For the Record

I am not cheating. I have not logged into Facebook since Fat Tuesday.

My Networked Blogs settings automatically post my blog to my Facebook wall, so I don't have to manually do it.

:)

- becky

Winter Mini-Vacation

Giving up Facebook for Lent has given me plenty of time to get my blog updated. A couple of weeks ago, we took a winter mini-vacation to the Chicago area. We started at a Blues-Blackhawks NHL game at the United Center near downtown. (Go Blues! What a win!)

Mommy even enjoyed the game!

Mallory borrowed Isaiah's seat for a while.

Daddy was brave wearing his new jersey to Chicago. (He only got one rude remark. The fans were actually really great!)

View from our seats

See the blur? That's our daughter bouncing up and down in excitment. She's our little jumping bean! :) Daddy was jumping up and down just like that at the end of the 3rd period.

We ate lunch Thursday at Rock Bottom in a suburb of the city. Rock Bottom is a new discovery we made last time we were in the city.

Mallory waited so patiently for our mac and cheese to arrive.

And there it is. The world's best mac and cheese. Yum. Yum. Yum.

We spent Thursday and Friday nights in Schaumberg. (Mommy had to shop at IKEA!) We found the Medieval Times restaurant, but it was a little too expensive for this trip.

Maybe next time!

Big girl walking down the hall - I love this stage!

Mallory liked watching the buffalo during lunch on Friday at Ted's Montana Grill.

We had a really nice getaway. Isaiah came down with a rotten cold; we still have the remnants of it in our house. He was a real trooper riding around in an umbrella stroller while we shopped around Cabela's, IKEA, and the mall. Bonus - he usually doesn't nap on vacations, but he did great on this trip!

I love our little mini-trips. When's the next one, honey????

- beckyg

Monday

I woke up this morning, and once again my eye didn't want to open. It seems the ickiness in my right eye has returned with a vengeance. I called the doctor to see if I could get an appointment, and the nurse said, "It depends." Are you kidding me?!?! If it is still grody tomorrow, I'll be calling again.

I finished listening to The Lovely Bones audiobook in my car today. I'm always sad when I get to the end of a good book. If only I had finished before it left the theaters. Darn. I guess I have to wait for the dvd now. :-( On the bright side, I checked out a new Jodi Picoult book at the library to take along on the womens' retreat this weekend.

I can already see that our menu for the week will be changing. I have over-planned yet again, and the Sunday dish is way to similar to the dish I made yesterday. Oh well. I'll get the hang of it eventually, right? And if not, it's not like the menu is etched into stone.

- becky

Menu Monday

Between our mini-vacation to Schaumberg and colds and ear tubes I kind of got off track for Menu Monday. Not to fear! Menu Monday has returned!

It has not taken me long to figure out that I only need to cook every other night. I'm trying to strategically pick my cooking nights based on our schedule for the week. Here is what I have in mind for this week:

Monday

Macaroni Grill boxed dinner leftovers and salad

Tuesday

crock pot lasagna, salad, and garlic bread

Wednesday

leftovers

Thursday

soup and salad

Friday & Saturday

Womens' Retreat - I won't be home for supper. Tim's parents will be in town, so I imagine they will want to eat out.

Sunday

Creamy Chicken and Pasta Bake, salad, and garlic bread

- becky

What's the Deal?

Yesterday morning, I woke up to a completely disgusting right eye. I called the doctor and spoke to a nurse, explaining all of my symptoms and she seemed to think that I had pinkeye.

Great. Just great.

As Saturday went on I seemed to be going downhill. In fact, around dinner time my left eye started to display the same symptoms.

Double great.

To make things even better, I started to feel the beginnings of some sinus pressure. Hellllloooo headache!

Mallory started crying early this morning for her nuk. I had to ask Tim to go to her because my left eye was glued shut and I couldn't see. I layed around today willing the sinus pressure to go away. I'm thinking it wasn't pinkeye, maybe just some dust that got into my eyes from moving furniture at work on Friday because the symptoms have vanished. (Thank goodness!)

I just put in a new pair of contacts to see how things go. I'm hoping that will help my headache, too!

I won't gross you out by putting up the nasty picture of my eye that I took.

- becky

Danny Books

My students at school love reading Danny Books. I'll be honest, and tell you that I love reading them, too. Danny, a yellow lab, is obviously the star of each story. He is often found dressed in adorable costumes. Just like Nanny from The Muppet Babies, you never see Dad's face. I love these books so much, that I ordered some for Isaiah last year. Mallory has recently discovered them in our browse box. (That's reader teacher vocabulary for the place where we keep our books.)

The reading chair was actually a gift for Isaiah at Christmas. Mallory has actually gotten more use out it. It's nice of her big brother to share with her.

"Cookie Monster, please pay attention while I read you a story."

"I'm such a good reader that I can read with my book upside down!"

- becky

Ear Tubes

Today was the big day.

We arrived at Theda Clark Hospital this morning at 7:00; Isaiah's procedure was scheduled for 8:30. He was in a super fantastic mood, and he really wanted to see the doctor. Everytime he saw someone knew he said, "Hi doctor!" to them. It was quite cute!

Hanging out in the pre-op room

They let Isaiah wear his Thomas jammie bottoms (which he l.o.v.e.s. Aunt Jenny). He was also able to bring his Harold the Helicopter toy in. (Aunt Abby, if he ever loses that toy, we're in serious trouble.)

Starting to get woozy

Really woozy! Now I understand why you're not supposed to drive for 24 hours, Booper. ;-)

Once back in the OR, the procedure went pretty quick. He was a little cranky waking up, and seemed ready to go home. I guess the fun of checking out the surgery center had worn off.

I took the day off to be with Isaiah, so we just hung out (napped) at home. I was surprised how fast his energy came back! We go back to the ENT doctor for a follow-up visit in a month. I'm sure Isaiah is quite glad to not have to hear through any more yucky fluid!

- becky

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have been quite busy around the Seabaugh household. Here's a quick update for you.

Tim - Today was the annual spaghetti dinner at church. This event is the Youth Group's biggest fundraiser for their National Youth Gathering trip that is coming up this July. Lots of preparation goes into this ahead of time. As always, it was a wonderful and successful meal. I always think back to Isaiah and Mallory's baptisms at this meal. We cleverly scheduled both of their baptisms on Spaghetti Dinner Sundays (Isaiah's in 2007 and Mallory's in 2009) which doubled as our baptismal meal. He's also had a sick buddy at home - see Mallory's section below.

Becky - Work, work, work. What else can I say? We've been using a new system to meet the needs of our students which has been going great. The students are so excited to be using The Daily 5 and CAFE. The resource team teachers have combined our reading students, and the best rewards come from the kids. They come to class excited and asking questions like, "Do we GET to read today?" The Daily 5 and CAFE work together - it's all about meeting individual student needs and helping them to become more independent readers. If you're a teacher, I highly recommend the books (both quick, easy reads). Gail Boushey and Joan Moser are the 2 sisters & authors.

Isaiah - This coming Wednesday is a big day for Mr. Isaiah. He's got fluid behind both ear drums, so it's time for ear tubes! I'm glad his cold came last week. Please pray that he stays healthy enough before Wednesday and through the surgery (which I hear is quick and easy). We're hoping this will help to move his language development along.

Mallory - Mallory ws sent home from day care Thursday afternoon with a fever - 102.4. I think this is a record high for our two kids. She stayed home with Tim on Friday, and her fever returned after church today. She'll be home with Daddy again tomorrow. I have to remember to reschedule Tim's dentist appointment...note to self!

Family - We got a St. Louis Blues hockey game in this year! On February 3rd, we drove to Chicago after work to see the Blues BEAT the Blackhawks. The kids (and us, too) had a super fun time! We made a mini-vacation out of it and spent some time in Schaumburg, one of Chicago's suburbs. Isaiah's cold struck then, but we were thankfully driving by a Kohl's at the exact moment he puked in the car. (Vacation with kids is always interesting!)

And so, another week begins. Goal for the week - get and keep everyone healthy!

- becky

Denial

OK, people. I cannot deny it any longer.

My sweet baby girl is a whole, entire year old. I've been putting off this post thinking that she will remain a baby.

We didn't do much (sorry, Mallory) since all of our family lives out of town. Dinner at Fudrucker's was nice, though we don't understand why our 1 year old received a free hamburger for her birthday and all Tim and I got was an e-mailed saying, "Happy Birthday."

After supper, we came home for the traditional birthday cake. I guess you could say that Mallory had some virtual guests to her party. We called up my parents on the video chat. Gotta love technology! I put the cake in front of them, but they couldn't quite figure out how to beam themselves up here so they could eat it. haha

Mallory's point of view

Isaiah is not a big sweets eater, so he was sharing his cake with Percy.

I heart cake!

Mmmmmm....yummy!

Hi, Neena! Hi, PawPaw!

All this sugar and you want me to sleep?!?!

Happy Birthday, Little Miss. I was trying to remember you as a tiny little baby as I rocked you to sleep the other night, but it was really hard. It would be easier to remember if you had let me get a little bit more sleep your first six months of life. I'm just saying...

We love you so much, honey pants.

Love,

mommy, daddy, and isaiah