Dance, Dance, Dance!

The kids have really been enjoying their Veggie Tales Dance Dance Dance Pad lately. If you're not familiar with that, it's very similar to Dance Dance Revolution. If you're not familiar with Dance Dance Revolution, that doesn't help you out very much. :) The dance pad is hooked up to the computer, which displays a scrolling screen with different colored arrows. You are supposed to step on the appropriate arrow when it appears on the screen. If it sounds confusing and challenging that's because it is. Especially for those of us who are uncoordinated or under the age of four. :)

Reese is finally getting the hang of it: (FYI--You may want to turn down the sound on your speakers! I was sitting right by the computer and didn't realize how loud it was.)

Wish I could say the same thing for Ryan:

Reese's First Driving Lesson with Dad

This weekend we picked up Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii. I have to admit it was fun to get a game where Reese could interact and play as well. (She's tried tennis but can't really get the hand/eye coordination down to return the ball. The games are pretty quick, though. Ha!) With Mario Kart she gets to hold the wheel and just drive around a track. How fun is that?!

Reese chose to be Baby Peaches and her vehicle of choice was a stroller, of course! :)

Relief in Sight

We took Ryan to the allergist this afternoon and explained all of his symptoms. She took a look at his rash and said that and everything else could be caused by seasonal allergies. She gave us a prescription for Allegra, which we started him on tonight. We are supposed to give him this twice daily and can also give him Benadryl if he's really having issues. I'm just glad that Allegra won't make him as drowsy as the Benadryl. The only downside is he does not like the taste at all, so the first dosage ended up all over his shirt. The good news is that we only have to give him this during allergy season...which is pretty much from now until November. :)

Paging Dr. House

We think Ryan may have a new allergen to add to his list. On Thursday morning I noticed one of his eyes seemed a little puffy and slightly red. His sitter gave him Benadryl because he seemed to get worse at her house. Over the next few days sometimes both eyes seemed to be better and other times they seemed to be very itchy. Today both of his eyes looked like little slits when I got him out of bed. :( To add to all of that, yesterday we noticed a large rash on his back that he had apparently been itching all day. He has scratches on his chest as well and looks like he's been in a fight with a cat. Poor baby!!! You know it's sad when he asks for cream (hydrocortisone) because it bothers him so much.

We were going through our list of what could be causing this reaction. I know we haven't introduced any new foods, so I didn't think it was food related. Finally Joel realized today that the "dirt and dust" I thought was covering our chairs outside on our porch is actually pollen. Then I put two and two together and figured he must have seasonal allergies because he touched those chairs last evening and then sneezed 8 times in a row two minutes later.

Now, I realize I don't have a medical degree--though I like to think I do since I am an avid watcher of "Grey's Anatomy" and "House." So I will definitely call his allergist in the morning to see what he thinks. I just hope there is something we can give him other than Benadryl because it makes him so sleepy. I just feel so badly for him because I know my seasonal allergies are not that bad but there are still some days when they drive me crazy!

If anyone has any good suggestions for what to give him or how to help him more comfortable, I'd appreciate it!

Our Little Frog

For Easter Ryan received a stuffed frog puppet that squeaked loudly when you made its mouth move. (All of the grandkids received a similar lamb, duck, or bunny puppet.) We thought Ryan would love it, but the sight of it made his lips quiver and produced crocodile tears. He would then tell us, "No! I 'cared frog!" (I'm scared of the frog.)

Something must have happened over the past few weeks because he eventually touched it on Wednesday and realized it wasn't going to hurt him. By Thursday he was carrying it around the house and by Friday night, he was asking to have the frog sleep with him that night. We've come along way since Easter when he wouldn't be in the same room with it! The frog even had to go to Costco and Meijer with us and would've gone to church but we didn't want him to start squeaking it during Mass. We don't need to stand out any more than we already do. :)

I also had to share this video clip:

The Results Are In...

Reese's pediatrician, Dr. Ferguson, just called with the results of Reese's sleep study. She said everything came back normal, which was surprising to the both of us. Her oxygen levels were at the normal levels and they considered her night-wakings within the normal range. Of course if you remember from my post that night, she had the best night sleep ever in my opinion when we were at the hospital!

I am very relieved that everything is okay with Reese. However, a little part of me is a little discouraged that I still don't know why she's so tired. I talked to Dr. Ferguson about meeting with a social worker/behavioral therapist who can help give us suggestions. She gave me a couple of recommendations, so that is going to be the next route.

Of course if I finally end up writing a letter to Dr. Phil, maybe he can help us out for free. Plus maybe we'd get a free vacation to California for the show!

Outnumbered!

This past Saturday we watched Amy and Brad's three kids while they attended a homeschooling conference. They arrived Friday evening and the kids played outside on the playground until it was time for us to go to dinner. When we got home we all played the Wii and then put the kids to bed.

The older kids (Riley, Quinn, and Reese) all had their sleeping bags and were looking forward to having a slumber party on the floor of our bedroom. I thought since Reese had played outside all morning, she would go right to sleep that night. Boy, was I wrong! Each kid took a turn coming downstairs for one reason or another. One kid needed a drink, someone said another kid was talking too much, one forgot to go potty, etc. I think they were up until about 10 or 10:30. We finally told them they could sleep in our bed and after they all snuggled in together, we didn't hear from them again.

We figured since they were up so late, they'd sleep in until 8 or 8:30. Wrong again! I heard them talking and giggling around 6:30 a.m. I say "around" because I didn't want to open my eyes to look at the time. I finally heard one of the kids come out of the bedroom and run down the hallway. At this point I decided to open my eyes, walk down the hall, and tell them to go back to sleep. But I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were wide awake and ready to start the day!

Around 9:30 we had all kids but one (Reese) ready to leave. That's right about the time when Reese's sleep deficit started to show its true colors. (And boy, were they ugly!!!) After about a 30 minute meltdown and being in and out of time-outs, we were ready to go. Then we headed out to the only place where one with five kids would go: Costco!!! We were out of Ryan's soymilk, so we had to make a pit stop. Plus we were hoping we could get enough samples and call it lunch. Just kidding, Amy--we would've still fed your kids! As we were walking around the store, we wondered if anyone thought that all 5 kids were ours. Then we decided probably not as a family of 7 would be buying more than one case of soymilk and a pack of AAA batteries. :)

We took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and let them play on the indoor playground. This was a nice activity since it was cold and rainy outside. After awhile Quinn asked if he would be able to take nap at our house because he was tired. We took this as a cue and headed home for some rest time! Even Reese didn't object and wanted to be the first one down. Actually, four out of the 5 kids napped, so it was a quiet afternoon.

Amy and Brad came home and joined us for a nice dinner. (I use the term "nice" loosely here as I did burn some of the potato fries and had to throw a whole pan away.) After we put Ryan and Owen to bed, the three oldest kids watched "High School Musical 2" while we played cards. I figured since Reese had a long nap in the afternoon that she would be good to stay up later with her cousins. Wrong again! She had another major meltdown around 9:30 and our company decided to hit the road. (I don't blame them--I wanted to leave, too!)

I do have to say that Joel admitted that having 5 kids for the day was really fun and said he would have 5 kids if it were that easy. Honestly, we had it too easy with Riley around--she was like an extra parent! Thanks for helping us keep everyone in line, Riley!

Friday's Natural Disaster

No, I'm not talking about the earthquake we felt here on Friday morning.

While I was painting the front door on Friday afternoon, Reese was painting a picture for Aunt Amy and Riley. She was in a very talkative mood and just chatting about everything and nothing in-between. At some point she started talking about Riley and how she is a big sister just like Reese, except she has TWO brothers, not one. Then she said, "I wish I had another baby brother like Riley. You know, sometimes I look at Baby Clare and think maybe I want a baby sister because she's so cute. But then I think that if we had another baby brother or sister, it would be a DISASTER!"

As I'm sure you can tell, I busted out laughing and asked why it would be a disaster.

She answered, "Well, I already have a brother, Ryan, and HE'S a disaster because he's always getting into my stuff and making messes everywhere and if we had ANOTHER baby, then it would be a DISASTER!"

Spoken like a true drama queen.

Little Pink Houses?

A few weeks ago I mentioned a crazy idea that I had to paint the shutters and front door of our house and change them from a forest green to a burgundy color. I thought Joel would roll his eyes and be annoyed that I'm adding another project to our list of things to do this spring, but instead he was all for it!

Unfortunately my idea of burgundy differed from his idea of burgundy. I was picturing it as a deep red color and he was picturing it as a deep reddish-purple color. We ended up settling on a color called Red Red Wine. However, when we put it on it looked more like Pink/Purple Punch. Luckily we only painted one shutter before realizing our mistake. Our neighbor across the street (who happens to be an art teacher) was more than willing to loan us her paint swatches to find a different color. (I'm sure she was just as anxious for us to find a good color so she didn't have to look at our horrid house!)

We ended up choosing a color called Cordovan, which is more of a reddish-brown color. We started painting Thursday evening and became obsessed to finish that night. Joel and I were out on our roof painting the 2nd story shutters while the sun was going down. Eventually it became so dark that I told Joel to go inside and grab the only working flashlight in our house--Ryan's Little Tikes Cow that goes "Moo!" when it lights up. He refused and said then our neighbors would think we are REALLY crazy. :) We finally wrapped up around 9:15 p.m. and just prayed that we both wouldn't fall off of our roof on the way in as no one would discover us until the morning.

A shot of Joel up on the roof while it was still daylight.

We were both anxious the next morning to run outside before work to make sure that we didn't end up accidentally painting our siding. Luckily we only noticed one or two places that need to be touched up. We wrapped up painting our front door and storm door over the weekend. I think it's a nice change from when the upper shutters had faded to a sea foam green.

This was how our house looked the week we moved into it. Not bad, but if you were to look closely, half of the shrubs were overgrown and dying.

Ta-da! Our semi-finished product. :) It seems so bare now that I see how it used to look before. Hopefully the landscaping will grow quickly!

Mis Amigas de El Rodeo

Obviously it's been many years since high school Spanish class. The title of this post is supposed to read: "My El Rodeo Friends." I know I could've just titled the blog in English, but that's not very authentic!

A couple of years ago a few co-workers started to meet at a Mexican restaurant near our school called La Hacienda. The atmosphere wasn't that great, but the chips and salsa were muy bueno (very good)! We tried to meet every few weeks just to chat about school, our kids, reality t.v., etc. Unfortunately La Hacienda closed so we had to find a new location for our meetings. Fortunately for me a new Mexican restaurant called El Rodeo opened not too far from my house. Plus they had great chips and salsa as well as a nice atmosphere. Triple bonus!

While we don't get out as regularly as we'd like, we still try to do a girls' night every other month or so. It's nice for me as I don't get to visit with my job sharing partner, Shannon, during the day since we obviously work opposite hours. And even though my Circle K/Polar Pop buddy, Rhonda, is in the classroom next to mine, we are on different schedules and don't have common prep time. (Which is probably a good thing so we can each get some things accomplished!) Even though Kelly is no longer teaching at our school, she still joins us since she was one of the main reasons we started our visits to La Hacienda. During her pregnancy with Grace, all she craved was Mexican food!

We always have so much fun laughing way too much and eating too many chips. We also play a fun little game of "Will Kristy's Order Be Right This Time?" It's always a blast! (I must clarify that it is no one's fault but my own for being so picky and not wanting cheese on my chicken taco!) Kelly wasn't able to join us the last time we met when we took this picture:

Shannon, me, and Rhonda

I could Photoshop you in, Kelly, but I think it would be much more authentic if we just went back to El Rodeo soon. And as you can tell in this post, I'm all about being authentic. Ha!

Back to the Grind

My Spring Break fun came to an end this week as I had to return to work on Monday. But before anyone feels too sorry for me, I looked on the calendar and discovered I only have 7 weeks left of school. Then the party will continue all summer long!

Even thought it was hard to wake up to my alarm clock Monday morning, my 32 oz. fountain drink from Circle K helped to perk me up. Before this year, I used to "treat myself" to a McDonald's large Diet Coke every Friday. It just gave me something to look forward to--besides the weekend! This year after receiving my class schedule, I realized that Monday and Tuesday would be my toughest days of the week at school with no breaks. So I started getting a drink on Mondays as well.

I started to feel guilty since I was spending close to $4 on drinks two days a week at McDonald's. But then I discovered Circle K, which is the convenience store at the Shell gas stations. They have the same size of fountain drinks called Polar Pop but for only $0.69! I could basically buy two for less than the price of one at Mickey D's. And I also had the option for crushed ice, which is my favorite! When I told Joel about how much I was saving he did the math and said, "In that case you could get one almost every day and still spend less than you did at McDonald's." I don't know if he was saying this just to prove a point or if he was telling me to get one almost every day. (I didn't question him--I just assumed it was the latter choice.)

Now mind you, I don't have time to stop every day. But that's why I have great friends. Yes, one of my co-workers is also hooked on Circle K so we take turns buying the other a drink. So not only am I saving money, I am saving time since I only have to stop a couple times a week. (We've had just a few times where we miscommunicate and both stop, therefore ending up with 4 large Diet Cokes. The good news is that they are not hard to pawn off on fellow teachers!)

Sometimes I feel guilty for my fountain drink habit, but then I look at the teachers carrying in their $5+ drinks from Starbucks. Then my guilt is replaced by an insatiable thirst that can only be quenched by my 32 oz. Polar Pop.

More Spring Break Fun

On Tuesday the kids and I headed to Fort Wayne to spend time with our family. Our first stop was at Aunt Amy and Uncle Brad's house. The kids had so much fun playing with Riley, Quinn, and Owen and I enjoyed catching up with Amy. We walked to a great park in their neighborhood and let the kids burn off some energy. I wish I would've had my camera with me because both Riley and Quinn did a great job of climbing the rock wall. Way to go!!!

Later when Ryan and Owen awoke from their naps, we headed outside to ride bikes.

"Little Miss Sunshine"--I mean, Riley. She's always so happy!

Quinn looking like a real biker with the glove. :)

Amy teaching Reese how to hit the ball.

Cutie pie Owen. I love this face!!!

Shortly afterwards we went to Joel's parents' house for dinner. The kids had so much fun playing with their grandparents! Ryan had so much fun kicking the golf balls to each of us. Yes, I did say "kicking." I was actually surprised that he had pretty good aim for kicking something so small.Ryan playing golf/kickball with Doug and Marsha

He kept cracking himself up with his kicks!

The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast with Doug and Marsha, then it was off to visit my grandparents. They just built a house a year and a half ago in the same neighborhood as my aunt, Nancy. That was great as we were able to see her, too. When we first arrived my grandma was finishing up a jigsaw puzzle. Reese loves puzzles and asked if she could help. Between the 3 of us, we were able to complete it in no time. Ryan couldn't keep his hands off that puzzle all day. Every time I turned around, he was over at the table destroying it. So I would go back and fix it, only to have him destroy it again. What can I say? He's all boy!

The kids helping Grandma Young with the puzzle

Reese and Grandma Young

Ryan and Grandpa Young

We left around 1 p.m. and headed home. Both kids were exhausted and napped part of the way. I was surprised that Ryan only slept about an hour before waking up, but he was still in a really good mood. I did find it funny, though, that he would be singing along to the CD in the car, then stop and say, "I tie-dird, Mommy. I tie-dird." I believe he told me he was tired about 10 times on the way home. I kept telling him to just close his eyes and go back to sleep, but no such luck. The good news is he slept very well that night. In fact, we all did! It's a lot of work to have this much fun!!

How I Met Your Father

New Year's Eve--1999

Nine years ago today, Joel and I officially met. We were both officers in the Golden Key National Honors Society at Indiana University. Joel, being a numbers guy, was the Treasurer and I, being a social gal, was co-chair of Public Relations with my friend, Jen. All of the officers had to travel to the regional conference at Ohio State University, which was perfect since Jen's boyfriend, Jeremy, was attending school there and we could all get together.

I don't remember too much of the actual conference, but I'm sure it was great. I do remember joining in on a random conversation Joel was having with another girl (gasp!) about his tie. I told him I thought it was a great tie since my dad had a similar one, and I could tell he was smitten. I mean, don't all guys love being compared to a girl's dad? Ha!

Later that night we all went to a place called Gibby's. Joel and I started talking and hit it off right away. I don't think either one of us stopped talking or laughing all night. Even Jen and Jeremy commented that I finally met someone who talked as much as I did! We didn't exchange phone numbers at the end of the night because we thought we would see each other at breakfast. Little did either of us know that his ride was leaving early that day and they wouldn't be coming to breakfast. I was kind of bummed that he didn't show up but was sure that he'd call when we got back to school.

I waited all week and didn't hear from him. By Thursday I was thinking that I should take the matter into my own hands. After all, I was the co-chair of Public Relations and knew how to look him up in the directory. I ended up sending him an e-mail that day telling him that I had a great time hanging out with him on Saturday and thought we should do it again sometime.

Later that day I was taking my friend Amy (Behrens) Baker to one of her classes on campus. I normally didn't do that, but she had been over for lunch and we had to finish watching the Showcase Showdown on "The Price Is Right." :) (Gosh, I miss those days!) I told her I would just drop her off so she didn't have to take the bus. When I pulled up to the building, Amy jumped out of the car and yelled, "JOEL!!!" Amy and Joel had gone to school together at Snider High School in Ft. Wayne so she recognized him waiting in a huge crowd at the bus stop. Joel came over to the car and I told him I'd take him home. (Thanks, Amy!)

On the way to his apartment I told him that I had sent him an e-mail. He told me he had just received it and laughed because he had tried to e-mail me when he returned to campus on Sunday. He only knew my first name and there were two girls named Kristy in the group. He accidentally e-mailed the other Kristy, who happened to have a boyfriend also in the group. He said basically the same thing I did, that he had had a great time and would love to get together soon. Her reply to his e-mail was, "Nice to meet you. See you at the next meeting." He had no idea he e-mailed the wrong Kristy until he got my e-mail. (Side note: Future meetings with that Kristy were a little uncomfortable for Joel. Ha!!!)

We ended up going out that next night and have been together ever since! Nine years later, he still makes me laugh as much as he did that night at Gibby's. Love you, Joel!

Tailgating before an IU football game. Can you tell we're forming the IU symbol?

Getting pumped up before our intramural flag football game. Notice the IU symbol again...so original, huh? (Joel, there are no bunny ears in IU. You're so sneaky!)

Hiking in the woods at Brown County State Park w/ Joel's parents. Gosh, we look so young!

To this day I still think that initiation fee to Golden Key was the best money I ever spent. And to think I only joined to be able to put it on my resume! :)

So if this post doesn't get me taken out for a nice dinner, I don't know what else will!

Holliday Park

Since Sunday was such a gorgeous day, Joel and I decided that we would like to go to a new park. We had heard a lot about Central Park in Carmel and figured they would have a great playground for the kids. Yeah, not so much! It was a beautiful place with with an amazing outdoor water park and indoor fitness center, neither of which included a playground for the kids. Since I've always talked about going to Holliday Park in Indy and we were halfway there, we decided to go there instead.

What a great decision! The playgrounds (yes, there were several) were amazing and probably the nicest I've ever seen. When we first arrived, all I saw were slides. There were about 7 that I could count on just one play structure so I told Reese that her challenge was to slide down all of the slides she could find. Little did I know that she would take me seriously! Joel took off to watch her while I supervised Ryan. I guess she was on a mission to try every slide. :) They had a toddler playground almost fully surrounded by a fence. This is where Ryan played a majority of the time. Reese played on the next playground, which could be for kids anywhere from 3 to 7.

There was also a playground for kids 5 and up with two of the biggest tube slides I've seen.

If you look closely, you can see Reese heading up the stairs and Ryan is on his way to follow her. They weren't on that playset for very long as it was a little too big for them!

Later Joel and Reese found a spot that overlooked a river down below. There was a trail leading down to it, and Reese was determined that we should go to see the water up close. She wanted to be the leader (no surprise there) and Ryan followed close behind--watching every move she made.

They remind me so much of Dora and Boots. :)

This was just too cute for words! We asked Reese to watch out for Ryan, so she grabbed his hand. I was soooo glad I had my camera with me!

We eventually made it down to the water, then headed back up the stairs. Every couple of steps Ryan would throw his arms in the air, yell "made it!", and then sometimes start singing "do-do-do-do-do-We Did It!" from Dora the Explorer. What a nut!

"Made it!"

After that we told the kids we'd head to the car to get drinks and head home. Ryan said, "No car! No car! No home! No home!" The truth is, I think the kids could've played for another hour, but Joel and I were the ones who were exhausted! We promised them that we would make it back very soon. After all, Joel and I want to try going down those huge tube slides. :)

Workin' at the Carwash

Joel got a little help this weekend when he was washing his car. At first it was supposed to be just Reese who was going to help, but it was killing Ryan to have to watch all of the fun from inside our house. I ended up taking him outside, even though I knew he wouldn't really "help" that much. I even took my time explaining how to put a washcloth in the bucket of water and wring it out. But of course he's only 2 and just loved plunging it down into the water and pulling it out towards his body--only to become drenched in the water. He would do this and yell out, "Sorry! Sorry, Mommy!" I just had to laugh!

Joel, did you have an itch or was it stressing you out to watch the kids touch your car? :)
Ryan was going to town with two buckets of water to choose from. My favorite part was when he ran into the garage and started washing my car. Since he made such a mess, we ended up having to wash my car as well. Way to go, Ryan! Just like we planned!

You know you're doing a good job when you can see your reflection. Way to go, Reese!

So the next time you need one (or both!) of your cars washed, you know who to call. Either kid can be paid in apple juice and Dum Dum suckers. You can't beat that!

Spring Break '08!

Yes, Spring Break started Thursday at noon for me since Friday was a flex day. That is one of the best things about being a teacher is you don't have to give up the schedule you were used to for 16+ years of being in school. Even though we are not going on a vacation, it's still nice to have a break from the norm to enjoy more playdates. :)

Friday was kind of a rainy day, but we made the most of it! Carly came over in the morning for a playdate and even joined us for lunch. After she went home my parents joined us at Play-A-Lot, which is a great indoor play area for kids at the bowling alley near our house. Reese and Ryan had a ball running all over and climbing inside the huge play structure. I like this place because it's self-contained and safe so you don't have to spend the entire time chasing your kids around.

This just shows you how huge this structure is. Reese was a little too scared of the huge slide and kept trying to convince Ryan that it was too dangerous. Obviously he didn't listen as he went down about twenty times!

"I slide!"

Ryan also loved trying the rock wall...with Grandma Linda's help, of course. "I climb!"

We let the kids have a couple of tokens each to play a game before we left. Ryan didn't quite understand the concept of rolling the ball for Skeeball and kept throwing it up the ramp. We'll have to work on that one!

On Saturday we went to the Children's Museum since they opened early for members. They were celebrating Spring Break Week as well, so the kids got some ultra-hip sunglasses.

Reese sporting her cool shades.

In the Healthy House Ryan helped Rex brush his teeth in the bathroom.

When we went to the bedroom of the house to tuck in the bear, Ryan decided he needed his teeth brushed, so he ran back to the bathroom to get the toothbrush. What a nut!

Keith brought Grace and Clare to the museum since Kelly is in Chicago for the weekend. It was fun to meet up with them!

Ryan had fun serving Grace, Keith, and Clare. Now we have to work on that at home!

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep...

Last night Reese went to St. Vincent's in Carmel for a sleep study. We have been concerned for quite some time that she always seems tired, regardless of how much sleep she gets at night and/or during the day. Her doctor tested her blood at her 4-year check-up to test for anemia among other things, but everything was normal. While this was great news, we were left back at square one. The doctor suggested having a sleep study to see if she's really going through all of her sleep stages or if she has sleep apnea (even though her tonsils and adenoids were removed last year). I explained it to Reese by telling her that we would go have a slumber party in our own room at the hospital.

-

Reese was so excited all day about her sleep study. Before we left she had a nice bath and then changed into her new Hello Kitty pajamas that she got for her birthday. We had to be there at 7 p.m. to register. While I was filling out paperwork, she just kept asking, "When do I get to go to my sleep study?" "Where am I going to sleep for my sleep study?" And within two minutes of getting to her room she said, "I'm really tired. Can I go to sleep now?" I started to worry that maybe I'd talked it up a little too much because she was acting like it was Christmas Eve!

When the nurse started hooking her up to all of the wires, she seemed a little nervous and was super quiet. Still, she didn't complain--even when they were attaching things to her hair. The only thing that was kind of uncomfortable was when they put two different tubes in her nostrils. She must have tried to take them out when I went into the bathroom to change because the nurse came over the intercom and told her to leave them alone. Busted! She thought she was alone but they had a camera watching her every move. Now if I could only get those cameras at home...

I felt so sorry for her--she looked so sad!
Then I got her to smile, so it made me feel a little better.

She went right to sleep (surprisingly) and did so well the entire night. Normally at home she is kicking and thrashing all over the bed, but she was in the same position all night--probably b/c she couldn't move with all of those wires! I kept checking on her throughout the night and she was sleeping soundly. In fact, I think she slept a lot better than I did!

I got to sleep on a chair that laid flat into a bed. Though I figured out halfway through the night that the seat part of the chair was about three-quarters of an inch higher than the back part. So not only was it slightly uncomfortable, I think the blood was slowly moving from the lower part of my body to the upper part throughout the night. Since my hip was right on the ledge, I had to keep switching sides so to even out the pain in my back. I'm sure the nurse was watching the video of us in the room and thinking maybe she had the wrong person hooked up to the wires!

The nurse woke us up at 5:00 a.m. to take off all of the wires and monitors. This took about 30 minutes, then we were free to go. (Of course we had to stop by the nursery to see all of the newborns. There were about 8 in all and so stinkin' cute!!!) Reese was bouncing through the hallways on the way out. I wondered why she couldn't be like that at home when she gets an hour and a half more sleep!

This is when we were leaving the hospital around 5:40 a.m. Notice how alert and smiley she is. Oh, and that's Peyton Manning in the background. Yeah, he dropped by to see her off. What a nice guy, huh?

We got home around 6 and climbed into bed with Joel. Luckily she went back to sleep for another hour and a half. Since I had another teacher covering for me at school, we stopped at McDonald's for pancakes before going to the sitter's for the day. She's been such a delight today and I couldn't have asked for a better experience....Though I might have asked for a better bed for myself. :)