Today was a big day for us! A big expensive day!

Most of the furniture Bill and I have has been handed down to us from our families. The only piece we purchased our selves was our family room couch. It was the worst piece of furniture in our home (minus my special gold chair, which will meet its demise someday...). Our couch was stained--many of the spots were just water spots but they stained nonetheless. Unfortunately none of the cushions came off this stupid couch, so you couldn't flip them or take them off to get into the couch. Things would get lost inside of it--one time we lost the remote for months until we tipped the couch over and could hear it rattling around. There was no way to get to it without cutting a hole in the bottom of the couch. So we did. Eventually the couch developed a hole between the cushions and we were able to reach our arms through the couch and get things that fell in there. The bad part was that you couldn't see in there, so you had no idea what you might be touching--dirty kleenex, fruit snacks, or worse. One day I caught Brendan dropping a stick from his pancake on a stick down there. Apparently it had become the garbage couch. The couch started to smell, it was like a combination of spoiled milk and stinky feet. Shortly thereafter a second spring broke (I'm not sure when the first one broke) and I told Bill, "that's it! We are buying a new couch!". We had to completely cut the bottom off the couch to make sure there weren't any treasures in there we had been missing (like Liam's bad guys, or princesses, or Barbies). Bill wouldn't let me take a real picture because apparently he thought we should be embarrassed about the water bottles, dried up mini donuts, and fruit snacks that were waiting for us...

Here it is, sadly waiting on the curb. A hideous beast, it is

Bill allowed me to post this picture, but know, there was a garbage bag next to the couch full of even more stuff/garbage

So, today our new couch arrived. It is a thing of beauty--to us anyway! It's firm--you don't fear getting sucked into a dark cavernous hole. It sits high enough that you don't need someone to pull you out, and most of all, there is no way that things could fall into it and disappear. I will no longer be embarrassed when my girls come over to watch The Bachelor and I have to cover the couch with a sheet as they fight over who gets to sit on the floor!

The other major purchase we made early on in our marriage was a fridge. I am notoriously frugal and decided I didn't want to spend the extra money to get one large enough to fill the space we have. Bad move. The fridge worked fine for us, but then we had babies. Then those babies became children. Those children ate food and drank milk. Suddenly our fridge was way too small. We have lived with it until now. Since we are redoing our kitchen starting next week (say a prayer for us that we don't kill each other) we decided it was a good time to purchase a new one. It came today as well! I am in love. It's LED lights are glowing and beckoning to me to fill it with food and beverages. I could fit inside it and live there, surrounded by my favorite things.

Doesn't everyone have a fridge in their dining room? 

Our cabinets also arrived today, but we are terrified and overwhelmed at the idea of opening all of them to make sure there's no damage. We will think about that tomorrow. Tomorrow, after all, is another day!

Visits with Uncle Christopher and his Princess

Bill's brother, Christopher, lives in Arizona and he comes into town about twice a year. He always finds time to play with the kids and they look forward to his visits very much. We found out that he was going to be in town for Bill, Grandpa Casey, and Brendan's birthday's (they are all within 10 days of each other). Uncle Christopher is not married, so the kids had been praying that he would meet his Princess soon, because he has, in the past, met whatever is the female version of the proverbial frog. He has been dating Jane for a while now and she was going to come for the second half of his visit. The kids have recently been praying that she would be his Princess. We tried cyber stalking her, but those darn facebook privacy settings are impossible to get around. So we were all looking forward to actually meeting her.

When he came to town, he said he would like to come to the kids' soccer practice/clinic thing--(whatever it is, it is poorly organized but it didn't cost much, so whatever). They had only had one class the week before and apparently Liam stood around the whole time--didn't enjoy running, and Rori hadn't wanted to play soccer in the first place. However, Uncle Christopher is "magical" and they played for him. I have no idea how he got them to play!

nothing like a bribe...

Scratch that, Liam played the whole time, Rori played for about a third and then found better things to do

He also tried to teach Brendan how to skip...later you will see that Uncle Christopher is an excellent skipper...

Then, Jane came into town. We were all very excited to meet her! Jane is a lovely woman that loves Uncle Christopher very much. We liked her so much that we all proposed (sorry about stealing your thunder, Uncle Christopher) but apparently it doesn't really count unless it comes from him. whatever.

Anyway, the fall colors have been so beautiful, and Jane is actually from here and it's something that she missed. So, I suggested that we do a photo shoot since they didn't have any pictures of themselves together. I'm bossy, what can I say?

Aren't they adorable?

See, he's an excellent skipper

The day they left for Arizona, the kids wanted to go to Grandma Casey's and were very sad to hear that Uncle Christopher (or as Brendan calls him "That Guy") and Princess Jane went home. We are all looking forward to the next time they are in town, and no pressure, but we are hoping Uncle Christopher has finally met his Princess!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life

Happy birthday to the most wonderful man on the planet. Ah, Bill, what on earth did I do to deserve you? I wish that I could go on and on about how wonderful you are, but we have kids that need me, and frankly I am pretty sure if I shared it all, the women of the world would all want to stab me. I might want to stab me.

He even does dishes

I just want to thank you for all that you are. You are beyond my wildest dreams. You clean throw up of the carpet like it's no big deal. You take care of me when I am sick and don't complain about being a single parent. You make dinner, you make sure I have my "me time." You listen when I talk to you. You make me laugh. I know that you would do anything for me. Even rob a bank with a very poor choice of ski mask.

Good thing we decided against that bank robbery

And I want you to know that I would do the same for you. You are my best friend, and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. I would rather spend an evening in with you, than anything else--even more than if I had the opportunity to play opposite Cary Elwes in the remake of The Princess Bride. So my dear, for the rest of my life, whatever you ask of me, my answer will be "As you wish."

Happy 2nd Birthday for the Second Time, Brendan Rhys!

That's right, I am not allowing Brendan to turn 3. Two is my favorite age in the whole world. Forget the old adage of terrible two's. I have always had so much fun with my two year olds and this was my last one. So, I am not letting him get older.

Ah, Brendan, you bring everyone around you great joy. You are HILARIOUS! When I take you to the grocery store, you charm the stock boys, the other shoppers, and of course me. I have never met a child as expressive with his face and gestures as you. I like to think you get your humor from me ;) You are polite beyond measure--you never fail to say, please, thank you, or I'm sorry and it's ridiculously cute when you say them. (That's probably a quality from Papa).

My heart hurts at the idea of you getting older. You will always be my baby, but I know that you are growing up, time is going by at breakneck speed. I want it to stop for a minute, because I have this ridiculous fear that your wife is not going to appreciate it when I come and tuck you in every night. I want to take in every vampire-ish smile, every giggle, every gesture. I enjoy the alone time we have while the others have school. Many days you just want your yo yo (pacifier) and hee hee (blankie) and just want to snuggle with me for a good half hour when we get home from drop off. I love you my sweet boy, you bring me unending joy! So Happy 2nd Birthday, for the second time Brendan Rhys!

Menards

 "If they don't sell it at Menards, then, you don't need it." --my father.

We have always had a Brita pitcher. A year or so ago, Brendan decided he was going to pour himself a glass of water. He dropped the Brita and it broke. I went out and bought a new one at Costco. I hated it. It was the dumbest shape and the lid kept falling off. So, we bought another one at Target. This one had the same problem. It looked just like our original pitcher, but everytime I went to pour water, the lid would slid off. It became a two handed job--which for someone that has a two year old attached to her hip most of the time, that is impossible. I went so far as emailing Brita and they sent me a new lid. It didn't make a difference. (Most of the reviews on their website said people had the same problem as I did). I went through a great season of dehydration. I was parched. But pouring a glass of water just made me crabby. I literally hated that pitcher.

One day, Liam was getting himself a glass of water. He dropped the evil pitcher and it cracked. I was thrilled! So, I went to Target and tested the pitchers that were on display. Sadly, they all seemed to have the same lid issue. Why oh why did Brita decide to change their design? Our refrigerator is too small to hold one of those giant ones with the spout, and my parents swore by their's but it only held like six cups of water, much too small for my family.

A few weeks later, I was at Menards buying paint and lo and behold, there were Brita pitchers. I tested the one out that looked like our original one. It was a lime green color, but I didn't care. I bought it, and I am madly in love with it. When I pour a glass of water, I smile and feel at peace. I am rehydrated. I am a believer. A believer in Menards.

It's a thing of beauty

Kitchen requests

The great Plague of 2012 is upon my house, and has been for a month. This has made for a great deal of snuggling with whomever is sick at the moment, or single parenting while it was Bill's turn to be sick. This hasn't left me much time to enjoy cooking or baking. I have been pretty tired during the day because every night, for a month, somebody in my house has been up coughing.

My family has not greatly missed my cooking and baking, mostly because they all are happy to subsist on hot dogs and cereal bars. Honestly, I don't know whose children these are--oh wait, they're Bill's! But, in the last three days or so, I have gotten requests for chocolate chip cookies (actually, that's an almost daily request from Bill), oatmeal scotchie cookies, banana bread, and my friend Leslie's coffee cake and her cinnamon bread. I am absolutely delighted by this! So, today, I made 3 of the 5 requests--with Brendan's help. He absolutely loves to cook and bake. The other day, I went downstairs and saw him looking at my new cookbook and he begged me to let us make the cookies on the page. Sadly I didn't have softened butter so he had to wait until today. Tomorrow, we are going to make the other two requests. I am incredibly happy to accommodate any requests for food since they are few and far between. It has been my dream to open a bakery. However, my bakery wouldn't open until 11:00 AM because I am NOT a morning person. Also, I don't like mass producing things, so there would only be one batch of everything, so if it was gone before the customer got there, too bad. Clearly I don't have the best business model...
Anyway, I know that in about a month or so, it is going to be awhile  before I have the opportunity to do a lot of baking again. We are remodeling our kitchen!! Wahoo!!!!

We have lived in our house for 11 years and I have always hated my kitchen. I literally have 2 feet of counter space to work with. It's awful. Making things that require multiple bowls, or rolling out dough, makes me incredibly irritable because there is NO room! Bill and I decided that with the housing market being not so good, we might as well make our house how we would like it. So, we went to Menards and picked out new cabinets and redesigned our kitchen. I will now have at least quadruple the counter space!!! I am beyond excited and slightly terrified as this is the largest investment we have ever made in our home. But oh, what a happy camper I will be when it is done. The cabinets will be in sometime at the end of October and then we will begin. Bill thinks it will take two weeks, I am guessing it will be January before it's done--but that's because my glass is half empty with a leak, and his is half full.

Now, if I can just find someone to do the massive quantity of dishes I accumulated today...

(sidebar--since I don't post on a regularly scheduled basis, I have added an email sign up. If you don't want to keep checking to see if there is a new post, just type your email address in and it will be sent to you inbox each time there is a new post--complete with pictures (well, when I post pictures, that is)).

Kindergarten Drop Out, No More!

It's official! We have a Kindergartner! And I am actually not the one posting late this time, he started a week late. A week and a half ago--the day he got his hair cut, he came down with a fever, I figured it would be gone by Monday, however, it wasn't. It hovered around 102 and even with Advil, never went below 100. So, Monday we took him to the doctor. They told us it was just a cold, and gave us some antibiotics in case it turned into an ear infection. His only symptoms were the fever and a cough--no sneezing or congestion. By Tuesday, the fever was still going strong. I was starting to worry because it was now 4 days of 102 degree fever. Bill called the doc and they said to go ahead and fill the antibiotic because maybe there was a bacterial infection going on.

Each day, he'd wake up, and I would pray the fever would be gone and he could go to school, but nope. He would rally here and there while on the Advil, but by evening time he would crash and lay in bed looking pathetic and skinny. I brought him back to the doc on Friday because we were now on 7 days of a fever. The doctor was really starting to irritate me. He asked how long he had cold symptoms. I pointed out he didn't have any cold symptoms except for a cough. I told him that none of my kids ever had 102 degree fevers with a cold. I also suggested changing the antibiotic because the doc said there was fluid in his ear and I pointed out he'd been on it for 4 days by then, and that amoxicillin doesn't work great on my kids. He gave me some spiel about it not being kids but viruses that the drug doesn't work on. I asked about mono because I had mono in college and his fever and symptoms reminded me of it. The doc said nope. He told me if he wasn't better by Tuesday to give them a call. I left feeling completely unheard.

I am pretty sure that doctor is Bob Kelso--if you don't know who Dr. Kelso is, here are some of his best clips. (I swear, he sounds just like this guy) And my humor is totally lacking in this post, so this will make up for it!

I was really starting to worry that something serious was wrong with him. I was so exhausted from worry, that I was ready for bed by 8:00 on Friday night. All of the worst case scenarios were running through my head. I had just never experience anyone having a fever for so long and showing no improvement. Plus I was stressing about the fact that he was missing kindergarten. He was missing hearing about the rules, and where to put your back pack, and how the day was structured, and it was stressing me out a bit. I knew that it's hard to go back when you miss the start. I know this because I missed the first week of my Junior year in college from having mono. I contemplated taking the semester off (well, I had a new love (Bill, in case you were wondering) --who oddly never caught mono from me--and staying home sounded good). Thank goodness my parents made me go, or I might not have returned.

Fast forward to Saturday--no improvement, he laid in our bed most of the day and his fever hovered at 100 until bedtime when it went up again. Sunday I called the doctor on call because he was covered in hives. They had started on Saturday but I thought it was from wearing a shirt that Grandma Casey had just bought him to cheer him up and we hadn't washed it yet. But by Sunday the hives were all over his legs, feet, and bottom. The doctor said it was from the antibiotics. (the ones I didn't want him on in the first place!) She (this was a different doc than the one we saw on Monday and Friday) admitted that having a fever for so long was unusual. She told us if his fever continued to bring him to the ER on Monday and they would do some blood tests and chest X-ray. I finally felt like someone was listening to me! My parents and grandma came over Sunday and I could tell they were worried about him too. We were nine days into this with no sign of improvement. Bill and I almost took him to the ER that night because my mom and I were worrying each other with worst case scenarios. We decided to hold off and let him sleep though.

Monday morning--a brand new kid woke up! All day I waited for his fever to return, but it never did. Thank God! So this morning, he put on his backpack, put some medicine on the remaining hives and joined his friends for Kindergarten. I've always thought that school should start after Labor Day anyway...

I wanted to take our traditional outside first day of school picture, but since we live in the tropics (also known as the midwest) my camera lens immediately fogged up. I didn't have time to let it de-fog, so we went inside.

His teacher was very welcoming! She and I had talked a couple of times during the week because I didn't want her to think we were delinquent (she knows us though, because she had Rori). And best of all 3 of his friends from preschool all surrounded him and told them he was on their team and made him feel loved. I can't wait to pick him up and hear how his day was!

The lens was still a little foggy, but we couldn't be late for his first day of school!