The Crud

The title and Michael's snarl tell the story - The Crud has invaded our home. Both kids were coughing Friday when I picked them up from Susan's. Mike had to scout (as Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!") so after a picked-over dinner, I set up blankies, pillows and animals in the living room and we relaxed by watching movies and eating popcorn. I thought the low-key night would work it's healing wonder and we'd all wake up revived Saturday morning. Wrong.

Watching movies!

While Taylor's cold seemed to be a little better, Michael's was worse. By Monday morning, he sounded horrible so I made an appointment. It took 35 minutes to get through to the office! One of the nurses told me that they have three lines, so a busy signal means that all three lines are full. Yikes! I'd say something is going around.

Taylor, trying to keep a happy face on.

Michael, getting some TLC from Mommy. I had to console him after the trauma of snot sucking.

Turns out the Pear has an ear infection and bronchitis. The doctor said it was so bad in one lung that it is "almost" pneumonia. Poor guy! He really has been a trooper. That's one of the reasons I thought he was fine at first. He's still been playing and seems generally cheery. He got a breathing treatment at the office and I'm pretty sure everyone in a 2-mile radius knew he didn't care for it much. One of the nurses commented on how loud he was (not in a witchy way, in a "whoa" way). I told her she should hear him with two good lungs. I'm hoping the antibiotic works its wonders the next few days. If not, we go back in on Thursday. Say a little prayer for my guy!

Mike's team FINALLY starts sectional action tomorrow night. I feel like it's been forever since they've played! I'm guessing that the Noszka clan will have to skip, unless Michael is doing much better. We'll be with them in spirit. Go Cane!

Hope your week is going well!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

They Make Me Laugh, They Make Me Cry

Ah, the novel of motherhood.

I love these little rugrats so much. They make me laugh harder than anything, those good belly laughs that cause the little tears to form in the corner of my eyes. We were watching Sesame Street this weekend and a Cookie Monster skit came on. They both think CM is hilarious, probably because I do a pretty mean impression. CM was trying to resist eating the cookie letter of the day, but finally broke down and attacked it. Now, anytime I reenact it, the kids go nuts. Serious belly laughs all around.

Taylor comes up with some doozies and she knows how to push my buttons (good buttons and bad buttons). Her favorite words lately are "amazing" and "unbelievable." She's such a little drama hound anyway that the words seem so natural coming out of her mouth. Sometimes we'll be watching animal planet and a small animal will get mauled or something and she ALWAYS wants to see it again. Same goes for her little shows where someone is crying, etc. It cracks me up. She's also quite the competitor. We talked Mike into playing her lady bug game yesterday and he did some stupid victory dance after he beat us (she was not amused). Later, just she and I were playing and she beat me. Without missing a beat, she jumped up, waved Mike's crusty terrible towels, did a victory dance and posed with the giant basketball trophy that is currently residing in our house. Good times.

Michael has his own little quirky things that make me laugh. He likes to have little stuff in his hands and it's usually something off the wall. First it was the twin babies from Taylor's dollhouse, then the little fairies from her Sleeping Beauty doll. Lately, he's been carrying around the toilet from the dollhouse, holding it by the attached toilet brush. It makes me laugh everytime. He also has a giant teddy bear that he just loves. When he sees it he squeals, then approaches it with an open-mouth "mmmmm". That's his way of giving kisses.

Both of them like for me to do a whacked-out version of Rock-a-Bye Baby where I rock them like crazy then "drop" them at the end. As soon as I finish with one, the other is on my lap. It kills my back, but it's worth it.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses. Like any mom, there are times I feel absolutely spent. I actually got a little emotional the other day when I had just finished feeding the two of the them and had finally sat down with something to eat. Michael was screaming to get out of his high chair (then screamed at my feet to pick him up) and Taylor was whining because she had a runny nose. My super-smart 4-year-old can't figure out how to blow her nose so I had to find the snot sucker and deal with that (while holding Michael) when all I wanted to do was eat. Of course, these times are far outweighed by the good and probably make the good seem even better. Nobody said parenting was easy. Eh, it's worth it. :)


Taylor and Michael posing with Mike's team's trophy for winning the county tournament.



A slobbery, teething Michael holding the toilet brush and sitting the wrong way on his Elmo car.

Big boy Michael, holding some other various item of Taylor's.


Taylor, celebrating Brownie the dog's 4th birthday with a Play-Doh cake. Yes, I played along by making the cake and lighting the candle. Mike even came up from the basement to sing Happy Birthday.

A close-up of Champy that Taylor took. He makes me smile, too.


Until next time,


Mommy Kel

Decorating, Photo Shoot and Popeye

Boy, I've been a real slacker lately with updating the blog! Adding pictures can be a real pain in the butt and I think that's why I always end up putting it off.

The weather here has been unseasonably cold lately, so we took advantage of a sunny day on Sunday to put up Christmas decorations. Yes, it's too early and I always wait until after Thanksgiving, but the forecast isn't too promising. I'm not a big fan of being cold, so the lights went up Sunday. I was going to wait until Friday to do the tree and inside stuff, but it felt too weird going from Christmas decorations outside to fall decorations inside.

Taylor was my big helper this year! (And I mean that in a serious way, not a cutesy mom way.) She held the lights while I got the strands untangled (I had a 3-week-old baby last year when I took them down. They were a mess!) and even helped put the Christmas tree up. I like real trees, but I'm not attempting that with wild-man Pear in the house.

Michael loved the decorations and kept doing that cute heavy-exhale, wide-eyed thing. Taylor was so excited the whole day. That's what really makes it all so much fun! Oh yeah, just as we put the finishing touches on the tree, the entire thing feel over on top of me! We caught it on video, but I can't figure out how to edit the section out. If I do, it's so going on here. Taylor said, "Good thing Mommy's head blocked the tree from falling!" How sweet.

Taylor assembling nature.

I want that...and that...and that...You'll get nothing and like it.

Cuties under the tree. The Pear would NOT sit still.

Taylor with her favorite ornament.

The outside lights. Yes, I have a cheesy deer. I even considered an air-blown Santa this year.

Just a cute picture from dinner Saturday night.

Posing with Michelle and cutie Ben.

I took the kids to get their pictures taken on Tuesday. Wow, what a production that is! I picked out the perfect outfits, set up the appointment between nap times and prayed for no sickness, scratches or bruises. The pictures are so adorable. I love the Picture People and I recommend them to everyone. Taylor is a ham and did whatever the photographer asked. Michael was all smiles until I put him down and then he went ballistic! He kept crying and crawling to me, muttering "mummmmummm". In the end, the photographer covered my arms and shoulder with a white sheet and I held Michael. He was all smiles again and they just photoshopped me out later. Too funny. Here are a few samples from the shoot. They are even brighter/cuter in person:

I noticed that Michael had a few eye boogers yesterday morning, but no big deal. Well, his eye turned bright red and goopy last night. (Your eyes are watering right now, aren't they?) It was completely swollen shut this morning so I took him to the doctor. Yep, it's pink eye. Luckily, the drops are supposed to work quickly and he's not contagious after 24 hours. We should be safe to head to Cincy for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. He seems totally unaffected by it. I keep singing, "He's Popeye the sailor Pear..."

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

On the Mend and Friends

Well, I think the Pear is finally getting back to normal. Turns out the poor guy had Roseola, a nasty virus that only kids like 4 and under get. Taylor had it at almost the same age, so I kind of suspected it when his fever got so high. Sure enough, the rash appeared Saturday afternoon. He's not eating much and is still a little whinier than usual, but I think we're headed in the right direction.

Michael's sickness meant we had to cancel a few plans. We had to miss Taylor's field trip to the pumpkin patch Thursday and the surprise birthday party for our friend Tony Saturday night. We have snuck in a few fun times in between. I ended up taking the kids to the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning because I thought Michael was all healed up (the rash hadn't appeared yet and the fever was gone). Taylor had a blast on the hayride and I now realize how much of a trooper Michael was!

Posing for a fall picture before we left for the pumpkin patch.

Getting ready for the hayride.

That was one bumpy hayride! I had to put Michael on my lap because the poor guy about flipped over when we hit the first bump. (And yes, he's teething again. Imagine that.)

Checking out some of the farm animals.

Sunday was a day I had looked forward to for a long time! Lauri, Scott and baby Tony were in town and we had plans to meet up. I was afraid of passing the Pear's germs to Tbone, so Michael stayed home and watched football with Daddy. Taylor and I met the gang at a park in Cincinnati and hung out for a couple of hours. I sure do miss my friend! Tony is just adorable and I'm so happy that I finally got to meet the little dude. Lauri and Scott are doing a great job and I'm very happy for them. Ho-pefully we can get together again around Thanksgiving.

Taylor was so excited about our Mommy/daughter time.

The oh-so-adorable Tbone. What a cutie!

Lauri, Scott and Tony. Scott, Taylor wants to say sorry for kicking you. :)

The girls and Tbone. Lauri pointed out that both she and I were wearing lace camis and lace was about the last thing you'd see us wearing back in our crazy OSU days. I'm not sure why Taylor is snarling in this picture. I love how focused Tony is on the paci that had just popped out.
Taylor loves Lauri. :)

I was off yesterday and was happy to see the Pear back to mischief. I pulled him out of Champ's water dish about a zillion times and had to go back to wresting him down to change his clothes. We took a little trip to the park and flew Taylor's kite. The weather was a little chilly, but perfect for kite flying!
Back to ripping stuff apart. His diaper is all jacked up because he won't lay still long enough for me to get it on perfectly.

One of the Pear's favorite pasttimes - ripping the doors off of Taylor's Dora van.

Taylor does a great job of flying the kite!

I love this picture.

Michael crawled all over the play equipment!

Feeding the ducks.

Mommy, get that goose away from my head.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

P.S. You have until Friday at noon to vote for Brandon. See post below.