Christmas recap and other "big" news

I figured it was about time I posted about Christmas since it's been almost a week! Oops.

Christmas was great. Instead of boring you with details, I'll just give you a quick run-down of how the day went. We were able to spend Christmas morning at home, just the 3 of us and eat cinnamon rolls, open presents and hang out together. After that, we left to go to the airport to meet my dad, who was flying in from Iraq. After the airport, we drove to my dad's wife's family get-together and spent the afternoon there. Jack enjoyed opening presents ALL day long and got some really great gifts. THANK YOU to everyone. We missed the family that we couldn't be with very much. Here are some pictures....

Slide from mommy & daddy

"Jack-a-roo" Teddy Bear from Nana (it had her voice recorded on it)

"Cars" Quilt for his bed from Grandma

Waiting at the airport (the only picture we have of him in his "suit." Ugh.)

Opening presents with Abuelo (Abeeyo)

He got very tired.

For the other "big" news...Jack has moved his way up into a big boy bed. The night after Christmas we made the transition and it has been rough. He has slept great at night for two nights in a row, but refuses to nap in it. Hopefully that will change with time.

Why having a kid is fun

Lately, we've been struggling with the reality that having a toddler makes life difficult sometimes. Jack demands our attention at all times and loves to throw some awesome tantrums. Yesterday, there were several things that made us realize why life would be so boring without a toddler around.

We watch the movie "Toy Story 2" at least once a day. Buzz and Woody are as much a part of our family as Lightening McQueen now. (Which, if you knew how obsessed Jack was with McQueen...you would understand that this is a huge deal.) Jack is in love with it. We, however, are extremely bored by it. So, we've made it our new hobby to find interesting things in these animated movies. Yesterday we were at the part of the movie where Hamm (the pig) is flipping through the channels to find the commercial for Al's Toy Barn. He is flipping extremely fast and we decided to slow it down to see what all of the commercials were on the tv. I knew there had to be something interesting in there. You won't believe what we found!

They put boobies in "Toy Story 2"! I was shocked. This clip goes by sooooo fast though. How's that for movie trivia! (Really, we have way too much time on our hands.)

We've also discovered that things that we thought were junk can be re-purposed for hours of entertainment. Take this cat toy/scratcher-thing for instance...

The cat has never used it. Never even smelled it. I was ready to toss it. But, then Jack found it. It is now his SPACESHIP and it is SO COOL.

He walks around with it and scares the dog.

And he sits in it to watch tv.

He loves it. I don't even know why we buy the kid toys anymore. Just find some random junk in the house and name it something cool! :)

Last, but definitely not least, Jack makes us laugh. Here is what happened last night that had us both cracking up.

Fake 'n Bake

It is a strong tradition in our family to decorate sugar cookies for Christmas. If we didn't follow this tradition, it might as well not be Christmas at all. It is an EVENT. The last two years, we have had the joy of being able to decorate cookies with Josh & Shanna. It was a lot of fun and we missed them so much this year. But, this was the first year that Jack was able to get in on the decorating fun. He did really well for 20 minutes or so. The sprinkles were, by far, his favorite part.

Doesn't he just look thrilled?

A sampling of Jack's cookie art.

I usually use homemade sugar cookie dough, but it never turns out right. I use my mom's recipe (which has been proven successful for 20-some-odd years), but I just can't get them right. So, this year I did the unthinkable - I bought sugar cookie dough. Oh my. I felt guilty the entire time. Until I tasted them. Yum. They are delicious! I think I might continue using that in years to come. Just don't tell anyone, OK? :)

The aftermath (it might not look that bad, but you should've seen the floor - THOUSANDS of little sprinkles. Thank goodness for a good vacuum.)

What makes YOU smile?

THIS makes me smile! :) Jack "made" this in Sunday School. Even though I know he probably didn't think of the words to write on the page, it still makes me smile every time I look at it. I looooove that he's at an age where he makes things at Sunday School to bring home. When we pick him up from the nursery, he is soooo proud to show us what he made. I just love it. It makes me happy.

Catching up...

Several things have happened the last few days that I've been wanting to blog about, but haven't had time! The latest "big" news with Jack is that he is back to wearing an eye patch. He had a follow-up appointment last week and the doctor would like him to wear a patch 4-6 hours/day for one month. I was "reprimanded" by the doctor for not putting the patch on him for the first 2 weeks (um, when he was sick with an ear infection, bronchitis and had a fever of 102-104* for 5 days...which I explained to the doctor), but he said that he saw some improvement just from the few days that Jack had worn the patch. Thankfully, I found a website for a patch called Framehuggers and we ordered one for Jack. It is blue with a picture of Woody (from Toy Story) on it. He fought us the first time we put it on, but he has done awesome with it since then. He left it on for a whole 6 hours this morning without complaining! Praise the Lord! It is such a relief to know that we are doing something to help his vision...but we don't have to torture him in the process. Here's a picture of the little man with his new patch on.

He was complaining in this picture because we were out getting our Christmas tree and he was tired of waiting in the car. Which brings me to my next topic...our Christmas tree. We have made it a tradition to go out and cut down our own tree every year. This might possibly be the last year of that tradition. For starters, it was 5* outside when we were looking for our tree. That is so cold. It hurts. Second, the closest tree farm (that we know of) was 30 minutes away. Third, the tree was still over $50. Fourth, Jack refused to walk through the snow, so we had to carry him the entire time. Holding a 35 lb. toddler while trudging through the snow is a quick way to wear yourself out. Fifth, by the time we drove out to the farm, found the tree we were looking for and loaded it on the car, it was lunch time. Jack was hungry and cranky (and he wasn't the only one!). So we had to eat lunch out. So...was the real, live tree worth all the hassle? I don't know. I think we might browse the artificial trees while they're on sale after Christmas. I might have to eat my words. Here's a picture of our tree at the farm.

Oh, another thing about buying a Christmas tree when it's 5* out....there was ice all over it. I mean...our tree was encased in ice. Not like an icicle here and there. No. Every needle had ice surrounding it. We had to bring the tree inside, put a bunch of towels under it and let it thaw out. Nice big puddles on the floor. It was kind of weird. Anyway, here's the tree after it was all prettied up. (I know, it's dark...but I couldn't get a good picture with the flash on.)

Here's how I survived the morning...

and how I passed time while Lonnie was loading the tree onto the van...

Here's my strapping young husband tying the tree onto the van. He did an awesome job. It didn't fall off once.

Oh, there is more I want to write about, but it is getting late. I hope you all are having a wonderful time preparing for Christmas. Stay warm! :)

Taco Pizza

I made this last night and it turned out soooo yummy! A local pizza restaurant in town makes a taco pizza that we just love. So, I thought I'd try to save us some money and make it at home. :)

Taco Pizza
1/2 can enchilada sauce
1/2 can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
Salt, chili powder, and sugar to taste (I just played around with these until I got it right)
1 lb. ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
3/4 c. water
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Doritos chips
Any other toppings you would enjoy!

Make your favorite recipe for pizza dough, or use the premade pizza crusts. My recipe for dough is below. :) Brown ground beef until cooked through, add taco seasoning packet and water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Roll out dough into desired size. Mix together enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings. Spread as much as you want over the pizza dough. Put ground beef on top of sauce. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of ground beef. Bake according to dough recipe instructions or premade crust instructions. When done, top with lettuce, crushed Doritos chips and a little more cheese. Sour cream, salsa, tomato, or other taco toppings would be yummy too! Enjoy!

Pizza Dough
1 packet active yeast
3 cups flour
2 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 c. warm water

"Proof" yeast in 1/4 c. warm water and 1 tsp. sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl. Add oil, 3/4 c. warm water and yeast mixture to dry ingredients. Mix together with your hands and knead until combined. Let rise for 30 minutes. Roll out to desired size. Could easily make two medium size pizzas or one very large pizza. I used it to make one pizza and it was a little too much dough/crust. Next time, I will make it larger or make two pizzas. Also, I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil and you could definitely taste it in the dough. Next time, I think I will use vegetable oil. :)

I hope you enjoy it!!!

This is what I'm talking about...

Here's the best picture I could get of the ICE that is on top of the snow. (I broke a chunk off of the garbage can lid!)

The ice is on everything. The driveway, the sidewalk, the ROAD. So, there's about 1/4" of ice on top of about 6" of snow. This is definitely a new adventure for us!!!

Our first "big" snow

So it begins. Our first "real" winter. We got about 6" of snow today, on top of the inch or so we got yesterday. In Washington, this would be BIG news. We would hear about it for days...it would be the only thing on TV...the only thing on the radio...the only thing people talked about...the power would be out for days...stores would run out of batteries and other essentials...they would call it "Winter Storm '07" or some witty name. Here...not so much. It's snow. It happens. Yes, it was on the weather and they talked about it a little. They let us know what was coming. And, it came. After the snow fell, the rain fell. Freezing rain. I always thought that freezing rain was rain that was freezing as it fell (like hard pellets). But, my meteorologist husband has let me know that freezing rain falls as regular rain, but it freezes once it hits the ground. I have been corrected. :) And...here's proof...

See how nice and shiny the snow looks? And how there's a little shine on the sidewalk too? Yep, that's ice folks. Ice from freezing rain. Lonnie went out and tested the slickness of it....like any 12 year old boy would do. :) Speaking of my husband, check out what he GOT to do today...

Our (well, HIS) first shoveling experience. Like any good wife, I greeted him at the door with a cup of hot cocoa when he was done. But, then I learned that shoveling snow makes you HOT and HOT cocoa isn't necessarily the best thing to drink when you're sweating. Maybe next time I'll greet him with a cup of ice cold water. :) He's the best. Shoveling snow. What a man, what a mighty good man.

It's been over a week!

What two year old doesn't push their stroller in the snow on Thanksgiving day????

Yikes! It's been over a week since I last posted. Jack is doing much better and hasn't had a fever since Thanksgiving (I think it broke Wednesday night). Praise the Lord!!! We spent Thanksgiving at home, so it was a quiet day together. Well, as quiet as a day can be when you have a 2 year old who's feeling better! I have something totally selfish to admit - I miss Jack being sick. No, I don't miss the actual illness, but I miss how snuggly he was when he was sick! I miss rocking him to sleep and holding him all day. I miss putting my face near his and hearing him breathe. I miss smelling his hair and watching his eyes close as he drifted off to sleep. My baby. Now that he's feeling better, he wants nothing to do with snuggling or rocking! So I guess I learned to savor the times when he wants to be held...even if it is only when he's not feeling well. :)

Here's a picture of Jack (with daddy) when he was sick.

The only other time that has happened was when Jack was a newborn. Awwwwwwww.....

Jack's vocabulary has grown leaps and bounds. He talks alllllll day long...except when the phone comes out. Once someone is on the phone and wants to talk to him, he gets very quiet. I think he is more interested in playing with the actual phone than talking to whoever is on the other end of it. Typical boy. One of our new favorite sayings from Jack is "oh my gosh." Really, I don't know where he got that one from. :) He also says "I'm sorry," but he has no idea how it's supposed to be used. So he says it at the most random times and it makes us laugh.

I've been rearranging furniture all day and I'm wiped out. I can't seem to figure out where things should go in this house. For some reason it's been a huge issue lately. Nothing seems to "fit" anywhere.

It is getting very cold here. It was 7 degrees Tuesday morning. SEVEN. S-E-V-E-N. And it's only November. We're supposed to get a "good" snow on Saturday. I am a little nervous about that. I think that's when reality will hit and I'll have to come to terms with winter. A real winter. I am getting cold just thinking about it.

It gets a little overwhelming

Having a sick child, that is.

Let me preface this by saying - yes, I know I am blessed that I have a pretty healthy child. What we are going through is extremely minor in comparison to some of the illnesses that other children have. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with a healthy boy.

I can't tell you how many times we've been to the doctor in the past 1.5 months. More than 5, less than 10? This bug will not go away. And now it's turned into a bad fever for my poor baby. He woke up with a 103* fever on Saturday night and it's been going strong since then. The urgent care doctor gave him a diagnosis of bronchitis and prescribed a new antibiotic (#4!). His fever/lethargy got worse last night and this morning, so I took him into his pediatrician. He thinks it's just viral and will have to run its course. So, no new antibiotic...just stick to the one they gave him for his (2nd) ear infection. Which is good, since he threw up the new antibiotic last night anyway. :(

He wants to be held ALL the time. I can't set him down without him crying. Which wouldn't be that difficult if he didn't weigh 35 pounds. It was much easier when he was a baby! I know he really doesn't feel well because he's so snuggly. He's my non-snuggler most of the time. And now all he wants is for me to hold him, lay with him, or rock him.

All I want to do is make the pain go away for him. He's so exhausted and run down. His eyes are droopy and he's hot all day long. I keep praying for this fever to break and praying that my active boy comes back soon. We're all tired of this virus. It's definitely overstayed its welcome! If you think of us, could you pray for us too? Thanks! :)

Oh, and in the meantime, we've decided to hold off on the eye patching. The poor kid has enough to deal with right now. We've also made an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist...just to get a 2nd opinion and see someone who's geared more toward children.

Painful

Oh, it's so painful. :( These are the things that no one can explain to you before you become a mom and experience it yourself. The pain that you feel when your child feels pain. I know our experience is very minor compared to other's...but it is still very real for me.

Jack has to wear an eye patch (or as we like to call it, eye STICKER!) on his right eye. Thankfully, it is only for 2 weeks. But it is a major struggle to get this patch on his face. It takes both of us to hold him down and then to apply it. Meanwhile, he is screaming his little head off. Once the patch is on, he cries "take off, mommy. Take off!" And then I start crying. And then he cries because I cry. Which makes me cry harder. Notice a pattern? I want to tell him, "I want to take it off! This is not my choice!" I want to be able to explain to him that it's only for 2 weeks and that it will help his eyes be better. But, that can't be explained to a two year-old. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it is to have to wear a patch over one of your eyes. And not understand why it's being done. A bonus - it hurts him when we take it off too. So we get a wrestling match when we put it on and when we take it off. Oh, Lord, help me.

To top things off, he also has an ear infection. AGAIN. We made it two years before having an ear infection...and now we've had two in one month. Some things just aren't fair.

I just want to take his troubles away and make them my own. But, I can't. Never will be able to. In the meantime, I am snuggling him lots (even when he doesn't want to be snuggled) and spending some good quality time with him. I just can't help but cry in the midst of this trial.

Overkill?

Jack and I are sick....again. :( I am exhausted. There was maybe a week or so where we weren't sick. And, then we caught it again. Now I am paranoid of THE GERMS. They are my sworn enemy. Today I spent a good portion of my day killing THE GERMS. Lonnie and I sprayed every.single.one of Jack's toys with Lysol. And then wiped them all down (I am not sure if this is an absolutely necessary step, but it's what the directions say to do). I cleaned the bathroom top to bottom. And I mean cleaned. Lysol was my friend today. The whole house smells like Lysol. Which tends to get overpowering after awhile. Tomorrow I plan on attacking Jack's room with the anti-GERM stuff. And the kitchen too.

Unfortunately, we have a bunch of moms and kids coming over for a potluck on Wednesday...so all of my hard work will be un-done. I will just have to start all over. Because THE GERMS need to learn that they will never survive here. I will triumph. We will be healthy.

Eye Update

With all the craziness of Halloween (OK...that's just a lame excuse) I forgot to post an update on Jack's ophthalmology appointment. Yes, his left eye is turning in more. No, it's not because the vision in his left eye has gotten worse. Get this - the vision in his RIGHT eye has gotten worse. His GOOD eye. It was a +1.50 when he was first examined by this doctor (4 months ago), and now it has degraded to a +2.50. That is quite the jump. The way the doctor explained it was that he is trying to compensate for the poor vision in his right eye by turning his left eye in to focus. Because that's the one he's used to straining with. Poor guy. So...the doctor wants to see him one week after the new lenses come in. If he doesn't see significant improvement after that week, we're going to have to go to patches. He will patch the good eye to strengthen the weak (left) eye. I really don't want to have to do patches, but the doctor made it sound like it was almost a for-sure thing. Unavoidable. It should be interesting (to say the least) to see how Jack tolerates having a patch over his eye. But...I am getting ahead of myself. Nothing is for certain yet. If the patching doesn't work, then it's on to surgery. But I'm not even thinking that far ahead. One day at a time. :)

On another note, I don't think I am going to survive winter. It is getting cold and windy and I don't think I will survive. I want to be a bear and hibernate all winter long. That would be a great diet plan. Don't eat...just sleep. And the cubs sleep too. Best part!

Poo(h)

Oh...what a day. Halloween. My dad's wife, Kiki, bought Jack a Winnie the Pooh costume a few weeks ago and I was so excited for him to wear it today. We put it on this morning and BAM! his day was ruined. It was like I put a suit filled with needles on him. He cried. And whined. And cried some more. And whined some more. So I took it off.

Fast forward to after dinner (which was a big fight that I don't even want to get into), we decide to put Jack back in his costume and take him to a couple of houses in the neighborhood. We tell him that he will get CANDY if he leaves the costume on. So, we walk to the houses, get the candy and it hits him that he will get CANDY with his costume on. So he agrees to leave the costume on in the car on the way to church. And he leaves it on through most of church...until I have to take it off because he is overheating. He was more than happy to leave that thing on after I gave him a big piece of chocolate. I really wanted to stay home and pass out candy tonight, but we had obligations at church tonight. Maybe next year. Either way, I think Jack makes a pretty cute Pooh.

Fall

Can we say, "growth spurt?"

Jack cleaned his plate at breakfast. I think this is the first time ever. (Well, maybe I exaggerate...but it's been a long time since he ate everything I gave him.) He ate two banana pancakes and drank a whole thing of Danimals yogurt. After he was done at the table, he ate two more pancakes and an orange while he was watching cartoons. Wow. Then he had crackers while we were in the car and almost a whole piece of chocolate chip/banana coffee cake at Starbucks. All before lunch. Then he had 1/2 a bowl of noodles and some more yogurt. (I'm pumping yogurt into him because he's on some strong antibiotics for his ears. Hopefully it will help his tummy.) We'll see how the afternoon goes. I might have to go grocery shopping again! :)

He's definitely turned the corner as far as this bug goes. He's feeling much better and playing much more. Praise the Lord! :)

Did I miss something?

So, we have a box of Trix sitting in the pantry. I decide to have some this morning. (Uh, because the marshmallows in the Lucky Charms are stale...why else?) I look at the box and notice that something looks different. I look inside. Yes, they look different.

Since when did they make Trix into circles? Didn't they used to be shaped like the fruit they were supposed to artificially taste like? Or am I dreaming? (Truth be told, I wasn't allowed to have cereal like this when I was a kid, so it is entirely possible that I could be thinking of something else altogether. And, that is also the reason why I feel the need to eat this garbage as an adult. I am making up for lost time.) Needless to say, I was a little disappointed and my morning wasn't as wonderful as it could have been.

On to more important news....I had to take Jack back to the pediatrician. AGAIN. The Amoxicillin wasn't doing its job, so they switched him to a new antibiotic. It had better work. The poor boy cried for an hour straight after he woke up from his nap...which is why I made the appointment. It's unlike him to CRY for that long. Scream, maybe. Cry, no. My heart was just breaking for him. But, in true toddler fashion, he stopped crying as soon as he saw the doctor and was all smiles for the rest of the afternoon.

Ear Infection/Pinkeye x 2

Apparently, my body wants me to understand everything that Jack is going through right now. So, I have also managed to get an ear infection and eye infection. Woohoo! It seems that maybe he is finally on the mend now, and I am getting worse. Which is fine. I would much rather be sick than have him be sick. But...it just sucks the life out of me! I had a hard time finding energy this evening to play with him. And he was so full of play.

One more vent about this whole "sick" thing...prescriptions/insurance/doctor bills are just no fun. I have to remind myself that I am thankful that we even have insurance...but sometimes I expect it to do more for us. My doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic (because, apparently my ear looks "nasty," in his professional opinion) that doesn't have a generic. So I got to pay $50 for 7 pills. Grrrrrrrrr. Again, thankful that we have insurance, but not so thankful when it doesn't do what I expect it to. So, I got to get told what I already knew for the mere price of $70. Yessss!

Jack has an ophthalmology appointment on Wednesday (unless they won't see him because of his eye infection) for a check-up. He's been turning his left eye in more with his glasses on, and I figured we should get it checked out, to see if he needs a new prescription. Which would be perfect timing (not) because we just ordered a spare pair of glasses with his current prescription! I take a lot of pictures of Jack in the bathtub (because that's when he's happiest!), but I am always hesitant to post them because of his eyes. His left eye turns in a lot without his glasses on and it looks funny. But, he is still my precious boy and looks adorable no matter what his left eye is doing. :) Here's a shot from bathtime tonight.

Mmmmmm....washcloth.....

My husband ROCKS

He went to Wal-Mart last night and bought a new computer. So I could stay sane this week.

He spent more than 2 hours trying to set it up last night.

He spent time this morning (before 4:00 am) setting it up.

He got it set up before he left for a business trip.

He gave me lots of hugs and kisses before he left.

He rocks. :)

I love you, honey!

Our first ear infection

Jack has his first ear infection. :( We did pretty good avoiding them for 2.5 years! The doctors/nurses are always surprised that he hasn't had ear infections since he was formula fed. Ha!

We took him to urgent care this morning because his cold just was NOT getting any better. It was getting worse. Sure enough, he has an infection in both ears and also an eye infection from rubbing snot in his eyes (ewwwwww, gross). My poor little guy.

As of tonight, his cough is also just getting worse, so I am worried about that. Oh, and it seems that the antibiotics are giving him diarrhea. Fun, fun. So we're making a call to the pediatrician tomorrow morning and maybe even making another trip in. They're going to start greeting us by our first names. Good thing we live not even a block from the doctor's office...we can walk there!

I am still feeling yucky, but hopefully I'll be on the mend soon. When I think of how horrible I feel, it makes me feel even worse for Jack because I can imagine how yucky it must be for him...not being able to fully communicate what's bothering him or what he needs to feel better.

And, to top everything off, our computer broke this morning! Seriously?!?! I'm having one of those days where I just want to yell "WHAT, LORD?!?!? What are You trying to teach me? What are You trying to get me to change? WHAT?!?!" So, Lonnie's at Wal-Mart right now, buying a desktop computer. On credit. Because we suck. I am hoping that we can at least access the hard drive of the broken laptop...all of our pictures are on there. We have them backed up on another hard drive up until we moved to MN, but the past 5 months of photos aren't backed up. Computers....such a hassle. It's pathetic that they've become such a necessary part of our life.

Please keep us in your prayers this week! It's going to be a long one.

Sick Sickies

Jack and I (Stephanie) are sick. We both have nasty colds. It is not fun...at all. My poor baby has a yucky cough and I can hear it while he's sleeping. It just makes my heart hurt when I know he's hurting. If his cough is still bad tomorrow, we're headed off to urgent care. Please keep us in your prayers!

"Vacation"

I don't really think it can be considered a vacation when you bring your toddler with you. Maybe for some people...but not us. Not with OUR toddler.

We knew going into this that Jack doesn't do well sleeping somewhere other than home. He held true to this and slept horribly the entire time. He was tired. He was grouchy. Which made mommy (and daddy) tired and grouchy.

Here's a few highlights of our trip -

*We got to visit Nana and Chuck. Jack was so excited to see them. He clapped his hands excitedly when we would pull up to their house or when we would visit Nana at work.

*We got to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Jack loves playing at their house and being able to wander around the two sides of the house. He also loves the little keyboard (piano) that they have. He's going to be a rock star.

*We got to visit Danyelle (Lonnie's sister) and her two daughters. Yay! Jack had so much fun with Grace and Allison. They are such precious little girls and are so good. They brought a pink doll stroller with them and it was Jack's favorite toy....ever. We're trying to find a blue one right now.

*We went to the pumpkin patch. Actually, we went to two. The first was with Nana and the second was with Grandma, Danyelle and the girls. Jack behaved the same at both - tired, grouchy, and full of tantrums. It was a blast.

*Jack did pretty well on both flights. It took constant entertaining, a portable DVD player, a bunch of new toys, lots of chocolate, candy, and other bad-for-you snacks...but we made it. Only a few outbursts. Oh, but don't worry, we still got plenty of eye-rolls and dirty looks from the business travelers around us.

*We aren't doing this again for at least three years. Seriously. We were all so tired and grouchy by the end of the trip. And, we all picked up nasty colds too. Stupid airplane air. Jack still isn't back to his "regular" sleeping routine at home and is just being a real challenge right now.

Here's some pictures from our "vacation!"

On Nana's computer

He's watching a movie. "Cars" to be exact. Do you think he's tired here?

Jack and Mommy feeding goats

"I'm taking a call right now, please be quiet." Taken at the airport.

New Home!

Hi everyone! We're here at our new blog "home." We decided it was much more budget friendly to move the blog to a free site. I haven't had time to move all of the old posts over here...but maybe sometime in the future I'll have some magical time. We hope you enjoy visiting us over here!