Chin Pictures and my attempt at making hats...

So I tried to get a picture of Ben's chin and tooth like 20 times and this was the best I could manage. Most of the ones I got ended up showing his ear because he turned his head as quick as I could push the button... But you can see the scratch on his chin, but nothing else. Its all healing up quite quickly. This picture was taken 2 days ago and it is already roughly the size of a pencil eraser now.


I found a bag of fabric scraps in my basement when I was cleaning up the flooding basement. I dug in this week and decided to see what I could do it. I whipped out a few scarfs, a few rag-type baby blankets and some Nemo hats for the kids. The hats turned out alright, but are actually a few sizes too big for them both. So I might dig in and try to make them a tad smaller but they love them.

Hahaha....Revenge

I was just playing with my template cause I needed something different and I wanted to put my links back on my page. But I figured out the coolest thing with the new blogger...wanna know?

Now I have a list of all my bloggin buddies and it automatically adjusts them so it shows the person who posted a blog most recently at the top and those that have waited longer....those who have been neglecting their blogging buddies... are at the bottom of the list. How cool is that....Ok so its not really that cool but it does making checking for blog updates a lot quicker, YAY.

One of those days....

So today I dyed my hair back to red. I was tired of the brown...especially mixing with the red roots. This is still quite a bit darker than my normal red but it was something different. Yay

Yesterday the kids were dying to go outside and play in the "snow" (if you can call it that :)). So we all bundled up and went out for a few minutes. Since Ben has had a fever the past few days I was only going to let them play for 10 minutes or so. Well it only lasted about 5, just enough for me to snap a few pictures.

Poor Benny saw something that fascinated him and he went chasing after it. As soon as he hit the driveway he slipped and came crashing down on his face. I ran over there and picked him up and his face was covered in blood! I grabbed him and pulled Ashley inside so I could have a better look. Oh I felt just awful. I gave him a lollipop so he would calm down so I could clean him up and see the damage. Oh boy. I could tell he chipped his tooth and the two front two were loose. There was lots of blood but I really couldn't find where it was coming from. I called the base peds office just to see what I should do and they told me to call the base dental clinic. So I tried that, and they wanted me to bring him in right away. So off we went to the dentist. Thankfully they didn't find anything too terrible.

The rundown:
1. chipped front tooth (only enamel deep, so there shouldn't be any sensitivity)
2. knocked the two front teeth loose (but she didn't think that he caused them permanent damage, so we are on the lookout for changing colors if he did)
3. Skinned up chin
4. and the bleeder...it turns out that he tore the little skin flap/muscle thing that connects your lip to your gums. Go ahead and stick your tongue up there and feel it...I know I did :) Yup he ripped it almost completely. But the good news is that it quit bleeding within a few minutes and really doesn't need any repair .

I'll post a picture of him post-fall maybe tomorrow.

This Week:

Last night I tried a recipe from my little sister , Delicious Chicken Pot Pie. It was great! #10744 on recipe zaar if you are interested. It takes a little time because everything is fresh so you have to chop it and all but fresh is best. The kids actually devoured it, which is shocking for them both lately. I usually hear "I don't like that" before the dish even hits the table and once one starts the other chimes in too. But this was a winner.


Benny has been sick again. This time its been a high fever (staying around 102-103 for about 3 days now), a slight runny nose, and a horribly cranky, cuddly, needy boy. We took him in on Wednesday thinking that it might be an ear infection but it turns out both ears were fine. So a virus or something to just wait out. Fun times. He appears to be doing a bit better this morning. I haven't given him any medicine since last night. So hopefully he is on the upswing of this one. It is so frustrating though. This has been our longest cold season. It seems like one gets it and as soon as he/she is feeling better then the next one comes down with something. And what is weird is they seem like different illnesses too. Ashley had the pukes for a day, then Ben came down with a high fever. Ben has had croup 2 times this last month and a half....Ugh it is just no fun. I am just hoping and praying that they have caught everything there is to catch so we can have a few months of no colds....not likely though!

Here is Benny sleeping off the fever. He required a blanket too. I took it off him once he fell asleep so he wouldn't overheat more than he already was. It was so cute too, I told him lunch was ready and asked if he wanted to eat....his response was, "No, I'm sleeping" and then I grabbed our plates and set them on the table and sure enough he had passed out in the 20 seconds it took for me to do that.


I swear Ben is just like my little brother. When they get sick you can just tell by looking at them. Ben's pale skin just turns blue almost, especially under the eyes. His eyes get super puffy and he really looks just washed out. Poor guy.

Oh and it is snowing a bit this morning....anyone jealous? :) hahahah

crayon surprise

Boys can't multitask? I beg to differ :) Here is Benny proving it wrong. Walking the dog and chatting on the elmo phone. How cute

And Ashley trying to be a hairdresser...if you could only see the mess of rubber bands and clips she left in her wake.


Our crayons had taken a beating and most of them were now small pieces that I was lucky enough to pick up off the floor daily...sometimes multiple times. So I peeled off the wrappers and threw them in my muffin tin. The final outcome is pretty fun. Ashley enjoyed them last night and maybe this way Ben will be less inclined to eat them...just maybe.

Sugar High :)

So we have taken advantage of some of the fun fall and Halloween functions available on base. We went with Janelle, Wood, and KK to the Halloween Carnival last weekend and had a good time. The kids were introduced to glow-in-the-dark necklaces...Oh they love them. Ashley slept with hers for 3 days and then told me I needed to change the batteries when it was done. Haha.

Wednesday we went to the escape zone for their Harvest Festival. That was fun as well. They played some games, played with lots of toys, made a few projects, and got a goodie bag to take home.


Both kids loved the toy houses. Although they did fight over opening and closing the doors and windows.



Benny, my little elephant. We had originally planned for him to be a blue M&M. But for some reason he despised that costume. He threw a horrible fit every time I tried to put it on. So I gave out and whipped out Ashley's old costumes that I saved. The most boyish one was the elephant. And thankfully he didn't have a problem with it cause the only other one that would fit was a pink care bear. I don't quite think he would appreciate that later :)

Below is a funny series of photos I captured...Can you tell who the bully is today? I swear in our house it changes every few minutes.


sneaking up for the grab

the two handed grabber



the blowout battle ensues


Ashley was a butterfly for Halloween this year. It was really cute but the wings need some work...the frame inside kept sliding around so the wings would slouch, or be lop-sided.



Benny has been sick off an on this whole month. He has croup again and has been having problems sleeping again. The first night I think he and I got all of maybe 4 hours of sleep and last night I slept with him on the couch and we did better but he still woke up at least 10 times coughing/barking like a seal. He's also had a high fever, even with Tylenol round the clock we are staying at around 101. Today it was down a little so hopefully he is on the mend!!!!

I felt so bad. I was reading him a story and he was trying so hard to keep his eyes open. I should have grabbed the video camera but I'm sure that would have woken him up so I just kept reading. Finally the little guy passes out for about an hour.



His poor eyes were so dark around them from not sleeping. He just looked awful. Today he had a bit more color in him so that was good. The picture below is shocking to me because he just looks so long. Both Ben and Ashley weigh 28 lbs right now. The 2 year gap is disappearing quickly.



Today we ventured out to the med group's trick or treating. The kids enjoyed themselves but Ben didn't last more than 30 minutes without going into melt down mode. We made a quick retreat back to the car and made our way home.




And finally, here are the kids after the trick or treating tonight. We went for about an hour. It was shocking the weather was actually decent. It was 50 degrees out, very pleasant in comparison to the past snowy Halloween's we have encountered.



Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Just lounging around on the weekend

We had a relaxing weekend of just piddling around the house. I loved it. On Saturday we all stayed in our jammies all day long! (yes, i did change Benny's diaper but just left on the jammies:))

The kids seemed to enjoy it. If you look out the window you can see our first snow fall. Yay, well not really but I'll pretend.

My blue eyed boy. I love those baby blues!!!!

Pumpkin Patch Time

Leaves, leaves and more leaves. We have been raking our front yard like crazy. I think so far we have gathered 16 bags of leaves.....holy moly! But I truly love the look of fallen leaves. The crisp air and absence of mosquitoes and sub zero temperatures, it is just beautiful.

We took the kiddies to the Pumpkin Patch. They had fun and wanted to stay way longer than mom and dad were willing. We had to fight both of them to go home..but mommy had a headache and just wasn't feeling the best.

I swear it can be so difficult to get a picture of them both (or either of them) looking at the camera. I took a bunch and had very few where they were actually looking, or had their eyes even open.

They both got to pick 2 pumpkins and had fun picking and choosing between all the varieties. I think they both really liked the warty ones even though neither picked one for their final selection.


All this pumpkin patch stuff really made me want to take a trip to the Roloff Farms in OR. I watch Little People, Big World religiously. For some reason I love the chaos of their family. Their house is a mess, they kids misbehave and get in fights, it just seems so normal and makes me feel better about my own house. Plus they are just funny people and I really enjoy watching their show. So I will add this to my to do list. I would like to venture out there maybe next fall since we will be in WA anyway...

Tagged!

I've been tagged. So now I present 6 random things about me. It has taken me awhile to come up with them, but now that you have read them, YOU are tagged!


1. I am short with BIG feet. I am only 5'2" but the shoes I wear are a size 9 1/2.

2. I have naturally red hair...ok, everyone knows that but in the back I have a skunk stripe of blondish-brown. You can only see it if I pull my hair up but it's really there. I used to trick kids in school saying that I dyed my hair red and they would usually believe me cause I would show them my "roots" :)

3. I have no musical ability. Mike can play the guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and saxophone and has tried to teach me multiple times. I just can't get it.

4. I am messy. As much as I try to keep the house clean, I just fail. I think I am a messy person at heart. There are so many other things to do that are just more fun than scrubbing the toilet.

5. I love reading. I love it, love it, love it. And I love www.goodreads.com too. It is a great website and now that my school is done I am totally looking forward to reading for pleasure!!!

6. My kitchen counter is covered with stamping supplies.

sickness

Ok so fall is here and with it came the colds. Yuck. Benny started it with his bout with croup. But thankfully his shot of steroids helped him lots and now he is better. About a week later Ashley came down with a fever. There were no signs of a cold at first but a slight runny nose and cough developed. Then she started complaining when she was peeing, so off she went to the dr. They tested her for a bladder infection which came back positive and for strep which was negative. They said that her throat looked suspicious so they gave her an antibiotic that would work for both a bladder infection and strep in case the rapid strep test was wrong.

Today Ashley is going to the dr again to deal with her constipation problems. I swear this is a losing battle. But we are going to do everything we can for her. To combat everything she has begun refusing to take her medicine. Which doesn't help with the poop issues or the bladder infection but I am really trying to be creative at disguising it. I feel awful, but seriously getting a 3 1/2 year old to swallow medicine when she is determined not to is no fun. I feel awful holding her down and forcing it upon her but I really have no clue what else to do. Hopefully the dr. today will have some ideas or another option. At this point, if they were able to give her her antibiotics by shot I would do that because at least then she can't spit it all over me, and it's done in a flash.


Personally I think I have a mix of a cold and allergies. So fun. I've had a bit of a fever but really nothing compared to Ashley's. I've been a little achey and totally worn out, but honestly I'm just thankful that it waited until my classes were done to arrive!!

My classes are done!

Here are a couple quick snapshots from the past week.

The first one is Ben showcasing his new drawing skills, hahahah.


And here is Benny again, wearing my hat! He thinks it is the funnest thing to wear mom and dad's stuff. As I type this he is wearing mikes shoes and walking around the living room.



And finally, the little girl who doesn't need naps, or so she thinks. She has pretty much given up on the idea of napping. I'm not too happy about that but I take it as it goes. I do make her take "quiet time" in her room where she can play or read or do whatever as long as it is quiet and doesn't wake up her brother. That gives me a few minutes of quiet time which is needed too!



I took my finals on Thursday. I feel like I did alright but I am anxious to get my grades back. I should be graduating with honors, just depends on this terms grades to see what level of honors.....I'm hoping for the highest! I should find out in the next week or so once the grades are posted. And then my diploma for my degree should be in the mail sometime after that!!! WHOHOOO

My next project is to dig through a box of clothes my dear friend Susan gave me when she moved. Ashley is short for her size and is just now moving in to size 4 clothes. Her 3's are little highwater-ish now. So that is my project for today.

Oh and my other creative project is beginning to work on the baby announcements I promised to make for my little sister Kerri who is due in late November. I haven't really *played* with all my crafting stuff. I'm embarrassed to admit I have sets that are still in the package and have never been touched. Hopefully this will be the time to dig into those and get them inky! Right now I am in the idea generating stage and boy oh boy is that stage difficult when you have been out of practice.

Some quick pictures

Ben enjoying one of our final sunny days in GF.


T-ball anyone. Ben loves it.


Ashley spinning in the grass, with "tada" sound effects

Ashley just finished her puzzle book. She needed me to take a picture to show Grandma :)


My little teething boy

Spinning in the office chairs...a new fav pastime


Just like Daddy


Watching Cartoons

Our Trip to the ER

Ben started with a cold a few days ago. Runny nose, sneezing, and a bit of coughing, nothing too serious. Last night he had a rough time falling asleep but after a few tries we had success. I stayed up until about 12:30am working on my paper and was probably asleep by 1am. Only to be woken up by a mysterious barking noise coming from Ben's room. The poor guy sounded awful. I was pretty sure it was croup, as Ashley has had it once before. But this was way more serious. He was struggling to get a good breath and it did not seem to be improving.

I called the on-call dr. on base and they said that there was a referral in place for him to go to the ER. So Ben and I hopped in the car at 2:20am to head downtown. We arrived just before 3am and at this point I was very thankful for living in a small town with a small hospital. We were the only people in the waiting room and thus were seen very quickly.

They diagnosed him with croup (mom was right). Although all the struggling he was doing to breath his oxygen levels were still very good. The administered a steroid shot to relax and reduce the inflammation in his throat, gave us some home care pointers and sent us on our way. We were home within 2 hours of walking out the door, so that was quite impressive.

Still I didn't get to sleep until after 5am and the kids were kind enough to wake me at 8:30. Yikes so today I'm pretty zoned out. After dealing with sick kids, an ER trip, and no sleep, not to mention the last week of classes before finals I am a little frazzled. But that's the life of a mom right?

Catch up time again...

I apologize, I have not been a very good blogger the last few months. Here come the excuses... :)

I am neck deep in school, my final classes of my bachelors degree whoohoo. Only 2 more weeks to go, thank goodness. I have senior-itis bad!!! I have two papers due next week that I honestly haven't done more than brainstorming to come up with a topic so that will be quite a challenge to whip those out and obtain good grades!!!! My goal is to get A's in these classes, isn't everybodies? But if I do I will gradumacate with a 3.9 GPA and the highest honors Park offers. Whooohooo! Mike is also taking his last classes and will have his UCAF done in 3 weeks. So that makes for a crazy house in itself.

We have been having some relationship problems lately. At one point I was ready to throw in the towel and run home to my mom but then we took a step back and reviewed the situation. So now we are in couples counseling to work through our "communication" issues. I think that most of our problems stem from different communication styles and a lack of communication between us. So hopefully we can make some progress through this and come out stronger.

On a completely lighter note~~~~I got such a bargain on a cute pair of shoes....you wanna see?
They were 49.99 and 90% off so I walked out with them for only 4.99 Whoohooo, super cute



Oh and I dyed my hair. At first it was almost black and I HATED it but now that it is starting to fade it's dark brown but you can still see the red in it which i like. Something different for a change.



I went to take the trash out the other day and when I came back I noticed some funny door knob accessories around the house.....yes, if look closely they are tampons stripped of their wrapper and applicator. Now isn't that sweet. Apparently the cabinet that I have to stand on the toilet to find what i need is now accessible to them also. Great!



Ashley also got into the bandaids while in the cabinet. This was a really fun one to remove since she had pressed it into her bangs, as well as her eye brows and eye lashes. Sweet!!!



And my little Benny! He is such a handful! He is still suffering from separation anxiety and most of the time when I leave him with someone I get a phone call to come and get him. oh so much fun. Oh well, i was the same way when I was young so its just payback, right!