What A Day!!!

I had one of those days that needs to be documented due to pride of survival!

We had an air conditioning repair man scheduled to be here this morning. (When it did get hot enough here last weekend, the air didn't work at all. I didn't mind and it reminded me of the good old cheap college apartment days.) It got to be time for me to go to a doctor appointment and I called the place to see where he was and if we could reschedule. We rescheduled for noon. 1:15 I called to see where he was. Once again, it is now rescheduled for tomorrow at 8!

On top of that, Nate had to fast and get a CT scan for some sore throat problem that has since gone away. We both were a bit freaked out all day as we waited for the results, reminiscing of when I was a new Mayo employee and they discovered the AV fistula in my brain.

Ely was incredibly fussy today, must be teeth again. Even the Mormons thought I was due for a visit at just the "perfect" time. While Ely was crying, they had the nerve to ask if they could do anything. I was tempted to hand her to them at that point.

I picked Nate up from work, went through the nearest drive through and pull into the driveway to hear the sound of the air whooshing out of the back tire. Nate put the spare tire on, I headed out the door for my regular Wed. night swim/bike training. I returned in time for Nate to head out the door and me to put the kids to bed. So I have tomorrow to face. Air conditioning guy, getting the tire fixed, buying groceries, and getting together all morning for maybe the last time with a friend who is moving away this Saturday.

Here are the positives about today though:

• Nate is perfectly healthy! Praise God!!!
• The tire waited till we got home to blow
• My training tonight went great vs 2 nights ago where I came home crying because I was so worn out

My friend, Jen, who I train with, reminded me of a statement I made in a testimony speech I recently gave at church: We may have more than we can handle, but God helps us handle it every step of the way. Amen to that!

More on Elyana

If you are family and happen to read this blog, here's another idea for Elyana's birthday...anything Dora or Diego. She's been requesting to watch Diego. We welcome this because it's a nice break from having to watch Teletubbies or something! Here's some of our most recent pictures. One is of her loving her doll and the next one is of her after she dressed herself.

Finally Hot Enough For Sprinkler Fun!

Here's a picture of the girls dressed for church this morning:



Here is a picture of the girls playing in the sprinkler for the first time this summer. Ely still wasn't sure what to think about it. She insisted I put her sandals on because she didn't like her feet getting dirty. I was made aware that they both need new suits, they were way too small!

Summer Begins!

Well, Mikayla had her last day of preschool this last week. She will be attending Elton Hills Elementary School in the fall. I don't know yet if she will be afternoon or morning Kindergarten yet. It hasn't hit me that summer is here (probably because it isn't warm yet). Here is a picture of Mikayla and her good friend, Molly on their end of the year field trip. It's the only picture I got because the camera batteries died shortly after.



Little by little, the girls are playing together more. Here is a cute one of them playing computer together:



Here's an update on me. It looks like I am doing TWO triathlons this summer. My first is here in Rochester on June 29th (Elyana's birthday). The other is July 13th (Nate's birthday) in WI. As some of you know, I wrote an article in Rochester Women's Magazine on the various stages of triathlon training. The publisher of the magazine offered to sponsor me in both races if I wear their shirt with the logo. What an opportunity! My only issue right now is, I'm really worn out from this degree of training. I miss going out for a casual jog or a bike ride and it not having to be a certain amount of miles or time. It's very time consuming and I often feel guilty from my time away from the family. I guess prayers for health, endurance, and safety (an injury this close to the races would be bad) at this point could be used.

Nate continues to adjust to his new job at Mayo Clinic. I'm so proud of him and glad that we have some awesome benefits and job security. Nate is on the church softball league again this spring. I'm annoyed because I haven't gotten to see a game yet. I've been too busy working at church or training. Or, it's been too cold and rainy.

I've been busy signing Mikayla up for different things to keep her busy this summer. In a few weeks, she will take swimming lessons for 2 weeks. Then, she will have a week where she attends a gymnastic camp for 1/2 days with her friend, Molly. In July she and I are taking a pre-K reading readiness class for an hour a day for a week. Then she will spend each afternoon for a week in her favorite nature camp with her friend, Heidi. In August, she'll have another gymnastics camp with her friend Molly again. If I still get bored (ha!), there are always Wednesday activities at the library (puppet shows, sing-a-longs, etc.). Tues, there is a group of friends meeting at various parks around town for playground/picnic fun. Yup, we should stay busy. I already know that summer will fly by and I have to send my baby off to school. : (

Elyana's Birthday Wish List

Hey family,
My birthday is next month and I'm turning 2! Here are some ideas of some things I might want for my birthday. Hope this link works for you:

http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=86181308132

Love ya!
--Elyana

Mother's Day

It was a wonderful Mother's Day, considering Elyana is cutting her final sets of molars. We haven't slept through the night in several days! I got to sleep in this am and when I came downstairs, Mikayla was coloring really hard. She finally finished and brought me a picture. After handing it to me, she turns to Nate and says, "That was hard work, is Mother's Day almost over?" It was only 8:00! (That's right-for all you folks who don't have kids...I slept in and it was only 8:00!)

Nate and I each managed a nap today and then we went to Walmart and I picked out some flowers for our front flower bed. Mikayla helped me plant them when we got home. Here's some pictures of the flowers. It should look even better when they start to bloom and spread. This is the brick flower bed that I actually built last summer. I was never satisfied with how it turned out, so I now have an idea of putting a small white picket fence in front of it.



Then, while Nate rested again (he took the brunt of getting up with Ely), I got this idea to put some water in the playhouse sink and hand the girls paint brushes. They had a blast and it bought me a little more time outside. Here's some pictures of them:



Oh yeah, forgot to add, we each got to eat whatever we wanted today for dinner. We went to the McDonald's drive through for happy meals for the girls. We went to Erbert and Gerbert Subs for my favorite. Then, Nate had a maid rite (spelling?) from DQ. We then lucked out when they informed us that we could have a free Sunday since it was Mother's Day. Awesome. I love America! The even better part was no dishes to clean up!

A Sample of How Suzanne's Mind Works

So, Mikayla informed me today that leprechauns are what makes the stop lights change to green. They must be very busy little people. So my mind started to think further about the leprechauns... Pretending that they are real and this would be their job, they must also be in charge of the video/photo footage of when you run through a red light since these cameras sit on top of the stop lights. This means, that they have to be government employees. They must get paid well then to help support their little families. Do they get paid in pots of gold? Also, if the government assigns such jobs to leprechauns, what other little creatures do we not know about?!

See? This is why our kids have such crazy imaginations. I must have been a nut as a kid if I can think like this as an adult!

Here are some random recent pictures of the girls. I captured some rare moments where Mikayla was reading to Elyana...

Elyana is Too Smart!

If you have read my previous posting about our Roomba vacuum, you would recall that Elyana gets upset when it's not in use (recharging at it's base). Tonight she was pointing to it saying, "please, please." I told her, "No, mommy already used robot vacuum today." I continue doing the dishes when I hear her say, "uh oh!" I turn around and see her shaking our back door rug all over the kitchen floor. Dirt was flying everywhere. Then she again points to the vacuum and says, "Please?" Very clever, of course the clean freak I am, I had to use it to get the floor clean. She was very proud of herself!

Potty Training Continues

Attempts at potty training continue. Here's a cute picture of Mikayla showing her little sister how it's done. It's also a great blackmail picture when they start dating!



Mikayla got her hair cut short for the first time today. Had to take a picture and share it with you all.

Mikayla's Comment

It was pouring rain today and I decided we'd all hop in the van and pick up Nate from work so he wouldn't have to wait for the bus in the rain. I'm trying to hurry the kids along in the car and as usual, Kayla's taking her time. I'm fastening Elyana into her carseat and I go back in the house to find Mikayla. I get impatient and start to yell, "Mikayla, get out here now! I swear, we'll leave without you! Where are you?!" I hear a distant, "Mom! I'm already in the car!" I trot out to the van and chuckle to myself and say, "That was funny." Mikayla's response was, "Funny for me, not for you!"

Washing Machine Treasures

Okay, this is a discussion question to all my fellow mom friends...

What "treasures" have you found in your washing machine or dryer that have fallen out of the pants pockets of your children's clothes?

Here's my list starting with yesterday's discovery:

• Several pieces of now clean tree bark
• Loose change
• The occasional shredded Kleenex
• Rocks
• Miniature Barbie Babies (Just found these lodged in our Roomba vacuum last week. Guess they could use a good cleaning after that adventure)
• Stickers that have now become pretty goopy and are now stuck to all the clothes

Here's how I know it came from the kids pockets...if you find yourself saying out loud, "What in the world?" and you hesitate as you lean in to see what it is--then it's from the kids pockets.

If it's shredded Kleenex, then it's probably from my pockets and it's a reminder of my role as mom. Chasing after little runny noses on a regular basis.

If it's loose change, it's probably from my husband's pockets and then I declare, "Finder's Keepers!" I consider it a tip for all my hard work and put it in my own wallet!

irobot Roomba Vacuum

Our roomba vacuum has been on the fritz lately. Elyana thinks it is human or something because when it does stop or is recharging, she gets upset. "Uh, oh baby!" she says. She points to it and says, "please, please." When it's on, she follows it from room to room. So, I wanted to get it fixed quickly, especially because I'm tired of vacuuming all the dirt and rocks the kids have been dragging in. I had to go online to customer service and see what they suggest for what to do when your vacuum goes in the same circle over and over until the battery dies out. This cracked me up so much I had to share it with you. I've copied and pasted it from the internet:
This sounds "dirty." I looked up what my roomba vacuum was doing and this is what they suggest...

Circling Behavior 2: Roomba backs up briefly and spins in circles until the battery runs out.

How To Fix: Roomba’s bumper sensor is likely obstructed or dirty; hold the Roomba in the air by the handle and _*slap the bumper briskly*_ several times to dislodge any debris in the bumper sensor.

So, I spanked our robot vacuum and to my surprise, it's working again.