Elf on the Shelf...day 18

As Blitz was watching Xander on Sunday morning, he probably noticed how much the boy loved playing in the snow.  So today, it was no surprise when we found Blitz in snow, making a snowman.

 

Checking him out...

 

 

what's this little white "ball"...

 

what about this big "ball"... 

 

Have a great day!



Elf on the Shelf...day 17

This morning we found Blitz encouraging reading...although Xander does not need help in that department, it's always a good reminder to read books!  It was a good thing Blitz arrived early today because the kids were up at 545...boyser was that early!

 



Elf on the Shelf...day 16

I think Blitz decided not to come to the house of "buggies", because we didn't see him all weekend!  He kept his watchful eye from the tree though and I guess today was a great day to come back.  He got into Xander's Spider Man memory game, which we've never even opened yet.  I'd bought the game for Xander to develop his matching skills, but i'm thinking this one is going to be way to difficult!  I'm going to have to find a sesame street one or something.  Blitz was smart too, he left the cards face up so the match could be made easier!  

I also realize this will be my last year to be lazy and set the presents by the tree unwrapped until I get them wrapped.  We found Xander laying down, hands under his chin, talking to the large colorful box.  I better get them wrapped this week.  Although, the large box isn't getting wrapped, it's going to be put together for instant play for Sterling on Christmas morning...how fun!

Thanks for coming back Blitz!

I felt her pain

On Sunday night my stomach started feeling icky, I just knew it was coming.  Around 7 Monday morning, the mop bucket was my bestie.  What a way to start out the week!  Much to my surprise, Nick was laying on the couch and not at work.  I was confused.  He was sick too!  I'll just say yesterday was not fun at all!  I had a fever at 101.2, and it didn't go down until around 8pm.  Thanks to Nicks recommendation to take some Tylenol cold medicine.  I guess it worked for the fever!  I couldn't drink or eat without it coming back up.  I could totally feel Sterling's pain as she was throwing up Friday.  It's painful.  I can't imagine her small body trying to fight it, but it hurt me, so I imagine it hurt her 10 times worse!  We all went to bed at 7 last night so we could get the rest we needed and everyone seems to be doing well today.  I have a massive headache/pain, but I'm sure it's from being dehydrated.  So today, I'm tasked with fueling my body and getting some sugars in it.  Yesterday I tried to take a shower but almost fainted so I had to get out...only my hair was shampooed..oh well.

This week is going to be busy...as long as we all stay well!  We have to get ready for the kids' Opa to arrive next week!  I have to clear out the toy room, put up the airbed and make room in his closets.  Then I have to make things simpler for him as Nick and I are going to Paris without them and Nick wants things to be simple and laid out for him.  I guess I understand.  

I'll get to spend some much needed quality time with my sewing/embroidery machine.  I can't wait!  Opa will be here for 2 weeks, and I plan to use every day working on a project and getting better.  I've done a few things, but still need some work.  I have to figure out how to enlarge images and how to add a name to an image.  I purchased the program SewWhatPro, so I'm trying to figure that out also.  I hope I will have all my "kinks" worked out before the end of the month!

Side note...Xander has been melting my heart lately.  When I give him something he says "thank you mama" and the look he gives puts me in heaven.  Then when he's playing with something he's not supposed to, he'll run it to me and say "there you go mom"...I love it!  Yesterday as I was sick, he was my cuddle bug.  I don't think he's sat on my lap as much as he did yesterday, ever.  I loved it and soaked up every minute!  Sweet, sweet boy!

Sterling, well she's fast!  Still not "crawling" but what she does works.  She gets around and gets there so darn fast.  One day I had her out by the table, Xander and I were in the back room talking with Nick and next thing I know, she's tugging at my robe!  I'm ready for her to do the real crawl though...so she can exercise those turkey legs of hers...haha!  For about 2 weeks before she got sick, she had been sleeping through the night!  I was loving it.  But since she was sick, she's been up twice again...ugh!  We'll get her back on track, just in time.  I think she's still catching up on eating from almost 2 days of barely anything.  

Have a great day!

Better day

Sterling slept much better than I thought she would.  She woke up 4 times.  The 2nd & 3rd time, I decided to give her 2 oz of formula.  She hadn't thrown up and it had been 6 hours since she went down.  She took it well.  The 4th wake up was around 6 and she had thrown up.  Nick got up with her (and Xander) while I slept an extra half hour.  She's been a happy baby, but sleeping a lot!  Sleeping so much I wonder if she will sleep tonight.  She's thrown up 4 times today (so far), but she's also came down with the diarrhea.  I decided to give her toast an hour ago, so far so good.  She's also had 3, 2 oz bottles.  She does not like the pedialyte (makes her gag), so it's water and 2 oz of formula to hydrate her.  I'm so glad she's feeling much better today compared to yesterday.  She was looking horrible yesterday trying to clear out the infection.  She's still holding her ears, but 3 of the 4 teeth are poked through her gums.  So, I'll just mark the ear holding as her way of soothing herself when she's teething.  And because her ears turned out perfectly at the checkup yesterday.

It's not any fun seeing your babies sick :(

Elf on the Shelf...day 13

Today we found Blitz sitting in the tree towards the top.  I think he decided he needed a higher viewing to see if the kids are behaving.  Xander didn't notice where he was, but he noticed he wasn't in his typical spot or any other low lying area.  I didn't grab a photo today, totally forgot.  I could now, I suppose.  But I really don't feel like pulling the camera out.

Sick baby

Sterling is sick again, but not the fun kind of sick.  She has been vomiting really bad all afternoon.  It started around 115 after she woke up from her nap.  It was a lot.  All over my legs, her and a huge puddle on the floor.  I thought it was a one time event...nope...totally wrong!  It's been an all day event.  We went through 6 outfits in 5 hours.  We spent an hour in the ER.  I was concerned because she wouldn't keep her 2 pm feeding down and I didn't know what to do.  Xander never got sick like this.  Again...he was my easy baby...lol!  I was scared she was going to starve and get dehydrated.  Much to my surprise, giving her a teaspoon of pedialyte every 15-20 minutes when she's awake will be fine for her.  She threw up sitting in the exam room and again in her car seat...nasty!!!  She's thrown up a total of 9 times in 5 hours.  They are not small throw ups either.  Poor baby is hurting when she's doing it too.  I'm not expecting her to sleep too well tonight.  Although, i'd love to get a full nights sleep because i have a 10 page paper to write this weekend...NOT FUN!  Not good timing to get sick kiddo...but is there ever a good time?  ha!  You can't predict this sort of stuff. 

So, here's a lovely after picture when I moved her to the kitchen off the hard wood floors.  I quickly cleaned up the mess on the hardwoods so it wouldn't seep in between the cracks.  Moved her to the kitchen and then stripped her down and swiffered the walk.  The things you do for your kids :)

 

 

Love ya baby girl...hope you get feeling better soon!!!!



Elf on the Shelf...day 12

I think as Blitz was watching over Xander yesterday he saw how much fun he was having creating a santa out of a paper plate.  We woke up and found this!

 

 

Blitz entertained Xander for the first few hours this morning.  Which was nice!  Xander kept putting the links on the tree, walking away clapping, then going back to take them off and repeated that over and over for hours!  Pure fun for kids!  I love it.  It's the simple things.

 

Have a great day!



Xander

This young boy has been driving this mama crazy!  Yesterday was a terrible day for listening.  Did I mention it was terrible?  It was TERRIBLE!!!!!  We know that he understands what we say because 90% of the time he'll do it, but that other 10% of the time...where are the ear plugs?  I think most of the problem on that 10% is he's tired.  He sleeps horrible during the day...as in won't take a nap 6 days a week.  He gets 11-12 hours at night, but running all day resisting his nap a nightmare!  I put him down for a nap at 1045 yesterday because he was yawning, laying his head down, and just looking tired.  Well he was in his room for 3 hours, fussing.  No nap!  No tears!  Just hollering and fussing.  I had to take the dog to the vet and Nick came home to watch the kids.  I'm not sure how long he listened to him fussing, but when I got home at 3, Xander was up, Sterling was sleeping, and was told Xander never fell asleep.  I decided to take the kids to the indoor play area to let Xander run off his steam and I could chat with an adult.  Xander did great playing out, but once we got back inside the house...my oh my!  It's like his winter fever already set in and he's ready to run free.  I wish I could take him outside every single day, but with Sterling, it's too much right now.  If we lived in a normal house with a backyard and fence, it would be much more practical.  I could sit outside with him while Sterling is inside sleeping.  Next year young man...things will be much better!  I can't wait to move...wherever that may be!

 

Now for today.  He was up at 6:20, cranky boy too!  We went out to the store.  I dreaded going, like always.  It was different today.  Xander did amazingly well!  We got home, I put Sterling in her chair to drink a bottle and he was watching Wonder Pets so I could bring the groceries up.  I drop the first load off and put them in the doorway like I always do.  I go back down and get the last load.  When I open the door, I see him moving the bags all over.  At first I freaked because I had eggs down there...but then I told him thank you for helping.  As I was in the kitchen unloading the first bag, Xander is behind me handing me another bag.  He wants to help!  I let him.  It might have taken an extra 15 minutes to bring everything  into the kitchen, but he was happy helping, so I let him!  It was actually nice because by the time he brought me stuff, I was able to put the stuff away rather than sit it all on the counter, like I normally would do.  I appreciated his help!

He ate great today too.  He's been in a funk lately where he won't eat barely anything, so seeing him eat today was great!  He probably won't eat dinner now, but hey, at least he ate a lot for lunch!

 

So, last night I may or may not have had tears shed, but today was a new day and although it started out sour, we will make it into a GREAT day!  I thank God daily for our little miracles, even when things don't go "just right".

 

Today he has a happy smile shining so brightly from his handsome self!

 

We love you little man!  Crankiness and all!  I can't believe that in less than 4 months, he will be TWO!  Terrible two's so soon?  Let's hope not!

Elf on the Shelf...day 11

It was a nice surprise to see Xander's tooth brush ready to be used this morning.  Thanks Blitz, for making our morning that much quicker :)

 

 

 

Have a great day!



Photo updates

I was looking at my photos and thought I'd share a few...

 

Back on November 17th, Xander went to the dentist for the first time and here is his picture sitting so big (and scared looking)...

 

 

During our trip to Berlin, we discovered that we needed a front and back stroller, so this is the kids' newest ride... 

 

We had our first "real" snowfall, Dec 2nd.  We had snow about a month ago, but it didn't stay more than 2 minutes, so this stayed for hours so we'll call this our first...

 

Sterling and daddy playing...

 

and now the many faces of Miss Sterling...

 

come on mom...

 

do I have to?...

 

you're a bit crazy...ha!...

 

and the sweet concerned look...

 

We received the results to Sterling's culture Monday morning.  It was a staph infection.  Her little staph site is completly healed, but will continue her antibotics until tomorrow at bedtime.

 

Now I have to transfer all my stuff from my external hard drive onto CDs.  I think the drive is malfunctioning so I'm hoping to save my pictures at least...but it's taking forever because only one month of photos has been fitting on disks...that's going to be a lot of disks and time that I should be working on my 10 page paper due on Monday night...joy!

 



Elf on the Shelf...day 9

Come to find out, Blitz was sick in the North Pole yesterday.  Today he must have been feeling a little better, but he sure made it apparent that he was still not 100%.

 

 

Have a great day!



Elf on the Shelf...day 6 & 7

Saturday morning we woke up to pixie sized pancakes from Blitz...the perfect size for Sterling too!

This morning we found a mischievous elf climbing our tree and taking ornaments off...of course Xander was quick to recognize the mess and helped clean it up

Have a great day!

Sterling update

She's looking much better.  The wound area is nearly gone and there's a small lump.  All the redness/warmth has been gone since yesterday.  It's so amazing what the right medicine can do and how fast it can heal a person.  I called today to get the culture results, but they weren't available yet.  She has an appointment (the one I set up before taking her to the ER) for Monday morning.  I'll call the peds office to get the results, if all is good and Sterling is still doing well, I can cancel that appointment.  That's what I'm hoping for :)  It's stressful taking both kids to the doctors at the same time...oh the stress :(.

Crafts

Today the kids and I spent working on canvas...well, mainly me, but the kids did have 1 project to complete.  It was fun, relaxing, and just what I needed.  The kids even cooperated so I could complete my projects. 

 

 

Both kids put their hand prints all over this tree...hence why it's so wide, but Xander did the "decorations" (this is hanging in the dining room)

 

I've been wanting to start this one for about 2 weeks now and today was the day to start and FINISH it!  I had to have it hanging on our front door by tomorrow, only 25 days till Christmas

 

This one, I started it about 3 weeks ago with my friend and finally put the finishing touches and ribbon on it today.  I have this one hanging in the dining room (if that's what you'd call it)

 

Are you working on any crafts?  I'm hoping my stabilizer will come in very soon so I can start doing lots of applique on the kids' clothes.  I also am hoping to finish my carolers (ceramic with 3 carolers) before Christmas.



Elf on the Shelf...day 5

This morning we woke up and found a mess...Blitz was playing with the legos!  Oh, what a mess!  Xander said "mess, mess, mess" and started picking up the legos...lol.

 

 

Have a great day!

Elf on the Shelf...day 4

Blitz didn't make an appearance yesterday.  I guess he realized how busy things were and didn't have time to come around.  Xander though, he found Blitz first thing sitting in front of the TV (where we sit him to keep a watchful eye on the kids), picked him up and brought him over to me.  He didn't lose his magical powers though because this morning he appeared where Xander eats at the table.  He left him a little message...be nice!  ha!  I explained to Xander that Blitz saw how naughty he was yesterday and that he wanted to remind him to be nice.  Pushing over your sister is not very nice!  So far, he's been very good today...but it's only been 4 hours into our day.

Have a great day!

 

 

What a day...

yesterday turned into.  It started out calm and casual, a typical day around here.  After the kids woke up from their naps, I gave them an afternoon snack.  That led into Xander pooping all over himself and Sterling gagging herself so much that she had a huge puddle of vomit in her chair.  Off to a bath for them (together), something they love.  As I put Sterling in the tub, I noticed her leg was really red and was spreading.  I'm still thinking it's from the diapers, so after her bath I put her in the new diapers I bought for her.  I start doing some research on impetigo because my mom mentioned that my brother had that when he was younger.  I didn't think it looked much like that so I start searching other stuff.  I came across a staph infection and immediately knew it was.  She had all the symptoms.  The pictures looked the same as her site.  I emailed Nick, asking him to come home so I could take Sterling to the ER without Xander in tow.  He did, which surprised me.  When he got home, he wanted to see it and said it was probably a bug bite of some sort.  Sure, it could be, but why is it swelling, so red, and hard?  I was still concerned so Sterling and I went off to the ER.  We were seen rather quickly, which really surprised me!  We were there for a bit because they did a culture, had me do warm compress on the site, and then came in and scrapped the site to get more ooze out.  Sterling did amazing!  She didn't scream out once, not even when the needle was poking her!  Super girl right here!

This morning I called the ped's office to get a time for our follow-up.  It was set for 11.  We got home at 12:45.  The doc said it was MRSA, gave her an antibiotic and an ointment.  We're not sure how she got this.  My friend mentioned that it could be from the hotel?  Maybe I guess, but why Sterling and nobody else?  I have to keep a close eye on her for any reactions to the antibotic, praying for none!  Praying she heals quickly and fully.

 

For the rest of the afternoon, I'm trying to make Gingerbread men.  I'm not too sure they are going to turn out, this is my first attempt and all.  The kids are watching Santa Paws and Blitz is keeping a close eye on Xander, who's not been so good today.

 

Have a great day!

ER visit

So Sterling and I went to the emergency room tonight. After the kids woke up from naps, they had a snack, made a huge mess of themselves, and ended in the bath. As I put Sterling in the tub I noticed the area was larger, more red, hard, hot and oozing. Mommy instants kicked in. I got a hold of Nick to come watch Xander so I wouldn't have to worry about him running all over the place. I'm glad he came home early and I took her in. She has a staph infection. As of now, the doc thinks its MRSA and not cellulitis. We go to the ped's office sometime tomorrow then again on Thursday for the culture results. I'll go into more detail tomorrow, as for now, I'm tired and going to bed! Just wanted to let family know.

Casual day

Today I decided to put Sterling in some holiday attire. Simple, yet cute. Then I decide, maybe i should take some pictures....lol. I haven't taken many pictures this month and there's only a few days left.

 

 

Sterling is always attacking Xander

 

I told Xander he had to open his eyes...so he touches it :)

 

hopping to get where she wants..always a facial expression to go along with the move

 

hopped forward to get moving...she always has one leg back and the other bent...weird-o!  She's quick to get to where she wants though

 

Sterling is working on her 4th, 5th, and 6th tooth this week...let's just say she's in a lot of pain and uncomfortable.  I mean, who wouldn't be?

 

yesterday's photo

today's photo.  notice how red it is (it's also warm to the touch) and today it was popped and oozing.

 

We've also been dealing with the above 2 pictures.  We're not quit sure what it is or whatever, but these blister looking things keep showing up on Sterling's bottom and now outside the diaper area.  Each time the start small, get bigger, pop, and the last one was bloody after it popped.  I called the ped's office today, but can't get her seen until Monday morning.  Should I be more concerned and take her to urgent care?  Is it nothing?  Is it from the diaper.  We're using size 4 pamper's cruisers.  While we were out today, I picked up a pack of Huggies little movers size 4 to see if things clear up quicker.  Nothing helps.  I use creams and neosporan.  Nothing works.  What would you do?

 

When the kids wake up from their naps, we're going to run out again because I noticed a store on the economy has some kid friendly sleds.  If we get snow this year, it would be fun to take them out so I want to have them on hand...just in case :)

 

Have a great day!



Elf on the Shelf...day 2

Today while we were out shopping, Blitz made a surprise visit and ended up coloring Xander's milk red and drinking it...silly elf!  I guess when Xander's good, even outside the house, Blitz knows and will make it known :). 

Xander thought it was funny.  He kept laughing and pointing to it saying...uh oh.  Cute! 

 

 

Oh Blitz

 

you crack me up

 

and I just have to keep talking about your silliness

Santa's helper

Santa's helper, Blitz, has arrived in our home.  He flew in last night, hopped in Xander's truck and waited for Xander at the front door.  Xander saw his truck at the door this morning and went right for it.  Then poor Blitz fell out the back as Xander went to grab the candy cane Blitz brought from the North Pole.

 

 

Welcome Blitz, we're excited to have your surprise visits each morning!

 

Have a great day!

 

Berlin

Thanksgiving morning we woke up and headed up to Berlin.  It was a 6.5 hour drive, but turned into a 10 hour trip...yikes!  The drive up went smooth until we reached the outskirts of Berlin.  We were stuck in a Stau (a German traffic jam).  In Germany, when a Stau is mentioned, it's usually pretty bad.  This was no exception, we were in it for 2 hours to go 15 minutes!  It took 1 hour just to go the first mile...no joke!  The kids woke up when we hit the Stau because the car came to a stand still and of course they think it's time to get out.  The screamed, fussed, and screamed some more.  They were done being strapped in.  I don't blame them, I wanted to be done too.  Because we got there much later than we expected, we decided to change our plans to just go to the hotel, eat dinner, and lets the kids play/run instead of strapping them in the stroller.  It was needed!  Friday morning we woke up bright and early, got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and headed out for 4 hours of walking around the city to see the sights.  We went back to the hotel for an hour and a half to let the kids release some of their crappy attitudes.  We went back out because I really wanted to see the city at night along the river walk.  I love night views.  It was beautiful.  It was much colder, but we knew to dress warm so we were okay.  The kids actually napped in the stroller for the 1st 1.5 hours...nice!  I didn't get very many pictures with us together out in front of sights, but someone has to be behind the camera. 

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we finally went somewhere!  The kids did not do too well sleeping.  It's expected.  They were somewhere new and not in their own beds.  We got up early Saturday morning (5am) so we would miss any Stau's on the way home.  It took 7 hours exactly to get home.  Not bad, but we were tired!

 

This was along the autobahn during our Stau

 

playing in the hotel releasing some energy after the long drive

 

hotel sink bath

 

how cool was our floor!?!

 

double riding and crying...ha!

 

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

 

 

Bradenburg Gate (in the day)

 

walking through a park so Xander can run around

 

parts of the Berlin wall

 

Xander was having an "off" day

 

"cheese"

 

family photo on the way out

 

night walk along the river

 

Not too sure what this was but thought it was cool looking

 

They were setting up the Christmas market along our walk and I loved how this building was lite up

 

Brandenburg Gate (at night)