Keeping Ourselves Entertained

So...in the recent power outage, we had to find a place to stay...since, well...we had no power and two kiddos. Jonathon thought that our house would have been "okay" to stay at, IF we didn't have the kids. However, I beg to differ, as I am soooooo not a cold weather type person. The house was FREEZING, I could NOT have stayed there...and he wouldn't have wanted to stay there with me. His ears would have started to bleed at the constant sound of my shivering (and complaining). ;)

SO, we kindly packed everything except the kitchen sink and headed to Nan and Pap's house...where we stayed (in complete warmth and luxury I might add!) for a good 5 days. Here is how we spent our days....

We ate. We ate gooood! Nan made many breakfast, lunch and dinners for us...and of course she treated us with chocolate shakes and chocolate pudding. Which, as you can see, Nathan just hated! ;)

Nathan decided to try on Nan's slippers and take a stroll around the house:

Perfect fit!!!

AND...we played...cars:

Lots and LOTS of cars:

We did really have a great time. It was like being on indefinite vacation. Like I said, we lived in the lap of luxury...our own room, bathroom and lots and lots of love. THANKS Nan and Paps for opening up your house to our chaos!

Not Again...

So...for the second time in less than 6 months, we have no electricity! We were hit with an ice storm on Tuesday evening...which proceeded to accumulate on tree limbs, which then began to break and fall...and well, knock out the power around the entire city (you may have heard...). Anyways. We are one of the lucky ones that won't have power for 7-10 days (that is the current estimate). We are so SUPER lucky! (can you read the sarcasm???)

Remember last September when we didn't have power for 8 days (is that correct, Jonathon? ;)), and we all said "at least it is warm out, and you don't have an infant to care for..." . Well, look here...it is FREEEEEEZING, we have an infant and a toddler...AND no electricity! I am not sure how much I can handle of this, emotionally... apparently we did'nt learn what we needed to learn (patience?) the first time.

Luckily, we have amazing family! The first night Uncle Rob and Aunt Yvette opened their very clean, kid free, home to us. They made us dinner and gave us nice comfy beds to sleep in! Then yesterday, Nan and Paps opened their door to us as well...and we have taken full advantage and moved in! We even kicked them out of their bedroom! ;) So...on the very positive side, we are warm, fed and with loving family. We couldn't ask for anything more (except electricity).

Thank you to everyone who has offered your homes, food, blankets, clothes...etc. We really appreciate it and hope you all know that the offer is reciprocal.

I will keep you updated...

I DO Like Green Eggs and Ham, Sam I Am...

Yesterday morning, I broke down and made Nathan some green eggs ("green eggs and ham", as you HAVE to call it for Nathan to be satisfied). He kept whining, again, that he wanted some...so I made him some. He LOVED them (not enough to want them this morning...but loved them nonetheless). Here are the results:

A satisfied little boy, I must say!

On the funnier side, after I made the eggs, I brought them into Jonathon to see...he was running on the treadmill, he took one look at the eggs and just about puked at the mere sight of them. Well, we know who WON'T be requesting green eggs and ham for breakfast! ;)

Play in Snow?

A couple of weeks ago, Nathan started asking if we could go out and "play in the snow". I am not sure where he saw or got the idea of playing in the snow, but it is a daily request these days. Much to his delight, it "snowed" a week or so ago...and when I say "snowed", I mean "ice flaked" for about 20 minutes (just long enough to go out and SEE the white stuff). Regardless, Nathan was so excited to play in the "snow"!

(Nathan and Grand-Mom Gerwing)

("This is it?")

Anyway, his interest in snow made Jonathon and I yearn to take a trip to Utah so Nathan could play in some REAL snow, with some REAL snow toys and REAL snow boys...the Frentheway Crew. Alas, with a new baby...we aren't sure that is real feasible this year.

Also...his interest in snow means that it wont snow at all here in Louisville this year. ;)

Growing Up

Perhaps you may have heard...we are having another baby boy in January. (hehe) Anyways, so now that we are about 10-12 weeks away, I figure it is time to start thinking about where we are going to put the Little Guy, what he is going to wear, and the life changing ramifications that a new Little Guy is going to have on Nathan, our current Little Guy. I know, I know...why start thinking now? I mean, we have waited THIS long to finally realize/accept that another one is on its way (hehe...of course I am only kidding...sort of). SO...questions:

Q:Do you rush to potty train Nathan so that you don't have two kids in diapers?
A: I have decided not to (much to the dismay of many, I am sure). I have heard horror stories about people trying to rush their oldest into potty training, only to have set back after set back once the baby got home. Also, Nathan honestly shows ZERO signs of even caring about going potty in the potty. He is perfectly content with running around with a diaper full of poop all day. We have asked if he wants to go potty in the bathroom...and he said yes, once, then after that he could care less. I think his interest the first time was more to climb up on the step stool. ALSO...I honestly don't care if I have two kids in diapers. Nathan doesn't use that many diapers anymore as it is...and quite honestly, the thought of getting to Target/Mall/Grocery/just buckled into the car seat and hearing the words "Mommy, I have to go potty" just makes me tired and frightened. ;)

Q: Where is the baby going to sleep?
A: Uhhh....good question! Our house has 4 bedrooms. Two upstairs, and two downstairs. Currently the master bedroom and Nathan's bedroom are upstairs. The office and Beth/Fred/Guest bedroom are downstairs. I really do not feel comfortable with moving Nathan downstairs, and him being downstairs all alone. He is ONLY 2...I just don't like that idea. We initially decided to move the crib into our room (there is room), and get Nathan a "big boy" twin bed. The baby will most likely sleep in our room the first 6 weeks anyways (at least), so there isn't a real NEED to change everything up RIGHT NOW. After that, we have a couple of options: we all live and sleep upstairs...us sharing the Master bedroom, WE move downstairs and the boys have upstairs, we move Nathan downstairs (and I don't sleep ever again worrying about him), or we move. I happen to be partial to the last option ;)

The fear, right, now, is Nathan...I don't want to push him out of his room and bed when the baby gets here. So we need to start the "transition" now, so that he is used to it by the time the Little Guy gets here. That way it isn't such a HUGE shock for him (it will be, I am totally aware of that). SO, yesterday I decided to turn the crib into a toddler bed, just to see how he would do.

Again, I had heard horror stories about making the switch to a single/twin bed (even the toddler bed) and the child no longer wanting to take naps, or getting up at all hours of the night. Well, I need my sleep people, and I NEED those naps. Nathan is SUCH a good nap taker, and SO good at going to bed at night...I was hoping it wouldn't change with a new bed.

Yesterday the transition was made, and HE LOVED IT! He was so visibly excited about being able to get in and out of his bed by himself. He would run in his room, jump in his bed, pretend to go to sleep and then jump out. He wanted ALL of his toys in his bed with him, he went and got books to read in bed. He just loved it...oh and he now insists on a pillow. It was fantastic! Nap time rolled around and he went right to sleep (maybe played a little...but didn't get out of bed, an DID go to sleep). Bedtime came and he was still super excited to sleep in his "new bed". He slept all night...well, I take that back, I did hear him rumbling around a little. He DID turn on a little rabbit Easter Bunny toy that makes noise a couple of times...at 2:30am, but he never tried to open the door, nor did he call for Mommy. I would say the transition is a success thus far. Although I haven't gone to get him this morning, for all I know, his room could be in total shambles and he was up all night playing ;)

Q: Have you thought of a name for the new Little Guy?
A: No. We don't agree on anything. Nathaniel was the only name that we agreed upon...and, we took it. So Little Guy it will be.

Q: Can we stop reading now?
A: Yes.

Climbing the Haystack

Let There Be Light...

Well, start doing jumping jacks and cartwheels folks...the Ices have their power back on!!!!!!! We went to dinner, then to the park and got home at about 8:00pm, and the power was on! Apparently they got it working only 15 minutes prior!!! Boy oh boy...how sweet it is! Even Nathan knew that life was back to normal. :) Well, as normal as it is to see his pregnant mother doing cartwheels in the font lawn! ;)

Anyways. Whew. We made it! Again, thanks to EVERYONE for opening your homes, for offering your food, your washing machines....your hearts to make life a little more comfortable for us!

We are back in business!

Not Even a Flicker of Light...

Here we are, day 6 of Blackout Louisville. I have been pretty easy going and accepting the entire week...until about 1:30pm today, and I think I just hit a wall. Now I am irritated. People ARE getting their electricity back, so maybe that is why I am getting frustrated. I see results, its just results in our neighborhood. We haven't even seen an electric truck drive through out neighborhood! I am over it and beginning to think that electricity is just a figment of my imagination.

Many years ago, when my dad was alive, he used to take my brothers and nephews on what they call the "50 Miler". This is a hiking trip through the Mountains of Wyoming. They would hike in to their "spot" hang out and camp for a couple of days, then hike out. In fact, my brothers, uncles, and cousins still do this every year, though I think they have cut the hiking down and now have a new "spot". Anyways, my dad conned me into going on this trip, twice. It was fantastic and fun and a great experience. Now the first time I went, I remember walking out. Backpack on my back, tired, my feet still hurt from hiking in three days earlier. I was over the camping thing. All I wanted was a hot shower and a cheeseburger from McDonald's. It was just my dad and I hiking out, for some reason (maybe Matthew was either staying another day, or was a head of us). Anyways, we reached timberline, which signified we were "almost" to the car...closer to a hot shower! I remember hiking down through the timberline for what seemed HOURS and HOURS and HOURS. There was an actual point during that hike down that I thought I would NEVER see the car. I could not at all see the light through the trees, so to speak.

This is how I feel about electricity today. I can't imagine they will EVER get it turned back on.

This has NOTHING to do with Nathan. He is great. He is camping with Nan and Paps and I am sure having a wonderful time.

Again, I will continue to keep you updated. I will even take pictures of the cartwheels that I will do when/if they ever get the electricity on! ;)

Power Update

Just another quick update. We are still without power. The original estimate of 10-14 days that the power company quoted is still standing. I was hoping that they were just overestimating to make everyone happy, but honestly...at this point...we will be lucky to get power by next week!

I hasn't been too bad. We have actually had to TALK and ASSOCIATE with each other, including neighbors! What a concept! ;) While it has been a huge inconvenience, it has been nice to simplify life a little :)

Again, thanks to those who have had power that have fed us and let us use their Internet connections :)

More updates later.

The Eye of the Storm

So...for those of you that do not live in the Louisville area, here is a minor update:

Yesterday, Louisville (as was Indianapolis and Cinci as well as tons of other cities) was hit with a severe windstorm, remnants of Hurricane Ike apparently. 75mile/hr winds whipped through the city (Cheyenne people, this is not new to you, I know. I actually turned to Jonathon and asked him when we moved to Cheyenne. ;)) Trees fell and power lines went down with them. SOO...250,000homes are without power today, and the electric company is saying that it will most likely be 10-14 days for power to come back on (I assume they are overestimating that just to be on the safe side). We are without power unfortunately. A tree (or trees) behind us and a few doors down fell directly on the power lines and the power boxes (not sure if that is what they are called) exploded.

Our neighborhood is not priority at this point. The Ryder Cup is in town this weekend, so that is priority (damn that golf!). SO. We wait.

Thanks to those that have offered their homes and food and showers and freezers for us, and everyone else that is without power. Things could be a lot worse! Luckily everyone is healthy and happy...

I will keep you all posted!

Jetsetting...Again!

Last week, we all three jetted off to Utah to visit the Frentheway Crew again. We were only there for a few days, but had a great time nonetheless! It was amazing to see how much Nathan has "matured" since our visit in June, two months ago! In June, he was a little apprehensive about actually playing with the boys, so he mostly just watched them. He wasn't into playing with cars, trains, scooters...he wasn't into anything other than the garage door! This time, though, he really played (with me close by). He learned how to ride a scooter by himself. He jumped on the trampoline, played cars, trains, basketball, and attempted anything else the other boys were doing. Unfortunately, the three oldest boys (Kreed, Dawson and Ryker) had already started school, so we didn't get a whole lot of time with them (and ZERO pictures!). But I am sure we will get back there soon enough! :)

One day, Melissa and I took the three little boys (Beau - 4, Nathan - 2, and Riggs - 11 mos) to feed the ducks! They had a great time. (Beau is in the background with the popcorn bag)

Baby Riggs! SUCH a good little baby! He has changed a lot since June as well. He is now crawling and is anxious to get MORE mobile and grown up so that he can participate in all the fun boy stuff that goes on!

(Thanks, as always, Frentheway Crew for letting us come and disrupt your lives for a week! We had a great time!!!)

Goldfish and Kisses

There was a point, during our visit to the KY State Fair, that Nathan needed a snack. Well, he thought that the goats needed a snack as well, so he kept trying to feed them his goldfish.

BUT, he decided that a kiss would be just as filling...

Cows and Goats

It was that time of year again - The Kentucky State Fair - which apparently is one of the largest state fairs in the country. Yes, how could we pass up an opportunity to eat corn dogs and fried snickers bars? Okay, well we actually DID pass up the food and headed strait to the cows and goats. Nathan's Grand-Mom was in town and we made a day of it...

THIS Is What You Call Dirty!!

End of the day dirty feet after playing with the cousins! This is what you call playing hard!

Mud Pie Anyone?

Beau and Nathan playing in the mud.

I am honestly, not sure Nathan knew what to really make of playing in the mud...I don't think he was used to the concept of that (city kid!)...but he warmed up real quick!

"Ride Motorcycle?"

Nathan - gearing up for his first ride on the 4 wheeler. He didn't like the helmet at first, but he warmed up to it as he realized he had to wear one to ride the "motorcycle".

His first ride on the 4 wheeler...Melissa took him. Apparently he was fine with the ride, until I was out of sight. Then he started crying...and insisted that I take him for rides after that. Soon, though....he really liked it when his Uncle Matthew took him....

Riding with Matthew.

Whew! Much Needed Update!

Nathan and I went to Utah to visit the Frentheway Crew for a couple of weeks. What fun we had! We went to the zoo, Seven Peaks (water park), on a couple of picnics, to parks, we rode on 4 wheelers, played with cousins, looked at houses (for Matt and Melissa...not us...). We ran threw the sprinklers, missed naps, played in the mud, jumped on the trampoline, fed the dog, and pretty much just exhausted ourselves! It was soooo much fun, for both of us! I really wish we lived closer to them so that it could be more of an everyday occurrence, rather than every year and a half.

(From left: Beau, Nathan - I couldn't get him to look at the camera! - Kreed, holding Baby Riggs, Ryker, and Dawson)

Nathan enjoyed himself too ;) I think the first couple of days he was a little overwhelmed by all the cousins and freedom...but after that he really warmed up to the nonstop action. Of course, his obsession with the garage door did not disappear (though he isn't much interested in it upon our return home, which is a good thing for me!). In fact, I think he lost Melissa's opener somewhere around their house (sorry Mel!). The Frentheway Crew are big into motorcycles and 4 wheelers and bikes and such...so there was a bike of every kind for Nathan to try out. He really enjoyed riding on the 4 wheeler. At first he only wanted me to take him for rides, but he soon warmed up to letting Matthew drive him around. In fact, everyday now that we are home, he often says "Matthew...go fast...on 'tractor motorcycle'." And everyday he asks when we are going to go "visit the boys" again on an airplane. All the kids were very sweet to Nathan...and Nathan loves them dearly!

It was a great trip! I don't think I took enough pictures, but it was just so hard to capture every moment...when it happened. Hopefully it won't take another year and a half to get back out there for a visit...it should at least be a summer tradition! Thanks Frentheway Crew for having us for so long! :)

Arizona Fun!

Ahhhhhhhh!

Mmmmmm, water!

Just me and my Uncle Zane.

We jetted off to Arizona last Thursday for the Annual Grandparent Visit. My Mom met us at the airport and we proceed to make ourselves at home at her house...and at the pool (thanks Uncle Zane for getting us in for FREE!). Nathan has LOVED the warm weather and being able to spend all day outdoors. Grandma Frentheway has a pretty large backyard with a pool, a really nice swing set and lots and lots of rocks to fill the fountain. Tomorrow we trek up to Scottsdale to stay 3 days with Grand-Mom and Grand-Dad. That will surely bring more fun in the pool and the Arizona sun!

Henry's Ark

Just outside of Louisville, there is this place called Henry's Ark. It is basically a very large "petting zoo", but the animals that are there to be "petted" are camels, yaks, deer, goats, llamas, ostriches, peacocks, ducks, rabbits, mules, reindeer, zebras, etc...basically animals that you wouldn't expect to find in Louisville, KY...or in North America for that matter (okay, yes...obviously ducks, goats, mules, and rabbits are not rare and you would find them anywhere...but a zebra? or a camel? You get the picture). I took Nathan to Henry's Ark a couple of weeks ago with Keaton. It was a real cold day, and we did not go prepared...meaning, we didn't have any food to feed the animals...we will next time though :) This place is completely FREE, and thrives on donations only. It is a great place to bring kids and a lot of the animals are allowed to just wander (as you can see above). They are VERY tame and well mannered. It is a really cool place to visit! I mean, how many times in your life have you gotten to PET a zebra or camel? Not many.

On to the REAL story...did Nathan enjoy it? Yes, he liked it...until the mule/donkey (whatever it was...I obviously need to go back to school and learn my animals) nibbled at his little fingers! It appeared as though the mule/donkey was just lightly nibbling with his lips at Nathan's fingers, but apparently not, since Nathan started crying and there were teeth marks on his finger (way to go MOM! ;)). Anyways, no skin was broken and he stopped crying as soon as his Sucker-of-a-Mom (ahem, that's me!) let him out of his stroller. I think back on it now, and the Little Stinker was playing me! MAYBE that mule/donkey didn't nip at his finger at all...maybe it was a ploy to get out of his stroller and run FREE? ;) How quickly they learn!

Regardless, there are many more pictures of our Henry's Ark Adventure over at: http://www.dropshots.com/rachbree

ENJOY!

I Scream, You Scream...

Because he shoved so much cake into his mouth at his Birthday Partay, we didn't get around to giving Nathan any ice cream on his Birthday...so we took the opportunity to give him a little taste last night. A couple of things to note:

1. He has had ice cream before, and will again, we just don't give it to him on a regular basis (we are both addicted to the stuff, and don't want that for him. Plus there are better for you snacks and treats out there to have).

2. Notice the gargantuan tub of ice cream in Jonathon's arms (yes in his arms, not his hands...it takes arms to carry that large of a tub!)...don't think that we purchase this large of a tub of ice cream on a daily/weekly/monthly/regular basis. I bought this tub at Sam's for Nathan's Partay...:)