Chicago Divas...

So Saturday night was a night of F-U-N! A group of men/women (I don't really know what to refer to them as) :) came to Clinton for a show. It was just a blast! They were great performers and basically did lip syncing (pretty sure that isn't spelled correctly). Anyway.. it was a great time. Hudson and Hayden both have conferences tomorrow night. I LOVE going to conferences! What a great time to talk about your kids :) Just a handful of days before spring break for us. Yeah! I'm really excited to be on vacation.
All is good... I'm boring tonight. Sorry!

The Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gries
Me and Abby
Anthony and I.... So Sweet :) Da' Boyz... Notice Hootie's haircut :)

The Beautiful Bride Nicole

Hello Everyone... I always promise it won't take long to post some pics, ect.. but it always does. Sorry!

Nicole and Joe's wedding was just beautiful. It was very elegant and you could just feel the love between the two of them. Congratulations to them! We literally were on the go from 8:30 in the morning. I was so nervous about the kids. I thought they were going to get tired and cranky, but they were perfect. This mama was super happy :) Pictures were great. My favorite was when the two boys smooched the two girls. Hudson wasn't to sure, but Hayden, he went right in for the dive. LOVING every minute of it! We literally danced the night away and you can see in the pictures the kids were exhausted. Abby fell asleep on the table, and Hayden fell asleep watching Aunt Nicole and Joe dance :) Cute! Again, it was a fantastic weekend. Enjoy the pictures.

I started feeling poopy on Monday and its only gotten worse. Today I was miserable. Every single muscle in my body aches. When I have Ibuprofen in me I feel much better. Once it starts to wear off though, UGH!!! I requested a sub tomorrow. I'm going to go in and get checked out. Abby has had a super green nose and started coughing so I'll take her with. We shall see!

As most of you know Hayden you might say is a bit loud. So is his mom, right? Well Anthony and I have always said, "He's loud!" He had many ear infections as an infant and just had one about a month ago. He has had 2 sets of tubes and his adenoids taken out. I really thought it might be necessary to have his hearing checked. So yesterday Anthony picked the kids up and we all met at the AEA in Clinton. A lady took Hayden and did some tests. I really was thinking, "This is all in our heads... probably a waste of our time." When she came back I could tell there was 'more.' Hayden has little to no movement in his ear drum in his left ear. Which totally explains why he has the TV blasting, his Leapster, ect... We have an appointment for next Wednesday at the ENT specialist. We have NO IDEA what on earth he will do. His tube is out... ANOTHER set of tubes? The fluid that is back there is like glue she said. I am just feeling horrible. This could affect his speech and she has requested that we have him evaluated by a speech pathologist at the AEA. During this they will do a developmental screening and the whole works. I will keep you updated. I totally understand him and think that is language is top notch.. but when I think about it, if you didn't know Hayden and he spoke to you... I would probably repeat what he said. She said that is a red flag.... I wish I had done this 2 years ago! I'll keep ya' posted!

Love,

E

Here Comes The Bride~

Hello Friends~
We will be in Armstrong next weekend for Nicole Felkey's wedding. She and Joe are getting married in Estherville on Saturday afternoon with a reception to follow. What a SUPER exciting time for them (us too). It seems like forever since we have seen all of the Felkey's and we are very excited to see them. Our family from Montana and the Cities will be there as well. YEEE HAWWWW!!!!! I'll post pictures and more details next weekend. Good luck to Nicole and Joe for a wonderful day and evening!
All is good in Preston. It was a fast week, but uneventful (which is soooooo okay) :) I worked at school tonight until 8:30. Anthony brought the kids down and we all went out for pizza, and then Hudson and I went back up to school. It feels good to get ahead of the game for a week or so. I HATE feeling behind in lesson plans, seating arrangements, and just cleaning. Ugh! It felt good to get ahead. Plus I had Hudson's good help!
Mr. Hayden Joseph got his hair cut this week. I will take a picture and post soon. Its so cute, and really needed it. When he was really little it would curl, where now it was getting a bit shaggy. We love his new 'mohawk.'
Abby has had a great week. She loves daycare and loves the kids there. She's standing, but no steps yet. I was hoping she'd be walking for Aunt Nicole's wedding... if not, that's A-OKAY too!
Anthony is busy at work right now. This coming week he'll be at a school all week in Wisconsin. He leaves Sunday and will be back late Thursday night. The kids and I will slumber party all week.
We booked a family vacation for this summer. We are headed to Disney World. We're staying in a resort on/right beside Disney. We're going to go for 6 nights/7 days and literally may not be able to wait!!! We can't wait to see the kids and their reactions. WHO CARES if they don't remember the details... its about making memories and seeing the twinkle in their eye right now! Hopefully we'll be able to go back when they are a little older too! Can't wait!!!!
Have a fun weekend everyone and Go Steelers!

What a Week!

Hudson and Hayden 'shooting' around of golf.

Hayden loved playing in the grocery store :)

This was so funny! She loved the grocery cart... Watch where you're going sweetie :)

I see you Hudson and Hayden.. Hudson in the top window and Hayden in the bottom.

Our three babies all grown up driving in the car. Like Grandma Felkey said, "No room for girlfriends or boyfriends." Lord knows Anthony, Nicole, and Lacey didn't :) HA!

It's been a mixture of 'stuff' this entire week. On Friday night we had Disney on Ice. My parents and myself took Hudson and Hayden and I had a babysitter here to watch Abby (I'll tell you why Anthony didn't go in second). Disney featured CARS, Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Tinker Bell. It was fantastic. We've been going every year since we have lived here and plan on going until the kids are 30. Hudson (now 6) always has to sit on my dad's lap and every year I say, "When do you think he's going to be to old to sit on your lap dad?" His response is, "Never." :) Hootie Boy (Hayden) just loves and soaks in every single second of it. His eyes just glimmer. Hudson understands the story lines now so its so much fun to watch him 'get into it.'

Anthony left on Friday night to go on a Snowmobiling trip out West. This is something he has done for years now. It used to be a full week to 10 days, but now its 5-6 days with his own family and work. It's something he really looks forward to and truly deserves to take time away and do. I'm sure he'll take the boys when they get older too! He and another guy are coming back tonight. When he called just a little bit ago they were about 6 hours away from Armstrong. YEAH!!!!!! He'll sleep and get up and come home tomorrow. I can't wait to hear all about it, and the kids are SOOOOOOOOOOO excited to see him.

On Saturday to get out of the house I took the kids grocery shopping.WEEE, fun, I know! It got us out of the house though! On Sunday I loaded them up and went to the Discovery Center in Clinton. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Its all hands-on and the kids just go wild over it.

Hudson has struggled with Croup since he was 3 months old (that was his first episode). When he was younger he would get it a few times in the winter and he had only had it once so far this winter. When he starts to 'bark' I just give him a breathing treatment and get it under control. Anyway, Sunday night he went to bed. No coughing, no symptoms, everything was normal. He woke up at 11:00 and was 'barking.' I took him outside in the cold so his airway would open up. Didn't help. Put him in the tub for some hot steam, didn't help. So... I gave him a breathing treatment of Xopenex and gave it about 10 minutes, nothing (now I'm panicking). He also has a steroid breathing treatment that is call Palmocourt. It did nothing. His breathing was HORRIBLE!!! He was grasping for breaths, on his hands and knees begging for me to help. I WAS SCARED! I called Kevin and Claudia (FREAKING AWESOME FRIENDS) and Kevin came up while I rushed Hudson to the ER. By now his face was swollen and his Oxygen had obviously dropped. They quick gave him a shot of 'miracle drug' I call it and then the respiratory department came down and gave him a breathing treatment of epinephrine. Within 15 minutes his breathing was better, his temperature was back to normal, and he was acting like himself. At 2:30 am. I begged the ER doctor to let us go home and told him the whole I'm a single mom right now because my husband is out West, I have a neighbor watching the 2 little ones, and I had to work the next day. We got home and both of us were back asleep by 3:30.... Okay... I'm NOT getting mother of the year for 2009 because I sent Hudson to school. I called and checked on him and his teacher just couldn't believe anything had happened. He was acting just like himself. He hasn't coughed 1 time since. Its a Croup induced asthma attack. SCARY!!! This had happened (where we couldn't control it) one other time when he was about 3. We hope this was the last. Last night we were ALL in bed by 7 o'clock. Abby was sleeping by 6:45, the boys by 7:15, and myself by 8:30. It felt good to get caught up!

Abby had her 1 year check-up today. She is still a little peanut and in a low percentile for weight. She dislikes Dr. Corpuz (even though we LOVE him). She takes one look at him and just cries, cries, cries. She had 3 shots, and he said she couldn't be any more perfect (we agree). :)

What an amazing day in history! It was so special to share in this event with my 19 school children. We watched all of the coverage this morning and then did many activities with Civil Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr. this afternoon. I hope it's a day they will never forget.

Love to All!

Erica

Pictures of Abby first week

Abby just a few days old here. Funny Look!

A walk down memory lane.. no drugs... no doctor.... nice! She slid out!

Proud Big Brothers Hudson and Hayden

They look so serious!

Belly picture before delivery... yikes!

Abby turned 1

One year ago today I was sitting at home thinking, "3 kids, come on' this is a PIECE OF CAKE!" Yeah... that was before she could move! Abby Dabby Dooskie turned 1 on Friday. Abby took rolls to daycare to share with all of her friends. She really hadn't had a roll before and her teacher said that she ate 2. She was probably like, "SUGAR!!!!" We had her birthday party on Friday night and had a great time. She didn't care much for getting herself messy and so when I literally put her fingers in it she just got mad and cried. The more we tried the angrier she became. She was great though and it was a fun time! Still can't believe she's 1. I love taking pictures and take a lot, but I quickly forget the moments like 1st smile, rolling over, and crawling. Thank goodness for cameras I guess!
Grandma Schirm has been in the hospital and is really having a tough time bouncing back. She went back to the ER today and is again home. Please keep Loretta in your prayers.
Hayden Joseph had strep throat last week. He's just mister tough guy.. He was eating lunch at 'school' AKA: Preschool and wouldn't eat. His teacher asked him if he felt alright and he kept telling her that he was fine. When she took his temp it was 102. That is the magic temperature around our house. Anthony brought him down to Clinton and come to find out he has strep. He's on an antibiotic and doing/sounding so much better.
Hudson continues to love school. However, tonight with the snowstorm he said slipped a little extra request in his prayer that there would be a 'stay at home day' tomorrow. His school let out early today. Mine didn't... BOOOOO!!!! The roads were cruddy on the way home!
Anthony is gearing up for a snowmobiling trip. He's headed West again, and really looking forward to it. They should have snow (ha ha)!!!
Have a fantastic week everyone! Stay warm and drive carefully!

Back to Reality :( UGH!!!

Today was the last day of Christmas break for me... that means the tears start tonight and will end about 10 miles away from Clinton. I hate being home with the kids like this and then its back to reality. Its HARD with a capital 'H'! However, I must say (and I've said it a million times) I am a much better mother when I'm working. I give stay at home moms SO MUCH CREDIT! I like the juggling of the career and the mom. I do think I work 100 times harder when I'm just at home. The stress level alone should earn a stay at home mother 200,000 a year! I know that it sounds like I'm complaining and that I don't like being at home, but I'm not. I LOVE IT!! I just feel that the structure of working and being a mom works much better for us.

This weekend was a lazy weekend around the Felkey house. Love those kinds! I got groceries (and a new grill, yeah) on Saturday and we made pizzas. On Sunday we lived like hermit crabs. We watched the Vikings and cried as a family :( I was really hoping they would win for Anthony's sake! He was so disappointed in them.

Nothing else is new on our end. We are preparing for Abby's birthday this coming Friday. We just can't believe she is going to be '1' already. Where on earth has this time gone?? I'll post some of my favorite pictures of her throughout the year later on in the week.

Boys are both fantastic. I think they are ready to be back with their friends however. They have been a bit of the 'bicker brothers' today, I must say. They are great though! They made signs for Abby's party last night.

Happy Week Everyone!