"get your bumble bee started"

We had some very funny moments today. At breakfast I was playing bumble bee with Reece (buzzing around with my hand until I tickle her neck with a bee sting/tickle). Gage said, "I'm gonna get that bee with my light sabor". My response was No Way Jose! Gage replied "come on mom, get your bumble bee started" I laughed so hard & immediatly got up to write it down. And yes, Gage was able to get the bee with his light sabor...how can you resist such a request.

While Bug took a nap, Gman & I went out to play in the snow. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast. As we were getting dressed, I picked out the Carhart pants his Aunty Holly got him last year...they still fit. He looked at them & said "what are these?" "They are your carharts." I replied.... So he told me "you are always in my Carhart" Background for those of you who don't know him well...many time a day he tells me & daddy & various other lucky people... "you are always in my heart" This was something started by Daddy when he would have to go to work & Gage wanted to be with him. Sometimes he changes it up to "you are always in my strong heart" or "sad heart" or "happy heart" but it warms your soul just the same.

After nap time we had a snack. Gage ate 3 oranges all by himself (yes they were tiny ones but he would have eaten every last one if I had let him). As I cut a peice of pear for Bug & handed it to her she said "thank you" all on her own for the first time...it was precious.

We had a great day today. My back is feeling better (yes another back ache...this time low back twist from cleaning house yesterday morning...that's what I get for cleaning house...I won't do that again ha ha ha). We had fun at breakfast, played all morning with no TV, got some outside time, I shoveled snow onto the grass since it was melting so I didn't have to waste the great moisture. I also got in a nap, cleaned the house, did some laundry, bathed the kids, made dinner and left the kitchen clean for tomorrow morning YEAH!!!! My back is sore (I know, what was I thinking shoveling snow with a sore back...well I wasn't!) but not as bad as the last two days.

So off to bed we go, sweet dreams!

Ok that's enough...let's go inside! 

Hey ma, it's fricken freezin out here! (Bug's first time in the snow) 

My lil snow friends 

Here's the happy parents-to-be on my Bro's 30th Bday! Congrats guys ~ love you! 

He can ride a saw horse & eat a hot fudge sunday all at once...Talent. Makes me proud to be his sister. 

He is just acting embarrassed...he loves the attention of the entire restaurant. 

Gage is ready for snowmobiling! 

Yeeeehaaaawwww! Yes that is my brother on a saddle (I knew he was a closet cowboy). 

These are mommy's favorite lips. This is the face he makes when making a flying noise. 

Hey, where did you get that spaghetti? My bowl is upside down. (check out those eyes!!!!!) 

What do you mean I have to take it out of the box? 

Nope mom, there is not more spaghetti. 

Brother's cowboy hat, a toothbrush, no pants - what kinda caption would "you" put on this pic? 

A Doozy!

If the 4th molar does not break through soon, I'll be checking into Shady Acres. Poor Bug is suffering (not an exaggeration) with the final of her 1st 4 molars. She is miserable. She has ran a fever (102+) for the past 3 days. Tylenol knocks it out within minutes but w/in 6 hours it is right back up again. The gums over the molar "look" more painful than I care to explain. She has very little appetite and what she does eat must be soft. I wish I could take the pain away!

We have had some funny stuff happen/said/done/etc lately. I'll work backwards.

Today was Bug's first day in the snow. We bundled up while she was napping and played in the snow out back. Gman adjusted to the extreme cold like a trooper and we threw snowballs, tackled eachother (& the dogs...they had a blast getting any attention), and sled down our hill. When Bug woke up I went inside. Since the boys stayed out, I bundled her up & out we went. The first few breathes were stolen by the cold but she had fun. I got some great pictures... I know I know...I have been promising more pictures...soon!

Gman has been such a card lately, some of the things he says. The one I can think of off the top of my head was yesterday when I picked him up from school. The are learning all about valentine(s) this week in school. At the prompting of his daily sheet from school I asked "why" he got valentine cards yesterday hoping for an explanation. He informed me he got a monster truck (which he did). I reitterated my question "why"...monster truck. I decided to go about this another way "What is Valentines all about?"....his response (priceless) word for word: "it's about being sexy". That is what his "friends" told him. I explained it's more about being romantic...not so I was told! I laughed so hard as I wasn't prepared for that response.

When Bug hasn't been overtaken with pain she has brought out an attitude that makes us shake with fear about the years to come. Worst part is she is so much like me...I see myself in her so often...how can you get angry at yourself when you are perfect. If I'm perfect and she's just like me she must be perfect too... makes complete sense to me (as Mr Hubby would say, it's my story & I'll tell it how I want to).

I have been laughing so hard these days at the kids...I am going to have to carry a lil notebook along with me to jot down all the "funnies".

Well I'm gonna squeeze in a bit more work tonight since I have been such a slacker! Night all!

I am going to be an auntie again!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!

Ok for 3 days I have been trying to quickly find a cute "baby" pic/clip art/etc... when I finally find something I will settle for...I cannot get it into my blog....so screw it!

I am going to be an auntie again. Congratulations Matt & Kris on conceiving a baby(ies) for me! Ok I am sure you may have done it for yourselves but it's my blog & I'll tell it how I want to! Good luck on the results of your Beta tests! I can't tell you how excited I am!!!!! This is a niece/nephew from my side of the family. Since I won't be getting any more from Daddy's side I am glad my side is gettin started...still have 2 sisters too!!! I love being an auntie & Daddy loves being an uncle...you can spoil spoil spoil & send them home to let the parents worry about all the "raising" issues.

Other news: I had a blissful shopping day with my two angels yesterday. You may think this sounds facisious but NO! My children where amazing yesterday when we went out about town. We first stopped to see Daddy at work since they screwed him again so he had to finish up late Friday jobs on Saturday (with comments like "I thought you needed the work, now when it shows up you want to put it off"....hmmmmmmm if I weren't praising & raving about my children right now I could really go off). Then we headed to Hobby Lobby to check out their valentines. We cruised the store, checked out many things (lots & lots of clearance...my favorite, but alas I was good...no purchases for me) and found Gage some spiderman cards & Reece some princess cards. As we were leaving HL Gage & I found ourselves ravaged with hunger. So off to my favorite store: Target for a quick bite & more shopping. Gage was quite the charmer at HL (to all the other lady shoppers that is) and listened so well I felt confident in checking out another store. The kids shared Mac & Cheese, apple sauce & cheetos, Gage enjoyed his normal Icee and mommy had some tacos & a diet Doctor Pepper (ha ha ha...doesn't that cancel out the tacos?). I know I know...not your picture perfect lunch of health food items but we had an absolute blast. We spent nearly 2 hours roaming the isles (checking out the clearance of course...and again I was VERY good...no purchases for me). We finished at the toys with rewards for such awesome behavior. Gage picked out a pop-gun (wooden gun with cork that pops out by air pressure), Reece got some bath toys (duckies & watering can) and I also got a kite that fits into your pocket for our next visit to the park (our recent history of breezy days should not let us down). We headed home, children still in best moods with smiles galore & lots of laughs & wackiness. Reece fell asleep in the truck smiling and stayed asleep during the transfer to her bed (amazing & unusual). I let Gage skip his nap to play with me while we awaited the arrival of our friends from Wyoming. As it turns out there was plenty of time for him to nap before they arrived but we had a good time. Gage was rewarded again with a musical instrument, my old Ukaleily (like I know how to spell THAT)...lets just call it my old Uke & Gage's new guitar! We played lots of tunes (only to a mother's ear) and danced & sang. We finished the day with a great visit with our friends, excellent dinner at the Macaroni Grill, playtime before bed, then a fun game of Dominos! What a great day! It is one that will live in my memories forever, especially the bliss I enjoyed with my children ALL day long.

Well there you have it...one day of bliss can get you through weeks & weeks & months of challenges. Keep smiling! It sure feels good.

Better & Worse

Better....

Well we are all a bit better...and that is great news. Reece's cough changed last night...with great releif to mommy. Gage's cough is much better too. We still kill many trees with the amount of tissue we use each day but it is much more clear than green now....Excellent!

Worse...

I have to praise my husband for what a strong man he is. He has been up against the "evil" at WORK for some time but they rose to a new low yesterday. He has been on "view" by management for any time off he takes but now the time he IS there is now being monitored. He was brought into a "meeting" yesterday where they informed him that due to a "complaint" by one of the "cry baby techs" {let's just call him Golden Boy} his computer will be monitored to see how he gets his hours. The complaint in jist was Mr. Hubby still seems to have work when the shop is dead...waaa waaa waaa. I can tell you how he has hours....he WORKS when the work is there. I have never heard of a more pathetic group of whiny, back stabbing, clicky, (oh the list could go on & on) MEN (if you can call them that) in my life. Mechanics are the WORST! Golden Boy recently got a few other techs in trouble for beating the system in obtaining jobs by holding down the appropriate "key" on the computer with a socket until a job is assigned to them. This same complainer holds the key down too...he just wasn't smart enough to figure out a way how to do it & be able to leave his station to do something else. I admire my hubby for his work ethic...he will help other techs all day (& not get compensated), he will help customers on his own time (& not get compensated), he will do "shit" work all day totalling .8 hours but if a job comes in at 4pm that could wait until tomorrow, he (without thought) immediately gets to work to get it done for the customer (even if it keeps him late). I can remember at my old office, if we had a dead day & a new "project" needed attention later in the day, I would put it off to start fresh the next day...not him! The other guys in the shop will get in early to "grab" all the work they can "hold" for themselves but as soon as the work runs out they go to McDonalds or out to smoke or bring in their own cars, then when work shows up they shrug it off saying, well if it had been here a few hours ago I would have done it! SERIOUSLY!!! Mr. Hubby does not "hold" work, or "grab" work, he gets the next job available, does the job, takes the next job available, does the job, takes the job available, does the job....and that's how he gets hours. Ohhhhh I am fuming for the crap he has had to endure at "hell"...oops I mean WORK. I am soooooo sorry hunny! We appreciate you!

Other...

Reece cleary said 2 nearly new words this morning. She has said versions of these but not clear & precise. She wanted a drink of milk this morning so she pointed to the cup and said "some", then moments later came around the corner announcing that she had a "cracker". Clear as a bell. Yeah Reece-a-bug!

We are meeting our new neighbors at the park today near lunch time. Us mommies are very excited to get our kids together finally. Gage & Reece should have a blast with the neighbor kids.

Just checking in...

Yesterday was Doctor day. Reece has ear infections & croup. We got an antibiotic & a great "decongestant/antihistemine/cough" syrup with codeine. That helped a lot! The verdict is out on whether we will have to have another visit for Gage. His eyes are starting to look a bit red again & he is hanging onto the cold too. I have disinfected everything I can think of...I guess we are just going to have to let it, as they say "run it's course".

Not much on the docket today. Gotta run to Albertson's for a refund (didn't give me my card savings), then to see Auntie Kris (since she is in Fort Collins today). Maybe lunch with Daddy. Man am I boring today or what! Hope you all have a much more exciting day than me!

Smorgishborg

I am sensing a trend of illness related blogging...and I would really like to start expressing myself on other issues...maybe not the "gassy kind" like my sister-in-law but alas...something other than updating you with the color of everyone's snot! (by the way Reece's is a beautiful shade of green). So we will add a plethora of items to this one:

1st Reece is still sick so I will be taking her to the Dr. tomorrow for antibiotics. The Croupy cough only shows up late at night during a coughing spell but does not seem to cause her any additional problems as did with Gage....Thank god!

2nd Gage is doing better...he still has plenty of phlem & coughing but it doesn't seem to slow him down (we are stuck in warp speed & "I'm givin' 'er all she's got cap'n")

3rd Thank you Nana & Papa for the special non-occasion toys and the Get Well delivery for Reece. The kids are still playing with the balloons.

4th My brother started a blog...be prepared to laugh as he has been known to be a bit funny!

5th Reece was dancing tonight after waking to have snot removed from her cheeks, eye brows, lashes, hair, ear lobes...etc. She has got some moves let me tell you. The best one is when she shakes her booty...she will even do it when you tell her to! It is awesome! I'm so proud. She got our dancing genes (auntie Leah & auntie Holly). I will have to mention that she can & does do the sprinkler in honor of her name sake (Leah).

6th I went to a "Slumber Parties" party (with intimate accessories) on Friday night and can I tell you how tempting it is to become a distributor. The money is awesome and as I watched the gal's presentation I thought: I could sooooo do it and be sooooo funny! I'll keep you updated if I decide to start a new business (seriously).

7th well...there just isn't a 7th tonight, my muscle relaxer is finally starting to loosen the "alien" muscle in my back (yes yes...same one I am going to PT for)...so off to bed I go!

Nighty night.

All is well

Reece is doing great. No more croupy cough this morning. More later, we gotta run!

Croup has returned!

It is nearly mid-night & I find myself glued to the monitor. Reece has croup. This is a magically stressful word in our family considering our history with Gage. So I thought I would play a couple games of solitaire while the house cooled off a bit (turned thermostat way down) in hopes it will loosen her throat a bit.

For those of you who don't know or if I haven't posted our "experience" with croup & Gage here's a synapsis. When Gage was 14 months old (only weeks older than Reece is now) he got croup. It came on so fast. Late in the afternoon I had him in the Drs' office for a wheeze but by 10pm that night he could barely breath. We rushed him to the hospital for breathing treatments in the ER...no luck. After a super-shot of Steroids with no relief they decided to admit him. Gage & I spent 4-5 days in a moisture tent. The only time I wasn't with him was for brief bathroom breaks when Daddy crawled in the tent with him. He struggled to breath the entire time and had breathing treatments every 2 hours. After day number 4 we met with an ENT specialist who recommended they put him under and try to get a look at his throat with a little camera...to see what was going on there. He warned us that Gage would probably come out with a breathing tube & sedated. If it gets our boy better or helps him breath...let's do it we said. The days of watching him suffer & not being able to help him other than sooth him & keep him calm, then watching him be taken away by a nurse crying & screaming was more than I ever thought I could handle as a mom....I was wrong...I handled that and a whole lot more. The doctor came out of the procedure stating he could not get the tiny camera through his throat it was so closed. They were able to barely fit an infant sized breathing tube in to intubate him. They informed us he would most likely be transferred to Childrens' Hospital the next day. I ran home for a shower and packed a bag. When I returned to the hospital and went to Gage's room, there was chaos. Apparently he had woken up, freeked out so they had to increase his sedation which sent his heart rate plummeting...just recalling this makes my heart hurt. The whole time he had hand restraints on to keep him from pulling out the tube if he "woke up". They stabilized him for the night but we were definitely going to Childrens' via Flight For Life the next morning. After the transfer was all set Brian & I ran home to pack bags for our trip to Denver with plans to meet the Flight For Life ambulance at Childrens'. We beat them there by 30 minutes....waiting was awful. When he was all settled I sat with him and told him stories, held his hand, sang him songs, stroked his face....crushed inside watching our first born so helplessly sick. We had the best nurse on the face of the planet, Chip. He was awesome. He made us so much more relaxed, at ease & confident of the medical treatment Gage was receiving. In the middle of the night on night 4 we received a call at our hotel that Gage had woke up, & pulled the tube out on his own. They were planning on extubating him the following day anyway...he couldn't wait. That food through a tube in his nose was more than he could bare...ha ha ha. He was so weak. The next day he could barely walk as he had not been on his feet in over a week. I stayed with him in the hospital that next night & we were released the next day. In follow up appointments it appears he got croup from a paraflu. He was in the 5% of children that have to go to the hospital and <1% who have to be intabated. It is an experience that has been burned into my heart & I do not want to repeat it with Reece-a-bug. She is not as tough as Gage and I am not sure Daddy could handle it with his little girl.

Well, her coughing has nearly stopped and she seems to be sleeping soundly so I might be able to rest while jumping at every sound from her monitor tonight. Here's hoping for a restfull night for all.