Saturday, July 21, 2007

Apple Store Opening

So this morning because we are totally and completely crazy we got up went to breakfast with friends then stood in line for an hour with kids just to be one of the first people in the new apple store here in Ann Arbor. No more having to drive 45 mins to go to the apple store! Anyhow we stood there with Ethan running circles around us quite literally and Daniel screaming at the top of his lungs for a good 15 mins and I had this thought that I had truly lost my mind. But at last we made it to the front of the line and got into the store...and got our free T-shirts. Jared is always up for a free T-shirt. Here's a funny little Jared fact so he LOVES t-shirts but will only wear ones he got for free. If you actually dare I say it buy him a t-shirt it just sits in his closet because you had to pay for it. Don't ask I truly don't understand the logic in this but as long as there are free t-shirts to be had he wont go naked so all is right in the world. On a side note we knew at least two other people standing in line with there kids...and probably a dozen others who were friends I'm not sure what this says about us and our friends maybe that we all need some kind of help. No I'll sit at home and stalk my mail man as he delivers my Harry Potter....it was torcher to walk past borders and a whole display of them this morning and no just grab one up but it will be here soon or so Jared keeps telling me.

Old Friends



Yet again all the men in my life are peacefully sleeping away the night while I sit here typing. Someday I'm going to be peacefully sleeping while they are awake I swear. What goes around comes around right? Anyhow tonight I went scrapbook and instead of working on the boys books like I usually do I decided to do a little work in my own. I did a two page spread on my senior prom. Something about looking at old photos always makes me just a bit sentimental. My favorite is a photo of Me, Jared, Amy and Steve. Amy was my best friend from high school and Steve is this great guy who I've known since umm either kindergarten or 1st grade I can't remember which. It's really funny to think that me and Jared are married and so are Amy and Steve now though I'm not so sure I would have thought that the night we got the picture. BTW Amy if you don't have this picture I can send you the spar copy I have (somehow I ended up with two). It's funny when you start looking at old pictures how certain memories pop up... studying at Amy's house for biology test, hanging out in the library every morning before school started (ok so maybe I was a little bit of a geek), Amy asking if she should go out with Steve, Amy gushing over Steve on the phone after there first date which if memory serves was prom but that might have been there second date hmm, anyhow I think I can honestly say Amy was the one friend who never got tired of me in high school and was always there for me. In a little over a week I get to kidnappe her for 5 days and take her to Maine with me. Hmm I wonder if it's kidnapping if the person drives them selves... At any rate I'm so excited to get to have her for five days and if Steve gets the time off that would be twice as fun. Although I hear he has some rather incriminating pictures from Elementary school or something that I may have to talk to him about:P I feel like a kid who has been told they are getting everything they want for Christmas. Thanks Amy your the best.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Life getting back to normal

Last night we decided to have a special night for our boys after realizing that with life being so crazy they were kind of getting the short end of the stick. So we took them outside to play on the trampoline. Then because it was hot we turned on the hose and let Ethan play with it a little. After a while he came over held it out and asked if I wanted a drink. When I came closer he tried to get me with the hose so of coerce I had to snatch it away and soak the kid it's only fair right. So we all giggled and chased each other around the yard with the hose. It was the best night I've had in a while and I think we all really needed it. After the hose we played with the neighbors which is always tons of fun. The boys all ganged up on Jared and had a squirt gun fight. Ethan even got to drive our neighbors gator around which was ohh so cool. Daniel just loved sitting in this little Hummer they have as well and following the bigger boys around. I might even have convinced my neighbor to go scrapbook with me tomorrow which is really exciting for me.

This morning we took the boys up to see Grandpa in the hospital. On the way there Ethan kept asking if they were going to look at his owe too. We told him we didn't know but we would ask. His owe is a week old skinned knee from falling off his scooter. Anyhow we got there just after he was taken for a test so we had to walk around the hospital for a little while which the boys found very interesting. Then back to grandpa's room for a visit. Ethan was very gentle with Grandpa and gave him the sweetest hug. Then he asked grandpa's nurse to look at his owe which smiling she did. It was very sweet. Ethan was totally fascinated with Grandpa's bed and kept adjusting it while we were there thankfully grandpa was not in it at the time. Anyhow Jared's dad is doing great and hopefully will get to go home tomorrow but were still unsure of that. His biggest complaints are his incision itches like crazy and they keep waking him up at night. So life is starting to head back to normal or at least what passes for normal around here.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Dads Surgery

Yesterday Jared's dad had open heart surgery. All went well and they ended up clearing two of the blockages. They will go in at a latter time with a different procedure to clear the third. I think Jared's mom said it was angioplasty or something like that. They were going to keep him sedated for about 6 hours so he should be waking up sometimes this morning. He is doing as well as can be expected and is in an ICU unit right now but should hopefully be moved to a private room by tomorrow if all is going well. Jared's mom said I could go back and see him after his surgery but I don't think I could have handled seeing him like that right now so I'm going to wait until he's feeling just a little bit better. Thanks for all the wonderful things you all have done and the kind words and prayers.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Dad update

So just wanted to pop in quick to update everyone. So this morning they ran more test on Jared's dad and discovered he has three blockages in his heart. One of the blockages is fairly easy to fix the others need a little more finesse clear. So tomorrow afternoon he will be undergoing open heart surgery. There was some damage to the heart but haven't heard much on that since the surgery is kind of taken over all our minds. He's going to be laid up for the next three months but should be returned to us almost as good as new I think. I think he's going to go a little nuts not being able to go into work for three month.

On a side note we have canceled our trip to Kentucky for the weekend to spend time with family.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Jared's Dad

Sometimes I am so grateful for small things. Saturday evening after my family had left for there own homes and we had just finished bathing the kids after a spaghetti dinner Jared's mom called us. She was calling to tell us that Jared's dad had some kind of spell and she had called the ambulance would Jared meet her at the hospital. So we there diapers on the kids and put them in the car minus cloths and were off. To amuse everyone Jared's parents live less than 5 mins from the hospital we live 20 mins from the hospital and we beet the ambulance there. I won't tell you how fast we drove because it would frighten most people. At any rate Jared's dad suffered a series of 4 cardiac events which means he had 4 really small heart attacks. He is doing as good as can be expected, and board out of his mind at the hospital. He made a joke about walking home but he doesn't have any shoes since the ambulance came and got him. The concerning thing right now is that he has a protein level that keeps rising this meanings either there is some reasonable damage to the heart or we are in for another heart attack in the near future. Tomorrow they will run a bunch of test and let us know which of those is the case. If all goes well Jared's dad could get to come home on Tuesday.

So tonight I am grateful to have such a wonderful grandfather to my children still alive. I'm grateful for Jared's mom in recognizing so quick that he needed help. I'm grateful for the medical technology we have in this day and age. I'm grateful that Jared was home and could be there for his dad. I'm grateful for the time this has allowed Jared to spend with his dad. I'm grateful for children who make me laugh even when I'm crying. I'm grateful for the promise of eternal families which meaning never having to say goodbye.

Going to the Zoo

On Saturday my family, my parents, sisters Tammy and Shannon as well as three of Shannon's kids went to the zoo together. The last time we did something like this Ethan was only a few months old so it was nice to go do something as a family. So we got the zoo around 10:20 had planned to be there at 10 but with so many kids we were a little behind schedule anyhow we get there get threw the gates and hit the penguin house first and got to see them feeding the penguins which was kinda cool. Ethan liked the way the swim in the water. Next up we came across a rather large fountain which I remember from my childhood...there is somewhere in the piles of pictures at my parents house a picture of me with all my sisters in front of said fountain so I thought it would be funny to get one of the boys in front of the fountain. However Daniel was having none of that since he really wanted to walk not ride in a stroller and well Ethan managed to get his head caught in the railing around the fountain. I did end up snapping a picture of Daniel screaming with his cousins and Ethan if you look is about to get his head caught and start screaming. After this amusing event we ran from one exhibit to the next with kids pointing out things and owing and awing over them. I really like the fact that they use natural barriers on most of the animals so it's really easy to see them and get pretty close. The polar bear exhibit which actually is one of the best in the world was really cool to see. http://www.detroitzoo.org/Attractions/ARL/Arctic_Ring_of_Life/
This tells you all about it. After the bears we debated letting the kids feed the giraffes but decided they were getting to tired to wait for the next feeding time. We did this a binderpark zoo last year and Ethan thought it was so fun. So it was on to walk with the Kangaroos. This also is very cool you actually walk in the Kangaroo exhibit and it's very possible they will hop on the path with you...I didn't have that happen since they were all napping or just chilling in the shade but the kids thought it was great. Ethan kept telling me we were in the jungle. After seeing the usual Rhinos, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Bison, Moneys, etc. we heading off for the reptile house. Ethan loved tyring to find the snakes and turtles in all the cages. His cousin Gavin and him would race to see who could spot stuff first then run to the next tank. Very cute. At the end of the day Gavin who is good buds with Ethan asked to come play with us again sometime. This made me realize that I really do need to make more time for Ethan to play with his cousins there only an hour away and they have tons of fun together. Maybe well let Gavin come spend the night once we get back from Maine the boys would be over the moon about it.

Detriot Zoo Pictures















Bee Sting


On Thursday evening yet again Ethan had the talent of find and disturbing a yellow jacket nest. He did this last year and ending up with 17 stings. This year was much better but about as traumatic. He was over incidental at the same neighbors house playing in there sand box when I heard him start to scream. There was a nest inside one of the outdoor trucks they had for the sand box and when he started pushing it around they got a wee bit upset. He got stung 3 times on the top portion of his ear. For most kids this would not be a huge deal but with Ethan it turns out it a little bit of a problem. When ever he gets stung he has what they call a local allergy reaction to the wasp venom. This causes what ever area is stung to swell quite noticeably. After two days of the insane swelling and some advice form a doctor in the ward we took him to the doctor just to make sure he wasn't getting an infection. For anyone out there who doesn't know evidently bee and wasp sting can get infected and if they do it can be quite serious. Now as far as the allergy reaction thing goes it's most likely going to get worse each time he is stung. My sister has a similar problem and got stung on the neck resulting in some time spent in the hospital so that they could help her breath since her neck swelled up. So we'll just have to be a little more careful from now on and hope we don't get stung anywhere that swelling will be an issue.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Tricycle Love



Last week Tara came over to watch the boys while I did some house cleaning and when I looked out the window what did I see but Daniel on Ethan's Tricycle oh so happy as Tara pushed him up and down the street with Ethan "racing" them on his scooter. It was so cute I had to snap a picture or two. Now every time we go threw the garage to go outside Daniel tries to climb up on the beloved red tricycle...I think it's true love.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

4th of July















So we had a fabulous 4th! Festivities started on the 3rd when we got to go see Fireworks at Hudson Mills which was great by the way. Daniel also took his first step on the third trying to get closer to fireworks silly boy. He is now taking about three steps at a time and today somehow even managed to jump though I think that was a complete accident and will never happen again at least not for a month or two. He's so good natured about learning to walk. When he falls he just laughs and gets right back up, Ethan always cried if it didn't go the way he wanted it to so it's a nice change of pace.

On the 4th we spent the morning painting our hall...though I still need to find time to do touch-ups. I've also bought my pictures frames that I'm going to hang to display some of my pictures but umm ya haven't figured out what pictures I want to put in the frames yet. After all that we headed to the Quinns for a fabulous BBQ. The boys had so much fun and it was so nice just to sit back with friends and have a great time. I learned a new yard game that I can't remember the name of but was so fun. It was amusing to watch the boys play croquet and then puzzle over how to get a ball with a string attached across the small pond behind the Quinns. They probably spent over an hour doing different things...throwing it, trying to hit it with a baseball bat, even using golf. It was so funny! What you may be wondering was all this for well the idea was to get a rope across this pond that they could attach a small raft to with fireworks. In the end they just pushed the raft about a foot or so off shore which worked great.

Monday, July 2, 2007

A Day in pictures










Photography addition

Ok it's official I have a photography addition. I realized this as I'm importing my photos from today all 450 of them! What sane person takes 450 pictures in one day? Ok well about 150 or more where photos for the Huber's but still that's a lot of photos and I know tomorrow will be worse because we are going to go see fireworks and play at the park. If I don't take any picture for a day I feel like something is missing it's so pathetic. And now with this whole photography business thing it's just feeding the addiction. So far I have figure I need to be in AA for paper since with my scrapbooking habit I have a thing for paper and now I need to be in counseling for my photography obsession. I'm just a mess. :)

As for the boys update. Daniel is driving me a little insane this week. He's into everything and he so darn fast! Saturday while making dinner he was playing on the floor and I figure he couldn't really hurt anything so wasn't paying to much attention. Big mistake! I'm in the middle of cutting up cucumbers when I hear this glass shattering sound followed by crying. Daniel had somehow managed to break the doors on the front of our fireplace. I thought my heart would stop but he was just fine scared and confused but fine. He must have his fathers luck because he
didn't even have a scratch on him! As for Ethan he has decided that Daniel is pretty cool and can't go anywhere without him. He refuses to take a bath unless Daniel can come. We can't go for a car ride unless Daniel can come. Tonight we were watching peter pan while Daniel was sleeping and Ethan came over to ask if we could wake up Daniel because he wanted to play with him. I said no but Daniel woke up on his own a few mins latter. When Ethan heard Daniel crying he started to jump up and down and ran to there room to get him. I love the fact that they love each other at least for today.