Big find!

Recently a ton of little (uninteresting) things have occurred. However all of these things led up to one big find, and a happy reunion for a family I don't know...

Here's the details --

Because the transmission went out in the Lexus, I had to get a loaner car. I still have the dreaded loaner, and every day is becoming more painful! Driving around in a car the size of a small bathtub is not my idea of a good time -- especially with the kids! Anyway, Matt forgot to take the garage door opener out of my car, so when he leaves in the morning for work, the garage door stays open until I get up. *So far, totally uninteresting, huh???*

Our garbage comes on Monday (I told you it'd get better, LOL). When Matt got home Monday night our container was missing. It wasn't anywhere on the street, just missing. I had no clue where it went, so I had to call the garbage people and request a new container. They refused to give me a new one, unless I either paid $175 or filed a police report. NO BRAINER THERE! So I filed my first police report for the container and the garbage company told me I'd have a new one today. Which left me with the problem -- what to do with the garbage in the meantime???? I did the only logical thing -- threw it out in the garage.

This morning when we were getting ready to leave the house, I opened the garage door and saw the unimaginable -- garbage all over the place. It was sooooo disgusting. As "You've got to be kidding me" came out of my mouth, an old dog got up from the corner and gave me this sad look and walked slowly out of the garage. I was horrified and incredibly sad for this poor dog. After all -- it's freezing outside.

The kids and I were on our way to Backyard Adventures for a play date, so I didn't have time to go back in the house and make a bunch of calls. But as I was driving I saw the poor dog walking slowly around the neighborhood. (I know all of our neighbors and this dog did not belong in the neighborhood). I decided to call mom. As I was telling her the story, she was like:

Mom: Was the dog a big dog?
Me: Yes
Mom: As in 75+ pounds
Me: Yes
Mom: Was it black?
Me: Yes -- maybe a little red or brown mixed in. It was hard to tell. He was so dirty.
Mom: Did it look like he was outside for a long time?
Me: Yea, his coat was really shaggy.
Mom: Did he have a silver chain around his neck:
Me: YES!! it also had a little round charm hanging off the collar.
MOM: OMG, I bet that's the dog that's been in the paper.
Me: ????

My mom reads the Johnston paper cover to cover. Evidently there's been a missing dog since October and I found it! The police came and picked it up today. There's one happy family out there -- all because my garage door was left open!

Some pictures....

Per so many requests -- here are some more pics of the kids. These are about two or three months old.

Caleb at my parents house.



Katherine -- Pic was from November when were playing at a local pumpkin patch.

Caleb playing in the leaves outside in our backyard.

Katherine the same day playing in the leaves.

My little Katherine...

Today after preschool, Katherine, Caleb and I met Ben and Michelle for lunch. This will definitely be the last time I see her until she returns from China with her new little baby girl. She was looking for a little dress for Tessa to wear, and since Katherine had TONS of gorgeous clothes, I am sending her first Valentine's dress with Michelle. I know it'll be just perfect.

For those that don't know... I get the kids pictures taken professionally every month until they turn 2 yrs, and then every 3 months until ???? I have all of the little outfits Katherine wore in those pics packed safely away up in my closet. I'll never get rid of them -- EVER. As I brought down the tub of clothes and opened it, tears filled my eyes. I was shocked at the flood of emotions I felt just from opening that box. What I wouldn't give to have one week, even one day with her at that age again. How I wish I could smell her "not quite a baby, not yet a toddler" smell. How I wish I could hear her contagious baby laughter. How I wish I watch her walking around exploring her growing world. How I wish she still needed me for everything again -- if only for one day...

I can't believe how quickly time has gone. It seems as though I've blinked and the last 4 years have flown by. My baby girl has grown into this smart, funny, charming preschooler, and for that I am so grateful. But for now, I will hug her extra tight and cherish every second I have with her, because I before I know it, she'll turn into a kindergartner and I'll wish for this day back again. If only time could stand still......

SUV appreciation week

After driving a gas guzzling road hog for the past several years, driving a small compact car is a complete shock to the system. I'm used to hauling tons of stuff around with me -- diaper bag, stroller, toys, books -- you get the idea. It just doesn't all fit in the loaner! This will teach me to streamline! I'm not a big person (as in tall) and I feel huge in this car -- my head almost touches the ceiling, and I feel like my knees are in the dashboard.

This car has the most annoying features on the planet!! For example, tonight I'm driving home with groceries in the car, and I have to place them in the front seat. After all, with two carseats there's not room in the backseat, and the stroller takes up the whole trunk. So I do the only logical thing -- I load the groceries in the front, and start the car. There's this loud and frequent "dinging" that just won't stop. I finally figure out it's because there's weight in the passenger seat and the seat belt isn't on. For goodness sake, I was going out of my mind! Glad it was only a few miles! UUUUUUGH! I can't wait to get my car back!

Today we had a play date with a good friend of mine, Michelle, and her little boy, Ben. We went down to the Science Center and the kids had a blast playing. In fact, we couldn't get them out of there! I think they would have stayed until dinner time. Caleb finally crashed in the car. The poor little guy was just exhausted!

Katherine has quite the adventurous spirit. During the cold blooded critter program, she was first in line to pet the turtle, salamander and snake. I couldn't believe it. She went right up to the snake and started talking to it. YIIIIKEEES. She certainly doesn't get that from me!

This was probably our last play date with Ben and Michelle for quite some time. They are leaving on Thursday for China to pick up the adorable baby girl they are adopting. So next week, we care going to see Ben with his Grandma T. Watch out for the pictures. I'm going to put some out here so Michelle can see them when she's in China. We can't wait to meet little Tessa, and Katherine is so excited to go shopping and pick out presents for her!

Tonight I went to my first parent teacher conference for preschool. Actually it was my first parent teacher conference ever! LOL. I couldn't believe it -- I was actually a little nervous. There were butterflies in my stomach! I felt like I was back at work waiting for my yearly review! Thankfully, Katherine's teacher thinks she's as wonderful as we do. I got a glowing report. She's kind, shares, play well with others, participates, excels in art work and talks non-stop. Not that I didn't expect a good report, but I was soooo relieved!

What is it...

with the mall play areas? I've always hated them -- too many big kids running around, oblivious parents chatting on the cell phone, the germs - oh the germs... But today my frustration reached a new level. Usually I am an eagle eye watching everything that goes on, but today I missed the big one. As I'm sitting there watching Katherine run and play, the mom sitting next to me leans over and says, "check this out". She's pointing over to the other side of the play area. There is this young guy sitting there taking pictures. Not to stereotype (but this is my blog and you're reading -- lol) but he looks like a pretty shady character. He's a breath away from being goth. And -- he's got a big dog camera -- I couldn't tell what kind it was from where I was sitting, but it had an attached lens, so he could have taken a close up picture of anyone from where he was sitting. I watched him for a couple of minutes and figured out that he wasn't taking pictures of one or two particular kids. He was just taking pictures of ANY kid.... My heart nearly skipped a beat! Freaky!!

I told her that I'd go and have security check it out. Of course, the guy sitting next to me thought I was over-reacting, and didn't think it was a big deal, but COME ON, why in the world would some guy in his early 20's -- without kids -- go to a public play area and take random pictures of kids. It just made my skin crawl. Call me overprotective, but that's just not cool!

The security guard comes in and starts talking to the guy and his "significant other" who was also a goth wannabe. This chit-chat goes on for about 5 minutes and the security guard leaves and goes to stand by the entrance. I just assumed his story checked out and they weren't going to do anything about it, so I told Katherine she had to stay close to me. A few minutes later an undercover officer walks in, flashes his badge, and questions goth boy. He's taking notes and then makes a phone call... Not sure what happened,or who he called, but goth boy can't leave, and the officer stays in the play area carefully watching him. All of a sudden a uniformed officer comes in, confiscates the camera and leads goth boy out in handcuffs. My eyes had to be bugging out of my head!

On my out of the play area, I make a point of running into the undercover officer, so that I can ask him what in the world happened. He assured me that there were no pictures of Katherine on the camera (thank God), but that a lot of pics were taken today. He also confirmed that the camera was confiscated and it wouldn't be returned to goth boy anytime soon. Right before I walked out, he looked at me and said, "I don't blame you one bit. You have every right to be concerned. I'm not even a parent, and I'd want him to eat that camera".

I can't help but to wonder -- since it's not illegal to take pictures of people in public places -- what in the world did they find on that camera??? I probably don't want to know.

In other random news --

Today's the day!! I'm getting my loaner car, and I can't wait to have wheels again. WOOOOOO-HOOOOO! I'd be waaaaay more excited about it if we didn't have to put a new transmission in the car. YIIIIIKEEES!

Last night we had Matt's "Winter Celebration" (aka Christmas party) downtown. We had so much fun. It was good to hang out with all of Matt's co-workers for an evening, especially since I don't get to see them that often... Oh, and the prizes they gave away were to die for -- home theater systems, IPODS, computer, $$, digital cameras, and 42 inch Sony plasma tv. There were about 20 prizes. How cool is that??? Matt didn't think he was eligible to win any of them because of his title, but it was cool anyway!

While we were away, mom and dad came over to watch the kids. They ate pizza and Katherine got "a little" soda, and had a grand old time. There are days when I think the kids are more excited to see grammy and pop-pops than Matt and I. I'm glad they had fun, it makes it so much easier when we have to leave them for a few hours.

Tonight we're going out to dinner at Red Robin with some friends. Last time we ate there, Katherine and Caleb sat at the table for almost 2 hours. So here's to hoping tonight is just as successful!! It's the perfect restaurant to eat at with the kiddos. Helium balloons, milkshakes, unlimited french fires, and lots of commotion. And to top it off, not only do we get to spend some time with friends, Katherine gets to hang out with her good buddy Ben.

Have you ever had...

one of those days you wish you could just erase?? A day so awful that it feels like a bad dream??? Yep -- you guessed it. That's what my last 24 hours were like, and unfortunately I couldn't just wake up and make it go away....

It all started yesterday morning when I had to take Riley (our dog) to the groomer. When I got in the car, I could hear the engine laboring a little. It must be the cold weather, I thought, but I called Matt anyway. He told me not to worry about it. 45 minutes later, I'm on my way to fill the car up with gas, and it feels like the engine is hiccuping a little. Call Matt again. He tells me that he'll look at it when he gets home. Around 5 pm, I pack up Katherine and Caleb, and we head off to pick up Riley. I turn onto a relatively busy 4 lane road during rush hour, and low and behold, I can't get the car to go over 5 MPH and the RPM's are in the 5- 6 range. Not good. Hazard lights flashing. Katherine wants to chat about everything under the sun. I'm cussing under my breath, praying we make it off the street alive. I don't really want to get rear-ended with the kids in the car. I'm less than 3 miles from home and it takes me 45 minutes to get back to the house. I had to turn the car on and off every couple of blocks (or feet in come cases) to even get it to go forward... UUUUUGH!

When Matt gets home he takes a look at it, and it won't even go into reverse. It's the transmission. It has to be replaced, which we just found out this afternoon. Almost $4000. UUUUUUGH! OK -- I drive the small Lexus SUV and it's got LOW miles. To think that we have to replace the transmission just makes me ill. So, for now, I have no car.....

To make matters worse, mom has to take Katherine to preschool this morning as I don't have wheels. Shortly after my mom brings her home, she breaks into tears for no less than 45 minutes. She's uncontrollable. Something happened at preschool that made her this sad -- and I wasn't there. Preschool was just awful for her today. You know why???? I'm a LOSER mom!! We get monthly calendars with events listed for each day (show and tell, snack helper, line leader, birthdays etc..). In addition, we also get weekly letters with any announcements, upcoming events, book orders that type of thing. On the monthly calendar (which we got over a month ago) it says that today is PJ today. Every "day" is something, so I didn't think anything of it. For example, Tuesday was popcorn day. They brought in sandboxes filled with popcorn for the kids to play in, made popcorn, learned why it popped etc... NO PARENT ACTION REQUIRED. Why would I think PJ day would be different, and if it was, why didn't they either tell us, or put it in the weekly letter??? So I didn't give "PJ day" another thought. Well I should have! Shame on me. Shame on me. SHAME ON ME. Both of her teachers and over half the class had on PJ's. The other half must have a loser mom like Katherine. In my defense this should have been in the weekly letter! HEEEEELLLLLLOOOO! UUUUUGH! Poor Katherine. I broke her heart today. There is nothing worse.

Birthday party

Today my mom, aunt, sister, Morgan (my niece), Katherine, Caleb and I went to the nursing home to celebrate my Grandma's 88th birthday. I can't believe she's 88 already -- what a long and fulfilling life she's had, and is still enjoying. Today was such a big day for her. She was absolutely beaming that everyone came to her birthday party, and was making such a big deal out of her special day.

The nursing home has a band that comes in during special occasions --and this was definitely a cause for celebration. They brought in boxes of instruments -- cymbals, tambourines, xylophones, sand blocks, and bells of all kinds. EVERYONE there was given an instrument to play along with the music. The music, or should I say "noise" was so loud that you couldn't hear any of the singing. Caleb was banging on the table so loudly I was sure it'd break. Katherine was doing some type of interpretative dance for the residents. Morgan was talking to the bird who was singing back at her. Ay yi yi.... Oh, and this lasted for almost an hour!!! It was absolute chaos!

After 45 of minutes of singing songs we'd never heard of, the leader then announced that they were going to sing an uplifting song. You know what it was.... Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Are you kidding me? My history may be a bit shaky at times, but isn't that an old slave song about dying??? Very uplifting. LOL.

All at once Katherine decided that she should help the lady playing the piano, so she hopped up on the lady's lap sitting next to her. I about died of shock. Katherine takes FOREVER to make up with someone, so when she just went up to this lady and sat on her lap, my jaw dropped to the floor. When I asked her about it later, she told me, "Don't worry about me momma. That wasn't a strange lady. That was a grandma, and all grandmas are nice people". *sigh* Isn't she the best???

Later we went to my Grandma's room and as we were walking down the hall, Katherine was looking into the other rooms. In one of the rooms, she sees a "mobile toilet". I'm not sure how to explain the contraption, but it's on wheels and is like a seat that you can use without going into the bathroom. KWIM??? Anyway, when Katherine sees the toilet, she YELLS, "Look Mommy, there's a potty chair just like I used to have when I was baby". UUUUUGH! Kids at this age say whatever is on their mind. Thankfully, since the nursing home residents don't see kids very often, she can do no wrong.

Tomorrow is girls night out, and I can't wait. We are eating at Mrs. Trussler's, which is a local hot spot. She's legendary. She's booked for at least a year out, so getting a reservation is really difficult. She lives in a quaint farmhouse, and you sit around her formal dining room table and eat off of her china and sterling. Everyone has the same menu -- appetizer, salad, main course, two sides and dessert, and your party has to be a minimum of 8 people. It's perfect for a girls night out!! And the food is sooooo yummy!! Her homemade cinnamon rolls are to die for! For those that have never been there, it may sound strange, but it's really great. She literally cooks like this 345 days a year. It's crazy!!

SNOW!!

This morning after church, Matt, the kids and I went to Cracker Barrel for brunch. It's Katherine's favorite place -- evidently, the pancakes are to die for and the bacon is just plain yummy! Why is it that place your kids like to eat at, you could do without??? I'm not sure if it's the pancakes and bacon she likes so much or the old fashioned candy stick she always gets afterward. LOL!!

After we got home, Matt had to snow blow the 5 inches of snow we got last night off of the driveway (thanks for the blower Fran and Wendell -- Matt had the driveway done in no time today)! He took Katherine out with him and she had a blast playing in the snow. Since Caleb has a runny nose, he had to stay inside. I've attached some pics of Katherine. She had a blast!! Thank goodness we FINALLY got some snow! Why couldn't it have been here at Christmas????

As promised....

Here are the pictures from the "first haircut day". Katherine was a princess loving every moment. Caleb, on the other hand, had one HUGE meltdown. Poor little guy, but it had to be done. He was getting pretty shaggy!! (I still need to figure out how to turn the pics, but you'll get the idea).

Here's the before picture --

Poor Caleb -- HATING LIFE right now....

Katherine -- happily eating her sucker, and LOVING the curls.

We're happy again -- thank goodness!!

Saturday morning traditions

Every Saturday morning Matt takes Katherine and Caleb out for breakfast and spends some good quality time with them while I get ready and have a little time to myself. It's a WONDERFUL TRADITION. Anyway, since I finally figured out how to upload pics to the blog, I thought I'd share some of Matt reading the kiddos a story on the couch this morning. They loved it.

fun times at playgroup

I love everything about our Friday morning playgroup. There's usually 7 of us moms who are the "core group" and then others join when they can. Everyone lives in the neighborhood, and gets along sooooo well. As I've said a million times before, I couldn't ask for a better neighborhood. I wouldn't trade it for anything. The moms hang out with the little ones who can't play by themselves yet, and the older kids have a wonderful time playing with each other. Andrea, my neighbor who lives directly behind me, has three boys. This morning, she was laughing about how horrible her husband dresses. For example, he refuses to wear anything but white sweat socks -- even with dress shoes. And evidently he wears disgusting white t-shirts under his work shirts, and wears them alone all night long -- holes, frays, pit stains and all! LOL... He's an engineer, so maybe that explains it ;-) The conversation then turns to Matt and one of the other husbands. Evidently, they're known as the "snappy dressers" in the neighborhood. Evidently Carolyn and I are married to metrosexuals!!! Fine with me. Thankfully I never have to dress Matt or tell him what to wear. It's wonderful! I have two kids to take care of, I can't imagine having to dress a grown man!

Caleb was a little stinker at playgroup today. I don't know what's been up with him lately. He's always been a momma's boy, but today it reached a new level. Caleb went over to play with one of the toddlers, and I was sitting on the floor playing with Tiffany's little girl, who is 9 months. When he saw little Audrey on my lap, he threw himself on the floor and just started wailing. He was inconsolable. When I went over to get him, he wouldn't have any part of it and cried even harder. Quite the scene, let me tell ya! After he finally got ahold of himself, he wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the morning. UUUUUUGH!

The kids and I went over to my parents house after they woke up from their nap this afternoon. My grandma was over there, and her 88th birthday is tomorrow. We went over to spend some time with her. Monday afternoon we are headed to the nursing home for her birthday party. The party is at 2:30, which is right during nap time so it could get interesting.

Tonight I went to dinner with Kelly, who was one of the first friends I made when I moved to Des Moines. We had an absolute blast. Dinner, drinks and girl talk can do wonders for the soul. Besides, since Matt was gone all week, he definitely owed me!! When I got home, the kids were in the jammies and he was shocked I didn't stay out later. Next time!!

Before Katherine went to bed, we snuggled up in my room and talked about our day. She then looked at me and said:

K: Close your eyes Mommy. I've got a secret for you.
M: OK honey
K: You're the best mommy in the whole wide world. I love you so much.
M: I love you too sweetie. You're the best daughter in the whole world.
K: No Mommy, I'm serious. You're the goodest woman I've ever met.

*sigh* I could just squeeze her, she's so adorable. Sugary sweet, and tenderhearted. But strong willed and stubborn at the same time. She's so perfect, and I'm so glad she's mine. It's these little moments, these normal every day occurrences that make me realize how blessed I am.

I am divorcing...

the diaper genie!! I know it's on every new mom's list of "must haves", but the idea of keeping a bucket of dirty diapers in the bedroom, is just insane. And trust me, they're not as smell proof as they claim. It's disgusting. As soon as Matt gets home, it's going strait out to the trash!

I try really hard not to be critical of other parents and how they parent, but...
tonight at Katherine's ballet class one of the dads brought his daughter (who was in the class) and his two other sons -- one was younger that the girls, one was older. When class started, the girls were sitting on the floor stretching out and he let his two boys run all over the dance floor, even tackling one of the girls. They were screaming and chasing each other for about 5 minutes. All of the girls were totally distracted! It wasn't until their instructor literally tripped over the younger one that they were asked to leave the dance floor and wait out in the viewing room. When Caleb started acting up, we joined them in the viewing room, and the dad was sitting in the corner reading a magazine. His kids were running around like little terrors. I couldn't believe it. The younger one (probably about 2) fell over a table leg and started to cry. The dad then said, "Come here, bugger nose. And you, fart butt, (to the older one) leave your brother alone". Are you kidding me????? I was shocked. My mouth literally fell open. I couldn't help myself!! He was completely oblivious, and didn't have a clue how to interact with his kids. How sad.....

Today I went and helped out with Katherine's preschool class. When I got there, her husband was there handing out letters for each of the kids to bring home to their parents. You could tell it had been a rough night. The letter was absolutely heart-wrenching. Tears came to my eyes just reading it. I can not tell you how incredibly thankful I am for being blessed with two healthy, wonderful children. It's truly a miracle.

Matt just got home from NYC and brought both kids a new T-shirt. He always brings them back a little something. It makes his absence a little easier for them. Of course, Katherine LOVES getting new clothes, so she's in heaven!

Tomorrow we are going over to the neighbor's house for our Friday morning playgroup. I can't wait to play with the little twins. They are adorable. Talk about giving someone baby fever!! I can't wait!!

Bigfoot sighting

I don't really have any complaints about our neighborhood. Actually I love our neighborhood. When the weather is nice, everyone congregates outside at night and hangs out while the kids play. There's a ton of kids -- it's like an impromptu play group every night. During the winter, we all take turns hosting dinner and therefore having our house destroyed by 15+ energetic kids. And, I wouldn't have it any other way. HOWEVER, we do have a rather odd family on the block. We all call them Bigfoot because they're so elusive. It's a set of parents and a third or fourth grader. We've lived in our house for 4 years and I've seen them TWICE, until today. When I was leaving the house at 10'ish today, the guy was outside shoveling the driveway. I smiled and waved and he immediately looked away. It's so strange. You'd think they couldn't keep a young boy couped up in the house all day, but they do. You'd think I'd see them mowing the lawn or taking out the garbage, but I don't. For the first two years I didn't even know what kind of car drove, but one day I saw the mom driving around in a really small SUV with a ridiculous looking Tinker Bell tire cover. Hard to miss, and impossible to forget..... They don't even get out of the car without putting down the garage door first. It's the oddest thing in the world. Bigfoot is probably in the FBI or something.

Yesterday I had Caleb's 16 month pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. They turned OK, but not great. It's so hard to get him to sit still and smile for the camera. I still need to figure out how to upload pics to this blog... If only I was a little more computer savvy!

Today we went to the mall with Ben and Michelle. I had to buy a gift for one of my neighbors who just had twin girls. She's hosting playgroup tomorrow at her house and I can never resist buying baby outfits!! After we were done in the play area, Katherine, Caleb and I went over to get a pretzel. We were standing in line forever and the lady behind me starts up this conversation:

Her: You have an adorable baby. (Looking at Caleb).
Me: Thank you. We think so too!!
Her: No, He's a really cute kid. The kind someone would want to walk off with. You should hold on to him tightly.
Me: ?????????

What kind of a comment is that??? Creepy huh?? Needless to say, we left without getting a pretzel.

Tonight we are going over to Grammy and Pop-pops for dinner. Matt's still in NYC, so it'll be nice for the kiddos to spend some time over there.

I got a call from Katherine's preschool today while I was at the mall. It was the director calling to ask me to help out in her class tomorrow morning because her teacher who is 5 months pregnant with twins just lost the babies. How horrible is that???? My heart just breaks for her. I want to do something nice for her, but not sure what. If you have ANY ideas, please let me know.

Medical Mysteries

I kid you not, the strangest medical things happen to me. (And happen frequently). Recently, my right eye started watering. For the last 5 or 6 days, it's been watering to the point of driving me nuts. I feel like I'm constantly crying! UUUUUUGH! It's not pink eye or an allergic reaction to anything either... To make matters worse Caleb and I ran to Target to pick up a few things. All of a sudden he decided that it wasn't "cool" to sit in the cart, and wanted out. He was fusing and crying so I stopped to talk to him and calm him down. All of a sudden this lady comes up to me and says to me, "It's OK, honey. They won't be this age forever". And then she rubs my shoulder. She actually thought I was crying over Caleb's behavior and couldn't handle him. Are you kidding me??? I had a good laugh and showed her my other eye. Hasn't everyone's kids acted up in public at one time or another????

Today we went back to the Science Center with Danyel and her two kids and Michelle & Ben. The kids had a blast, and Caleb once again got into the bubbles. Boy he doesn't forget a thing!! He ran right up to the bubbles and started splashing as hard as his little hands would go. When I put him down for his nap this afternoon, I realized that he still smelled like soap!!

Tomorrow I'm having Caleb's 16 month pictures taken. I can't believe that he's 16 months already. Where does the time go??? It seems like just yesterday that he was this tiny little baby that depended on me for everything. And now he's this adorable toddler, running around, starting to talk, and still depending on me for everything. Life is good. Really good.

We got our mojo back!!

That's right! Life is good. No more strep throat, no more flu, no more breathing treatments. UUUUUGH. It was a long week. None of us like being housebound -- and definitely not for an entire week.

Friday we spent the morning with my friend Carolyn and her two little girls at the Science Center. The kids had a blast playing. I couldn't keep Caleb out of the Bubble Bay. It's a good thing I brought an extra shirt for him. He was soaking wet in no time!! We then met a good friend of mine from Principal for lunch, and had a good chat. Later that night we went over to the Harris' for a little pizza party. We usually get together with two sets of our neighbors on Wednesday nights for pizza and playtime with the kids, but with Matt and Rick both out of town the week, we got together last night. The kids had an absolute blast!! Actually, so did their parents! ;-)

Tonight we went out to PF Changs with some old friends from high school. Caleb was in usual restaurant form. He hates being confined -- especially not for almost 2 hours. **BAD MOM ALERT** To keep him content I gave him a sucker (actually 3 of them, but they were small). On the way home the poor kid had such a sugar high, that he was singing at the top of his little lungs and making noises that barely sounded human. But hey, he was happy!!

Bring on the snow!! We're finally forecasted to get around 4 inches tonight, and I can't wait!! It's been too warm all winter -- I'm sick of 50 degrees in Dec and Jan. Katherine is looking forward to getting all bundled up and making a snowman after church tomorrow.

I'm still in the process of figuring out how to upload pics to this blog... With Matt gone this coming week, I may have time to play around with it for a while!!

Let me start off by saying...

I play with the kids all day long. I do not use the tv as a babysitter. They have my full attention from the time they get up until they go to bed. We play games, do crafts, and have more playdates than I can count. With that being said, I had to turm my back on them for TWO MINUTES while I picked up the playdough Katherine dropped on the floor. During that two minutes, Katherine comes running and tells me to hurry. Caleb was in the bathroom, holding up the toilet lid and unwinding the ENTIRE ROLL of toilet paper into the bowl. Katherine flushed the toilet to help him out, but of course it clogged. I'm not even sure how he thought to do this.... It's not like he has seen this before!! So when Matt gets home tonight, he'll have a fun little project. Matt is leaving for NYC on Tuesday the 16th for work. It's a good thing Caleb decided to pull this little stunt before Matt left or I'd have to call in some reinforcement! ;-)

3 going on 30

This morning, Katherine got up really early, so I had to take a shower while she was awake. I put on Little Einsteins, and went into the bathroom. When I got out, I could hear her singing at the top of her lungs. As I peaked around the corner, I saw her standing on my bed, wearing my bra and checking herself out in the mirror. What on earth??? She's three!!! Before I could ask her what she was doing, she says, "Mommy, can I try on your underwear that goes with this? I couldn't find it". HUH????? Part of me was trying to conceal my laughter, but the other part of me was horrified!! NBTB, Val!

Speaking of Little Einsteins, Katherine has decided that she wants a Little Einstein theme for her birthday. I haven't been able to find the plates, cups, napkins etc.. anywhere yet. I did, however, have to feed "June" lunch today. For those that don't know, she's the little girl who likes to dance, which makes her Katherine's favorite. Poor Caleb, she was calling him Quincy all day. They had to go on a secret mission to find Leo who was lost on a mountain. By default, I was Annie.... She's really into imaginative play right now. Since we've been basically housebound since Friday, there's been countless magical weddings and tea parties on her bedroom floor. During one of the weddings, she started sobbing. Literally, sobbing. She was heartbroken that she's never been able to be a flowergirl yet. I think this all started with this book that Jay and Debbie got her last year for Christmas. They got her a personalized princess book (Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinerella) and at the end of the Cinderella story, Katherine is Cinderella's flower girl in her wedding to Prince Charming. Poor Matt, we'll probably have to have a pretend wedding at the house so she can be the flower girl.

let the good times roll

Late last week Katherine told me that she had a sore throat, and since her doctor is not in the office on Thursday, I decided to wait until Friday to take her. Wouldn't you know, it was strep throat, and Dr. Jon put her on a Z-pack. Late Sunday afternoon, she developed a fever that just wouldn't go away, despite Tylenol and me really pushing the fluids... I had planned on calling Dr. Jon again this morning (because after three days on antibiotics she shouldn't have a fever), but.... She woke up around 4 and came into our room. I gave her more Tylenol and cuddled in with her. When she woke up this morning, she was really sweating and thirsty. I went and got her some Propel and we cuddled up again. Not more that 2 minutes later, she tells me that she doesn't feel too well, and throws up -- all over me and the bed. It was horrible!! This is the THIRD time she's had the flu this year. UUUUUUUUGH! I can't wait until spring comes and all these winter germs go away! It was a rough morning, but she appears to be on the mend once again. Let's hope she can get better and stay healthy. I'm not sure how much more sickness we can handle this winter.

Tonight we had our monthly neighborhood Bunco night. 12 of us girls get together and it's always a good time. Two of us take turns hosting every month, and tonight Carolyn and I hosted (It was at her house, so I did most of the cooking). Caroline -- I made your black bean salsa and it was a huge hit.

Caleb is really starting to talk a lot lately. It's hilarious. All of a sudden, he totally gets it. Yesterday he crawled up on the couch, stands up, laughs and yells, "Momma, sit down"! I know I probably tell the little daredevil to sit down no less than 50 times a day, but hearing it come from his mouth was priceless. He knows (and says) several body parts and really understands quite a bit.

The deed has been done!!

I had been waiting and waiting (and waiting) to get Caleb's first haircut. I had so many excuses -- It couldn't be done before his first birthday, I couldn't risk a bad haircut for the Christmas pictures, I needed Matt to go with me (thus having it done during the week was out of the question)... The poor little guy had hair in his eyes, and it was getting so long in the back I could almost braid it!! LOL! This morning the excuses were over. Caleb and Katherine both got their first haircuts. We went to this adorable kiddie salon. There were toys all over the place and when they got their hair cut, they could take their pick of about 5 or 6 fun things to sit on. Katherine chose the big green frog and Caleb took a big yellow boat type thing with a smiley face. They got the works, little capes to wear and lollipops. Caleb absolutely HATED, HATED, HATED the entire experience. He screamed, cried and yelled the whole time. He even refused the lollipop. He threw it on the floor -- poor little guy, it was the only thing he could control. Matt had to hold him in the seat while the poor guy did the best he could. It's a really good haircut considering.... (He had no problem finishing off the lollipop after the haircut was over)!! Katherine was an absolute angel. She laid down on this fun bench and let the guy shampoo and condition her hair. She probably got almost two inches cut off. It looks absolutely adorable. They blow dried and curled it so cute!! My parents came for the big event and when my mom went to give her a hug goodbye, she said, "Be careful Grammy. I don't want you to mess up my beautiful hair". When we got home and Matt took her out of the car seat, she told him that she couldn't put her head on his shoulder -- it might mess up her curls. How sweet is that??? She's such a girly-girl! We got these adorable "first haircut certificates". They have pictures and locks of hair attached. Definitely need to put them in the scrapbook.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I have probably 5 or 6 pages done this year already. Well on my way to the goal of 100!! My most recent pages are of Jay and Debbie and Todd and Caroline holding Caleb.

Last night I went out to dinner with a girl friend of mine. What is it about dinner with a girlfriend and Starbucks? There's nothing in the world that combo can't cure. We went out to dinner, decided to go shopping at TJ Maxx and then went to Starbucks. It was a wonderful night!

Wednesday night I need to make dinner for a new mom at our church. It's actually her third child, but when someone has a baby in our church, people bring them meals FOREVER. I'm running out of ideas -- not sure what I'll make this time, so if anyone has some great inspiration for me, PLEASE let me know!!

fool me once...

shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me... It took me 20 years, but I finally realized that Glen Tiede was a smart man! LOL.

Shortly before I started this blog, Caleb got me good. I hate "junk" on the counter tops, which includes appliances. So -- I store the toaster in a cupboard right by the fridge. Stupidly, I also keep some of Katherine's fun stuff (including playdough) on the other side of the same cupboard. One morning, I took out the toaster to make Caleb some toast. In the meantime, I was also getting out some fruit and yogurt for the kids to eat for breakfast. All of a sudden, Katherine yells, "look Mommy!!! You have a big problem". Sure enough, smoke was billowing out of the toaster and the smell of burnt plastic filled the house. Caleb had stuffed little plastic playdough tools in the toaster. (What else would you do with them???? LOL) It was horrible to say the least. The smell lingered for DAYS!! The toaster immediately went in the garbage as there was no hope of getting out the melted plastic. This morning, after I had dropped Katherine off at preschool, Caleb and I went home and I was making him a mid-morning snack. I was expecting to smell cinnamon toast, but the same burnt plastic smell permeated the room. I knew my sniffer wasn't broken, he got me again!!! But really, who looks in their toaster every time??? I guess me!! LOL.

I have a physical on Monday, so this morning I had to get my blood drawn. Of course, Katherine wanted to watch, and I thought, what could it hurt??? I go to the doctor with her all the time, and this is her chance to watch me be brave. Thankfully, I had a great girl with LOTS of blood drawing experience. Usually, the sight of needles makes my whole body shake and break out in a cold sweat --literally. Today, however, I acted pretty maturely, thank goodness. I'm not sure if Katherine watching me or old age was the X factor, but thankfully I held up under the pressure of the watchful eye of an almost 4 year old!! The best part of the whole deal was the fact that Katherine got a sticker. HEEELLLLLOOOO. It was my blood!! Where's my sticker??

After the blood drawing escapade, Mom, the kids and I went out for lunch. To preface, I HATE, HATE, HATE public restrooms, and wouldn't you know, Katherine had to go to the bathroom. UUUUUGH! Anyway, as we get into the bathroom, Katherine is chattering on and on about how I need to make sure and put enough paper on the seat so that her bottom doesn't get germs. I can hear the lady in the next stall over snickering.... After the toilet has been covered to her satisfaction, I put her on and wait outside the door. Not sure why, but all of a sudden she "needs privacy" when she poops.... My daughter. *Sigh*. Wouldn't you know, the lady in the other stall next to her starts throwing up -- all over the floor. She starts yelling -- Mommy, mommy, there's a lady throwing up. It's getting on my floor, I don't want it to touch my shoes. Mommy, it's icky. Mommy, mommy that's one naughty lady. Oh Katherine....... In her defense, it was disgusting. However, I was completely humiliated. I felt so badly for this poor woman...

In other random news -- Katherine starts ballet again tonight. We here on a three week hiatus because of the Christmas holiday, so she is super excited to go! We have our normal Friday morning playgroup in the morning, and we're all really looking forward to it.

The traveler that I once was...

has been replaced by the mom that I now am... And to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. However, I do miss the sand between my toes and the warmth of the sun in the middle of the long Iowa winters.... So, Matt and I decided to take the plunge and leave the kids (for the first time since Katherine's birth) and get away -- just the two of us. We were originally thinking a week in Hawaii or a cruise sounded like a fabulous idea, but things went down hill on my birthday. We went out for a nice dinner, had a great adult conversation, and fabulous drinks. At the end of the night, we looked at each other and both agreed that leaving for an entire week was out of the question. So we are going to turn it into a long weekend -- Wednesday to Sunday. We are leaving Feb 7th, and as of today, I have no plane tickets bought, no hotel booked -- actually, no destination picked out... I'm dragging my feet. My goal for the week is just to book something, and somewhere warm. If anyone has a great idea, let me know.

We spent most of yesterday recovering from the New Year's Eve party. It was a blast. Katherine and 5 other kids actually made it until 1:30. At the end of the night, her and I were sitting on the couch, and I said, "Katherine, honey, do you think you could carry Mommy home"? She thought for a second, and said in her sweet little voice, "Probably not Mommy, but I can hold you hand". Boy do I love that girl. She is the sweetest thing on earth (besides her brother). If I could bottle her up and keep her this age forever, I would...

For the first time this year we got a little bit of snow to stick on the ground. So Katherine got all bundled up and her and Matt made a snowman (which she named Frosty -- I know, I'm raising her to be REALLY original!! LOL) and made snow angels. She looked like one puffy pink marshmallow! She had an absolute blast!!

You're never going to believe this.... Last summer sometime, I had to cut Katherine's toenail. It was too long and had some dirt substance lurking beneath. She was really resisting, so I was trying to calmly talk her letting me cut her toe nail. Finally, I jokingly told her that there was so much dirt under her nail, a plant could grow. Fast forward to last night...... I'm getting ready for bed and Katherine tells me that she needs a band-aid. When I ask her what for, she says, "Look at this, Mommy" and gives me the finger -- literally. She had pulled her fingernail off because she "didn't want a plant".... OMG. This girl doesn't miss a trick. I was laughing to the point of tears. Tiffany, my neighbor who has her masters in education, tells me that you have to repeat something seven times before a child remembers. Not my child!!

Caleb this morning was so sweet. We were playing in the living room before Katherine woke up and he comes up to me and sits on my lap, yells "kiss" and puts his chubby little hands on my cheeks and gives me a wet, slobbery, loving kiss.

I feel blessed beyond measure. See, this is why the thought of leaving them for a whole week makes my heart hurt. Not sure I can do it.....