life....by Lu

luci has permission to use our old digital camera...she doesn't use it everyday, but when she does use it she takes HUNDREDS of photos.  

i love looking at life through her lens...

hugh's new ball

some bunny got a new ball for valentine's day from grandma & grandpa pierse.  

some bunny really, really, really likes it.  

and some bunny's mama really, really likes her new hat.  

thank you grandma & grandpa pierse...for just being you :)

sweet sibling snuggle

yep, while watching tv.  

but i'm not complaining...i'll take loving behavior however it comes ;)

first (ten) stitches

glue, she's had.  but this was her first boo boo that required stitches.  last thursday afternoon while riding bikes on the driveway my girl crashed.  there was an obstacle course involved.  a helmet was not.  i had just stepped outside with hugh - my pretty girl & loving big sis turned to look at her huey, therefore turning her wheel, and running it into an obstacle.  a little green tractor & wagon, to be exact.  it was like i saw the entire thing in slow motion.  wheel turn, hit tractor, slow topple down, forehead hits the driveway and literally bounces...i knew it was gonna be bad.  and it was.  blood was squirting (for lack of a better word) from her forehead.  she got right up, screaming of course, but got up on her own.  we thought she had just scratched her head on a rock, but as time went on it was clear that the sheer force of hitting the driveway just split her little head open in two spots.  luckily grandma pierse was here, cause i freak out at stuff like this.  (the first time lu got a bloody lip i literally carried her down the street to miss amanda's house, full of blood, cause i didn't know what to do.)  my first instinct was to put her in the van & take her to the ER, just because i saw the whole thing & i knew her head had hit hard.  oh, and also because there was BLOOD SHOOTING OUT FROM HER FOREHEAD.  i scooped her up, put her in the van, ran in & got a wash cloth, and took off.  i called clay & as we asked luci, "does your head hurt, does your stomach feel like you are going to throw up", etc, we decided maybe we didn't need to go.  i had pulled over to mull turning around, largely because i know i usually overreact with these types of things, but ultimately we decided there was no good reason to mess around with a hard bump to the head.

10 minutes later we were in the same ER we were at last fall when she fell off the monkey bars.  she looked a mess just because there was so much blood, so we got into a room fast.  the nurse & doctor did an initial look, and then a few ambulances rolled in...and we waited, and waited, and waited.  all the while i'm feeling silly like i should just take her home & she'll be all right.  then the nurse came back in & got the wounds cleaned up...at which point we realized they were big.  and deep.  and then we started talking stitches.  

lu freaked out.  her head hurt, and she was tired, scared, and wanted to go home.  we waited another 45 minutes, and then the nurse started the numbing cream.  another long while went by, and then the doctor was back...but after one stitch, it was clear the numbing cream hadn't worked.  lu was near hysterical when the dr put the first stitch in.  like fists clenched, knees pulled up to belly, heaving sobs and screams.  it was awful.  so they decided to do a shot of lidocaine.  i thought this was a good thing - till i saw the giant needle...and watched the nurse pull the wounds open so the dr could shoot the lidocaine up & down the entire length of each wound.  it was sooo hard to watch.  i got faint...had to take off all of my layers & sit down.  luci was increasingly hysterical and the larger wound was bleeding a ton...it kept pooling in the corner of her closed eye.  the nurse was holding the wound open & the dr was shooting the lidocaine so there weren't really hands or room to soak up the blood.  and i was feeling like i might throw up or faint....so i sat down, held my girl's hands while she screamed and told her over & over how brave she was & how great she was doing.  

finally the stitches were in.  luci sobbed the entire time.  she kept wanting to know what her head looked like, so i kept taking pictures & showing them to her.  thus my documentation.

 this was after the first stitch that hurt her like crazy, but pre lidocaine.  

all finished.  3 in the smaller wound, 7 in the larger.

yesterday we went to the doctor to have them removed.  she had a SERIOUS amount of angst about getting them out, fearing it would hurt as much as getting them in.  we reassured her over & over it wouldn't.  when we arrived the nurse asked why we didn't just go back to the place that put them in, cause they usually take them out for free.  she asked if i wanted to call back to the ER.  i assured her that any further delay would cause my girl so much angst that i just wanted them out, and now.  the sooner the better.  said nurse was very, very gentle & careful.  but slow.  very slow.  like 30 minutes slow.  which was an eternity for my girl.  there were a lot of tears and a bit of hysteria, but i am certain it was 95% emotionally driven and only 5% actual discomfort.  here she is in the van right after getting them out, wanting to know what she looked like.

 and then feeling much better with a little coldstone to help her forget the whole ordeal.  and no, she didn't eat all of it, but she wanted two different scoops and i wasn't about to say no.

and here she is even better after we found a new hello kitty hat.  most scaring happens in the first year and sun exposure makes the scar worse, so we need to be very diligent with the sunscreen here in the mile high city.

the new fabulous hat that she's excited to wear should help our cause.

so....why wasn't she wearing a helmet you ask?  cause when she was just a wee tot starting out she was so slow & careful it seemed like an over precaution.  however now that she's a big kid, on a big kid bike, without training wheels, we have a new rule, one that should have been implemented when the training wheels came off or really even long before that.  if  you are on something with 2 wheels (scooters or bikes), driveway or not, you are wearing a helmet.  

both she & gus seem to understand why and haven't complained a bit, and appropriately so.

and a nap gone wrong

So...this is my lil pirate at 9p last night....after his 5p sofa nap...wide awake.  I made him a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  We brushed his teeth.  We read a book.  I went to bed.  He came in at midnight, still wide awake.  Telling me there was a monkey in his room...

I put him back in his bed & locked the door this time (we switched the lock around).  I went back to bed.  I woke up at 3a and he was finally sleeping.  Until 6:15a, that is.

You can imagine the day we had....not so good.  I put him in his room at 12:45p.  He started screaming at 1:30p.  By 2:45p he was pounding on the door so I had Luci go up & let him out.  She came down to let me know he had broken his closet doors.  Awesome.  

And then?  Asleep on the sofa at 4p.  How did I get him up for dinner?  I told him he could eat ice cream if he'd go sit at the table.  It worked.  At least he woke up...but he pretty much screamed until bed time.  And after bed time.

I was putting his clean clothes away as he climbed into bed.  Our conversation went like this...
gus:  why are you putting my clothes away?  are they clean?
me:  yep.  it's my job to make sure you have clean clothes to wear.
gus:  what's my job?
me:  to play, to eat healthy food, to be kind & to be a good listener.  did you do your job today?  were you a good listener?
gus:  um....not so much a good listener.
me:  will you try harder tomorrow?  
gus:  yes.  
me:  what will you try hard to do better?
gus:  FIGHT (with his tough guy scrunched up face).

*sigh*  he is without a doubt my most challenging pea these days.  three is a tough age.

the sure sign

of a good party....

asleep on the sofa at 5:15p.  I tried to wake him to see if he was hungry (he had pizza & cake at 4p)...but all I could get out of him was that he wanted to sleep!  It was a pirate swim party...poor thing fell asleep with his eye patch still on his left eye.  

Yep...it left a mark.

Odds on him sleeping through the night?  

I'm thinking not so good.

free

scene:  luci & gus in the tub.  lu is trying to help g learn his numbers using foam bath toy numbers.

lu:  okay gus.  i'm gonna point to a number and say what it is.  you say the number after me.

g: um, okay.

lu:  1 (g:1), 2 (2), 3(3), 4(4), 5(5), okay, now 5(5), 4(4), 3(3), 2(2), 1(1).

dad:  okay lu, now just point to a number & see if gus can guess what it is.

lu: (pointing to 3) okay gus, this one is purple (as if that is a hint), and it starts with an f.  ff, fff, fff.....
gus:  four?
luci:  no, free....

so happyyyy togeeeetherrrrr

Dad...er...Batman!?!  is back.  I think they missed him.  I know I did!

My Huey

When we named him Hugh, I swore I was never, ever, like not EVER gonna call him Huey.  

Cause I don't enjoy Huey Lewis & the News.  I should never have said never.  

Cause I call him Huey all.the.time.

If I named photos this one would be titled:  The Spirit of Huey 

Aunt Baylee

 

 We were lucky enough to win the Aunt Baylee lottery for a whole week over Christmas!  We haven't spent any real time together in years so it was awesome to have her here for a whole week.  I'm pretty sure she was more than ready to return to her life, but we enjoyed having her!  Somehow I didn't get any good photos of her with Hugh, so I'll guess you have to come back Aunt Baylee!!

National Western Stock Show

Well, it was no Houston Rodeo.  Perhaps a more authentic stock show, but not as family fun friendly.  The kids did get their much longed for cowboy hats though, so that's something.  I think we started in the wrong spot...we went right to the want monster floor where they were selling hats, lassos, the chance to pet an animal (for $3), or ride a pony (for $6).  Should have known when we first walked in...these two women invited Luci to sit right down on a fancy pink shoe chair & put a plastic thing in her hair.  No price signs.  They quickly put this lil twisty thing in Lu's hair...$10 later we walked away & took out the twisty thing...only to lose it before we even made it home.  We should have started at the large animals.  That said, both big kids finally got to spend their "welcome to Colorado money" that Grandma & Grandpa Pierse gave them - 1 pink & 1 black cowboy hat later the kids were thrilled.  We walked around a bit & then went to our seats at the Wild West Show.  That part WAS fun.  I didn't even know people could do such stunts on horses.  

Hugh loves him some Uncle Todd.

A tip of the hat!

 Pretty in pink!

Uncle Todd & Aunt Krista joined us, which makes everything more fun.  Not only are they super helpful with the crew, they never stress & always keep things fun.  Aunt Krista took on the difficult task of getting some photos for us since my phone camera just didn't get the job done.  We can't wait to play with them again!

some third birthday photos

Luci's gift for Gus...self decorated wrapping paper :)

Our Wolverine blowing out his candles on his actual birthday.  He waited ALL.DAY.LONG (till 8p) for his dad to get home so Dad could be part of our celebration.  He even waited to open gifts!

 This past weekend we celebrated with Gus' lil school friends at the rec center.  The basketballs were a bigger hit than the bounce house!

one foot in front of the other

when did i turn into such a horrible blogger?  ugh.

so, a little update on the peas.

my lu.  growing like a weed.  suddenly she needs size MEDIUM (8) shirts.  need i remind you she's 5?  5 1/2 this friday, to be exact!  she seems to have hit a growth spurt - at least upwards.  she's quite a skinny lil thing.  she's a great eater, so i'm pretty sure she's just how she is meant to be. she's rocking school, reading beginning books to gus & hugh, and getting math on a conceptual level.  it's fun to watch.  she loves to ride her bike & the new 2 wheeled razor scooter she got for Christmas.  even if she is exhausted she can't nap, but she will go to sleep at 6p if we do the routine.  she still struggles with tags & socks & shoes not feeling right, but most of the time we make it to school on time anyway where suddenly all of those uncomfortable things are forgotten (i'm so grateful).

my gus.  turned 3.  'i'm not two anymore!  i'm three!  i won't ever be two again!'  still captain destructo, he dismantles & destroys everything he can get his hands on.  all boy.  loves superheros, cowboys, swords, power rangers, transformers, airplanes, atvs, tractors, bulldozers...you get the picture, right?  and how do i say this delicately ...he stinks.  literally...he smells.  i hear it's normal for the lil boy set.  he's a very neat eater for a 3 year old.  he rocks his balance bike AND his two wheel razor scooter (a bday gift from good ole mom & dad...after a few days of fighting for a turn on sissy's, the bday gift changed last minute).  he's a little more picky in terms of food than lu.  he will eat fruit & veggies & some meat, but he's a bread boy.  he goes to school 2x a week & seems to fit right in despite being the youngest kid in the entire school by several months.  getting him enough sleep but not too much is a struggle.  if he naps every day then he's awake until 10p or later (11:30 last night).  if he doesn't ever nap he passes out at 5p on the sofa.  good thing mama knows this too, will pass.

my hugh.  was one back on nov 17.  he is still.not.walking.  and mama is getting carpel tunnel.  for real.  he cruises all around, pushes chairs all over the house, pushes a trike outside...can even stand with great balance & sit down in a controlled manner.  but he never takes more than 2 steps before collapsing into a goofy heap on the floor.  he usually just lays right down, puts his feet in the air & starts rolling around.  his big nap of the day is from about 9a-11:30 or later if it isn't a school day.  then he doesn't go back down again until after 3p.  it's not a perfect schedule, but he just really seems exhausted by 9a, so keeping him awake is pointless.  he has a few words...done, more, cheese, nana (banana), mommy, daddy, zizzy (sissy), guh (gus), cat, bye, and night.  oh, and paci.  he doesn't use them all consistently...really done, night, bye & mommy & daddy are the only ones he uses all of the time.  he prefers to screech rather than use his words.  and when he gets mad he throws his paci.  he's feisty.

the sibs.  luci is usually AWESOME with hugh.  she genuinely lights up when she sees him at school pick up, first thing in the am, or after he wakes up from his nap.  she also pushes things a bit and struggles with that fine line between playing & being too rough.  luci & gus either play together incredibly well, or they are screaming/pushing each other.  gus really doesn't pay much attention to hugh unless hugh takes something of gus'.  so more negative attention...he doesn't really ever play with hugh per se.  not sure if it's just a gender thing or what, but luci & gus played together much better at that 3-1 age spread than gus & hugh do.

the hubs.  he is all set to retire from the navy later this spring.  his retirement ceremony was a few weeks ago & we all made the trek to NOLA (New Orleans) to participate.  grandma & grandpa pierse & uncle scott met us down there & we had lots of fun (except for the flight home.  worst non-rev experience ever.  clay says we are never non-reving again.)  he's getting to know the denver crew bit by bit and while the trips here are not impressive, his bidding is and he gets about the best schedule that is available to him. 

the house.  best described in one word.  INVESTMENT.  holy cow have we sunk some money into this thing.  we've painted 85% of the interior, refinished floors, put in new carpet, new fridge, new water heater, fixed sprinklers & drainage, done a few plumbing fixes, etc.  the good news is that the main floor has come a LONG way.  we had new 7 inch baseboard installed (previous owners had gotten floor stain all over the original baseboard), as well as new craftsman style casing around the windows & doors.  we also put in a marble back splash behind the stove and carried it over to the kitchen sink area.  AND we just ordered top down bottom up roman shades for all of the windows on this floor - can't wait to get them in a few weeks!  next up is to fix our sagging deck & get the exterior painted.  my other wish is to get actual ceiling lights installed upstairs...the lack of light wasn't a big deal in the summer, but it's pretty annoying in the middle of winter...

me.  part of my lack of posts is because mothering through the move just really took EVERYTHING i had.  like everything and then some.  literally the week we moved i was diagnosed as hypothyroid.  which turned into a hashimotos diagnosis with additional bloodwork.  i went from being nearly comatose by 2p everyday with a headache to being unable to sleep before 3a with heart palpitations.  long story short, my ever wise husband suggested i do some research on the condition rather than just take the traditionally prescribed meds.  and he was right...there were other options.  i've been seeing a naturopath now since november and i'm feeling MUCH better.  she diagnosed my hypoglycemia as well, and between the new 'diet' (to manage my hypoglycemia) and the different thyroid hormone i'm feeling leaps & bounds better, although i feel like i still have some distance to cover before i can say i'm at the vitality level i'm hoping for.  i also did a bunch of allergy testing, and while traditional allergists don't necessarily buy it, i do find that if i avoid the foods i reacted to i feel better...and keep the headaches -mostly at bay.  so between that, the house projects & the usual house keeping, and oh yeah keeping my 4 loves in clean clothes and fed real food instead of processed crap i just don't have a lot of spare time.  and when i do, at 8p, i pretty much collapse into a heap on the sofa & watch sitcoms or hgtv.  cause i've got nothing left to give at that point.  not even to my poor, valued, much loved blog.

i received a piece of advice as clay & i struck out to hike to the bottom of the grand canyon & back up in 2 days...the backpack guy said, 'just pick em up & put em down.  one foot in front of the other'.  it's been a good internal mantra for the last year.  i'm just pickin em up & puttin em down.  one foot in front of the other.  that said i'm hoping i'm nearly out of the proverbial canyon.  feels like i'm getting close ;)

Gratitude...November 2nd

So on Facebook lots of people are posting things they are grateful for each day during the month of November.  I'm on board with this plan...not only for myself, but for my peas.  At least, the peas that can talk, that is ;)

Mama:
Today I am grateful for the prompt response of our gas company when my neighbor & I smelled gas outside of our house this morning.  Twenty minutes after the call a very nice man showed up, found a small leak outside, and then checked the entire house to make sure all pipes & appliances were not leaking.  Last month a house in our town blew up from a natural gas leak...which mr. gas man assured me was completely bizarre, and a little strange.  And definitely would not happen with the amount that was leaking outside of our house.

Also grateful for the daily company of said neighbor walking to & from school.  Sadly, she's moving soon.  To Texas.  The irony.

And lastly grateful for the impromptu family bike ride down the trail to Luci's school.  Luci rode her bike, Gus rode his, and I rode mine with Hugh in the bike trailer.  We had fun riding, playing at the school playground, and even riding up the hill on the way home.

Luci:
"Um....my new math book at school."  Apparently they finished the first math workbook (she brought it home today).  

Gus:  
"The superheros in this book."  Which was actually a Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  He had picked out little Captain America & Batman Lego figurines.  I'm strategically planning to introduce Lego's this Christmas, so the timing is good :)

Hugh:
If he could talk, I think he'd tell me thanks for the addition of the snack trap into his life.  He's a big fan.

 showing off her accomplishments from the morning kindergarten Halloween party!

 don't let his handsome face fool ya.  if he could, he'd say, "seriously.  enough with the stroller!"  instead he makes the most annoying noise in the world at the top of his lungs to express his displeasure.

 this one was T.I.R.E.D.  and just a leeeeettle bit grumpy.

he soon looked like this!