Drug Pushers R Us

Welcome to the Magee Pharmacy. We've actually had it much worse...when both boys had slight pneumonia, sinus & ear infections at the same time, but I had to laugh as I stacked our meds on the windowsill this afternoon.



Logan woke up yesterday and said his ear hurt, but it was long before any doctor's office was open, so we were just waiting for the rest of the world to wake up. Then, miraculously, at 9:00 a.m., he said it didn't hurt anymore...so I didn't call the doctor. Conveniently, at noon, Logan said his ear hurt again when he yawned. As it turns out, our pediatrician was out with the flu anyway, so we had to wait until today.



Then this morning, Carter wakes up with one crusty eye and Logan with two red eyes. Lovely. Poor Logan looks like he's been in a brawl, all puffy-eyed. So we call the doctor and he could squeeze us in in 45 minutes (we live 30 minutes from the pediatrician and I haven't showered yet!). So, we managed to get out the door relatively on time, only to discover there's ice on the roads (NOTE: roads have not been sanded; apparently Alaska DOT only sands the roads when it's 50 degrees out). So, late we were, but they still graciously worked us in. Turns out they both had pink eye (surprise, surprise) and Logan had an ear infection. Although it appeared to be clearing up on its own, we opted to medicate him just because we're due on an airplane in less than two weeks.



And a short 4 hours later, we arrived home, only to realize my dog didn't greet me when I walked in. Perhaps it's because I managed to forget her outside in my haste to get to the doctor. Thank God it's above freezing and the bears are in hibernation. Poor Aspen...neglected once again. Her little heart was racing and her feet were dirty, but she was fine otherwise.



So now I've got my little list of who gets what medication at what time and we're lysoling everything they touch. Of course, that's inbetween the wrestling matches to get eyedrops in their eyes...trying to keep them happy so they don't "cry out" all of the medication. Of all the things my kids have been sick with, pink eye has to be the biggest pain.

Logan had to throw in a whopper of a bloody nose at bedtime, just to finish off a dandy day.

Well, I'm off to wash pillow cases...again.

Carter's Yoga Practice

A little sleep history from our house...the boys used to fall asleep in the same room...until they stopped falling asleep in the same room.

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Then we let Carter go to sleep first, and afterwards, put Logan to bed...until Carter took 2 hours to go to sleep.

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THEN we had Carter go to sleep upstairs and Logan downstairs; once Carter was asleep, we had Logan move upstairs (or we carried him if need be).

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But, lately they've wanted to "go to sleep" at the same time. And since I don't usually have to wake them in order for me to be to work by 7:00 anymore, we decided to give it a whirl. Sometimes all goes well...but usually not. Sometimes they just chat a little....or giggle a lot...but other times they're jumping off the bed, screaming and who knows what else before we intervene! So, last night was no different and Logan had to move downstairs for a while. I knew Carter was tired, so I didn't think it would take long. As I closed the door, I heard a stubborn "I'm not going to sleep."

At about 10:00, I crept upstairs to peek on our little jumping bean and lo and behold, he had in fact succumbed to Mr. Sandman...

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Kinda looks like he was trying to sit up to resist falling asleep and either laid down...or fell and hit his head????

The Saga Continues

Need I say more?

Bring on the Snow!

Winter has officially arrived in Kenai. We got our first snowfall yesterday, though most of it melted by evening. However, we woke up to our first blanket of the white sticky stuff this morning. And boy, are the boys excited! They were ready to play outside at 7:00 this morning (I, however, was NOT).

So, I guess the countdown to June, when we will hopefully be snow-free, is on. In fact, I think the boys and I will be taking Ryan's car in to have studs put on tomorrow and then we'll walk to the library...if we make it there. I have a feeling we could be quite distracted by our first walk in the snow.

Obviously, growing up in Minnesota, I'm no stranger to snow, but the snow up here is very different. First, I never needed four-wheel drive in Minnesota. We got snow and a front-wheel drive vehicle usually got me where I needed to go. Not true here. Hence why I got a four-wheel drive vehicle shortly after getting up here. Got tired of getting stuck.

Secondly, we don't have drifts up here. Well, rarely anyway. Back home, we always had the wind that blew this fluffy stuff around and created these huge snow drifts across the roads everywhere. We see few drifts the entire winter here (which is 8 months long, remember).

I guess it's probably the wetness that makes the difference...and the fact that it's not uncommon to wake up and find 3 feet of new snow on the driveway! Thank God for our four-wheeler and plow. Otherwise, Ryan might make me start shoveling this year since I'm "not working." :)

The snow really is pretty today; I tried taking a few pictures of it falling, but they don't seem to do it justice.

Oh yeah...the best part is...I don't have to drag my babies out of their warm beds at 6:00 a.m. this winter!

Local Mama Moose watching her baby head up the hill.
Backyard at 7:20 this morning.
View from front of the house at around 8:30 this morning.

A Perfect Fall Day.

After six weeks of nearly constant rain, it has finally stopped dripping up here. I'm hopeful that the clouds got it out of their system and we'll get very little snow this winter (much to Logan's dismay; he's already excited for the snow to come).

And, it should be noted that this post is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Erin. On her blog, she commented that Alaska had no fall. NOT TRUE! Apparently, she must have blinked and missed the whole thing! Seriously, I miss the autumn of the midwest as well, but I do NOT miss the heat of the summer.

So now that it's hitting the freezing point overnight and it finally creeps up to almost 50 degrees by afternoon, we decided to head outside. Ryan wanted to get some firewood ready and he thought it would be a good idea for the boys to "help."

Logan instructing Daddy in the order that the logs should be cut...Hey, Daddy's the one that wanted the "help."

They couldn't lift the big pieces, but also weren't about to settle for the small ones (Aaaah, the ego emerges!)

Same song, second verse...a little bit louder and a little bit worse!

I give up on trying to figure out my boys and all of their "phases." Over the past month, Logan has surprised me with his maturity (less arguing, less whining, etc.). In fact, I've bragged about it at times, relieved that it's "finally over." And so, God has chosen to humble me once again. Today I dealt with absolutely the two worst tantrums I have ever seen from either of my children...and they lasted a long time! 20 minutes for the first, about 10 for the second (both courtesy of my first-born). Complete and total meltdown, kicking, screaming, banging fists on the door. In between was a day filled with crying over just about everything. I guess we're not "in the clear" just yet.

On another note, I've been failing miserably with updating our blog. Busy, busy. Here's a quick summary:

We took a quick trip up to the State Fair the last week of August. We borrowed Grandpa's camper, which means the boys were up until 11:00 p.m., just a short 4 hours past their usual bedtime! And they still woke up at 7:00. Two days of late nights and no naps, with very little meltdown moments.

Carter actually enjoyed the fair a little more this year; last year he just liked watching, but this year he wanted in on the action a little...which means the money went faster. But, they each got a certain amount of ride tickets and they seemed satisfied once they were gone. We took in a couple of shows and got to pet some baby chicks, so it was all-in-all, a fun day.

Getting dizzy.

Ferris wheel ride.

Both the boys driving. Logan was hitting on the little girl on the motorcycle next to him the whole time: My name is Logan. I'm 4. I'll be 5 on Christmas Eve. That's the day before Christmas, yunno...

Down the big slide!

Grandma Jan also came to visit the end of August. It was a fun-filled week of just hanging around the house, soaking up a bunch of time with Grandma.

Wrestling in our jammies

And, Grandma fulfilled her grandmotherly duty of giving Carter a messy toy...moon sand. For those of you that haven't tried it, you really must. It looks just like wet sand. It floats, it molds, but doesn't dry out (like our favorite play-doh). It also makes a sweet mess. On a happy note, it vacuums up easily and doesn't get ground into the chair...or carpet...or hair...or dog...or clothes...or...

Notice Carter's tongue...he's concentrating.

We were VERY excited about the mess!

A few days later, we decided to give hiking a try...with the boys. Although Ryan brought his "bear protection", we're quite sure the boys yakking at the top of their lungs scared away any wildlife within a 5-mile radius. I won't volunteer to give out my children as protection for hikers, but I'm pretty sure anyone is safe to hike with us as long as the boys are with.

At a resting spot before turning around (keep in mind, we didn't need a rest from hiking...just a rest from all of the QUESTIONS - those of you that have had a 4-year old know what I'm talking about!).

Apparently the after-hike ice cream is no laughing matter.

Ryan also decided to take Logan fishing with Grandpa. He was perfectly content on the boat, but really wasn't all that interested in the fish. How could he be? He was too busy playing "20 questions" with Grandpa about every button, nook & cranny on the boat!

So, now that I'm not scheduled to fill in at work until Thanksgiving, I'm hoping I'll be a little better about keeping things up to date on here. Then again, I got very few things checked off of my "to do" list all summer long...

Eeeewww, yuck!

The big birthday bash took place last Saturday. We had a sunny afternoon and lots of friends joined in the fun. Carter made quick work of the gift-opening and cake-eating and then all the kiddos were in the backyard to play. For those that didn't get an invitation, we had a "gross" theme this year.

Nobody lost their lunch.

Bloody fingers.

Earwax snacks.

Boogers on a stick.

The classic dirt cake with gummy worms and bugs.

A little toilet water to wash it all down.

Blowing out those big candles to make it official...CARTER IS THREE!