No more tonsils and adenoids for Colin

 Colin had his first surgery today that he was able to understand.  Around 1, he got tubes put in his ears - and that's so minor it's hardly even considered surgery anymore.

But, today he got his tonsils and adenoids removed.  We didn't really talk about the surgery much before this morning - we didn't want him to get worried about it before he needed to.

I looked up some good ways to explain the surgery to a child.  He seemed to be comfortable with it all when we talked about it on the way to the hospital.  We discussed the 'special nap' he would take, and how he would wear a 'batman mask' that would have some special, smelly air in it that would make him sleepy, and how he would wake up with a sore throat, but that mommy and daddy would be with him when he got up.

Colin did WAY better than Brian and I could ever have imagined.

There wasn't a single tear - not ONE!

The hospital did some really cute things for kids there - he got to drive a Jeep car into their surgery, he got to pick a stuffed animal, he had a goodie bag of little trinkets to take home, and the best part of all - the surgery was on time and we ran right on schedule!

 Colin played around in his Jeep for a while when we were getting checked in

A blurry pic of Daddy and Colin while we were waiting

 Such a happy camper even without anything to eat or drink

 I snapped this picture real quick before he drove off to the surgery - 

he was so brave!

They took him back at 8:30 am and we were in talking to the surgeon by 9:05 am. 

He said his tonsils were HUGE (and we have a picture to prove it - the right and left tonsil were each 1.5 inches in length) and his adenoids were enlarged as well.

He said everything went great and that we should focus all our attention on keeping Colin hydrated.

We waited about another 10 minutes and went back to see him in the recovery room.

This is what we saw...

 I'm serious when I say he didn't move a muscle for about 10 minutes - just drank his juice and stared off at the other end of the room.  No tears, whining, nothing.

Eventually he wanted me to hold him, which I was super excited about.  He also really wanted his IV out of his hand.  

 Finally waking up a bit

And while Colin was in my arms,

Batman kept his bed warm

 The nurse anesthetist had put on a bonnet and little booties on his feet, as well as gloves on his hands.  I guess he did that while Colin was having his surgery - it was pretty cute to see Batman all decked in his surgery gear like Colin was.

We were on our way home by 10:30 am - and stopped to get a chocolate smoothie (per Colin's request) on the way.  He watched the Lego movie and was ready to get outside to play by around 1 pm.  Too bad he has physical activity restrictions for the next 2 weeks.  The doctor says the pain will escalate until about day 3-4, then we have the highest risk of bleeding around day 6-7.  He will be off school for a week and then we'll see how he feels.  I think it's going to be pretty tough to keep this busy kid sedentary for the next 14 days.

In other pictures - I found these on my phone

Maggie and I ran to CVS over the weekend and she insisted on trying on this mask - 

We called her "old man Maggie"

And a picture of the kids on the way home from gymnastics one day

Colin looking all hip and cool!

Maggie looking like a little diva!

pics from the camera - ordinary days

Found some pictures on the camera that I thought I'd share - 

A pretty cute pic of Maggie - she's got some crazy, wild hair!

Brian went to the Chief's game last weekend - came home with some personalized Coke cans for us all (he drank his at the game)

Maggie had 'homework' where she had to color and practice cutting some paper using her scissors.
She did a wonderful job and was so proud of herself.

And Colin has been a little artist himself.

He learned how to draw a clown at school one day, then decided he wanted to draw one for each of his grandparents (plus Dave).

I thought they were super cute.  Plus, he thought it was awesome to mail them and get a call from everyone letting him know they appreciated his thoughtfulness.

Ordinary days that I don't want to forget!

2014 school pictures

The kids brought home their school pictures last week - they are so stinkin' adorable!

But of course, they are so stinkin' expensive to buy!

I just thought I would share with you  how cute my kiddos are.

 Not a genuine "maggie" smile, but still cute

 Here's a good smile from Mags - but please disregard the shorts peeking out from under her dress

 I actually loved all of Colin's pictures

 Looking so grown up

 This one is my favorite though - so cute!

fun at the apple orchard

Brian and I enjoyed a wonderful fall afternoon with the kids at this small apple orchard about 10-15 minutes from our house.  It was an impromptu visit, and we are so glad we went.

We had been there before, but it was right after we had gotten married, and well before we had any kids.  It was so much fun to go back and see how different things were.

The kids each got a 1/4 peck basket to carry around while we went picking for apples.

The apples we picked were the Liberty variety, and were a sweet, red apple.

We also fed some goats and got to see some little ponies.  They were all out of chicken feed when we were there, but next time we won't go quite so late in the afternoon.  We will definitely be back this season because they were just finishing up with a new playground area that will open next week.

 She only had one apple in her basket at this point, but was very proud of it.

 Daddy makes a great ladder!

Colin was being such a turkey, but we finally got a good one of the three of us.

We spent about an hour there, but it really flew by quickly.  And we only spent about $6 on an entire bag of apples that we picked - it was a wonderful afternoon.

anniversary, doggy, and pool dates

Brian and I were fortunate enough to go out for a bit for our anniversary.

It wasn't much, but it was perfect for us, and we are so grateful to have the opportunity to spend some time together, just the two of us.

We first went to Cinder Block Brewery to try Michael's 'Wells' Brown' beer that was on tap there.

I'm going to be honest.  I knew I wouldn't like it.  So I tried a sip of Brian's, and ordered their wheat beer.  

Then we were off to a wine bar that's right down the street from our house.  I found a Groupon for it and figured, why the heck not?!

We had a wonderful time there, and were home in time for some grilling out with our neighbors.

Complete with S'mores and a tent in the backyard.  I just love fall nights.

 Oh, and I loved this sign that was up at the wine bar, it says:

'In dog beers, I've only had one.'

Ha!!!

Speaking of dogs, we finally decided on one for our family (that we will get in December)

 Cheeto!!!

And, we spent the last few nights out at the pool, cause it was only opened until last weekend

 Maggie is really into taking pictures lately - what a ham!

And for your viewing pleasure...

Maggie will be singing "row, row, row your boat", but with a silly ending.

She seriously sang that to us about a million times that night, and insisted on being on video.

the past 8 years...

Brian and I are celebrating 8 years of marriage today.

It seems like yesterday, it seems like so long ago.

We have definitely seen each other at our best and worst, and you know what, we're still completely in love and each other's best friend.  

While looking for some inspirational quotes on wedding anniversaries, I came across this one...

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. – Paul Sweeney

Isn't this the truth?!?!  I love it, and this year was one for tenacity.  

I'm finishing up my doctoral degree in 5 weeks (yahoo!!!), we have survived some major bumps in our family life, but we are stronger than ever because of our love, trust and partnership.

Enough of that, here are some great pictures from Brian and I over the years...

 Back in 2003 when we were still in college

 When I was in grad school getting my Master's degree, we would meet up for dinner in restaurants half way between Lawrence and Kansas City

Proposal night, in my teeny tiny studio apartment in Lawrence

 One of our engagement photos on the plaza in Kansas City

Cutting the cake and toasting

Hubby and wifey

Doing some snorkeling in Riviera Maya on our Honeymoon

 Enjoying our time together on our honeymoon

 Celebrating our first anniversary in Chicago at a friend's wedding

And now our pictures are more like this...

And we wouldn't have it any other way...

Love you Brian, Happy 8th Anniversary!

Last weekend of summer

I'm pretty sure I have 3 kids at my house (Brian being the biggest one!)

We headed to the pool on Monday evening to celebrate another summer in the books.  It actually was a bit chilly as the sun was hidden behind the clouds, but the kids had fun anyway.

 Jumping off backwards into the pool

 Being super silly

 A little photo op - we are so spoiled having such cute kids!

We spent the weekend at birthday parties, riding bikes, playing with some toys that hadn't been played with for a long time, and enjoying our time together as a family.

Side note, we started a new parenting tactic this past week and it's been fabulous!

We have really started rewarding the kids for being good helpers at the house.

They get to earn "monies" as Maggie calls it, and we have started a little savings piggy bank for all of their hard work.  They earn money every day and then the next morning we pay them their quarters.  On Saturday, at the end of the week, they take 10% of their earnings to church,  and then split the rest of the money 50/50 for savings and spending.  Colin really wants some new fance Nerf shooter gun that costs almost $40.  He is earning his way there, little by little.

We are really pleased with how the kids have been behaving and haven't had to send them to time-out for the past week.  Hopefully this trend will continue...