Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Andrew has been in Texas for a couple of days for his cousin's wedding. We're so excited for him to get home today! I asked Oliver questions all about Dad, and I think it's clear he's missing him so much! Once again, Oliver surprised me by getting Andrew's age correct. This year, he also signed his own name! I've seen more surveys like these going around Pinterest and Facebook. Some even overlay the questions & answers over a photo of the kids with their dad. Pretty cute! I'm sticking to the same survey that we did last year because I think it will be cute to track the same questions over the years.

2014:

2013:

Father's Day Printable

I found a cute pin on Pinterest a couple months ago. It's a printable from Simply Montessori, and kids can fill out answers about their dad. Oliver is too little to write, so I wrote in the answers for him.

Here's his finished questionnaire about Andrew. The one we gave him his hand-written, and Oliver "signed" it. I don't have my scanner set up at the moment, so I just typed in the answers for my blog. Pretty cute, huh? I think I might try to do this every year and save them in a binder for Andrew.

...and, yes, Oliver got Andrew's age right! He has a good memory and understanding of numbers, just like his mama!

Father's Day 2013

...Where to begin? Today started with some grumpy kids, got better with an ice cream cone and boat ride at the park, and ended in the emergency room (everyone's OK now!).

I got up with the kiddos, and we went out to get McDonald's for Andrew. Oliver woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He was mad about everything! Unfortunately, that mood spilled into what was supposed to be a nice breakfast in bed. We took the kids to Chatfield State Park to play at the reservoir, hoping to improve the day. It was fun, but Oliver was still a Grumpy Gus!

It cost $8 to get in, which would have been worth it if we'd stayed longer. We weren't prepared for the heat and sun. Photos from Chatfield:

After a stop at the grocery store, we went home for lunch and nap time. Oliver was in a much better mood after having some quiet time. We went out to ice cream at Bonnie Brae. Their ice cream is so good! We ate it outside, which completes another item on our summer bucket list.

Oliver wanted "pink ice cream."

We were near Wash Park, so we decided to go play and explore. Oliver saw people on boats and really wanted to ride on one. We decided to go try it out without even thinking about prices. I mean, we've rented paddle boats in Evergreen before, and they are $8. We went up to rent one, only to discover the 4-person paddle boat was $30! We got a two person one for $20, and the kids sat on our laps (which was a better idea anyway).

Oliver had the time of his life! This kid is usually so timid and doesn't much like anything that involves risk. He seriously loved the boat ride, though. We got to see geese, ducks, and herons.

These pictures were taken moments before the incident. I'll tell you what happened in a moment...

So, right after these pictures were taken, Oliver ran off on that path behind us. You can see in the photo how the path winds. It winds right into a parking area on the street. When he first took off, I said, "No, no, no." He kept going, which is so unlike Oliver! I screamed bloody murder, "STOP!" Oliver froze and immediately started to cry (he hates yelling). I'm so glad he listened when I yelled, though.

I was embarrassed for yelling (even though I did the right thing) and distracted by Oliver crying. I didn't even notice when I walked into a tree limb.

It was almost exactly my height. It didn't hit me in the forehead but sliced right into the top of my scalp. It hurt so badly. It wasn't like a throbbing pain from when you run into something. It was a sharp, stinging pain that didn't stop. At first, I tried to hold myself together. The pain kept increasing, and I just crawled into the car and cried. After a minute, I got the courage to touch my head. My fingers were all bloody. Andrew drove a few blocks, but when the pain got worse, he stopped to assess the damage. He just saw a cut and blood and told me I'd need stitches. I started crying all over again! I felt what I thought was blood running down my head, but it was clear liquid. Andrew told me it was probably plasma.

We called his mom, who let us know of an urgent care out by her. I didn't even want to drive two extra miles, so we stopped at an urgent care I know of right by my parents' house. I called my dad. The poor guy, I swear. I tried to stay calm, but I was crying and clearly upset and hurt. I told him I'd be there in five minutes, and he said he would come right away. He's the best dad in the world. (I'm sorry for scaring you, Dad. Happy Father's Day!) My parents were already at the urgent care when we arrived. They grabbed the kids out of the car while I went into the urgent care.

The nurse at the reception took one look at my head and said they couldn't treat it there. She said I had to go to the emergency room. I have a high deductible, and so we'd be responsible for any and all hospital costs. Dang it! It sucks to be hurt and also worrying about whether or not I can afford to go get treated. Andrew told me we'll make it work, and so we went.

The people at Sky Ridge were fantastic. I had a nurse, a physician's assistant, and an MD all check on me. The pain started to finally subside after getting shown into a room. It faded from a sharp, stinging pain to a dull, throbbing pain. The bleeding stopped, too. The physician's assistant asked me if it was OK to numb the area. I was confused why she asked. Is there some reason I shouldn't be numbed? Is there a chance of allergic reaction or something? Nope, she just wanted my permission before giving me an injection. Oh, geez, I hate needles. I mean, I put up with them when I have to, but I hate them. I started to cry all over again! I told her I would rather get treated without getting numbed. She told me they could clean the wound out without numbing, but, if I needed staples, they would revisit the idea of numbing my head.

A nurse washed my head with sanitized water. She had to scrape off some of the scabbing to see how deep parts of the wound were. It started to sting again, but it wasn't as bad as before. A doctor came in and checked me out, followed again by the physician's assistant. She told me the wound was puckered open a bit, but it wasn't deep enough to require stitches or staples. I was so relieved!

...and then I realized I'm probably going to get a $500 bill for nothing! Well, not really. I know I am paying for expert opinions and for taking the time of the emergency room. But, still, I can't help but wish I'd toughed it out. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

So, that's how Andrew spent Father's Day evening, and that's how we ended up at the emergency room. We picked up the kids. My little Ollie Bear ran up to me when I walked into my parents' house and asked, "Mom, do you feel all better?" He's so sweet. My head was feeling so much better--just a slight pressure headache and swelling. We went back to his parents' house, where we're staying for a bit. His mom gave the kids a bath, and I took some ibuprofen and rested a bit. We made a quick dinner (and I helped Oliver make smoothies), and then we put the kids to bed.

What a day! Father's Day didn't go exactly as planned. Next week is Andrew's birthday, and I hope to make it up to him then! Happy Father's Day, Andrew, and thanks for taking care of me at the hospital.

Father's Day Picture Gift - 2013

We just ordered the kids' Father's Day gift to Andrew a few days ago. We did this last year from Shutterfly, and I thought it came out really cute. I bought the letters from Michael's last year and decided to save them. Cute!

That also finishes another item on our summer bucket list. Woohoo, we are making progress!


* Watch a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
* Bake a berry stars & stripes cake with Oliver.
* Run through the sprinklers.
* Go to a splash park.
* Play in the "creek" at the Children's Mordecai Gardens at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
* Watch our first parade.
* Ride the outdoor train at Belleview Park.
* Visit a petting zoo.
* Take the kids for a swim.
* Have a real outdoor picnic on the grass with a picnic basket.
* Watch a sunrise.
* Go for a hike in the mountains.
* Go on a road trip.
* Go out for an ice cream cone, and eat it outside!
* Make our own ice cream, and let Oliver choose the flavor.
* Pick and eat vegetables out of the garden we're growing at Grandma Judy's house.
* Eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine at Aunt Bonnie & Uncle George's house.
* Throw water balloons.
* Go tent camping overnight.
* Look at stars in the sky.
* Visit Andrew at work for lunch.
* Take the train downtown to visit Grandpa Larry for lunch.
* Go to the Fireman's Museum.
* Use sidewalk chalk.
* Blow bubbles.
* Take Father's Day photos with the letters that spell out "DAD" again.

Father's Day 2012

By the end of each weekday, I'm run down and exhausted.  Andrew rides home on his white horse (err, white Subaru) and saves the day. No matter how hard his day's been at work, he still finds enough energy to take the kids outside or chase Oliver around the house.

He has buckets full of patience.  He's genuinely interested in what Oliver wants to share with him.  He has a keen eye for wildlife and catches snakes and grasshoppers and other critters to show the kids.  He's the kind of guy the neighbor kids love to see outside, and they drag him around to show him their neat finds.  Actually, that type of thing happens everywhere.  When we go to the park or the mall play area, all the other kids see Andrew playing with Oliver, and they start demanding he "Watch me!" or "Look what I can do!"

The truth of the matter is that I couldn't do this whole parenting thing without him.  Parenting is hard, even though it's wonderful.  The house gets torn to pieces, there's lots of poop, and there's little sleep.  He deals with as many middle-of-the-night wake-ups as I do, but he gets up to start the day with the kids at 5am and often lets me sleep to 6am, sometimes as late as 7am.  I love Andrew as my husband and partner, but I appreciate him most as my children's father.  He's incredible.

For Father's Day, I decided to be the one to get up at 5am.  This was after handling two wake-ups from Jo and one from Oliver.  I felt like a zombie.  How does Andrew do this?

We set up his Father's Day loot, and Oliver colored on a card I whipped up.  We got him a new chopping knife he'd wanted, and we made him a photo gift.

I let Andrew sleep in until 8am, and then I woke him up to play Minecraft while I took the kiddos to Starbucks (I needed espresso).  When I got home, we all worked on making homemade waffles, which Andrew had requested.After waffles, we took a family stroll down to the creek.  It was about 10am, but it was already over 80 degrees out.

Following creek time and nap time, Andrew put his new knife to work and made us all delicious grilled veggie sandwiches.  Then, he and I alternated watching the kids so we could both get a haircut, because the temperatures outside reached 95, and we were miserable.

I came home to find Andrew and the kids playing with the water table.   They are so stinking cute.

We waited for things to cool off a little bit and then drove to Red Rocks to walk around a bit.  The scenery is breathtaking up there, but we were reminded there isn't much shade.  We walked around until we polished off all our water, and then we headed home.

In all, I think it was a great Father's Day, and I love celebrating my husband for all the work he does at home and with the kids.  Happy Father's Day, Andrew!

Father's Day Gift Project

I might be a little addicted to Pinterest.  There are just so many fun project ideas and recipes to be found!  A few months ago, I saved this pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/216383957066132817/

This week, I set to work on the project.   Oliver was difficult to photograph because he wanted to play with the letters.  Jo smiled a ton, but didn't smile when placed next to her energetic brother.  That's OK because I'm glad their personalities shined through.

I decided to make this the final version for at home:

  

And I'm going to make one with the goofy picture to give to Andrew for his desk at work:

Loved this idea!