Vacations, Technology, & Celiac’s

TGIF for all you M-F workers! Not so much for me, I worked last weekend and I am now off until Monday. The week just flies by when I am off though!

Over Presidents Day weekend we went up to the cities and had a little mini vacation. We stayed at The Depot Renaissance in Minneapolis. It was perfect for us. Within the hotel there is a restaurant, small waterpark, and ice rink. On Friday night we tried ice skating. Olivia was done with it within about 10 minutes. Every time after that if I tried to take her back out she would say “Mom, I’m all done. Me not like this.” It was so cute! Henry did a bit better, but he too was done after about 20 minutes! Overall, good experience but expensive ($65) for the four of us to go skating for 30 minutes! We ordered Pizza that night. I had the BEST GF pizza from Café Luce. I honestly did not believe that it was GF. I was waiting for a stomachache because it was just like way too good to be true! On Saturday we went to the Childrens Museum in St. Paul with Kari, Ben and Lyla. The kids loved that as always! Then we went to the waterpark in the hotel. The kids had a blast! It was perfect size for Henry. He LOVED the waterslides at this place! Then we went to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which serves GF pasta! On Sunday we went to the hotel waterpark again in the morning then we went out to eat with Aaron and Traci to learn all about Hawaii vacations.

Scott and I will be going to Maui in July! We are so excited, and A and T gave us some great books that we have been reading to prioritize things to do. We have already booked our condo in Kihei. It is right on the ocean, but with predominantly a mountain view. We I debated about beachfront, oceanview, garden view, mountain view, etc. I just could not decide how much more we should pay for a condo with different options. We decided on just a Studio condo with a Queen bed, couch with pullout, full kitchen that is all updated, lanai overlooking the mountains. Looks good, but we will see when we are there if we would have got something different or spent more money!

Olivia does have Celiac’s. She is now on a GF diet and so far is doing pretty good with it. She is very aware of her limitations, and likes to ask everyone who gives her food “Is it Gluten-free???” I am very proud of her and her ability to recognize that she needs to ask! After she was formally diagnosed we went shopping for all sorts of GF stuff. (that was an expensive shopping trip!) It takes a lot more planning and organization for meals at home and on the go when I have to plan for her, and not just me! If I didn’t eat for a few hours it was okay, but she constantly is telling me “Me hungry momma, I really really hungry” she makes it sound so sad….like I have not fed her in days! We have definitely noticed an improvement in her stomach firmness at the end of the day, which is great! She has had a couple ‘sneaks’ ! The other day she wanted goldfish and/or animal crackers. Sadly, there are not any good GF options. I really wish there were, but later that day I did not hear for a bit and sure enough I find her in the pantry eating some crackers! I cannot blame her though!

Right now Scott is on his way to best buy to try to get an ipad. He really wants one, but hates spending money so I am really interested to see if he comes home with one! I told him while he is there he could get me the nook that I want! We will see what he buys! I really want to start eborrowing from the library. I don’t use the library because I always forget to return them, but buying books is SO expensive. So hopefully he gets one for me and I will be on my way to some cheap reading!

Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the weather! I am hoping for another nice long run outside and maybe getting the bike out next week with Highs in the 60s!

~Katie

Olivia is 3, among other things!

Happy Thursday! Yesterday, Olivia Kate turned THREE! It seems unbelievable to me that she can be three already. I am not kidding when I say that it did not feel like I had her that long ago. Sadly, she was not 100% yesterday, but as the day progressed felt better and better! We started our day by cleaning (mean mom made her help clean while H was at PreK!). Then we went to Plainview to get her new tractor, and it is adorable! I think it is just perfect for her and she just loves it! Everyone at the Plainview store where we bought it just watched her get on it and be so excited! She just loves it! Then, last night we were lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents come over and Bonnie, Randy, Ian and Layli, and Lynn and Ethan came over…a complete bonus! Olivia cannot get enough of Layli, I think she would have been totally content to just sit and hold Layli all night! From Gma and Gpa Morgan she got the wagon to go with the tractor, so more than anything she likes to ride behind the tractor (make henry do the work!) in the wagon! She also got a cash register, so now her and H don’t have to share the one they have, which is great! And, she got a bathtub for her Babies!

Today, she had an appointment with a GI Doctor at mayo about Celiac’s. He thinks it does sound consistent with Celiac’s, and that she may be having some lactose intolerance now too. The lactose intolerance would go away once she is put on a gluten free diet. She will have an EGD on February 15th and then we will meet with a dietician and the doctor to go over results a different day. She also had more labs today (they took about 17cc of blood….poor girl!) and they still need a stool sample. So after all this testing I sure hope that the EGD is positive and that we won’t be repeating these tests in three years because she is having more symptoms. Also, because of the cost of doing all these tests, it is a lot of money to do all of these tests and I really do not want to have to pay for them again in a few years!

On a positive note, Scott received his first paycheck in like 5 months! I was elated! I think we need a few more paychecks before I will go shopping to celebrate!

Well, I better tidy up the house for a few minutes before Scott gets home so he doesn’t think I was too lazy today….oh wait, he would not really care…it is me who cares too much about the way the house looks!

Have a great night, Katie

Back2Blog

Happy January 2012!

Sorry it has been forever since I have blogged. That is what happens when a Mom, Wife, Nurse, Athlete, Sister, Daughter, etc…gets busy! Here is a quick recap of the past few months for our family…

September:

Scott- Began student teaching at Kenyon-Wanamingo for 8 weeks. He also had classes online, so he was not able to work at all. Which was a complete blessing. He tried working one or two days and both of us agreed that it just made our lives too chaotic!

Katie- Continued with my MSN program. blah…I need to tell myself to just keep going, even though there are many times when I just cannot fathom the thought of putting together another paper. I will say, I am learning a lot. It is amazing the conditions nurses have to work in around the United States. Makes me very thankful for my great job! Other than this, I really just went to work, took care of the kids and exercised!

Henry- Began Daycare and 4 year old preK at ZM. He has loved PreK. He still has his doubts about Daycare. He only goes once or twice a week. Not gonna lie, but I am loving it much more than I thought I would. I do feel guilty at times when I send him and I am at home, but I get SO much accomplished!

Olivia- Also began daycare at Abbey O’Connors, which she absolutely LOVES! And, that would be an understatement! She loves playing with the other kids and getting out of the house!

October:

Scott & Katie – Continued with our school. Scott at KW and me in my MSN program. In October we went to the cabin with Scott and Stephanie. Scott A. and I ran the Whistlestop HalfMarathon. It was great. I was not quite sure how I would do, as I was then and am still now playing with my mileage each day and each week. But it was fine, I ran it in I think like 1:37…I think! So, I was happy to finish and do okay!

Oh, and we celebrated our 6th Wedding anniversary! Seems unbelievable that it is already 6 years!

Henry dressed up as an airplane pilot for Halloween! He loved trick or treating this year. We went to lots of houses and got lots of candy! He thought he was in heaven!

Olivia dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She was adorable! It was really fun, because she got into it too this year! It was nice, because Scott and I could just walk together and not have to walk with them up to the doors at EACH house!

November:

We did a bit of a home remodel project (instead of going to Las Vegas…..yep….but I do s’pose it was worth it!). We transformed the playroom in the basement (which is I believe about 20x24) into a Master Suite! Scott built a couple of walls to make us a walk-in closet….it is FABULOUS! We are both loving it! The bathroom was already finished, it had been just Scott’s bathroom since we finished it last year. I think he loves struggles to share it with me now. It is nice to now have a room big enough for our King size bed, and not feel like we are squeezing it! We also have a nice little TV/reading area. I also have a little shoe and jewelry area, that again I believe Scott loves struggles to understand. He really has no concept of how many shoes women have. I keep telling him I have less than the average, but I am starting to wonder myself! I have had lots of fun decorating it though and making it a room that I love. The kids have adjusted as well. I was a little nervous about how they would handle us being downstairs.

Then it was Thanksgiving. We had dinner with Scott’s parents the night before and with my parents on Thanksgiving.

Black Friday-Lots of shopping was done! It was a great time, enjoyed only by ME! I purchased many necessities decorations for our new bedroom.

December:

Scott GRADUATED with his Master’s Degree in Special Education!!!!! And, GOT A JOB! (and, yes I am yelling this!) He and I were both elated! We could not have asked for a better outcome! He accepted a Full-time position with the Pine Island schools teaching 3-6th grade.

Katie- I hurt my back and was off work for much of the month, thankfully I am feeling fine now! But, it was ridiculous!

Christmas! Henry and I ended up being sick with a 12 hour flu bug….He had it the 23rd and I had it the 24th. I was absolutely miserable! It was awful. Thankfully we went to all the family functions we planned to go to! the kids got so many great gifts, and are now enjoying playing with them everywhere and anywhere within our house!

Henry got a telescope, ipod touch, globe, round baler, guitar, and many other great gifts….

Olivia got a bike, barbie house, barbie VW Beetle, Dolls, more cute stuff for her dollhouse, a doll carrier, Leapster and she too got many other great gifts….

Then on December 28th Kari had her baby….it was a GIRL, Lyla! She is adorable! We just all love her to pieces!

Sidebar…

this morning after my conversation with Kari on the phone Olivia asked me why I call Kari so much. I explained that she is my sister and I love her so I like to talk to her on the phone. Olivia then says “Lyla’s my sister because I love her so much!” It was too cute, it just melted my heart!

End sidebar…..

January:

Bonnie had her Baby…it was a GIRL too! Conveniently her baby is named Layli! So, we have to try hard to remember each baby’s name and how to correctly say it. It does not seem like it should be THAT difficult, but it is! She is just precious, and thankfully is seeming to be an easier baby than Ian!

Scott started his job in Pine Island!

Katie – I have kept going with school, despite really again wanting/wishing I was finished!

Henry and Olivia-not much has changed! Daycare/School/Mom Time

Henry did wrestle in his first tournament last week! He was too darn cute! He lost both of his matches, but he had so much fun! His first match I do not think he realized that this was not practice and he was really supposed to try! In the second match he did much better! He still lost, but he was so happy to get a trophy! We were really proud of him, he stayed happy and did not cry or whine about any part of it! He might wrestle again this weekend, just to have a little more practice and a bit more knowledge of what wrestling really means! He originally told us that he would try really hard “to get 5th!” this time….we told him let’s at least try to get 3rd this time instead of 4th, even though we would still be happy if he only gets 4th!

Next week my little toodles will turn 3! I cannot believe that she will be THREE already! She is such a fun little girl though. She is so much more like me than Henry, that it totally makes me laugh when she does something that is just like me! She has such a vivacious personality when she is around people she knows, but I do hope that as she gets involved with more activities and preK that she starts being a bit more outgoing with people she does not know!

Okay, well that is enough for today! Hope you have all had a good 2012 thus far….and I will try to update more frequently again, because I really do love to blog, there is just not nearly enough time in everyday!

~Katie