Cardiology, party of 1

So...we had another health "scare" (scare? it's not like she was rushed to the ER or anything) with Hadley. First there was the neuro scare when she was a teeny tiny infant (did I ever blog about that?) and then at her 18 month well check a few weeks ago, the NP heard a murmur. She had a dr listen and agreed that she heard it too, but that Hadley should be checked out by a specialist.

Fast-forward some weeks and off to the University of Iowa Peds Cardiologist we go (thankfully to the extension in the QCs...I know the QCs better than IA City at this point). (PS. I might have to cut this off b/c I'm going to be Skype-Insanity-ing it up with Adam in Montreal here in about 5 minutes (procrastinate the hell much?).

So Hadley and I got there, checked in, and went straight to radiology for her chest X-rays. It was awful. She didn't get to go in the big bad hold-her-down thing - nope. They had the big bad mom hold her elbows to her ears and not let her move. The whole time she was SCREAMING hysterically and saying my name over and over...I managed to breathe through it and only BARELY cry myself. It was like infant shots for my girls all over again (yeah - I cry for those, too). Thank GOD they turned out fine the first time and we could leave with her Tinkerbell and someotherprincess sticker.

Off to the doctor's office then, which was a LONG wait, but then EKG time (thank you iPhone with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode) and then wait some more. Hadley did well as I had put her down for a later morning nap so she wasn't too bad/tired/crabby. The doctor came in, listened to Hadley, and said her X-ray looked good but it was a bit of a loud murmur and she wanted an ultrasound done.

Lucky Hadley, more TV and even a SUCKER while watching Nemo for her u/s. Long story longer, Hadley has an "innocent heart murmur" which means it's no big deal and we shouldn't even put it on any health forms in the future. Whew. Done. She's fine once again. No neuro issues. No heart issues (although the doctor wants her and Morgan to each have a cholesterol screening done at their next well checks/birthdays b/c of the family history on Adam's side. WOW. Seems early - the doctor was NOT messing around. It sounds like it would have to be super extreme for meds and they don't start them until age 8 if they LCL (is that right?) is to the moon and back. I don't think the girls would be THAT bad but hopefully they get the 50% chance of it from my side (no heart issues). :)

Now that Adam is waiting patiently (ha) for me in Montreal to do Insanity over Skype, I best get up, get my game face on, and go sweat out a gallon. Adios, amigos. Oh, and Hadley's 19 months old today. What.

Insanity

Adam and I are starting the workout program Insanity this week. I bought it through a co-op for CHEAP and we're going to kill it. We've both lost weight since winter but we need something else to help us really feel GOOD. We've heard nothing but good about it (and by good I mean results/it works, not just the 'you feel like you are dying on a routine basis') so we were game when I found it for so cheap. Adam also got P90X2 but I'm only interested in Insanity for now.

That said, the first day is 8 one minute exercises to make up your first Fit Test. Eight minutes my rear...that was yesterday, I sweat like a hog, and I'm sore today. Adam just finished his fit test (he was playing softball when I did mine yesterday) and he's going to do today's workout too....hopefully he isn't a total hot mess (in a bad sense - hopefully he's a hot mess b/c he's sweaty and had a good work out) when we're done. I'm going to stop now and come back after our first "real" work out (plyo circuit) and let you know how much I am almost dead by now. :)

AFTER:
OMG you guys. I can hardly type this. My left lower back hurt before and during the workout it was fine and now it's freaking out man. But it will be ok - my back sucks and right now it's because A) I'm out of line and B) I'm superweakalloveromg. Maybe tomorrow I'll drop by my friend's house so her husband can adjust me (woo chiro husband perk!) and just keep working hard and getting stronger. Either way, peace out, I'm going to go eat, shower, and go to bed. I have to WORK for an hour (with a little drive time) tomorrow before turning back into super taxi mom. Shoot. I still need to figure out what I all need at Sam's...but I have an hour! Who cares!! :)

18 Months!

A few days late. Clearly I'm a blogasaurus lately and am shooting for 3x/month. How sad is that!!? Since she's 18 months, it's imperative that I update her current status!! And all the new things she's been up to lately. She's growing by leaps and bounds developmentally (and somewhat in size....)

• She's 18 months! Next step is TWO. OMG I just fell off my chair but don't worry, the Mac is a-ok. 
• She's finally talking so much more. A few two-worders in there and I swear she's saying, "what this??" A few favorites are "eyes!" (followed by some poking or involuntary glasses removal), "good girl" (in reference to Jessie NOT begging at dinner and lying down like a good dog). Also, she says Morgan but it sounds almost exactly the same as mama. Maybe I should help her say Moh-moh or something? 
• Gross motor - she alternates feet going up the stairs while holding hands. If she only holds one hand, she hangs onto the railing but needs work on her timing. She LOVES to climb ladders at the park and on the home play set outside. She "runwalks" which is the cutest thing ever when she thinks she's the fastest kid on the earth. Hadley swears her soccer skills are just as mad as Morgan's and would like to join Morgan's practices yesterday, please. 
• Fine motor - Hadley's a mad iPad/Pod user now. She loves the apps Coloring Farm/Zoo, My PlayHome, Peekaboo Barn, and whatever else she can get her hands on. On our way home from the zoo last weekend, I gave her the iPod to try to keep her awake so she'd nap at home...and she fell asleep while playing the iPod (reference FB post). It was hilarious. Then I gave her her Nike sandal and THAT kept her awake the rest of the way home WHAT. 
• She loves her daddy when she's with me and she loves me when she's with her daddy. And hands down, this kid has to know where Morgan is at all times. 
• Imitator extraordinaire. She LOVES to do any and everything her sister is doing and it's adorable to watch her try some of what Morgan is doing. Except when she thinks she's big for real and gets hurt.
• Speaking of getting hurt, Hadley will have a scraped (to a varying degree) left knee this entire summer. She gets it almost healed and BAM, rescrape. She then cries for 10-20 seconds and then  wants to go play and bleed. She's a toughie and isn't fearless but is definitely a "go-getter." 

I'm going to add more later but it's late and I need a snack. She's amazing and makes our family whole. They both do. 

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.