From My Front Porch Looking In

Shields and Armor

2012-01-06T12:26:00.000-06:00

I thought it would be fun to have Jordan blog with me. I showed him the blog and explained how I write about the pictures. Then I let him pick a picture to write about. We started writing and I had to help give him prompts but this is what we got:

"On Saturday, we went with Shawn to the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois.

We made a project called a garland."

And then he didn't want to do any more!

Here's the picture of him with his garland:

It was neat to let him choose colors and then to cut and put them all together. I love letting kids just go wild with being creative. He was proud of his garland!

Afterwards, we wandered around the museum, slowly making our way to the armor. Shawn had told Jordan she wanted to take him to see the armor so that was our main reason for visiting.

It was neat to see how intricately the armor was actually crafted. I can't imagine putting all of that on and then not really being able to see out of the helmets. Jordan thought it was very cool.

Shawn had lots of great stories to tell us about the artwork and the artists. She was the art teacher at Chad's school for a very long time. Jordan was especially thrilled when they found a knight, a horse, and a dragon in the gift shop that Shawn wanted to buy for him. He was so excited. Shawn told Jordan the story of Saint George when we found the painting at the museum. He was hanging on her every word as she told the story. After she was done, he said, "Is that really real?" He was so curious about dragons and if they were real. The painting was absolutely stunning. I'm so glad we got to see that after we saw the knights. I can't wait to get books from the library to read more about knights and dragons!

None of the images on the Internet do the artwork justice, but you can visit the Art Institute page that talks more about Bernat Martorell's Saint George Killing the Dragon to see the painting.

Danny was a champ for a 1 1/2 year-old at a museum where you have to be pretty quiet and not touch anything. It was great when he feel asleep. They do have a great play area for kids and he loved all the blocks!

Chad and Shawn got to catch up a bit as they watched Danny play.

Jordan helped me find the Thorne Room that matches the cover of Stealing Magic by Marianne Malone. It's the sequel to The 68 Rooms. I was lucky enough to get an ARC and am hoping to read it before it's out on the 24th. We were having fun looking for a white room with a chandelier and yellow chairs! We found it!

The real Thorne Room and the cover of the book!

It was such a fun trip!

Christmas(es) 2011!

2012-01-02T13:28:00.001-06:00

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Merry (late) Christmas to everyone! We celebrated with lots of small Christmas celebrations with family over the last week. It was lots of fun. I loved watching Danny get excited about opening presents this year. The boys had a great time.

Book Fair Festivities!

2011-11-20T19:40:00.001-06:00

After an amazing long weekend with my Twitter family at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville and the NCTE conference in Chicago, I was still able to spend today with my real-life family. I can't even explain the love I felt at the train station when I opened the car door to put my stuff in the trunk and Jordan and Danny both screamed, "Mom!!!" Their little smiling faces are so sweet.

Then we went home and it was all changing diapers and reading books and bedtime and back to real life. It almost seems like my weekend away was a dream.

Today, we went to Barnes and Noble for the book fair for Chad's school. Barnes and Noble hosts it every year and there are activities and story times throughout the day. Chad was the first teacher to read. I spent a lot of time running after Danny. He would pull out a bunch of books and then take off running while I tried to frantically put the books away and race after him. We rode up and down the escalators a few time, too. That was fun.

Jordan and Maddy listening to Chad read

While Chad was reading, Jordan got to hang out with one of his best friends, Maddy. Jordan and Maddy have known each other their whole lives (well, Jordan's whole life since Maddy is older) and for a while saw each other almost every single week. Doesn't this picture of them just kill you? I cried when I saw it. Maddy's dad took it and showed it to me. They are awesome. So glad we have friends like this. What would life be without friends and family to share it with? Thanksgiving is coming up but I'm always thankful for my friends and family any day of the week.

Long Live Waldo!

2011-11-08T15:56:00.000-06:00

Jordan and I worked on the computer the other night and came up with Where's Waldo avatars for our family! Looking at them all lined up now is so funny! Chad is first - he looks super trendy and hip and young (which he totally is in real life!). He's jamming to his iPod. Danny is next in the green. I love his crazy hair and his little stocking cap. He's holding his sippy cup. Of course, it's easy to tell who I am. I have my flower in my hair and am holding my cell phone so I can tweet. And Jordan is last with his red and black stripes. He wanted to hold the key...I didn't ask him what he thought the key would be for...but he does have a little car that you put a key into and then can make it zoom off.

Aren't we such a cute Waldo-ish family? I love it! Next year is the 25th anniversaty of Where's Waldo! I'm not sure how many kids still recognize Waldo any more - but they should! We used to love poring through the books looking for all the different characters. Jordan likes the Where's Waldo app we have. Long live, Waldo!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T07:33:00.003-06:00

This week went really fast! It was kind of hard having Halloween on a Monday. We were already tired from the weekend and celebrating Halloween at my parents' and then we were busy again with Halloween on Monday night. We just took the kids trick-or-treating around our little part of the neighborhood. Jordan was Captain Rex from the Clone Wars (Star Wars) and Danny was Elmo!

I am insanely in love with Pinterest lately! I saw these cute pudding monsters on there and the mummy chocolate bars and just had to make them!

Jordan with his red pudding monster!

How cute are these guys! We went them to school and daycare with the boys to hand out. It was fun to wrap them up and put their eyeballs on! I love googly eyes!!!!

Something in the air...

2011-10-28T20:08:00.000-05:00

There must be something in the air as it gets closer to Halloween...

Can you see his hair standing straight up off of his head?!?! We were playing in our Thomas tent and I had to grab the camera when I saw how static-y his hair was getting! I love this. He's saying, "Cheese!" just not looking at me (of course!).

Mr. Jack-o-Lantern 2011

2011-10-27T20:04:00.000-05:00

We finally went to our local nursery pumpkin-y place to get our pumpkin this weekend! We love to take the kids there. It's a cute little place just down the street and we go every year. We got a nice size pumpkin that was perfect for carving. Somehow I avoided the sliminess this year...I just took the pictures!

Chad and Jordan scooping out seeds!

Ah! A Jordan-monster!

Scoop, scoop, scoop

Jordan picked out a design and Chad carved it up!

Rrrr....

Even scarier with the lights off!

Jordan was proud of his pumpkin!

Chad and Jordan!

This guy looks so cool out in front of our house. Coming home and pulling into the driveway is fun because there he is grinning (?) back at me. Even though he's got a mean face, he's really a nice guy deep inside. Did you carve pumpkins this year? What kind of face or other fun image did you carve?

Googly Eyes Make Everything Better

2011-10-25T19:53:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I forget the power of googly eyes...and then I remember them and the day gets a whole lot brighter! Googly eyes seriously make everything a hundred times better. They are fun. They just scream, "Look at me, I'm silly! Googly, googly, googly!" I love them.

Last week a friend at work broke her foot so

Jordan and I made her this cute little card!

Googly Googly!

Jordan put the googly eyes in place!

I added little smiles and a "Get Well Soon!" bubble.

Googly eyes have more fun!

Do you have a favorite googly eye project??

If You Ain't Here to Party

2011-10-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

I went to an "assembly" at work this week. It was a collection of great people in our district talking about teacher effectiveness. We did an activity where we had to decide if we were mostly a north, south, east, or west kind of person. I'm warning you, this is pretty crazy-true and it freaked me out a bit. I felt connected to recognize my personality but have also be contemplating what it means all week! Don't be wishy washy, you have to pick only one! (I also color coded them, there is a similar personality test that links you with a color.)

Here are the breakdowns:

North - Acting - Likes to take action, try things, plunge in. "Let's do it!"

East - Speculating - Likes to look at the big picture and the possibilities before acting.

South - Caring - Likes to know that everyone's feelings have been taken into consideration and that their voices have been heard before acting.

West - Pay attention to detail - Likes to know the who, what, where, when, and why before acting.

Can you tell which one I am? I'm totally a north. I actually love being a north. I think norths have a lot of fun. You know what I just realized? My grandmother on my dad's side of the family was a North; that was her family name. That's crazy.

Anyway, I am definitely the kind of person who jumps into things. Then I become more of a west and stop to think of all the elements to get things done right, but I am first and foremost a north. I really like who I am in that sense. I love that I have the energy and will to just go and do things. I definitely think of myself as a leader. I feel like I get things done. Knowing I am a north did make me stop and realize the other directions that I don't identify with as easily. I consider myself to be a caring person and I do take others into account, but sometimes it's hard for me to understand why people aren't on board with me. This helped me recognize that others just think differently before jumping into things.

My north-ish self has adopted this song as my anthem. This is how I'm feeling about life right now! I'm a north and I'm here to party! Let's do it!!!

If You Ain't Here to Party - Luke Bryan - Luke Bryan Videos

What personality do you think you match up with? Do you feel like you can fit into one? Does it change your perspective about people? Where do your family members fit? I think this is to intriguing!!

More Fall Fun!

2011-10-18T21:12:00.000-05:00

Look at me! I'm posting again. It feels good to be blogging again. I can't believe how much Danny has changed so I'm excited to share pictures of him as he grows. It's crazy to me that he's already 15 months old. This weekend we visited Edwards Apple Orchard and the Pumpkin Patch. Both are places Chad went to when he was a kiddo and now we've made it a tradition of taking our little family.

First, we stopped at the orchard. We went straight for the apple cider and apple cider donuts. Then we played a lot and went to the store for goodies.

Grandma and Aunt Jane - Aunt Jane's first apple cider donut!!!

Chad, Danny, and Papa

Jordan and me! He was all about the donuts and the cider!

Danny's first apple cider donut (he was only 5 months last year!)

Mmmm...sugary sweet.

See? Look how big these kiddos are! Jordan and Danny!

After the orchard, we went to the Pumpkin Patch! Jordan got to spend tickets on jumpy things and Chad and I launched pumpkins! Danny had fun petting the goats and looking at all the pumpkins.

Pumpkins!!! Arrrr(?)!!!

This is Danny's sweet "Cheese" face. He actually says it!

I'm glad we are able to take our kids there. It seems like there are so many small town or local places that are closing so it's nice that these two places are still around. I hope they continue to be there as our kids get older and maybe even when our kid have kids! Where do you pumpkin patch?

You know...we did get one medium sized pumpkin but we didn't get out pumpkin to carve yet! We were busy running around and having fun and didn't choose a pumpkin. We do have a great little pumpkin spot near our house so I'm sure we'll be there in the next week or so.

Fall 2011 (So Far...)

2011-10-16T15:12:00.000-05:00

It's October and October means fall to me! Last weekend we celebrated at my sister's wedding. She was excited that the leaves were changing colors because their whole wedding was fall themed. I love my blog and being able to share all the fun things we do. I haven't been so great at scrapbooking lately so at least by doing this I can chronicle what we're doing...but that means I have to keep up with my blog. This is it. I'm officially back. Here's some pics from last weekend!

The bride getting her nails done!

Jordan and my mom at the rehearsal - he was the ring bearer!

Hanging out before the ceremony - Jordan with Aunt Jacquie

My cousin, Silvia, and I

There was a photographer with us most of the day. I felt fancy!

Aunt Jane with Jordan

Jordan with Grandma

Me with my sister

After the wedding, we spent the weekend relaxing. We actually took the kids to a water park hotel near us. It was a totally free weekend. We were so busy there was no time to think about anything besides having fun. We had fun jumping in the leaves!

Danny! He's 15 months now! So much fun.

Jordan - I love his sweet smile!

My boys! Chad with Jordan and Danny

There will be more to come! October is such a fun month. Fall is such a beautiful season. My mom's friend, Betty, was visiting from Guatemala for the wedding last week and she had never seen the leaves changing colors before. I love when the leaves change but it gave me a whole new perspective to think about never having ever seen them before!

Thank God That I'm Alive

2011-09-11T00:47:00.001-05:00

I saw this on Pinterest a couple of days ago and it has stuck with me ever since. At the time, I automatically thought to myself, "Thank God I thank God every night for my family and friends, our cozy house, our jobs we love, and our wonderful life." Since then, it has popped up in my thoughts here and there but really hit me as I was driving home tonight.

My friend and I went to see the movie version of The Help tonight. I loved the book (I listened to it on audio, which I think was fantastic) and I wasn't sure how I would like the movie but, in this case, it is definitely a movie that did the book justice, and maybe even moreso in a sense. The movie really brought the book to life for me. Sometimes it's hard for me to visualize when I'm reading, especially when the book is set in the past. The Help is well written and I actually did visualize pretty much what I saw in the movie but it still made it so much more real for me.

After the movie, my friend and I talked about how horrible the situation was in the south for African American people and how horribly they were treated. As we were talking about this, my friend reminded me of how close the Civil Rights movement was in terms of history. It was the 1960's. In the whole history of the United States, let alone the world, the 1960's was not that long ago. When I took U.S. History in high school the class barely even made it to the 1960's (which is a shame...).

I got into my car and headed home. And then I was overcome with the feeling of just how great my life is. My life is not perfect: the laundry in my hamper is overflowing and my 1-year-old thinks it's funny to hit me when he's mad...and so many other complaints I could type BUT my life is my life and no matter what is happening, I know that I still have a countless things to be thankful and happy for in my life.

This is when the tears just careened down my cheeks. I thought about the loneliness Ms. Celia feels. I thought about how horrible Hilly is and the hatred and misunderstanding she represents. I thought about sweet Mae Mobley. I thought about the way people treated other people during that time period...and how some of that hatred still exists today. You can imagine how much more blubbery I got as I realized that by the time I made it home to write this post it would be September 11th.

It makes me sad that people treat other people as poorly as they do sometimes. It also makes me proud to know that I recognize this and hope I can be someone who shows compassion and respect for others. I can teach my kids how to be kind to other people. I can do my best to express to family, friends, and strangers that I value them. I may be just one little person in this giant world, but that doesn't mean I can't make a difference in someone's life.

Thank God for everything in my life - the good and the bad. The tough parts of life help me appreciate the great parts of life. September 11th is a perfect example of how life can change in an instant and also of how people can come together and support each other.

I am extremely thankful for this blog. I'm glad I get to share my perspective on life. Whether people read this or not, it's here, and hopefully it is reaching at least one person who gets something out of reading what I have to say. I haven't updated this blog since April and a post was looooooong overdue. I promise to post more often - for myself and for my kiddos. I realize how much this is a chronicle and celebration of their lives as much as it is about me. Thank you to everyone who still reads this blog! I appreciate you!

I say that everyday needs to be a day of thanksgiving. Stop and think about what you are thankful for. Revel in the minute and the grandiose. Because what if it's all gone tomorrow?

When Yummy Chocolate Happens to Good Children

2011-04-28T22:30:00.000-05:00

It was a crazy weekend last weekend! We had Jordan's 4th birthday party with friends at the Sears Centre. We were able to get two suites so we could see Thomas on Stage. It was fun! On Saturday, we went to Rockford to have lunch with Chad's mom and then go to our friend's 8th birthday - at a roller rink! Jordan was a champ on skates. Finally, to top it all off, Sunday was Easter. Jordan was high on sugar all weekend, it seemed! I just uploaded pictures from the camera and these were too funny not to share!

He's so funny this kid. He reminds me of his dad. I love his faces. Today in the car I said something and he smacked his face with his hand. His whole hand just covered his face and he rolled his eyes. I thought boys weren't supposed to be drama???

La Mamita

2011-04-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

My grandma, Mamita, has been here since December from Guatemala. She came last spring and stayed for Danny to be born and then went back to Guatemala...but she's back again! We love her so much. I think anyone who knows her, has met her, or has heard anyone talk about her just loves her. She's a great lady and she's so much fun.

Jordan said to me last week that he's not afraid of Mamita anymore. We went to pick her up and he was excited to tell me that he isn't afraid of her like he used to be. He's so cute. She came over and was asking me what Jordan wanted for his birthday. He can't get enough of Toy Story right now so here he is showing her a picture of Woody in his Toy Story chapter book!

Jordan and I were talking about taking pictures of his Toy Story toys so we can create a Bingo game to play at his birthday party...I think he got excited and started taking pictures without me!

He's also having a lot of fun with my Dr. Seuss stuffed animals that Chad brought in from the garage. I guess, technically, they are Jordy's because my friend, Krystie, gave them to him...me!...for his baby shower. I love them so much and we've kept them really nice. I'd like to take them to school, but for now Jordan is loving them. More pics a la Jordan:

Sam I Am! Green Eggs and Ham anyone?

More toys. I love finding pictures on the camera that Jordan has taken...except for those he snapped when I was still in bed and it was dark and the flash was going all crazy in my eyes...those I most certainly did not like!

Here's one Jordan took of Mamita! She's amazing. Her and I have been talking about Pablo Neruda and his poems lately! She knows a ton of his poems by heart. As a kid, she read every book she could get her hands on at her local library. AND, she played basketball, too!

I love this one! She was goofing around with Jordan and he caught this pic! She better watch out or he's going to be scared of her again!

Boys Will Be Boys

2011-04-05T22:29:00.000-05:00

It's all about the boys at our houses. I can't get away from them...not that I want to. Danny got sick Sunday and isn't doing so great. Poor baby. I got to snuggle with him lots today after work but it makes me sad to see him so miserable but not able to do anything to help him. I just thought I would post this super cute picture of him before he got sick. I'm sending out healthy vibes to him so he gets better soon!

And I have more bean pictures! These bean pictures are from last weekend when we went downtown to see Green Eggs and Hamadeus. Actually, Jordan and Chad went and I sat and read in Caribou-Coffee-bliss across the street from Millennium Park. It was fun! We had gelato to top it all off!

I love standing under the bean and seeing all the little teeny tiny reflections!

My Cuties

2011-03-21T22:25:00.006-05:00

Is anyone else in love with the Cuties - those adorable little oranges that are so easy to peel and so yummy to devour? I'm loving them. But this post is really about my cuties: my Jordan and my Danny. I love them so much. I had a meeting after school and then went to an author signing so I didn't even get to see them tonight. Bummer. I can at least gaze at their pictures before bed!

Jordan and I jumped out of the car to take Flat Stanley to the bean on Saturday. Here he is in Millennium Park! It was fun!

Danny spotted another baby in the house and crawled over to say hi! He was entranced!

I'm loving life with these two kiddos. I can't get enough of their smiles!

What's making you smile lately?

2011-03-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for the last month...I took them on our snow days we had at the beginning of February. It was a nice break and fun for all of us to be able to be home...but it did mean finding lots to do to keep us busy while we were all cooped up together!

Here's Jordan doing some cutting:

Danny after waking up from his nap!

This was when Jordan started climbing into Danny crib with him!

He had to throw in all sorts of blankets and the Pillow Pets, of course!

Cheese, anyone?!

We pooped Buzz out! He had to wear this all day and even under his snow gear when he went outside!

This guy would never let on that he's tired! He just wants to play, play, play!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2011-02-22T18:32:00.000-06:00

Chad found out that the closest Lego store to us was having a grand re-opening. He took Jordan because they were building a huge Buzz Lightyear out of Legos. I stayed home with Danny and let him crawl all around, he's getting really good at his army crawl. It's cute to hear his little grunts as he scoots himself closer to whatever toy he's got his heart set on.

Jordan got to put together a few big blocks that they then used on the big Buzz.

Here he is picking out some Legos to use:

This was a mini-Buzz up on the bigger Buzz that was almost completed.

My sweet boy so proud of his block!

Here's what Buzz's head looks like. I love the eyebrows!

We are huge Buzz Lightyear fans around here. Jordan was Buzz for Halloween and wants a Buzz birthday party this year. I can't believe he'll be four soon! My favorite part of Toy Story 3 is when Buzz goes into Spanish mode. It's just too funny!

Weird Wondering...

2011-02-19T19:35:00.000-06:00

I've got another weird wondering for you...because sometimes I get to wondering and I feel like what I'm wondering is just kind of goofy and I have to share.

I bought a new can/jar/canister of sea salt recently and it seems like I try my hardest to close it up just right but then every time I go to use it I realize I didn't close it quite all the way...and now I'm wondering if it's me or these lids to these contraptions that just barely leave you any room to be off. Here's a pic of what I mean:

Sea Salt

Sprinkles

So tell me, because this is what I'm wondering...is it that they just barely make these lids capable of being in their closed state, or am I just not coordinated enough to get it to match up exactly most of the time!?!?

What's In The Cards for Valentine's Day?

2011-02-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

I love Valentine's day! I'm a lucky mom to have three boys in my life to love! Jordan and I have worked on his Valentine's already and I'm hoping we can dye some carnations some time this weekend. We did make this fun decoration last week and I love how it turned out:

I found this activity from No Time for Flashcards where she has great ideas for kids. I was excited because Chad and I had just played cards and as I was looking for a deck to play with, I found an old pack of Coca-Cola cards that were missing three cards. This not-quite-complete pack was exactly what we needed for this project, bonus for us: no cost!

Jordan helped me sort through the cards and find only the heart cards. Then we put them in order and counted the numbers on the card. He helped me punch holes in the cards and I cut some heart shapes out. Next, we strung them all up. Jordan did pretty good for a few of the cards and then he got tired of it so I ended up finishing it up but that's okay! I think it looks so pretty on our mantle.

I need to do more projects like this with Jordan. Luckily, he works on projects all the time at our sitter's. He comes home with coloring pages, paintwork, things he has glued, cut, glittered, you name it. It makes a huge difference to have such a great sitter who does all of this, it just makes me feel so reassured that he's there with her.

What are your favorite Valentine's Day crafts? Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions? What kind of Valentine's are your kiddos giving - homemade or store-bought? (Either is okay...just curious!)

PSA - Nose Suckage

2011-02-10T20:39:00.001-06:00

It's been a about a year and a half since I felt I had a valid public service announcement to make...but this one is an important one to anyone who has a baby! Are you ready? It's all about using a nose sucker to get those boogs out! What's snot to love about this turkey baster?

Ahem, excuse me, it does have a formal name: a bulb aspirator. It was a proud moment when Jordan was in his big brother class and the nurse held one up and asked the kids if they knew what it was called and he proudly exclaimed that it's a nose sucker. That's what we call it!

For Chad, getting to use this thing is therapy. He loves the sound and the feeling of clearing out those nostrils. Weird, maybe, but when you're kiddo is sick and can't blow his or her nose it's important. Babies breathe primarily through their noses.

Okay, so our most recent stint in the emergency room/hospital with Danner gave us a nose sucker refresher course and I'm here to share our expertise with you. We are pros now at nose suckage.

In preparation of nose suckage you will need: a bulb aspirator AKA The Nose Sucker (we brought one home from the hospital when both kiddos were born and now that we were back in the hospital again...I've heard multiple people claim the ones from the hospital are the best but you can buy them in stores also), some kind of tissue, and saline.

Step 1: Lay baby down on his or her back.

Step 2: Put the babies arms over his or her head and hold them down. This prevents the babe from jerking his or her head from side to side to avoid nose suckage. Tip: If you have to do this alone (like I did today...) you can use one arm to pin his or her arms down and the other arm to suck the boogs.

FYI: This will likely cause some (or a lot) of unhappiness from the baby, but it's worth it to get that nose cleaned out.

Step 3: Spray saline into each nostril.

Step 4: Squeeze the nose sucker.

Step 5: Place the nose sucker into one nostril and let the ball part open up. This will suck those boogs out.

Step 6. Squeeze the boogs out onto the tissue you have.

Step 7: Repeat steps 4-6 with other nostril.

Step 8: Release babies arms and quickly gather him or her up in yours and kiss, hug, squeeze, rock, soothe baby.

Phew! I feel so much better now that I got that out there. Seriously, all anyone even told us was to make sure to squeeze the ball part before you stick it in the nose otherwise your forcing boogs further in and that's no good. I'm sure this isn't the only way to get boogs out but so far it's the most effective I've seen. Do you use the nose sucker? Do you have a good system for nose suckage you would like to share? What do you affectionately (or maybe disgustedly) call you nose sucker?

Turkey Slices and Febrile Seizures

2011-02-07T21:44:00.000-06:00

Ugh, thinking back over the last two days I am just so thankful to be home with all my boys and for all of us to be healthy or on our way back to being healthy. Sheesh. Danner started feeling warm on Thursday night. He wasn't super warm but he seemed a little warm to me. He had a cough and a stuffy nose but we went about our life as normal. Saturday night Jordan was at my parents but we brought Danny home with us since he wasn't feeling to well and had been waking up in the middle of the night.

Sure enough, we brought him home and he fussed when he was going to sleep. Chad came upstairs where I was watching a movie on my laptop. Chad fell asleep with the TV on...apparently hungry and dreaming about a few more slices of turkey. I heard Danny start crying and left my movie - the 2007 version of Hairspray, if you're wondering - to go check on him. I didn't realize Chad was asleep already (...it was a good movie...and I may love Zac Efron...).

When I picked Danny up, he was super hot. His head was really hot and when I opened his jammies to change his diaper his chest was super hot. I didn't even get to changing his diaper, I called for Chad to please get the fever medicine that was downstairs. Danny didn't seem like he was breathing quite right so I picked him up and was heading downstairs to meet Chad. Danny was kind of grunting and it didn't seem like he was getting good breaths in. When his eyelids started to get heavy and then his head went limp and rested on my shoulder we were pretty much freaking out and decided to call 911. As much as we tried to get Danny to respond to us, he seemed to be completely unconscious. Luckily, he was breathing normally again, he was just not responsive.

To make a long story short, the ambulance came, he woke up, his fever was 103.7 and we got to ride in the ambulance to the ER. They checked us in and did so many tests on my little bird. Everything came back negative which leads them to believe he had a febrile seizure. The doctors said it was fairly common (to them at least) and he just has a lower threshold for fevers and his body deals with it by having a seizure. From now on we'll have to make sure to start Motrin as soon as he has a cold and at least we understand it might happen again.

Besides this newfound understanding of Danny and fevers, I learned that I should probably preface my request for medicine from Chad by telling him how serious it is and whether he needs to go to get the medicine directly or if he can grab a snack on his way to the medicine. Oh yes, remember how Chad had been dreaming of turkey slices before I woke him up to get the medicine? Well, when I woke him up he grabbed a few slices of turkey until he realized I was freaking out and sprinted up the stairs to get his phone. Of course, I didn't know about these turkey dreams or these pre-medicine shenanigans until he found us in the ER, sat down next to me out of breath, and said, "I've got turkey slices in my pocket...you think they're still good to eat?"

I'm so happy we're home from the hospital. It feels good to be home again. Times like this make me cherish more and more the health that we do have and understand how fragile we all can be.

American Idol 2011...What Season Is it???

2011-02-05T19:39:00.000-06:00

I'm not even sure what season we are in for American Idol...and I honestly am not worried enough about it to look it up...BUT we have been watching and I find myself eagerly awaiting it as usual. As not-so-great as the singers were last season (minus Lee, of course), I still want to watch this year. So far I think there will be some great singers this year. I already have a favorite, she's young and I'm not sure how far she'll get, but I'm definitely watching for her and hoping she will get pretty far. I think she's awesome. Her name is Lauren Alaina and she was the very last audition last week on Thursday. She was really sweet and her voice sounded great to me. They wrote about her in this LA Times article, where I found this picture:

I'll definitely vote for her!

One thing that is different for us this season is that Jordan gets to watch with us! He has always been in bed before Idol started OR we had DVR so we watched after he was in bed...now, we've cancelled the DVR to save some money and he's not in bed by 7:00 any more (sad as it is, it's true...). He doesn't get to watch the whole thing and sometimes he's eating or playing as we have it on but when the first time we watched he watched, too. He sat there and when I asked him what he thought, he would look at me, scrunch his nose, and say, "He doesn't get it." Now that's his response no matter who is singing and if they are good or not, "He doesn't get it," as he shakes his head back and forth, like it's such a sad state. It cracks us up! I love it!

Have you watched this season? What do you think? Any favorites for you yet? You can watch Lauren Alaina here, too. Do you think she gets it?

My Sports Hubby

2011-02-03T12:15:00.000-06:00

In an effort to post something non-kid related I have a hubby-related post for you today! He's a sports maniac, but I mean that in a nice way. I love that he's so invested in the sports that he loves: football and basketball. While he knows enough about other sports, too, he's the expert on football and basketball.

Now that "our" football season is done (the Bears lost in the playoffs the weekend before last), he's moved onto watching the Bulls. I hear about all the players for the Bulls, but it seems like more and more I've heard him talking about Kyle Korver. Kyle Korver is new to the Bulls this year but seems to be one of their go-to shooters. Chad tells me all about how they get him open, get him the ball and how effective he is at making the shots when he needs to. When I watch, I notice him running around like crazy trying to get open to get a pass and make that shot, but it's fun to watch.

If you haven't heard of Kyle Korver before there's one more thing to point out about him...and apparently, he's not so happy that people make this connection with him...but I have to talk about it. He looks like Ashton Kutcher! Not so important when it comes to his impact as a player, but for this Ashton Kutcher fan it's definitely worthy of being pointed out. I, personally, think it's cool that we have a Bulls player who looks like Ashton. What do you think?

This picture (thanks to TMZ) might not be the best picture to compare the two of them and if you're so keen you can type in Korver and Kutcher and you'll get more images of how closely the two resemble each other.

Like I said, I love that he's into sports. I think it's great that he has something in his life that he is so invested in. I have my books...mounds and mounds of books, which can be found all over the house, as Chad so nicely pointed out the other day. What are you into? What consumes you? What could you not live without (apart from your family...)?

Around the House

2011-01-26T15:54:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for more pictures of my boys? Here they come! First, I have to show a picture of Jordan's bed all made. One day, he came downstairs to tell us he had cleaned his room and when we went up to see what he had done, this is it. He made his bed. I thought it was too sweet for words. He's growing up so much and more and more independent all the time.

Here's a close up of his pillow pets and one of our Build-A-Bear bears.

It's funny now to think back to when I was pregnant and Jordan really wanted a sister. They are such great brothers and it's obvious that they love each other. Jordan is so kind to Danny and Danny just loves to see what his brother is up to.

Jordan is always able to make Danny laugh!

Danny is full of smiles. He is just so fun to play with.

He's thinking more and more about crawling but hasn't started just yet. I had to take this picture with the puppy dog on his butt. I love baby clothes!

Not much else going on around here right now...oh! Except for Idol did start. I wasn't sure if I would like this season now that the judges are Randy, JLo and Steven Tyler, but I'm actually really enjoying it. I have always loved Jennifer Lopez. She's just so sweet and fun. Steven Tyler is actually very entertaining himself. American Idol talks about people having some kind of spark or personality about them more than being able to sing and that is definitely what comes to mind when I see Steven Tyler. Yes, he can sing, but he just seems like fun to me, and smart, too. I'm excited to watch tonight!