Always Good for a Giggle

I don't remember who told me, or what their source was, but I was told that 2nd children are funnier than first children, (it might have been Jeff.) They have to be funnier to get their time in the spotlight that they are competing with the older sibling for... makes total sense to me. I have been paying more attention & it seems to be true, Milo cracks me up! He does some funny stuff, but it doesn't seem like he is competing for any kind of attention. It's as if he doesn't even know how funny he is! I've always said Hannah has this crazy imagination & lives in a world of her own. I'm starting to think Milo lives in one of his own as well.

We got a free newspaper yesterday & he's been totin' that thing from room to room all morning. I noticed that he was particularly fond of the sports section so I grabbed everything else to throw it out... BIG MISTAKE! He caught me in the act & was very upset. He began wadding up each page into balls & throwing them at me, while yelling "FNOWBALL!" (All S's are F's.) That was my kind of snowball fight!

I was helping Hannah get dressed in her school uniform & we were making jokes & laughing, & Milo walks over & tackles Hannah. She & I were laughing, & that kid didn't even crack a smile. He body slammed her again... more laughing on our part... & Milo gets up & walks away, going about his business. Not sure if it's a Milo thing or a 2-year-old thing... either way he has a STRANGE sense of humor (the kind you find with engineers! EEK!) but he's always good for a giggle.

Back to School.... sort of

Hannah started back to school on Tuesday, I was the only sad one. I've enjoyed having her home & not having to wake kids up from naps & drag them out. She was excited to go & I was looking forward to getting back into a routine. That morning I crawled into bed with Hannah & asked if she was excited to see her friends, & asked which ones. She listed a few & then with a little giggle added Cesar to the list. (Cesar is this cute little boy in her class, & from the stories she tells he seems to have a little crush on her... and I think the feelings might be mutual.) She has told me before about the exchange of kisses & I tried to convince her that we don't need to kiss. We could give hugs, high fives & even "rocks." (Not sure if she bought it.)

After school she was telling me about her day & how fun it was to see everyone. She then told me that Cesar came up to her & said: "Kiss me girly!" Haha... What is up with this kid? She did inform me that she didn't kiss him.

Wednesday when I picked Hannah up from school she had a note informing me that school was canceled for the rest of the week. It isn't going to snow, it is just going to be REALLY cold. Even though I am glad I won't have to venture out in the cold weather, it is a little strange to cancel school because of cold temperatures. So the 4-day week quickly turned into a 2-day week. It really worked out considering I've had some back pain & Milo isn't feeling well, so we were able to take it easy.

Poor Milo has had a fever since Wednesday, & even with tylenol & motrin it continues to return. I noticed when he talked Thursday evening that his tonsils sounded swollen. I called the Dr. & they couldn't get him in until Monday, & I was told to keep up with what I'm doing & as long as his fever stays under 103. After his nap he didn't want to get out of bed, & his temp was 104.6. I called the Dr. again & was told to go straight to the ER. One look at the puss pockets on his swollen tonsils, no throat culture needed, & we were given an antibiotic & on our way. Hopefully we can kick this fever & he can get feeling better soon.

Jeff has been great to either spend the night on the couch with, or get up numerous times with Milo over the last 3 nights. I can't help but think how hard being a single parent would be, & I'm glad I'm not!! Glad the week is over & hopefully we can start over fresh & healthy on Monday.

New Year's Breakfast

I am the breakfast-maker in the house. Don't let Megan tell you otherwise (I don't think she would, but just in case.) Megan: This is true, but it hasn't ALWAYS been the case.

Megan received a cast-iron skillet for Christmas. Since that time, she's cooked zero items in it (I'd be amiss to point out that I can't remember her cooking anything in the Dutch oven either, even though she says, "Oh, I love Dutch ovens"). Instead, any items cooked in the skillet were by me. (Hey, I was the first to admit that I should have given it to Jeff for Christmas... I like it, but I don't think he is sleeping at night, because he is THINKING up things to make in it. I HAVE used the dutch oven, but I can't for the life of me remember what I made!)

My favorite, thus far, has been the New Year's breakfast I made: Bacon Hash with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise (no recipe):

(Megan: The pictures don't do it justice... it was DIVINE!!)

We topped it off with a New Year's toast with some "bubbly."

The breakfast was so good, even this little tucker enjoyed it!

So ladies (or gents), if you'd like to be impressed (or impress), send your hubby or yourself my way and I'll help you become a real "Renaissance Man."

** Megan: Now I can't use the cast iron skillet in good conscience, because it was used to cook "OTHER" meats**

Happy Birthday Hannah

Saturday was Hannah's 5th birthday party. The theme was Pinkalicious, after the book by the same name.

Hannah LOVED the party. We played "pin the cherry on the cupcake," "duck, duck, goose", and the kids decorated their own cupcakes.

Hannah got lots of gifts from friends and family. Thank you very much!

Thanks Aunt Harmony

December 2nd
Harmony bought this for the kids while we were in Utah, but we didn't have time to put it together there, so we brought it home. We had fun decorating it.

Hannah's side of the house.

Milo's side of the house.

Thanks again!!

More Utah Trip

When we went to Utah in November, we actually drove it... it was long, but the kids did great!
Here are a few random pictures from our trip.

How cute is my mom??

Poor Milo... He was so tired he couldn't make it through dinner. It was a quick trip with so much going on, & he decided to be difficult about where & when he'd sleep.

We made a small detour to Four Corners on our way home.
We also stopped at Big Texan, home of the free 72 oz steak (if you can eat the whole thing.)
We didn't even attempt it!

Catching Up... Utah Trip

These pictures are old, but worth posting about...
Harmony had a tea party for Hannah while we were in Utah over Thanksgiving.

She went all out & every detail was appreciated... even if only by me!

Thanks Harmony... can't wait to do it again!

Link to Christmas Video

I couldn't figure out how to post a video on the blog, so I created a link to it here. You can click this to get over there.

Merry Christmas

Our kids are more than spoiled. This is the fire station that my dad made Milo. This was a bigger hit than the teeter totter Santa brought both kids.

Recipe Needed

I prefer things that are from scratch rather than from a box, but when it comes to brownies I love the way cheap boxed brownies turn out. I like how they are a fudge brownie with that paper thin crunchy layer on top, & they are quick to make. I'd love a similar brownie recipe so I can give up the box for good!

Anyone got something like that?