We had a super Christmas. It comes and goes so quickly! We spent Christmas Eve decorating cookies with friends and then enjoyed a family dinner of Chinese takeout. Yum! Bode was certain he DID NOT LIKE Chinese food but changed his mind after one bite (orange chicken and moo shu chicken). The boys opened their Christmas jammies and then very excitedly sprinkled the magic reindeer food on the lawn, luring Rudolph and his pals just in case they needed extra motivation to make it to our house! We read Olivia's Christmas and The Night Before Christmas for our bedtime stories and then put little boys to bed so Santa could visit. Christmas morning was a hoot. I thankfully did not get called into work and got to see Bode come down the stairs and take in the Christmas bounty. Oh he was excited by how full his stocking was stuffed and by the Geotrax train set Santa left. I woke Keegen up after awhile (he was tired after crying/talking all night. Too wound up for Christmas like his dad??). Bode and Keegen and Doug played with that train all the live long day. Love it. The boys enjoyed literally every gift they opened and took time to play with them all. Many gifts were greeted with, "Oh. It's beeauutiful!" There was much dancing with the truck music. And they were thrilled by Grandpa Bill and Grandma Di's bounce castle and Grandpa Mark and Grandma Alicia's tent and tunnels! We have decided we have the coolest basement around. We also enjoyed delicious eggs Benedict (or "Fenafeh" as Bode pronounces it) and orange julius. That evening Kristen and Matt came over for fondue and fun. The kids played and we chowed, exchanged gifts and had a really lovely evening. As Bode and Keegen get older, the more fun our Christmases get. Doug was wondering out loud which is more fun?--being a kid anticipating Christmas morning or being the parent watching your kids' excitement. I didn't have an answer for him except to say that both are pretty great options in this whole circle of life thing!

Bode Shakes His Booty

My sister's family Christmas gift to Bode was the new Cranium game where you pack a toy truck before the music and timer goes off and pops everything you've packed back out. It says for ages 6+. So her note to me on the back of that gift was basically, "Don't kill me. I had to get this for him. Hopefully he can find his own way to play with it in the mean time..."

Well, he's certainly found his own way to play with it!...


P.S. Please excuse the Michael Jackson move!

Peace

I've posted a few times about the problems we've had with our neighbors. It hasn't been a pleasant 17 months since things got ugly. We've been mistreated and wronged by them. Over these months I've had to train myself to "think happy thoughts" literally because of my mind-wanderings and ruminations full of anger and hate toward them. After a long time I was finally able to sort of put my mind to rest and not waste so much energy on them. There was a time that as soon as I got into my car to drive home, I would think of them. I would send evil thoughts toward him whenever i saw him in his backyard. Many times I've actively ignored them when I've been outside. Yucky situation to say the least. I've hated it all. And many times, over these months, I've thought I should just go over and say how ridiculous all of this is and let's just forget about it. I thought about bringing them our Christmas bread and CD. But then I'd think of all the rude things that have happened or been said or whatever. My flawed human nature would kick in and I decided i was just going to leave things the way they were. Even though it was totally affecting me in a very negative way, I decided to leave it alone.

Then the Winds of Oz came through (seriously, I heard they were 72 MPH winds the other night!). Our trampoline careened into their yard. When Doug went back over to leave our note, he saw that "M" (i've always referred to him as Jackass, but i guess i'll call him "M" here) was in his backyard working on the trampoline. So he and Doug worked on the trampoline in the bitter -12 degrees with the crazy winds to insure that it wouldn't continue on its path of destruction that night. Doug said M was surprisingly civil and cool about it and very helpful and concerned about salvaging the trampoline. Doug finished disassembling it yesterday and got it back into our yard.

So today, I made another batch of chocolate chip pumpkin bread, wrapped a bow around it and wrote a note on the back of our Christmas picture. Grabbed the boys and brought it over to them tonight. His wife, "A" invited us in. I really really really did not want to go in. I simply wanted to say thank you for your help and Merry Christmas. But we went in, shared a few laughs about the trampoline, hands were shaken and home we went.

Will they be close friends as so many other neighbors we've been blessed to know have become? Highly doubtful. But I am relieved. A weight has been lifted. And I am so grateful.

When Trampolines Fly

So, Doug and I are hunkered down for the night. Happy that there will be no more work until after Christmas. Enjoying some pistachios and clementines. Flipping between "A Christmas Carol" and some Discovery Channel thing on squids. The boys are nestled soundly in their beds. It is a wild storm outside, but nothing too out-of-the-ordinary for the highland plains of Colorado.

Suddenly I hear this crazy noise and a crack and a crash. I hear Doug say, "Oh. My. Gosh. The trampoline is in the neighbors' yard." The fence is broken and the trampoline is upside-down almost on their patio.

This is no lightweight trampoline. This is super-heavy-duty and BIG. Doug buried part of it in the dirt and still it had lift-off.

Last year we lost our glasstop patio table to the wind and the fence.

We bundle up and go out to talk to them (it's almost 10PM) but no answer. So i write a note stating we're aware of the trampoline situation, we'll fix it and we're sorry. Stuff it in a ziploc baggie and put it on their door.

Is there some sort of earth-force trying to get us to talk to these neighbors?

And why couldn't it have been their shed that blew away?

And, no. We will not be replacing the trampoline until we move to the west-side away from the awful wind.

Decking the Gutters

Doug actually got the lights on the house a couple of weeks ago. Which was quickly followed by a lot of snow and ice before he was able to connect the extension cords and give the lights some power. So this weekend he got those up and running and i finished my apple fan a la Colonial Williamsburg! Doug kindly cut out the wood, spray painted it and slammed some nails in them for me to skewer the fruit. We're really happy with it. Fun to have something a little different (we aren't the giant inflatable snowglobe-types. i know, TOTALLY BORING but hey). I didn't think to measure where i wanted it to be hung after i'd put the leaves on it, so it's hanging too high. But no worries. That pineapple is sure to rot any day and we'll be up there to replace it and lower the fan. Merry Christmas!

Who Can It Be Now? (Doug's Post)

Yesterday, Bode and I were playing balloon soccer in the basement. Apparently, I wasn't fun enough because 10 minutes into playing Bode informed me that we would "Now begin pretending that my best friend Z and his sister L are here playing with us". After getting over being offended that I wasn't meeting expectations that imaginary friends could, we spent the next hour playing games with Bode's pretend friends. I had to "help" Z kick the balloon ball, was chastised multiple times for getting in Z and L's way and when we were wrestling, each time I would tackle, toss or tickle Bode I would be informed "here comes Z Daddy" and would have to mime the same motions with his imaginary friend. It is much more work playing with imaginary friends then I thought it would be (but I was very good at it).

Then Bode and "Z" went up to go pee pee in the toilet. A few minutes later Bode came down and informed me that he had peed and washed his hands, that "Z" had peed but hadn't washed his hands yet (I could hear the water running up there). So for the next 3 minutes and 20 gallons of water, I had to convince Bode that Zeke needed some help turning the water off (he told me time and time again that Z would turn the water off when he was done).

Finally, dinner time and we had to pull an empty chair right up next to Bode for Z to sit in. Bode wasn't eating much so I had to tell him that Z had almost finished eating all his dinner and that he better hurry to catch up. Bode asked Ashlee to cut up his Pear for him, which she did and then he asked her to cut up Z's pear. Ashlee half-heartedly waived her spoon in the direction of the empty chair and continued to eat her dinner. Bode paused, looked at her and said "Mommy, did you cut up Z's pear? Are you sure? Because you just went like this (as Bode limp-wristed, half-waived his fork in the air)." I just fell apart laughing. Ashlee felt like she was going the extra mile by making any conciliatory move in Z's direction, but Bode called her out and let her know that she needs to sell it better than that.

As we got ready to go read books for bed time I overheard Ashlee ask Bode "It is almost bed time, don't you think that Z should go home now and sleep in his bed?". To which you could almost hear Bode rolling his eyes as he responded "Mommy, NO Z's have come to our house, DUH" (the DUH was implied and has been added here for emphasis and to convey the eye rolling).

It is sometimes hard to win in the Bode-Imaginary-Kingdom.

P.S. - Z was back with us right after breakfast this morning (good luck today Ashlee). :0)

Christmas Letter 2007

Ring Out Wild Bells 2007

We hope this little update reaches you healthy and well. Let’s see what hopefully interesting and mostly random things there are to mention this year...

Keegen (20 months) has certainly grown into his own little self this year. He’s very certain of what he wants and when and how he wants it and if we can’t quite follow or understand his demands, er, requests, it is most certainly our problem! I have no doubt that one day in the very near future I will find him swinging from the chandelier in our 2-story foyer as he is into everything and climbs anything he can find. He’s already had his first ER visit, walking away with seven stitches to his forehead. He talks a lot. Were this our first child, we might think that was really neat, but we know now that this just means we will soon have (yet another) incessant talker on our hands. Favorite phrases of late are: “CLIMB! CLIMB!” “’scuse me, Mommy” “Come on, Bode!” and “TACKLE!” Happily, he does slow down at times and is still a fantastic snuggler.

Bode (3 ½) is taking all of this big brother stuff in stride and enjoys showing Keegen the ropes and for the most part enjoys having a playmate around. He’s in the very fun stage of preschoolhood where he’s loving learning and absorbs so much (meaning I [Ashlee] have to be careful with my potty mouth…). He’s incredibly inquisitive and already asks questions that we can’t answer to his satisfaction, such as, “Why is Lydia a girl and I’m a boy?” “Why is the moon up when the sun is up too?” “Why can’t I got to Noni’s house everyday?’ “Why is Mommy a nurse, Daddy, and you are not?” (disappointed in Doug’s job description). I recently learned of a story he’s concocted and shared with friends that “our old house was knocked down by a wrecking ball so that’s why we moved to our new house.” He’s got mad trampoline/jumping and tricycle pedaling skills. When he slows down, he loves to sit and read with us and is enjoying chapter books (which are a nice change of pace from, “The cow says MOOO, the sheep says BAAA..”).

I (Ashlee) am working hard to stay sane with all of the energy and testosterone in my household. I do all of the things moms do and just recently started cleaning my house again after a long hiatus. No, we didn’t have a housekeeper. I just recently realized that I am the mom, the adult, the responsible one, and that no one else was going to do it (in all fairness, Doug was doing his share). I’ve made my own environmentally-friendly cleaners that make me oh-so-happy and the kids share in the cleaning too without me having to fear that they will sprout a third eye or some other toxic result. I started working part-time (two-days a week) last February in outpatient surgery and love it. It’s a great balance for me between stay-at-home mom and nurse (meaning I don’t yell at my kids quite as much!).

Doug is thriving in Colorado. He was recently promoted which has meant longer hours but since we were really spoiled before I shouldn’t complain. He loves his job and enjoys his co-workers. He recently tried snowboarding when there wasn’t enough snow for the black runs to be open (therefore lacking challenge…) After an unfortunate accident involving a novice 13-year old boarder who slammed into him and knocked out six of his bottom teeth (the kid’s teeth), Doug plans to stick to skiing in the future.

This is one of my favorite times of the year—the music, lights, baking, decorations and traditions. We are blessed to have you as our friends and family and we hope you are enjoying the best this Season has to offer.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Village People

You know the saying, "It takes a village" when it comes to raising children? I believe there is a lot of truth in the adage. I like to know that I have others looking out for me and my children. Friends and neighbors who will help teach them things. Other adults who my children can feel comfortable going to when i'm not available.

Not only these things, but a mom needs a village. She needs friends and neighbors who are available to her when she needs help or a shoulder or time away or whatever it may be. Motherhood can be really isolating. I've been very lucky to have friends and family who help me and keep me from isolating myself as I have a tendency to do so. I've never minded my own company but sometimes it can be too much of a good thing.

I need to expand my village.

It was ever-so-hard moving here when i was 7 months pregnant and almost instantly put on bedrest. I had NO ONE except for Doug and thankfully family flew in. Within about 6 months, I'd gained a nice, comfy little village of friends from the neighborhood and church and preschool. I had people to call when i needed someone to watch one kid or the other. I had girls to hang out with and friends to talk about frustrations and joys and everything in-between.

This summer three of my village people moved far far away and two returned to work full-time. After only a year (or less with two) of time together, they left me!! Aaaack! I was bummed, and have missed them individually. But it didn't really hit me until today how i miss them collectively. That village of friends who will take a child or two last minute so i can run to a doctor's appointment. That village who will come spur of the moment for Sunday dinner. That village who will hang out in my filthy house and talk while our kids run wild. This is not to say i have no one. I have some great friends here still. The pool has just decreased significantly. Today's issue was Bode's preschool holiday party. It was from 10:45-11:30 and we were asked NOT to bring siblings. Two friends were sick. Neighbors all at work. Others who could help were 30 minutes away (including both of my visiting teachers). I called a couple other neighbors and one couldn't and the other wasn't home.

This isn't meant to be a whine-fest. I am realizing i need to, once again, put myself out there. I can improve this situation. I just need to make an effort again. And i get a little bit exhausted just thinking about it.

I know my sister has an awesome village. And you gals in Maryland really take care of each other. I have some core people here who take great care of me, too. So continue to support and care and grow your villages. So many moms out there need you!

P is for Potty (but apparently NOT for Poop)

Oh, how I have waited to post about this because in the past, as soon as i have, i completely JINX myself. However, it's going on, I dunno, two weeks? So. BODE IS USING THE POTTY!!!! He is potty-trained when it comes to peeing. Pooping is another story, but i won't dwell on that. I will hope that in the near future he will stop running and hiding behind a couch or in the den and will instead opt for the privacy of a bathroom to do his business. I am seriously thrilled by his progress and so is he, which is really fun to see. He runs and goes on his own or if we ask him to go, he'll go without complaint. As I tell him multiple times a day, he totally rocks!

Potty-training really does suck and i was incredibly discouraged with it. Now that things have turned around, it's amazing how much happier we all are. Sweet relief.

Fa La La La La Ta Da!

Finally. I got Doug's stocking back from the finisher. If anybody has the know-how and desire to finish stockings and other needlework projects here in the Colorado Springs area, you should go for it. You'd be a rich woman in a hurry. I had to pay more than twice as much as i paid in the DC area to have Bode's finished! But she did a beautiful job. Made Bode's look kind of small and sad...Anyway, i'm so happy with it! Here are pictures of the boys' stockings and our mantel and tree (click to enlarge the mantel pic so you can more fully appreciate the stockings and ooh and aaaah and all that good stuff! ;) ).

Bell Boys Boogie

My aunt sent this--which sent me into hysterics and tears of laughter. Enjoy!

Christmas Traditions

Now that i have my own little immediate family, i try to have traditions for the holidays. Some have stuck, some not-so-much. Before we had kids, Doug and I always got each other an ornament for the tree (and tried to have it have meaning, i.e. he gave me one of a bear ice skating since we met ice skating, but that isn't always possible!). We still exchange an ornament every year. Doug also made a tradition of giving me a children's Christmas book each year and now we get one for the kiddos. This year's choice just arrived in the mail and we thoroughly enjoyed its silliness as we read it for the first time today! I personally enjoy buying a new Christmas CD (or two!) each year and love the joy/spirit/peace Christmas music brings into my home. One tradition that i brought with me from my parents is that of reading the Christmas story in Luke each Christmas Eve. And, speaking of Christmas stories, we look forward to WATCHING A Christmas Story marathon on TNT every year, too!

More recently, we've started our traditional Christmas breakfast, but i can't decide what it should be. Growing up it was (and is, if i ever go home for Christmas again) eggs Benedict and hashbrowns. So we've done that. But last year we did gingerbread waffles. Yum! Hmm. Maybe the tradition should be trying a new breakfast each Christmas morning?

I guess decorating for Christmas could be considered a tradition. I grew up in this impeccable house with a mother/interior designer (NOT professional. SELF taught and completely amazing but currently burned out after 35 years of military moves). I would love to be able to decorate at the holidays like my mom did but 'ta'int gonna happen. Nothing she did was very easy and i'm pretty much an instant gratification kind of gal. I did throw some garland on my mantel and i do love the stockings i've stitched my children (and Doug's is at the finishers and should be getting back to me any day!). I guess stitching stockings is a tradition in our house, too. I'm trying to wrap some garland up my stairs but i bought this super-cheap stuff and i'm not sure i want it in my house! (What was i thinking?). (i had to laugh reading my sister's blog because she apparently has the same issue this year!). The Friday after Thanksgiving, I pull out the Little People nativity that the boys so far still enjoy. When i was a little girl i had an angel music box (no box though, just an angel that i'd wind up) that played Silent Night that i remember fondly. I'd like to get something for the boys' rooms that is theirs to look forward to having on their nightstand each year, too.

Our traditional cookies that we've given to friends and neighbors for the past 10 years will be nixed this year. We usually make literally hundreds of cookies but I just didn't enjoy it last year. So i think i'll be doing bread instead this year. Hopefully using the paper bread thingys from Kristen's giveaway. (pick me! pick me!!). ;)

OK. Enough rambling. What are some of your Christmas traditions or new things you're going to try on as a tradition this year?

Reality Bites

So much for that super-duper chipper potty post from yesterday. Today he had 4 pee accidents and one poop. Three of the wet ones were whilst he stood IN A BATHROOM stating he did not need to go and then two seconds later stating, "Mommy, I'm wet." He seems to think it's OK since it was "an accident." I informed him i have a problem with his "accidents" since calling it an accident would infer that he's actually making an effort. I am a horrible mom when it comes to potty training. I have no more patience for it.

News Flash (WARNING: Potty Post)

My sweet little boy recently informed me, when it came to my potty questions (i.e. "when are you going to start using the potty?") that he will do so "when i'm 4, Mama." What?! When you're 4? How did he come to this conclusion? So, I informed him that birthday #4 is right around the corner and that he needs some serious practice if he wants to be good and ready by then. Hmmm. Ya. Whatever Mom. Is basically what i got in return.

Well, yesterday, i told him (again. Lest we forget i spent the summer supposedly potty training him. He did fairly well. But never initiated the whole potty thing on his own and was still very resistant to it) that he was too big for diapers and that the time had come. I've read all the books that say make potty training fun. Make it a game. Reward them. Never get angry. Don't put them back in diapers once they've gone to big boy unders. Etc., etc. Folks. None of that worked. He didn't care about incentives or rewards. He was adamant that there would be no celebratory potty dances. M&M's made things worse. Peeing on a cheerio was fun the first time. No stickers. No charts. What does he want? Control. He does not want to be told what to do or when to do it. I can't tell you how many times i've backed off. But yesterday, THE TIME HAD COME.

Things went fairly well. I couldn't wrangle him into big boy underpants so we went the pull-up route. And really, he did OK. He placated us and went potty when we told him to with only (for him) mild resistance. But today? I asked him what he wanted--Pull-Up or unders. Surprisingly he chose unders. I went over with him (again) the fact that, unlike a Pull-Up, if he pees in them he will get wet. I told him he was big enough and smart enough and knew what to do and that he just had to choose to do it. "I know, Mom, I know..."

I needed to go to the store and told him he had to use the potty before we left. Major meltdown. Tears. Screaming. The works. And i, in truly Mommy Dearest form, yelled at him to "JUST PEE FOR PETE'S SAKE. YOU'RE MAKING IT SO MUCH WORSE THAN IT HAS TO BE!!!" (yes, that was the edited version). He lamented that it was taking too long and that the "pee wasn't coming." So i informed him we would try again as soon as we got to the store. Once at the store, he willingly gave it a try ("ALL I'M ASKING IS THAT YOU TRY!"). No Mama, no pee is coming.

We were at the store a good hour. "No Mama. I do not need to go potty before we drive home." OoooooK.

The child stayed dry. He got home and peed no problem. He gave me 5's and i gave him a hug and we were both happy.

On to quiet time. I took him to his room, showed him (again) his very own toilet and put the lid up for him and told him if he needed to go potty he could ask me for help or go on his own. After awhile the clattering of his quiet time toys stopped and i heard the sweet music of a toilet flushing. I bolted to his bathroom where he was in the process of pulling up his pants, gave him a huge hug (and he was pretty damn proud of himself too!) and went in private to do my own celebratory potty dance. TWO OTHER TIMES i heard the toilet seat slam and a very proud Bode come out to tell me he'd tried to pee again.

Later, when the Geeks on Call guy was here, Bode announced "Mommy! The pee is coming!" as he bolted for the potty. Could it be true? After months, yea, even a year, are we possibly seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel?? He came running back out after a flush and proclaimed, "Mommy! I peed in the potty!" for which i let out a riotous WHOOP and cheer and Bode was beaming from ear to ear. Ah. That even rhymed.

Jammies were on at 6:30 and the child had the same unders he started with this morning and honest to goodness, they were dry. As Quincy in the Little Einsteins would say: "I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!" I'm holding my breath for tomorrow, but oh so happy for today!

Holiday Giveaway

*****Check out Kristens' blog to enter. I think these look like a lot of fun!*****

Breckenridge

One of our many things to be grateful for are our good friends. We've been very blessed in that area over the years. Some of our dear friends here in the Springs were kind enough to let us use their condo in Breckenridge this past weekend. What a treat! We headed up Friday morning and left Saturday evening (since Drew had to be at the airport early this morning). It was such a nice getaway. Very relaxing. A change of scene is a good thing sometimes.


Saturday, i hung out with the kids while Drew and Doug headed off to the slopes to do some snowboarding. Doug is a skier, but wanted to try boarding. He's a pretty naturally talented guy and was starting to pick it up when a 13-year old blindsided him, tripped over his board and smashed his face into the tip of Doug's board. When Doug went to help him and see if he was ok, he was literally spitting blood and teeth. Teeth pulled out by the root. Luckily, this kid's dad is a dentist who promptly came and shoved his five bottom teeth back into their holes, told Doug not to worry, "he knocked out his top teeth last year." But Doug is completely scarred for life. He thinks he'll stick to skiing. Drew faired better and had a great time on the mountain. I thought about taking a ski lesson since it's been so long since i've truly skied and i was always all speed and no brakes. But i'll have to do that another time. Once they got home, Drew and I enjoyed a walk and chat through the shops in town.


Bode enjoyed sledding behind the condo. I didn't think he'd ever want to come back inside. Too much fun! And his winter gear kept him nice and toasty. Keegen wasn't as psyched by the snow. He liked being outside in it but just sat. He wanted nothing to do with riding in a sled or walking in the stuff. Maybe next year


I'm so glad Drew came for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to have some family here to share it with. We ate a lot and talked a lot and just hung out a lot. I hope he comes back soon. We can show him other things Colorado has to offer!

Turkey Day

This was my first year making a full-on, for-real Thanksgiving dinner. The prep has actually been fairly painless. I did wear rubber gloves when rinsing, drying and seasoning the turkey because raw meat totally grosses me out. Other than that, though, things have gone well. Bode's preschool turkey project. He was adament about writing the words himself!

My brother, Drew, is here from Dallas and the boys are having a great time. Bode did ask repeatedly this morning, "Why do boys like Drew sleep so long??" I'm sure it felt like forever to him since he was up at 6. (In all fairness to Drew, he only slept til 8!).

Ever so helpful! Loves those rolls!

Our neighbors from across the street joined us so Bode and Keegs had some playmates. Dinner was delish. The turkey was just about right. The stuffing (my grandma's "recipe"--meaning it's very cryptic, "a dash of this, a little of that") turned out pretty well, too. Oh. And the grasshopper pie with my mom's fudge sauce was to die for. A nice day. Nice conversation. The boys had a blast. So i'll add that to my gratitude list.

Another addition to the list is that I ended up getting tomorrow off! Yea! So I get to spend time with Drew afterall!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Retro Resurrection

While Bode was never really into stuffed animals and never introduced to dolls, Keegen has always been a dragger-around-of-blankies-and-stuffed-animals. My sitter commented to me how he carries around some of her daughter's dolls when he's there and I thought maybe I should get him one since we are a doll-less home. But then today i was in the basement looking for something big enough to mix the stuffing in and voila! Carmody Norvell and Stacey Gussie were uncovered. My Cabbage Patch dolls from back in the day (i'm gonna guess 1983). They're both preemies which makes me wonder if that was a self-fulfilled prophecy or what? Anyway. I gave Carmody to Keegs and he proclaimed, "Baby!" and promptly tried to yank the binkie from the doll's mouth. Perfect. I brought up Stacey so Bode wouldn't feel left out but he's not interested ("Maybe later, Mom"). I still have the CP diaper on her and a bunch of outfits. And the bassinet that my mom made. Fun to go down memory lane every now and again.

Gratitude

Unfortunately, I am revisiting a sore spot in my life. I've managed to put the anger and frustration and constant ruminating regarding the issue with my next-door-neighbors. While we don't talk to them, I was no longer allowing myself to get caught up in hating them. Can't get along with everyone. It was a positive step.

Well, today i got a piece of mail that was evidently misdelivered to them. And he scrawled a rude note on it before sticking it back in the mail to us. Such a bitter, ugly soul he has. So now all those angry feelings are back on the surface and i really really really do not want them there. I was tempted to take a red pen to it and fix his grammatical errors (NOT the brightest bulb) and send it back to them, but decided to let it go.

So instead, i am going to focus on my blessings (everyone now..."When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done..." La la la la laaaaaa!).

I am grateful:

• for my two healthy, beautiful, crazy, vibrant children
• for my husband who adores me, helps and supports and works to better our lives
• that my home is filled with laughter--giggly, shrieking, chaotic, hiccup-inducing laughter
• for my house. That it's not only our shelter, but also becoming our home. It's starting to feel warm and inviting and comfortable as we live here longer and make more memories in it
• for Doug's stable job and strong work ethic.
• that even with a demanding job, Doug's number one priority is still us.
• that Doug wants and likes to be home with us!
• for our reliable vehicles, good food, clean water, modern conveniences (like washer/dryers, dishwashers and the internet)
• for the incredible Colorado autumn we've enjoyed this year!
• for my job. I enjoy it when i'm there and can leave it behind without frets when i go home. I like my co-workers and so far the two days a week i work feels like a perfect balance between stay-at-home mom and nurse
• for Keegen's open-mouthed kisses
• for Bode's spontaneous hugs, "i love you's," "i missed you's"
• for Keegen's wild, climbing, get-into-everything, no-common-sense personality because he makes me laugh and I learn so much from him everyday
• for Bode's more reserved, careful, thoughtful personality because he says the darndest things and I learn so much from him everyday
• for our bedtime routine with the boys because even when it's been a helluva day and i'm so glad they're in bed, i can read to them and sing with them and just be mellow with them for once. And on those days when i feel like i've failed as a mother, i know they love me and they know i love them as they snuggle into me. And i feel a little bit better
• for the leaps and bounds Bode has made with his sensory processing issues. The child amazes me. A future post all to its self
• for the great teachers Bode has right now at preschool
• for my friends
• for my sister who i can call with ANY comment, question, concern, issue, worry, story; etc, and we can relate to each other and chat away without judgement
• for my family (my sister deserves her own bullet)
• for my faith
• for the good neighbors we do have, who look out for us and help us
• for my health
• for Butterfinger Bells. Oh my gosh. Definitely can't eat just one.
• for this blog forum that acts as my journal and helps me feel creative and gets my feelings out when need be

Oh. I think i'll stop now. Maybe i'll add more later. I do feel better.

The Goose is Getting Fat

Once i finally got around to decorating for Halloween, CHRISTMAS was already filling the stores! What the heck? And now there seems to be full-on Christmas- shopping-frenzy in the stores. The holidays have really crept up on me. Only one week and my little brother will be here from Dallas for Thanksgiving and i'm SO excited about that! Even if i do have to work the Friday after Thanksgiving (grumble, grumble! i shouldn't get started).

So i've got my lists and i'm checking them multiple times. I've tried to get some of my gifts throughout the year and i guess i'm not doing too terribly bad, but i need to get going! My boys (minus Doug) are done other than a stocking stuffer here and there. I always have a hard time with Doug's side of the family, but thankfully we found perfect Life is Good tees for his parents while we were in the Outer Banks (they've taken up kayaking so that's what Jake is doing on each of their tees). They are the hardest ones. We pick names for siblings and the kids' cousins so that makes things easier.

Anyway, i usually have a rule that i don't pull out the Christmas CDs until the Friday after Thanksgiving (stemming from the fact that two of my freshman year roommates blasted Christmas tunes starting mid-October, only making me more homesick with 2 long months until i'd go home!). But i might have to break that one this year. Such fun and good music, i might as well enjoy it a little bit longer, non?

Veterans' Day

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC. My dad, a Vietnam veteran, was asked to speak at a ceremony being held there with Colin Powell as the keynote speaker. I have a big, fat, soft spot in my heart for my dad. He's really my hero. And i think he did a bang-up job with his remarks and i wanted to share them here.

So, click on this link and it will take you to the USVets TV site. Click on the video link you'll see on the left side. My dad will be introduced around 19:45 minutes, so just move the little bar to fast forward to him.

Boring Post/Cleaning House Part 2/You are an Obsession, You're My Obsession...

I'm certain you've been waiting with baited breath for Round 2 of my Cleaning House series...

Let me just say, my house has never been cleaner. I love this stuff. Last night i made the toilet bowl cleaner. It was like having aromatherapy whilst scrubbing the bowls. Seriously, peppermint soap with added tea tree oil? Divine. And it did a great job. I scrubbed my hardwood floors with the "Momma's Earth Mop" recipe (basically vinegar and water but with added essential oil for scent). Totally did the trick. Doug commented on the pungent vinegar smell (which i actually like because i figure something is getting clean) but that quickly dissipated and left behind the peppermint scent from the oil. I'm a wee bit obsessed with these cleaners right now, so it's possible this is just a sort of honeymoon period and it will tire soon enough. But i don't see myself ever going back to the conventional cleaners out there. These cleaners are super cheap and in my opinion just as effective. And i don't need a gas mask while i'm cleaning! And my boys can help too without fear of chemicals leaching into their bods! It's like a game to make them and use them! Cleaning is actually fun! Anyway. Yes. Obsessed. I've already admitted it.

Now I just need to find out where i can take the remaining toxic cleaners i still have to be disposed of. And then next on my "Going Greener" list is to start recycling again. Recycling was so easy in Maryland and Virginia that there was no reason not to do it. I had a nice deep pull-out garbage thing in my cabinets with trash in the front and recycling behind. And everything was comingled in one bin. Here. Well. At least in my town it's been a pain. Our trash service does it but you have to separate things just so and they only collect every other Thursday and for the first 6 months we were here they continually skipped us and after many phone calls to complain, i gave up. But now Walmart has moved in and while i don't think they're great in a lot of areas, they do have a big recycling collection area (except no one in the area takes glass. What's with that?). So, easy enough. I just need to get a system in the house so it's easy to do. Oh, and i'm slowly whittling away at the junk mail i get. There's a service online that will help take care of it, but for now i'm just calling all the random catalogs i get that i'm not interested in and asking them to stop sending to me. Worked well in MD.

Oh. And in other exciting news. I just got a new checking account with USAA because, well, they rock. I've not liked our local bank--it's totally inconvenient for us. USAA reimburses any ATM/debit fees you incur each month AND i actually scanned, from my home office, two checks that have been sitting in my van since AUGUST and deposited them over the internet. Helloooooo! (ya, ya, you've been doing that forever??! i'm still excited about this!). I didn't have to drag my kids around with me and stand in line to deposit these checks. How awesome is that?

Yawn. Yes, my life is boring. But getting excited over the small stuff has to be good for me, too, right?

Halloween

Here we are getting ready for the church "Trunk-or-Treat." Woah, Elephant! Don't fall!

Looking quite excited at the prospect of candy, candy, candy

Non-binkie pic

Making rolls for our traditional cheese soup on Halloween (one day i'll be able to take a picture and not have loads of CRAP and clutter in the background!)

I just thought this was cute

Bundled for the 30 degree Colorado Halloween

Having fun trick-or-treating with his best bud

Cleaning House

I've been on a go-green kick of late. I used to be such an tree-hugger type. I even briefly majored in conservation biology in college (until i realized i might not actually be employable with that degree...). Anyway. Definitely since I've had children I've felt a need to make some changes in my life. Which i'm slowly trying to do. Even just changing our light bulbs to the more efficient CFLs makes me feel better. I buy organics when i can and for the things we eat a lot of (i.e. certain fruits and veggies, chicken, dairy). I try to remember to bring my reusable tote bags for groceries (although when i forget and get plastic bags it's just fine since we still have poop-a-plenty in our house and those little bags come in handy!). I like the idea of decreasing my and my family's consumerism (buy less, make-do attitude) but I'm not really there yet. So i'm trying to do what works for me right now.

Lately, cleaning my house has been an issue for me. I don't like doing it. Right. I know. We all wish we could just hire someone to take the dirt away. But that's not really what the problem is. I finally realized i hate it because it's totally inconvenient. I don't want the kids around with all the chemicals. I don't want to have to change my clothes because i risk getting bleach from the toilet bowl cleaner on whatever i'm wearing. The smell of the stainless steel cleaner makes my nose stuffy and my eyes water. Thus, the search for a greener way of doing things.

I was not interested in the many ready-made green cleaners out there. I'm glad they're there and people have those choices. I tried a couple things by Method--paid a lot for them and wasn't super-psyched by the results. I found my solution in the book Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan. It's a little bit old (1997) so it doesn't have some options i'd like to see (like stainless steel cleaner or rinse aid) but for the most part it's fantastic. Most of the ingredients for the cleaners were already in my pantry (i.e. baking soda, vinegar, olive oil). I did have a hard time finding spray bottles and one of the soaps i wanted but all in all it has been really simple assembling what i need (if i lived in a place with better shopping options it would have been a breeze).

So i spent maybe 30 minutes tonight making some cleaners. I made five different ones in all (an all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a disinfectant, leather polish and furniture polish). I have to say i am totally pleased with them. My favorite is the disinfectant--it has tea tree oil in it and just smells so good that i want to go clean everything. Bode went around with me tonight cleaning all the toilets! (He just loves using spray bottles). The leather polish worked great on my couches. I used the furniture polish on my kitchen cabinets. The jury is still out on the all-purpose as i don't like that it leaves a slight soapy residue, but maybe if i dilute it a bit more? As soon as i can find some more squirt bottles, i plan to make a toilet bowl cleaner and a tub/tile scrub.

Fascinating, eh? Well, I'm pretty excited about it! I'm happy to have fewer toxins floating around my house and be able to involve my kids more in the cleaning (while they still actually want to help!). Now maybe my house will be somewhat clean! I can only hope...

Once Again

So, i'm going back to the "by invite only" option on the blog readers. I go back and forth on this one a lot. While I'd like to doubt that anyone sinister is lurking my blog, there are just too many creeps out there and if by some small chance one is keeping tabs on my family (since there is a lot of personal info i put in my blog), it's just not worth it to me to possibly put my kids at risk. Maybe i'm being silly, but, well, there you go.

If i've left anyone out who does read my blog (like Vicki, Erin) i'm happy to invite them. I certainly enjoy trolling people's-blogs-i-don't-know (through links on friends' blogs) or finding random old friends on blogs. Just send me an email (bells4_co@yahoo.com). And, by the way, sites like Bloglines won't pick my blog up anymore since it's closed to invite only, so check back often!

Thanks! Keep the comments coming! It certainly makes blogging more fun!

Kindness

I've received some nice things from patients as "thank yous." Gift cards to Starbucks, treats from the local bakery, that sort of thing. Most of my favorites were simply a note and a photo of me with their baby or something simple like that. I often felt bonded to these patients after helping them through a 12-hour shift of labor and delivery, so it was nice to hear from them again.

I'm always surprised when i get a note or a thanks when working in outpatient surgery. I usually spend no more than a couple of hours with a patient. For the most part it's not a life-changing event they've been through. NOT to downplay their surgery which is certainly a big deal. But when comparing delivering a baby to having a nasal surgery, i think the baby wins.

So the other day i had a patient who had just that. Nasal surgery. I got him post-procedure and took report from another nurse who was going to lunch. She described him as a "rude Middle Eastern" (can you tell i live in whitebread country?) to which i quipped, "Ah! My specialty!" He was pretty grumpy and whiney initially (nasal surgery can't be comfortable) but we managed to hit it off. He commented on what good nurses Gloria (his pre-op nurse) and I were and how everyone else had not been so (which is surprising to me as i think we have a really friendly crew, but evidently someone rubbed him the wrong way). I finally managed to get his pain under control and his blood pressure and oxygen saturation to appropriate levels. He looked a lot better and seemed just about ready to go when my shift ended and another nurse took over to send him home.

Yesterday i showed up to work and this incredible gift basket was sitting on the counter at the nurses' station for me (and one for Gloria). I've never seen such a ridiculously nice gift basket before. Beautiful orchid and all sorts of yummy treats inside. I couldn't believe it. And all the note said was, "Thank you for being a nice nurse." All for just doing my job. Now i feel like i should call and thank HIM for thanking ME.

My Favorite Things

Oprah has her favorite things. So i figure i'll put in my 2 cents. That's it though. Just 2 cents. No one reading this is going to get a new car, new HE washer/dryer or a new house. Let's get real, folks. But with Christmas coming, here are some of my favorite things. Maybe one will be an idea for a hard-to-gift someone in your life?

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Crocs, any and all. I have no shame. I've gotten them as gifts for just about everyone in my family and some are very hard to shop for (namely, my parents) and they both love theirs.


2. These Williams-Sonoma mixing bowls. Lightweight and have great grippies on the bottom. Fun colors, too!


3. Zeal optics sunglasses. I have and LOVE the Zooni style. Now if i could just stop losing them!


4. Ugg slippers. I got a pair for Christmas I don't know how many years ago and they're still in great shape, comfy and warm


5. Halogen crewneck tees from Nordstrom. I could live in these (oh yeah, i basically do!). Very comfy and nice and long in the torso.
   
6. Anything from Trader Joe's. Can't leave that place off my "fave things" list!


7. Zebra ballpoint pens. Smooth, fine point and ink that actually flows. A great thing for all the charting i do at work. An analog, list-making-on-paper girl like me loves a good pen.


8. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Such a fun read. Great escape. Give me more!


9. Sigg stainless steel water bottles. I'm slowly phasing the plastics out of our lives and these little bottles are great. Bode loves his fun soccer-themed bottle and i actually drink more water and it doesn't taste like plastic (go figure!)


10. I looked for a long time and finally found a great pair of pants for pilates (and just lounging when i'm having a lazy day). The Perfect Dance Pant from Lucy. Totally affordable, too
    
11. I remember asking around for a great bra after my chest went from a B, to a bigger nursing B, and woefully to a post-nursing deflated barely A. Cami suggested Nordstrom's Wacoal brand and I will never go back!
    
12. My boys love trains and i love that they can do more than usual with the Duplo Thomas trains. And you can add to them. We have Thomas and James...Lots of fun.
    
13. This has been one of those rare toys for us. I am so happy we bought it as Bode has played with it for hours on end (and still plays with it) and now Keegen is getting into it, too. The Fisher Price Ramps Around Garage. They have a newer version out now so i can't speak specifically to it, but i imagine it's great as well.
    
14. Origins Smoothing Souffle. Oh, such a luxury! My brother sent me this as a gift and I was pleasantly surprised. It has a great minty/eucalypty scent and makes my skin almost tingle when i put it on. Love it.
    
15. Maggie Moo's ice cream. My personal favorite is Chocolate Better Batter with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups mixed in. Oooh la la! You just can't go wrong, whatever you pick!


16. Life is Good gear. Fun, positive, comfy. I can't believe all the options they have now. I love their tees and hats, but even more, i love their socks! And my favorite new shirt is this cute one.

i thought this would be a longer list, but i've run out of gas. So there ya go. For whatever it's worth. Only 62 days til Christmas!

Today

Today was just a not-terribly-interesting sort of a day. I've been on a bend to get the things I need to start making my own cleaning supplies (note the book i'm reading. That's a whole other post for later). Should have been easy enough. But I could not for the life of me find the right containers--namely decent spray bottles and squirt bottles. What I wouldn't do for my left-over peri bottles! Who knew??!!! I might have to wait until i use up what's left of my dishwashing liquid and use that as one, but i need, like, four. So anyway. To start over, we began our day at Keegen's 18 month checkup. He looked great. Forehead laceration healing well, still on his own little 10th percentile curve, no ear infections; etc., etc. Both boys got their flu shots, much to their dismay. Bode was freaked out about it no matter how much i tried to prepare him (can you prepare a 3-year old for a needle being jabbed into their thigh?). And of course Keegen was upset too with his two injections. Sooooo, in keeping with the tradition of teaching my children to cope with food, at 9:30 in the morning, we headed to McDonald's for a shake. Totally worth a needle jab in their minds, me thinks.

From there to Target, which was totally disappointing. As mentioned above. I spent way too much time searching for what I needed. I really like to be in and out of stores as much as possible! No meandering with two small children in tow, thank you very much! Then to Wild Oats for the oils i needed. Then home to lunch and nap/quiet time. So, a totally boring morning for the boys, except I guess they enjoyed their shakes and they had a blast playing with the plungers at Target...And yes i let them travel all over the store with them.

After naps, off to WalMart. Poor kids. Not much more luck there, but did find a few spray bottles. We'll see if they last. Returned a Halloween costume and ended up at Whole Foods looking for the last thing I needed (which they did not have). So i ended up getting a bunch of food at their deli section and we headed to a great park that was on the way home. We had a lovely picnic. Bode kept saying, "This is a really good picnic, Mom." I guess he approved of the pizza and green beans almandine, of all things! Keegen chowed on the yams and sesame noodles. And they had a blast playing on the playground. This was our first time back to a playground since Keegen's head gash and I realized I was a little nervous. Shadowed him more than i normally would, but not too bad.

Once home, the boys had a great bath in this wonderful bubble bath that smells so good! After their baths, they chased each other around the house like maniacs and then off to bed after a yogurt. Keegen enjoys the books we read at bedtime, but has no interest in the soothing things I try to do that Bode likes so much. Don't sing to me, don't rub my back, just PUT ME IN MY BED and turn off the light! So that's easy enough. Bode gets a couple songs and a back rub. Lately he has a lot to say at bedtime which i have mixed feelings about. Part of me likes it and wants to encourage him to chat and part of me wants to say, after 12 hours of hearing him run his mouth, Shut up and go to sleep!!! I always leave him with a kiss and an "i love you." And tonight he left me with a smoochy sound as i walked out and a, "You get good sleep tonight, too, Mom." Gotta love 'em.

Halloween Traditions

Tonight we carved pumpkins...errr, well, shall i say, Doug and the boys carved pumpkins. You know, i've never really gotten into the whole pumpkin carving thing. Too much gooey-gut stuff for me. This is really the first year Bode has gotten into it. He was super-excited to do it--kept asking Doug to get going on it tonight. And when we asked what he wanted to carve into his pumpkin he said, "A fireman." Hmmmm. I think we have a theme. He wants to dress-up as a firefighter, too (and i have this super-lame-o costume for him. i should have spent more and gotten a good one!). I got online and found one firefighter design (i was surprised to find even one). Doug sketched it out (he's totally amazing). He and B sat down and gutted the pumpkin. I was sure B would be totally skeeved out by the guts. He wasn't too sure of things initially but really got into it. Then they used the pokey tool on Doug's design and it came out great! I did contribute in that i made a pot of hot wassail that was actually really yummy. I used the cider from the apple farm and threw in some brown sugar, a cinnamon stick and some whole cloves and voila, wassail. And of course i "ooooohed" and "aaaaaahed" over their creation.

i love snow

i love snow, i love snow, i love snow...that's been my mantra today because maybe if i say it enough, i'll start to believe it?? just keeping it positive! i actually do love snow. just not usually in October! GET USED TO IT, RIGHT??!




It was 70 degrees yesterday and will be in the 70's again on Wednesday. So, as they say, if you don't like the weather in Colorado, just wait a minute...

Almost

oh, this would have been a great picture. i needed to be just a little bit quicker on the draw! Bode so does not like the camera and it's hard to get a good shot of him just because he's not interested. I remember I used to always make silly faces because i didn't care for the camera. But here's a glimpse of him as he picked the one remaining apple off of a tree at the pumpkin patch...

It's the Great Pumpkin

We made our annual trek to the Happy Apple Farm about an hour from us to enjoy the hayrides and pumpkin patch. Apple-picking is long since done (I really need to remember to do that next year, which is what i said last year, too). Anyway, it's a small, quaint place. Bode and Keegen love the fact that we ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor. The boys found three lovely pumpkins and then we got some candy and gourds at their little store. Followed by ice cream and another haywagon ride to finish it all off. A fun family outing. Funny to think that last year Keegen was this tiny thing in the Bjorn. And this year he was wrestling pumpkins off the ground. Bode is getting so big and able to hoist his up and look forward to pumpkin carving.

Meme

Time to rid the first post on this blog of anything stinky, poopy or pukey!

I thought this was a fun one, stolen from Jenni's blog...

Jobs I've gotten paid for:

Bagel Bakery Princess/Queen (after they promoted me to Customer Service Supervisor): This was my first job while I was in high school. It meant very early Saturday hours and lots of free "day-old" bagels. Yum! I was the very best at making the icing for the bagel knots. The worst part was dealing with LOX. Bleck! (Remember the good ole days, Rae?).

Brief stint as a cashier at Drug Emporium. I still remember ringing an old guy (probably just middle-aged but i was 17) up for a box of lambskin condoms. I guess i charged him WAY more than they cost, but how was i to have a clue that the price was wrong??

Park Ranger: Ah, this was a fantastic job. I drove around in a little green pickup truck, policing the many acres of Bull Run Regional Park (wish i could remember how many). Confiscated alcohol. Told people to slow down. Chased people out of the park after dark. Cleaned a lot of bathrooms and emptied a lot of trash. Got to carry a badge and a bottle of pepper spray! HA! I can't believe my parents were OK with this job as it involved closing down the park at night. Making sure the pool and shooting center were locked. Just little old me in a huge park after dark during the summers of my 18th, 19th and 20th years. Very cool.

Summer intern at Lockheed Martin: paid well, office work. It was on K Street in DC so it was fun to ride the Metro in and feel all urban and cool. I did this the remaining summers I was in college.

Too many nursing jobs to mention! i've worked in an OB office for a completely wretched and dishonest OB (only stayed 8 months). Labor and delivery (and the subspecialties of high-risk antepartum, postpartum and maternal fetal medicine) for 6 or 7 years. Outpatient surgery, pain management, high-risk OB home care.

My Guilty Pleasures:

Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Pushing Daisies (fun new one), mindlessly cruising the internet and everyone's blogs, Taco Bell tostadas with lots of mild sauce, Coke from a fountain.

What were likely the 1st things you thought when you saw your significant other for the first time:

He's cute. I like his build. Good energy. Fun. (Actually, the very first time I saw him i thought nothing of him, and he thought nothing of me. Too engrossed in a BYU football game. But 3 months later Fate brought us together again!).

Places I've been on vacation in the US:

North Carolina (Outer Banks)
Virginia (beach)
Maryland (beach)
New York City
Oregon (Doug's family)
Utah (everyone's family)
California
West Virginia
South Carolina
Florida
Washington State
Idaho
Nevada (Vegas, baby)
Arizona
New Mexico
I drove back and forth to BYU multiple times and tried to make the most of those road trips, but can't count those states as "vacation."

Places I've been (out of US):

Aruba
Mexico
Canada
Sad. I know. I need to get out more often.

Favorite Foods:

Any kind of chocolate/peanut butter combo
Totino's pizza
Pad thai (anyone know of good pad thai in Colorado Springs???)

Websites I Visit Daily:

All of your blogs
Yahoo
Hotmail

Nicknames I've been called:

Ash
Ashlee-Mashlee
Ash-a-wee (my then 3 yr old niece)
Babaloo
Sometimes Bode calls me "Sister Bell"
"Hey Lady!"
"Ma'am" (when did i go from being a Miss to a Ma'am??)
"B" as in WASSUP B????!!!!!! (private joke but i couldn't resist!)

Upheavals

A couple of moments I won't soon forget:

• Holding Keegen while he throws up and looks at you with those eyes that say, why aren't you helping me?
• Holding Bode while in between pukes he says "I don't want more stroats" and "Daddy can't you help me?".
• One morning Bode started throwing up, I grabbed a towel and caught most of it in the towel. Two seconds later Bode says, in his sad little voice "nice catch dad".
• Doing dozens of loads of wash.

and the hits just keep on comin'...

well, i thought everyone was better as of Friday afternoon, but last night Bode started puking again and when Keegen let us know he was awake this morning there was throwup in his crib. Doug and I are both screaming (inwardly) ENOUGH ALREADY!!! it has been one lousy week and i hope they're both better soon.

Insult to Injury

8:30 last night i heard an awful noise coming from Keegen's room. Doug and I both bolted up the stairs to find Keegen vomiting up a storm. Now, this is bad enough. Barf sucks. Having sick kids is hard. BUT, having just bonked his head and been discharged from the ED with a "mild head injury," vomiting was on my list of things to watch for.

And he just couldn't stop. Poor kid. Once he emptied his tummy he would dry heave or just bring up saliva and bile (TMI?). I talked to the on-call doctor at 9PM and she said there's a horrid GI virus going around and since he had a normal head CT and seemed to be acting normal we could just take a "wait-and-see" approach. By midnight, he was still vomiting every 15-30 minutes. She said to take him in just in case.

By the time i'd hung up with the doc, Keegen had fallen asleep on Doug's chest and seemed restful. So I decided to let him sleep until he puked again. After 2 hours, Doug tried to move him to his crib and that just set him off again. Oh, he (Keegs) was so tired. I changed his dipe and jammies before we left and he slept through it. He slept all the way to the hospital and we got there around 3AM.

I took him to the hospital I work at and we didn't have to wait to get a room. We were seen after about 1 1/2. Luckily Keegen slept on me while we waited. At one point though, i took him to the nurse and asked her to hold him since I was "desperate to pee!" She took pity on me. That was actually the worst part of the wait was the burning need to empty my bladder but not wanting to disturb the sleeping child...The ED doc took one look at him and said it was not vomiting due to a head injury which was a relief and he did not suggest getting another CT scan--another relief. I was not excited about exposing him to more radiation. He said he most likely picked up this bug while we were in the ED the other night since we haven't been around any sick people. They gave him one of my favorite drugs, Zofran, and from that point on he kept his liquids down.

We got home and to bed at 6AM (as soon as my head hit my pillow, Bode joined me but luckily slept peacefully til 7:20). Keegen was up at 9 and back to bed from 11-2 and now has a fever but seems relatively happy. I just hope this isn't one of those bugs that travels through the house and back! Uck!

Keegen Potter

Keegen has pretty much always been an accident waiting to happen. Always climbing on things. No matter how i shove the chairs under the table, he finds a way to climb onto one and promptly fall off. Or pulls one over on himself. He already likes to jump off the stairs (ala Bode). He rolls his body on the big kickballs we have and does faceplants onto the tile. Zero self-preservation. A definite thrill-seeker...

What was meant to be a lovely playdate at Kristen's went awry today. We'd been there maybe 30 minutes when we headed to the playground. The big kids were at the top of the playset and Keegen toddled on over to the steps. He started stepping up them when he lost his footing and smacked his head into something. I saw a dark line on his forehead and sent up a silent prayer that it was a piece of mulch. Until that line started gushing blood and Keegen started crying. Oh. My. Gosh. Kristen ran off to get a wet towel and in the meantime i used my shirt to apply pressure, which truly pissed Keegen off. It was so deep I thought it would never stop bleeding (it actually did stop bleeding faster than i'd imagined) but i was fairly certain he would need stitches.

Luckily, Kristen had neighbors willing to keep an eye on the older kids and she drove me to the ED while i sat in the back with Keegen. As soon as it stopped bleeding and I took the towel off of his head, he acted totally FINE. Unbelievable. We checked in around 3:30. He looked a mess! The RN who triaged him was joking about bar fights and the like. Ugh. We were all covered in his blood. As most ED trips go, we waited a long time. Finally the doc came in and cleaned his cut out and said we could probably get away with gluing it. But on second thought he decided that cosmetically it was better to stitch it since it was so prominent on his forehead. So they put some numbing gel on his wound and we waited 1 1/2 hours and then he came back and stitched it up. Keegen was AMAZING while he was being stitched. They swaddled him so he couldn't move and a nurse held his head. And he just looked around. Smiled at Doug. Did this funny blinking eye thing (almost like, "well, can't move my arms, so i'll blink my eyes!"). A nurse and doctor came in from the hall because they couldn't believe he was being so good. They went on and on which was something really nice in the midst of something so unpleasant. He got 5 stitches and I hope it heals well.

While he was being stitched I noticed that his right pupil was dilated and asked about it. While the nurse put the numbing gel on his wound I think she got some in his eye, so i asked if that could cause the dilation. And while, yes, it could, they decided Keegs should get a CT scan just to rule out a head trauma (since a blown pupil can be an indication of that). So, another 1 1/2 hours later, we were in radiology, again swaddling my sweet baby, putting a lead apron on him and loading him into the scanner. Bizarre. And again, he did great. Couldn't hold his head still to save his life, but did awesome (a tech came out and held his head so they could get a clear picture).

Finally, the CT came through and the ED doc looked at it and said he was OK to go. Poor baby. Sooooooo past his bedtime (it was almost 9 when we left). Thank goodness "Finding Nemo" was on the TV. We watched it 3 times during our stay. It was perfect for him. He totally vegged to it. I am so grateful he's OK. And I can't thank Kristen enough for taking such good care of all of us--acting so quickly to get us to the ED and then heading home to take care of her kids and Bode (he was having too much fun and not so excited to see his dad when he went to pick him up!). While I never want to go through anything like this again, I have a feeling this will not be the last time we're in the ED with our boys. At least things ended well. And Keegen is happy to be sound asleep in his own bed!

BOO!

So it's that time of year again. Halloween is lurking. Everyone know what their kids want to dress up as? I'm excited to be able to reuse Bode's first Halloween--a rockin' elephant. Yes, Bode was 9 months old his first Halloween. And the costume fits Keegs perfectly at 18 months. Go figure. As for the Bodester, well, he's not a huge fan of dress-up. But he says he'd like to be a firefighter. So i'm trying to figure that one out without breaking the bank, but also so it doesn't look too cheap. Know what i mean?

And the Halloween Phantom is haunting our neighborhood. Does everyone else have this tradition? The "You've Been Boo'ed" tradition? Secretly leaving treats at your neighbors' door with a note for them to do the same. They then put a ghost in their window so others can see that the Phantom has already visited them and hopefully by Halloween little paper ghosts are in most of your neighbors windows. Thus spreading neighborly cheer and the Halloween spirit (ok, a stretch, but neighborly cheer for sure).

What are your Halloween traditions?

I am so freaking tired. This week has kicked my butt. I usually do better than this when Doug is out of town but the boys haven't been sleeping and therefore, Mama hasn't been sleeping. Bode was in bed with me at 1AM and started GRINDING HIS TEETH and i finally made myself get up at 4AM to go sleep in his bed, but by then it was too late for me. I used to grind my teeth as a kid and shared a room with my sis, and, Erin, I AM SO SORRY. So, do i have an uber-stressed child or is this just something kids do? I've always been wrapped pretty tight and Bode takes after me in this way, too. It bothers me because i do worry that he's a stressed-out kid and that just isn't right! Anyway, we are all tired here. Again the boys are in bed sound asleep already and I should head that way myself but i need to get ready for tomorrow (work; etc.) and why bother going to bed if i'm just going to toss and turn??

i just bought two ginormous bags of candy at Sam's Club, so maybe i'll head that way now instead...

Going Broke Saving Money

I have to share my excitement. I've gotten the Sierra Trading Post catalog for years in Virginia and Maryland. I'd thumb through it and see things I liked but then toss it because we really didn't need anything out of it. However, now that we live in a FROZEN TUNDRA during the winter months (October through May), I've rediscovered this store and holy cow!

I needed to get the boys better equipped for the snow. By the boys, I mean Doug and Bode. Keegen has a super-duper REI snowsuit that I bought on clearance when he was about 4 weeks old that now fits him, so he'll just need some boots (and the hand-me-downs won't work because he is so much smaller than Bode was). Bode needed to be outfitted from head to toe. I really wanted something high quality, so i went to work at Ebay looking specifically for Obermeyer brand snowclothes. I like them because of the quality and the "I-Grow" option (so a size 4 will fit this winter and then I let out the little thread in the arms and legs next winter and PRESTO CHANG-O! a size 5 appears!). But they're really pricey--brand new ski bibs run about $80+ and parkas run $100+ (yes, for preschoolers). Ebay had a few options, but one set sold for $100, which I wasn't willing to bid.

So, enter the Google search engine. And I found that Sierra Trading Post sells Obermeyer. And oh what a deal! Then I also found a 20% off coupon code! Oh, I'm practically giddy by this point! I got a great Obermeyer parka and bibs and a pair of Kamik boots for a grand total of $108. A pair of ski mittens for $5. Yes, I could have gone to Target like I've done in the past and not paid as much, but i now have ski clothes that will fit Bode at least the next two seasons (if not one more) and then Keegen will get to wear them, too (and at the rate he grows, he'll be in them for a long time!). So I think that's money well spent.

I got Doug some great ski pants and a ski shell, too. So, for the most part, we should be in good shape for our snow days to come. Watch, this will be the mildest winter on record after last year's "worst winter in 10 years."

In the process of writing this post, I noticed that they've taken an additional 20% off of all winter gear, which is sort of a bummer because I literally JUST ordered and received these things and it could have been even cheaper, but, hey, now I can go online and get some ski pants for me! There's a novel idea!

Let the Good Times Roll

We had a fun-filled afternoon at Kristen's house. She lives in a cohousing community and, man, is it appealing sometimes. Just letting the kids roam (under our supervision but a casual one, not vigilent like i am at home). They can explore the community garden, ride trikes and scooters in the courtyard and take off to the playground on a whim. Kind of makes me sigh. The weather was perfect and i really enjoy Kristen's company.

Her neighbor had a ramp set up on her front steps and the kids enjoyed riding down it. Keegen had to participate by walking up and down and nearly being made road kill not once but twice. This video doesn't show how close it was--but you can see Jack behind Keegen. Keegs liked to linger at the bottom of the ramp. Luckily, i have quick reflexes! I've lovingly titled this video "Jack Splat."

The kids played hard--so hard that they are already sound asleep in their beds. BLISS.