Vaca 2012 Part One...

Last Wednesday we took off for Wabasha, MN.  We were scheduled to leave at 10 (Travis' plan...he's a little OCD!).  Pierce woke up with what we thought was pink eye.  We called his pediatrician and they called in drops for us (without being seen).  At the time I was happy they did this!

We were 30 minutes late leaving town...which really irritated Travis;)  We left at 10:30 and arrived around 4.  A big thanks to Dora and Clifford the Big Red Dog for babysitting in the back of the Traverse:)

My aunt and uncle own a bar/restaurant on the Mississippi...Slipperys. That was our first stop.  The boys enjoyed feeding the ducks!

 We ate supper then headed to my cousin Chelsea and Chad's house.  Here are the boys riding the 4-wheeler.  Cash was almost asleep when they returned!

We are thinking Pierce got bit by a bug on this little ride...

 Here's Chelsea and her cutie-patootie son Cody!

 This was Pierce's eye the next morning.  We took him to the ER in Wabasha.  They said it's not pink eye and to stop the drops.  The doctor thought it was an infected bug bug bite and do Benadryl and warm compresses.  Poor kid was in a sleepy haze for the day!

 We arrived at the eagle center and got out of the vehicle and realized we forgot a shirt for Pierce!! We were going boating the rest of the day so it didn't even cross my mind!  We were those parents who had the shirtless hoodlum running around!  Don't worry...we bought him a new shirt!

 Only family picture we got the whole vacation....we are in our suits and my husband is wearing a stupid cut-off shirt!  If you know me you know I HATE when he wears cut-offs!!  Geesh..so embarrassing!

 My cousin Emily and Tim were brave enough to let us take their boat out while they were out of town!  It was the perfect boat for our crew and we had  wonderful day!  We were so grateful for them and the boat!!

The kids enjoying a snack...

 Pierce thought he was pretty cool helping drive the boat...and eating a beef stick!

 Catching some rays with Amber...

 Parked the boat and played on the sand bar.  The kids had a great time but I have to say...I am NOT a fan of sand!  It was everywhere!!  Each kid got a dip in the water and a hoist in the boat!

 Got hot so we jumped out for a while!  Pierce is catching a ride with Travis;)

 Ryan and I in the front of the boat enjoying a beverage...

 ...Amber and Travis in the back of the boat hanging out with the sleeping kids:)

 And this brings us to our Friday.... :(  Pierce woke up and his eye looked even worse!  We called the ER doctor back and he said we needed to go to see an optometrist.  We made an appointment an hour away from Wabasha...but closer to Minneapolis where we were staying Friday-Sunday.  The optometrist looked at Pierce for 2 minutes and decided it was cellulitis of the eye!  He gave us a few options: Option #1: admit him to the hospital and give him an IV with antibiotics every 12 hours for 3 days! Option #2: give him one round of the IV antibiotics there then make our way back home to the UofI hospitals to be closer to home. Option #3: consult a pediatrician and see what he thought!  We went with option #3 first then we would take further action if needed!

 Luckily the pediatrician didn't think it was cellulitis and he thought it was an infected bug bite!  The two doctors had some discussing to do in the hallway and left me shaking like a leaf in the room!!  We weren't sure what was going to happen!

The two decided Pierce would be okay with two injections in his legs and a 10 day antibiotic.  THANK GOD!  After about 4 hours at the hospital they sent us on our way to Minneapolis for a family wedding! 

The optometrist actually called us on Monday wondering about Pierce.  I thought that was very nice of him! And...turns out he was right!  We had a follow-up with our pediatrician Monday and she said it was a minor case of cellulitis but whatever they did worked because he looks great now and everything is fine!

Pierce's eye looked 100 times better when he woke up Saturday!  We continued our vacation and we only missed out on Nickelodeon Universe and the Aquarium at Mall of America.

The rest of the vacation blog will continue tomorrow...

Random Pics

 I've taken a lot of random pictures so I figure I'll dedicate a blog to them:)  Enjoy!

Cash is such a sweet boy!  His new thing is to wrap his hands around your neck and give you the biggest hug!  I.LOVE.THEM!!  He does this to me 10-15 times a day...of course there are no pictures to show for it;)

Eating fresh peas from the garden!  Fresh green beans are his newest favorite!

 Daycare kids hanging out...playing nice for once;)

Best $20 garage sale find ever!!  The kids love the air hockey table!  They have no idea how to play or that you can even keep score so it's arms up in the air screaming you scored every time someone got the puck in the goal! 

Saturday morning cartoons!  I tell them there's absolutely no reason to get up at 6am but they don't get it!

 You can't tell by this picture but he was super happy 10 seconds before I snapped this!  He had chocolate pudding for the first time and loved it...he didn't like the bib on him:)

 There are now more girls in the daycare...which means dress-up time!

{Travis does NOT approve of this picture!}

My in-laws have this amazing pool!  It's so nice going out there for a cool dip!

 Uncle Austin and his goggles;)

 Kisses for cousin Brynnleigh.

 It might not be as big as the in-laws pool but this is what we do daily here!

 Oh...and the zucchini bread was good!  We froze about 6 loaves!  That will be good this winter!

Happy Tuesday! Today is my Friday because our mini-vaca starts tomorrow....WAHOO!!

A Weekend At Home...

...Well, kind of a weekend at home!  As you all know I'm not a fan of being home on the weekends because I'm home all week! 

Friday night I had a spray tanning party in Keswick.  I was there until 8pm then met a friend for some adult beverages!  It was a great night away.  I had been alone with my kids since Monday night (Travis was busy all week with firemen stuff!).  I told him I needed a mental health day so I took it Friday night!  It.was.awesome!

Saturday Travis started a project in our backyard.  Wasn't too big but took up his whole morning.  I ran around going to the store, mall and dropping Pierce off at his friends birthday party.

I offered to watch my sisters kids Saturday night!  Kellie and I like to do things together (totally not planned!) and our first two kids are 3 weeks apart and our youngest are 5 weeks apart (we were married 12 weeks apart...my parents were in the poor house that summer!).

Anyway...I have kids here all week so an extra two was nothing...or so I thought!  The kids were all really good but I had anxiety about sleeping!  I wasn't sure how the night would go!  It all went well and it turns out I had nothing to worry about!  Travis and I actually took all 4 kids to the pool.  They had a great time and it wore them out!  I didn't get any pictures of that because I was worried about Cash jumping in head first...which he did a couple comes!  That kid has no fear!

We put Kahne and Pierce in the basement to sleep.  They watched Toy Story 3 and conked out!

 They thought they were pretty cool:)

 Travis got up with the older kids Sunday morning.  The little ones and I slept til 8:30:)  Travis got breakfast started and had chocolate chip pancakes, sausage patties, bacon and scrambled eggs!  It was delicious!

My sister and her husband came and got the kids and I took off to get a mani and pedi and do a big Walmart trip before our family vacation this week (details to come!).

I haven't had "fake" nails forever and decided I want to try them again! 

 I went to Premiere Nails right by Buffalo Wild Wings in Coralville.  I got right in and they did an awesome job!  You even get complimentary drinks:)

Love, love, love my pedicure!

I came home and unloaded all the groceries...okay so my anal husband unloaded and put them away!  FINE BY ME!  Then we went to my uncle John Lower's retirement party in Conroy.  Good to see family we haven't seen in a while!

It was a great weekend and I have never been so excited to start a Monday because we leave for mini-vaca on Wednesday!  Going to Minnesota to stay with family Wed-Fri in Wabasha.  Going to go boating and have lots of outdoor fun!  Friday we are leaving for Minneapolis and going to Mall of America to the Nickelodeon Universe.  My cousin gets married Saturday so we are going to have a great time in the hotel with our huge family!  We are all so excited:)  Let the vaca lists begin;)

Spray Tan Gunk...

I've had many clients (some professionals) tell me I better start covering my face while spray tanning.  All the chemicals (so far) are not harmful but I've been thinking about all this extra solution I'm inhaling.  Probably too much info...but when I get home and blow my nose it's disgusting!!

So anyway...I had my husband pick up some masks and I wore one for the first time the other night.  I've been reluctant because I don't want to scare any clients away (them thinking it's harmful to their body) but then I realized I better take care of my lungs!!  It's not harmful to the person coming to see me a couple times a month but I'm doing on average 30-40 spray tans a week and the sticky part of the solution clings to my lungs.

So..here's what I came up with after 18 spray tans Monday night.....

{looks like a bra, I know!}

Obviously the one on the left was the "before" and the one on the right is the "after".

Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but I'm also glad I'm choosing to wear them now because all that extra spray would be up my nose, down my throat and in my lungs!

So....if you come to see me for a spray tan and I'm wearing a mask....just know it's for my protection and you're totally safe:)

July 4th, 2012

Oh the 4th of July....not my favorite holiday but still a fun one!

It's not my favorite day because Travis is with the firemen helping a majority of the day...which means I'm in charge of the boys all day (let me remind you....to the boys I'm chopped liver..dad is SO much cooler!).  I think I heard 3 times "you're not my friend no more!" from Pierce! Awesome!

Anyway...we made the most of the hottest day EVER!  I'm not sure I have ever sweat so much...seriously!

Kahne and Pierce sat and waited for the parade!  My sister had strep throat and wasn't able to attend all the festivities so we made sure her kids got lots of candy and then sent them home;)

 Cash spent most of his day in the cooler eating ice...smart kid!

 This was the best picture I could get of my super excited kids;)  Did I mention it was HOT?!

 Getting ready for the parade!  Wait for it....wait for it!

 Along with eating ice all day he also snuck in a few pieces of candy!

 Freeze pops = genius idea!

 Went back to my parents for some water time!  Slip'n'slide looked so much fun!  It made me realize what my next invention should be (not like I already have an invention!)....an adult size slip'n'slide!  Not sure if they already make them but it would be so much fun!!

 Pierce was the only kid interested in sparklers!  I was scared to death of sparklers as a kid (actually they still freak me out!)...so I'm shocked Pierce liked them!  Not that he has to take after me but he tends to be a scardy-cat with a lot of things!

 Pierce was so excited during the fireworks!  He kept yelling "AWESOME" after all them!

He thinks he's so cool because his daddy sets the fireworks off!

 Cash got settled in and enjoyed the fireworks too!

We are both a hot mess!

 I had to add this picture because I think it's absolutely ridiculous when people post pictures of fireworks!  I guess I wanted to be a part of that ridiculousness;)  OOOOH-AHHHH

I was home and in bed before Travis got home!  I talked to him on the phone after the production and I was telling him I don't think I've ever been so hot in my life!  He did not feel sorry for me because the firemen have to be in full gear (coat, pants, boots and helmet) during the firework display!  I felt kind of stupid complaining about myself;)  Like they say...it could always be worse!

And please disregard the date on my camera!  I got a new camera and still can't figure it out!  Someone put the date on the pictures for me and now I can't figure out how to get it off...or at lease make the date correct!  So...this did not happen on July 5th, it really was the 4th of July!

{I messed with my camera today and I'm hoping I fixed the problem!}

I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July and spent time with friends and family!

Zucchini Zucchini Zucchini

We have zucchini galore over here!!  Last year (I was told...) we had plenty of zucchini plants but none of them grew.  So why wouldn't you double your plants/seeds this year(I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about!)?! 

Travis said he planted double the seeds this year and they are all producing!  Wahoo... ;)

Anyway...we have a lot of zucchini and not sure what to do with it!  Someone on Facebook today posted and asked if anyone had any recipes they enjoy with zucchini and I "liked" it so I could read all the comments!

Truth is my mom has an amazing zucchini bread recipe and Travis has been begging me to try it.  I tried it last year but it did not turn out like my moms:( 

 So....Travis decided he'll try to make the bread when he gets off work tomorrow.  Only my husband is so anal and organized he had to get all the ingredients out (except the refrigerated ones) and set them on the counter!  Most wives wouldn't mind this but I'm home all day and clutter on the counter drives me nuts! 

I let this one go.....and when he went to bed I took a picture of it and am now blogging about it:)

I'll let you know how the bread turns out.....

TO BE CONTINUED!

Weekend Storms

Our weekend started off on a scary note with 60-80 mph straight line winds!  Luckily everything was okay at our house but my parents weren't so lucky. 

They lost their 60 foot shade tree and 4 pine trees.

I got to the clean up scene too late with my camera and they had taken the whole tree away already! 

You see that Little Tikes play set next to the tree?!  That play set didn't move at all in the wind but it took the whole tree!!  Crazy how things work out! 

My parents were outside on the patio just minutes before the tree fell.

 Those are the pine trees that were taken by the wind also.

 Luckily they had some great help picking everything up! 

 Pierce went and got his wheel-barrow and rake all by himself and started helping!

 This tree used to shade their whole patio area....not anymore:(

The tree fell right between the house and the garage...missing both!

 Got it all cleaned up and this was the final act.

Luckily everyone was safe and there was no damage to the house or the garage!