Background
Monday, April 30, 2007
Mommy Talk Monday
Friday, April 27, 2007
Alaska - Installment #4
Sorry if this turns into a LONG venting session for me. Hopefully you'll understand where all my ranting and raving comes from when I'm through!
Back tracking just a tad...When I went through the security checks in Portland, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that security was high, and that they were very particular about what is allowed in your carry-on. Due to that fact, I made sure that any scissors, clippers, tweezers and the like were in my checked luggage, and that my carry-on was free of contraband...so I thought. Well, getting up to the line I realized they were being very particular about liquids. You needed a clear bag with all your "liquids" in it, and there was a volume amount that was allowed. Being that we had such long layovers, I had all our bathroom things, shampoo, lotions, etc., etc. in my carry-on.
The line in Portland was really long, I had the stroller, a restless kiddo, our bags, and I definitely looked like I had my hands full. The security lady looked over my bag of bathroom goodies, kind of gave a funny look and said "these things are borderline". I told her sorry, I didn't know, and she let me through...no big deal. Well...Fairbanks, not so nice.
Here I am, saying goodbye to my friends, and anxiously awaiting the flight home to see one very missed husband and daddy. "Shoes, coats, blankets, things for the baby, and anything liquid in the tray please." Sure, no big deal, we've been through this before. Then came the problems...shampoo & conditioner, garbage, lotions, garbage, garbage, garbage, garbage. Gee, thanks for leaving the toothpaste and toothbrush at least! Fine, I understand, just let me get on the plane. "uh ma'am, you're going to need to come with us...we need to thoroughly check your bag." What...what do they need to check my bag for, because I'm carrying a toddler, my arms are full, and I just want to get home. Fine, check away. Out comes a sealed Apple juice box, my liquid foundation, and a sealed cup of mandarin oranges. "Why didn't you disclose that you had these things in your bag ma'am. These are liquid items, and we asked for all liquids." Are you kidding me...um, because I wasn't really thinking about it, and quite frankly I forgot. "Well, we need to confiscate them, and we need to bomb sweep your entire bag, stroller, and any loose belongings. Ahhhhhhh, fine...sweep away.
All clear, big surprise...Now we board the plane. Once again on the flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks we had an entire row to ourselves, which was a blessing from God as it turns out because of the roughness of the flight. Let me tell you...I haven't been on a lot of airplanes in my life, but this was the worse flight I've ever heard of. The turbulence was so bad that the flight attendants never left there seats, and the plane didn't stop rockin' and a shaken' until we landed. We had multiple "bags" (the little ones in front of everyone's seat...catch my drift) passed to the center isle, and the paramedics even had to be called for one lady because she was so sick, and so weak they were afraid to let her get off the plane. Thank you Lord we were on land!
We found our trusty Anchorage nursery room, laid Kallen in the crib, took a cat nap myself, then headed to our final plane. Plane number two also had major turbulence issues, but nothing like the seat mates I had next to me. I'm already rambling enough, so I'll save that little story for another time...it's a duzzy. Needless to say, we didn't have an extra seat next to us, because the entire flight was full, so that was an interesting dynamic to add to the flight! Kallen did fine, slept on my lap almost the whole time, and woke up just in time to see the lights of Portland. Remember I mentioned this earlier...Here's the daddy story. It's 5:00 am, the entire plane is silent and everyone is asleep. Kallen finds the window shade and thinks it's funny to open and shut it, open and shut it. Fine, he's being quiet, and he's not disturbing anyone. Then we see the lights and I simply say..."look Kallen, we're almost home. My precious son blurts out in almost a scream "dadda". Wow...that woke everyone up around us. Then he proceeds to lift the shade up and down, and every time he pulls it up, he yells "dadda" again and again. I tried to get him to stop by distracting him, but all he wanted was his dadda and he was going to let everyone know!
We landed safe and sound, Kallen got to see his daddy, and we climbed in the car headed for home sweet home! It was a great trip, but we were glad to be home!
Thanks for listening to my rambling during these Alaska installments. We hoped you enjoyed reading all about our trip.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
It's a mystery to me!
I'm a big planner when it comes to my quilting, and I like everything to flow together. They told us if we like our fabrics, then we will like how everything comes together in the end, but I'm just not convinced yet. I've enjoyed the experience so far, but It's a little nerve racking at times. A good test in trust they told us (they being the teachers).
I enjoy quilting, which is one of the reasons that I'm taking this class, but not the main one. I've decided that I need some time to myself every once in a while, allowing Kevin to have some time with Kallen. Although this is only once a month, it still serves it's purpose! This week however, Kevin had bowling at the exact same time as my class, so we needed a babysitter. My parents had a meeting themselves, and my mother-in-law is taking the class with me...that left grandpa...my father-in-law.
No worries, of course Grandpa is going to do fine with the little guy, but dropping him off, I had my doubts. Not that I thought Rod (my FIL) would do a bad job, but because of Kallen's mood. He hadn't taken a nap or eaten all day, was a little sick, and is still clinging on to me as if I'm going to leave him forever. Besides that, my class was from 7-9 pm, right in the middle of Kallen's 8 o'clock bedtime. Everyone Kept telling me to just walk out the door, and let grandpa deal with it. So, that's what I did.
I left with Rod on the couch, Kallen playing with his toys, and all was well. Sheri (my MIL) and I snuck out the back door and went to sew. I truly only "worried" about Kallen a couple of times while sewing, though everyone kept assuring me everything was fine.
At 9:00, we packed up, and headed back to Rod & Sheri's house. We walked in with Rod in the exact spot we left him, only he was asleep and there were toys everywhere. We looked for Kallen, but didn't see him, so we figured grandpa had put him to bed in one of the rooms, then came back out to rest himself. Nope...grandpa heard us, woke up and pointed to the fireplace mantel straight ahead of him. There was my son, curled up on the fireplace, sound asleep.
Rod said he had been playing very contently by himself, then all the sudden climbed up on the mantel. He played with the sign a little big, sat there and looked at his grandpa as if to say "you've got your chair, and I've got mine", then kind of just leaned over, laid down, and out he was. Why he chose right there, is a mystery to us all!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Crying over spilled Spaghettios
Monday, April 23, 2007
Mommy Talk Monday!!!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Alaska - Installment #3
We finally landed in Fairbanks, and it was time to get on with our vacation!!! Yes!!! Dylan, Ashley and David all met us at baggage claim, and proceeded to help us get our luggage into the car. It seemed as if we brought everything but the kitchen sink with us, though somehow we managed to cram it in! Hey, in my defense I didn't know what to expect, and I wanted to be prepared!!! Besides...Kevin needed a sink at home, so we thought we ought to leave that for him.
Anyways...We drove to their house, and that's when the fun began. If I haven't said this before, David and Kallen are 6 weeks apart, and it was so much fun watching them interact. There were lots of hugs and kisses (especially from Kallen), tongs of giggling, and more "showing off" than you can imagine! Both boys had to show each other all they could do, and it was rather amusing.
Kallen is our little monkey, and found it necessary to climb on each and everything he could. David hadn't yet learned this wonderful feat, but since we've been home, Ashley has now informed me that he too is climbing on the furniture. Sorry about that!!!
One of the funniest things to watch, was Kallen climbing up, and standing on David's little trike in order to sit on it (his little legs just weren't long enough). Then, when Kallen was done with his turn, David would saunter on over, and throw his leg over the seat as if to show Kallen how "it's really done". David is 6 weeks younger, but actually bigger in size than Kallen, so that was an interesting dynamic! Here at home, Kallen hardly eats, but when we were up there...he ate everything that was put in his face. Ashley joked with me that we could "plump" him up if we just stayed a little longer!!!
We had such a great time, seeing the sights and just hanging out! There were times we stayed home and let the boys play, and times we got out and about!
The boys had a great time with each other, and we only had a few minor injuries to speak of! One time in particular, we were at Chili's having lunch...Kallen had gone with me to the restroom, and when we came out, David was there to greet us. Kallen saw him, and immediately ran full speed, wrapped his arms around him, and gave him the biggest hug/tackle ever! David wasn't quite expecting it, tried to back away, but to no avail. Kallen's momentum took them both down, and David hit his head on the tile floor. He started screaming, which scared Kallen enough that he started screaming, and we lost them both from there! Poor little guys! I'm happy to say that David was a-okay, and his goose egg was nearly gone the next day! Needless to say he tended to run the other way when Kallen came at him with a hug.
Whew, was that enough for you!!!
Anyways, all that said and done...after a long and eventful week, it was time to say our goodbyes. We got some dinner, and headed to the airport for our 7:58 pm flight!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
28 weeks - Is someone sitting on my chest?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Help please!!!
Sorry, I know...two posts in one day...and this one doesn't really say anything informative...I'm just looking for some help!
Okay, so I'm having some problems linking an old post to the post I just made. I've gotten good at writing things, and adding some pictures, but that's about all I can do! I'm just starting to branch out, and I even added some other blog links to my site...Yeah for me!
Now I'm stuck. Any of you bloggers out there...How do I link an old post to a new one? I thought I had done it, but there seems to be an error! Huh...
Let's try this again!
I'm starting to get the babies room ready for our new arrival (even though we still have three months), and getting Kallen out of the crib, is one of the first steps! Last time we tried this, I left the crib in his room, so there was a since of familiarity (not sure where I got that logic, but oh well). This time I've completely taken it out, and the only option is his bed.
For Monday's nap, I laid down with him until he fell asleep, then quietly removed myself from his room. At bedtime, we didn't have to because he was almost asleep as soon as his head hit the sheets. Yesterday's nap time was the same...lay with him until he falls asleep, then sneak out. Bedtime once again...no problem!
Now today is going to be the big test. We have Dawson today and I can't really leave him out in the living room while I lay with Kallen for a few minutes! Everyone can just pray that things go well, and Kallen doesn't get too carried away with all the freedom of being able to roam around his room! He should figure it out...right???
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Alaska - Installment #2
Then it was time to go. We said our goodbyes, gave our hugs and kisses, and went on our way! Being that it was now 8:30 or so, I put Kallen's PJ's on, set him in the stroller, and walked from gate to gate until it was our time to board the plane!
I had gotten some wonderful advice from my friend Laura who told me not to board with the usual "early boarding for people traveling with kids", but instead to wait until that last possible moment to board. If you board early, you end up waiting another 20-30 minutes for everyone else to arrive, before the plane actually begins to move. The 3 1/2 hour flight turns into 4, etc, etc.
We boarded the plane, waved goodbye to daddy, and settled in to our seats. It was merely 2 minutes or so before we began to taxi down the runway, and we were off to Alaska.
Let me backtrack, just a minute. I've never flown with kids before, so I don't really know the ends and outs of family travel. I didn't buy a seat for Kallen because I figured he would sleep on my lap the whole flight, and it wouldn't be worth spending the extra miles. The thing I didn't realize was that the airlines try to accomodate families by blocking out seats when the flights arn't full. Sure enough, they had done that for us. We ended up with two seats, and plenty of room to move around.
The engine noise at take-off, put Kallen right to sleep, and he didn't wake up until the plane touched the ground. Thank you Lord!
We're now in Anchorage, and begin looking for a place to crash for our 7 hour layover...yes, 7 hours...but remember how much I saved on the flight, and it is 12:00 am, so it's bedtime!!! Well, this nice lady, pointed me in the direction of the "nursery". Okay, we'll check it out. Let me tell you how wonderful the Anchorage airport is. They have a nursery room, for parents traveling with kids, that had a crib, two leather couches, toys, and even a private bathroom! Thank you again Lord. I let Kallen play for a few minutes, laid him down in the crib, found my place on the couch, and went to sleep. Sleep isn't really the right word, since the announcer kept coming over the loud speaker telling us all that the local time in Anchorage was 1:00 am, 1:30 am, 2:00 am , ect., ect.. Kallen slept through the noise, but it was just enough to keep me alert!
We woke up, went to our gate, boarded the plane for Fairbanks, and once again we were off!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Daddy's Boy
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Alaska - Installment #1
Anyways...We started looking for tickets back in February, and realized it was going to cost at least $850 for me alone, and $1200 if I wanted to get Kallen his own seat. Huh...So thanks for the deals Travelocity, Expedia, ect, ect. Next step, look into using our airline miles. Perfect, we've got a lot of miles built up, and never fly anywhere, so why not? Here's the deal with our miles...In order to fly a regular, leave in the morning, arrive in the evening type flight, it was going to take 45,000 miles. If we flew "red-eye" and had long layovers in Anchorage, it would only be 20,000 miles. Huh, decisions, decisions. Well, we decided to go the "red-eye" route, and although you may think I'm crazy, I'll explain myself later!
Helping daddy push the stroller!
Sittin' on the train with mommy.
Lookin' at the Elephants
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Cottage Cheese Anyone?
Today is the second Tuesday of the month, which for those of you who don't know, means MOPS. We had Dawson today as well, so instead of having Brandy drive all the way out to our house, just to turn back around and head into town, we decided to pick him up instead. Fine, things are going great so far! Kallen woke up at 7:45, drank some milk, played for a little bit, then got dressed for our outing into town! I tried to give him some breakfast, but that was a "no go", so fine, no worries!
Well, here we are, driving into town, just around the corner from Brandy's, when all the sudden ...blahhhhh...Uh, what was that? I turn around and Kallen is throwing up, curdled, chunks of milk. Uh...what do I do now? I'm driving around a corner, turned around watching my son, not able to do anything to help him, and almost losing it myself from the smell and the sight of it all. Then, that precious son of mine blurts out "uh oh...oots (his version of Oops)", while holding out his arm for me to see the nasty cottage cheese looking curds that are looming on his arm. Sorry to be so graphic, but at least you don't have to smell it too...right Brandy!
I got to Brandy's, pulled the car seat (with Kallen still strapped in) out of the car, and went knocking on the door looking for towels, plastic bags, and a gas mask if she had it. No such luck on the gas mask, but Brandy was such a good friend, and helped me change Kallen's clothes, and try to get things a little better cleaned out before I headed to MOPS.
Yes, I went ahead and went to the meeting, but only because I was certain Kallen wasn't really sick. He basically turned into a human milkshake after drinking so much right before we went into town, and his poor little body didn't like it.
The meeting didn't go so well, since Kallen decided to have a major case of "mommy separation anxiety" and never stopped screaming. I ended up sitting down in the nursery with him and all the other little kiddos, and missed the entire meeting. Oh well, what are you going to do? Go home and have cottage cheese and fruit for lunch, right?