Boys Playing

I was feeling good enough this week to get out back with the boys and take some updated pictures. Emmitt has just turned 18 months! He is growing taller by the day. It takes some time away from the kids to see the subtle changes...after being gone a couple of days, I definitely noticed the growth spurt.

Parker has been a big help to me. He is really willing to get something for me if I need him to. He plays nicely by himself sometimes too, if I need him to. The weather hasn't been that great lately so the inside playing changes his mood daily. Some days he is content to play nicely with toys or coloring or stickers but other times, there is nothing that is going to hold his attention and he walks around complaining.
Sniffing some daisy flowers...momma's favorite.

He is such a big boy. I am lucky I can even get him to turn towards me to take a picture of his face. And this is about the best smile I'm gonna get.

Both boys are infatuated with riding on the lawn tractor. Bear can hardly drive with any speed holding onto both boys and steering the massive thing! It's cute to see them cover their ears when they are on it but grinning the whole time. It is inevitable, when they are forced to get off, that we will see the tears.

The boys are starting to fight a bit more when playing together. Every 5 minutes Parker is running up to me saying but mom, I had it first and Emmitt just take it away from me and that's not nice...I think what Parker isn't realizing is that Emmitt is finally starting to fight back!

The looks I usually get from both boys...

Happy 8th Anniversary

I pulled this post from last year...but added a year! Wow 8 years since we got hitched...it's fun to go back and look at those pics. Tonight when I get home from my trip, I am going to force him to watched the video of our wedding. I should have that thing converted to a DVD before it's gone. Maybe we'll whip out the scrapbooks too...Happy Anniversary Bear!

08/18/01

Here is our marital blessing


A favorite of my sweet hubby-I love the looks of the guys from behind him


Because you all know my husband does not dance...this is a great pic-I am fairly certain it was his one and only "fast" dance...EVER


My Milo walking me down the aisle


Sweet newly wed kiss...

I will never forget this great poem that gina wrote for us and had the girls read during the dinner...it was truly a hit with everyone there...people still talk about it 7 years later!

Here it is~

We want to tell you about how they met,
Something neither us nor them will soon forget-
Becky looked at me not so long ago, pointed at Barrett and proudly said,
I’m gonna marry that man one day-someday, somehow, we will be wed.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, please understand,
Regardless of her master plan
We had plenty of work to do,
For who Becky was, Barrett hadn’t a clue!
We did things we won’t mention
In order to attract Barrett’s attention…
We followed him from practice to class
And giggled each time he passed

Then Becky called me late one night
Her voice full of excitement and fright
And said,
You’ll never believe what I just did!
Guess! No, wait, I’ll tell you instead!
I just called Barrett and asked him on a date…
For Becky just could not be patient and wait.

And so the fairytale goes,
How it really ended up here, Lord only knows,
We remember hearing all about that first date
That love-filled dance in the driveway,
We all knew that it was fate
And from that they’ve never strayed

May the tears your cry, be tears of joy.
May you grow old on one pillow
May you change looking in the same direction
May “for better or worse” be far better than worse.
May you never forget what is worth remembering
Or remember what is worth forgetting.

May your love be like the wind-
Strong enough to move the clouds
Soft enough never to hurt
But always never ending.

As you sit side-by-side through this roller coaster of life-
Remember to scream from the peaks,
Hold hands through the dips,
Laugh through the upside-down flips
And enjoy every turn and twist-
For the ride is better,
because you share it together.

Here’s to love and laughter
And happily ever after
As Mr. and Mrs. start their new life
Join with us in toasting the new husband and wife!

I spoke too soon...

So the other day when I posted, I was all "things are moving in the right direction" and "I'm feeling better today"...blah, blah, blah! Well Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were some of the worst days I have had. Granted-day 2 of the surgery post-op was pretty darn crappy. But I really thought I was doing better and by the weekend, I would be feeling pretty good. I think it was mental. I knew that I had a business trip Monday (today) and Tuesday that I had to go on for my corporate job and I think it psyched me out a bit. Everytime Bear looked at me this past weekend, he would just shake his head and say "I don't think you are gonna make it, I don't know how you are going to be able to travel"...well by Sunday afternoon, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I slept off and on all day Sunday while my children played nearby basically unattended. Bear was working. I let Parker watch movies all day long, one he watched twice! Then by lunch time (a late lunch) I made soft tortilla shells with melted mozzarella cheese in them for the boys. I took a tiny bite of Emmitt's and could swallow it! Hallelujah! So I made myself a taco shell surprise and could almost eat the whole thing. Super slow going though, but it went down fairly easily. A call to my mom for advice and we came to the conclusion that the "scabs" (I am so sorry, I know it's gross) are starting to come off and that fresh new skin underneath is creating a different pain. Holy COW! Sometimes water hurts going down?! I took a nap Sunday with the boys ate 500 freezie pops, packed my suitcase, said a prayer and went to bed. Monday morning I woke up bright and early, got ready and headed to the airport to catch the 7 am flight. Slept on the plane, drank a can of apple juice and made it through the flight. The guy next to me was a talkative one, so I told him my deal and he was cool with it. By the time I got my rental car and my ginormous smoothie from a coffee shop I was good to go. I drove the 45 minutes through Monday Morning Traffic in the Metro Area and made it to the club's Open House...just in time to meet the mayor and participate in the ribbon cutting! I only drank water and tea all day. Amazing what you can get used to without eating. But I don't feel just right-not crabby-but not happy go lucky Becky by any means. By 1 pm I am wiped out. I have a few slices of cheese-I think it's a new staple-I love cheese! More water and by 5:30 pm, I am heading out the door. More rush hour traffic, but I check in to my hotel...told the guy at the counter my sob story (usually it's because I talk soft now and they ask their question again...I apologize, say I had my tonsils out last week and say my answer again...) and he bumps me up to a king jacuzzi for no extra charge! You just gotta ask. I think I cried a little when I saw the tub! I head down to dinner, order water, a 7 up and soup...then I try the fettuccine alfredo...explain my story to the server...sprinkled some salt in my 7 Up to make it "non-bubbly". Manage to get some of the broth and veggies down...then some noodles! Ahhhh...food! Not feeling so crabby anymore. Rip the inside of my toasted bread out and soak it in the alfredo sauce-which was probably low cal right? I ask for a go box for the 3/4 of the food I can't eat. Get back to the room. Fill up the tub. Watch The Women movie I brought along on my laptop, in the tub, wearing ear buds and ahhhhh relaxed! Maybe this trip is also-meant to be....

on the road to good health...

Well I am glad the worst is probably over with. This whole tonsillectomy really sucks! I am a true believer of things happen for a reason. First Bear didn't think he could drive me, so my sister and mom stepped up to take me down to Duluth. Then Bear thought he could, but I said I would stick with the girls. Then while I am in surgery, Bear is at home barfing his guts out with the flu! I mean, can you imagine him being 160 miles away from home sick at the hospital waiting for me to come out of surgery??? I know! Then, since he is home sick, I have strict orders to not go near big crowds or people with the flu...I cannot even fathom the idea of throwing up on these sore tonsils-or what used to be tonsils. So I stay at my mom's house. Her hubby is out of town for the 2 days, so it's just her and I. Who better than to take care of you while you are sick than your momma? I know! So she gets me up to par as best as I'm going to be and gets me delivered home to Bear who is feeling a bit better after 3 days. I have great daycare who kept my boys overnight at a sleepover and a sister who kept them another night. I have spare bedrooms and a cool basement to quarantine myself to and a freezer full of Popsicles. It all just turned out the best that it could. It definitely is sore to swallow, but I think each day is getting better. I had to quit the pain meds...yuck, for one. And two, they make me dizzy, give me a headache, make me nauseous and soooo tired. So I am only taking ibuprofen for the pain, but am handling it well.
The doctor said it was time to have those tonsils out. He came out to tell my family that I was out of surgery and that I actually had bacteria granules harboring in my tonsils! Ick! They were just in there waiting to get me sick again. I am hoping that after this is all over with, that I am not sick all winter. Another (funny) thing the doctor said was about the adenoid. I had told my mom and sister that if he wants to take that out too once he is in there to tell him to "go ahead". Well they asked about the adenoid when visiting with him and he replied with "she doesn't have one"...Well where did it go? Apparently once you become an adult your adenoid just disappears and your body absorbs it. You only have one when you are little! They were dumbfounded and a bit giggly after that! That story brought a smile to my face immediately.
The weather has been so hot that it is easy to put the boys in their swimsuits after daycare and let them play outside. So it's safe to say that I am on the road to good health. I have been able to eat some eggs, jello, lots of water and juice, Popsicles....I tried the Girl Scout Thin Mint blizzard last night and that didn't go so well...the dairy products don't go down so easy. So the whole "eat lots of ice cream" doesn't really apply to me.
Thanks to all of the "get well" wishes! I appreciate it...off to go take a nap!