Wednesday, March 30, 2011

oh suzannie....

Tonight on our way home from "erranding" (snacks for our long drive from Wal-Mart and gas from Costco), Mercedes tried to explain to Cooper how to blow a bubble with gum.  

She reminisced about her aunt Suzannie teaching her how to do it.

Suzanne and David in Midway last December.

We talked about how great aunt Suzannie is.  

This is why we love her!



That convinced Mercedes and Cooper to list all of the people they love.

Cooper said, "I love everyone in Utah and Washington, except for the girl who pinches my cheeks."

I'd forgotten until then, that he has complained before about a little girl in his primary class at church who pinches his cheeks.  


I asked who she is, since I know a few of the kids in his class and wondered.



Cooper on his 4th birthday.
"Her name is Melissa.  I don't like that girl, just everyone else."

I thought of Cooper's adorable chipmunk cheeks, and understood how someone would be tempted to pinch and pinch.  

Personally, I like to kiss them every chance I get.

My imagination took off at Mach 5 and I saw lines of girls to come... ones who will fall in love with those adorable cheeks.  

Sometimes I wish that he could stay 4 forever.

Monday, March 28, 2011

bye bye BOB, you've served us well

Even though we're not 100% over the latest bug to visit our home, we're all very excited for our upcoming adventure.  We'll be visiting family in Utah, and then bringing a few family members back home to Washington with us!  Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Brent's been complaining lately about the rise in gas prices (the drive will cost us almost double in gas as it did just a few months ago), so I sold my wonderful Bob Duallie Revolution Stroller (Cooper mostly rides his bike now and we still have our single jogger).  The cash will completely cover the cost of the drive!

No more complaining Brent!

Just so you know, Brent doesn't complain about much.  He's a very patient husband.  He doesn't complain when the house is messy, or when I neglect to make a hot dinner, or when I want to sleep in on Saturday morning and he gets to be in charge of the kiddies.  He mostly just complains about money, because he does not like to spend it.  He likes to save it.  It's a great quality that I'm grateful for in him, and that I'm trying to acquire for myself.  He's not quite Ebeneezer Scrooge and I'm not quite Eva Paron... we're getting better at meeting in the middle.

I'm taking a break from a crying two-year-old who is cutting his last molar (for a while - yay!) and wants to be held non-stop (he's down for his nap right now - thank goodness!) and the piles of laundry waiting to be washed and put away so that I can pack our bags, to eat a yummy salad and do a bit of venting.

The icing on top of the "visiting family" cake is that it seems (according to the 10-day forecast) to be much warmer in Deseret than it is here!  We're ready for some sun, some high 50 degree / maybe even 60 degree temperatures and a whole lot of catching up with family and friends.

Monday, March 21, 2011

a very wet march, in pictures


We spend most of our time inside,
and I seem to spend most of my time
building train tracks.
Cooper likes them to make "circles."
We take them down at night
and put them up again in the morning.


See that heating vent in the lower right corner?
Cooper's favorite place.  Just like I used to during
the cold winters of New Jersey, Coop
sits on it when he's cold.  He's always playing with cars
and or trains.  Tracks are not always necessary.


Brent before some ball he had to go to.


Probably the reason Cooper gets sick the most.  He doesn't
love veggies as much as the others.  This is Lincoln
sneaking orange pepper slices before dinner.  If he picked
up a red or yellow one, or a piece of broccoli, he'd put it back.
Kind of like picking out your favorite kind of candy at
Halloween, right?  He was CHOWING down.  We dipped
our veggies in a yummy yogurt-avocado dip
that Mercedes made in the blender for us.


Mercedes taking Cooper's temperature.
I spent a good hour trying to get him to drink some
medicine.  Mercedes talked him into it within a few minutes.
What a girl!

Cooper is finally venturing off of the couch today.  He's been laying down for the past four days, poor guy.  His cough has turned more meaty, (rather than like a seal) and his eyes are less full of goop.  He's definitely over the worst of it.  Lincoln, however, has red swollen eyes, a baby seal bark, and a fountain coming out of his nose.  At least we know what we're dealing with this time!  And Lincoln drank the tylenol right down, thank goodness!  So unlike Cooper (who only agreed to take it a few times), he won't be quite as uncomfortable.

Welcome Spring!

our favorite author

We are big fans of Dr. Seuss here in the Bethers household.  Mercedes loves rhyming books and always has.  I love to read fun stories.  The boys just love to be read to.  In honor of the great Seuss's birthday this month, we did our best to make green eggs (and substituted pink pancakes for the ham).  

Mercedes came home from school with instructions, and I thought that it would be a fun and easy dinner.  Easy?  Not so much.  I was picturing scrambled green eggs in my head, but those are not the kind of eggs illustrated in the book.  It's really hard to turn the whites green while leaving the yolks yellow and unbroken while frying eggs.  Most of my attempts actually turned into green scrambled eggs.  The kids, who love eggs, didn't think that the green looked to appetizing.  Even Lincoln, who will usually try anything, wasn't fond of the green eggs.  

Pink pancakes don't look too appetizing either.
This one is slathered with maple syrup.

I think that this was my first and last attempt at green eggs.  It's more of a "brent" project anyway.  He loves to experiment in the kitchen.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

the crouper cooper

Look at that face!
Our first (or my and Cooper's  first, I should say) experience with CROUP started in the wee morning hours of Thursday morning (see previous post).  Of course I didn't realize it was croup, because he hardly coughed.  Mostly he complained about hurting (he had a fever) and a sore throat.  I was thinking Strep Throat or Tonsilitis (both of which I am very well acquainted with).  By late afternoon I was VERY worried.  He'd done well all morning, but woke up from an afternoon nap in a panic.  He felt like he couldn't breathe.  His throat hurt.  He could hardly talk.  His fever was just below 100 degrees according to our thermometer, but it wasn't going down with ibuprofen and acetaminophen.  

As soon as Brent got home from work, Coop and I headed to our local Children's Hospital ER.  (I'd heard horrible stories about the ER at our local Army Facility, and didn't even try it.)  We left during prime traffic time, and it still only took 30 minutes to get there, thank goodness!  I pulled up to the complementary valet, and within 15 minutes Cooper was in his own examination room.  According to the hospital's thermometer he had a temperature of 101.1 (guess mine's a little off).  


He wasn't fond of the hospital gown, and really didn't want to take his pants off.  His trusted green quilt (thanks Grandma!) came in handy, as it always is comforting to him.  He watched a bit of Toy Story 3 on my Nano until I realized that the room had its own TV.  






After a quick exam and talk with the doctor, Cooper was given a blue popsicle, blue gatorade, and a dose of steroids.  We were good to go.  In and out within an hour.  Heavenly, really - compared to what we're used to.  

Two days later we're still struggling.  He doesn't sleep well.  It's like climbing Mt. Everest when we try to convince him to drink his medicine.  And the doctor said, "No dairy!"  Unfortunately, Cooper loves his dairy and not much else.  He's constantly asking for yogurt and cheese, and would prefer those to the popsicles the doctor recommended.  He literally spent all of today (other than when we took Mercedes to gymnastics) on the couch (including nap-time), watching movies and tv shows.  Very un-Cooper-like behavior.

Oh - and he's spread the virus into his eyes.  
Conjunctivitis in both eyes. 
 The poor kid can't catch a break!

Tonight Mercedes insisted that Cooper be given a Priesthood Blessing.  
Brent and I looked at each other thinking, "why didn't I think of that?"  

What a wonderful gift the Priesthood is.  We feel sure that Cooper will be able to rest peacefully tonight.

Just don't be dropping by anytime soon unless you'd like to be infected.  It's ugly.  

Thursday, March 17, 2011

late nite

Tonight at 1:34 am, I am thankful for modern conveniences.

Ibuprofen.

The internet.

Satellite TV and a DVR.

Coop woke up coughing and couldn't stop.  And he was burning up.

When I'm sick with a fever and can't sleep I like to be distracted.

I forced the Ibuprofen down his throat and said, "this will help you to not hurt so much," when he said to me, "My whole body hurts real bad!"

Then I turned on his favorite show, "Bubble Guppies."

Right now the 6 Bubble Guppies are building Bubble Puppy's doghouse.  My kids LOVE this show.  Even Mercedes.  The show's song is very catchy.  The kids like to sing it throughout their day, and I find myself singing it now because I've heard it so much.

We're waiting for the drugs to kick in so that we can go back to sleep.

Wish us luck!

Monday, March 7, 2011

monday

Here in the dreary (for now) Pacific Northwest, we take advantage of nice weather whenever we can get it.    Although we all love living here, this winter has been tough for us.  The rain and gray skies aren't so bad... it's the staying inside ALL of the time that drives us a little CRAZY!

So when we had a break from the rain on Saturday, Brent took the kids to THREE parks (I was stuck at home preparing a primary lesson - along with being a "perfectionist" I am also a "master procrastinator").  They finally came home because, you guessed it!, it started raining.

Brent had the day off today, which left me free to finally visit the dentist (first exam and cleaning in 18 months).  He and Cooper and Lincoln played and played and played and played and played (more parks were involved).  Brent was a little surprised by just HOW much energy Cooper has.  I'm convinced that the kids' poor sleep, crankiness, whining and fighting are MOSTLY a result of being cooped up.

I pretty much spent the day in transit to or from or at the dentist.  My exam was this morning and I didn't realize until I was there that they don't schedule cleanings along with the exams (like I'm used to).  It was a great appointment though (my new dentist is also my stake president and one of the nicest people in the world) and even though I was informed that I need to invest in a night guard (grinding problems), I was relieved to find out that I have NO CAVITIES!  YAY!!  HIP HIP HOORAY!  After Endodonic Surgery in August, I was a little worried about a repeat performance in my mouth.  I was lucky that a spot opened up for a cleaning this afternoon, and I was able to get everything taken care of while Brent was home.

Tonight we had the most delicious dinner.  And so easy!  Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Ravioli is completely scrumptious.  It's like eating cake for dinner.  I boiled the pasta and then added a bit of EVOO, some chophouse seasoning, sliced Campari tomatoes and olives and voila!  The kids didn't even complain about the mixed veggies we had along with it.

Now if we can just survive FHE without getting frustrated with each other, today will be a completely perfect day.

How was your Monday?

Good luck to us and you!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

very fun

I just found Lincoln and Cooper sitting in a Rubbermaid Container at the top of the stairs - poised for takeoff.  

They were about take off DOWN the stairs.  

I grabbed the tub and said, "Cooper, you can't go down the stairs in this.  It isn't safe!"

His reply?  

"Yes I can, mommy.  I've done it before.  It is very fun."

Boys are CRAZY!

Perhaps someday they'll try bobsledding.  And I'll probably have a heart attack.