So I didn’t mean to be off-Xanga for over a week, but hey, we’ve had a lot of adventures recently…where do I even begin…
Bedroom Adventures
Last weekend, the twins joined the world of non-crib sleepers. We “converted” their beds (by which I mean we simply took off the drop sides of their cribs) so they could get in and out by themselves. They have LOVED it. Alex, especially, relished his new ability to get into and out of bed all by himself. So much so that he did it 3-4 times a night for the first few days. Add that to the three times that Erin rolled out of bed and we did not sleep well for about 4 nights straight. Thankfully, Eric created a perfect bed rail for Erin, so that problem is now solved. And they love having pillows and sheets and quilts and such. So we have had 1-2 nights without interruption recently. Oddly, they will get out of bed in the morning (or at 2 am which happened a couple of nights ago) and just play in their room, but they won’t actually leave the room on their own. I have no idea how long that will last, but for now, it still gives me enough time to shower before opening their bedroom door.
Pharmaceutical Adventures
So, my children are pretty smart (at least I think so), and together, they come up with all sorts of creative solutions to the ‘problems’ they face. Like, how to get to the top of their almost 5-foot tall dresser. The answer: get the tall stool. So we were in the loft, and they were playing in their room (this was about 2 nights after the bed transition happened). Alex shut the door and things got quiet. Too quiet. “Why?” you ask…because they had gotten to the top of the dresser, pulled down the Children’s Ibuprofen bottle, and gotten the top off. And it was now empty. At first, I was just annoyed. There was a puddle on the floor to clean, and they actually know better than to pull things down like that. Then, I started to get worried. We had no idea if the bottle’s contents (it was only about 1/3 full) went entirely on the floor, or into them. And that was WAY more medicine than a 2-year old (or 2) should have ingested. Thankfully, my BIL is a pharmacist. Eric called him, and he looked some stuff up for us. Even if they had gotten a good bit more than they should, they should be fine, he reassured us. Ibuprofen is really pretty safe. And his literature confirmed his instincts. So, I checked on them (A LOT), but they woke up happy and unharmed the next morning. Thank you, Jesus.
Birthday Adventures
Last Wednesday was my birthday. I am 34. It was a pretty low-key day. Nothing too exciting for most of it. But that was okay. I just enjoyed the day. And we took the kids out for dinner (for Greek) where we saw some friends we haven’t seen for a while. And we got ice cream and ate it on the couch while watching Date Night (good movie) after the kids were down for the night. Funny movie, excellent company, so many blessings, and fudge swirl ice cream = great birthday!
Of course, the presents Eric got for me didn’t come until Friday. He and the kids got me a hand-held wheel-shaped pizza cutter, some new cooling racks, and a knitting book. What did come on my birthday was the new lamp for our television which had died about 5 days earlier. So my on-birthday present was to have the TV fixed. *happy sigh*
Then my family came up on Saturday for a small party. And Kimberly, Kevin and Reagan joined us, too. Eric made me pizza. And we had yummy ice cream cake. And it was a good evening. So…happy birthday to me!
Car Trouble Adventures
So on Friday night, I decided to run “quickly” to WalMart to get a few things for my birthday party on Saturday. I was driving merrily down the road, pulled into the turn lane of a nearby intersection, and came to a stop. And so did the engine. Just that fast, it died. And I could not get it started again. I called Eric to let him know I was stranded. But as he was home with our 3 sleeping children, I called to find someone who could help us out. Karen didn’t answer, but I got my friend Denae, who very graciously drove to my house to sit with my children so Eric could come rescue me. Thanks again, Denae!!! Then Karen called me back, too, and kept me company while I waited for Eric to come.
Once he arrived, he pushed the car off to the side of the road and looked under the hood. The battery was horribly corroded. So we went in search of a battery. The car place was closed (it was 9:05 pm…guess when they closed), so we ended up at WalMart (though I did not get anything on my original list) where Eric guessed at the battery we needed. He actually did pretty well, except that the terminals were reversed. Dang. And it wasn’t starting even with the new battery. Dang again. So…he towed the car home. I had never been towed before (it feels SOOO wrong to be that close, on purpose, to the back of another car). It still won’t start. We still don’t know what’s wrong with it. But as it just passed 250,000 miles last week…I think it’s due for a tune-up anyway!
So, I left about 8:00 for WalMart. I didn’t make it home until 10. And I still had to go back out the next day to get the stuff on my list. All in all…quite an adventure!
Warm Weather Adventures
Also, with the warm weather (and the broken TV), we made sure we got out of the house more last week. So we went to C-ville to go visiting on Monday. We were at Bible Study on Tuesday and Story Time at the library on Wednesday. We played outside and took walks when the wind wasn’t too bad. The twins drew with chalk and pulled the wagons and kicked the balls. We ran around the yard playing chase. And they figured out how to climb up their slide thing all by themselves. So this summer, I don’t have to haul them up to slide…yippie!
Growing Pains
As we get more adventurous, we are also getting more injuries. Erin has a never-ending cycle of bruises on her shins. Alex trips on his own feet fairly often. Fingers get pinched in doors once or twice a week. Alex fell last week and smacked his head on the cement floor of the basement, resulting in a lovely goose-egg. And over the weekend, Erin bit it on the back patio, chipping a front tooth and getting a fat lip in the process. So now, I guess we only have to wait 5 years or so until that tooth falls out…poor kid! I’m forever running to a sudden wail caused by someone running into something (or someone) and getting hurt. But, hey, I guess that’s what they mean by growing pains, right?
Other Adventures
This is Eric’s last week of work at Battelle. His official last day is next Monday, and then he’s taking the rest of the week off before starting new March 7.
Megan is still doing fabulously. She’s slowly getting less annoyed about being on her stomach. And I’m hoping she figures out how to roll to her back sometime in the near future.
I have all sorts of gift cards I need to spend from Christmas and birthday presents. Yay for free money. Now if I only could find the time for shopping adventures!
And as you can see, we are just slowly adventuring through our days. Thanks for joining us…it’s quite a ride!
Happy Monday!
February 21, 2011
I loved that Alex is the perfect rail for Erin… brothers are so nice to have around!
The rest of this post was very informative, too! I’m glad you all survived the ibuprofen adventure without having to go to the ER!
Happy 34th year!!
February 21, 2011
The ibuprofen thing would have freaked. me. out. Good for you for handling it well!