Whadda Crazy Month!

The month of March started off with a visit to Katie's G.I. doctor.

(See here to revisit her issues)

Katie's most recent labs weren't spectacular and she was still having issues.

It was decided that just targeting the celiac disease was not working and that she does indeed have both celiac AND crohn's.

This was not happy news as this meant that her medications would have to get stronger.

She's on a steroid to get her symptoms under control (which brings mood swings, insomnia and other fun side effects) and a immunomodulator (an immune system suppressant).

The immunomodulator can effect bone marrow, liver, kidneys and as such requires frequent blood tests.

Pokies are not a favorite of Katie's.
We have some numbing cream to help with the ouchies though.
It seems to help.
A tiny bit.

We were also advised to have Mikey tested for the chance of celiac through blood testing.  The results should be in shortly.

Annnnndddd, 'cause I LOVE having my kids poked and prodded, I signed them up to be retested for their food allergies.  It's been years since we've tested them.
Maybe there are some new allergies....
...Maybe some of the old allergies are gone....
....Maybe...

On to happier things!

Mikey had his V.I.P. day at school.

He got to share some facts and answer questions about himself.

It was fun to watch him be the center of attention.
He was so serious.

Here is his "All About Mikey" poster.

After his little presentation, we passed out a special treat to his class and a goody bag full of Avengers thingies.

"Whaddaya mean my actual birthday isn't for, like, 4 months?"

That same day was the Family Bingo Night event for our school.

For some reason, I volunteered to chair it this year.

Ugh.  It was A LOT of work.

But, the kids love it......sigh.

We held it at the local high school cafeteria and it was packed!!!

We ended up making about $700 profit from it, even though it was supposed to be a wash.

So, that's good news.

This is what it looked like from the stage.

I even recruited Huzbend to create a bingo call sheet app for me so that people would know what numbers were called.  We projected it on a big screen.

He was the official bingo number recorder, while at the same time checking all of our bingo cards for BINGOs.

The kids had a great time, but I was SO glad the event was over.

The next day we paid a visit to the traveling Cirque du Soliel show, Kurios.

It was fantastic.

If you have the chance, or the dough (expensive!!! Yikes!)...GO!

Katie ate cotton candy for the first time and fell in love.

Mikey hated it.

"Yaaayyy!  More for me!  : )"

And then, one nice Saturday afternoon, we paid a visit to a local park and brought some bikes along.

Mikey requested that his training wheels be taken off.

So, they were.

One push and he did it.

Rode like a champ.

Took him just a few more tries and then this happened.....

 

He couldn't wait to "ride in the circle" at home.

Here he is showing off his skills.

There was a Skate Night PTA event we decided to attend.

Mikey did okay for his first time.

It's very hard to hold up a 5 year old and try to remember how to skate at the same time.

He almost wiped me out a few times and my arms were killing me by the end of the night.

I managed to soften the blow of all of his falls, except one last one.

He was standing by himself and WHAM! fell right onto his butt.

After that, and a few tears, he was done for the night.

Katie jumped into her skates, jumped out onto the skate deck and did not look back.

She had a great time (and some hard falls!) and wants to go back again.

Here's some Crazee Katie skating technique.

Look for red shirt and leopard print pants.

What else would you wear skating?

And then, there's Ralph.

Yep.  Ralph.

He's a good dog.  Really, he is.

Just a big pain in the butt sometimes.

On a positive note, I think he could give Terminix a run for their money.

Emerald City Comiccon was coming up and we needed a place for Ralph to spend the day.

We decided to try boarding him as a test run for some vacations coming up.

Well, turns out that Ralph had many issues according to the lady that owns the boarding place.

This place is "open format", which means there are no kennels that the dogs stay in.  They have big yards to run in with other dogs and then every couple of hours they take a break.

At night, they sleep in a communal doggie living room, unless they're a puppy and then they sleep in a crate.

Here's the feedback I got:

Ralph loves people more than dogs.  He has separation anxiety.

When he does hang with dogs, he doesn't have good manners and annoys them (i.e. mounts them constantly).

He jumps on people (he hit some worker in the nuts), whines when alone, uses his weight to push over gates and refused to enter his crate at night.

Annnnnd, he's overweight.

Dude has issues.

Well, issues when he's not with us.

I knew that he was a Mama's Boy.

That he was a bit, uh, big boned.

That he got overexcited when meeting people.

Just didn't think it was a problem.

Guess it is, when he isn't home.

Needless to say, he survived the weekend.

He seemed fine when I picked him up, even after all the comments I got from the owner.

Sigh.

We've got a lot to work out before we go away.

So, while Ralph was experiencing separation anxiety, we were on our way to the Emerald City Comiccon.

Wampas!

Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, Riders of Rohan, Gondorians, etc.!

Tiamat, Dragon Lady, OH MY!

Comicon is pretty awesome.

Fun and super, super, super crowded.

They have a kids area with all sorts of stuff kids like.

Like booths to have your photo taken.....

....with silly props.

And legos.  Lots and lots of legos.

(We actually ran into some fellow geek neighbors.

The two Dr. Who's, Leia and Luke below)

Even full sized Artoo units made out of legos that move around and beep at you!

And don't get me started on the Ewoks.

If you've never had a run in with the 501st Legion.

I suggest you search them out.

Then the Starship Troopers (along with the requisite Bug) entered the building and made their way down this tight hallway near some bathrooms.

Only at comicon.....

Oh yeah.

We saw No Face.

He tried to give the kids gold coins.

Mikey, remembering what happened in the movie, was thinking twice about his choice to take the coin.

He gave it back.

Black Manta was there!

Outrageous!

And this dude.

I mean, who IS that?

Right before we left we came face to face with a life-sized MODOK and some of his minions.

The Batman and Joker were intrigued......

Joker was very pleased to meet a villain that looked so ridiculously evil. 

Batman, on the other hand, had been tipped off by that dude in the red metal suit and decided to take matters into his own hands.......

KA-POW!!!!

We decided that it was time to head home.

Walking through the parking garage, some people were gushing over the kids.

"OH MY GOD!  A KID JOKER!  OH!  AND LOOK, KID BATMAN!!!"

It had happened a few times during the day.

Mikey turned around and said,

"Hi!  You can take a picture of us, you know!"

The Joker enjoyed the days entertainment and vowed to return next year, pie in hand.

Batman told us that it was, "Awesome" and then cuddled with his Yoshi while skimming through a comic book based on a role playing game.

"Smile for the camera, Batsy!"

Love and Muck

The first week of February brought with it the schools annual Science Fair and Art Walk and an ear infection, with the requisite antibiotics, for Katie!

I was over managing the Art Walk portion of the event, but snuck away to take a few photos of the kids with their science projects.

Mikey did his project on the Universe.

He had some questions about it.

So, we did some research and created his board.

He was very proud.

Katie wanted her project to some how/some way involve Ralph.

As all things, according to Katie, should.

Ralph is number one in Katie's world right now, as she frequently reminds us.

When asked if a boat with our family was sinking and she could only save one person she would answer,
"Ralph, even though he is not a person."

We looked up some experiments you could do on your pets and settled on testing Ralph's color vision.

Speaking of Ralph........

Our vacuum is dying a slow, painful, hair choked death.

February 12th was Mikey's 100th Day of Kindergarten.

They celebrated by doing lots of counting.

He brought in 100 Lego pieces to count.

He informed me, quite loudly, when he got off the bus that afternoon that we (meaning me) had somehow miscounted twice and he brought 101 pieces instead.  

Whoops.

He assured me that at least that was better than only bringing 99 pieces.

No matter!  He brought home a silly hat.

"I'm 100 Days Brighter!"

Katie doesn't bring home silly hats as much anymore.

I have a feeling that next year, she won't make any at all.

How sad....she's getting so big.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.....

February 13th was Valentine's Day Party Day at school.

The kids like to call it, "Valentine's Day Eve."

Katie's class had a pancake breakfast in the morning and Comfy Cozy reading time in the afternoon where they got to wear PJ's, bring blankets and snuggle down for reading.

I had to bring Katie her own g.f. pancakes, but she was able to enjoy the toppings that were there.

Whipped cream, chocolate chips, maple syrup...

OH MY!

Can you say hyper?

And then, in the afternoon, it was Mikey's turn for a party.

Once again, I was on cookie duty.

Little did they know that not only were the cookies allergy safe for Mikey, but they were gluten free too!

('Cause I knew there would be leftover cookies to bring home to Katie)

It's hilarious to see the kids pile on the frosting and sprinkles.  Some of their cookies end up at a height of about 2 to 3 inches by the time they're done.

Mikey's wasn't so bad.....

Not sure if this is a, "OMG, this cookie is SOOO GOOOOD!" look or a, "OMG, I am feeling SO SICK right now!" look.

Either way, he finished the whole cookie.

And then the following day, it was time for more goodies.

Actual Valentine's Day!

Huzbend picked me up some fancy chocolate and made me a card.

"They've got red in 'em!"

"Whooooaaa! SKIT-TOLES!"

(that's the way he reads skittles)

They got quite the sweet haul.

(Thanks everyone!)

Later that day, the weather was looking good so we went for a hike.

Ralph came too.

He got some love from the puddles and saw his first horse, which he barked at.

The hike took a while.

There were some G.I. issues.....we're not sure what happened.

Either Katie got glutened by sharing a water bottle with a sandwich eating Mikey, or her Crohn's was acting up due to some chocolate intake or the antibiotics were not jiving with her system...who knows.  But she was a trooper and finished the hike running on just about empty.

After a post-hike refuel snack, the kids hopped on the back of the Trail-a-Bike for a Mountain Bike Mud Extravaganza with Huzbend.

Mikey did NOT like the mud.

At one point.

He had to put his foot down and it got stuck in the mud.

And there was LOTS of mud.

Katie was up next.

She, on the other hand, LOVED the mud and ending up riding two times.

"Again!  Again!"

That evening, Huzbend started a new Valentine's tradition.

You get to choose whatever you want for dinner.

The only rule being that it has to fill you up enough so you can get to sleep that night and it can't be candy.

Katie chose:  Carrots, Snap Peas, French Fries and Cake.

Mikey chose: Carrots, Tortellini with white sauce and Cake.

Here they are enjoying their dinners.

Turns out they just ate cake.

2 cupcakes each (not pictured below).

This week the kids have been on Mid-Winter Break.

The first half of this week was sunny and 60.

We took the opportunity to go to a nearby park to play.

Instead of spending hours at the playground though, they decided to explore the park.

That worked for me.  

Ralph got a decent walk instead of hanging around outside the playground whining because he couldn't play in there too.

The kids had a good time pretending they were "cool looking statues".

We haven't done much this break.  Just hung around mostly.

Park visit, helped at old preschool open house, a playdate, visited Huzbend at work and spent one WHOLE DAY cleaning up the kids rooms.

Kinda boring.  Oh well.  Calm before the storm maybe?

Next week starts up a busy period....my big school Bingo event, of which I'm the chair, is coming up.  I've been working on it since September.  I can't wait for it to be over.

Katie's got two new after school clubs that she's starting - Science Club and Ukelele Club - in addition to our ongoing after school activities.

It's gonna be a crazy for about a month.  So, I would guess and say that you might not see an update on here until like the end of March or something.  If that.

Oh.  And, barring any kid sicknesses, Huzbend and I will be going to dinner for our one millionth anniversary that passed on February 2nd tomorrow evening.

Think no-kid-sick thoughts......

January?

I kinda blew it for January.

I jumped straight from Christmas to, like, the Super Bowl on Feb. 1st.

There WAS stuff that happened in January.

There's a PTA national Arts contest called Reflections.  Katie entered a piece and it was displayed at our school district celebration along with other entries from the district.  She was so proud.

And this happened.....

Mikey lost his first tooth!!!!

It had been loose for a while, but not so loose that it was coming out any time soon.

And then, one Friday morning, Mikey was upstairs playing.

Play abruptly stopped for a visit to the bathroom.

The sink ran for an exorbitant amount of time.

Next thing I know, he walked down the stairs with a sad look on his face and then broke into tears.

He opened his mouth and pointed at his now missing tooth.

I was excited, but he was clearly not.  It hurt a lot, he told me.

After a big question with no answers session, I finally got what had happened.

There was this small Lego piece, you see, stuck to a big Lego board.....

He couldn't get the small piece off the board and decided to use his teeth to pry it loose.

Annnnnd, his tooth popped out.

I found the tooth on the floor of Katie's room right next to the lego board.

After a little TLC, all was good.

I'm not sure what this is about.

The kids wanted to sleep in laundry baskets one night.

For Mikey, it lasted about one book and then he was up in his bed.

 
Katie lasted a little longer, but also decided beds were more comfortable than laundry baskets.

The end of January was spent working on Science Fair projects.

Katie used Ralph for an experiment.

You'll have to wait until the next entry to see what her project was.

Mikey did a project too.

It was also warm (and dry) enough to break out the Trail-a-Bike and head on out to the park to play.

Katie and Mikey found an awesome climbing tree at the park and climbed up pretty far.

They climbed up so far that Mikey needed to be rescued.

Katie got to ride the Trail-a-bike too.

I guess all the park action was too much and Mikey ended up getting pretty sick and going to the Urgent Care center at about 2am in the morning.  Again.

My kids like to get really sick in the middle of the night.

He was actually doing really good in this picture.  So good, in fact, that the doctor sent us home with the all clear.

An hour after we got home he began throwing up every hour or so.

Good times.

Deflated

I thought I was oh so clever with that title above.

Turns out the news media beat me to it.

Oh well.

I swear that you could physically feel the disappointment of millions of Seattle fans (and Pats haters) last night.

There was something in the air.  It was palpable.
Like the weight of unfulfilled expectation was falling from the sky.

A cloud of silent sadness descended on all of Western Washington.

Another fantastic, nail-biting, amazing game that came to an unbelievable (and not in a good way) end.

Mikey and Katie were supporting the Seahawks AND the Patriots.

The Seahawks, because we live here and the Patriots, because our family is from New England and Matty likes them.

Mikey told me today that he was sad that the Hawks lost and he thought that it would be better if both teams could've won.  They could share the trophy and then nobody would be sad.

And so, Seahawks fans today are walking around like zombies.

Not many smiles.

Lots of sighs and "WHY's".

I was thinking this morning, during my walk with Ralph, of a way to easily sum up the feelings of the fans.

This is what popped into my head.

I'll let you work out how it fits.

Phil it up, baby and tell me where it's at!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Now, this Second Day of February, Candlemas Day in the year Two Thousand and Fifteen, being the One Hundred and Twenty Ninth Annual Trek of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, United States of America...

Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of All Prognoticators, was awakened from his burrow at 7:28am by his Handlers, John Griffiths and Ron Ploucha and by the cheers of his thousands of steadfast and faithful followers...

Phil waved to his fans, gazed at the sky and around his stump and with the help of the Inner Circle, looked for a shadow.  Majestically... speaking Groundhogese ... he directed President Bill Deeley to the precise scroll, which reads:

Forecasts abound on the Internet,

But I, Punxsutawney Phil, am still your best bet.

Yes, A Shadow I see, you can start to Twitter,

Hash Tag: Six More Weeks of Winter!