Happy New Year!

Happy 2009 Everyone! We made an attempt at taking the kids to a New Years Eve party, but it ended with Mya throwing up in the car on the way home from crying so hard:( Max was a champ...hanging with the older kids all night. He did not want me to help him eat dinner because the older kids weren't getting help. It was so funny to watch him try to be "big." So, it's 10:03 right now and I'm getting sleepy....wonder if I'll make it to midnight?? I wouldn't bet on it!!

Here are some pics/videos from our break so far:

Mya and her cousin Olivia

Mya w/ Chris's Mom and Grandma

Cooking with Linda - Finnish Sweet Bread!

Max and his "Jumper"

Max playing at New Years

Sleepless nights

Last night was another tough one for Max. It was back and forth between waking up with that horrible cough, me holding him and walking around until he fell asleep on my shoulder, putting him back to bed, and then doing it all over again. We also had a visit to the steam room (aka. bathroom with shower pumping hot water). At some point, I sat in the chair in his room and I thought I'd just try to fall asleep too with him in my arms. Maybe keeping him upright instead of laying down would help...

Beth came in and checked on us a little later and saw that I didn't have any blankets. She got one and put it over us. Max was obvsiously awake, because without moving a muscle, he saw what Beth was doing and whispered in a way only a child could "Thank you mommy". One of those moments that you never expect and make you feel blessed to be a parent.

Croup

This is one virus I absolutely hate! Last night we put Max to bed like usual. He seemed as healthy as ever...not even a runny nose. I went to bed around 10 only to wake up an hour later to a horrible sound. For a second, I thought I was at Sea World listening to the seals. It was Max, gasping for air and barking like a seal. Croup again?? Since this wasn't the first time it has happened, we knew what to do. (last time we called 911 and had our first ambulance ride) We bundled him up and took him in the garage to breath the cold air. It helped a little bit, but after puking on me and his coat, Chris and my mom took him to the ER. There he got a nebulizer treatment and an oral steroid. Today, you wouldn't even know it happened.....other than the fact that we have a little boy who lost 3 hours of sleep in the middle of the night on our hands:)

I have a feeling this isn't the last time the croup will hit our house. I was hospitalized as a kid for this and Chris also had it from time to time. Fun, fun!!

Vikings - 1998

Today the Mpls Star & Tribune had a good article (http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/36468834.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl) that was a reminder of an interesting year to be a Vikings fan. I like to believe that I'm as true a MN sports fan as I can be and don't jump on and off the bandwagon. I also think that a lot of my cynicism of MN sports, the Vikings in particular, comes from that season in 1998. My roommate at Luther, Ben Johnson, and I would catch every game even if it meant driving 45 minutes north to the nearest MN town with a sports bar on those Sundays the Iowa tv schedulers felt it was better to show the Packers or Bears. Whatever. Over the course of the 15-1 regular season, we also wall-papered our entire dorm room with news articles and pictures of this amazing team that scored at will and blew everyone out. What a fun team to watch and get behind. I think evey person in MN truly believed they were a shoe-in for the SuperBowl that year. Then the Falcons come to town and we give it away. Letdown of historic proportions. We have become almost conditioned to letdowns since then.

And with Max and Mya in their purple and gold, they help me remember to quickly forget those tough losses. There is much more fun to be had watching blocks fly through the air or giggles from a little baby rolling on a floor than there is dwelling on why the Vikings always seem to let us down...

There's always the next game and the next season though!

Bath time

Max and Mya's first bath together! I can't wait for this to happen more often because Chris is the #1 bath giver at our house, so if he can do 2 at the same time, I can get a break! Also, a video of Mya rolling over. She rolls to her stomach, gets mad and then I roll her to her back. She rolls over...this goes on all day.

Christmas memories...

Tonight I started thinking about my Christmas memories growing up and thought I'd write about a couple of them. As far back as I can remember, we always celebrated Christmas Eve with just my immediate family. Apparently we used to go to Grandma Grady's, but one night there was a huge snowstorm and we couldn't make it there-- thus our little family tradition was started. Our Christmas Eve includes church and a great meal. When we were young, we always made spaghetti and got to eat it later in the evening than normal, on Christmas china, with the lights dimmed and candles lit. The best part was that we got to drink some fruity drink in wine glasses and thought we were so cool! As we got older, the spaghetti dinner turned into steak and potatoes and the fruity drink turned into the real mccoy, but the feelings stayed the same. I love this night.

I was very lucky to grow up living close to family, so I got to wake up every Christmas morning at my house. We would get up very very early and go into my parents room and wait until they got up, got the camera, etc. and then we went downstairs. I remember my dad always opening the door and peeking in first because there was a chance Santa was still there:) Santa brought all of the presents at our house and we never questioned why mom and dad didn't get us anything. The best Christmas present ever was when I got my kitchen set. We have a picture of me coming down the steps with arms stretched out as far as they can go with a huge smile on my face when I saw it. I also remember when I got my first "boom-box" and a Gloria Estefan and Rod Stewart tape to go with! Another good present memory I have is of my brother. One year he got a really nice tennis raquet. It was at a time when he knew it was from my parents, but my sister still thought it was from Santa. After he opened it, he went and gave my mom a huge hug and kept saying thank you over and over. My mom couldn't get a word in at first, but then she had to cover up with...why are you thanking me?? It's from Santa!! Not sure if Tara bought it, but it was a good try:) I'm not sure we always deserved it, but Santa was very good to Brian, Tara and I.

I'm looking forward to making some new holiday traditions and memories with Max and Mya!

It's only noon??!??!!

We have had quite a morning. It was a MOPS morning, so we had to get out of the house by 8:45 which is quite a chore. Since Miss Mya decided to eat twice during the night, she was not hungry this morning when I wanted to feed her. So, I decided to pump and then bring a bottle to the daycare. When I went to the van to get the pump (that was still in there from thanksgiving) I realized the doors were locked and the keys were inside!! Chris had to come home from work to let me into the car. I'm sure he was thrilled with me, but on the outside, he didn't seem too angry. I didn't have time to pump anymore, so Mya was going to drink formula for her morning bottle. I had to bring an egg dish today too, so that added to the mess getting out the door. Finally around 8:45, I had 2 kids, 2 diaper bags, a purse and an egg dish and we were out.

I dropped the kids off at their respective rooms and went to my meeting. About 45 min. later I got a tap on the shoulder. Mya wasn't taking the bottle and she was inconsolable. So, I had to leave the meeting and go feed her. She went to sleep and I decided to just hold her the rest of the meeting so they wouldn't have to come and get me a second time! When we got all ready to go home, we got outside the front doors and Max refused to walk in the snow. So, I had to leave him by the front door crying while I brought Mya and the diaper bags, egg dish, etc. to the car. I'm sure people thought I was a great mom leaving him crying by the door, but I didn't have much choice.

Getting away and doing adult things once in awhile is nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle when it's 10 degrees and windy!! Naps are just around the corner. The project today is going to be to empty out the van from Thanksgiving!!

Turkey Trot 2008 (by Brian Huinker)

Huinker Repeats as Turkey Trot Champion

Decorah, IA –AP- In poor weather conditions that led to slower times than normal, Brian Huinker was able to complete an improbable back-to-back Turkey Trot title run. Due to a severe winter weather advisory across much of the state of Iowa, the Trot was run at 11:50am CST.

“I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving”, stated Huinker. My stock portfolio is filled with Ultra Short funds, I won the Turkey Trot because of sheer heart, and we have a healthy baby girl.”

Tara Huinker upset Chris Hoden for second place honors with a time of 7:25. Hoden finished 10 seconds later at 7:35. Rounding out the top 5 were Amanda Huinker 9:33 and Beth Huinker 10:35.

Tara Huinker laid the blame on an extensive travel schedule in 2008. “Do you have any idea how many countries I have been in this year? It isn’t exactly easy to train in the Middle East. I kept tripping over my dress and I couldn’t see sh** out of my turbin.”

Chris Hoden, who recently dropped a big wad of cash on an elliptical maching to train for the event, had this to say, “you have got to be kidding me. I want my money back. I told Beth we should have bought a treadmill.”

Perhaps the most interesting quote of the day was on a message board shortly after the race when Beth Hoden vowed to NEVER get lapped again. Amanda Huinker was unavailable for comment.