Sunshine and Snow - Part II

So in the way that my last post stated that it was expected to have some snow in early April - this was taking in late April - when snow should have been GONE! In Eau Claire, WI I believe our last snow storm was....oh wait - we're supposed to get snow TOMORROW! (May 1st).  But I know for sure that in our area, the last substantial snow fall was April 23rd of this year.  I know because I talked with my dad that day and he said that in the 40 years he had been plowing snow - this was the latest he'd ever had to do it!  Crazy stuff I tell ya!

Until Next Time...

Sunshine and Snow - Part I

These were from early April - when it wasn't surprising to still have some snow on the ground.  The sun did show its face and of course we took advantage and got outside.. don't be fooled though - this little excursion probably only last about 45 minutes.  But we had fun and burned some energy off!

Until Next Time...

My new favorite pillow (from Rae)

Really, I was just trying to prop her up on the corner of the couch...but she apparently REALLY liked the pillow :). 

Until Next Time...

Learning to Knit..

As part of my 2013 goals - I wanted to learn how to knit.  My sister (hello A1!) (Anna...not the sauce) who likes to keep a keen eye on this blog mentioned my goal to my mother who was cleaning out my grandmothers house and happened to find all of her knitting stuff.  So Easter weekend I was gifted some needles and some yarn.  Thanks to YouTube and Google - I learned how to knit...a little.  Here was one of my first attempts.  I'm still in the practicing mode - working on thread tensions and spacing and keeping the same number of loops for each row (I always end up adding one!) but all in all I'd say its a good start.  I've realized after researching some designs that I may end up needing more needles/threads but that will come with time.  I'm in no hurry over here :). 

Until Next Time...

Happy Easter!

Hey! I actually had this drafted...at least the pictures were uploaded!.  

Easter was a little earlier than usual this year - happening in March - so even though the snow stayed until almost May - in late March there was A LOT of it and the night before Easter we got a little warm spurt with rain...which created ice...which kids were expected to run? on?. Yea.  Anyways, here was the now Annual Excelsior Easter Egg Hunt for the Reilly kids.  It was Lucy's first year and Keller's second.  If you can remember back to the video from last year, Keller didn't quite understand the concept of picking up eggs - instead he just ran around.  This year, both kids did well - but I will say that Lucy got almost double the number of eggs as Keller since she understood the concept of getting as many eggs as possible better than him.  Thankfully, my children are still unaware that those little eggs come with something inside and this momma was able to skillfully empty all of the eggs without either child noticing or getting upset about it. :) yea me!

What Easter holiday would be complete without coloring of the eggs??

I wish I could access Broghan's phone's photos online...but I may have to end up getting them the old fashioned way.  He has pictures of the kids in their "dressed up" Easter clothes of church.  As I wrote in my last post - April was a month of illness for me - but it really started in March - so Easter weekend saw this momma down and out.  I even missed church - which is saying something because Easter mass is literally one of my favorites of the year to attend. 

Until Next Time....

The last day of April...

So I didn't miss a month! Yippee!

As always when I've been away from this for so long I feel such a pang of guilt! I should be better at keeping up with these updates on here...but alas - life gets busy, and oh wait - that's right - this momma got sick! :(.  Pneumonia kicked my butt this April and thanks to a secondary infection I took my first round of Antibiotics in three years!! I was hoping to go longer...but still a pretty great accomplishment considering they were almost a quarterly thing between 2006 and 2010 (crazy stuff...I know).

Anyways, I think thanks in part to Spring 2013 FINALLY showing up - life has been seeming a little more in balance than it did for most of April.  I think the combo of the crappy weather and the inability to walk, talk and breathe put me in kind of a fog for most of the month.  SO SO thankful that is over!

So not onto updating.  I'm hoping to crank all of this out tonight (yea...right!) but if not, within the next few days.  Each of the kiddos deserves a nice big update on them since they are all at such fun, exciting, unexpectedly awesome stages.   I'm loving them all to pieces right now and don't want them to keep growing!  (you hear that kids - STOP GROWING!) (I think this is every mother's wish at some point..)


But...here - we - go!

Until Next Time....

And we got a bleeder!

Okay...glad to make it to morning with a relatively good nights sleep! Yesterday (as I posted) was ridiculous with the kiddos...eight days without getting out and about (now on day nine) was pushing this momma over an edge! So when it came time for dinner...it didn't happen! We needed groceries; so little Lucy & Rae still were able to get to bed on time (thanks to nursing) and Keller had been asking to join me at the store...no big deal - he'd get a late bedtime was all.

Well...5 minutes into our shopping trip, the little kiddo is running around (as usual), trips, falls, smacks his forehead on the cart and gets a puncture wound.  Blood, screams, panick..oh joy.  Thanks in part to basic first aid knowledge and in part to motherly instinct - I immediately stuck a thumb on it and kept pressure on.  Luckily enough a woman who was an EMT was there and was nice enough to get us some wipes and while not trying to sway us - simply said it looked "okay" - which was enough to give me some peace.  Also lucky, it stopped bleeding relatively quickly. So we finished shopping (of course)...came home to show dad..then off to the ER.

Two and a half hours and two stitches later, we were home. Bleh! Keller did great and so did the staff at Mayo ER.  He doesn't seem to be showing any signs of serious head trauma...he slept great....but he is a little goofty this morning (which could be the nine days inside!)

So all in all, he and his sister Lucy will have matching scars on their foreheads...although Lucy is winning in the stitch count 3-2.

Until Next Time..