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.

Things that make you go Hmmm??...

I found this article interesting. We never knew why i was so susceptible to preterm labor, even with the multitude of tests they did on me. I figured i might have a misshapen uterus or something. But now this study has come out and it just makes me wonder...

I'm Wide Awake

Cami should know the band that sings the title song...

So, why is it that just because Doug is out of town that none of us sleep well? Since my dear, sweet hubby is a serious snorer, it's not like I miss having him in bed with me (don't take that personally, Babe). (I kick him out of bed on a nightly basis--thank goodness for a spare bedroom!). I'm not as easily spooked being alone in the house like i used to be. But I can't seem to ever really settle in and get to bed. I just sort of putter around the house.

Keegen has been struggling tonight, too. Lots of random crying-outs. Very restless sleeping. Lots of banging into his crib rails (it took me awhile to figure out what that noise was. I was certain that our house was having some serious settlement issues until i made the connection). I finally went up and gave him a nip of Tylenol and a backrub (i'm fearing an ear infection).

And Bode. Dear Bode. Just flunge his door open. Blankie in hand (my Linus). Just standing in his doorway. I went up to him and the conversation went something like this...

Me: Hey.

B: Uh, Mom?

Me: Yes?

B: Um.

B: Well.

B: Hmmm. (racking his half-sleeping brain for something that i might buy as an important reason to be out of bed).

B: Mama, what are you doing?

Me: Helping you get back to bed.

B: Oh. Well, what are you doing downstairs?

Me: Shutting down the computer so i can go to bed.

B: Oh. I was just coming to see what you were doing.

So concerned for my welfare. Now it's getting to be so late that i think i might need another meal before i hit the sack. Cookie Crisp, anyone??