School Bells and Update...

Ahh, another month or two goes by without an update.




All is well in the Wheaton house. Raegan and Gavin are growing like weeds. Gavin in verbalizing more lately and has made a few attempts at complete sentences. Raegan is a non-stop chatter box and has the ability to switch topics mid sentence. Her negotiating skills are improving but Molly and I still hold our ground and use the time out when needed. Gavin follows his sister everywhere and has figured out how to 'fight back'.


We witnessed this during a disagreement between them over his blanket. Raegan kept taking it away. So Gavin got a running start from one end of the kitchen and gave Raegan a solid back-check from behind- sending her flying to the floor. Raegan laughed but Gavin was all business when he turned around for another run at her. All Molly and I could do was stare and say "Did he really just do that?". I was able snag him in mid stride to prevent a second hit.

Raegan began pre-school today. She cried and protested in the morning but was glad to be there when we arrived. She toddled in with her Princess backpack and made herself at home. She was excited to see "little toilets" they had there and blended in with the other kids quickly. She discovered a book that was the same as the one she had at home. The teacher asked if she wanted to read it. Raegan replied "I can read this book" (She can read through memorization, which is pretty impressive given my ability to comprehend anything). So I encouraged her to go read the book to the teacher. No screaming or crying when we left. I got a a hug and kiss on the cheek. I looked over my shoulder as we left and got a wave and little smile as she climbed next to the teacher and began to open the book.


As Molly and I left, it took everything in my power not to spin around on my heels and go back for one more look. Granted, she is only three, but I felt a little tug on my heart knowing that this was the beginning of a new stage in her life. My 'baby girl' became a big girl today- and I could not have been more proud of her.

New Beds!!!

Our little munchkins are growing up way to fast! I keep telling Raegan that she needs to stay little and she gets pretty mad at me and says "NO!! I want to be big!"


So Raegan had started giving us problems with her sleeping. She doesn't want to go to bed, wants to sleep with us or on the couch. After yet another night of her not sleeping in her bed I finally asked her why she keeps getting out. Her response was "my bed's not soft." Bob and I talked about this not quite knowing what to do because her crib will turn into a full-size bed, but her room will not accommodate a full-size bed and all of her toys. We finally decided to get her a twin bed and just put away the crib frame until there was more room. So I took Raegan to the furniture store to look at beds. We are lucky enough to have a friend in furniture sales, so he talked to Raegan and let her jump on the beds! We finally picked one out and made the purchase. I'm not sure I have seen her this excited before!


Then when I told her we needed to get sheets and a comforter, she told me she wanted to go to Target. What the heck!! She's three!!!! How does she know that they sell that stuff?? Anyway, we go to Target and she doesn't like anything (because I won't let her get Disney Princess). So then she says "I want to go to Kohls." Now I KNOW the only reason she wants to go is to ride the escalator but then she shocks me again and says "We need to go upstairs to look at the beds!" How do they get so smart????? Anyway, she found her bedding set at Kohl's and of course they don't have the twin size, so off I go to another store to get it for her.


We had to pick the bed up to avoid a delivery charge and Raegan was able to go with Bob which was a VERY big deal to her.


So here is a picture of her in her big girl bed!

Now Gavin doesn't want to be left out of all of this! He has been in and out of Raegan's toddler bed since he was able! He had really shown an interest in laying in her bed recently, so the night that we set her new bed up, we decided to make his crib into a toddler bed. That night he did awesome! I don't think that he realized that he could get out. Last night was a different story! Bob put him to bed and he came out carrying his blanket looking really confused, like "how in the world did I get out here by myself." So back to bed he went and this time he stayed. This morning I must have been making too much noise when I got out of the shower because all of a sudden he came bursting out of his room and then stood in the hall blinking and looking confused!

It is just so sweet to see him turn into a little man, but at the same time, I want them both to stay little for a while longer!

Cleveland Rocks!

Bob had a "business" trip (aka. golf outing) in Cleveland on Friday. We decided that since we have a Toledo Zoo membership (thank you, Mamaw & Grandpa!) and Cleveland Zoo has a reciprocal deal, we would all go down. We loaded up the car on Thursday night and off we went. We stopped at a truck stop outside of Toledo for dinner and let Raegan get whatever she wanted. Yes, you guessed it, she had pancakes! Then off we went to Cleveland.

Once we were checked in and ready to go to our room, we discovered that Gavin does not really like elevators! Every time we stopped, he would grab on to us for dear life! We got settled and headed out to tour the hotel. Raegan wanted to go swimming right away and convinced her daddy to take her down there.

Friday morning, we dropped Bob off at work and headed out to the zoo - thank God for GPS!! It was so nice to see a different zoo with different exhibits. Raegan really wanted to see the frogs, but then chickened out when we were ready to go in. It was so hot that day and Gavin was pretty scared of the animals so it was a fairly short visit. We walked around, had lunch (which included ice cream!) and Raegan was ready to go before we even saw anything. She was able to swim again that night and then we headed home early Saturday morning.

It was so nice to have a mini vacation!

Having fun in the "D" with Daddy

Dad took Raegan and Gavin to the GM River Days downtown on Sunday. (Raegan calls it ‘The D’) Molly was volunteering at the Little People of America conference at the Ren Cen so I took advantage of the good weather and the festivities going on the riverfront. The kids had the chance to do some crafts, see the Coast Guard do a mock rescue with divers, helicopters, and even the Detroit Fire Department Fire Boat. They toured GM's new line of hybrid vehicles and rode the carousel. The photo where Raegan is looking extra unhappy- she lost a battle with the GM fountain. The fountain consists of about 500 nozzles that turn on/off at various intervals. The nozzles spray as low as a trick or as high as about five feet. Both kids were amazed by this concept so I let them run loose through the fountain (along with about 100 other kids). Raegan was admiring the fountain when it shrank to just a trickle. Suddenly, like a defensive tackle, a little boy came running out of nowhere and knocked her belly first onto the nozzle. As she fell the fountain cycled to full force as she lay on top of the nozzle. Water shot out from all sides of her and I thought I saw her lift in the air. She was soaked from head to toe and had a badly scrapped knee.

I stripped her down and wrung out her shirt, skirt, and underwear on the spot (no, she wasn't naked- I did it in a way that kept her modesty). A quick trip to the first aid tent, a nice EMT, and hugs from daddy made everything right again. Took her on another ride on the carousel to dry her off and then headed home. Overall a great day!

Molly's Money Saving Mania

Lately, I have become quite the economic grocery shopper. In this economy I am going to try to help any friends that would like to cut their grocery budget. I know that not everything will work for everybody, but this is what works for our family.

1. First off, we get the Sunday paper, so I clip all of the coupons of any product that I MAY use. I then file them by category in my coupon organizer. One thing that is really important to save money is to not care about brand name. Now there are some things, like JIF peanut butter, that I buy no matter what, but overall, we don't really care about the brand.

2. I joined the Grocery Game (http://www.thegrocerygame.com/) signing up for Kroger and Meijer. I look at the list weekly and will pick up products are we will use won't expire before we would use them but I do a big grocery shopping trip every 3 to 4 weeks. I have a large stockpile downstairs. We didn't start seeing a huge savings right away, but we are now enjoying this large stockpile. If you join this game, be sure to read the rules. She explains about the grocery sale cycle and will let you know when to use your coupons to maximize your savings. One thing to mention here is TRUST THE LIST!! She has a lot of unadvertised specials in there. So, if there is no sign in the grocery store, pay attention when you check out because there is more than likely an unadvertised special! I have found a couple of great ones!

3. I check this web sites daily. http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ She has some great recipes and money saving ideas. She also gives great advice on how to take advantage of the CVS sales. She posts a couple of times a day about freebies and sales. She also links to other sites that are useful.

4. I check all of these coupon web sites and print as many as it will let me of the products that we would use. They are usually updated every couple of weeks.
http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10
http://www.redplum.com/pages/Grocery.aspx

5. I load my Kroger card with coupons from these sites. I always load all of them on because they are free and who knows when you may need something. You can use these ecoupons along with a manufacturer coupon so you can get really good deals!
http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/Unilever_MakingLifeBetter/Page/HomePage/
http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/
http://shortcuts.com/

6. I also plan a menu, usually 3-4 weeks worth, after seeing what deals I can get the week I need to go shopping. I will use my stockpiled stuff to stretch the food farther and to fill in meals. I also try to plan that we get take out only once a month. Then I type out my menu and type a grocery list. This way I can go through the recipes and make sure I will have all of the ingredients that I need.

I know that this seems like a lot, but it really isn't that time consuming! Happy money saving!

Sittin' Out Here Watching Airplanes...as VIPs

Molly and I made an executive decision to take the kids to the Red Bull Air Races downtown over the weekend. Molly packed up lunches/drinks for the crew and we were off. The event has been sold out for sometime and our friend, Bob Krompatic, and his wife, Deb, had a boat slip downtown for the event. They invited us to the 'party' and we agreed to truck the kids downtown to watch the air race qualifying events.

Upon arrival, Bob told us he had a 'hook up' at GM and we might have good seats. Within the hour we were being whisked away by the RenCen Police department in a Cadillac Escalade to a private party. We kept on being referred to as 'VIPs'. We arrived at the main parking garage and the officers helped us unload the kids, gave us a bunch of bottled water, and escorted us to the top of the structure. The officers talked with the security guards manning the door. After a few glances from them and a few seconds of thinking "there is no way we are getting in"... we were let in. Not too sure who they said we were, but they bent over backwards to make sure we were accommodated.

As we watched all of the GM executives mingle, we blended into the crowd and let the Raegan and Gavin play. The rooftop was equipped with astro-turf and was not a 'parking' area at all, but more of a urban park on top of a parking garage. The views of the riverfront were spectacular and I for one was pumped up to see the air race.

After cooking out in the sun for over 2 hours, the race was called off because of high winds. In the mean time, a few 'side' acts flew by. The f-14 that did a low pass along the river got the attention of Raegan & Gavin- with Raegan looking at me saying "holy cow dad...that was LOUD!!". Gavin was more intrigued by the old Navy Corsair doing some maneuvers and never took his eyes off it.

Although the race was a bust, the VIP treatment was a nice surprise. Kids were spent from being out in the sun all day (no shade on that roof top) and Molly and I were equally wiped out. Photos forthcoming...

broken bones, allergic reactions and ear infections

Whew! What a busy couple of weeks! I know it has been a little while since we've updated, but it has been pretty crazy. Raegan broke both bones in her right arm on May 9. I think it has been so much harder on me than on her! Here's the story of what happened.

We had a playdate with a friend of mine from Brighton. We were all outside playing on the swingset. My friend was leaving, so I was going to walk her out. Raegan was just climbing up the slide as I was going inside. She started crying, so I turned around. She was face down on the ground. I went back to her, saw her arm and started screaming "Oh my God, she broke her arm! Ginger, she broke her arm!" Between her wrist and elbow, her arm was at an angle that no arm should ever be at. My friend was so great! She calmed me and Raegan down, moved her daughter's carseat into our truck and was preparing to take us to the emergency room. My truck wouldn't start, of course! So, we moved all three car seats to her car and were finally on our way. I started crying and Raegan fell asleep! Bob met us at the ER, sent Ginger home and called Uncle Mike to come and get Gavin. Raegan and I were back in the ER watching cartoons, waiting. She was a trooper at the ER. They took her to x-ray and back to her bed in ER. Whtn they came in and confirmed that her arm was broken (I'm not medically trained, but I already knew that!) I decided to take off while they put the splint on. Bob says she didn't even cry when they put it on. They then gave us a script for Tylenol with Codeine and a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and we were on our way. I gave Raegan three doses of her pain medication and she broke out in a red, hot rash. I took her to the pediatrian on Monday and she is allergic to codeine! At least we found out early. The pediatrician had seen her x-rays at this point and wouldn't touch her arm because both bones were broken. Tuesday, we went to the orthopedic surgeon. He set her bones, caster her arm and took more x-rays. She didn't make a peep the whole appointment. I was so proud of her! She is doing very well with the cast, but I'm sure she will be very happy to get it off on June 12!

Now, Gavin wanted in on some of the attention. I took him to his 15 month appointment on Friday of this week. Saturday he woke up feverish, vomiting and not eating. Since this is a typical shot reaction, I didn't think anything of it. Sunday he woke up with a horrible cold. Sunday and Monday were ok, but he was very whiny. We ended up sending him to daycare on Tuesday. Bob did call to check on him and they said he was fine and sleeping. Well, he vomited again when he was sleeping. Wednesday I kept him home and took him to the doctor. He had a double ear infection, along with a really bad cold. Before I left the doctor, she told me to expect the right ear drum to burst, but it was ok! What! A bursting ear drum is ok?!?! He went on his medicine and is now just as sweet as ever! He did end up staying home wtih Bob on Thursday for one more day of rest because he was still really cranky.

So that's it! Our life in terms of doctor's appointments.

On a good note, Bob and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversay on Monday!