Where Would We Be Without Family?

Today I'm sitting at the computer in my pj's at 11:55am. The dog is the only witness to this. The kids are at school and Earl is...where else would Earl be, he's working. I've wished for a day like this for weeks. A day that I could get caught up on a little housework and laundry, maybe watch a movie or sleep late. But today, I wish I could just have my normal, busy, kid filled day.

On Monday my mom rescued me by showing up at my house and waiting for the appliance man to come and fix my washer. While she was here she (and Tighe) straightened up the house a bit and even paid the appliance man when he was done. I was so grateful to have my washer back in working order! Later that day I called to have flowers delivered for my mom. Not because of anything special, but just because she is special to me and she literally drops everything to help me out when I need it. Little did I know just how much I would actually need her help this week. I came home early from work on Tuesday with sore throat and just feeling yucky. By Tuesday afternoon I could hardly swallow or get out of bed. One trip my primary care doctor and one trip to the ED later, I'm starting to feel slightly human again. I can also say with much certainty that I have not been this sick in over 5 years. During the three days that I was in bed my mom took care of the kids at her house. Of course they had a great time and probably are not phased a bit by the fact that I was sick and not available. Given the choice, I would spend three days with Mimi also. Today she took them to school, picked up a sweet tea for me, took the dog out for a potty break and in a few hours will pick the kids up from school. I'm so glad (and slightly spoiled) to have someone to not only take care of me, but the kids too. In the mean time, Earl has been taking care of me, working and going over to see the kids. Last night he brought them home for a few hours to play and spend time with them. It was so sad when Cooper would sneak upstairs to our room only to have Earl come and wisk him away. He cried so hard and just wanted his "Mum".

I'm hoping that the worst is behind us and I continue to feel better. We have cancelled our trip out to see Earl's mom tomorrow but we are still hoping to be able to leave Saturday afternoon for IUP and my brother Shane's graduation.

So I figure I've learned a lesson again this week...be careful what you wish for....a few days at home by yourself, no problem.....Oh, what you're sick as a dog? Forgot about that part.

Oh, and one more thing, in case you haven't been following MckMama's blog yourself, Stellan is out of the hospital and doing well so I'm officially taking his button off my blog and hoping I never have to see it there again.

We Are...Penn State (and VERY Tired From A Busy Weekend)

Whew! What a weekend. We enjoyed the warm weather and spending time together. Here are a few pictures from our day at Penn State. We couldn't have asked for better weather but we were a bit surprised by the 76,000 people that were there. Last year there was at least some room to move around on the bleachers. Not this year. It might as well have been a sold out crowd, which would be fine unless you have your almost two year old along. As I sat trying to entertain Cooper in a 1x1 foot space, I watched as countless other mom's and dad's toted their kids up the stairs in 80 degree weather. And I thought to myself, "What were we all thinking...really." But that moment was short lived and I watched with a huge smile on my face as Cooper pointed at the field and said, "Penn State." McKenna had her sights set on the cheerleaders and the dance team. She claims her favorite part of the day was lunch, but she only ate 1/2 of her pizza so I find that hard to believe. We claimed victory in making it at least to half time and then headed home after 5 minutes on the moon bounce.

My three favorite fans!

"Cheese"...pizza that is!

McKenna looking like every other 20 something girl at the game...scarey.

This isn't the greatest picture, but I wanted to prove that I was actually there too!

I must point out that though we had an awesome weekend, there was a hint of sadness. This weekend marked the second anniversary of my Mimi passing away. I miss her so much. She was pretty much the sweetest person I ever knew. We talk about her a lot and I'm glad that McKenna can remember some things about her. McKenna calls her "Great Mimi" which is fitting, or "Mimi with the bicycle". I guess that's how you see a wheelchair when you're only three. At any rate, I wish that Mimi would have had the chance to meet Cooper. I can guarantee he would have made her laugh. Sometimes when I look at him I see a flash of my Mimi in his blue eyes. They remind me so much of her own eyes.

So, this weekend was all about family. Family here and family watching over us. I hope you enjoyed your family.

Wonderful Wednesday

The newest song added to my playlist will probably just about put my brother Shane over the edge since I'm just barely considered "cool" to him to begin with. But McKenna likes to listen to the songs on the blog while I post sometimes and she asked for this one! Yes, it's Hannah Montana...but if you listen closely enough it pertains to everyone from 5 to 55. So, if you're not into Hannah you'll have to pause the music at the bottom or just skip ahead to the next song. But just think how cute McKenna is while she sings the words to this song.
Today was back to work and school. I can tell you that after the busy and stress filled day that we had yesterday, no one wanted to return to our normal routine. But, we did managed to have a great day. Today we had dinner at Country Cupboard (McKenna's choice). I never really ate there much until we had two kids to contend with. Now it's nice to go in, say "I'd like the buffet" and have dinner in front of you in a matter of three minutes. No waiting, no entertaining kids while you wait for your food to be prepared. And, there's something for even the pickiest eater.
Cooper spent the majority of his time at the table waving to those who passed by and blowing them kisses. So cute! He's hilarious. If he can't make you smile, no one can.
The rest of our evening was spent putting puzzles together, listening to Hannah Montana, building block towers, and of course reading books. Cooper would put puzzles together (or watch someone else put puzzles together) for hours. And McKenna would sit and listen to music all night if you let her.
I talked to my friend Heather today and it was so good to hear her voice. Her son, who is one, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this weekend. As you can imagine (or try to imagine) it's a trying time for their family. Having worked with families like Heather's, I know the absolute crash course they received this weekend on diabetes, all the while trying to process what this means for their baby and their routine. Please pray for them over the next few days and weeks that they find a new normal and a new routine. I know Heather and I know she is going to do great, but I can't imagine how overwhelming this all must be. Like I said to her today, "As if being a mom isn't hard enough."

One Step Closer

Well, we (I) survived Kindergarten registration and McKenna is now officially enrolled in Kelly Elementary School for the fall of 2009. Sounds so strange, but I'm growing a little more fond of it as time goes on. It was a little surreal to walk down the hall with her today holding my hand and looking a little nervous and a little in awe. Last night we asked McKenna what she thought school would look like. She described what she thought the "square gym" would look like and then moved on the cafeteria. At least she has her priorities in order. She proceeded to tell us that she thought it would be cool if they had a girls section of the cafeteria that was decorated with all sorts of crystals and "sparkly things" and the boys side could be "Batman or something". We laughed and assured her that there would not be "sparkly things or Batman" at kindergarten. She was okay with that. So, we're one step closer the big day.

The kids stayed home with me today since McKenna had registration. I would love to say that we had a great day of playing and laughing, but I would be lying. I spent a lot of time with Cooper on my hip and the phone to my ear talking to work. I guess the Joint Commission doesn't care if the nurse educator's daughter has kindergarten registration. I knew there was a reason I didn't like them. Anyway, I hate days like today because I'm so tired of feeling torn between work and the kids. And I'm just tired of the stress from work in general. It's such a thankless job. But I guess someone has to do it. It's good that I like the people I work with. I'm so thankful that I have a short work week next week and then a week of vacation in May. In June I'm going to Florida for a conference, I have another vacation (hopefully) in July and then I go part time. Let the party begin!!!

Speaking of parties, it sounds like there is a serious Hannah Montana party going on downstairs and I'm missing out. Since I've missed out on enough today I guess I better get down there. I promise pictures from today a little later.

Summer Sneak Peek and Miley Makes Me Cry

What a wonderful weekend! I can't imagine a more perfect weekend. Okay, that's a lie. A more perfect weekend would include the four of us in Disney World, but that's not going to happen this spring, so I'll take this weekend instead. It was wonderful to wake up on Saturday morning to a bright blue sky full of sun. Cooper was kind enough to let me sleep at least until the sun came up so that was nice in itself. Our only plans for the weekend were to clean out the garage and do some work around the house. We got going early with our promised trip to Lowe's to stock up on the essentials, stopped at the Fire Company to get something for lunch (a special treat) and then got to clearing out the garage. The kids absolutely loved being outside, running around, playing with the neighbors, riding their bikes, running some more. I'm not sure how they were still standing up right at the end of the day because I for one was exhausted. We pretty much had to chip the mud off of Cooper, but that's a boy!! As I watched them this weekend I couldn't help but think about how fun the summer is going to be.

McKenna and I went to the movies today as promised. It was so fun for me to watch the smile on McKenna's face when Hannah Montana sprung onto the movie screen. That's the best! It reminded me of the time that my mom and I took the kids to see The Wiggles in concert. I just couldn't believe how awesome it was to watch your child be in such complete awe of something.
Anyway, back to the movie. McKenna loved it. It was good, maybe even 4 stars good right up until the last 1/2 hour. Picture a theater full of girls between the ages of 5 and 14 with their mothers... who are crying. Yep, that's right. 'Hannah Montana : The Movie' turns out to be a tear jerker. I did not see that coming. I think I may have cried harder this afternoon than I did during 'Marley and Me'. Ugh! It was awful. At least I got it together before the three ladies sitting behind me. They were still sniffling as we were leaving the theater...much to their daughter's embarrassment. After a quick trip to Target we are now the proud new owners of the movie soundtrack also. Boy the movies is sure getting expensive.

McKenna and I returned home to find Cooper crying in the middle of the living room floor as daddy frantically searched for "Monk-Monk" (Cooper's lovey blanket that has a monkey on it). It had gone missing and stayed missing for the two and a half hours or so that McKenna and I were gone. Earl and I continued to rip the house apart while Cooper continued to cry. I checked the usual places - under the couch, various closets, under the crib, all the bathrooms, the snack drawer....nothing. Finally, I enlisted McKenna's help. She promptly went upstairs to her room and exclaimed, "I found it." What?? Why didn't I ask her to help us 15 minutes ago?

Speaking of help and McKenna, she's calling for me to come back and finish folding the laundry. And since it won't fold itself and obviously she's tired of "helping" I'll go do it myself.

Finally Friday and Confessions

Yeah!!! It's finally Friday, finally sunny, finally warm, finally getting green outside. What could be better? The kids had a great time playing outside tonight. Of course we have no grass, so the first part of our evening was spent bouncing balls and playing with side walk chalk in the cul-de-sac. Eventually our neighbors (the ones with 2 little girls and a great swing set!) saved us. Dinner time was met with tears from just about every kid on the swing set but with promises of more fun tomorrow.
The kids and I had pizza out on the deck tonight. It was nice. After playing so hard they were both ravenous....which doesn't occur often. I was faced with more tears when it was time to clean up dinner and come inside. Cooper just didn't understand why he couldn't run around in the yard in only his socks.
I can't believe that I'm actually going to admit this, (but I'm tired enough that I will.)...I hate the nights that Earl isn't here to put Cooper to bed. He's so much better at it than I am. Cooper and I are fine through bath time and books, right up until it's time to go in the crib. Then the tears come (and that's about the third time tonight). I have no problem putting him down and leaving the room because I know that he will be asleep in about two minutes. But he never cries for Earl. They have this whole "pat on the head, high five" thing that they do and that's the last you hear of Cooper. Must be a guy thing. Oh well. At least McKenna still requests that I'm the only one to tuck her in. I've gotta stick with my girl I guess. And speaking of my girl, we've got big plans tonight now that Cooper is asleep...movies! I just hope that she doesn't chose 'Space Buddies' for the 1, 000th time. I guess I could suffer through it again though. Staying awake may be a different story.
Tomorrow we have big plans at the Mowry house to clean the windows, (I'm so excited that I finally have windows that you can clean from inside...IF I can remember how they tilt in) and clean out the garage. I'm not really sure how the garage got so cluttered when we've only lived here for 5.5 months, but it definitely needs cleaned and organized. That will probably necessitate a trip to Lowe's first thing in the morning. Sunday McKenna and I are going to the movies to see the Hannah Montana movie. I know, I know you all wish you could go see the Hannah Montana movie, too. Sorry to disappoint you. We will eat some popcorn and sugary snacks for you though.

Time to Catch Up!

Wow! It's really hard to know where to begin when you haven't posted in what seems like forever. Part of me feels like there's been a lot going on and part of me feels like nothing is really new. The week before Easter was a pretty melancholy week, at least for me. It left me feeling emotionally tired and not much like writing. I was working hard at work to do my job and fill in for my friend and colleague who's grandmother was sick and dying. At the same time we were dealing with the death of another friends one year old little girl. She wasn't just any little girl either. She was special to all of us at the hospital partly because she was the daughter of "one of us" and partly because she spent so much time as a patient at the hospital over the past year. It was also difficult because the whole thing hit so close to home for all of us. We see sick kids all the time, but when it's one of our own it actually makes it real. And ask any nurse, we do not like to face the fact that we are not immune to sickness and especially death. We prefer to live largely in denial. Near the end of the week another close friend found out she may have cancer. Please pray for her as she has more testing next week. To say it was a tough week was an understatement. It was good to know that the weekend and some time with family was just around the corner.

Saturday afternoon we headed to the fire company for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. McKenna was extremely excited and pretty aggressive (my McKenna standards) when it was time to find eggs. Cooper on the other hand stood at the starting line and watched the other little kids take off down the field. He the proceeded to throw his basket in the grass and just stand there. Eventually Pappy came to the rescue and helped Cooper get the idea that the eggs were supposed to go in the basket. Saturday night we went out to dinner with our friends Ed and Jonette. It was so nice to have a night to relax after such a long week. Ed and Jonette are really fun also. Ed is our builder for those of you who don't know. And yes, he is still our friend after suffering through building a house with us! Miracles do happen.

Sunday morning I was greeted by McKenna at the side of the bed whispering, "Mom, can we go downstairs yet?" And so we were soon up and downstairs "hunting for Easter eggs". The kids both had a great time finding eggs and their Easter baskets. Someday you'll have to ask McKenna about all the mud the Easter Bunny brought into the house! Next on the list was church and then we were off to Mimi and Pappy's. We had a delicious meal (thanks Dad!) and way too much pie! There were more eggs to be found and fun to be had as McKenna, Cooper and Tighe played throughout the afternoon. Those of us who did not consume excessive amounts of sugar snuck in a little nap!

We got some good news this weekend in that a couple put an offer on our old house. We've been praying for months now for a quick sale. Hopefully everything goes well from this point forward and the sale goes through. I hope they enjoy the house as much as we did.

The kids are doing so well these days. Next week is McKenna's kindergarten registration and she's really looking forward to it. I'm a little better with the whole concept but I'm really going to miss the teacher that she has this year. She does such a great job with McKenna and has taught her so much. Cooper is scheduled to have his ENT appointment on the 30th. Hopefully they can get him in for his ear tubes quickly and we can avoid any further infections. He is such a different kid when he's feeling well. He's talking so much more now and he's so pleasant.

I hope that everyone is doing well this week. I hope you had a blessed Easter holiday and enjoyed your families. Enjoy some pictures from our weekend.....

I Can't Believe I Honestly Did That!

I'm sure that title got your attention. So, I might as well just jump right in and admit it. I had a great post planned for tonight. A post filled with beautiful Easter colors, eggs, smiles, family...the whole nine yards. My mom came over tonight and we colored what felt like a thousand eggs with the kids. It was great. The entire time I was snapping picture after picture. Eggs, messy hands, my mom with the kids, Cooper with egg dye on his face, all the eggs that were cracked. You've got the picture. Now savor that, because that's all the picture you're going to get. In my infinite wisdom I forgot to put a memory card in the camera! So all those cute pictures...gone. I really could cry but I'm so mad that I can't manage any tears. SO, what will be we doing tomorrow night -- yes that's right--coloring more eggs!!! At least I can say that it went well tonight. After Earl had a minor anxiety attack that I was actually going to let the kids (namely Cooper) color eggs in our brand new kitchen we got to work. Of course, Cooper was interested for like 1/2 a second, proceeded to eat a wax crayon and wanted down to play with something else. McKenna had a blast, intricately dying eggs and then covering them with glitter glue and stickers. We'll be having an egg salad party on Monday if anyone is interested!

A 'Not Me Monday' Post for Stellan

I know that baby Stellan continues to be on many hearts and minds these days. Of course, MckMama has other things on her mind completely unrelated to 'Not Me Monday'. So, I thought that since I have been such an awful blogger lately (mostly because I've been so into reading all the other blogs) that I would do a 'Not Me' post. So, let's get started:

Number one, this is NOT my first post in over a week. How the heck did that happen? I did NOT find tons of cute clothes at the outlets last weekend. Not sure how that happened either. Earl and I did NOT leave to come home less than 24 hours after we left on our get away weekend (...why, why, why did we do that)?

I do NOT feel like the entire month of March is a complete blur. But I DO wish I could rewind it and do it again, even the not so good parts like the ear infections and three doctor visits in two weeks. I would really repeat the Sunday night that Earl was working and Cooper cried until 4:30am when I finally caved and called my mom. (Which by the way, I do NOT feel bad about).

I did NOT get on the elliptical machine tonight for the first time since we moved here....remember that was in November!

But enough about what I did NOT do...let's talk about something I AM extremely excited about. I am SO, SO happy that tonight is the LAST basketball game of the tournament. As one girl at work says, "The March SADness is almost over." We have literally had basketball or ESPN on every night for a month. It's so bad that if Cooper even sits down in front of the TV he starts chanting "Go, Go, Go". Now, if we can make it through the NFL draft at the end of the month we'll be doing great.

Here are a couple of pictures I took over the last few days. They are better than usual since I "stumbled" on a better camera. ( I'm sticking to the don't ask, don't tell rule on this one...so, don't ask - just enjoy the pictures.)

Tomorrow night I promised McKenna that we would dye Easter eggs. I'm not sure what I was thinking...new house...egg dye...Maybe we should do this at my Mom's. Just kidding. But don't be alarmed if I post pictures of the kids coloring eggs in the garage!

One last thing...Please be in prayer tonight for a couple of my friends who are going through tough losses right now. I know they could really use our prayers. And of course for Angie Smith and her family, as tomorrow would have been Audrey's first birthday.

Have a great week! Stay tuned for lots of pictures!