A bunch of sickies

Things have not been wonderful around here for about a week when Reese caught a cold.  Things were rough for her when we picked her up from daycare after work on Thursday.  I gave my mom a call & luckily she was able to come up & take care of her on Friday.  I looked forward to getting home Friday & just being together as a family.  We had planned on ordering Thai takeout & relaxing after the kids went to bed.  As I laid in bed with Cam & Mike told him his two nightly stories, my stomach started to feel weird.  I thought maybe I was just hungry so I ate a little takeout.  Things quickly went downhill & I ended up being sick to my stomach all night long.

Don't mind my kid in his skivvies

Saturday I took it easy but still felt achy & weak.  Luckily Reese seemed to be feeling a lot better.  By Saturday evening I felt a lot better but then ended up waking up in the middle of the night to be sick again.  Ugh.

Sunday morning my stomach was a bit of a mess but we still met up with my parents to do some furniture shopping for our new house since we'd been scheduling & rescheduling.  Gradually I again felt better & have been good since.  Finally I'd be able to sleep on Sunday night!  Fat chance.  I ended up being up with Reese from 4am on as she was in & out of sleep & super restless. Monday daycare ended up being cancelled due to hurricane Isaac.  We barely even got rain so it was pretty ridiculous.  But I'm praying for the people of the Gulf coast who are now getting slammed by the storm!  Anyway, it was a good thing they were off since Mike was able to take Reese to the doctor.  Out the door with a diagnosis of a double ear infection with a prescription for Amoxicillin.  We assumed things would be getting better until Cam complained of a tummy ache right as we sat down for dinner yesterday.  I was convinced he was faking since he's always trying to get out of eating dinner.  I wish I had been right.  He ended up throwing up all over the living room shortly after.  As he's wailing, Reese is sympathy wailing & I'm trying to corral the dog who is attempting to eat the flippin vomit.  No joke.  It was mass chaos in the Pernecky house last night.  After getting Reese to bed & settling Cam, I ended up scrubbing the rug & sanitizing the house for nearly 3 hours.  Cam perked up after a quick nap on the couch, but I knew there would likely be more to come after the sickness I had just gotten over.  I was armed with a bucket the next time & ended up saving myself from another massive clean-up. Poor guy.  

Mike decided he would stay with him today so I could save up more vacation time for our planned trip to Chicago this winter.   Cam & Mike slept together in our bed so he wouldn't wake up as I got ready for work.  He got sick one more time during the night & has been getting better & better all day long.  By the time I got home from work today, he was bouncing off the walls.  I'll be home with him tomorrow too & hopefully he'll stay healthy.  My biggest concern is keeping Reese from getting sick.  She's still fighting the remnants of her cold & her new ear infection so the last thing the girl needs is the stomach bug.  

Things have not been super over here lately!

Splish splash

It's still strange having Wednesdays off & half the time when Mike's alarm is going off, I completely forget I'm not working.  This morning, I looked at my clock & thought, "Okay, I have to be out of bed within five minutes."  And what a glorious feeling it is when the realization hits me that I don't have to go!

Not that I sleep in or anything.  I basically get up at my usual time but it's the fact that I don't need to fly out the door & deal with the crap that ensues on a typical work day.  Instead I get to spend time with my glorious children.

With my glorious children, I created many creatures out of blocks, including dinosaurs, castles & airplanes.  I also played attack of the rabid dinosaur who eats Lightning McQueen & gets brought down by Red Bird!

 

On this gloomy, rainy day, we munched on some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, Cam enjoyed an impromptu caramel sundae from McDonald's & I whipped up some Crock-pot BBQ chicken.. easy peasy.

And then we hit the bath.  Well, I didn't, but the kids did.  I mean, I did bathe today, just not at that time.  But, you get the idea. This bath had bubbles because I drew up a vapo-bath since sweet lil Reesers has a cold.  My poor little love has been coughing her head off since we put her to bed.  So sad.  And she's still so smiley & happy despite feeling crummy.  Such a love.  

But at least she has her big brother to take good care of her!

 

And that makes her pretty darn happy!

Here's Cam at the same age..

She says "Da-da" so easily so I've been practicing Mama with her & tonight she was on a kick saying, "Mmmm-Ma!"  So cute.  Love that gal!

Both of my 9 month old goofballs

Both of my kiddos absolutely love the bath.  And speaking of water, we're planning on signing Cam up for swim lessons very soon.  We recently had a scare where there were multiple adults in the pool with Cam when Mike literally turned to tell someone something when we realized Cam had fallen out of his raft & was sinking.

We were right there to scoop him out, but we were so proud that he was able to swim to the edge of the pool & even pull himself out of the water.  I've always been extremely leery of the water since I know that drowning can happen very quickly & very quietly.

Cam still relies completely on his swimmies or an inner tube so I'd love for him to learn to swim on his own.  Not that he wouldn't still need complete supervision in the pool, but I want him to feel more confident in the water.

Anyway, it was another great day off, but it's back to the grind tomorrow.  Ugh.  Hopefully Friday will come quickly!

Mah new do!

So after work today, I hit ye old salon for my hair re-do to fix the mess that was my first do as you can refer to in this post.  It was a lot less awkward than I had feared, thank goodness!  The stylist was very nice about it but did say, "Well you wanted dramatic."  And I wanted to say, "Yes, I do like dramatic, just not white trash, trailer park dramatic."  But I didn't.  That could have come across as rude.

And even though a lot of the time I love bold, this color is more natural, but I'll take it over the latter!  She colored my hair & another girl who was as sweet & cute as can be dried & styled my hair.  I was nervous that it would be awkward at the end with me paying or not paying since we didn't really establish that during the beginning.  

Well, I didn't have to pay but I did tip both girls since I couldn't leave without giving anything. In other news, after writing these hair posts, I now realize that I do not at all like my nose from a profile view.  It's too narrow, pointy & hook-like.  But at least it isn't an ugly profile view with white trash, black rooted hair.  You know me, I'm always looking on the bright side of things!

Relaxing weekend

Since we spend such little time at home with the kids during the week, a relaxing weekend spent at home is always fine by me!  They're so few & far between.

Yesterday evening we met up with friends for some German food & beer.  The beer was from Oktoberfest in Germany which is really cool as well as delish!  There were as many kids as there were adults so it was a definite juggling act to corral the kiddos.  Luckily we had the back of the restaurant where they could play without bothering people too much.

Today we left the house only to go to Target for a few things and have otherwise had no agenda.  We whipped up a bunch of baby food for Reese and tried some new combinations.  I roasted some veggies to give them more flavor & she tried blueberries & avocado for the first time today too.  I was able to use my NutriBullet to puree a lot of the food.  I needed to thin the turkey I made so I blended spinach with a tiny bit of water for extra nutrition.  We also picked up chia seeds (think Chia Pet) which are super high in omega-3 fatty acids so I blended some of those into her food too.

The kids had a ball trashing the living room in three minutes flat.  I call them the kings of chaos! 

The room stayed like this until Reese went to bed a few minutes ago since there was no sense in straightening & re-straightening only to have it trashed again.  It was a good sign that they were having a great time!  They're little partners in crime, those two.

These two crack me up!

Life would be so dull with out my goofballs!

Speaking of partners in crime, after my shower tonight, I came out to find these two video gaming it up.  This is just a small preview of things to come as Cam becomes older & his love of video games grows.  It is so incredibly adorable watching him sit there, thinking he's playing the game while Mike is actually playing the computer.  Pure innocence.  God I love this age!

As I sit here, I hear Cam shouting, I got a touchdown!  I knocked you down!  So funny.  I'm thankful for this weekend & the awesome time I spent with my family!

What a pain

So last Monday I headed to get my hair cut & colored after work.  I decided I wanted to try Ombre hair color, where the color on top is darker & fades down to blonder at the bottom.  

I guess it's kind of risky since it can look like grown out roots rather than a fresh, new look.  But, I'm all about changing up my hair & trying new things.  So, I had a six pm appointment on Monday & it took forever, like almost three hours.  So, by the time my hair was cut, the stylist was drying it & before I knew it, I was rushing out of the salon before I had a chance to really look at my hair.

By the time I got home it was after nine and I didn't even truly know what my hair really looked like.  I say hello to Mike & Cam & I notice that Mike is looking at me funny.  Mind you, Mike likes basically any color or cut I've ever done, so I do value his opinion.  After inspecting it, he decided, "It's different."  And then he said, "I guess it just looks like you haven't had your roots done in a long time."  After grabbing a mirror & heading to the bathroom for further inspection, I kind of panicked a little.  I had spent a lot of money & I had to go to work the next day.  I decided to wait & get my co-worker's opinions before making a decision.  After talking to a few girls, I decided I had to contact the salon to let them know.  I was very tempted to just make an appointment elsewhere to save myself from embarrassment or awkwardness, but I could not justify spending even more money.

So, this is a picture I took before straightening my hair yesterday.  Not great quality, but it gives you an idea.  The stylist just did not blend the colors enough so there is a distinct line between the dark to the light.  I have never ever gone back to a salon to have a color or cut adjusted so I was not looking forward to calling.  Who answers the phone?  The girl who did my hair!  Ugh.  Well, she didn't seem thrilled that I didn't like it, but why would she?   Long story short, I go back tomorrow & I'm really hoping she can fix it!  The blond she did is also way too brassy/orangey looking.

The picture above just does not do it justice, but trust me when I say that it does not look good.  I have gotten several dozen opinions since I work with so many different people and everyone agrees that I need to go back.  I'm not sure what to expect, but I surely hope the girl doesn't think I'm going to pay to have it fixed!  Tomorrow should be nice & awkward though! 

Recent happenings

Today I'm spending my day off with my little girl.  Unfortunately we had to start the day with two shots at Reese's 9 month well baby visit, but she handled them like a champ!  She also had to have her big toe pricked to ensure her iron levels are good which they were.  She didn't even react to that one!

My little gal's growth is right on track & she's right around the 75th percentile for everything. Hop over to the kiddo's blog to see her exact stats. We're changing up her feedings as of today & dropping a bottle & upping the ounces so that she'll now be drinking 3 8oz bottles a day.  She'll continue her solids 3 times a day as well as finger foods whenever & a sippy cup of water to get used to using a cup.  Exciting stuff, I tell ya!

If you like tea but want something cold to drink during the heat of the summer, you should try the smoothie I made this morning which I nabbed from my Food Network magazine.  Blend around 2 cups of strong tea with 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of almonds & ice.  Deee-lish!

I blended my smoothie in my new NutriBullet which I picked up last week.  We've been drinking our breakfasts since with 1/2 greens, 1/2 frozen fruit & 1/4 cup nuts or seeds.  We throw in hemp seeds for some fat & protein & goji berries for antioxidants.  It's a good way to start the day with a lot of fruits & veggies.  I'm going to stop breast feeding in a few months so I'm also trying to change things up since I'll be burning a lot less calories when I stop.  I haven't been to the gym since my third trimester of pregnancy with Reese so I've gotta get back on that train too.

We also had Reese dedicated a couple of weeks ago too which was really nice.  Our church doesn't baptize which is different from the way Mike & I grew up.  Our kids do have God parents though which isn't traditional for our church.  Reese's dedication was a lot later than Cameron's because we wanted to wait for Auntie Erika to come down from IL since she & my brother are Reese's God parents. 

In other news, we're just waiting on our final approval for our house in order to set the closing date.  Our financial guy said we're on "easy street" now but until we sign on that dotted line, I won't relax! So, that's what's been going on over here!  Right now I'll just wait for my little pumpkin to wake up from her nap so I can enjoy the day with her!  Hope you're all having a great week!

9 months!

Reese, you're 9 months old today!

What is my 9 month little gal up to these days?

I have to say, this has been the month of changes & advances for you!  You're pulling new tricks out of your sleeves every day it seems.  So, what did you start doing this month?

You've learned to clap & love to show off your skills!  The night you first clapped you seriously sat on your daddy's lap & clapped for about twenty minutes straight.

You're officially extremely mobile!  You've been doing the army crawl for weeks now & you're everywhere!  We can no longer leave a room & think you won't get into things.  Dang, you're hard to keep up with!

You love "helping" me do laundry and you're just the cutest little helper a mommy could ask for!

  No sense in being in a hurry when you're helping though since I have to keep my hand on the side of the basket to keep you from flipping it over on yourself as you pull yourself to a stand.

 
 Yep, pulling yourself to a stand is another big new trick this month!  I'm finding more & more bruises on your head these days, which is a lot like your brother was!

Cam is still your favorite person & the two of you are having so much fun together.

Your brother does like to take toys from you though & I'm always finding myself saying, Cameron, that's a baby toy!  And he says, But Reesey's not sharing!  Oy vey.  But you do have an awesome big brother, I have to say.  He is so loving & good to you!  You're a lucky girl; that boy is going to look out for you forever.

Um, what else?  You're still an amazing sleeper.  Absolutely amazing!  If we have nowhere to wisk you off to, you'll sleep till 8:30 or 9 in the morning & that's after we've put you to bed at around 7:30 or so the night before.

Thank you for that Reesey, you're awesome!  You nap for us about 2-3 times a day, usually one long nap & two shorter ones.  When you're at daycare they don't lay you down nearly enough & you'll come home in the evening after sleeping only an hour that day.  It's straight down for a nap most week days for you!

You are a bit of a fire cracker lately & nearly impossible to change & dress.  I feel like I've run a marathon when I'm done getting you in your jammies.  Stinker.  You throw your head back in anger when I have the audacity to get you changed.  You're extremely opinionated & don't hesitate to voice your distaste about things you don't agree with.  Again, stinker.  I love my spirited girl!

You're a tad rough lately & I type this as I sport a nice little scratch down my nose.  You're constantly grabbing & pulling at everyone's faces.  We're working on teaching you to be more gentle.

You're drinking 4 7oz bottles of breast milk & eating solids three times a day.  We're literally feeding you all day long...  Seriously, like every 2 hours.  And I guess that's why you're growing so much! You go for your 9 month well visit tomorrow so I don't have your stats yet, but I think you weigh about 22 pounds.  We were at the museum the other day & I got on a scale there with & without you, that's why I'm guessing that.  You wear size 3 diapers, size 2 shoes (though still rarely ever wear shoes) & size 9-12 month clothes.

You still have no teeth!!  Cam had at least 4 teeth by the time he was your age so we're starting to wonder if we'll ever see teeth in that mouth of yours!  You're still chewing on everything so I'm sure they'll eventually pop through!  You learned your first sign & can now sign for milk which you love to do!

Happy 9 months, Reese!  You're awesome & we love you so much, joy baby!