Hi There

So, I haven't written in an abysmally long time. A lot of things have happened since I did, so I will try and catch you up now.

First: During the warmer days, Sundays were family days where we would go to the Tech museum, Maxey park, or on other family outings, and then split an ice cream sundae from McDonalds. It was really nice, but it has gotten much too cold for that.

The kids were sick on and off for a long time there--we had a total of six infected eyes in our house at one point (all four of the children's and one each for me and Michael), and the whole world was miserable with us.

On Halloween, for the school party, Emerald went as a pumpkin and Gabriel went as a lion. Then we took them trick-or-treating at Katie Roger's Dorm, and Emerald went as a ladybug and Gabriel went as a Zebra. Finally, we went trick-or-treating at Green Lawn Church of Christ, where the kids went as a ladybug and a zebra again. We still have so much candy, you are welcome to as much as you can carry out of here!

At Thanksgiving, I was able to go home and see my family--yay! It was sad because Michael couldn't come, but I love "goin country". Emerald rode horses, fed chickens, and chased goats, and I just soaked up love and ribbing from my family.

When we got home, Joel and Kamee (or "Jo-Jo and Candy" as Emerald calls them) were visiting at Ken and Rhonda's and we got to spend time with them, which was really awesome. I hope we can travel to Colorado to see them too.

Finally, it is almost Christmas and Mama has bout near finished the Christmas shopping. She still has Michael's side of the family, but we are not celebrating with them until after the holiday season, so I have got time. =)

I think that about covers it. Toodle-oo!

Finally, An Update!

Sorry I have been so terrible about updating--it has been a crazy few weeks!!

I will try and update over the next few days about all the things we have done, which include a visit to the Tech museum, Maxey park, Health fair, and many more exciting places, not to mention a few more bouts of the nasty-sickies!

So stay tuned =)

Feelin' Fine

The kids and I are healthy again!

Gabe took the longest time to get better, but he seems fine now. Well, he technically has the runny nose, watery eyes, sinus headache and cough attributed to allergies, which isn't surprising this time of year in Lubbock. He'll be better soon, and he seems to prefer this to the pooping.

Emerald is--as ever--sunshine and roses, and I adore her. She is technically being a two-year old toot. She is forever getting into things that she is not allowed to do, like climbing up on the back of the recliners to look at the window or throwing a box full of diapers at Mom because she's angry. She's still super precious though. Good stuff.

I realized when I started feeling better that my husband--while he takes super care of his sickly wifey--kind of let the house fall to the wayside, and my free time was devoted today to homework and housekeeping.

But hoot to good health!

Sick Days

Update to the Sickly Weardy's--

Emerald is no longer sick--she has been fine since Thursday, though we are keeping her away from other people just in case.

Gabriel is the same--diarrhea 8 or more times a day, though antibiotic ointment and fresh air did his rash wonders. He doesn't cry and more when we change him and he is eating much better.

A funny story aside from that thought--this morning, I gave Emerald a banana and cheerios for her breakfast. Now, anyone that knows Gabriel knows that his absolute favorite food is hands down--bananas. Not two minutes after I had handed Emerald the banana, I started hearing her yelling, so I look over to see Gabriel wrestling the fruit from her hands and scarfing down gigantic bites before I could take it away from him. He had taken down a little over half of the entire banana before I stepped in!

Back to the story at hand--other than the poo problem, Gabriel remains the height of health. No fever, no vomitting, no body aches...he has a little bit of a runny nose this morning, but it could just be banana oozing out every pore.

Late late Thursday night (or very early Friday morning), Mama was awoken with severe nausea. Which is weird--neither of the kids were remotely vomitty. I try to ignore it for about an hour, but it is undeniable. Mama is sick.

Michael had to take time off from work, which we wish we didn't have to do, but with me weak stomached and vomiting nearly everything I eat (the chicken noodle soup and wheat thins and ginger ale was not in the slightest offensive to my stomach at lunch), being constantly available to change Gabriel's dozens of runny, rank poops a day was just not feasible.

Michael had to go back to work today, so that situation is exactly what we have on our hands. But tomorrow is Sunday, and the dealership is closed, so I will have help and rest again.

I really hope my Michael doesn't get sick =(

Speaking of--if you need a new car, go see Mike! He'll hook ya up. ; )

__Andie

Update on Day 3 of Sickies

So, I just talked to the children's nurse, Beth, who I have to say--the most reassuring person on the planet. If she is upset by something, you know you need to take it seriously.

That being said, she is not terribly concerned about the babies being sick today.

Apparently, there is a stomach bug going around right now, which is causing the stomach acid in the children's stomach to over-produce. Because of the excess gastric acids, it spills over to their...output, which is causing chemical burns all over their private areas.

If that doesn't sound scary enough, chew this one over--gastric acid's main component is hydrochloric acid.

Ouch.

Anyways, the best thing we can do for the children is give them a really very bland diet that contains no acids that can't possibly hurt their tummies or cause their poop to be more acidic. We can also consistently use barrier creams--like antibiotic ointment or Vaseline or diaper creams--to prevent the acid from setting in--and giving their bottoms time to air dry when we know defecation is not soon.

Taking them into the doctor's office would just put them in proximity to more ill children, which opens up the possibility of disease swapping, and exasperating the situation in order to confirm that there isn't much we can do outside of home remedies seems cruel. I mean, if the little things got the flu on top of this, my little head would *pop*.

We're laying on our pallet now watching Ratatouille, and snacking on bananas dipped in yogurt (mmm!). This could be the light at the end of the tunnel!!

--Andra

Sick Season Has Hit Home

As far as these things go, we are pretty lucky--what with the H1N1 going around, colds, flu, and all sorts of awfulness, Michael and I are very lucky the kids didn't pick up something much more serious than they did.

As it is, they have a doo-doo problem.

It may be rotavirus or gastroenteritis, we aren't really sure. We do know that neither of them have any other obvious symptoms--no fever, no body aches, no fatigue or cough or headaches. They in fact are playing just fine and interacting with me and Michael, but they are having severe diarrhea that is very acidic, burning their little behinds.

Today is the third day in the poo-saga. Our days are filled with watching movies on pallets in the living room, drinking pedialyte and eating marshmallows (which Mike insists every kid deserves when they are sick), and fearing another round of painful defecation from one of our darling children.

Pray for our sanity and our little baby bottoms =)

I Promise--This is the last post....

....about Emerald's birthday. I wanted to talk about Emerald's Special Day at "school".

She goes to a parent's dayout daycare, which is where she was last Wednesday. I didn't want to do anything too big, because I am trying to remember that this is just a 2 year old's birthday, and yet, the day before I had the Sara(h)'s over to help me--

Sarah B. helped me make dozens of tiny heart shaped cupcakes--pineapple and strawberry, so they would be yellow and pink to match her Hello Kitty stuff!.

I also made party favors--miniature sports balls and dum-dums for the boys in her class-- Garrett, Drew, Benjamin, and (Sean? He's new)-- and Hello Kitty pencil, miniature notebook, stickers, and a dum-dum for the girls in her class--Emerald, Maddy, and Sadie.

Finally, Rhonda and her office helped me make a poster (there are pictures of it in other posts) of Emerald's favorite things--I had balloon cut-outs with disney princess stickers on it, a hello kitty invitation from her party, puppy cut outs and hearts, flowers, butterflies, and pictures of her from her previous year at Bright Horizons.

I heard that she had a great time--yay for her special day!

Saturday Party

Since Uncle Jarrod, Aunt Julia, Uncle Royce, Aunt Stella, and cousins Brian and Dominic could not make it to the party in time for Friday night, we hosted a "second" birthday party out in our backyard!

We blew up the inflatable pools and gave them a little miniature water park to play in. Emerald doesn't get to play with kids outside of daycare, and I really think she enjoyed herself! They were all splashing and having a great time, throwing water at the puppies and squealing shrilly.

After a little while, they got pretty tired and cold (Gabriel just wanted to eat his bottle and go to sleep), so we moved the party inside--got dried off and dressed, and let Emerald open her presents:

Aunt Julia and Uncle Jarrod: Pink hued MegaBlocks and a Disney Princess Baton
Aunt Stella, Uncle Royce, Dominic, and Brian: a Baby doll, toy baby bath with comb, soap, rubber ducky, and other bathing baby toys.

We also got party favors for everyone: rubber bouncy balls, scented bubbles, and a monster truck for each of the boys, plus a fairy sticker book, pencil kit, and scented bubbles for Emerald.

They had such a wonderful time, and are so great at sharing and playing together!
Now, Uncle Jarrod is taking pity on tired Andie (as well as the family that dreads eating her cooking) and is making Parmesean crusted chicken and pork chops for supper! Such a wonderful family we have been blessed with! And thank goodness to the end of parties...until February!!

Mama's Memories: Emerald's 2nd Birthday (detailed)

Emerald turned 2 years old on Friday! If you don't want to read this rambling post, I would jump down to the next entry and read the "at a glance" entry!

I had class in the morning, but Michael had taken the whole day off, which was good news for Emerald--she always has such a great day when he is home. I was having kind of a bad week personally because I had put all this effort into planning all her parties and organizing all this and that and my camera breaks, meaning that I can't get any pictures of all my hard work.

So, after class, Michael takes me (and Miss Kristin comes along) and buys me a new camera as a special Momma day present! I think I like this idea--I mean, 2 years ago, I went through bringing her into this world, and have made it through another year molding her...anyway, I like the idea of a present for me!

My parents arrive a little after we get home--they have travelled the 8 hours across the state to make it to her birthday! So Oma and I head over to Gram's to start decorating for the party.

Gram (Rhonda) makes southwestern eggrolls, tortilla chips, salsa and white queso, sea salt bagel chips, pita crisps, and deli roll ups. I, on the otherhand, foolishly try to force health into a child's birthday party, and tediously chop up apples, peaches, strawberries, oranges, and pineapple (taking care to make the apples in the shape of hearts and the pineapple in the shape of stars). I squeezed lemon juice over all of it, and it turned out really yummy!

I laid the yellow table cloth, then realizing I wasn't crazy about it and covering it in shiny metallic Hello Kitty stickers. Rhonda and Shelley draped the light with crepe paper, and I hung the poster I made for Emerald's Special Day at school. I put the cake on the table, surrounded by Hello Kitty sunglasses, as well as neon pink plates, cups, and napkins. Rhonda makes enough tea for the rest of the year =)

I went home and showered, and brought Michael and Grampa (Danny) back with me. By then, people are starting to arrive, and we can't expect Emerald to hold out much longer. People have been snacking since they got there anyway, so we take her in to open presents.

First is the present from Grannymom and Daddad--granimals deep purple shoes, a purple flower-dy outfit, a pink pooh bear outfit, and disney princess pajamas. Being very girly, Emerald LOVES new clothes.

She then opens the present from Mom and Dad--an Disney Princess Aquadoodle. Basically, it's pretty, special paper that is pale pink that you hang on the wall. It makes great for decoration! Anyways, there is a pen that comes with it that you fill with water, and it only draws on this special paper, and it's marks fade over time so that you can use it over and over again. Now she can color on the walls without getting in trouble! She also got a Strawberry Shortcake coloring book and Hello Kitty coloring book from us--she loves art.

Oma and Grampa sewed her a sweet little shirt-dress that she looks sooo cute in, and Grampa built her a cradle for her baby dolls. It was so funny when she saw it--its the same color as the bed that my parents built her for Christmas, so she was determined to lay down in it! We were just rolling laughing. But it goes very well with the rest of her room--pale yellow, and so sweet.

Gram and Pawpaw got her a toy kitchen--last year, they got her the door, so they are helping build her a house! The kitchen has a little sink, and a stove where the front burner glows red and makes boiling sounds, and the back burner glows and makes cooking noises. It comes with little pots and pans and utensils and all sorts of pieces--she is soo intrigued by it, and loves playing "mommy".

Great Granny and Papa were not able to make it, but they got her a Barbie tricycle. She adores it all ready--its so girly and she can zoom all around the house! She's is sweet peaches. =)

Miss Sara, Miss Kristin, and AJ were all able to make it, as well as Cousin Macy (Sydney had a volleyball game in Roswell, so her parents were with her there), and Andrew and Angie showed up near the end.

Emerald is a huge advocate of all things cake, so she had a lot of fun there, and while she was eating cake, Michael helped Gabriel open his present. We would ideally like to buy both kids presents on each other's buirthdays, one day getting them to pick gifts out for each other so that they are thinking about their family on their birthday. This year, we got Gabriel "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?", as well as miniature football and basketballs.

All in all, great party!! Lots of good food, family, and happy little girl! =)

~Andie

Emerald's 2nd Birthday! (at a glance)

It has happened--little Emerald Renae has turned 2 years old!!

September 11th, or this past Friday, marked the 2nd anniversary of her birth. We celebrated with a party over at her Gram and PawPaw's house.

I will give the basics, and then the next entry will be more specifics.

Theme: Hello Kitty

Food Served: Southwest Eggrolls, Deli Rolls in Club Sandwich, Tomato Provolone, and Turkey, White Queso, Tortilla Chips and Salsa, Sea Salt Bagel Chips, Pita Crisps, White Birthday cake and most importantly--a vibrant fruit salad with an array of beautifully cut fruit!

Guests/Gifts:
Gram and Pawpaw--Toy kitchen, complete with light up burners, pots and pans, and realistic cooking noises
Oma and Grampa: Homemade dolly cradle in pale yellow, hand-made shirt dress with a kitty on the front
GrannyMom and DadDad: Disney Princess Pajamas, Pooh Bear outfit, Purple floral outfit, Purple shoes
Mama and Daddy: Disney Princess Aquadoodle, Hello Kitty Coloring Book, Strawberry Shortcake Coloring Book
(With us in spirit) Great Granny and Papa: Barbie Tricycle
Miss Sara
AJ: godfather
Andrew and Angie (kinda)
Miss Kristin
Macy

Gift for Bubba Gabriel: "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?", mini football and basketball

All in all, wild success!

Oh, Grrr.

I love this picture =)



In other news, wish us luck. We are trying a solution to our "night terror" problem tonight (aka, our darling children's Big Move to the Big Bed, yick).



Basically, ever since the kids started going to daycare, Michael and I have not been blessed with more than 20 straight minutes of sleep in one stretch.

Emerald, who had the same problem last year when she started at Greenlawn, has been sleep wandering the halls screaming for her Daddy. And, if you have never slept with 40 lbs of pure kicking toddler fury, you know it is unpleasant.

Gabriel has been more of an issue for me, personally. He seems to be fine during the day, but at night, he refuses to be out of touching distance of Mom, which leaves Michael to deal with the squalling Rampage. Gabriel doesn't just want to be close to me, however--oh, no--he wants to be able to smell me, run his fingers through my hair, nuzzle my cheek. Which sounds cute, but he kicks and fusses, and the moment he moves outside my embrace, he lets out a wail so piercing, so traumatizing, that I am certain every one in Lubbock heard it. That's right--my son is the butt heard round the world.

To confound matters, they are both sick...I believe it is a result of poor sleep, teething, and drainage, but they can't breathe at night, which means that any sleep Michael and I could squeeze in between being terrorized by infants is through the sound of phlemy snoring and infrequent, audible throat clearing.



Wish us luck--mama has a plan =)

Back to School!

It's the first day of daycare for the Wearden duo, the second year for Emerald and the first for Gabriel! Needless to say, Mama was tense all day!!

We got up early this morning--I had packed as much as I could before going to bed, which means Emerald's lunch, diaper bags, etc. Emerald is in the monkey class (which I think fits her to a T!) and Gabriel is a caterpillar (he's so adorable!).

Emerald was really surly from the moment she woke up--she was never a morning person. Gabriel watched the Batman Animated Series while I changed and dressed Emerald--he is always very agreeable.

We left super early--Emerald snacking on apple bars--so that we could stop and see Rhonda on our way to daycare. Unfortunately, we didn't realize until we were at college campus (between our house and daycare) that Rhonda was home sick, So I took the kids to the financial aid office so that I could make sure everything was turned in (it is! awesome) and then off to school.

Maya is not in Emerald's class any more, nor is Cooper, but Drew and Mady are. Drew is the son of the director, and really chubby and cute; Mady was BBFF (Bald Best Friends Forever) with Emerald last year. She has the cutest headbands--thick things with giant flowers atop them. I wish I had as many as she does!!

Anyways, other new students include Sadie and Garrett (more about him later). Emerald we dropped off at class first, and she ran in and started playing, didn't look back once.

Gabriel we dropped off next--he was curious more than anything else, and I really worried about him, but his teacher said he was the sweetest little boy all day, and when I showed up, he was asleep in the swing.

After I got out of class, I went and got them back--Emerald started fussing the moment she saw me and insisted I pick her up. Her teacher said she wouldn't take a nap until she said "Pat, hold!" and her teacher Ms Pat rocked her to sleep =) She apparently was more fussy than Gabriel, and is being really clingy now.

We gathered all our stuff little Garrett (just precious little blonde haired boy, and the only baby I have ever seen that is bigger than Emerald) jumped up and ran to the door where Emerald was leaving yelling "BYE!! BYE!" and blowing Emerald kisses. Emerald, always the cool customer turns to him and says "Bye, Jake". Oooh, cool use of the "wrong name", doll ;)

All in all, we are looking forward to a great year!

~Andie~

Water Fun!

We randomly found a giftcard to Target in Michael's wallet, so Mike agreed to let me use that to take Emerald shopping for a first day of school outfit!

Unfortunately, we did not consider that this past weekend was tax-free weekend, and the next week signaled the start of school for many people. Target reflected that accurately--it was PACKED. We decided to split up--Michael to take Gabriel to look at electronics, and me and Emerald to pick out an outfit for daycare, and mabe (if we had money left over) a toy for good behavior.

Rhonda had just recently bought Emerald these adorable magenta colored Mary Janes, so I based the outfit around that, and I will post pictures of her first day (so I don't have to discribe it). But why, you ask yourself, are there pictures of a kiddie pool in a post about new school clothes?!

As the clothes didn't cost all that much, I decided to take Emerald to pick out a toy. I didn't know what I had in mind--her tastes are still developing, so I was trying to get her a variety of things, so as to not condemn myself to a life of backyardigans and blue's clues.

By happenstance, we wandered by the deserted pool fun section, where everything was 50% or more off. We got this inflatable extraveganza for dirt cheap, and Michael and I went home to nearly give ourselves strokes by blowing up all the individual pieces. But it was all worth it to see Emerald's face light up when she first saw it. There's a slide, a ring stacker, a rainbow cave (which you can reverse so there is a baby wade pool on the other side), and a blow up dolphin and palm tree.

We had such a wonderful family outing, right in the backyard, with Emerald splashing and squealing with glee. Totally worth the effort involved, and maybe soon Gabriel can play with her in it too!

It's Been a While

I have a lot of trouble updating lately, but I am working on improving my performance. =)

Emerald and I have been looking for a way to beat the heat, and break up the tedium until she starts
daycare again in a few weeks. As the backyard has become an oasis for us (as mentioned in my earlier
post), we have been spending more and more time outdoors. Getting Emerald to water the lawn is the best--look at how beautiful my grass is now!! I have no idea what we are going to do when it gets cold!


Also going on right now--class started for Mama yesterday. I am taking an Information Systems Management course, which is awfully wordy for my taste, but whatever...that is the only class I have gone to yet, and I think I will like it. Michael can help me with the material, and the teacher is really nice and a bit of a dork, like me!

I love learning, and college classes are like time-outs for Mommy (which I can definately need!), but I want to be graduated all ready. It feels like I've been chipping away it for the longest time. Fiddlesticks.

Gabriel and Emerald start back at "sunshine school" (daycare) soon--then mama will have free time again!


Finally, Mike is teaching me how to drive! I don't much care for it, but it gives me somethin to do =D

More news to come..
~Andie

Not much to say...

Just thought this was a cute picture.

I do have one story though--today, at lunch, Michael was eating nachos. Emerald approached him and said "please?", signing for emphasis. So, Michael started scooping up a nacho for her, but apparently, wasn't going fast enough for her taste, so she impatiently states,
"I SAID please!".

We DIED laughing. She is just too smart for her own good =)

Sunday

Sunday found the Wearden clan on a day trip to Eastland!

As Pappy--Mike's geat grandfather, Rhonda's Dad's dad--'s health has been deteriorating, we wanted to go see him while we had the opportunity. So Sunday, we loaded up the car and headed east.

For the first half of the trip, the kids generally slept--we got McDonald's breakfast, which I haven't had in who knows how long...is it just me, or does the southern style chicken biscuit have the faint taste of pickles? Ah, well, anyways...

We made a stop over in Abilene to change the babies and congratulate Jarrod and Julia on getting pregnant--YAY! for babies!--and travel the last leg of the trip, the hour to Eastland.

The kids start freaking out, poor things. They are tired of being in the car, they want to be held...

We go out to lunch with Rhonda's Aunt Ann and Uncle Butch, to this little Italian restraunt by the name of Valentinos. It was like nothing I have ever tasted, one might say--Mike got the alfredo canolli, and I got the pasta sampler with the lasagna, canolli, and manicotti. Emerald ordered cheese raviolis with no sauce, but she didn't touch it.

Afterwards, we went back to gigi and pappy's and had a nice visit. For the most part, one of us was chasing Emerald, who gleefully rampaged throughout the house, and the other kept an eye on the Gabe, but we still managed to socialize a bit.

Finally!

Emerald ate corn!

I know most people are like, "so what? Big deal--kids love corn"

Not my little girl.

It was the one thing she just would not touch whenever we offered it to her. She didn't outright hate it, she just showed zero interest in it.

The parenting books all told me to just keep offering it, and don't make a big deal if she doesn't eat it. It said it could take up to 15 times of seeing the food before they might try it, and don't give up hope.

Well, out of nowhere last night, she eats her entire serving of steamed corn! I was so proud of her!!



As an aside--I know a lot of people argue that if my family hadn't made such a big deal out of it when I was growing up, I would probably love mayonnaise, or even tolerate it today. So you know, mayonnaise is the very devil of creations, and since it is literally one of the worst foods you can put inside your body, I will stick by my "My mommy doesn't make me eat mayonnaise!". Blech :-&

Summer Days

The children and I are making the most of our clean, spacious backyard and beautiful weather lately--nearly every day now, we spend time out in the sunshine =)

At first, our sojourns outside were tedious--I would have to get out the stroller, strap Gabriel into it (who was usually very fussy by that point), get Emerald all dressed and ready to go, strap her in and set her up with a snack, a book, and a drink so that she would not crawl out while I searched for my phone and camera and keys...and even then, we were confined to how patient the kids were willing to be.

Trips outside to color with chalk were not much better, because Gabriel was still confined to the stroller that I had to manuever outside while wrangling Emerald and the chalk bucket, but I constanty worried that Emerald was going to run off into the street.

The backyard originally was a very poor place for us to spend time. There was stuff left there by the previous tenents that were frankly not safe for children, and it was just a little unpleasant to be in.

A few weeks ago, the land lord got a landscaper to take out some of the more unruly bushes, and upon seeing the disaster that was our backyard, ordered maintaince to clean it up. They truly went above and beyond, turning our dingy patch of grass into a sanctuary.

With generous donations from family members, including a patio set complete with umbrella-ed table and four chairs, as well as a fisher price slide, the transformation was complete. I can take a towel out there and let Gabriel lay, staring up at the sky or marvelling at the tufts of grass he tears out with his chubby fists. Emerald can color freely out there without fear of retribution--I mean, what is the worst she can do? The rain will wash away any stray marks, and she has a fresh template every day.

She slides, she plays with big bouncy balls, she chases the dog and dies laughing when she is covered in slobbery Pepper kisses. And she jokes and plays and there is none of the tension where I am afraid she is somewhere doing something she is not supposed to be. Where she is constantly on guard to not do anything that will get her in trouble, but vertibly itching to explore.

I love our time in the backyard--it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities and helps me keep calm when I feel the weight of two children and insurmountable housework will do me in.

~Andie~

Entertaining!

Michael and I are entertaining tonight! I got up early, and set boneless ribs in the crockpot to slow cook all day in jack daniel's barbeque sauce (mmm, mmm!)--the truly impressive part of this story is that I got FIVE WHOLE POUNDS of ribs for just under $5. Seriously. I don't think anyone is as impressed as I am with that transaction, but I was ecstatic.

Anyways, we are making cheesy mashed potatoes and mac and cheese to go with it, plus making a batch of brownies for dessert. This is going to be so much fun!

S-D Company Picinic

I apologize for not having written in so long--re-adjusting to our former lives, pre-vacation, has been more difficult than I had reackoned, including frequent updates on the small details of our lives! I promise to try harder, however. =)

This past Monday was the annual company picinic for Scoggin-Dickey, which Michael works at now--have I forgotten to mention that? We are so very thankful that he does, because it means that he no longer works the late, late hours he did before.

Either way, it was held at Joyland, the Disney Land of the great plains ; )
The kids, Michael and I, as well as Gram and Pawpaw attended.

We went the year before, since Ken works there as well, but I was pregnant with Gabriel at the time, and Emerald was too young to really enjoy any of the rides--not so this time!

Dinner was pretty good--it was fried catfish and fried chicken, with peach and cherry cobblers and giant cakes for dessert. We were all very surprised when Emerald chowed down on the fried catfish, but it didn't manage to hold her attention for very long. I met some very nice co-workers of Michael's.

Post-dinner, it was time to head on into the park to enjoy some good ol' fashioned carnival rides. Oh, boy.

Her and I went on this antique car ride, where the cars go around in a tight circle, and you get to haphazardly swerve the steering wheel and hold down numerous obnoxious sounding horn buttons until the ride is over. Next to the merry-go-round and behind the obscenely loud roller coaster, Emerald walked away all smiles, and Mama walked away all severe migraines.

After that, Daddy took her on the Merry-Go-Round. She had SO much fun--she was wavin at us on the side-lines, and grimacing everytime the horsey went up...Michael said that near the end, she was yelling "GO GO GO!" to the horse!

Once again Mama's turn to accompany her on a ride, we set up on a little pod car track, which looks pretty straight forward--all rides for kids this age go in circles. What we did not account for was the rocketing speed or wild pivoting the pod cars did--Emerald squealed with glee, and Mama was the proud owner of a migraine and nausea.

Don't even say it--I know, I am a serious wimp, and NO, I am NOT pregnant.

Finally, back to Daddy, he takes her on the helicopter ride, which adds the third demension of up and down to the ride--it goes in circles, and you can raise and lower your personal helicopter by yanking on the bar in front of you.

After that, I (being the big sissy I am) desperately wanted to go home, so we loaded up the kids and treked back to the house. Patrick brought me some advil and Michael got me a route 44 ice water from Sonic, and let me sit in the dark in my bath and let the meds kick in. I fell into a very deep sleep and woke up Tuesday morning right as rain!

oh, no!

The mama's sick!

It's not all that bad--probably just sinuses or a cold or something. I have a migraine, and am feeling really very drained and poorly in general.

I am going to go make some orange juice and take a baby benadryl--its going to be a loooong day.

Our Day in the Sun

It has been so beautiful outside lately, the kids and I decided to spend the day out in the backyard. We had such a great time!

Emerald is such an explorer--she played on the slide, in the potted plants, and with the water hose. We tossed the ball, and she had a snack--she ran out some good energy, playing with Pepper and chalking on the sidewalk.

Gabriel was sitting in the stroller looking around for a bit, but he looked so bored that I laid a towel down in the grass and laid him down on it.

You would not believe how much fun this little boy had in such a simple thing.

He stared up at the sky, something that must have seemed crushingly big to him, and so blindingly bright.
He rolled out onto his tummy and the grass--oh, the grass!--pulling out clumps of it and bringing it to his face to smell, to feel, to experience. I watched him marvel at every wad of earth and blades of grass he nabbed in his chuby little fist...it was so magical, sharing this with him.

The only downside of the day was the rash Gabriel got on his forehead from where he rubbed the grass on his face, but it cleared up with just a bit of benadryl cream.

All in all, wonderful time, our day in the sun =)

~Andie~

Pappy's 90th

The reason we found ourselves in Eastland last month, which led to our three-week trip to Oma and Grumpa's was Pappy's--Michael's Great Grandfather--90th birthday party!


It was really very nice--held in a country club that had animal heads decorating every wall. Emerald proudly named every one "Goat!"


We had to leave very early--six thirty!--to get there on time. We rode with Grannymom and Daddad for part of the trip, then Emerald went and rode with Steve and Melisa. During the last 10 minutes of the trip, she gets sick all over herself and the carseat, poor dear. We aren't certain if it was car sickness or the terrible diaper rash that seemed to be hurting her so, but she was distraught until we got her all situated.


We enjoyed a nice chicken strips lunch and then met my dad so that we could go back with him to Tyler. We met a lot of very nice people, and wish Michael could have been there, but all in all, a lovely party!

Forgot to Mention

Poor Remy found himself beneath the basket of the stroller as we sat out on the porch. Pitiful thing sat outside the door mewing to get back in, and is still shaken. Silly boy!

Our Pajama Day!

The children and I woke up much earlier than we intended, so we decided to have an impromtu pajama day! Emerald and I had a big stack of blueberry waffles for breakfast, and spent a quiet morning reading books, watching our shows, and enjoying being slobs in our jammies.

Unfortunately, Mama has had a migraine on and off all week, intermittent with nausea, so it didn't take long for us to decide that a trip outside was in order.

We got a big bottle of water, chalk, a few Gabriel toys, and headed out on the front porch to color.

Emerald and I played a game where we saw what different sounds things made when they hit the ground--pine cones, sticks, water bottles, chalk, and pecans. Then we saw how far we could throw the pinecones and pecans into the yard. She had such a good time.

Gabriel pretty much sat there playing with the water bottle--he liked to listen to the crackle.

Now we are inside watching Emerald's new favorite show--Pocoyo. She is cracking up, and Gabriel is loving watching the bright colors. Solid parenting, I know, but we are all so very sleepy.

Kids are going to their grandparents tonight, so hurrah for 9 o'clock bedtime and sleeping in late!

~Andie~

Itty Bitty Green Thumb

This particular picture was actually taken at the zoo (Emerald's fair skin needed some serious coverage--this hat was the only one that could provide that), but it is the only one I got of Emerald in her big ol' hat.

My mom--Oma to the kids--has a garden growing out back of her house. She has mint, strawberries, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and all kinds of peppers. She wanted Emerald to be able to help her out in the garden, pulling weeds, watering, stuff like that, but knew I am way protective.

So, she bought her these little Dora the Explorer gardening gloves and this obscenely large hat (it is big enough that I can personally wear it, but it is...less than flattering on me).

You wouldn't believe how proud Emerald is of this hat =)

~Andie

More pictures from the Children's Park

Playing on the Playground

I wrote an earlier post about how Oma and I took the children to a playground in town, and had a jack in the box lunch--this is the same story, only hopefully expanded upon.

Oma has Sundays and Mondays off every week. That way, she gets to go to church. The first Sunday we were there, we got all dressed up and went to Oma's church, which was really nice--it's alot bigger than our home town church, but it still has that really intimate, close-knit feeling.

That Monday (the next day), Oma wants to show me some baby clothes shops--including snug as a bug, which sounds cute but is ridiculously expensive ($3o for a onesie). We went to Mommy and Me, a resale shop, and bought a jean skirt for Emerald and jean shorts for Gabriel.

We picked up some diapers and snack-y stuff, then stopped by Jack in the Box for lunch. We sat on the bench under the pavillion at the park Oma and Grumpa like to ride their bikes at and had a little picinic lunch.

The squirrels were so brave, they would come within snatching distance and let you throw bits of food to them. Emerald thought that was really funny. After she was done eating, we were still working on it, so she sat in the dirt next to us and proceeded to smear it EVERYWHERE. She was too filthy to do anything, so I gave her a hobo bath--holding her under the water fountain stream.

We did all the traditional "park" stuff--played on the swings and slides and tossing rocks.

Naturally, the kids were pooped after this, so we took them home and let them sleep the rest of the afternoon.

~A

The Children's Park

More stories from our vacation!

One day after Oma (my mother) got off of work, Amber suggested a really cute park she had heard of--The Children's Park of Tyler.

We had figured it would be a park that was geared toward younger children. It actually turned out to be a memorial park for deceased children. While beautiful, it was not really intended for a toddler playing around on, so we used the gorgeous back drop for photo opportunities!

There were lovely waterfalls and streams that held little goldfish inside, as well as well maintained gardens, and a statue of two adorable stone bears. The kids actually had a very good time--Emerald splashing in the water and chasing fish, and Gabriel laying in the grass =)

~Andie