Monday, November 23, 2009

You'd Better Watch Out, You'd Better not Cry!

I took both kiddos to the mall today to buy Joe a birthday present. While we're were there, I thought I would try to get a picture with Santa. At first, Ella said she didn't want to, so I didn't push it. So we walked around for a little bit, and on our way back, asked her again. This time, she said she would get her picture taken. Ella didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but did stand right next to him, while Nathan cried and tried to squirm his way out of Santa's arms. Ella told Santa that she wanted a motorcycle. I think she heard the little boy before us say that to Santa. Or she just really wants a motorcycle. If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever take my two kids to the mall, alone, to see Santa, I would of laughed in your face. Now it's no big deal. Ella walks with me, and for the most part, listens pretty well. Nathan just hangs out in the stroller. Today, I think I looked like I had it together!


On our way home from the mall, we stopped at the library to pick up some new DVDs to watch in the van on our way to Michigan. We leave this Wednesday morning. I am really excited to go "home" for Thanksgiving this year. This may be the last holiday spent at my parent's current house, the house that I grew up in. They are planning on putting it on the market in the next few weeks and will move to Wisconsin.

Joe, and his best friend Paul, who is April's husband, are celebrating they 30th birthdays this month. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but Joe and Paul were born about 2 weeks apart, and our sons were also born about 2 weeks apart. Isn't that wild? We had a wonderful dinner together on Saturday, just the 4 of us. I can't even tell you the last time just the 4 of us went out to dinner together. Afterwards, we went to Mo's Irish Pub and met up with some other friends. One of my old roommates, Allison, and her boyfriend Jason, came in from Madison for the festivities and stayed at our house Saturday night. Jason coaches a club hockey team in the Madison area, and his team happened to have a game in Milwaukee on Sunday. We decided to take the kids to watch. They were mesmerized at first, and then Ella just wanted to run around and Nathan wanted to climb on the bleachers...but, it gave Al and I a bit more time to catch up.


I wish everyone safe travels for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!












Monday, November 16, 2009

Ella's New Do




After getting home from Great Clips last night, I realized just how awful Ella's hair really looked. She looked like a combination of Dorthy Hamill and having a mullet. So we went back to Great Clips today to see if we could try again, without getting charged. I come to find out that the man who cut Ella's hair last night was a barber, and usually only cuts men's hair, and has very little experience with children. Oh well. Here is the final product...still not thrilled, but what can we do about it now? I'm going to start growing Ella's bangs out again, and maybe it will be easier this time since the rest of her hair is about the same length! I still think it looks a bit like Dorthy Hammill.




Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ella Makes a Bad Decision

Our daycare provider suggested that I have Ella practice cutting paper at home since she was having trouble during projects. I went out and bought "safety" scissors...you know, the ones with the rounded edges...the ones that seem like they really wouldn't do any harm? Ella has been practicing and has been getting quite good at it. Since she doesn't really nap anymore, I have her play in her room for an hour each afternoon. Usually she looks at books, colors, and most recently, has been cutting paper. Looking back, I realize leaving a 3 year old in her room alone with a pair of scissors was not my best mommy moment. Bad mommy. When I went up to check on her, I discovered hair all over the floor. Big chunks. Apparently, Ella has decided to follow in her Auntie April's footsteps and become a hair stylist. Ella chopped her own hair this afternoon. When I asked her why, she responded, "Because I didn't want it long anymore." So we took a trip to Great Clips, an hour before they closed, and had a middle-aged man attempt to fix her hack job. Honestly, it doesn't look much better. We need to work on the hair style a bit. I was trying to grow out Ella's bangs, but I guess Ella wanted the whole front of her head to be bangs, because that's what it now looks like. At least we got our holiday photo taken at JCPenny's on Wednesday! Phew!


Doesn't she look proud, holding her cut off hair and scissors?


The outcome of Great Clips



Wednesday, November 11, 2009

My Baby Boy's Stats

I just remembered that I never posted Nathan's 1 year stats. He got his vaccinations this past Monday since he was sick during his actual 1 year check-up. Compared to Ella (not that I EVER compare my children to one another) Nathan is much smaller than she was at this age. Ella has been in the 95th percentile or higher since birth. Here are Nathan's current stats:

Weight: 22 pounds (30th percentile)
Length: 30 1/4 in. (50th percentile)
Head: 48 cm (85th percentile)

He was a champ when it came to getting FOUR shots! Yes, he cried, but only for a very short time. He's been a bit cranky and his sleep is all messed up this week, and his drooling is out of control, so I'm thinking maybe he's teething. We'll see what pops up. He's also starting to say a few words. Here's a short video:


This past weekend, the kids went up to Stevens Point to stay with Joe's parents. Joe and I went to Appleton to visit Paul, April, and our Godson Jackson. Joe and Paul enjoyed some male bonding while April and I went to see "Rent." This was my 3rd time seeing it, and April's 2nd. Two of the original cast members were in this production, playing Marc and Roger. It was amazing. Again. And I would see it a 4th time. It is, by far, my favorite musical. Afterwards, April and I took advantage of our "childless" evening and went out for drinks. It was so nice to spend time with friends!

This morning we met the Newcomers Kidsclub at a new indoor fun place called, "Flabbergast." It had huge inflatables, a large climbing structure, and a game area. Ella wanted to play some games, so we bought some tokens. Ella hit the jackpot at a SpongeBob game, winning 50 tickets at once! For her prizes, she chose a blue necklace, a SpongeBob figurine, and a watermelon Tootsie Roll. I think she liked the Tootsie Roll the best! Here are some pictures of all the fun!





Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Hodge-podge

A hodge-podge is what this post is going to be. Hmmm...let's see...where shall I start? How about with my children's health.

Nathan got sick about 2 weeks ago with what seemed to be the common cold. He got better for a little bit, but then started getting high fevers on Saturday, the 24th. They came and went for a few days and then Nathan has a previously schedule 1-year check-up. At that appointment, it was discovered that he had an ear infection and was put on the antibiotic, Amoxicillin. He was on it for about 4 days and seemed to get better. Joe and I left on Friday for Chicago/Indiana (more on that later) and left the kiddos with my parents. When I called to check in on Saturday morning, the 31st, my mom told me that Nathan started getting fevers again, and this continued until Monday. I called the doctor and we had to go in again. Nathan's ears looked okay, so the doctor thought it had turned into a sinus infection. He prescribed another antibiotic called Augmentin, which is Amoxicillin with something else added to assist in killing the bacteria. No more fevers, but now Nathan has broken out in a rash. I called the doctor AGAIN this morning, and we have an appointment at 4:45 this afternoon. Oh, and I forgot the best part...Nathan tested positive for H1N1 as well! My poor baby. I can tell he's just so uncomfortable today. He's clingy, crabby, and nothing seems to make him happy. I finally resorted to rocking him with his blanket and his NUK, and he finally fell asleep in my arms. I can't remember the last time he did that. He's been sleeping for a while now, so hopefully when he wakes up, he'll be a new man! I ended up giving him some Benadryl in case the rash was causing some itching. Now it's Ella's turn...

Ella started getting high fevers the evening of Thursday, October 22nd. I kept her home from Preschool the next day, and she and Joe ended up having to miss our Godson's 1st birthday party. Nathan and I still went and had a great time (although that's when Nathan was starting to GET sick...) Anyways, the following Tuesday, the same day that Nathan had his 1 year check-up, Ella was not acting like her normal self. She started getting a fever again and was digging around in her ear. So I called the doctor (we're BFFs now, by the way) and we went in. We were at the doctor twice in one day, once for Nate and once for Ella. Turned out, Ella had a double ear infection and was started on antibiotics. I'm happy to say that Ella is now healthy and back to normal. Her new favorite phrase is, "You're not my friend anymore." Hand on hip and all! Now onto our weekend get-away...

Joe and I left for Chicago this past Friday afternoon. It took us almost 3 hours to get there. I HATE Chicago area traffic. It's always horrible! Our first stop was at Joe's friend Meghan and her husband Brian's condo. We had never seen their place so it was nice to finally get the tour. From there we went over to Katie and Dave's condo. Katie is one of my old roommates. They have an awesome cat named Kevin. I love it! We had a fabulous dinner at Big Jones and then headed over to Simons, a whole-in-the-wall dive bar. Joe's friend Jen and her boyfriend Brendan met us out, as well as another one of my old roommates, Niki and her boyfriend Pete. We had a great night catching up! The next morning, Joe and I left for Indiana for a wedding. My friend Kelly, from high school, married her long-time boyfriend Tom in a very interested ceremony. Tom's family is Serbian and they got married at a Serbian Orthodox Church. There was a lot of standing and a lot of singing/chanting by the priest. I had never been to something like that before. The church was beautiful. The reception was a lot of fun! I was able to finally meet my friend Jenn's two adorable boys and chat with her husband Matt. I also ran into some unexpected people from high school, which was a nice surprise. Joe and I dance, drank, and then had a full-night's rest. All in all, it was an awesome weekend, but it was sure nice to get home and hug my kids!

So, if you've made it this far, you can tell we've had a sick, busy, crazy, fun, and tiring past few weeks! Enjoy the pictures of the wedding and of Halloween!