Easter and Ear Aches

Well, our Easter didn't go as I had envisioned. Here's what I thought would happen. We would get up for the early service at church (early is not by choice, but this works the best with Cassi's napping schedule) and dress Cassi in her first Easter dress. It would be a beautiful, sunny day. After church, we would drive to my Dad and step mom's for Easter lunch. Then, the mayhem would ensue with the egg hunt.

This is what actually happened. Kai woke up at 2 a.m. Easter morning with an ear ache. He's only had one or two his whole life, so this was out of the blue. I gave him some Tylenol and he slept until 4 a.m. I gave him the heating pad and he slept until 6 a.m. He woke up in horrible pain. He was crying and it was awful! I gave him more Tylenol, which seemed to help for a little bit. Then I put in some swimmer's ear drops out of desperation. In the mean time, I called my Dad to break the news that we wouldn't be making it to his house. We had already missed church and I was thinking I'd have to dress Cassi in her first Easter dress just to get some pictures. Well, Kai started to feel better, from the drops, I guess, and said he wanted to go to Grandma and Grandpa's. So, we scurried around and made the trip in cold and rain. We took some photos before we left.

Cassi and her first Easter basket

The Easter Bunny brought her some Little People Easter People

Cassi in her first Easter dress

Cassi and her friend Abbey Caddabby

Kai and his Easter basket

Kai seemed fine during the day, a little peeked, but okay. It was cruddy weather, but it did manage to stop raining for the 20 or so minutes of the egg hunt. Cassi had her own separate indoor baby "egg hunt for beginners" and Kai had the "intermediate level egg hunt" by himself on the porch since most of the kids are older and bigger.

Cassi at Grandma and Grandpa's, ready to eat!

The Egg Hunt post-mayhem mayhem

Easter haul

Dad and Cassi preparing for "the hunt."

Baby egg hunt

Checkin' out what the Easter bunny left at Grandma and Grandpa's

One the way home, they both slept some. Then, allllllll last night, I was up with Kai. He was in agony by 4 a.m. and I was in tears, too, because I couldn't do anything to help him, so I took him to the ER. He felt like he was going to throw up, so we took "the bucket." We were in and out of the ER in 35 minutes! It was amazing! He had two ear infections, one ear drum may have burst, but they couldn't tell. I think it probably did, because that ear didn't hurt any more. We went to a 24 hour pharmacy and got a pain rx and antibiotic rx filled. They gave him a dose of Motrin at the hospital (hospital strength?) and that started to kick in at the pharmacy, so he wasn't saying "ouch!" all the time.




So, today, he is doing better as far as the ears go, but has been vomiting. He can't keep any food down. He sipped some Gatorade, which seemed to stay down until just recently. It may because I couldn't get him to eat enough before taking his meds., but that was about 8 hours ago, so I'm guessing virus. Anyway, I've cleaned up more barf than I cared to. He didn't make it to the bathroom twice and just froze in the hallway. He had a bucket in his room by the bed, but I think panic ensued and then he froze in the hallway. Some day we will get new carpet, but not until these kids are raised! LOL! I feel so bad for him! I don't like to see my babies suffer. He tried to eat dinner just now and didn't keep it down, so I can't give him any of the pain medicine they prescribed. So far the pain isn't bad, he says. I'm sooooo hoping he feels better and we can sleep tonight. Well, that was our Easter!!!

The Blog Has A Job!

Well, I don't have a new job yet, but the blog has one! I heard on Oprah that a lady who has the most popular blog on blogger is now making $40K (yes, you read that right) a MONTH from bloggers clicking on the Google ads on her blog!!! It was on Oprah's recent "Secret Lives of Moms" show---which I totally couldn't relate to, could you? LOLOLOLOL!!!

Needless to say, the lady's blog is the family business now. Her husband quit his job---can you imagine? Anyway, it looks like we get $1 per click, so please click away on the google ads to the right and below the blog entry after you have visited! (EDIT: Looks like it starts out at $1 and then decreases every click there after, but heck, it's free money!)

Everyone should add this to their blog. It's under the "monetize" tab. We spend so much time on our blogs that they should be earning their keep instead of laying on the cyberspace sofa all day!

Waiting and "Wauffers"

Kai's loose tooth has been driving him nuts! This is his second one to loose, so I think knowing how it feels to lose one was holding him back from wanting it out of his mouth. It's been loose for about a month. I'm not sure how he was still eating all that he was. Last night, he panicked because it was practically laying on it's side and he was worried he'd swallow it during the night. I assured him that the Tooth Fairy was used to these kind of situations and that she would still know to do her fairy duty. She leaves a dollar, which is also what she apparently leaves the other kids in his class.

So, Kai woke up during the night (will I have a night without a child or dog or whatever waking me some day?) with a headache and said his tooth was bothering him. I'm thinking the tooth was causing the headache, mentally and physically. I gave him some Tylenol and that was that. Today, he came home from school, over the moon with happiness! His tooth just fell out during free time, while sitting at the orange table. So, off to the office for the tooth necklace he went, happy as a lark! He was so happy to be able to eat dinner normally tonight!

He is trying to pose in a way that shows off his absent tooth. His shirt is funny, considering the situation. It says, "If you're weak, take a seat!" LOL!

Last night, he came into the living room at around bedtime and asked if he could have some wauffers. I said, "Do you mean waffles? No, the kitchen is closed. We'll have waffles this weekend." He said, "No, those nilla wauffers you got at the store." I was really perplexed and then busted out laughing so hard! He has been reading since he was 4 1/2 and I can totally see how you would read "wafers" (with a long "a") as "wauffers" (with a short "a")! I told him from now on, they are officially "wauffers" in our house, which he thought was totally funny! Also, since the poor kid didn't recognize the Nilla Wafers box without reading it, you know we need to increase the junk food around here or branch out a bit more! LOL! Anyway, I gave him a big ole bowl of wauffers.

Patty Cake, Patty Cake

Cassi blowing kisses

Cassi loves her baby doll. I found her one at Christmas with brown eyes---very hard to do! She makes her play patty cake and then does ride a little pony on her lap and makes her fall down. Usually she will sing her version of the whole thing and it's too cute. I got her to sing some of it. She also puts the baby to bed in a basket/crib, so I will have to get video of that, too.

Notice she is back in winter wear--ugh!!! This weather is driving me nuts! Warm one day, cold the next.

Her favorite activities lately are to run from one end of the couch to the other on the cushions (yikes!) and to climb up on the brick fireplace hearth (double yikes!!!). I do NOT have video of that! She's a climber!

Cassi with baby doll

Blowing kisses

Patty Cake

Ride A Little Pony

Twin toddler girls available

If anyone, paper ready for Russia, is interested or knows someone who might be, in adopting twin girls, one needing some cleft lip and palate surgery, please comment or call Lorien at Lighthouse Adoptions, Ann Arbor, asap. :) Lorien Wenger, director, phone: (734) 223-3737

Staycation

Last week was Spring Break, so we partied all the time, partied all the time, parrrr-tied all the time! Actually, we took a "staycation" to save money since I'm still job hunting. It was really fun! :)

Monday: The Zoo

Everyone and their grandmother was there since it was the first day of break, but it was the best weather day, so we went for it. The temperature was perfect! The elephants were on vacation (who knew?), so we didn't get to see them. I guess they deserve it since they work holidays. When we were walking around, Kai asked how the zoo "replicates the animal's habitat." What are they teaching these kids in kindergarten???

Here are some shots of Cassi watching Kai and Dan on the carousel.

Eating Cheerios, a toddler's best friend

Saying "Uh-Oh" after spilling them all on the ground. Bird's also consider Cheerios to be their best friends.

Kai and Dan, living the dream!

Kai said he "was smiling."

"Mom, I don't want to take a pictures in front of the flamingos!!!"

Kai always scrunches up his shoulders and stomps around when he is mad--lol!

At least no one is mad in this one. Well, the tiger doesn't look so happy.

Tuesday: Pizza and the Park

We went to the pizza lunch buffet at Mazzio's. It's pretty cheap and quick! Kai looked like he'd rolled around in the pizza by the time we were done, so we had to run home to change his clothes.

She looks soooo tiny!!!

Kai is getting soooo big!


Wednesday: We rested and so did the paparazzi

Thursday: The Library and Donuts (Just because it's a "staycation" doesn't mean it has to be healthy and good for the waistline! Why are donuts so cheap and healthy food is so much more expensive? We got a half dozen donuts for about $3.49!)

Kai and Cassi playing with the keyboards and mice.

"Just let me spell check this e-mail and then I will be with you."

Friday: Kai and I went to McYucky's for lunch while Dan and Cassi chilled at home. We used up some free game cards he had at Andy Alligators indoor game center --- forgot camera at home. :( He got enough tickets for a plastic centipede.

Zoo: $20

Pizza: $9

Park: Free

Library: Free

Donuts: $3.49

McYucky's: $6.00

Game Center: Free

Total Cost of Staycation: Priceless

All in all it was good, cheap fun this week. Kids don't really care if they go some place fancy, just as long as you are there with them! :)

Growin' Like A Weed! :)

(Michelle C., you have mail!)

Well, I'm very pleased to post Cassi's stats! I noticed that the pants she was wearing a couple or 3 weeks ago were pretty short, so I measured her tonight. Great news! She's up from 20% (October) for height to 75%!!! WOW! She's 31.25 inches tall! And, her weight is leveling out--could it be all of the constant running and climbing??? LOL! She was 50% when we met her in Oct. and she's maintained 75% for the past month or so. She weighs 24.5, only gaining .5 pounds this month. And, her head is now 18 inches, up from 17 when we met her in Oct. That's up from 25% to almost 50%! You grow, girl!!! :) Her feet are still teeny-tiny. She would wear about a 2 1/2, if they made that size!

We had a "staycation" this past week for Spring Break to cut back on expenses. It was fun! :) I will post those pictures in the next few days.

Paper Ready and Wanting Sibling Groups?

The agency we adopted from, Lighthouse, has several younger sibling groups available immediately for paper ready families. Comment if you would like me to point you in their direction or call Lorien at Lighthouse Adoptions, Ann Arbor! :)

Photo Friday

A-OK

The baby's blood work came back great! She's had all of the shots that we were told she'd had and everything else was negative. Ahhh...no more shots until this summer!

Bloodwork, The Cerum Continues

YAY! Finally we were able to get Cassi's blood drawn successfully! There was still a lot of crying, etc., but it's done. This time, she was way more hydrated than when we did it with her only being home 2 weeks. And, I applied the rx numbing cream (thanks, Nichole for the idea!) to her arms. Lastly, chocolate cookies helped, but even those couldn't distract her. Sooooo glad to have that behind us!

Losing it!

Kai came home from school today very excited! He lost his first tooth! It was securely tied around his neck in a tooth necklace. A much better way than the put-it-in-a-Kleenex-in-your-pocket method that was heavily relied upon in the '70's.

Valentine's Day

My dad and step mom came to watch the kids so that Dan and I could go out for lunch. Awesome! :) Here are pictures from Kai's kindergarten Valentine's party the day before and of Valentine's day.

Hello, can you hear me now? How 'bout now?

Cassi is really walking up a storm! She's walking about 75% of the time as of the last few days and is on the verge of running already. She loves to walk with the remote as her phone. She has several play phones, but prefers communicating through the remote instead. Some day the tv remote will be the phone, camera, gps and microwave oven all rolled into one.

Also, as of late, there is a basketball game of some sort on in this house 24/7. She really seemed to be watching the game the other night--nooooo! I've got to turn her against this evil while she's still young! LOL!

Ohhhh, did you see that shot???

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode: Kindergarten Valentine's Party-O-Rama 2009

Climbing, Loose Teeth and Laid Off

Well, as a complete shocker this past Tuesday, I was laid off from my job. This is awful timing with all of the adoption expenses. Dan is a stay-at-home dad, so that was our only income. We are regrouping now, but man!

Kai is thrilled to finally be a member of the loose tooth club at school. He has two lower teeth that are loose and they are consuming his every thought and conversation.

Cassi is a climber! She loves to climb on the living room window sill. She is very good about lowering herself down, but we do keep an eye on her so that she doesn't try to stand up. If she were taller, she'd be on the coffee table doing a pirouette by now! I can't wait to enroll her in gymnastics for toddlers this summer.

Her other favorite past time---playing with the cable box! Since this picture was taken, we've put a covering over it so she can't change the settings.