Bittersweet

Now that the move is so close, very close, I am starting to get a little sad. I'm sad about leaving my job that I love. Sad about leaving our neighbors. But mostly sad about leaving all our family, especially my parents. On the other hand, I am looking forward to Daddy being home with us again, even if the "home" is not really our own and we're away from our extended family. Hopefully this will be a good move for these little guys, who we love more than words can say.

It's been very, very nice having Daddy home for this long weekend. He comes home again next weekend and then we are together again. He'll stay through my teacher work day on Monday and then we drive to Minnesota where we can all check out the new digs!

Feeling Good!

I am happy to say Morgan is much, much better! Poor little guy really had a rough time there, but is happily back at the sitter, sleeping better, and overall...much more pleasant. We even managed to take him out in public this weekend with no screaming. Yeah! Joseph Beth Booksellers has a customer appreciation event this weekend, so we headed there with my parents. We enjoyed a nice brunch and all of the special activities in the kids' area. A balloon artist made Tessa a butterfly.

Morgan also discovered the pure enjoyment that comes from taking bottles of salad dressing out of the refrigerator and then putting them back in. (Sorry, Papa. We did clean up after him).

We also enjoyed a lot more time in the sprinkler. Morgan was still very unsure of it. Hopefully he will like the pool this summer, as we joined the Lifetime Fitness in Minnesota, which does have a pool. I'm pretty sure it's a requirement for my kids to be fish though, so I hope he meets the criteria. He is mine, though he sure does look like his Daddy.

Really very thankful that things are starting to get back to normal in our house...and that Daddy comes home this weekend!

Fussiness has a Name

And the name is Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. And yes, he is the second of my kids to get this nasty, nasty virus (Tessa has it last spring when I was pregnant with Morgan). He is still miserable. I am miserable. I am very tired as he has been up frequently at night AND still chooses to wake for the day at 5 a.m. I am hoping and praying that no one else gets this. And I am thankful for my parents entertaining Tessa, who fortunately has already has it and has little chance of getting it again (according to the pediatrician). I am thankful for my great coworkers who helped cover my slack pretty much this entire week since I was out 2.5 days. I am also thankful for this sprinkler that has helped entertain Tessa for the past two days, as well as Parky's farm that thoroughly entertained her this morning. Please let Morgan recover soon. This momma can't take it much longer...

Last week, my little princess made this beautiful necklace for me. And I proudly wore it to work the next day, as that is where she dictated I wear it. (To be honest, I didn't wear it all day...) But, it was very sweet of her to make it at the sitters for her mama.

We've also been playing, playing, playing! These blocks were one of Morgan's Easter presents from Grandma and Papa and I had delayed assembling them until one day last week. While they are quite fun, they do get messy quickly and end up EVERYWHERE!
We are two weeks through a three week stretch without seeing Daddy. It is our longest stretch, and Morgan hasn't made it any easier by being sick. It is so frustrating having him constantly coming down with one thing after the next. I really thought the tubes would put an end to it, and not even two weeks later he has a virus! UGH! Fortunately, my parents have been helping out a lot with giving me a break from Morgan (or equally helpful) distracting Tessa so I can give the little guy my full attention. Prior to him getting sick, I braved it and took both kids to a sit-down restaurant all by myself. Nothing too crazy - the Finneytown Larosa's, but it was a near perfect experience. Both kids were great and I would call the trip a smashing success. I think I can start to branch out beyond Chick-fil-a with the both of them...
And I'll leave you in the dust. Can you believe how big he is getting? And that he is finally taking steps on his own? I wouldn't say he is a walker officially, but he is definitely taking multiple steps. Hooray, big boy! Now you just need to be healthy!
One more week until Daddy comes home for a long weekend. Two more weeks until he comes home again to drive to Minnesota with us. And two weeks left of work before my year as a stay-at-home mom begins!

Stuffy, Sleepless, and Sick

Morgan is sick. Again. Or something. Teething? That's what I thought. But then the fever got worse. While I was downtown on a field trip. Our sitter texted me that it was up to 101, which unfortunately led me helpless. I was instead busy measuring my pitching speed (30 mph and very off-target),

checking out the Reds' field,
and hangin' with Mickey!
As soon as we returned, I prepared sub plans for today and rushed to get the little guy and his big sister. And since more Ibprofin was in order this morning, we headed to Walmart, where we also stumbled upon this lovely Rapunzel dress. And this little girl wouldn't leave without it...
Watching her sing Rapunzel songs as she dances around though was worth every penny! Here's to hoping Morgan feels better, as Tessa certainly is!

And as for the sleeplessness, that is all Morgan! He's been up in the middle of the night the past couple of nights and it is really wearing on me. So much so that when I went to school yesterday morning I honestly, truly forgot we had a field trip. I showed up in nice black pants and a fancy top and had to borrow clothes to wear for the field trip. What teacher does that? Just me. As of yesterday, we had 14 days, so I guess we are down to 13 now. Hooray! Almost summer!

To Nap or Not to Nap?

Before I leave my two babes for a half-day at Mitchell's Spa (finally cashing in on my Christmas present from the hubs), I thought I'd update the blog with the last couple of days. It has been HOT here and I have loved it...although access to a pool would be nice and Tessa's bathing suits are in Minnesota. The closest we got to "swimming" was a Rubbermaid tub filled with water and briefly playing in the hose while we watered Grandma's flowers. Which I guess works, except this little guy isn't supposed to get his ears wet in tap/hose water since he got the tubes.

Speaking of the tubes, the doctor said they look perfect! We had his follow-up appointment yesterday and everything was great. There is no more fluid or pus in Morgan's ears AT ALL! I think this is the first time since December I've heard that from a doctor. Hopefully he will start talking now. Still waiting for something distinguishable, but he sure has mastered the art of babbling! As for Tessa, we've been spending a lot of time on the deck doing puzzles. I have to say, she is quite good at them. She can complete these 100 piece puzzles pretty easily and has a knack for figuring out where each piece belongs. (It does help if the puzzle is princess)! With this weather, we've been setting up puzzle shop on the deck, while Morgan plays around either on the deck or inside. I thought this picture was kind of interesting. Morgan is inside with Papa and Tessa was outside with my mom, but they are all in the picture.
I clearly have a lot to update on, as these pictures were from Mother's Day last weekend. Nate's mom got the kids bunny Zhu Zhu pets and they have enjoyed chasing them around. Clever toy idea and very good at keeping their attention!

And here is my little non-napper. Not sure what is going on in that department. For our sitter, Tessa naps religiously. Every. Single. Day. For like 1.5-2 hours, sometimes more. I can't get the girl down for a nap to save my life, unless it involves a walk in the stroller or a car ride. Kelly tells them that Mommies come after naps. Well, I can't really employ the same strategy and have tried to implement bribes of other varieties with no luck. What am I going to do this summer?
I think every parent of young kids must dread this question: Is she done with naps?

Reaching New Heights

The kids and I have been enjoying a lot of time outside. A lot. We have taken advantage of the few days of no rain and nice weather to hit up the park, the sandbox, and go on a few walks. Nothing crazy. But it sure has been nice to get outdoors again! Cottell Park, right by our old house and the babysitter's, was a frequent stop last week after school. Morgan experienced the rolly slide for the first time and enjoyed standing on the side and twirling the pieces. Too bad there were so many kids there, or I'm sure he could have entertained himself there for quite some time...
Tessa amazes me with the new things she does all the time. She is certainly growing up. There is a giant rope web kids can climb on that leads to the top of the playset and Tessa had never attempted it until last week. Normally if Tessa struggles with something, she'll whine about, or cry, or stompr her feet...something along these lines. And she was really struggling with the rope web. But she didn't cry. She didn't stomp her feet. She didn't even whine.
Instead, she kept climbing back on and eventually made it to the top. I was so proud of her.
She was pretty proud of herself too!

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

Three cheers for the awesome Snow White kite I found at T.J. Maxx. Tessa adores it and was thrilled we finally got it up in the air one day last week over on the lacrosse/soccer fields at St. X.
Of course, when she held the kite, it didn't exactly go up in the air...
But she still looked cute trying!

Tessa keeps talking about flying her kite, so we'll have to find time to do it again soon. Now, if only the rain would let up a little so the field won't be quite so muddy next time. That would be nice...

A few more...

I sent myself a few more picture from my phone (the ones in the last post were from my mom's) that I thought were too cute not to share. Tessa really enjoyed posing with all the "animals" at the gardens. Happy Wednesday! Two more days until Daddy comes home!

Mr. Golden Sun

We had one heck of a weekend. My post of twos kind of multiplied and I think everyone got sick except for my mom. Sunday morning, Morgan woke me up crying around 6:00 a.m. and I tried to make his bottle and got get him; unfortunately, I nearly passed out in the process and soon discovered I had a fever of 101. Thank God for my parents, who watched the little babes all morning until I woke up around 9:00 a.m. and continued to lie in bed for several more hours. I don't know what hit me, and I still don't feel back to normal, but at least a little better. For whatever reason though, we were all relatively healthy on Saturday and thus headed to Glenwood Gardens with the kids. Tessa had a great time running around, and Morgan, well, he enjoyed crawling. I sure am ready for this little boy to start walking:

In the mailboxes around the garden, there was chalk, so Tessa took a short break from the gardens to draw some pictures.
The plants were just starting to sprout in the giant vegetable garden, and Tessa enjoyed pointing to the signs and asking me which vegetable each area contained.
They also have a special exhibit called "Bugs" that just opened and several bronze sculptures newly displayed in the gardens. Morgan and I were trying to take a photo together by the giant sunflower, but I accidentally bonked his head, hence why he looks upset. He was.
But a little happier here watching the fishies.
Here's to hoping for improved health for all of us in the coming days. I really need to be at work this week, as it is OAA week :)