Good Ear News.... FINALLY!

Great news to report on the never-ending ear topic. Follow-up appointment number 2 after Colby's De-Tube Surgery and Adenoidectomy was today with Dr. D our favorite ENT and knock on wood....

.... EARS LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


He had a bit of wax that the doc had to dig out but otherwise everything looks like it is healing nicely and no infection thus far.

All I have to say is FINALLY!

Cross your fingers, say a little prayer, call it karma, whatever your choice, but please let's hope we keep going in a positive direction with these ears. We are officially going the first time since last November without booking an appointment to check the ears - Yeah for the small things in life.

Cashing In

Back in June I found out about a great Sears/Dockers/Shell promotion from MoneySavingMom.com. Sorry, I was looking back in my post history and realized I didn't tell everyone else about the deal.

Well, the gist was if you purchase $100 or more of Dockers items at Sears, mail in your receipt and the rebate form you would receive a $75 gift card to Shell Gas Station and a coupon for $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more of Dockers items at Sears. Soooooo great. So we went on a small shopping spree for Scott so I could stock up on B-day and Christmas presents. By then he'd be sure to forget about what we had bought and I was bound to forget where I stowed them until October/December. I think we managed to sneak reeeeeeeeally close to the $100 mark by buying $102 or something like that of clothes. I remember tossing in a pack of socks to throw us over and make the promotion.

I diligently went home, mailed in my receipt and the rebate form and waited. Just like I said Scott would forget about the clothes, I forgot about the rebate.

UNTIL... wooo hoooo I got the mail Thursday afternoon, and sure enough there was our $75 Shell Gift Card and $10 off Sears Gift Card. Yeah for deals.

But wait... It gets better.

Scott hadn't tried on any of the clothes when we were at the mall, he's so predictable with pants - like a square 34x34! and Shirts - Large or don't bother buying it - we didn't even think to have him try things on, especially since he has plenty of Dockers clothes. Well, he needed one of the new pairs of pants the other day so we dove into the bag of clothes we bought. Sure enough they were a bit big - figures - the 1 time he doesn't try them on the 1 time they don't fit. So I put them in the return pile.

Most of you know I really do not like shopping and I do my best to avoid it at all cost (I know, I know, I let all my other girlfriends down with this comment). Returns are a little higher on the 'do not like' list because usually I wind up just taking the clothes back and getting store credit since I don't want to hassle with shopping right then. Plus then I don't feel so bad about shopping next time since I won't have to pay for it, I'll just use the gift card. Last week we hit the mall. I had a bunch of things that needed to be returned or exchanged and so we did our 'return day' routine and did it all at once. Plan our loop so we can get in, get out and be efficient. Scott's Dockers pants and Sears were one of the stores on our list.

Remember, I had to send the receipt in with our rebate so here I was figuring we would get like $10 bucks back since the pants were now on clearance or something and be in the red for this purchase. NO WAY - it must have been our lucky day. The day in June we went to the Sears/Dockers promotion must have been a major sale day. I think those pants were $19.99 or so. Without a receipt.... the pants rung up and we got store credit for $39.99!!! Yahhh oooo :) Thanks Sears, Thanks Dockers, Thanks Shell!

We are so ahead for this transation I can't even believe it.

~$100 for the original purchase

+$75 Shell Gas Card

+$10 off next Sears Purchase

+$40 for the returned pants!

I think this could rank up on my list of "Great Deals!"

Outgrown?

Think the little man has outgrown his crib already?

Maybe we should tell him that he might be more comfortable if he turned and slept other way in his crib?!

At least he feels comfortable stretching out - literally!

This weeks menu

We've come a long way in the food department over the last few weeks. Not sure if I mentioned that the little man wasn't reeeeally into table food much. Before his first birthday he'd look interested and so we would try to give him something to eat with his fingers and no go. His menu was pretty much summed up by formula, baby food (not picky about what kind either- he'd eat every fruit, veggie, you name it), Cheerios, and mashed potatoes.

On his birthday, you'll remember he dove head first into LOVING cheese! And then he attempted spagetti since then he's moved on to Fettucini Alfredo as well - a boy of my own heart.

Well, I'm happy to report that we are headed in the right direction. This boy now chows (when he's in the mood for trying something new) on (most) table food that can be eaten with fingers including:
* Pancakes
* Waffles
* Toast
* Chicken (I think he might begin to cluck soon!)
* All types of noodles (really likes alfredo sauce)
* Ham
* Every kind of potatoe you can think of - more and more mashed potatoes, baked, roasted, you name it, although he hasn't attempted a french fry yet - which is just fine if you ask me.
* A Banana - although Nanny (aka Lois) seems to be the only one who can get him to eat this
* Cheese and oh did I mention Cheese
* Grilled Cheese or Grilled Ham and Cheese
* He is curious about pretzels, but not quite sure how to chew them yet.
* Eats broccoli if its mashed up with something else
* Cheerios or "Os" as he signs


Of course he's still getting lots of fruits and veggies pureed and mashed up so don't worry if you are seeing the trend of Meat and Potatoes just like his mom! :) And still getting lots of nutrients from formula as we have not yet switched him over to whole milk. We're waiting on some food allergy testing before diving head first into that - more on this in another post as the lab results haven't come back yet.

So, Pal (aka Dave), fear not, I think you may have a "Tonga Toast" eating partner for the Disney Trip in September after all.

And his latest is the interest in the "spoon" - everyone now - OOooooo... we'll see how that goes! I think we've officially jumped the track from the baby to the toddler train.

An Afternoon Alone

Scott and I managed to sneak away for a few hours Saturday afternoon. How? Oh my gosh, where was Colby? No... worry not, we did not leave him at home with Doug in charge. Although, I think he is a wonderful "big brother" (more on that in another post) and probably would do whatever he had to to keep Colby safe should an emergency arrise and we not be able to take care of him. Ha - our neighbors, however, might begin to wonder and we would probably wind up in jail no longer parenting a son or a pooch. Anyways, I digress....

Way back when I was out on maternity leave, I joined a group called "Stroller Time". It was through our parks and rec department and basically was a group of other moms in our area who wanted to get together to walk, talk and just keep in shape with their babies in tow. There are other formal groups that do this which cost quite a bit more than our local yocal town was charging so I joined. It was a great time and definitely allowed me to shed those baby pounds much quicker than I probably would have otherwise, all while being able to tap into the knowledge of other moms. It was really nice getting to know these women and their children and I hated going back to work, not just because it means that I had to leave Colby, but because I'd miss my 3xs a week 'definitely going to get some exercise' time with a group of great women. Luckily I've kept in touch with many of them and when time has allowed spontaneously joined the group to walk every now and then.

One of the fantastic women in the group was Sarah - she and I have kept in touch mostly through blogging, emailing and mom talk. She and her husband, Kevin, have a son, Eli, who is almost exactly a year older than Colby and Hannah is their sweet baby girl. I'm sure many of you have once been in our shoes or are currently feeling what we both were... missing a little alone time. They, too, aren't always able to get out of the house given that their family is, like ours, out of town. Having a nursing baby might have something to do with the lack of hours out of the house as well. :) We also haven't ventured into the world of 'teenager babysitters' yet, not because we don't trust our fabulous neighbor, but because there is so much that goes into Colby's bedtime routine - between reflux meds and nebulizer treatments - I never felt comfortable even bothering to attempt to explain to a teenager how they might do what we do on a daily basis. Could she probably learn, sure, might she run screaming from bedroom or come up with every excuse in the book next time we asked her to come over - perhaps! Either way, it's just not worked out for us to get out of the house much alone as of yet.

A few weeks ago, it hit me... the lightbulb moment... We could definitely help each other! So I made a proposal and we put together a plan. Unfortunately it took a few weeks for us to find the right weekend that worked for both of our families, but we put it on the calendar - last weekend - we each officially got out of the house for 2-3 hours, ALONE! Sarah and Kevin watched our little man while Scott and I got a chance to reunite ourselves with the water. Ha - yep, the toy he had gotten me for my birthday a few years ago, "T" - our waverunner. "She's" been hibernating in the garage for almost a full year now (well, aside from the few times our friends have borrowed her) as last year you might remember that I was quite preggers and Scott had a broken hip. And now that we have the Colbmeister it just doesn't really work out for us to take it to the beach. One of us would have to stay with him, which is fine, but between naps and those types of details it just hasn't worked out yet. We are, however, doing our best to come up with some contraption to strap his car seat to the back (he's definitely adventuresome enough to come along) - haha - we're still fine tuning the details of how that would work, but don't worry it would have a self-inflating floatation device should we capsize! :) Someday, someday.

So we took off on a little adventure in the sound and up the Mystic River, brought along our PB&F (Peanut Butter and Fluff) sandwiches, and just enjoyed the wind in our hair like we used to. We knew Colby was in good hands, but yep, still missed him and talked about him basically the whole time. Our few hours out were up and now it was our turn in the "sitter swap". We got to watch the munchkins while Sarah and Kevin had some alone time. Haha funny enough, we had so much fun, they decided to take the waverunner for a spin themselves - got plenty wet - and seemed to enjoy their get away as well!

We both had a great time with our "other halfs" and had fun when it was our turn to play with all the kids. Too bad we didn't think of this earlier since they're moving back home in about a month! :( That's ok, I think we might be able to sneak 1 more outting in for each of us before they go. And I know they are looking forward to the move, so I guess I can't be too selfish. Overall it was a fun afternoon, plus, it makes us appreciate the 'family time' we have with the little man that much more now.

Thanks Sarah and Kevin for taking such good care of our Colbmeister and letting us have some time just the 2 of us. We wish you guys the best of luck with your move and will definitely miss you all. :)

Our little daredevil...

I think Colby may be destined for the circus...



He's quite the trickster!

Now that's flyin'!

The next X-Games event... Extreme Trike Riding

Which Pic?

UPDATE: We've entered this sandbox pic into the 5minutesformom "Summer Fun" photo contest. Stay tuned to see if we get selected as a finalist!



This picture was taken just a week or so ago while we were in VT at Smugg's. It had started to drizzle while we were at the playground and so Colby and I took cover at the "circus tent sandbox". It's really a sand table, but he couldn't reach by standing next to it. So I decided it's just us here, he can sit in the sand and play. A few minutes into our digging adventures he took an entire dumptrucks (a toy, not the real thing) worth of sand and dumped it on his head. Ha!! It was so funny because he really couldn't figure out what happened. He looked at me, I looked at him - now all covered in sand and laughed. Even funnier, he just went back to playing and digging in the sand. :) Guess feeling "icky" is a learned trait! You do not, however, want to see what that bath water looked like when we got back to the condo!!! And it took about 2 baths and 3 trips to the pool to wash his hair of all that sand. So there you have it, yet another Family Summer Fun moment. Wish us luck!


So the ladies over at 5minutesformom at hosting a photo contest about "Summer Fun". You have to select 1 picture to enter that represents summer fun for you. You all know that we DEFINITELY have fun in the summer (well and winter too), which means that I'm having extreme difficulties deciding which picture to select for our entry. Soooooooo I thought that you all might be able to help.

I've put up a poll on the side bar. From the pictures below which one do you think we should enter? You can participate too, just pick a pic (ha, that was fun) of your own. Drop a link in the comments section - what photo of summer fun did you decide for your family?!

Ear update

So last week we had a follow-up appointment for Colby's De-Tube Surgery and Adenoidectomy.

Dun dun dun...
Drum roll please...

So far, so good - according to our favorite ENT Dr. D. Ears were dry and clear and thus far seem to be progressing along a positive path.

Thank you everyone for your prayers that the little man come through this, his 2nd surgery in a short little life, with no complications. Keep it up and we will hope that next week when we go back for yet another visit and ear check that things will still look good.

Our little adventure boy...

...likes hiking...

and swimming...

and being sandy...

and just being silly!

Vaca... Smuggs Summer '08

Scott, Colby and I took our summer family vacation adventure last week to our home away from home - Smuggler's Notch. I've mentioned previously how we enjoy this trip each winter, well, summer is just as fun!


Instead of cruising down the mountains with skis strapped to our feet, we opt for climbing up those same mountains for a nice hike or wike as Smuggs calls it. What in the world is a wike? It's not a walk, it's not a hike... it's a wike - a little of both! With a little stenuous activity, a lot of splashing in the pools, family activities on the village green and some R & R - we roll all that up into 1 week of fresh mountain air.


This year my sister (well, half sister but the whole family tree is a long story!), Dawn, niece, Julia, and nephew, Michael came along to join in the fun. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law, Eric had to work, so we missed his company. Julia really enjoyed being a "Trail Blazer" at camp, and having "been there, done that" for many, many years, I knew she would have a blast. A highlight of her week might have been petting a llama and milking a fake cow at the Country Market! Michael even got to spend some time at "camp" and discovered all the fun things to do on vacation with other 2 year olds at Treasures. I think Dawn simply enjoyed being away and reading in the sun. Although I would have to say that our traditional stop at Ben & Jerry's for the factory tour and some ice cream might have ranked right up there too!


Scott, Colby and I made sure to get out and enjoy the beautiful Vermont weather, who wouldn't love 75 during the day and 60 at night - breathe in the freshness and clear the lungs! We hiked the Smugg's mountains and other trails in "the notch" (including a trek to Sterling Pond one morning - you know you're having a good hike when the little guy in the backpack falls asleep, unfortunately we forgot the camera that day so I didn't get any pictures of this!), we biked the fantastic 10 miles of Stowe recreational path (several times!!), we splashed and swam in the pool (Colby's favorite was Little Smuggler's Lagoon), we played far too many games of Uno (thanks to Julia who is quite the card shark!) and just enjoyed some togetherness which we don't often get.


Another great week away with lots of memories in the books. Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse into our week. If you'd like to see all 150+ photos, go here. To see pictures from past Smugg's vacations check them out here and here.

Dawn sleeping under the blanket and oh yeah, Michael, is back there too! The stuff was packed around him it was like Where's Waldo to see him!

Those don't look like Ben and Jerry!

Packed up and ready for our first adventure.

Splashy Splash!

Did I mention that Colby loved Little Smuggler's Lagoon?

A morning "wike" - I think Colby likes nature!

We made it to Rum Runner's Hideaway.

Made it to the top, now it's time to head back down

One of the many reasons to go back!

Smugg's has even thought enough to cover the sand box with a circus type tent so there's something to do when it's raining! Colby reeeeally enjoyed the sand box. Can ya tell? You don't want to know what the bath water looked like after this. Ick

How many kids get to say they pet a llama on vacation?

Dawn rented a bike while we were there so they could join us on the Stowe Recreational Path and Scott pulled Michael in the Burley Cub trailer - I think he liked the ride, oh and maybe the snacks he had along the way.

Ready for another ride in his favorite seat.

A little bonding time

Great time had by all!

Week away...

Sorry for the lack of posts, we were on vacation this week enjoying some good 'ol fashion family fun. More to come later this weekend as I sort through and post all 150+ pictures of our latest and greatest adventures!

De-T Day

On Wednesday, Colby had the tubes in his ears removed along with his adenoids. I mentioned this was the decision when we had our last visit to the ENT. (I've got pictures again from the hospital and just haven't uploaded them off the camera yet - stay tuned!)

The surgery went well. Same procedure as last time but just in reverse! Well, plus the adenoids were removed, so I suppose it was a bit different. It was a little more invasive this time I would say because he actually had a part of him cut out rather than just this teeny tiny piece of plastic put in. All in all the doc said it went well. He did say that the tubes were completely covered in a gel-like goo that would never had gone away with just an antibiotic so this was definitely the right decision. That was good to hear because I certainly was a little hesitant to put the little man through yet another procedure. And in his words, the adenoid removal is "just like shucking and oyster! Yum!". So I suppose if the guy eats lots of oysters this is a pretty easy gig for him :) Not sure that I want to go to dinner with his family now cause I'll probably just think of Colby's poor adenoids, but maybe a steak place instead!

Again when we got to the peds O.R. prep room they put his little circus gown on and took vitals and what not. All types of people come in and make sure they are doing the correct procedure and make sure we haven't lied about him drinking anything since midnight because of the anesthesia. And again they had to put an I.V. in his foot before he went into the OR because he's still being treated for reflux. He did great this time too. The nurse hit it on the first shot, perhaps she learned from all the chatter about what we had last time. I just think the little guys feet aren't as chunky this time! He only let out a little peep of a cry when they sprayed his foot with the numbing spray. Laid there and took the needle like a champ.

We did try to change up the karma this time. Scott carried Colby in to the OR, the doc wore new scrubs, this time he started with the left ear whereas last time he had done the right first. All things new so hopefully we'll have a new outcome!

The procedure was just a slight bit longer this time. So I think that may be why Colby took a little longer to shake the anesthesia effects. He was a trooper as always and like his parents, just wanted to go home when it was over. You could tell he was trying to get back to sleep after he had his bottle in the recovery room and just couldn't. So just about 10:45 am we were on our way home with another surgery under our belt.

They did draw a bit of blood as his pediatrician had ordered some extra lab work. Might as well have taken advantage of him being under the anesthesia rather than trying to hold him down in a lab. The C-Man's pediatrician wanted to have some blood work done to see if there was a reason he did not develop any antibodies to the bacteria found in his ear. And also run some standard food allergy tests. It'll take a few weeks to get those results back so another waiting game.

After we got home he was ok. He took a nice long nap and was really drinking well. I was glad that he was staying hydrated. Didn't want too much food, but too be expected given that he'd just had a tube down his throat and a knife slice off those little adenoid thingies a few hours before. He had a low-keyed afternoon and even ventured to try a few cheerios at dinner. He was, however, ready for bed when the time came! Who wouldn't be after a day like that. I was and I'd just sat in the waiting room.

So all we can do now is wait. Not much else really. Dr. D said it's an learning experience of sorts since this is the 2nd time in 10 years that he's had to remove tubes so close to having put them in. He's removed tubes before when they just won't fall out and have been in for 2-3 years, but never had to basically reverse the procedure on purpose. Here's to hoping that the tubes won't need to be put back in!

(Check back later for pictures of the circus gown!)

Just Mow It!

Many of you know how much I love a lawn.

Yes, you heard correctly, lawn, grass, the green stuff you mow. Not sure how or where this obsession started, but its been going on at least since college. I even went so far at that point to grow a lawn (in a bucket) in my dorm room. Something similar to this, but a heck of a lot less fancy. Trimmed with scissors and maintained by yours truly. I'm not sure why, but I just had to have the fluffy green lawn regardless of how much Lehigh had on campus, it just wasn't the same as caring for it myself.

Agreed, I am weird. But... I dare each and every one of you to dig deep and I'm sure you will come up with some strange thing that you are obsessed with! Do share if you wish or just admitting it to yourself out loud is fine too.

Anyways, I digress.

So I was reminded a few weeks/days (not sure at this point since my list of what to blog about is growing rapidly) ago of just how much I really would rather have lawn than any other type of planting in our yard. I've blogged recently about how we were finally getting our to-do list done and landscaping was on the list. Why was it on the list, I'm not really sure - because I would much rather have a lawn growing right up to the foundation than any heap of bushes planted. I suppose it would be a major landscaping foe-pah to not have some amount of shrubbery lining a walkway or beside the steps. But Why! Why I ask Why...??

Don't get me wrong I love trees. The big grown-up trees though, not the silly little excuses for a twig. We practically live in the woods, how could I not like trees. Plus... they do their own thing - maintenance free. Especially since our new house is on top of a hill and the leaves just happily blow away, somehow I watch them frolic off over the rock wall and into the forest.

I suppose maybe my anti-landscaping mindset stems from all the 'extras'... all those other things that you must to do maintain a decent looking planting bed. Over and over again you must continuously tend to weeding, mulching, pruning, watering, making sure that the plants are arranged just so, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Whereas a lawn = Just Mow It!

I think I'm going to broadcast my message across the world (ok so perhaps start small and just on our street) - forget the plants, lawn is the way to go! I've weeded our silly planting beds so many times since Memorial Day weekend I can't even count anymore. Just after we moved in to this house, we hired a "dirt guy" to truck in loads and loads of fill and topsoil so we could have a decent lawn (otherwise we'd be mowing rocks and that definitely wouldn't be fun), we haven't done anything to it since. Sure we do our part each season to stimulate the economy as we have hired the best lawn treating service around - TruGreen - they just put on the usual fertilizer that we would be doing 1 in Spring and 1 in Fall and BONUS they are dirt cheap too (ha ha had to make the lame joke) ... sooooo wallah - green growing grass! Mother nature herself takes care of the watering part and we Just Mow It!

Sorry to all those landscape architects that make a living by attempting to beautify a yard. Nope, won't be getting our business. Truck in some dirt since grass is the way to go.

Plus, let's be honest - what would you rather feel between your toes on a warm spring day, crumbly mulch or fluffy grass?!

So remember... Lawn = Just Mow It!

A day to celebrate

Get your taste buds ready for this glorious event...
July 30th is National Cheesecake Day!

I thought I'd let you all know of this celebration several days before so you could all arrange and re-arrange schedules and get to a Cheesecake Factory nearby. They are offering a delicious slice of cheesecake for just a $1.50!

YUMMY YUM!

Prepping...

The Colbmeister is practicing his balloon carrying technique so this year when we go on our annual Disney World vacation, he'll be ready for the giant Mickey Mouse balloon!


The facial expression and excitement even in the kitchen show that he's definitely ready for the happiest place on earth!

Very nice form, don't you think?!