Christmas Fun

We started Christmas Eve morning with Dippy Donuts. It was a recipe I caught on Paula Dean's show. They were pretty good....and SO healthy!! ;). We ended up running a few last minute errands later that morning. I had a bit of a pie disaster which kind of put a kink in my mood, but I rebounded quickly. We also delivered pumpkin bread to two of our neighbors.

That night we had our friend, Enrique, over for dinner. I made beef brisket, beans and a salad. I have to say that everything was pretty delicious. After a long course of dessert, we watched Christmas Vacation. This is an annual event at our house. Everyone was tired, so we were in bed shortly after 10.

The next morning we ran down to see what Santa brought. Unfortunately, Alex thought his milk was way more important and was not impressed by the sled Santa brought. Paul got a ladder, and I got some Black Jewel popcorn.

Later Christmas morning we head over to the Halvorson (Paul's sister) house. Alex was a little slow with the gift opening, but it was fun to watch him. We all got spoiled. We indulged all day on pizza, sweet goodies, meatballs, and dip. We played games and had blast trying out Rock Band. I like the drums and bass the best. By the time we left that evening, I was so bloated from all the salt that my boots barely fit!

When we arrived back at our house, my mom and dad had arrived. Alex was tuckerd out and was a sleep in no time. We were tired, too. It ended up being another early evening which was ok because we needed lots of energy opening presents.

We are celebrating Christmas today with my mom and dad. Since my dad had to work, and Alex goes to be early now, we decided it would be better to wait until the next day. We started the morning with a quick pancake breakfast, and we were off to open gifts. It has been a wonderful day. I'm in the process of cooking our big dinner for tonight. We are having turkey, honey glazed ham, cornbread dressing, corn, rolls, deviled eggs and I think that's it.

We are hoping to get Alex out this afternoon to try out the sled. You can't pass of up a 31 degree heat wave!!

White Christmas

It sure is pretty watching the snow fall. Today has been fun. We've been family bonding. Paul got up early and ran. I got up early and got ready so that when he got back we could run errands. We were out the door at 8 am. Perfect timing because that's when most stores were opening. It was very peaceful. We were back by 9:45 and not one swear word was uttered. I would not want to be out later.

We got home and I started making pie crusts. Paul has picked out a fresh peach pie and rhubarb cream. I chose pecan...no surprise there. I'm also making"trash". I hope to finish off any baking and start some prep work. My grocery list wasn't ready before we left this morning, so we are going to venture once more this afternoon.

Yesterday, I went to a mom's group. It's for stay at home moms. It was nice to be able to get out and meet new people and let Alex play with other children. We met at McDonald's for breakfast and to play in the playland. These are tough words to swallow. I claimed I wasn't letting Alex play in those germ infested areas. Maybe that will teach me to never say never! He had a blast. He climbed the stairs and disappeard into the land of tunnels. I was hoping he would figure out how to get down because I was sure I wasn't going to fit up there. Of course, he came bopping along a little bit later. I'm not quite sure if he went down the slide or how exactly he got out. Of course, Mr. Social went around to stop at various tables to "talk". He played for 2 hours! I was pleasantly surprised about the group. I expected it to be lots of "perfect" moms. It wasn't that way at all. I enoyed it so much that I decided to join. There are activities several times a week, but you just attend what you want.

Safe travels to anyone on the go today and tomorrow.

Let it Snow

We are watching the snow fall again. It sounds like we are to get about 6 inches or more. The wind should pick up later today. Fun, fun.

Paul's last day of work was Thursday. He doesn't have to go back until Jan 5!!! I'm SO excited. We kicked off the weekend with a trip to the mall yesterday. We arrived as the doors opened at 9. We got some really good deals at Macy's. They always seem to have the best clearance prices. I must say that I get really put off by Herbergers. Each year we buy these coupon book fundraiser things. I've yet to figure out what the coupon is good for. I even brought the ones from the paper yesterday, and they wouldn't accept those either. Next time I'm going to have someone walk me over to an item that the coupon is good for. I have a feeling it applies to nothing in the store!! We also stopped by Dinoland. I use to be kind of fearful of these places due to the germs. After my mom met with the endocrinologist, I'm much more willing to expose Alex. We did wash his hands afterwards. He really enjoyed the other children. He and another little boy played peek a boo. He was a running/giggling machine. We then headed downtown to due some banking and stopped by one of Paul's favorite spots, Bertrosa's. It's a Chicago style cafe....another words...all sorts of hot dogs and sandwiches. Basically, lots of man friendly food.

Alex has taken an interest in the toilet. I'm trying to explain that only poo poo and pee pee goes in there. He was starting to place all sorts of things inside. He now runs around saying pee pee and going to the toilet and saying pee pee. I thought it might be a good time to associate those words with things in his diaper. Now he waves his hand in front of his face and says "uff" or "soo" if he has a stinky diaper and says pee pee for just a wet diaper. He isn't able to tell me what's in there on his own. Maybe he will figure that out in the near future.

I didn't do Christmas trays this year. I'm not sure why. I guess it's too much work. I did make mini loaves of pumpkin bread instead. It's better than nothing. I'm almost done with my shopping and have 90% of my stuff wrapped. I hope to finish up everything on Monday. You couldn't pay me to get out on 13th ave today!!!

Digging Out

The storm moved out over night and left Paul lots of work for the morning. Here are some pictures. Keep in mind that quite a few are taken from above, so the depth/size of things is a little off. We only got 11" but with the wind it really filled in the streets and made some large drifts. This is the drift right outside of our back door

The plows have yet to come, so the neighborhood guys decided to take matters in to their own hands and blow paths through the street.

House next door.

I don't think we will be using this sidewalk until April!

Christmas Magic

Wow, what a storm. With the blizzard blasting us, I thought it would be a good time to update.

The last few days have been quite fun and full of Christmas Spirit. Thursday was big day for Alex. We decided to take him to Santa Village at Rheault Farm. Our first stop was to the donation barn. We dropped off our canned goods and headed over to check out the donation train. Alex really liked the trains. The Elves stopped the train so kids could toss a dollar in one of the box cars! We then headed over to the bunker house to make an ornament. I did most of the work. Well, if you call glueing work :). I tried to get Alex to put the red ball/nose on our reindeer ornament, but he found it much more fun to toss the balls in and out of the bucket. We then headed over to the house. It was very festive. Inside, we found Santa waiting. While we signed the guest book, Santa informed Granddad that the hot "drink" they were serving was staining his beard and mustache. He hoped next year Budweiser was sponsoring the event!! lol. After Alex had his picture taken, he went in to the kitchen, and Mrs. Claus helped him decorate a cookie. Alex LOVED shaking the sprinkles. On the way out, we checked out the reindeer.

The evening continued once we got home. I mixed up gingerbread and sugar cookie dough earlier in the day, so Alex got to make cookies for the first time. Gingerbread boys are a tradition in my family. I've made gingerbread boys every year with my mom since I was just under 2. I was excited that Grams was visiting to carry on the tradition. Alex quickly found out how wonderful the dough tastes! He attempted to cut out some cookies , but he, mostly, just stole chunks of dough. I thought we would decorate the boys with raisins but someone was eating them faster than I could put them on. We decided to let him decorate with sprinkles. I think three boys ended getting half a bottle of sprinkles. Oh well, it sure was fun!

On Friday, we headed out to chop down our Christmas tree. When we arrived, we got Alex into his bibs, coat, hat, and snow boots. We had a lot of trouble getting his boots on, so he wasn't able to walk around very well. We put him in the sled, grabbed our saw, and took off. We didn't get too far until he started crying. Once he tumped out of the sled, he was done. Dad ended up carrying him. Needless, to say we quickly found a tree, sawed it down, and hauled it back to the car. Rumor has it that Santa will be bringing Alex a fancy toddler sled for Christmas. I sure hope so. I think he would have been fine had he had a back on the sled.

Today we are going to decorate the tree. I still have some baking to do and all the presents to wrap. This seems like a perfect day to do these things. One glance outside will definitely get you in the Christmas Spirit! Oh, Paul has just informed me that snow is piled up between our front door and storm door. He is now shoveling the entry way in our house!!!! Ho, Ho, Ho!

'tis the season to be merry

Wow, I'm finally updating. Hopefully my small group of followers haven't given up!

Here is a quick run down of November: The middle of November we made an overnight trip to Bismarck. Each year we go down and spend the night with Alex's godfather, Mathew. We have a Cranium competition with him and his wife. There is even a trophy involved! I'm sad to say that we didn't return home with the trophy. We enjoy playing board games with them and need to get down there more often. We also stopped by to see Mary Kay, Paul's sister. It's nice to have family living fairly close by.

The next week I made a trip up to Langdon to stay with my mom and dad for the week. As soon as we got up there, Alex got his first cold ever. He was still running in 3rd gear even with his cold.

I have to back up and express a little frustration I had with Paul. We laugh now but at the time I was not a happy camper. The weekend before I left for my mom and dad's we had agreed that I would get to scrapbook all day Saturday while Paul looked after Alex. Well, I had to run some errands that morning and so did Paul. He took Alex with him. We both arrived home just before lunch. I had all my stuff out and ready to go once we ate. Shortly after eating, Paul announces that he had a "little" mishap in the car. He said he took grass clippings to the compost pile and the barrel tipped over in the Pacifica. He said he just needed to suck up the clippings. I said not a big deal. Well, then he came in and told me that there was some water in the barrel and that he would need to put baking soda and sop up the water. While cleaning the car, he decide to listen to the Bison game on the radio. However, after 2 hours of cleaning the battery was dead. By the time I started my scarbooking it was after 2 and we leave for church at 4:30. As we head out the door to go to church, I'm hit with the most nasty odor. Paul failed to mention that the water was stinky! Think seafood delight. I was ticked to put in nicely. I have no idea why he didn't put plastic down or a tarp. I went on in a not so nice tone explaining this and that our car was not a truck!
So, that Monday I load the stinky car and start to leave....the car won't start! I call Paul at work to come jump me. A little bit later he arrives with some guy he works with. He had gone out, started his car, and while wiping the snow off, the car locked him out. We aren't sure what's going on with the other car now. So, I get jumped and give him my extra keys, so he can turn his car off! It was like Murphy's Law.
I was finally on the road but ended up having to buy a battery in Langdon. To this day, we still have a mildly stinky car which is much better than before. I'm still trying different things to take the rest of the smell out.

Our Thanksgiving was nice. We went to Williston. Alex enjoyed his time with his grandparents. He likes exploring new places. We tried taking him to light up night while we were there, but we didn't take the stroller with us and he likes to be on the move. He just threw a fit and we missed the 5 floats that went by. Fun times! On the way home Alex had his first Happy Meal. We, of course, opted for the apples and milk. He still enjoyed a couple of our fries. He seemed very proud of himself to be sitting between us on the bench eating like a big boy.

Alex had his 18month appt yesterday. He is 22lbs 13oz ( 13% for weight) 31 1/2 inches( 26% height) and his head is still on the bigger end (82%). The doctor was pleased with his measurements. I was disappointed about the height. I just hope he isn't short!!! The doctor said he is consistently lean, so he wasn't concerned. He only got one shot which was nice.

Alex is really in to climbing! He now climbs up his high chair and seats himself. The other day he pulled out a chair in the dining room and stood on top of the dining room table. Lots of fun for him....not so much for me.

Spook-tacular Evening

We started off our Halloween fun on Thursday night by carving our pumpkin while sipping hot apple cider. We got around to it a little late this year but at least it was carved. I felt like Michaelangelo! Alex wasn't interested in the pumpkin carving this year. Oh well.

On Halloween Day we made a stop by the library, so Alex could meet Clifford. He seems to have a thing for people in costumes!

As the evening approached we got Alex dressed for a night of trick-r-treating. He made such a cute dragon! He wouldn't keep the head piece on unless he was out and about getting candy.

Paul took Alex around the neighborhood while I passed out candy. He got quite the loot for a 17month old! He already has a sweet tooth.

With such a nice night, I expected a lot of kids. By 7:15 we had only had 20, so we decided to head over to the Halvorsons'. We dumped what candy we had left in a bowl and left in on the porch with a note telling the kids to help themselves. I have a feeling one kid helped himself to most of it! I wonder if the the late time change had some effect on the trick r treating since it didn't get dark until later? Alex got a book and treats from the Halvorsons'. He put on quite a show for them the rest of the evening.

We left the Halvorson House about 9:30. Ghost Hunters Live was on, so I had a hard time leaving. Alex was pooped. I think he was out before we even got out of their driveway.

The night was a lot of fun. Paul and I enjoyed rummaging in Alex's candy. Of course, we had to sample some. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Mr. Lover Lover

True to his Gemini sign, Alex is quite the charmer. He LOVES kissing....and he isn't satisfied unless it is on the lips! We were up playing with "K" and Maria and boy did he enjoy giving them kisses. Maria would put her cheek out, and I had to explain he likes lips. It was quite cute to watch the toddlers puckerin' up. I really enjoy this phase. However, I hope by the time he is 16 he uses a little discretion with those lips. I'm pretty sure he would kiss anyone who asked at this time. He has also found out that if he grabs something he shouldn't, brings it to you, and then kisses you that his makes things much better. I'll have to crack down on this but it's so funny.

The other day I was finishing up a phone call and realized that it was quiet...aka...trouble. I found Alex sitting in our bathroom chowing down on my concealer stick. He had drawn all over his face, pants and had a his teeth and mouth covered. I can't imagine it tasted all that great, but I'm sure it was fun.

Toddler-Hood

Alex has now been inducted into toddler hood. He finally learned how to get up on his feet with out pulling up on things! YEA...I think. He finds it very entertaining to do this and then "run" as fast as he can, fall over, and do it all over again. I guess if it amuses him it is fine by me. Of course, he has many more falls and bruises than before. Last night he cracked the bridge of his nose and between his eyes on the table. I was worried he had cracked something, but he seems to be ok today...just a little swollen. What a busy boy!

Vacation 2008!

We started our vacation in Walker, MN on Sept 19th ( I think that was the date...anyway, it was that weekend). Paul participated in a marathon through the woods. Our trip started off a bit hectic. Before Paul left for the race, he asked the front desk person at the hotel for a late check out. The guy said that would be fine and for Paul to pick a time. Paul told him 1:30. At about 10:00 I got a call from the front desk telling me that we needed to be out by 12:30! I was a little paniced as I didn't know how I was supposed to load all of our stuff with Alex. I had planned on taking Alex to see Paul finish, but I wasn't set on that as it would be right in the middle of Alex's nap time. Once we had to get out I didn't have an option. We needed to be at the end, so Paul would know what was going on. Thankfully Alex has a sleeping pod which is like a little tent with an air matress. I zipped Alex up in his "cage" and slowly got the car loaded. Alex didn't take a liking to the process. We got to the finish line at about 11:45. Because of the terraine, it took Paul about 20-25 minutes longer to finish. Not thinking, I had only packed shorts for Alex. All these little old ladies would walk by and tell me how cold he must be. Once Paul finished I had to take him back to the hotel to shower in some public thing. I guess it all worked out...I was just frazzled.

We made it to my aunt's house on Sunday. That day my throat started to hurt, but I thought it was just allergies. We woke up Monday morning and my glands were really swollen, and it was difficult to swallow. I called my doctor back in Fargo, and he had me go to the hospital to get my blood drawn. Since I wasn't a patient, it took forever. Once we got home I tried to take a little nap. The doctor had called back and nothing was really showing up in my blood work, so I was advised to call back if it got worse. On Tuesday morning we got up early and headed for Padre Island. I had gotten worse and started icing my neck and taking Tylenol. On the way down we stopped in Refugio which was where I had lived. We went by our old house and also to visit a couple of people. We got settled in our condo on the island and hit the sack.

Wednesday I was useless. I tried to sit on the beach but was miserable. Alex loved playing in the sand. He wasn't too wild about the water. I think he was more afraid of the noise and the current pulling against him. Paul and I played in the water a little bit. Paul loved going out and riding the waves!

By Thursday I had had enough of the pain. I called the doctor again and he had me go in to the ER for an evaluation and blood check. We spent 4 hours there. All the doctor did was order a blood draw and hand me the results. He then asked me what he needed to do! I called my doctor and gave the nurse the report. By that time my doctor had left so his colleague had to call the shots. The ER doctor in TX was leary of letting me leave with my levels low, but he wanted my primary doctor to make the call. I ended up with an antibiotic and Tylenol 3. By Friday morning I had made almost a complete turn around. I was finally able to enjoy our vacation. Paul and I spent a lot of time in the water and trying to coax Alex out a little bit further. Each day he got a little braver but never really got excited about the water. Saturday we went out for souveniers and Paul took me to Catfish Charlie's , so I could finally enjoy fresh seafood. Sunday we had to head home.

I had been looking forward to this trip for a very long time. I guess things never really turn out the way we plan. Oh well, what can you do?

Feel of Fall

Well, we managed to drop 30 degrees in less than 24 hours. I hope yesterday was not the last of the warm weather! As much as I enjoy the Fall, I do hate to see Summer go. I really enjoyed the trees, our bountiful garden and plethra of plants/flowers.

We started off the weekend by taking Alex for his 1 yr (or should I say 15 month) pictures. Wouldn't you know it would be the one day he wouldn't nap. The session went ok. Alex was really going to town on his fingers, so I hope we have some pictures that don't include his hands in his mouth. After pictures we stopped in to Nichole's for dessert. Alex and I shared a slice of Chocolate Carmel Sea Salt cake. It was devine. I also had a mint lemonade...my favorite. We should be getting his pictures emailed to us today.

We spent Saturday and Sunday canning. We started out by using 20 lbs of our tomatoes for salsa. Then we canned peaches. This coming weekend we will tackle spaghetti sauce.

Alex is finally starting to take a few steps by himself. He looks like a drunk and finds it quite funny when he topples over. He is also in to scooping. In fact, on Saturday he decided to use one of his stacking cups to toss all of the water out of the toilet! He was soaked and so was the bathroom.

Today Alex had is 15 month check up. Here are the stats 21lbs 13 oz, 31 1/4 inches and a big head! He also got shots which I wasn't expecting. Hopefully he won't start feeling bad.

I'll try to do a better job with postings!

The latest technique in lawn mowing!

We have two new sets of neighbors. One set is East Indian...not sure if they are from India or Pakistan or what. They live behind us. The other family is next door. I have no idea where they are from, but they seem very nice. They built a beautiful deck and fence. They also painted the interior all kind of colors...but not to the point that it's ugly. Sometimes they play music...not in English...but it is very enjoyable. They should be moving in the by the end of the month. We have been very entertained by the neighbors behind us. They are a very young couple and have never mowed. The guy mows like you would vacuum the house! It's crazy. His wife stands and laughs at him and then she gives it a whirl. In the end, the lawn does get mowed...well, mostly mowed. You can tell where he experimented with the different height settings and sometimes he misses strips. I guess it doesn't take much to entertain us.

Albertville

This weekend I was able to get away with Nancy and the girls (my sister-in-law and nieces) to Albertville to the outlet mall. We left early Sat. and returned Sunday evening. I didn't come back empty handed, but we just didnt' find the bargains we were hoping for. I did manage to get Alex 9 pieces of clothing for just at $50. That's not too bad. I got some undies and a pair of shoes! Paul was in charge of Alex, and he seemed to do just fine with out me. I'm not sure Alex reallly noticed I was missing. I guess I expected him to be a little more excited when I got home.

Alex has now figured out how to turn himself around and go down the stairs! He also gives "low 5's." The toilet and toilet paper are now his objects of interest. If you come to visit, the tp will pr0bably be either unrolled in a pile on the floor or rolled back up in a messy roll. I guess it gets the job done either way! :)

It has arrived!

I've been waiting for my medicine since the beginning of May, and it finally arrived on Tuesday! This might come as a shock but someone didn't know what they were doing which is why it took so long. :) I have 3 month supply in the fridge. Paul and I figured out we have over $20,000 worth of medicine sitting there! Unfortunately, the pain that I'm getting isn't quite what I expected. They suggest taking Tylenol, but I haven't found it to be too helpful. Maybe by next week I'll have gotten use to it.

Today we are out to Paul's boss's lake cabin. Each year he has a lake day. We've never gone before. I'm excited because there should be some kiddo's for Alex to play with. Tomorrow I've got a baby shower to attend. I'll be gone for most of the day. I'm hoping to relax Sunday and slowly get the house cleaning under control.

Have a great weekend!

Divide County---Class of 98

Yep, you read that right. I did graduate from Divide County High School. I managed to have perfect spelling tests both my junior and senior year. That's why I can't spell Charlotte or arachniphobia! Actually, I am a terrible speller. The perfect spelling was something my parents and I always laughed about. The way I did so well was from memory. Hmm...what a fine academic institution. You should ask me to show off my math skills! :)

Arachnophobia...gotta love Mondays!

So yesterday as I was transferring laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and there in the bottom of the washer sat a spider. Not just any spider, but a spider with a big bulbous butt. Think Charolette from Charolette's Web. In retrospect, I wish I had taken a picture because I get accused of freaking out over itty bitty spiders. I would say the bulbous part was about the size and an eraser or two. My first thought was "Is it dead or alive?" I decided to just believe it was alive which brought me to my next thought..."How am I going to squish it?" There was no way I would use a paper towel. I considered the end of the Swiffer but pictured missing and it running up the handle. I considered closing the lid and waiting until Paul got off of work but was worried it would crawl somewhere and hide and then I'd have to go to a laundromat until it was found. I ended up getting a 2x4 and squishing it. I left the board in the washing machine until Paul got home because there was no way I was wiping the spider off....just in case some part lived. I spent 30 minutes researching spiders last night trying to identify it. I came up with it being a web forming spider. I went over many scenarios as to how it came to be in my washing machine. None were comforting. I continued my laundry this morning. The idea came to me to use tongs to remove the clothes....just in case the spider had a buddy. I then decided I was a real pansy and ditched that idea. While changing out the laundry I was again thinking about why an outdoor, beautiful web weaving, spider would end up in the washing machine. A light bulb appeared over my head. On Sunday I decided to hang clothes outside. My suspicion is that the spider was a stow away in the laundry basket. My hope is that he/she was the only stow away. Since the spider didn't look like the typical kind I find now and then, this is the only logical explanation I can come up with. I just hope I'm right!

Week or so in review.

Paul has decided to bike to work now to save on gas....and he just likes to ride his bike. So, he packs his lunch and rides along with a little back pack. On Tuesday and t-storm moved in as he was half way there, and he got soaked. Target is on his way so he was going to stop there and get new clothes, but they were closed. He ended up going to Wal-mart and well......the nicest thing he picked up was his boxers! I'm still not sure why he didn't just call me but...oh well.
Alex has every toy under the sun yet his favorite toys include: wine stoppers, a jigger, and a shaker! I hope this isn't a sign of the future. We seem to battle each day with keeping him out of the dog's water bowl. He is very strong willed!!
I had a very nice b-day. Paul took me to a sushi bar for lunch. He even baked me a chocolate cake from scratch. That night we drove to a little town in MN for pizza. It turned out to be very good pizza. We had quesadillas for an appetizer. Instead of being made with tortillas, they were made with lefse.
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. Paul left Sunday night for Omaha for work. He isn't suppose to be back til late wed. night, but he told me tonight they might get to come back tomorrow night. I sure hope so. I don't sleep well when he is gone.

Let Freedom Ring!

We enjoyed a very relaxing weekend. The morning of the 4th Paul ran in a 10 k. When he got home, we decided to pimp Alex's ride for the festivities that day. We attended a parade at MSUM. I was a little worried because Alex hasn't appreciated the emergency vehicles sounding their sirens and horns in the past. He did really well until one of the floats sprayed water on the crowd. It felt great to us but ticked the baby off. After the parade we listened to a band play patriotic music and had hot dogs. This is one of Alex's favorite foods! By about 2:30 he started dozing in his stroller, so we decided it was time to get back. He was out like a light before I even fastened him in his seat.

Saturday we decided Alex needed some cultural diversity. We visited some of the local international stores. Our favorite is the Asian market. We thought about stopping at one called "discount market" but it looked very shady so we continued on. In West Fargo we found the Tropical Food store. It ended up being a Bosnian market....not sure what's so tropical about it but whatever. We did get a chocolate bar there and it was very good.

Last night Grams and Granddad stopped in for the night on their way to Arkansas. Alex always enjoys being a ham for them.

Monkey Boy

I guess all the bananas Alex has eaten turned him in to a little monkey! His latest "hobby" is scaling his pack n play. He can't climb over, but he is very persistent. One of his molars is finally in ....well, all except one pt. I guess he is working on one on the other side because he has been cranky the last two days. We are having a terrible time getting him to eat fruit. Mostly, he just wants to eat meat! I've been getting my fair share of hand feeding thanks to Alex. He finds it very funny to feed me off of his plate.

Paul left Wed. for Colorado to visit breweries with his cousin. Last night they stayed in a hostil in Denver. I haven't heard how that went. I do know it wasn't air conditioned. Today they were headed to Fort Collins. I don't get to excited about staying by myself, so I had to beg (NOT) my mom to come hang out with us. :) We are enjoying the time together.

Summer Treat

Today we took Alex to DQ to get his first ice cream cone! What a mess. We ended up stripping him down before putting him in the car. I think he enjoyed his outing.

The past 4 days we have had some special feathered friends stopping by for a meal. They sure are fun to watch.

Father's Day Weekend

It was a quiet weekend for us. Alex is feeling much better. I ended up with muscle spasms in my neck that caused it to lock up. I did go to the chiro. to get help Friday. Saturday I just rested. Paul went grocery shopping....and did a wonderful job picking out a watermelon. I teased him that he might not want to do such a good job or else this might become a regular event! I had a tough time driving with my neck, so Paul got nothing for Father's Day....not even a card. We ended up going to the fair for lunch and to look at the animals. I did make him a surprise dessert and homemade ice cream. He also got to pick what he wanted for supper. I hope he ended up having a nice day.

"Special" Child

Alex is now a statistic....3 out of every 100 children have a reaction to the chickenpox vaccine....he is one of the three! I was a little surprised since it has been a week since his shots. Yesterday he started with a fever. It gradually climbed through the day with Tylenol. This morning it was 102, and he had a red mark that showed up on his leg. I took him to the clinic this morning, and they told me about chickenpox reaction. The doctor thinks by Friday he should improve, but we are to just monitor him for now. I hope he gets to feeling better. At least he isn't missing a stroller ride or any activities since the weather is so lousy. I sure hope we get a summer!

Bring on the grease and water retention!

Well, we made another day of it at Rib Fest on Saturday. I tried to exhibit some self control. I had 3 little ribs, 4 very salty cheese curds and a snocone. Paul had a pork sandwich, brisket sandwich and fried cheesecake. We also split spiral spuds!

Tonight we had Mexican food. Our friend Enrique, who is origianlly from Mexico, made chicken flautas. You boil chicken, chop it up, and then roll it in a tortilla and deep fry it. Then you put refried beans, guacomoli (sp), and queso fresco on them. We had never had queso fresco but that is they only cheese they use in Mexico. It was tasty. The meal definitely wasn't lackin in the grease department, but it was well worth it. Thankfully we went on a 4 mile bike ride earlier in the day!

1 Yr Stats

I forgot in the last entry to tell about Alex's 1 yr appt. He is 20lb 6oz (14%), 29 3/4" (50%), and he had a large head (79%)....we are hoping that means he will be very intelligent!

Today we went to Rib Fest and nearly got blown away! We sampled ribs from all 7 vendors, had fried cheese curds and fried oreos. Needless to say that was our only meal today. We might go back tomorrow with the Huck's (Paul's cousin and his family). We definitely won't be gorging again. Oh well, it only comes around once a year.

The Big "One"

It's hard to believe that Alex has now been in this world for a year! Time sure goes by quickly. Alex's party was a lot of fun. Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. Things were a little chaotic but what's new. Paul fired up the grill and cooked some tasty skirt steak for the tacos. Our friend Enrique, who is from Mexico, came over early to make salsas. After the tacos we had cake and homemade ice cream. By about 4:00 we were all wiped out. Alex got all kinds of neat toys! I will try to get the pictures posted to Snapfish with in the next few days.

Murphy's Law

What a few last few weeks! To start off, Alex ended up having an ear infection around the time of the marathon. We started him on some medicine and because of his congestion he didn't want his pacifier. I thought that since he went 3-4 days not wanting it that it would be a good time to just part ways. I may have been wrong. I'm not sure if it is that it stays light out so late or that he doesn't have his pacifier, but he refused to go to sleep until about 9:30...which is when it start getting dark. He seem quite restless. Up until the cold and saying goodbye to the pacifier he went down with in minutes. I'm not sure what to do!

Memorial Day weekend we decided to tackle house projects. Of course, that hasn't gone quite as smootly as predicted. We had one door knob that needed replacing, so we went to Lowe's to get a knob. Well, we ended up having to replace all 3 knobs in order for the keys to be the same. Paul also thought it would be a good time to add dead bolt locks. After 5 hours of labor I had two knobs and one lock that kind of worked. We are also cursed by mailboxes. In the 6 years we have had the house, almost every year we have monkeyed with it. They tend to fall forward. We have now purchased our 3rd mailbox and went the cheap route. I figured we had tried expensive stuff and that didn't work....might as well go cheap this time. Once again, not as easy as it seemed. Paul lost a piece to his drill, then the pole was too short so he ended up using the old pole and changing out the box.

Yesterday was my errand day. I felt very efficient until I hit Home Depot. It was my job to pick up the numbers for the mailbox (which we eneded up not needing) and a new water filter for the fridge. I first let a guy use my jumper cables to start his truck and then once I got in the store I couldn't find a thing. I finally found an odd guy to "help" me. After 10 minutes of playing with Alex (literally) he decided to help me. In the end, I answered my own question and he just occupied Alex!

Now to today....the fancy door knobs we bought are the kind that you can always open from the inside no matter if they are locked. Of course I'm not use to that so I went to let Gus out this morning and couldn't get back in. This left Alex standing in his crib waiting for breakfast and me trying to decide which neighbor to scare. Luckily I hadn't showered the night before, and I had changed out of my pjs. I tend to shower and night and go to be with a wet head. With the natural curl in my hair, I end up waking up looking like Albert Einstein on crack!

I hope the day gets better....although I don't hold out much hope...and just so I feel better "Hey, you Space Saver Bag inventor.........You can bit me!"

The Curse of Mile 22!

Another year, another marathon. Yesterday was Paul's 4th marathon. The first year he didn't really train and ran it in 4 hours 25 min. The years following he did train shaving over an hour off of his time. The last two years he has cramped up at mile 22. This year he trained his hardest thinking he just wasn't conditioned enough. Leading up to yesterday he ran 8 times over 20 miles...including a 26 mile run. His goal was to qualify for Boston. For his age he needed to finish in 3 hours 10 min. Unfortunately, at mile 22 he cramped again! He was able to finish but not in time to qualify. It was very disappointing for him and his fans! :) He is toying with the idea of running the Minneapolis Marathon this summer and trying to qualify there. I guess we will see.

Today we are just going to relax. We are finally going to go to the nursery and buy flowers and do a little outside work. Alex has a cold I think. He has had a snotty nose since Wed. His molars are coming in which doesn't help the situation. The last few nights have been miserable. After 3 hours of screaming on Friday night, I finally took him for a drive to help him fall asleep. I've never resorted to this, but I was at the end of my rope. I hope tonight goes smoother. It's the pits when you don't feel well!

Nielsen Ratings

What a surprise! About a month ago I got a call from the Nielsen Rating Company. They wanted to know if I would participate by keeping a diary of what we watched for a week. In exchange for the diary, they would give me $30. I thought that sounded great. I've never known of anyone to actually participate in these ratings. Two days ago I received my journals and a crisp $20 and $10 bill. This has got to be the best job I've ever had! :)

Poor little Alex has bad case of eczema. It is all over his back, some on his arms, legs, tushy and cheeks. I ended up taking him to the doctor on Monday because it just kept spreading. I have a year supply of Rx hydrocortisone and also had to buy a different soap and lotion. Hopefully he will get some relief soon.

Song of the South

We are back! And from what I understand, I picked a perfect time to leave!
My mom, Alex, and I took off on April 19th to head down South to visit my family. Our first stop was the great state of Texas. However, things didn't start off all that smoothly.

Alex got a big boy car seat and I had asked Paul to install it in my Mom's car before he left for St. Cloud. Our plan was to leave at 10 am. As my mom and I were packing, I bumped the car seat and noticed it wasn't anchored in tight enough. After two hours of trying to tighten it and many angry word directed at Paul...I believe the voicemail I left went something like "If I were at the race today I would have thrown a rock at your feet so you would have tripped!"...I remembered that the EMT place did car seat checks. So, at 1pm we took off.

I was worried about how Alex would do riding. He was a good traveler as long as there was someone in the back seat with him. Unfortunatley, I get very car sick in the back, so I had to do all of the driving.

We had planned to spend a week at my aunt and uncles in TX and a week with my aunt and uncle in AR. We ended up not being able to go to AR because my cousin came down with a staph infection. I was strongly advised to not take a chance on getting sick. I was very bummed because seeing everyone was the point of my trip.

In TX, we were on the go everyday. Of course, I had a list of places we had to eat...BBQ, Mexican food, Mama's Pizza, and Church's Chicken or Popeye's. We did a lot of shopping. I even got to watch some severe weather. I got a chance to visit with a couple of my cousins and an aunt and uncle from another part of TX.

Alex hit many milestones while we were gone. He has two new teeth and is working on a molar, he weaned himself from a bottle, he can clap and pull himself up to a standing position and he drinks whole milk. I'm so glad to be done with formula

I'm glad to be home, but I really miss the South. When you hear there is 7 inches of snow as your standing out in shorts in 80 degree weather, who would be excited about returning :).

Am I part Basset Hound?

Alex has figured out that he isn't allowed to put his hand in the dogs' water bowl. He now crawls up to the bowl and takes a slurp out of it....mind you he didn't put his hand in it so everything should be ok, right?! The other day Gus got up close to his face and Alex stuck his tongue out and licked Gus's nose. I'm pretty sure Basset Hound is not in Alex's pedigree.

Sad Day

We learned this morning that my grandmother passed away in the night. My mom and dad took off to Arkansas this morning. I wasn't very close to my grandmother, but it is still sad. My dad said he couldn't see any since in me going because it would be very hectic, and I still have to have my labs done 3 times this week. My mom and I had already had a trip planned to visit family the middle of April once my testing was complete. Unfortunately, we were just a little too late with the planning, so my grandmother won't get to meet Alex :(. We are glad that she died peacefully.

Operation "VOLE"

What a nice morning! I can't believe by tomorrow morning we are supposed to have a foot of snow. I decided to let the sunshine spill into Alex's room. Shortly after doing so, I heard the dogs carrying on . I peered out the window and saw our neighbor shoveling a patch of snow in the yard next to us. There is no one living in that house currently. I thought it was a little strange that he would be doing that and then all of the sudden I saw creatures running and him raising his shovel and whacking them!!! I was horrified. Paul happened to be outside and it turns out he was on a mission to destroy voles. They ripped up much of his lawn so he was on a mission. I guess he told Paul that he had killed 40 in the last few days. While they were scurrying away from him, one go in to our yard. I guess Gracie and Maggie chased it, but Gus had a different plan. The voles are quite a pain, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't whack anything with a shovel. Happy hunting Jake! :)

Bubbles and Bubbles and Bubbles

We have been trying to get Alex to switch from his bottle to a cup. He absolutely hates sippy cups but doesn't mind drinking out of a cup like an adult. Mostly he just likes to feel the liquid run in and then out of his mouth. This method proved to be a huge mess with not much actually being swallowed. Alex's buddy, Katelynn, never used a sippy cup but went straight to a straw. I thought I'd give that a whirl. We tried playing nice by starting with the straw and then giving him his bottle. Of course, that didn't work, so I decided we'd cut him off cold turkey...except for his night bottle.

Let's just say that last two days have been trying. He loves to blow into the straw creating bubbles...lots of bubbles. In fact he has found that if he blows out and babbles at the same time, it makes really neat sounds. It reminds me of talking into a cardboard paper towel roll. He also finds closing his eyes, puffing out his cheeks and blowing full force is great.

Yesterday, I was on the verge of just giving in and letting him have his bottle. I decided I try one more time and to my suprise it worked. He still enjoys blowing bubbles but when he is thirsty he will drink properly.

Speaking of drinking....Alex thinks the dogs' water bowl is great. He started out splashing with his hand. After many "No's" and hand squeezes, he decided that he would crawl up and not put his hand in...but he would take a little sip! I was shocked as I marveled at how well he was responding to "No" until I heard, SLURP! I think we are in trouble. :)

Small cuts, lots of blood!

Well, now that Alex is army crawling he has become the next Magellan. He loves door stops and vents, and I guess he also likes the air exchange vents. However, I didn't realized that those are sharp. Yesterday he was strumming the air exchange vent like a guitar and a few minutes later I noticed blood all over his hands. I first checked his mouth...no blood. Then I figured out it was coming from his hand. I tried holding his arm up and putting a cold cloth on his hand to stop the bleeding so I could get a better idea of what happend. Of course, he wasn't in to cooperating. I finally put him in his high chair and managed to get two little bandaids on his fingers. I then when on a mission to figure out what happend. He never cried, so I wasn't sure when the injury occurred and there wasn't a trail of blood. I finally thought to to check the vent and, man oh man, is it sharp! He will be disappointed as this will now have to be added to the "Can't Touch" list which seems to grow each day.

Oh so snowy!

Just when we were finally able to see all of the grass, a long came a snow storm. I have to admit that it has been a very pretty day even though I am longing for spring to stay. It looked just like a snow globe. We decided to take Alex out and attempt a snowman! Well, he ended up falling forward off a snow bank and face planting in the snow. He looked just like a cartoon. His head was buried and you could just see legs sticking straigh up kicking. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased and the snowman never was built. Here is some video of Paul and Alex.

Latest Stats

Alex had his 9 month appt. yesterday. His thyroid level is finally in the normal range. He weighed 19lb 6oz (24th percentile), 29 1/2" (80th percentile)! I knew he was getting long but didn't realize how long. The doctor was very surprised about his length because it meant he grew 3 1/4 inches in three months. It was such major increase that he kept saying maybe the nurse measured incorrectly. I haven't tried measuring him yet, but I don't think she screwed up.

We've tried to give Alex different table foods. The Ham likes ham! He also likes brownies. For any of the Frank family that might have wondered if he would have a sweet tooth, you need not worry. Bring on the family reunions...he's ready! :)

The Art of the Umbrella Stroller

Since Alex has gotten bigger it has been much harder carrying him in his car seat. We have nice stroller, but it is a little too much for quick trips in and out. We decided an umbrella stroller would be much easier for this. So today I gave it whirl when I went to have my blood drawn. Opening it wasn't too hard although the instructions lied about how to go about this and the ride was fine. However, after getting back to the car and loading Alex my hands were a bit frozen. After wrestling with the stupid thing and thinking how can I not be smarter than the Chinese kid who built it.... I just shoved it fully extended into the car and away we went. I guess Paul can fix it when he gets home. Better luck next time! :)

Yesterday

Things went well yesterday. I didn't bleed much, and I didn't get sick from the anesthesia. I'm sore but feeling good.

The doctor thinks I have cyclic neutropenia. Treatment for this is injections...probably daily to start with. The medicine is extremely expensive. There is a research foundation that pays for the medicine for the rest of your life if you qualify. In order to qualify I have to prove I have this disorder through the bone marrow biopsy and for the next six weeks I have to have to have my blood drawn every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to track the neutrophil count. Also they check for chromosomal abnormalities in the bone marrow which are indicative of pre-leukemia. If I qualify, I will have to have a bone marrow biopsy yearly. This isn't a common disorder. I guess the chances are .5-1 persons per million! This why this foundation is willing to give the medication for free in exchange for the bone marrow and tracking of patients through their lives. Hopefully, the doctor has it right. It would be nice to finally have an answer. I go back in the 19th to discuss the biopsy results.

Thank you to all that have been keeping me in their thoughts the last few days.

Revenge of the RotaVirus

Poor little Alex has rotavirus. It started last Tuesday with vomiting and then diarrhea. His diarrhea continued to worsen through the weekend. Yesterday I took him to the pediatrician because I was worried about dehydration. Today he is in a better mood and the diarrhea has slowed down....YEAH. The doctor told us we would probably have 3 more days of this! I think we will purchase stock in Dreft :)

A good bad day

Well, I had my visit to my hematologist today at RMCC. For the past few months my WBC has been low. The last few weeks it tanked which brought forth the lovely visit I had today. My doctor told me that my neutrophils are so low that if I were to step foot in to the hospital I would immediately be in isolation. Kind of a scary thought. He thinks that my body is killing my white blood cells. Blood was drawn and sent to the Uof M to confirm this if this is the case then I will have to give my self shots...possibly daily. If the test comes back negative he would want to do a bone marrow biospy to see if my marrow is bad. Unfortunately, the shots are extremely expensive. There is some deal...I think he said an experimental study that if I have a bone marrow biopsy yearly, my shots will be free! So, on Monday March 3 I will be put under for a bone marrow biopsy.

You might be wondering what could be so great about your body killing its only defense system.....well, I figure it beats having leukemia! The doctor was confident that I do not have cancer. I am hoping that the blood test comes back positive because I have a feeling bad bone marrow isn't a good thing. To add to all of this I'm anemic...just a small incovenience.

If we don't do the shots, we could probably end up having a show on TLC for having 20 kids. I guess, when I was pregnant my body was normal...Go Figure.

What a week!

Last week was full of excitment. On Monday Alex attended his first birthday party. One of his girlfriends, Katelynn, turned 1 year. He got all dressed up and had lots of fun getting loved up by the ladies and playing with the new toys.

On Wednesday Grams came for a visit. Alex always enjoys that. In fact, my mom finally taught Alex to sit. This was a major accomplishment for him.

Of course, Thursday was Valentine's Day. In preparation for delivering flowers to his two girlfriends, Alex got his first hair trim at the beauty shop. It was important to look dashing on such a romantic day. A flower was delivered to both Katelynn and Ally. By the time we got to Ally's house, Alex was out like a light. Alex received a balloon and Valentine from Ally. Swimming lessons went better that night. We discovered that I need to make the house noisy. I play music and make noise, but loud kids and noises scare him.

This weekend Alex attended his cousin,s birthday party and also went to visit his aunt, uncle and cousins.

I am gorgeous....gorgeous I say.

We seem to have a bit of a narcissistic baby on our hands! Alex is in love with looking at himself. He loves when we hold him in front of a mirror or show him a picture of himself. We have a stainless steel garbage can in the kitchen and all the sudden we heard him giggling and talking. We peeked around the corner and there he was checkin out his reflection:) He stayed entertained for a little bit a least. What a ham!

The big 30 is creeping up!

Today is Paul's 29th birthday! We have no grand plans for tonight. In fact, at 4:00 Paul is heading out the door to run 18 miles. He usually does his long runs on Saturday morning but with the blizzard watch posted he and a couple of his running buddies decided they wouldn't risk it. Paul is requesting some kind of peanut butter bars which I still need to make.

Have a good weekend!

New hobby....

It's usually rare that I have trouble falling asleep, but a couple a of weeks ago I was tossing and turning and a thought popped in to my brain. Like so many other people, we get tons of junk mail. In fact CitiBank sends us 4 mailings at a time. Paul Frank, Paul S. Frank, Mr. Paul Frank, and Regan Frank all get these mailings. It just so happens that a majority of these mailings come with a no postage necessary envelope for returning your paperwork. Well, I figured these huge companies must recycle, so I've started writing "Please Recycle" on the front of the paperwork and stuffing everything into the already paid for envelope . I doubt these companies will ever get the hint but until then it makes me feel good. I must say I feel empowered sticking it to the man!

Swimming pool meet Alex....Alex meet pool!

Our sweet little baby who has loved his bath since he was 2 months old had his first exprience in a pool tonight. We signed Alex up for "lessons" at the YMCA. Alex was the ONLY baby crying. It wasn't just a whimper...he was ticked! From the observation room I could see his lip starting to quiver and turn down before he even got in to the water. My guess is that all the kids screaming upset him. Sometimes he gets upset by a lot of noise. Hopefully next week will be better.

I really wanted to take pictures, but the lady told me I would need special permission from the lifeguard!? However, not many people followed this rule which was posted all over the place. Maybe I will be a rebel next week.

Ahhh...the sweet smell of victory!

What a surprise!!! The Giants WIN! Paul had a bet riding on the Super Bowl. His good friend Mathew Krogen is a huge Patriots fan. Mathew travels a lot and found these super hot chips called Mamma Zuma's. The bet was that the loser would eat and entire bag with nothing to drink until the bag was empty. Of course, Paul was pretty sure he'd be eating the chips, but what a pleasant surprise.

Alex attended his first Super Bowl party. He enjoyed watching all of kids play but was tuckered out by the time we got home....so tired that he slept in his clothes until 4 am when he decided it was time to play.

Happy Monday!

Don't get screwed by your taters!

We decided to try the new Las Vegas Buffet for lunch today. While dining on some subpar food a group of college students were seated next to us. Shortly after they returned from their first trip to the buffet, we heard one of guys say to his buddies .." Um...there is a screw in my mashed potatoes!" After they finally stopped laughing they told the manager. She just couldn't figure out how that happened. Needless to say that was the first and the last time we will go there. The guy told us he wasn't sure if they were going to give him his meal free.....we left before they did so we didn't get to see how the situation was handled.

One more chomper

Well, I thought this might be a fun way for friends and family to keep up with the excitement or lack of at our house.

This weekend Alex got a third tooth. It is a another bottom one!

Grams and Granddad were down to visit while Paul brewed. I made some interesting chocolate chip cookies out of the spent grains from Paul's beer making.

I have some advice....never go to Walmart on a Sunday night! Every disfunctional family and their sidekicks are there (not much different than any other day)...to add to it, they are under stocked. I must admit I would like to get a coke and sit on one of the benches for a few hours just to people watch.