G & K Management Party

Saturday night Miranda came over to watch the boys for us. We were invited to a Winter management party. Now that Eric is management again, we get to rub elbows with the upper crust of G&K, not! One nice thing about the people Eric works with is, they are all very sociable and fun to be with. We went to the Plant Manager's house. She has a beautiful home in Ankeny. She had a huge spread of food. Eric went for the meatballs and wings, I went for the veggies and chocolate dipped strawberries.

I have never been to a party before, where all 18 of us stood in a circle around the food, in the kitchen. People only moved to get beer from the other room or go to the bathroom. They have a huge house, with many rooms, but we all stayed in the 12 by 30 foot kitchen. The funniest thing then happened. Our circle lent itself to joke telling. People started telling jokes for almost 2 hours. It was a hoot. I did not partake of the joke telling. I have such a hard time remembering jokes, so I just laughed at all of them.

Miranda called at 8:15 to say Anthony had been crying and screaming for an hour. She didn't know what else to try. I could hear Chase in the background trying to make Tony laugh and do silly things, it just wasn't working. He had been just fine when we left. All we could figure was he had gas. I asked her to rock him and try burping him some more. He finally passed out 15 minutes later, so we didn't have to go home.

I had four beers and called it quits at 10pm, which is when it started getting fun watching everyone else. At this point a few us moved to the kitchen table. Eric found out that Tamera's husband Chris hunts. Tamera and Chris were hosting the party. Eric asked if he had any sausage. Chris came up with two huge sticks of venison. Once had cheese and the other had cheese and hot peppers. So Chris and Eric started talking and really hit it off. They enjoy the same music, the same off-colored jokes and sharing their flatulence with everyone! Chris is a commercial airline pilot. I thought he was going to be all uptight, but he was a lot of fun. We ended up being the last one's there. Eric says, "Hey, just tell us to leave. We know what it is like to have guests that stay until 4 or 5 in the morning." Both of them said no you don't have to leave yet. Well, I was tired and ready to leave. We finally said our good-byes at 1:15 am.

I enjoy being able to go out, and make new friends, but then I sacrifice sleep in return. I crawled into bed a little before 2, knowing Anthony would be up in 3 or 4 hours. He never took his bottle since he was so worked up, but he did sleep until 5:45am. I was able to doze while he nursed, but then he wouldn't go back to bed, of all days!

Back to Back Dr. Appointments

Last Wednesday we had a bit of a scare with Anthony. Delana fed him his morning cereal and as she was cleaning him up, he projectile vomited it back up. He then turned red and his hands and feet became swollen. His left eye, right ear and lips were also swollen. A few minutes later he had a dime size hive on his leg and his neck.

Delana has allergies and knew what was happening. She sent Dale to the store for Benedryl. But she didn't know if she should give it to him, since he had just had his shots the night before. I was in a morning meeting, so she got a hold of Eric first. He was on his way to her house, when he got a hold of me. I called the doctor in route to her house. They wanted to see him before we did anything. We are very thankful that the allergic reaction did not affect his breathing.

I arrived an hour after it all began. His fingers and a few toes were still swollen, but his face was back to normal and the hives were gone. The doctor said it was good that he expelled it so quickly. At this point we still weren't sure what caused the reaction. We were reading the ingredients in the cereal, and were wondering if it was the coconut oil or palm oil. He also had just had his shots, so maybe that was the problem.

We saw the doctor and she looked at the ingredients and immediately said, "It is the wheat." It turns out that wheat is the 3rd most likely allergen for kids. So for the time being we must read all labels and avoiding any form of wheat. Mixed baby cereal has wheat, so we are sticking to rice and oatmeal. He won't be having Cherrios anytime soon! When he turns one they will do a food allergy blood work up. At this age he is too young to be able to get accurate results. I too must watch my wheat intake, since it passes through my milk. We have been giving him Benedryl per doctor's orders, and he looks much better.

Anthony's 6 Month Check-Up

Tuesday, Anthony had his check-up. Completely naked, he weighed 20 lbs. 7 oz. He is 29 inches long. He is in the 97 percentile. His ears looked good and his lungs were clear. He only had to have 2 shots. He cried, but he didn't do his blood curdling, ear piercing cry, which breaks my heart. I picked him up and he stopped crying. I got him dressed and he was back to smiling and saying, "da-da-da-da."

Miranda is Moving

Miranda called us last week with exciting news. She has accepted a position with the State of Kansas as a Case Worker. She will be making more money, and will be closer to her boyfriend Rob. She decided she didn't want a long distance relationship anymore, so she started interviewing down by him. She will be in Lenexa, Kansas which is just west of Kansas City. We will miss her dearly, but she will be less than 4 hours away. She said she would try to come up once a month, or we will go down to visit. Another plus, she will be less than an hour away from where Mom, Grandma and Grandpa are buried, so she will be able to check on the grave sites more regularly.

Her last day here is February 4th. So we wanted to make sure we see her at least once a week before she goes. Last week Eric was out of town for management training. Miranda came over for dinner Thursday night. We had turkey tacos and then played Cootie with Chase. He kicked our butts. Anthony was napping, so Chase had our undivided attention, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Then she was over on Tuesday for dinner. Chase had to learn a hard lesson. He wanted to play Cootie again. We started playing, and he go mad because Miranda took the antenna's he wanted. He wouldn't let it go, he wanted her to give them to him. He got mad and threw his cootie across the room. I told him that was it, that game is over. He needed to go to his room and get ready for bed. Boy was he screaming mad, literally. I had to carry him to his room kicking and screaming. He said he didn't mean to throw it and he still wanted to play. I told him we could try playing again the next day. He has to learn their are consequences to his actions. He finally calmed down and got his pj's on. I then gave him the choice of reading a book or doing a puzzle with Aunt Miranda. He picked out his Dora book and Miranda read to him, and all was well.

Anthony Goes To His First Birthday Party

Sunday, January 15th we went to Delana's for Audrey's 1st Birthday party. Delana watches her great-niece during the week too. Both boys love her very much. She loves giving Anthony kisses on his forehead. She is very gentle and sweet. He get a big smile on his face and kicks his legs, when she kisses him. I told Anthony he is too young to date. He will have to wait until he can at least walk!

Delana made mostacolli and meatballs, salad, stuffed mushrooms and Italian peaches. It was all delicious. I am going to get the recipe for the Italian peaches. It is a pastry that has a creamy filling. We got to meet Delana's dad. Chase is always talking about him. He comes over 2 or 3 times a week to visit. He is quite a character. He introduces himself to me as "The Grand Whop." He is only half Italian, but he really celebrates his heritage. He use to be a chef back in the 60's and 70's at the Latin King, here in Des Moines. Then he went on to start his own restaurant, "Little Joe's." Which was only three blocks from our old house on Kirkwood. By then the name had changed, since he had sold it. Such a small world.

After lunch we all sang to Audrey and then to Delana. Her birthday was on the 16th. Anthony had three bites of frosting and loved it. He also tried two bites of ice cream. He made quite a face when the cold ice cream hit his tongue. However, he did swallow it.

It was a beautiful day. We had the windows open, the sun was shining and it was 58 degrees. The kids went out to play. I pulled Chase and Sergio around in the wagon. Then we played catch with the football. Eric was downstairs watching football with Delana's brother Phil. We all enjoyed the day in our own way.

Jody Sister Gets Married

Saturday, January 14th we headed down to Knoxville. Stephanie said she would watch the boys, so we could go to Leanne's wedding reception. The reception was in Harvey, which is a town with a population of maybe 200. They have one church, a bar that has one table and juke box and a community center. Eric actually lived there my senior year of college. Rent was really cheap. We had a great New Year's Eve party there, since we didn't have to worry about being quiet or the cops!

The reception was at the community center. They had a very nice turn out. Jody's Dad and stepmom, his two half sisters and brother all made the trip from North Dakota. So I got to meet them for the first time. His sister's are really nice, and very good singers. Jody paid for Al Robuck to dee-jay. Eric and Jody have known him since middle school. He is also an Elvis impersonater. He didn't dress up like Elvis that night, but his hair is dyed and he has the side burns. He also has karaoke, and he sang a few songs. He is really good. He regularly performs in Des Moines at prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino. We got there a little after 5pm. Some of our other friends showed up around 7. Everyone was getting ready to go around 9pm. They asked us to go out with them, but we needed to get the boys and head home. Eric was getting up at 7am to go to a swap meet at the fair grounds. I find it amazing, how the need to buy parts for his car can get him out of bed so easily. Yet, when we go to church he waits to the last possible moment to get up!

We got back to Stephanie's by 9:30. Chase was still up. They were reading books. He started crying. We asked him what was wrong. He said, "We haven't finished Snow White, and I haven't gone to sleep yet." He was so disappointed that he didn't get to sleepover. Stephanie told him he could come over again and stay next time. That made him feel better. We got home, put the kids to bed and were asleep by 10:45pm.

Hockey Game

I am still behind on my blog, but I am only a week behind now. Friday the 13th we went to see the Des Moines Buccaneers play. The players are 18 to 20 year olds, and are part of the USHL. After this league they then move up to the AHL, which is where the Iowa Stars and Milwaukee Admirals play. In the USHL the refs allow a lot of fighting. Sometimes they get into fights just to get the crowd going, so it seems. This was only my second visit to the ice arena.

I am head of the social committee for the IT department, and we had fun going last year, so we decided to do it again. We ordered in pizza from Pizza Hut, and used the lounge prior to the game. Then we went out to our seats. It was fun to socialize with my co-workers outside of work. We only stayed for the first two periods.

A very drunk guy spilled his beer on the stairs. A janitor then came and mopped it up with a very wet mop. I mean it makes a lot of sense. You already have wet stairs, let's make them more wet. I had gone down to go to the bathroom. I was coming out and Eric wanted the keys to the truck. He didn't say why and just kept on walking. Two of my friends came running over and said that Eric slipped on the wet stairs. He fell down four of them. I told them bye and went out to meet Eric. His butt and back were in major pain. He told me to go back in and have fun. Well, there was no way I could back in and have fun, when Eric was in such pain. I told him we were going home, so he could take some Advil and relax.

Anthony is 6 Months

Jury Duty

Monday, January 9th I had to report to the Polk County Courthouse to perform my civic duty of jury duty. There was a lot of waiting around at first. 250 people were there and they wanted us to go through orientation. They divided us up into two of the biggest courtrooms, and then showed us a video. It was a really corny video. The gist of it was they wanted us realize the importance of us being there, and that we can use our common sense to help in determining if a person was guilty or not. After the 20 minute video, they then started calling names for different judges. I was not called for the first five judges, so I thought I may be sent home. However, twenty minutes later another clerk came in, and my name was on her list. They say that our names were picked from the registered voters list or the DMV. The names for the judges are also randomly picked by a computer.

They took 27 of us to Judge Novak's courtroom. The lawyers for both sides were there. The judge thanked us for helping make the wheels of justice turn. He asked us to answer the lawyers questions honestly and to disclose any additional information to them. We all had to fill out a questionnaire prior to being picked, so the lawyers were working off of our answers. The lawyers directed their questions at the first 21 people on their list. The idea being, that both sides will eliminate 4 people, which then leaves 13 people left. However, if someone says they know the defendant or a witness in the case, then they would be excused prior to the strikes from the lawyers, thus the reason for the additional 6 jurors. It wasn't until the very end, that the defense lawyer asked if I understood what proof beyond a reasonable doubt meant. They had been talking about it for 10 minutes, I told him I did. The lawyers then told the judge who they were striking. Since I hardly had been questioned, they had no reason to eliminate me, so I was picked.

It was a criminal case. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges of an OWI. He didn't pass all the field sobriety tests, so the cop took him in. He then decided not to take the breathalizer, because he could not get a hold of his lawyer. The cop car did not have video surveillance, so we only had the word of the officer and the defendant. The defendant told the officer he had a slipped disc, and it could alter the tests. The cop kept telling him he needed to do the field tests. The defendant finally said he would do it. He didn't want to cause any trouble. We were able to watch the video of him being booked. From what we saw on the video he didn't look drunk. He stood still, he got undressed, he made phone calls, he used a phone book without any trouble. The trial concluded Tuesday afternoon. The judge looks over to the jury box and says, "The alternate juror for this case is Rachel Agans, you are excused." So I had leave, I didn't get to stay and deliberate. I am going to call one of the guys that was on the jury tonight, to find out if they found him guilty or not. After sitting in on that case, I was excused for the rest of the week, and was able to go back to work. I will not get called again for at least another 2 years.

Anthony's 1st Ear Infection

I thought Anthony was just having symptoms from teething. He had a runny nose, he was fussy, and he wasn't sleeping through the whole night. Then on Tuesday, the 3rd he was at Delana's and had a really hard day. I got there and she said he cried for over an hour, and when she tried to lay him down for his nap he started crying really hard again. She also noticed him tugging at his left ear.

Well, I wasn't going to monkey around waiting to see how things played out. I called the pediatrician, and I could get him in at 5:20pm. It was 4:40pm at the time. I called the neighbor to see if Chase could go over to play. Eric wasn't home from work yet. I nursed Anthony for 15 minutes and we were out the door.

We only had to wait about 10 minutes and then we were called. Anthony was weighed and tipped the scales at 20 lbs and 13oz. The doctor then came in and looked in his ears. He said he did indeed have an ear infection. He wrote out prescription for Amoxicilllin. It is still pink and tastes like it did when I was a kid. Anthony took his medicine really well, he swallowed it right down. Within a day he was already looking and feeling much better.

The Boys Chillin' in the Big Chair

Chase, Tony & Ryan

Ryan Checking Out Tony

Marnie and Ryan Come for a Visit

Marnie and her 9 week old son, Ryan came over for lunch on Monday, January 2nd. We had a wonderful visit. We both hadn't had a chance to visit each other since Ryan was born. I tried a new recipe. I put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a 9x12 pan. Then covered the breasts with provolone cheese, and then put 2 cans of cream of chicken soup over it. Then it calls for bread crumbs on top of that. I put it in the oven for 40 minutes. It was quick and easy. I thought it was pretty tasty, but I think it could have baked for a shorter time. The chicken seemed a bit dry. We also had salad, mashed potatoes, corn and garlic bread.

Anthony was fascinated with Ryan. He kept trying to touch him. At one point they held hands for a minute. It was so cute. Chase was very good with Ryan too. He talked to him in his high pitch voice he uses when talking to Tony. We took a bunch of pictures. I will post a few.

Happy New Years!

It is hard to believe a new year is upon us already. 2005 has flown by, and the last 6 months have gone even faster. We went to the Outback for an early dinner and then shopping at Super Target. We really know how to party it up! This is the first New Year's Eve since 9th grade that I stayed home, and went to bed before midnight, Eric too! Eric said, "I hope this isn't a sign of us getting old." I told him, "No, it is called parenthood." Preparing for Christmas, with all the decorating, cooking, shopping and wrapping just zapped me. Eric said we didn't need to have a tree, the decorations and all the hoopla. I told him I wanted it to be a magical time for Chase and it was Anthony's first Christmas! Sometimes he can be a real bah humbug!

It has been our tradition since we were married, to go to a movie on New Year Day. I was able to get Telitha to babysit the boys, and we went to see, "Fun with Dick and Jane." It was a very funny comedy that we both enjoyed. Afterwards we picked up the boys from Julie's and Sarah came home with us for a sleepover.

Chase and Sarah love playing treasure hunt. So I make a list up of things for them to find. Chase enjoys looking for them, but Sarah ends up having to put it all away. I then made Chase and Sarah a fort in his room, which they then slept in that night. By morning, it had fallen down, but it served it purpose.

Tony's Getting Teeth

After two months of drooling, Tony's bottom teeth are coming in. The first one broke through on the 16th of December. His 2nd bottom tooth popped through on the 29th. Now it looks like one of his top teeth are getting reading to come through. He was really fussy yesterday, which is out of character for him. He acted the same way the day before his first bottom tooth came in. I am keeping an eye out!

Christmas Day

Chase woke up at 7:30am. I told him Santa had come, and I wanted to watch him open his gifts. Since we had to bring gifts along to Wisconsin, I opted for some small presents. He got a Muck, from Bob the Builder, a Jay-Jay the Jet Plane video, play-doh and a Dora puzzle. He seemed to enjoy them all. I made some breakfast and then we headed over to my Dad's for a visit.

We arrived at Dad and Judy's a little before 11am. I am happy to report, that my dad had refrained from consuming any alcohol that morning. Thus we had a very pleasant visit. Chase made out like a bandit. He got Legos, Bob the Builder, a computer learning game, Chutes and Ladders and a double rider blow up sledding tube. Eric and I received a Dust Buster. We were both very excited. Clean up in the kitchen and dining area will be so much easier now! Dad played two games of Chutes and Ladders with Chase, which made me happy. It is really the first thing that my dad and Chase have ever done together. After our visit we headed back to my mom's.

Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Cheryl came early. We weren't having dinner until 6pm. The rest of the family was coming around 4:30 or 5pm. Aunt Cheryl brought the ingredients to make pomegranate martini's, as seen on Oprah. They were fantastic. They went down like cool-aid, not a good thing. After one and half, I was done. I am a lightweight these days.

My mom had a brilliant idea this year for Christmas. She decided to order two already made meals from the grocery store. All we had to do was heat up the ham, green bean casserole and potatoes. She bought a fruit tray and made a salad. Everything was delicious, and we had plenty to snack on later in the evening as well.

This year we deviated from our traditional gift opening. Normally we open one gift at a time youngest to oldest. This way everyone can see what everyone else got. Madilyn and Chase had been patient all day, so I think their excitement kind of lead to the mass chaos of the opening of the gifts. We all started opening them as they were still getting handed out. Wrapping paper, bows and boxes were everywhere. It was fun to change it up and watch the kids tear open their gifts. Afterwards we remembered we wanted to take pictures with all the grandkids and Grandma and Grandpa. Amazingly, we all got assembled and we took pictures.

The whole day Anthony never took a nap, and was still content and very sociable. I finally got him to bed around 9pm, and Chase shortly afterwards. Justin, Anne and Aunt Cheryl decided to stay the night. Justin brought along a DVD game called Rift. We had to split into teams and the questions were about music groups, artists and songs. I know very little when it comes to actually knowing the names of bands etc... Luckily Aunt Cheryl and I had Eric and Anne on our team, which gave us the edge. Around 10:30pm I was really dragging. I was ready to crash, but Aunt Cheryl wouldn't let me. She said, "We only get to see you a few times a year. You have to stay up." In a whining voice I said, "I know, but I am a nursing mother." To which she replied, "I have to work 16 hours tomorrow and I am 17 years older than you. If I can do it, so can you!" So we stayed up until 2:30am. I hated going to bed, knowing Tony would be up in 2 hours to nurse. Thankfully I was able to take a few cat naps on the way home to Iowa on Monday. So ended our visit to my homeland.

Christmas Eve

We arrived to Milwaukee around 9:45pm on December 23rd. Anthony slept 4 1/2 hours on the way up. So he then wanted to be up until 1am. However, I preferred that to him being awake in the car. Then he was up again at 5am. So I stayed up and finished wrapping Christmas gifts.

We were then off to see my girlfriend Sara, and her new home she had recently purchased in Wauwatosa. We got there and Chase immediately wanted to open gifts, however Sara wanted to wait until after we had lunch. Chase was really good about waiting, and instead enjoyed running around Sara's house. This is the second year in a row we have been able to visit Sara on Christmas Eve. Last year Sara made Chase wiener roll-ups. This year she wanted to do something more gourmet, but in the end decided we would start a new tradition of wiener roll-ups and tater tots. It is one of Chase's favorite meals, so why not. When Sara and I were in grade school, Carol her mom, would make them for our Saturday lunch.

After visiting with Sara we were off to Bay Shore mall to Sears Portrait Studio. We were having a family picture taken of our family, my brother, Anne and their two daughters, my Mom and our Grandma and Grandpa. It was quite a production, but they managed to get us organized and a picture snapped. Anthony wasn't into smiling and Hanna kept crying, but hey we took the time to make it happen, and will have a photo to treasure for years to come. After the picture we were off to Grafton, to see my brother's new place.

We drove 20 minutes north to Grafton and spent Christmas Eve at Justin and Anne's. The cousins had a wonderful time playing together. Anthony and Hanna had their socks off and were playing footsie. Chase and Madilyn were wrestling and playing games. They even had a tea party, but I don't think Eric knows about that!

We opened presents and Justin bought Chase a huge remote control Jeep that can drive over rocks and climb walls. He had a hard time using it in the house. (Now that he has played with it in the driveway, he loves it!) He also received a Bob the Builder play set. He was pretty excited about that. We gave Madilyn the Candy Land DVD game. It is really interactive and it took awhile for Mom and I to figure out all the different games you can play with it. However, once we did we all had fun playing. We headed back to Mom's around 10pm. We were all tired. It had been a long day, but we weren't too tired to open Christmas presents. The boys were asleep, so Mom opened her presents from us, and we got to open ours. It was a George Foreman indoor grill. It is great, and the cooking plates are removeable for easy cleaning, which Eric just loves. I am now trying to find ways to cook all our meals on the Foreman!