Huckleberries Anyone?

Though I struggle to say his name, Mike Huckabee is quickly gaining my interest. I am not a politically savvy person, so of course the thing that most impresses me about him is his faith. I was also impressed when I read that after being diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, he lost 110 pounds and then barely two years later, he completed four marathons (and he plays bass guitar in a band:-)). Anyhow, when thinking about presidential candidates, keep him in mind.

Ellie's 1st birthday pics

Ellie's snow shoes are a bit big still

She liked being held by Daddy, not a huge fan of the snow!

Our pink snowgirls with Daddy

Lizzie suited up

We Learn

Today on Ellie's first birthday we learned just what "Wintry Mix" means. Pictures to come. Stay Tuned!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIANA!!!!!!!!!!!

Wintry Mix...Is that like Trail Mix?

So anyone who has known me for awhile knows my obsession with checking the weather forecast often (and when I say often, I'm not talkin' daily, but many times throughout the day to be sure I am "up to date"). Anyhow, the latest weather forecast for Ellie's birthday (Dec. 3rd) is

A Wintry Mix

Not having lived anywhere that snow had more than one name, I am not sure what that means, but it is exciting for anyone, who like me, is a WEATHER JUNKY!

Update:
According to Wikipedia a wintry mix is as follows:

"Many factors influence the form precipitation will take, and atmospheric temperatures are influential as well as ground conditions. Sometimes, near the rain/snow interface a region of sleet or freezing rain will occur. It is difficult to predict what form this precipitation will take, and it may alternate between rain and snow. Therefore, weather forecasters just predict a "wintry mix". usually, this type of precipitation occurs at temperatures between -2°C and 2°C (28°F–36°F)."

Update #2:

We are now expecting Straight up snow...no wintry mix..no snow. Boy, I wish they would make up their mind, the suspense is killing me!

Doctor Lingo

Last month we took Lizzie to her 1st Boston Children's Hospital Pediatric Cardiology appointment. Today we received a letter in the mail (a copy of what had been sent to Lizzie's primary care doctor). We had quite the time decoding it, what with all the medical jargon used. Thought we would share it not only to inform, but to give you something to do if you are bored (or really curious like us).

Dear Dr. Lenhardt

We had the pleasure of seeing Elizabeth in the pediatric cardiology clinic at Children's Hospital Boston on October 30th, 2007. As you know, she is a 2-year old girl who was born with Tetralogy of Fallot/pulmonary atresia, which was repaired at one week of age with a transannular patch and placement of a monocuspid valve. She also had her VSD closed at that time. She had been followed at Doernbecher Children's Hospital but is transferring care here as the family is settling in the Massachusetts area for Dad to finish his schooling.

Elizabeth had an uncomplicated postoperative course and has been doing well since her operation. She was negative for FISH 22Q11 deletion. She is growing along her projected growth curve and has a normal activity level. She is currently on no medications. Her only other medical history is left sided hydronephrosis. She has had a normal VCUG and normal renal function.

Her family history is negative for congenital heart disease and sudden unexpected death. Dad has a history of sinus arrhythmia and an innocent murmur. There is also a family history of Type 2 diabetes and asthma.

On exam, Elizabeth is a well appearing young girl in no apparent distress. Her weight is 11.8 kg with a height of 84.7 cm. Heart rate was 102 with oxygen saturation of 92% on room air. Her chest was clear to auscultation bilaterally. Cardiovascular exam revealed a normal active precordium with a normal S1 and a single S2. She has a 3/6 to-and-fro murmur heard loudest at the left sternal border but it can be heard throughout her precordium and radiating to her back. Her abdomen is soft, non-tender, and non-distended with normal bowel sounds and no hepatosplenomegaly. Her extremities are warm and well perfused with pulses 2+ and capillary refill less than 2 seconds.

An EKG done in clinic shows a normal sinus rhythm of 102 beats per minute. She has a complete right bundle branch block and has a right axis deviation. QRS duration is 120 milliseconds. Echocardiogram done which showed a PFO with bidirectional flow. No significant mitral or tricuspid regurgitation. She has severe pulmonary regurgitation and mild pulmonary stenosis with a 20-25 mm Hg maximal instantaneous gradient. She has good biventricular function. The aorta is slightly dilated with no aortic stenosis or regurgitation. There is no residula VSD flow. Her branch pulmonary arteries were not well seen.

Our assessment is the Elizabeth is a young girl with Tetralogy of Fallot and pulmonary atresia, which was completely repaired with a transannular patch, monocuspid valve, and closure of her VSD. She is clinically doing well and there has not been any significant change in her echocardiogram from her last echo done in May of 2007. We will continue to followup with Elizabeth on a yearly basis. We advised the parents to contact us sooner should they have any concerns or notice any worrisome symptoms including failure to gain weight, shortness of breath, dizziness, or syncope. We also discussed with them the possiblity of doing an MRI in the future (when she is able to undergo an MRI without sedation) that would help us better assess her right ventricular size. Although this will not play any acute role in her management, it may help with future decisions when she gets older in terms of pulmonary valve replacement.

Thank you for allowing us to participate in the care of this patient. Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future should you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Douglas Mah, M.D.
Cardiology Fellow

Lisa B. Bergersen, M.D.
Associate in Cardiology

Smelling the Door

Late last night after much crying from the girls room Allen reentered our room and stated the following while chuckling:

"Would you please get up and be a good parent and see what type of poop you smell through the door?"

Yes, we have become door sniffers.

INTERJECTION FROM ALLEN: Steph had asked me to get up and see what the matter was (we had heard a noise from the girls' room). I told Steph I couldn't hear much (at that particular time), but that there was definitely a foul smell coming from the other side of the door. Steph then informed me that Lizzie and Ellie have different poopy smells and asked who was responsible. I retorted that I had no idea and asked her the above question...

1st birthday present

Papa and Nana

Thank you for the really great birthday gift! It rocks! But, next time you send me one, could you not put anything in it. I had to wait until Mommy pulled a huge carseat out of it to play with it. What a drag.

Love,
Ellie

Rice for Free

The other day on a couple different news stations one of the stories was on a website that asks multiple vocabulary questions. With each correct answer they donate rice to the hungry around the world (through the United Nations). Then yesterday a friend posted a link to the very same site.
It is called freerice.com try it. Test your word wisdom and feed someone!
(Note: In the news story a teacher was using it to help her students with vocab., so if you have kids or teach, try it!)

Colors

We also took a trip up to Maine where we took these beautiful shots of the fall colors.

Jordan's Furniture?

Bethany and Melissa watched the girls one night while they were here so that Allen and I could have some much needed us time.
Some friends of ours had talked highly of Jordan's Furniture...I know, really a date at a furniture store, but this isn't just a furniture store.
Anyhow, Allen and I loved it so the next day we left Allen at home studying and had some fun at Jordan's.

They have:

Trapezing....


And creations everywhere made entirely of Jelly Belly Beans...


And an ice cream shop...

And my personal fav. the waterworks show (which cannot be captured on film, you really just have to see it, but here is what we did get).

Fall Festival at GCTS

While Melissa and Bethany were still visiting we all attended the annual Fall Festival on campus here at Gordon-Conwell.

It was really fun.

They had cookie decorating...



And Face Painting...

And a Bounce House...



And balloons...



And a hayride...


And so many more things that made for a wonderful saturday afternoon!

Leaves Everywhere

With all these gorgeous leaves we decided to go out and get some good photos of each other and the girls.
Here are some of my favorites:

Too Much Fall Fun

Well, Melissa, Bethany and Heather have come and gone. It was a lot of fun.
Here are a few pictures from their visit:

We drove into Maine for some shopping and "exploring"

Ellie and I went with the ladies to Boston to visit MIT and Harvard
(Ellie loved the train sooooo much, she must get that from her Pa)

The women all went to the Wenham Teahouse (our nations oldest teahouse that is still going)
Pinkies Up!

More pictures to come
Stay tuned

Cookie Monster...

...that's me. I loooooooooooooove cookies! So when I was recently tagged to post a cookie recipe I began salivated over the many options and how maybe I should make sure they are still good recipes by trying them out. Unfortunately my waste line screamed "please no, please don't" so instead I will share this one "secret recipe" for my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I really just pulled from a cook book.

Oatmeal Cookies
Prep: 25 minutes
Bake: Approx 8 minutes per batch (I just keep checking them until they aren't glossy looking anymore)
Oven: 375 degrees
Makes: About 48 cookies (for normal people though we usually end up with around half that number)


3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour (we use whole wheat though the recipe calls for all-purpose)
2 cups rolled oats

In a large mixing bowl beat butter then add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour. Once combined stir in the rolled oats.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart (really I just make sure they are all the same size and have a couple inches between them).

Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes depending on size of cookies, or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (or just eat them like we do!).

We all like our oatmeal cookies with different things, so I usually do the first batch or two plain then I add 2-3 small packs of raisins and bake a batch. Then I add chocolate as needed, or desired :-) for the final batch(es).

Enjoy!!!

There is too much

There will be many posts to come, but my sister and a couple friends have come to visit for the next couple of weeks, so this will be brief.

Ellie took her first step!!!!!!!!!!!! It was adorable. Just after she did it we tried to get her to duplicate, but she was so excited over the ca motion that she couldn't even stand up without falling right back over (jumping doesn't help standing on wobbly legs).

Hope all is well for everyone reading!

My Man Meme

Thanks Mandy for the opportunity to do some husband bragging with this meme :-)

1. Who is your man? Allen

2. How long have you been together? Almost 8 years

3. How long did you date? We dated for 2 years -We were engaged for over half that time, but dating none the less

4. How old is your man? 26

5. Who eats more? Well, it depends, are we talking more on the whole or more chocolate dessert :-)

6. Who said I love you first? He did after a very long conversation at a coffee house with both of us wanting to say it, but not really knowing if it was the right time.

7. Who is taller? Allen by quite a bit. (10 inches to be precise)

8. Who sings better? Allen hands down. He has a wonderful voice, so if you want a Hutchison to sing, pick him, never me. If you ask me you may regret it (LOL!).

9. Who is smarter? Allen definitely picks up on school work much faster than I ever could, that is one of his many attractive qualities.

10. Whose temper is worse? Well, not that either of us are quick tempered, but I would have to say probably him.

11. Who does the laundry? me, generally, though he does pitch in sometimes.

12. Who takes out the trash? Allen, always Allen.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, since it is closer to the window (I am always warmer than he is, always!)

14. Who pays the bills? We both do, though most of our bills are done automatically.

15. Who is better with the computer? Hah! This question makes me laugh. Anyone who knows us would be able to answer this one no problem. Allen is a computer whisperer compared to me.

16. Who mows the lawn? the lawn crew at the seminary..

17. Who cooks dinner? mainly me.

18. Who drives when you are together? Allen unless he is especially tired.

19. Who is the most stubborn? Me. No comment.

20. Whose parents do you like the most? Silly question, both!

21. Who kissed who first? Allen kissed me at Haystack rock on the Oregon Coast

22. Who asked out who? We mutually agreed to go out together.

23. Who proposed? Allen of course, and it was perfect (Baker Beach under Golden Gate Bridge, just gorgeous).

24. Who has more friends? Allen, he is a lot better at that area than I am.

25. Who has more siblings? We have the same (Each one Sister and one Brother, though if you count their spouses he has more, since mine are still working their way in that direction :-) )

Pray, Pray, Pray

Found out tonight that some friends’ (from school here) one day old baby had to be rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery tonight. This hits a little more than close to home. That’s what I can share now. Pray for Nathan and Johanna and their new son, William.

And honestly, pray for us too that we would know how best to help. Obviously we want to help, especially considering the circumstances. But we don’t know them super well so we don’t know what exactly would help them most. If nothing else, I think we’ll try to go down to the hospital tomorrow.

UPDATE - 10/5

Little William got the surgery he needed and came out okay! Praise the Lord! He’s still gonna be in the hospital for a bit yet, but today’s surgery was a success. Please pray that his little body adjusts to the trauma it just went through. And for mom and dad to cope with the trauma they just went through.

Not What We Expected

Well, it is technically October and one would imagine that October in the New England States would be cold and wet, but here is this weeks weather forecast:
South Hamilton (ignore the 2 rain clouds as they may decide to leave and return when the temperatures are more Fall-like)

Just for a little comparison here is a southern cali's weather for the week:
San Diego, CA

This Song Says it All

A friend sent me a link to this and I thought it was hilarious.
A bedtime song for parents everywhere!

Laughter and Smiles for All

In the last 24 hours our girls have succeeded in making us laugh and smile multiple times.

It started last night when Allen and I went to bed. (Background: Lizzie is sleeping in our room while we train Ellie to sleep through the night...it was the only thing we could come up with!) . Anyhow, Lizzie was asleep and we were on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly we heard our sweet little 2 year old giggle loudly in her sleep. Too cute!

Then this morning Ellie was playing around when she let out a small arrrggh of frustration. When I looked over at her this was what I saw:


Then today at the Target Ellie put on all the charm in order to get a few smiles out of some unsuspecting shoppers. One lady in particular (dressed in hospital type scrubs) smiled, laughed and told Ellie that her smile had just made her day, since she had been having a pretty awful day up until that moment. Ellie promptly smiled wider (if that was possible) and clapped, giving the nice woman even more to smile about. (Have you met Ham #2?).

Finally, and this one we couldn't laugh about at the time (we are parents with rules you know). Lizzie was "taking a nap" in our room when we heard a small clanging noise. As we opened the door to see what it was we were overpowered by the stench of perfumes and cologne. Yes, she had found all of our cologne and perfume (5 different scents) and poured them ALL OVER herself and a bit on the carpet (probably what dripped off her clothing). The next few days are going to be like living with a classy skunk!

You Would Think We Would Know

So, with Ellie being baby girl #2 you would think that we might know how to get her to sleep through the night consistently, but noooooo, of course not. We had her sleeping through the night somewhat before our cross country move. Then we got her sleeping through the night for a few days just before Nana came. However, with those two brief exceptions, we have been up 1, 2 and even 3 times a night. There isn't any rhyme or reason to it, just random waking up that ends with 4 tired and grouchy people trying to function the next day.

Do we always feed her? : Often, but not always
Does she wake up the same time every night?: NO
Is she teething?: Sometimes yes, sometimes no
too hot, too cold?: No and no (generally speaking)
Does she get special treatment when she wakes?: Only if you consider "half awake parents and a crying sister who hates being woken up to baby cries" special then yes
Have we tried alcohol?: Nope, and not gonna

The only thing we can think of left is letting her cry it out, and keeping her to a set schedule. This means Lizzie will be bunking with us since she can't cope well with non-stop sissy cries.

Any other good ideas??? (not rhetorical)

If not, pray :-)
Thanks!

Ups and Downs

Today was a day of disciplining. Lizzie has been on a rough streak for a few days now, and today was no exception. However, amidst the time of frustration, sorrow and disappointment, was joy, pride, and even a little peace.

Let me share some of the later moments with you:

Ellie sitting joyfully bouncing on her sissy's bed (that she proudly ascended herself) only to be joined by Lizzie who was sweet enough to cheer on her younger sister and celebrate with her.

Ellie sitting calmly as Lizzie squeezed the tar out of her in an effort to "hug" her, and then gently smiled up at her once the hug ended as if to say "I love you too sissy".

And the one that almost brought me to tears after a long day of battles with our 2 year old...

Lizzie once again the last one to be eating as she had barely touched her food. We finally decided to try and encourage her to eat with the old "if you eat these bites, then you can have a treat". Eager to get her treat, but struggling through her dinner, Lizzie took the next 15-20 minutes to eat her 4 more bites of pizza (yes pizza, kids can be picky about the strangest things). Upon finishing her last bite she cheered with delight and then promptly headed for the cookies that had been promised. Allen handed her 3 small Alphabet cookies which she immediately snatched 1 and ate and then took the other 2 (one for each hand of course). Just as she was about to place the next cookie into her now empty mouth, her sissy let a small fuss out, and before we could blink Lizzie handed her one of her treasured cookies saying, "Here you go, sissy, cookie". Ellie gladly took the cookie and Lizzie contentedly enjoyed her "last" treat (we later gave her one more for being so thoughtful).

Jane Austen

As a huge fan of Jane Austen I just had to take this quiz when I saw it on a friends blog.
I am most like:

Take the Quiz here!

Once you take the quiz leave a comment and let me know who you are most like!
And no Allen didn't and won't be taking it, and the girls are too young to be able to answer all the questions, so they will have to wait until they are older.

Mommy and Ellie's Photo Shoot

Nana tried to get a picture of Ellie and me, but well, Ellie was a bit squirmy!

take 1

take 2

take 3

take 4

take 5

take 6

take 7 will have to be it (smile)

Tea Party Nana Style

Lizzie and Nana made sugar cookies and had a "real" tea party.

It was hilarious to watch Lizzie look at Mommy and Nana in disbelief that she was able to pour milk from the tea pot and "cream" from the creamer.

Needless to say she drank way more "tea" than she normally might, especially with a cookie sitting in front of her.