A Week In Review

This last week has flown by and after sitting here and reflecting on what we have done, it's been a lot of fun so I thought I would share:

Friday:  Alena had soccer practice so we all went as a family, enjoying the nice weather.  Lauren always has to have her own soccer ball when we go and I am quite impressed with her soccer skills.  She is quickly proving me wrong, as I thought for sure she would be our least athletic child.  After practice we grabbed some pizzas and headed to my cousin's house for the evening.  We are so looking forward to living closer to them.  We have been good friends since we were little tykes so it will be fun to watch all our kids grow up together.

Saturday:  Oh, Spring soccer, how I loathe you sometimes.  It was windy and sprinkling but A still had her soccer game so we ventured down (while Justin worked and the twins stayed with the grandparents).  Normally there are 10 other games going on at the same time, but not that morning. We were the only crazy ones on the field.  Needless to say, I sat in my camping chair bundled in a blanket with an umbrella and watched the action.  I have really enjoyed watching A play soccer and she is pretty good at it.  She scored over half or her team's 20+ goals on Saturday.  She did tell me on the way down that she doesn't want to do soccer this Fall.  We're OK with this; she's hoping to try some other sports.

Sunday;  I ventured out on a 10 mile run on ISU campus.  It was the perfect temperature which made it even more enjoyable.  Later in the afternoon, I took the girls to the Ames Library.  This library has been remodeled recently and is kid friendly.  It's a great place to spend a couple hours! It was such a beautiful day we decided to go to a park in Nevada before a dinner out.

Trying on Grandma's headbands

Monday:  After work, I joined a good friend and some of her friends on a Girl's Night Out at a new restaurant in town.  It was exactly what I needed and I hope to continue meeting with the ladies monthly while living up here.

Tuesday:  Another soccer practice for Alena. Justin took her while I brought the twins home from Des Moines.

Wednesday:  Papa had a bonfire across the street and we all enjoyed s'mores!  Caleb kept saying how good they were and it was a perfect evening for some pics (most are on my digital camera but I did capture a few on my phone).

Papa's homemade marshmallow stick

Today:  We've tried to take advantage of A going to school downtown and take her out to lunch every once in a while.  Justin is her usual lunch date but today I was able to go too. She prefers to go to the Principal cafeteria which is right across from her daycare.  Over the last couple years, Principal has been remodeling and updating all of their buildings.  Their cafeteria is pretty impressive and the selection of food is endless.  When the twins get older, we'll probably do the same with them too.  We only have a few more months before Alena goes to school so we plan to make the most of it and continue our lunch dates.

The fun will continue into May with more soccer games, the Tulip Festival, FASIFE, a visit from my brother and Dam to Dam!

Donate Life

As April is coming to an end, I wanted to blog about this special month. April is organ donation month. A time when we celebrate those who's lives have been changed from receiving an organ donation.  It's also a time to reflect on those whose choice to donate their organs have allowed others to continue living.

All month long, the atrium of Methodist Hospital has had posters displayed telling the stories of who have been affected by organ donation.  I've walked by these daily, stopping to read each story.  They definitely pull at your heart:  The two little kids who were killed in an accident outside of Tone's Spices, the couple who lost their lives after an accident in a well on their property, and the young girl who suffered an intracranial hemorrhage.  They were all organ donors, the latter donated her lungs to another young girl with cystic fibrosis.  It forces you to just stop and reflect.

All day long I see patients on dialysis.  This is their life-line.  Many are not transplant candidates for a variety of reasons, (age, other health conditions, lack of adherence with medical regimen). Many others have been waiting for years to receive that message on their pager from their transplant clinic telling them an organ is waiting at a nearby hospital.

I love the days when I walk into a dialysis center, looking for a particular patient, only to find out he or she was called for a transplant the day before.  I recently visited a patient in the hospital after his kidney transplant. I never thought I would see the day that he would be transplanted. Although young and relatively healthy, he had other things holding him back from being a transplant candidate. He got his life together after a scare a year ago and is now off dialysis.  I was quick to remind him to "take care of that kidney," when I left his hospital room.

What an amazing feeling that must be. To go from spending 3 days a week, 3-4 hours each time, tied to a dialysis machine, (or daily dialysis at home), to having the freedom of your life back.  To go from little to no urine output, to urinating regularly.  To be able to eat and drink pretty much whatever you want, instead of complying to a 1500cc fluid restriction, low potassium, low phosphorus and low sodium diet.  (Plus add a diabetic diet on to that and that leaves you with limited food choices).  To know that receiving that transplant will keep you alive and more healthy than being on dialysis, and hopefully prevent you from needing to step inside a dialysis unit for many, many years must be a great feeling.

It's also important to remember our humanitarian donors. Those who decided to donate their kidney to someone they don't know, just to allow that individual to have another chance at life.  What an altruistic act.

Next time you renew your driver's license, check YES to be an organ donor, and discuss your wishes with your family because in many instances their consent would also be needed.

Must Haves

Years down the road I want to look back at this post and think "was that really needed?"  We have many "must haves" in our new home that we want, but we have definitely had to make some sacrifices along the way.  We won't be getting everything we want in our new home-I think it's pretty impossible to do that regardless what your budget, taste and desires are.  There has to be some give and take or things can quickly get out of hand.

I don't plan to blog much about the new build, for numerous reasons, but I thought this would be an interesting post to look back on...

In no particular order, these are important components in our new home:

1.  A great living space-We spend most of our time in the living room and kitchen. It was important that this space be open and big.

2.  Four Bedrooms -Although Alena desperately wants to share a room with her sister, we thought it was important that each child have his or her own room.  I anticipate some room shifting as they age, but we plan to start everyone in their own room.  It's not important to me that the bedrooms are huge, just functional.

3.  A Porch - It doesn't have to be large, but we want a place where we can sit and watch the kids play in the front yard, read the morning paper, or watch the storms roll in.

4. A Cul De Sac - After previously living on a cul de sac street, we discovered how wonderful it is to not have to worry about traffic. It wasn't a "must" on our list but it was highly desired.

5.  A Nice Backyard - My kids don't need acres and acres of land to roam, but having a decent sized yard was a must.  (A nice bonus is Jester park is a short walk away).  We are outdoor people so we wanted a space for our little ones to run.

6.  A Covered Deck - This was a must for us. We had a huge deck at our old home but didn't use it much because of the direction it faced and the blinding sunshine.  We're looking forward to spending more time on this deck.  All our little ones are at an increased risk of getting melanoma so we're a little anal regarding sun exposure!

7. Storage - At our last home, we stored quite a bit of items in our garage. We wanted to eliminate that.

8.  A Comfy Basement - We picture movie nights, sleepovers, and get togethers with friends in this space.

9. Upstairs Laundry Room- This just makes sense to me.  You undress and dress upstairs, why not clean your clothes upstairs too?

10. A Kitchen Island - I think islands are so functional and a perfect place to bake, and do homework or arts and crafts.  

That is our simple list. As the process has progressed, we've discovered other "musts" which have also become important to us.  I'm curious to see 10 years down the road, if these components will still  be as important to us then as they are now.  So far, we're enjoying the process and couldn't be happier with our builders!

Easter

I am so behind in my posts, but better late than never. Here is our Easter post:

We enjoyed the Easter egg hunt at Reiman gardens. I would highly recommend this to anyone willing to make a trip to Ames.  The event is free, well organized and full of activities for little ones.  Plus, you get to enjoy walking around the gardens including the butterfly display (my favorite).

Later in the afternoon we colored Easter eggs.  This is a fun tradition and the kids enjoy it but I'm always disappointed in how they turn out. Maybe I need to spend more than $2.50 for a decorating kit!? :).

It's a tradition in our family that the Easter bunny hides each child's Easter basket the night before Easter.  In the morning, each little one is responsible for finding his or her own basket, without any tips from siblings (which NEVER happens).  This year the bunny hid A's basket quite well and it took her a while to locate it.  The bunny's gifts were simple this year:  books, new clothes, water guns, M and M's, a few jelly beans and a couple other small toys.

We decided to go to the late morning church this year, allowing the kids to enjoy the Easter morning without having to hurry and get ready for the day.  I still wonder how parents are able to bring their children to church every weekend. It is such a struggle to get everyone to cooperate, sit still, and be quiet.  After numerous trips to the bathroom with the girls, 100 cheerios (many which ended up on the floor), and bringing out everything in my arsenal to keep everyone entertained, we made it through the service.

We came home to a yummy lunch of ham, cheesy potatoes, corn casserole and dessert. It was Alena's half birthday so we baked a cake to celebrate.  We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine.  For dinner, we went to Brookside Park, one of my favorite parks as a little one, and enjoyed a picnic as requested by Alena.

Randomness

I have lots and lots of ideas for my blog but, right now I just want to post some random thoughts and opinions:

1.  Let the craziness begin:  We have been in Ames for 1.5 weeks and it has been crazy busy. The first week my nieces were here so you can imagine what the house was like.  By the end of the week we had 5 very tired kids, 2 with colds, one with a high fever, blankets/toys/sippy cups spread throughout the house, and 4 exhausted adults.  This week A started swimming lessons. She has class Monday through Thursday this week and next week.  Add in soccer once a week and my daughter is officially doing two extracurricular activities in a day!  I knew when I signed her up for these things we would be living in Ames and it would be crazy so I guess we just have to take a deep breath and roll with it.

2.  Spring:  One plus about living with my parents, is my kids get to learn all about gardening and lawn work. They helped Papa plant potatoes this weekend and picked up sticks and leaves around the yard.  Now don't go calling the child-labor police on us!  Each time we were outside, they asked if they could do these things. They had a grand ole time and it was good exercise for all of us.  I'm anxious for them to help with the rest of the gardening.

3.  I am Becoming Anti-Facebook: Thinking back to when I first got an account, I decided it was a great way to catch up with friends I haven't seen in years or keep in touch with family members.  I love seeing pictures of every ones little ones, marriage proposals, wedding pictures and birth announcements.  Unfortunately there are a lot of other things about Facebook that just drive me bonkers.  Some people may be interested in every single activity others do, but that just clogs up my newsfeed :).  I'm not really that interested in what you had for dinner last night or your opinion on religion, politics, or vaccinations.  I think there should be a limit for the amount of posts one person can do per week and honestly I'm more interested in the posts that come from people who rarely post because you can guarantee (almost), that what they are posting is important.  So I have disconnected from this blue app on my phone-not completely but enough to where I have a lot more attention on my little ones and less attention on my phone.  I still log on a couple times a week but rarely look at my news feed and mostly check out my twins group or other local mom's groups. I know I may miss marriage announcements, new baby pictures or fun vacation pictures from friends but that just gives me more incentive to find other ways to keep in touch with people. So if I miss a birthday shutout on Facebook or don't like one of your pictures, chances are I didn't see it!

4.  A quick update on the vandalism we were victims off:  Justin received a call from the detective in Madison and they found the six 17-18 year olds responsible for the $42,000 worth of damage around Madison!  He specifically stated he spoke to the boy who broke our windows, the boy who threw the bike in our van and the one who tore off our Honda emblem.  Hooray!  And they will all be tried as adults. Unfortunately, we likely won't receive a dime back from the damage we had to fix but at least they have been caught.

5.  Training:  Dam to dam training has started and I'm so excited for the race.  I really missed the treadmill this winter so I'm a little behind on my miles. (I don't run outside unless the temp is at least 35 degrees-it's just not enjoyable for my lungs).  I desperately want a new pair of shoes so I'm keeping my eye out for some. Plus a new pair of kicks is a great motivator.  I'm hoping the twins will want to do the kid's run this year too-what a fun family tradition!

6.  Music: Is anyone else in love with Maroon 5's song "Sugar?"  I can't help but sing along and get in a great mood when I hear this song (I have a little difficulty hitting those high notes though!).  A loves to sing along too.  Plus, have you seen the video?  I can't imagine having Maroon 5 crash my wedding-what fun!

7.  Vets:  Twice a month I get to do clinic at the VA hospital. I started my nursing career at the VA in Iowa City when I was a CNA during nursing school. I immediately fell in love with this population and still enjoy caring for them. They are by far my most sincere, compliant, and appreciative patients.  The WWII vets are my absolute favorite, but the numbers remaining are dwindling.  It's always a great reminder to thank them for their service.

8. Mac vs PC:  I've always been a PC fan, but my parents have always been Mac people.  I have been impressed with Apple's I phone and I pad so I decided to spread my wings and get a MacBook.  Although it has taken me a little getting used to, (I had to google "How to Scroll on a Macbook?"), I'm loving it!  I  have the air so it is so light and easy to transport.  I'm sure there is so much more I need to learn...

The Tooth Fairy

Our house had a little visit from The Tooth Fairy this week!

When I took A to the dentist a few weeks ago, we discovered she had 3 loose teeth.  Just another sign that my oldest is growing up.  She worked really hard to get her baby teeth in, (and mom and dad had many sleepless nights), so it is bitter sweet that they are now falling out.

She was excited that her one bottom tooth was really starting to wiggle.  The night before her tooth fell out she showed me how loose it was but I still thought I had a few days before that little tooth would fall out.

Surprisingly, we received an email message from her teacher at school Thursday morning with the Subject:  Big Girl, and a picture of Alena's toothless smile.  We were so happy for her but I quickly started to scramble because this Tooth Fairy wasn't ready for this yet!!!

Thank goodness for Pinterest and my twin moms who gave me some great ideas.  Ideally, I would have loved to have sewed a small pillow for her to put her tooth in but obviously I didn't get that done.  So I had to go to Plan B.

I had a little bit of time during the day to run to Hobby Lobby where I found a small pillow with a little pocket, perfect for her little tooth.  I stopped at a bank on my way to a dialysis unit and got a $2 bill and 3 silver dollar coins.  Finally, I stopped at the dollar store and found some sparkly silver eye shadow to act as fairy dust.

I also found a cute letter on-line that I printed so A would have a personalized letter from the Tooth Fairy.

She was so excited for a visit from the Tooth Fairy!  She was worried her tooth would fall out of the little pillow so she decided to put her tooth in a little container under her pillow this time but plans to use the pillow for her next tooth.

Fairy dust on her money and letter

The next morning she was anxious to see what was under her pillow. She was most excited about the letter covered in fairy dust that the Tooth Fairy left and took it to school to show her teachers and friends.  

I love, love, love a child's imagination. If only they believed in the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa Claus forever. I'm going to cherish these years as I know they won't believe for long.