Holiday Party Planning, More Ear Problems & Nanny Hunt Concludes

I didn't have a lot extra going on last week but it seemed to fly by. I'm busy planning our play group's Holiday party. We have about 26 adults and 13 kids coming! It's going to be busy =) I feel like I still have a lot to do but I'm sure it will all turn out fine.

On Monday night Gabe had a rough night. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He just kept waking up and wanting to be held. In the end he was up completely by about 5 a.m. Mike and I were dead tired from all the interruptions. Then Tuesday afternoon, I noticed Gabe's ear had "exploded" again. He has tubes in his ears now to help with any normal drainage and they're working great. When they explode it's like he blew his nose out of his ear. It's really gross. But, it also told me he had a rough night because he had another infection brewing. Unfortunately this is his second ear infection within a month's time. And it's the opposite ear so we know it's not the same infection. 

I made an appointment with the ENT doctor who said after the tubes were put in that she wanted to see Gabe for any ear infections/problems. Luckily we had the antibiotic drops from the previous infection and it's the same treatment for this infection so by the next day when we had our appointment, the ear was clearing up nicely. The concern now is the frequency with which Gabe is getting the infections even with the tubes in place. I don't know a lot about the whole thing but from what I understand, if Gabe just had small sinus cavities which is why fluid was allowed to build up in his ears causing infections, the tubes would have helped that problem instantly. That doesn't mean he'd never get ear infections but there should be months in between each not weeks. But since he seems to be following the same pattern he had before having tubes, we're looking at a problem with his adenoids. 

When we had his tube surgery in September we were on the fence about whether or not to remove the adenoids then. Our pediatrician had suspicions the adenoids were a problem and suggested the ENT take a look at them. When we met with the ENT surgeon, she said it wasn't as simple as that. The adenoids are kind of up there and different to look at unless Gabe is completely knocked out for awhile. The surgeon thought it was better to do the lesser surgery (the 10 minute one versus the hour adenoids one) and start with the tubes in case that would solve Gabe's problems.  She said if the adenoids were a problem we would know pretty soon. Unfortunately for us, the tubes didn't solve the problem. 

Anyways, so we decided to wait and see if Gabe has one more infection before scheduling another surgery. If he continues with the same pattern, that means he'll have another one before Christmas. I'm crossing my fingers for him, but not really holding my breath. I'm guessing he'll have them out before the end of the year. The selfish part of me hopes he gets another infection soon just so we can get him before the twins arrive and I can devote more time to helping him heal =) 

The nanny hunt is all but over. I met with several girls and while I had many disappointments, I did find two potentials. My favorite is a senior at Western getting her degree in Special Education. She has a lot of nanny experience and obviously a lot of training in child care/behavior. She was very professional and nice. I have her coming Tuesday December 3rd for a trial afternoon to see how she does with the kids during a few hours. My second potential I think I will see if I can use as a backup. She's also majoring in Education but she's a Sophomore in College and younger. I think she would do a great job as well but since I have the more experienced candidate, I will probably go with her. 

Now we're just getting into the logistics of hiring a nanny. I need to quickly get things in line to hire her. Things like a contract, calling our insurance company for any injury insurance, and then figuring out if we have to claim what we pay her to the government. It will only be for three months so hopefully we'll fall into some kind of loop hole for not paying much =) 

This week is Thanksgiving and today is Henry's only day of preschool. He and I worked hard on making his teachers "Turkey" treats for the holiday. It's basically a cookie dressed up to look like a turkey. Henry is pretty excited about them though. We worked on them on Saturday but he remembered we made them this morning when he woke up for breakfast. 

 

I'll be busy the next few days getting the house picked up/cleaned before company on Thursday. I have a lot of cooking to do too =) I think it will be fun though. This year is the Dozeman's turn so I think Mom and Dad are having dinner with Aunt Betty and Uncle Arnie.

Before I conclude, here are a few random photos of the boys playing. They are so funny sometimes with their games!  

 (Yogurt in his hair...)

Nanny Interviews, Friends, Family & Haircuts

Well the week flew by even though I don't think we did a ton. On Monday and Tuesday I had a few interviews with potential nannies. The first went well but I was concerned the girl was a bit young (19 years). But she was very nice and maybe I'm feeling old now so everyone in their 20s seem young =) My only issue with her was our schedules. She has classes the mornings I would need her to take Henry to preschool. Then I had a no-show which really annoyed me and has temped me to write a bad review. I have not yet, but I find it really annoying to wait around for someone for a half hour when I just confirmed the appointment the night before. Anyways, I have a few more lined up this week. Fingers crossed they show and I'll have a few potentials!

On Tuesday night I met up with my friends and we did another meal swap. I'm pretty excited about my new choices. I made chicken stuffed shells and pumpkin cookies to share. I got back chicken enchiladas, a sherry chicken casserole, honey chicken and taco soup. I'm starting to get a nice little stock pile in the freezer. It's been wonderful for the days I'm not sure what to make or I'm running low on time.

Wednesday I went to visit Mom and Dad in Battle Creek. Mom was sick all weekend and then was still sick on Wednesday. I tried to get her to go to the doctors but she was very stubborn! =) She did seem better but it sounds like she was pretty bad there for a few days. I'm not sure where she got it but the flu hit her hard.

On Thursday we went to visit my friend Janell at her new home in Nappanee, Indiana. They have done a tremendous amount of work to the house in a very short amount of time! It's lovely and they have some great plans for improving it more. I wish Mike and I were handy around the house =) We usually hire things done which of course is more expensive. Janell and her husband Rob are very handy. They installed new flooring, new bathroom vanities and painted quite a bit on their own. I was very impressed =) The kids had a great time playing with Janell's kids. They made crowns with stickers, built a fort in the laundry room and ran around like crazy beings. They were very ready for bed that evening =)

By the end of the week I finally had a chance to take the boys to get their hair cuts. Henry's hair was out of control and looks much better with a trim. Gabe wasn't too bad but I wanted them back on the same schedule so I had his done too. Henry insisted Gabe wanted the same haircut as him but now that I see it on Gabe, I think I like his a bit longer =) I haven't had a chance to take photos yet but I'm sure you'll see the cuts in other photos soon.

On Friday I had my 25 week appointment for the twins. Things are still going well. I'm measuring 32 weeks now. Baby A had a 160s heartbeat rate and B had a 150s. A was less than pleased to be bothered and kicked most of her way through the monitor. B had hiccups and tried to hide from the Doppler. I had my gestational diabetes test too but I haven't received the results yet. I assume I will be cleared. I'm feeling bigger every day. Not sure I'll make it all the way to 38 weeks but I guess time will tell!

Norm and Mary were very kind to come over and watch the kids while I was at my appointment. Mom was been sick this week. I fear they were bombarded with superheroes and Gabe wasn't on his best behavior. But they did survive and hopefully will offer to watch them again sometime for me =) I really appreciate family with these kids. I hope to find a babysitter so I'm not as reliant on them but for these two and three hour appointments, it's much easier to leave the boys at home with family.

Mike had a crazy week at work again. They had a big presentation on Friday so I didn't really see him all week until wee hours of the morning and then he was gone again early in the day. Definitely not something he wants to do all the time but at least the deadline is over and they did a great job on their presentation! He'll be traveling again soon too. Oh the joys of work, right?

Holiday Parade, Beds on Order and LEAVES!

Yesterday we attended the local holiday parade downtown. I really expected Henry to be thrilled and Gabe to be trouble because the parade started right at his nap time. Instead it was the opposite =) Henry was bored and Gabe was so excited. While we waited for the parade to start, we bought cotton candy from a vendor outside. Henry really liked it but Gabe wasn't so sure about food that literally stuck to his fingers. He tried instead to give it all to Mike who was holding him. It was actually pretty funny watching him feed Mike the sticky mess =)

 

In general the parade was lame. There were a few holiday floats but it was mostly advertisements for local businesses. Many of the 90 participating businesses didn't even bother with a float and just sent a company vehicle to go down the street. It was really sad. I guess after Disney World you get a bit spoiled with their parades =) The local parade took forever because people were walking too slow or vehicles were backed up waiting for people in front of them to go. Then there would be huge gaps between floats. I think that's why Henry lost interest fast. After about float 20 out of 90, he was done waiting to see Santa. We gave it another 10 floats and then decided to get lunch at a nearby restaurant to wait out the parade. It was awful getting into downtown with the traffic and we expected it to be just as bad getting out.

 Luckily we got to the restaurant way ahead of others who about 60 floats in had the same idea as us. We had a nice lunch and then headed toward our car. We waited no less than an hour to get out of the parking garage. It was awful. But we made it. Then it was off to the furniture store in Grand Rapids to buy beds for the boys. We've been going back and forth on the captain beds versus the bunk beds. Mike and I were at a complete stale mate over which was better. In the end we compromised with getting the bunk beds and two tall dressers. Mike wanted a long dresser and a tall dresser but I didn't think that made sense long term when the long dresser was very long and would take up a lot of space. Not to mention Gabe can reach everything on a shorter long dresser. So I guess we both ended up somewhat unhappy but the boys will still have new beds and dressers =)

In the photo above, the way the bunk beds work is they put both headboards on bottom and footboards on top. We won't be bunking immediately so the beds will look a little different than pictured here. We decided to go with just the mattress for now too since they don't need a really high bed at this age. It will look similar to how it does in the photo with the headboard being kind of "high" at the top. We also didn't buy the drawers on the bottom.

Otherwise, today has been a day of baking for me for my meal exchange coming up later this week and Mike is out working on the leaves. I feel kind of bad I can't help him. I'm getting bigger and more uncomfortable as the weeks progress but I'm still feeling pretty good. However, raking leaves and dragging heavy loads to the curb is a bit much for me at this point. Luckily Mike doesn't complain. Poor guy is doing a lot of work by himself! We really want to plant more shade trees along the fence in the backyard. Maybe I'll just keep that to myself though until the memory of raking is gone from Mike's mind next summer =)

 

Half the backyard leaves up front.

Quick picture through our kitchen window.

5 Year Anniversary

Yesterday was our 5 year anniversary! I can hardly believe the time has gone by so fast. We really went to Vegas for our "actual" celebration but we decided to go to dinner too. I wanted to get Mike something for our anniversary but he's hard to buy for since most things he wants are electronic and pricy =) I decided in the end to make him a photo book. It took the majority of day! Between Henry's preschool and watching the kids I did manage to get it done. I hope the link works (click photo). It's pretty neat to see what we've done over the last five years.

 

 

Rich and Lois came down to watch the boys while Mike and I had a really nice dinner out. We could have stayed out late but I'm getting bigger and more uncomfortable and Mike's just plain tired =) We were home by 10.

 

Later today we have a busy schedule. We're going to see our town's Holiday Parade and if the boys are up for skipping naps, they'll get to meet Santa. It's supposed to be a nice day so I'm hoping we have a lot of fun!

 

Baby Shower and The Nanny Hunt Begins

This morning I hosted a baby shower for a friend. It was more of a play date than an actual baby shower but we all had a few gifts for her and I provided snacks/cake. It was a really nice time and the boys enjoyed a special treat of chocolate cake and apple juice (they never get juice) all before lunch! I love having play dates or going to play dates because it usually wears the kids out pretty quick.

Speaking of wearing kids out... Gabe has worn US out. He hasn't adjusted well to the time change at all. We tried keeping him up later with the hopes he will sleep later but in the end all it has done is make him wake up several times during the night and be a complete grump during the day. Even poor Henry is feeling the effects just from Gabe screaming so loud in the morning it was him up before he would usually be ready. Tonight I'm going to try something new. I'm reverting back to the old schedule and putting him to bed at 6:30. That would be his usual bed time pre-time change. I'm not looking forward to getting up at 6 a.m. if it works but in the end it will be better than the 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 a.m. wake up calls I get now. Mike and I are exhausted even after taking turns with him.

I started my hunt for a nanny by signing up on care.com. I hope to find someone soon so I don't have to renew for another month. I actually signed up on Friday but I thought I didn't have any responses. Then I logged in and realized care.com doesn't email me at all when I get message. They just have their own message system. Hmm. Nice to know. So anyways, I've been going through the resumes and references trying to find a suitable person to interview. We're not looking for long term help. Just a few months after the twins are born and especially the first few weeks when I can't drive so Henry can still get to and from school. So far only one has the most potential. The rest I think are a bit young or have classes during the time Henry's in preschool. I'll keep you posted as things progress.

I'm into a new thing called "freezer meals" with some friends. We do a meal swap monthly but in addition to that I've been trying to freeze a duplicate of our dinner every night. The freezing part itself is going fine but Mike is not enjoying my adventure into "freezable" meals. He likes what I used to make which was usually pretty simple stuff like baked chicken, rice and veggies and these recipes are more like casseroles or one pot meals. I think I just need to keep at it and I'll find a few he likes. I'd like to have a nice stash for once the twins are born. With the last two babies we ate out so much it was expensive and got old fast. Hoping I can change that a bit this time around!

Weekend in Wine Country

** I've been holding the recent posts back waiting to get my computer fixed. The wireless card broke so I can't upload photos to the site at the moment. It doesn't work well with my iPad or I would do it that way. Anyways, I'll post photos with the posts once I have access to my iCloud photos!

My friends and I planned to meet at 11 a.m. to leave for the cabin by the lake. I had a busy morning preparing for my trip. Mike had just ended an 80 hour week (not usual) so he was sleeping as much as possible before I had to leave. I was able to do a lot the night before for packing and such but I needed to get money and pick up a meat order from the farmers market. The boys sensed I was rushed and made sure to misbehave and fight with each other to prolong my efforts =)

Somehow I managed to get it all done before leaving at 10:50 and thankfully on time! I met up with my friends and we took off in the mini van. There's a part of me that laughs at the image. Not that the mini van was awful by any means, it was really nice with many features like heated seats and things, but now I'm at the point in my life where my friends and I don't leave in sport cars but rather family vehicles =)

The cabin was only an hour away so the time went quickly. I was really impressed with the house. It was small but had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It was really more like a little house than a "cabin" as I think of them. It wasn't rustic at all. Very nice for what we needed and best of all it was free since it was my friend Sam's parents cabin! We unloaded our things pretty quick and then took off for our wine tour.

We ended up stopping at several places. It worked out well that I was pregnant for my friends because I was an automatic DD =) I didn't mind though because it was still fun to get out of the house and hang out with friends. I think we stopped at about five places before heading back to the cabin. We had all pitched in a dish to pass for dinner so we had a nice lasgna meal after our long afternoon of driving and taste testing.

After dinner it was still pretty low key. We gabbed as women do and then played a few board games before falling into bed. I slept very well but I still woke up pretty early at 8:30 which was actually 7:30 before the time change went into effect the night before. I thought I would be the only one up, but I momentarily forgot I was with a bunch of moms. We were all up by 9. After breakfast and cleaning up, we decided to head back home and see our families for the rest of the day.

I was very proud of Mike while I was away. He did have a little help from his parents but overall he took care of the boys and the house very well. Since I was home pretty early and Mike wanted to get out of the house, we decided to head up to Grand Rapids to see a movie. The boys had a fun time at Grandma and Grandpas while we went to see "Prisoners." I wouldn't recommend it. I was ready to leave several times but Mike is a "see it through" kind of person. Ugh. I just didn't care for it.

And that pretty much sums up the weekend. Boy that was fast!

Bed Time Success!

Update: Gabe did MUCH better last night after going to bed at 6:30. He didn't wake up once and was ready to go for the day at about 6:15. It was such a relief to get a full night sleep. I guess we'll have to stick with this schedule for awhile until I can stretch it out a bit more. The sad part about them going to bed so early now is they'll never see Mike. He doesn't usually get home until 7 and by then they were both fast asleep!

I'm also having a problem with Henry's preschool schedule. Prior to the time change, Gabe would be in bed by noon. Henry's preschool ends at 11:30. Now that it's more like 1:00 when he's going to bed, it's throwing him off too. He fell asleep in the car on the way to get Henry but when I got him home, he wouldn't go back to sleep. Now he's been grumpy all afternoon because he only had a 15 minute nap! Argh. You never realize how important silly things like naps are until they don't have one. I'm counting the minutes to bed time tonight. It's been a long afternoon!

Halloween Party

Today was another busy day for the kids and me. We had a Halloween party to go to in the evening for the Mom's group I help run. I caught up on a few chores during the morning and then I start to make the dessert I said I would bring to the party. Then I realized I was out of the eggs... I usually buy eggs at the farmers market which is on Saturdays! I debated asking the neighbor for an egg but in the end I dragged everyone to the store. I only needed eggs so I threw on some sweats, put my hair in a pony tail and grabbed the kids. Of course I ran into someone I knew. I was mortified but at least my friend was nice enough not to comment =) I did not stay to chat long either!

After shopping it was time for naps and my shower. I got ready and then made my recipe. My dessert with was half a Pinterest fail. It didn't taste bad but it was very thick and not at all like the beautiful photo online. Oh well. Better luck next pin!

After the boys woke up, it was off to the doctors! I had a glimpse of Henry in preschool in the doctor's waiting room. He is far more outgoing to other kids than he is around adults. There must have been a flu shot clinic again because the office was very busy with many kids. Henry made his rounds to all of them. He would walk up to where they were playing and say, "Hey girls! I'm Henry" and then just start playing like they were best friends. He was even sweet enough to introduce Gabe to several of them with pride: "This is my brother, Gabe. Henry and Gabe. Did you hear me? This is Gabe. Henry and Gabe." I cracked up.

Gabe is fine. Ears are clear so the medicine from the ENT worked great. The doctor checked everything out but nothing was really wrong with him. He had one tooth working its way in so that's possibly it but maybe he just has us fooled again. Tonight I will be less prompt in showing up to his room when he starts whining. This momma is tired!

After the doctors it was straight to the Halloween party. We had a great time. The kids all got treat bags, we had pizza for dinner and the kids played and played for a long time. Both boys were pretty exhausted by the time we left. I'm glad the Halloween treats are over. Once the kids were in bed I took all of it and either froze it or put most in a cupboard to be distributed slowly. I think we easily have 20 pounds of candy. Crazy.

Now I'm waiting for the dryer to finish so I can start packing for my girls weekend. I'm going away to a friend's lake house with a couple girls from my Mom's group. We're going to eat, they'll drink, and be merry =) Our poor husbands will have to fend for themselves for a few days! Wish us and them luck.

Halloween and Twin Ultrasound

Even though it's Halloween and I usually look forward to the holidays, I was dreading this one =) I had just about every minute of the day accounted for! We were in for a very crazy day.

Halloween morning we got up, had breakfast and Henry and Gabe (more Henry) transformed into Batman. Henry was very excited about his costume and was sure no one at school would recognize him unless he took off his mask. Henry usually doesn't go to preschool on Thursdays but since it's Halloween, they had a special class day for any student who could attend. School starts at 9 but there was a Holiday parade at 9:15. I dropped Henry off at school like normal and he was excited to give his teachers a gift we worked on the night before. Then I rushed around the school building to try and find a parking spot to watch the parade. Unfortunately the weather was awful so the parade was happening inside the gym.

Henry's "Smore" Halloween treats.
They say, "Mrs. (name), You are one
of my favorite peeps! - Henry"

Gabe and I were able to find a decent parking spot and make our way to the gym on time. I put Gabe in a stroller knowing he would be a rascal to control in the gym. I was very grateful for that decision when I saw other mothers who did not have the foresight to put their younger kids in strollers struggling to keep them under control in a large gym full of people. I was a little annoyed when the parade started late (Gabe wasn't thrilled with sitting still in the stroller) but then again I struggle to be on time with one so I can only imagine how difficult 30 preschoolers are to get ready in a hurry. When they finally came out, it was so stinking cute. Most of the kids were not sure what was going on but they had a little partner they had to hold hands with so at least they were lost together. The teachers did a good job of moving the line along and trying to keep the kids from running to their waiting parents in the gym. I was very proud of Henry was sticking with his partner/group. He did try to come over but once the teacher stopped him and I assume told him to stay in line and wave, he did exactly that. He waved at the crowd like the celebrity Batman is =)

The kids walked around the gym a few times thankfully so I was able to get a few pictures of Henry. I also got one round on video camera. Gabe was very disappointed he wasn't allowed to walk with Henry but eventually he got over it when there were enough kids in crazy costumes to entertain him. Once the parade was over, Henry went to preschool as usual and Gabe and I took off for the grocery store. I was woefully out of many things so it was a big shopping trip. Miraculously I made it through the whole store and check out just in time to pick Henry back up from preschool. Henry's teacher said they had Henry remove his mask after the parade but for the rest of the day he still insisted they call him "Batman." Ha! Ha! I guess he had a good time. Then we all headed home just in time to meet Grandma and Grandpa Smolsky.

Gabe at this point had passed out. He's having a rough time with his ears again. His left is infected for sure but we're taking him in on Friday to be looked at for something else (or the other ear). He's having a hard time sleeping at night. Halloween early morning, he was up at 4 a.m., 4:30 a.m., 5:00 a.m. and then I finally gave up at 6:30 a.m. Well a morning of Halloween parading and grocery shopping was too much for him =) He stayed asleep for a good three hours my mom said.

Anyways, Grandma and Grandpa came over so I could go to the twin's growth ultrasound at the doctors. Once I frantically put all the groceries away, I headed out to the appointment. These appointments are really long. They block it out for two hours and it usually takes just about that long. Both babies are doing great. They're measuring on time (23 weeks) and my girl is 1 pound 3 oz. and my boy is 1 pound 4 oz. I forget the length but their tummies are about the size of a large orange and then of course you add the limbs and head. I'm also doing well. I'm measuring at a whopping 29 weeks (yikes) but my weight gain is good and the fluid levels for the babies are all normal. I don't feel them as much yet but according to the ultrasound, they are both moving a lot! They won't have many more weeks where they can flip and move as much as they continue to grow and run into each other. So far both kids seem to have all the proper vitals and parts. We'll just keep praying they continue to grow strong!

 

Twin A - our girl. That big circle in front of her nose is

little brother's head. They're right on top of each

other in there.

 Twin B - our boy. He refused to give a profile

and looked directly at the camera. You can make

out an eye socket on the top left and he has his

mouth wide open like he's laughing at us =)

 

After the ultrasound it was time to head home and grab a quick dinner before trick or treating started. The weather was still pretty bad so we decided to try going to this "mega church" down the street for their indoor trunk or treat. Grandma and Grandpa stayed for a little while to see if any trick or treaters would brave our neighborhood early, but there were none. They did dress up for the occasion at Henry's request. I think they did a great job! They were a witch and warlock. Henry thought it was great. Gabe thought they looked too scary =)

Grandma and Grandpa left just as we were taking off to go to the church. We made it on time but once inside we decided it was way too crowded and difficult to maneuver with both kids. We left pretty soon after we arrived. But, in our favor the weather started cooperating. The rain stopped and by the time we got back to the house, the neighborhood kids were out trick or treating. We decided to go down our street with the kids and call it a night. Both kids had a good time. Gabe did very well following big brother's lead. It didn't take him long to catch on to the process of going to each house, knocking, opening his bag (he couldn't quite get trick or treat out but Henry always did) and putting his treat inside. In fact he was so systematic about it we had trouble at one house when I inadvertently rushed him and took the candy from the lady and put it in his bag for him. He had quite the meltdown until she kindly gave him another piece to put in his own bag. Phew.

 Finally after about 10 houses, Henry was done. He said he was done trick or treating and wanted to go home and eat a sucker =) We were fine with that and we all called it a night. Both boys were very ready for bed!