The Big 6-0

Yes, I'm way behind on blogging...anyway...

HAPPY 60th MOM!!!! What an amazing mother, friend, and teacher you are! My hope for this big day was to make my mom feel as special as possible! I met her for a little shopping and lunch before Andrew's baseball game. She kindly came to his game on her special day and then took the kids out for FroYo to celebrate with them. Drew and I hurried home to get the kids down for naps and prepare for the adult only party that evening.

If you read the previous blog you know Matthew and Molly were just getting over their illnesses. So needless to say leaving them with the sitter was quite a challenge. I told her she would earn her money and I had faith in her:). I texted her about 30 minutes after we left and she said all was calm and everyone was happy. YEAH!!! Time for a Cosmo!

Drew and I were the last to arrive so we met my mom, dad, brothers and their wives in the bar. I had the slideshow all ready to go and made sure my dad had made arrangements for a TV and DVD player in a back room. Of course the DVD player didn't work but I was prepared and brought my computer JUST IN CASE! My mom and everyone else loved the slideshow. I must admit it turned out pretty well. My biggest challenge once I had all the pictures was picking out music but with the help of everyone else involved it turned out great. (Drew was so tired of me talking about the slideshow and music!)

After the slideshow we sat down for an amazing dinner. The adult conversation was priceless. I can't remember the last time my immediate family got together without kids. We need to do that more often...it was so much fun! My mom's big gift was a iPad. We decided on the iPad for two reasons. First of all she will be traveling to Greece for her big present with my dad and she loves to read. We debated on getting her a kindle but also know she needs a new computer so we met in the middle and bought her an iPad. She can read books and check email! I had a few apprehensions because I know new technology can be a little overwhelming but she took the challenge head on and LOVES it! The next morning she called to let me know she had already set everything up and downloaded a few books. I'm so proud mom!

Jill made beautiful centerpieces for the table and Christiana brought a delicious cake for dessert in the shape of the Greek flag. It was the perfect evening. As we headed back west we got a call from John asking us to meet he and Christina for one more drink. Why not! It was an amazing night, our sitter had all 3 in bed at a reasonable hour and everyone made it home safe and sound.

Memorial Day Weekend

After Andrew's baseball game on Saturday we headed to some friends' house for dinner. It wasn't exactly a warm sunny day so instead of playing in the pool, the kids played in the bounce house and of course with toys. Molly had a runny nose and a little cough but I knew she was getting her last tooth so I was pretty sure it was because of her teeth. As the night went on she was very crabby and not acting like herself. She was also starting to feel warm. We headed home and got everyone in bed then in the middle of the night she woke up with a 102 fever. Poor thing was miserable. She was tossing and turning all night long and seemed miserable.

Watch out!

The 1 year olds

Dinner time!

Mmmm desert!

Sunday we were supposed to go the the Benoist family reunion. We were all very excited about this fun day ahead but unfortunately I knew it would be best to keep Molly home. So instead we laid low. We got the blow up pool out for the boys. Molly was in great spirits during the day but still had a fever. She was the only one who actually got in the pool and sat down, the boys said it was too cold. We did a lot of stuff around the house and had a nice day hanging out as a family. We found a lizard (I think) right inside our garage so the kids had fun with that until we let him go rejoin his family.

Always entertained by hoses

Our lizard friend

Molly had another bad night and I was really hoping the pediatrician's office would be open Monday but no luck! I also noticed that Matthew had 5 huge welts on his back and neck. They looked similar to the hives he got after he had Amoxicillin for the first time. They told me to discontinue the antibiotics he was on for his teeth and bring he and Molly in the next day. My parents invited us over for ribs Monday evening and since Molly was in such good spirits during the day we decided to go for it. We were dying to get out of the house! We had a fun night hanging with grandma and poppa...and the cicadas. (There were very few at our house but my parents had a million. It was so LOUD). The ribs were delicious! They grabbed our reunion t-shirts for us so we were very excited to try them out and get a family picture:).

A Solo Tea Party

Reunion shirts!

Tuesday we took a trip to the pediatrician. After Matthew's dentist experience he was not excited about this visit and he made it clear to the entire staff. Very embarrassing but I'm sure it's not the first time this has happened. It ended up that Molly had a double ear infection and Matthew had a reaction to mosquito bites. So we headed to Walgreens, got some hydrocortisone cream and some Amoxicillin. Then it was back home to lay low. Every free second I had I was working on the slideshow for my mom's birthday surprise.

Miserable 

Sums up our week

Thursday I had to go to a pre op appointment for my umbilical hernia repair. My mom watched the kids. Over the weekend we had discovered that baby ducks were living at our pond so the kids went to check on them and show grandma. My mom and I both agreed that Molly was not back to her old self and mean while Matthew had developed a fever and cough. I debated going back to the doctor and finally decided when no one would nap, just scream, that we should head back. Sure enough Molly was not responding to the Amoxicillin and her ears were now full of puss:( He said Matthew probably had a virus and the antibiotic he had been on was still in his body so even if it was something he probably wouldn't give him another prescription. So back to Walgreens we went to get Molly next round of antibiotics. I got home just in time for the air conditioner repair man. Our AC conveniently went out that week as well. Then Drew got home and offered to grill something for dinner so I could go on a run. GREAT! Andrew and Molly wanted to come with me but I didn't care, I was just excited to get a run in. Molly ended up falling asleep and slept through dinner. After dinner she wanted to swing and while I was pushing her she got very sick all over the swing. Poor thing! Must have been in so much pain from her ears, the new medicine probably upset her stomach and she hadn't eaten in probably 5 days. Oh and I was pushing her on a swing...

Refusing to nap...

By Friday everyone seemed to be on the mend. I was very grateful for this because we had my mom's big celebration Saturday. I knew leaving the kids with a sitter was going to be tough but at least they were feeling better.  

Ice Cream and Yogurt the only things she would eat

First Week of Summer

Monday our mission was to "break" in to my mom and dad's house and confiscate as many pictures as we could for a slideshow for my mom's 60th. On the way we stopped by Longview park to play a little bit and check on the horses. When we got to my mom's house, getting pictures and leaving no evidence wasn't exactly an easy task but we succeeded. Andrew kept asking me if the police were going to come because I told him we were breaking in. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words. 

Tuesday we had Molly's 18 month check up and I went ahead and scheduled Andrew's 6 year (a few months early) to make my life easier. Andrew was so brave. He had to get 4 shots and a few screenings since he will be going into Kindergarten in the fall. I was so proud of him. Molly only had to get 1 shot and she did not think that was cool but she recovered quickly. Here are their stats:

Andrew:
         Height: 46 in (75%)
         Weight: 46 lbs (60%)

Molly:
         Height: 33 in (80%)
         Weight: 22.8 lbs (25%)
         Head: 45.6 cm (25%)

Wednesday (aka "The Horrible Terrible No Good Very Bad Day") Matthew had his first of two dentist appointments to fill cavities (bad genes thanks to me). We gave him the choice and he chose for Drew to take him. I entertained Andrew and Molly for an hour while they were at the dentist. As I was about to pull in after the appointment I got a call from Drew saying, "where are you, it's not good". I asked what was going on and all he said was GET HERE NOW! I had no idea what was going on but pulled in and saw Matthew in Drew's car screaming and Drew looking like he had been hit by a truck. I jumped out and grabbed Matthew and just held him, trying to calm him down. Poor guy had such a numb mouth and was just drooling everywhere. We decided to try and get him to eat some ice cream to see if that would help. Drew was still very frazzled so once he saw I had things under control he went back to work. I later found out that it was Drew's worst experience as a parent. He had to physically hold Matthew down for an entire hour while the dentist drilled and Matthew screamed the entire time. Drew said the dentist made it seem like this was not unusual and not torture. We were both so upset by the trauma Matthew had been through. We knew this was not the time to discuss other options or the situation in detail because it was still very upsetting to Drew but we knew we would make different arrangements for his next visit.

Molly comforting her brother. She's such a momma.

After the trauma of the morning the tornado sirens went off right at nap time. We spent the next 2 hours in our basement. Matthew was still in pain but he was content playing with his new play doh toy for his "bravery" reward. I may or may not have grabbed an adult beverage as the sirens sounded.

Thursday I was looking forward to a day to chill and do nothing. Matthew woke up that morning still in pain and refused to even open his mouth much less eat or drink. After chasing him around the house with Tylenol I decided it would be best to call the dentist and see if this was normal. Of course the answer was no but our dentist conveniently left town for the holiday weekend. They recommended a different pediatric dentist. By the time we got all of this figured out the only time this dentist could see us was in 30 minutes. Well that would have been ok if we were all dressed and ready to go but like I said I thought it was our chill day, we were still in our pjs. I told them we would be there in 30, threw clothes on the kids and jumped in the car. We weren't too late. Once the dentist convinced Matthew to open his mouth she was horrified. His mouth was full of canker sores from all of the equipment that had been in his mouth and the area that was around the crown on his molar was infected. She called in a prescription and was very nice about the whole situation. We stopped by Oberweis for his ice cream lunch and I was able to force the medicine down him. Poor guy!

He literally run to the top of the play set so I wouldn't give him his medicine

Friday we met a group of friends to go Strawberry picking. The weather was perfect and it was the perfect outing after our crazy week. It was very low key and fun. Of course my kids don't like strawberries so they weren't exactly eating them off of the vines but they did think it was a fun activity. Andrew got to reunite with his buddy Timmy (our old neighbor) and Matthew got to see his buddy Bobby and Molly saw her friend Mia. Thanks for lifting our spirits friends!

Josie Turns 2!!!

Friday, May 20 was Josie's second birthday. They invited us to celebrate with them at the zoo for her big day. That morning we decided to make her a special birthday crown to wear around so everyone knew it was her big day. Andrew of course had a say in our first activity so the first thing we did was ride the train. Then we came back to the Rivers Edge stop and headed in to the see the rhinos, elephants and other animals. Then we grabbed some lunch and refueled before riding on the carousel and checking out the birds, giraffes, zebras and big cats. John joined us on his lunch break and Josie was so excited to see her dad. Of course everyone started to melt down at the furthest point from the car but we made it back all in one piece.

I knew everyone would fall asleep on the way home since we don't live very close so I wasn't worried about leaving in time to make it home for naps. Everyone did fall asleep and the younger 2 transferred which worked out perfectly. Our plan was to set up for our neighborhood garage sale that evening but after a busy day at work for Drew and the zoo for me we decided to bag that idea and give everything to charity.

We did enjoy checking out some of the garage sales around us before Andrew's baseball game on Saturday. We got Molly a barely used Barbie Jeep that we are saving for her 2nd birthday and we got the boys a four wheeler for free but had to buy a battery. Since Molly's birthday isn't until November we decided to try her battery in the four wheeler and it worked perfectly. Oh and we found a pink toddler four wheeler for Molly. Quite a successful day.

Sunday was Josie's animal themed birthday party. We really got into the theme and got her leopard print rain boots and umbrella, wrapped in leopard print paper with animal themed rubber duckies(her favorite) on top. I have to say Christina is quite brave: her house is on the market and has a 2 month old yet she hosted a great party at her house. The cousins had a great time especially with the animal dress up. It was a great weekend.

Last Week of School

The Monday after our trip, Andrew came in our room at a 6 and said, "Look mom, I pulled out my tooth!" His tooth had been loose for a while but I was shocked that he pulled it out. He's growing up!

Tuesday we met John and Christina and some other friends at SLU's last baseball game. There was an umpire issue so the game didn't get started until late AND it was FREEZING for mid May. BUT the kids did not seem to mind. They enjoyed being little monkeys and Andrew enjoyed watching big guys play baseball with his buddy Nick. 

Wednesday was Matthew's last day of school. Molly and I joined him at the end of his school day for some ice cream and songs. He had an amazing first year of school. I was really concerned about him not wanting to go because he's a "momma's boy". But he did great and I think it was because he had great teachers and friends. He is already asking if he is going to have the same teachers next year. Hopefully I'll come up with the perfect answer to get him excited for the 3 year old room before school starts.

Matthew and Samantha

 Wednesday evening Andrew had a make up baseball game. John and Christina had a showing at their house so they decided to come watch while the house was being shown. Andrew was so excited to have new fans AND he was crushing the ball. It was a fun night.

Thursday was Andrew's last day of school. Unfortunately it was a very rainy day and the festivities had to be moved indoors. Even though it was a bit cramped the kids didn't mind because they got ice cream. We were supposed to have a class picnic at the park afterwards but it was cancelled so we grabbed Chick Fil A and had our own indoor picnic.