Being sick is NO fun :(

Addy has had a rough start to 2010.  She has had not 1, not 2, but 3 rounds of strep throat.  We are a little baffled (that is Addy's new favorite word) by her inability to get rid of this stuff.  It seems like she is off the antibiotics for 3 or 4 days and all of the symptoms return.  The poor girl gets ALL of the symptoms, too, with the worst being scarlet fever.  This time the doctor prescribed penicillin, which according to Addy tastes absolutely horrible.  Also, he suggested that J and I get our throats swabbed to make sure we are not carriers.  It seems highly likely that we will be making a trip to the ENT specialist very soon.

The little man has faired much better this year. . .with one exception.  He has an infected big toe.  Crazy, I know!  He has a horrible habit of chewing on his toenails.  We are assuming that he gave himself a hangnail which eventually became infected.  While we were at the doctor's office for Addy, the Dr. looked at E's toe and prescibed him an antibiotic to get rid of the infection.  Hopefully, it will heal quickly and won't be too painful when it eventually falls off.  His antibiotic (according to Addy) is the good tasting stuff and it still took 3 adults to get it down his throat.  I think the next 9 days are going to be long! 

On a happier note. . .I just started my 3 day weekend :)!  I am crossing my fingers that E's new bedding arrives so we can start painting his room.  (And by we, I mean J. . .I do not paint!) I waited until the last minute to order it because I could not decide on what to buy.  I LOVED the sports bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, but just couldn't justify spending $400 on something that will most likely be covered in markers very soon. (He likes to draw on thing!)  I ended up buying this bedding at a fraction of the price.  I do not like it as much, but it will have to do!  And. . .since I saved on the bedding, maybe J would be okay with me getting the PB lamp.  It is so cute!

Addy's Helper Day

Today was Addison's February helper day.  She LOVES everything about helper day, especially ringing the bell and being line leader!  Since J works 2nd shift he usually goes to preschool to help out on these days.  He gets to help with the activities, serve snacks, and clean up all the messes.  I think he really enjoys spending this time with Addy and getting to see how she does in the school environment.

Another thing that she enjoys about helper day is picking out the snacks.  This time she wanted to take cheese and crackers.  I thought it was a good idea, but thought it would be fun to make the cheese heart shaped to celebrate Valentine's Day.  I gained some major mommy bonus points!  She loved cutting out the cheese and was so excited to share them with her friends.

She also had to take show and tell using the letter X.  We could not come up with anything that started with the letter X, so she took her jewelry boX.  According to Daddy, she did a wonderful job giving clues on what she brought to show the kids.  My little girl is growing up so fast :)! 

MAED 72

Last night was the final night of class for some of my classmates. . .I am so jealous!  One of  my BFF's and co-teacher, Kim, is one of those lucky individuals.  Congrats Kim! I hope you are ready to do lots and lots of planning for school.  (I will be busy doing my homework!)

I keep telling myself that I only have 2 courses/12 classes/48 hours and I will be done. I have broken it down even farther, but I think I have proven my point. Anyway. . .it is sounding better and better all of the time :)!

Tomorrow is a big day for my Jayhawks!  They play the other Kansas school. I am a little nervous since the game is being played in Manhattan, but I am confident that the Jayhawks will prevail. (At least I hope so!) Rock Chalk Jayhawks!!

Getting Ready to RUN!

For the past 5 weeks I have been training for a half marathon.  Call me crazy, but it is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Lucky for me, I have some great friends who agreed to do it with me. Today is the start of my 12 week program, so it is time for me to really kick it in gear. . .I am a little nervous!

This past Saturday, we did our first group run.  We did a 5 mile course and to tell you the truth, IT WAS NOT FUN! I was able to run the whole thing in just under an hour. (I can't remember if it was 53 or 55 minutes) It felt really good to get outside, as I have been limited to the treadmill up until then. The sad news is it is really cold again and I probably won't be able to run outside for awhile.

I absolutely love the way I feel after a good workout.  It immediately reduces the stress of life. That being said, it is really hard to find time to put in a lot of miles.  I am fortunate to have great in-laws who watch my kids while I workout! I am trying to figure out what I am going to do when my workouts start to increase. I really don't think they would want my kids for two hours every night. I am really contemplating buying a treadmill of my own. (Right now I use my father-in-laws) It would be so nice to get my miles in while my kids are sleeping.  Maybe J will buy me one for Valentines Day :)!

A little bit of family time

Today was a great day!  After working 15 days straight, J finally got a day off.  I can't say we did anything too exciting, but it was great to be home together as a family.

We started the day off by going to the grocery store.  It was so nice to go and not be in a huge hurry.  Also, it was nice to have help shopping.  When I forgot something, I didn't have to go back and get it. . .I just sent my hubby :)! 

The pureeing adventure went pretty well.  I ended up getting several servings of butternut squash and sweet potatoes packaged and ready to be used.  Oh yes, I also made a couple dozen breakfast burritos to put in the freezer.  My kids love them and it is so convenient to have them on hand when I am having a rough morning.  Pop it in the microwave for a minute and breakfast is done!

This is what the butternut squash looked like after baking and pureeing it.  I am crossing my fingers that I can throw this in some of my everyday recipes and it will taste the exact same.  I have been told that it is possible :)!

After spending several hours cooking, we ended up going out to eat at Red Lobster.  My mom bought Addison and J gift cards to Red Lobster for Christmas and they have been anxious to use them.  (Addison is the only kid I know that would choose shrimp and crab legs over McDonalds.)  Here is Daddy teaching Addy how to crack the crab legs.  He has had lots and lots of practice!

Mr. Junk Food

My little man is addicted to junk food!  If he had the choice, he would eat chocolate and drink pop all day long.  I am trying my best to keep all unhealthy food out of his sight and keeping his favorite fruits and vegetables on hand.  He loves carrots, broccoli, celery, apples, bananas, grapes and oranges, but refuses to eat most other nutritious foods.  I have made countless trips to the grocery store and spent a small fortune keeping his favorites in my house :)!  It is amazing how much you have to pay for fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, I bought this cookbook which I am very excited to try out!

A friend of mine recommended it to me after she found success getting her picky eater to eat vegetables like butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  Of course, he didn't really know that he was eating them :)! I am going grocery shopping in the morning and planning to spend the afternoon pureeing vegetables. . .I lead such an exciting life!

4 months left :)!

The past 14 months have been the most stressful time of my life.  Between working, being a mom & wife, and getting my Masters degree. . .I feel like I am always busy!  Lucky for me, my Masters classes will be a thing of the past in just 4 short (I hope!) months.  I was so NOT prepared for the amount of work that going back to school would entail.  I honestly can't say it has been hard, just very time consuming!  I feel like I can see the end in sight and I am so glad!

Speaking of stress, my hubby has been working his tail off.  I think he has worked 50+ hours of overtime in just the past week.  He got promoted to his current job just 6 months ago and already he is being assigned some huge cases.  I am very proud of him, but wish things would slow down so we could have some family time.  The kids are going through Daddy withdraw :)! (I guess mommy is too)

It is birthday time here at the Broxterman house.  Easton will be 3 next month and Addison will be 5 in March.  I tried to convince them to not have parties, but they both really want to have one.  I think we are going to go ahead and have one for each of them, but downsize A LOT from previous years.  Right now, we are looking at invitations and trying to decide where to have them.  Addy wants a cowgirl party, so I thought it would be fun to have it at the carousel, but we have gone to so many parties there and it will be a lot of the same kids. Seriously, I think we have been to 4 carousel parties since July!  Lil E wants a dinosaur pary. . .I know imagine that.  The boy loves anything to do with dinosaurs!  It is amazing how much work goes into planning a birthday party! I am hoping to get E's finalized this weekend so that I can get the invitations ordered and mailed. (I can't believe my baby will be 3 in a month!)