Autumn

Oh Autumn. You exist purely to mock me. The new season has just begun and here we are, right back where we left off last year at the same time. Sick and bored. And sick of being sick and bored.

First up, cold season is getting off to a bang. Abby just got over her first cold of the season and she passed it gracefully on to me by wiping her nose on my cheek. Yuck. Josh naturally got passed. I don't know what his parents did to him growing up, but he has one heck of an immune system. Alex seemed to be free of the germ, hopefully indicating his immune system improving from his first two years. But this morning, he has woke up with a snotty nose. Okay. So it's clear snot right now. That could mean allergies, but with all the meds he is on, I am anticipating a cold. Apparently the kids got my immune system, dang it. Looks like it's about time for another round of home disinfecting.

And now to the bored situation. I have a nearing three-year old and a one and a half year old. We all know that the energy level of children past the age of one just goes up until they reach their lazy teen years. So now we have the colder days setting in for the long haul. Not only does Autumn mock me with the constant chill in the air but daylight savings time further strips away what little time we get to spend outside. Soon, our days will be forced inside by 5:00. That isn't even dinner time! What on earth are you supposed to do in a tiny two bedroom house for four and a half hours every evening? I mean, you can only play with play-doh so much. You know what I mean? And to make the entire situation worse, the kids were so used to play dates with best pal Wesley at least twice a week. Now with new baby Greta in the house, we are on quarantine indefinitely. I fear by the time we get to see them again, Greta will be crawling and Wesley will have forgotten us entirely. It makes me sad. I only pray that we are all well for Alex's 3rd birthday party. I fear that he will have zero attendees this year and as excited as he is for his birthday, that may end in devastation.

Then, as the cherry on the top, there is the fall allergy season. Poor Alex can't go five feet outside without a constant drain of clear snot dripping from one nostril. Poor kid. Allergies are truly mother natures form of torture. Even with mass medication, he can't seem to shake the nose drippys. Abby even gets the tell tale clear drippys from time to time when we go outside.

I don't know. I suppose I am merely spoiled by the beauty of spring and summer and all the joyous times it brings. Ahhh...summer. Oh how I miss your sweltering heat and high air conditioning bills. Come back soon, please. We miss you dearly. Take a good look at the picture on the tops folks. That's about all you'll get to see of us until the winter quarantine is lifted. Too bad they haven't invented a real world version of the sci-fi hyper-sleep. I think I might be tempted to sign us up for the winter months when they do.

The Void

Lately I've been getting to leave the house without kids more often. Okay, so maybe 'often' is the wrong word here. I've actually only got to leave about three times without kids in tow over the last few weeks. But still, it's alone time, right? The funny thing about being alone, is that when you are so used to having someone there, when they are gone you feel a void. I enjoy my alone time just as much as anyone, but sometimes, it just feel strange.

The other day, I went to the store by my little ol' self. I decided that with Abby being sick, it might be nicer to go without the kids for a change. It can be exhausting wiping a nose the whole way. Not to mention I was thinking it might be nice to not spread the germs. So I hopped in my trusty mini-van and headed out. It was nice at first. Listening to grown-up music. No screaming. No packing of the snacks. No constant entertaining. No diaper bag. But then, the longer I was out, I realized I felt the void of their absence. I ended up calling Josh twice just to have someone to chat to. It was weird. I mean, don't get me wrong. I do need the occasional break from the kids. But generally, I take that break with another person like Josh or my friend, Mandy.

All in all, it was a good couple of trips out, but I don't think I will complain about toting the kids with me even at their most annoying times. Because when they aren't there bugging the snot out of me, I miss them still. Apparently, when you leave the kids at home, you just can't seem to avoid the void.

Nose Woes

As the kids grow, I notice that the dangers you have to look out for don't disappear. They merely shift into knew zones. At first you worry that they won't wake up, then you worry that they will never go to sleep. You worry that they are gaining enough weight, then you worry if they are gaining too much. And then, you worry about what they put in their mouths that they shouldn't. A choking hazard, something poisonous, something utterly disgusting. What I never really thought I would be worrying about was what they would be putting up their nose. Ugh...now there are nose hazards to worry about? What is that all about? Just when I thought that worrying about Alex putting things where they don't belong were over, he goes and puts a rock up his nose. Pardon me while I take a moment to roll my eyes...

*Insert obvious eye roll here*

Okay. That's better. So yesterday, we were outside enjoying the beautiful morning. Abby was aimlessly wandering around and Alex was innocently playing in the sandbox. I looked over at Alex and he had a finger all the way up his nose. I did the mom thing and said, "Alex, get your finger out of your nose." He gave me one of those I-did-something-that-I-shouldn't-have-done looks and I immediately knew that something was amiss. I asked him what he did and he said, "I put a rock in my nose." (At least he's honest about it, right?) At first I didn't believe him, but he started crying and his nose starting running on the opposite nostril. I looked up his nose, and sure enough! There was a big black rock stuck as high up as he could push it. I felt my heart start panicking. What the heck do you do when a rock is up the nose? I thought about cocoa puffs. The rule for cereal up the nose is 'crunch and blow'. But a rock doesn't exactly crunch, does it? So I tried to pinch it out and had him blow at the same time. Amidst the crying and blowing, I think the snot slimed up the rock enough that it came shooting out. It popped out into my hand and Alex, being a typical almost-three-year old, starting giggling. He thought it was hilarious. I told him to never put anything up his nose. At this point, nose picking is no longer my biggest concern. Germs, schmerms...I'd take a finger up the nose over a rock any day of the week.

The Zoo: Part 2

There really isn't too awful much to say today. I simply wanted to share some more photos of our zoo outing. I'll save the mindless ramblings for another day. Enjoy!

This is quite possibly the best picture I have ever gotten of my two little monkeys. And they are posing on a monkey (orangutan, to be precise) sculpture. Classic! This has 'Christmas present' written all over it.

Grandma (my mom) and the kiddos, posin' on the statue. I love it! Maybe I need to
Photoshop Grandpa in there. Hmmm...

Other than the reflection of Abby's pink shoe, It almost looks like they are standing next to the sleeping lion.

Alex standing next to 'the old mine shaft'. Funny thing. He actually asked me to take his picture here. This zoo does a great job with the exhibits and making you feel like you are actually in Africa.

Another one of my finer photos of the day. You would almost think that this was taken in the wild. The gorillas were pretty nifty. Very active that day.

Dad and the kiddos in the bamboo.

And finally, the journey back to the van. And they are each clutching gift-shop finds. That is a huge stuffed snake and some little plastic Australian animals that Alex is gripping and a stuffed tiger for miss Abby. To date, they are nearly inseparable.

The Zoo: Part 1

This past weekend we had the pleasure of going to the zoo. Actually, this is the second time that the kids and I have been there this year, but Alex has been begging to go again for quite some time. So, lucky for us, we had a chance to go for free. And of course, there's no better way to go than on another person's dime. Part of the perks of the Union that Josh is in, are the social outings that they pay for. We even got to take grandparents for free. Unfortunately, my dad (aka: Grandpa), couldn't make it. He had a some pretty bad knee pain. But Grandma got to go and the kids were thrilled! I think my mom was thrilled too. She reverts to a kid when she goes to places like this. It's awesome that she has such a youthful soul. It was a blast. The kids are a great age to enjoy all the zoo has to offer. Alex had a few animals in mind that he was set on seeing from the beginning and Abby was just happy to get to run amok through the exhibits. We even got a free lunch, courtesy of the Union. The thing with the lunch that I almost busted into song about, was the fact that Alex and Abby got to eat the same thing we did for once. I normally have to pack a lunch (which I packed anyways because I wasn't sure about the food they were serving). It's an extremely rare moment (actually more like a nonexistent moment) when we get to eat anywhere but home. Due to Alex's deadly milk allergy, I have to be adamant on checking and then rechecking food labels. We've never been to a restaurant because you can't check labels there and nearly everything served is potentially in contact with cheese or milk based products at some point in time. So when I found that the hot dogs and buns were a-ok to eat (they brought out all labels for me to check...how kind of them), we got to eat the same thing. It was fabulous! They even had chips and alex-friendly cookies to eat. I'm starting to like the Union more and more. So after a long day of walking (and chasing), lots of animals, and lots of pictures, we went home with two very tired and happy kids. I'm splitting the zoo blog up into two parts because I had so many great pictures that I couldn't resist putting up two postings full of zoo family fun! I will say one thing more. Going to the zoo with kids, makes you realize just how wonderful having a family is. I love it!

Abby was happy as a lamb to walk free among the zoo. I don't even know why I bothered with the wagon.

The reptile exhibit has always been a huge winner. This time around, Alex had a hay day trying to find all the camouflaged critters.

What's that I see? Is that me? In my experience, I've found that it is a rare moment indeed when a mother actually gets to be in the photo. Though, I must come clean...I took the picture myself, so does it really count?

I love this picture so I had to share. Though there was glass between us, you wouldn't know it. This picture turned out awesome. Not even a glare! I feel like a regular Steve Irwin. (okay...so I didn't wrestle the gator, but still...)

Alex asked to see the bears from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. These are grizzly bears...very lazy grizzly bears.

Alex and Abby riding the staple photo-op mock cow.

Water buffalo. Yup...that's about all I can say. Just liked the picture with Dad and the kids.

Tune in tomorrow for more fun family zoo photos...

My new niece

Hooray! I have a new neice! And I got the go ahead on stats and her name. I went to the hospital tonight so see her and get to hold her for the first time. And I must say, she is quite the cutie! Perhaps I am just a wee bit bias, but look at that face and tell me she isn't absolutely adorable. I dare ya! Her name is Greta Rosalyn. She was born around 10:30 this morning. She's 8 lbs 11 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. Though, I truly am baffled by this. Mandy did not look anywhere near capable of having such a big girl. I was shocked. I don't know where she was carrying that girl, but I was banking on 7 lbs 14 oz. Guess I was wrong. But it's the only thing I miscalculated on. This sure does make me feel like a cow because miss Abby was only 8 lb 2 oz. and I literally looked like the moon...or the sun (It just depended on what color of shirt I was wearing).

So, back to Greta. She has dark hair like her big brother Wesley and what appears to be dark gray eyes. She has perfect little fingers and a perfect little round head. No cone head for this cutie! (and no...she wasn't a c-section baby) I'm excited to go and see her again tomorrow. I got to talk to her and I think she recognizes my voice. After all, I was around Mandy so much that there's no way she won't recognize my voice. Though, I'm not sure that she will recognize it as well until she hears me yelling. Because 95.6% of the time I'm yelling for Alex or Abby to get off of high objects or some nonsense like that.

Alex is pretty excited to hold her when the time comes. We had a nice conversation on the way to the hospital this evening. I told him that Aunt Mandy has a new baby girl named Greta and he said, "Yeah! I like babies. They go wah-wah! Can I hold the baby Mommy?" I told him that he would eventually. He sure does love his Aunt Mandy and was excited to see her.

So, here are a couple of pictures that I snapped this evening. Welcome to the world Greta! It's gonna be a blast watching you grow!

Big brother Wesley's first meeting. I'm not sure he knew what to think.

The beautiful family of four...awww.

Greta with her Grandma

She's Here!

continued from earlier post...

WOO HOO! We have a bouncing baby girl on our hands now! I just got the call and boy was I right! I wagered on two to three hours after the epidural and right on time...Mandy had her baby girl. I won't say the name or the weight yet because I don't want anyone in her family that might be a reader of my blog to get the news here. But rest assured...after I get to see and hold my new little niece this evening, I will be posting a picture and all the stats. I will say that it only took three pushes to pop her out. Ugh...I can't even imagine that. Good for her! Congratulations Mandy, Sean and new big brother Wesley! I'm so freakin' pumped to see the little girl!

to be continued...again...