Ummm, thanks for that

Yesterday when I was sick I pretty much sat on the couch the whole day.

I did get up and worked at the computer downstairs for about 3 hours but around 10:00 am. I had had enough and needed to lay down.

I went upstairs, sat on the couch, and didn't move again until 3:00 when Brian asked me to thaw out pork chops.   I was vertical for only about 5 minutes before back to the couch I went.

The girls and Brian got home around 4:40.  I was still on the couch and would end up sitting there until it was time to eat.

While we were waiting for daddy to get dinner ready, Hailey walked over to the couch.

I reached down to get her - obviously she was coming to cuddle- right?!

Wrong :-(

She actually wiped her nose on my pant leg.

Oh well, guess I was at least good for somethin'!

Hannah, the nurse

I was out at a work dinner last night and about 1/2 way through the dinner I started feeling sick.  I was getting light headed and nauseous.  I kept making trips to the bathroom in hopes to vomit so that I would feel better.  I probably should have left the dinner early however I was nervous to be driving.  I thought if I sat for a while it would pass and I wouldn't be gambling with the possibility of messing up my new car.

I made it home, not until after 10:00 pm though.....  I went straight to bed and at 3:00 am found myself on my hands and knees in the bathroom vomiting.

Brian talked me into staying home today (thanks honey!).

Hannah woke up while Brian was in the shower and came into the bedroom.

Hannah:  "Mom, I thought you always take your shower first?"

Me:  "Not today honey, mommy is sick."

Hannah:  "You sick?!  Your tummy hurts, you puking, and have squirt poops like me last time?"

Me:  "Yes."

Hannah:  "(gasping)  I don't want to get sick again.  Move over to the other side of the bed away to me so you don't get me sick!"

I rolled over to Brian's side of the bed and turned on the TV for her.

Hannah: "I will get the temperature to check you."

She went into the cupboard, grabbed the thermometer, and climbed back into bed.

Hannah:  "OK, let's do this!"

She was happy to see that the thermometer was 'green' after the beep (signifying normal temp). 

Creative Storage

Need more cupboard space?

Have a dishwasher that you never use?

Problem solved.

Missing-apolis Skyline

Glanced over at the city today on my way home from work and realized that I needed to document how weird it looked.

Remember me telling you that there was a snowstorm this year that collapsed the Metrodome roof?

Well, here it is.  Proof that the iconic white dome that welcomes you to the city is gone.

I wish I would have gotten a better picture and should really think about heading out someday on lunch to get a better picture of this (maybe someday I will replace this with a better picture).

Looks weird, right?

Movie Feeter or BUST!

Hannah and I were invited to go with Gretchen, Stacey, and their girls to see the Justin Beiber movie this weekend.  Hannah hasn't been to a movie yet and the thought of having her first experience be with our good friends?  We're in!

We had to sneak out and wait outside for a few minutes so that Hailey wouldn't see us leave and get upset.

I do feel bad at times like these but I know I shouldn't.  What in the world would a one year old get out of going to a movie?!  Besides, that way her first experience will be one that someday she will actually remember.

Mom:  "If Stacey's new car smells good like yours, I will probably want to eat it up!"

The movie was only playing at the Oakdale theater today so we had to drive all the way there to see the movie.    When we got there we were told that the movie wasn't playing until 4:00 pm (we got there for what we thought was a 1:10 movie).  You can imagine how upset and disappointed we were to find out that the movie wasn't playing after all (long story- which really isn't that interesting) so the manager-kid told us that we could see any other movie for free.  We choose Gnomeo and Juliet - pretty sure it was the only animated show that day.  It was in 3D - if you couldn't tell by the glasses.

Hannah did really good.  She got bored about 15 minutes in and wanted to sit on my lap.  Once there she sat still and besides talking through the whole movie she was a perfect angel. 

It was a fun day however the girls were very sad that they didn't get to see Justin.

Snack Monster

Hailey will not stay out of the pantry.

Whether she opens it to help herself to a snack, get a bag from the bottom shelf (to use for any number of reasons), or just move things around, that door is always open.

Sometimes she will help herself to a bag of fruit snacks, sometimes a box of crackers.

We have been really lucky the days she found the box of rice and pancake mix.

However my favorite was probably when I found her sitting on her 'table' digging her hand into a box of Onion Ring batter mix. 

Gotta hand it to her, the front of the box looked like something delish was inside!

Luckily I caught her before her handful of mix made it in her mouth.

Drying machines and laundry tissues

Today while doing laundry Hannah asked me if she could put the laundry tissue in the drying machine.

One of my favorite things about blogging is that these types of moments happen almost everyday and in normal everyday life for most people they happen and then are forgotten.

Talk to any mom, she has/had every intention of keeping track of these types of things.  She might have a baby book that she wrote it down in and might even find a few pieces of scratch paper laying around with cute words or phrases written on them with the hopes to 'get to it someday'.

That's why blogging is so perfect for me.  It gives me a place to document these phrases, conversations, definitions, etc.  Someday my kids will ask me who they were when they were younger.  I will remember (that is one thing that a mom won't forget) but to be able to tell a story that describes their personality? - I will have that.

I can't wait to order my 2010 blog book but most of all I can't wait to read it in 2030!

Table Potato

Who needs a couch when you have a table?  Hailey loves sitting in/on this table and watching TV.  Sometimes she sits alone, sometimes she brings her baby, blanket, or drink.  Sometimes she just sits and reads books.  Someday she is going to be too big to fit there :-(

and again...

Really?!

What if I have a guest over that has a runny nose?  I can't keep the Kleenex locked up forever!

Don't go in my room....

Just got done with dinner and I was standing at the kitchen sink washing the dishes.

Hailey and Brian were downstairs.  Hannah was in and out of her room.

 I just washed the last dish when Hannah came into the kitchen.

She stood in front of me, held her hand up and said "Mom, don't go in my room ok?"

Me:  "Hmmmmm, why is that?"

Hannah:  "Don't go in there ok?  I not doing anysing."

(yeah right)

Me:  "What did you get into that you aren't suppose to be doing?"

Hannah: "Anysing.  Stay out here.  I will be just fine."

I open the door to see this.

Hannah decided she wanted to feed Changing Baby Diaper.  By herself.  Something we haven't done yet. 

We had to have a discussion about her helping herself to the scissors and using her baby's crib as a step stool to reach the top drawer where the food packets were....hidden from her, or so I thought.



Happy (real) Birthday to me!

Today is my real birthday.

Lucky for me I have been celebrating since Saturday ......you could say just practicing. :-)

Felt very lucky and loved today. Lot of calls and birthday wishes.

Brian and Hannah made sure we had cake, candles, and singing after dinner.  My sister Jennie's blog entry was about me today and within the first few sentences she had me in tears (the good kind).

I am lucky to have such great people in my life- thanks for being a part of it!

Happy Birthday to me! (spoiled rotten)

Yesterday when the girls and I were packing up to head out to Albertville, Brian texted me and asked if we had left yet.

Immediately after that my phone rang.  I answered to this "Hi, wanna come and see your Birthday present?".

I was asked to meet him in Coon Rapids at the Nissan dealer. 

On his way to the mall (to get my birthday present) he decided to drive through the lot.

When the girls and I got there he showed us the car.  We decided to go to lunch so that we could talk about it and then while we were gone we asked the dealer to figure out how much they would give us for a trade in on the Honda.  During lunch, we got the call.  We were happy with the trade in deal and decided that when we went back to the lot we would be driving home in this!

She is fully loaded with charcoal leather interior, heated seats, rear-backing camera, Bose stereo, dual temp control, there is a USB hook up for an iPod that actually lets me control the iPod through the stereo (shows the playlists and everything), bluetooth, etc.

But the COOLEST feature.  This car doesn't take a key.  As long as the key is within reach or in the car you can start it just by pushing this button.

I am surprised that I am actually home right now as I would rather be out on the roads driving!  I absolutely LOVE IT!

A little over the top for a Birthday present, but Brian usually does go above and beyond when buying gifts!  Thank you honey for always being so generous- I love you!

Hello Spring!

It was about 50 degrees today.

I had a coupon for Gap and Old Navy to save 30% off my purchase so I thought it would be a perfect day to head out to Albertville.

As soon as I rounded the last corner to head towards the mall I saw that everyone else in Minnesota had the same idea that I did.  There was a line about 1/4 mile long waiting to turn left into the mall area.

Surprisingly we found a place to park and were able to join the rest of the residents of the state enjoy a beautiful day at an outdoor mall.

The deal, one store then one ride, then one store then one ride, etc.

Lucky for me we were only going to a few stores.  I may have stuck it out longer if it weren't so busy but by myself with both of the girls and a HUGE double stroller....not today.

(Besides my Birthday present from Brian was at home waiting for me!)

Laundry day

This is Emerson's mom's washing machine.

To me it looks like a Princess Jewelry Box and vanity.  I was proven wrong when I opened it.

Hannah:  "Mommy!  Don't open that yet!  Those are Emerson's clothes getting washed."

What she has

Classic case of I want what she has.

Hannah was playing princess tonight so she dressed up in her princess dress, put on her clip on earrings, sat in front of her princess jewlrey box mirror and put on makeup.

When she was done she got her a-bra-ca-la-bra.

Hailey saw this and within minutes needed to have that wand.  So...when Hannah wasn't looking, she grabbed it and ran.

I was trying to get dinner ready and Hannah was a minute away from melting down so I had to think fast.

I grabbed the whisk and added some 'bling'. 

 "Here Hailey! Look what momma made you!  Abra-cadabra!" I said.

Hailey's eyes lit up- she dropped the blue wand and picked up her custom made one and started waving it around.  YES!  It worked, whew!  (now back to making dinner)

Wait!  Why do I hear Hannah crying...?

Yep, she wants Hailey's new wand.

and again...

This time it was a container of wipes.

*sigh*

Monster strikes again!

That would be 3/4 of a box of Kleenex.

Hailey has such a different personality than Hannah did at this age.

Hannah would have much rather sat in my lap snuggling, reading books, or talking.  Hailey prefers to get into anything she can get her hands on.  We never had to think about child locks on drawers or cabinets with Hannah, if she would go in a drawer, you would tell her 'No' and she would get out and usually never go there again.  Sort of a "I came, I saw, I guess that's it' type of approach.

Hailey will open that drawer, be told 'No', give you a dirty look while she turns to the drawer and keeps digging.  You can physically move her away and she will find her way back.  More of a "I came, I saw, I WILL conquer" approach.

Although, don't get the wrong idea.  She is a SWEETHEART and even though we call her Monster she is usually a perfect little lady.

Just likes to keep us on our toes :-)

Here she is starting her 'clean-up, clean-up everybody, everywhere'.

She would grab an armful of Kleenex and walk them to the kitchen garbage to throw away.  Hannah was disturbed by this so she decided to help by bringing the garbage to her to help her.

Chillin'

Hailey loves this chair.

For starters, it is really light so she can drag/push/turn it wherever she wants it to be - all by herself.

It is low enough to the ground which means she is tall enough to climb in - all by herself.

It fits her perfectly and she can sit or lay - all by herself.

:-(  wish there was room for me there

Pro-tect

pro·tect (pr-tkt)

tr.v. pro·tect·ed, pro·tect·ing, pro·tects
To keep from being damaged, attacked, stolen, or injured; guard

Hannah:  "Mommy, I forgot my drink. You protect these for me when I get it?"

Since last summer Hannah has been using the word protect a lot.  It absolutely melts my heart every time.
She has used it to tell me that she will protect Hailey if I leave them in the house to run outside to get the mail or the paper.  She has said that she wants to go downstairs to get something and wants Nashy to go with her to protect her.
Not really sure where she got this word from but I love it!

Child labor

You can't make this stuff up.....

Hannah:  "Mommy, if I finish all my lunch today can I clean the toilet?"



Milk, does a body good

Sometimes I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy a cow?

Team at CRUG

Here I am with Jessica, Patty, and Loriann.  We are waiting for the evening event to start.

Comedian, Stevie Ray, is performing followed by a DJ with Karoke.

Today at the conference there were different presentations; Allscripts Support Update, Stimulus Set highlights, Meaningful Use Roundtable, Patient Portal presentation, V11.2 User Panel, Careguides presentation, V11 Note Success Story, and then other organizations were asked to present success stories.

When I heard that they were going to have people present success stories, I volunteered to kick off the segment by going first.  I presented to the group how we went from 'Zeros to Heros' with increasing our end user involvement which has in turn increased our quality scores and decreased overall monthly number of tasks by over 40,000 per month (blah, blah, blah).

Tomorrow we will hear about V11.2 Training Plans, Ask the Expert- Be the Expert session, Presentaion by Patient Link, Allscripts Technology Update, voting will occur for the CRUG Board positions (I was nominated for Secretary), and then finish with V11 Note-Part II.

CRUG or bust

Today around noon I will be heading off to Des Moines, Iowa for a Central Region Users Group Spring Forum.  5 of us from work are going to connect with other Enterprise EHR users to share knowledge, ideas, and learn from one another.
The conference doesn't start until tomorrow and goes through Friday.

Turn it up!

Ever since the Justin Bieber Glee episode, Hannah and I have been addicted to this song.

I first downloaded the Glee version of the song and we would sing on the way to Jackie's each morning.

After a few days, I decided to buy the real Justin Bieber version.

The first time I played it for Hannah she said "No, mom.  Not the girl one!"

She has gotten over that opinion and now only wants the real Justin 'Beaver' one.

The Bloodhound

This kid and her nose.

Ever since she was small she has been using her nose for much more than smelling or picking.

You have probably even seen a  picture or been lucky enough to witness in person how she smells her Dankie.  She has probably even picked out the best spot on Dankie for you to see for yourself.

There would be times when she was younger that when I would be folding laundry she would take a peice of clothing, stick it to her nose, sniff it, and then tell me who's article of clothing it was.

Just about a month or so ago, Brian worked late.  He called me on his way home and said to get the girls ready, he would pick us up and we could go to Chicken Wild for dinner.

When he arrived the girls and I got into the truck.  Hannah took a sniff in the air..."Daddy, it smells like Old McDonalds in here"  (sure enough he had McDonalds that day for lunch)

Eat something on your way home from work?

Won't get it past this one.  I will get home, pick her up to give her a hug and within seconds of picking her up her little nose will be inside of my mouth....what do I smell?  what you eating?

Hannah one morning smelling her Pop Tart.

I was planning on just getting a picture of her nose but as you can see it is usually busy.

A day at Grammy's

We spent the afternoon at Grammy and Grandpa's today.

Jennifer, Tom, and the kids were there too.

When we first got there, Hannah, Adam, and Justin went running off and immediately started playing.  All you could hear were giggles and conversation that was hard to catch since they were all talking so fast....it had been a month since they had seen each other- must have had a lot to say.

I went upstairs to get a picture.  Hannah and the boys sat on the couch and started 'getting in close' for a picture.

Me: "Miss Courtney, will you sit with them so I can get your picture too?"

Courtney:  "No Thank You"

SHOOT!  I love to try to get them all sitting together for a picture whenever I can but I guess, I can't really blame her for not wanting to sit and pose.   I got lucky that these three were too giggly to care today.

These two are just too cute!

Crazy to think that just a few short years ago they were both newborns!



I feel pretty

Today was Maddie's Birthday Party.

The party was at Pump it Up and Hannah LOVED it.

After the party we went back to the Busta's to hang out.

The girls (Kiley, Maddie, Hannah, and Chloe) played so well together tonight.  They spent most of the night up in Maddie's room preparing for their 'show' - the show was pretty much a lip sync show of them each taking turns singing songs for us while the others sang back up (EXACTLY something I would have done at their age).

Maddie did Hannah's makeup for her.  All of the girls had faces that were glowing and sticky from the lip gloss that was used as blush, eye shadow, and lipstick :-)

 

I love that Hannah has friends to play with that she enjoys being around so much.

Such cuties!

Hannah, Chloe-Tammy's daughter, Kiley- Gretchen and Troy's daughter, and Maddie- Stacey and Shane's daughter

I'll just wait here

Brian was finishing up the dishes. 

Hailey decided to wait for him. 

Drink and dankie in hand.

I wonder if Hailey would love her dankie if she hadn't spent the last 17 1/2 months watching her sister carry one around. 

Goodbye Nastics (for now)

The winter session at Twin City Twisters ended last night.  I decided not to sign Hannah up for the gymnastics spring session so for now, goodbye 'nastics'.

After Hailey was born it was important to me that Hannah and I spent some time alone together.  I wanted her to have her 'own thing' since I knew that soon they would become 'the girls' and most of the things they would be doing they would be doing together.

The last two weeks Hannah hasn't been very excited to go to gymnastics.  

It served it's purpose and it's time to take a break.

I am going to miss watching the little ones stretch, the monkey flips, the wall walker, and most of all 'Stick and FINISH!' but at the same time will enjoy having my Wednesday nights back.

Here fishy, fishy

Tonight while in the bathtub, I caught Hannah talking to a glass full of water..."How are you doin' in there?  You doin' good?  Good. I am going to dump you here and then feed you, ok?"

She dumped the glass out onto this upside down frisbee.  Out came some water and Fishy.

Fishy is actually a button from an eletronic Tetris game.  Not sure what it was doing in or near the bathtub but it was there and Hannah found it.  Now it's her fish.

Sign O' the Times

It shouldn't surprise me.
Our parents reminded us frequently as we were growing up that someday we would understand - blah, blah, blah.

I was only around 9 years old when I was dancing around the house singing the lyrics to the song 'Like a Virgin'.  I am sure that there were songs with lyrics worse than that but sometimes the words get lost in the 'whole song' so they don't stick out as much.  This however, right in the title.  What's the name of that song?  'Like a Virgin', we would reply. 

(go ahead, sing along....it's hard to resist)

I made it through the wilderness

Somehow I made it through

Didn't know how lost I was

Until I found you

I was beat incomplete

I'd been had, I was sad and blue

But you made me feel

Yeah, you made me feel

Shiny and new

Chorus:

Like a virgin

Touched for the very first time

Like a virgin

When your heart beats

Next to mine

Gonna give you all my love, boy

My fear is fading fast

Been saving it all for you

'Cause only love can last

Now I am the mom.  When I first heard the song 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry I was disturbed.  Doesn't she know that little girls and little kids will sing this song and look up to her....etc.  blah-blah-blah  (you can keep your comments to yourself....I realize I sound like an old lady).  I wasn't a fan of this song AT ALL.

Let's go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love

We can dance until we die

You and I

We'll be young forever

You make me

Feel like

I'm living a Teenage Dream

The way you turn me on

I can't sleep

Let's runaway

And don't ever look back

Don't ever look back

My heart stops

When you look at me

Just one touch

Now baby I believe

This is real

So take a chance

And don't ever look back

Don't ever look back

Kristin played a video-for Hannah-on her phone of some random freak singing this song.  From that moment Hannah was hooked on this song.  I tried to shelter her from it.  If it came on the radio I would turn the channel, etc. 

Then on the show Glee, they sang this song.  Hannah remembered it from Kristin's phone and wanted to make sure that I knew that this was 'Kristin's song'.  That is how she started requesting this song...when we were driving to daycare or having random 'family dance party night' in the basement.

I finally broke down and bought the song off of iTunes.  After all, the Glee performance was really good and actually gave me a new outlook on the song....it was pretty catchy.

Well, shortly after the $1.29 purchase Hannah started to learn the words.  Now, she sings along and many nights Brian and I will find her walking around the house playing with Emerson belting out this tune as she changes diapers, etc.

Pretty harmless if you really think about it.  She is singing the words but has no idea what they mean.  Thinking more about it, I am not really concerned about what she is singing, I am just concerned about where she chooses to sing.  That could result in some interesting looks....