Catching up

We went to Oklahoma after Easter as it was Spring Break for Becca. Barrett is not as good a traveller as Becca was/is but he's not too horrible. I got a lot of relaxing in because when you're not at home, you don't have chores to do so it was nice. Becca knew we were going, so one day she was talking to Darren before we left and asked if he was going with us. He said he couldn't because he had to stay here and work. She had a simple solution, she said, "Well, there's work in Oklahoma." She seemed to solve his problem, but for some reason, he just couldn't go. We made the drive on Monday and left the following Sunday morning. That seems like a long time but I didn't really feel like I had time for much. As a matter of fact, I didn't even see friends while I was there because I was giving time for Barrett to have some normal naps because he didn't nap much in the car and we're used to 2 hour and a half to three-hour naps every day. Mom took off 2 half-days and was off Friday. We had fun relaxing, seeing family, etc. Tuesday, I didn't want to do anything because like I said, I figured Barrett needed a break from the car. Wednesday, we went out to lunch to Abuelos, a very good Mexican restaurant (ours around here are more tex-mexy) when mom got off work. Later that evening, we went tried to find Cade's t-ball game but couldn't find it and decided to go home, plus it was actually cool and windy...I forgot how windy OK could be. Thursday, we went to Incredible Pizza when mom got off work. It's a pizza buffet, but also has other foods like meatloaf, soup, and other various things; it really is huge. They have various rooms to sit in: a gymnasium with a big screen tv, a retro diner and a family style 'restaurant' with tvs. Afterwards, we took the kids to play games. Actually, my mom took Becca to play games and I followed Barrett around the place. For those who live there, Incredible Pizza is doing a deak on Thursdays right now: they will double the amount of money you put on your card, so we picked the perfect day. Friday, we took a tour of the Blue Bell factory, it's one of only 3 plants in the country. For those of you who don't have them in your area, they are known for their ice cream. We then got a pretty good size scoop of ice cream at the end. Cade, Becca's cousin had a t-ball game while we were there. Becca enjoyed watching him; she had to wear her t-ball jersey from last year to his game. Saturday morning, we went to Krispy Kreme and there was a clown who does balloon art for the kids. He was pretty good. He asked Becca if she wanted to be a princess; he made her a crown and a sceptor. He then asked if everyone was ready for the coronation. It was free but he likes donations. So, any of you who live near there, check out the on on 71st and Mingo on Saturdays.

My favorite part of the weekend however was Saturday night when the whole family minus my sister's family, came over to mom's house and we had dinner and hung out. I miss my family and miss seeing my nephews (and niece in Texas who wasn't there) grow up.

Last week, I was getting Barrett ready for bed. I was changing his diaper on his changing table and getting his pajamas. I was standing up, he was laughing and smiling at me, when without warning, he threw up everywhere. I think this was the first time my head was thrown up on. This was of course Darren's bowling night so I was on my own. Becca's getting out of bed to see what's going on, Barrett's crying, I'm trying to get both our clothes off, get ourselves cleaned off, get the carpet cleaned up, get Becca back to bed. I changed clothes 3 times over the next hour or so. I slept with him in the chair overnight so I could "catch" anything. Luckily, he only threw up a few times and what was in his belly. I figured it was something he ate since he didn't continue to try and throw up. The next day he was feeling better and Becca went in Barrett's room after his nap. They were being kind of quiet, which any of you with kids know that's not always a good sign, so I peeked in on them and this is what I found.

I told Becca she was not allowed to come out until she cleaned up a lot of the mess. To give her credit, she did really well with the wipes I gave her. I did the vacuuming and cleaning the stuffed animals. Her tent was full of baby powder. I'm still not sure who made most of the mess but I know Becca got the baby powder down, who played with it more, I don't know, but I wasn't too happy.

Thursday, Becca said she wasn't feeling good, figuring she was hungry because she didn't really eat dinner the night before, I sent her to school being the good mom I am. When she got off the bus, they told me she threw up on the bus. So, I guess it wasn't something Barrett ate. This is the first time they've shared anything so I guess we've been lucky. At least this was a quicky virus. So, Saturday, she was back to normal. We had game night scheduled at our house and a babysitter lined up at a friend's house. Saturday night, Becca had a really nasty cough. Sunday, she had a fever. Yesterday at the doctor, he said she has a little bit of pneumonia in one lung and her oxygen level was at 92%...anything in the 80s is a hospital visit. She's doing some better today but I think we're all ready for everyone to be well so we can get back to normal. We haven't been out of the house much for a week. You would think I would have gotten a lot done but with both kids home and taking turns being sick, I probably got less done than normal. Looking forward to a better week.

I'm so mad about my spacing. I don't know how to fix it. It looks perfect in preview mode but messes up when it publishes. So, just try to make sense of it until I can figure out how to fix it. I don't remember having these problems when I fist started the blog.

Pics

Here are the pictures from the previous post. Becca's new car and Barrett's little rocking horse.

Easter

The Saturday before Easter, our church had a little Easter Egg hunt. They heard the Easter story through the Resurrection eggs, they then went out looking for eggs, then came back in for snacks and check for prize eggs...there were 10 total. That also made sure we got the plastic eggs back so we can do it again next year. I unfortunately didn't get pics of Becca hunting eggs since I had to stay with Barrett...they were broken down into age groups. But, I'm hoping to get pictures from other people.

Here early, waiting for it to begin.

Listening to the presenation of the eggs

She got to paint hard boiled eggs. Daddy was happy because since he's on the Atkins diet, he can eat those all he wants. That also helps differentiate between the hard-boiled eggs and the non hard-boiled eggs. Sunday, we of course went to church. Then went straight to the country club for a great lunch. Darren always plays the Easter Bunny and Becca knows it. We told her not to tell any kids. Well, she told several adults, "My daddy's the Easter Bunny, but don't tell any of the kids, just the adults." She didn't let it slip to any kids, even when she saw him so she did good. She was just making sure the adults wouldn't tell either. Last year, she woulndn't go near the Easter bunny but Barrett sat there nicely. This year, it was the opposite.

They then went to hunt eggs and then got a basket from the Easter bunny. This time I got a couple of pictures but was again too busy chasing after Barrett.

Growing

The kids just keep growing. No matter how much I want the time to slow down, it just doesn't cooperate. Don't you remember as a kid how Slooowww time went and Spring Break or summer or Christmas would NEVER get here? Now, you blink you're eye and it's another month or another year! Even though time flies, you don't always notice how tall your kids are getting until you see a friend you haven't seen since summer who comments how big your daughter is getting. Yes, she in size 6's and she's only just turned 5 years old. She's starting to read some words and can usually tell me when I haven't read something exactly as it's written. For example, if I say it says, "phone" but the word written is "telephone", she'll say, but there's a T in it. She may not know too many words yet but she knows what letters are in it so I have to say things verbatim.

She also can be a little dramatic at times. She was going over to some friends house while I went to book club. She asked if Barrett was going too. I told her he was. In a whiny crying voice, she said something like, "I'm glad because we don't want to leave cute babies behind and he is so cute..." I can't remember everything she said, but then, mind you, she wasn't actually crying nor had tears, but she took her finger and "flicked" a tear off her cheek. Wow! Where did she see that, it was hilarious!

Barrett it doing some more sign language. He'll "say" milk, please, more, bed and sometimes eat. His babbling is starting to have the same intonations as certain words like "thank you" when I give him something or "Becca". He's also become a screamer and a grunter when someone is either not paying attention to him or when he gets frustrated. He loves to go back and forth giving hugs and pats. His new favorite toy is a small rocking horse I scored at the kids consignment sale for $5. It didn't take him long to master getting on and off by himself...even with his short little legs.

Winter

This winter has been so odd. We've had 2 snowfalls with around 6 inches. Last week, Becca was only in school Monday because of the snow. There was actually a 2-hour delay on Thursday so the afternoon preschool went but Becca goes in the morning so she missed out yet again. This was the view from our deck last week...really beautiful.

Becca is outgoing and not afraid of too many things. At church, we usually sing a couple of songs, then they have a children's sermon where the kids go to the front of the church and then they leave for children's church. Becca usually raises her hand and I'm never sure what she'll say, although she rarely embarrasses me. The question was something to the effect, "What do you give for Valentine's Day?" She said she likes the good chocolates, not the bad chocolates. I'm going to have to teach her there's no such thing as a bad chocolate.

Darren was gone overnight to a bowling tournament on Friday night. so, he was able to do shopping while he was away. I must say he did really well. Before church, i received a Valentine's card from each kid and one from Darren. The kids got me a candle and a couple of Godiva bars. Darren got me Ralph Lauren's 'Romance' perfume and chocolates. The chocolates were almost too pretty to eat...I said, Almost. My favorite chocolates lately have been the Lindor truffles...they really melt in your mouth, but now these are a close second.

Today for my birthday, it got even better. I had showed Darren some coats I had been wanting and the good sales I had found online. I have a leather coat but it's only waist length and wanted something longer and warmer for the really cold winter days. So, this morning, he gave me a great coat. He had to go into many stores, so he really had to shop. He was thinking he made a mistake not getting it online. But he finally found one...many stores didn't have long coats. I was hoping he found a good price and I was proud of him...he got it for almost 70% off. It's a Kenneth Cole coat and it is super warm. Sorry about the picture, it's really bad...just concentrate on the coat. It also has a fur-trimmed hood.

I put on my coat and we went to Olive Garden for lunch. I would highly recommend the four cheese stuffed pansotti with chicken; it was deelish!

I had also put a bug in Darren's ear about the cake I wanted. I saw it in the paper and had to have it. The cake has 2 layers of red velvet cake layered with 2 layers of chocolate-dipped strawberry ice cream topped with chocolate fudge ganache and chocolate shavings. The cake part wasn't as good as a fresh red velvet cake but everything all together was pretty good. I know, you're jealous huh? Okay, now that I've had another piece, it's much better if you eat it right out of the freezer rather than leaving it out to soften.

Since it was my birthday, I decided I would take it easy and not do much. Well, you definitely pay for it the next day. It's amazing how much piles up when you just take 1 day off. Oh well, it was worth it.

Winter

Near the beginning of the month we had a little over an inch of snow. It didn't get above 30 for a week or more, plus it snowed very, very lightly over a couple of days so the snow didn't melt. There was enough snow on the golf course to go sledding. Barrett had a nasty cough and didn't get to go but Darren took Becca and met some friends up there. They were out for 2-3 hours sledding, playing and roasting marshmallows. The second day, there wasn't as much snow on the bigger hill so they went to another hill. The hill sloped down to the right so Darren wasn't concerned about the pond. Well, Becca and her friend went down the hill and instead of turning with the slope they headed right towards the pond. Darren is yelling at them to fall off while they're happily careening towards the pond. Darren is running after them and they slide right onto the pond...frozen! It didn't crack but Darren was still nervous what would happen if he got on it. Luckily, it had been so cold for long enough and it was a small enough pond that it didn't break. Needless to say, they didn't try that hill again. Darren got some pictures on his phone, however, he dropped it in coke so I'm not sure if we'll ever recover those pictures.

We have a group of friends who get together once a month for game night. It varies from 4 to 8 couples. Sometimes we combine the kids together, get a couple of babysitters and have them at one house and we go to another. Well, we picked the weekend of Disciple Now weekend for the teenagers here, so, we decided just to have the kids here while we were here. Luckily we decided to do that because about an hour after the kids arrived, the girls came running in saying Becca is throwing up. I didn't think she was really sick (see my Christmas post about the airplane ride); I thought we were having deja vu. I put her in my room and we commenced our evening. I checked on her every once in awhile and she did end up having a stomach bug. I felt so bad for her. Eventually, she was up every 20 minutes for hours..until 3:00 in the morning. I felt horrible and so wanted to do anything to make her stop. We were both miserable...I was so glad when it was over.

We sometimes have schizophrenic weather around here, but I had not seen anything like this before. Check out this video. 5 minutes or so later in was lightly raining. 10-15 minutes later, it was doing this.

Well, it snowed again this last weekend and Darren got a couple of pictures. This time, we took Barrett outside in our front yard. We got 4-6 inches (I've heard different reports) so Barrett wasn't really sure he liked it.

This video is at the golf course, Becca and her friend are the second sled coming down.

As a side note, I follow several couponing blogs that help me save money, show me where some of the best deals are, let me know when something is on a huge sale and give away things. I've signed up for giveaways that interest me and I finally won! I never win anything I enter so I was ecstatic! I got my stuff in today. It doesn't take much to make me happy. I love "school supplies", so I was excited to get this. The only thing is I was hoping the notebook would have been a little bigger. I was wanting to use a really cute book for my preschool/nursery job, but I will put it to good use. I got this from the blog www.frugalcouponliving.com