How to cure Playdoh ear and other such ailments

So folks, it seems these days that I am becoming an expert in the removal of foreign bodies from the various parts of toddlers. That's right, my son has done it again. Only this time it meant a trip to the ER in Evanston. Trace once again got handy, and while I was feeding Jax, decided to put some Playdoh in his ear. I managed to get most of it out but there was some that was just to far down there for me to feel comfortable extracting on my own. Turns out though that a little bit of water in his ear did the trick. That's right, $50 to have a professional put some warm tap water in his ear, add a bit of cotton, and tell us to take him home and put him in the tub to remove the rest. You see Playdoh is water soluble (should have guessed) and will just dissolve. What fun. The nurses did get a kick out of Trace. He marched right back to the room all by himself, carrying his own chart of course. He then proceed to tell the nurse just which ear he'd stuck it in, as well as the fact that he'd done it "just cause." I thought they'd die of laughter. What a kid.

And stretch, and bend, and stretch, and bend...

Cory and I have made it a goal to be fit by the time we go to the beach in July. Thus, every morning this week I've gotten up, gotten the kids breakfast, and then started to do the Denise Austin daily workout. It's a great little workout and I can already feel it working. Well Trace started to do it with me on Thursday and it was so darn cute to see him trying to do the work out.

Well today being Saturday, I'm taking a day off. I figure that 5 days a week of working out is plenty, but Traces first question out of bed this morning was, "Mommy when we working out?" So here I sit writing this blog and watching my 3 year old do a Denise Austin work out. He's even equipped with a water bottle so he can stay "Dydrated". Here's a pic that I just couldn't pass up. Enjoy!

We're off to a good start!

Well it would appear that with 2008 in full swing, the Hadley family is off to a good start. We started the year with a night that made me think that this was gonna be a rough one. Kenadee woke up about 11:30 to ring in the new year. Its a shame that the party didn't wind down until 4:30 a.m. We did everything we could think of, but until she was ready there was no sleeping.
Then we woke up about 5:30 to Trace crying. All he would say was that he didn't feel good, so I sat and rocked him until about 7. That's when he decided that it was his ear that hurt. He was in so much pain by 10 that we made a trip to the hospital in Evanston. Turns out there was some sort of ear infection raging in his little ear and of course since it was New Years day there was no such thing as an open pharmacy. Thankfully our wonderful doctor got us some amoxacillin (abc?) and some numbing drops so that Trace could get through the night. What a start!
Things have since quieted down. Jax is growing like a weed and starting to roll over. Our goal is to have him walking by next July when we go on vacation. I think sitting up is a good start and he's well on his way.
Kena is our little spitfire. She's full of life and adventure and has a bold little spirit. She is definitely the muscle in our family. She rough houses with the best of them and loves to wrestle with Trace. She has an incredibly gentle side too. She loves her brothers and loves to help mommy feed and burp little brother. She's going to nursery without Trace these days, a transition that I wasn't sure would go smoothly, but I'm happy to report that she had not problem, and in fact didn't want to leave when church was over.
Trace is officially a Sunbeam and the jury is still out as to whether he likes it or not. All day Sunday he told me that he just wanted his "old class". Things are looking up though. He told me today that being a "sunshine" was lots of fun. Here's hoping. He's learning his alphabet and numbers and sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star every where he goes.
Cory is busy at work and school. He's getting closer to his Masters everyday and its going well. He's still in Cub scouts, working with the Webelos and its fun for him.
I just started my new calling as the Valiant 12 teacher in Primary. My class is great and I love having the ability to teach them at such an important age. They are great kids!
And that's our year so far in a nut shell. Hope yours is going as well!

Now thats a good husband!

As many of you know, yesterday was my birthday. In years past my birthday has become lumped in with the many holidays that surround it (namely Christmas and New Years). My day always seemed to be full of Birthday/Christmas presents, or Birthday/New Year parties. Alas, my sweet mother always made sure my birthday was special and that I felt like I was important. I was having an especially hard time this year without her and feeling a little down. Kira came up from Salt Lake to spend the day with us and that was nice, but it was still kind of a down day.
Then about noon Kira sent us out to lunch while she watched our kids (the day was looking up). How could I pass up a full 2 hours without my kids. So Cory took me to Burger King for a Whopper (I'd wanted one for 2 days) an then to several local shops. I thought at one point that we should head for home, but he was darn persistent about keeping me out.
Now here comes the part that I'm sure half of you reading this were in on. We got home at about 2 o'clock and what did I find but my house in full Hawaiian garb, and a room full of friends. Can you believe it! A surprise part for little ol' me. It was the first surprise party I've ever had and it was wonderful. There was good food and good company and I loved every minute of it. So I'd just like to profess from the top of my blog, MY HUSBAND IS THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD! Thank you sweetie from the bottom of my heart.
As a side note I'm told that Kira did a fare share of the work for my sweet boy so here's a big ol' cyber hug for her as well. I love you friend!

Surprise!

Yesterday afternoon we were enjoying a quiet time here in our living room, when we heard the sounds of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Strange since the radio wasn't on. Next thing we know there are 4 fire trucks and Santa in our neighborhood. the men at the fire station drove through town letting the kids get pictures with Santa (we couldn't get our camera to work so pictures will be coming at a later date) and passing out goodie bags! What fun.

Then for his anniversary present to me, Cory installed my new faucet; of course Trace was happy to help and was an excellent helper. He held the flashlight and tried his darndest to convince Cory that he need to look at the walls of the cabinets, not the sink.

Then last night we were able to get all the kiddos to sit still long enough for a picture. I've tosed in one of Trace and Jax just for kicks. Love you all and hope you have the most joyous of holidays! May we all remember the reason for the season. Love the Hadley Handful!

The joys of motherhood!

Trace: Mom why are there holes in my nose?

Me: So you can breathe.

(5 minutes elapse as I do dishes)

Trace: Mom where's my raisin?

Me: I don't know where is it?

T: (Pointing to his nose) In there!

And so began raisin gate 2007. I spent the next half hour trying to keep a manic little boy to lay still long enough that I could fish a raisin out of his nose, and boy did he get it up there. I got to one point where I thought we'd have to call Cory home from pack meeting and head into the emergency room to have it fished out professionally. What fun it is to be a mom! I guess we'll just add this to the list of things we've had to dig out of Trace which also includes cardboard from his ear, and peas from his nose. I guess I better go, I just looked over and my son has stuck another raisin up his nose!...
(another 30 minutes)
OK the raisin has been extracted and all remaining raisins have been hidden. Have a wonderful Christmas and may it be raisin nose free!

Fun in the Sun...I mean snow!

We went out this morning to get the driveway cleared and Trace and Kena had a blast. We got about 8 inches of snow and it was the first time Kena's been out in it to play. It was beautiful this morning. The snow was falling in perfect flakes and it looked like glitter falling from the sky. What a beautiful day!