Goodbye Miss Claudia!

The last few weeks have been spent preparing for my good friend Claudia's departure. I have known Claudia for about 7 years and her mother, Anita, was the kids first babysitter. Since the day I met Claudia she has always talked of joining the Peace Corp. Many years have passed and it looked as if she was never going to have her chance to take her journey. About 4 months ago she started her application process again hoping this time she wouldn't have anything holding her back. She finished all the paperwork, test, shots, and tutoring that was required. She was finally in!

She had requested Central Asia as a destination and was supposed to ship out near the end of September. She was thrilled and I was amazed! What courage it must take to leave everything you know and go to another country alone. She received a call asking if she would accept an earlier deployment because they had a spot open in Central Asia. She jumped at the chance and that was it. She had only a little over a month and she would be leaving for Kazakhstan. I was so happy for her yet so sad for me. I have really become close to Claudia over the past years and consider her one of my best friends. The kids love her and she was Ethan's first official crush!

I drowned myself in projects preparing for her going away party so I wouldn't think about her actually leaving. I hand made signs for the party and even designed Claudia an adventure book about Kazakhstan.
I originally was planning on hanging pictures of Kazakhstan around the party with inserts of information so people would have a better idea of where she was going. Once I viewed the house we were having the party at I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to hang much of anything. The house was fully decorated and didn't have much open wall space. I decided I would put the pictures in a small book and she could take it with her. As usual my projects always start small and end up huge. It ended up being a scrapbook with an entire story and pictures staring Claudia and the adventures that lie ahead of her. It was awesome if I do say so myself. I was working on completing it the morning of the party but it all came together well.

Sing it girl! Claudia playing rock band on the wii.
The party was Sunday, August 10th, at 2pm which was very odd for me. I rarely attend and never host parties on Sundays but most of Claudia's friends worked on Saturday so we had no other choice. It turned out to be wonderful. It was slow to get started as people trickled in but by 4:30 we had a house full of people grilling, playing wii, and having a good time. Claudia loved her Kazakhstan book, the food was tasty, and the company was amazing. I have heard Claudia talk about her friends for years but I have only met a few of them besides the mutual friends we share. I truly enjoyed getting to know some of the people I already knew so much about. My favorite thing of the entire evening was watching Claudia. She is one of those people who gives, gives, gives and never receives. She looked so ecstatic! All her friends in one place just for her. It was so special!

Toasting Claudia

I also organized a group gift for her. I researched a digital camera (thanks Dad) and picked out the best user friendly digital camera I could find. I also bought her a 2 gig memory card, lithium batteries, and a carrying case. She was using an ancient 35 mm camera and she was so embarrassed. She wanted to get a digital camera before she left but had to use what money she had to stock up on supplies she may no longer have access to. She was absolutely floored by the gift! She has been taking pictures like crazy and already figured out how to download them to her laptop. I expect to see many beautiful and interesting pictures from her adventures over seas.

Last Sunday morning I took Claudia to the airport. She spent Saturday night with us and we were up late weighing her bags, dropping off her car to her mother, and finishing all the final details. We went to bed around 1 am and had to get up at 4 am to get ready to go to the airport. It was definitely the earliest I had been up since the newborn days of old. Thanks to the terrorist I couldn't walk more than 10 feet with Claudia in the airport but we said our finally goodbyes and she was on her way. I had to leave quickly as tears welled up. I didn't want her to be sad that morning she was living her dream and I was so proud of her. The selfish side of me wanted my friend to stay but I know this is what is best for her and her future. I headed back home stopping at Albertsons to get strawberries and bananas for the baby's breakfast. Of course the Alberstons I picked wasn't 24 hrs and I had to go to Wal mart but I was back home by 6:30 and in bed by 7 am. I took half a benadryl so I could sleep and I didn't wake up until 11:40! Dallas was in charge of the kids and he did a great job letting me sleep. Thanks D!

I talked to Claudia the three days she was in orientation in Philly and everything was going great. There were 63 other people going to Kazakhstan with her and she had met some of them at the plane change in Memphis. She was already making friends and learning about the Peace Corp. They put her up in an upscale hotel and gave her $160 for food and such for the three days of orientation. She was so excited! It was good to know they are taking care of her.

On the third day she called me one last time to say a final farewell. We won't be able to contact each other for probably 3 months while she is in training. She has to learn Russian, Kazakh, and everything she needs to know to teach English to high school students. I cried like a baby when I hung up that morning knowing this was finally goodbye for two years. I already miss Claudia so much but I imagine with time I will be too busy to worry about it. Now all I can do is wait for the first email of her adventures. Until then good luck my friend and I will see you online...

Love My Daddy

Ethan loves to lay with his Daddy and watch TV or sleep. I imagine this gene is pasted down through DNA because it runs deep. They lay together almost every weekend. I can't imagine anything sweeter than my two boys in their pjs watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

These are the Kodak moments that make it all worth it!

Bucket Head

When we returned from the river there were a few new toys that had made their way into our playroom. My mother the queen of, "I don't know where that new toy came from" had struck again. I have told her no more toys simply because of the limited space but she just can't control her Grammie tendencies. This time the new members of the family consisted of two little pull around dogs that make barking sounds. They are really very cute. She bought a pink one for Paige and a brown one for Ethan. Of course Ethan likes the pink one just to bug his Daddy! Ha ha. They are in the stage of pulling things behind them and they love the new puppies so I accepted those as good gifts.

The other new additions were buckets. Buckets with handles like you would use at the beach. I did not see the use in these considering we have a toy separator that has a bunch of plastic tubs. They already use these tubs to put toys in and out of, to stack, and to sit, stand, or jump on. She insisted that they "needed" buckets and she quickly changed the subject.

Don't you just hate when your mother is always right! They love those stupid buckets! They carry them around. They put stuff in them and then take it all out. They pick up the balls for the ball pit in the buckets and dump them back in the ball pit. They even wear them around on their heads. I even took the buckets over to Melissa's this week and all the kids enjoyed them. They played 'basketball' yesterday with them. Girls were against boys and each one would take the ball, run, put it in the bucket, and run back. Then another would get the ball, bring it back, and start all over again. Good times...

Who knew that two buckets could be so much fun... oh yeah, Grammie did!

Our First Field Trip

On Friday, August 1st the kids went on their very first field trip! Melissa and Paula (her mother in law) took the quads to the Dallas Aquarium. Paula rented a van to make it easier to take all four kids and their car seats out for the day. I was very excited for the kids and scared for the two brave adults when I dropped the kids off that morning.

On our way...

Melissa had planned to go on a week day so it wouldn't be too crowded but her plan backfired. Apparently it was "take your entire day care" to the Dallas Aquarium day! She said it was a little difficult to let the kids see everything in the 3 story indoor aquarium behind all the wild day care kids. The kids favorite animal was by far the penguins. She said it was probably because they could push the stroller right up to the glass and the kids could see above and below the water.

They did really well staying in the strollers the entire time. She switched them around and put Addi and Ethan together and Landon and Paigey together. The kids often play in this fashion so they were fine with it. At one point Addi even laid her head on Ethan's shoulder in the stroller. Aw how sweet! Melissa tried to get a picture but she was too slow. Addi tried to give Ethan a couple kisses too which is why he probably plays with her :) They have been known to go into the kitchen cabinets together and shut the door!

Melissa said that every time they had to walk through the gift shop all four kids would immediately stick their arms out to try and grab stuff off the shelves. I can just see them "flying" with arms out through the tight nit aisles. They never actually grabbed anything so I give kudos to the drivers of the strollers.

After they were done looking at everything they went to lunch at a restaurant in the aquarium. Yes I thought they were crazy too but it went really well. Melissa said the kids were very good at lunch and in the aquarium. They ate all their lunch and Ethan almost had to get his own order he was so hungry. That's my big boy! After they finished lunch everyone was exhausted and they packed up to head home. All the kids were sound asleep before they even hit the highway.

I figured the kids would be extremely cranky since they had had such a full day but they weren't. They were in the best mood playing and laughing all evening. They crashed hard that night and slept late the next morning. Paula wants to take a field trip once a week and Melissa compromised on once a month maybe! I am impressed by the both of them. I would not dare take four kids out in public without one kid per adult but as Melissa said, "I am more out numbered on a daily basis than I was today." Everyone pray for my sitter cause she is insane and we love her! Thanks again Melissa for being such an amazing babysitter! We are all so lucky to have you.

Poor Paigey

Thursday before we left for the river Paige woke up with a few red bumps on her face and body. By that evening she had an obvious rash on her body so I gave her benadryl assuming it was an allergic reaction or allergy of some form. I instructed my mom to give her benadryl and watch it. The rash was better but the few places on her face were getting worse. I told mom to put Neosporin on the spots and I would be back soon to take her to the doctor. They had their 15 month checkup Tuesday anyway. When I returned from the river one of the spots had gotten absolutely out of control. We were referred to the dermatologist on the following day to figure out the cause of the spots.

Paige and I went to the doctor the following day and it was eczema. What? Ethan has eczema not Paige? Apparently most kids develop eczema around a year to a year and a half. News to me! Since the spots were eczema the Neosporin did not help and the major spots on her eye had turned into impetigo. Impetigo is a bacterial infection and is the same thing Ethan had when he was misdiagnosed with chicken pox before his first birthday. She was given Penicillin and I was instructed to use the Albatrax topical cream that I already had at home for Ethan.

The doctor was extremely concerned about the location of the bacterial infection. Since the infection was so close to her eye and on top of her eye lid he was very worried about it getting inside her eye. He made it very clear that if any redness or crusty stuff showed inside her eye or eyelid then she was to go to Cook's Hospital immediately. Okay, I get it. I am scared shit less thanks doc! Apparently if the bacteria were to get into her eye it would quickly spread through the blood stream to the rest of her body and make her very sick.

As if that wasn't enough for one day... Dallas and I were terrified of giving her the Penicillin! They dosed down the Penicillin because of her size and age because she needed something strong. I am allergic to Penicillin and haven't had it since I was a small child. The doctor said it was very important she start on the medicine as soon as possible which was as soon as I got her home from the sitter. I had to go back to work after her doctors appointment. The problem I was having was giving my daughter a dose of a medication that could make her swell and quit breathing right before bed. How was I supposed to make sure she wasn't having a reaction? Were we just supposed to hope she woke up in the morning? I don't think so! Dallas and I pretty much had a panic attack trying to decide what to do.

I decided to take off a few mins early and go get her medication before I went to get her. I gave her the Penicillin as soon as I arrived at Melissa's house to allow ample amount of time for a reaction. I had directions to Cook's Children's Hospital in the car ready if necessary. Dallas even took off the next day to make sure that if Paige showed any sign of bacteria in her eye or had a reaction to the meds he could rush her to Cook's immediately. I can not tell you how many times I looked at that child's face and body in the two hours before she went to bed. Thankfully she had no reaction and was looking better even by the next morning. She was fine but we were not. How are we ever going to be able to handle the truly horrible things that will inevitably happen over the years? Guess it is time to up the Lexapro again!

It has been a few weeks and Paige is doing much better. She still has a faint red mark on her eye brow but the doctor seems to think that it will disappear over time. They said whenever you have deep tissue damage it can take a very long time to completely go away. She is having outbreaks of eczema on her legs and elbows but we have been through all this with Ethan so we know the drill very well. It is something that will hopefully pass with time but until then we will just apply creams and continue the other precautions we have always used for Ethan. Glad to see my baby girl feeling better.

Fun with Kingston

A few weekends ago Cheyenne came over with her youngest son Kingston. He is 10 months and loves playing with the twins. Ethan usually is the one who makes sure he feels included. However this last visit Paige was very interested in him. No matter how old the kid they all love to pull stuff out of the kitchen cabinets and play 'pot & pan' band! They all had a great time playing together and all slept really well that night!



Ethan loves to stand in that pan!

July River Trip

It was beautiful and we were right by the water.

So much has happened since our trip to the Guadalupe River on July 25th - 28th but I better just start there. We left the kids with my mom, Grammie, and headed out on Friday morning around 8:30 am. We drove girls one car and guys another car so we would still all like each other when we arrived. Ha! April, Cheyenne, and I rode in one vehicle and Dallas, Mike, and Ryan in another. We met three other couples there. We made good time on the trip down and stopped at a store for groceries when we exited I-35. We reached the Rio Raft Resort at around 1 pm and checked in. We had rented two cabins and an RV for everyone. Dallas and I stayed with Mikey and Stacey in a cabin until Sunday evening and we moved to the RV.

Our group arrived hours before everyone else and had plenty of time to get set up and relax while we waited. Once our other friends arrived we went down to the river side and "played" in the water. It was too late for a river float that day and the water was ridiculously cold!! We cooked fajitas on the grill for dinner and I think we were all in bed before 10:30. It was obvious that all of us had kids at home and needed a vacation!

Saturday morning we cooked a huge breakfast and prepared everything for the river float. We had to make sandwiches, pack coolers, and generally get ready. We headed out for a 4 hour float around 1 pm and we had a blast! It was almost exactly 4 hours when we floated back to our camp. There were so many people on the river this year which made it more fun. Out of 12 people in our group no one lost anything important and not one person got severely burned. April's feet were red but nothing a little aloe vera couldn't fix. We grilled burgers and brats for Saturday night and sorry to say it but I think we were all in bed by 11 again. Isn't that sad!
Sunday morning everyone was busy packing to leave. We had only rented the cabins for two nights and the RV we had for three nights. Since it was our anniversary we decided to stay an extra night by ourselves. We packed our stuff up and moved it to the RV while everyone else packed up the cars. By noon the camp ground was silent. It was almost scary the difference once all the people were gone. It was so peaceful but very weird for me. It took a conscious effort for me to sit and be still but once I did it was so nice. We sat outside under a shade tree while D played the guitar. We ate some lunch and decided to start getting ready for another float. By the time we were ready for our float there were a few people trickling in but for the most part it was still empty.

We decided to go on another 4 hour float by ourselves after all we weren't in a hurry. It was much more relaxing all around on this float. We didn't have to wait for an hour to get shuttled to the drop off or worry about waiting for everyone to get in the water and get ready to go. We simply jumped in a van, got out, put our tube in the water, and floated away. It was so calm. I really didn't know what to do with myself because it is extremely hard for me to relax but eventually I really got the hang of it. It was amazing the beautiful scenery around us that I had never noticed before. There were not quite as many people in the river on Sunday but I was surprised how many were there.

We had made it about 2/3 of the way back to our camp when we started loosing air in our tube. Oh crap! We got out and made our way to the side embankment and sat down. I didn't really know what we were going to do. I couldn't walk on the rocks very well and the tube wouldn't make it with anyone on it. The water was extremely cold and I was starting to panic. Of course Dallas just sat there devising a plan and eating a sandwich. We had rented a float for the cooler from Rio Rafts so we decided I would ride on that tube while the cooler balanced in the dead tube. Wait where would Dallas ride... well he didn't ride anywhere he pulled me and our stuff back to camp. He was truly my knight in shining swim shorts that day! It was so cold and I don't know if I would have made it back without him. We even managed to have a really good time in spite of the tube. We met some people and hung out with them the rest of the way back. Dallas was beat once we got back and fell asleep in the chair outside the RV. I decided to let him sleep for a while and then we would go get something to eat.

I woke him up in an hour or so after I had cleaned up and taken a shower. (Yes I moved him into the RV shortly after falling asleep. I didn't leave him sleeping outside!) We went down River Road and tried to find somewhere to eat in BFE. We went inside a little bar by the tube drop off spot but the kitchen was already closed and we didn't want to drink we wanted to eat. We decided to head back toward I-35 to find somewhere to eat. My half asleep husband was in charge of directions and we turned the opposite way of the highway and thank goodness! We happened across a hole in the wall Italian restaurant and it was amazing! After dinner we went back to the RV and were asleep not long after that.

Monday morning and it was time to go home. I had a wonderful time but we both missed our babies so much. I had done really well not thinking about the kids until Sunday evening. While D was sleeping I wondered around outside. The camper next to us had kids with them. Seeing all the little kids made me want to jump in the car right then and head home but I resisted. We packed up and headed out around 11. We stopped in Austin and ate a nice seafood lunch that made us extremely tired. We made it home around 3:30 pm and unpacked everything. We went to get the kids asap which ended up being around their normal pick up time of 5 pm. They were just as happy to see us and we were to see them. It was the longest I have ever been away from them and I was very proud of myself but damn I missed my babies! It was a wonderful trip but it was great to be home.

I know, I know

It has been so busy I haven't had a minute to blog. I have so many stories and no time to type them. Maybe if each blog wasn't a five page essay then I could keep up with this a bit easier. I blame the public school system and all my past English teachers for training me to "over" write everything. I apologize to everyone about the delay but I should have a calmer day tomorrow and will be spending some time updating. The kids are wonderful as always! Have a great hump day everyone!

Love, Lisa