one year later...

I actually cannot believe I am writing one year later with the same news! Parker had his preschool screening Friday morning for 2 hours. We left there feeling really good about all of the testing. I had the exit interview with the nurse and she obviously neglected to read the charts correctly. A member of mine came in to workout and asked me how I was holding up. I said I didn't know what she was referring to. She filled me in at work that Parker has not done well with his hearing check again. He is definitely better than last year. But, the left ear (the one that still has a tube) hurt when she did the tympanogram. That is the test to check if he has activity in his ear. Well, in order to perform the test, the machine blows air in the ear and he jerked away in pain. So she referred us to go back to Duluth to the ENT again. The right ear had the tube that had been forced out during the ear infection/bloody ear in December. That ear has movement and seems to be "okay". So...we will be checking in with Dr. Glickstein on Tuesday the 16th in Duluth.
On another note...he did really well in his cognitive and language skills. His vision is excellent. He was on the low end (11 out of the range 7-27) for motor skills -skipping (I can't skip very well either), catching, jumping in one place, hopping... Just wanted to keep you all in the loop. Extra prayers for the little guy, he is most likely headed for another surgery for a new set of tubes!

little snitch

I made 2 dozen owl cupcakes for Emmitt's Birthday at daycare. Since his birthday is so close to all the Valentine hubbub, I thought I would make his treat day today.First I caught him snitching off the table so I moved them over to the stove. Then I caught him pushing his chair over there this morning. I came around the corner to see him face first on the cupcakes eating the junior mints off the eyes! He ate a total of 4 before I caught him. I just moved the trays out to the car at that point. Can't blame the kid.
I cannot believe that 2 years have gone by! It has really passed so quickly. We will be celebrating his birthday with a big owl party on Saturday. When you ask him how old he is going to be, he says two. When you ask him how old he is now, he says two. He is ready for two...

Waking up in Vegas

Rich, Kim, myself and Bear headed to Las Vegas for the weekend. What.A.Blast. We left for Duluth on Friday afternoon to take our time to get to Duluth, return some Christmas stuff in Virginia and enjoy a relaxing dinner together before heading to the airport. We flew Allegiant and got a great deal on a flight and hotel. Grand total of $632 for both of us. Wish that's all the whole trip cost us! We brought X amount of dollars with us to Vegas and had enough to pay cash for our parking permit and dinner. So it wasn't a total bust. We had a great time and enough laughs to last awhile.

Bear had never been to Vegas before. Rich and Kim have gone a few times before and have experienced it together. I have only been there for conventions. I can't say that I really even like the city itself, but it's worth seeing once. It was definitely worth seeing Bear's reaction each time we saw something totally outrageous!

We checked in at the front desk around 10:30 pm Friday evening and all Bear could say was, wow! Then he followed that up with I've seen enough girls wearing short skirts that shouldn't be wearing short skirts! I told him he was in for a lot more.

We couldn't have picked a better couple to go with. Rich and Kim are so much like us that it made the trip that much more fun. We all had the goal of not really planning on doing anything, not following an itinerary and just going with flow. That's exactly how the weekend went. Just do whatever. We could contact each other whenever we wanted to via texting-even if it was Kim's first few times texting!

We would split up for awhile and do our own thing and then meet back up and sight see together. We were always putting $20 each couple into a machine and taking turns pulling the lever, well I pulled the lever, they just pushed the little re-bet button. I always feel luckier if I pull the lever. We put money in a huge slot machine and when I pulled the lever I actually jostled the machine and it got stuck! Oops...

We did a few of the must see Vegas landmarks. We saw the Eiffel Tower at the Paris, we saw the water fountain show at the Bellagio along with Gardens. We ate at a buffet one night. We posed with the tin man who scared the pants off of me when I walked by. Funny part is that I just told the group that that is what he does! We walked and walked and walked the strip up and down, popping into all the casinos to see what they had to offer and lose/win some money.Of course my favorite Vegas tradition has been seeing my girl Davina. This was officially my last time seeing her out in Vegas. Can't wait for her to move back to Minnesota and be closer to us all. The first night we got to Vegas we checked in to our room and headed right over to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill at Harrah's where Davina works. She of course was just getting done and we got to see her in her hot little outfit one last time! We hung out, ate dinner and I enjoyed my Whiskey Girl drink (for $12!).Me and TK just kicking back. Davina may be taking a job at a new TK Bar in the metro area and assured me that when it has it's grand opening and Toby is there that I could be her special guest! YeeHaw!By the end of the weekend we were all exhausted and almost broke. We had seen many crazy and amazing sights in Vegas. This by far is one of the funniest things-I positioned Rich's hands just right...The best $60 spent was at the Terry Fator show. Bear and I were both floored by this man's talent and in awe of all that he could do. If you get a chance to see him, just go. Guaranteed laughs and amazement.What happens when you wake up in Vegas? You drink Bloody Mary's for breakfast that's what. Rich got us to enjoy betting on horses, dogs and all kinds of sporting events. It was pretty cheap and we got to sit down and rest...

I always have stayed at Paris or Bally's in the past for conventions and as we were passing through, I pointed out the huge slot machine, AKA the Tourist Trap, and guess who had to stick a $20 in there? My husband. We had just watched some tiny Asian woman blow $50 in this machine and debate if she should put more in. She realized that there was a line forming and moved over. Bear puts his money in and on the first pull it starts dinging away and the pit boss comes around the corner to tell him he won! We had no idea how much since it quit counting at one point. The look on that poor woman's face was priceless. She was in utter shock in knowing that that would have been her next pull! It only amounted to $150 but $150 is $150. We'll take it!I changed my ringtone to Katy Perry's Waking Up in Vegas and Kim was calling my phone just to hear the song play. Randomly one of us four would bust into song as we were walking along, at a machine, in our room, at dinner...whenever! It is certainly a trip I won't forgot. I've already started getting emails from the Mirage about another trip, assuring me in getting a great deal.

Ahhh, Vegas...3 days is enough, but we will be back someday.

dedicated or goofy in the head?

My sister Tammy and I have been so dedicated to skiing in the mornings. We meet each other just before 6 am on the trail complete with headlamps strapped on. We both admit that we do better at getting out of bed when we know that the other is waiting for us. Well last Monday when we got dumped on, it was 30 degrees outside and we thought we would check and see if our trail survived the ice and snow. This is what we found when we went out that morning.

We could not believe that the snow could weigh down tree branches that much. They covered the trail and we could not get through unless we whacked the trees back to life. We would refer to our ski poles as our magic wands that would awake our sleeping trees. It was absolutely gorgeous out that morning and worth the trip out. We completed one lap on our trail in the time it usually takes us to do three! We felt pretty good about our work on the trail. Little did we know that the next afternoon when the groomer came to the trail that we actually saved the ski trail by getting the trees up out of the way! I talked to the groomer and he actually had to cut trees down to clear the trail wide enough to make a pass. We were a little biased when we cleared the trail and only stuck to one side of the trail where we normally ski classical. The middle and far side where the skate skiers go is non-functioning right now unless we get a ton of more snow. Karma.

We have a blast skiing together and don't whine every time the snow falls. I find myself smiling when I go out from work and see the new fresh snow...

Emmitt Jon

the last 2 years in review....sigh

the invite...

The invites have been sent. Can't believe that my Emmitt is turning two in just 17 short days. He is ready but I am not sure mommy and daddy are.

the day with no naps...

The day of the Gizzard run we also had a birthday party. Parker and Emmitt's 3rd cousin and bud turned 4. It was a Spongebob party with everything fun...it ended at Bronco Hill with lots of kids going down the hill having tons of fun. I could barely walk at this point, but I think it helped to keep moving my legs. There were 7 kids total and we had enough sleds for all of them and the had a blast going up and down the hill for the afternoon. The party was from 1:30-3:30 and I never would have guessed that both boys, especially Emmitt, would make it without a nap.
I tend to be the mom that sticks with routine so much that I am fearful of changing it up. I have gotten much better about it now that Emmitt is nearing two. This past holiday season we just planned ahead of time to have their schedules messed up. Funny thing is, once you accept it, it isn't so bad. I believe that if you go at it with the right attitude it'll turn out fine. This was one of those days that it worked!Garret...the big 4 year old now! I know I've said before how strange the story is of us meeting this family but I'll say it again. Jon (Garret's dad) is my 2nd cousin. His Grandpa and my Grandma were brother and sister. Jon and I had never met...until they moved to Int'l Falls and moved 2 houses away from us! He actually went to college with my girl Davina and boy David! They have 3 kids: Jake is 6, Garret is 4 and baby Gracie. All of us are so close in age it is bordering unbelievable!

Parker soon ditched the sledding hill to play in the snow fort built by the arena. He found one of the little boys he was in skating with and just played for an hour on a pile of snow. There were tunnels to crawl in and big piles to climb on.

Emmitt must have dragged that sled or tube up the hill 25 times. Jon was waiting at the top of the hill with the baby and would help Emmitt in the sled and give him a push down. He would climb up the hill, smile and say again to Jon. He was the Herb Brooks of Bronco Hill.

So the day was successful with no naps. We might just try it again soon....