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. :)

Yes, I am that dumb.

This is actually a story from last fall, but it is still funny. And since I just found the offending piece of equipment again, I was reminded of this and laughed at my stupidity anew. So, I thought I would share with you.

We live in a slightly older house with an older front door that has large full-length glass panels in it. The front door opens up to a little sun-room/front porch that then opens to the outside. The sun-room/front porch often becomes a "dumping" area of sorts for things that are either in transit from the house out to the vehicles, or from the vehicles back into the house. We have a habit of putting things there and forgetting to finish the trip and make sure they get to their final destination.

I went to a conference for work (I work in Highway Safety) and received this little gadget as a gift. It is a combination flashlight, seat belt cutter, and glass breaker, for use if you are trapped in a vehicle after a crash.



I took it out on the porch because I wanted to remember to put it in my mini-van. But, as often happens, I kind-of forgot about it, and it ended up sitting on the table on the porch next to our front door for a couple weeks.

One day Doug comes in from outside through the front door and he is holding my little gadget. He looks at me with that look I am used to getting right before he informs me of some ridiculous thing that I have done.

"Andrea - what is this?"

I explain the gadget's many useful functions and then ask, "Why?"

He starts to snicker.
"Well...since you've been leaving it on the front porch, under our porch light, right next to our full-length glass panel door, I assumed it was a "Do-It-Yourself Break-In Kit." It's nice that the thieves don't have to bring anything with them....no need to figure out how to break the glass or bring a flashlight to look around once they are in - you've got them completely covered."

I think it was a good 5 minutes before I recovered from my hysterical laughter enough to run over and smack him where he was collapsed in fits of laughter on the floor.

Oh - and we moved my gadget. If you are planning to break in, bring your own tools.

Big Girl Bed!

All the credit goes to Doug. Somehow, he just knew she was ready. I wasn't there yet - I didn't think that it was a good idea yet. I have a new baby that refuses to sleep - I wasn't ready for a mobile 2-yr old that can let herself out of bed. Besides....she is so tiny she still fit in the crib just fine! :) But Doug told me he thought she was ready for a big girl bed. He was right.

So - the 2nd week of September, Danika got a "big girl" bed - and Nana was here a week later and put the icing on the cake when she bought Danika a Tinkerbell bed set for her new toddler bed. Danika LOVES it.

The really funny part is that once we put her in it, she won't get out...at all.... no matter what. She just calls for us over the monitor as if she is stuck in the crib still. Doug has tried to reason with her that she can get out and come downstairs on her own in the moring - but she is having none of it. It has been two months...she won't even get out if she drops a blanket or stuffed animal...she just cries for us. It cracks me up. But, it is also kind of nice - if you put her to bed, she stays!

These pictures are from the first night with the new sheets and comforter - we even got her the matching pajamas. She was so cute...she couldn't wait to sleep in it.







Is that pure joy or what?

Print your blog...

Just a random note for those of you who write blogs...found this great website that lets you download your blog to a PDF. When I did it a few months ago (May 09) it wsa just $2.50 for that PDF...now it is $7.95. But, they added more formatting options, which is cool. And, if you are like me and this is kind of the "family journal" for your household, it is a GREAT way to keep this blog for the future.

Blog2Print

Just thought I would share. :)

Labor Day weekend and the Fulton County Fair

Back in September, while I was still on maternity leave, we took the weekend of Labor Day to make a trip home to see my parents and sister and enjoy some family time while we could. John got to take his first trip to Ohio, and we all went to the Fulton County Fair together. :) What fun! I used to go to this fair when I was a kid, and we just had a great time walking around and looking at animals with the kids. Danika was in heaven...John just rode around and slept in the baby snugli the whole time. To top off this exciting night, Papa treated for the kids to get pony rides and then some seriously delicious milkshakes. It was GREAT. :)



It may be hard to tell, but that is John in the snugli - he was momentarily removed from riding around with me so that I could help Danika on her pony ride. Nana never complains when she gets to hold him. :)



Me and my dad. :)
Danika's pony ride - she screamed "Giddy-up" most of the time she was on that poor thing! :)

Good ole fashioned Ohio fun. Gotta love it.

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!

Babies are like a drug...

There is just something about a baby - they are so cuddly and snuggly and warm....and just plain fun to hold. Especially a happy one like John. :) They just sleep....and sleep....and sleep. (except at night. Then not so much.) The funny part is that they often make the person doing the holding fall asleep as well....they are like a little sleeping drug. And I have pictures to prove it. :)



And here's the biggest druggie of them all....




Nana loves her babies. :) She just can't get enough....definitely an addict. :)


If any of you need a fix, feel free to stop by. I'll let you hold John for a small fee.