Mick

Who is Mick? When we got home a small little creature was lurking in the flower bed. We went to investigate thinking it would run off when it saw two little people, but instead came running over. Mick is a small black kitten, probably about 6 months old. He has not left our house since we got home from WalMart tonight. We have to believe that this is someone's baby because it is extremely friendly & desperately wants to come inside - even with Meghan hanging out right at the front door. Even though we don't think the kitty will hang around, Corry has decided to name it anyway. She thought Mick was the perfect name. Here are a few pictures of our addition, even if its only for the night:

Mick's glowing eyes peeking through the window
Mick rolling around on the front porch

Mick scratching her/himself on the bricks.

Mick is at that long skinny age where its head is way too small for the rest of its body. I'm sure he or she will become a nice looking cat when it fills out. I put out some food for it, but it really doesn't seem to be hungry. I told Jimmy this is the perfect scenario for us - we can have a cat that stays outside & somebody else can feed & take to the vet. Wonder if it would really work that way :) The kids both think he's the neatest thing ever.

Snot, snot, & more snot

Our weekend was spent wiping noses. That was our 4th weekend in a row with sick kids. I am ready for our trip! I figure we'll proabably all be sick for the trip since none of the adults have gotten anything so far, but I guess we'll at least have the opportunity to rest & not have to worry about taking care of anyone but ourselves. I don't have a lot of pictures from the weekend, but here are a couple thanks to Deachi:

Corry watching Uncle Matt play tennis golf in the backyard during a rain shower.

Drew testing out his new Lightning McQueen umbrella

This week is going to be awful at work - we have our SAS70 audit going on & then trying to wrap up all the loose ends of quarter end. I will definitely be ready to sail away on Saturday - and although the kids have been extremely high maintenance lately, I'm sure I will still miss them terribly! I just hope they can get well so the grandparents can enjoy their special time with them.

Drewski update

Short update on Drew's doctor appt - he has a very slight ear infection, so we got some antibiotics. She said his airways sound nice & clear, so its just a cold that needs to run its course. Hopefully he'll be better by the end of the weekend. I'm ready for my healthy little boy to return!

Bad Mom of the Year

Drew is STILL sick. Now its the snots, coughing & he's still super whiney. We were sitting on the couch together & I thought he felt pretty warm so I went to find the themometer. When I came back into the living room he was helping himself to my glass of wine. Guess I need to keep that out of his reach.

Anyway - he was at 101.5. I believe a trip to the doctor is in our future for tomorrow. I don't want to go into the weekend with any unknowns. I just wish this little guy would get better. We're going on our 4th weekend of him being sick.

Wedgies

This morning Corry was getting dressed when she said "I have a wedgie!" Sure enough her little panties had crept up. Then she followed it up with "Aunt Deachi likes to wear her panties in a wedgie." Hopefully Corry won't be asking me to buy her any butt floss for a while. I'm pretty sure they don't make that for 4 year olds.

Max's birthday

Well, Drewski didn't make it to the party & he was devastated, but since there were going to be other kids there & a very pregnant Petra, we didn't think it would be a good idea to bring him along & expose everyone else. Jimmy stayed home with Drew for the first half of the party & then I came home and stayed with him so Jimmy could go to the second half of the party. He seems to be 100% back to the old Drew this evening, so I guess it must have just been a 24 hour bug. Here are some pictures from the weekend

A sick little Drew taking a bath and forcing a cheese.
Tyler Frankenfield enjoying some dinner at Max's party.

Corry & Zack having some dinner at the birthday party

Matt & the birthday boy

Max didn't want his #1 candle on his birthday cake

The Payne family with the birthday boy - not a fabulous shot of Tweedles.

Max getting ready to dig in.

Corry wanted a picture with the birthday boy.

And just a fun shot of the two kiddos from this evening.

We finally got our house all put back together today...the dining room is a dining room again instead of a place to keep all the living room furniture, the living room is a living room again, & our master bedroom is back to being just a bedroom instead of a place to house all the DVDs & stereo equipment. Even better, the cleaning ladies come tomorrow, so the house will be a nice clean house. I'm sure that will last less than 24 hours, but oh well.

A very sick little Drew

Unfortunately Max's 1st birthday is not turning out to be such a great one at the Dautrich house. Drew was up all night throwing up & had a 102 fever. He just christened the new furniture with the motrin & water he just ingested, so obviously its not over yet. Poor baby is just completely listless, and what do you do about a fever if he can't keep the medicine down? I'm going to take Corry to gymnastics in a little bit, and if he's still the same when I get back I'll call the pediatrician's office. It seems like this always happens on the weekend when the doctors office is closed.

I did talk to Deachi this morning & it sounds like everyone is well & happy at the Payne house, so that's what's most important for the big birthday boy!

Eye Doctor & a BIG BOY!

Tonight Corry told me she wanted to be an eye doctor like Uncle Gary. She said "then we'll have 2 eye doctors, one for Ponca City, & one for Texas." Last time she told us what she wanted to be when she grew up it was a football player. I like the sounds of an eye doctor for my little princess a little better.

Also, big Drewski news!!!! All this week he's been going pee pee on the potty, and a lot of times without us even asking him if he wants to. Tonight he pooped on the potty! He had Calyn cheering him on every step of the way. He was so proud of himself. I'm still not pushing the potty training, but I'm so excited that he's at least showing some interest. Yea Drew!

Also, we finally got our living room finished - I stayed up until midnight painting baseboards last night. We moved in the furniture tonight. We haven't gotten the stereo hooked back up or the entertainment center loaded with everything yet, but at least we can sit in there now. Hooray! We want to find a rug, but we'll have to wait until we hit the jackpot. Funds are running a little low after all these home improvements chez Dautrich.

Rotten Eggs, Dirty Potatoes, & more Easter Pictures

Here is a video of Drew enjoying the new swimming pool after nap & serenading me with Row Row Row your Boat.

A happy little Drew going for a swim

Corry & Calyn eating some Peeps & getting ready to hunt Easter eggs at Grandma Chebs & Grandpa Bob's house

Corry hunting eggs

Carlie resting during the egg hunt

Drew hunting eggs

A little green tree frog on the bouncy house stole the Easter eggs' thunder

Corry making a silly face at the tree frog

Calyn having some fun with her food. Corry's favorite part of the meal was the "rotten eggs." Most people refer to them as Deviled Eggs. She also really liked the twice baked potatoes. Calyn wanted her potatoes to be "clean" (no cheese, butter, etc.) So Corry said she wanted to eat Calyn's "dirty potatoes."

Max & Drew on a wagon ride to see Tuck the turtle & his family

A serious little Max

Never trust a 2 year old little boy who is playing too quietly in the living room by himself. He decided to "paint his toes."

Happy Easter!

We're having yucky weather for Easter, but its supposed to clear off after naptime, so hopefully the kids will be able to play outside at Grandma Chebs & Grandpa Bob's house this evening.

The Easter bunny brought Drew a race tower for his Cars, and a "Bob" from Monsters vs Aliens that oozes slime (a big hit with both kids). Corry got an activity center for practicing writing her letters & numbers, and a new book for her Leap Pad. As a joint present the Easter bunny left a new inflatable swimming pool for the backyard - something both kids have been asking about for a Looooong time.

Drew checking out what the Easter bunny brought.
Corry coming downstairs to hunt eggs & see what the Easter bunny brought.

The swimming pool set up in the living room - no water in it of course, but this was the best we could do for the kiddos since the weather is not cooperating. They still had fun with it.

Corry posing in the swimming pool (notice she put her bathing suit on!)

Drew using the bubble gun that Grandma Connie brought for him.

I'm sure I'll have more pictures after the family gathering tonight!

Good Friday

Corry went golfing with Daddy, Grandpa Jack, Grandma Connie, Uncle Craig, & cousin Derek this afternoon, so Drew & I have been hanging out. We watched some Dora, went to the park, played Hungry Hungry Hippos & had some Mac & Cheese. He got to choose his bowl for his dinner.

The coolest thing

The girls went into Corry's room to play with flashlights in the closet. It was time for Matt & Deachi to leave so Matt went to retrieve Calyn & this is what he found:

No screaming, no crying, no books, no lamp (for Calyn that is a BIG deal). I think we had two incredibly worn out little girls!

Update on Drewski's recent illness

Drew's been acting pretty normal this week, but just has had tummy problems off & on. Last night we went to the girls make-up gym class & then decided to go to McAlister's for a sandwich. I ended up having to catch Drew's puke in my hands. When all was said & done he lifted his hand in the air and said "gimme five!" or "high five!" I can't remember which....like nothing had even happened.

This morning he was up early again with more green apple splatters, so I took the morning off work & took him into the doctor. He had to miss going to the zoo with Mom, Aunt Sandi, Deachi, Corry, Calyn, & Max, but he didn't know they were going. He was happy to have Mommy all to himself. Along with the puking & diarehha, he's also developed a rash. Because of the rash we are going to have to have him tested for Salmonella :( Keep your fingers crossed that this is just a bug and not salmonella. The pediatrician said its probably just a coincidence that he has the rash & the bug, but they have to rule it out. On the way home fromt he doctor we drove by McAlister's & Drew said "Hey - I puked in there!" He's a smart little guy.

In Corry news, she decided to sleep with a slinky last night, so she woke up this morning with a slinky entwined in her braids. Fortunately once I took the braids out it was easy enough to remove the slinky.

Can't wait to hear how the zoo went today & hopefully Deachi took her camera & got some pictures. I just wish Drew & I could have joined them.

Taking matters into his own hands

Drew is so different from Corry. While Corry has always been way ahead of Drew in speech, language, vocabulary, etc - when it comes to doing physical tasks, Drew takes the cake. Maybe its that Corry is more patient - who knows, but Drew's new "I'll do it myself" attitude has really started to blossom since we got back from Oklahoma.

We have a DVD player in the car. Corry recently figured out how to turn it on by herself. Drew figured it out shortly after, so now its something new to fight about who gets to do it each morning. Monday morning Corry got to open the garage door, so Drew got to turn on the DVD player. I strapped Corry into her carseat & told Drew to get in his seat. They both know they won't be able to hear the sound on the DVD until I turn on the car. So I went to shut the door from the garage to the house & then was going to strap Drew into his seat. When I got around to the driver's side I realized he was in the front seat with keys in hand trying to jam them into the ignition so that he could hear Diego. I, like an idiot, pointed out to him that he wasn't supposed to put ALL the keys into the ignition at once, that he only needed the black key. So now he throws a fit if he doesn't get to put the keys in the ignition.

This morning I caught him climbing the shelves in the linen closet of our bathroom. When I asked him what he was doing he asked me "Where are the taters?" (aka ear wax). He was trying to get the Q-tips out so that he could clean his own ears. I guess we're going to have to rethink where we keep things!

Poor guy is still fighting some kind of bug - he always has to poop in private, so he usually goes up to the playroom to do it. He came down after he was finished & told me that he had "peed his poop." I wasn't really sure what he meant by that until I removed his diaper. I won't go into details, but I can assure you that "peeing his poop" was a very accurate description of what had taken place. I hope this gets out of his system soon!!

The Power of Allyson Charity Golf Tournament & Dinner

Last weekend we travelled to Ponca City to attend the golf tournament & dinner for our friend's the Perry's little girl Allyson. It was great to see lots of friends & family that we haven't seen in years.

Mike & Michelle have posted a video to youtube recapping the last 5 years of Ally's life. I'm attaching the video for those of you have asked me for updates about Allyson & how she's doing. We are so glad we were able to attend this event!

Corry's new quilt & 1 more Ponca picture

Here's another picture of Corry & Drew before the benefit dinner Saturday night
My Aunt Sandi made Corry an orange quilt which turned out awesome! Corry is in love with it & couldn't wait to get it on her bed & sleep under it tonight.

The decorative pillow with Corry's name on it - a big hit with the little princess.
Corry didn't want to be in the picture, so she was hiding under the bed. She didn't realize I wasn't finished snapping pictures, so she made it in this one

The finished product....awesome job as usual, & the yellows in the quilt match Corry's walls perfectly, so we don't even have to paint the room!

I'm glad to be home, but dreading going to work tomorrow. We're looking forward to our visit from Aunt Sandi this week - hope she's up on her vitamins, she'll be watching the kids with Mom this week!

Ponca City Pictures

I haven't taken many pictures this weekend, but here are a few highlights

Andrew & Drew enjoying some dinner together

Corry & Drew in Great Grandma's backyard wearing their matching "Beaver" shirts. I couldn't get Corry to look at me - she was too busy smashing little ball things that came off of one of Grandma's trees.

Checking out the Pioneer Woman

Out at the dam - probably the favorite thing about our trip so far for Corry & Drew. The wind was blowing 180mph & it was 46 degrees, so I wasn't so much a fan, but that made their dad a happy camper by how fascinated they are with it.