I love surprise visits!

Yesterday afternoon I got a lovely surprise text message from my 'first' younger sister, Ashley.  She wanted to come visit!! What a fun mid-week surprise!  Although in theory I'm not far from my family (only 2 hrs...which go by rather quickly on the road), money and schedules keep me from seeing my sisters all that often.  We do pretty good though, about once every 2 to 3 weeks.  Recently though, we haven't been able to catch up with Ashley due to her super busy schedule at Valley Fair (they basically own her life in the summer months).  I was so excited to have her come stay!

Ashley got here late last night (around 10:45) and her and I stayed up until sometime around mid-night chatting away.  It was a nice, lazy morning, getting to snooze and relax until around 10.  Then up and ready to head out the door, we headed to Broghan's office to give him lunch and I got my weekly adjustment (felt SOO nice).  Broghan was a sweetie and offered an adjustment to Ash.  Ashley was a little concerned about his table (it's one that goes up and down...kind of like a ride, so she should have liked it...working at VF and all) but she said she felt much more loose afterwards so yea! :)

Next it was off to pick up Chris (the 12 yr old I nanny) and then to lunch.  We ended the early part of the afternoon over at the Nohelty house watching Top Chef and Ashley got to snuggle Keller during his short-lived 45 minute nap.  I think she loved it!

We decided Chris didn't need us there (his dad was actually home the whole time haha) so we came back to our house and Keller got to spend more time playing and getting attention from his auntie...while I got to finish weeding my garden and take Marvin for a walk.  It was nice having her here to give Keller that kind of attention.  Sometimes I feel bad since Broghan and I get distracted with everyday house duties and work and dinner and everything else in life that while yes, we pay attention to Keller and make sure he is occupied and entertained, I'm sure it is nothing in comparison to the attention he gets from his aunts, uncles and grandparents when they get to see him.

All of that attention paid off too at bedtime tonight.  Ashley hung around to watch bath-time and bed-time routine and as we laid Keller in his crib, gave him his kiss and hug, closed the door and one squawk later...let me repeat that ONE SQUAWK, no hysterical cries, no whimpers, just the squawk...and he was out! and he is still out two hours later :).

So THANK YOU ASHLEY!  Surprise mid-week visits are the best!!

So this is what it feels like..

to SLEEP!

I really think I have forgotten what it feels like to NOT be sleep deprived. But today, I got a little taste, and let me tell you, it is wonderful!

To explain:  Friday was a loong loong day.  I was exhausted. Probably due to the weather (see previous post about how I feel about this weather)...and a full week with the kids I nanny.  They are great kids, it just gets exhausting.  Add to that Keller and his crankiness, dirty diapers every 2 hours, and nursing every 3 and you might begin to understand where I was around the 5 o'clock hour.  Broghan got home and took Keller and I immediately went to our room and hid crawled under the covers and slept.  That was helpful.  Broghan was amazing and gave Keller his bath, got him to sleep, cleaned the kitchen and living room AND made dinner (thank you!).

Once I finally emerged from my cocoon, Broghan and I got to talking about Keller's sleep patterns and how things needed to change.  He finally got me to see how me waking up with Keller every 3 hrs at night was very counterproductive for both of us and that Keller probably didn't really need to eat, he just wanted what he knew he could get...attention from me.  So our first move was to have Broghan get up with him instead of me since we aren't really the "cry-it-out" types.

This is how that went: BAD. Keller cried relentlessly for almost 45 minutes while Broghan was holding, rocking, walking, and snuggling him.  Finally, Broghan got tired and just laid him in his crib.  Within 10 minutes, Keller was asleep. My thought: he must have tired himself out, but I'll take it.  He woke up again at 2, this time I nursed him.  Then back to sleep until 6ish.  Broghan was again, A M A Z I N G, and took Keller for a few hours so I could sleep some more.

Saturday we adjusted and tried again.  This time, we weren't going to go at all and see what happens.  Around 8, we did bed-time routine, laid him in his crib.  Within 10 min. he was out.  Around mid-night the predictable crying began, but I held strong.  Broghan didn't even budge (must've been that male-selective hearing thing).  It was just around 30 minutes (I think....I can't see the clocks at night without my glasses so I was just basing it on how long it felt like) and he was back to sleep.  Huh.  Neat-o.  I, of course, sneaked in to make sure he hadn't been injured or something crazy and, of course, he was fine.  So I went back to sleep.  2AM, he woke- I fed- he went right back to sleep. Awesome.  He didn't wake up again until 8:30! Wowzers..

So now last night, Sunday.  And this is by far the most amazing thing to date (ok, probably not, but I'm still on this sleeping high).  We laid him down around 8:30PM, he fussed for a few minutes, then fell asleep. I heard him around mid-night for, oh, 10 minutes, then nothing.  I went to check on him and (haha) he was curled in the corner of the crib, so I moved him back to the middle and went back to bed.  2AM....nothing.  Huh. Weird. Back to sleep I guess.  Then, not until 6AM did my little man make a peep! Holy cow!

This boy made it from 8:30 until 6 without nursing.  I honestly didn't even think it was possible. But he nursed, and FELL BACK ASLEEP! What?! He didn't get up for the day until 8:30.

So yes, last night to this morning was unbelievable and I'm so dearly hoping for a repeat tonight.  I feel giddy just thinking about sleeping for more than 3 hours straight and not having to get out of bed for a whole night.  I haven't done that is almost a year!   I miss sleep and am happy to have it back in my life.  Please, please don't go away! :)

BTW: I guess we are "cry-it-out" types...never thought I'd join that crowd, but I gotta say, it's working...and it doesn't even feel mean.  But as I was saying to people earlier today, a month ago, I don't think we could have done this...so the timing is right, Keller is ready and very willing to put himself to sleep. Such a big boy!!

Lazy weekend

I know I should be reveling in the fact that we have nothing on the agenda for this weekend, but I can't help but say that I am in B O R E D.  I don't want to spend my day doing laundry or cleaning or housework of any kind.  I don't want to mow the yard or weed the garden.  It's been cloudy and on the verge of rain all weekend and I really think it puts me in a funk.  Not to say we haven't done anything this weekend. Yesterday we....darn, can't remember, but I know we went to the Renaissance Festival up in Chippewa Falls.  It was...OK.  The setting was neat, but it was slow, probably due to the weather.  And I don't know how else to say it but the people there were Weird, yes, with a capital W. We talked to some and learned that a lot of the people are obviously actors, but what about the ones visiting...just walking around...dressed in the garb? And really, it's not all Renaissance...I saw pirates, genies, gypsies, and wizarding people.  I'm not sure if all of that happened at the same time..but maybe.

Anyways, today we all got up and moving around 8:30AM.  My goal was to get to church...by 10:45.  That didn't happen.  Broghan got an invitation to play raquetball and Keller was down napping so church got scratched and plans got switched, which was OK since I got to go walk around the Open Air Art Festival that is in a near-by park.  It's similar to Art on the Lake in Excelsior, MN. I was slightly disappointed since it seemed about half the size as last years...or at least half exciting. Probably the weather again!

So here we are now, 4:15PM and just hanging around the house.  Broghan grilled up delicious buffalo burgers and I made some veggie casserole sides AND I'm sipping a small glass of some yummy chardonnay while Broghan and Keller nap on the couch.  I suppose I need to just enjoy and relax...I'm just wishing it was sunny...like they forcasted!!


P.S. When did waking up at 8:30AM start to feel like sleeping in?  Seriously..I got up and in the shower at 8:30 and felt like I was already behind on the day :/

and the men will SLEEP!

Keller was refusing to fall asleep in his own room so as we enjoyed lunch we laid him on the kitchen floor...after lunch, Broghan and Marvin decided to join in on the floor-sleeping fun! I don't really mind, since it give me time to blog...but I'm looking forward to them waking up since that means we get to head to the Renaissance Fair that is in town!! :) 

Bring on the greens

Broghan and I try and try and try to eat well.  More than just basic health, it's a lot to do with trying to heal our bodies of some things that are not top-notch.  For me, it's my sinuses, allergies, and asthma.  They are chronically a problem and I struggle daily with breathing through my nose.  

A little background: My asthma is currently "controlled" with Advair, however, I recently had a bout with a true-to-form walking pneumonia.  I only came to realize I even had a lung infection because it got to the point where my diaphragm was irritated enough that my left shoulder began hurting (what I now know is called 'referred pain'...which I HATE).  Broghan was nervous about my "left side only" pain and we ended up in the ER (really...how many times can I go to the ER in my life?!).  After blood, urine, a physical exam, a chest X-ray and an EKG they learned it was not my heart but my lung.  Stupid lung.  The only reason my pneumonia was able to go undetected for so long to the point where I ended up in an ER was because of my Advair.  Advair prevents symptoms of lung irritation (that's what asthma is...over-reaction of the lungs to stuff)...even if that irritation is due to an infection.  Ugh, it is so counter productive. I can breathe...but only if I risk infections.  Either way...I'm in an ER!  And this is the BEST they've come up with in the medical world...:/.  

Back to the point: We have been researching alternative means of controlling my airways that do not include the potential side effects of Advair (such as an increased possibility of asthma related dealth....like a more severe attack or pneumonia).  Part of what we have found is some supplementation and the other part (ok, this is the BIG part actually) is diet.  Cut, cut, cut.  That's what I need to do.  I need to cut out gluten, dairy, excess fats, processed stuff, artificial ingredients and the like.  Pretty much everything that most of us eat daily.  Now, anyone who knows us, knows we've been working on this type of diet for a few years...everything in life is a work in progress I guess.

So, today for lunch we went a little alternative and made some 'fish tacos' and Kale 'chips'.  Here's what I'm talking about:

The fish tacos are wrapped in a big leaf lettuce.  They have tomato, cucumber, sprouts, pickles & onions; the fish; mayonnaise (real stuff...not miracle whip), and a mango-wasabi sauce (only on Broghan's...I don't eat that stuff). They were quite tasty!

 The Kale chips are pieces of kale, tossed in Olive oil, lemon and sea salt.  Baked at 350 for 10 min....still not sure if I actually like them though...

SO as we continue down this path...as I wrote in the title...BRING ON THE GREENS! 

Life is all about the "P"'s

About a week ago now Keller started acting "sick".  He was tired and wanted to be held and it was pretty obvious he was coming down with a fever.  I've recently stopped taking his temperature simply for the fact that it doesn't ever do me any good other than creating worry.  We don't give medications for fevers unless a behavioral cue signals the fever is getting out of control so just that he was tired and clingy wasn't a super big deal.  It just meant more nursing, more snuggles, and more lovin'.  All of which I'm happy to offer up.

Well, moving into Sunday night last week is when I think he really peaked with his fever.  He had Poop filled diapers every time we changed him, and pretty much as soon as he got a clean one on, he'd do it again!  I am fairly certain in those 12 hours over the nighttime we went through about 8 diapers. That night he also Puked twice.  Poor little guy :/.  (and poor me I suppose since they were both down the front of me too!) His stomach and body were certainly battling something.  The best we can come up with is that he has cut three teeth in less than two weeks and that is why he's been having the fevers.  I can be pretty certain he doesn't have a viral infection since I'm not feeling sick and we are so connected, the one and only other time he's been sick, I was sick too.

Moving onto Monday, I was at the Nohelty house (where I nanny) and as I was nursing him...lo and behold, he managed to Pee up and out of the top of his diaper onto my lap! And even though I just blogged about how he can pull his diapers off, I assure you, it was nice and snug.  As I stood up, my crotch was soaked! Ugh, now it looked like I pee'd myself! Of course, Chris (the 12 yr old) got to make jokes about it for the rest of the day.

The rest of this week has progressively gotten better.  Each day the poop gets a little more like normal, the puking has now subsided, and I have only gotten pee'd on one more time (this morning actually :/).

So, point being, life is all about the P's! (at least for the time being)

This is common...right??

I'm thinking this is more common than just in our household...or at least I'm hoping so. Keller is in clothe diapers, which, yes, is probably a big part of the problem since the Velcro tabs are pretty easy to grab at. But my child LOVES to pull his little tab and let his diaper fall off. After letting Keller play on the floor in the living room for a few minutes with Broghan, I came in to find him in this...um... compromising situation. His facial expression shows just how 'distressed' he is about the whole thing!