Eat em up!

Couldn't you just eat these 2 cuties up????

Quick Update

I am doing a quick update while I actually have a chance! This week has started off a bit quieter. Courtney is settling into preschool (pre-k) nicely. Things have started to settle down (thank goodness!)

Paul (Kirouac) was in town for business and was able to come over for dinner tonight. It's always so nice to see family! I made a delicious dinner of Lamb, Greek salad (which turned out awesome), asparagus, and baked potatoes. It was quite tasty if I do say so myself!

I have been trying to get through the apples. It's not going very fast. Hubby and I may need to have a work night one night this week were we just go crazy getting through the apples! The hardest and longest part is the peeling/coring/slicing. I have a handy dandy gadget that does it all at once for me, but it still takes time. Maybe it's not really that bad, but it's my least favorite part. Here are some of the apples for the first batch of applesauce:

Taking a bath!

Cooking!

The finished product!

We have been having some record heat. I think this time last year we were already getting snow. But since I love the heat and prefer it over cold, I will take it. But at night the temps are starting to dip. I have really considered putting the electric blanket on the bed. I may have to do that next week when Hubby is out of town. I woke up freezing one night last week when he was gone.

Anyway, the rest of this week seems to be pretty normal and quiet. For that I am thankful, I am working on getting the house back together. I don't know how it falls apart so fast! Anyway, time to head for bed! Night all!

So busy!!!

I really didn't mean to go so long between posts, but life has been so busy! I mean really busy. Let's see, I will try to hit the highlights so this post doesn't go on forever.

Thursday night last week our friends came over for some dinner and fun. Hubby came home for dinner and we went and got some Golden Corral. Then Hubby had to go back to work for a meeting. That left just us girls for playing. Whitney's hubby is currently in Iraq.

Anyway, it was getting late, and the girls were still playing really well. Courtney went to come walking into the kitchen, tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face. Out popped her tooth! The root and all just went shooting across the floor! When Courtney tells people the story she says "it just flew out of my mouth, like a bird!" Of course that resulted in a lot of blood. Whitney scooped Courtney up and took her to the sink while I got on the phones. With one phone I called the dentist. With the other phone I sent Hubby a text message saying "call me now!" He called and talked to Whitney while I spoke to the dentist. Our dentist is so nice. He informed me that he probably won't reinsert a baby tooth, but that he would meet me at the office if it would make me feel better. We decided against it. Once Hubby was home and things were under control Whitney headed out with her girls. It took us forever to get the bleeding stopped and Courtney settled down to the point that she would go to sleep.

The next morning she had a big old fat lip, and she was upset that her tooth was still gone. But that night we found the tooth fairy pillow and put the tooth in there. The next morning she discovered the tooth fairy had brought her $1. So, she was happy.

Friday afternoon we went apple picking with Whitney and her girls. Hubby was able to leave work early to go with us too. We went down to the same place we went last year, the guy's private farm. So fun! It was warm, Kasey rode in my back in the backpack for some of it. Then I got wise and put her down. The ground is very uneven so she had trouble walking, and she wanted to eat and apple, so I plopped her in the shade of an apple tree while I picked apples. She really seemed to enjoy that apple!



The next day was extremely busy. Of course it was September 11, Courtney's 4th birthday. We started our day with zoo preschool. We learned all about tapirs. Very cute. Right after preschool we rushed off to pick up the cake and cupcakes for the party that evening. Meanwhile, Hubby was at home installing our new microwave. Our neighbor came over to help. I guess they had it done in record time, about 30 minutes. So he was able to get his other running around done, like the last minute trip to the grocery store.

Once the girls and I got home, we dropped off the cake and cupcakes and picked up Hubby. We went back down to the main intersection near our house (Vickers and Union) as the Firefighters Memorial Parade was happening that day. It just happened to coincide with September 11th, that wasn't planned. But every year they have a big "parade" if you will. They get fire trucks from everywhere that will send one, then lots and lots of firefighters on motorcycles. This is the second time we have been able to catch it. It is quite moving.


After the parade and a quick lunch we put the kids down for nap. This started Hubby and I preparing for the birthday party. Not only were we having 8 kids, but also all their parents plus a few extra adults. We planned a party plus dinner. So, Hubby was busy cooking and preparing food. I was busy getting all the party stuff together.

We had a Princess Party for Princess Courtney. This included the fact that she and all her friends were dressed up as princesses for the party. We played a few games to start, including one princess game. After that, we did their nails. My mom was able to find tiny princess nail decals. So, my sister, my mom and Whitney used instant dry nail polish, painted tiny nails, and then slipped princess nail decals on too. It was quite cute.

I also had a friend of mine, who is a hair dresser, come and do princess do's for all the girls. So, if the girls wanted to, they could get their hair done up like a princess. After they were all made up, hair done, nails done, we had a princess parade outside. All the adults went outside, and I handed them a packet of glitter on the way out. They lined the sidewalk and I walked the parade outside and through the adults. The adults threw glitter on the girls as they walked by. The girls loved it so much, they went through the adults 3 or 4 times.

After the princess parade was dinner. We had a royal feast of hot dogs and hamburgers. Courtney choose fruit salad and chips to go along with it. After the royal feast she opened gifts and then it was time for cake. Courtney choose cake for the adults and cupcakes for the kids. They were all the same flavor, but that is how she wanted it. I had no complaints! So our toothless wonder is now 4!

The next morning was an early morning for all of us. It was the Race for the Cure! Toby, one of our cadets, spent the night with us and came and did the 5K run. It was a beautiful morning, and it was fun to get out there. Lots of people, as usual, but fun. Here is our team! Yes, Zak's hair is bright pink. He was really easy to spot in a crowd! And Kasey is asleep in the backpack. She sneaked in a quick morning nap.

After the Race we went to my mom's favorite Irish Pub for some lunch. After a yummy lunch, and just about everyone dancing on their little stage with Courtney, it was home for naps. We were all beat. But our day was not over yet.

Hubby had planned a BBQ for his office at our house. So, at 5pm all his co-workers came over. We smoked a brisket, and everyone brought something. It was tasty food. I was beat by the time it was time for bed!

The rest of the week was busy as usual. Hubby left for Boston for the week. I had a lot of MOPS stuff to do. We had another meeting on Tuesday morning. But I also had a few power point presentations I had to get together by Friday morning, plus 2 girls from the team came over on Wednesday night. Plus I made 2 egg dishes and 4 dozen mini muffins to bring as well. I also was able to squeeze in making a batch of applesauce.

Yesterday was zoo preschool, as usual. Our Saturday class is only 3 kids, including Courtney. The other 2 kids were out yesterday, so it was just us! And we learned all about skunks. The cool thing is that the zoo has a skunk named Tiger Lilly. Someone had her as a pet, so she is de-smelled. I love Tiger Lilly and have had the opportunity to pet her many times. But yesterday I got the opportunity to hold her!!! Courtney got the chance to feed her crickets! Live ones, it took her a while to get up the nerve, but she did! I was not able to muster the courage to feed her a live cricket. It was fun!
After class was over, we went to visit Tahoma the moose. For the first time in 3 years I finally got to see him in the water! This was very exciting. I think it's just always been so elusive to see him in the water that it was exciting to finally see it! He is so cute....
Kasey rode the merry-go-round for her first time ever yesterday! She seemed to enjoy it. She has been fighting a cold all week, so she's a bit under the weather and not 100%

Hubby came home from Boston yesterday. He ended up getting delayed a few times and made it home 4 hours later than planned, but he made it home! Well, it's time for us to head to church! Hugs to all of you!

Happy Labor Day!

Phew, I am kind of happy to see this weekend come to an end. Just because I need a break. Although looking forward to the week ahead, it's just as busy! It's going to be that way for a while!

So, the weekend started on Thursday night really. We had our annual presidents dinner at the zoo. Because we are Patron members we get to go. And we have been going to this dinner for 8 years now. It has grown, and there are finally some couples our age in the group. Usually we were the babies in the bunch. But you still know you are in a group of older folks when they are comparing knee replacement stories at the dinner table.Usually this dinner is so much fun. We have had a few years where it has just been awesome. This year was just kind of 'eh'. I guess every year can't be fabulous. But as usual the food was tasty. And I got to pet Tiger Lilly the skunk. That's always a bonus!
Friday morning our neighbor came over with her girls. The girls played for a few hours while we had some Mommy Chat Time and coffee. Ahhhh.....

Friday night we had plans for our friend's the P's to come over for dinner. However, that ended up falling through. So, we called up Rick and asked him to join us. Plus Kim from Hubby's work. She has two girls around our girls ages, so they joined us as well. It was a fun night. Courtney is finally getting to the age that she can go and play with a friend and we don't need to be in the room the whole time. And Kasey now follows the girls around too. It was extra nice because we all kind of got some adult talk time!

Saturday morning was zoo preschool. We learned about Colobus Monkeys. They don't have thumbs! They only have 4 fingers and they have had to adapt to that. Interesting! Courtney took this self portrait while we were there. I didn't know she did it until I uploaded pictures tonight. When I saw it, I had to laugh!
After the zoo, we went with our friends the P's over to Rudy's restaurant. That is the yummy BBQ place that Hubby loves. It didn't end well, Kasey had a major diaper blow-out. Thankfully we were done with lunch and getting ready to head out. It was bad, the worst I have ever seen. After we got home, she went right in the tub.

I guess the bath woke her up more than it relaxed her. After her bath I tried to put her down for a nap. But she wasn't having any of that. She threw her Taggies and Hokie Bird out of the crib, those are her 2 security items she has to have to sleep. Then she was mad that they weren't in the crib. She will NOT sleep without them. So, what did she do? She climbed OUT of the crib! 16 months old and she climbed out of the crib! Jeez... Today I took the mattress out and noticed we could drop the mattress even further, so I dropped it down as far as it will go. Hopefully this helps to keep her in, but I am not sure it will. We may need to convert it to a toddler bed much sooner than we had planned. We will keep an eye on her.

Anyway, after Courtney woke up from her nap, we headed out to the grocery store. We had to buy all the fixings for dinner on Sunday. After a quick dinner out and running home to put the groceries away, we headed out again. This time we went down to Memorial Park. Labor Day every year is the Hot Air Balloon Festival. And in the evenings they have a balloon glow. We had plans to meet up with the Z's and the P's there.

Once we all met up, and got some food and drink, we settled on the lawn to wait.Finally all the balloons were blown up. Once they are all up, and it's dark, the emcee for the night does countdowns and when they get down to 1, they all hit their burners and the balloons "glow". It is beautiful.The other really cool thing is that you can walk through the fields of balloons too! And it's pretty warm in there with all those burners burning. I went several times as a kid. This was Hubby's first time to experience the glow. And of course it was the girls' first time too. I kept Kasey on my back in the Kelty backpack, there were SO MANY people! I really enjoy the balloon glow.

Sunday morning Courtney and I went to Sunday school. We skipped the service, if we do attend the service we don't get home until almost 1pm. And we had a lot to do that afternoon, so we had to skip it. Courtney hates missing the service, it cracks me up. Who would have thought an almost 4 year old would be so excited to go to a church service!?

When we got home it was a cooking party. It's parent's weekend at the Air Force Academy. So, we had 3 families coming over for dinner. I made 2 types of potato salad, Hubby smoked a 16 lbs brisket, and we made homemade baked beans. We also had rolls and a veggie tray, plus 2 pies for dessert. But we cheated on the last items mentioned.

After all the food was made, it was cleaning time. Not that our house is a mess, but we needed to run the vacuum again. I had just done it on Friday, but with 3 dogs, 2 kids and 2 birds, we could probably vacuum every day and be amazed at how full the vacuum gets.

Around 5pm the guests started arriving. First was one of our seniors and his family. We know his parents already from the several trips they have taken to visit Scott over the past few years. But this time they brought their other 2 boys too. We finally got to meet Scott's brothers! Next to arrive was one of our new cadets and his parents. They are currently living in South Carolina. His dad is in the Navy, so they have always moved around. Last to arrive was our other new cadet and his parents and brother. They are from Minnesota.

So, including our family, we had a total of 16 people around our dinner table! All the food turned out yummy and everyone got along really well. I think that everyone had a great time, and it was really nice to meet 2 new families. This was only the second chance we have had to see our new cadets. Hopefully now we can get to see them more now. Things should start settling down at school for them.

This morning we headed out of the house about 8:30am. We had plans to meet Brian's cousin Mike at the zoo. Mike recently became engaged, and his fiance has 2 girls, ages 4 and 6, and a 15 year old boy. Mike and Rachel live up in the Denver area (well, in 2 different areas). They brought the girls down and met us at the zoo gate. We spent most of the day wandering around the zoo with them. The girls hit it off right away and enjoyed spending the day together.
Here is everyone! The 3 older girls are in the red stroller being pushed by Mike. Rachel is on the right. And you can see Hubby and Kasey bringing up the rear.
Once we finally got home, Kasey was asleep in the car. With her, if we moved her to her crib, she would wake up and not go back to sleep. So, we roll the windows down in the car, and let her sleep in the car. We also keep the door open to the house so we hear her as soon as she wakes up. She slept for another hour once we got home!

Courtney was filthy, so I gave her a bath. I did lots of cleaning upstairs while Courtney played in her playroom and Hubby was working downstairs and listening for Kasey.

Then this evening, we finished our weekend. It was the first Virginia Tech game of the season. Rick and Toby (our other senior cadet) came over for dinner and to watch the game. It just ended a few minutes ago. The Hokies lost by 3 points. Poor Hubby....

And that concludes our busy Labor Day weekend. No wonder I feel so exhausted!

Plus last week was so busy too! We finally got the sump pump in our basement replaced. And have I also mentioned that our microwave died? Hubby ordered a new one this past week. Hopefully it comes in soon. We also had a sprinkler line blow out back. We have yet to dig that up. We didn't get the time to this past weekend. But we will need to get to it soon, before we have to blow the lines for the winter. Which of course is right around the corner. We have been joking that we guess we are finally grown up. That's what happens when you have to replace all these things. We also joke that the warranty on the house must have just expired! Please let there be no more big issues!!!

Looking forward to this upcoming week, it too will be busy. I have one more week of MOPS training. Plus we have some other fun things planned!

It's amazing, it hit September 1 this past week, and so did the weather. It's like fall came in with September. The weather has been a bit cooler and there is just that feeling in the air. Maybe it's because the night time temperatures have started to drop into the 40's overnight too. Really? The 40's? UGH! Night time is my favorite time of summer. When I can't take a glass of wine and go sit on the deck in my shorts and t-shirt, it's no longer summer. And I get sad. I was only able to do that in July and August this year. It feels like we only got 2 months of summer. Ah summer, I will miss you....

Making strides

Well, the doctor was worried about Kasey's speech, and I was too. But once she passed the hearing test I decided to wait on the speech evaluation. Well, she is finally starting to get more words! See, I knew it would come, I just had to be patient!

She very clearly now says 'bubbles'. Last night she looked at the camera and said 'cheese'! She knows what a cow says, 'mooo'. Of course if you ask her what a dog says she also says 'mooo'. But hey, it's a start right?! And of course she says 'cheers' in her New England way.

Then she has the word she uses 50 billion times a day. What is that word? 'Uh-oh'. It's cute, but she says it A LOT. She is also really good at 'hi' and 'bye'. So, her vocabulary is suddenly starting to expand. And of course 'Mama' and 'Dada' or 'Daddy'. She also occasionally says 'Mommy' now too!

Oh, and I can't forget her favorite item: "shoes"!

Just thought I would give you all a quick update!

Cheers!

Kasey now says "Cheers!" Except she says it more like a New England-er, it comes out "cheesaa" (remove the R, ya know). It's quite cute. And she has the word Daddy down pat now, and she likes to use it. Repeatedly. It's cute to me! She does call Courtney 'Mama' still though.

Today Courtney had a neurologist appointment. As most of you know, she has had a neurologist for about 2 years now, so it's not new. In fact today was just kind of a check up or check in. We have to go see him about every 6 months. I really wasn't expecting anything new or different today. Which was the case. The only thing really new and different was the fact that since we last saw him, he moved offices and is now in a newer building.

But he looked her over and said that she has improved since the last time he saw her, but she still has issues. Which of course I know. He said to continue doing whatever it is that we have been doing the last 6 months (which I caulk up to lots of OT).

But I left feeling so sad and frustrated. The appointment went exactly as I thought it would, but I guess it just reinforced in my mind that my child has "issues". And the last two weeks with her have actually been really tough. With this whole preschool change, it's led to a lot of sensory and behavior problems at home. I am not surprised and I was actually expecting it. But to be living in it is just not fun sometimes.

Her neurologist today was happy to hear where she was in preschool. He was happy to hear she wasn't in just a day care type setting. A day care type setting would probably not be the best for her.

Well, I guess I need to get off the computer and go get some house stuff done!