Preppy Mommy

Artwork

2010-09-23T00:47:00.005-04:00

I have noticed some amazing changes in Andrew recently. He has always loved books, loved to read, play games, and things like that. He hasn't really been much into coloring or drawing. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was born with a hot pink crayon in her hand!! She LOVES to draw, and has since an early age. Even before she could really write, she'd scribble squiggly lines on paper, like she was writing a real sentence!

All of a sudden, over about the past month, Andrew has really started to draw and write. When they are little, their drawings and doodles are just so precious I had to share.

This one on green was done this past Sunday in church during the sermon. I believe it's the back of the church council nominee form. I call it "3 flowers on a hill" by Andrew!!

The next one is also by Andrew, done on some plain paper with some of those little Crayola markers. I'm not sure, but I believe it may be a family portrait...do you see the four people standing there? Complete with green grass, blue sky & sunshine!! I think I'm going to frame this one!

While Andrew was searching through the markers and paper, we came across this drawing. I'm sure this was done by Elizabeth - that is how she used to make her "people", with the exaggerated hands and feet, complete with fingers and toes!! She must have been right around Andrew's age, perhaps age 3! So cute!

So precious to see children's artwork...and I especially love it when they put their creations up on the fridge by themselves!! Enjoy!

Good-bye, long hair!!

2010-09-15T21:07:00.010-04:00

We are so proud of our Preppy Girl!!! She has been growing her hair since about kindergarten. Not really even sure why, exactly - we grew her bangs out, and then it just started from there! We've had the ends trimmed a few times in the past two years, but that's been about it. Over the summer, she decided that she wanted to cut her hair....SHORT! We told her that was fine, but let's wait a couple of months to make sure it's what she really wanted. (Because kids are never fickle, especially little girls, right?!!) Well, she decided that she really wanted her hair cut, especially after seeing some of her little friends come back to school with some super cute short hair cuts. We talked about it, and decided that we would have her hair cut at my salon, where they donate hair to a great organization, Children With Hairloss. My good friend and stylist, Amy, did the honors!

There's no turning back now!!

Look at all that hair!!

And the final result - a super cute short hair-cut!! (and very preppy with the plaid headband, right?!!) She is thrilled with her new 'do, and we couldn't be more proud of her act of kindness!

We love you, Preppy Girl!!

xoxo,
daddy & mommy

Preppy Boy - Back to Preschool!

2010-09-14T23:28:00.007-04:00

After patiently waiting for two weeks while Sissy had all the fun, Preppy Boy started his second year of preschool on Monday! Or, as he likes to call it, "Big-Boy School!" He will go 3 days a week, and is very excited (as you can tell from the picture! haha!) He is clearly not as excited about posing for pictures as his sister, but that's alright - at least I got one good one for the scrapbook! Last year, he went to preschool 2 days a week, and this year he'll go 3 days a week (which is pretty typical). On the way home from his first day, he was telling me all about it, and I told him that he'll get to back two more times this week! He smiled at first, but then his face fell and he said, "That's IT?!!" I explained to him that he can keep going all year - not just this week! haha!! I reminded him to do his best, play nicely with the other children, listen to his teacher, etc....

Let's just hope he doesn't actually do THIS at school!!

Crafty Post!

2010-09-09T17:27:00.010-04:00

Alright, we are back to school and in the swing of things! Preppy Girl is in 2nd grade this year, and is apparently going to have Spanish two times a week. There was a note in her assignment book (yes, assignment book!!) saying that she needed to bring in a small 3-ring binder for Spanish. Since I am ~~a nerd~~ obsessed with office supplies, of course I happened to have some 3-ring binders at home with the clear pocket covers. The scrapbooker in me couldn't just send in the blank binder, so this is what I came up with! I had an extra binder and enough material to make one for Preppy Girl's little bff. Of course Preppy Hubby thinks I'm absolutely crazy, but in the next breath, said that he wishes his mother could see it because she'd get a kick out of it! See, deep down he's on board with my obsessive ways!!

I found those adorable clip-art images of the little spanish doll and maracas and thought they were so cute! Probably more age-appropriate (and Christian-school appropriate!) than the margaritas I was going to use!! HaHa!! just kidding....HaPpy BAcK to sChOoL!

Preppy Summer!

2010-09-07T22:59:00.004-04:00

We've had quite an exciting summer...preppy girl finally learned how to ride her bike without the training wheels, and preppy boy is much more confident on his little bike!! Many thanks to Papa and Grandma Stedry, who really can take all the credit. She learned while staying at their house for the weekend, then came home and perfected her new skills! Now all they want to do is go outside and ride bikes, which makes me sooo happy!! They both used to be a little afraid before - Elizabeth has even taken a couple of spills, but gets right back up and keeps on riding! Way to go! And don't they look good...madras just makes everything better in my opinion!! wink! ; )

Preppy Girl

Preppy Boy

2nd Grade, here we are!!

2010-09-03T03:07:00.006-04:00

Ok, I know it's been waaayyy too long, but I'm going to start posting again!! Can you believe our Elizabeth is in 2nd grade this year? It hardly seems possible! The theme for her school this year is from Psalm 139: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." This is one of my favorite verses...and could not be more appropriate! Here are some pictures of Elizabeth on her first day, sporting her new (and very preppy!) backpack. I want to be sure to add that she picked it our herself, no suggestion from mommy at all, I swear!! (Which makes me even more proud! haha!)

At the Lake!

2009-08-13T01:30:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to spend time with some dear friends that have moved to the west side of the state. They have a small lake in their backyard, complete with a little beach for swimming, and a dock for fishing! The weather was great, and the kids had a wonderful time! I wasn't sure how my "city kids" would like swimming in the lake (they typically avoid getting their feet dirty!!) but they loved it! My friend Jenny pushed their play structure up to the waters' edge and the kids used it as a water slide - it was so cute!!

Summer Fun!

2009-08-11T23:47:00.002-04:00

Sorry to have been away for so long - we have been having a great summer, filled with lots of fun and friends! Elizabeth and I have been to Chicago, where we saw "Mary Poppins" at the theatre and had dinner at American Girl. We also came home with a new doll - a sister for Bitty Baby!! We recently visited the "West Side" of our state of Michigan, and stayed with friends in the Grand Rapids suburbs. Their new house is on a small lake, and we spent a few relaxing days swimming and fishing! Now that we are back at home, we are still enjoying what's left of our summer break, by staying cool in the pool at our health club. Andrew and Elizabeth had swim lessons there ealier in the summer, and are enjoying practicing what they've learned. We still have a few weeks left of vacation before school starts up again, and Michigan has finally decided to give us some nice, hot weather! Will post some pics of summer fun soon, as soon as my computer gets it's "glitch fixed!" More soon!

Wordless Wednesday...

2009-02-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

Here's one for wordless Wednesday...."crump teeth"....'nuff said!!

Fashion!!!

2009-02-04T01:58:00.003-05:00

Ok Aunt Stacey...here is my first photostory attempt...this is addicting!!! I already have some good ideas for some more!!! This is just a snippet of Elizabeth (and Andrew!) with different outfits, hairstyles, etc. Enjoy!!

Christmas Day!!

2009-02-04T00:03:00.003-05:00

Andrew, rockin' out with his new drum from Grandma & Papa...as soon as opened it, he picked up the sticks, raised them up, clicked them together while shouting "one, two, fee, fow" and then started banging...just like a rock star! I still don't know where he got that - but it was funny!!

Elizabeth with a favorite gift...a doll from Aunt Stacey that came with a bunch of hair-styling accessories...lots of fun!!

'twas the night before Christmas...

2009-02-02T23:45:00.004-05:00

Sorry, Christmas Eve...in February! Here we are getting ready for church - don't they look sweet in their Christmas outfits??!

and, 'twas the night before Christmas...cookies and diet Coke, ready for Santa!! (At our house, Santa prefers diet Coke to milk...at least it's better than my brother, who leaves a Bud Light for Santa...my mother frowns on that one!)

Christmas card photo shoot...

2009-01-28T23:12:00.003-05:00

Here is the photo I ended up using in my Christmas cards this year...I had big plans to order some photo cards online, but the closer we got to Christmas (and I still had no appropriate photo...)the prices kept going up! It would have cost close to $250 for like, 50 cards...and I just couldn't justify it! So, I ended up buying some cards at HomeGoods, printing this picture on my home printer and sticking it inside the cards! Not quite Martha Stewart, but good enough, right?!

Here is one of the pictures that didn't make it to the final cut...!!! Cute, though!!!

Thanksgiving...

2009-01-27T23:39:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth and her kindergarten class put on an adorable program as part of their annual Thanksgiving Feast at her school...the whole family was invited and fun was had by all!

Sadly, this is not my 3rd child...it's our friend's baby, Reed - taking part in our family picture!

Elizabeth and some of the other "pilgrim" girls!!

Catching up!!!

2009-01-26T23:12:00.006-05:00

Oh my...it has been quite a while since our last post! In fact, several holidays have passed, and we are in a new season here in MI...COLD!!! I'll update over the next several days...then we have some exciting new things to post about!

First, here are some Halloween pics...

Elizabeth was a funky ballerina!

Andrew was our adorable indian!

We had lot of fun trick-or-treating with our friends, then enjoying a neighborhood bonfire!

Fall photos...

2008-10-19T23:10:00.005-04:00

Today we enjoyed a beautiful fall afternoon, planting shrubs, moving landscape stones, and playing outside...

here is Elizabeth posing in the front yard...

and here is Andrew running up and down the sidewalk screaming, "Leaves!! Leaves!! Please come back!!" as leaves blew in the wind...what fun!!!

Happy Fall!!!

2008-10-08T22:52:00.005-04:00

Just a quick post to say "Happy Fall!!!" We've been holding down the fort while preppy daddy took a much-deserved trip up north (he's been under a lot of stress, with the filming of his new T.V. series "Lipstick Jungle" and all)...I took the kids outside and snapped a few quick shots to try out a super-cute card design I found here on McMommy's blog. I actually used one of the pictures I took and ordered some cute Halloween cards, and am so excited with the way they turned out, I will probably use Doodlebug Dezigns for our Christmas cards, too! Now I just need to plan out the Christmas card pictures...wish me luck!

Sunday Fun-Day

2008-09-28T21:32:00.002-04:00

We have had a fun weekend...literally! We went to two different "family fun festivals" this weekend...Oktoberfest in Rochester Hills on Saturday with some friends and their little girl. That was very fun...we had a nice adult dinner and then pony rides and bounce houses for the kids! Elizabeth was unsure of the pony at first, but Andrew hopped right on...they gave him the littlest pony named "Peanut"! ha-ha! The second time around, Elizabeth did decide to join in and had lots of fun!
So today after church was our congregation's annual car show and family fun festival! Again, more bounce houses (this one had a slide!) and kiddie games, etc. Last year, Elizabeth won a goldfish...he's in heaven now, so she really tried to win another one, but no luck! (whew!) I was working the games, and preppy daddy was busy watching the kids, so we didn't get any pictures, but here is a picture from the same festival a few years ago...Elizabeth is so little, and I was pregnant with Andrew!
Now we have to rest up for a busy week of school!

Torture Tuesday....

2008-09-23T21:53:00.003-04:00

Yikes...I went to the podiatrist today because I have been having some foot pain. I've been running and working out with my awesome friend, Bridget, who is training for her first half-marathon, and the pain has been gradually getting worse and worse, so I figured it was time to get it looked at. The nice Dr. took about 3 x-rays and determined that there were no breaks. Tendinitis. Next he says we'll just do a quick cortisone shot and see how that goes...yikes! As soon as I see the needle I start squirming...I've had 2 children, but I still don't like needles! Anyway, relax he says...it looks like it's going to hurt a lot more than it actually will...well, let me just say, it DID hurt as much as I thought that it would, and then maybe a little more! EEKK!! So I hobbled home, laid around with the laptop LITERALLY on my lap, and pretty much waiting until it's time to go to bed so I can take some strong pain-killers. I asked preppy hubby for a ~~stong shot of jack daniels~~ night-cap, but he suggested I just try and get some sleep! We'll see how it goes...

Monday Meme...

2008-09-22T23:16:00.008-04:00

Ok, so since there is nothing exciting happening around here, either...I am taking a great idea from Beth over at Little Princess Chronicles and doing the meme the she recently posted.

Rules: Post a current picture of you and your children & answer the questions below:

*Although this is not a recent picture, it does make me laugh and brings back memories! Shortly after Andrew was born, I worked for a bit at a little scrapbook store, and when I got home this is how I was usually greeted!!*

Anyway, here goes the meme:

1. How many children do you have? Two

2. What are their ages? 5 and 2 1/2

3. What time do you usually start you day? Now that school has started, 7:00 a.m.

4. What do they eat for breakfast? Neither one are big breakfast eaters...usually a few bites of a pop-tart and some apple juice.

5. Do they watch television? Yes, we try to keep it just kid shows with minimal commercials. Current favorites are "Charlie & Lola" and "Curious George"

6. What is their favorite activity? Besides chasing each other around the house and screaming at the top of their lungs, going for walks and playing outside!

7. Do you get a break during the day for "you" time? Since school has started, Andrew and I have been going to the gym a lot during the week...he goes into the child-care area and I work out...I consider that "me" time! He will then usually nap a bit in the afternoon before we have to go pick up preppy girl from school.

8. What is your normal bedtime routine? Bath, p.j.'s, snack and snuggling/reading books. Then prayers and tuck into bed.

9. How do you end your day? Either working in my scrapbook area, fiddling on my new computer (trying to figure out itunes, my new digital camera, etc.!) all kinds of fun stuff! When I get bored with that, there's always bugging preppy hubby with too many questions during a complicated movie!! (He just loves that!)

10. What's your best parenting advice or tip? My youngest has some health concerns, and I got this tidbit from an unlikely source...after I was fretting about the potential damage that had unknowingly been done before he was correctly diagnosed with multiple food allergies...it went along this line..."Hey, we're all out there just trying to do the best we can as parents, trying to make the best decisions possible with the information that we have." I can't take credit for it, but I like it!

Wordless Wednesday...

2008-09-17T13:42:00.004-04:00

Wordless Wednesday...when a 5-year-old
does her own hair...enough said!!!

"Jesus Loves Me"

2008-09-04T22:07:00.003-04:00

I had to post this...I didn't even realize he knew all the words to "Jesus Loves Me" until he belted it out in the car the other day...so cute!!

First day of Kindergarten!!

2008-08-26T22:37:00.004-04:00

Here she is...our big kindergarten girl!!! She had a half-day today, full day tomorrow and Thursday, then off for Labor Day weekend. She really liked it & said she had a lot of fun! Her teacher seems really nice, and we've heard lots of good things about her from other parents at the school. We did okay at home without her...Andrew was missing his partner in crime a little bit, but we went to the gym with our friends and he had fun there! One thing that may be an issue...Elizabeth is pretty concerned that tomorrow during "rest time", she won't have taggie & lambie, and "doesn't know how she's going to get to sleep"! Hmm...

She was tired tonight, and was asking when it was time to go to bed...we'll have to get off our relaxed summer schedule and into our school routine!

Time is going by so fast...pretty soon Andrew will be there too!

Reunion!!

2008-08-17T22:06:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness...I am dating myself here, but I just got back from my 20-year high school reunion!!! I was so nervous to go...I almost backed out at the last minute, but am so glad to have gone! It was even more fun than the 10 year. It was so neat to reconnect with many people I hadn't seen since h.s./college...very fun to share family photos, and found out that a few people live near us! I am going to try and find some h.s. pictures to scan to compare with the ones taken this weekend. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I have really fond memories of high school...it was a happy time for me. You know how some people maybe were homecoming queen, voted "most likely to succeed", etc - guess what I was voted? Yes, that's right...I was voted "Biggest Preppie"! My prize was a bottle of spray starch, and the boy that was voted biggest prep took a briefcase to class instead of a backpack...good times!!

Weekend Fun!!

2008-08-03T23:01:00.008-04:00

We went to our city's summer festival on Friday evening. Everyone had lots of fun eating cotton candy, and going on the rides. Elizabeth has gone on the little kiddie rides before, but Andrew has always been too small - so we weren't quite sure how he'd like them...and he loved them!!!When each ride came to a stop, he cried and cried! For his first ride (the Dumbo ride!), big sister Elizabeth made sure to ride with him and hold his hand - it was so cute!

It was a beautiful day today, so after church and after lunch, I decided to wash my car. I thought it might be nice to have and extra set of hands "or two!" to help...so I filled an exta little bucket with suds and sponges, and we had lots of fun getting Mommy's car "nice and clean!"

We're looking forward to more summer fun this week - the countdown is on, only 3 weeks until school starts!!

Holla...

2008-07-02T23:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, so on a positive note...in regard to the debacle that was my first 5k...this was a great event sponsored by the hospital up north where my cousin who ROCKS is a nurse...(and nurses ROCK!) anyway, I was harassing her to run it with me, and she ended up doing the 5k walk...and placing FIRST for her age division!
(Side note, she walked it only a few minutes slower than it took me to run it...yeah, I'm that slow and she's that fast!!)

So we'll be seeing her name all over the metro-Detroit 5k power-walk circuit for the rest of the summer!! Go Renee! Holla!!

Hello!

2008-07-02T23:02:00.006-04:00

Oh my goodness...I see it's been pitifully long since our last post, so here's a quick update...
1. I have been working out twice a week with my friend, Bridget, who is awesome!! She is getting ready to run the Detroit Free-Press half-marathon, and I'm getting ready to cheer her on! ha-ha!
2. I ran my first 5k (actually, first time running outdoors since high-school track...) and got lapped by a 10-year old girl, an 85-year old man, and one of those speed-walkers. I need some more training...
3. Vacation Bible School at Elizabeth's school was last week, and was a big success! Elizabeth hung out with several of her little classmates and had a great time. This was also good for me, because it meant only having to drag Andrew to the gym! (Shame on you, selfish mommy!)
4. Elizabeth celebrated her 5th birthday the end of June, with a small picnic celebration with two of her best buds...then proceeded to throw up in my new car the minute we pulled into the garage. (And no, it wasn't too much cupcakes like I originally thought, because Andrew was sick the next day...)
5. We just got over all the ear infections (Elizabeth ended up getting a double ear infection, although not as bad as Andrew's) and that weird throw-up incident, and now Andrew has a 102-degree fever and diarrhea...which brings us to -
6. We are (supposed to be) leaving tomorrow morning to spend the 4th of July holiday in scenic northern Michigan with preppy daddy's family - after we take out a 2nd mortgage to fill up the gas tank on our SUV! ha!

Happy 4th of July - we'll post some new pictures soon!

Pretty Dancers...

2008-06-12T23:19:00.004-04:00

How cute are our little ballerinas? This is Elizabeth, along with our good friend, Sloan, the night of their big ballet recital dress-rehearsal! Check out the make-up...we were told, more is better - so we dolled them up! The first recital was last night, and they did just great! Their dance ends with them skipping off stage, while blowing kisses and waving to the audience - it was really funny! After we were back in the dressing room and I was telling Elizabeth what a great job she did, she says to me,"Mommy, I liked it when all the people were clapping for me!" Ha!! How funny is that?!

Preppy Girl's "seeing" glasses...

2008-06-02T15:21:00.005-04:00

Grandma Berg sent us this picture of Preppy Girl, reading her bible with her "seeing glasses"! She realizes the difference between sunglasses and reading glasses, and calls them "seeing glasses" instead of reading glasses! She also sees me put my glasses in their case when I put my contacts in, so she has carefully chosen a little box with a lid to put her glasses in every night! She is too cute!

We've been battling sickness here over the weekend - after a couple sleep-interrupted, coughing-fit-filled nights - we took Andrew in to the emergency clinic last night, and he ended up having an ear infection! (I thought it was bronchitis...good thing I'm not a doctor!!) So we have antibiotics and he's already acting a little bit perkier - it's hard to keep a good kid down!!

In the kitchen with velcro monkey...

2008-05-20T14:59:00.008-04:00

So I saw some fresh cherries at the grocery store, and thought they looked really good. My kids are very good eaters (Andrew's allergy issues aside...) but I'm always looking for different, healthy foods for them to try. The sign above the cherries said something like $3.49/lb, so I grabbed a bag, thinking no way is this more than a pound.

Well, apparently it was quite a bit more than a pound, since preppy hubby looked at the receipt and politely pointed out that the cherries were a little over $8.00!! Yikes!

So, in an effort to make sure each and every cherry gets used, I made a cherry coffee-cake. I took a recipe for a blueberry coffee cake, substituted cherries and added a little almond extract. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

This was the scene in my kitchen as I stood at the counter trying to cut up cherries into tiny little pieces for the coffee cake! "Let me see, Mommy - let me see!"

PS - Andrew is kind of a Mommy's boy (which is fine with me!) He likes to know where I'm at all the time, and is prone to running up and attaching himself to my leg, no matter what I'm trying to accomplish!! I've learned to do a lot of things (as I'm sure many of you out there have!) with a toddler hanging off my leg! I've heard the term "Velcro-monkey" and didn't really know how appropriate it is until now!

Target...

2008-05-18T00:26:00.007-04:00

Ah, Target!!! Did I ever mention I love Target? Preppy Hubby hates Target, because we (and by we - I mean me and the kids!) can't seem to leave that place without our total bill being at least 3-digits! My friend once jokingly referred to Target as her $100 store...so true!

So today, as Elizabeth and I are going to the gym, I felt my fake-Adidas-Target-knock-off flip-flop feeling a little funny (I thought the velcro was just loose)...so I look down and see the one side of it has fallen completely off...as in, the glue (not stitching) holding it together had completely disintegrated. Crap...now I have to wear my shower flip-flips into the gym (because it was raining, and I didn't want my running shoes to get wet, then I'd slip and fall on the treadmill, blah, blah).

So, after the kiddos are in bed, I swing on over to my local Target to look for the Adidas-Target-knock-offs. Which, btw, I saw earlier at a discount shoe store (the real ones, mind you) for $29. Called hubby to see if it was ok to get them (since I was already getting a new pair of more expensive running shoes) - he started hollering, so I took that as a "no". (Turns out, he was in the middle of a hot hand of on-line poker, and was yelling at the German across the table, not at me!!)

Anyhoo, so I go into Target for the flippy-flops - which now of course they don't have in my size. At least 1 pair in every size but mine...how is that for irony? So I left Target with a pair of pajama pants (on clearance for $3!!), a t-shirt, and some other random goodies from the dollar bins...my total was $30...and NO FLIP-FLOPS!! ha-ha. Somehow I don't think hubby will find this is as funny as I do...did I mention I love Target?

Fun at the grocery store...

2008-05-13T21:43:00.004-04:00

It takes so little to keep Andrew and Elizabeth occupied while we are grocery shopping...we don't need to use one of those fancy carts with the t.v. inside, we don't even have to bring along snacks. All I have to do is promise they can look at the goldfish, the lobster tank, and ride the pony on our way out.
Today, we were getting close to the lobster tank, and they could see it - but I had one more aisle to go down. Andrew didn't understand and thought we were bypassing the lobsters, so he starts yelling, "Monsters...I wanna see da monsters!" ha-ha! Some fellow shoppers thought he was pretty funny!

Note for Grandma Berg who had eye surgery today...hope you are feeling better soon! We love you!

Also, note to self: must watch mouth...hubby informed me that tonight as he was taking Elizabeth to ballet, she told him that her little brother was "really pissing me out"....yikes!! Even I have to admit she didn't get that from Wonderpets...

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T22:46:00.006-04:00

I received this beautiful flower from Elizabeth for Mother's Day (it was a Sunday School project!)

She was so proud of herself.

I also got this card...

I'm still not quite sure which stick figures represent which family members, but it's cute all the same. I love stick people!

Here's a cute story about Elizabeth...on Sunday (Mother's Day) I had to go to early service at our church to play in the bell choir, and then had to play my flute at the later service. Since the kids are so little, preppy daddy and Andrew come for the late service, and since we live pretty close to church, I run home between services and bring Elizabeth back for Sunday School. (Makes you tired thinking about it, doesn't it??) Anyway, everyone was still sleeping when I left for the early service, and when I came back to pick up Elizabeth, she was standing in the kitchen looking so cute, just beaming because she knew it was a special day. Preppy Daddy says, "Elizabeth, do you have something to say to Mommy?" Without missing a beat she says, "Well, while you were at church and Daddy was in the shower, I snitched a couple of marshmallows." - Of course what daddy meant was to wish me Happy Mother's Day, which she did!! Kids just can't lie - they rat themselves out every time!!

Andrew

2008-05-06T09:43:00.004-04:00

We are home from the hospital...Andrew had another gastroscopy procedure done today, to check the progress of his eosinophilic esophagitis (EE). It's basically a scope of his esophagus to check and see if there is more damage, or if it's staying the same - they also took a biopsy to check the white blood cell count. Doctor said the esophagus looks good (just some minor acid-reflux damage), we should get the biopsy results back in a couple of weeks. Then, we'll probably have to follow up with his allergist. Poor little guy is allergic to so many foods, we are concerned that he's getting enough nutrition for an active toddler!! ha-ha! He has been drinking his rice milk, though - so that is good. I am going to try to sneak in some of the neocate (amino-acid based formula), so we'll see. (Last time I tried, he declared "that's not good" and refused to drink it...)

The nurses sure loved him & paid lots of extra attention to him - he was the littlest patient today! (They all loved his bed-head!) He did very well coming out of the anesthesia...he's just a little groggy from having to be up at 5:30 a.m. - he's kind of stumbling around like a drunken sailor! We're going to watch Sesame Street now and maybe have a nap!

More birthday fun...

2008-05-01T16:33:00.009-04:00

(This is our little friend Kendelia!)

As I was emailing some of these pictures to my friend, Jenny, it occured to me that I should put some of them up here. Her daughter, Kendelia, turned 1 last weekend and we had lots of fun at her party. It was at a place called Gymboree...the kids all had lots of fun playing and helping little Kendel open her gifts!!

Elizabeth enjoying a juice box!

Elizabeth posing among the presents...with Andrew monkeying in the background!

I heard that this Gymboree place was for sale and thought it sounded like a neat business venture (plus, think of all the cool birthday parties we could have!) I mentioned this to Preppy Hubbby, and he acted like I just asked him if was a good idea if I went out and hooked on 8-mile..."OMG, are you KIDDING me??" "We don't have time for that...maybe some day when the kids are grown." When the kids are grown, I am not going to want to be hanging around the Gymboree crowd...I will want to be on a beach somewhere!! Oh well, it was a good idea for a minute...too bad about the parties!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2008-04-28T23:47:00.005-04:00

Today was my birthday, and daddy brought home a chocolate birthday cake...it was a big hit!! Anything with frosting is a big hit around here...of course, half an hour later they were running circles around the living room...sugar buzz!!

Lambie gets a bath...

2008-04-28T23:24:00.012-04:00

We have encouraged both of our kids to have special "lovey" items...this makes going for naps, bedtime, etc. just so much easier. It also helps them when we travel to visit family, etc. However, with Elizabeth - her "taggie" and "lambie" have become more than just lovies - they are an obesession! Since she still takes regular naps...it's nearly impossible to pry them out of her hands to wash them. Grandma Berg made the wonderful "taggie" blanket, and Grandma Stedry got the lamb for her. I happened to see an identical lamb on clearance when I was out shopping, so I bought it. Preppy Hubby was like, what are you doing? I explained to him that if we ever had a throw-up situation, this "back-up Lambie" could come in handy, which it has. It is now known as "Lambie's brother, Lambie", which is all well and fine, except lately when you saw the two of them together, it was quite apparent that the real Lambie was badly in need of a bath! So one day last week I decided it was bath day for taggie and lambie - I took picture of both Lambie's - I'm not even sure if these pictures give you the full scope of how "loved" he was!!

Lambie - before his bath!!

Lambie's brother, Lambie - not quite as 'loved'!

As a side note, we're happy to report that both taggie and lambie came out of the washer and dryer in one piece, both smelling fresh and clean, much to the liking of their owner, Elizabeth!

Kitchen Pass??

2008-04-24T22:20:00.007-04:00

I just have a question...has anyone out there heard the term "kitchen pass"? I will use it in a sentence. Preppy Hubby's good friend (SINGLE friend...) invited him to go to the Tigers' opening day baseball game...which not only means the game -it involves staying downtown all day, before and after the game. But hey - I figure, he works hard, he won't be driving, he deserves a day of fun, right? Here's what his single friend says to him, "So, d'ya think you can get the kitchen pass?" I was like, what is that? Hubby had never heard it either, so we though it was something his friend made up.

Tonight, he called and told me that his boss offered him a ticket for the company suite for the Red Wings play-off game. I'm a girl and even I know this is an opportunity he should not pass up, so I say sure honey, have fun. He stopped home to change his clothes, and told me that his boss also used that phrase when he offered the ticket. "Call Jill and get the kitchen pass!" What IS that?? I take mild offense to it, because I am the first one to encourage him to go out and do guy things with his friends...even though that means I am home all night with the little heathens (I mean, sweethearts!!) I'm just kidding, they are good kids. I do think it's a funny term...and now with golf season starting up, I can see it being grossly overused in our house all summer!!

PS - Go Wings!!

Wordless Wednesday!

2008-04-23T01:28:00.005-04:00

Need I say more?? Here are some close-ups of the two little monkeys...

Elizabeth's new bob...

2008-04-21T00:03:00.014-04:00

Here is a picture of Elizabeth's preppy new bob..we (and by we, I mean me!) are trying to grow her bangs out, and they are just about there! To try and be diplomatic, I asked her if she wanted to grow out her bangs, and she says, "YES!" followed by, "What are bangs?" Oh well, at least she really is happy with it! Less hair means less time washing it, which translates to less time crying about it while in the bathtub...I don't know about you all, but I wish I had someone who would wash my hair (without having to pay for it!) ha-ha!

And of course, you can't take a picture of one around here without taking a picture of the other... monkey see, monkey do, monkey says, "cheese!!"

"Cheese...!"

2008-04-16T13:05:00.005-04:00

Oh my goodness...today during lunch, Elizabeth gave me her order for cinnamon toast (the kind with cinnamon & sugar SPRINKLED on it, not cinnamon bread!) and since I would never have made it as a waitress, I gave her the wrong kind! As she politely points out my mistake, I say under my breath, "Mommy's crazy..." and Andrew chimes in with, "Mom-mee kah-zee!" I grab the camera to try and get him saying this on video, because I think it's hilarious, and all he will do is say, "Cheese!" over and over, because that's all he ever does now anytime he sees a camera, or a cell phone for that matter...(because in our house, a cell phone is just another camera!!)

PS - did I mention this was lunchtime? check out the major bed-head...isn't he cute!!

No, my husband really is not Andrew McCarthy...

2008-04-14T23:01:00.002-04:00

Sorry, I just had to do it! For those of you that know me, obviously this is not a picture of my real-life husband. However, he does have a strong resemblance to Andrew McCarthy circa Pretty in Pink, as well as Edward Norton circa Fight Club...kind of a rockin' combo, don't you think?? I showed this to him tonight, and he just laughed and said he found it mildly offensive, which I guess means I can keep the picture up, as long as I don't get a scathing email from the real Andrew McCarthy's publicist...love you Andrew, you are the defintion of Preppy in the 80's. And since I didn't have the nerve to really name my son Blaine, I figured Andrew was the next best thing...

Quick question...

2008-04-14T00:54:00.001-04:00

Is it a bad thing that my 4-year-old knows what my Bluetooth is?? She saw me put it on the counter, and casually asked "Mommy, would you like me to put your Blue-toof in the basket?" Because between Preppy Daddy and me, we have 2 Blackberry's, 1 pager, 1 bluetooth and about 20 random charging devices (?), so we keep all of this "stuff" in a basket in the kitchen...yikes! Does this make us bad parents? Or is it good that we're teaching her real-world social and technology skills??

Just wrong on so many levels...

2008-04-13T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is our dear son...I came into the living room one morning to find that Elizabeth had taken off her shirt, and Andrew had somehow taken off his jammies, and gotten into the shirt. The photo op was just too hilarious to pass up. Of course, Preppy Dad is not happy - he says this will cost many therapy sessions in the future...

Insights from a 4-year old...

2008-04-13T01:01:00.001-04:00

The other day, my sweet-pea daughter and I were having a random conversation about school, daily life, etc. I try to spice things up by asking what I perceive to be questions that will provoke funny answers. We were talking about people in charge, so I ask "Who do you think is in charge around here?" - feeling pretty sure she'll come back with "well, you're in charge, Mommy!" But instead, she thinks for a few seconds and says "Jesus is in charge, Mommy!"

All I could say was "Yes, honey - that's right!"

Jesus will be in charge if we just let him...

Newly Diagnosed

2007-12-19T00:03:00.001-05:00

My son was just diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, along with multiple and severe food allergies. Among his many allergies are: milk, soy, rice, oat, egg, and peanut. This poor baby has been fussy his whole life, and doctors have been telling me he's just a fussy baby. It makes me so angry that I was blown off, and it has taken so long to uncover what I knew deep down all along. Our pediatric GI gave us a special formula to try and give him, but he refuses to drink it. We had him on soy milk, because at age 1 when we tried to put cow's milk into his bottle, his face and neck broke out in hives, so we knew he was allergic to dairy. But, it turns out that since he's also allergic to soy - the soy milk that we were giving him was causing all these internal problems, which is the eosinophilic esophagitis. We should have had him on this special amino-acid-based formula all along, but no one truly believed (except me) that he really had a problem. An issue also for him is he is highly allergic to orange and grapefruit - again, the peds gi gave us a scrip for some vitamin drops, but when I got the prescription filled and looked at the ingredients at home, they contain "oil of orange" - they are checking to see exactly what that is, and if we can give those to him or not.
So, it has been interesting, and sad - almost every day we find something that we have been giving this poor baby for the past year or longer (say, Cheerios in church) and he is allergic to them!! I have found a wonderful local support group for parents of children with food allergies, and they are going to be a tremendous resource.

1st Blog

2007-08-25T00:19:00.000-04:00

We had major thunderstorms in metro Detroit - as a result, the Tiger game didn't start until like, 11:00 p.m. Now as I sit and play on the new laptop - I affectionately listen to DH snore while laying in the couch, pretending to listen to the game! Aw!
Kiddies are tucked safe in their beds...was a bit strange tonight, we were just about to walk out the door to go out to dinner and the storms hit. We (wisely) decided to stay in...while feeding the kids there were terrible reports on the news and the sirens started to go off. We took them down to the basement to "play" - really wanted everyone down there for safety, just in case. We are very lucky to live in a neighborhood with good sewer system, no real threat of floods, etc. Heard of several tornadoes that may have touched down close by, but not that close to us (thank goodness!)
Well, time to rouse DH off the couch and into bed!