Punky's Birthday Ticker
Buddy's Birthday Ticker
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Pet Store
While Punky is at preschool two mornings a week, Buddy and I get to spend one-on-one time with each other. Most mornings we do errands. I have found it is much easier to unbuckle one kid's car seat, hold one kid's hand through the parking lot, put one kid into the cart, listen to one kid's pleas for the "toy section" or "cookies", walk one kid back through the parking lot and buckle one kid back into the car seat while I unload our purchases. Buddy enjoys our time together as much as I do too. After I pry him away from the toys in Punky's preschool classroom, he immediately asks for one thing- "PET STORE!" Because this is our time together, I don't mind squeezing in a 20 minute trip. We usually end up going once a week.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thanksgiving and Cookies
We spent the weekend at Grandma Trudi and Grandpa Scott's house. We left early Thursday morning and did not get home until Sunday late afternoon. It was a long time to be gone. Four days of no naps for Buddy and not sleeping in our own beds was difficult. There were more and more meltdowns as the days went on. It was a fun weekend nonetheless!
Of course, I didn't take ANY photos of anything Thanksgiving related. Blog fail. We were at a potluck, family reunion-type get together for Thanksgiving. On Friday, Grandma and I did a little shopping in the morning. That afternoon, we started our annual Christmas cookie baking. We typically make a couple of batches of spritz cookies along with peanut blossoms, ginger ball cookies, rolo pretzels and almond-bark pretzels. This year we added two recipes passed down by Daddy's Great Grandma Irene. The first was sour cream cookies that were rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters. It took Daddy and Uncle Sean a couple dozen cookies to figure out the correct thickness and crispiness that they remembered from when they were kids. I think they finally got it, but it may take another year to perfect it. Hilary and I had fun decorating all the cookies, but Derek and his siblings reminded us that Great Grandma Irene only dusted them with sugar. The second recipe was rosettes which were a fried cookie type of thing. They tasted good but didn't turn out quite right. This recipe will probably take a few years to perfect. But we are so thankful that we were able to continue the tradition of baking Christmas cookies, especially now that we have some of the recipes Derek remembers as a kid.
We all headed to Daddy's favorite restaurant, Budger's, for supper on Friday night. Punky and Buddy weren't so sure about going beforehand, but as we were leaving Buddy said "Bugzers iz yummy." I think if we lived closer, Budger's would be our new Chipotle.
We played cards every night after the kids went to sleep. We stayed up until midnight or later. So.much.fun! And on Saturday, Daddy and I got to sneak away for a movie. It was a great weekend!
Of course, I didn't take ANY photos of anything Thanksgiving related. Blog fail. We were at a potluck, family reunion-type get together for Thanksgiving. On Friday, Grandma and I did a little shopping in the morning. That afternoon, we started our annual Christmas cookie baking. We typically make a couple of batches of spritz cookies along with peanut blossoms, ginger ball cookies, rolo pretzels and almond-bark pretzels. This year we added two recipes passed down by Daddy's Great Grandma Irene. The first was sour cream cookies that were rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters. It took Daddy and Uncle Sean a couple dozen cookies to figure out the correct thickness and crispiness that they remembered from when they were kids. I think they finally got it, but it may take another year to perfect it. Hilary and I had fun decorating all the cookies, but Derek and his siblings reminded us that Great Grandma Irene only dusted them with sugar. The second recipe was rosettes which were a fried cookie type of thing. They tasted good but didn't turn out quite right. This recipe will probably take a few years to perfect. But we are so thankful that we were able to continue the tradition of baking Christmas cookies, especially now that we have some of the recipes Derek remembers as a kid.
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| Rolling Peanut Blossoms in sugar |
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| Don't touch! |
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| Spritz Cookies |
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| Rolo Pretzels- my favorite! |
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| Great-Great-Grandma Irene's Rosettes |
We all headed to Daddy's favorite restaurant, Budger's, for supper on Friday night. Punky and Buddy weren't so sure about going beforehand, but as we were leaving Buddy said "Bugzers iz yummy." I think if we lived closer, Budger's would be our new Chipotle.
We played cards every night after the kids went to sleep. We stayed up until midnight or later. So.much.fun! And on Saturday, Daddy and I got to sneak away for a movie. It was a great weekend!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Gymnastics Wrap-Up
Punky's last day of gymnastics was yesterday. Parents were allowed to watch only the first and last class. Nine weeks ago, I wondered how much Punky would improve from the first class. It's hard to say, but I definitely think she had a lot of fun!
At the end of class, each kid got to tell the class their favorite activity (beam, bars, jumps, rolls, etc.) and then perform that activity for the parents. Punky chose the beam!
I think we'll try to sign up for another session of gymnastics. Buddy might even enjoy it too!
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| Beam |
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| Bars |
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| Forward Roll |
At the end of class, each kid got to tell the class their favorite activity (beam, bars, jumps, rolls, etc.) and then perform that activity for the parents. Punky chose the beam!
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| All on her own! |
Monday, November 12, 2012
Short Post
I have no pictures and no cute stories from our weekend. But, our annual girl's weekend is one I look forward to all year long and have enjoyed for the last 10 years or so. It doesn't feel right to not document it. Unfortunately, I had to work on Saturday, so my participation in girl's weekend was cut short.
Grandma Debbie came on Thursday afternoon and picked the kids up at daycare while I was at work. I got to sneak in a haircut before heading home that evening. I was so thankful to have Grandma's help while Daddy was out of town hunting for the long weekend.
Friday was Grandma's birthday. We celebrated with a little shopping, lunch at Panera, and cupcakes. An old friend from high school was passing through town, so we spent the evening catching up with her and meeting her two kids. Punky and Buddy were happy to meet new friends, as always.
Auntie Shannon, Abby and Leah came late that night. I had to work all day Saturday, but everyone else headed to the MOA. They did a little shopping, rode a few rides, got "tattoos" (face painting) and visited the rock-a-dile at Rainforest Cafe (he's still scary). We made supper at our house after I got back from work and we watched a movie after the kids went to bed. On Sunday, we slept in and went out to lunch before the Iowans headed home. Grandma stuck around another day and I tried to get her to help me reorganize the kid's stuff. She wasn't having it. :) It was nice having a full house while Daddy was gone for a change, but I am also looking forward to getting back into our regular routine.
Grandma Debbie came on Thursday afternoon and picked the kids up at daycare while I was at work. I got to sneak in a haircut before heading home that evening. I was so thankful to have Grandma's help while Daddy was out of town hunting for the long weekend.
Friday was Grandma's birthday. We celebrated with a little shopping, lunch at Panera, and cupcakes. An old friend from high school was passing through town, so we spent the evening catching up with her and meeting her two kids. Punky and Buddy were happy to meet new friends, as always.
Auntie Shannon, Abby and Leah came late that night. I had to work all day Saturday, but everyone else headed to the MOA. They did a little shopping, rode a few rides, got "tattoos" (face painting) and visited the rock-a-dile at Rainforest Cafe (he's still scary). We made supper at our house after I got back from work and we watched a movie after the kids went to bed. On Sunday, we slept in and went out to lunch before the Iowans headed home. Grandma stuck around another day and I tried to get her to help me reorganize the kid's stuff. She wasn't having it. :) It was nice having a full house while Daddy was gone for a change, but I am also looking forward to getting back into our regular routine.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Rainbow Fish
With two kids in daycare part-time and one kid in preschool two days a week, our house has become overrun with crafts. Every few weeks, I sort through the pile and keep only my favorite projects. This time of year, especially, I am keeping projects to use as holiday decorations in the following years.
A few weeks ago at daycare, the theme of the week was the letter F. The kids read the story "Rainbow Fish" and were supposed to color a picture of a rainbow fish.
When I picked the kids up from daycare, our daycare provider, Bobbi, told me that Buddy was not interested in doing the project that day. He kept leaving the table to play with animals. (Who would've guessed?) Bobbi kept directing him back to the craft table with the rest of the kids and told him it was time to color. Bobbi told me he was angry and said "NO!". When she checked back on Buddy a few minutes later, she found he had scribbled his entire "Rainbow Fish" picture with a black crayon. I guess Buddy told her!
A few weeks ago at daycare, the theme of the week was the letter F. The kids read the story "Rainbow Fish" and were supposed to color a picture of a rainbow fish.
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| Punky's Picture |
When I picked the kids up from daycare, our daycare provider, Bobbi, told me that Buddy was not interested in doing the project that day. He kept leaving the table to play with animals. (Who would've guessed?) Bobbi kept directing him back to the craft table with the rest of the kids and told him it was time to color. Bobbi told me he was angry and said "NO!". When she checked back on Buddy a few minutes later, she found he had scribbled his entire "Rainbow Fish" picture with a black crayon. I guess Buddy told her!
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| Buddy's "Rainbow Fish" |
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Doctor x4
On Halloween morning, I broke down and went to urgent care. I had not slept a minute the night before and could not swallow water without wanting to cry. I seriously thought I had an enlarged lymph node or tonsil that would need to be surgically removed. It hurt that bad. Well, it turns out I had strep throat.
As we were getting ready for bed after trick-or-treating, I noticed yellow snot (there is no better way to describe it) oozing out of Buddy's ear. I did some googling and realized we would need to make a doctor appointment for the morning. We dropped Punky off at preschool and headed to the clinic. Turns out poor little Buddy's eardrum burst. He must have had an ear infection that finally caused his eardrum to burst. Buddy did not complain of anything at all. No fever, no tugging on the ears, etc. A few nights prior, he did wake two times at night (very uncommon), told me he had an ouchie and went back to sleep. That was probably our only sign. As the doctor was wrapping up the appointment, I casually mentioned to her that I was diagnosed with strep throat the day before. So, she swabbed Buddy and sure enough he was positive!
I figured we better take Punky to the clinic since Buddy was positive and didn't show any symptoms. So, after preschool and lunch, we were back to the same doctor. Another positive! Punky did have a fever and threw up about 10 days prior to that when we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I wonder now if that was related to the strep throat or not.
The doctor advised me that Derek should get checked as well. So, he headed to the clinic after work. The quick strep test came back negative but his doctor wrote him a prescription anyway.
We know have four different types of medicine and a bottle of prescription ear drops on our kitchen counter. Not a single one of us has the same drug, same dosage or same schedule for taking our meds. It has been confusing coordinating it all!
Punky has been a champ with her medicine. Up until a few months ago, the girl would not even taken Tylenol. She would literally kick, scream and spit the medicine in our face. Lucky for us, she wasn't sick too often! My mom even suggested asking the doctor if there was a chewable or gummy bear type of antibiotic available. She was that bad! But, with Punky's Amoxicillin allergy it was not an option. She recently started taking grape chewables by herself. She asked the pharmacist for watermelon flavored medicine. Unfortunately, her prescription only came in a strawberry flavor. I just told her that it was watermelon because I figured she wouldn't know the difference. Punky likes to squirt the medicine into her mouth by herself. As long as we promise her a piece of candy, she takes it down just fine.
Buddy, on the other hand, was developed a distaste of medicine. He has been sick even less than Punky. This is his first ear infection and I don't hardly remember giving him Tylenol for a fever as a baby more than once or twice. He used to just gulp it down without batting an eye. He asked the pharmacist for bubble gum flavoring. How he even knows what bubble gum is or that medicine came in that flavor is beyond me. I told the pharmacist to give him watermelon because I didn't think he'd even like bubble gum. And now, of course, Buddy hates his medicine. He is the one spitting it in our face and crying when it is time to take his medicine. Hopefully he outgrows this faster than his sister!
As we were getting ready for bed after trick-or-treating, I noticed yellow snot (there is no better way to describe it) oozing out of Buddy's ear. I did some googling and realized we would need to make a doctor appointment for the morning. We dropped Punky off at preschool and headed to the clinic. Turns out poor little Buddy's eardrum burst. He must have had an ear infection that finally caused his eardrum to burst. Buddy did not complain of anything at all. No fever, no tugging on the ears, etc. A few nights prior, he did wake two times at night (very uncommon), told me he had an ouchie and went back to sleep. That was probably our only sign. As the doctor was wrapping up the appointment, I casually mentioned to her that I was diagnosed with strep throat the day before. So, she swabbed Buddy and sure enough he was positive!
I figured we better take Punky to the clinic since Buddy was positive and didn't show any symptoms. So, after preschool and lunch, we were back to the same doctor. Another positive! Punky did have a fever and threw up about 10 days prior to that when we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I wonder now if that was related to the strep throat or not.
The doctor advised me that Derek should get checked as well. So, he headed to the clinic after work. The quick strep test came back negative but his doctor wrote him a prescription anyway.
We know have four different types of medicine and a bottle of prescription ear drops on our kitchen counter. Not a single one of us has the same drug, same dosage or same schedule for taking our meds. It has been confusing coordinating it all!
Punky has been a champ with her medicine. Up until a few months ago, the girl would not even taken Tylenol. She would literally kick, scream and spit the medicine in our face. Lucky for us, she wasn't sick too often! My mom even suggested asking the doctor if there was a chewable or gummy bear type of antibiotic available. She was that bad! But, with Punky's Amoxicillin allergy it was not an option. She recently started taking grape chewables by herself. She asked the pharmacist for watermelon flavored medicine. Unfortunately, her prescription only came in a strawberry flavor. I just told her that it was watermelon because I figured she wouldn't know the difference. Punky likes to squirt the medicine into her mouth by herself. As long as we promise her a piece of candy, she takes it down just fine.
Buddy, on the other hand, was developed a distaste of medicine. He has been sick even less than Punky. This is his first ear infection and I don't hardly remember giving him Tylenol for a fever as a baby more than once or twice. He used to just gulp it down without batting an eye. He asked the pharmacist for bubble gum flavoring. How he even knows what bubble gum is or that medicine came in that flavor is beyond me. I told the pharmacist to give him watermelon because I didn't think he'd even like bubble gum. And now, of course, Buddy hates his medicine. He is the one spitting it in our face and crying when it is time to take his medicine. Hopefully he outgrows this faster than his sister!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Sick-or-Treat
After attending three pre-Halloween parties, Punky and Buddy were ready for the real deal... Trick-or-Treating! The last two years, we have been invited over to Punky's BFFs' house for pizza and trick-or-treating. However, as I mentioned in my last post, I had not been feeling well. I was not getting better, so I broke down and went to urgent care in the morning. Turns out, I have strep throat. Since I would be contagious until after 24 hours on meds, I had to stay home from the Halloween party. Derek took the kids over and they had a blast! There aren't any photos to prove it, but if you could see their candy bucket, you'd believe me!
I did manage to get a few smiles before they headed out. Grandma Debbie made Punky and Buddy's Halloween costumes this year. They turned out even better than I ever imagined! Thanks so much Grandma for your hard work and fun touches (Punky has been telling everyone about the sparkles on her horn!). Buddy was so excited to be a "DI DO SAUR" and Punky loved her unicorn costume, especially since it included her favorite color, purple.
I did manage to get a few smiles before they headed out. Grandma Debbie made Punky and Buddy's Halloween costumes this year. They turned out even better than I ever imagined! Thanks so much Grandma for your hard work and fun touches (Punky has been telling everyone about the sparkles on her horn!). Buddy was so excited to be a "DI DO SAUR" and Punky loved her unicorn costume, especially since it included her favorite color, purple.
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