Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Camping, Molars and More

Memorial Day weekend is over. We all survived. We all had fun. Here is a quick rundown of our weekend:
  • Dad and Mom went up to Kaner Flat and found us a great spot next to a family of 2 couples their kids and the grandparents. The site wasn't one of the big ones we would have liked, but apparently you have to be there about Wednesday for those.
  • Kaia has a new best friend! Her name is Elizabeth and they spent 3 days playing together.
  • Mo liked to be in the playpen with the twins and the other 2 year old girl, but being a toddler didn't play much with them.
  • Jeff, Tammy and the kids made it up and stayed Saturday night. Luckily there was a spot open for them (no one seemed to be interested in camping with 6 kids and all of their trappings)
  • Dad, Mom and Neeko made it back up on Sunday, just as our two families were walking back from the river. It was also just in time for lunch. So between the fixings Jeff and Tammy had, the fixings we had, and the extras my parents brought up it was a hot dog feast!
  • Kaia now does a great job riding her bike. She and Elizabeth both had the chance to practice together and even traded bikes a few times.
  • Mo's molars have become official pains in the... mouth, middle of the night, all day long... you choose. Poor little man has 4 huge swollen molar shaped areas on his gums. He is super fussy and doesn't sleep too well. He is officially covered in drool from having his mouth open while chewing on his fingers and everything else all day. Ibuprofen is now his best friend and they cannot breakthrough soon enough.
  • We were all tired last night! Dana and I wanted to go to bed, but had to fight an overtired 3 year old who was screaming, crying and kicking for no apparent reason.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The teeth...

We knew the day would come. It always does, but we weren't looking forward to it. Molars. They must come in, and when they do they turn a toddler with a great bedtime routine and a happy attitude into a feverish, red cheeked, cranky monster.

Yesterday, Mo came home from grammy's with bright red cheeks. He was in a fairly good mood, and not hot, just red. I've known for a few days that his molars were starting to move. He wakes up fussy in the middle of the night, and he's been chewing on everything in sight. Last night was the first night that it became a big problem.

At 8:10 I took Mo downstairs to put him in his crib. I sang his songs, we said his prayer (Kaia was helping) and he reached for his crib to go to sleep like always. He didn't lay down for long though, and sat up and began to cry quite quickly. He cried for a good half hour before Dana took pity and went down to get him. I by this time had Kaia in my lap nearly asleep. Usually just being held is good enough for Mo. Nope. He fussed with Dana. Finally with Kaia out and stretched across my lap, I took him. He still fussed. I handed him back to Dana, put Kaia in her bed, and grabbed Mo. I gave him a full dose of Ibuprofen, less than half a dose of benadryl and took him in the TV room to cuddle. He was still fussy, so I filled a sippy cup with ice and water. Sometime between 10:30 and 10:45 he finally fell asleep. So much for packing the trailer once the kids were in bed!

I'll definitely pick up more ibuprofen at the store for our trip and start praying these teeth breakthrough soon. Although thinking back to Kaia's, they took their own sweet time.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Memorial Day Weekend Update!

Today I'm a little less stressed about this weekend. My mom will be going up on Friday to reserve our campsite for us!!!! We may still not get the exact site we want, but it is extremely likely that she will be able to get us a site. My worry was getting up there Friday evening and having a horrible time going through all the different campgrounds trying to find a site that would fit our trailer and our friends motorhome.

Bad news though, Boulder Cave is still closed, so we won't be playing there this weekend.

It will still be fun though. Now we just have to make it through the work week. One that keeps getting busier on this end.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Three Days of Fun!

This week it's all about prepping for camping this holiday weekend... almost. First I have a full week at work, training Thursday and Friday and a friend coming over for dinner since he will be in town to do the training.

We are going to be busy restocking the trailer (fresh sheets and a clean comforter too!) and shopping for the needed food. We also will be pulling out all the ATV stuff since we will be camping up in the hills. That means the generator will actually go in the bed of the truck as will our bikes and the bike trailer (for Mo).

Kaia is excited, especially since our friends plan to join us up there. I haven't said a word about the possibility of her cousins coming up for a day either. We hope by the end of the trip she will be riding her bike really well. Living on an incline with a sloped driveway really limits her practice time at home. The campgrounds has plenty of flat paved areas for her to ride all over the place.

The campgrounds also have a river close by. Last year the river provided hours of fun catching and releasing crawdads, frogs, and attempting to catch small fish. Boulder cave is a short drive down the road and a fun hike. I doubt it will be warm enough for creekwalking yet, but that was a huge hit last year.

There will probably be a few late nights this week, but when we are relaxing by the campfire, it will definitely be worth it!

Friday, May 4, 2007

Finally Friday!

We generally look forward to Friday's in our home, but this week it seems like it is all we lived for. Last weekend Dana and I each took off early Friday so we could all go camping and relax. We forgot that while we go to bed earlier when camping, we also get up earlier. Neither one of us has felt rested since we got back Sunday afternoon. Every morning the alarm clock is met with groans and grumbles. Every evening we arrive home with little energy left. Now the day is finally here!

Tomorrow we will sleep in. For me that will likely mean that I get to sleep until 7 or 7:30 a.m. Never as late as I'd like, but Mo is an early riser. Our big plans this weekend include.... Nothing! I will go by Wray's, since we are almost out of veggies, completely out of fruit, and their cheese is on sale. The vaccuum will be run, much to Mo's dismay, throughout the house, and the washer and dryer will be put to some serious use. That's it beside church on Sunday. A nice relaxing weekend.