An Update

I really did not know how many folks followed this lil ole blog until I stopped posting. Suddenly my phone has started ringing again, and my email box fills up. Imagine that, by not having a blog people actually have to reach out to me!

So, here is the scoop. I was way behind in blog posts to begin with - heck, I don't even think I ever did Halloween? For Thanksgiving we went to Destin, FL with my family (my younger brother lives there), and while there my stepdad spilled diet coke on my computer. I have been without my laptop for quite a long time, hence my lack of posts. I don't think you all realize the monstrosity of a house I live in, but for me to go all the way to the basement to use that computer...well, that is just plain ridiculous!

The Geek Squad promises to have my computer back before Christmas, and then get ready for some serious updates.

In the meantime, just know we have been VERY busy! We are holiday crafting fools and make huge messes daily with glue, glitter, dough, and paper.

- I am VERY behind on both shopping and cards. The only shopping that I have almost finished is that for the kids. I know what I am buying everyone else, but not sure if by the time I actually make those purchases and mail them if they will arrive on time?

- We had a second house showing last week and are expecting a contingent offer.

- I almost want to call Drew potty trained. He began wearing big boy undies last Wednesday, and has only had one accident since. It was a big one, involving me finding him with two turds in his hand (right after a bath), but he is doing GREAT!

- Drew is still beyond gross. He loves to smell butts and feet. Today I saw him "rolling" something between his fingers. I asked what it was and he told me a booger. I stood up to get a tissue and he popped it in his mouth! I told him that was gross and he told me that he always eats his boogers. Great.

- After a rough 48 hours with Izzy after returning home from FL she is back to being her great self. She really is a great kid and an awesome big sister. The kids have been playing SO well together recently. I swear they are twins born 18 months apart.

Okay, that is all for now...

Sibling Sing-A-Long

I am kind of bummed that we will be missing the kids Thanksgiving Feast program at school due to travel plans that day. It would have been fun to see both kids dressed in the costumes they created at school and singing together on stage.

Tonight they gave us a sneak peek at one of the songs we will be missing.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tuesday

Tuesday has become my favorite weekday...and probably the kids as well.

Izzy loves Tuesdays because it is her longest school day. She has school, followed by lunch bunch, followed by 88's (her music class). I really think she would go to school all day if I let her.

Drew loves Tuesdays he does NOT have school, and gets to hang with just me from 9-2. We play, clean, play, run errands, and play some more.

By the time the kids are reunited they just want to play together. ...and usually get along quite well. So, we all hang out and do whatever for 2 hours and then...

We go to the gym! I work out and the kids go to the childcare room. In my world this is huge. Those that know my kids know that they don't separate from me well. I use to try and try and try some more to get them to stay in the childcare center, but after 10 minutes of crying I was called to retrieve them. I believe the reason they do okay now is for a couple reasons: one, they have one another; and two, we go to McDonalds after.

Tuesday night at McDonalds is $1.99 Happy Meal Night. I feed both kids for $4.50. Not bad, not bad.

So here was our Tuesday today. After we got Izzy from school the kids decided to watch a movie we got at Redbox. Taking pictures after they have been apart for 6 hours is easy because Drew won't get away from Izzy and she doesn't seem to mind him crawling all over her.







He also has a fascination with scents and smelling...it is a bit disturbing to say the least. His favorite things to smell are feet and bottoms. Like I said, disturbing. (notice that Izzy is grinning as he does this - also weird.)



So after the movie we joined mainstream society ...we made spritz cookies. I recently purchased a cookie press from a Pampered Chef party. I've never owned one, but always wanted one :) Izzy helped me mix. Her job was to scrape down the sides of the bowl (note to self - next time use the Kitchen Aid mixer).



I like the two fisted scrape being used here.



They were really fun to make. I only came away with a few decent looking cookies though cause the kids insisted on using all 9 covers. It takes 3-4 cookies to get into a grove, so as soon as I made 3-4 more it was time to switch. Oh well...we've got big plans for colored dough and sprinkles to be used next time.

Here are the fruits of our labor...tray 1, 2 and 3






The cookies tasted decent. I bet there are better recipes out there though, so if you have one then send it my way!

tidbits

Drew: while watching the previews for a new movie he says, "this is like a zilly-ion (zillion) commercials!" He then concentrates really hard, looks at his fingers and begins counting, "One, two, three, four, five." Thankfully he then stopped and didn't try counting to a zilly-ion.

Izzy having a brain fart when trying to recall the word "marker"...she referred to it as a "crayon with juice in it".

While swimming in the pool at the Atlanta hotel, the kids made some friends...Drew comes up to me and says, "Wook Mom, me an Izzy are pay-in wiff does kids over dere ...da ones dat wook wike choco-wit." Great Drew ;)

Drew out of nowhere says to me, "Mom, I just ate my booger, just so you know." ...thanks Drew.

Disneyworld Round II

We just let the kids in on a little secret...we are going back to Disneyworld! Yup, the Swyts are going back to the happiest place on earth!

This trip was so not planned...but a welcome surprise (isn't that what some people say when announcing a pregnancy). Friends of ours from Cleveland happen to be going and we have decided to tag along. My girlfriends husband has a conference there so it was a no brainer for her and the boys (ages almost 4 and 1 at the time of the trip) to tag along. They were able to score a sweet deal on a hotel for a couple extra nights which then made it a no brainer for us to tag along as well. That coupled with the fact that my parents now live outside Orlando - just seems like it was meant to be, right?

We told the kids yesterday (I was on the phone making plans and they overheard - otherwise we would have waited to tell them) and they are super excited. I think Christmas could pass them by and they might be okay because Disney would be soon follow.

So, I've got lots to plan! I need to give kuddos to myself for our one day trip to Magic Kingdom this past April. We went over Easter and the place was INSANE! But...due to my route planning and extensive online research we rocked it!

Off to start planning...

Drew and the Dentist

Drew had his first dentist appointment today. Well, kind of? If you remember about 10 weeks ago Drew fell at the pool and split his lip. The fall required stitches and brought tooth trauma. So, really his first appointment was after his tooth began to discolor and x-rays needed to be taken. He was a champ for that visit therefore leading me to believe that I could not get that lucky again. This is one time that I am happy to report that I was wrong!

As soon as we got to the office Drew asked why we were there (I barely prepped him). I told him we needed to show the dentist how great his tooth was doing and get some new pictures taken. I didn't even mention the teeth cleaning part. Drew's first question was, "Can I get a Patrick?" At our last appointment he chose a SpongeBob from the treasure drawer - now he needed a Patrick.

Since he barely ate breakfast before we had to get Izzy to school he snacked on apple slices in the waiting room.


Once we got called back we went through a series of questions. I am happy to report that the hygienist said that I am doing everything right :) ...she was most impressed by the fact we really only drink milk and water ...and an occasional juice box.

We were planning on doing the lap to lap method with Drew (he would sit in my lap, facing me and lean his head/body back into the hygienist's lap) but he wanted to sit up in the chair and recline. Here he is getting prepped with his shades.


Open wide.


Getting ready to floss with a quick demo on his fingers.


After a job well done he claimed his new toothbrush and Patrick.

After claiming Patrick, Drew immediately poked me in the boob and said, "Look Mom, Patrick has the same cymbals like you!" (not sure why he calls them cymbals - pretty sure he got that from Izzy - and not sure why she calls them that either?"



Drew's tooth has whitened back up which is an excellent sign. However, the x-rays did show some grey areas around the root which could still cause a potential problem. I'm not all that worried though. Chances are he will fall down a few more times...

Pete Molly Izzy-n-Drew

So this message was in my inbox this morning when I woke up...
"not that i need to tell you, but you're blogged. :)"

I've been ever so patiently waiting for this message for almost 48 hours!!! Without further a do (that might be one word, huh?)

http://alishaschwanke.blogspot.com/2009/11/pete-molly-izzy-drew.html

*Something is wrong with my blog - no background? It won't let me link correctly? You will probably have to copy/paste to see the pictures, but I promise you won't be disappointed!

Tidbits

Drew told me tonight when I was trying to get him to go to sleep: "Mommy, I can't go to sleep unless you or Izzy are sitting in my room wiff me." I love how Izzy and I are interchangeable (is that a word) with one another.

Drew is no longer capable of sitting on a couch the "right" way. He insists on sitting like Mork, from Mork & Mindy.

Please don't take offense to this next story - I think it is funny, and it was said with pure child innocence:
Drew was watching something on tv yesterday and a black man said the word "really". Immediately Drew said to me, "Mommy that guy can't say "really" the right way...he says it "willy". Funny, right?

Drew said, "Tada! New is great!" when fixing something. I asked if he meant to say, "Good as new" and he laughed :)

Izzy got herself dressed one morning and I noticed that her shirt was on backwards (it did not have a tag, but rather just the company name written). I suggested she should turn it around. She looked into her shirt and I asked, "Are there some words in there?" She said "Yes, and it says 'This is on backwards!'" ...how funny is she :)

Feeling Funky

I took the kids to the Science Center today after school. I did not take my camera. I didn't forget it, but rather just didn't take it. I have been in a funk for a few days and I thought it would do me some good to just get out with the kids and have fun.

Guess what...

It was fun, but I am still in a funk and I have no pictures! The animals were in rare form today. The monkeys were swinging from tree to tree and rope to roof - it was awesome! The lemurs were full of spunk as well. The tigers roamed the entire time we watched, and one even went for a swim. The anteater was visible for the first time ever, and we saw a maned wolf! The kids got to pet/brush the goats and sheep, and watch them poop (which was probably Drew's highlight!). We got to pet two rabbits, a rat, and a snake. The coolest part was watching to huge tortoises mate. At first it looked like they were going to play "leap frog" but then the one on top started making "burping" noises according to Drew (or growling noises according to Izzy). A worker told me they were mating. See all the good picture opps I missed :(

Not sure why I am in a funk. I don't want pity, or need anything. I figure there is a lot going on and I just really need a good cry. Lots of stress and I guess stuff just needs to get worse before it gets better, huh? I keep telling myself that my bad days are still better than what millions of others are going through. I have an incredible husband and two awesome kids! ...not to mention lots of great friends and family ;)

And wine would probably help, but I gave it up for the week. I don't need chocolate as I bought the kids Halloween candy off of them for $5.

Hmmm, somehow I feel a tad bit better just throwing my funk out there.

I'll be back - lots of questions to answer regarding the kids and the "sticks"!

Popsicle Stick Post - Our "Allowance" System

We've started a new incentive program over here at our house. Let me give you the low down.

This came about for a couple reasons, but mostly because my kids have come down with a case of the "greedy gimmes!" They have begun to shout, "I want that!" with every commercial that comes on the tv. Sometimes they even fight over who gets what. Or they will both insist on the same toy and we need to get two of them (the Handy Manny bench falls into that category). Thankfully these requests are short lived and they don't beg, whine and cry until gifts are given.

That being said...one of Izzy's most favorite activities is spending her own money at the Dollar Tree. Pete and I have discussed allowances before, only to not really come to a solution regarding when to start or how much? The money Izzy currently has in her piggy bank is from random coins collected and dollars sent by grandparents.

It is important to me to teach the kids savvy money techniques from an early age. I have invested in banks that have 4 compartments: save, spend, invest, and donate. We have yet to start using them because I haven't quite figured out the best way to explain the various concepts? I might just start with the save/donate sections? Not sure yet?

Okay, so onto the popsicle stick post stuff. This is really hard to explain - is anyone following me?

I am masterfully manipulating my little munchkins with popsicle sticks. A stick is given for many things - positive reinforcement and lots of it! However, sticks can also be taken away :( At the end of the week money is given for each stick in your jar. I think we will award $.10/stick. So far sticks have been given for many things. Izzy gets sticks for getting dressed as soon as she gets up, brushing teeth, making her bed, reading to Drew for 10 minutes, writing her letters, helping me clean, sweeping leaves, doing her homework, staying seated when eating, doing what is asked the first time she is asked...and I think I have come up with some really random things because she is so excited to earn sticks right now! Drew gets sticks for: good days at school, being brave in the childcare room at the gym, shots at the doctor, brushing teeth, sweeping leaves, helping me with laundry. Drew isn't quite as motivated as Izzy, but he still loves to earn a stick.

At the beginning of the day we each get a stick for doing "our job". Izzy is given a stick (Drew too) for going to school, Pete one for work, and me for taking care of the family. I needed an "easy" way to give sticks so that I could take them away if need be.

I have had yet to take a stick away, but the kids know it is a possibility. An example would be if I asked Izzy to clean up her toys and she doesn't...I would ask again and if she still doesn't want to then I simply say, "Okay, I will gladly clean up your mess, but I charge a stick for that." Right now Izzy would not even think of doing anything to lose a stick :) In fact I am having a tough time coming up with "chores" for her to do.

So, come Saturday we will count out the sticks and then pay the kids. Most of that money will be for them to spend, but a percentage will go into the donate jar. Also, any sticks that I have to take away from them will also go into the donate jar. I realize that the first couple weeks the money will probably get spent right away, but hopefully I can teach the kids that if they save the money earned for a couple weeks it can be used for a bigger/better purchase. It is all gonna be trial and error for all of us...but I think it is a good start. So far it is working for our family.

The momentum is strong right now so I am going to go stick happy and just keep handing them out as long as they are willing to be my little slaves. I sure do like all the helpful, pleasing mom behavior I am getting!

Halloween Parade

The kids had their Halloween parties at school yesterday. It began with a parade of all the kids dressed in costume. It doesn't get much cuter then kids aged 2-5 marching and dancing around the gym in costumes.

I think Drew is having school anxiety issues. My first clue should have been seeing him with my picture on tv. I asked the teacher about it and she said he just recently started carrying it around again. Hmmmm. Yesterday Drew woke up at 4:30 (pretty much for the day) and asked if it was a school day. Interesting. I've been doing some thinking and my mom doctor diagnosis is: Drew's favorite teacher, and the one he is most familiar with since she was also Izzy's teacher, is gone. She hurt her back and after a couple weeks and a couple sub teachers it has now been determined that she won't be returning. My Drew doesn't like change so I think this is the problem. Hopefully now that a new teacher is in place Drew will settle back down.

Okay, back to the parade...

Here they come...






These next two pictures are two of my most favorite ever.

I think Izzy looks so pretty - and so much like herself (I know that doesn't really make sense). She is almost always smiling and just has the sweetest, softest, purest heart. Gosh I love that girl!


And words can not describe how perfect this shot is...


Here is Izzy's class...




And Drew's...

How cute are all these kids...all 7 of 'em :)

Drew was busting a move to the music while we were trying to get some class shots. I told him to stand still so he just kind of pumped his arms up and down with a very serious look on his face.


Then he ended his performance with this move.


Let the Halloween weekend fun begin!

Drew's TV Debut

Fox News filmed in Drew's classroom last week. One of the parent's of Drew's classmate (is that sentence even close to grammatically correct) works for the station (Shannon who is at the beginning of the segment) and wanted to film the kids doing preschool crafts.

The teacher said that the kids were super excited to be on tv, but as soon as the cameras came on they all froze! Drew is the cute kid in the "Rugby" shirt...he also has a picture of me next to him!!! Drew took this picture to school on the second day of class - to help with our separation. At the end of each day it gets hung on the class fridge and apparently he takes it off at the beginning of each new day. I had NO idea he still used the picture for security.

When I played it, the sound did not work? Let me know if you are able to hear it?

 

The teacher said Drew said something super cute about the spiders, but they cut it out. You can hear the teacher say, "these are just pretend spiders" ...well apparently just before that Drew said, "are dem dere real spiders?"

The Kids

The kiddos did not have school today so we went to the zoo. I can't even recall the last time we were there? We had lots of fun with our pals RC and Stephanie, but I have no pictures to show for it.

Here are a couple pics to hold you over...

Trunk-or-Treating

What a fun filled Saturday we had! Izzy had her last soccer game (more on that in another post) and then we went trunk or treating. This is a great fund raiser done by one of our nearby churches. The kids collect candy (a ton!), pick pumpkins, go on a hayride, play games and have a great time!

Cinderella and Buzz

They just kept saying, "Hi Cinderella." "Hi Buzz."

Aren't they cute


Going car to car


And collecting candy

After the third car, Izzy turned to me with a huge grin on her face and said, "This is SO.MUCH.FUN!!!"

Inside there were about a dozen kid friendly games - and more candy


I love the look on Drew's face as he checks out this kids costume


Picking out the perfect pumpkin


Posing for pictures


Once at home we checked out all our loot...candy


and prizes


I'd say we made out pretty well for our trial run of candy collecting!

Leader Day

I've mentioned before how the kids have "Leader Day" at school. On the assigned day the leader provides snack/drink and then makes all the important decisions for the class that day. The Leader selects the blessing, the book, songs, etc.

This past Friday both my kids happened to be the leader on the same day. On Thursday night Drew says to me (prompted by Izzy, I think), "Momma, can me and Izzy wearing matching things for school tomorrow?" Sure Drew...you and Izzy figure out what you want to wear :)

Here is what they selected, and unfortunately this was the only picture I snapped.


Izzy was so excited to be leader that she woke up at 5 for the day! Drew had not been to school in a week so the lure of him being leader is what got him back! ...and I really needed him to go since I was taking off for Cleveland right after I dropped them off.

For the record Izzy took water, mini snack pack oreo cookies, and string cheese. Drew took water, mini snack pack oreo cookies, bat/pumpkin shaped pretzels and carrots and ranch. That boy sure loves him some carrots and ranch and therefore assumes everyone else must too!

Since I didn't pick up that day I never got the full leader day scoop. However, since Drew only has 7 in his class and because I switched his day to last Friday since he was sick, ...he is up to be leader again on Friday!!!!!

Mean Boy

remember last week when Drew was my Silly Boy? Well, now he is just mean. ...not mean in a bad way, but mean in a funny way. He is just like his daddy and loves to make people laugh. He seems to have a knack - a gift.

I went away for the weekend and the kids stayed home with Pete. This was the second weekend that I have been away alone since having kids. Pete did fantastic!!! ...and I had a really great time too.

While I was gone, this exchange went on between Pete and Drew.

Drew (smiling): "Daddy, I don't love you anymore."
Pete: "Drew, that isn't a very nice thing to say - it makes me sad."
Drew (turning to Izzy and smiling): "Izzy, now you tell Daddy you don't love him anymore too!"

Who says stuff like this?


He sure keeps everyone laughing! In fact, when Drew's teachers see me coming down the hall to pick up Drew, they immediately begin to smile and shake their heads - not a single day has passed without a couple funny stories regarding Drew and his antics.

Magic Cloud

I usually let Izzy sleep with me on the nights Pete is out of town. So last night Izzy was in my room, and at 5:15 am I heard, "Momma, Momma". I rolled over and said "what" to Izzy, but when I opened my eyes she was still sleeping. Standing next to the side of my bed was Drew. He had climbed out of his crib (the railing is down) and walked into our room for the first time!

This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Drew, what are you doing in here?"
Drew: "Momma, can you hold me?"
Me: "Drew how did you get in here?"
Drew: "I came in on my magic cloud."

What I wanted to say was "tell your magic cloud to take you back to bed!" I have no idea if he is coming off of some weird "high" from his meds or if he just woke up and decided to tell me some story about a magic cloud? Regardless, he got into bed with me and Izzy and I never got back to sleep :(

********************************************************************

I dropped Izzy off to see "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" today with some friends (she had already seen it with Pete and Drew) and I asked Drew if he wanted to go to. He told me "no, cause it takes to long to get to the end." Don't you just love how children phrase things.

Baking Cookies

What started out with intentions of being cookies decorated like pumpkins, turned more into "fall" like cookies.

I whipped up some quick circle sugar cookies (decided not to mess with cookie cutters until Drew didn't require so much "holding" in his sick state) while Izzy was at a friends on Monday and then we decorated them with orange frosting. I wanted to do pumpkin faces, but the kids wanted to just shake sprinkles. Either way, they are delish!

Ready to create



Frosting, Sprinkling, Tasting!









Good times, Good times!

Wound for Sound

Perhaps the only "good" thing to come out of Drew's illness is the comic relief he brings us after his nebulizer treatments. He is SO wired after these treatments that he can't stop moving. Literally, CAN'T.STOP.MOVING.

His favorite thing to do is play the Lazytown songs featured on the Nick Jr. radio on my computer.

Take a look (and this is only an average video of his dance moves).

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Road to Recovery?

Catching up on some much needed sleep. Lord knows we aren't sleeping at night around here! I was up at 4:00 am for the day today!



Look at how he fell asleep



Thankfully he is getting better at doing the breathing treatments.



They continue to wire him - it is 10:00 and he is still awake. He is also punch drunk and talking smack. He is making comments about being naked? ...and cracking himself up. He is literally in hysterics.

Sick Boy

We were supposed to be in Charleston, SC this weekend to house hunt, hang out with Pete, get our yearly family portraits done, go to the beach, etc. Instead, this little ball of love is the reason we had to cancel our trip.



This picture was taken on Thursday morning. He had just fallen asleep at 7:30 am after being up since 3 am! He was funny while he was awake - at 4:30 he asked to go to McDonald's. I told him it was closed and he then suggested we go to Target. At 6:15 I let him go downstairs alone. While I was dozing I heard the end table being moved, followed by, "Oh! Oh! There is the switch for dat white!" So down I came to give him a poptart and turn on the tv before I headed back upstairs to try and catch a few more zzz's. It was 7:25
when he came upstairs and announced it was morning time and we could now get up - then went silent. I saw this when I looked over the bed to see what he was doing.



Unfortunately he was only able to sleep an hour before I had to wake him up and take Izzy to school. And then that night he didn't go to bed until 10:45!!! ...and that lovely array of fleece color would be my most favorite robe ever...and Pete HATES it! I think he actually thought I threw it away when he bought me a new one last Christmas.

Poor Drew is pretty darn miserable these days. He has been to urgent care, as well as his doctor. We have had 4 different medications, and a nebulizer. He gets treatments every 4 hours, and I am to wake him during the night. Yesterday he was so bad that he would say two words (in a whisper) and then inhale hard. He was clearly having difficulty breathing. After he was evaluated the nurse said not only does she think croup, but also asthma? Go figure?

This is where we are at now: the boy is totally wired from all the meds. He is sleeping very little and is increasingly irritable (my guess is lack of sleep). The upside however, is that he is very into his mommy. He has always been a momma's boy but being sick I am all he wants. I have gotten so many sickly "I love yous" that I am secretly eating up all his needed snuggles!

Hopefully he gets well soon cause I am off for a little solo trip next weekend! ...I hate to think of leaving Pete with a sick boy, but hate more leaving my sick boy without his mommy :(