A hen, a cow and an apple tree

Apparently we need to move to the country. I need a hen, a cow and an apple tree! I feel like I'm constantly running to the store for eggs, milk and apples. You should see these kids eat scrambled eggs! It's amazing how quick they gobble them up! As for the apples, they now have all boycotted SLICED apples and prefer to carry WHOLE ones around to nibble on. I found some organic apples on sale at the store last week that were small--they were the perfect size for them to munch on. We burned through that bag in a couple of days, though, so it's back to the store for me! I actually had to stop myself the other day from convincing them to eat something other than apples. I have to remind myself that fresh fruit (even when they're wasting a lot of it) is a better alternative to other snacks they might choose. I'm going to try to slice some up and put them in individual snack baggies and see if the novelty appeals ("a-peels"...hee hee!...yes, I'm a dork) to them.

It's been a busy week around here! My friend Annie had a consignment sale in El Dorado last week, so we made a couple of trips over there. On one of those trips Sophie threw up ALL over herself and her carseat. I'm not sure if she gagged on her snack or if maybe she gets carsick like me? She's been fine ever since. I had to figure out how to take the carseat out of the car and get it apart to wash it. That was only half of the challenge--I didn't think Brent and I were ever going to get it back together! Lots of levers, elastic straps, hook & eyes...it's an intricate apparatus for sure!

I PROMISE to post some new pictures soon. I can't believe how big these three kids are getting! I came home from work one day last week and swore they'd each grown an inch since that morning. The weather is so nice here today--I'm anxious to let them spend some time outside tonight. Photo op!

Oh! Our anniversary dinner was wonderful--we ate at Outback Steakhouse, then went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic." The movie wasn't very good, even for me. (So you can imagine how much Brent liked it! Ha!!)

Our 5th Anniversary!

Monday was our 5th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe that five years ago we were lounging in Montego Bay, Jamaica. AWESOME. I'd love to go back, but I don't think I'd be able to leave my kids for that long. Heck, I'm having a hard time going out tonight knowing that someone else will be putting them to bed!! Sigh...nobody warned me about the "mommy guilt" that comes with being a mother.

Tonight we're going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate our anniversary!! What in the world will we talk about?! It's been so long since we've been out without kids that I don't know how to act!! I admire couples who make date nights a priority. We're going to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and we've narrowed the movie choices to "He's Just Not That Into You" or "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (wow, I'm guessing Brent is kicking himself for letting me pick the movie--HA!!).

Here's to a kid-free evening!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Brent is working this weekend, so no flowers and fancy dinners for us tonight. I hope everyone else is having a romantic day, though! Brent brought breakfast home for us, and the kids all got a balloon. Balloons are a big hit around here! Blake likes to carry all three around with him, and this is the only glimpse I can get of him:

The kids and I had a "love-ly" lunch of heart-shaped PB&Js:

Kelly came over and brought the kids Valentine's Day goodies. They each got a cute new sippy cup and lots of candy:

We got some Valentine's Day cards in the mail from Dad/Louise and Aunt Kris/Uncle Gary--the kids get to open those after their naps!

Earlier this week Sophie and Ellyott decorated Valentine cookies:

The girls like "testing (tasting??)" the frosting almost as much as decorating! Don't worry...the "tasting" came after the cookies had been decorated. :-)

Tubes

What a difference a day makes!! Graham sat at the breakfast table this morning and jabbered and sang to us! We can really tell that he's hearing better. Praise God!!

Here are Kelly and I trying to keep Graham entertained in pre-op. Our surgery time got bumped back a little because of an emergency surgery, so he was getting pretty restless. He took a nap on mommy for a while.

The doctor said that the fluid behind his right eardrum (the one that's ruptured twice) was the consistency of SILLY PUTTY. He said he most likely couldn't hear anything from that ear. The fluid in his left ear was a thinner consistency and lesser in quantity, so he was hearing in that ear. Can you imagine?! If we hadn't done tubes, I'm wondering if he would have had permanent hearing loss in his right ear. Now we're putting drops in his ears several times a day and we'll go back to see the doctor in a week.

Here's how the morning played out--I had to show you how CRAZY FAST the procedure itself was:

5:34am: Picked up Kelly (I know...I can't believe she offered to go somewhere at this painful hour of the day!) Brent stayed home to take care of the Sophie and Blake, who were still sleeping.
5:55am: Checked in at Surgicare
6:20am: To pre-op area--we changed him into a gown and kept him entertained until the procedure
8:15am: The nurse came and carried Graham off to the operating room--he didn't squawk or anything! Big boy!!
8:21am: Dr. Bunting was finished and came to talk to us in the waiting room
8:30am: We were able to go to the recovery room to hold Graham, who was already awake
8:45am: Discharged and walking to the car!

When we got home, Graham ate two bowls of oatmeal and a piece of toast. Hungry boy! Dad came down to help out, and Graham felt good enough to play outside by late afternoon. He took a nice long nap and was ready for fun!

It was warm enough to not need the hats, but we wanted to keep Graham's ears covered. Not wanting him to feel picked on, we put Blake's hat on, too. (As an added bonus, the hats make me smile, so it's a win-win!)

Grandpa reading a new book to the kids

Graham telling Grampy all about his procedure

Anxious for Graham's ear tubes!

Tomorrow morning (Thursday) Graham checks in at 6am to have his ear tubes. Please pray for Graham and the doctor!

On a funny note--Sophie calls these "candy canes":

Tubes on Thursday

We heard from the doctor yesterday, and Graham's ear tube procedure is scheduled for Thursday morning. I'll keep you posted!

This is a video I took tonight. It's kind of dark--I only had a couple of table lamps on in the living room, but you get the point. The boys sometimes tackle each other out of the blue and try to hug or kiss each other. TOO funny! Tonight I was the one instigating it so I could get it on film, but you can tell Blake was not happy about it! Don't feel too sorry for him, though...he was the one pinning Graham down later in the evening. I love that all three have reached an age where they interact and play together. They're pretty entertaining!

I'm finally updating the blog!

My goal is to get back into the swing of blogging this week! Dad is usually the one getting after me about posting pictures, but now he gets to see the kids when we call him on Skype (web video calls) and I've gotten a little lax in posting here! Sophie seems to think that every night after they take baths it's time to go downstairs and "talk to Geempa." I'll have to post some pictures of them in their bathrobes so you can see what Dad and Louise see--pretty cute stuff!

Here are some pictures of our friend Ryan's 2nd (Mickey Mouse!) birthday party last weekend:

Aren't these bear hats the cutest?? I got them on www.etsy.com, which is a shopping site made up of only handmade items. Sophie has an "upsy-daisy" hat that has a stem coming out of the top--I'll try to snap a picture of her in it. If you like handmade stuff, check it out!

Graham had an appointment with an ear, nose & throat specialist on Friday, and it looks like he's definitely getting tubes in his ears. The doctor said the fluid buildup is like listening through heavy duty earplugs that simulate a hearing loss of 30 decibels. Blake talks all the time, but Graham only has a few words. The doctor assures me that his language will skyrocket after the tubes, so we're anxious to see! I'm waiting on a call from the doctor today to schedule the procedure.

Super Bowl snacks galore at our house last night! Brent requested a spread of snack-y stuff, so I made nachos, 7-layer bean dip, BBQ lil' smokies, sub sandwiches and a buffalo chicken dip (I'll post the recipe soon--if you're a buffalo chicken fan I bet you'll like it!).