Saturday, April 30, 2011

2 hours later....

I knew it was too good to be true.
Yesterday Elijah took a 3 hour nap. 
This morning, it was verging on 9:15 and he was still quiet...he is usually up by 6:30.  I went into Eli's bedroom and he stood up in his crib and said "I pooped".  I sniffed the air.  No poopy smell. 

I went over by him and his cheeks were all pink.  He had a fever. Do you think he meant "I'm pooped!"?

First he was hot, then cold. Not hungry. Didn't want anything to drink. Sat in just a diaper for 20 minutes with me, all the while asking for Dad (yes -it hurt my heart but what a sick boy wants-a sick boy gets). So now he is sitting on dad's lap watching Thomas the train.  Let's hope he kicks this fever in the butt and ends up having a great day today.

Today

I think I like to title blog posts "Today".  I'm sure I've done it before but as I get older my memory worsens and now I can't remember if that was recent or not.

But the title just makes sense. I'm going to write about today-sort of. 

The amazing thing is my clock says 7:44.

Today Eli is sleeping in.  Today I slept in!  It feels glorious.  I wonder what the weather will be and if we'll be outside or in pulling out a new toy I have stored in the closet for a rainy day.

Today I woke up hungry.

Today I'm excited to be home with the family and NOT at work.

Today I have a lot of little things planned.  I'm going to make meals for my Meal Club that I'm part of.  I'm going to make rice meatballs but I will make them with ground turkey instead of ground beef because a few members don't like beef.

Today I will make a different version of my quinoa salad for a VERY VERY exciting birthday party I am going to tomorrow.  Someone is turning 1!!!!!  Those are such special occasions.

The birds sound so spunky already.  We need to get a bird feeder because Eli loves to watch the animals through the window and I don't know how long things like that will bring him that pure joy.

I am waiting on a new book that is "In Transit" from the library.  I'm dying. I haven't had anything to read in the last 2-3 nights. Drives me bonkers.

I'm thinking and wondering about my sister and her weekend.  Her husband left for the weekend and she is home with her three "chitlins" (what my mom used to call kiddos).  I'm amazed that she can do this. I'm amazed that my mom could do that.  That would be so very hard for me.  Her kids are awesome and I know she'll get through it.  How could you not with the beautiful little baby she's got?

I've realized lately that I don't watch as much tv as I used to.  There are really only 2 programs that I watch consistently.  However, one of my shows that I end up watching on-line because it is on too late on Sunday nights is Brothers and Sisters.  Who watches? Who is a fan?  That show can make me laugh or cry.  Last night I watched one episode before I went to sleep. I think it was the most recent and it blew my mind!  Can you believe Scotty and Kevin found their baby? Wow wow wow. Love that twist.

There is a lot of excitement in the air. I found out a new friend is pregnant.  My other friend has a lil one who is turning 1.  My mom just got home from a fabulous trip to Vegas.  Andy's 2 cousins have their baby showers this weekend.  I have a few pregnant friends who will have a new addition to their family sometime this summer.  Grandma Roeder is coming over to play today  Andy made 2 meals this past week (both gf) and is excited to try another tonight!  I will travel to visit my sister and her family twice this month!  My 2 planned vacations are months away, but I'm counting down the weeks already....because....Summer is on it's way. FINALLY.

and last weekend-I ate this and it was gluten free and so darn yummy.
  Happy Saturday....rain or shine. 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Moose





Andy has started calling E  "Moose".  Who knows why.  He says "Get out of the way Moose!" while he is building his train track.  Eli usually repeats  "moose" quietly to himself.  It's loving and endearing and it melts my heart.  Just sharin'....






Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Wake Up!

Daaaaad!!!
Papa! Papa! Papa!

(Side note:    1. Yes Andy is sleeping     2. Yes, Ed he stole this position from you-as this is where you usually nap at Grandma Barb's house   3. No, Eli is not wearing pants because we wanted to put "comfy" pants on for his nap   4. Little boys don't care if Dad is sleeping. They just love their daddy.)




Sunday, April 17, 2011

little bitty

I feel like I've been out of touch with some of my closest loved ones....  I use this blog as a way for family and friends far away to see Eli and his happenings as well as a way for Andy and I to remember for years to come.  Here are some little bitty snippets from the Roeder Happenings.

1.  A few weekends ago we went to Casino Night which is a fundraiser for Mom's of Twins in Milwaukee.  We usually go with our good friends P&J and pay $20 and get $500 dollars of play money to gamble with.  At the end we enter a raffle and we all won prizes.  It's going on about 5 years that we've been doing it and every year is a blast. 
That same weekend we went to a Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bull's game with another set of friends.  We did dinner, chatting and cheering at the game.  It was great to see C&M, friends we don't get a chance to go out with very often.  We both forgot to take pictures of that night.  But thanks to Grandma Barb for babysitting Elijah for us!

2.  Elijah is really starting to get too smart for his britches.  It's hard being a working mom, and then coming home and realizing your child has learned something amazing and we weren't the one who did the teaching.  On the other hand, it is great that he is learning!  He now knows all his colors, can say some numbers and is aware of the alphabet.  He is repeating every word now and can now say mini sentences ("I got Thomas!" or "I want it")

3. I got creative last week.  I made a quinoa salad from scratch.  I made up the recipe and the neat thing is that it never has to be exactly the same. I can use any veggies that I have around the house.  Next time I would like to add some chopped green pepper.  I used edemmame (not sure how to spell that), cucumbers, corn, carrots, green onions, quinoa and some seasonings with lemon juice/vinegar/oil light dressing I made.  Quinoa is a new grain I am learning to use more of.  Obviously (as you can see below) I need a little work learning how to get the lighting correct for taking pictures.  I also made an egg bake that I was able to use the leftovers for breakfast for a break in the boring rice chex cereal every morning. I also made a gluten free broccoli quiche which turned out but was just ok.  (No pictures)



4. In lieu of my recent post "The Pile" and me being creative-I have to admit that I am actually not super positive about being gluten free this weekend.  I just need to complain for a bit.  I just really miss going out to eat.  I know it's do-able and it's ok but it's hard for me because I LOVE LOVE LOVE (and that is an understatement) food and eating.  Today we went out for lunch and it was a bomb.  We had a gift certificate so at least we didn't spend a lot on it.  My meal came out late because they put sauce on the first one.  The second time, the chicken was sitting on 2 pieces of white bread.  Ugg.   I decided not to eat that part but it just frustrated me as Eli was eating homemade macaroni and cheese with caramelized apples and Andy was eating this beautiful Reuben type of sandwich and french fries (all things I couldn't have).  With Eli's meal he got a cookie which Andy ate while Eli was napping-a big M&M cookie.  It looked delish.  I ate part of my chicken and a few bites of mashed potatoes and pouted.  Yesterday I did enjoy a lettuce wrap sandwich from Jimmy John's but Andy informed me they too cross contaminate as they have their mayo in one container and use a spatula that goes in and out and on the bread etc. Normally I'm not big on mayo, but if I'm not going to have the bread I wanted a little mayo.  They wrap it tight so it's easy to eat so there was no way for me to add the mayo later from a packet.  Ok...that's enough complaining. No wait-I totally sat through a family style Italian dinner too where everyone had appetizers, pasta and dessertw hile I had my own sepearate dish.  Lonely...  Ok now I'm really done. (for now!)

5. I'm getting excited for Easter.  Every year we do something different.  Holidays are just more fun with Eli in tow.

6. Eli has been sick all weekend.  We have been wiping his nose every 2 minutes (literally-seriously -literally).  It's hard to keep up with.  I finally caved and bought a real box of Kleenex instead of using toilet paper and paper towel on his sweet little nose. 

7. I've been to some pretty good baby rummages lately.  I've bought a few clothes items but also some new toys.  Eli got a new Thomas the Train track and a big mega blocks track with cars.  The last 2 mornings he has woken up asking for "track?" before even getting a good morning kiss.  He also got a bin of play fruit and veggies that velcro togetherwith a fake plastic knife.  Eli has already spent a good hour on 3 different occasions practicing cutting his fruits and veggies. 
  
Do I have to mention how grateful I am to have a husband who will build this with E?  Also-how darn cute is Bailee sitting under the bridge. She sat there the whole time. She wanted to play I think.

8. Life is good when you are reading a good book.  In the last month I've read 3 or 4 good ones and I feel like I'm on a roll.  Maybe that's why I haven't been blogging as much.

9. I've been feeling sad lately because I haven't had another chance to get my hands on this:
Sydney in a totally adorable Star Wars T-shirt-picture provided from Syd's mom
But in May I will spend 2 whole weekends with her and I already cannot wait!

10.  I did my first "Opening Day" and it was amazing. Even though the Brewer's did not win I had SO much fun. It went incredibly fast. It was cold-almost like being at a Packer game. We promised not to post any pictures on Facebook or Blogs but here is 1 good one.   (Ps thanks to my In-Law's for helping with E at the last minute!)   

11. I have split pea soup brewing on the stove.  I used a ham bone and made my own recipe.  I've always wanted my brother in law's recipe-but he has yet to share it :)  Some day.  PS Ed I'm also craving one of your famous Bloody Marys!!!

That's all for now.  Just short snippets of what has been going on with us.  

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Pitter Patter

Goes my heart..............

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Zoo Pass

Andy and I bought a zoo pass.  We love the Zoo!!  I never was an animal person and then I started to live with a dog.  Now I view animals in a totally different light. They make me smile and wonder.  I have a bigger heart for all of them.  I'm amazed and curious about everything they do.  I know many think it might be sad to see an animal in cage or locked up.  I once read a book that softened my heart about all of those fears.  It described how a zoo actually provides for an animal.  They never have to go hungry-they are always fed.  They don't have to hunt and go through seasons where they  can't find enough food for themselves or their family.  They also aren't hunted. They are safe.  Nobody will attack them or chase them or their little ones. 

That being said...they may miss "the hunt" or the adventure that lays outside those zoo walls.  Maybe they don't have enough space to run as much as they'd like.  I'm not sure.  The Milwaukee Zoo is pretty amazing.  The animals are not in "cages" with stone floors and four walls around them-they each have an individual atmosphere.  A lot of the areas have a zoo employee standing there to tell you something about the animals in addition to the written info-this last weekend one employee told us that the little monkey just turned four last weekend.  Maybe that is not what being an animal is all about-but every single person she told that to said "awww".

 Because I'm afraid of bears-I would never stand within 30 feet of them and watch them in awe like I can at the zoo.  But this last visit I was amazed.  There were two bears being VERY active in the water.  They were playing and wrestling.  I loved it.  Also, we walked up to a really large gorilla sitting on a stump.  He was in "The Thinker" position.  Then he slowly rolled off and laid down.  Another little monkey was taking food and hiding it while we all watched.  The sea lions swam back and forth and I never knew how fast an otter could swim.  I want to get my mom there....how can I convince her?

The Gorilla aka The Thinker




I have nightmares about bears....not sure why we were this close!