We Have Moved . . .

. . . items from the dining room to the den and vice versa. Earlier this week, Hallie and Sara were talking about how Hallie wanted to make a school room within the dining room, and Sara mentioned that we should switch the dining room and den. Up to this point, we have used the room with the chandelier as our dining room because, well, it had the chandelier and because our home’s previous owners had used the space as a dining room. Hallie ran the idea by Mike, who at first resisted (he didn’t reject the idea, but he wondered what a den/family room would look like with a low-hanging central light fixture in it) but then warmed up to the thought of more usable space for the kids and their toys. Hallie had also hinted that in the future whenever we got a new TV the space would make it seem less in the middle of everything, especially once we got a smaller media unit. Mike figured he could change out the lighting fixtures without too much trouble. So, over a few days Hallie and Sara (with major help from Diamond and Priscilia) moved the bookcase and toy bins into the dining room and the credenza into the den. Mike even got into the act on Thursday when he moved the dining room set into the den and the TV armoire into the dining room. After moving everything, we now have an expanded family room and an intimate dining room instead of a large dining room and a crowded TV room/toy room/den. Thanks for the great idea, Sara!

Chase in the dining room prior to the move (the boxes are part of our attempt to organize and declutter)

Of course, Mike should have figured more was afoot than a simple room change with his birthday coming up (Friday the 13th this year, woo hoo!). Sure enough, after he came home from some work on Friday, a box with a new TV sat next to the armoire. Once Mike got over the shock of the unexpected big ticket item, he set to work seeing what it could do. Later on, Hallie, who had been resting upstairs, asked whether Mike wanted to go hunting for a new TV stand. We ended up finding exactly what we needed for less than we expected to pay at Art Van’s clearance center (Mike was pleasantly surprised). After taking the kids to music class and helping Jason with a small project at his and Sara’s, Mike put the TV stand together, and the family room was (for the most part) complete!

The windows frame things in nicely. Mike has bumped his head only a few times so far.

It's a small room, so it's a bit hard to see.

As we mentioned before, Mike had his birthday this week, and he spent a little time each day through the week indulging in some of his favorite springtime activities, including going to the Henry Ford Museum, having a picnic and flying kites with Landon and Eliza on Monday. 

Landon took some pictures with his new LEGO camera: 

Once we got to the Henry Ford, we took in the activities for Macy's 2nd Monday:

At first Landon didn't really want his picture taken. 

He said he'd get his picture taken if he could take Mike's.

Eliza fell asleep on the way there. This is how she spent most of the trip.

Afterwards, we went for our picnic and kite flight. At first, it looked like the wind wouldn’t cooperate, but after a while the weather got a bit more blustery and with the approaching storm clouds came a solid wind stream. Both Mike and Landon got in on the action. 

Landon was holding his own until a gust came that yanked the string holder out of his hand and sent the kite plummeting toward Lake St. Clair. Mike hightailed it toward the water and managed to get the string. After several minutes of winding, tugging, and cajoling, we managed to fish the kite, none the worse for its dip in the water, out of the lake.   

The kite has no rigid parts (it's just a sail and strings), which is probably why we were able to retrieve it.

Mike and Hallie got some couple's time in this week too as they celebrated Mike’s day at The Melting Pot with an all-American big night out. We rolled home three hours later, too full to do much else. . . . 

Hallie is continuing to recover well from her surgery. We appreciate all those who have provided meals and other support to us. Look at one of the cute cupcakes Joy gave us for dessert! 

Little Easter lambs. Almost too cute to eat! Almost.

Who Needs a Gall Bladder Anyway?

The week began in dramatic fashion as Hallie, still feeling lots of abdominal pain, went to a third ER (one with a CT scanner) at her primary care physician’s urging on Monday. Turns out she had a gallstone the size of a golf ball and a very inflamed gall bladder that had to get extracted, stat. While she was moved from the ER to the main hospital in preparation for surgery, Mike ran the kids on their errands.

Check out the sweet ride the kids found at the grocery store!

Landon was recently diagnosed with a mild form of sensory processing disorder (we have always thought he was a sensational kid. Now we have proof!), so he gets to go to physical therapy. We say gets to because therapy involves a zip line, giant swings, trampolines, shaving cream mixed with tempura paint, and a variety of other fun activities. We took Landon first to therapy and then to gymnastics, all the while keeping tabs with Hallie regarding her status and eventual diagnosis. Mike got the kiddos to bed as Hallie got settled into her digs at the main hospital with Sara’s welcome support. Mike and Derek went back in the evening to give Hallie a blessing and retrieve the Buick while Jen and Bryan looked after the kids. Sometime in the middle of the night both children made their way into Dad’s bed to share their slumber time. We think Eliza has been teething and/or sick. Poor girl! She finds it hard to breathe at night with all the snot. She seems to be sharing the love with Dad, whose symptoms have progressively worsened through the week.

The hospital scheduled surgery for Tuesday morning, so Hallie stayed overnight and Mike played primary caretaker for the duration of her stay. He and the kids came back to the hospital early Tuesday morning and ended up staying all day. Originally we thought she would go in at 10:30 for a 1 1/2 hour laparoscopic surgery and possibly be ready to come home Tuesday night. Nope. Surgery didn’t start until about noon, and it didn’t end until after 3. Hallie was wheeled up to her recovery room at around 5 PM. It turns out that Hallie is something of a medical rarity. When the gall bladder is removed, the surgeon cuts off a duct that takes bile from the liver to the gall bladder. Most people have one duct. Not so with Hallie. She is (was) doubly blessed. As a result, her surgery was not routine, as the surgeon had to figure out where the extra tube coming out of Hallie’s gall bladder went to and whether it was something that should not be cut. He came out and told Mike the whole story (with pictures). Gross, but fascinating!

Anyway, Mike and the kids did not expect to be at the hospital all day, so they took some small excursions to pass the time while they waited and while the delays passed. With a pager supplied by the hospital in hand, they bought Mom flowers and explored the corridors on the first floor. They ventured outside and clambered up poles. They even met a therapy dog! 

Who knew "drop the pager"could be so fun? 

Just hanging around

Eventually after Mom was out of recovery and in her room for the night, they headed home. No one slept well Monday night into Tuesday, but Dad and the kids slept like the dead Tuesday into Wednesday.

We thought Hallie might come home Wednesday, but by late morning we were informed that she would stay one more day. Mike came up to see Hallie before going to a work meeting. Later in the afternoon he took the kids along with Sara and Chase to the Easter activity down at the local park. We had beautiful weather for hunting for Easter eggs, petting farm animals, and dancing with the Merry Music Maker.

What do I do with this? 

Oh! I get it! 

Spontaneous friends

She's enjoying this.

No, seriously! Blame the photographer. She's enjoying this! 

Hallie was finally ready to come home on Thursday, and we were glad to show her that the house had not fallen apart in her absence. Kind friends had brought food, flowers, and well wishes in Hallie’s absence, and Dad had put the kids to work ensuring that all the chores were done and the house looked ship shape (with more than a little help from Priscilia). The remainder of the day found Hallie resting in the den or in bed while Mike continued trying to entertain the kids. Fortunately, the sunny weather has made digging around in the backyard a realistic option. We feel grateful for meals brought in, as this has made Mike’s task of getting something prepared with two kids underfoot very much easier.

Flowers from Grandma

Mike had a couple of errands to run for work on Friday, and Eliza came along while Landon looked after Hallie.

On Saturday, Mike attempted to take the kids to the zoo for the Easter activities there. Apparently most of metro Detroit also decided to go to the zoo, judging by the Los Angeles-sized traffic snarl leading to the entrance. Rather than spend an hour waiting to get into the zoo only to leave an hour later to pick up Diamond from the airport, Mike opted to take the kids to the local park. Strangely, almost no one was at the park (they all went to the zoo?), so Landon and Eliza played to their hearts’ content on the swings and other equipment. Mike tried to get his kite to fly, but the wind wouldn’t cooperate.

After Mike and Eliza picked Diamond up from the airport and dropped her off at her parents’ house (welcome back to Detroit, Diamond!), the kids participated in some pre-Easter activities. In the meantime Sara had dropped off a basket of scones from a local bakery and Landon was sure to make quick eating of his share of the scones. Mike and Hallie made sure to help him with their share as well. We made resurrection rolls (the marshmallow body “disappears” leaving the hollowed out pastry tomb behind) and dyed eggs.

We made a bit of a mess of our hands as we colored the eggs, and the mess got Mike to thinking (dangerous proposition). He decided to paint tattoos on his and Landon’s arms. By bedtime Hallie had two dashing pirates on her hands and kids hopped up on sugar.    

Easter morning brought surprises to both of the kids. They were so happy to see the baskets that were left by the Easter Bunny. When not in church Landon has been able to keep himself quite entertained with the new goodies he received, including a LEGO camera from his grandparents. Here’s a sample of some of his work:

Mom and Dad took a few too:

The week has wound down, and we are hoping for no more excitement for a while. Yeah, right.

Surprises All Around

We had a couple of unplanned surprises this week. On Wednesday, Hallie took the kids up to Partridge Creek to enjoy the outdoor playscape (good thing they went when they did--the more stormy spring weather returned for the latter half of the week). 

Landon attracted himself some company. 

As she sat and chatted with the other moms there, she began to notice how many of the little girls had earrings. Then she saw Claire’s across the way and made a spur of the moment decision to get Eliza’s ears pierced. She chatted with Mike about it before just taking Eliza to the store. Mike didn’t have any major objections (although he’s been a bit reluctant to subject his kids to body modification since Landon’s circumcision, but that’s another story), so Hallie and the kids made their way to Claire’s.

Eliza had no idea what she was in for. There was only one employee at Claire’s, so it took a little while for her to get prepped. By the time she actually got her ears pierced, a crowd had formed around the cute little curly-haired lass. She cried like she has when she has received shots, but a lemon sucker seemed to take her mind off whatever those big people were doing to her wee ears.

Steady. . . . Steady!  

The final result

Not too much later, her attention was drawn to other things. She and another little girl came across a small dog who seemed as infatuated with them as they were with him.

We sent Mike’s mom a lemon cake for her 29th birthday (OK, the anniversary of her 29th birthday, and OK, a replica of a lemon cake). We hope it smells even better than it looks!

It's supposed to look like a slice was taken out so you can see the lemon cake. Well, they tried anyway.

The other big surprise of the week (and not a pleasant one) was Hallie’s visits to two emergency rooms on the same day (Friday) with severe stomach pain. She was almost beside herself Thursday night with the pain, and the first ER didn’t really do a whole lot for her. She didn’t get home until close to 4 AM. Mike had an appointment in the morning, so he had to leave for a while, and Priscilia was able to come in while Hallie continued to suffer. Hallie eventually went to Sara’s to rest and from there to another hospital’s ER, where they were able to reduce her symptoms a bit (morphine and Vicodin work wonders). Mike tended to the kids in her absence on Friday and pretty much through the weekend.

To complicate matters, both of the kiddos were sick with colds. Eliza has not slept through the night for a couple of days. Mike took the kids to church for the first session of General Conference, which allowed the little ones to burn off some steam while he listened to the talks. Good stuff. We ended up staying home to watch the other sessions, which for us is unusual, actually. Our cultural hall (the gym/overflow area behind the chapel) doubles as the nursery, so the kids actually enjoy having the chance to play with the toys while the grownups have the chance to concentrate on the talks. It doesn’t always work, but we try. . . . 

Anyway, on Sunday, Mike made egg soufflé and monkey bread, so we had some yummies for brunch/lunch. Poor Hallie only got to taste little bits due to her stomach issue. We hope all three of the sickies get better soon and that Mike stays in the clear!

We received some news relating to working at Milton Hershey School that has tempered our enthusiasm for the houseparent job. We're going to have to regroup on this one. On the upside, our local friends seem really happy at the prospect of keeping us around, and we may not have to scramble to get things situated here for a move. 

Independence Has Its Drawbacks

Spring is here in full force. We took advantage with time outdoors in the garden and riding our bikes around the neighborhood. On Wednesday as part of the Mom's Club Brunch Bunch, Hallie, Priscilia, and the kids walked down to Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes (a second location from the original one in Midtown) which recently opened a few blocks from home.

Photo courtesy Grosse Pointe Patch

Last weekend, Mike introduced Landon to Doctor Who. Apparently, the show has already made an impression. At the crepe shop, Landon told Hallie, “Look! The Doctor’s box.” It took Hallie a few long moments to realize Landon was looking at the entrance to the store. As seen from the inside, the paneled door did bear a passing resemblance to the Doctor’s TARDIS.  

It's bigger on the inside.

Now Mike’s thinking about when to introduce Landon to the Star Wars movies. ;)

Landon has really started to assert his independence this week. Hallie took him to get his hair cut on Friday. While they were out, Mike and Eliza went for a walk, and Eliza fell (fortunately no real harm done). 

She's a little daredevil, just like her brother. Falls are part of the experience. 

When everyone got home, we started getting ready for dinner, and Landon started hitting Eliza where she fell. Mike sent him to his room, and apparently Landon thought his haircut needed improving, because he took Mike’s trimmer to his bangs:

Mike chuckled, knowing this meant Landon’s annual buzz cut was going to come early. Hallie cried. Maybe if he had waited a few days after his haircut before taking matters into his own hands. . . .

Instead of going to Lowe’s on Saturday, Mike gave Landon a second haircut while Hallie went to a mom-to-mom sale. Then everyone went to music class before going up to Morley’s on Hall Road for their Easter event and to Achatz Burgers for a late lunch. 

Showing off his LEGO cars. "Why me?" asks Charlie Brown. Why me, indeed.

Cool face paint courtesy of the artist at Morley's

When we came home, we saw that our neighbor was having some car trouble (her muffler was dragging on the ground). Mike, Landon, and Miles did what they could to help temporarily strap the muffler under the car. Landon raced back and forth getting tools, so excited to be of help!