Post-sickness Blues

Matthew isn't sick anymore. That's the official word. Unfortunately, it has been more stressful to have "non-sick" Matthew than "sick" Matthew!!! Help me out! Ever since this "sickness", my boy has been STARVING all the time. I mean asking 30 minutes after breakfast if it is time yet for lunch. His "tummy is hungry" 24 hours a day! We are feeding the beast, and he's eating! Occasionally he will pick at a meal and we know he's been snacking too much. We aren't big snack people around here, so I feel like I am really doing him a disservice. When is it just "I want to eat" vs. "My tummy hurts because it is hungry"??? How can I tell? We are serving up (mostly) healthy snacks (fruits, veggies, yogurt, crackers) but still I worry... any advice?
We are also reverting back to many potty accidents. This child went over a MONTH with no problems, but here we are having 5+ accidents a day! Blame it on sickness? You bet.
Ugh. Hoping for some relief soon!

Opening Day... Brewers

I know this is LONG overdue... Nicholas started his second season of baseball with opening day February 26th. He really enjoys t-ball and has improved considerably over the opening games of last season. He has a fantastic coach & some great kids on the team. Matthew is possibly the biggest supporter of the Brewers... he cheers so loudly for each player, not just his bro. It's pretty adorable! Enjoy the pics!

Vacation... had to get away!

The past few months have left me feeling a bit STIR crazy. Not sure if it is the weather, sick boys, pregnancy, being a SAHM, or what, but I just have the itch to leave town! So we did... Last Sunday, we surprised the boys with a spring break vacation. Our original plans did not work out, so plan "B" was put into place. A little more low-key & close to home! Here are the highlights:

Days 1 & 2: Great Wolf Lodge
Kid reaction - AWESOME, Parent reaction - just the right amount of time here
It's EXPENSIVE to stay there! Especially when the prices are hiked up for spring break... Ignoring that, we had a great time! Nicholas loved the water slides and the wave pool. Matthew took a while to warm up, but eventually really enjoyed "swimming" and splashing in the water. He also took to the kiddie water slides (although it was a bit scary watching him go head-first down the slide!!). Fun times.
Day 3: Dallas World Aquarium, JFK (6th floor museum), Movie, Mini-golf
Kid reaction - a little blah, Parent reaction - is this it?
I think we were expecting too much from the aquarium. We went to the San Diego Zoo a few years ago and were extremely disappointed too. For some reason, the BEST Zoo-type place we've ever been is the Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Crazy, right? But it was AMAZING. And nothing has topped that for us. We paid a lot of money (well over $60 for the family) for only 1.5 hours of entertainment. And we walked slow. With bathroom breaks. Boo. The JFK/6th floor museum was mainly for Jason as I've been there before with my mom & obviously the kids weren't begging to learn more about JFK. Nicholas really enjoyed listening to the audio during the tour and had many questions later. Matthew was bored. Jason enjoyed it, but said the audio was full of information he already knew. Oh well. Can't please everyone! After a short morning of activities that we thought would take all day, we were stumped - how to occupy the rest of the day?? So we took the kids to see Gnomeo & Juliet. Cute movie. After dinner, some mini-golf. A real high-point of the trip. The kids loved it! Fun ending to the day.
Day 4: Six Flags
Kid reaction - YIPPEE!, Parent reaction - mixed, but mostly negative
So Nicholas & Jason were super excited to ride the roller coasters. Yeah for them! I love roller coasters, but clearly in my "state" I knew it wouldn't be possible. I planned on hanging with Math. most of the day, riding the rides for kiddies - the small bunch - the under 42 inches crowd! We started at the Carousel (Merry Go Round, if you ask Math.). Fun times. Saw a great cover band called Vocal Trash. Then we went to the kiddie area with the little rides. Every sign had a "no pregnant women" picture on it. EVERY ONE. Old Time cars? No preggo. Miniature ferris wheel? No preggo. Steam train that circles the perimeter of the park? No preggo. Are you serious???? What's a girl to do? Like a pregnant woman, I cried. And called Jason. And cried about Matthew's ruined day. So Jason joined back up with us & made sure Math had a good time. The downfalls? The "big" coasters grew too busy for the big boys to ride anymore - 90 min. or 2 hour waits!!! And, of course, I spent the day sitting. Wishing for a book.

Which brings me to this: What is Jen's dream vacation? Well I sure did enjoy seeing my kids have a great time. I'm glad for them that they just had the chance to run around & have an extra special time for a few days. Did I enjoy myself? No. Maybe that's not what it's about right now. Maybe some day it should be.
Calling all girlfriends!!! Here is my dream trip: a few days (2? 3? 4?) doing NOTHING scheduled or planned. Sitting on the beach, chatting, reading books, enjoying the sun, and doing little else. That's Jen's dream vacation. Want to join me? I'll be free & unattached from baby in approximately 18 months! Let's plan it! I am officially starting my "Jen vacation" fund & recommend you do too!!! (for yourself, not for me. However, if you'd like to randomly send me money, let's talk about that too) Seriously, though. I feel slightly rejuvenated. Still wish for a "perfect" dream vacation. Maybe some day...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are some pics from our Valentine's fun! Nicholas had a GREAT party at school. He got to decorate a cookie, eat ice cream, play bingo, play put a face on the heart, and exchange Valentine's! Matthew & I enjoyed hanging out with the kinder kiddos! We also have a Mom's Club party - see Matthew's decorated box & Nicholas pigging out on food (are you surprised??).
Happy Valentine's Day!

T-ball Season

It's the middle of February, so it must be t-ball season! Strange, right? After a string of 70+ days, I guess it's pretty normal! Nicholas started practice again last Sunday, but with a new team. This spring he will be on the Brewers. First practice went great - the new bat makes him quite a power hitter! While I didn't get any good shots of his practice, I did take a few of silly Matthew. He INSISTED on wearing HIS baseball pants (thanks, Grandma!) to t-ball practice as well as his Royals jersey. I hope the coach is considering him as an alternate!

Texas Blizzard, 2011

So you may have heard... we had SUCH a storm the other night! No, seriously, it was nothing at all. We already knew our school day would begin 2 hours late, but got a 5:16am call that Friday was a SNOW DAY. So I HAD to look outside. And I could still see grass - all of it. Yes, there was a "light dusting", but my midwest friends would laugh if they saw our "snow" pics! So here they are!
FYI - the WORLD shuts down with this much snow! Governments were closed, businesses opened late, if at all, everyone stayed home. Everyone. Actually, Jason went to work (as usual) at 7am yesterday. The roads were "terrible" even with that little amount of snow because they literally don't have "stuff" (salt, sand, etc.) to apply to the roads. So, give the Texans some credit - it may have actually been a bit treacherous! We played in the snow for a while. It was gone & melted by 11am. Might be 60 degrees today. Snow in Texas.

Comparison @ 31.5 months

Nicholas @ 31.5 months

Matthew @ 31.5 months

It's been a LOOOONG time since I posted a comparison picture of my boys! Maybe because I don't even wonder if they look alike anymore...
Anyway, because pictures are ALWAYS fun, here is a pic of each boy "rocking out" at 31.5 months old. They have THAT in common! Plus, they are super-cute!

Snow?!?!

They say it never happens in Austin... but here we are... our SECOND winter in Austin and the SECOND threat of snow (yes, remember the snowman pics from last year?). Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings... will we be creating our own deep south Frosty? Will we be "snowed in" for days (1-3" can be scary...)? Ooooh the excitement! Nicholas is already convinced school will be canceled - I hate to admit he is probably right! Stay posted for snow pictures...

Official?

Does the inclusion of the preggo ticker on the side of the page make it official? I guess so. I will "officially" announce that we are expecting a baby girl on July 8th. The boys were disappointed that it is a girl, but talk about "Pat" (Nicholas' name for the baby) all day, every day. We are in preparation mode now!

Sick, sick sick

Over the BEAUTIFUL 80 degree weekend, the boys & I enjoyed being SICK! Yes, that's right! What better way to spend beautiful weather than inside??? I know what's better - sick mom taking care of sick kids by herself!!!
Jason had his good friend, John, in from KC this weekend. The boys had fun sampling different Austin foods, golfing, IKEA, and the MU vs. Texas basketball game.
As for the sicko ones, we did just fine. It was a little hectic, but we were so glad healthy Jason got to enjoy time with his friend.
So far, Mom is going CRAZY. Little one is better, Mom is getting there, and Big kid is still sick. Until today. He was "too sick" and "too weak" to go to school at 7:30am today, but by 9:15 that kid was his crazy, normal self! Yikes! The boys have been acting like... well, brothers today. They have been fighting, hugging, wrestling, playing, screaming, laughing, and, of course, a game of footsie was included. My dear friend Becky got to hear me screeching at my kiddos when they were wrestling to the point of Nicholas screaming "He's killing me!!". That was about the end. Yikes.
I currently feel for all the Mommies in Missouri who have yet another snow day. I need a vacation from all of this! A day to for Mom to just rest & get better - can we schedule that in? Maybe next month...
So thankful they are both happy, healthy boys. Now when is naptime?