Halloweekend

We had a very nice weekend doing some fall/Halloween activities as a family. Fall is my favorite time of year and it was so nice to share some of my favorite things with the boys. We don't celebrate Halloween (what is there to celebrate anyway, besides my birthday??? I never understood that...) but we do go out and trick-or-treat on our nice, historic, very safe street.



On Saturday, we went to Ebert's Greenhouse for their Fall Festival. It's one of our favorite places out here and we were eager to see what they did for fall. It was very family friendly, without a stictch of typical scary Halloweenish stuff. I don't mind the Halloween stuff so much, but it was nice to see a really neat alternative for fall. They had storybook characters all over the place, some as cutouts and some as scarecrows. There was a hayride (which we did not take b/c it was very cold and windy) and all kinds of kids activities. Many of them cost a dollar or two, but the ones the boys were most interested in were free. They have three little houses to play in, a sandpit, and a bunch of farm animals to see. Matthew was thrilled to pieces when the cow and the goats licked him. Ben liked watching the cow (actually a calf) romp around in her cage.



We walked around the grounds and enjoyed their beautiful landscaping, complete with a fish pond full of koi fish. The boys each picked out a mini pumpkin, Rob and I got hot drinks, and we picked up some squash for later. As we were leaving, a man handed us two tickets for some of the attractions. We decided to let Matthew do the fish pond game. He got a big coloring book and crayons, with which he was thrilled to pieces.



We had a wonderful rest of the day as a family. I was going to go to a Stampin Up! party that night, but we were having too much fun as a family for me to leave. Today, however, held my all-time favorite sport: Trick or Treating.



Here in Watertown, Trick or Treating is held on the Saturday or Sunday afternoon before Halloween. It's kind of weird, but it's safer. This year was Ben's first outing with us, and he did great. He was dressed as a puppy (Matthew's first costume) and Matthew was Eeyore again. I wasn't going to spend the crazy prices they were asking for costumes, so we tried on last year's costume and it still fit. Barely, but it saved me lots of money. I wore my princess robe (which Rob says makes me look like a witch b/c I can't find my crown.)



We headed out at one o'clock exactly and covered about ten or eleven blocks. Our street is great for this wonderful sport, b/c everyone gives out the good stuff and lots of it. The boys did great and had tons of fun. They really got into the spirit of it and enjoyed seeing the other children in their costumes. It's a neat time to get out and greet the neighbors as well. Rob stayed home and handed out candy and tracts with a trick-or-treat theme (a must for us...after all, what better time to hand out tracts than when people are coming to you!) Matthew helped Daddy pass out candy when we got home. Oh, we had to make a last minute run to Papa Murphy's, as they were handing out cookie dough! That was neat.

We were a rather tired bunch by the time it was over, but there was no time for napping before church that night. The boys were in bed by 7:30pm and Rob and I hit the hay shortly after nine. (Literally....we have a bale in the backyard that was making us mad.....get it, we HIT the HAY.....) It was a very fun weekend and well worth the lack of sleep.



We're tired now, but it was a good weekend. I've got lots of pictures, but I once again saved them in a weird place, so I'll post them later tonight.

Cain and Abel

It has begun. This morning, Rob was on the thinking chair (I was still sleeping) and the boys stopped making noise. Rob got a little concerned, so he investigated. The boys were in the kitchen and had opened the big bag of Halloween candy and had gotten into a box of Jujubees. Rob asked Matthew if he opened the bag. With a sticky candy in his mouth, Matthew said, "No!" After three more questions of "Did you do it?", Matthew finally admitted to opening the candy, but then said, "Ben ate some too!" Rob asked Ben if he ate the candy, and he said, "Matthew open!" Ahhh....so young to be starting the blame game. A few hours later they are still blaming each other....

In other news, Ben discovered yesterday that his bottom has a crack. I was changing his diaper and was just about to put on a new one when he reached down and grabbed his little cheek. He got a panicked look on his face and said, "Ripped! Ripped!" I still haven't stopped laughing!!

The Black Hole

We have decided that our home is an electronic black hole, meaning our electronic devices are going haywire on us. Here's the list of crazy things:

1. Three major appliances have been replaced in one year's time. Granted, the old ones belonged to my grandma and were rather old, but still, that's kind of crazy.

2. The breaker for the dryer had to be replaced. (It works now, Praise the Lord!!)

3. Our phone takes "vacations" where it will not allow certain buttons to work, or all of the buttons, will ring but I can't answer, or won't ring at all when people call.

4. The cords from the DVD player to the TV have become increasingly touchy.

5. Our clocks keep uncoordinating themselves.

6. The alarm clock does not function properly and now makes a bizarre noise when the alarm goes off. Thankfully, we still wake to it and the boys no longer wake up to it.

I think that's it so far. We're guessing that the washer might be next. It is a Maytag, but it's that old avacado green, so who knows how old it is.

And the baby just moved. **smile**

Sugar and Spice

...and all things nice, that's what litte GIRLS are made of. And, that's what we're having! Rob is so very excited (and I guess I am too.) She's doing just fine, so says the perinatologist.

As for names, we are deliberating between Hannah June and Anna June. We're leaning toward Anna right now, but we'll see. Anna was the name of a friend of ours from California who died of cancer a little over a year ago and so that is a special name to us. Also, AJ is a lot cuter than HJ. They mean the same, grace of God, so that's not a debating point. I did inform Rob that if she's born on the 17th of March that Erin would have to figure into the picture, but I haven't convinced him of that yet.

Matthew was less than thrilled at the idea of a sister. All along he's wanted a baby girl, but now he says that Ben can have a baby sister, but he wants a baby brother. I tried to point out that he already has one. His newest name suggestion is "Tweety Bird." His friend Angela says the baby should be named Kayla. Hmmm....I don't think either name is in the Bible.......

So, break out the ribbons and bows...we're having a girl!!!

New Pictures

Thanks to Second Harvest, we now have PLENTY of batteries, so I was able to download pictures. I saved them in a goofy place, so I'll post pics of Matthew later.

Counting our Blessings

We have had so many blessings this week that I need to take time to count them all!

1. A visit from my mom. We had such a nice time visiting with her. It's such a joy to have a mother who is also my friend (although I never thought I'd say that back in high school!) She did a lot for us, but just having her here was so nice.

2. A new dryer. We'd quite forgotten what dryer dried clothes were like, as we've been without one since March. An electrician is coming on Monday to figure out why the fuse keeps flipping off when we use it, but we have managed to catch up on laundry.

3. Food. Second Harvest was such a huge blessing on Tuesday, along with someone giving us a bunch of canned/boxed stuff on Friday and a friend of Rob's dropping off several pounds of ground deer meat today (with a promise of more).

4. The children. Matthew is such a delight to talk to, Ben picks up more vocab daily, and the new baby is moving around. Being a mommy is so much fun!

5. My husband. I came down with stomach flu on Thursday (my usual 12-13 hour bout of the stuff) and he stayed home to take care of the kids rather than find someone to keep them all day. He hasn't spent that much time alone with them in a loooong time. They went to bed at 7:30 instead of 9 (tee-hee) and he said that being a stay-at-home dad is NOT his calling. However, from what I heard in between snoozes and runs to the bathroom, he did a pretty good job.

6. Help with bills. Once again, we received a surprise check in the mail and were able to get more caught up on bills. Also, I have been contacted by three people about ordering Tupperware/having a party, so the business will keep on going.

God is so good. Praise the Lord for his continuing goodness.

General Update

We have had a very busy and interesting past few days here in the Litwiller household. Let's see if I can catch you up quickly:

Friday: Benjamin came down with a stomach virus, his first real bout of the stuff. After his initial "sickies" (as we call it), he faired pretty well. He didn't stop vomiting for about five hours, but he was pretty calm and rested comfortably on the couch. He slept pretty well that night, only waking up once for water, and then ate anything I'd let him the next morning! He picked up a few new phrases, like "All done" when he finished throwing up, "I spill" to inform me he had thrown up, and "Sickies all gone" the next day. He's completely back to normal now.

The weekend: We had a pretty nice weekend, although I had to learn that I am not well. I keep forgetting that I have bronchitis, so I do too much and then start coughing. Thankfully, the medicine has helped tremendously, so I am doing better.

Rob was able to get some work done, but he is still behind, so next weekend will be a very busy one for him. I doubt we see him much on Saturday!

Sunday night: My mom came up to spend a few days with us. She and Dad were going to go on vacation, but cancelled, so Mom came here for a few days instead. She treated us to Papa Murphy's after church, and that was nice. We hadn't had their pizza for several years after trying some nasty deep dish thing they had. The regular pizza is MUCH better and now that Rico's is gone, we may order from there instead! The kids love having Grandma here, although Ben kept asking for "Pa-pa" and didn't understand why his favorite grandparent (any grandpa) had to stay home. He keeps saying, "Papa house?" which means "Grandpa's at his house, right?"

Monday: We had a pretty good morning going grocery shopping and spending time with Grandma. We had planned to go to the library after naptime, but Matthew woke up with the flu. He's a little easier to handle, as he doesn't stay sick as long and can make it to the toilet most of the time. His problem is that he completely freaks out every time he gets sick. At one point, I thought he would hyperventilate! He went to bed early and slept okay that night. Now we're just hoping that Grandma doesn't catch it!

Tuesday: Ahh, the day I've been waiting for....we got our new dryer! My wonderful in-laws bought us a dryer for Christmas and it came yesterday. Unfortunately, the fuse keeps blowing, so our landlord is coming over today to check it out. We've been saving up the laundry, so there are large mounds of clothes yet to be done.

Rob came home after his first class thinking he had the flu. He slept for three hours, got up, and went to work feeling better. We think he may have had a very mild form of it.

We took the kids to the library, along with Wal-Mart in the evening. Mom bought me a winter coat and cleaning supplies (thank you, Mommy!) In the afternoon during naptime, I went to Maranatha for the Second Harvest food bank. The school gets food for off-campus students, faculty, and staff and we pay what we can. I got tons of snack food and drinks, along with a few baking items and such, so our pantry is full to bursting, praise the Lord!

Today: Mom and the boys are out for a walk right now (to the bakery) and she will be leaving this afternoon. It's been so nice to have her here, even for a short time. She did manage to straighten and clean my house while she was here. I laugh whenever I walk into a room, because I can tell she was there! Rob told her he's going to call and give her weekly updates to make sure I keep it clean. To that I say: you try having a rotten first trimester followed by a cold and bronchitis and see how clean your house is! I am feeling better now, so I'm sure the house will look better. Poor Rob...I always tell him he deserves a better housekeeper!

That's us!

Breathing Easy

I have alluded to my problems with this cold in my blog, but had not addressed the problem directly. I caught a cold about three weeks ago, and like so many others around here, could not shake the cough. The problem I was having in particular is difficulty breathing. I finally called my ob yesterday to see if she would approve an inhaler for me (I do have slight asthma) and instead got sent to urgent care for a pneumonia check! Thankfully, that was not the problem. Instead, they said I have acute bronchitis and the asthma problem. They gave me an inhaler and I haven't wheezed since! I had a wonderful night of sleep and have been breathing much better and coughing a lot less. I'm also on a steriod for a few days to open my airways. They said it was safe to take during pregnancy, especially since I won't be on it too long. It made me a little dizzy this morning, so I'm thankful that I have no where to go today, because I couldn't drive anyway!

My mom is coming here on Sunday and staying forever (right, Mom?) so that was very good timing on her part. Our prayer request right now is a financial one, because we found out that my medical coverage (through the state) will only cover pregnancy-related stuff, and this doesn't count. Thankfully, the medicine and inhaler were not too expensive, but we're dreading the hospital bill. Praise the Lord it wasn't pneumonia and I didn't have to be hospitalized. We might've had to sell one of the kids.....

I am feeling much better, so no matter how much we go into debt, it was worth it. I feel as close to normal as I've felt since I got pregnant, and that's saying something! The kids and I even made cookies today (snickerdoodles...my grandma's recipe) and it was nice to do something fun with them w/o all of the coughing, hacking, and other unpleasant side effects.

Oh, while Rob was in the waiting room yesterday with the kids, Matthew struck up a conversation with a guy waiting in there with his son. After a bit, Matthew asked Rob if he could go to the man's house sometime. Rob said, "Well, we don't know where he lives!" Matthew replied, "He lives in his house, Daddy!" Duh!!

My son, the player

Today I watched the almost five-year-old daughter of a friend of mine for a few hours while she took her three-year-old for allergy testing. Angela and Matthew play together all the time, at least twice a week if not more often, and get along very well. Today, however, took the cake.

I had to take Rob to work since I had a Tupperware party tonight (which went well) so we put Angela's booster seat in between our two boys for the trip. Here is the conversation that went on between the two:

Matthew: I love you, Angela.
Angela: I love you, Matthew.
Matthew: Hey, there's the Tine-ese restaurant! Do you like the Tine-ese restaurant, Angela?
Angela: Yes, I do like Chinese.
Matthew: You should come there sometime wiff us. Would you like to come wiff us?
Angela: I would like to come with you!
Matthew: Mommy, can Angela come with us sometime to the Tine-ese restaurant?
Mommy: Maybe.
Matthew: My mommy said yes.
Angela: Your mommy said maybe.

(A little later on the same ride....)
Angela: I luv ya, Matthew!
Matthew: I love you, too, Angela!
Angela: I saw a flock of birds shaped like an "L." Luh-luh-luh. (Angela is going through the book "How to Read in 100 easy lessons" or whatever it's called.) That's an "s" on the sign. S-s-s-s.
Matthew: You want to go wiff us to Chuck E. Cheese sometime? We went wiff my grandma and grandpa.
Anglea: Okay.

When we got home, the kids and I took off for the library, which is only about one block away. Matthew and Angela insisted on holding hands the entire way there and the entire way back. They walked verrry slowwwly, slower than me, and that's saying something! They chatted the whole way about dogs and pictures and Angela kept trying to corral Matthew if he veered in the wrong direction.

So, my son has now asked a girl out on a date, held her hand, and declared his affections for her. She, in turn, is already trying to keep him in line. Hey, Rach, should we set a date for twenty years from now??? Start picking out their china pattern???

Kids are just so cute :)

Finally, some fun!

That's probably what my kids were thinking today after three days of dealing with a mommy that isn't breathing well and can't take them anywhere. Today is Watertown's fall festival and we decided to pretend that we had money ($11, to be exact) and spoiled the kids a bit. The kids events were practically behind our house at The Market, an Anitque place. They got to bounce in the bounce house, and that was funny. Matthew had a ball, especially when Daddy kept pushing him over. For Ben, it was more of a "Keep my Balance" house. He spent about five minutes in there then came to the door and said, "All done." At least he got to try it (they were the only kids in there at first) and he was half price because we didn't know how he'd do. Some friends from church showed up with their kids and Matthew had fun bouncing with them. It's terribly hot and humid today, so we had Matthew stop a little early....he was sweating profusely.

We skipped the sugar/sand art table, watched the horses, and saw the measley petting zoo (a pig and a goat) and then made our way downtown. There were about four blocks of craft booths and we're not into crafts, but it was fun to look. We bought some kettle corn to munch on (first booth) and explored. Matthew got free popcorn later on and I spotted some very pretty hand-made cards (good ideas for later!) We bought our lunch at a vendor (brat for Rob, burger for me, hot dog for the kids) and ate for a bit. Then we trekked back up the street to the Maranatha booth and bought a brownie. They were making balloon animals, but since Daddy makes those, we skipped letting the kids get one.

We had a great time, but not as much fun once we got home. We had mounds of dishes and laundry to do, plus two wired kids. I finally took off around nap time and went to a card making event at church. There were only three of us there, but it was fun to sit and make cards in the air conditioning. My wonderful husband put the kids to bed, hung laundry on the line, and wrote out his remaining assignments for the semester. He's very overwhelmed right now, so please pray for him.

The kids should be getting up soon, so I'd better sign off. Oh, for those wanting pictures, you'll get them when we get batteries for the camera so we can download them! (Ahh...the sounds of the horse-drawn cart going by and the Elvis impersonator near the river....gotta love living close to downtown for events like this!)

Funny Moments

I haven't been feeling well lately (monster cold) and so I've had a tough time with the kids. (Like right now, as Matthew is yelling at me to fix the TV AGAIN!!!) But, I have had some cute moments.

Ben also has a cold and likes to wipe his own nose. He'll come up to the kleenex box and say, "Nose!" I hand him a tissue, his wipes his nose, then says, "Back!" Glad I keep the box out of reach or it would be full of slightly used tissues!

Today was "Mommy needs to repeat herself 90 times" day. Maybe it comes from working with high schoolers, but I do not like to repeat myself: after all, a three-year-old and a nineteen-month-old should obey the first time, right? Anyway, I got pretty frustrated and yelled, "Does Mommy have to repeat everything she says???" Matthew said, "huh?" Sigh.....

Ben had his 18 month check-up yesterday and it went well. Praise the Lord, no shots this time! He was cranky enough as it was. He does have some junk in his ear, so the doctor gave me a prescription for medicine in case it develops into an ear infection. He is 25 lbs 4 oz, 33 inches tall, and his head is still off the charts. He did pretty well except for when his privates were checked and I can't say as I mind him fussing about that! I'm thankful that I have a doctor that keeps things on the medical side. Some friends of mine have had trouble with a particular doctor in town that questions them about discipline. Rephrase: the doctor asks the CHIILDREN how they are disciplined. One friend has a five and a three year old: you can imagine how well that interview might go over. Needless to say, we've been passing info around our set to avoid that doctor. I understand the whole need to look for abuse, but it's really none of a doctor's business how a child is disciplined, especially if there are no marks or signs of abuse. I'm thankful we never had a pediatrician that asked, even in Cali. We had a sheet to fill out, but I just skipped that question and our doctor never asked about it.

I'm off to figure out why it's so quiet out there.....

Big Weekend

This past weekend, the kids and I went to Illinois to visit with Rob's parents. Our purpose was two-fold: visit family and give Daddy peace and quiet while he works and rests. We had a wonderful time and the kids were delighted to spend so much time with their grandparents.



We took off on Friday after dropping Rob at work. It's a three and a half hour drive, so not too bad at all. Both of my kids are amazing travellers, so it was not a big deal to take them by myself. Neither one needs to be entertained. I just pop in some music and they sing along and enjoy the scenery. We stopped halfway down to have a picnic at a reststop and let them run around for a bit, then we finished the trip. When we arrived, Matthew ran into the house and yelled, "Grandpa! Abbie! We're here!" Abbie bounded up the steps and barked like mad, which made Matthew fall back against the door until Grandpa calmed her down. Ben walked in and looked at Abbie as if to say, "Hey, cool! A barking dog!"



Grandma came home a bit later and I don't think Matthew gave her a moments rest until she dropped them off here on Tuesday! Matthew is a Grandma's boy, be it Grandma Litwiller or Fulkerson. Ben prefers his Grandpa's and had to know where "Pa-pa" was all weekend. We'll see who the next one prefers!



I had a Tupperware party at my sister's that night and it went very well. Not too many attendees, but a lot of outside orders, so she ended up with a lot of free stuff. I didn't go to bed until around midnight that night, so I was rather tired all day the next day! Jim and Leanah took the boys to the children's museum in the morning and offered to let me stay home and rest. I took that time to run to Target (forgot my brush and a pony tail holder) and to Krispy Kreme for a Cafe Kreme and glazed chocolate donut. Then I rested in a recliner, called Rob, and read the paper. Bliss!

The kids managed to take some semblance of a nap that afternoon, and then we visited GG (Rob's grandma). She is a very sweet lady and I love how she devotes her full attention to the boys when they talk to her. Matthew sang a few songs for her and recited his Tiny Tracker verses. After the visit, Jim and Leanah treated us to the Cracker Barrel (one of my favorite restaurants) and then we went home. Rob's brother Andy came over and thoroughly tickled and tackled the boys, which they loved, then my sister came over with a puppy that she is fostering. (She works for a shelter and usually has some puppies or kittens that are too young to adopt out yet.) Matthew carried that little thing everywhere and had a ball. The funniest part of the evening is when Ben sat down to read his book and Wilma (the puppy) came up and licked him all over the face. He didn't seem to appreciate it much, but he didn't cry either, so that's good. It was awful cute! Little boys and puppies just belong together, I guess. Oh, my parents poppped by briefly after the Steve Green concert they attended, so the boys got to see both sets of grandparents!

Church the next day did not quite go as well as usual. (Although Steve Green was the special music: very cool!) Matthew came out of Sunday school saying that he had been crying for his grandparents and we found out that Ben was unusually fussy as well. New nursery combined with colds did not make for happy children. We did get to see Jim tell a story in sign language during Junior church, which was very neat. Matthew really liked it. After that, we had lunch at Steak and Shake and then I headed home WITHOUT THE KIDS!!! That's right, my wonderful in-laws asked a few weeks ago to keep the kids until Tuesday. They did very well and didn't cry for Mommy (unless a punishment ensued, but that do that with me and Rob too!)

Rob and I enjoyed our two childless days very much. We had planned to get a lot of housework done, but rested instead. Rob worked on school stuff and I caught up with my Bible study. We grocery shopped (and took our time) and headed to Madison for supper at the Olive Garden. My adorable sister gave us a gift card that we enjoyed very much. It was so nice to eat in a restaurant without having to cut up food, referee, and keep children in their seats.

While at the grandparents, the kids visited more great-grandparents, played at the park, ate at Chuck E. Cheese, did not nap, and wore out their grandparents. At least they had the decency to go to bed at seven that night! I could tell they had a blast when they got home (that included the grandparents.) I could sense a special bond had been formed that could only come with Rob and I out of the picture for awhile.

The kids came home around 1pm on Tuesday and it was nice to see them again. Ben cried (I think he wanted to stay with Pa-pa) and Matthew looked for Daddy. It wasn't until later that they snuggled on my lap (forever) that I knew they had missed me. Ben even napped on me for an hour, something he simply doesn't do. They didn't get to see Daddy until 8:15 and they clung to him until bedtime. They slept late this morning and napped good this afternoon, so I know they are catching up on sleep. They had a wonderful time, as evidenced by this afternoon's pretend session of "Grandma's House." Their toy dog was Abbie, Ben was Pa-pa, and the toy room was Grandma's. That was funny!

Totally unrelated: Today at breakfast, we were having Ben practice some new words. Matthew asked him to say "fire." Ben said "wa-wa." I don't know where that came from!