Trip to Ruidoso

Grannymom and Daddad have been married for 50 years this month, so we had a little vacation up in the mountains with them to celebrate!

Ruidosa is a beautiful place, and we were all very excited to be going. Michael got two days off so that he could go to, and he was looking forward to getting away for the weekend, especially in the mountains as he misses living in Denver.

Friday marked the day that "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" came out. Michael knew how much I was looking forward to this game since it was announced, so he surprised me with it as a gift and packed the xbox for the trip so that I could play it while we were away :)

All of Thursday, I did laundry and packed bags, cleaned the house, and generally got everything ready to go. The Peacocks agreed to keep an eye on the pets for us while we were gone, which I greatly appreciated. Emerald kept talking about how she was going to go to the snowy mountains, not to the hot mountains, and how she was going to see deer and build a snowman...the only one more excited than she was was Michael, who just could not wait for the work day to end.

I know I am a lucky mama--my kids are wonderful on long car rides. They don't cry or fight, they're easily entertained with just staring out the windows and watching the scenery change; we scarcely have to stop, even for restroom breaks. For the most part, they are well-behaved and agreeable little kiddos.

Grannymom and Daddad--Michael's grandparents--met us at our house so that we could follow them up. We have a GPS navigation system for the van, but it is good to go in groups just in case something happens. Mike wanted to leave earlier than we did, but I didn't want to get out of bed at the crack of dawn so we got on the road about 9.

Stopping at McDonalds on the way out of town, I made the mistake of getting a peppermint mocha. It tasted just fine, but they made us park and wait 2o minutes before they brought it out to us--pretty ridiculous. I can't imagine how on earth it would have taken nearly a half an hour to prepare a single beverage, but as they continued serving everyone that was behind me, I could venture a guess.

On the way up, Michael and I mostly talked--as anyone that knows me can attest, I am definitely a talkative person. The chill of the early morning reminded us of morning marching practice when we were in the high school band (Michael played tuba; I was a trombone), and we talked books and comics and movies, while the kids ate their pancakes and drank their juice and watched Lubbock disappear in the rear view mirror. Ben mostly played peek-a-boo with me and smiled and flirted with his reflection in a toy mirror attached to his car seat.

When the flat plains gave way to the mountains, Emerald perked up and started chattering away as well. She was surprised that the mountains were covered in trees instead of snow, and would tell us stories about how the mountains grew sick and their mommy made them better, even though she had made them sick in the first place. Don't know how flatteringly that reflects on me, but it was quite creative, lol.

We stopped only once--in Roswell, we got out so that Emerald could use the restroom and Gabriel could stretch his legs, and we could change Ben. Mike got them a hot dog to split and we made a bottle for Benjamin, and kept on our way.

All in all, the drive up was easy and pleasantly passed. The only complaint I would have regarding that would be the precarious and narrow road that hugs the mountain on one side and boasts no guardrail on the sheer drop of the other side. That part I would consider a bit more harrowing than anything else, but of course we are fin--I am just a nervous nelly.

Rhonda, Ken, and Patrick had left much earlier than we did so that they could get the house ready; so when we arrived, Rhonda showed us around while Ken went and got pizza for lunch.

The house was simply amazing.

It was huge, with tons of windows that looked out at the beautiful dark blue mountains. When you walked in, there was a large dining room with a long wooden table to seat 8-10 on your left. In front of you was a living room with leather recliners and couch, a high round table, and a fireplace; to your right is a door leading to a deck-balcony with a huge grill, and a staircase that leads downstairs (to one beautiful bedroom), then further downstairs to another living room, bedroom, and laundry room.

The kitchen was probably my favorite room in the house--it was enormous, and (thanks to Rhonda) full of wonderful things to eat and drink.

They gave my little family the master bedroom, which was incredible. There was a glass door leading outside; we set up an inflatable mattress for Emerald and Gabriel to share in the corner, and a bassinet for Benjamin to sleep in next to the bed. The bathroom had a great big jacuzzi tub that Emerald thought was a swimming pool, and a shower with a built in bench and three showerheads. I have never stayed in such a nice room before.

After the tour of the house, we had pizza for lunch and hung out all afternoon. At one point, I tried to lay the kids down for a nap, but they would have none of it, so I let them lay down and watch a movie instead. Their favorite part was taking walks though--the weather was cool and beautiful. Gabriel found a walking stick, and it was cute to watch him toddle along, using his little stick for support. Of course, when Emerald saw that Gabriel had one, she wanted one as well. Michael, Ken, and Patrick went to a casino to hang out and have some guy time; Mike seemed to have such a great time.

Steve and Melisa, and their daughters Sydney and Macy (Mike's uncle, aunt, and cousins) had a basketball game, so they didn't come until late--after the kids and I had all ready gone to bed. For dinner, Rhonda made brisket and beans, potato salad, and rolls.

I love food. Though I am a relatively picky eater, I do very much enjoy food. That is why I am usually able to recall what we ate with more ease than what activities we did. But while the fare was awesome this time, that is not why it sticks out so vividly in my memory. I had worried that Gabriel would have trouble with the new place and so many people and more noise--he struggles with those kinds of situations normally. In Ruidoso, Gabriel's attitude and behavior were better than expected, and he handled them quite well; the only issue we had was that our usually agreeable eater became notably uninterested in eating. Oh, he was hungry, and we did feed him; but meal times were the only points of struggle for Mr. Gabe on this particular trip. Which is probably why I remember all our meals so well.

Anyways, at dinner Gabe was dragging so badly that halfway through I had to abandon my meal to take him to bed. Poor thing was exhausted, though it was only 6.30. We all ended up retiring early.

Saturday morning, I got up at Benjamin's first meal, at about 6, and we headed out in the main house around 6.30. Rhonda was making breakfast--a bacon quiche, biscuits and sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. That was a lot of fun, helping her cook; I learned how to make quiche! I was hoping the kids would eat it a bit better so that I could introduce it into our meal rotation at home, but Gabriel showed no interest in eating when he got up and Emerald mostly picked at everything. Luckily, I got Gabe to eat a peanut butter granola bar.

I had told Emerald she could go "swimming" after breakfast, so we filled up the bathtub for her and Gabriel. Not thinking, I put some lavender bubble bath in it, which would have been fine until we turned on the jets--the churning water multiplied the bubbles until there were more suds than water in the bathtub. The kids of course loved it, especially since they got to sit in the shower and rinse off afterwards. I think Gabe liked the shower even more than the bath--Mike got soaked trying to keep Gaby from jumping up and down so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself!

Since we had all gone to bed so early, my little family hadn't gotten to see Steve and Melisa or the girls yet, so Emerald was thrilled to see them. Mostly, Emerald wanted to just play on Glo's iPad, which sort of stinks that I dragged all these toys all the way here and all the kids had better things to do, but meh. Rather be over-prepared than wish I had done more to pack.

Everyone wanted to go into town and walk around, but by mid-morning I was dead on my feet from the trip the day before and getting up so early (plus a night with a 2 month old baby), so when Ben went down for a nap, I tried to lay down as well. I didn't get to sleep because I just couldn't settle myself before Benji got back up, but it was nice to rest. Michael took the xbox to Patrick's room over the garage and they played video games together.

For lunch, we made the leftover brisket into sandwiches and I warmed up pizza and sliced some apples for the kids. Gabe actually ate a slice of pizza, plus some trail mix with dried fruits and nuts.

After nap, where Emerald and Gabriel slept most of the afternoon away, Michael mentioned that he had seen a ping-pong table outside, so Steve and Ken and Patrick went outside to play; Rhonda brought out some cards and she, Sydney, Michael, and I played some card games. Sydney taught us "Egyptian Rat Slap" (a more appropriate name than the traditional Egyptian Rat Screw), which she beat us all every time. After a few hands of that, Ken came inside and taught me how to play Spades--me and him on a team against Rhonda and Sydney. It was a lot of fun, but I suspect that I am quite lousy.

I found myself actually wishing I had brought dominos--I am more used to playing chickens foot (if not cribbage). I think that could have been a lot of fun.

Steve and Melisa made dinner--steaks, twice baked potatoes, green beans, and rolls; the day before, Rhonda had made a German Chocolate Cake from scratch, and it was iced and ready to go for dessert for Grannymom and Daddad's anniversary. After cake, I took the kids to bed and let them watch Finding Nemo until the fell asleep.

Sunday morning was our last at the beautiful house in the mountains. Melisa made breakfast burritos which were yummy. I packed while Michael watched the kids, then we switched so that he could load the car. We held a little church, where Daddad spoke and we took communion, said prayers for safe travels. Then we got on the road.

All in all, it was a perfect little vacation. We relaxed and enjoyed one another's company--I spent most of my time talking to people. The only problem we had was Emerald's struggles with using the potty. She would much rather hide, and when there are people that could hear her and come save her from evil mommy, she screams and cries as loudly as she can "someone please help me!". I felt awful, her screaming like I was hurting her. She never did manage to poop.

Happy 50th Anniversary to Grannymom and Daddad :)

--Andie

November

Benjamin is growing up so fast!! At two months now, he is more alert and awake than either of his siblings at that age, his precious little cheeks are plumping up, and he is wearing 3-6 month clothes all ready. Just as when he was a fetus, he is quite active, and very strong--I would be more upset about getting pummeled by his tiny fists and kicked by his flailing legs if I weren't so proud. And he works hard to lift that big ol' head up.

Developmentally, he is doing very well. He can hold his head up for several long seconds; he grins and giggles whenever Michael or I play with him; and he babbles and coos at anyone that will listen. Lately he has been trying to focus his eyes better on things that are in his line of sight. The only downside for the little fella is that the formula he is on upsets his tummy horribly. For the most part, he is still a very happy baby, but occasionally he gets fussy and cranky. I can't fault him for that; I am not a happy camper when my tummy hurts either.

We had an appointment with Tammy (the LPC from ECI--lot of acronyms!!) the other day and she is very encouraged with Gabriel's progress. He is starting to acknowledge Emerald and trying to engage her and us in what he is doing. Granted, he is not always the most graceful about it--it is not uncommon to see him perched on Benjamin's lap in the baby swing, or (as in the picture above) squatting on Emerald as she lays on the floor; but when he realizes that he may have done the wrong thing, he is quick to try and make amends. Several times, I have caught him when he thought I wasn't looking stroking Benji's hair or offering his baby brother a pacifier.

Most people would see Gabriel and assume that he does not want to play with other children/people. I admit, I can see where they get that impression--he won't sit still to hear books read, he abandons toys if another kid shows too much interest in it, he runs from interaction and never initiates play himself. But those that know him better see that he just doesn't know what he is supposed to do to get them to play with him. I mean, it's not like he can verbally extend an invitation, and most cannot interpret his invented signs.

So right now, that is one of our biggest goals--teaching him how to approach a peer and share a game with them as well as how to leave the interaction politely when he is done. Thus far, we have gotten him to greet visitors at the door; if he knows them, he will occasionally offer a hug or touch their hand as a form of acknowledgement. When it is time for them to leave, he will walk with them to the door, blow them kisses, and see them off.

As the days get cooler, it is harder for me to orchestrate time outside. Ben Reilly is a cold-natured baby, so he has a much harder time keeping warm. That's part of the reason he is scarcely happy unless someone is holding him; you can see his little lips trembling and his tiny hands and feet are freezing.

At any rate, we have found ourselves inside more often than not in the last few weeks, and anyone that knows Gabriel knows that he needs a great deal of sensory stimulation; being cooped up so long drives him stir-crazy. I have had to get a little creative to burn out that excess in Gabe.

I noticed that Gabriel was a big fan of jumping off the crafts table, but I worried that he would hurt himself. So I used cushions and blankets to make a soft landing, and we took turns tumbling and leaping off onto the pallet. Besides that, we also have races and play tag, wrestle on the couch, and tumble and roll in our own invented version of gymnastics.

Finally, crafts!! The more time-consuming, the better because it keeps the children's minds off their cabin fever. We made that gingerbread house up there, which took most of the morning. I also have a lot of activities to prepare Emerald for school; construction paper for a variety of simple projects; and a couple of board games that hold their interest.

Something we have all enjoyed--over the years, I have collected the many mementos that I just couldn't bear to part with: things they did at school, bracelets from the hospital when they were born...anything that reminds me of this time, when they were my babies. Recently, we have taken all those things out and preserved them in scrapbooks. Emerald cannot believe the little girl in those pictures is her; she, in fact, has invented a story about the baby "Hannah" that we have so many photographs of. Gabriel particularly enjoys seeing how his hand compares to the prints he made when he was younger, and to add stickers to the finished pages.

That is what we are doing to keep our spirits up as the temperature drops!

--Andie--

Emerald-isms

It's that time again--looking back on all the funny/sweet/awkward things spouting from the mouth of my little girl.

Emerald was taking a bath one day. She asks "Mom, it's okay to pee-pee in the bathtub, right?". I reply, "No baby; pee-pee goes in the potty." "Oh." There is a weighted pause before Emerald asks, "Mommy? Can I have some new water please?"

"It's okay if you yell at me, Mommy--that just means you love me."

"Mary had a little lamb, and the police were white as Glo!"

Emerald and I made up a song that made her laugh so hard that she couldn't breathe called "peanut butter bunny pants".

Emerald's friend Ella came down from Colorado with her parents, and they were playing together and having a lot of fun. When it was time to go, Emerald hugged Ella to her and said, "No! We can't go! I love her!"

Emerald, very indignantly when I told her she was a smart girl, "I NOT smart! I pretty! I am a pretty, pretty girl!!" I explain that she was many things--pretty, smart, funny...she smiles and says, "No, I just pretty".

One day we were talking about bacteria, and I explained to Emerald that her Oma worked with bacteria for a living. Emerald looked horrified and said, "No!! We don't play with nasty, ugly germs! They will make us sick! Oma, that gross!"

In an attempt to compliment me, Emerald declares, "You not little momma! You really, really big!!" -beams-

I was sitting on the floor and must have looked awfully forlorn, for Emerald smiles hugely, saying "Don't be sad, Momma! You got me!"

--Andie--

Pictures

You know what I hate about being a parent? How much of my day revolves around other people's bowel movements. Nobody ever told me about that. If you had told me that I would talk about poop this much--little less on a blog for the whole world to read about--I would have been appalled.

This all has a point, I promise.

So, Rhonda and Ken volunteer to have the kids pictures taken. This is a very generous gift--the amount of stress involved in wrangling my sweet babies is considerable, so offering to help capture this time in their lives is incredibly nice.

Glo has great taste--she is just a fashionable lady. Now me? I wear sweatpants year round (which Michael informed me is apparently inappropriate in the summer--who knew?) and concern myself more with comfort than looking good. So I always appreciate it when Rhonda helps me figure out coordinating outfits for events like this. She picked out absolutely precious clothes in a red, white, and black palette that looked very nice on the kids =)

Gabriel obviously was going to be our biggest obstacle. He's a mover--we can't get him to sit still for anything. At school, he is restrained with a seat belt on his chair; at home, he wears a weighted vest that helps his proprioceptive senses (what tells you where you are in relation to yourself and to your surroundings so that you use appropriate and proportional movements). Unfortunately, neither of those are options here, so I had to get creative.

The photography studio also called to confirm that my appointment was Wednesday at 4.30. Ummm...no? It is Tuesday--Tuesday, as I have stated about four billion times, is the day that Michael only works until 11. Granted, I could have made a mistake when making the appointment and accidentally told them Wednesday, but I am judging by the fact that I set up all the families appointments and we have had probably greater than 50 in the last year (as well as the fact that I made the girl booking the appointment verbally verify three times that it was Tuesday at 4.30 pm), I am going to say it was a mistake on their end. Well, they apologize profusely and say they have an appointment at 5.30. I am not happy about it because it will directly interfere with the kids' dinner time, but I don't want to argue it that much. We accept the 5.30 appointment

The other problem was that the kids take issue with taking naps when Michael is here. I don't know if it is because they are so excited that he is here that they can't wind down, or that he just changes the routine so the kids are testing their boundaries, but either way, it is not uncommon that one or both the kids are too rowdy at rest time on the days that Daddy is here. (Obviously Benjamin sleeps whenever he wants, wherever he wants, and Michael has no effect on that, lol.)

So in all likeliness, the kids are going to be hungry or tired or both. Not exactly ideal conditions for taking pictures.

First, Benjamin: He was precious. I mean, how badly behaved can a baby his size be? He was quiet and didn't require feeding or changing the hour or two we were there. His little body is still pretty floppy, so posing him was easy...he was ideal :)

Now, poor Emerald.

The day of the pictures, Emerald is having some tummy troubles. (I told you that poop-rant paragraph was going somewhere). I was hoping they would resolve themselves before we had to leave, but they didn't. So when we get to the studio, she is physically miserable and sick. All she wants to do is poop, but she most certainly does not want to poop because she is scared...the whole time we were having her pictures made, she was well-behaved and followed directions pretty well. Any time it was somebody else's, she was running off and hiding, holding her stomach and crying.

The other problem she had was that a few days before she had gotten a scrape near her eye. She wouldn't stop picking off the scab, so I put a band-aid over it, hoping that it would heal up a little before the pictures if she didn't pick at it for a day. But she had an allergic reaction to the band-aid, so now instead of just a little scab, there was a rash in the shape of a band-aid. I put benadryl cream on it several times that day, but it never cleared up. In the end, we had to put a little make-up to cover it up, but it was still a little visible.

Gabriel was, as said earlier, our wild card. We knew he wasn't going to sit still. If you look at the picture above, you can see my arm steadying him behind him (we can crop that out, but I didn't bother for this post, since it kind of illustrates my story). Smiling is rare for Gaby, even though he is a happy baby, so we have to get him in a good mood.

The bubbles I brought did not hold his interest. The Veggie Tales Michael put on his iPad went unwatched. The many toys were ignored. It was time for my last ditch effort: Skittles.

Now THAT got his attention! In several of the pictures, you could see him chewing happily away, or else signing 'more', 'please', or 'thank you' to get more. The game Buzz Went the Bee got him smiling as well, so with a little bribery, we were able to get a few good shots of him. With Emerald, we wanted her looking happy; with Gabriel, we were content with him just sitting still.

All in all, it went pretty well and we got some great pictures. Now it is time for me to put the kiddos to nap--goodnight!!

--Andie--

Halloween

It was Banjo's first Halloween!!

Okay, so obviously we didn't take him trick-or-treating. Come on--he's just a little feller. But he did get a sweet little Halloween onesie.

First, Gabriel: My in-laws are incredibly sweet people, and they love my babies very much. As most will attest, there is little that interests Gabriel besides Veggie Tales. Nothing ever gets him as excited as that show. Rhonda and Ken got him a Larry the Cucumber costume to wear this year. You should have seen how excited he got when he saw it--he didn't even mind wearing the hat that much, and he was so darned cute waddling around the house as a big green cucumber.

Emerald had been telling me she wanted to be Captain America since her birthday, but the week before when it was starting to bear down on her, she started considering more options. We took her to Toys-R-Us and let her pick through the costumes until she found one she liked. The ones that were most interesting to her were Cinderella and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). That is, they were until she saw the Tinkerbell costume. She loved that one! I actually kind of liked it too because it meant that she and Gabriel were both wearing green, so there was still some continuity to their costumes. This year was exciting for me because for the first time, Emerald was old enough to really pick her own.

Another flashback:

Emerald's first Halloween (6 weeks old), Oma got her a red chili pepper costume. Second Halloween, she was 13 months old and was a Pumpkin (Oma), then a Lion (Gigi), and finally a pink fluffy poodle (Glo and Pawpaw).

Third Halloween, she was 25 months and wore a Ladybug costume (Glo). Gabriel was 8 months old and was a Zebra (Oma), plus he wore the Lion that Emerald had the year before. Fourth Halloween, Emerald was 3 and Gabriel was 20 months: Emerald picked out a Rosetta costume (the pink flower fairy from Tinkerbell) as well as a Batgirl costume, so I went ahead and got both, lol. Gabriel got a Batman costume because Emerald got the Batgirl costume and I couldn't resist, so they matched. It was really cute.

Now I have caught you (and me!) all up on Halloweens past!!

Back to this Halloween though: Emerald was Tinkerbell, Gabriel was Larry the Cucumber, and Benjamin was staying home with Glo because he is just a little dumpling right now.

Pawpaw, Michael, and I took Emerald and Gabriel trick-or-treating at the dorms like we do every year. I like it because it is safe. That being said, it stressed me out pretty bad.

We had a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed it, but it is warm and there are a ton of people so I feel claustrophobic, and I get turned around easily which means that I don't know which way is out and that is not a feeling I enjoy. To be honest, I do have concerns that this whole event is a terrible fire hazard, with so many people and decorations all over the walls that can so easily catch flame from the strobe lights and everything...okay, so I am getting myself worked up again, but those were the paranoid thoughts that were running through my head as we went from room to room.

The thing is, those kinds of situations stress Michael out as well, so it is no surprise that the kids were a little frazzled afterwards either. Like I said, we all had a great time, but (and this should come as a shock to no one), Mommy is totally high strung. We all ready know that Emerald and Gabriel can't handle large groups of people or loud noises without having no small amount of anxiety, plus the whole seizure thing was never quite resolved so when we got into the hallway with the flashing strobe light...

I am rambling. My point in all of this is: while we had a really good time, I think maybe next year, I will let someone else (maybe Glo and Pawpaw or Daddy) take the kids trick or treating, and maybe I will try and throw a small party for the kids and their friends. Obviously this is just the preliminary, knee-jerk reaction to a stressful situation, and I am a problem solver, so I start plotting way in advance. How much fun would it be to have bobbing for apples or decorate your own candy apples or a Halloween relay race out in the backyard? Plus, Emerald would love to have Cooper over to play.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

--Andie!--