February 19 - Day 50

Today was the last day of Aidan's first set of swim lessons at the Y. The final day, kids get to head down the waterslide. Dan put Aidan on his lap but they got going just a little too fast at the last turn. Both ended up under water. We asked Aidan if he wanted to go one more time and he promptly said, "No."

February 18 - Day 49

Today we took the kids to an Earth Cache down by the river. It was educational and I had fun teaching them about the formation of the rocks and the river, as well as the early history of Indian camps here. We tallied 9 geocaches today.

February 17 - Day 48

Another day of caching. Aidan's holding our cache kit, complete with trackables, pens, paper, and ziploc bags. He loves "treasure hunting."

We also saw the aftermath of an accident today. Thank goodness no one was seriously injured. The garbage truck one this round.

February 16 - Day 47

While Ian was at school today, we took Aidan out for some geocaching. We've missed caching and were happy to find their were some new hides near our home. This is a photo of Aidan holding the first find of the day. 

About an hour into our quest, Ian's school called and reported Ian had plugged his right ear full of Play-Doh. 

Off to urgent care we went to get it removed!

February 15 - Day 46

Our new bed. We got rid of our old Sleep Number Bed after 7 years and finally decided on a Pedic Solutions foam mattress from QVC. We were hesitant and waited about 3 weeks before going for it. Today, it arrived. It took a couple hours to completely expand. I'd hate to think how the heck we'd return it if we end up not liking it! We'll see how it goes.

February 14 - Day 45

It's Valentine's Day. Dan and I celebrated early by going out to dinner last Friday. We knew today he'd have to work and Ian had swim therapy.

Today, Ian volunteered to be the "target" while his therapy buddy (another little boy) tossed inflatable beach balls to him, trying to make it through the hoop. Ian loved it and giggled constantly. I am loving how much he is loving the water and how he really tries hard to socially connect with the other little boy. His progress is just amazing. 

February 13 - Day 44

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and that means 3 parties at the kids' school. Two for Ian and one for Aidan. The boys helped make more than 30 dipped marshmallows for Valentine treats. We got the idea from Our Best Bites and sort of used whatever we had as chocolate and topping. I did buy the special chocolate swirl marshmallows, as well as the strawberry marshmallows. We melted 3 kinds of dip - semi sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and a pink candy melt that had a vanilla flavoring. For toppings we used crushed graham crackers, crushed Oreo cookies, mini dark chocolate chips, candy sugar sprinkles, and chopped up conversation heart candies.

Ian had the most fun dipping while Aidan was mostly interested in just eating the chocolate chips :)

February 12 - Day 43

Happy Birthday June! 90 years young!

Dan's maternal grandmother celebrated today with a huge party and an intimate dinner afterward. She's really 90 going on 65. This woman is the epitome of youth and staying active. She still golfs, bowls, writes, and drives! She's a rock :)

At the party, Dan and I were able to present the photo slideshow of her last 90 years. Dan's mom (June's daughter) scanned over 200 photos for us to put together with music. It turned out quite lovely. 

I didn't have my camera out much during the actual party since Dan's uncle Jay had the better camera out, taking photos. I did happen to get this lovely shot of Dan's forehead. Aidan accidentally stabbed his daddy with a fork. Oops. 

February 11 - Day 42

CoastalContacts.com was offering their Facebook Fans a code for a free pair of complete eyeglasses. The catch was that there was only a 2 hour window to snag the free lenses and only for the first 10,000 orders. I hopped on that bandwagon. I SHOULD have gotten a new pair of lenses for my three year old Vogue frames last Dec (before my insurance benefits renewed in Jan), but I didn't. Too much procrastinating. I couldn't pass up this deal. I was a little leary of picking out frames without trying them on but since free is free, I figured I had nothing to lose. I chose these Vera Wang frames. 

February 10 - Day 41

So I am supposed to be taking it easy and I have had a mani/pedi appointment scheduled for the last 6 weeks. I really didn't want to miss it and since it's mostly sitting, it's still taking it easy, right? I got the super duper package with paraffin wax and all. Pampering myself!

February 9 - Day 40

Home from the hospital today. I am still mostly couch bound for the next couple days but the boys are making some Martha Stewart recipe brownies. 

I love this shot of Aidan licking the mixing paddle. 

February 8 - Day 39

At the hospital, with only my iPhone to snap a photo. It's almost 1:00am and I am waiting for a breathing treatment. I was admitted after 2 hours in the ER on Monday afternoon. I have 4 residents and an intern managing my care and it's like a science project gone bad. On one hand it's great for them to suspect and check for everything, on the other hand I've ended up going through a lot of unnecessary treatments like a scan for blood clots in my legs and lungs. And it goes to show you that doctors don't always ask the right questions OR read your chart - for some damn reason I had an ultrasound done of my gallbladder to check for gallstones...guess who had their gallbladder removed in 2004???

The RNs have been great though. I can't say enough good things about their bedside care and knowledge. I love me some nurses. 

I get to go home though as soon as my breathing is under control and my O2 sats are up from 93 to at least 97.  It's looking like bronchitis combined with a severe uncontrolled asthma attack. I've been given an IV steroid and albuterol inhalation (every 4 hours). I will continue to take the pill form of the steroid for the next 5 days after my release. 

February 7 - Day 38

Dan snapped this photo. Statistically, don't men tend to run out of gas more often than women? ;)

I'm also not doing well and a trip to the ER is in order today. It's been guessed I have pneumonia but the antibiotics aren't working. Whatever it is, must be viral. 

February 6 - Day 37

Ian LOVES to climb the walls. Literally. 

February 5 - Day 36

Too bad this one picture came out blurry. Ian got a new computer game today, a Dora the Explorer adventure. He can work the computer like a pro, I see a technical genius in the making. 

February 4 - Day 35

Who me? I always catch Bonesy the Cat sitting in Ian's chair. And he always acts innocent, especially when I tell him to get down. 

February 3 - Day 34

My Ponytail Palm is thriving! Love the greenery it adds to the kitchen :)

February 2 - Day 33

Flashback! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture today. I've been sick for weeks, and only getting worse.

This photos is from when Dan and I lived in Kenmore, WA in 2006. I was about 7 months pregnant with Ian and that summer was extremely hot. It was a dry August night and we all of the stores in the area were sold out of air conditioners. We resorted to buying an Aero Bed and put it on the ground floor of our townhouse, in the living room, to escape the 90 degree temps upstairs. 

February 1 - Day 32

It's been chilly outside. Not much to report today except I think I'm getting much worse with this cold. Last night I could hardly make it home from Dan's grandmother's without having a coughing fit. I can't tolerate moving around much because it interferes with my breathing. However, I did manage to get this great shot of a tree in our neighborhood. I want to take a photo of this tree once a month to document the seasonal changes. Hopefully, I'll remember next month!

January 31 - Day 31

Today we celebrated the life of Dan's maternal grandfather. It was a beautiful but very cold day. There was a military service in addition to the regular service and both were done so beautifully. I wanted to be invisible and respectful, taking a few remembrance photos. I particularly love this moment of Dan and our two boys placing roses on Grandpa J's casket.

In loving memory of J.S.