All's Good

Cassidy's fever broke last night (phew!) and she woke us up in the middle of the night to watch Little People and eat Wheat Thins to celebrate. Thankfully she only watched it twice before climbing onto Jeremy's side of the bed and falling asleep again. Which meant Jeremy got to sleep in the big girl bed. But All is Good at Team Noonan.

Fever in the morning, Fever throughout the day

Cassidy came into our room this morning, crying with a bit of wet under her nose, "Momma, I need a tissue." We had a nice Easter with the other Cassidy and her family the night before. The girls had been running around for the last half hour before we left so my kids were beat and went to bed without any fuss last night. I got Cassidy a tissue and snuggled her up into bed with me. It was then that I noticed how hot she felt. This wasn't just a sniffle or a cold. Cassidy fell asleep again, and when she woke up I forced some food on her and gave her Tylenol. She livened up a bit after that, but managed to only jump once today. Which, if you know Cassidy means something was very wrong. She's usually climbing and jumping off of anything that sits still long enough. She took a nap in the afternoon after her second dose of Tylenol. It was hard getting her to eat food today, but we managed to get some dinner in her too. She was so pale and quiet around her normal bedtime, and we were checking WebMD to make sure we weren't missing anything. I just checked on her a scant 2 hours later, and her fever seems to be breaking. Phew. Again, we have been so fortunate that our girls have never been very sick. Here's hoping that Keira doesn't get it tomorrow as Cassidy will stay home from school again, but if she's feeling better she'll be jumping off of everything.

Dyeing Easter Eggs and Why I love Fridays

So many times I try to give you the cute and funny things that the girls did. I'm usually not so good with touching moments, and pleasant memories seem like they will be a bore to others, but I'll write them anway. ;)
I love Fridays! Cassidy goes to school, we come home and have lunch, then it's off to music class. Which both the girls love! We've been hanging around afterward the last few times and playing with the other kids on the playground. Which is great because I get some socializing in as well. Then we head home, get some dinner, and then the babysitter comes over! Woohoo! Last night Jeremy and I hit the book store, and I considered picking up a journal that I could print out my blogs and paste them into. Sort of a way to preserve all the memories in case of a server crash.
Tonght we dyed Easter Eggs. Well, Cassidy and I did. Keira was too busy running around and so Jeremy volunteered to watch TV and play harmonica to keep her busy. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but I guess tomorrow. Anyway, Cassidy did well at following directions, and we only lost 2 to being dropped. She had fun talking to the eggs. "Do you want to go in here? Yes. Ok." Then leaned in over the cup, "He says he wants to come out."

Just one of those days

A lot of stuff has been happening, but I have been too busy to blog it. Cassidy had a play date with a schoolmate of hers on Wed, and the girls played and played. Then I had a book club meeting that night, but Jeremy was late at work, so I had about 20 minutes to pass the kids off to him before heading off. Had a great time, but was feeling tired out from all my socializing today. It was one of those days when you could have taken a shower but choose to watch Live with Regis and Kelly instead. When you could have worked out, done the laundry and vacuumed during the baby's nap, but instead read emails and watched a movie you've seen 3 times before. I was tired and realized if I stayed at home I would lose my mind and the poor girls would be tortured by having to hang with me. So I took them to the library so they could run and pull off all the books they wanted without me yelling. Cassidy never likes to leave, but she decided it would be ok if she got in stroller. So we are heading out of the library, me a zombie (I think I still had mascara that I hadn't properly washed off from the night before to give me the look to suit the spirit!) the girls with spots of berry flavored applesauce on their clothes and Cassidy being fussy when I run into an acquaintance Mom (oddly enough a fellow blogger for Mothers & More). You know, someone who you don't know well enough to excuse your horrific appearance and apparent lack of hygeine on your kids. *sigh* It was just one of those days.

How to deal with your 3 year old

I've read many articles in parents magazines about taking time for yourself. How Moms will resort to things like locking themselves in the bathroom to get a few minutes to themselves, while their toddler is outside banging on door. I knew I would never resort to that, as part of our potty training we have always left doors open. But as Cassidy has become more...of a 3 year old, well, I have found myself locking myself in the bathroom, but with the laptop. In 3 minutes I can check email, read an article or a blog. Then it hits me. When you work outside the home, and you're having a bad day, you can tell everyone, "I have a headache, please contact me by e-mail only today." So I would like to start communicating with Cassidy via e-mail. That way when she wants something I would just get a nice note, "Mommy, I would like some milk". No whining, no asking half way being distracted by a toy and then finishing the thought after I've left the room. And if I say no to a request, and the fussing begins, the email would pop up "Maawwwmmiiee! I want that!" And quickly I could change my status and her email would pop up "I'm currently away from my computer now. If you are in need of immediate assistance please contact Daddy."

The banana and other mysterious food items

This entry is about our high chair. When we moved out of the company housing which had a nice simple Graco high chair we had to purchase our own high chair. We wanted something that would last. So we headed off to Toys R' Us, to surround ourselves with high chairs to make the choice. We pulled them all down, and studied them. Narrowed our choices down. Had the 2 out and were staring when another Mom came passing by. She said, "If you are trying to decide, get the Peg Pergo. I love it." (Note: price tag is much much higher on this 'Italian' brand.) It has served us well, as Keira is using it now, and Cassidy still loves to get in it. Yet, this morning, Keira drew my attention to something I was and wasn't so aware of about the chair. Keira squished up her banana and mushed it into every crevice of the thing. Now, I have to admit I'm not a clean freak like some Moms, and today it was driven home. I would like to say that I now realize I should have demanded a letter of recommendation and references from that Mom in Toys R' Us. For those with weak stomachs, stop reading now. So I get out the paper towels to get rid of the mushed nanner and start cleaning nooks and crannies. I thought I was a clean person, but as chunks of dried bread fell out along with old peas I started to wonder. I didn't feel as bad as I had to dig deeper to get at the banana because it was impossible to get my hand between the sides of the chair. I literally pulled the plastic to try and give enough room to get the towel in there. It was like flossing the high chair! Now, don't get me wrong, the tray and seat are always clean, and these 'nuggets' were coming out of parts of the chair that the kids would not be able to reach. Which is why I don't know how that stuff got in there. My advice, stick to the cheap brand of high chair that's easier to clean.

The power of drugs!

So it all started in the summer of 2001. The little stick had 2 lines, and I went in and told Jeremy we were going to have a baby. At that point, your life changes forever and you have to make sacrifices. Yeah, yeah, the baby will change things, but I'm talking about the REAL sacrifices. Because the baby brings down your immune system, I had cold after cold. The only problem, you can't take anything that might ease your suffering b/c it can affect the baby. Then for the year after Cassidy's birth, I was nursing, and again, anytime I caught something I could not take any drugs. When it finally looked like I would be able to partake of OTC's again (that's Over the Counter drugs for the grandparents who are now wondering where this is all going), we were expecting Keira, and the cycle started all over again. This week, Cassidy brought home a cold and shared it with the family. So last night, I decided that since Keira is down to 1 or 2 nursings a day that I could risk taking some cold medicine to help me breath. So I popped a Sudafed. Whoa! Maybe it was the cold, but I had crazy dreams, waking up every few hours and thankfully a clear nasal passage. When I was asleep I was out like a light. I think I might need to *ease* back into the OTC's.

Props to my blogging brother, Aaron (and Gayle too)

It all started with my ol' college roomie, Gayle. No, I mean it ALL started with Gayle. You see, because Gayle's roomie moved out on her, and I was over 21, the Housing Dept. of Penn State decided that I should move in with Gayle. Turns out the new room was one floor above Jeremy's, and the rest is history, at least for Team Noonan being formed. Blogging though began because of Gayle too. See, she kept telling me to go check out her little bro's blog, and I did. After all he's sort of like my brother too. Well, we share a birthday, not the year (he was in diapers in the 80's instead of rocking out to the Eurythmics) but the day. Well, one thing lead to another, and I finally had to comment on one of his blogs, which forced me to start my own. Ok, now the rest is history. He has a very witty blog (some call it snarky) and you can get to his site by clicking on the title of this entry.
I'm not sure what a single guy in NYC finds interesting about suburban life in WA. Maybe it's the shared bday thing. Anyway, I had to give props to my blogging brother and Gayle (our devoted fan) too.

BabySocks coming soon!

Today was quite a busy day. The whole fam hopped in the car and took Cassidy to a full day of preschool, so that the rest of us could drive down to Tacoma for a meeting with the apparel manufacturer. We had to go over a few things, like measurements and making sure labels would work, etc. Then they whipped up a sample for us. Well, it sounds like it didn't take long at all, but we were there for close to 2 hours. Mind you, this meeting started about the time Keira likes to take her nap. She did very well though until the last half hour, but she got to sleep like a champ on the ride home though. We were able to see our fleece, which was really cool. The colors look even better on a big roll then on the little swatch. We also learned that we will need to order one more thing and then it's off to production. Looks like 6 weeks before we have product. *sigh* It's hard to wait when it's been in our minds for so long. Sort of like waiting for Keira to arrive, seemed like the day would never come! LOL!

Mom is fine

We had to go to the pediatrican's office a couple of times for them to check Cassidy's blood pressure. They got an unusual reading during her normal visit, but everything is normal now. So this morning, Cassidy started checking me out with my reading light. She checked my ears, arms, legs and back. Very seriously the entire time. Then she took a deep breath, and announced to me, "Mommy, you're fine". Phew!

Introducing, Wendy

Hello Everyone! It's probably about time to introduce you to the newest member of Team Noonan. Her name is Wendy. She goes every where with us and often makes us wait around when we want to leave somewhere. She rides in the car between Cassidy and Keira, Cassidy makes sure to buckle her up before we can buckle Cassidy in. Who is Wendy? She's Cassidy's imaginary friend. Taken from the Peter Pan story, as often Peter Pan, Jon and Michael join us on adventures. After leaving a sandwich shop last weekend, I was wondering what Cassidy was doing staring some stairs. That's when she informed that Wendy had fallen down and hurt her head and then yelled down (at the top of her lungs), "Wendy, are you ok?" Or walking through a parking lot, she makes sure that Wendy holds on to her hand. It sounds all cute until Cassidy throws a toy and says, "Wendy said". Now, I'm just trying to figure out how you discipline an imaginary friend.

Enjoying the last of the sunshine

I know, spring is here, or on it's way. But it seems we have our weather a little backwards here in the Pacific Northwest. We've been having gorgeous sunny mid 60's days with today hitting 72. Not typical weather for this time of year. Yesterday we had an impromptu block party when a bunch of the neighbors gathered to play on our basketball hoop and with the plum tree blossoms. The neighbor girls and Cassidy loved pretending it was snow falling on them. Why didn't I think to grab a camera? Then today, Keira and I headed to the bookstore for story time, and walked over to do some kids clothes shopping. Finally we picked up Cassidy and then Daddy to have lunch together. Both girls took a nap when we got home. Woohoo! So I worked on the preschool quilt a bit. (I was nervous that the squares would look too busy, but I think it's going to look good.) Then it was back outside to play until Daddy got home. The clouds started rolling in, but the weather was still warm. We are expecting rain tonight and for the rest of the week, but it's hard to believe after the weeks of sun we've had.

A day off!

Somewhere in the last 3 years I completely lost my mind. So is it a surprise that I volunteered to make a quilt for Cassidy's preschool class when I've barely made a wall hanging quilt? I guess not. Well, it sounded like fun at the time, and hey, a way for me to do something that I WANT to do without having guilt. *sigh* It sounded so good, until I got a timetable, and realized that the end product would be auctioned off at the end of the year to highest bidder. WHAT??!! Not just some fun stuff for the kids to play on. Now given, the teacher keeps saying, "Don't worry, you'll have pleny of help." and "Don't worry, it will look good." Of course, I always feel like our preschool teacher would be cursing and starting fights if I got her drunk enough. She's just sooo nice and sooo sweet that I feel like she must curse like a sailor at home. Ok, where am I going with this? To quilting class. I decided to sign up for a quilting class to make sure I got my skills up before making the quilt that will go in someone elses home (unless I can convince Jeremy to outbid all the other parents). So today I was out of the house for 4 hours straight!! Four hours. Not once did anyone cry during the class, even when their bobbin thread broke. No one needed their diaper changed or asked for a snack. When I got home, Jeremy detailed some of the drama of the afternoon (Cassidy peeing in the living room, Keira fussing, the girls fighting over a toy). I smiled, knowing that this is how it is just about everyday. I'm so thankful that it's two part class and will have a day off next weekend too!

Carpet Shampooing

Having 1 dog, 2 cats and 2 kids our carpets have seen better days. We've talked about doing something, but have been taking our time figuring out what to do. Today I have an extremely busy day. Jeremy had to leave early, so I had to take both girls in the car to drop Cassidy off at school, then I will head back early for Birthday Circle so she can finally celebrate with her friends and finally after some lunch we will head to music class. Thank goodness Jeremy and I have date night! So imagine my stress levels when I finally have Keira fed and go upstairs to find a naked Cassidy with both her shampoo bottles making beautiful pools on the carpet. Which is when she put her hands in the shampoo, to whril it around like finger paint and splatter little hand prints on more carpet. So now, I really wonder what we should do about the carpets. At least they smell like watermelon!

My Swedish Daughter

Shortly after Cassidy started talking, we noticed that on occasion she would speak in an unusual cadence. It was cute, but we realized it sounded like she had a Swedish accent. She didn't do it always, otherwise it would be on video already. As she has progressed in her language, it seems that it had disappeared ... until this morning. We asked what she would like for breakfast, and she replied in a Swedish accent, "I would like some pancakes." Jeremy and I looked at each other. There it is again. Now, I can see it happening if she had ever heard one before, but we don't have the Muppet Show's Chef on TV anymore I know it wasn't there. I checked and Baby Einstein's Language Nursery says nothing about Swedish, Norwegian, or even Finnish for that matter. We watch a lot of BBC America, so I could see her asking people to come up the apples and pairs to see her room, but still no shows about Swedes. I think I will be checking our family lineage next.

Healthy Kids

I have to say I'm very thankful to have healthy kids. Cassidy had one very high fever when she was 3 months old (after getting her shots), but that was it. Keira had some trouble breathing the night she was born. Well, she was fine, but it LOOKED like she was having trouble. The worst they've ever been is when we had the "plague" that Nana Noonan left us. Sorry, Nana. But in all, that's it. Some sniffles and such, but no 102+ fevers in the middle of the night, no vomitting for days. Knocking on every piece of wood I can find. But then something happened at Cassidy's 3 year visit. Her blood pressure in one arm was higher than the other. So the doctor said she would call a cardiologist and see what they had to say and get back to us. So this weekend, while I was out, they called to book an appt to remeasure her blood pressure and discuss what it meant. **FEAR** Suddenly I felt concerned about all the McDonald's she's had (you all have read my previous blogs, you know we keep them in business!). When we went back in, her blood pressures came back the same in both arms, and everything sounded good. The doctor said she is now very confident that she doesn't have a heart problem, and we will check again next week to make absolutely sure. Today Keira had a slight fever. I'll take that over open heart surgery any day.