Weekend Recap- in pictures

Since I didn't really touch on Hunter's birthday, we will start with our weekend recap from Thursday! Thursday started bright and early with a trip to the ENT...

fluid in ears, no infection, but a lingering cough and runny nose landed this little guy back on antibiotics... ick. On a happy note, to celebrate Hunter's birthday, we got a babysitter for Owen and Quinlin and Sean and I, along with my parents, took Hunter to his restaurant of choice to celebrate.

Known for their burgers, exactly what Hunter ordered.

We came home and Hunter finished opening his gifts (though not much to open), a shirt from Gap, a gift card to Amazon, and private golf lessons.

Friday brought me a weekend alone with the kids as Sean travelled to Michigan to compete in an ice fishing tournament. Friday night, Hunter had 2 of his buddies over to celebrate his birthday. We had pizza and they gamed out in the basement. I purchased an ice cream cake on Thursday night which Sean put away. Not finding it in the freezer, I checked the fridge, and there it was all melted.  

The boys promptly started yelling at Sean over text about the soup cake.

 We managed to drink the eat the whole thing anyway...

The boys were good, minus me having to tell them to quiet down a bit, and minus my crate and barrel artwork falling off the wall during a game of basketball in the basement. Hunter had a nice time and then spent the rest of the weekend with his dad and grandparents. So- I decided to get a babysitter and went shopping with my friend Sawsan. It was fantastic to be able to get out and shop! We went to the mall and then out to dinner at Fridays and then to Famous Footwear and Kohl's. And- lo and behold, my baby girl now owns shoes!!!

I tried them on Sunday morning. Look at these legs!!!

I think Owen was jealous I didn't get him shoes too...

 He really kept trying to wear them, but they just wouldn't fit.

 So- he figured, if he can't wear them, she shouldn't either.

 But- he finally gave up...and she now owns shoes! I can finally stop obsessing over this.

Only problem is, she hasn't figured out how to walk in them... She is not liking them at all...maybe she'll be more of a purse girl.

Sunday night was supposed to be a girls dinner, but Sean got delayed in Michigan, so my plans got cancelled. Sawsan still came over and hung out with me as we waited for the guys to get home. Sean placed 22nd out of 150 teams- which was great, but payout went to the top 20 teams (boo). Maybe next year!

Owen's Pretty Smart

I'm participating in Jenni's bloghop for the first time today with my own edition of your three words....Mine- Owen's Pretty Smart!

So- my sister (affectionately known to my kids as Tia-Spanish for Aunt) came into town for Quinlin's birthday. She lives in another state, so doesn't get to see the kids much. So- I'm sure the terrible two's don't leave the best impression on her. So- we were talking about Owen and I said "you'll love him just as much as the others- he'll wiggle his way into your heart." So- I was playing with Owen and he started touching my sister's hair and said "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle". A few days after that, just Owen and I were playing and I said "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" to him and started tickling him. Owen responded to me. "No mommy- Tia isn't here."

Also- at school they were learning colors and this week, the color was white. Every week I'm given artwork of projects they worked on, etc. It's nice to see what they learn and get updates on the progress. So- his teacher Karen was telling me how he went to color the crayon and kept saying "It's not working- It's not working." Of course, white crayons on white paper wont show up. So- he flipped it over and grabbed another color. "all better".

I think he's pretty smart...

Not much to report on tv talk this week. All I got to watch was The Bachelor and Teen Mom and I did catch up on my Jersey Shore from last week and am hoping to get caught up on American Idol. Other than that, I think Glee, Modern Family, Grey's and Desperate Housewives were all repeats. The Bachelor has the crazies coming out more and more each episode and Teen Mom now makes me want to strangle Kailyn... hello you young, dumb, girl... of course your baby's daddy's parents don't want you dating someone else while you live in their house. MOVE OUT! It's so irritating.

Looking forward to the weekend- much needed girl and "me" time. :)

Happy Birthday Hunter!!!

So hard to believe that my first born is 14. Really 14? Oh my goodness. I do not know where the time has gone. I will not go into his birth story here- as it is much too personal- but I will say that he has changed me, my life, my path in so many different ways. What a remarkable young man he is becoming and I couldn't be more proud to have him in my life and to be able to call him my son.

And- just for fun... some old pics

Hunter 6 months old

almost 3

2002

2003

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

It's kind of fun to look back at these through the years... I know I dont have every year covered, but they made me smile. So- to my birthday boy- I love you more and more each day, more than you will ever know!

So What Wednesday

Because I missed my normal Tell All Tuesdays, I'm linking up with Life After I "Dew" for So What Wednesday!

I'm saying so what if:

• My baby girl started walking and she still doesn't own a pair of shoes...they say it's better for their feet, right?
• I'm still working on the art project for work... I can see my progress. Hopefully I can show it off today too.
• Hunter's birthday is tomorrow and we just started brainstorming today on his presents. Oops
• My kid walked out of the daycare yesterday wearing the gloves they use to change diapers...maybe it's a sign that he wants to be a doctor?

• So what if I let above child play in the tub too long and then he proceeded to poop to which I then blamed my husband for not helping me because he was on the phone.
• I really don't like to talk on the phone. Sometimes I let it go to voicemail just because its been a long day. I'm tied to a phone all day at work- that's enough for me.
• So what if I cannot wait for winter to be over...no more ice fishing season, right?

We have a WALKER!!!

so not a very eventful weekend- spent most of it trying to care for my never-ending sick children or cleaning and disinfecting...but- the highlight of the weekend was Quinlin walking!!! The first two videos are a little dark...but I didnt have time to fully adjust the lighting. The last video is lighter but only caught from behind.

Go Quinlin go!!!! My baby really is growing up!

Am I psychic?

Remember what I posted yesterday? This...

well- I think I must be psychic... I was just at the doctor Saturday with Owen, Tuesday with Quinlin and then I picked the two of them up from school yesterday and sick again were we. I went to Owen's room first and they said he was crying all afternoon that his ear hurt. And- he did look miserable. Ok- I thought- no biggie...we put ear drops in if he has something. Off to Quinlin's room I went. Her teacher Karen warned me "she looks awful". I took one look and saw it right away. Her eyes were incredibly goopy. They couldn't "kick her out" because she was on antibiotics but she was a mess.

I brought them home and called the doctors office. Too late in the day to get an appointment, I was hoping they would just call in some drops for them. No such luck- they needed to be seen. So- I arranged for my parents to come over for part of the day and I brought them in this morning at 9:45 before heading to work.

Quinlin was a tough one... because she is possibly allergic to amoxicilan, they put her on a z-pack for her double ear infection. When he looked at her today, her ears were still in full blown infection, so it wasn't working at all. She also had the crusty eyes (poor little girl couldn't even open her eyes this morning they were so glued shut). So- after much debate, we're trying her on a different medication- a cousin to amoxicilan. I'm kind of nervous though as he said "If she has difficulty breathing, get her to the emergency room. If she has a rash- have her come see me. and lastly- a common side effect is red stools". Yikes! So- she's on this new medication now and we'll just monitor her.

Owen's ears were fine. Not sure why he was complaining. At least its the weekend. Maybe I can take Saturday and Sunday to help them recoup away from the germs at daycare. So- aside from the illnesses, my week went fast and there wasn't much time for TV. I did get to watch a few of my top shows though...

• Bachelor- I hate Michelle. She's psycho...what I don't understand is why Brad never tells her to stop being rude and interrupting. and- why he always goes to her when she does interrupt. Ick.
• Teen Mom 2- I'm glad Jenelle caved a bit. I still hate her. I love Corey and Leah and cried with her as the baby was being checked out. I hate Kailyn- boring. and yeah- I would be pissed too if she started dating someone yet was still living in my house? go away!
• Modern Family- this week's episode was total laugh out loud funny. Kids caught Claire and Phil in bed. Hilarious... and an episode I wouldn't let Hunter watch. The kids totally made the episode what it was too. still laughing.

That's it. Lets hope for healthy vibes this weekend!

Quinlin- 1 year stats and more sickies

Well Quinlin got kicked out of daycare on Tuesday for a fever...why wouldn't she? Owen got kicked out on Friday... I cant win. As I noted, Owen had strep. So- off I went to the doctor's office with my 3 children. Luckily Quinlin had her one year well visit so I brought along Hunter who was complaining of a sore throat and Owen. Luckily Hunter tested negative for strep- though she did say he sounded weezy so back to the inhaler he goes. Owen is just Owen... I guess we'll see how he's doing once he goes off his antibiotics- which is today.

Aside from being diagnosed with a double ear infection- Quinlin is doing great. 23 pounds, 4 oz (81%) and 29 inches (50%). I may be "slightly" over feeding her. Time to officially wean her off the formula and onto the milk. I dont remember how I did it with Owen, but for some reason, cant figure out how to get Quinlin not to expect a morning bottle when she first wakes up. She takes a sippy just fine, so I am going to see how she does if I get her ready in the morning with the sippy of milk... it would be nice to clear out my cabinet space of all of the bottles I have. Any advice? I did send her to school this morning with two bottles but told them to only feed in case of emergency...to just give her milk and water in a sippy with her meals so we'll see what happens.

Other than that, she seems to be on track with how she's developing. I'm waiting for her to start walking still and she seems to be getting more confident all the time. She sits to standing, to bending over to grab a toy, to playing with said toy standing, so we'll see. The doctor said she'd see us again at 15 months...but we all know the truth. I'm sure I'll be back in a week with one my sick children because I can't seem to win.

Shopping!

If you know me, you'll know I rarely buy anything for myself. I always tend to buy for my children but I guess try to live pretty frugally. With two kids in daycare costing us about $1400/month, we just don't have the extra play money that we may want. Plus- I always tend to go shopping when I have the money to spend and never find anything. I always tend to see everything I want when I don't have the money. Murphy's Law- right? Or- I'll buy items and they look awful on me so return they go. I just returned 2 pairs of Nine West boots I got through an awesome sale because they just didn't look right and a sweater from Old Navy because I felt frumpy.

So- on Monday- I met my sister out for some lunch and shopping. I brought the babies to daycare and Hunter and I met her at the Cheesecake Factory. I had a really good shrimp pasta and Hunter a cheeseburger (go figure) and my sister got salmon. We were all too full for the cheesecake. We went to the mall right afterwards and immediately I started not feeling well. We looked at Nordstrom's nothing. Looked at Limited- nothing. Express- nothing. Again, not feeling well, I was ready to call it a day. Until I saw the 40% off everything sign at Ann Taylor. I started feeling a little better so decided to go in. I got two really cute cashmere sweaters for only $42 each. So excited... And- they were a light pink and a light grey. I tend to wear a ton of black- and also grey- but I was proud of myself for even looking at different colors. We then went to Banana Republic because again we saw a sale sign. Hunter wanted to go into Banana as well as a jacket he got from his dad had the same label. I found the cutest green (yes green) sweater and had to have it- again- only $40. yay! I also got Hunter a shirt that he liked. So funny that he and I are now shopping at the same stores. When did that happen!

My sister found a sweater that day too. It was so nice spending all the time with her this weekend. I wish she lived closer so we could do those things more often, and also so she could see my kids more. It's nice that, as different as we are, we're more the same than we may think (though still quite different). haha.

Weekend Recap and the big Par-tay!

I had such a nice weekend- but was afraid it wouldn't start out that way. I got a call from daycare (go figure) that Owen had a temperature of 100.5 at around 11am. Just a warning call- but I knew it was coming. At about 3:45pm, I got the call saying to come grab him. I got there and he was just miserable- using Donna like a pillow while watching the other kids play. he was very whiny and said he was sick. I brought him home and attempted to comfort him and kept thinking- he couldnt possibly be sick, we just got off our antibiotics on Tuesday night. Well- I couldn't let his sickness stop me, so I left the babies with Sean and my sister, Hunter and I went shopping to get ready for the party. We bought all the items I needed at Giant Eagle and then zipped off to Target for party supplies. I had no theme, just wanted a nice party. Originally, I was going to do pink, green and purple for the decor, but went to target and found some really cute white and black damask patterened plates and napkins. Mix a little pink and perfect for my baby girl. After Target, we went to dinner at TGIFridays. I dont think we even got to eat until about 10pm. It was really nice hanging out with them together.

Saturday morning, I rushed Owen into the pediatrician's office after a rough night that night and he was confirmed to have Strep. Are you kidding me???? I couldn't believe it. So- he was put on zythromiacyn (sp) and he reassured me that he wouldn't be contagious and that I could continue on with my party. So- I brought Owen home and attempted to get things done for the party. I did text our invitees to let them know in case they weren't comfortable attending. I only had a few cancellations. My sister came over and started decorating for me and then that night we went to Hunter's basketball game. They won- again- and Hunter had a great game too. He didn't make any baskets but did have about 3 assists, a rebound and did have a few attempts. I was really proud of him.

Hunter and his Tia!

Sunday morning, Owen was feeling much better and I felt even better about going on with Quinlin's party!

First- the decor/set-up

The plates and napkins that became my inspiration

The cake and smash cake

Birthday girl was sleeping when the party began, but saw her guests and after coming off her initial shyness had a great time playing. We had invited a few close friends and their kids- Quinny turned into a hussy- all little boys to play with!!!

Time for cake! I stripped her down, but because of all the boys, told her to not show off her boo-beys too much!

Time for presents! Though Quinny girl had no interest in opening them

At the end of the day, she was zonked- which meant success!

Owen, on the other hand, couldnt get enough. Loved the balloons and her new blanket!