Friday, February 26, 2010

ay curumba!!!

who is that behind that big ole sombreo??


why, big ben! um, he looks like a stoner.

yesterday, preschool had a fiesta celebration.  all month, they've been learning about the mexican culture (except ben, who has been out so much sick).  each class did a little skit, shaking their maracas, counting in spanish or singing a song.  little kids are just too stinking cute!


all the kiddos sitting down.  guess who ben is sitting by.. suprise, suprise.  i've been telling him he should try & sit by his other friends too, instead of just focusing on lovely brenna.  he looves her.  too young for that stuff!


they did the macarena.  the little gal next to ben was soo embarrased by the dance.  her face was bright red!



a mexcian hat dance


gracie was moved by the music too!



conga line!! ben looks like he's trying to steal a kiss.  her mom & grandma do not look pleased in the background!


such sweet friends!  happy birthday, miss a!



gracie entertaining herself during the program. 

what a fun little party!  i'm looking forward to next year when both of my kiddos get to have fun!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

dear namaw & poppy,

this was going to be a sweet song from gracie,  but big brother had to add his super silly 2 cents in.  she's been singing a version of this for a few days now. 

we love you!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

happy birthday daddio!

with our household being sick, our weekend plans changed.  but, i think daddio's had a pretty good day. 
lots of mario kart & hugs & kisses & birthday wishes from the kiddos & me. 


miss gracie made the lasagna with a little help from me (all i did was brown the sausage & sautee garlic, carrots & onions).  she was so proud, wanting to do every step by herself.  



she pressed those noodles down extra hard so they wouldn't move.  please disregard unshowered, sick me & all the medicine and junk in the background. 


she picked out her "i love daddy" shirt to wear in honor of his birthday.  i don't know why she has that look on her face.  hard telling with my miss moody.


we were able to tear ben away from mario kart to help make a cake.  he is going to have some withdrawls from this game once he is healthy again! 



this evening, ben put on his party shirt (a pink floyd one) & got to decorating for the "party" which consisted of a quick song, some cake & presents.  daddio got a new guitar tuner (his old one has been mia for quite a while), a pirate treasure kit, a set of pup & pop phonics books (stuff from the gift closet) and several pictures colored by the kiddos.  ben thought it might be the best birthday ever!  


the kiddos have stopped coughing 24/7 (thank god).   ben no longer has that sick look under his eyes.  we all still have a ways to go before we are back to normal.


making a wish!


i think it came true, a sweet hug from the kiddos. 

happy birthday, honey.  i love you so much more than you know.  you're my best friend, my soul mate, what keeps me together.  thank you.  i love you. 

Saturday, February 20, 2010

taking deep breaths.. & a prayer

well, the kiddos have rsv.  tuesday, at the doctor ben had double ear infections & a cough that would not quit.  thursday, i called them again since he was showing no signs of improvement with that darn cough.  they called in some cough meds that did zilcho.  so, we went back in friday & he tested positive for rsv.  poor fella.  miss gracie has been following him with his illnesses (pink eye & now rsv).  i am thankful that they are not infants dealing with this & their bodies are better able to fight this. 

now the breathing treatments...for ben, we put on some mario kart & he doesn't mind them one bit.  gracie on the other hand, takes some coaxing.  one time she will scream & cry to no end, the next she's high fiving about it all. 

last night, i couldn't sleep thanks to a steriod & the kiddos taking turns coughing & crying.  i was up till 5.   i spent that time googling natural remedies for rsv, infections & colds.  so much information out there!
i had a handful to try today...


daddio was impressed with the gse gargle, he said it took care of that sore throat.  here's a link that tells some of the wonders of this stuff! 

they all swallowed the homemade lemon & honey cough medicine.  both ingredients fight infection. honey also coats and hydrates your throat to sooth irritation. the lemon is a natural antihistamine and will reduce congestion.



now, for the bigg daddy of my natural remedies to try... goot!  daddio was not so thrilled about the goot i made.  it's a concoction of minced garlic, olive oil & coconut oil rubbed all over the chest & feet that you use similar to vicks vapor rub.  the kiddos were no problem.  but daddio was a no go.  that is until he was asleep & i rubbed it in! no vampires gettin us anytime soon!

in my little world, yesterday evening at the time was a bit stressful for me.  after ben's doctor visit, gracie was overtired, cranky & not feeling too well  so she screamed and cried the whole way home. ben was coughing so much he kept throwing up.  i called the afterhours service & the nurse said this was normal.  ok.

well, once we got home, i stuck them in the bathroom with a hot shower running for some steam to open up the lungs.  then, i added a few drops of olba's oil thinking that would help soothe my poor kiddos. oh, i felt the smell was just clearing up our congestion! i turned on the cold water, felt the water & let the kiddos get in the bathtub. at first all was well, but then gracie started screaming "my aum huts!" then ben joined in that his feet & elbow pit were burning.

oh crap. not good.

i was in panic mode. i swooped them out & ran to the small shower in our bedroom where we stayed till there was no hot water left. poor gracie was shaking, teeth chattering, crying & couldn't catch her breath through the whole ordeal. she was so freaked out & i was terrified. questions running through my head -was it in her eyes too, why won't she talk, what do i do?? ben was coughing full force but being brave for me.


thank goodness phineas & ferb was on tv to help distract them after the torture. i covered them up in our bed, dressed them in some extra warm pjs (& a hat for gracie that couldn't stop chattering), held them tight & kissed them bunches to help mellow everyone out.


after we were all better, i felt like an idiot.  i'm thankful they are ok & may just be a bit scared to take a bath for a while. i googled the stuff & it says clearly "not for children under 7", along with a few other cautions. i'm sorry my kiddos. i learned something for sure.

i also look at my post & back at our last 2 days of illness & am almost ashamed that is all we have had to deal with.  i feel so for the parents & children out there that have so much more to endure.  my "problems" are so minute.  right now, my heart is broken for a family friend and their loss of their precious baby zoe yesterday.  the little girl was loved so much in her momma's belly &  in her 25 hours here with her family.  i pray that god provides them comfort & peace & strength they need right now. 

Thursday, February 18, 2010

some failed fun foods

i love all the cute food ideas in the family fun & parents magazines.  cute sandwiches in the shapes of butterflies, creative ways to eat the veggies.  how fun to eat i think!

so, i thought i'd try some out for my sweet kiddos..

first fun food attempt was the squid dogs from the famliy fun magazine.  oh what fun this will be for them to eat!" i thought as i broke countless numbers of spaghetti noodles trying to stick them into the dogs. 

look at how much fun those kids were having!

mine, not so much.

  "that's gross," said ben.  at least gracie gave it a try.


my next attempt at something special was valentine's morning. 


i added a lovely heart to their oatmeal & blueberries.  "i don't wike it," gracie informed me. 


"take it off!" ben begged.  check out that look on his face.

i think i'll just stick to cutting fun shapes out of their quesadillas for now.  that's always a hit.

get your face on party!


blogsurfing around last night i found miss beth who bravely showed her before & after pictures of getting her face on along with some  tips.  (& yes she is beautiful au natural).  she challenged other bloggers to do the same.  even though my normal routine is brushing my teeth, straight ironing my hair & puting on some homemade deoderant (mine doesn't have the vitamin e but has coconut oil), i thought today would be fun to get all "made up". 

so, here ya go.

this morning, miss gracie & i headed to the bathroom (ben was playing his morning dose of mariokart wii).  hello bedheads!

first thing, brushed our teeth.  i've been adding a few drops of the wild oregano oil p73 to my toothpaste. this stuff is supposed to be a natural wonderdrug (i had no clue how expensive it was!  i purchased it a year ago when a health food store went out of business).    i've also been trying to place a couple of drops under my tounge to try & fight off the cold that has infected our home.  still got it though.  ben's toothpaste is on the wall behind gracie in his very own touch-n-brush.  one of his favorite christmas presents!  kooky kid.

we washed our faces & went to work.  miss grace put some revolution skin care lotion on her sweet face (normally, she doesn't do this, but wanted to put on "makeup" too) & i put on my momma stuff.  i loove philosophy products.  i use on a clear day with retinol lotion & hope in a tube around my eyes. 

on to the makeup..

my makeup bag is full of stuff, but i only use a handful of the things. no tricks of the trade here. 



 i do love my philosophy supernatural mineral makeup & the fact that it has a sponge applicator. 

i've also been loving my eye bright pencil from benefit.  helps hide my lack of sleep a bit i think. 

some straightening iron help &

a bit of texturizing cream for my mop & the hair is done.   i hate my haircut.  normally, i love the job my hairdresser does.  but, last time no way.  it's pretty messed up.  (i think he was punishing me for bringing my well behaved kiddos with me to the regis salon).  over the weekend i colored it to a darker shade. i used clariol perfect 10 (only 10 minutes, can't beat that!) in lightest cool brown.  damaw (my very blond & beautiful momma) suggested sunday i add some highlights or sumthin. i think maybe i'll return to a blondie in the spring.


now for my little one's rats nest, i love oyin handmade's juices & berries. unlike other detanglers we've tried, this one will keep her cute little curls. 

& here are the finished results:

a bit blurry, but oh so lovely.



  gorgeous, right? um, yeah. but we had fun!

Monday, February 15, 2010

stuck


we're stuck in the house today.  lots o snow!

Friday, February 12, 2010

their daddio's nose..

we had some super nurses when our kiddos were born.  one, when beano was born was extra cool with  a very dry sense of humor. she answered all of our questions, no matter how ridiculous they probably were.

ben's head was so misshapen from his position while i was carrying him & the delivery.  she assured us this would return to normal soon.  justin asked if his nose was swollen from the delivery too & if that would change to a normal size.  she looked at ben then looked at justin's face, kinda smiled & said something like  "no, that's it."  
 
oh my. 
i about peed my pants.  we decided beano had daddio's nose.
 



honestly, both of their noses are just perfect & beautiful. 



but the poor kids do have their momma's ears.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

pink is not ben's color



poor mr. ben has pink eye. 

the past 2 days, he kept asking for the lights off in the house because it was hurting his eyes.    this morning, his left eye was pink & watery.  so, a call to the doctor.

this evening, his cheeks & under his nose & eyes are all splotchy too (i don't know if that has anything to do with pink eye or not??). tonight, they are both gooey.

the eye drops.  3 times a day for 10 days.  it's gonna be a loong 10 days.  his first excuse for not wanting eye drops was that he was afraid his friends would laugh at him & call him a papaw (we've been putting eye drops in my papaw's eyes for 2 months now after his cataract surgery.).  oh the things he worries about!   i assured him they would not & that people of all ages use eye drops. 

getting those drops in is such a pain.  i looked up some tips on the internet, but they didn't help us much.  the first time it took daddio to hold his hands & me opening his eye & placing a drop in.   before bed, justin tried to reason with him about the drops.  did not work.    we had to hold him down again.  i wish there was a better way!

spoke too soon

we're back in diapers.  she said underwear hurts (every pair she puts on).   it won't be too much longer though, it can't be.
here's the little mess over a year ago. oh, how she's grown!

Monday, February 8, 2010

miss independent



my little gal has decided it's time for big girl strawberry shortcake britches.  she's taken it upon herself to potty train.  i'd been trying off & on for months, getting a bit frustrated.  she discovered the little potty chair downstairs (which i hid down there because i can't stand cleaning it, the toilet ring is much easier for me ) & carried it up to the bathroom herself.  she immediately went potty & insists on only pottying in the little potty.  she wants to do it all herself.  from changing her clothes to cleaning the little potty (eek - the germs!)  to washing the hands & wants NO help.  she will just slip off & go. she's still getting the hang of it, but my what a great job she's doing!  i am just amazed at this gal's independence (to some things... of course she can't be away from her momma for longer than an hour)  & strong will at such a young age.   i can only imagine what she will be like as she grows older.  it's gonna be a great journey i'm sure!

my cowgirl off on an adventure in her new panties!