Bird in House Brings Luck?

The other day, much to my shock, a bird flew through our kitchen and living room. I didn't know that I was scared of birds, but I soon discovered that apparently I am afraid of confined, black birds. I would say large, but as you can see in the picture, it was a medium size bird and I have no idea how it got in my house. The bird made its entrance in the late afternoon. Thomas was obviously thrilled. He kept running around trying to catch the bird while I had all kinds of horrible imaginations about crazy diseases. I went and got his yellow plastic bat to try and herd it out of the door. It probably was one of the funniest scenes. Thomas would run at the bird and then I would stand by the door swinging the plastic bat to try and convince it to leave out the door. Unfortunately, after trying for about 30 minutes, I simply gave up. I definitely was not going to stay in the house with the bird though so I took the kids and we went to the YMCA. Steve wasn't planning on coming home that night as he had a late lecture, but I convinced him that he needed to make a quick stop for the sanity of his wife. Steve only took five minutes to get rid of the bird. He was much smarter. He turned off all the lights in the house, turned on the porch light, opened the window and then herded it out. He said it was quite easy. Whatever. The bird scared me to death. I did learn by my friends at the YMCA that birds in your house bring luck. So here's hoping!!!!

One other quick story. I had a scare a few weeks ago when I thought Donny was choking. He was crying so I knew his airway wasn't completely blocked off, but I had no idea why he was gasping and struggling for breath. I was on the phone with a good friend of mine who immediately sent her husband over to help. In the meantime, I called 9-1-1. My friend's husband and our neighbor arrived about five minutes before the ambulance and by then, Donny had already dislodged whatever was choking him. We then waited for the ambulance together. After a few more minutes, we saw the fire engine and ambulance pull up to a house down the street so we had to wave them over. The whole time I was so grateful that Donny wasn't actually choking. Seriously, I learned an important lesson to call my friends along with 9-1-1. Their response time was much faster. Hewitt stood in front of our glass screen door to look out at the emergency vehicles and screamed everytime a firefighter made him move. It was a bit embarassing. Thankfully, they didn't stay too long and after doing a quick checkup of Donny's lungs, they promptly left. My friends and I were talking when we suddenly noticed Thomas and Hewitt playing with a big, black machine (defibrillator) on the floor. My friend explained to Thomas what a defibrillator did including that it will shock your heart. Thomas was pumped. I hurried and called 9-1-1 back to come and pick up their machine before Thomas started doing experiments. What a crazy morning. Donny fell asleep soon afterwards and we had a nice, quiet afternoon.

In less exciting news, Donny is getting into everything.

Week Away

For my Christmas and birthday presents, Steve surprised me with a trip home to Washington. I got to go home for a week with only Donny while Steve stayed home with Thomas and Hewitt. I must admit that I was a little confused at first. Why would Steve take one of his weeks vacation and then send me away? But then after hearing his reasoning, I agreed that it would be good for him to spend some quality time with his boys. He really hasn't seen them a whole lot these past eight months and it would be good for him. So off I went, a little guiltily, but very excited to Washington for a week. I must say right now that I absolutely love the water. And most importantly, I love being with family and I love the way they treat my children. So here are some highlights:

I got to play a ton of games. My favorite were Hyperdash, Canasta, and Blokus. For those of you who have never played Blokus and Hyperdash, I recommend them both. We played Hyperdash at the church gym for FHE. It didn't take me long to realize how out of shape I was. I had to talk to Steve extra long on the phone to catch my breath. Another highlight was staying up watching movies with my Mom. If only we lived closer, we could enjoy so many more chick flicks together. Thanks Mom for buying me all of birthday presents. I felt so spoiled!

Like other members of my immediate family, my Dad is amazing with children. Even as a kid, I knew that my Dad was special. He would challenge us to pickleball games every Sunday, beat us in Horse and Bump (still does even at 50. In fact, I think he was a little put off by my basketball shots. Apparently, I need to practice), and come up with the craziest challenges and games that would entertain all afternoon. Even though he was in the middle of tax season, my Dad did manage to win over Donny. He's pictured here sucking on a candy cane. As soon as Donny would see it, he would lunge for it. So cute.

Another highlight was visiting with my Grandpa and Grandma who have been on a mission. I haven't seen my Grandpa for four years so I was so excited to visit Grandpa and Grandma's house. There really is nothing better.

Probably the biggest surprise and highlight of the trip was visiting Seattle with my two sister-in-laws who spoiled me to no end. We stayed at the five star Fairmount Hotel in Seattle for a night and spent two days in Seattle. Thanks Mom and Daniel for taking care of Donny for me. I was especially grateful when I heard that Donny woke up at 3:30 am. Sorry about that. The trip was amazing. I love Steve's sisters. They are so much fun. Thanks to Heather, I was able to get a free haircut at a salon next to Nordstroms. I have never done the salon thing and it was awesome. The 20 minute head massage was absolutely amazing. So we shopped, ate room service for breakfast, visited Pike Place Market, and ate lunch with friends. It was great!

Thanks Steve for such a great trip. The picture on the right is of me trying to rock climb in my garage. Its actually much harder than it looks. The picture just below was on a three mile walk with my Grandpa and Mom. I included the famous Linx (sorry about the spelling) golf course that will host the US Open in 2012. What a beautiful view.

Christmas Day

In our first Christmas alone as a family, we were lucky to be taken care of by good friends and neighbors. Upon arriving home from a Christmas Eve party, our neighbors surprised us with a bag full of presents. Julie made each of the boys their own fleece blanket and Shelly provided each with a toy. The boys loved it and I think those blankets are going to be a favorite. They are so warm and cute.

Christmas morning was obviously a lot of fun, but more relaxed than in previous years. When Thomas opened up a pirate ship from Grandma Blackner, we all stopped opening and took about an hour to put the thing together. We then took a break for sourdough pancakes. In all, we opened and played until about 1 pm. It was a lot of fun. In the afternoon, we joined our favorite neighbors for Christmas dinner with their family. Steve played Rock Band to his hearts content. That might be our first purchase when we make real money. Forget a new house. Rock Band it is.



They fell asleep together on Christmas Eve.


Putting together the pirate ship


Hewitt loves his new boots and train set.


What a mess!

Donny's present of this air ball popper from Grandma Smith turned out to be their present of the day. Donny and Hewitt played with it for at least five hours.

Hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful. It was nice to have time to reflect on our blessings and to celebrate our Saviour's birth. Merry Christmas.

Winter Activities

Michigan Snow
I have never experienced anything like the cold here in Michigan this past month. The weather hovers in the teens and then drops to below with the wind chill. We have had quite a bit of snow, but because its so cold, we can't really make good snowmen or snowballs. We have tried to play in it a few times, but we simply don't last long due to the wind. One thing I can say is I have found a new appreciation for snowblowers. Bless my neighbors who snowblowed our driveway. Those things are magical. Donny sat against that tree for about 45 minutes while Thomas and I shoveled and played around. He didn't smile, but he didn't cry either. I think he was trying not to move.




GingerBread Houses
Christmas wouldn't be the same without making a gingerbread house and thanks to one of our good friends, we were lucky enough to make a deluxe one with gingerbread this year rather than imitation graham crackers. It was a fun activity although it did end in tears. Hewitt kept eating handfulls of candy whenever I turned around. It just didn't understand that most of the candy should go on the tree. He did take a really long nap afterwards.



Visiting Dad at Work
We visited Dad for the first time this year at his dental clinic. The boys were in heaven. Hewitt wore his scrubs for the occasion. In this picture, he is eating an apple and watching a movie in the lunch room. That was his favorite chair as he could spin to his hearts content. Thomas, on the other hand, was busy pretending to be a dentist. He received a free mirror from the assistant and dutifully raised and lowered Hewitt in the dental chair while peering into his mouth. He had a great time. Maybe he will be a dentist someday.


Brining the Turkey
My neighbor, who is an amazing chef and whose Dad owns a restaurant, insisted that I ought to brine the free turkey we got from Steve's work. After insisting that the alcohol would cook out, my friend brined the turkey in beer, brown sugar, salt, and water. I must say that despite my apprehensions, the turkey was the best I've ever tasted. I couldn't believe how moist and flavorful it was. I would recommend brining to anyone. And apparently brining works with most combinations--nearly boiled water, salt, and sugar seem to be the staples. My Mom had a recipe for apple juice that she tried. We'll see how hers turns out.


Playing with Dad
Whenever Steve comes home from work, the boys absolutely attack. We have had to stay inside more so it seems like their energy is reaching a peak around 6:30 when Steve usually gets home. Thank goodness he doesn't seem to mind and just let's them crawl over him for a minute. Moms are different than Dads. I like to rough house once in awhile, but that gets old real quick.


Sleeping
With all of the excitement that December brings, Hewitt fell asleep while reading on the couch. This about sums up our activities. Even with the cold, we have found plenty of things to do with many good friends. I can't say I would want to live here forever though. This cold just gets to me!!!!

Christmas Tree

Last night we picked out our first Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun complete with the Christmas tree nearly falling off the back. Steve insists that the tree wasn't going anywhere, but as it's hard to see from the picture, the tree was hanging on horizontally on the edge. Thankfully, we only had to go a few blocks.

Thomas was absolutely bursting with excitement. He was running around frantically asking to put the star on the tree, ornaments, and lights. We just sat back and laughed until it got a bit too crazy. He had to go to timeout to calm down for awhile. Meanwhile, Donny and Hewitt tested the lights and then I put them on the tree.

With Thomas back in action, the ornaments were quickly placed on the lower third of the tree. Hewitt put about eight bells on one branch. The bells were a good idea as they could keep moving and dropping them at will. Donny also managed to taste each one. We got a three dollar star tree topper that didn't even come close to fitting on the tree. Oh well. The whole event was really fun and we now have a nice smelling Christmas tree.

Dressing Up

Just like any other time of the year, but at least at Halloween they don't look quite so freakish, my boys love to dress up. Thomas can be Buzz, Spiderman, a doctor, fireman, pirate, or knight on any given day. Thanks to our friend Terry in Philly who made the boys a pair of scrubs, Thomas and Hewitt have loved dressing up like Steve. Maybe someday they will both be doctors. Unfortunately, I know what that would take and already feel bad for their poor wives if they decide to choose that path.

Fall
Along with our dressing up, we also have enjoyed raking and playing in the leaves. I finally just threw our leaves into the street which is what they do here. Crazy huh. You don't bag em up like in Washington or Pa. Just rake them straight into the street and apparently some truck will come around and suck them up. I hope I'm home to see the magic. We were also lucky enough to get invited over to our neighbors to carve pumpkins. Steve never had time to help in the evenings and I wasn't about to break out the knives by myself. I am grateful for my good neighbors everyday. Hurray for warm weather and the Phillies winning the World Series.