Cookies and Candy

I don't know where all of you are, but it is cold and snowy here. Nothing better to do than make cookies and candy. So far I have made toffee, caramels, three batches of cookies and two batches of fudge! I have professional test tasters on hand, so I know that everything is good. I have to admit to sneaking a bite or two, but Owen should go into sugar shock pretty soon. His newest (and most prominent) word is 'cookie.' Sayla brought her mom and little brother over today to make some more cookies and they turned out awesome. Owen had a fit to find out that there was another little kid in the house and demanded that Anders (Sayla's little brother) be put back down in the pack-n-play. 

Somehow this morning I found the time to put together a Christmas letter, and it should be in the mail tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I am looking forward to all the snow that I am supposed to find outside our window. I am thinking of all of you in southeast Iowa--hoping everyone survives the ice. Here's praying for NO power outages. We went through a week of that in 2007, and don't intend on signing on for one of those any time soon. Anyway, tomorrow I intend on spending my day on finishing the homemade Christmas projects that I always get myself into. So, here's hoping that your warm, that you have electricity and that you have a snowblower!

Cabin Fever: December version

It's COLD!!! This is especially unfortuneate for two little boys who just need to run. It is even too cold to set up a playdate...so, what to do? Well, I have mounds of Christmas projects going--as usual, Wade is into finals--very much typical for this time of year, and the boys are running out of things to do. Too often I hear this particular conversation, Aidan: "Here Owen, take/do this." Only to be followed by a screaming Aidan proclaiming, "Owen's in trouble. Owen's in trouble." I am trying to explain to Aidan that it doesn't really count if he sets Owen up. We are getting into our tattling stage. Awesome! Anyway, here is what we did today: books, cleaning, face paint, more cleaning, a train show (thanks to Gpa Bob's RFD-Tv,) even MORE cleaning and running a few laps around the house. Tomorrow, thanks to all the cleaning, we are ready for candy/cookie making. I'll post pictures of that as I imagine they will be interesting. Stay warm everybody!!!

He Made a Way in a Manger!

So, I have gone a couple days without my computer. My hard-drive unexpectedly crashed, but it was still under warranty. A couple of days at the Apple store, and we're back on track. This past weekend was Aidan's first Christmas program at church. Now, keep in mind that being only three, his role in the program was small, but he did it in true "Aidan style." 

He 'performed' once on Saturday and twice on Sunday, with a practice on Saturday afternoon. All the preschool were to sit on the stairs in front, rock their baby Jesus and sing "Away in a Manger." Aidan of course got bored with that so he decided to slide baby Jesus down the banister, look around, wave--pretty much anything but sing. It was awesome. He made it all the way through the three performances, and even gave us an encore after church. 

Long, LONG weekend!

Well, it has been a long weekend and not in the good way either! After finally gaining some ground as a family over this tummy-bug, we got a minor set-back. Owen was refusing to drink anything, and wasn't having wet diapers. This all started last Wednesday and didn't get much better. In fact he started to really lose his balance Friday, and by Saturday morning he had lost all color all the while having the scoobies (which didn't help at all.) I spent the last part of the week trying to come up with any idea I could to get Owen to drink SOMETHING. I went through pedialyte, juice, gatorade, 7 up, jello, popsicles, straws, special cups, you name it; all the way down to holding his arms down and making him sip pedialyte for hours. Nothing seemed to help, so finally Saturday morning I called the doctor and was told to bring him into the ER. Now, I hated that idea--I HATE taking the boys into the doctors office. I bit the bullet and did it. Wade had to stay at home with Aidan as we only had one carseat (the other was still wet from being cleaned of vomit.) It was a horrible day, very busy in the ER. Owen was a trooper...six hours later, twelve sticks missing veins, one IV for five minutes and two rounds of blood work we got to go home. I could rant about the whole process for hours! The outcome was that Owen got to come home (otherwise dehydration requires a hospital stay--no idea how we were going to swing that.) I still have him under a watchful eye, but he seems to feel quite a bit better as he and Aidan have gotten into plenty of fights since we returned home. All those needle pokes did scare him into taking sips of pedialyte, so that is a great step in the right direction.
The boys did want to say goodnight to everyone. Aidan has a bedtime story for you (you have to listen pretty closely.) So, enjoy them while they're healthy and here's hoping that we're done for the year!

Christmas 2008 Preview

With all the craziness this week, I haven't gotten all of the Christmas stuff out. The stuff that I did get up, has been either taken down (and then rehung,) or just put away. The train that goes under the tree made it out for a grand total of five mintues this year before the boys had it taken away. Owen is so much more....well, just more this year! He just loves all the lights and the glitter. It took me about ten seconds before I realized that all breakable ornaments have to wait this year, but I did miss the mark a little bit when I decided to put up a john deere tree. I keep finding little tractors all over the house. It was a great sign to see Owen running away with little tractors. It meant that he was feeling better. Here are some pictures from decorating, many many more to follow.

All Out Surrender

So, this bug has finally got the entire house. Owen jumped onto the flu wagon late last night. He is doing ok now. It is funny though, trying to figure out when a one year old is going to get sick. Aidan at least tells you that his tummy hurts, but Owen can be laughing with you one minute and be sick the next (and still be laughing the whole time.) Wade ended up having to stay home Tuesday and today (as I didn't make it through Monday night.) The timing worked out okay as Wade had a HUGE presentation Monday morning. He has been able to work from home today and yesterday. Aidan helped him with some conference calls this morning. Wade did start to show signs of defeat early this morning. He bought Denver's grocery store out of Gatorade (orange and green only,) chic noodle soup and nyquil. He also bought a large stock of plastic/paper cups, bowls and plates. Finally, this afternoon I was feeling better so we swapped. He got the nyquil and I got the dishes (the real ones--not the disposable ones.) Aidan has very much recovered, and is horribly annoyed to be trapped in a house of sick people. He is driving us CRAZY!!! We finally broke down and put all of this trains in his room. We are hoping that will contain him for a little while. So, while everyone (well, except for poor Wade,) is getting better we will still be lying low for a couple of days. Maybe by Saturday we will be able to leave the house! Here's hoping!!!
Also, Dad, thanks for sending my glasses and the charger. I am impressed that is all we left behind when we left. And, Mom thanks for sending the boys the Xmas Tappers--very cute, but a little annoying in the flu-ick-state. The boys love them.

Tummy Bug Update

I'd like to report that all is well in the Kelley household, and that the puke row has been retired. I'd like to tell you that, but I can't. Round two did begin tonight, and not more than 30 seconds after I got off the phone with Lynne (telling her that Aidan was better.) Round two goes to Aidan, again...Poor little guy!  He got sick in the car, and we are hoping that he just got himself worked up and has a sensitive gag reflex right now. Luckily, he got sick just as we pulled into the Walmart parking lot. Owen and I got to run in and fill our list and pick up some pajamas and paper towels. Poor Wade had to stay and clean up the mess. We are keeping an eye on him, but for now it's orange pedialyte and jello (maybe toast tomorrow.) 

Also, this morning we woke to a beautiful winter wonderland. We didn't even get to play in it. When the time came for us to play outside, everyone was sleeping. I now realize why Aidan was so tired as he almost never takes naps anymore. Maybe tomorrow. The snow is still falling, and is sticking (I can hear the snow plows on the street outside.) Also, the tummy bug (as well as some work projects, housework, finals etc...) have delayed putting up Christmas trees and lights. Wade is really disappointed. He really missed the perfect opportunity Friday to hang lights, but everyone spent the day catching up on sleep and snuggling. Maybe we can get to it next weekend. The tree (s) will come out tomorrow night after Wade's big work presentation. I will post pictures from that later this week. 

Chasing Chickens

Disclaimer: Yes, Wade was watching Owen the entire time, and NO we are not trying to get him to fight the chickens (Fean, don't even think about it....)

Macie Joan Wagner

 This is Macie Joan Wagner. She is my brother's little girl, and what a joy! She is just so much fun, and lucky her--she'll grow up with two very capable body guards! Aidan and Owen will very much protect her, but probably teach her a bad thing or two!

THANKSGIVING PART I: Turkey and Stuffing--twice!!!

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving. Of course I didn't bring my camera in to take pictures of the Wright Thanksgiving! It was a great holiday, minus a few key players on both sides, but they should all be back for Christmas. Aidan and Owen did get a chance to do chores, so that really made their day. I also got to spend some time with the newest Wagner--little Macie Joan! She's so cute, and I just love watching her giant spirit pour out of that little body! Here are some pictures.

THANKSGIVING PART II: 7Up and Jello

So, when the boys wake me up at 2:30 in the morning at Dad's it means one of two things: 1) a train is going through town and they want to see it from our window, or 2) someone's sick. While it is almost always the first, this time unfortunately it was the second one. Little Aidan found himself hovering over the toilet with Wade while I got to round up our stuff and get the 'drips' cleaned out of carpet and sheets. Aidan hasn't gotten sick too awful much in his little life, but he seems to be pretty good and throwing-up. We thought maybe it was just a tummy ache...you read how much food we had...and, he only ate the sweet stuff. After a little while it became clear that he wasn't just dealing with a belly ache. So, at 3 we decided to load up and get him home--2 1/2 hours away. Turns out little boys that don't feel good don't really like sitting in car seats. Twenty-five miles later we had to do some rearranging in the Yukon, and the 'Puke Row' was born. Wade had to drive (and stay awake,) while Owen was pretty uncomfortable alone in the second row. Aidan and I got to sit in the very back with the ice cream bucket and Gpa's 'special juice' (Gatorade.) He passed out right away back there, and we rolled into Denver just shy of six this morning. Now, a couple of hours later, we are stocked with all the flu necessities (7Up, Jello, soup, crackers and Pedialyte.) Both boys are asleep while Wade and I have found ourselves over-caffeinated....As I am typing this I think I just heard Owen jump on the vomit-train...To Be Continued.....

Why we don't let him have the door open.

So, we pretty much lock Aidan in his room at night. While we don't actually LOCK him in there, we do use a safety knob on the door that makes it hard for his little hands to open it. Lately, people have been kind enough to inform us that this is in fact a form of child neglect. So, we have experimented with keeping the door open at night. For the most part this means that Wade and I wake up to Aidan having turned on all the lights, having woken up Owen and usually we see him standing over us at 5:30 in the morning. Those things we can deal with. Saturday he found a new way to raise the bar. I heard him moving around at six, saw the light on, but he was being quiet. I thought maybe he was being considerate, but the evidence points elsewhere. He had taken it upon himself to start a new hobby--photography. He got ahold of the new digital camera and began snapping fifteen minutes worth of pictures. Most of them he calls "jumping on the bed." He didn't immediately fess up to the crime, but as a novice criminal he left the evidence on the memory card.

Oh, if only he could channel that energy into something good--like cleaning or washing dishes... Needless to say, I think Santa will be bringing this little boy a 'kid-proof' digital camera for Christmas!

Thanksgiving song

Aidan was promised a train if he sang this to the computer, so here it is. As a bonus, he'll open up with his delightful rendition of the ABC song, and then move onto his 'Thanksgiving' song. Just so you know, that song only has two words. He does sing them well though--and while jumping on his bed (my thanks to Nana for teaching him that.)

Cabin Fever Weekend

  I have been a bad blogger, and the sad thing is that we really didn't do much this weekend at all. It was awful cold, and we really didn't have any errands to run. 

We spent most of Saturday working on catching up on housework. Most of this was folding clothes, as I don't have a problem with doing laundry; just a big problem getting it put away. This, as with any other small task, is a little bit harder with my wonderful little helpers. 

We had also been on a quest to figure out where the lead was coming from in our house. Dad had tipped me off to checking our water, and I do plan on doing that. We did find a more obvious culprit right in front of our eyes. The doors in the built-in cabinets in our dining room are original to the house, and have lead-trimmed glass panels. So, while we don't really want to toss them we will be modifying them a little. So with that mystery solved, we headed to church. 

Church on Saturday is fun because you can get pizza and pop before the service. While that seems weird (the pizza and pop at church,) it would make a lot more sense if you saw the church. It is very big, but we very much like it. Aidan has even responded. Every time he gets done w/ his lesson he tells us all the things God made, especially that God made him. This warms our hearts. We are glad that he is finally responding to something. I can't even get that much out of him about preschool. Also, his little girlfriend Sayla is usually there. That helps. Owen isn't much into the dropping off part, and we usually find him either crying or sitting right in front of the half door waiting for us to pick up him. The nursery helpers for his room always say that he does really well; at least until other parents start to pick up their kids.

Church on Saturday also frees up Sunday morning. The boys are really starting to play well with each other, and its fun to watch. They spent most of the morning spreading out ALL of their toys, and then sitting together in one of their toy baskets. The rest of the day was pretty slow, but then we decided to throw caution to the wind and take Aidan to get a haircut.

Aidan has desperately needed a haircut for awhile now. There are a few reasons that I have put this off. First, he keeps running into things and the long hair hides the bruises. I realize that all kids get bruises, but wow, does he get some doozies! Second, I just very much was NOT looking forward to the fit that he was going to give in the chair. I always get nervous about this because if he acts out to the scissors then he'll most likely get a buzz. I can't have that--I love the little boys with longer hair. Finally, it just doesn't work out well with our schedules to be able to do it. I have tried to do it alone before, and Owen tends to disappear somewhere in the salon. Now that he walks, I wasn't even gonna chance it. Luckily, Wade was willing to put off homework long enough to join in the fun. Of course Aidan was an angel, making me look a little crazy to the stylist. It went well, and his hair is still long enough for me!

After the haircut, we headed home for supper. We decided it was time for a Kelley movie night. So, after supper we all changed into pj's and settled in in front of 'The Wizard of Oz.' Aidan finally got the Halloween association, and often became pretty concerned about what was happening to his 'family' on the tv screen. 

We very much had a great weekend. Wade put it best, "it wasn't a productive weekend, but sometimes you need these times." Easy for him to say...he went back to work Monday, and I woke up to the mess!

Meet Sweet Owen!

This is Owen...enough said.

Camo Kid & Joe the Plumber

Here is our little Owen...All ready for shotgun season. We will not be hunting this year though, as there has been concerns about lead in venison. We don't completely buy into that, but both boys have had a problem at one point with elevated lead levels, so we're gonna have to stick to beef for a couple of years. Either way, he's ready to go! 

Also, Aidan helped me with unclogging the drain in the bathtub last weekend. He is quite a little helper.

Christmas Lists

Just a quick note: I have put a Christmas list for the boys at the bottom right of the page. I listed sizes, and any information that I could think of. If either of them ask for something in particular I can put it up, too. To be clear...the boys are very much loved and taken care of, and this list is just for anyone who may want to pick something up--AND have a question for me. I hope this becomes somewhat useful.

REWIND: A Day out with Thomas

I realize that I have already emailed some pictures of the Day out with Thomas the Tank Engine, but I have some video that I would like to share. It is soooooo much easier for me to put it up on here! To recap, we took the boys over to Boone, Iowa, for a train ride event with Thomas the Tank Engine back in September. Aidan is very much into trains, and Owen is very much into whatever Aidan is into. It was a great day! The videos I am posting are from the arrival, and one of a pretty rude little boy (not Aidan, but you'll see what I mean!) Enjoy!

The Video and Pictures I Promised

Cabin Fever Setting In!

So, I'll have a picture to show as proof tomorrow, but Aidan has officially gotten his first black eye! It was an accident, but he jumped into a battery operated Jeep with some kids at the park. The driver ran into a post and Aidan ran into the dash. Makes him look pretty tough. He didn't cry a bit, and wanted to know when he could get back in and ride some more. His fun-hater mom made him go home instead.
The weather is really starting to turn, and so has the tide in the house. I never realize how much these boys love being outside until it gets too cold and windy and rainy and.... We've toughed out the last couple of days. We even tried three times to go outside the other day, but it started to rain within in five minutes of each try. On the third try I just let them get a little wet as I needed to get some yardwork done. It is supposed to snow tonight, and we still have plenty of leaves on the ground. They didn't seem to mind being wet and cold, but trips outside like that really make the laundry pile up.
Both the boys came down with another cold today. Owen can't really tell me what's wrong, but Aidan says his throat hurts. We're keeping our eyes on them. We can always be certain that whenever they are around Thomas (my old roommate's little boy,) that they'll end up sick...And sure enough they spent Halloween with him. Maybe its conincidence, but it never fails.
I have some video to put up of Owen. He is very much walking everywhere now--and, I mean EVERYWHERE! It's a funny thing to get used to. I had so much time of putting him down to go get something done, and to find him standing at my feet is an adjustment. He is also really starting to hold his own against Aidan. Aidan is now the one that ends up crying! It is a little enjoyable for me to watch, and I can't really say that Aidan doesn't have it coming! So, until I can sneak upstairs to the computer with the videos (without waking two sick and tired little boys up,) this 'text only' blog will have to do!

Aidan Says HEWWO!

Nap time battles

Just wanted to get this picture out there. I thought that I had found the solution on how to get Aidan to sleep--I moved Owen into his room. That lasted for a couple of weeks. Then, they had to get separated at afternoon naps. Owen will nap, but Aidan fights it. Today, I think we found another solution. After hearing him run around in his room for what seemed like hours, I went to check on him as he had become unusually quiet...And, this is what I found.....

HALLOWEEN!!!

Well, the day has come and gone! We had a good holiday, but Aidan really ran out of steam by the time trick or treat came around. 

We started the day with Aidan's preschool party. Wade had taken the day off. It is very much out of the ordinary for him to have vacation left at this point in the year, so he took advantage of it. We sent Aidan to school in his Husker uniform rather than the tin man, as we figured the other kids wouldn't know what he was--he didn't even really know what he was; telling everyone that he was a 'tower' or a 'rocket.' Also, it was a great idea to send him to school with a helmet. The party went well. Only one little girl had a bad time, and the teacher was nice enough to point out that "Dorothy scared her!" Not so much a big fan of this teacher, but there will be more on that to follow I imagine as a search has begun to find him a preschool that is a better fit for him. We played 'Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin,' a bean bag toss, a few dancing games and tried to pull off the toilet paper mummies. They didn't really have the attention span for the mummies, and the uptight teacher wasn't thrilled with the idea of the mess. 

After the party it was time to try our attempt at a nap for the kids while Wade and I got the house together (along with some sandwiches, veggies & dip, chili and all the fixins,) for a party that we decided to throw together at the last minute. I also painted up a paper bag and called it a pinata. We tried to take the boys trick or treating in Cedar Falls along Main Street after naps. The nice weather brought out pretty much everyone else in the area, so after 20 minutes of standing in line we took off for home.

Trick or treating wasn't really Aidan's thing this year, and poor Owen was just frying in the lion costume, so we cut our night short and waited for everyone to make their way back to the house.

Once everyone got settled, we had a houseful of kids and parents. All of them got to eat and wear themselves down. The bean bag toss made it back to the house, and was a big hit. The pinata was also a hit...but it did take several hits before it broke. After the candy gathering the kids finally settled down to watch some Halloween videos while the grown-ups got to talk. Aidan had his first movie/couch date, but as much as he tried Sayla wasn't up for snuggling. He rewarded her by showing her how to jump on the couch. The jumping ultimately led to a bump on Sayla's head, and the end of the night. 

All in all it was a great Halloween, and I am already gathering ideas on what the Kelley's can do next year!

Catching Up: Halloween 2008

We kicked off the Halloween season early with a church sponsored trip to the local pumpkin patch, and then to a family party. While Wade and I enjoyed the theme of the day. Well, maybe just me, but Wade was a trooper. The boys were a little too young to get it--Aidan kept telling people he was a tower. I think I summed it all up when I explained to 'fan' that, "this is probably the last year that I can tell them what they will be for Halloween, so I am gonna live it up this year!"