This Hurts...even three days later

"Mommy, can you put your phone down 
and play with me please?"

**can't do anything about the moment it happened, it's in the past.  but definitely can make a difference in the future.  thank you little lady for those words!

His and Hers

My Boys

reading lego truck books in target

Foto Friday

an apple snack and tv break :)

Things He Stands On....

!

Something about this photo completely captivates me.

Hi

Cute Mason moment.

He says "Hi" now all the time...and usually only to Olivia :)

He just walks up to her and waves his hand and says "Hi" (in the sweetest little boy voice).  Two minutes later, "Hi".

In the car, "Hi" 

In the bathtub, "Hi"

Riding his car, "Hi"

Playing with trains, "Hi"

It makes me smile every time I hear it.

  

GoPro Camera

So we have this little camera called a GoPro...got it for Christmas and attached it to Olivia's bike helmet when she had her first ride on her bike.

Well guess what?!? It also has a waterproof case :)  

Which makes for a fun time when you have a pool.  Enjoy the clips :)

(the sound is not great because of the case)

This Is...

...the age Olivia was when her brother was born.

20 Months

She seemed so much older then, than he seems to me now.  Probably because she was the "big sister" and he is my youngest.  

I also get slightly sad thinking about how Olivia didn't get the same time/attention at that age because she was already sharing it with a newborn.  Or about how maybe we moved her through some tranisitions quicker than we normally would have.  For example:  she was already sleeping in a big girl bed. Haha...I don't see Mason making that transition ANY TIME soon.

Very Grateful!!

Before Bed

Foto Friday - FLASHBACK

one year ago

can't believe how much he's changed!!!

Is it Normal???

A friend and mother of twins wrote a couple of "is it normal" phrases...and granted I can't even imagine how crazy her life is...I have my own set of "is it normal"

Is it normal to load kids in car and drive, just to drive.  To go to the target that is 30 minutes away versus the target that is 4 miles away...just to have kids strapped in a place.

Is it normal, during that car ride, to turn up the radio and start singing to katy perry and pretend like there are not two car seats behind you?

Is it normal to not eat lunch until 2:00pm because that's when kids are napping?

Is it normal to get really excited about the hour before bedtime?

Is it normal to find the moment when I turn off the lights leaving the child's bedroom, a fifty pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders?

Is it normal to want a 9-5 job?

Is it normal to talk on the phone in a closet?

Is it normal to have lunch outside on a daily basis because we like "to give the insects our crumbs"?

Is it normal to encourage my dog to lick up spills and crumbs after dinner (since we try to eat at the table for dinner...gotta teach table manners at some point)

Is it normal to talk about bowel movements ALL THE TIME?

Is it normal to walk around in the kitchen and get crumbs all over my feet and then jump over to a rug and wipe my feet off??? (yes, I honestly do this and I know there are more of you out there that do this...or will think, "hey,  that's a great idea!" and buy a new rug tomorrow!)

Is it normal to constantly be reevaluating the value of a house cleaner?  Yes, pay someone to clean my house. Seriously...never thought that would be me...I mean, if there is one thing that I can do, it's clean a house.  But honestly, the time I clean is when kiddos are sleeping.  Which means I can't watch Ellen....hhuumm.

Is it normal to eat off paper plates for every meal and if the hubby wants to use a "real" plate for me to roll my eyes and say..."fine you do the dishes then".

Is it normal to call real plates "real"?

Is it normal for my toddler to say, "I'm just so freakin frustrated" (note: at least using the word freakin and not F***ing) (also note: don't say freakin anymore)

Is it normal to wonder what life will be like in 18 years?  And wonder how much I'm going to miss some of these things?

Granted some of these are extremes...but these are all things that I feel/think.  Some more often than others.  Some daily...others just in moments of extreme frustrations.

And then, I see this....and it puts everything in perspective a little.  So yes, some of my "normals" are a little off right now, but I'm okay with that.  And when things feel like they are spinning a little out of control, I remember this:

Wow!!!  

Then and Now

Shuttle, Zoo, Airport, Sleepy Kids

Today we were leaving....but we had a few more fun events up our sleeves.  We knew the shuttle would be coming back to Virginia and that we might have a chance to see it.  Because of the craziness of our morning, we decided to forgo the shuttle and just visit the zoo.

So we are driving.  AND TRAFFIC IS AWFUL.  People in Texas...when you say traffic is bad...it's NOTHING like NOVA.  It's on a whole new level of traffic.  At random times, you'll be sitting on the road, for  HOURS.  What was a simple drive into DC to go to the zoo, ended up be a loooong car ride.  The traffic probably ended up being worse, because a lot of people were trying to get into downtown to view the shuttle flying by.

Or possibly they were stopping in the middle of the road to view it???

Because, it  just so happens that we are driving on the road.......slowly.....when THIS passes RIGHT NEXT TO OUR CAR!!!

ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS...ever!  EVER.

I have been so excited to update my blog, just so I could show you these INCREDIBLE images.  Amazing folks.  Seriously amazing. 

Okay - so now you know I'm a complete dork about stuff like that.

And we head to the zoo.  Tim has so many fond memories of visiting this zoo as a child.  He was adamant about taking this picture of the kids :)  

He says there is one of him and Katie as kids sitting here
 (Mama, if you can find it, I would love to see it).

Then onto the animals....

But our day wasn't over.  Tim and I messed up some scheduling with our flight...and got to the airport SUPER early and had to burn about 5 hours!  Yikes.  The kids were troopers and we hung out in the lounge some, did TONS of walkway trips, talked on the phones, and managed to pass the time.

But this did leave us with two kids that had NO NAPS and were exhausted.  We were able to snag a whole row...so Tim and I had the aisle seats and the kids had the two seats next to us.  I managed to coax Mason to sleep after 15 minutes of crying as soon as the flight took off...and HE SLEPT THE WHOLE WAY.

 Olivia was awake for another 90 minutes, before I cuddled her to sleep.   She slept for the rest of the way...including the landing.  She has not slept this long on a flight since she was an infant flying to London!!!!

INCREDIBLY grateful for my sleeping kids!

Monday, Monday...

Monday, Monday (ba da, ba da da da-da)

So good to me (ba da, ba da-da da-da)

This morning Tim left for his conference (GOOD LUCK!) and the kids and I had enjoyed some breakfast and cartoons.......  

But not for long, because we headed out to Frying Pan Farm to meet up with Jenn and the kiddos.   It's such a cute little farm...and free!  We saw lots of animals, including tons of baby animals and enjoyed the perfect weather.

 It was wonderful morning.  Definitely wish Jenn and I lived closer...we had such a nice time together and our kids are the exact same age.  It just easy...and that's a great thing!!!

We headed back to the hotel, bathed the filthy children, took great naps, did some hotel hallway sprints, 

met up with Daddy (who said the presentation went great!) and then headed back over to the Sanner house.    The kiddos ate and then watched a movie while the adults ordered some food and celebrated Katie's birthday (a little early).  

Grateful that we got to have a very chill night, just talking and catching up.  We love you guys!

That night, Tim and I hung out in the hallway while our kiddos snoozed :)

Love this time with him!

Aunt Katie/Uncle Grady and Graham!!

Today we left Ben and Jenn's and traveled a couple of miles to visit with Tim's sister.  It was so nice to catch up and have the kiddos play together.  We managed to take out every toy after only a few minutes of being in their house...needless to say, the kids had a great time.

The night we went out for dinner.  The kiddos were super cute!

Oh...and this is what Katie looks like :(

Poor girl fractured her foot :(  

And she has a toddler.  

That's not a good combination....at all.  Really hope that she feels better soon!!!!

We had a great time at dinner...even though Graham looks slightly upset, it was only momentarily...we just happened to snap the picture then :)  Notice my newest poser!!! 

For the next two nights we will be in a hotel.  The whole reason we came to Virginia was because Tim had to speak at a conference....so we are bunking with him :)

Poor Olivia was getting confused by now though.  She kept asking, "Are we going back to our home in Texas?  Or our house in the hotel?  Or Ben and Jenn's? Or Aunt Katie and Uncle Grady's?"

And staying at a hotel with two little ones is interesting.  Thankfully you can get it super dark in there and this hotel room had a half-wall separation, so we put the kids to bed, found a static radio station...turned it up really loud, and then enjoyed a bottle of wine and some snacks.  

Cheers!

DC

This morning we got up nice and early and headed into DC.

Notice my AWESOME $25 double stroller find???  Yup, picked that up on consignment the day before we left :)  It was a lifesaver this whole trip!!!  

 First up was the Natural History Museum

 Next was a picnic lunch, where the kiddos ran around lots, and got bribed with a treat to take pictures :)

 Then we hit the National Air and Space Museum...which didn't last long, as the kiddos were exhausted!

 Back at Ben and Jenn's, they cooked us a DELICIOUS pizza on the grill, while kiddos continued playing.

It was a perfectly, perfect day with great friends.  

So thankful!!!

Our Trip to VA

This morning we got up early to head to Virginia to visit some friends we haven't seen in FOREVER!  

The flight went so-so....my kids just don't do well  sitting in a confined area for a long period of time.  We bring tons of snacks, every easy travel toy we can think of, reserve the bulk head row, and get all set up for success.  There were a couple of scream periods from Mason who just didn't understand the situation at all.  Olivia did well...it's just stressful keeping them occupied and happy.  Definitely looking forward to the day when they can entertain themselves for longer periods of time!!!

We get to DCA and go to our rental car.  The lady says to Tim, "pick any car in this lot" (there wasn't a lot to choose from) and Tim...without seeing the license plate choose this car.  

So...who are we visiting?  Ben (the best man at our wedding) and his family...wife, Jenn (who maintains this cute blog about her family) and adorable kiddos Owen and Vivian.  We have not seen them since July 2009 when our oldest children were only 7 and 10 months!

And now, this is the kiddo picture!

Owen and Olivia are both 3...only three months apart
Vivian and Mason are 15 and 20 months...only four months apart

We are definitely ready for a weekend of fun with these people!!!!

Best Men

background

Ben and Tim went to high school...awhile ago.  They were great friends and made lots of "smart" decisions together.

Throughout the years they remained close.  They were going to be roommates at Virginia Tech...when, Tim got accepted at the Naval Academy.  Hindsight, everyone thinks this was probably a good move for both boys :)  Then Tim would see Ben frequently when he came to Tech throughout college...and we soon met Jenn (Ben's girlfriend).  I'm sure there are some pictures from back then...hopefully not many....

 

(Date ????)

 At some point, I'm not positive when, the boys had this dance they did together.  And so at our weddings, where the guys were the best men at both of our weddings...they danced, A LOT, together.  

(June and August 2003)

We continued to keep in touch throughout the years.

And at times, the dancing would reappear....

(May 2005)

(May 2007)

And then we got pregnant within a couple of months of each other :)

(June and August 2008)

And one year later introduced our firsts :)  

Owen, meet Olivia.  Olivia, this is Owen.

(July 2009)

And now, I'm sooooo sad to say....we haven't seen them since :(  

Incredibly too long :(  

Kermit!

Sick and Breathing Issues

Or maybe I should said, sick of breathing issues!!! 

please don't feel like you should or need to read this rambling.  kids are fine and are on meds to get better.  this is more for my documentation.

It started AGAIN on Saturday.  I heard Olivia coughing early morning and started her on Qvar (her corticosteroid).  By mid morning she was coughing a lot more and starting to breathing faster.  We used her "rescue inhaler" Xopenex.  Four hours later...more xopenex.  She takes a nap, wakes up early coughing, retracting, breathing fast, and really complaining of a sore throat.  Did another bout of Xopenex...

After sitting with her for a few minutes and knowing that Easter was the next day and nothing would be open, we decided to take her to our local rediclinic (the pediatrician was closed).  I had the meds to take care of her breathing (although I didn't feel like they were really helping), but she was really complaining of a sore throat and we had be exposed to strep...so just wanted to rule it out. 

We get to the clinic....they ask why we are there...I reply sore throat, some fast breathing, but we've been using our meds to take care of that.  They take her in the room and take her pulse ox.

Nurse said, "I can't get it above 93."

Dr replies..."I can't treat you, her oxygen levels are too low.  You need to go to the ER"

You've got to be kidding me.  

To make a loooong story short...we left and went home.  The dr never even got out of her chair.  They wouldn't give us anything or do anything for us.  I knew that we didn't really need to go to the ER.  She wasn't awful...

Yet.

Of course as the night progresses,  she gets worse and worse.  And I'm actually thinking we are going to the ER.  We continued with the Xopenex every four hours and did our second dose of Qvar.  The hardest part of the night was trying to get her settled down enough to sleep...but she finally did.  

Meanwhile, my stress level is through-the-roof. 

Does anyone else have experience with this???

She continued to wake up throughout the night every four hours needing her meds...and by morning she was definitely sounding better...but not great.  

Next morning, Mason wakes up coughing.  

Insert bad word.

So both kids using Qvar and Olivia still using Xopenex.  

Olivia was actually sounding better, but we are traveling this weekend (WHOOP WHOOP...details to come) and I was pretty confident Mason had a ear infection...  So off we went to the drs today. 

She said I'm doing all the correct things, but that when Olivia gets sick...it's happening REALLY fast.  She listened to Olivia and said that she is still really wheezy.  (wait...didn't I say she sounded a lot better?!?!)  Dr said she is one of those silent wheezers....huuumm..  So she is on an oral steroid (which Mason was on two weeks ago when we last dealt with this) and another antibiotic.  In the future if she has breathing issues and the qvar and xopenex aren't working... we are to start the oral steroid again.  Mason has another ear infection and is on a different antibiotic for him.  And continue Qvar for both of them.  

Seriously though...any thoughts or tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Obviously, I don't like my kids on so much meds...but I also really dislike them struggling to breathe :-/

(love that Olivia takes my phone during my conversation with the dr and just starts snapping pictures)

Shark!

We were in the car after school today and headed to our normal Tuesday storytime at Wendy's.  I asked Olivia what she was going to get painted on her arm today.  She replied, "a horse."  I asked her if she remembered when she used to always get a shark painted on her arm...before the horse, it was always a shark. 

She replies..."YEAH!  Today I'm going to get a shark on my FACE!"

lol.

And she did.  

Bluebonnet Pictures

We had Sherina with FreeSpiritFoto to take a few bluebonnet pictures a couple of weeks ago.  

Loving our family picture!

Happy Easter

 The Bunny Has Arrived!!

Easter Fun

Morning: Egg coloring and decorating  

Evening: An egg hunt with friends :)