaron began his singing career on Sunday night, at our church talent show! The church seating capacity is around 230, and it was PACKED. He did a wonderful job, and was the youngest performer by far. We are SO proud of him!!!

Charlie and Zoe

2007-02-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

I got a voicemail from my sister while I was at work today:

"I can't talk much now, but we're having twins." She was calling from the doctor's office, and later told me she and Brett were just sitting there like two deer in the headlights. Brett called his mom, and she called our mom to tell them, and a lady sitting in the waiting room just started giggling because they were so funny. WOW! We're all still in shock. Sarah said when Mom told Dad he just laughed and laughed.

Sarah wanted to tell Aaron Lily herself, so I managed not to blow it. She showed them the ultrasound pictures, and saved the picture of them side by side for last. She asked Aaron to read the labels, "Baby A" and "Baby B". They didn't catch on at first, but then they both started jumping around! Then Lily showed Uncle Brett how to change a diaper, and how to change a baby's clothes, because he's going to be very busy with TWO BABIES! Tonight I think everyone is still in shock, especially Brett and Sarah!

We decided Brett's mom Barb and my dad Bob should open B B's Daycare.

My how God blesses us!!!!!!

Little moments like this

2007-02-14T13:35:00.001-05:00

Last night we exchanged Valentine's Day cards, since Wednesday evenings are so busy - Roy works until 8, and the kids and I are at church until 8:15. Lily's card said "From your little girl", which she usually doesn't like b/c she's a BIG girl, but she told Daddy she'd be his little girl.

I was telling Aaron that when he was a baby he had a cute little butt, just like his daddy. Lily pipes up, "Daddy's butt is NOT cute!"

This morning I stayed home with Lily since she still had a fever yesterday, and our sitter's daughter is also sick. She had a scary dream and slept with us most of the night. She and I slept in until 8 am. When she opened her eyes she said, "You're the best mommy ever." How's that for a good morning?!

Here's your sign

2007-02-14T13:31:00.001-05:00

Overheard at work yesterday:

"Did you hear school is cancelled?"

"All day?"

It's a new car!

2007-02-12T20:06:00.001-05:00

I got my new Scion xB on Wednesday, and I LOVE it. My mom and sister actually let me drive to Williamsburg on Friday for a quick shopping trip, and then to Iowa City for lunch with Gpa Louis. They both hate my driving, but they didn't get critical until the way home from Iowa City. I expected worse, really. Sarah said Baby Charlie didn't like my driving (she got sick when she got home).

Gpa treated us to lunch at the Mid-Town Cafe, which is on the east side of Iowa City. He said it's named "Mid-Town" for when it really is in the middle of town. The food was good, my burger was tasty and everyone else liked their food too.

After that we went to Grandpa's apartment, and I showed him how to send emails. He knows how to read them, he just forgot how to send them. I've successfully received 2 emails from him now, and I think Aaron got one too. Hopefully now he can keep in touch more!

Dale & Myriam got their Scion xB on Saturday morning, a week after it arrived. Unfortunately, the paperwork was several days late and they had to wait. Myriam drove it home from Dubuque, and she said it made it up the hills around Guttenberg just fine (whew!). It's a lot smaller engine than their BMW, but much more practical-gas mileage, cake transport, etc. Plus it's just unique, especially in their area. Roy can't wait for a photo with all 3 xB's in the family now! She even liked the color I picked out - Salsa Red Pearl - NICE!

Another year older, but not necessarily wiser

2007-02-08T09:15:00.001-05:00

I turned 28 on Sunday, and wasn't expecting much fanfare. After you turn 21, that's about all there is, right? I was very pleasantly surprised though. On Saturday night Roy and I went to a movie and then dinner. After the movie I got an unexpected voicemail from a friend I haven't heard from for awhile; she sang Happy Birthday to me, but didn't leave her phone number! Then on Tuesday we got a birthday card in the mail from her, with her return address. I'm definitely going to send a card or something.

At church on Sunday several people wished me a Happy Birthday, and my mom got me a funny card. On Sunday afternoon we went toRoy's co-worker's house for the Superbowl. Again, not expecting much, I'm turning 28, it's Superbowl Sunday, etc. Well, they got me a cake! And a card! And they sang Happy Birthday to me! WOW, I was not expecting anything at all.

At work on Tuesday, our workgroup ordered TACO PIZZA from HAPPY JOE's, the best TACO PIZZA ever. Roy and the kids hate taco pizza, so the only time I get it is on my birthday, or if someone else chooses it for their birthday lunch. WHOO-HOO! I even got the leftovers since it was my birthday lunch. Warmed up TACO PIZZA is not the same, but it's still so good! I might have some for lunch today.

Oh yes, why am I typing this when I should be at work? Aaron had a 102 temp when he woke up this morning. I think it's just a cold, he's all stuffed up and has a cough. That kid sure has high fevers when he's not feeling well. When he was 2 1/2, he had a 104-105 temp, listless and glassy-eyed. We went straight from the doctor's office to the hospital, with a nurse escorting us (it was just across the street). It turned out he had pneumonia, except the pneumonia was viral, not bacterial, so the antibiotics didn't do much. I remember him just watching and not flinching when they put an IV in his arm, and he didn't like the breathing treatments unless it was a mask, because my dad uses a sleep-apnea machine and Aaron thought the mask was cool like Papa's. He was in the hospital for 6 days, and I stayed with him the whole time. I hope to never have to go through that again, with either of my kids! Oh yes, I was a few months pregnant with Lily then, and the nurses kept giving me snacks to fight my nausea. I was usually fine if I could eat a cracker or fruit. It's funny seeing my sister pregnant now, and she has it worse than I did. If Baby Charlie doesn't like something, it's not staying down!

Lily's Big Accomplishment

2007-01-30T19:36:00.001-05:00

Not to be outdone, Lily made up a nonsense song.

Aaron's Great Accomplishment

2007-01-30T17:36:00.001-05:00

Chillin' with Daddy

2007-01-28T18:11:00.001-05:00

See post below for more info on Lily's face.

Arkansas isn't the only place that's dangerous

2007-01-28T17:41:00.001-05:00

We had church in the park today at Squaw Creek. Don't worry, it was nice and toasty in the lodge. After lunch, all the kids went sledding. The sledding hill is huge, and the snow was mostly ice.

As I understand it, Lily and Roy were heading down on a big green plastic sled, a fast sled. This was their last run, then they were coming back to the lodge. They were going really fast. Roy was in back with one arm around Lily, and he was trying to slow them down with his other arm. They hit a bump, and Roy lost his grip on Lily. She went tumbling over the front of the sled, and ended up with her boots up by Roy's face. He rolled off the sled when he realized she fell off. Her nose was bleeding all over the place and wasn't stopping. You should see her coat, scarf, hat, snowpants, and boots. We're attempting to wash everything in cold water right now.

Anyway, Pastor Nate was going up the hill and saw it happen, so he helped Roy get her to the lodge at the bottom of the hill. I was in a different lodge but this one was closer and occupied by another private party. Roy took Lily to the bathroom and got her somewhat cleaned up. She managed to stop crying so her nose would stop bleeding.

I was at the other lodge having a great time playing Scrabble with some ladies, when Roy came in with Lily. The first thing I noticed was her coat covered (okay - not covered) in blood! Her nose was still bleeding some, but not bad. She had some scrapes on her face and her left eye and cheek were swelling up. Roy had the first aid kit from the car, but we were out of band-aids. I cleaned her up with some wipes and put a butterfly closure bandage on the cut on top of her nose - that cured it all. She's pretty banged up, and she'll be sore tomorrow for sure. We're just thankful to God that she didn't break anything or need stitches. I'll try to post some "Before and After" pictures.

1. At the top of the hill.
2. Recuperating at home.
3. Put on a happy face. The redness on her cheek is all scrapes, it doesn't look so good in person.

A Bit of Culture Wouldn't Hurt

2007-01-26T20:53:00.001-05:00

Two castmembers from "How I Met Your Mother" sing an impromptu duet of "Confrontation" from "Les Miserables" on the Megan Mullaly Show.

Evolution of Dance

2007-01-26T20:36:00.001-05:00

Found this again on YouTube, I LOVE this guy!

A Proud Moment

2007-01-26T20:31:00.000-05:00

Aaron has shared his incredible talent at burping his ABC's, including the end:
"now-I-burped-my-A-B-Cs-next-time-won't-you-burp-with-me!

I have reached the pinnacle of my success as a mother.

Playtime 2007

2007-01-26T20:21:00.001-05:00

The kids were making a racket upstairs, so I checked it out. They were playing "Dog the Bounty Hunter". Aaron was hiding in the pile of dirty laundry (EWW) and Lily was finding him. SHE was "Dog".

Now she's hiding under the computer desk and Aaron is "Dog". He asked me if I'd seen the fugitive, and I just couldn't point her out.

The times, they are a'changin'!

Winter blues turn into blessings

2007-01-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning we woke up to several (?) inches of snow, and still falling. We planned to go to Ames for a Scinergyia (car club) meet that afternoon. The streets weren't plowed yet, but we made it to church just fine, even early for once! It turns out 1st service and Sunday School were as planned, but 2nd service and all other meetings were cancelled. We decided then to not try to go to Ames, even though we were all disappointed.
We met my family for lunch and then went to Target for a few things. Aaron wanted to look at XBOX games so Roy took the kids over to electronics while I browsed in purses & clothes. When I found them later on in Electronics, Roy told me they'd found 3 more crates of Nintendo Wii's in the back and were bringing them out now. WOW. You have to understand, around here the demand is so high that when a shipment of Wii's come in, people stand in line for a ticket, only 1 each, and they're sold out in no time.
We aren't in the market for a Wii (no $$$), but a family we're good friends with had been trying to get one for their boys since before Christmas. We gave them a call and they made it over in time to get one!
So we couldn't go to Ames, but we were able to help our friends. That made it all worth it for us, and what a great example to the kids! Aaron was still talking about it last night.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2007-01-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago, the kids, my sister Sarah and I were driving along 6th Street SW. When we were passing the salvage yard, Sarah said, "Look, it's Papa Bob's favorite place," and Lillian said, "Arkansas!" We agreed! HA HA

I suppose you should know that Dad has been regularly going to Arkansas to help his friend Jack build and remodel a house and building for missionary work among the Spanish-speaking community in Springdale, Ark. Lillian is convinced Arkansas is dangerous for Papa, as he has had the following accidents or problems while there:

1. Flipped a pickup truck, and burned his leg getting out of the truck
2. Contracted a toe infection that resulted in hospitalization for several days and having 1/2 a toe amputated

Dad is leaving for Arkansas again on Saturday, so he came over for a "grandkid fix" last night. Lillian gave him another stern warning about being careful in Arkansas.
Aunt Sarah came over too, but she shouldn't have eaten any pizza. When she got home she called me to say, "Baby Charlie doesn't like pizza." At least she made it home first. It's so fun having a pregnant sister, since I get to share the experience without having to go through it myself again. HA!

Apple

2007-01-16T21:48:00.001-05:00

Once you go Mac, you never go back!

Try this...

2007-01-16T21:42:00.001-05:00

getamac

School

2007-01-13T19:50:00.001-05:00

We found out Lily won't be eligible for Alternative Kindergarten next year - her 5th birthday is 11 days after the cutoff date. That answers that question! We thought about preschool, but she gets a lot of phonics work and learning at daycare, plus we'd have to pay for both preschool and daycare since we both work full time. Lily is "top of the heap" at daycare now, being the oldest one there full time. She is officially "Michelle's Helper", and she loves it there. We've decided on 1 more year of daycare, then regular kindergarten just before she turns 6. Aaron didn't go to preschool and he didn't have any problems with kindergarten or school, so we're hoping for the best.

p.s. NO SLEEP for us this morning, I should have known better. I tried, but just ended up being grumpy. The birthday party for Great Grandpa Val was fun, with lots of relatives, some from Ohio and Council Bluffs. It's great to see everyone who lives far away. The kids held up, but were ready to leave when it got dark. Early to bed for all of us for sure.