Bouncing Back

Craig's mom was scheduled for carotid surgery last Friday so the family all came down Thursday night to be closer to the hospital for the 5 a.m. admission! Miriam had a blockage in her carotid artery and I had referred her to a vascular surgeon I trusted here in Milwaukee. She was in ICU by 9 and everything had gone pretty much as planned. The kids were excited to finally see mom's hospital, since they had already seen Grandma Linda's hospital when Baby Benson was born.

Miriam was awake and talking and recovering great. I took the kids home to nap and everyone else headed back to the hospital. She had a little episode where she started to cough and her blood pressure went up. Craig and his sister came home for dinner, let their mom rest and Craig's dad was planning to stay just a while longer. Craig got a call that they were taking Miriam back to surgery because her neck was much more swollen and they wanted to check things out. The coughing and high blood pressure were not a good combination on a fresh neck surgical site so the surgeon cleaned things up and she was brought back to her room.

Now Grandma Miriam is home and recovering like a champ! The kids did so well with all of our extra visits to the hospital and were even given crayons by the ICU nurses to draw pictures for grandma. Even thought it wasn't the ideal scenario, we enjoyed seeing grandma every day and having grandpa stay at the house.

In the waiting room - the tablet was a life saver to keep Drew occupied.

This is what you do when you have to go back to the hospital when it's almost bedtime.

They were pretty much convinced someone knew they were coming and purposely
put this kid-sized table in the waiting room for THEM!

The kids are adverse to coming in our bed. And those mornings when they are up
just a smidge too early, I always wished they would crawl into our bed with us until we are
ready to get up. Well, it was late after we came home from the hospital and to get them to wind them
down, I put a favorite cartoon on in our bedroom. They snuggled in and we moved them to their beds
 a short time later. Except now they are asking to watch that cartoon in our bed every night :/whoops!

School's Out

We were bumming about what to do last weekend because the weather seemed so wishy-washy. So we started out by having dinner at Friday's Front Row, which over looks the field of Miller Park. Drew was excited to be there but also confused as to why there wasn't any baseball being played and "how come Bernie Brewer wasn't going down the slide?" The kids worked off their dinner on the playground in the outfield of Helfaer Field (the old County Stadium). It is really nice play area for small kids - we basically dragged them off it and had to promise ice cream in order to get them in the car!

We also made a game-time decision to go to the Milwaukee Mile for ARCA fest - basically a car show and race. My friend had been talking about taking her 4 year old son there and that they had gone last year. When I heard there was going to be a monster truck show too, I was in. Drew has a monster truck book that Craig reads to him every night and he knows all the names of the trucks - Gravedigger, Jurassic Attack, Monster Mutt. When we got there, they had just started the 107-lap car race. Talk about NOISY!! It was so loud, I put Drew and Kelsey's hearing protectors on before we climbed into the stands - otherwise I was afraid they would be too scared to go in! But they really enjoyed all of it.

Summer break begins at 3 pm for us! No real plans for the weekend, maybe some softball. Since it's Father's Day Sunday, Craig has free reign to do what he wants. (Just hoping not to see rain and 55 in the weather forecast until November:))

Watching the grounds crew work on Miller Park while eating our dinner.

Hanging with Bernie Brewer (they look big/tall in this pic)

SO EXCITED for monster trucks!

A couple of street and motor bikes doing tricks.

Cookies are always good while you watch cars zoom past :)

The Weather is Finally Here!

We have just been soaking up the amazing weekend weather around here. We've been going for bike rides, jumping on the trampoline, swimming with the neighbors, and the zoo. And Craig is in his last 6 days of school and then all the schedule's adjust again for "summer hours" :) There's no worry about dropping or picking up kids; Craig is more flexible with his hours and then I don't get so anxious about my "on-call" hours. We are also gearing up for the kids to be starting 3K in fall. They talk about school a lot; we see it every day when we leave the sitter's house...but as soon as Kelsey heard that I would not be coming to school with her, she said, "ummm, I dough wanna go to school, mom."

Dad has to push when the battery stops - speaking of, they haven't been charging
all that well, anyone else have that problem? The battery is only a year old.

Went to the zoo to see their new "Sting Ray and Shark Bay" exhibit.

Waiting for the sting rays to swim by so you can pet them.

Watching the Macaques monkeys

A Great Message

A video production company put together an amazing YouTube film involving the crash that killed my cousin, 2 other teenage girls, and injured 6 more over two years ago. It is not only a reminder to "new" drivers but all drivers that speed limits are in place for a reason. The video contains real emotion, crash simulations, and survivors recounting what they remember from that night. It is powerful, emotional, and meaningful. For me, it wasn't just another story about how "speed kills" but listening to my aunt and uncle talk about how they found out, hearing from families that I went to school with - all brought me back to the day it happened.
Teenage Driver Safety

(Cher, something to show Braden as he gets closer to taking driver's education)

Mother's Day and Baptism

I have a little catching up to do!

On Mother's Day our sweet nephew Benson was baptized. We pretty  much rolled right out of bed and into the truck and headed an hour north. In the past, it just felt like a no-brainer that we would sit in the "family/small children" room at church but last time Drew treated it like a party - knocking on the window to get any member of the congregation's attention, playing very loudly with toys. It made it impossible for us to participate. Now it could have been age related but they were actually well-behaved during church/baptism. I felt that if they were a part of the service, exposed to the quiet, listening moments and the singing, they might be more respectful. Drew got a little loud with some trains but overall, I was pleased with their behavior. The rest of the day was beautiful and the kids were soaking it up!

(I have DEFINITELY noticed that my lack of a camera has dramatically reduced the number of pictures I've taken. I don't know if I want another camera, what brand/kind/style/function cameras are out there, and really haven't taken the time to research it - if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!)

This past weekend we celebrated Craig's birthday in Chicago with some friends. The kids had a sleepover at the sitter's and then my mom watched them at our house so they could sleep in their bed Saturday night, since we didn't get home until 10. When Drew woke up Sunday morning, he called for "mommmmmmmmmy". I opened his door and he popped up, looked at me and said, "mom, you came home!" Broke my heart a little but I guess they are at the age where they understand when we leave and are able to verbalize their feelings about it! 

The country club pool opens this weekend and that means Craig begins his summer job. I hope to get the kids outside and start working on the yard. Holiday weekend also means being on-call at work for me. I'm getting it over with early this year and then do not have to worry about the other 2 summer holidays ;)

Time For A Check-up

I totally forgot that we had the kids appt 2 wks ago!! Since the last couple times we have been to the doctor's office were a total fail as far as behavior, I had low expectations. They are big enough now to stand on a regular scale and while Drew was first in line to get it done, Kelsey had to be coaxed/bribed/physically placed on the scale! She can be so shy, she hangs her head to hide from people and then we couldn't get a good height measurement. Then they ran into the exam room and it was a bit chaotic til we finished. She did a lot more asking Kelsey and Drew questions directly and if Kels was in her mood, she just said, "no" to everything...neat. But overall, everyone came out with a good report. Her only push was for the kids to start using "real" toothpaste with fluoride. We are still using training paste because they still swallow it; and only spit cuz hey, mom and dad are telling us it's okay to spit! So I would prefer to work on spitting appropriately before switching. Kelsey is a whopping 2lbs and 1in bigger than Drew. I had bets that she was heavier because she certainly feels like it!! She is still up there on the height chart for girls at 85% and even though Drew is only slightly shorter, the boy chart is so different that he falls to 50%. The doc filled out our preschool paperwork and we lucked out with no shots this time:)

This past weekend we headed up to Wausau for a combo birthday/confirmation party for Craig's niece and nephew. The kids were having so much fun with their cousins, they didn't go to bed til 11! Which meant they slept like rocks all night and Kelsey crashed in church after 15 min. And then Drew fell asleep within minutes of being strapped in the car seat and proceeded to sleep the entire 3 hour drive home. It was a lot of driving and busy weekend but such a nice, loving time with family.

Craig with his godson/nephew Braden

(We had so much fun playing that I sadly did not get any pictures of the kids with their cousins :( )

Easter

At Grandma Alice's, pulling the garden decor out of her garage

Drew just kills me with this pose.

The weather cooperated for some sidewalk chalk

Aunt Mary investigating Kelsey's dress (it was handmade by our sitter, Arlene!)

Hanging with cousin Jen

And then this happens; Drew had been eyeing up grandpa's motorized cart from the moment we walked past it. Grandpa mostly uses it on any long trips. So we told Drew to go ask for a ride!

Probably a little bit of heaven for the both of them!

And would you expect any less from my sister?? (I don't know if Kelsey is terrified or being silly)