Fall Drive

Today we went to the mall to find Jason's grandma a birthday present.  We found exactly what we went for at the place I was sure wouldn't have it, therefore, it was the last place we checked - in desperation.  Isn't that how it always works?

On the way home we decided to take the scenic (and slightly longer) way home to see some fall colors!

We were not disappointed!

"Pink Eye"

Yesterday, Amelia was sent home from school with "pink eye."  I got a voicemail from the nurse on my break at work and she said, "her eye had a crusty and it is red - I am no doctor but it looks like pink eye."  Jason got her from school.  I panicked.  I have a serious eye phobia and I just imagined what I remember pink eye to be - gross.

I got home that afternoon and I said, "where's the pink eye?"  That's right her "pink eye" wasn't visible at a glance - like I remembered pink eye to be.  I took a closer look and her eye was a little pink, bloodshot almost - like when you are very tired or suffer from allergies.  

We kept her home again today and her eye didn't change but just to be on the safe side I took her to the minute clinic in town.  I asked the woman at the desk if they checked for pink and she told me they did and asked who I thought had pink eye.  I told her the situation and she grabbed the physician and as he walked up he said, "that's allergies."  I knew it!  He showed me how to check for infection beneath the lower eyelid and said unless I see irritation there it is allergies.  

I e-mailed her teacher that she will be there tomorrow and let them know that it is simply allergies and that if it ever appears to be an infection we will make sure to check before sending her.

I am still just a little baffled at why they thought it was pink eye.  At the same time I am thankful they are so cautious because things like that spread quickly and the sooner you catch it the sooner a sick kid keeps the germs home!  In addition to those feelings I am a bit annoyed...she missed two days of school over this and she only goes three to begin with!  Oh well.  I fit in as much language as I could this afternoon to try and make up for it!

Amelia was happy I let her play with her friends tonight since it has been confirmed she is not sick!

Tea Party :)

 

Snapshots

Sweet, sleeping baby

Beautiful little girl!

Joey's first chicken nugget

Saturday night Wal-Mart adventure

A helpful big sister :)

Carnival ride!

Swinging

Amelia's "Choo Choo"

Big guy!

Practicing standing!

Until next time!

Sick Day

Jason kept Amelia home from school today - her first "'sick day."  Yesterday she was sent to the nurses office because she was pale and had a low-grade fever (99, barely a fever I say....) and then this morning she was coughing and not herself.  Just to be safe he called her in and we stayed inside tonight and didn't play with friends.  

Joe missed his naptime this afternoon and never really slept but Amelia did!  That's one sure sign that she isn't feeling 100%.

Joe seemed content in his crib - doing whatever it is he does in there - so I laid down as well!  I have been pretty beat the past few weeks so the rest felt great this afternoon!

Amelia's ponies were pirates today:

A friend on Facebook told me that today is "National Talk Like a Pirate Day" so apparently we got our pirate play in on the right day!

It was fun playing inside tonight, just us.

Tomorrow I start carpooling with a woman from work.  It will be nice.  I will have some company to and from work and, most importantly, it will cut down on gas costs!  This also means I can't run late...this woman is always ten minutes early...  I always aim to be ten minutes early just so I can be on time!

Rainbow Butterflies

Amelia has turned into a picky eater.  One day she would eat just about anything and the next she'd eat barely anything.  I'm not sure what happened but it has posed quite the challenge for us!

While grocery shopping one day I got some tomato and carrot farfalle noodles because they were orange and at that time Amelia was very into orange.  As soon as I showed her the box she got excited and started talking about the yummy "orange butterflies."  We made some and she gobbled them up - no sauce, just (fake) parmesan.  I've been getting them ever since.

Over the weekend Jason grabbed tri-color farfalle to see what she thought.  Tonight we tried "rainbow butterflies" for the first time and they were a hit!

Her reaction was better than I could have hoped it would be:

(that is an excited face...in case you couldn't tell...)

She was excited about the green ones - the new color she hadn't had before!  

It may not be the ideal way to get vegetables into her but for now it is better than nothing!  I'm hopeful her eagerness to try new things returns one day.  For now all we can do is continue to offer her new things and hope she tries some of them!

A Few Things

We had a rather uneventful weekend.  We grocery shopped, Amelia spent both Friday and Saturday nights with my family.  Sunday, before she returned, we emptied some stuff out of our room (it feels much less storage-unit-like now!), vacuumed and dusted like nobody's business (allergies have been bad for us recently - this was necessary), I did eleven loads of laundry (every single hamper was empty!) and we moved a few things around in Joe's room.

Not a significant change but we needed to get him away from the blinds.  I think it feels more open in there now but I'm sure it's just the change feeling refreshing.

The kids tonight:

I started a new job within Target today.  I left my position on the in-stocks team (basically, a team dedicated to maintaining accurate inventory and replenishment of products) and joined the presentation team.  I am excited about this change.  The presentation team sets new aisles/products throughout the store.  Today we set trim-a-tree....Christmas lights!  I think it will be a lot of fun learning this position during fourth quarter and the holidays!  Later this year the presentation team becomes the "toy team" as well - maintaining the toy department during the crazy Christmas season!  I was sought out for this position which makes me feel good and proud that I do a good job at work.

 

 Cooler weather finally seems to be upon us and I could not be more excited :) 

Go Bears!

The Bears are playing the Packers tonight and we can't watch!!!  We do not receive the channel with the basic cable package we have :(  I thought for sure it would be on since we are in Wisconsin and their rivalry is one of the oldest in football but I was wrong!

It's currently the second quarter and the Packers are winning, 10-0.  I have toyed with the idea of streaming the game live at nfl.com but will actually probably just head to bed!  I could use the sleep...

Go Bears!

Pajama Night!

It was gloomy out today and rainy so we stayed in and hung out in pajamas!  I gave Amelia her bath around 4 this afternoon and we all got into our sleepwear for a comfortable night inside.

Mostly we played with Little People tonight.  They are a hit with both of the kids - and mama.  We also played "catch" with a few different balls, read some books and played with oversize cars and trucks.  

Amelia was, for the most part, really sweet to Joe tonight.  She even gave him a high-5!   I love it when they get along and play (mostly) nice with each other!  

Bathtime Buddies

Happy Wednesday!

Linked to Wordless Wednesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom

A Good Weekend + Today

We had a very nice weekend!

Saturday we went to the Mall of America to take Jason's computer in for a battery replacement before the warranty is up this Thursday!  There is also a Nike store in the mall and they have a drop-off for old tennis shoes to be dropped off.  They are recycled into track and playground surfaces among other things.  I had two pairs to drop off this time!

Once we were done with our two main stops we took Amelia to Nickelodeon Universe!

 
We had a coupon for a discounted unlimited ride wristband and after a few calculations we decided that was the best way to go!  Amelia rode rides for about two hours!

She was so excited!  Jason was excited when he realized that the required chaperones rode for free.

Joe and I hung out and watched them enjoy the rides.

He was a trooper.  I can't imagine he had all that much fun being confined in a stroller for the better part of the day but he handled it well!

Joe got a "big boy" toy Saturday on our way home.

I realized recently that he fits onto Amelia's car perfectly so, to try and eliminate the fighting, we got Joe his own car.  We splurged and got him the Batman one - I let Jason decide which one to get.  The front folds down and there are two tracks (it came with two little cars) and they can "race." 

Sunday we stayed home, got caught up on laundry, watched football, made (and froze) about 7 quarts of chili and I did some work in Joe's room to prepare to switch his larger clothes into his drawers.  A lot was accomplished!

We got a gallon of ice cream for dessert and shared with the neighbors.  These two licked their bowls clean!

Today has been interesting.  Amelia had two time-outs for hitting/pushing/kicking her brother.  When the neighbor kids all started to go out we went out too and there was just more fighting/pushing etc.  There must be something in the air around here today!  None of the kids in the complex could get along - at all.

We had some good moments mixed in with all the whining and crying - like this one:

They had car races in the kitchen for about five minutes after Joe's nap.  After that the whining, crying and time-outs started.  It was just one of those nights.  It wasn't the first and I know it will not be the last.

Amelia came to her door, after I tucked her in, to remind me that I promised her a tattoo.

She got Dora tattoos at Nickelodeon Universe and she couldn't be more thrilled about them and I was glad that we were able to end the night on a happy note :)

Friday's Fashions

Amelia needed a new outfit this afternoon so I let her choose.  This is what she came up with:

Stylish.

Thursday Thoughts

This afternoon and evening were a roller-coaster around here!  Up and down, up and down.  Moods were all over the place.  Whining was at it finest.  Messes were made.  Messes were cleaned up.  It was a long night.

The shining moment was this:

The girl who never naps, napped.  She was given "quiet time" and just as I suspected, based on her mood, she passed out.  Thank goodness!

We stayed in tonight instead of playing outside with the neighbors.

Joe hasn't been napping well lately and it is really making things tough at night.  He needs to get back on a more regular nap pattern.  It really gets ugly around here come five o'clock - dinner time.  He is wiped but I cannot let him nap that late!  The rest of the night turns into the game of just keeping Joe happy!

Tonight, after changing into jammies, I got him interested in his farm so I could get his stuff ready for bed in peace.

Worked like a charm.  

His bedtime has moved up from 8ish to 7:30ish.  All I can figure is his poor napping habits are causing this. 

Amelia told me tonight she needed water because her tummy hurt and it needed water.

She kept sneaking up to my cup so I eventually told her she could just use it tonight.   

She is still taking an interest in being read to so I have been letting her take the lead at night.  Some nights we read ten or twelve books and other nights, like tonight, we read about half of that.

I am just thrilled that she is finally taking an interest in being read to, so I will do what it takes to help that interest thrive!  We have three "Good Night" books (Minnesota, Zoo and World) and I am trying to get her to understand that when we read one of those that that means reading time is over.  I can't tell if it is working yet or not! 

I cannot wait for the weekend!  We have no plans (that I know of) and I still need to do laundry.  Lots and lots of laundry!

First Day of School

Today was Amelia's first day of the 2012-2013 school year!  I was at work this morning so Jason was in charge of photos...

Amelia and the para from her classroom (whose name escapes me...)

They said she had a great day!  

After school Jason and the kids met his mom and sister in town at the pizza buffet for lunch.  

I couldn't get much out of her regarding what she did at school - she was just excited to tell me she went to school, in general.  I have an inkling they learned "Old McDonald" today though because while she was swinging on the neighbor's bench this evening she was singing about family members and E-I-E-I-O was thrown in there every few people!

All tuckered out from her big day :)

Watch Out, Mom!

Happy Wednesday!

Linked to Wordless Wednesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom

Tidbits

We have been busy.  

I have had little to no time to sit down at the computer!  

What have we been up to?

Last Thursday was the final MA open house at my sister's school.  Both kids were feeling a little under the weather (heavy congestion) that evening so, of course, they were both oh so pleasant.

Little Miss Attitude

Joe had his leg wrapped :)

Afterwards we stopped for some fast-food to try and wait out the rush hour traffic.

Friday we stayed home and Amelia and S rode their trikes through a sprinkler in the parking lot.

Saturday  morning I was able to enjoy the neighbor's morning glory's (for pretty much the first time) because we were outside for a yard sale.

 We made $108.50 in the sale which isn't too bad considering some neighbors decided they wanted to do it just last week.  We rounded up a good amount of stuff and got rid of quite a bit!  Everything that did not sell we re-evaluated outside.  Some went straight to Goodwill and about two diaper boxes worth came back in because we know we will be able to sell it online via Craigslist or a Facebook garage sale group.

Amelia was so funny - she insisted on wearing our neighbor Matt's leather jacket in 90 degree weather!  

Sunday morning Jason and I made Joe some baby "superfood."  A blend of carrot, tomato, green pepper, avocado, peach, squash, zucchini and banana.  

It tasted alright.  Yes, we both tried it :)

Sunday afternoon we met my family at Willow River State Park for hiking and grilling.

We hiked 4.2 miles!  We went to the Willow Falls because Amelia loves waterfalls!  On the way there Amelia and I brought up the rear:

That's right - she hiked the 2.1 miles to the falls and about halfway back!  She had her moments of whining to be carried but she did it - just like I knew she could.

We didn't hang around there too long.  It was a zoo!  I suppose that is normal for a holiday weekend though!  On the hike back Joey was my buddy:

He was passed out when we got back.  I'll tell you this, carrying a 27-ish pound baby plus the weight of the carrier (website states it is 6.6 pounds) is a great workout!  I was pleasantly surprised the next day when my back and shoulders felt totally normal!

Once we were back near the cars we grilled hot dogs and sliders for dinner.  After eating and cleaning up we headed home and both kids passed out within minutes!

Once we were home we spent some time outside with the neighbors.  I was sitting in a chair talking to D while holding Joe.  He was squirmy and sweaty and as I lowered him down to explore he slipped.  The concrete broke his fall:

I was a mess and he was hysterical.  He calmed down, shows no signs of concussion and is his usual happy self.  This bruise is growing and I still feel so bad about it!  I am so thankful he is ok!!!  Lesson learned - if he is squirmy just don't even bother trying to hold him.  Let him explore!

Yesterday, Labor Day, I put in nine hours at work and we spent the night at home.

Joe played with the hose while Amelia watered the "flowers" - aka cantaloupe.

We have nowhere to be tonight and nothing to do.  Well, besides the piles of laundry (which I am almost positive I won't end up doing) and getting ready for the first day of school tomorrow!