still sick...

The doctor said to let him eat what he wants and drink what he wants to make sure he stays hydrated...check out how he wanted to eat his ice cream! Oh well, it did keep him entertained.

We went back to the doctor on Friday afternoon because Jack's breathing/wheezing got worse. To make a long story short...we are the proud owners of a very nice nebulizer machine, have a son on steroids and have to closely monitor his breathing and if he sounds like he did when we took him to the doctor on Friday we need to bring him into the ER. Great. We also have to closely monitor him at night, which means very little or no sleep for mom and dad. We're living off coffee and pop, oh yes and some let over Easter candy.

The other annoyance is that he is not contagious (because no fever) but the minute you take him in public he has one of his coughing fits and everyone in the store is staring at you wondering why you brought your child out in the first place. Maybe so we don't go insane sitting at home? Maybe I should make a sign and paste it to his shirt that says "not contagious"?

croup round 2!

Jack was up a lot last night...back to the doctor today to find out that he has croup again. Agh...

I took the day off today to spend with him. We both took 2 hour naps this afternoon, so the list of things I had to accomplish didn't get done. Oh well.

Easter

The boys in kind of matching outfits:



I know, you're thinking I've done nothing but update the blog...but that's not quite true! I've been trying to get things up to date.

Today we headed to church for breakfast and then the service, which was really neat. Great job, Steve! Jack fell asleep on the way home so we didn't get any family pictures since I had to change into my comfy clothes right away. We tried to get a ham for Easter dinner yesterday and they had none so we went back today after church and they had none...so we settled for a "ham steak" for a smaller lunch and then got take out Chinese for supper...a new tradition?

Jack got some fun things for Easter. The theme for the year is anything related to a ball. He got a Little Tikes basketball hoop from my dad, which has already gotten a ton of use. He got a cute bunny that's holding a ball from Grandma and Grandpa Stepec, and a basketball hoop for the bathtub from the "Easter Bunny". He also got a pair of rubber boots so he can go and play in the backyard. I'm thinking of teaching him how to use Saylor's pooper scooper for his first chore, what do you think?

Here are some cute pictures from today...


(check out the new boots!)

Spring "Pause"!

This year our school calendar only had Friday and Monday off for our Spring Break...I heard another teacher last week who called it a Spring Pause, which I think is a much better name for it. Besides the kitchen (see last post) I decided to write about other things we did and share our Easter weekend with everyone.

Thursday night dad and Steve worked on the kitchen and Jack and I went to Wal-Mart and stayed out of their way. Friday we headed to Des Moines for Jack's 18 month pictures at Portrait Innovations, which is a VERY neat and cheap picture place. The best part is you get to pick up your pictures in 1 hour so that's handy. Jack was freaked out by the white background. I'm not sure if it was because the backdrop moved or what but we did manage to get some really cute pictures out of the deal. It's amazing to come home and put them next to the 12 month pictures and see how much he's changed in 6 months. He really looks more like a little boy than a baby. When he sees a picture of himself he says "baby". Maybe it's because everyone has called him "baby Jack" for so long?

He played at the jordan Creek Mall kidsplace, which he LOVES! I know I use to think germ city, but when you want to wear him out for a nap on the way home and he's had to sit in his highchair at lunch and stroller around the mall....it's the only option.



I also went and splurged and got a new haircut and some highlights. I needed something kind of summerish since I've been having my doubts that summer is ever going to come after this winter.

On Saturday, dad and Steve went back to work in the kitchen and Jack and I did other housework. We also let Jack decorate Easter eggs by coloring on them with chalk. I wasn't up to having a huge mess, so I figured it was just as well. I was really looking for chalkboard spray paint to paint them with first, but they don't make it anymore. Only 1 egg hit the floor, so that's not so bad.

up-dated kitchen

Kitchen before: (please excuse the junk all over the counter...it doesn't usually look that bad!)




My dad came down last Tuesday to hang out, and we put him right to work. We've been wanting to do some updating in our kitchen and we decided to start with countertops since we found such a good deal on them at Menards such a good deal we even got a new kitchen sink! I thought it would be just a day (or 2) project well 5 days later we are done. We did give my dad a day off in the middle to head to Des Moines for Jack's 18 month pictures and to let the Easter Bunny do some shopping.

Kitchen after:



With the new counters it makes the floors look really bad....another project?

Happy Birthday April!

Have a great birthday! I wish I was there to celebrate with you! Enjoy northern Minnesota for me.

We love you!

christie

(please excuse the horrible picture of me...I was totally sober, but it sure doesn't look like it!)

Our dear friend Christie came to visit a couple weeks ago. She is in the process of getting ready to leave for Africa for 6 months. It's been so neat to see her get all prepared for the journey and to see her heart for the people in Africa and how excited she is to go back to see them.

She also helped us out and watched Jack for a day when we were in a day care crisis. Here is a picture of Jack helping her get her paperwork together.


We love you Christie and will miss you when you are in Africa! Happy late birthday on the 12th!

March?

Not much new and exciting for us here in Iowa...besides having to shovel snow and scrape ice off of everything many times! Again tonight we're suppose to get a bunch of rain followed by a few inches of snow. Great.

Here is a picture of Jack eating his snack and watching "ball" on TV. That's his favorite thing to watch...thank goodness March Madness is starting so there always seems to be a game on since we don't have cable.



Jack has been keeping us laughing a lot. He's wants to copy everything we do and then do it himself, without our help. We're trying to teach him things like throwing away his diaper, putting dirty clothes away, cleaning up his toys, etc. One of his newest facinations has been with belts. Every morning when he's helping me get ready he wants me to put a belt on him. Here's a funny picture of just how silly this new look is:



We have been having fun setting up our summer calendar. First we start off with Jack and I heading to April and Jesse's wedding in Cook! We're also looking forward to a week at Timbuktu with the Bolands around the 4th of July. After that we're going to go for a week to Lake Ellen Camp (where we use to live) for the high school mission trip. I'm excited to be able to go and bring Jack. Followed by in August we're heading to Trout Lake Camp for a week where Steve is going to be a seminar leader for middle schoolers, again Jack and I will tag along!

Can you tell I'm sick of winter and ready for a change of pace? Our spring calendar is filling up quickly as it always does with graduation stuff, end of the school year stuff and we're in desperate need of some house repairs...broken garage door, new gutters, etc. We've talked my dad into coming down to help with those over Easter weekend, which is my 3 day long Spring Break!

Today it's suppose to be 50 degrees here! YIPEE! I'm hoping to head out for a walk after church with my friend, Debra.