A Week Well Spent!

Lucy loves flowers and Big Nani's got a ton to smell and pick for her!

We had a great time this last holiday weekend. Friday night I unfortunetly had to work at the auction house and the auctioneering didn't end until around 10:45! Needless to say I was cranky and tired by the time I made it home but that was the end of the "bad" in a long weekend of fun. On Sat. morning/afternoon, we had decided to take the whole family fishing in Keith's boat that he co-owns with his friends Chad and Jeff. The boat has tall sides so we figured that would lesson the chance that one of the kids would fall out! We packed a lunch, took some toys along in case the kids got antsy and a book for me in case the kids behaved! Keith decided that he wanted to go to La Su Ann which I had never been too. It was a little bit of a drive but the kids were great and Ella took her morning nap on the way. Keith, being the ever optimist thought he may get some fishing done on the trip. Well, he did, but unfortunetly I think the kids were a bit too loud and the fish wouldn't bite!! Gideon fished about 2 minutes before he was ready to eat and so by the time we got sunscreen on, food ate, diapers on and a cruise around the lake, there wasn't a whole lot of actually fishing time. We had fun though and were out about an hour and a half. The kids all slept on the way home and it was a very relaxing afternoon. We spent the evening at BW3's (Buffalo Wild Wings)with friends and then took a hike at Independence Dam. Gideon kept saying he wanted to go to the "Dam Park" which was totally correct but sounded really bad. Keith and I could hardly keep straight faces! We kept shushing him as he said it over and over again!

On Sunday, after church we grabbed a quick lunch and decided to try our luck fishing again this time at Harrison Lake. The weather was warmer and the Carp were sucking away on the sides of the lake (it sounds like they are kissing if you have never heard it) so there was more entertainment for the kids. Gideon lasted a lot longer fishing and Keith got to fish for about an hour (with distractions of course). All in all we were probably on the boat for around 2 1/2 hours that time! It was a great test for vacation up north with the kids to see what we'll need to take and just how long they'll last on the boats.

Monday was an absolute beautiful day! It was around 85 degrees and sunny! We headed to Liberty Center for the Memorial Day Parade so the kids could see Big Papa march with a flag. However...the paper was wrong on the time and we just saw the end of the parade but we still got to see big papa hold the flag and hear the guns shooting. Big papa gave Gideon one of the gun shells when it was all over and taught him how to whistle with it. He couldn't do it at first but by the end of the day he was whistling away! We had a BBQ chicken lunch at Big Papa and Big Nani's (my grandparents) and then Keith, Gideon and my cousin Craig went fishing back at the pond for the remainder of the afternoon. I've never been able to actually see the fish bite at the hook in the water before but it was really cool! We would see a large bass in the water and Keith/Craig would cast a line out and watch the fish chase after it and grab hold! Craig was nice enough to catch a bull frog for Gideon and Lucy which they completely loved! They chased it around and Lucy almost stepped on it! We ended up going up for icecream at the Dugout and then supper back at the house before heading home. The kids were dirty, tired and happy when we left! It was a great day and a great end to a beautiful weekend!

This week, Keith is gone for tonight until tomorrow at the "Big Walmarts" that's what Gideon calls it, which is unfortunete because today at 4:00 is Lucy's big appointment. I have to brave it with all three! We'll see how much I can hear without distraction! Mom's going to bring us supper so we won't have to worry about fixing something! She said maybe Panera or Pizza (she's in class in Toledo this afternoon)!! So we are excited for that special treat!

It's really pretty today but cold again. I am ready for warmer days. After the taste of summer on Sat, Sun and Mon I am anxious for warmer mornings and days! Hope all is well with everyone! Well give an update later on Lucy's appointment!

Poor Pretty Lucy

Well, we have had quite a week with our little Lucy girl. Early in the week her and Gideon (during a "quiet time" in their room) got into their first fight! Gideon recieved a large scratch down his face from Lucy after which he proceeded to give her a strong shove...pushing her into our textured walls....causing the side of her face to get torn up a bit and bleed. I came in at the blood curling scream from Lucy...all I had to do was look at Gideon and he was in tears. In less than a minute they were hugging eachother and crying..both saying "I'm Sorry" actually Lucy was saying "I Sowee Bubba....I Sowee..." it was really cute despite my having to have the discipline face on I had to grin a bit.

The rest of the week went smooth. On Friday night we took a trip to my cousin's in Perrysburg to pick up some heirloom furniture for the girls. We had a really good time catching up with them and the kids had a lot of fun playing!

On Saturday we headed to the lake to celebrate Jim and Jay's birthdays with a hotdog roast and of course...fishing for the men! This time though, Les and Nancy and I got to get out a bit without the kids as well. There is a big old house in Fayette that whenever Nancy and I drive by we always say...I wish we could see the inside of that....and on Saturday we actually got too. A local couple that runs several bed and breakfasts has been redoing that one as a b&b as well and they had an open house. It was an old doctors house. Dr Rorick. Keith's great grandma actually cleaned in the house for the doctor and his family when she was a young girl. The woodwork was awesome! It hada big open staircase in the entery way 4 bedrooms upstairs and one down. It also had a back staircase for the servants to come upstairs from the kitchen....it was really neat...and we enjoyed our time out!

Well anyway...on Sat night Lesley happened to ask if I had ever noticed any of my kids being Cock-eyed. I said.....as a matter of fact I've thought I've seen Lucy's eyes looking a little off at times but I never thought much of it....she said that Josh was just diagnosed as being cock-eyed and that if neither set of Grandparents had an obvious cock-eyed disposition and none of the children did that each grandchild would have it. He said that in most of the kids we wouldn't even notice it but.....I have in Lucy...the more I watched her and put two and two togethor the more I noticed how every time she really looks hard at something she turns her head to the side and her eyes go a little cock eyed....so needless to say I've been nervous...I was already nervous about her and her sudden choking on food and drooling out of the blue and I mentioned that to Les too and she said that Jacob began doing that at Lucy's age and eventually had sleep apnea which led to the realization that his tonsils were too large and he had to have them removed.

So....needless to say Lucy has a doctors appointment on Wed. the 28th that we would appreciate prayer for. Dr Bourn will examine her throat and her eyes and more than likely we will at that point be referred to a pediatric optomologist in Toledo. I just hope Lucy doesn't have to have a patch over her eye all summer or glasses! But....I would rather deal with it now than later!

So anyway poor little Lucy is quite a mess right now...and so is her mommy for that matter. I feel like a bad mother that I never put two and two togethor before for her...I'm her mom...I should know better! Hope all is well! Love to all!

A Great Day

Well yesterday was a great Mother's Day...my husband suprised me with cards from the kids entitled "I love Mommy Because...." They were great! The kids also gave me 2 king sized Milky Way Candy Bars...Yum Yum and daddy bought me a massage at Kneading Soles (the massage therapy clinic in Archbold), then they took me out to Panera Bread and Coldstone for lunch! Even though the weather was crummy in the morning we had a great time. The kids were on their best behavior. We got a Grilled Cheese/ Go-Gurt meal for them to share but they didn't eat much of that....they ate a lot of daddy's wild rice vegetable soup, a sourdough roll and half of our greek salad...next time we'll just get one more "You Pick Two" for them to share! We ended the day with the sun barely shining on a bike ride after daddy fixed up the bikes! Mom and Dad came over for a spontaneous supper and then we all sat on the couch togethor and told stories (daddy fell asleep) It was a great day and I felt royally blessed to have 2 unique and amazing mothers and to be blessed myself with 3 awesome kids! I praise God for his blessings of allowing me to be a mother even though I am not the best by far and not worthy of such an awesome gift!
The rest of the week was really good too. We went to Big Nani and Big Papa's on Wednesday and had a great time. The kids absolutely love spending time with my grandma and grandpa as do I! They played with Scout,raced cars on the kitchen floor and swang on the porch swing with Big Papa. We of course had to visit the barn (Gideon Loves the Barn) and we picked some asparagus with Big Nani! It was a great day!
On Friday night we went to my mom and dad's for a great supper. Mom's been making dandelion green salads this spring a lot. I know it sounds weird....it's actually really good! Tastes just like arugala or wild spring mix greens you get at the grocery plus...it's really cheap!!
Saturday we spent most of the day trying to put up our porch swing to no avail. We struggled to find studs and then when we found them and went to put the swing up.....the chains were too small!! Frustrating! So...hopefully tonight we can get it up today after Keith purchases some new hooks!
We went for supper at Keith's mom's on Sat night...Pizza! Yum Yum...Then we all went down to the park to play while the men fished....Gideon however wanted to fish with Keith and his dad so Grammy and Lucy and Ella and I went to beach park to swing and slide. Well... the big news of the weekend was that Gideon caught his first 2 fish all by himself...he casted, caught and reeled all by himself and brought in one croppy and one bluegill ! I was so proud of him. Daddy didn't catch anything but said that it was a ton of fun anyway just seeing Gideon's face and excitement! Keith's dad ended up catching some more and fileting them later. It was great! I was so proud of him!! He's ready for vacation up north this summer now!
Hope everyone is doing well!! Love to all!

Ella Bella

Here's our little Spiterella ( that 's what Gideon calls her on account of her spitting so much)

Our Brave Boy

As you can see...little Gid had his shots so he can go to preschool in the fall. They suggest now, I guess that you just go ahead and get immunization shots before they go to any school. Before Kindergarten is just your last chance to get them done. We decided to get it overwith since Ella is going every 2 months for them...we go to the health department for cheaper shots at 7 dollars a piece rather than 30 at the actual doctors office! Gideon went first so Ella's all out wail wouldn't scare him. I had a long talk with him about it yesterday we even went so far as to get out a sewing needle and giving ourselves a little poke to try and prepare him....he did pretty well with the first 2 pokes for DTap and polio. He just screamed ouch and cried...by the second two...Chicken pox and MMR he all out screamed... i don't think I have ever heard him yell that loud....but as soon as they were done he stopped crying.He said on the way home...."mommy, i didn't do very good because I cried" I said... "Gideon.....you did awesome....everybody cries when they get shots...even mommy and daddy did". By the time we got home he was showing off his bandaid! He was even comforting Ella who recieved 4 shots herself. He was one brave little boy!

4 MONTHS OLD!

I'm 4 Months Old

Well, Ella is officially 4 months old and quite a chunk! She is just a little bit smaller than her brother at 4 month.... 16 1/2 lbs! Gid was 17lbs. She is growing like a weed and has just this past week started pursing her lips togethor and spitting in enjoyment! It's really cute. Her brother and sister make her laugh with their silliness and she's very easily tickled so mom and dad love to make her giggle as well. She's not sleeping through the night real well yet but we do have an every other night thing going on currently. At first everybody thought she looked just like me and Gideon but she is really changing. I'm not quite sure who she looks like! She almost always has really rosy cheeks and there's no missing her big blue eyes! I am really liking her (and all of ours actually) new Doctor, Jana Bourn. She is my age...or actually Brad's but almost my age...anyway she is really easy to talk to and very understanding. She's not really very aggresive which I like....she doesn't seem to get all out of shape about something but stays calm and analytical. I really enjoy talking to her as a friend not just as our doctor.

This past week was fairly uneventful. Other than cleaning the house and losing my voice the first part of the week not much new happened. I did learn one thing....it's really hard to discipline kids with no voice....for some reason they just don't get the severity of their behavior when the lecture is whispered!

For the weekend we kept busy hanging out with family in town and going to my friend Stephanie's baby shower. It was a beautiful weekend but really windy. I almost couldn't walk to my mailbox to get the mail on Sat afternoon! I guess that's just life livin' in Northwest Ohio! Hope all are doing well!