A "poopy" weekend.

The title of this post pretty much says it all. Elliott started pooping Friday night, and hasn't stopped since. Poor kid has had explosive diarrhea for the last 3 days, and it has not been very fun. His butt is so raw and sore, that he just screams when we change him and clean him up. He has like an anxiety attack, and gets worked up for a good 15-20 minutes. I feel so bad for him, but we are literally doing everything we can for him. Needless to say, it's been a long couple of days.

Other than Elliott's sickness, we had a wonderful weekend. The nice weather has continued to hang on around here, so we have been busy little beavers, trying to soak up the nice weather all weekend.

Friday night, we brought the kids to a park, and then we ate supper at Ruby Tuesdays (courtesy of a gift card that has been in my wallet for 2 years). It was ok. The kids behaved really well, which was nice.

Saturday was a busy day. We started off with a trip to Walmart for a few things, and we ran into a couple that gave us free Stampede Tickets for the game that night. We just can't seem to get away from those Stampede Games lately. It was very nice to get some free tickets though, especially for Wiener Dog Races night.

After Walmart, we went home for some naps, and then headed to the zoo. Both kids walked most of the zoo, and loved seeing all the animals. Elliott was especially entertained by the animals. He loved it. After seeing all the animals, we went and played inside the zoo museum for a while. We were there for about 3 hours, and successfully wore out our children.

We decided that since Elliott was having blowout diarrheas about every 1-2 hours, that I would stay home with him and just Emma and John would go to the game. They had a blast at the game, and had a very nice daughter/daddy date.

They didn't get home until almost 10pm, and then it was time for everyone to head to bed. We were all completely wore out.

We skipped church on Sunday because Saturday was sort of a rough night and Elliott was difficult to deal with, so we just said forget it. After everyone settled down a little, we took the kids to another park, and they had a really good time. We grabbed lunch at Pancheros, which was delicious, and then we headed home so the boys could nap.

Emma and I decided to head to the Midco Aquatic Center to check it out. Emma had a really, really good time. I think she jumped into the pool to me about 100 times, and she keeps getting braver and braver in the water. We spent a solid 2.5 hours there, and then we had a Cherry Berry Date. After all the excitement, we headed home. Elliott was kind of a hot mess again, so we kept the rest of the evening quiet, and got the kids to bed at a decent time.

Today was a typical Monday, except for the weather. It was down-pouring when I went to work this morning. It was raining so hard that my socks, pants, and coat were soaked by the time I got inside. It was the weirdest thing to see in February. Other than that, it was a Monday. Both kids made it the full day at daycare, which was a miracle. Elliott is still pooping, and still has a super sore butt, and Emma is coughing her brains out now too. Such fun times.

Anyway, I'm pooped. It's been a long weekend, it's been a long Monday, I'm going to bed.

Fun at the zoo 

Matching in their red coats

How adorable is that?

Elliott checking out the baby Rhino

Being silly

Cherry berry date

Happy Valentine's Day, a little late...

This past week and a half kind of flew by again. Nothing too crazy has been going on, just the usual grind of work and evening activities with the kids, but time sure finds a way to keep chugging on by.

This past weekend was packed full of activities. On Saturday, Emma and I had a girls date where we went to the zoo to play, and then we had a lunch date at McDonalds per Emma's request. We also did a little shopping, and then ended the day with a little crafting. It was a fun mommy and Emma day. Elliott had two naps during the day, so he didn't get to come along, but him and daddy hit the town and did their own thing.

On Sunday, we took Jim and Barb to a Stampede Hockey game with the kids. Everyone had a really good time, and we got to see the game go to overtime, and then a shoot-out, so it was a pretty good game.

The highlight of this week was Valentine's Day. On Monday evening, Emma and I worked on her Valentines as well as her Valentine's box. She was so excited to help work on it, and then show it to all of her friends. She loves holidays, and gets so excited for them! It was pretty cute to watch her enthusiasm. She came up with her Valentine's Box all by herself, and called it a "silly, robot monkey" box. It was adorable.

Elliott helped me with his Valentine's a little, but mostly he just enjoyed sampling the goods, and scribbling with markers. Pretty typical.

Tuesday was Valentine's Day, and the kids had a blast at daycare. Emma came home with a bucket full of Valentines and candy, and she got to wear her PJs to daycare, so it was a great day, and she loved telling us all about it.

Elliott's room had a Valentine's Day Party as well, but I'm not sure he knew what was going on at all. But he enjoyed digging into some of his candy this week.

The rest of the week has been pretty quiet. The weather has been absolutely amazing though. It's about 54 degrees outside right now, and tomorrow is supposed to get into the 60s. I am really enjoying the warm weather. I am thinking about bringing the kids to the park for a little while this afternoon to help them burn of a little energy, it should be fun!

Elliott helping feed baby Reese (awe)

Emma and her Valentine's Box. So cute!

My Valentine's Flowers

The kids with their Valentine's Gifts

Daycare Fun

A Super Bowl Weekend.

This past weekend was insane! We were so busy, and sleep deprived, it was incredible. It all started on Friday, when I took the kids to Brain Play at the zoo after work. We spent a solid hour and a half playing with all the toys and activities. They had a blast. Elliott was devastated to have to leave. I told him it was closed, and he repeated that phrase the whole way home, driving Emma crazy in the process. It was pretty cute.

After the zoo, we went home for supper, and then headed to a stampede game. John got some free tickets from a co-worker, so all four of us headed to the game. The kids actually did very well. They were pretty wiggly, which is expected, but they really were interested in the game, which surprised us. They both loved all the lights, music, and of course the players skating around. They both did very well, and we lasted the entire game, so it was a great outing.

On Saturday, the kids went out to Jim and Barb's to spend the night while John and I headed to Brookings for some basketball with our college friends. It was a double header with both the boys and girls playing, and they both won. We watched some good basketball games. After the games, we stayed for the wresting match. I have never been to a wrestling match before, and I was sort of lost through the whole thing, but it was kind of fun to see.

We headed to Buffalo Wild Wings after the match, and then visited with some drinks back at the hotel. It was very nice to hang out with everyone, and we had a really good time, but we didn't get back home until 3:30 am. It's been a long time since I have been up that late, and it kind of kicked my butt.

Luckily, we got to sleep in on Sunday, but we were still pretty tired most of the day. John went and got the kids at about lunch time, and then we all took some well-deserved naps. Once we were rested up, we headed to Polzin's for a Superbowl Party. The kids had an absolute blast playing with all the toys and the other kids. They played so hard. The adults enjoyed some good food and beverages, and a good football game.

The Patriots ended up coming back from a 3-28 point deficit, and winning the game in overtime. I'm not really a Patriots fan, I wanted the Falcons to win, but it was a pretty incredible game. Lady Gaga performed at halftime, which was an okay show, and there were some good commercials. But, it ended up being a late night because of the overtime, and both kids were up until about 10:00 pm. Yikes! It made for kind of a rough Monday for all of us.

Right now, both kids are sleeping, and this momma isn't too far away either. It's been a LONG day, and I am ready to snooze away!!

Wonder Woman at daycare 

"Cheese" at the zoo. 

Emma and Wonder Woman 

Playing at the zoo

Stampede Game 

The kiddos enjoying their food at the Super Bowl Party 

Ice Cream

Cupcakes at daycare

Tubing at Great Bear.

Yesterday we took Emma to Great Bear to go tubing, and she had So. Much. Fun!! Emma had never been tubing before, and she really had no idea what to expect. John's work decided to have a tubing outing as a group, and Emma and I came along as well. (Grandma and Grandpa came to babysit Elliott while we went).

We got to Great Bear at around 5pm, and we pretty much immediately hit up the tubing hill. Emma was so excited from the beginning. She couldn't wait to go down. John and I were actually kind of intimidated, the other kids were just flying down the hill. It was crazy how fast they were going. Emma and I went down together the first time, hooking our tubes together, and she giggled the whole way down the hill. And after that she wanted to go down all by herself, which she did. Again and again and again. That girl could not stop smiling. It was adorable.

We took a greasy supper break, and ate some supper in the lodge, and then we did some more tubing. Emma really got the hang of things, and did really well. The only part that made me nervous, is when she got to the bottom by herself, because she wasn't very good at looking out for other tubes coming down the hill, and they all come flying down the hill. Luckily, we all escaped injury, and we had a great evening. We stayed until a little bit after 8pm, and then we had to drag Emma out of there. That little girl loved it. I can't wait to take her back again someday.

We watched a couple skiers and snowboarders on our way to the car. They make it look really fun, but no way would I ever do that. I think I would definitely break something. Emma wanted to try skiing (haha), but I told her she had to be a little older. It was a gorgeous evening for some tubing, and we all had a really good time.

Both kids have just loved being outside lately. It's so cute to bundle them up, and then watch them just have a blast in the snow. We've been very lucky to have had a mild winter this year, and we have been enjoying our time outdoors. And both kids love a little hot cocoa to warm up with after we come back inside.

Playing on the snow hill 

Emma and Reese

Daycare art

Tubing!!!

Fun time at Great Bear