The Schmidts take on WI Dells

Happy day-late Memorial Day and thank you, Veterans, for all of your sacrifices to help make/keep our country free. We are forever grateful for that freedom and cannot say thank you enough. (especially my brother, Travis, of whom I shall always be uber proud of for his (and his family's) sacrifices while serving our country.)

For this Memorial Day weekend, Adam and I made the suggestion to his parents and brother/SIL to take WI Dells by storm and have 8.45 Schmidts take over for 3 nights to celebrate the long weekend. Adam and I left work at lunch and made our way into town by 5ish. We had dinner at Culver's to feed the hungry mongrels children and Adam's parents joined us shortly thereafter at the Chula Vista Resort. It was nothing short of awesome and the suite was perfectly spacious to accommodate for our "space using" monkeys. Tom & Carrie got in just before little girl bedtime and fun was had by all.

Saturday, the "big" ladies went right to the outlet mall after breakfast and the guys took the kiddies to the indoor water park at the resort. I scored some major deals including one of  my favorites, a pair of BRIGHT pink Banana Republic cropped pants that you might be able to see 10 miles from where ever I'm wearing them if we're both outside. Oh, and they were $10 instead of the original $60. Win. Oh and they were in my normal size and fit comfortably. WIN. We reconvened over lunch and then the guys went golfing until dinner. After p.m. naps, all the girls went back to the indoor water park (it's frowned upon by my species to swim in 50-60 degree temps outside) where Morgan worked on not being scared  of the slide but LOVED being in the water and Hadley worked on going down the slides only 100 times instead of 1,000. She also became more accustomed to her new floatie and learned that if she keeps her feet up and behind her, life is better. She also enjoyed being "rained on" even though the chlorine even hurt MY eyes after a while.

Sunday came as did the stomach flu for me. Morgan had something going on earlier in the week so it wasn't a shock that somebody got something. I tried to power through it and made it (late, after a nap) to the water park with the rest of the clan in the morning. We came back for lunch where I promptly laid down and tried to down some water, but it wasn't helping. Almost all of us napped and were then set to go to KnuckleHeads but I ended up having to bail. I was really weak/tired/nauseous so I stayed back while the clan went out, had fun, and went out to the Moose Lodge for dinner. I think it was safe to say everyone was exhausted by this point so we stayed in for a quiet rest of the night.

Monday, we were going to go to the WI Dells Deer Park in the morning after check out since the rain foiled our plans Saturday afternoon, but the rain got us again so we had to bail on the whole thing. It turned out to be ok, though, b/c the girls did NOT nap well in the car, both were exhausted, and it was nice to lay them down and unpack/start wash without two adorably needy little beings running around. The dogs were glad to come home and Morgan, sweetest thing ever, asked for a piece of candy for her sister when she was given a sucker at the "puppy hotel." She proudly threw gave Hadley her tootsie roll and then proceeded to hug her til they fell down.

Miscellaneous items of note from vacation:

• I found pink Adidas track suits for the girls to wear next winter for SO cheap (and so cute omg). 
• Hadley is a fish like her sister, with Morgan being a good fish but just a little more cautious.
• Carrie's baby bump is adorable and tiny and I think I looked like her when I was 10 minutes pregnant. Or now. Either way, baby is doing great, kicking often, and trying to convince his/her parents to find out his/her gender and share it with his/her Aunt Liss. I'm not too hopeful. 
• It rained cats and dogs while we were gone. It's set to keep doing so this week. Ugh. Maybe I'll finally have time to go through the girls' dressers/closets and put winter clothes away!? 
• We'd love to make something of an annual/bi-annual tradition of this past weekend. And next year, there will be THREE crazies kiddies instead of just two! Yeah!

Is this the longest?

Meaning the longest between postings ever? Life's busy, people, but it's GOOD. The girls are good, Adam is good, and I'm REALLY good b/c the end of the school year is in sight. There are still many hurdles, but the kid hurdles are mostly done and it's on to big bad adult things like PD plans, IEP training for the new system, "fun" stuff like that. I have a materials making day with other SLPs which usually oozes creativity and productivity so I truly AM looking forward to that day of work in June. :) June 7th comes and I'm a SAHM for the summer! I have to move a 1/2 day to the end of June and be on call for a potential 1/2 day here and there in July but otherwise, it's SUMMER very soon.

Tomorrow we leave for WI Dells to meet Adam's parents and brother/SIL for a fun-filled weekend. We can't wait. In true Memorial Day fashion, the weather is set to be pretty cold (for late May) on Saturday, fair on Sunday, and then get hot as soon as we get home in time to go back to work. Isn't that how it always goes...

You want to know about the girls, don't you? Right? You do. Let's ooze some girlie goodness for a bit, shall we?

Hadley is hysterical. Hadley is sassy. Hadley is rocking potty training and we should be working it harder but sometimes we just forget. While she doesn't ask to go on her own as much as I'd like, she usually tries if we make the suggestion. She loves LOVES her milk, eating, and watching cartoons. Hadley is a crazy FOOL for water outside and plays in the dogs' water outside if all else fails and there isn't a pool/water table in sight. She is going to pee her pants for this weekend and never want to leave ever again. She is starting to make closer approximations to words but doesn't have oodles of words/two word phrases like Morgan had at this age. Since I know her well enough, we're pretty good at communicating, but I've succumbed to the fact that she will talk more in her own time and that her bright little brain is just in the "soaking it up" phase right now. Hadley also loves anything sticks and rocks when we're playing outside. Want to entertain Hadley on a walk? Put 3 fist-sized rocks in her stroller and she'll take turns moving them from one cup holder/space to the other and looking around at all the awesomeness that is nature. Add to the list - Hadley is able to get on the couch all by herself and has fallen OFF the couch no less than 4x this week. She also can successfully show you where her owie is once said child has fallen off the couch. (mother of the year holla)

Morgan has had an icky tummy this week but without signs/symptoms which is SO WEIRD. She's in obvious pain sometimes but as of yesterday, had her "Morgan twinkle" back in her eye again for a while before succumbing to the badness that was her belly. She loves to ride her big girl (two wheeler with training wheels) bike and now rides it to the end of our street and back (while her mom holds her breath b/c there is quite a bit of pea gravel and Morgan's not 100% sure how to work the brakes yet). She's sounding out words she sees but doesn't blend them back together yet. She loves to figure out math things and counting money. She knows that 4 quarters = $1 and that if she wants something, she needs to "earn" it with her chore money. Morgan will do back flips for Pez candy and both girls will die if they don't have dessert after dinner (or so they act). Morgan still loves iPad time but we usually don't have much of it during the week anymore since we're outside if at ALL possible. We have to remind Morgan at least once a day that she's the kid and we're Hadley's parents b/c she would love to be Hadley's sistermom if she could. She still LOVES dinosaurs and is beyond eager for dinosaur camp at the end of June. She also has swimming lessons for 2 weeks straight starting June 10th and soccer starting June 4th. I'm also looking into science camp towards the end of June but I have to make sure it doesn't interfere with Dinosaur camp.

I have to share a funny story about Morgan. Last week was her last week of Sunday School. We went to the late services b/c she earned a Perfect Attendance Award somehow even though we missed a few Sundays b/c of trips back home to WI (they must go by a percentage or something). We gave her a heads up that at some point, they would call her name and she'd go to the front of church to be recognized. Well...I told her it was almost time (they were just about to start introducing people), turned to look at Hadley who was spilling/throwing things everywhere, and when I turned back, Morgan was G.O.N.E. All the way gone. And by gone, I actually mean sprinting to the front of church where she quickly took a spot smack dab in the middle of the steps and smiled at everyone who would look at her. We tried to get her to come back (they were recognizing teachers first) but she "didn't notice." I even motioned for her to sit down (ps we sit in the back with twogirls and their antics) but nope, I'd like to swirl out my dress and pose for everyone, thankyouverymuch. So they went on, introducing teachers while Morgan smiled and swayed. Finally it was her turn and she got her certificate/pin and went back to sit with us like the rest of the kids. Oh, and she sprinted PAST us on her way back. We're so thankful she can provide the comedic relief at church in some way, shape or form almost each week. Other weeks it's dancing in the aisle to the last song which we may or may not encourage b/c it makes us smile and she has friends who join her.

Also (b/c heaven forbid I stop!), I have to say that I LOVE how close the girls are seeming already even though they are so different in terms of play stages/development right now. They freely hug each other. The other day, Hadley laid by Morgan on the couch and Morgan gave her "itches" (when you gently scratch their backs). They are working on sharing as all toys are MINE but when prompted, it's sweet how Hadley will give a toy back (and not so sweet when Morgan freaks out about not having her toy anymore). I hope this continues and they get/stay close. We can't force it, but they are all each other has - like a built in best friend when Mom and Dad are crazy (gasp what?!).

And with that, I head to WI Dells for our much needed family getaway and relaxation. Happy Memorial Day!

Treadmill! TrEaDmIlL!! TREADMILL!!!

Finally. Finally!! I've been wanting a treadmill since I felt motivated to really lose my baby weight with Morgan (you know, when she was like, 6 months old...or so) b/c I feel really tied down with the girls when they're awake and the thought of going to the Y (13-14 minutes away, one way) at night is usually too much for me to handle.

Then Adam travels and I don't have the option to go to the Y while the girls are sleeping (going to the Y while they're awake with just one parent who wants a real workout just isn't a choice for us right now. Hadley needs to be older.).

I know I can do Nike Training Club (which I've loved in the past) and other workouts I've pinned (which I've also loved in the past) but sometimes, I just want to walk. Or run. Or both. Or alternate. All while watching TV.

Enter the Treadmill.

It was funny how it happened, actually. I told Abbie and Sarah in an email one day at work that I really wanted one (old news, I'd said this before). 3-4 hours later, Adam emailed me two treadmills he'd found on Craig's List. Coincidence or amaze-balls huzz/wife connection? Doesn't matter. He's on board.

Two weeks ago, Adam contacted one of the sellers and we set up a meeting. He tried to low ball them (I can write that b/c he admitted it afterwards) and after some compromise, we drove away with a treadmill in the back of his truck with a very happy wife sitting in the front seat.

Fast forward to now and this is why I'm superomginove with my new (to us) treadmill:

• I can walk and catch up on Fashion Star at the same time. 
• I can run and catch up on Fashion Star at the same time. 
• The scale has stayed at my lowest since becoming pregnant with Hadley all week. PS. only 3-4 pounds to go until I'm "at weight" but then it's tone-up time BIG time.
• I can be ugly, not match, and feel connected to the girls while in my house running.
• It's raining outside and I can run/walk.
• It will be snowing outside (hopefully not for a long time!!) and I can run/walk.
• It can be HOT AS BLAZES outside and I can run/walk. 

So needless to say, I love my treadmill. Adam is worried it will become useless fixture in our house. I beg to differ even though I see his point of view. 

So that said, welcome to the fam, Treadmill. I heart you!

A few gems

The girls have been great so far this week and thankfully Tuesday evening was much better than Monday evening overall. We had a picnic supper in the front yard while Maddie and Jessie were rewarded for leaving us alone and given rawhide bones. We played and played outside in the awesome weather (mid 80s at 5:30! 90 earlier!) and then I had a church meeting at 6:30. We had a plan in place and it went about as smoothly as I could have hoped. They sort of watched their DVD, ate their snack, and drank every drop of liquid we brought with us while I tried my best to participate in the meeting. I'm looking forward to another evening outside tonight since it's going to get cold and rainy again for a good stretch. Sigh. I like playing outside in a tank and shorts much better.

I think this is the summer our a/c is going to finally kick the bucket. I'm pretty sure it's as old as the house (which means as old as we are) and it needs to be replaced. Adam's NOT thrilled. Neither am I, but the thought of being in a hot house all summer has me even LESS thrilled. That said, I'm a little thankful it's going to be cooler out the next few days so we're not roastin' and toastin' for a week to come. The girls' rooms were in the low/mid 80s the entire night - NOT ideal sleeping weather.

This evening, Julie suggested we take the kids to McDonald's (like we do when the guys travel sometimes for a change of pace and not having to cook) and I suggested we get it to go and have a picnic at our house much like last night. It went well, we had fun (while Hadley thought she was the funniest kid ever and got too close to the road 1,383,002 times), ate, played in the sandbox, and swung a bit. Bath, snack, bed, and night 3 of Adam traveling this week is complete. It's still hot as blazes in their rooms but the temp changed VERY quickly after bedtime so I cracked their windows for an hour or two to help cool it down. I've had to close some windows already b/c the temp is dropping so fast. Now comes the yucky, cold, rainy weather. Sigh. We really liked the 80s (except when we had to be in the house roasting).

Items of note:
Adam comes home in 2 days (less, actually!).
Sherri booked our vacation to WI Dells today so there will be 8.4 Schmidts storming the city and waterpark Memorial Day weekend! We will be meeting Al, Sherri, Tommy, & Carrie there for a fun-filled weekend. We've been wanting to do this kind of vacation with them for quite some time and we're all eager to go.
24.5 days left in this school year's contract. Score.
One of my students who has stalled out for a long time in speech made HUGE breakthroughs today. I couldn't be more proud of him and was so happy to get his mother's reply email after telling her how wonderfully he had done. I love this part of my job.

Annndddd finally, a few gems to note from the girls:

• Morgan on the way to Mary's this morning: "Mom, I'm not feeling so talky today." Oh. We'll see how long that lasts. 
• Opposite of gem - Hadley's been doing quite well with undies on at home and going on the potty. She does NOT, however, have pooping on the potty down and I got to clean out her first poop undies last night. So. Gross. Diapers are way easier, as hard as that might be to believe. 
• While I was "assisting" Morgan in the bathroom for a #2 trip this evening, she informed me, "Mommies are for wiping butts." Fantastic, Morgan.
• Hadley smiling = gem every time. 

We shall call it ... the Whirlwind.

This is the worst amount of posting in a month I've done since starting this blog. To say that work and home life is busy is an understatement (obviously, hellooooo absenses). This will be a quick catch up, bullet post b/c that's about all I have time for. I anticipate (ha ha, anticipate) there being more time as the school year winds down to blog at night but for now, this is all I've got. So many things...so little time.

To start off, a family bullet:

• We are all SO VERY SUPER EXCITED to be able to welcome the newest Schmidt into the family in ... October 2013!! (LOL forever, not US...) Adam's brother, Tommy, and his wife, Carrie are expecting their first baby in October (great month to have babies!) and we couldn't be more thrilled. Carrie is feeling better with the 1st trimester behind her (or shortly behind her...). They are both thrilled and will make fantastic parents. And I will continue to wear my "best auntie ever" sash until the end of time. ;-)

The One with the Diaper Rash from Hell

• She's 16 months old. I still am sort of struggling with that and honestly, she's getting close to 17 quickly. She was just at the doctor for the worst/longest diaper rash ever. She "shrunk" 0.75" for length (they really need to measure better) and was 22lbs 3oz. Just a little peanut. A hilarious one, however.
• Diaper rash - UGH. We finally took her to the dr on Monday b/c it's NOT going away and it's really awful. She was waking up for diaper changes several nights in a row b/s she was SO sore/uncomfortable with even a slightly wet diaper and TONS of goo/creams to try to make her feel better. She has a few spots that have improved a little but still lots of bad. It's supposed to be markedly better by tomorrow but my hopes are low...she's on steroid cream that's "so strong" she can only have it applied 2x/day.
• Hadley is quiet. And by quiet I mean not spouting words out like Morgan did at this age. I think Morgan was using 2 word utterances by now and Hadley is still mostly repeating words we say, but jabbering ALL the live long day. It's only slightly concerning to me as a mommySLP but I'm working HARD not to compare her to Morgan at this age in terms of talking...they are totally different and Hadley is fine for now. I can't help but think that one of these days she's just going to spit it all out and make leaps and bounds of progress...but at least her receptive language (comprehension) is great so no worries there. Now to get Morgan to be quieter so Hadley can speak up...lol forever. 
• Hadley LOVES climbing. Ladders at the park, steps, etc. She continues to love this. She also has no fear and will go down any slide at the park repeatedly even if she gets hurt doing so (hello, first big fat lip at Weed Park last weekend). 
• Potty training - Hadley is doing well considering we aren't as consistent as we could be. When we get home each night this week, I put her on the toilet right away and then she's diaper-less the rest of the evening until bedtime. She thinks this is hilarious. She's only had one accident and that was our fault. Should make for an interesting weekend...
• Unless sick or covered in hell-bending diaper rash, Hadley sleeps fine and usually until 7am. If she's really tuckered out, she'll push it even later. ::ahem, Morgan take note, ahem::
• Hadley LOVES Diego and pretty much most of the other shows Morgan likes/liked. She "answers" questions when characters pose them and dances with the music all the time. 
• She is still all about babies and her princesses/castle. She also LOVES playing outside and doing whatever Morgan is doing while outside. This includes hitting the (hard plastic) softball off the tee and running to the bases. 
• Hadley is HILARIOUS in general and loves to make us laugh. She walks around with her Easter bonnet from Mary on her head/face and when she slowly/purposely runs into something, we laugh, and she thinks she's the greatest thing since the invention of the pocket-sized cell phone. 
• Hadley can handle a fork with the best of them although sometimes she feels it's much more important to use her hands. NOTE: How do we know that Hadley is enjoying what she's eating? She says "Mmmmmmmmmm" and sort of hums the ENTIRE TIME SHE'S EATING. No lie - meals can sometimes be very loud b/c Hadley is sitting in her chair, stuffing her face, saying, 'mmmmmm' while chewing. It doesn't sound possible but it totally is. Ask her.
• Hadley and Jessie both love sticks. When outside, one of the first things Hadley does is find a stick to carry around. Then Jessie steals her stick. Hadley finds a new one. Jessie eventually steals. Rinse, repeat. 

The One with all the Emotions (that come and go in 2-5 seconds)

• Oh, my Morgan. She's so loving and wonderful but is getting big and doesn't want to be held nearly as much anymore. Mommy sad face. Her vocabulary astounds us, nothing new there, but she's constantly learning new things and remembers them well. 
• She has a new love for her Cinderella doll and her carriage/horse get up the past few weeks. This led us to realize that some of her "unbecoming behavior" is likely stemming from boredom from her current toy situation - meaning we don't have enough toys for her to pretend with...or something like that. She's just outgrown a lot of the toys we have and it's time to beef it up with some big girl toys. Sigh. She's really growing up too fast. 
• Ohhh is this kid emotional. She can be having the best morning, hour, minute and suddenly it's tears and pouting everywhere b/c her Jessie looked at her while walking by (true story. tears.). But I still get the "MOMMMY MOMMMMMMY MOMMMMMMMYYYYYYY" when I pick her up every day and I'll take that emotional side of her every time (except when she makes me a little deaf-er).
• We all continue to love her short hair. It still makes her look way older and is a billion times easier to brush/maintain.  
• Still wants to go to the Family Museum in Bettendorf every day. If only it weren't 40 minutes away and cost a fair amount to get into the awesomeness (but mostly the distance). 
• Morgan LOVES dinosaurs and often pretends about them. Oh! New older kid toy(s) - dinosaurs. Duh. She is going to Dinosaur Camp in June and it can't come fast enough. I'm ordering her some as soon as this post is over. 
• She asks to go to swimming lessons all the time. She is in a 2-week straight class in June right after I'm done with my contract. She's going to love it. 
• We are signing her up for soccer for a summer session. Given how much she loves to run like crazy, we're thinking this might be a great fit for her. She also LOVES hitting the softball off the tee and running to home base (this involves running to the grass line of the neighbor's yard and back to the driveway - longest.base.run.ever.
• Morgan bought the Toy Story I DVD with her "spend" money for her first big independent purchase a while ago. She is currently working on saving $8 to buy the Prince Charming to go with her Cinderella doll. Note: Do no buy it for her. She's trying to earn it on her own. Note: Disney Store - don't hold out on me - you keep that PC doll on sale for the next few weeks. She's really close. ;-)

The One with all the Estrogen

• Still trying to keep up to the tiny army we made. I think I've made decent headway now that they're done being sick for a while, save for the Great Diaper Rash of 2013 and the hacking cough that may render Adam breathless.
• I'm down a bit of weight! I've got 3lbs to go for my OK! weight and 5lbs to go for my WOOHOO!! weight. Finally. Some headway. I'm hovering in/out of the last tens and soon I will hopefully never see the upper tens again. Evah. Now...I need to be more proactive about toning up...
• Loves sitting down after the girls go to bed and vegging out. I do this more than I should. I keep finding reasons not to do "stuff." I need to get over it. So tonight Adam ran first and then I ran (thank you slightly warmish weather and later sunset times). 
• I'm glad the school year is winding down. I'm so excited about most of my students' progress, but at this time of the year, I definitely have a few I'm feeling burnt out on. I love my students...but sometimes I feel ineffective and I'm not sure what path to take next. That's what summer is for - to think about what to do next.....LOL forever, no it's not. It's for relaxing my brain so I can do that thinking in Aug/Sept. Silly...on that note, one of my Kindergarteners told me she named the goldfish she won at the school carnival after me. Mrs. Schmidt the fish. Now that's just plain awesome. 

The One with all the Testosterone

•  Adam is my hero. He is thisclose to losing 20lbs since January unless he already has and didn't say. He's worked his @$$ off for it and looks amazing (well, more amazing than usual since he's always amazing).
• He's traveling a bit more now and gone 2 of every 4-5 weeks. The girls have been good and his traveling is getting a little easier each time in terms of workload...but we still miss him terribly, of course, and would rather he be home.
• Adam and my Dad (who came to visit last weekend) made some serious headway with our mess that was the tree line in the backyard. Dad burned TONS of random branches we had littering the area and overflowed our campfire pit with ashes. Morgan thinks it's the greatest thing that the ashes now look like a volcano after the rain and tells me daily to check it out. 
• He didn't have anything else to add. I'm jealous he can go work out over his hour long lunch, shower, and get back to work in time if that means anything. :) 

So there you have a quick update on the busy bees that live in the Schmidt house. Hopefully you'll see more posts sooner rather than later. Oh! And check out the blog Reasons My Son Is Crying because it's funnier the more pictures you look at.

The Post about Sick

About a week and a half/two weeks ago, Morgan started coughing. And coughing. And COUGHING. Then we had to go to WI and it got so bad that she threw up at dinner one night (out, of course). Thankfully we were able to self-medicate with leftover albuterol from Hadley's last coughing issues and by the time we left WI, both girls were on breathing treatments every 4 waking hours. No fun, but finally they started getting better by the end of last weekend.

Then Monday morning happened (thank God Adam didn't travel until Tuesday this week). The morning was going along as usual, Morgan up earlier than Hadley, dressed, I was about to dry my hair when I heard OH NO. OH NO. OH NO. Hadley was head to toe poop as was her crib. After scrambling, a quick bath, and quick assessment of her actual status, we took her to daycare with the understanding that Mary would call us immediately if she needed to come home. She was relatively happy and no fever so.....

I picked her up and Mary said she was not feeling well at all by that time. I gave her Tylenol, laid her down for a nap, and 40 minutes later, she was a new kid and fine. We sent her again Tuesday and she was good save for one poo-splosion requiring a costume change although she didn't eat much outside of pretzels. Today, she had another poo-splosion but thankfully, it was completely contained.

Now, why am I so worried, you ask? Because the kids at daycare have been going down, one by one, with diarrhea and vomiting since last week. First it was Scout (Hadley's BFF) last week, then Hadley's buns only (thank GOD no vom for her ... yet), and then a bunch today - Adele, Tucker, and Cooper. Adele is Morgan's BFF so I feel like it's only a matter of time ... please cross your fingers and toes and anything within reach that can be crossed and pray that Hadley's butt is the only issue we'll have. I know it's likely not going to go that way, but a mom home alone with her girls til Friday can hope, right? Right.

At least the coughing is better! No breathing treatments since late last week/weekend. Tonight, I was going to leave the humidifier off in Morgan's room but with the potential for thunder in all these storms, I thought it might help drown out any boomers. Tomorrow is weird and crazy b/c Mary needs the girls picked up by 10:40 so she can go to a quick (please be quick) doctor's appt so I can go back to work. Then the entire student body leaves to go to a visiting artist at the middle school so I'm planning on getting some SERIOUS paperwork done since I have some major deadlines coming up in the next week. Which means NO SICK GIRLS tomorrow so I can get back to school by the time my kids all leave...

Wish me luck!! I can deal with poop. It's gross, sure, but vomit...NOTHANKYOU. Thank you in advance for any 'no vom in the Schmidt house' prayers.

Happy Easter, Grandpa Smith!

To say it's been a long week from a week ago today would be an understatement. Last Wednesday, I received the phone call that surprised and didn't surprise me at the same time - my Grandpa Smith had passed away. This man was a walking miracle so many times over so it was a wonder his body was finally so very tired that he just stopped. He was rather upset that he was going to be too weak to go to church on Easter Sunday so he just took a different route, I guess. Doesn't surprise any of us one bit. ;-)

This news brought on a huge flurry of frantic packing and changing of plans which all worked out fine in the end. We worked on Thursday and then headed home to WI that evening since we both had off on Friday (Good Friday). We stayed through Tuesday, early afternoon, so we could attend funeral services for Grandpa. They were lovely, it went well, and while we were all so sad to say goodbye to such a fiesty old man who loved life, it warms my heart now to know all the things he doesn't have to deal with anymore as a result of his failing body.

The rest of the weekend was kept busy with visits, candy, and coughing. And more coughing. And MORE coughing....we tossed around bringing along the nebulizer/Rx along to WI b/c both girls seemed on the verge of ok but if there was one most important thing we packed, it was that thing. By Saturday, Morgan was coughing so hard/often that she got sick at dinner out with my dad and grandma. Within a few breathing treatments, she was still coughing but it was much more tolerable for her and she could breathe. Hadley started treatments as well on Tuesday morning when she woke up sounding very "croup-y." We're weaning them both off today (hopefully) and they will continue to get better. Morgan probably should have gone in for this cough. It was a bad one. But self-medicating and life circumstances directed us on this route and for now, it's working.

*I started this post last week sometime, I think...can't even remember that. I know I've been a terrible poster lately (if anyone is still out there) and will work on that. Trying. So here's this bad incomplete post and I'll try to get more done later while I'm not neglecting other duties and racing through the second Hunger Games book (these are so good ohmygoodnesscan'tputitdown). Toodles.