A sad little Halloween

No trick or treating for us.


We were dressed...ready to go....and then we heard those dreaded words..."Mommy, I don't feel very good."

Indeed. Danika had a fever of 103.3 - and when we asked her to open her mouth so we could look at her throat, she threw up. That was it...the end of our trick-or-treating adventure for 2009. Doug said I was way more disappointed than Danika...but that's only because I knew how much fun she was going to have this year, and she had no idea what she was missing out on. She looked so darn cute, too!

Here is our cowgirl.

Since we were all dressed, I made our little family sit down for one quick picture before we changed back into normal clothes and took her to Urgent Care.

Here we are - the whole Bierer family - 2 farmers, 1 cowgirl, and a cow. :)

We made it to Urgent Care just a few minutes before they closed...and they were still SO nice to her. Gave her stickers and a baggie of candy and everything. :)

The verdict? Strep throat. She is on antibiotics, but still feeling pretty lousy. It was a sad little night. She had to stay home the next day from church. I stayed home with her (and John, too)...and she got to hang out in Mommy's bed and watch "PBSkids-dot-org" in there. She loved that part of being sick. :)
**Side story here: Danika is VERY influenced by advertising we have found. The only TV we let her watch is some of the PBS cartoons...and they don't really have commercials, but they do advertise their own website. She used to ask for PBS...then she started asking for "PBS kids" because that is what they call it between shows....and now she asks for "PBSkids-dot-org"...she uses the whole phrase. It is very cute...and yet slightly disturbing. :)

We Stink

So, normally my house doesn't actually smell bad. We occasionally have the weird odor emanating from the trash can or your random dead mouse stuck in the door jam, but that is the exception not the rule. :) (the dead mouse story is for another entry.)

However, about a month ago, we had a period of days where every single room in our house and our minivan stunk to high heaven. I felt dirty all the time because I couldn't escape the terrible odors anywhere I went.

It really is our kids fault. And our cat. And the grocery store...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

It started when we left for Labor Day weekend to go to Ohio, and unknown to Doug or I, Danika had dropped a full sippy cup of milk down next to her car seat on the floor of the van. We took the truck to Ohio, so all weekend, for 4 days, it seeped sour milk onto the rug, and the sun baked the whole concoction as the van sat in the driveway in Erie. When we got home there was actual mold growing on the rug and the whole van smelled like a science experiment. So we took the rug out of the van and hosed it off and left it on the porch to dry. Then the cat barfed a half-eaten rodent on the rug. That did NOT improve the smell. Then it rained for days and the rug couldn't dry out, so it started to REALLY stink.

Then the smells IN the house began - John had a fierce spit-up episode that drenched our living room rug. The living room's new scent decor - Ode de Milk-barf. Then Danika threw a fit so badly that she made herself throw up - on her bed and bedroom carpet - an entire cup of half-digested chocolate milk...more sour milk smells. Yay. Then the cat barfed on Doug & I's bedroom carpet - and the kitchen carpet - and the rug outside AGAIN. Half-digested rodent smells. Aaaahhhh...what a lovely bouquet. And to top it off, while I was driving around in the van without the rug in (because it was still outside stinking & drying out), I bought some frozen seafood mix and it started to thaw and leaked on the actual carpeting in the back of the van - and I didn't find it until it started stinking the next day...LIKE ROTTING FISH.

It was an ugly 2 weeks at the Bierer home. A LOT of sour milk, barf, and bad, bad smells emanating from every room in our house EXCEPT the bathroom (ironic, don't you think?).

We were finally rescued by our good friends the Zajac-Woodie's and thier trusty "Little Green Machine." Diane let me borrow her tried and true appliance, and you will be happy to know that our house is now pretty much odor-free...until the next episode, I am sure. But I am very grateful that all the old smells have been eliminated, and hopefully next time it won't manage to happen to every room and vehicle at the same time!

Mother's Day in Erie

Mother's Day - May 10, 2009
What a GREAT Mother's day - let me recap for you....

1. I got to wear a new dress! Love it! A gracious friend helped alter it so it would work for the giant pregnant woman, and it was perfect. Should work for all our weddings this summer. :) Always fun when you feel good!
   
2. We enjoyed an awesome morning at church. LOVED our class.
3. Danika was wearing big girl pants and went in the potty TWICE at church and didn't go in her pants at all! Yay!
   
4. We got to see fun friends and enjoy breakfast at church - it was great.
5. We got home with plenty of time to get lunch ready for our guests without stressing out.
6. I made one of my FAVORITE meals, and it all turned out fine and I didn't burn a single thing! (You may think this is minor, but I honestly can't remember a single dinner party I have ever had that I didn't screw up at least ONE menu item...this was truly a first!)
7. The food was ready when Doug's parents arrived and we were ALL able to enjoy lunch (even me!) - that is also a first.
8. Danika was well behaved, even though she never got a nap....BONUS.
9. Doug's Mom was feeling pretty good and we got to spend a GREAT afternoon laughing and hanging out.
10. Aunt Barbie was here to visit....another wonderful bonus! :)
11. Did I mention I love my in-law family? It was a great day with them.
    
12. It was sunny enough to go outside and play corn-hole for a while. The boards Doug built work great...and the bags my Mom made were perfect. :) Such wonderful "mid-west" fun. :)
13. When everyone went home, we got to enjoy the rest of the evening just chilling as our own little family unit.
    
14. ****DANIKA (my very NOT cuddly child) climbed up with me on the couch completely of her own accord, snuggled into my arms, wrapped her little hands around my hands and let me hold her for a full 45 minutes...and then fell asleep just like that. So completely out of character...and SO wonderful. It was the BEST part of the whole day. Happy Mother's Day to me!***
15. After putting Danika to bed, Doug and I got to sit by a fire in our backyard at our new firepit (Thanks Dana & Susan! Great gift!) and just talk and laugh...just the two of us...until we decided it was time for bed. Perfect ending to a perfect day. Bliss.
    

I love this little girl!





Susan (Doug's mom) and her sister Barbie who is visiting from Florida.

Susan showing Barbie up playing corn-hole.

Grandma showing everybody up. :)
Susan & Grandma chilling (literally) together...it got cold when the sun went behind the clouds! :)Doug and Barbie in some serious competition.
Great day. :)

Ice and Chili

Daddy went Coyote hunting for the weekend, so Danika and I grabbed my friend Elizabeth and drove down to Franklin, PA for the annual Ice Carving Festival and Chili competition. It was SUCH a fun day!

Here's Danika and I with one of the ice sculptures.

Christmas in Erie

What a great Christmas this year. It is just so fun to share it through the eyes of a new little one. :) Danika was more into the paper and boxes than she was most of the gifts at first. But once things came out of the boxes, she got right into it.

After returning from our Christmas celebrations in Ohio, we have had a different Christmas party almost every night here in Erie.

We got back on the 26th, and on the 27th we celebrated Christmas with Doug's Dad's side of the family. All the Bierer Christmas parties always involve....oh.....well let's call them "interesting" and "unique" Christmas gifts that have been personalized for each one of us. :) Grandpa never ceases to entertain. You can see Kristen and Dave showing off thier custom-made lawn ornaments. What fun! :)

Then the 28th was the "Andrews" side Christmas celebration at Grandma Berniece's. It was lots of fun to see all the little ones toddling everywhere. Last Christmas this side was unable to get together because out of the 6 cousins on this side, four were either pregnant or had JUST given birth. That means this year for Christmas, there were FOUR ONE YEAR OLDS running around. :) It was great! And Julie was having a blast, too. It was a little insane, but the best kind of insanity.

Last but not least, we had our own Christmas with Doug's parents and Kristen's family on New Year's day. It was just a great time to be together with family.

I confess, I'm probably the worst Aunt in the world....I find myself irresistably drawn to gifts that I would have loved as a child...and my mother would have hated. I always try to ask Kristen's permission before I give them...but even with permission, some gifts turn out to be a little more than any of us expect. That would be the case with the "make-up" gift I got for Julie this year. It was a special bag of make-up for little girls...and I think we were all under the false assumption that it would be more user friendly for children...you know....easy to wash off, light colored, etc. Well....not so much. My 4-year-old niece Julie LOVED her gift....and her mother LOVED scrubbing her face to get it off. I'm sorry Kristen...I really do love you!

Dana and Susan were in all thier glory with a whole pack of little red-headed grandaughters surrounding them. It was great just to be together.

Doug and his sister Kristen.

My shorty and her mama.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope it was a great season for everyone!

SHE TURNS ONE!

December 29, 2007

Danika Kay Bierer's First Birthday

There are no words to describe how much I love this little girl. I can NOT believe she is already a year old! It seems impossible. I know people say this all the time...but it is so true. I feel like she was just born...there is no way that could have been a year ago! But it was. And she is crawling like a speed demon and thisclose to walking. My Endicott cousin's went together and got her a beautiful dress to wear for her party...but alas, my munchkin is only 17lbs and still wearing 6 mos clothing....most 9 mos clothing just falls off her. So, the 12mos dress was way too big. But...we were able to exchange it for a really cute "Birthday Girl" t-shirt that fit perfect, and a "Birthday Princess" tiara that made the whole outfit. :) Of course, this is MY daughter we are talking about here....so both the shirt and the hat sparkled like mad. As did her shoes. There can never be enough glitter in the world. :)

Doug and I have been debating what to get her for her birthday...we knew she would be getting lots of toys from other people and tried to think of something she would like, but would be a little special. Back in October when we went to visit Kristen and Dave, Danika fell in love with Julie's lady-bug folding chair. It is a munchkin sized folding chair, and Danika just climbed in and out of it the whole time we were there. So....Doug and I talked about it and thought that a Danika-sized chair would be the perfect gift...but we wanted to find one that was well paded and very hard to tip over because our little wild-child is a climber and absolutely fearless. So, the search began.

I found the perfect chair at Target on sale right after Christmas. It was this adorable pink fuzzy upholstered chair just her size...a little wider than it was tall, so it looked hard to tip over. I bought it, and we kept it in the van until her party.

Danika's party was at Grandma Andrew's house since our little house is so tiny. That was such a blessing because Grandma's house has lots of room for people, food, and tiny little munchkins to run around and play. It was perfect. When it was time to open gifts, we brought the chair out first covered with a blanket. When Doug sat it down and pulled the blanket off, Danika's eyes got HUGE and she sqealed and immediately dove into it. We captured the look on her face as soon as she turned around. That pretty much says it all! It felt so good to get her something she liked that much!!!

I have to thank all our family for the gifts they got her...each and every toy was a PERFECT choice for her...I can't think of a single toy that she received that isn't a "favorite". The whole party and every single gift was just one of those moments in life where you know God is smiling as He watches...everything was just about as perfect as a person could ask for. All the kids played great together, the adults got to enjoy wonderful time together, and at least for this Mom, a wonderful memory was made.

Thanks for celebrating as our little girl turns one!!!!

Christmas 2007 - Ohio Trip

Well, Christmas was wonderful. We got to spend five days at hom in Ohio with my Mom and Dad(which was WONDERFUL), and then came back to Erie to celebrate the holidays with Doug's side of the family (which was also WONDERFUL!). It was just an incredible holiday season filled with great food and fantastic family.

It did seem at times that the celebrations would never end! But what a wonderful thing to be able to say. This was really the first time in years that we have been able to be home in Ohio for Christmas. We got to see my Endicott cousins first...that was just great! I love them all so much and wish I could see them more often. The party was held at my Unlce Aaron's house. I can't say enough about how much I love my family and how much I miss them. Getting to visit for such a short period of time always makes me wish it was longer. But I am thrilled that we all were able to get together.

Here are a few pictures...as you can see, there was a visit from Santa. Danika wasn't very impressed. :)

There is also a very, very large annoying child who wouldn't stop harrassing Santa. :)

This is Uncle Aaron, his wife Patti, and Danika.

All the grandkids together.

Who knew it was so difficult to get two children to look at the camera at the same time???

We got to celebrate Christmas Day at Mom and Dad's house with Joanie, Cory and Brock. Aunt Jane was there as well. It was just a wonderful, relaxed day with great food and tons of laughter.

Danika couldn't decide if it was more fun to open the packages or sit on them.

Danika got a barn from Nana and Paw-Paw. (SHE LOVES IT!)

Joanie, Cory and Brock in thier "Christmas" pajamas. :) Doesn't my pregnant sister just look adorable?

Merry Christmas! Now back to Erie to celebrate with Doug's side!