Carter's super power

Lately Carter is convinced that he has the best eyesight in the world. He is always telling me that his eyesight is better than anyone else's. In the car he is constantly pointing out far away things that only he can see. "Mom, I can see that red light so far away!". Yesterday I was telling how great he did at something and he replied "And another great thing about me is my super eyesight!" as he made binoculars with his hands. Whatever makes him feel good about himself, right?

Sammy's ABC's

We got a piano off Craig's list the other day. My kids have turned into quite the musicians!

Big Red take 2?

I have to say that Carter has been such a superstar since getting his cast off. Today we went out and had some one on one time and he was walking with me as long as he had something to hold on to. I use the term walking loosely, as he really hobbles, but he has made amazing progress in just a few days. He is seriously a trooper. He was so proud when he was able to walk all the way to his daddy in the other room and then down the stairs (with lots of help). Anyways, he was walking around the kitchen and decided to use the oven door handle to hold him up. The oven door opened and he fell, landing right on his knee - the broken leg knee. He fell down in the living room yesterday and had some serious drama over it so I just figured it was the same. 3 hours later when he was still in a lot of pain, we decided to take him in. Why do these things aways happen on a Saturday? Anyways, after 6 hours, an ER co-pay, a doctor who just wasn't sure if it was re-broken or not, 2 sets of X-Rays, talk of another spica cast, and a couple of consults it was decided that he just strained his tight muscles when his leg bent back and it wasn't re-broken. Hooray! We need to get him a walker. Do they make those in kid sizes?

So long, Big Red!

Look who got his cast off yesterday! It was a wonderful day, to say the least. I do have to admit, I felt a little twinge when they threw away the cast (hey, it's been a part of our life for 2 months), but I am glad to see it go. He wasn't able to do as much as I thought he would. His one leg (mostly his knee) is still pretty stiff from being in the cast for so long and he is having a hard time bending it and holding weight on it. I think a part of him still thinks that it will hurt to stand on it like it did when he broke it. I think the major hurdle is in his mind. Anyway, the doctor said it could take up to a month for him to walk again - yikes! He is a determined little boy and I am hoping that it will be sooner. I was a little disappointed to hear that life would not be back to normal right away. At least we are on the right path now! Overall, I have to say that I have been incredibly impressed with this little man. We have had our cranky moments, but in general, he has been very brave and very positive about the whole situation. He's an awesome little boy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is another fine example of how far I have come with my holiday celebration. When I was little, I was always the kid who forgot to wear green. The teacher always had the stickers for me, but not before I got pinched a few times. Needless to say, I have never been a big fan of this holiday. Of course, that all changes with kids. I had no idea Carter would be so excited about St. Patrick's Day. They must have talked it up in school because he came home yesterday talking about nothing but catching a leprechaun. He talked to me all afternoon about it and then when Mike got home he told him all about his plan. It was really quite detailed. Here is a gist. He and Mike were going to make a leprechaun catching machine. First they had to make an invisible machine though, so they could make the catching machine invisible. Once they caught the leprechaun (after being super shmooper sneaky) they would guard the leprechaun while Samantha and I went looking for his gold. It is always at the end of the rainbow, but sometimes he buries it. So, we need to make sure to bring a shovel and a screen so we could see underground (something similar to a ground x-ray). There was talk of beating up the leprechaun to get his gold, but we helped him decide that probably wasn't a good idea. In spite of our well laid plans and vigilance, that sneaky leprechaun still got in and turned the milk and eggs green! He did drop some of his gold as he was leaving. Apparently his gold is the chocolate kind. Yum.

Carter had a blast at school, apparently the leprechaun was there as well, getting into trouble. He put chairs on the table and knocked one of them over with his magic! He also left little trinkets for the kids.

I really wanted to try some Irish food for dinner, but couldn't bring myself to do the corned beef and cabbage. I found this recipe for Irish bacon and potato soup which turned out really good! It does have leeks and celery for green, but the whole thing was inadvertently turned green due to the green milk. I also made Irish soda bread. It didn't look as good as Martha's, but what can you expect for my first time? It was pretty good still warm, not so great for leftovers.

Overall, a fun day.

Oh, and did I mention Carter gets his cast off the day after tomorrow? Yeah!

Spring!

You know spring has hit Milwaukee when you hear the roar of the Harleys. I am not always a huge fan, but the last few days they have been out in full force. In Carter's words, can you even believe it is finally spring? I have been waiting forever for the warm weather to return. Poor Samantha couldn't even fathom leaving the house without a coat on today, she threw a huge fit- "I need my coat on! It's too cold outside!".

Having said that, I know that there is probably a huge snow storm on the way.

Oh, and Carter gets his cast off on Thursday. The day after tomorrow. 2 days. Yeah!!!!

Daylight Savings Time?

With everyone being sick and this "daylight savings" time, we are all waking up round 9am here. How is that saving anyone any daylight?

Grandpa's Visit

Mike's dad was in town for a visit this last weekend. Luckily we had fabulous weather on Friday and were able to go to the zoo for the first time in a long time. Saturday we were not so lucky, and we stayed home most of the day. Mike and his dad did go to the Bucks game that night, so it wasn't a total loss.

Samantha hitching a ride with Carter.
Our happy little family. Hopefully the sun will be back by the time we are done with the wheelchair (only 10 more days!). The kids absolutely loved that Grandpa would read to them pretty much whenever they wanted. Isn't that what grandparents are for?On a side note, Carter figured out how to stand up in his cast. It's only for a minute, but hopefully that's a good sign that he will recover quickly once that cast comes off!Oh, and did I mention - only 10 more days with the cast!

You know it's been a rough day when...

This came after crying for about 20 minutes because I cut his fingernails. He likes them long so he can "scratch" that nappy lamb that he is laying on.
Now if only Samantha would fall asleep! She was up until 1 am last night and refused to take a nap today. I have been so lucky to have healthy kids this winter. Why did it have to end?

Pregnancy Dreams

I had a dream the other night in which Mike and I went to a friend's pottery sale. This "pottery" looked like it had been made by a second grader at best. Mike got mad at me because I wouldn't let him have a pottery wheel. After this, we attended the wedding of a family friend (who is already married). And then I went to a Michael Jackson concert. This is the best part - I was sitting next to Saddam Hussein. And yes, I know he is dead. Anyways, they started the concert by singing the national anthem (don't all concerts start this way?). However, when it started, a bunch of Lord of the Rings geeks came out dressed up and sang it in elvish. An old co-worker was sitting in front of me and got up and started singing along (she was an LOTR geek - a cool one, but definitely into LOTR more than the average person) until I knocked her wedding rings off the balcony. All the while, Saddam is offering to off people for me. Strangest dream ever? Quite possibly. I am contributing it to pregnancy hormones because I don't even want to think about what this could possibly mean about my life.