PERFECT BIRTHDAY WEEKEND.....

Just last Wednesday I made a post about whether my kids were really so sick, by that night Coop had taken a turn for the worse. Raelynn continued to do great but Coop could not fight the fever. I stayed home with him Thursday and Friday took him to work with me for awhile. He was finally feeling better just in time for my family to come into town. I kept the kids on their bedtime schedule all weekend in hopes that they would not get sick again. I thought I had succeeded when I got a call from the school this morning that Raelynn was complaining of a headache. I went and picked her up and when I picked her up she didn't look really very well. I took her back to the office with me for just a while but after just a few minutes she was bouncing off the walls and not acting a bit sick. She sat and ate a full lunch and was chattering away. I asked her if she really didn't feel good. She said she really did have a headache but she was feeling better, but she thought she could just stay with me at my office like Cooper had done on Friday. It all became very clear that little Raelynn just wanted a little extra time with Mom. I do think her head hurt but I don't think it was quite as severe as she may have let on. We talked awhile and she finished her day at Mary Beth's. My birthday was great. My Mom, Sherri and I went on a shopping spree on Friday night. My mom and my little sisters have done this for years for their birthdays but we had never been able too. So we headed out and first I got some much needed running shoes. Then we headed to Maurices were I tried on the entire store and got half of it :) It was awesome! I had never been able to by multiple outfits at once and it was a blast! Thank you Mom and Sherri! Then we headed to El Mez Cal for dinner. It was a great night. Then Saturday we did more birthday stuff and Terry and the kids added to my shopping spree with some more money to shop with. Can you tell I had been begging for clothes? Then we headed to the pumpkin patch yet again. As we got off the hay ride I heard someone say, "Mrs. Keefer". I looked up to a familiar face but could not quite place her. She looked at me and said, "that can't be Cooper?". She then said, "I am Beth from the PICU". Sure enough, this was one of Coop's nurses from the PICU at Children's Mercy. It was good to see her and so touching that she recognized us. She was shocked at how big Cooper was. This was a great part of the day. Other highlights were getting the homemade cookies and hot apple cider from Schaake's. They have the best cookies ever. The whole weekend was so much fun. It is hard not to have a perfect birthday when everyone you love is there and you get to shop, what more could one ask for! Sunday, I caught Cooper reading a story to Raelynn as she went to the bathroom. Now the story he is reading is not the story he has in hand. He has this little story about 5 little monkeys sitting in a tree. In the story a crocodile gets the monkeys 1 by 1 in the tree. The book says, "snap", "Oh No!". This is what you will hear Coop saying and then Raelynn is trying to tell him the book is about Noah's Ark.

ARE YOU SURE YOUR SICK........

Last night I get to daycare and there Raelynn was lying on the couch looking like death. I had been worried earlier in the day about Cooper but he was doing fine. I carry her out and we head home. Coop felt a little warm so I gave them both some ibuprofen and settled in. I figured it would be a long night and probably even longer day today. By 7pm Raelynn had eaten 3 apples and 2 graham crackers and PB and they were both playing. We put them to bed regular time and they both seemed fine. Around 1pm Raelynn woke not feeling well. I was up and down all night with her until I had to leave to teach aerobics around 4:30am. When I got back home Terry and she were on the couch and carpet cleaner was out. I knew what that meant, Raelynn had thrown up. So here we go. Now there are few things that happen in the Keefer household when someone has the flu. The first is "The Pail". When Raelynn was around 3 we had our first go around with the flu. I got out this pail I used when mopping the floors. I explained to her the pail was her friend. The pail was to never leave her side while she was sick. If she went to the bathroom, the pail went to, if she went to blow her nose, the pail went too, if she went to watch TV, the pail went too. I told her she could name the pail or decorate it or whatever she wanted but it was to be with her always and if she needed to throw up, the pail was to catch it, that was the pail's job. She has never thrown up without the pail since. (Except this morning when Dad put her on the couch without the pail!) Anyway, it has worked great. The other necessity is Lysol. So with pail and Lysol positioned we were ready. Raelynn watched TV and rested. By 7:30 am I had laundry done, floors mopped, beds stripped, and was starting to look for what was next when Coop woke up. He seemed just fine so I got him dressed and sent him out the door to stay as far away from Raelynn as possible. Raelynn was doing great and had ate pancakes and apples and was wanting to play babies. However,by 10:30am, I was picking Coop up and bringing him back home. Raelynn and I introduced Coop to "The Pail". Throwing up is nothing new to Cooper but it has always been related to health issues and not the flu. The flu is just different and I thought he was ready to learn the ropes. I thought he understood "The Pail's" job, he said "K" and everything. Minutes later I hear, "Mommy, Coop's throwing up and it is not in the pail". Where did we go wrong? We thought he understood. We have reviewed it again with him and we will see what happens.

So both the kids have thrown up and had a little fever but the real kicker is.....they do not seem sick. The kids are running around here like no other. They have played babies, had a dance party, ate lunch and are currently playing chase. I mean does this look like two kids with the flu?

I definitely don't think they are miserable. I am hoping this is just a 24 hour bug and we will be going good again tomorrow. Raelynn did ask me why God made her sick today. I told her God wasn't the one that made her sick, it was all those yucky germs in the air that made her sick. She replied back, "maybe we should start building an ark in case he makes it rain again to get rid of all the bad stuff". (We have been studying the story of Noah's Ark in Sunday School) I told her I would build an ark if God told me to but for now I would just continue taking care of her and Coop. Man the girl makes me laugh!

TOO MUCH FUN......

Well another week has started and I am always so amazed how fast time flies. For me the holiday chaos has already started. There are times that being organized and insisting that everything is always done is a little stressful and this time of year is one of those times. In our family all of my sister's birthdays are between now and Christmas along with Terry and Cooper's. Therefore, as I start working on their birthdays I start working on Christmas and think it all has to be done today. Saturday night around 6 I asked Terry if he would go with me to do a little shopping. We got a few things but really spent most of the time just walking around getting ideas. Of course Raelynn saw plenty of things she wanted but what really cracked us up was Cooper. As we pushed him in the cart past a Handy Manny tool work bench he went nuts. He started patting his chest and saying, "me me me" and pointing at the tool bench. I stopped and let him look. He just kept looking at it and then pointing to himself, "me me me". We were all laughing so hard right there in the store. He did the same thing as we passed this sport trike. The boy knows what he likes! It also solved all question as to what we were getting him for Christmas and his birthday. We didn't get home until almost 9 o'clock but really had a good time.

Sunday after church Terry was working downstairs on the basement. Little Cooper had to be right there. He would not leave Terry or the tools alone. I don't know how much work Terry actually got done but Coop sure did have a good time.


Last Wednesday we had family reading night at Raelynn's preschool. They actually had a kids author there that read her story to them. It was pretty fun and of course Raelynn loved having us at her school and Cooper loved being with the big kids. On Friday I lost my voice completely.



That morning as I was trying to get the kids ready without being able to talk to get there attention, I was trying to tell Coop something in my whisper of a voice I had and Cooper whispered back "K Momma". It was so funny that he whispered back at me. Raelynn and I got a good laugh. Raelynn also gave me a good laugh last week. We got to Mary Beth's after school and we were just chit chatting away as we walked in. When we first walk in there is a place for the kids to take off their shoes and coats. Raelynn takes off her shoes and then just pulls down her pants. In complete astonishment I ask her what she is doing. He eyes get big and she immediately pulls up her pants and looks around to see if anyone saw her which of course they didn't because everyone was downstairs. She started to laugh and turned red with embarrassment. As I laughed she said she just wasn't thinking and thought we were home and was going to change like we always do. It was really funny to see her so funnily embarrassed. Friday night when we got home and she took her shows back to her room I said to her, "you can take your pants off now and change". She got red all over again! I love how I can joke with her. When she did change I noticed a red "rash" on the back of her leg. By the time we ate dinner and she got out of the bath, the "rash" had spread all the way down her leg. Come to find out, the "rash" is poison ivy. We have no idea where she got it but just like her Dad she seems to be very allergic to it. I have been told that it will take a week or so to start going away and it looks horrible, let's just hope it just stays on her leg.

Raelynn also has been studying fire safety this past week at school. They even had a visit from some firemen. She brought home this little worksheet that we were to complete as a family regarding fire safety. As we answered each question such as, how many fire detectors are in your house and where is your families meeting place outside if there is a fire, we were given a fire safety talk from Raelynn. It was so cute as she tells us, "If the door is hot you stop and go right by the window and stay low...the good air is down low and the bad air is up high". She goes on to tell us when and how she would call 911 and how she would remain calm and help Coop stay low and by a window too. Really what does she need us for anymore? :)

This weekend my family is coming to town to visit the pumpkin patch and celebrate Sherri and I's birthdays. I am so excited as it should be a fun weekend, just 4 more days and counting.......

DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS A WITCH FAIRY.....

Monday morning while working out I was talking with one of my friends. Somehow the conversation led to Halloween and the huge amount of candy the kids get. She then introduced me to the idea of the "Witch Fairy" which has quickly became my favorite fairy of all. So you see the story goes that after trick or treating, each child selects just a few pieces of candy and then they set the rest of the candy outside for the Witch Fairy. She can only come out and get candy the night of Halloween. If she gets enough candy, she won't come out the rest of the year so it is important to make sure you leave most of the candy for her. In place of the candy that she takes, she leaves a gift for the nice children who help her get enough candy to last the year. When my friend initially told me the story, I just laughed but quickly my laughter changed to interrogation so that I would have all the answers when Raelynn questioned my story. With all my basis covered, I told Raelynn of the "Witch Fairy" that my friend just told me about. With eyes wide and excitement in her voice Raelynn was more than eager to test it out. Tonight on the way home Raelynn asked me if the Witch Fairy was nice or a mean fairy. I told her that she was nice to leave a present for the candy but if she didn't get enough candy she was not very nice. Raelynn turned to Cooper and said, "Coop you get 1 piece of candy because you are 1 and I get 4 because I am 4 and we will put the rest out for the Witch Fairy". Cooper responded with his standard reply, "K". A few seconds later Raelynn asks me if I think the Witch Fairy knows how old she is. I told her I wasn't sure why? She responds, "If she doesn't know we could pretend I am 5 so I could keep 5 pieces of candy". I told her we probably shouldn't take any chances this year. :) Aren't fairy's great! I did ask my friend what they did with all the candy. She told me that sometimes it really is gone when they go out for it because kids just take it but if there is some left they put it in her husband's truck and they sneak out to eat it when the kids go to bed. I hope the candy is just gone because I could see Terry and I sneaking a few pieces here and there too.

Besides the excitement of the Witch Fairy, Raelynn and I made another visit to the pumpkin patch on her school's field trip. We had a great time and it was not as cold as it had been over the weekend. It is fun to watch Raelynn with her friends and the moms are all great. We got a little muddy but other than that is was a wonderful morning.

This week Terry has been having to open the store so he has been leaving earlier than normal. Therefore, the kids and I are left to get ready on our own. Surprisingly it has been going great. This morning Raelynn tells me she wants pigtails like Caroline (a girl in her class). I actually love it when she tells me how she wants her hair, it is kind of fun to try to do it as she wishes and I like that she has an opinion on it. However, I am not very good at doing braids or pig tails or really anything other than curling it. So there I was trying to get her pig tails in and straight and cute. She was sitting still and just chatting away. I was putting a pig tail in for the 3rd or 4th time when Raelynn looks up at me and says, "Mom?". "Yes Raelynn" I replied. "I don't think Caroline's Mom takes this long!". With a smile on my face I respond, "Well I am not Caroline's Mom and if you want pigtails you better not tell me that!" She giggled and just continued chatting. She can be so difficult some times but most of the time her personality is so much fun!!

IT WAS COLD BUT WONDERFUL.....

Another fantastic weekend! It almost seems like they are getting better and better. Friday night the kids were better than good. It was cold out and we came home and just played and snuggled. We had our favorite cold weather meal, soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with hot chocolate. Raelynn is such a great cook! She helped me all night from cooking to playing with Cooper to just making me laugh. Saturday we got up and headed to Manhattan to visit Aunt Steph and watch Aunt Karli in a marching band competition. We were so happy to see Aunt Steph. It has been awhile and we miss her. Not only were the kids happy to see Aunt Steph but they get just as excited to see Cody. Around 1pm we headed to the stadium to watch Karli's performance. IT WAS FREEZING! We were all bundled up and even took blankets but it was windy and crazy cold. I wasn't sure we were going to make it and then it was Karli's bands turn. It was so neat to see. I have never seen her perform and band has been a big part of her life. When they first came out I started to panic because it occurred to me that I know she plays drums but I had no idea what drums and therefore had no idea which person was her. Thank goodness Steph figured it out. We watched her performance and a little later we were able to pick her up.
Karli's Performance

We hung out at Steph's for awhile and then headed to dinner and then back home. Raelynn cried for about 15 minutes after we left because she wanted her Aunt Karli. She misses them all very much.

Today was our friend Cayman's 3rd Birthday. They had his party at the pumpkin patch which was a lot of fun. It was incredibly cold but fun.



Terry didn't have to work all day and just hung out with us at home. While Coop took his nap Raelynn and I did a little cleaning and laundry but most of the day was spent warmly inside just being around each other which is by far my favorite place to be. I love hearing Raelynn and Cooper's laughter and even their occasional wines. I wish everyday was Sunday! Cooper is repeating everything and Raelynn is trying to teach him to count and spell words that she has learned. Tonight when I was giving him a bath he wanted to wash his hair. Amazingly he did a great job. Then of course he wanted to wash his body by himself too. It was so cute to see what a big boy he is becoming. When we were out of the bath and putting lotion on he started identifying his body parts and pretty plainly was saying, "arm"....."leg"......"finger"......"body". I was blown away. I guess I realized he knew what his body parts were but I certainly didn't know he could say it. I am getting the feeling he could say a lot if he just wanted to. I am pretty sure, just as he has been over the past 2 years, he will do and say what he wants when he wants. The truth is though that is fine by me. I am so in love with him and his cute smile and the way his head fits perfectly on my shoulder with mine cuddled right in next to him. He is so laid back and very rarely too upset. I guess he used up all his crying in the first 6 months of his life. I just love every part of him.

Raelynn is struggling with getting dressed and finds something wrong with almost everything. They are either too scratchy or too tight or too big or.....the list goes on and on. Although, I think I may have finally found a way to avoid a complete melt down.....distraction! I told her that I was done trying to reason with her because she was being difficult and starting to irritate me. So now I only talk to the body part the clothing is bothering. For instance, if the seem under her arm is bothering her armpit, I talk to her armpit. I know it sounds crazy but her body parts are much easier to deal with when she is giggling hysterically. Anyway, this technique is working for now and we have had a few days and nights without clothing disagreements which is wonderful. Other than that the girl is amazing. Everyday she does something to make me so proud of her or taken by her wittiness. I love our conversations and I love to watch she and Coop's relationship grow. I still wake up every morning anxious to see what the day holds for them. We have many fun things this week from the pumpkin patch to family reading night to Dad's football game at Free State. Lots of fun things and of course looking forward to the next "spending the whole day together" day!

BUSY WEEKEND....LOADS OF FUN....

What a busy weekend! Friday night the kids and I along with Aunt Bonnie ventured out into the cold to watch Terry ref HS football in Perry. The kids did pretty good and Raelynn bought us hot chocolate with her allowance she is now getting. You can't beat that. The good thing about kids is that their attention span is about as long as mine so by half time we were all ready to go. It was a fun evening though. Saturday we joined some friends on the Kaw Valley Tour of Farms. It was night quite as fun as I had hoped. Some of the farms did not target the kids and therefore got a little boring. Pendletons was a lot of fun though. We managed to last from about 10 am to 1pm so I think we did pretty well. Then it was time to head home for naps before we were off to our next event. Our pediatrician, Dr. Kelley, celebrated his 50th Birthday with a wonderful party that satisfied every age. He had a magician, cotton candy, popcorn, food, drinks a photo booth....you name it he had it. He and his wife are the most incredibly nice people and you can just tell they love to entertain. The kids had a blast and would have stayed all night if we had let them. We were honored to be able to celebrate with Dr. Kelley and his family and friends. Sunday it was up early for church. Tatum and Donovan joined us to visit our church so that was fun as well. Then finally it was home to play and rest. Raelynn was so happy to just be home and able to play with her toys and relax. We had so much fun but little needed down time.

Cooper is really on a roll. He now thinks it is funny to hide from us, run from us while we are trying to get him dresses and to say "no". Needless to say, he is a handful. I have to say I absolutely love it. The boy is so cute and he thinks he is funny. He threw some food on Monday night and when I really got after him he looked at me with this pouty lip and said "Torry (Sorry) Mommy!" I was so shocked I could not help but smile and kiss and hug him. I am sure there were no mixed signals there....one minute I am scolding him the next I am smiling and loving on him. The poor boy is going to be so confused. He continues to do everything big sis does and chatters non stop. I cannot believe how far he has come! Raelynn continues to have her moments but for the most part is completely grown up. She helps me so much around the house and we have so much fun doing the most basic things. Cooking dinner is actually becoming enjoyable because Raelynn loves to help me and really is starting to help. We laugh a lot. She is also getting such a sense of humor and makes jokes all the time. We laugh at our silliness and when we are not laughing at ourselves we are laughing at Cooper. I cannot imagine a home without laughter. Don't get me wrong, we have a few tears as well but it is the laughter that makes the tears all worth it!

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT IS OCTOBER 1ST.....

Well as another week passes I cannot help but be amazed it is already October. On Monday all I could think was, "this is the day we were suppose to be in surgery." I gave Coop several extra hugs and kisses just to remind myself how fortunate we have been and still are.

The kids are both doing well. They both have been fighting colds but other than that we have been pretty healthy so far. Coop struggles when he gets a cold because his oxygen levels drop, he doesn't eat as well and his temp runs a little hot. Because of the mucus he throws up a lot as well but it is so much better than he used to be. It all has not slowed him down at all though. He is still very active and having a great time. Raelynn and he play and play and play. If only their relationship could stay like this forever. It is so cute when I drop Raelynn off at daycare the first thing she does is go straight to her brother and says Hi and asks how is doing. It is just perfect.

Today started out a little hectic. It was one of those days where anything that could go wrong did. It started as soon as I got back from the gym. I was getting Coop's meds ready and ended up knocking a couple of them over and spilling them all over. Then when I was getting his milk mixed I spilled his whey protein. So in a matter of seconds I probably spilled $30 worth of stuff and wasted a good 10 minutes cleaning up my messes and getting meds and milk ready again. I was late getting in the shower and then the kids were slow getting up. At 8:25 I should have already been on the road but I was still working on getting Raelynn ready. I was brushing her teeth when stinky pants Cooper entered the room, just what I needed. So I went and changed him and then back to help Raelynn. This morning, of course on a morning like this, Raelynn decided she had a specific way she wanted her hair done. As I tried to be patient, she instructed me as to exactly what to do. The end project turned out pretty cute.

I finally got out the door and headed to Mary Beth's to drop off Coop. As I was talking to Mary Beth one of the little boys took a ball away from Coop. To my surprise my small little Cooper stands up to the boy and yells "NO MINE!" I thought I was going to die laughing. Then after the boy attempted to hit Cooper, Kaden, on of our friends, came to Coop's rescue. He went right over and stood by Cooper and told the other boy very loudly "BE NICE". it was all so cute to watch. It was Coop's first big boy fight and his best buddy stood up for him. I was so taken by the kids interaction I wanted to stay all day. I never thought I would have said it, but our daycare providers have to have one of the best jobs. Anyway, I finally made it to work and made it through the day with little else happening.

Tomorrow we are headed to watch Terry ref football and then Saturday to the Kaw Valley Tour of Farms with friends. It should definitely be a good time! Why some of the farms are for the kids they have also included some vineyard's for the Mommy's!