{a weekend in pittsburgh}

We really haven't had much of a summer this year.  Between Rick living away from us for a couple of months and the move, we just haven't had a chance to go anywhere or do anything.  With Caroline finally feeling better, and the house pretty much settled, we decided to take advantage of the last two weekends before school starts and go on a few adventures. Our original plan was to stay close by--there are a ton of things on our list right in this area that we want to explore. But the forecast called for rain across the state, so we decided to travel a few hours away to a place we've wanted to visit for awhile…Pittsburgh!

We left on Friday after Rick got home from work, and arrived at our hotel around 9pm.  We let the kids stay up late and watch a movie (because the hotel is always the most fun part, right?), and relaxed for the rest of the night.  We were ready to go early in the morning, and headed to Station Square.  It's a cool place that's not only a rail yard, but has yummy restaurants and cute shops. We watched the trains (my boys were totally fascinated by them), and looked around until it was time for our "duck boat" tour.  It's a vehicle that goes on both land and water, and gives you a fun tour of the city.  We sat in the very back, where the kids were dying to sit.  We had the best view, for sure.  :)  We learned a lot about Pittsburgh as we rode through the streets, and then got an amazing view once we got into the water.  The captain even let the kids steer the boat, and Henry got to turn it in a circle!  It was a definite highlight, and one we didn't expect.

After we finished the tour, we rode the incline up Mt. Washington.  It was built in the 1800's, and was used to carry workers up and down the mountain.  Back then, there were many more in order, but it's cool that there are still a couple in operation.  The view from the top is spectacular, and a view of the city that can't be missed!  

The next stop was the strip district downtown, where we had lunch at the famous Primanti Brothers (fries ON the sandwiches…so yummy!!), then shopped on the streets for new Steelers gear…we bought some for everyone.  :)

Our last stop of the day was Heinz Field.  There was no way we could come to Pittsburgh and not stop by the Steelers' field.  We couldn't get in, and tours weren't running on Saturdays, but we walked all the way around, peeked through the gate, and just "felt" it.  One day we'll come to a game, especially now that we're so close.  

 The kids went with Rick to go swimming when we got back to the hotel, which they had been dying to do since we arrived.  It was just a relaxed night, and after our long day, we were ready to take it easy.  

It was all good until…we were awakened in the middle of the night by sick kids.  :( Three out of the six  threw up all night long, and we went through every blanket and towel in our entire room.  It wasn't pretty. We headed home right away in the morning, after cleaning up as best as we could.  I'm glad we had such a fun time, but the ending could have been better, lol.

We're now home, everyone is feeling okay, and we're so glad that we were able to sneak away for the weekend.  We had a great time, and can't wait to go back!

{green, green, more green, and real grass}

One of the things we missed most in Texas was "real grass". The grass there was thick, rough, and very poky. It was also just about the only kind of grass that was hearty enough to stand up to the heat and climate--and it was better than rocks. :) We also missed the big, green, beautiful parks that had been so plentiful in Michigan--that we also had taken for granted. The parks where we lived were playgrounds surrounded by fences, with no green space, or very little. My kids craved space, and living without it was HARD.

When we arrived in New York, one of the first things we went looking for was the nearest park. We didn't have to look too far--there's a huge park on just about every corner, with yes, REAL grass!! Our favorites include one that's next to the library, and our elementary school. Last week we explored another one just a couple of miles away--a vast space with a huge duck pond, awesome bridge, wooded paths, and several playgrounds. None of us wanted to leave!

It's true...you don't know what you have until it's gone. We will never take it for granted again.  :)

{the hospital…again}

Seeing a child not be able to breathe is just about the scariest thing there is. We have now had that experience much more than I feel comfortable with, with the latest episode resulting in two ER's, an ambulance ride, and the ICU.

Caroline woke up one morning with a runny nose, but still happy. Throughout the day I could tell she had to work harder to breathe, so I started giving her breathing treatments to see if I could get it under control. Later that evening, it was  still not improving, and by midnight, it was to the point where she could barely breathe. She was struggling so much that she was throwing up every few minutes. It was time to take her in.

Thankfully, Rick had just arrived home from his business trip a couple of hours earlier, and I didn't have to worry about what to do with the kids. I tucked a rag under her chin, grabbed a sweater for her, and we were out the door. When we arrived, there was no parking at the ER, nor anything nearby. I was beyond frustrated when I had to park quite a ways away, and run with Caroline inside. 

When we checked in, the nurse took one look at her and sent us back. Within 30 minutes of our arrival, they assessed the situation as too serious for them to treat (it's a smaller hospital) and called an ambulance to transport her to the children's hospital in Buffalo. I held her in the ambulance, and after being so hysterical for so long, she had calmed down enough to lie still during the ride, which was good.

When we arrived at the second ER, they administered treatments while waiting to be admitted. Around 6am, they moved us to a pediatric floor, but within 20 minutes, it was decided she needed more care, and she was moved to the PICU. It was now around 7am, neither of us had slept the entire night, and we were both exhausted. 

Caroline wouldn't sleep in her crib yet, so I say in the chair next to it, and held her on my lap. We were able to sleep for a couple of hours, but she was so uncomfortable with oxygen in her nose and being prodded every 30 minutes, that it didn't last too long. Her pulse ox was low, and her heart rate was sky high, so alarms kept going off.

It was a long morning, and she was hysterical a few times, but would catch a few minutes of sleep here and there. She insisted on lying flat on her back on my legs, and I didn't move for at least 6 hours. They administered medicine through the cannula in her nose, and through her IV every couple of hours, and ran a million tests.

Rick came in the afternoon to stay with her while I went home to shower and get a few things. I headed back that evening, and found she hadn't improved much. They moved her to another section of the ICU that night, so it was late before she finally went to sleep. Fortunately, I got her to sleep in the crib, and I slept on the chair next to her.

Around 3am, they had to remove some of her cords, because they were choking her. She is such a wild sleeper, she changed positions and crib locations many times. The next morning there was a ton of improvement, and she was given the okay to try some food. She are a little bit, and was acting more like herself.

 It's the hardest when they are feeling better, but still have to be contained in a small space. They though her puzzles, books, and toys, but they didn't last long.  Our awesome nurse even rounded up a stroller--a double one, with a place for her oxygen, and a place for her. :) We couldn't leave the ICU, so we made about a million loops around the hallways. 

Being in the pediatric intensive care unit really brought me a lot of perspective. I did have a sick child, but I knew she would be okay. We were surrounded by children that were incredibly ill or injured, most of them actually comatose and on life support. Their parents had been there for weeks, sitting by their sides, worrying and wondering and I'm sure praying as hard as they could. I felt grateful that we would be going home soon, and my heart just broke for these other families.

Later that evening, we were finally given the okay to go home. Normally, they don't release from the ICU--they send patients to the floor first--but she had improved enough that the attending physician was okay with it.

I was never so happy to be home. In the end, she was diagnosed again with Bronchiolitis. She has had it three times this year, hospitalized twice, and should have been the first time. It goes from 0-60 in a few hours, and breathing treatments at home have never helped. It makes me so nervous for the future, and I may not send her to nursery when she's old enough. We may need to get her through the winter first. I just hope we can figure out the cause soon--it's one of the scariest things I've been through with one of my kids. We are so happy she is okay!!!

{belated birthday boys}

Our poor boys  This is the second year that we have postponed their birthday celebration. I hope this is the last year we have to do it, because I think they'll start to catch on soon!  Their actual birthday fell right as the movers were coming, and packing our house, and we moved to a hotel. Rick and Ryan were both gone, and I knew that it wouldn't be much of a celebration. So...we decided to wait until we got to New York to celebrate.  

It worked out really well that way--we were able to enjoy it, and have a wonderful day celebrating our two darling boys!!! 

They woke up to streamers hanging from the door and balloons piled high (per tradition), ate cinnamon toast for breakfast (their favorite), and after everyone was ready for the day, we piled into the car for a day of fun!  They wanted to eat at Red Robin, and after we ate, we headed to Niagara Falls for the afternoon.  We had such a great time!

We parked a little ways a way, and as we were walking there, we came across a cute little street that was blocked off. It was full of construction and other big vehicles--with lines of kids waiting to look at them! We had stumbled upon a "touch-a-truck-day", which was like the boys' birthday dream come true!!  Fire trucks, police cars, a trolley, dump trucks, and more lined the street, and we spent quite awhile looking around there. The rest of the afternoon we spent at the falls, enjoying the incredibly spectacular view.  The kids were in awe, and didn't want to leave.  Since we live only 20 minutes away, I'm pretty sure we'll be back.  :)

When we got home, we had their requested spaghetti dinner, then cake (chocolate with vanilla buttercream) and ice cream (cookie dough).  I usually make a layer cake, but before I could stack them, they requested having their own cakes.  I just kept the layers separate, and it turned out perfectly.  They were thrilled!!  

They went to bed happy, and so did I. What a great day!!!

These boys keep life in our home, and certainly adventure.  It is NEVER boring, and I have to be on my toes at all times to keep up with them.  Henry is smart, curious, active, and loves to eat, play outside, play soccer, ride his bike & scooter, and pretty much anything that keeps him moving. He's a great helper in the kitchen! Jack is such a funny boy--I love his sense of humor. He loves his blanket, trucks, playing with legos, playing outside, riding his bike, and helping me with anything. He has the cutest way of saying certain words, and I LOVE it.  We also call him "the sheriff", because he knows the rules, and expects them to be followed.  He keeps us all in line! :) Between the two, they know how to get into trouble.  Whether it's dumping out 25 pounds of flour, or climbing on the roof, the two of them are buddies in their crimes.  Having a smaller place to live has been nice in that respect--I'm much closer to them all of the time! They are so sweet though, and they love to sing.  It cracks me up to hear Henry sing The Proclaimers, and Jack Imagine Dragons at the top of their voices.  They are both HUGE snugglers, and one or both of them visit our bed just about every night.   

We LOVE these boys.  They are the BEST! How lucky we are they are in our family!!

{new york or bust}

I was actually looking forward to this road trip from Texas to New York.  Not only were we traveling to our new home, but we were going to add to our "states visited" list as a family.  Even our little boys have been to over 25 states!  We didn't have a lot of time, because the moving truck wasn't going to take very long to get there. I originally wanted to take a few more days and stop along the way, but we were on a schedule!!

The kids did so well.  They're seasoned car travelers by now, and it was really smooth sailing.  Miss Caroline struggled, though.  It's hard to be 1 year old and have to sit for that long!  She is also totally obsessed with iPhones, iPads, and anything electronic, so if we were using them, we had to hide them.  :)

We stopped each day for a picnic lunch, but on the third day, it was especially nice.  We were in Pennsylvania, and found a beautiful, enormous park.  We stepped out of the car, and immediately could feel the temperature change.  I had been waiting for that, and it felt like heaven!!  We also celebrated about the REAL grass, and sat right down on it to eat--no blanket.  It was fabulous!  

We arrived in New York late the last night, and crashed into bed.  Rick was up super early to meet the movers while I entertained the kids and got them all breakfast.  I wanted to get their food from the breakfast bar and just bring it back to the room (which is MUCH easier when you have five little kids on your own), but I saw that they had real glass dishes and silverware, so that was out.  Thankfully I have two girls that are super helpers, and with their help, we made it through with no broken dishes or spilled food, and maintained relative quietness.  It was kind of a miracle.

When we checked out, we headed back to the duplex we're renting, and split up the kids. I took three of them with me to get things for the house, and Rick stayed at the house with the other two to guide the movers.  They dropped off most of our things at a huge storage unit, and the rest came to the house.  I had labeled everything for the people that packed up our Texas house, and I was just hoping they got everything, because there was no way we would find anything in that storage unit--it was packed from floor to ceiling (15 feet high).  We have a lot of stuff, lol.

I headed to Target for a mile high list, and after being there for two hours, wasn't even close to done, and I was running out of space in the two carts I already had.  Rick was finished at the house, so he brought the other kids so he could help. In the end, we had four completely full carts, and spent a personal record.  Totally ridiculous, lol.  

We ate dinner at a yummy restaurant when we were finished, and headed back to sleep for the first night in our new place!  I was extremely disappointed to see that it was dirty. I mean REALLY dirty. Now I realize I might have a slightly different expectation when it comes to cleanliness, but it really was not clean.  I was so tired, but I couldn't rest until I scrubbed the kitchen and all the bathrooms, so I could not only go to sleep, but be ready to unpack. We ended up finishing the kitchen and family room before going to bed, and within two days, we were totally done.  It was a lot of work, and we stayed up super late (technically super early), but it was so worth it.  Living in chaos makes me a crazy person, especially in a small space with lots of people.  

I fell into bed that night, totally exhausted after a week of packing, moving, traveling, and unpacking, but it was a happy exhaustion.  

We were home.

{on our way}

{miss caroline}

{the iPad obsession}

{the pennsylvania park}

 {the hotel is always the favorite part!}

{we made it!}

{target...still one of my favorite places!}