Happy Post Thanksgiving!

Hello all!!!

Well, Thanksgiving has now come and gone. What a day it was! We had several people to our house.

My day started with running my first 5K race! Our local Y(mca) that I work out at hosts an annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I think this was their 14th or 15th year doing it. And for the first time ever, I participated!

Hubby and I registered about a month ago. Zak also agreed to run it with us, Hubby and I were going to walk it with the girls. Well, Zak kept putting off registering. And we kept inviting people to Thanksgiving dinner. So Hubby decided he was going to need to stay home that morning and cook, and so Zak could run as Hubby. So Zak was my 40 year old Hubby! LOL, for the first (and probably last) time ever, Hubby ran a 5K! Kind of....

The forecast was for extremely cold weather. Whitney and her girls were also going to walk the Trot with us. But because it was forecasted to be so cold, Whitney and her girls came over to our house to help Hubby with our girls while I was running the race.

Anyway, Thanksgiving morning came, Zak came and picked me up at 8:15am, we were all bundled up, and we hit the road. It was 16 degrees when we left the house, and 19 by the time we got to the Y. Brrrrrrrrr

We finally started the race just after 9am. I didn't know if I was going to be able to run any of it. But because it was so cold, that is all I found myself wanting to do! So, I really surprised myself! I ran most of it! There were only 3 times where I stopped to walk. And when I did stop to walk, it didn't last long because it was so cold! We ran through the neighborhood just across the street from the Y. Colorado Springs Police Department had all the roads blocked off for us. Some of the people who live in the neighborhood were outside to watch about 2000 people run, jog, or walk by their house. It was quite a site! Some people really got into the spirit with costumes and decorated with turkeys and such. It was fun!

I am now hoping to run the 5K at the Race for the Cure in September next year! There's my goal!

Zak (aka Hubby) finished in 26:53 (minutes) and in 660th place. I finished in 37:22 and in 1425th place. That is out of 1744 timed contestants. They gave us these cool little chip things to wear on our shoe. We had to run over these blue pads in the road when we started and when we finished. That did our time for us! Pretty nifty! Of course the Y sent out an email Thanksgiving night informing all of us that someone set the course up wrong and it was actually only 2.8 miles instead of the 3.1 to make a full 5K, so I guess technically I didn't run a 5k. Boo....

Anyway, we didn't stick around for long after we both crossed the finish line. We got in the car, and turned on the heat. Then we went to Starbucks. It was so cold, that to drink cold water was painful. Drinking warm coffee was MUCH better. I felt almost good by the time we got back to my house! Zak dropped me off and headed back to my parents house. I ran inside and jumped in the shower.

After I was done showering, the fun began. The fun of cooking and getting all the food ready for lunch! We made ham and turkey breasts. Not any ham, FRESH HAM! Just about all hams you get are precooked or presmoked. It is hard to find fresh ham that hasn't been cooked. But Whole Foods had 2 of them. I got one and we smoked it! Hubby put the turkey breasts and ham out on the smoker at 11pm the night before.

We also made manchego mashed potatoes, smashed sweet potatoes, some with chipotles some without. Plus corn muffins, crescent rolls, dressing, and assorted munchie foods. One family brought a veggie tray, and Kaluah cake. I made a pumpkin gooey cake for dessert, and my mom brought a pie. Oh and Susan made a platter of deviled eggs that didn't last long at all.

We had our babysitter's and their family. They came for another Thanksgiving years ago, and since they didn't go anywhere this year, we had them over. Plus Whitney and her 2 girls. Plus all my family. We also had our neighbor's dog because they went to Denver all day. And Phoebe was here. The dogs ran around the back yard most of the day.

I had such a good time, the food was yummy and I just enjoyed all the people here. Whitney and the girls planned on staying overnight. So, after we fed them some dinner, we plopped them in the tub and then got them all down for bed. We stayed up a bit and played some Spades. What fun!

Friday we didn't do much of anything. Hubby made homemade waffles for breakfast, and then Whit and the girls left. I stayed in my jammies all day. My muscles were so sore and I was just beat. So, we did a whole lot of nothing. It was wonderful.

Today we need to recover the house, and I need to go get dog food. Hubby and Courtney are out having some Daddy/Courtney time. So I think soon Kasey and I will run our errands. Tonight we are going to my parents house for another Thanksgiving dinner. Tomorrow I am having a 31 party at my house.

Well, I guess Kasey and I need to get moving. I hope your Thanksgiving was awesome!

Our day at the zoo

Oy, tough day today. Last night one of the giraffes at our zoo slipped and fell into a pit below where people feed them crackers. Well, pit, ravine, moat, people don't have a good word for it. The giraffe, Uhura, was 20 years old, born at our zoo, and has had 10 kids, 5 of which still live at the zoo. Colorado Springs Fire Department brought in their high angle rescue equipment to try to help. They were apparently able to get her back out to flat ground and the high angle rescue equipment was able to help her get to standing. However, she was not able to stand on her own. So, the vet staff decided the best thing to do was to euthanize her. You can read the story here:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/responding-108335-firefighters-need.html

If you know me at all you know how much I: A)love animals B) love our zoo and C) love giraffes. The news was just devastating to me.

I can't even imagine having to work at the zoo and make that decision. The lead animal curator has been there since the birth of Uhura. I spoke with my friend who is the VP of the zoo and has worked there for 10 years. She said yesterday was the hardest day she has ever had at the zoo.

A tragic freak accident that ended in having to make a very hard decision.We were of course supposed to have zoo preschool today. And we did, the zoo was open for business as usual, except the giraffes weren't allowed out in the main yard. They have to make sure it's safe. Of course, that yard has been open for 7 years, but now that something has happened, they have to have a safety review.

So, we went to the zoo, we had an amazing day, other than the fact that there was a very somber mood hanging over the zoo. We stopped to see the brand new baby giraffe first. She was born last Sunday. She is sooo cute! So tiny and knobby still.
From there we stopped over to see the Meerkats. Wouldn't you know that the keeper came up to feed them just as we were standing there, and asked Courtney to help. This included getting to go in with the Meerkats! She got to put their food bowls down. Pretty cool!
From there we went to preschool and learned all about turkeys. Our "craft" today was to make a cupcake into a turkey. And once they did that, they devoured the turkey.
Kasey enjoyed watching her big sister make a turkey cupcake. I think she was a bit jealous too.

From there we went to see the real turkeys. Courtney fed them crickets. Real live crickets. Thankfully she has no fear.

After that we stopped at the education center where she got to help feed the tortises. She got to feed a lot of animals today! Some pretty fun experiences.
That was our fun and exciting day at the zoo. But there was just this somber mood over the zoo.

North Pole Pictures

Enjoy pictures from our recent trip to the North Pole

The girls and Daddy on the Ferris Wheel!

Feeding the animals!

Look at Courtney way up there!

Aww, aren't they soo cute!

Riding the Merry Go Round!

Here we come down the big slide!

Here come Daddy and Kasey!


Aww, ladybugs!

This was later that same night!

Kasey

Good golly, what a week's it's been. As you know from my last post, Kasey was getting a tooth. This causes her nose to run. In turn she ended up coughing. On Tuesday afternoon the cough started to get worse and worse fast. So, we headed off to the pediatrician. Guess what? She had croup! Plus she is most likely asthmatic which is why whenever her nose runs she ends up with a cough.

Great....

So, the doctor put her on oral steroids and her breathing treatments. She also informed us that whenever she starts getting a runny nose for any reason, we need to start breathing treatments.

So, we get all her meds, we made it through Tuesday night without a trip to the hospital. She had a rough night as far as coughing and waking up, but she didn't need intervention. I was so thankful croup hit during the day and we were able to get in 2 breathing treatments and one dose of steroids before bedtime. Croup is always bad the first night, and gets better from there, but you have to make it thought that first night. If you recall, back in June, Courtney got croup and spent a night in the hospital.

Kasey just finished her third and final dose of steroids this evening. She has another few days of antibiotics and breathing treatments. Poor kid. But she sure sounds a lot better. Of course now she is super grumpy. I swear those steroids make her super grumpy. I am a bit worried about her attitude tomorrow. But, we shall see.

We are supposed to go to MOPS tomorrow, but because the steroids lower your immune system, I really don't want to put her in a room full of other toddlers. That would be recipe for disaster, or at least recipe for more sickness.

So, we have had to cancel all plans for the past few days. No swim lessons, no booster flu shot, no leaving the house much. I am getting a little cabin fever. Courtney has continued to go to preschool, but that's about the only place we have been going, other than Walgreen's to get medicines!

I haven't been to the gym in a week. Ugh, I feel so suddenly out of shape. I feel like it's going to take a month to get back to where I was! Of course, I haven't been eating the healthiest either. That certainly doesn't help. I think like most mom's it hard to eat healthy all the time, especially when Hubby is out of town for a week. I really struggle with healthy balanced meals.

Anyway, that has been our last few days. My father in law just had hip replacement surgery. And today is his birthday. The joke is that for his birthday he got a new hip! Haha. But apparently he is doing quite well. Surgery yesterday and was already up and moving today! Isn't technology wonderful! My mother in law got him an iPad for his birthday, so he has something to keep himself entertained while he is recovering.

Well, I am wiped out. So, I am going to go and veg out in front of the TV. Hugs!

Silly Kids

In a little over 12 hours a lady will be at my home to evaluate Kasey, again.

Let me back up and explain. As most of you know our story, Courtney wasn't diagnosed until she was older (3-ish). We missed the crucial window of getting into The Resource Exchange (TRE) here in town because A) no one told me about it and B) by the time I did find out about it, it was too late. They only service 0-3 year old's. Had I known about this program when Courtney fit that age category, most likely she would have her Individualized Education Program (IEP) and would be receiving FREE services through the school district. BUT that's a whole other rant on it's own, which I believe I have done on here before.

ANYWAY, I didn't want to miss a darn thing with Kasey, so I had her evaluated when she was probably about 9 months old. Guess what? She was just fine and passed their test with flying colors. I was/am fine with that.

Fast forward to the last few months. I don't know if you remember, but she started to talk early just like her sister did. Even used a few 2 word phrases. Then suddenly, one day, it was gone. That worried the pediatrician. So, she ordered a hearing test and a speech evaluation. I did go and get the hearing test done, which again, she passed with flying colors. I figured that would happen. I also figured that her speech would come around. It has started to, but slowly. Last time we saw the pediatrician she again asked about a speech eval. Ok, fine, I will get her one. I called TRE because this time I didn't want to miss my window if it is indeed needed. So, tomorrow, the lady (same one) is coming back to re-evaluate Kasey. We will see!

So, here I sit, 12 hours out, just filling out their SHEETS of paperwork I have to have done for our 8:30am appointment. Yes, I have had them for over a week, but that's ok. Nothing like procrastinating! Plus, so much could change in a week, right? She could have suddenly started talking in sentences!

Speaking of changing. I have been able to see the point of one of her eye teeth on the top for weeks. It finally broke through last night. Between the hours of 12am-1am to be exact. I know this because she woke up crying. And for the first time in a long time, she didn't settle down. So I went in to comfort her. But for the first time ever, she was inconsolable. Poor thing! I gave her some Tylenol, held her, and rocked her, and worried about her. After a while she finally settled down. I was able to put her back down and she went back to sleep. This morning I noticed the point was through. I felt it with my finger and sure enough there it was! Sharp as the dickens too! And of course, as per usual when she gets top teeth, her nose is running like a faucet. Poor thing. She also doesn't sleep well. It's going to be a long night too night too I think. So fun, since Hubby just left this morning.

We spent a quiet day at home, we all got to bed late last night because of dinner at our neighbors' house. Between that and getting up again a few hours later because of a tooth, we needed a quiet day. The only place we went was to the grocery store. I let the girls watch too much TV and I did a lot of cooking.

I am on a mission to make 3 different meals, for 4 different families. I have one set of friends who just had a baby (on Friday, Esten and Julie welcomed Esten Lee). I have another friend who has mono! And she has twin 3 year old's. One more friend has a husband deployed to Iraq and I think she could use a little pick me up, and the fourth family is ours. Hey, if I am making all that food, I might as well makes some for us!

I already got the Realtor soup done, as we call the recipe. It's called that because our friend got the recipe off a card a Realtor had sent out as an advertisement. And it is tasty! Next dish is going to be chicken tortilla casserole, and the final dish is just going to be chicken and rice. Nothing to wild or crazy!

Oh, I did get my Christmas/birthday gift from my wonderful husband on Friday night. He got me an iPad! It's 1/3rd the memory of his, but no biggie. I don't need all the music and movies and all that. We were able to save 15% at Target when we bought it too! Of course it's my gift, but I paid for 1/2 of it with my commission check from my 31 parties last month. Anyway, this is one of those times that I don't mind a birthmus gift (Christmas/Birthday). When it's something big like that! I love it already. Well, I already knew I would, but the really nice thing is that I can take my calendar with me now! That was one thing I always disliked. We use an online calendar. So, I have to wait to get home to make most appointments, book parties, etc, because I had to be in front of my computer. But now I can take my calendar with me any where I go! But our online calendar system works extremely well for us. This way I can see my calendar, Hubby's calendar, and the girls calendar all at once!

Kasey is quite the little swimmer. In fact Little Miss Independent as we like to call her, really seems to think she can swim on her own. She can't, but she sure likes to try! And her favorite thing to do at the pool is climb out the side, walk over to the stair and go down the stairs back into the pool. I am not sure why, but that girl loves stairs! Any stairs! And she is not big on listening to her swim teacher and doing what the swim teacher wants her to do. Maybe one day she might listen and then she might actually learn to swim! Crazy kid!

I have some cute recent kid moments to share:

Last week Courtney points to the back of her head and says "this is where my brain is." I said, "yes, you are right! Did your teacher tell you that?" She replies, "no, my brain said 'hey this is where I am!'"

Silly kid.

Today at the grocery store I got a bottle of water for the kids to share as they were riding around in the cart. Our cart looked like a car with them riding at the front. So I couldn't see them too easily. But I could tell from the noise they were fighting over the bottle of water. So, I stopped the cart, went around front and squatted down to look at them. Courtney wouldn't share the bottle with Kasey. So, I took the bottle from Courtney and gave it to Kasey for her to take a few sips. Kasey takes the bottle from me, looks at me and says "bye-bye" as she waves at me. She made me laugh out loud right there in the grocery store!

Ah, these are the days!

Ok, enough procrastinating, I have to go fill out that paperwork and make the next set of meals! HUGS!

North Pole

Well, today we were at the North Pole. That always sounds so funny to say. Courtney's preschool class had a field trip there. Once we arrived we discovered it was actually all of District 11's preschool, but it still wasn't too crowded! Apparently the kind owners let all the kids and their immediate family members come in for free! They aren't open during the week this time of year, so it was a special thing and so we really had the park to ourselves.

Courtney loves the North Pole as she discovered earlier this summer. And of course today was no different. It was different for Kasey however. This time she got to ride most of the rides with her sister. Last time she got to ride in the stroller only.

We were a little worried before today about the weather. The weather men were scaring us with predictions of snow and rain and cold temperatures. It has been unseasonably warm here recently, in fact it was in the 70's over the weekend. And we still haven't seen our first snowfall which for us is very odd. Anyway, we were a little worried about what we would wake up to.

Hubby and I decided last night that we would hit The Donut Mill in Woodland Park for breakfast. They are so yummy, and Hubby swears they have the best gravy ever. Any chance we get to go there, we take it!

But of course our day started at 6:30am as usual. Courtney was up at her regular time (the kid does NOT understand sleeping in). So, Courtney and Kasey had a bit of breakfast at the house. We were very happy to wake up to sunshine and few clouds instead of rain like we were worried about. We finally headed out and up the pass and ate our yummy breakfast! Courtney was so happy when we were done so we could FINALLY head to the North Pole. She has known this day has been coming for about a week and of course at 4 years old, when you are excited about something, it takes forever to get here!

Right as we were leaving a few flakes started to fall from the sky! Funny thing was there was still sunshine and blue sky all around! Just one dark cloud dropping the flakes on us! Thankfully there were no flakes on us at the North Pole. We all had a few layers on, and as the morning went on, it got a bit warmer! With all the layers we had on, none of needed our coats! Or any of the other 10,000 warm things I brought. But I figured that if I wasn't prepared for whatever weather may come our way, then we would be miserable.

We rode a ton of rides! Kasey rode most of them with Courtney or one of us. There were very few she couldn't go on! We did the big slide 5 or 6 times (maybe more). We had lunch at one of the little cafe's. It was a great time! Oh and of course Courtney got to see Santa! Kasey was too shy and wouldn't sit on his lap, but Courtney hopped right up! We finally headed out about 1:30pm. Kasey was asleep within a matter of moments and Courtney made it until we were almost home. We unloaded them and put them straight down for nap. Then Hubby headed out to work for a few hours. At the moment, the house is silent! Ahhhh.....

As we were leaving we saw the storm coming in. It's moving in from the North, and it was certainly on it's way. I think we left at a great time! By the time we got through the pass and headed back into town, it started to sprinkle. Since we have been home the wind has really kicked up, the sun is gone, the clouds are all here, and it's still sprinkling. They are saying tonight it's supposed to snow! We will see! It has also dropped 5 degrees since we got home.

Well, I need to go and take advantage of the silence! Hugs to all! I will upload pictures soon and pass them along!

Halloween Pictures

Makala the ladybug!

The gang getting ready to head out.

Me and my girls!

Kasey puppy!

The girls checking out their loot after we got done!