Little Friends.

Carsen has the cutest little 'girl friend' named Ryan. They go to Little Gym together (it's a good thing Ryan is there for her man.....Carsen feels secure that Ryan is in his class. He's had a few meltdowns, but then Ryan comes over and helps him out. Isn't that what friends are for?) Here they are dressed as The Hulk and a Power Ranger/miner.....Leave it to Carsen to find costumes at whatever house we're at.

What is Kindermusic?

Carsen was given a backpack to carry his drum and music books in. He loves it! He's ready for Kindermusic!

A couple of you have commented about your curiosity regarding Kindermusic. I am not an expert, as this is my first experience with it. So far, I am a HUGE fan! (Even though Carsen has shed tears at two of our partings; when I return to pick him up he is in high spirits and is singing and playing along.) Throughout the week he is always wanting to get out his drum and play the CD that he is given in the class.

From my experience (thus far) Kindermusic is an interactive, music-based learning environment for children 5 and under. They learn new songs, experiment with beats and rythm, and just play around. (It's a great way to wear him out so he will take a nap...and we all know what that means! Nap for me too!)

So, for those of you who were curious...That's Kindermusic. I highly recommend it, but I am baffled at how someone would want to teach it! (That's why his teacher is amazing with kids and has more patience than I could ever dream of having!) I too have learned a lot and enjoy learning the new songs along with him!

Shoes+Chocolates = Valentines!

Chad and I are not very good at the whole "surprise" thing. (I am especially terrible at this). This morning Chad called and said, "Where are you." I told him I was in the kitchen cleaning....... He said, "I just opened the garage door." In he walked with a box of chocolate covered strawberries and raspberries (from V Chocolates, the absolute most delicious chocolates in the world) and he was also carrying a shoe box. (I have a serious shoe fetish. But they are all very necessary).

My sweet Valentine needs to know how much I love him and appreciate all he does for me. He is the best husband and is always doing everything he can to make me happy (which I know can be a full-time job). He is so thoughtful and loving and is by far the worlds best Dad. (Carsen and Myka prefer him overe me 100%)! I don't know what I would do without him, and I feel so blessed (and lucky) to have a best friend for a husband. I truly adore this man--and I love that he is mine forever!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there! I hope your day is as sweet as mine!!! (Mine gets even sweeter, because I don't have to make dinner and I don't have to wait in line at a restaurant! My wonderful neighbor Natalie is making dinner for 12 adults and 15 kids....and it's gourmet! I can hardly wait!)

Love you all!

Visiting Vegas

Every year around this time I get sick of the cold, buy a plane ticket and fly myself and the kids to Las Vegas. (Even before kids I would go by myself. Of course, only for as long as my parents have lived there....which is coming up on I think 7 years???). This trip will go down in the history books as the most 'memorable.'

Tuesday before we left, Myka was coughing like crazy. She sounded terrible. I didn't want to take her to another state and have to take her to a doctor there, so I made an appointment with her Pediatrician. Bronchiallitis (spelling?) or in other words, a case of RSV. Why not? Let's just add it to the list of illnesses this fabulous year. The Pediatrician instructed me to hook her up to a Nebulizer (thanks Leslie) every 4-6 hours. Easier said than done....I have since found out Myka does not like to have things blowing in her face. Her Pediatrician said it was fine to have her fly and she would be okay......

We flew out Wednesday afternoon and left the cold and freezing temps behind us! (Hooray!) The flight was tricky, but I knew that going into it. I've done it before, and I always tell myself I will never do it again. (But how quickly I forget how miserable it is to remove everyone's shoes, fold down the stroller (while holding a baby), hoist the stroller up on to the convayer belt (still holding a baby), put everyones shoes back on, make sure we have all our bags, hoist the stroller back down, fold it back down, and finally get everyone positioned to cruise to the gate. Phew! Such a process. We haven't even boarded the airplane and I am already a sweaty mess. (The airplane ride is a whole different story. It's like church, but with absolutely no outlet. I just have to let Myka crawl all over me and keep saying 'sorry' to the person sitting next to me). One thing about it, I always hear how adorable my kids are and it reminds me that they are so stink'n cute and they're MINE! (People seeing me travel probably think I'm some single mom and they feel sorry that I have to travel all alone with 2 kids). Nope, I actually choose to!

Back to the story. We get to Vegas and it is sunny and warm (to me). My Dad picks us up at the airport and helps me haul everything out to his vehicle. (How would it be without car seats? They are a serious pain in the rear. I hate loading and unloading them. In fact, I will avoid at all costs having to remove car seats from my car.) Myka is still coughing. (I tried to avoid eye contact with people in the airport when she would start hacking. I know what they were thinking, because it's the same thing I think about other kids who are coughing. Poor Myka).

On Thursday morning Myka wakes up and she sounds even more miserable. Her breathing is wheezy and she's coughing like crazy. I'm stressing at this point. I call the nurse and she has me put Myka on the phone. When I get back on the phone she says, "Are you in a place where you can go to an Insta Care?" I tell her I am. She says, "You need to go, like right now. Either that or go straight to the ER." I'm frantically gathering everything together and telling my Dad we've got to go. In the meantime I call my insurance and they direct me to several Insta Cares in the area. I'm thinking, 'Okay, this won't be so bad. I'll run her in there and they'll make sure she's breathing alright. We'll be done in about an hour and have time to take Carsen to the park and what not.'

Not the case. Not even close. I am spoiled by having an Insta Care about 1 mile from my house that you're in and out in less than 30 minutes. Nevada's health system is a joke. Or maybe it's just Las Vegas.

We pull up to the nearest Insta Care (which is really quite close to their house. That was a huge bonus). I open the door to the building and immediately I hear about 30 people coughing, sneezing, etc. I almost turned around and walked back out. I went and put my name on the list.....wondering how long I was going to be in this sick-house. There were probably 50 people sitting in the waiting room. Insta-nothing! This was going to be an all-day ordeal. I figured by sitting in there I was going to catch every germ floating around.

My Dad and I took turns sitting in there waiting for them to call Myka's name. (Can I just add...before going to the clinic my awesome Dad and his neighbor gave Myka a blessing. Which is really the reason everything turned out alright.)

Long story short. We wait and wait and wait. We finally get in there and her breathing is normal and fine (no more wheezing at this point). She is running a slight fever (nothing I didn't already know). To make my impression of the health care system even more negative, during the doctors examination her cell phone rings. She leaves the room and doesn't come back! Finally, 20 minutes later I am ticked. (I have already been here for about 3 hours). I poke my head out the door and I see her and I said, "Are you coming back?" She had forgotten, but she acted like she was looking for something. Yeah right. We wrapped up the examination with the results that poor little Myka had double ear infections to go along with her nasty little cough.

Here's a thought...What if I had a SERIOUS emergency? Life threatening? Where would I go and what would I do? I guess that the ER is just as packed as the Insta Cares.

That was that. We filled the prescriptions, gave Myka some medicine and headed out to enjoy some of the good weather.

As the week went on Myka was back to her normal self (with some cough spells here and there). What a huge relief! Then, Friday evening Carsen came down with a fever. The next morning it was even worse, but it tapered off a bit by the afternoon. He was able to go to the park and feed the ducks and play on the slides. (All the while my mom and I were hitting up my favorite Vegas stores!)

We are home now and everyone is back to good. (for now) The plane ride home was even more miserable than the one going over. But that's alright, I've almost forgotten about it and am ready to plan my next get-away out of the cold weather!

I love going to Vegas and letting my parents spoil my kids. I have the best parents, and they absolutely adore my kids. It was so nice to get away from the snow and enjoy a little sun (and not have to pile coats on the kids when we were outside). That small glimpse of spring has made me realize I can make it through the rest of winter. (Or at least until our cruise!)

Pass the Pigs

At Christmas time Kye and Kelly brought this game "Pass the Pigs" for all of us to play. Of course my first thought was, "seriously?" I am all about games, but this one seemed a bit too odd for me.....Not so! It turned out to be a clever little game! Ever since then I have been wanting to buy the game....(The winter is much too long and I am starved for entertainment!)

I finally found the game today and Chad, Carsen and I spent the evening rolling two little pigs and hoping they land in various positions. I must be getting old and boring..(To my defense, Myka and Carsen both have nasty coughs and we didn't want to subject anyone to yet another Peck illness.) I know....sick again! Will it never end? The problem is, Carsen catches something at Nursery, Little Gym, Kinder Music or the endless objects he thinks he has to touch whenever we go anywhere. I swear, we wash our hands about a million times a day. I can show you chapped little hands on both Carsen and myself. Anyhow..whatever Carsen seems to catch Myka always ends up with too. So, here we sit on a Saturday evening playing "Pass the Pigs." I highly recommend it! (The game, not the endless sickness!)