Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

On Tuesday Katie, Seamus and Helena started their winter Gymnastics class through the Parks and Rec. We registered late so it was actually the second meeting, but with winter coming we decided late or not they needed to be able to get out of the house and get some exercise. They all did pretty well and had their own particular skills. Katie was best at a move called the "Bear Walk." Seamus excelled at the "Stairs and Wall" course. Helena's special skill was to sneak up to the CD player and push the buttons so the wrong song kept playing when it was started. Mary and I both had Wednesday off, which was good because we needed to clean up a bit because Aunt Kathy Murphy stayed with us through the holiday weekend. After straightening the house we took the kids out to do some shopping for Christmas. Thanksgiving was not as busy as in the years past, we only had two stops to make. We actually got to relax around the house until 3:00. I got to watch the first half and a bit of the Annual Thanksgiving Lions Debacle in the comfort of my own home. Our first stop was at Aunt Kathy Soup's house for Thanksgiving Part I. We got to see Grandma and Grandpa Huddas, Uncle Steve, Aunt Becca, Clay, Drew, Aunt Kathy Soup and Uncle George. We saw some of Mary's cousins, aunts and uncles we don't often see and it was nice to see them on the Holidays. Afterward we went to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Pat's house for Thanksgiving Part II. We got to see Grandma and Grandpa Murphy, and most of my brothers and sisters with their kids. Even Aunt Kathy Murphy was in from NC until Sunday and was staying the rest of the weekend at our house. On Black Friday we went shopping at Costco mostly to pick up the Christmas cards pictures we took on Thanksgiving and played with Aunt Kathy almost all day. On Saturday all five of us went to Partridge Creek with Aunt Kathy, Aunt Shari, Uncle Tim, Aunt Robin, Conner, Nikki and Brenna. The kids got some new shoes, looked at the pretty decorations and got lunch in a restaurant. After we ate, Mary and Aunt Kathy found Santa in one of the department stores with no line! Helena and Katie sat on Santa's lap and go their picture taken. Seamus wanted nothing to do with Santa, he just stared at him and took a candy cane when it was offered. On Sunday Mary and I needed to get some groceries so Aunt Kathy got some alone time with the Trips before she had to leave for home. We always hate to see Aunt Kathy leave, so she snuck out during nap time to make things easier for everyone. After the kids woke up from their nap, we decided to get the Christmas lights up because we didn't know how many nice days we'd have left since December is right around the corner. Three and a half weeks until Christmas Break...


Katie and Santa


Helena and Santa


Conner and Santa


Katie and Seamus putting lights on the bushes


Seamus and Sponge Bob


Seamus and Helena with Sponge Bob


Katie decorating the house


Katie, Seamus, Helena, and Sponge Bob

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Is your Heart in the Right Place?

Last weekend was probably the craziest weekend in recent memory. It was a long week of work for me and was going to be a long week of work for Mary because of our Parent Teacher Conferences. So this was, of course, when the whole family decided to get sick. Seamus was the one who ended up getting it the worst. On Sunday after nap time, he started to cough and it sounded pretty weird, but we decided not to bring him to the Urgent Care because he seemed OK otherwise. It wasn't until he was chasing Katie and Helena around the house and started wheezing that we decided to have Mary take him in. Mary took him to the Urgent Care by our house, and I kept the girls up expecting then to be home to all go to bed a just little later than usual. When Mary called at 9:00, I though she'd be on her way home. Instead she said Seamus might have pneumonia and to look up dextracardia because the doctor said his heart was on the wrong side according to his chest x-ray. I flipped out. I looked the condition up, saw some comforting things on WEBmd designed to give free medical information. I also read some frightening things about this disorder on other websites designed to scare the Hell out of you. Between looking things up and getting the girls in bed, I called my mom about twenty times to listen to my rants. Mary ended up taking him to the ER because his blood oxygen was low even after a breathing treatment and his coughs sounded like a seal barking. At the hospital we found out he had croup, not pneumonia. The doctor gave him a shot of steroids to bring the swelling in his throat down and a Popsicle to soothe his throat. Mary showed the x-rays to the doctors there, and they noticed that his liver was also on the wrong side! This is so rare that the ER docs gave him an ultrasound. So it turned out that his heart and liver was indeed on the correct side of his body! Mary called and told me this at about 10:45. It seems that the x-ray results were reversed at the Urgent Care. I would elaborate about how I feel about the people who work there, but as the cliche says "If you can't write something nice, you might get sued for libel." So everything turned out OK. Seamus got to have a Popsicle at 10:30 on a Sunday and we know where NOT to go for our medical emergencies.


Seamus at the Hospital


A couple weeks ago Mary decided to make banana bread, she had a lot of help



Katie helping Mommy make banana bread



Seamus helping Mommy make banana bread



Helena helping Mommy make banana bread

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Halloweens 2010


We love Halloween!


Anyone see a deer outside?


Katie the Giraffe


Seamus the Dinosaur aka Dragon


Helena the Lion, Roar!


How many times a year is Halloween? Until recently I thought it was just on October 31st. But with so much Trick or Treating, we need more than a little time. As we wrote earlier, we went Trick or Treating at the Outdoor Adventure campsite (I forget the date, all I know it was the MSU v U of M Game). On Friday Mary and I took a day off of work and went to the zoo. That was not really Trick or Treating, but the zoo was decorated for the Zoo Boo so it was pretty close. The next day, after the trio got their flu shots, we went Trick or Treating at the businesses in downtown Romeo. Clay, Drew, Aunt Becca and Uncle John went with us. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get out and move around our new home town. Since the kids are currently creeped out by "scary things" like masks and scarecrows, we needed to practice not being scared. On our Saturday Trick or Treat, Seamus was a little scared of two things; Iron Man and Wolf Man. Katie only got scared and cried about one thing. With all the costumes, decorations, and scary music the one and only thing spooked Katie and made her cry and grab onto me was when someone sneezed. I guess she was worried her flu shot hadn't kicked in yet. On Sunday, we all went to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Pat's house to eat dinner and play with Kevin, Jack, Shanon, Bryan, Conner, Uncle Tim, Aunt Robin, Aunt Shari and Uncle Ed. After we ate and played, we went Trick or Treating for the last time. All three of them had a blast each time they went out for Halloween. Even though they loved Trick or Treating I think they loved the chance to see their cousins, aunts and uncles more.


Katie, Helena, Seamus, and I Trick or Treating in Romeo




Seamus, Clay (Batman), Aunt Becca, Drew (behind Aunt Becca) & Uncle John Trick or Treating in Romeo