Appointments Galore

February is officially appointment month for our family. I don't know why this happens every year but even though the kids haven't been that sick we have had a TON of appointments.
We have had well child check ups, sick visits, dentist appointments for everyone, allergy testing, chiropractor visits and later this month eye exams.
Yesterday, we had to visit the doctor for Bryce and Abby. Bryce has had a runny nose and cough for 2+ weeks now and I was sure it had turned into a sinus infection. Abby had been feeling fine but yesterday she told me she needed a Kleenex to wipe her ear. I was pretty confused so I checked out her ear and sure enough she had puss coming out of her ear. Gross! I really didn't want to get back to the point we were last year when she ended up getting tubes. So,after waiting a totally ridiculous amount of time we got seen and they ended up on antibiotics.
Today, we had our dentist visit that Bryce and Caleb have been looking forward to all week. Crazy kids! I wish I had a fraction of that enthusiasm for my dentist appointments. Bryce and Caleb did great with letting them clean their teeth and let the dentist look at them. They also had x-rays today which was a new thing. Bryce did great and Caleb tried really hard. Caleb is so gaggy that he couldn't handle having the film in his mouth long enough to get a good picture. I think he got this from Grandpa Steve. I"m not sure grandpa can get his x-rays done without gagging yet.
They both got A+ on their teeth report cards.
Abby was next and she was pretty nervous this time for some reason. She got to go in the big girl room this time instead of the baby room. She let the hygienist clean her teeth and let the dentist look in her mouth as long as she had a death grip on my hand. They said her teeth looked great too. It was good news to hear that every one's teeth looked good. Pretty sure Robb and I will end up maxing out the dental insurance on our problem teeth this year.

I was hoping to get a couple pictures but with 3 kids and 1 of me at the dentist that didn't happen.

Basketball Game

Bryce had his last basketball practice on Sunday. He was really excited because they got to play a basketball game at the end of practice. He did really well at practice even though we had to wake him up when we got there because he fell asleep during the car ride. He did really well dribbling and doing all the drills that the coach asked them to do. He didn't look terrified the entire time like the other practices. The last 20 minutes they played their game. Let me tell you, this was something to watch! At one point the coach stopped them and said "has anyone ever watched a basketball before?". The kids were taking turns during the "game" and weren't taking the ball from each other. After a couple minutes they got the hang of it and started trying to shoot and play defense. Bryce dribbled a little bit and even made a shot. It was fun to watch him play!
Caleb didn't regret not playing a bit. He was content to sit and watch with us.

Mr Allergy

Caleb has always been our allergy kid. We found out at 2 that he was allergic to peanuts, eggs and all pollen and trees pretty much. Since he is now 5 his pediatrican wanted to have him retested for his allergies just to see if anything changed and so that we would know for sure before he went to school next year.
Yesterday he had his appointment with Dr Kinberg. Caleb had been nervous about it all week and to make things a bit more complicated I had to take all the kids along. Luckily everyone was well behaved for the almost 2 hour appointment but I was a bit frazzled by the time we left.
The Dr started out by asking about his allergies and doing an exam. He said that he seemed to be having allergy symptoms now which I had thought were more of a cold but who knows? He suggested that we do the nose spray year around and then use the oral medication in the summer. The bad news is they have stopped making his allergy medicine that seems to work for him (I stocked up last summer before they changed the formula) but not sure what we will do after that if the new formula doesn't work.
Then they did the part that no one was looking forward to, the skin testing. Caleb was a trooper! They did over 75 spots on his back. They tested him for trees, pollen, dust, cats, peanuts, tree nuts, shell fish and eggs. At first he panicked a little because he was so itchy but after breaking out the prize I had brought along he did fine. The serum had to stay on for 20 minutes and then they analzed the results.
The results were about the same as when he was 2 which I'm glad things didn't get worse but I was hoping for better. He is still very allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, eggs were non reactive this time shell fish was pretty low so the dr said we could try it. He is still allergic to pollen and trees so pretty much the months April-November he is allergic to. Poor kid. He handles it pretty well but I feel bad for him. We did discuss allergy shots and decided that we probably need to commit to those in the next couple years to hopefully make things better for him long term.

Losing 2 Special People

In the last couple months Robb and I have both lost a grandpa. In January my Grandpa Larry got sick and was in the hospital in Las Vegas. It was really hard not being able to go and see him. I agonized over whether or not to fly out there and I ended up not going and not getting to say goodbye. In some ways I wish that I would have been able to say goodbye, but on the other hand. I am glad that I can remember him as the man he was before he got sick. I have great memories of my grandpa all throughout my life. All of us cousins used to go stay with grandpa and grandma in the summer in Orchard. They would take us out to eat, let us order any kind of icecream we wanted, take us fishing and later Grandpa would set up yard games to keep us out of the house so we didn't drive grandma crazy. Grandpa was a very special guy! He loved to dance and he never let anyone get away with being a wallflower at a dance. I remember dancing with my grandpa at my wedding and he made me feel like a real princess. Although I will always miss grandpa I am so glad that I have the wonderful memories that I do. I am also glad that my kids got to meet him and get to know him the last couple years.
Very recently Robb lost his grandpa Orville. Grandpa Orville was a very special guy. I have liked Robb's grandpa since the first time I met him 13 years ago. Robb at one point even accused me of winning over his grandpa so much with homemade apple pie that he liked me more than Robb. Of course that was never true but it did seem like Orville and I always have hit it off. He liked to give me a bad time and I loved to give it right back. Orville was the one person that could get away with saying about anything. On 2 different occasions Orville asked me if I was pregant when I was not and I guess instead was having a fat day. He may be the only guy that could get away with this and not have caused hurt feelings. Instead I just figured he liked our kids so much he was hoping for more. HaHa. Anyone that knows Orville knows that he did love our kids but they probably drove him crazy. At one point he had a sign hanging in the house that said I Locked The Door But The Grandkids Got In Anyway. I will always have a wonderful memories of Robb's grandpa and I know that Robb does also but its a bit to soon to ask him to "blog" about them. Although we knew that Grandpa was very sick and had a chance to say our goodbyes it was very hard to believe that he is gone.
These 2 very special people will be missed by many and we pray for our parents and our grandmas that they will also be able reflect on the good memories to get them through these hard times.

Week Without Daddy

Robb had to go to Project Manager training in Baltimore this last week. I have know about it for a while now and I admit I have been less than thrilled with the idea of having to do it alone for a week. I tend to make things worse in my mind than they actually are. I am with the kids all day everyday most weeks but I really look forward to 5:30 when it changes from 3 against me to 3 against us. Not to mention Robb is a ton of help with the kids and stuff around the house.
So on Monday we said goodbye and I felt slightly sick thinking about the entire week of single parenting. Kuddos to those single parents and military wives that have to do this on a regular basis. You are stronger women than me. Monday was fine. Preschool, playing, and puzzle wars that night. After they went to bed I watched TV (you will start to see a pattern developing).
Tuesday: We cleaned the house like crazy. Laundry, dusting, vacuuming and cleaning the kids rooms. Grandma Jody came at 1 and made every ones day. We played and played all afternoon. For supper we decided to try out Cheddars the new place in town. Luckily Grandma was with us because I wouldn't have braved the 30 minute wait without her. We had a wonderful supper and headed home. Everyone was stuffed and the kids went to bed great. My mom went to see my brother so again I watched TV. One interesting thing of the night, a crazy escaped from the correctional facility by our house so cops with k-9s were walking the neighborhood. I double and triple checked the locks and really wished Robb was home.
Wednesday:Busy Day! The boys went to school and Mom and I shopped with Abby and then went to my Moms Group "Morning out with your Toddler". We toured Sam and Louie's Pizza Place which was really fun for Abby and she got to help make a pizza and then we got to eat it. We picked up the boys and my mom wanted to head to the mall. My kids at the mall doesn't really equal fun for me but I decided to give it a try. Tried it and Failed! She wanted to shop and the kids were crazy wild and naughty and I was one annoyed mom. So after she bought them a cookie for being good, (????) totally don't know what kids she thought we took to the mall, we headed home. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and she headed home. Now I had kids with Grandma hangover to deal with. The night was long and bedtime was miserable and then I watched TV.
Thursday: Abby slept horrible all night and her and I woke up in grumpy moods. We didn't get much accomplished except putting candy in the school valentines. They thought this was great, I thought this might require a drink. Thankfully Tasha was willing to chat with me for awhile which always help pass the time. Sometimes I swear we talked on the phone for 5 minutes and it was actually half an hour. It is great to have someone that you can chat with and never run out of things to talk about or say. Megan came to save me that evening. The kids played all evening with Megan and they were so much better behaved with someone else here. Megan made treats for her students and I made treats for the boys teachers. Bedtime went okay and Megan stayed to watch Greys with tonight.
Friday: Last Day!!! Abby didn't sleep half of the night. Not sure what the deal is but I am tired of my 3 year old sleeping like a 3 month old. The boys had their Valentines party at school so they were excited. Abby and I came home and cuddled on the couch. After lunch another friend came to the rescue. Jenny and her kids came over to play for the day. It worked out great. The kids entertained themselves and we had time to chat while they had fun. They stayed for supper and we made breakfast for supper which the kids love. It was a nice day with friends. They headed home and I was out of energy so we had movie night and headed to bed. Abby again went to bed horrible but knowing this is the last night of doing it alone got me through it. And... I watched TV. Wow I haven't done that all week. I would hate to count up the hours I have watched TV this week. Robb got home at around midnight and can you guess who gets to sleep in today? ME!
The kids really didn't behave too badly and I had fun with them it is just a lot to do it by yourself. Thanks to everyone that helped this week and Thank you Robb for being home!

Taking the Next Step

Robb and I "church shopped" when we first got engaged. We went to many churches where we were the only young people there, ones that had almost no one there, churches that appeared to be 75+ groups and ones that just didn't make us feel welcome. After much frustration we ended up at Southwood which was then in its old location at 27th and Old Cheney. It was what we were looking for: a young congregation, great sermons, they had a lot to offer as far as youth programs and they were very welcoming. Although by then we had decided to get married in Norfolk at Robb's home church, it was nice to have a church in Lincoln that we could attend.
At that time we didn't become members because we weren't ready to give up our Norfolk church. Steve, the pastor at the Norfolk church was like family to us and we wanted him to be the ones to baptise our kids, so we waited.
Another 3 years later and we have been attending Southwood regularly for 6-7 years now so we decided to make the leap and become members. I was a little nervous about it but I also want to start being more active in the church and I felt like not being a member was holding me back.
On Sunday morning Robb and I went to the class which was very informative and non threatening at all. It was nice to meet some of the other new members and listen to the pastor talk about the church and its values. The kids went to the nursery for the 1st hour and then went to Sunday school. Since Abby isn't old enough to do Sunday school she had to stay in the nursery. I was worried that this would be disastrous but she was a big girl and stayed in the nursery with the other kids.
So I am happy to say that we are now members of Southwood church. Our kids have already been enrolled in Sunday school for the past 2 years and Abby will start next year but Robb and I plan to get more involved now. I am going to start helping with the Clinic with a Heart that the church sponsors once a month. Robb and I are also planning on getting involved in the couples small group bible study to meet and know more people our age from the church.

Snow Snow and more Snow

Last Friday the weather channel was predicting A LOT of snow. I said I would believe it when I see it. Well I'm a believer! Saturday we woke up to a winter wonderland. It was beautiful outside. It had rained first and then we got a foot of snow so everything was covered in a layer of ice and snow. Pretty but not so good for the trees, bushes or roads. We didn't have anywhere to go so the kids and Robb got all bundled up and went out to play. The nice thing was that although we had got a massive amount of snow overnight it wasn't that cold out.
The boys were outside for probably 2 hours before they came in. I helped them build a snowman, Robb made a snow fort with them and then we got out spray bottles with colored water. The spray bottles were a hit especially with Abby who is such a snowman by the time she gets all bundled that she can't hardly move.
On Sunday, Robb got out his snowboards and let the boys try it. It was fun to watch them and they had a blast. They are pretty sure they are ready to be a part of the yearly ski trip to Colorado. This will probably be our last year of going without the kids. I think they would love it. I am just going to miss going on a kid free vacation.

3 Year Old Well Child Check Up

Abby had her 3 year check up last week. She was all nervous that it was going to involve shots. Luckily it did not include any pokes. She was a very big girl the entire time. She got weighed and was 34lbs and was 39 inches tall. On the growth curve she plotted out at 50% for weight and 95% for height. I guess she is going to get her daddy's height. No wonder I have such a hard time finding pants that fit her. They are either way too big or high water pants.
They did a hearing and eye exam which I don't know how accurate they expect that to be when they are asking a 3 year old. She passed the hearing test which was a relief after all the ear trouble she has had. The eye exam was another story. I don't know that she understood how to answer the eye exam questions so now we are supposed to get her checked by an opthamologist. Hopefully it is nothing. Robb and I don't wear glasses so this is something new for us. I need to find an eye doctor that is kid friendly if anyone has any recommendations. Robb and I should probably make our appointments at the same time. We are getting kind of old. Ha Ha
The rest of the check up she passed with flying colors. She was able to draw what the Dr asked, say her alphabet and point out colors. She can kick and throw and hop on one foot (for a split second at least). Dr David said she is definitely ready for preschool next year. She is growing up so fast!

Basketball Update

After the first day of basketball Robb and I were so nervous to take Caleb back! We felt bad for him that he was SO nervous and we didn't want him to end up hating sports because of one bad experience. So basketball take 2: We tried to be positive and encouraging to him. We walked in and they did the group huddle and split into teams. Bryce and him were on the same team so we were hoping things would be better. Unfortunately things didn't go better. Poor sensitive Caleb was crying before they even really started doing anything. After giving it a couple minutes we went and got him and let him sit on the sidelines with us.
Bryce looked nervous and very intent on following every direction the coach gave. He stayed and did a good job.
We had already signed up for micro soccer so we are hoping that 3rd time is a charm for organized sports.

Crazy Weather

This January the weather has been crazy! Crazy in a good way though. We have been able to go for walks, play at the park and keep the windows open during the day occasionally. The boys have even been begging Robb to take them to the golf course to hit balls. We have been loving this weather. It has made the winter seem so much shorter.
I decided I needed to get this post done today though because Friday we are expecting snow. I guess that's what we get for living in Nebraska. 70 degrees on Monday and snowing on Friday.