March Madness 2012

Well, it is once again that time of year.  The time of year I take a ridiculous picture of myself holding a piece of paper.  But, eh, traditions are traditions! 2008 2009 2010 2011  (2008 didn't really have one, but Jayden's cute!)

So, this year!  Let's see!  I think I have some pretty good picks, Royal disagrees, but whatever!  I've only won once out of the last 5 years, so chances are, I will lose again, but you never know!  Some of my favorite teams didn't even make it in the tourny this year, so that was a bummer right off the bat - like University of Washington (I thought Royal might cry over this one), Butler (because I think my life might be better if I had one), Wake Forest (the forest that never sleeps!). 

And please do remember, I haven't watched one iota of basketball leading up to the tournament, these picks are purely based off of Rachel's Brilliant Bracketology Strategy!  It might be one you want to adopt for next year.  :)

Ok, this year, Syracuse, one of my favorite teams because they are orange and white and that is like a creamsicle and I LOVE creamsicles, are seeded #1 in the East.  However, I have them losing in the 2nd round, sad I know, but Royal did give me a tip and said their starting star something-or-other player is banned from playing because he didn't go to class (what the????).  I just can't support stupidity. :)  AND Royal could totally be pulling my leg and trying to throw me off, but I'm choosing to believe him and am kicking Syracuse to the curb early on.  The good news is, for all my K-State friends, that Syracuse is getting beat by K-State and they are making it to the Elite-8, where sadly they will be trounced by Florida State, only because Willow drinks A LOT of orange juice these days and oranges come from Florida.

In the South bracket, not too much is happening.  My big upset team is Colorado.  Royal told me I was pretty ridiculous because Colorado is like almost last in their league, but I just went skiing there and I really loved it, so I'm letting Colorado beat UNLV (because let's face it, Las Vegas is the city of sin, and as a Christian I just can't support that.  kidding!  kidding! ha ha ha!  please laugh with me and don't leave me any nasty comments).  And then I have Notre Dame paired up against Duke and I REALLY considered letting Notre Dame win because I love the movie Rudy, but my favorite, very thin now, very tattered and ratty, Duke sweatshirt won out.  I decided I'd rather wear my sweatshirt than watch Rudy.  Duke then goes on to beat Colorado (sad, I know, but I can wear my sweatshirt whenever I want and I can't go skiing whenever I want) and meet up with Kentucky, which Kentucky will then give them a thorough beating.  You see, when I was really sick a few weeks ago, laying in bed I somehow started watching Animal Planet's show called Jockey's.  It was all about horse racing, and I got totally addicted and watched all of them, and well there's the whole Kentucky Derby thing.  Sooooooo, Kentucky is my pick for the South.  :)

In the West, I have picked my 12-5 upset of Long Beach State over New Mexico, because there is a Long Beach in Washington and I love it there.  I have Marquette winning the West bracket pretty much because Marquette reminded me of how I always mispronounce the word croquet, you know the lawn game, and it reminded me of how much fun we had as kids playing it and that maybe I'll get a set to play with my kids this summer, but then I'm not sure putting wooden mallets and really hard balls in the hands of my kids is a good idea yet....

Moving on!  In the Midwest bracket.  I had a tough decision with Saint Mary's and Purdue.  I even texted my friend Jac, who helped me years ago fill out a bracket, and even though she thought I was slightly crazy for asking her, she said to pick Saint Mary's because of the whole Mary-Jesus connection. :)  AND I almost did.  But in the end food won out.  The word Purdue made me think of fondue, and I really love fondue.  Royal also informed me that Purdue's mascot is the Gale.  Like Gale force winds.  And living in Kansas, I pretty much experience those all the time.  I can't imagine trying to eat fondue in gale force winds, but never the less, I picked Purdue.  But they are quickly getting beat by Kansas, who then makes it to the Elite-8, where they are going to get beat by North Carolina.  North Carolina is one of my favorite's this year, because my friends Amy and Forrest, just had a baby and they named her Caroline.

So, my final 4. Kentucky vs. Marquette and Florida State vs. North Carolina.  Basically Horse racing vs. Croquet and Orange Juice vs. A sweet 2 week old little baby girl.  In match up #1, Kentucky wins because you can kind of play croquet while riding a horse, you know, Polo.  :)  And then in match up #2, North Carolina wins, because who in the world would pick drinking a glass of orange juice over holding sweet little Caroline????

In the final, it's Kentucky vs. North Carolina.  And obviously, I had to pick North Carolina to win it all.   Because if Amy and Forrest would let me, I could hold little Caroline while riding a horse, and THAT would be awesome!  :)

Signs of Summer

That's right.  I said Summer!  I have come to believe that Wichita doesn't have a spring.  "Spring" is just a time when Winter and Summer fight it out, (freezing temps one day, warm temps the next day) until Summer finally takes over and begins to bake us until we are far too over cooked and crispy and then "Fall" comes along where Winter and Summer, yet again, battle it out until Winter and it's horrid freezing temps and even freezinger winds finally prevail.  It's awesome living here.  :)

So, today Summer is making a few jabs.  It's suppose to be 80 degrees today folks.  80 degrees!  My windows are open, I'm thinking about cleaning off my deck furniture and testing to see if the BBQ has any propane in it.  The kids are thinking about water.  Jayden asked this morning if it was warm enough to break out our dragon pool and fill it up.  Not quite yet, buddy, the possibility of it freezing in the next couple days is still out there.  So, to compromise I filled up a bucket of water and set it on the driveway and the kids played out there with some squirters.
(check out Willows hair.  she didn't let me do that....oh no, why would she???  she let our friend Olivia do it.  I tried not to cry.....)

Whirlwind Washington Trip

It has been about 14 months since my family has been back to Washington.  Way. Too. Long!  And now, it especially feels so, because I got to go back for just 5 measly little days, and it wasn't enough, and now I'm itching to go back.  Next time with the kids though, because I'm pretty sure the cousins (and grandparents for that matter) will not forgive me a 2nd time for coming with out Jayden and Willow.

Royal took a couple days off of work to take care of the kids so I could fly out to meet my new niece, Annabel, and all the other babies that have been born to my friends since I have been gone.  I have NEVER been away from Willow, and I have only been away from Jayden for 2 days at the most, and that was almost 4 years ago.  It's not that I wouldn't have left them before, it's just I've never had the opportunity, where in the world would they have stayed???  :)  So, needless to say, while in Washington I felt like I was walking out of the house without my pants on or something.  I felt like I had everything, but something major was missing!  Good thing next time, they will be with me, and if I'm walking out the door and feel like something's missing, it just might be my pants!  :)

So, here's a quick recap of my trip.   And beware, this is like picture overload of me.  My blog may freak out and melt down because there are so many pictures with me in them, I've pretty much hit my photo quota for the next 2 years, so don't be surprised if I don't pop up in any pictures for a REALLY long time....

I flew into Portland on Wednesday and headed up to Kelso.  There I got to see my brother, Jordan, my sister in law, Lisa and her boyfriend, my brother in law, Gabe,  my parents-in-law, Norma and Wayne, and one of my very besties, Pammy.  Pamela is my friend who swore she was never having kids, so when she and her husband got pregnant and had a baby, I was soooooo excited.  But sadly, because we live half a country away from each other, I had to wait almost an entire year to meet him.
Me, Pammy, and Brycen

I stayed the night in Kelso, and the next morning I drove up to Olympia to the 140 acre park that my sister, Kaylee, lives on!  The weather was so nice!  I couldn't believe it!  Sunny and in the 60's!  Fantastic!
Easton, Me, and Brendan (do you see my old double BOB in the background?  I almost hugged it when I saw it, I've missed it so! when I went running one morning, I thought about making one of Kaylee's little kids go with me, so I could run while pushing it again, but Easton was sick and Annabel is pretty attached to Kaylee, so I just went on my own :))

Easton's pretty much only loves Kaylee and while on the inside he might totally think that I'm his most favorite person, he would never show it on the outside.  He banished me from rooms and from sitting next to him all the time, but I choose to believe it's because he loved me so much he didn't want to betray his feelings for Kaylee.  Luckily, I could easily win him over with a little Starfall on my iPad.  :)
Me and Easton

 Me and Wyatt

The next day, I got to see my Dad

And my Grandma Joann

And that night, the girls all went out for some sushi!
Annabel, Kaylee, Me, and Joanna

And Me and my Mom

Then that night, Kaylee, Joanna, and I drove to Shelton to visit a couple friends.  My really great friend, Amy, who just had a baby 10 days ago!
Me, Caroline, and Amy

We all congregated at our friend, Jessie's house.  Really she's one of Kaylee's best friends, but since we're sisters and all, we like to share.  Jessie is who I am riding the STP with this summer.  We're pretty much going to be best sore butt buddies.  :)
Kaylee, Jessie, Annabel, Joanna, Me, Caroline, and Amy.

The next morning, I went over to my best friend Teresa's house.  We have known each other pretty much our entire lives, but since high school, we can't seem to ever live in the same area.  Teresa moved to a house that is literally 5 minutes away from my old house in Olympia, right after we moved to Wichita.  It's totally depressing.  But!  At least she is now in the same area as my family so when we go back to Washington, we can see each other!  Her husband made a super delicious brunch for Teresa, myself, and a couple more of our friends from high school.  We had cinnamon sugar muffins, a fruit platter, salmon omelettes, crab cakes, chicken sausage, bacon, and don't forget lemon tarts for dessert.  Because you always need dessert after brunch.  :)  It was so fun to see these girls somewhere other than on facebook!
Nicole, Me, Shannon, and Teresa

Later that day, back at the Kaylee's, I got to see my Aunt Nancy and my cousin Heidi.  And I have no idea why I don't have a picture with them.  It seemed there were 5 million people at Kaylee's house at the time, you think I could of got someone to take our picture.  I blame it on the food coma from brunch earlier in the day.  Lame-o.  (next time, girls, next time!)
Me and the Wagner kids later that evening. 

Me and sweet little Annabel.

Then later, Jordan came up from Portland

And we did a trick together. :)  because we're cool like that. 

And sadly, the next morning, I had to pack up my things and say good bye.  The trip went way too fast, and it just makes me all the more depressed that I don't live near my sister and the rest of my family for that matter.  But only 4 months until the kids and I make the journey across the states to stay in Washington for a good month!  We can't wait!

Suitcases

2 innocent little suitcases.  One for me to pack for my quick trip to Washington.  The other for the kids to pack because they can't help but do what I'm doing.

And they did get packed!  With 2 little kids who REALLY want to come with me!

Planting Seeds

Jayden and I spent a little time yesterday getting our seeds going.  We are a little behind schedule, but I figure better late than never! 

Jayden got a little excited about writing on our tags and wrote on his face.  With a permanent marker.  That won't come off.  Jayden said, "Well at least it's purple.  Go Huskies!" Good point!

We are soooo excited for our garden this year!

Willow also decided that she was ready to ride her bike on 2 wheels.  She doesn't spend a lot of time riding her bike, but she's been getting sick of riding in the stroller when we go for a run and my rule is you can't ride your bike while I'm running unless you have your training wheels off, you're just too gosh darn slow and you can't corner very well.  So, yesterday, with Jayden cheering her on the whole time, she tried it.

And after one attempt, she gave up.
This may look like she's happy and having a good time, but this is actually a panic face of "stop this bike and let me off.  i'm not doing this anymore." and then some screaming because Royal kept pushing her towards the house.

Next time......next time.....:)

Kid Quote :: 21

Thanks to Death Cold 2012 (see previous post :) ), there were lots of snuggling and movies happening at our house.  The kids would watch one out in the living room and then come into my room and snuggle in bed with me and we'd watch one on the computer.  During one of these times, Jayden says to me....

Jayden : Hey Mom.  I have figured out when I could lie and it would be ok.

Me :  Oh, you have?  (cough cough, sniff sniff, blow my nose in a kleenex, collapse back onto my pillow)

Jayden : Yes!  If pirates were trying to find and take Willow, I would lie and not tell them the truth about where she was!

Me : Um......yes.....I suppose that would be a good time to lie.

And then tonight while I was making dinner, Jayden and Willow were being rough with each other in the chairs at the counter and I look over and see Willow coming at Jayden with her teeth bared, ready to chomp into his arm.  I quickly tell her to close her mouth and get out of the chair and walk away or she was going to have a bigger consequence.  She slinks out of the chair but not before getting one last swat in at Jayden.  Jayden looks at me and says....

Jayden : Man, Mom.  Sometimes Willow can be so mean........and she can smell fear!

Death Cold 2012

We have been sick in this house with what I'm naming the Death Cold 2012.  It started with Willow almost 2 weeks ago, she had a runnynose, cough, and a 103 fever for a couple days.  She got over it though and had a bit of a cough and a clear runny nose.  Then Jayden started getting it in his chest, no fever, and a slight runny nose.  Meanwhile, Royal caught it.  He wouldn't admit it, but his voice had dropped like 2 octaves and he was a tad crankier than normal.  Then I started getting a sore throat.  No big deal, but I seemed to go downhill fast after that.  2 days later and I was in bed and I wasn't getting out if I didn't have to.  One night I was desperate enough to take some Codeine cough syrup I had - now this is a big deal because I hardly will take ibuprofen if I don't absolutely have to.  Too bad I didn't sleep all night due to drug induced anxiety filled dreams that woke me up, made me feel all panicked, and then had coughing attacks that the medicine was suppose to be suppressing!  So the next day I didn't get out of bed. 

On Monday the only reason I got out of bed was because Royal had to go to work.  And then I tried to make some breakfast, but since I hadn't gone to the store during the weekend there was only 1 egg for Jayden (sometimes he eats 4!) and I scrambled it up.  Jayden ate it, but said he was still hungry.  I wasn't feeling too hot, so I told him to go into the pantry and whatever he could find he could eat, but I was going back to bed.  Poor Jayden walked around with a bag of pretzels for the rest of the morning.  Now, I really don't like to take antibiotics or giving antibiotics to my kids unless we absolutely need them.  I believe in our bodies ability to heal themselves, and I believe in giving our poor bodies a chance to do it, and gosh darn it, I want those antibiotics to work when we need them and not develop resistances to them because I've given them to my kids every time they've had a runny nose.  However, on my behalf, the kids were feeling better, but were still congested and Willow was complaining a little about one of her ears hurting, and since it had been going on a week, I tried to get us into our doctor on Monday, but they didn't have any open appointments all day.  I'm guessing more people were suffering from the Death Cold 2012.  I did however, manage to get out of bed and we went to our chiropractor to see if she could help drain our colds out of our heads and check the kid's ears.  Their ears looked good, one of Willow's a little pink, but pretty good. 

We carried on as normal, I tried to force myself to get out of bed and do things because sometimes it takes moving around to get to feeling better.  However, I just kept feeling worse and worse.  My sinuses were completely plugged, my ears were ringing and hurting, my chest hurt from coughing so much, and one of my eyes started to catch a cold as well.  So, on Thursday, I gave in and called the doctor, I figured walking around and crying for a half an hour in the morning because I felt so terrible just wasn't going to cut it anymore.  I'm also pretty sure I saw Royal dance a jig at the end of the bed when I said I was calling.  He'd been feeling better for days now and had to start bringing dinner home with him because he knew I wasn't cooking.  And the poor kids were hungry and were eating things like french fries and peaches for dinner.  One day, Jayden went to school with nothing but these horrible cheese puffs for lunch because I hadn't been to the store in over a week and had no fresh fruit or veggies and no bread to make a sandwich and he didn't like my peanut butter tortilla idea, and I didn't feel well enough to come up with anything else.  So I called and they got me in right away.

I LOVE our family doctor, however sometimes her wait times are sooooo long.  So, I always have to come prepared with things to do with the kids, things like snacks, games, coloring, music for a dance party.  Eventually they get bored of those things and start tearing apart the room, but I just figure that's motivation for the doctor to hurry up and get in there.  The nurse came in to take my vitals, took one look at me and and said (she's a big black woman named Thelma), "oooooo, girl, the doctor's gonna give you a shot!"  I just laughed and said, "No, she's not!"   Jayden panicked and said, 'Just for mom, right?  I'm not getting a shot!"  And Thelma took one look at my kids with their slightly runny noses and said, "I'm taking these kids with me and weighing them in, just in case the doctor decides to give them medicine too"  And now you know why the wait times can get long.  Our doctor spends lots of time talking with her patients and sometimes, like in my case, 1 patient turns into 3.  So the doctor finally comes in, and my kids love her, so they hop right up on the exam table and have her check them out just for fun.  Turns out Willow has an ear infection in one of her ears.  It also turns out Jayden had some wheezing in his lungs that needed to be taken care of (he has cold induced asthma, so wheezing can become bad).  It also turned out that Thelma was right and I had to get 2 shots, right in the rear.  One an antibiotic and one a steroid to help get my ears to heal up before I bored my plane for Washington in less than a week.  The kids were SO excited to see me have to get a shot.  Willow had to come over and remove my band aid make sure there was a hole there from the needle and put my band aid back on.  Jayden told me I was really brave and gave me a Diego sticker from the basket.

The kids and I are feeling much better.  Sometimes it takes feeling much better to realize just how bad you really felt!  I have a 2nd oral antibiotic that I have to take too and every time I take it, Royal looks at me and says, "Now, Rachel.  What have you learned from this experience?"  I pretend that I can't understand what he's talking about.  :)