Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Evan, in addition to learning how to army crawl today, rolled across our new comfy oasis and found himself in a new place....an exciting hidden place to play...and eat paper. I'd have to say he was pretty proud of himself.
Later he was joined by his big brother.

New Rug

With Evan *on the move* now discussions popped up about the possibility of the need/want for a softer place for him to *land*. Those conversations brought about the purchase of a new rug. Actually it's just a really large piece of carpet, but we're just using it as an area rug. Don't you just love to feel used? Well maybe not, but we sure do enjoy the feel of our new rug...carpet...whatever you choose to call it.

Here is the before...
...oh wait! A lump, you say? Or is it a strange photographic phenomenon?

Nope...
...It's a lump. A lump of kid.

And the afters...
Okay so you can't really see what it looks like in this picture, but you do get to see my 2 cute little boys. We got the rug/carpet today and spent the afternoon working on the living room. Both of the boys seem to LOVE it! Ryan bounced and rolled and crawled and snuggled in a blankie on the rug. Evan rolled and played and tried to crawl on the new rug. Of all fairly big purchases we've made recently I have to say this one might just be the best. My boys and I spent a good deal of time this evening rolling and tumbling and climbing all over each other on our new found plush oasis.

So this is more of an *after* picture...

The color is "Cowboy Beige" I think. It comes about 10-12 inches shy of the entertainment center, about 3 inches from the fireplace, up to the legs of the piano which is about 18-24 inches from the wall, and about 3 feet from the patio doors.

And finally...for your viewing pleasure...some pictures taken this past week.

"I got you where I want you (now I'm going to eat you)"

Sponge Ryan ..........&.......... Sponge Evan

Spring time weather brings about spring time activities...
...like tilling up a spot for our garden. It's our first garden in 2 years and our first at our new home. It's very exciting.
Ryan liked the dirt. Of course fresh dirt *is* pretty great!
Evan liked the dirt too!

Gardening should be a family affair and on this particular day my "energy-gas" ran out about 2/3rds of the way through the tilling.

Feeding and watching the birds is another great spring-time type activity

My Goodboy Peanut!

Come Thirsty

Come. Come thirsty. Drink deeply from God’s goodness.

You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take,
an eternal home no divorce can break.

...Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea.
Every mistake you’ve made is nailed to the tree.

You’re blood-bought and heaven-made.
A child of God—forever saved.

So be grateful, joyful—for isn’t it true?
What you don’t have is much less than what you do.....Max Lucado

7th-Grade Hair, Outdoor Fun and Ryan-Isms

We, here in the great state of Oklahoma...the state in which you can be freezing at a -16 degrees one week and sun-tanning in 80 degree weather the next, have been enjoying LOVING our weather. The 70 and 80 degree days that is. Oh...it's gorgeous! I could live with this kind of weather ALL YEAR! As one of my friends put it...this has to be "Heaven-Type" weather. And with beautiful days comes...
beautiful pictures! And this one is one of my favorites. Now if I can just get my other kiddo to give me some good smiles and a few good pictures that would be great. He is in a stage of...shall we say...avoidance of the camera.

Now I'm sure you're wondering about the 7th-grade hair...
(I promised my sister I'd share this.) About a week ago I decided it was time for a little pampering. I've never had a pedicure or a manicure. I've never experienced a massage (okay...okay...I'm milking this...setting up for some sympathy here!). I rarely go to the beauty salon for a hair cut. My last cut was sometime in October. So...the other day I figured it was an overdo luxury. I went. I walked in and she was busy painting a sign...or something. We went to the sink and she quickly washed my hair. No head massage or anything...just a quick, too cool, wash. After the wash she reluctantly (because she obviously wanted to be doing something else) asked what I wanted. I explained that I have 2 little boys who keep me very busy and I wanted something short and easy to manage because I don't have an hour each morning to fix my hair. With a roll of the eyes she said she could just cut the sides shorter or we could do something else. I said I'd like to have something else and did she have any ideas. It was then that she said that with my hair type the only real option I had was to just let it grow out and wear it in a ponytail. I said I had considered that but that ponytails (and long hair in general) hurts my head. She shrugged and said that was really my only option "with my type of hair". Ugh...okay...whatever. So she trimmed the back a little and the sides a tad. At the end she said she could give me bangs to keep it out of my face (another request I had since I'm on the floor bent over crawling around with 2 boys all the time). I cautiously agreed hoping she could somehow shape things around my face to create a little style and such. Not so much! She pulled some hair down and chopped it off. She was done. I looked in the mirror and quickly looked away...I had a haircut that was way too reminiscent of those horrible junior-high years...those years...oh never-mind...you know those horrible junior-high years. I paid my stupid $20 and went home. Now here's the "best" part of the story...

As soon as I walked in (already feeling ugly and such) Ryan looks up briefly from his movie and says, "Oh Momma!" He looks again at his movie for a few minutes. "Oh Momma! What happened to your hair?!?!" The movie again. Back at me: "You're hair is so messy!" Back to the movie. I sit down in the chair feeling even more like a misplaced ugly 7th-grader. He comes over to the chair, sits on my lap and begins brushing those 7th-grade bangs back away from my face. I asked him if he didn't like them. He said, "Those need to go away." I think he thought I could just cut them off or something. So sad...and funny...and sad.

And finally...

Ryan-Isms:

• I don't like babies anymore. (I'm glad to know he actually did like them at some point. This was directed about Evan.)
• Leave me alone! You have to go somewhere else! (This was directed toward Evan as Evan was following him all over the house.)
• Hey! You put dirt on my snow! (Daddy did it!)
• I can't sleep in the trash. I want to sleep in my bed. (This comes from the fact that we really like messing with our kids' minds. We regularly tell Ryan (jokingly) that we are going to throw him in the trash. One evening while he lay in bed I brought up the trash thing and this was his response. Obviously he was very concerned that sleeping in the trash wouldn't be as comfortable as the bed.)
• The baby is lost. (Hmmmm...well...now that Evan is mobile in his walker he can and does go everywhere Ryan, besides finding it irritating that his little brother can now go everywhere, finds it hilarious to roll his brother into one of the back rooms and close the door. On this particular occasion I caught him as he pulled the door shut and with a big cheesy grin this is what he said.)
• My bubble machine is not working. (Ryan's new discovery is how to gargle. He gargles EVERYTHING liquid. It's his "bubble machine" and I guess one day it was broken.)
  
• You're not any help AT ALL! (This, too, was directed at Evan.)
  
• I have an owie. It's leaking. (No it wasn't.)
  
• Good idea Mom. (This is a new regular phrase I hear. Let's go to the park. "Good idea Mom!". It's time for lunch. "Good idea Mom!" Let's take a nap. "Good..." oh wait! He generally doesn't think that's a good idea, but you get the idea.)
• I'm mad at you! I have a bonk owie! (This, TOO, was directed at Evan. Poor little Evan was quite innocent in this incident. Ryan had bonked his head on the table.)
  

Today was Valentine's Day and... well... it tends to not be one of my favorite days, but...hey...I'll talk about that some other day. Today I was determined to make it a beautifully fun and love-filled day. And...it...was! It was Valentine's Day! It was a "pink" day and we filled it with pink.

The day was greeted with pink valentine's, candies and gifts for each of my boys (all 3). They each got something a little extra special...just for them.

Breakfast began our dedication to pink: pink eggs, strawberries, and pink sugar for dipping our strawberries in.
Even Evan had a little pink: strawberries and bananas puree.
While Evan was napping Ryan and I made some Valentine's. We painted with marbles. Ryan thought it was great, and...really...it turned out beautiful!

Next we made pink cookies. They were "cake mix" cookies, but I only had a box of yellow cake mix so I added in a box of cranberry jello. I'm starting to think you can add jello to just about any thing you make with cake mix. I added apricot jello to a box of cake mix to make some cupcakes the other day and they turned out great. Our pink cookies were great too!
For lunch we had pink pasta but it looked a bit more orange and bit less pink...oh well. We also had pink pudding (strawberry swirl), strawberries and pink cookies.
The kids got Valentine's Day cards in the mail...

I think Evan really like his!
For supper I couldn't think of anything pink to cook...and...well...quite frankly I really wasn't in the mood to cook. I went with the easy, rather non-romantic, taco salad on paper plates.
We did have "wine" though (sparkling grape juice).
After dinner we had a little play time! Can you believe Evan was actually walking around in his walker with his older freeloading brother hitching a ride. He's one strong baby boy.

It was a great day. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Birthday Boy!

Look who just turned 4!

I can't believe he's four.

While we didn't have a "real" party for the little guy this momma just couldn't stand the thought of just skipping over this special day without any ado. So we ate cupcakes and blew out a few candles and had a good time. To him it was a birthday party, but he also knows that he gets 2 this year! Because we've been so sick around here we decided to postpone the celebration until warmer more germ-free weather...say the end of March.

So now he's four!

Happy Birthday little buddy!

Ready....Set....Go!

Meds--Yucky!

When this little guy was recently sick with the flu giving him meds (Tamiflu) wasn't a difficult task. He took it like a champ! However...it was an incredibly comical ordeal. His facial expressions were great! If I hadn't discovered it was the Tamiflu giving him such trouble (he's sensitive to meds) I would have given it to him and videoed his response. You would have laughed. Unfortunate for you but fortunate for him I made the yucky Tamiflu discovery and quit giving him the meds a little early. Hooray for him...boo for no video. He's more important though!

I Want To Do Everything I Want to Do...

...and I want to stand! All...The...Time!!!

Ryan-Isms:

• I don't want to eat dirt. That would be yucky, yucky. Then I would have a tummy-ache and a tummy-throat. (Obviously a little confusion but goes right along with the week we've had...sickies and more sickies.)
• I'm sleepy. (That's kind of one of those "famous last words". You wouldn't be sleepy if you'd actually listen to your mother and take a nap!)
• I want to do everything I want to do! (No joke! So does the rest of the world. You just discovered the motto of the human race, son.)
• It feels great! (It sure did...50 degrees with snow all over the ground, but it was the first day we could actually spend outside in I don't know how long.)
• Please help me do it all by myself. (Well...hmmm...that's not exactly possible.)

Water Baby!

Pardon My Whine

Blizzard 2011

So what in the world do you do when it looks like this outside...
You had a few really gorgeous 70 degree days just a few days prior, but now all the toys are covered in snow...
You've been cooped up with sick kids (and a sick Mommy) for right at a week and everyone is going stir-crazy with cabin fever...

YOU...

bundle up and go outside...
even if just for a few minutes.
Because who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity...
for a little snow ice cream!
In fact, just to make it extra special, we even made a cake and declared it a SNOW PARTY!

Poor little Evan didn't get to join us outside, and he didn't much enjoy the inside activities either. He's been sick with the flu. All of us have except Daddy. Ryan started it last Wednesday, but I never dreamed it was going to be the flu. By the time I figured it was something more than just a "cold" the weekend was here which means no doctor's appointments (unless of course you want to pay an arm and a leg for after-hours/emergency care...oh wait!...I did pay an arm and a leg without it! More on that later). I started with the fever and malaise on Saturday and poor Evan started with vomiting and fever on Sunday. Monday morning I called the doctor. He tested positive for Influenza A which is probably what the rest of us had. Fortunately he was within "the window" for treatment with Tamiflu to lessen the effects and duration and since Wade hadn't "caught" it yet he could also take Tamiflu to more than likely prevent it. Unfortunately for Ryan and I we were out of that "window of opportunity" (we'd had symptoms for too long) and Tamiflu wasn't an option so the two of us were left to ride it out. Dr. O said I was right at the peak of the worst and should be feeling better within a day or so, and she said Evan should be better within 4 or 5 days but if he (or Ryan) started getting worse that we needed to return for the possibility of a secondary infection. In the mean time Evan and I were encouraged to start alternating Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. (Boy did that make a HUGE difference in how I felt. I wish I would have known about that on Sat and Sun. I would have been able to function.)

So off to the pharmacy I went. It was there that I spent an "arm" on Wade's Tamiflu because the insurance coverage of it was...well...not great. And...I spent my other arm and both legs paying for Evan's Tamiflu BECAUSE...despite the fact we pay dearly for our family's insurance (Ryan and Evan completely out of pocket and partial on the rest)...and because Evan is a baby and can't swallow those stupid pills yet and needs his medicine mixed in some form of a liquid...INSURANCE WOULDN'T COVER HIS! Ugh. I hate insurance companies. All of them. Healthcare (primarily insurance) is so messed up...and NO Obamacare is NOT the answer! At any rate...now that I'm over my little rant...I spent nearly half of my paycheck buying Tamiflu, aspirin, ibuprofen, tylenol, and a few other maintenance meds for our cabinet. So...we can't have the flu anymore! Just kidding...I'm just griping a little...I'm allowed...I've been sick. I can be gripey!

Evan vomited up his first dose of Tamiflu (a common problem) but has been able to keep it down with the following doses. He seems a little better. He has his good moments and his really rough moments. He cried all night on Sunday (which was really rough on me since I was so sick too) but since we've started giving Tylenol and Motrin on a consistent schedule he is resting better and seems more comfortable. He woke up 5 or 6 times last night but that's improved from crying all night the night before.

I am feeling much better. I even did a little house cleaning and cooking today. My throat is killing me from all the coughing and drainage and I'm terribly hoarse but "this too shall pass". Ryan is doing much much better. He is a little hoarse too, but he is gradually getting back to his ornery little self. Daddy isn't sick.

So that's about all that's been going on with us lately. I'm so ready for winter to be over. We've been so so sick this winter. I guess that's a testament of the importance and the value of "hibernating" for those families with medically fragile kids. We hibernated for 2+ years after Ryan was born and more less never got sick. Boy not this year! Ugh. Come on Spring!!!!

And some RYAN-ISMS:

• My kitty's tail is hot. He's got hot food inside it. (The cat stole some food off the floor that happened to drop from the hot stove and was quite warm for our little furry feline.)
  
• Girls are yucky. (Hmmmm...)
  
• You're not a girl. You're a mommy. (After hearing "girls are yucky" I just had to ask if that included me since I, too, (believe it or not) am a girl. This was his answer to that!)
  
• My mouth doesn't have enough energy to go "toot! toot!" (This is kind of sad. He was sick and we were playing a toy train whistle.)
  
• Baby brother is too loud. Can we put him inside? (Ummm...too loud for outside?)
  
• No singing. You can't be a singer. You can only be a mommy. (I have started singing a lot especially as a way to diffuse stressful situations in the home. It works great! I'm amazed and how calm I can remain when I start singing "The joy of the Lord is my strength" even though my natural inclination is to yell. It also tends to diffuse and re-route some negative behaviors. Well on this particular day Ryan really didn't want me to sing. More likely he didn't want the singing to challenge his naughty behaviors.)
  
• It's windy. The wind needs to blow baby brother far far away. Back to the hospital. (Obviously a moment of jealousy. You think?)