Thanksgiving

Hello all!  I have been away for a bit.  We were in Wisconsin to visit Peter and his family for the holiday.  The twins were great in the car... really great.  Snacks and videos are key to happy children.  Thanksgiving day was busy with rowdy kids and plenty of side dishes.  Peter had a master plan of deep frying the turkey.  Well,  the fryer never really took off... so we were without a cooked bird.  We enjoyed our plethera of side dishes though... some of the best side dishes I have ever had on Thanksgiving day.  Leslie, really outdid herself with all of the planning.  We had a delicious kale salad and a sweet potato/cauliflower gratin and roasted brussell sprouts.  We had the usual mashed potatoes and stuffing (my personal favorite). Peter cooked the turkey later that night and we had sammies throughout the weekend.

However, the kids had a blast together.  The adults had some great conversations and plenty of laughs.

Cousins in the bathtub

Andy and Leslie going out on a date.

Lunch at the Noodle Co after visiting their new house construction site.

Unfortunately, John got the flu in the wee hours of Friday morning.  Andy started up with it late Saturday night and suffered on the drive home on Sunday. 
Thanksgiving 2011:  no Turkey and the Wisconsin flu bug. 
But really, it's so much more than that.  It's a holiday just like it should be... spent with loved ones, making memories,  not perfect, but a lot of fun and well worth the trip.

A Box Is All We Need

We are home

We arrived home from the hospital around 4pm on Wednesday. But not before Elinor had finally decided to take a nap.... right when we were trying to leave.  She is doing much better now.  We have a follow up appointment tomorrow with the pediatrician.  She will have allergy testing done next Tuesday.  

This is the scene when John and Mimi came to visit at the hospital.  Elinor said, "John, sit." as she moved over to give him room in the bed. So cute. So sweet.

We are happy to have everyone home again.  We leave tomorrow for a weekend trip to Olean.  Andy is playing in an alumni hockey game at Bonas.  

Asthma

Elinor was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning.  She woke up at 4 am and having a very hard time breathing.  I took her to the pediatrician and he gave her a couple of breathing treatments in the office but they did not help. So here we are in the hospital. She has been getting a breathing treatment every 2 hours... so we have not slept much.  But the good news is, that her oxygen level is up to 98%.. an increase from yesterday morning at 90%.  Wendy came in to town and has been helping Andy with John John, who I have not seen since yesterday morning.
We should be out of the hospital sometime later today.

An Allergy

We had a bit of a scare over the weekend. Elinor ate some kind of nut and had a severe allergic reaction. Both kids rode in an ambulance with Andy to the ER.  This happened while I was getting my hair cut.  The ambulance ride was a bit of a thrill for John… not so much for our Elinor.  She had completely swelled and blistered and was covered with hives.  Andy said it happened really fast.  As of today, the swelling has pretty much diminished.  I am feeling like I should not ever have peanut butter or any other kind of nut in the house again.  Too frightening. Not worth taking the chance. 

 

And look at that adorable hat that my friend Kirsten knitted for her.