Fun weekend - long recovery

So I finally got my girl's weekend and boy did I pay for it! I had my first night without Lauren on Saturday to attend a friend's bachelorette party. The party was a blast - it is always fun to see old friends and catch up on everyone's lives as it seems the older we get, the less often we see each other. There was games, drinks, and lots of dancing - what more could I ask for. But, all good things come to an end, and when this night did, I knew I would be paying for it the next day - I was wrong, it's Wed, and I'm just starting to feel like myself again. I'm not sure if it was the drinks or the lack of sleep (bed at 3am, up at 6am), but whatever it was that caused me to get a horrible cold in April, I'm just glad it is done. Ryan and Lauren were also lucky enough to get the same horrible cold - let's just hope this is it until next winter. They are both doing much better now - just a little cough and some runny noses left now. Luckily the weather has been improving and we have been able to get outside and get some fresh air - Ryan has really enjoyed this after spending two days in bed. I think the whole family needs a weekend without running - it seems like we have been gone a lot lately. The weather looks like it is going to be nice so maybe we'll just enjoy some time outdoors together - easy, fun, and relaxing! I'll leave you with some recent pictures of the kids.

Daddy helping Ryan climb his first tree

Not meant to be

It's 7:30pm on a Friday night, what are you doing? Let me tell you what I'm doing . . . Trav is fast asleep (he didn't sleep very well last night because he said his boxers just didn't feel right - whatever), Lauren is also sound asleep, and Ryan is at Grandma and Grandpa Quast's house. That means I have no kids and no husband - talk about an ideal Friday night!

Well, almost ideal. Trav and I were actually supposed to be in Duluth right now, but due to the April storms we are currently having, the trip was cancelled. It actually almost seems like we were never meant to go on this trip. Ryan was sick a couple of days this week and Lauren was having some serious issues taking a bottle, but by Wed morning, everyone was happy and the trip was on. That is when I was watching the morning news and saw that Duluth would be under a blizzard watch from Thurs night through Sat morning, the exact time we were going to be there, so with that, we figured it just wasn't meant to be. We've rescheduled for the end of May, hopefully we won't have weather issues by that time. With the change of plans, here I am typing away on my blog - almost as good as Duluth - not really. At least the weekend isn't a complete bust. I have a friend's bachelorette party tomorrow. I'll take Lauren with me and my parents will have a day with her and I'll get a day with the girls - I can hardly wait to see everyone. All the hard work of breaking Lauren from the boob (which I accomplished this week in preparation for the trip) will payoff and I'll get my first night away from the babe. Reading this makes me sound like I can't wait to get away from the kids - not true, I just need a little "me time" with the girls so I can remember what life was like before two babies.

I'll leave with that. Maybe I'll go an enjoy watching an entire tv show without someone interrupting - the good times just keep coming!

"I got the sharts"

We had an interesting day yesterday. The morning started like every other Monday morning. Marley came over and the kids played until 10:30 (which is nap time for the girls). At that point, I asked Ryan if he wanted to paint his birdhouse he had built. Of course he said yes and off we went. About ten minutes into painting, Ryan said he wanted to go lay down and watch a movie. I thought this was unusual, especially since we were finally painting the birdhouse - something he had been asking to do for a while now. So we put everything away and Ryan laid in our bed and watched the "Incredibles". I went to check on him about 15 minutes later and he was out cold. He slept from 10:30am-1:30pm. I just figured he was catching up on sleep after a busy weekend. When he finally did wake up, he was burning up. I of course couldn't take his temp as he broke the thermometer (mentioned in a previous post) and we hadn't bought a new one yet. I was sort of concerned at this point, then he had to go potty and the sharts came out in full force - this is when I knew he might not be feeling so hot. So the rest of his day was spent relaxing in bed or on the couch - not too much fun for a two year old. Ryan slept good during the night, but still woke up feeling hot and had some messy trips to the bathroom - that means another day of rest for the boy - we're hoping he'll feel better soon.

Lauren is having some tough days herself. I am still trying to get her to take the bottle. This is even more urgent now as Trav and I have planned a weekend trip to Duluth without the kids. If she doesn't take the bottle, the trip might have to be adjusted - we'll see. So far she is playing with the nipple, but not really sucking. I have two more days to make it work - keep your fingers crossed.

No pictures to post this time around. I'm sure no one wants to see Ryan's sharts or his sickly little body curled up in bed so I'll hold off until we have some happier times to share.

Trains, trains, and more trains

We went to the model train museum on Thursday and it was a big hit! We got there about 15 minutes before the place opened - I think it was the longest 15 minutes Ryan has ever had to wait. Once the doors finally opened, Ryan was in heaven. The place is basically a huge table in the center and you get to walk around and look at the different scenes. It is really nice because they actually have little ledges built in for the kids to stand on - someone was really thinking when they did that! Ryan would point and yell every time a train went by - it never got old for him. They also had a little section where kids could push buttons and start and stop trains and turn on different lights in a town, or lower railroad signs - pretty cool. I would highly recommend this place for both kids and adults - there were some pretty interesting "train facts" posted throughout the place which made for some good reading.



As always, Lauren was a trooper and seemed to enjoy the day (even more so once she had her daily blowout and was changed into her clean outfit). Until next time . . .

Cruisin'

So Ryan has been going a little stir crazy with this crummy weather. He is a kid who likes to get outside and go whenever he can. With the snow melting, today was just a mess outside so to hold him over until the nice weather arrives, I let him ride his "motorcycle" (that what he calls it) in the basement. He got this bike for his first birthday and hasn't really had any interest in it until the past couple of days. I think he finally figured out how to make the thing go and even how to turn when he is headed toward something so it is finally fun for him to ride. To top off the experience, I dug out a bike helmet he had never used. I thought for sure he would never put it on, but right when he saw it, he had to have it. The helmet is for sizes 2-5 - do you think it is a bit too small for Ryan? He doesn't care though, he loves it and even had to put it right next to his bed while he took his nap this afternoon . We probably spent a good hour or two playing racer. Basically Ryan would sit there and wait for me to say "racers start your engine" then he would tell me to tell him to go. Once I did that, he would take off toward the bedroom and try to make it through the doorway without hitting anything - I was very happy when he accomplished this goal and so was he. Once he made it through the door, he would turn the bike around and we would do the same thing over again going the opposite direction. I wish I was as easily entertained as a two year old is! The girls (Marley and Lauren) just sat and watched Ryan with Marley throwing in an occasional clap for his good work. As you can see in the pictures, they also spent a lot of time looking at each other - good times.

I hope I don't see you again until next year!

Trav and Ryan took advantage of the nice weather today to build a snowman. They did a great job, but I hope I never have to see another snowman until next winter - please stop the snow!

We went to the last story time at the library this morning. Today was all about trucks, trains, and tractors so Ryan was in heaven. To top off the trip, there was a police car parked in the parking lot right next to us so Ryan had to check it out. As he was standing there looking at the police car, the policeman (as Ryan called him), came out and started talking to him. They chatted for a few minutes then the police officer asked if Ryan wanted to see his lights. Of course Ryan said yes and was very excited to see the flashing lights - what a nice police officer - he made Ryan's day. We'll have to find a new activity to fill our Tuesdays with now until story time starts up again in September - we'll be waiting . . .

On a different note, does anyone else think "The Biggest Loser" is super emotional this year? Trav and I have been watching for most of the season and I think I've seen tears shed in almost every episode. I have to admit I've shed a few myself - I'm just so happy for those people, they've worked so hard! Can't wait for the finale!

My baby is growing up already!

It is true what they say, kids grow up way too fast. Lauren has reached a couple of new milestones this past week. First is her introduction to solid foods. We started with cereal a few days ago and Lauren seems to be adjusting so far, although she doesn't seem to get the idea that the cereal is given to her instead of nursing for a meal, not in a addition to nursing- we'll keep working on that. Lately she has also started to gag a little while eating. Gagging is kind of Lauren's thing though, anything new or different usually gets the old gag reflex to kick in, we just sit and wait and hope that nothing comes back out.

Her next milestone is using the "Johnny Jumper" - do they even make these things anymore? She loves to push her legs against everything so I figured she might enjoy it. It took her a little while to figure out what was going on, but once she got the hang of it, she was jumping like crazy. Of course once Ryan saw how much fun Lauren was having, he wanted his turn. When I told him he was too big he said, "No mom, I'm little." It took a while, but we were able to convince him that only babies could sit in there.

Ryan also has reached a milestone this week . . . he peed on the potty completely by himself. Usually someone has to go in and help him get on the toilet (a regular toilet, not a potty chair), but this morning, he yelled to me,"Mom, I peed." I of course assumed the worst and was ready to go and change his clothes, but to my surprise, he was standing there pointing at the toilet. When I looked, I saw his pee in the toilet and I was very happy and so was he. I asked him to show me how he did it, so he did - down went the pants, next the undies, and before you know it, he is pushing his little butt up on the seat - what a BIG BOY we have!