Hanging out with Family & Friends

We've had some great fun hanging out with the family and our friends these past few months. The week after Christmas we went over to my friend's house to exchange presents with the kids. Both Jared and J love pirates so that was fun.

We also went a few times with J to the Max for their Bounce Days.

 We checked out a new place,  Jumps N' Jiggles. This place is so cool. They have an indoor carousel that you can go on unlimited times with the price of admission ($5). Wherever the kids go, they always find instant friends. They found a little boy they became attached to and loved playing with him on this helicopter play equipment.

We went to see Steve's dad play volleyball at the church.

We also made a few visits to their granddad at the church. Jared always wants to hold the dagger set someone gave Larry from Pakistan. Then we usually head down to the gym for paper airplanes and floor hockey.

We were also able to meet Steve at his job once this winter. He left early and we headed to the mall for a train ride.

A big part of our winter has been the kid's weekly gymnastics class. It's great because it's just a few minutes away and only lasts a half hour. For the most part, the kids seem to like it, although they don't do so well when the coaches have the kids standing in line too long (who would?)

And we've celebrated a few birthdays, too. We had a party Steve's dad at their house in February and for my sister's husband the beginning of March.

Visiting Daddy and the DuPage Children's Museum

It had been a while since we visited Steve at his office, and since we were going to the DuPage Children's Museum later that day, we thought we'd stop by and see Daddy first.  The kids LOVE visiting their dad at his job. He's a sales tax manager and has a nice big office that is fun to play in. Plus, they get to go around saying hi to the members of his team.

We went out to eat at Pompeii, dropped Steve back at work, and then headed to the museum. We have a membership so we can go whenever we want to, and let me tell you, afternoon is the best time to go. It was 1:30 when we arrived, and I think there was probably only three or four other families in the entire building. Awesome! Of course that's because most older kids are at school and the younger kids are taking naps, so that's probably not true about the summers.

I had the idea to go there when I saw on the museum's website that the art studio's project was painting with gears. Turns out the kids spent about five minutes in that room and then wanted to play in the shadow exhibit for about a half hour. It's funny how our interests may draw us towards something, but yet we often walk away in a whole other direction.

What I love about museums is how even though you've been to the same one many times, you still seem to always see or do something new every time you go back. Of course some of that has to do with changing temporary exhibits, but I think it's also about how you've learned new things, think in new ways and are really a different person when you go back.  So, even though the kids have been in this woodworking part of the exhibit a few times before and have seem so-so about it, they spent a long time there today, especially Jared, focusing intently on their projects.

Maybe it was because the water/wind room had literally no other people in it when we were there, or simply because the kids were in such great spirits that day, but we had so, so, much fun pushing rubber ducks down waterfalls, running through wind machines, and playing pirates on a ship. It was a good, good day. Something we all really needed.

Doctor Visit, Daddy's Work, and the ER

The kids had their 4 year old check up on the 5th. They both were so proud to be going to the doctor's office. Jared's now 39 and 1/4 inches tall, and Alexa is 39 and 3/4th inches tall. Jared's in the 25th percentile in weight at 32 pounds; Alexa is in the 50th for weight at 34 pounds.

They had pretty much forgotten what shots were like, which was good at first because they weren't freaking out ahead of time. Alexa didn't even cry or flinch after getting two shots in the leg and a finger prick. Jared cried for a little bit, but after about 10 seconds that was all. They've always been really tough when it comes to pain.

After the doctor, we drove to Portillos for lunch. Jared wanted to go to McDonald's, but I said no. I just couldn't stand eating there once again. They still ordered burgers and fries, but at least Steve and I could eat something different.

We then drove to Steve's work. We try to visit him at least three or four times a year. Today is nice because Steve was just going to meet with someone for a little while, and then leave with us to go back home. I actually have a picture of the kids with Steve in his office. I just realized that I've never snapped a shot of them in his office before.

I started to feel bad, my chest has felt tight the past few weeks, while I played games with the kids in the office. When we started to go downstairs, it felt worse so I sat down while Alexa walked along the ledge near the fish and took a picture of them. Steve took Jared to the bathroom.

By the time Steve came back and we got into the car, my chest started hurting pretty bad. Then I started to feel very nausous and my left hand went numb. That's when we rushed to the hospital.

I was rushed in right away and had an EKG done. Then came a flurry of other tests, an IV was placed in my arm (I still haven't been able to go a year from the time I was first married, almost 7 years, without having an IV!), and I eventually went up for a CAT scan. Poor Steve had to keep the kids occupied with Slurpies, books and watching everything happen to me. I guess they had a really up close look at what ER doctors and nurses do.  Eventually, Steve's mom came and took the kids home for dinner.

Turns out my while blood cell count was high. I have some type of infection, but they don't know where. The chest pains, they guessed, were probably stress related. At least I know there's nothing seriously wrong with my heart or lungs.

Ah, well. At least it was an adventurous day!

Daddy's Work

We try to visit Steve at work at least three or four times a year. We've been visiting him since they had just turned a year old, so quite a few of the people he works with have seen them as they've grown. Plus, Steve's boss had a BBQ at his home every summer which we always attend with the kids. This summer we went on July 14th. The picture above was taken in the back of his building. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and there's even a small corn field planted out back.



Every time we go the kids ask to see the coy pond in the building's lobby. They also have so much fun climbing up things and just exploring.

I was upset that I forgot to bring the camera up to Steve's office. They love sitting in his chair, playing with his phone and adding machine. I think it's so good to bring kids to a variety of adult work settings to get a more clear idea of what different occupations are like.

Another cute thing happened when we went out to eat for lunch. The place where we went to eat had the menu printed in larger letters right on the wall when you first walked in. Alexa was reading the menu off the wall and impressing quite a few people.