g is for greta

even in her sleep.

I love this girl.

-g.

Ears, that is. It’s ridiculous. I can’t remember EVER having an ear infection as a child. Mind you, my mom was one of those moms that believed in mind over matter and never took us to the doctor. (That’s how I ended up with a burst appendix and gang green internally in the 3rd grade, but that’s another story.) Anyway, I try not to be an alarmist. The kids have had a cold ALL winter it seems. Mason has been having a belly ache and fever the last few days but nothing serious. This morning he said his ear hurt, but 30 minutes later, he said he was fine. I made an appointment anyways. It’s Friday. My luck would be an extreme fever on Saturday and burst eardrum by Sunday with a trip to the urgent care center. Sure enough. Another ear infection. He was just in for his 3 year check-up. Remember? After the doctor confirmed Mason, I had her make sure that Ethan’s had cleared up since he is back to a runny nose and slight cough. Clear as a bell. Corinne was feeling left out, so the doctor checked hers for kicks. SHE has an ear infection, too. That’ll teach me for lecturing her about how it wasn’t her appointment, and we shouldn’t burden the doctor. Ugh! In true Corinne form, she started jumping around the room thrilled at the prospect of getting the yummy strawberry medicine. Of course the $4 generic prescription doesn’t apply to Mason. He has to have the hard core stuff. The doctor gave Corinne the same. $50 by the end of the trips to the doctor and pharmacy. Well worth the money if they would get well. Pray for my babies!

-g.

So is Ethan’s tooth! Tony doesn’t believe me. I’ve tried to hold Ethan still a few times to show him, but he’s in denial that his baby is growing up. I had to wrestle Ethan to get these pictures, but I think they prove my case. They aren’t my best pictures so cut me some slack.

Can you see it?

-g.

I love spring. It could be a smidge cooler for me this year, but after the winter we’ve had, I won’t complain. The flowers are what get me. Here’s my favorites:

Daffodils: There are so many types. I tend to like the traditional ones. I think it has to do with the scene in Willy Wonka where he’s in the room where everything is edible. He sits down, picks a daffodil that is a cup and saucer, takes a drink, then bites a piece of the cup. Love it!

Tulips: My favorite. They are such a smart flower. I think it’s awesome that they close up overnight then reopen to soak in the sun in the morning. They are just cute. Ship me off to Holland and get me some wooden shoes. I’d love to be surrounded by them.

Orange/Yellow (my personal fave)

Pink (Corinne has laid claim on these)

The Classic Red (Ignore the pine needles in the flower bed. Our mulch is on order from the Boy Scouts.)

We chopped our lilac bushes back to the stumps last year due to major overgrowth. I miss the smell of lilacs coming in through the window. Tony says they will be back. Maybe in a few YEARS! Sigh. Hope you are all enjoying spring in your neck of the woods!

-g.

Some of our sweetest friends have sold their house and will be moving in June. I knew that they would be going. Medical school is ending. Residency is ripening to begin yet somehow I was in denial. Man. I remember when Stephanie first moved here. I’d like to take the honor of being her first friend in Columbus, but I can’t prove that. She is so sincere and fun that we were instant buds. That kind of history is hard to duplicate. She is crafty beyond my comprehension. A Martha Stewart in training. She inspires me to be better. Then there is Larry, her crazy but charming spouse. It’s hard to find couples where not only do the women get along with each other, but they don’t have any qualms with the other one’s spouse. This is one such couple. Larry is a catch! He is always doing the most thoughtful things and helps me with whatever is needed when they are guests in our home. Sigh. Last but not least is their cutie pie Creed. His hair is cooler than mine ever has been or ever will be. His dimples are amazing and his smile enchanting. I’m crushed. Who else will go along with our crazy obsession with OSU football? Who else will walk the Pumpkin Show with us? So many memories… I know I need to be mature and remember that they aren’t dieing…but a little piece of me is.

-g.

A friend sent this to me, and I loved it.

Gonna Be A Bear

In this life, I’m a woman.
In my next life, I’d like to come back as a bear.
When you’re a bear, you get to hibernate.
You do nothing but sleep for six months.
I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you’re supposed to eat yourself stupid.
I could deal with that, too.

When you’re a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you’re sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs.
I could definitely deal with that.

If you’re mama bear, everyone knows you mean business.
You swat anyone who bothers your cubs.
If your cubs get out of line, you swat them, too.
I could deal with that.

If you’re a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling.
He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yep…gonna be a bear!

-g.

A friend from church gave us some free tickets to the Aladdin Shriner’s Circus. The kids were so excited.

You’d think that this would be the After picture, but it is actually what occurred on the way TO the circus. Turned out to be a good thing since the circus went fairly late.

Before the show started, I went on one ride each with the kids.

Corinne picked the Ferris Wheel. She was nervous when it stopped at the top. I told her to pretend we were birds. That seemed to calm her down. Plus, you could see the elephants from up there. She ended up loving the ride.

Mason picked the Fun House. Tony tried to take him through it while I was on the Ferris Wheel. However, no adults were allowed inside, and Mason had a meltdown shortly after entering. When I got off the ride with Corinne and heard what happened, I asked the kid in charge of the Fun House to either give us our tickets back for another ride or let me go through with him. The circus was getting ready to start so not many people were near the rides. He let me through. Score one for me! Turns out there is a black tunnel that you can’t see the end of which is likely what caused Mason to get scared. I crawled through right behind him. It led to a ball pit with a rope ladder. Then a bridge and a big slide down at the end. He came out with a smile!

There were lots of acts that the kids enjoyed:

The show opened with a motorcycle on a high wire with a girl swinging from the bottom. That was a perfect mix to make both of my kids happy.

The lady who swung around by her hair doing various tricks

She let go of some glitter. Corinne gasped audibly. (I missed the peak of the glitter sprinkling.)

The girls hanging from their feet

The dogs that were saved from shelters and trained to do all kinds of silly tricks. Here they are climbing a ladder, walking a tightrope, and making a basket with a ball.

There were alot of acts that were alright but nothing amazing. Then there was the grotesque.

During intermission, the kiddos pounded some cotton candy and geared up for the elephants.

Then the circus came back with the stars of the show.

I know they walk slow, but I couldn’t get a picture of them walking holding each other’s tails. That’s my favorite. All I got was this:

Oh well. It was a great time. Mason still talks about it multiple times daily.

-g.

Time is whizzing past us. Ethan is growing up too quickly. Babies are my favorite stage. He has learned how to clap and smiles so big when he does it. Once that is mastered, I’m hoping to teach him how to wave or blow a kiss. Cute! Ethan does seem to be tired of the whole taking pictures thing. He did good at first but got upset with me by the end. I think he’s adorable no matter what so here are the pictures. No retakes for me!

I found out a few days after the pictures were taken that he has his first ear infection. I think that was the culprit behind his grumpy, clingy days and restless nights. Things are much better for him but now Corinne has a cough with a runny nose. Hope it doesn’t spread any further! I’m running out of sleep.

-g.

I posted already what we did through Easter around dinnertime. Now for the conclusion.

As before mentioned, Tony’s family was down from Cleveland for the weekend. I decided to take the kids to my parents house for some entertainment since Corinne had the week off of school, and I had absolutely no idea how to keep them happy in the house for that extended period of time. For about half of the 3 hour drive, I am on the same route as the Rices. Stephanie was nice enough to ride along in the van to help the kids stay calm and feed Ethan a bottle. The second half of the trip I was solo but thankfully there were no major catastrophes. We got in with some time for the kids to play for a bit before heading to bed.

Monday, my mom (a highschool math teacher) had the day off for break. They had snow so the kids took advantage of the opportunity.

Mason and my mom are pulling Corinne on the intertube

Papa Bill is pulling Grandma Ann and Mason

The school district where my mom teaches and I went through all my years of schooling was ordered by the state a few years ago to tear down all existing buildings. They were ancient. They paid for half of the cost of the new structure and the public paid the other half. Now K-12 is all in the same building. (Can you tell I am from the sticks?) I hadn’t ever seen the school since we are only ever visiting over the weekend or major holidays. Mom took me on a tour this time anyways. It was really nice! I’m jealous that I didn’t get all that cool stuff. The kids liked it, too. Corinne went onstage in the auditorium and pretended she was in a play.

We all ran around in the new gymnasiums (I think there were 2).

The kids got a workout in the exercise center.

Mason made a mess of himself with the dust from the dry erase markers and by sliding down the wheelchair ramps. Only a boy would do such things.

On Tuesday, we ran around town with Papa Bill while Grandma Ann went back to school. At Christmas, a local toystore has a lane of decorated trees. They sell them all then set up Easter Bunny Lane. The kids loved it.

There was an assembly line of pretend cupcakes with tons of bunnies. It even smelled like cake due to some yummy “birthday cake” scented candles they were displaying for sale.

Each area had characters or some spring theme.

At the end was a religious centered theme with Christ and the crosses. It was time well spent.

Definitely a good time. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

-g.

I coupled Corinne and Mason’s yearly exams together so that I only have to make one trip. Their birthdays are about a month apart so it works out nicely.

Corinne passed all of her tests easily. She is in the 90% for height and 75% for weight. The doctor said she is destined to be tall. She couldn’t believe that she had grown 4 inches in one year. I guess that is alot by medical standards. She had to get 3 shots for kindegarten. She was actually really excited but then freaked out when the time came. Within seconds of the shots, she was over it and back to acting like a cool cucumber. Good for Corinne!

Mason was in a pleasant mood which made everyone’s life easier. He let the doctor do all of the checks without a single yelp. He is 75% for height and 90% for weight. The exact opposite of Corinne! He was a good boy.

Ethan was along for the ride. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, she checked his ears for me since he has a cold. Turns out the boy has his first ear infection. I am floored! I was hoping he would be more like Corinne and never get them. Apparently, he may be more similar to Mason who knows that he likes the strawberry medicine the best for his ears. Sigh.

-g.