Update...

Hi everyone...just wanted to let everyone back home know that we will be leaving for Waukon this afternoon...(Thursday) and leaving again on Monday. So we'll be around for a longer weekend this time. See you soon!

Finished

Today we finally finished cleaning the townhome. We now have everything out of there, and have tried to put it back to 'new' condition. I have a walk through with the rental company on Tuesday, so we'll see if we get back most of our deposit. If we don't, I'll regret the cleaning we DID do, and wished that I had spent that time cleaning our new home....or not cleaning at all! :)

Yesterday the four of us went to Katie's preschool. They had their annual Family Fun Fest. There were about 6-7 rooms open that they had activities from making your own bubble bath soap, decorating cookies, carnival games, and music. I posted a picture of Katie picking out items to make a tic-tac-toe game. She is standing with her friend, Brittan, who is in her class, and one of her favorite friends. Will liked the music part. He could bang on a drum and be as loud as he wanted!



Later in the afternoon we went to my friend Anne's house for a La Leche League get together, but this time we invited the husbands. It was a successful evening and we are planning a BBQ now for the summer.

It's warmed up a bit up here - got above freezing this weekend finally!! It also looks like we will stay above 0 for the week...is the worst behind us now? It's been about 9 weeks since we've been back to Iowa, so this coming weekend we will be planning on heading south. As of right now we'll get to town on Friday and leave on Sunday (weather permitting), but I will let you know if that changes.

If it isn't one - it's the other...

Last night around 4 am we heard Katie calling for us over the monitor. (Denise, it still works great!) She wanted someone to come help her blow her nose. So I grabbed some tissues and scooted Will over to John - of course he was in bed with us cuz he had woken up 3 times by then. I ran down and helped Katie blow her nose - it was dark, and I asked if it felt better, she was crying and said no. I thought it sounded funny so I turned on the light and all I saw was red. Here Katie was having her first bloody nose. It was bleeding a lot and I couldn't get her to keep a Kleenex on it so I carried her upstairs to the bathroom and luckily John got up and was able to get it to stop. Once John was with her she was pretty calm about the whole thing, so I set to wiping what I could off her sheets, PJ's, blanket and everywhere else I could see.

After about 15 minutes she went back to sleep and today has pretty much forgotten the whole incident. We are going to look at her vents and see about setting the humidifier in her room at night - it's pretty dry downstairs. Other suggestions are welcome too!

Once we got Katie down then I tried to get Will back down - he fell asleep after about 15 minutes too. I gotta say he goes to sleep fairly easily....he just doesn't stay there. I picked up a new book today at my La Leche League meeting - "The No Cry Sleep Solution." Everyone that reads it has nothing but positive comments and says it just works wonders so we'll give it a shot. It can't hurt at this point!

Meet Willamina

I needed some pj's for Will the other night - the ones that fit him well were in the laundry, so I dipped into Katie's old stash that I am sorting out to sell. I found a pair of 18 month (YES 18 MONTH!) pj's that I thought would work. I put them on Will, and he must have sensed they were too girly cuz he was NOT happy. :) "I don't want to wear this mommy!" I think he looks very cute in them, and makes me realize how thankful I am that he is really a boy. I don't think this house (or John) could take 3 girls.

Valentine's Day is cursed

I think we'll be prepared going forward. Ever year Valentine's day seems to be cursed. Something happens that is just plain bad news. 3 years ago, Katie was a baby, we had a very nice dinner at home for Valentine's Day. That night I don't know what happened to me but I got so terribly sick - was up the WHOLE night in the bathroom, threw up probably 20 times (no exaggeration). The following year, Katie was a little older and I think it was a couple days after V-day. I woke up in the middle of the night with severe pains in my abdomen and in my side. We went to ER, they did ultrasound, MRI, etc., found nothing. I did get pumped full of Demerol and felt much better, finally got sent home. I still don't know what was really wrong. Last year I was pregnant and I don't remember anything 'terrible' happening, other than being really uncomfortable, but it may have and I've blocked it out.
Now we come to this year. Last night after our wonderful supper we went to bed as usual. Will woke up around 1:30 and wanted to eat so I brought him into bed to feed him. Then I heard Katie on the monitor a little before 3 am. I thought at first she was talking in her sleep, but then she started yelling that she was cold and could she PLEASE sleep somewhere else! So I ran down to her room and sure enough it was kinda chilly. I brought her upstairs and John checked the furnace. It was not kicking in, the ignition was not working. In a 'balmy' 56 degree house I called the repair man, left a message, and we all crawled back into bed to wait. I don't know how, but we did all fall asleep for a short stretch here and there, and were awakened at 7:15 am with a phone call from the repair man. He came around 8:30 and replaced the ignition and filter. Happy V-day, says the homeowners :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
It's been a good day here - Katie had school, and ended up bringing a couple valentines home. They sent the parents a letter last week basically saying that the holiday would not be celebrated due to different beliefs, etc., so bringing valentine's was going to be frowned upon. Well a couple parents said "to heck with that" and brought them anyway. :) I wish I had bucked the system too because Katie was very excited to get them, and wished she had some to give too. Oh well, maybe we can bring something special towards the end of the year.

John surprised me by bring home snow crab legs, meatballs, chocolates, and a couple salads. How do you fix crab legs you ask? We thought it would be a lot more difficult, but it was a cinch. We just baked them for about 12 minutes with a little water and that was it. Turns out they are pre-cooked at the grocery store. VERY YUMMY! Throw in a little lemon butter and we found ourselves a new valentine's day tradition. :) Katie had a bite...even though she was a little freaked out by the legs and claws. :) I was actually glad she didn't like it too well...I didn't want to share.

Stay warm everyone!!

7 Months Old!

Hey everyone - and Happy Seven Month Birthday to Willy!

In honor of this 'milestone,' here are some new pictures of Will and Katie.

Will really likes to sit and play with his toys now. So in the mornings we lay a blanket down on the floor (until I find an area rug that I like) and he plays while I get Katie ready for the day. (I also included this to partially show our upstairs living room. In the back you can see the stairs leading up to the bedrooms upstairs, and the stairs to the family room downstairs. The table in the back with the shoes on the floor is near the front door.)

The other night Katie really wanted to help, and I actually needed some so she offered to feed Will his peas. She did a VERY good job, and Will accepted it after he was sure that she was really supposed to be doing this. (This is taken in the dining room/eat in kitchen. The kitchen is just to the left of this picture. The sunroom - closed off for the winter - is through the doors in the background.)

Katie kept him about as clean as anyone. Although I am glad we didn't have carrots...they can stain. :) More house pictures to come....

Up and Running

As of now our internet is up and running again. I was able to get connected this morning after we got an installation pack from our cable company. I think that's the last major mission completed.
Will slept pretty well last night. He went down at around 9:30 and woke up at 4:30. That's 7 hours in his own bed - a first since Christmas. :) Hopefully it keeps going in the right direction for a while.
Katie sleeps like a log so far. She has blinds AND curtains in her new room so it stays darker in the morning. Seems she sleeps longer now. Of course the afternoon nap rarely happens, but she still "rests" in her bed for an hour or so every afternoon. Will is taking his second nap of the day - a feat we have not been able to do with all our running around lately.
Most everything is put away - a few decorations left to place, but all in all I think we can rest a bit.

Almost done

I am doing a post from the library today. We haven't gotten the computer hooked up at home because I have been searching for a good internet provider. So far there is VERY little to choose from. Every company I have called either charge $50-60 or they do not service our area. Unfortunatly our "free" cable went out yesterday so I guess we will break down and do tv and internet through the cable company - they were the cheapest (for now).
Katie is in school today so I think Will and I will head over to the townhome to do some cleaning. It's not what I would choose to do with my morning, but the sooner we get started on it, the sooner we'll be done with it. So far, the new house is still pretty clean. :)
The kids took a bath in the new bath tub last night. It's a very deep, long tub and it may be easier if I get in with them to wash them up. :) Pictures coming soon...as soon as we get the computer going. Hopfully by early next week. In any case if you need to get ahold of me the cell number is 612-499-1256.