Playtime, sickness and more SNOW!

We've been a little out of comission the past week. All 3 of us have had some sort of illness but I think (hope/pray etc!) we are back on the mend. It all started with Emmy having a stomach bug and stuff nose last Friday. I have had a cold since early last week but it really wasn't too bad. Then on Monday night, I started feeling awful (you know the drill, sore throat, achiness, congestion, headache) and spent a restless night in bed. I am still really congested and really don't feel all that much better to be honest! Emmy seems ok one minute and then like she doesn't feel good the next. She has received 2 early am baths the past 2 days (we usually do bath at night right before bed) due to some (excuse me, not some, we'll say LARGE) diaper leakage. Yuck!!! That's not how I want to wake up either. Poor baby cried and just wanted to be held. She also had 2 (count 'em 2!) blowouts at our playdate yesterday. We had fun at the playdate but she just didn't seem like herself to me. I'm just not sure what's wrong. Maybe teething perhaps??? Who knows. Just a mom's intuition that her sweet angel doesn't feel good!!!

Matt won free tickets to Metallica and took along his buddy, Rich, on Monday night. He said about halfway through the show, he started having chills and then felt like he was burning up. Well, he was right. When he got home, he had a temp of over 102! Goood grief! So, he ended up with a fever, cold and stomach bug for 2 days and finally went back to work today.

Hopefully we are all on the mend and we can feel better soon! We are making plans for Emmy's birthday party and are very excited for our little princess to turn 1 (wow, where has the year gone?!)

Hope you all are healthy and have a good rest of the week and weekend!
love
Erika

Playdate was a success!

Whew! I was so worried that the playdate might be a disaster with the barking dogs and cat who seems to like to leave "gifts" in the basement. Nope, everything went great! For some reason I forgot to take pictures yesterday though. We had friends at our house until 4:45pm! Holy cow! Emmy had a wonderful time but was so tired last night. We did make it to kindermusik though and she did fine (as usual!). Maybe I'll just throw in some random pics I took of her the other day! Enjoy!

Playdate with the dogs?

We are hosting a playdate at our house this afternoon and the girls were supposed to go to doggie daycare (yes, you heard it right....daycare for dogs...they love it, we love it...everyone is happy!) But, due to a food squabble last night, Sadie couldn't go today (she has a cut below her lip thanks to her sister, Raven Ruth). So, this means the girls are going to be upstairs in their kennels in our bedroom while the playdate is going on. This should be interesting and I predict lots of barking and whining from the girls (and maybe a little whining from me?) Keep your fingers crossed that it will work out ok!!! I am just a a little nervous!

Erika

President Obama is sworn in!

Emmy and I had the pleasure of watching Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States this morning. Well, technically, she had to go to nap before he was actually sworn in but she watched with great interest as long as she could! This pic was as close as I could come to getting a picture of Emmy and Obama being sworn into office.

I was very emotional watching the inauguration. I don't know exactly why. Maybe it is the "historicalness" of the event or just the thought of all of the obstacles he has overcome to become president? I am sure my grandparents could not imagine they would live to see the day that an African American would be the president. I don't even know if my parents thought this day would happen in their lifetime. I can't seem to turn off the TV though today-that is for sure!!!

We are off to a playdate. I'll have to update later about our trip to Fort Dodge for Auntie Kristen's baby shower!

love

Erika

Snow snow go away.....

Come again....NEVER! Please remind me, why in the world did we move from TN to IL? I really do not like cold weather and then snow on top of it---no way! We are trapped inside again today. Boo! We were supposed to go to a playdate but between illness in the group (not us, fortunately) and the weather, it was cancelled.

I guess we are looking forward to a day of laundry, a little cooking (I think I am making roast! yum!), playing and napping! Speaking of playing, Emily has been quite obsessed with her Spot book. I think we read it no less than 5 times a day and she reads it at least another 10 times per day. I also predict some Disney Princess Pop-Up Play Tent play in our afternoon. She loves to crawl in and out of it and play with the curtains.

Have a good day! Stay warm and safe! BRRRR!!!!! I think the temperature is 0 today. Makes you want hot chocolate right now, huh?
Erika

Not me! Monday

Not me! Monday....second edition

Well, here goes.......

We did not end up having to purchase a new computer to replace the one the cat spilled coffee into the week before Christmas. No way. Not us.

I did not catch the cat (once again) eating the baby's oatmeal straight from the bowl when I turned my back to get a cup of coffee.Nope...not our cat.

I did not use the snowblower for the first time on the driveway while E was napping (and the monitor sitting right on the car in the garage) last Friday just so we could get out of the house and go to a playdate.

I did not use part of my day while E was at Grandma's to do some "research" while I was cleaning the house. Nope. Not me! (I did however get everything done...hey, a mom needs a little time to herself too!)

I did not sleep only 4 hours on Saturday so I could get up and be with my family the rest of the day after working all night on Friday.

What did you NOT DO this weekend?

Have a fabulous Monday

Erika

Feeling accomplished

I had my 1st REAL experience with the snowblower today. Matt showed me how to use it a few weeks ago but I really hadn't given it a real go until today. I was pretty nervous (something about getting my hand sucked into the auger freaked me out....) but I pulled through! I snowblowed (is that a word?) the whole driveway and both sidewalks, all while Emmy napped this am! I am feeling pretty good! Just had to pass along my excitement!
Erika

PS Is this what being an adult is all about-excitement over snowblower usage? Yikes. I am a nerd. A huge nerd. Oh well.

Boo or Bob?

We were getting Emmy ready for bed last night and she was chatting as usual. Well, she pointed to Sadie (our dog, who we fondly call "Boo" most of the time...don't ask why) and Emmy exclaimed, "Hi Bob!". So, I guess in her mind, Boo=Bob. Very funny to us! Somthing about the thought of our female dog, whose given name is supposed to be Sadie Lou, could be called Bob, made us laugh!

What have your little ones renamed?

Erika

What have you been up to?

I found this list on another blog I follow (and she got it from a blog she follows.....) So, if you are so inclined, copy away and BOLD the things you HAVE DONE. Read, enjoy, copy and post your own! You are not allowed to make fun of me though.....

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Been to Disneyland/world
7. Climbed a mountain.
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Sang a solo (yes, I think I was like 8 or something...not something I should EVER do again)
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Taught yourself an art from scratch
14. Adopted a child
15. Had food poisoning( I wish that I could not bold this one)
16. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
17. Grown your own vegetables (starting in the spring)
18. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
19. Slept on an overnight train
20. Had a pillow fight
21. Hitch hiked
22. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I know, this is really bad)
23. Built a snow fort
24. Held a lamb
25. Gone skinny dipping
26. Run a Marathon (a half marathong...I think this counts)
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Been on a cruise
32. Seen Niagara Falls in person
33. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
34. Seen an Amish community
35. Taught yourself a new language
36. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
37. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
38. Gone rock climbing
39. Seen Michelangelo’s David
40. Sung karaoke
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Been transported in an ambulance( I wasn't sick, it was a disaster drill)
46. Had your portrait painted
47. Gone deep sea fishing (no way, I get sea sick!)
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain (how do you think I met my husband?!)
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theater
54. Been in a movie
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Started a business
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served at a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
61. Gone whale watching
62. Gotten flowers for no reason
63. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
66. Bounced a check (unfortunately....)
67. Flown in a helicopter
68. Saved a favorite childhood toy
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
70. Eaten Caviar
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured the Everglades
74. Been fired from a job
75. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been on a speeding motorcycle
78. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
79. Published a book
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the newspaper
84. Read the entire Bible(Half bolded because I am working on it currently)
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone’s life (Well, that is subjective, I am a nurse, so I have participated in a few life saving measures)
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club
92. Lost a loved one
93. Had a baby ( the greatest thing on the list so far)
94. Seen the Alamo in person
95. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
96. Been involved in a lawsuit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee
99. Fallen in LOVE
100. Decorated a Birthday Cake

Wow, that took a lot longer than I thought it would. Have a good day!
Erika

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year from the Klitzkes! We hope you all had as rockin' of a night as we did! We went to lots of parties, drank lots of champagne and came home really late....HA!!!! Actually, we ate dinner, gave Emmy a bath and put her to bed together and watched Dick Clark/Kelly Pickler/ Taylor Swift and Ryan Seacrest. Then, I headed off to work and I dared Matt to stay up until midnight! He texted me a midnight just to prove he was still awake. We brought in yummy food to work and drank sparkling grape juice and toasted each other at midnight. Whohooo!!!

Today was spent playing with new toys (Emmy), Daddy putting together toys, laying on the couch watching lots of bowl games (Yeah for the Hawkeyes!!!!!!). Emmy is in bed now and we're just watching some football. Our highlight of the day was making a yummy mexican dinner from my new Paula Dean cookbook I received for Christmas. I am trying to convince myself to make the banana pudding I promised Matt (we are missing it not living in the south and PD has a recipe that looks great...and I have a lot of bananas to use up)

No big plans for tomorrow. Hopefully I will be productive and get some things done though! We still need to pack away the Christmas things. Boo! I think I keep forgetting that Matt is off until Monday though so we do have a little more time. I think I asked him what day it was two or three times today (hey, I only slept 4 hours after working all night).

We want to wish you the best for 2009. We are excited for all of the exciting things that will be happening in the coming year! We are so thankful for a wonderful 2008 and the arrival of our best gift ever, Emily Ruth. I know I say it a lot, but we are truly blessed. We hope for so many things in 2009.

Have a wonderful evening. Maybe we will actually get the camera software downloaded and you can see our fun Christmas!

love
Erika, Matt and Emmy