Great Wolf Lodge and Scared Too Death

Last Wednesday we left for the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio for our Christmas trip with the Clarks. With small kids we decided that this was a good option this year (not to mention last minute!). We got there around 1:30 and got in our suits ready to play in the water. It was a blast for Weston. There were lots of slides, a canyon river ride, a tree house which had water flowing all over it, a wave pool and so much more. I was so surprised that Weston was brave enough to venture from the kiddie pool and go on some of the 'big' slides. He couldn't get enough. Audrey on the other hand was not a fan of getting splashed, so she was happy on the side lines being held and sleeping. Grammy even tried to take her on the lazy river but a bucket of water ended up directly on her head and that was the end.

At night they had story time, snow falling, and hot chocolate in the main lobby. Weston really enjoyed that. He was very entertained by the talking figures (trees, racoon, dummy's, moose and an owl).

It wasn't a great place for adults because it was so geared toward kids. Only 1 or 2 slides were actually really fast and a little thrilling.

We had a great time hanging out with family and staying up late playing cards and talking about cars, bet you can't guess who did what!

We left on Friday and headed to Columbus to spend the rest of the weekend there. On Saturday, we had a full day planned: Christmas brunch for the extended Clark Christmas at 10:30, Dinner at the Japanese steakhouse at 4, and Christmas Eve service at 6:30. This may not seem like a lot, but with little kids, it is a full day when you include naps and all that. Well, Audrey decided she would get sick that day. In the morning, she felt a little warm to me but I didn't think anything of it. She was clingy all day long and she felt hotter and hotter. I didn't pack a thermometer and there wasn't one available. I ended up picking one up at Target and when I finally took her temp in the afternoon, it was around 103. To the drugs we go! We went on with our day and after the Eve service Audrey was feeling a bit worse. I took her temp when we got home around 8pm and it was again around 103.5. She was acting like she was cold, so I did a normal mommy mistake and wrapped her up in a blanket. I handed her over to her uncle and went to get her medicine. As I was coming back, she let out this awful howl. I thought she was just getting tired. As I started to give her the motrin she started to have a seizure. It was the scariest moment of my life (well, probably in line with Weston's birth and me being told he would probably be sent to another hospital b/c he wasn't recovering). I grabbed my baby girl and literally screamed for Chad to call my mom. He immediately called her and my mom became the calming voice in this. She was telling Chad that she went through this with my sister and she also told us what to expect, but it didn't make it any easier. The seizure lasted for about 30 seconds, but it seemed like a lot longer than that. I was freaking out as her mouth, lips and the skin around her eyes started turning blue. After it was over, she was as limp as a rag doll and she wouldn't make any eye contact. I couldn't tell if she was breathing or if her heart was beating. She was just laying in my arms. She then starting making these panting noises and bubbles started coming out of her mouth. She didn't fully recover for about 10 or so minutes. By the time the paramedics got there, she was still pretty limp and not making eye contact, but she was getting fussy. My mom told us this was all normal. The paramedics also told us that they would feel comfortable not taking her if we were okay with that. I was, so we refused treatment and they left. They just told us to make sure and keep motrin or tylenol on board.

Needless to say, everybody was worked up that night. Chad and I slept with her on the couches all night. The next morning, with motrin in her system, she woke up with a fever of 103. I immediately jumped up and went out in search of a place that was open that had tylenol, on Christmas morning. I came back empty handed and decided that it was best to give her the next dose of motrin 1.5 hours early. I did not want a repeat of the previous night. Grammy and Grampy looked online and found a place that was open and they left to get her some tylenol so we could rotate meds, that was the only way we could keep her fever down.

I am glad to report that we haven't had any more episodes and that so far today, her fever has not come back. Mom keeps telling me that the next one won't be so scary, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle it with the grace that my mom does. I am so glad she is my momma!

Weston has picked up a bug as well and it reared its head yesterday at nap time when I found him in bed covered in yak. Poor kid. He is feeling well and has only had a minor fever. We are hoping this passes before tomorrow so we can head to my parents house bug-free.

Now on for the spoils of Christmas. Weston had a Choo-Choo Christmas. He received all Thomas the Train stuff. Audrey got a couple of toys and books (to share with her brother!) I am going through their toy collection here and am trying to decide if we need to donate some of these items. probably should have done this before the holiday season, but I am NOT that organized.

Weston had another first this Christmas. He made his debut on the singing scene. He was a part of the Clark's church's kids Christmas program. We were pretty happy with his performance even though he didn't even sing or smile. We were just happy he actually stayed up there. It was pretty cute. We may try to get a smile out of him next time.

Hello? Anybody Still There?

Guess I should apologize for the belated post (s). I have been meaning to get on here and get this done, but I haven't and I apologize to those who were counting the days until I returned. I would suggest you don't do that, you may drive yourself crazy!

A LOT has happened since, when was the last time I posted...oh yeah, JUNE. We have been working very hard on our new home, installing wood flooring, painting, unpacking, running a marathon, getting a geo-thermal system installed, etc.

Yep, that's right, we bit the bullet and finally signed the contract, watched them destroy our lawn and burned up our credit card (which will be paid off of course!). I am hoping that we will be very pleased once our energy bills start showing the difference.

The kids are doing very well.

Audrey, who is 10 months, is well on her way to learning how to walk. She is practicing standing on her own and is walking holding our hands. I guess it's more like a wobble. She eats a ton, more than her brother ever did or rather does! She has already weaned herself and is drinking whole milk now. I'm not too upset about that seeing as she got her 4 front teeth in a matter of 2 days and knows how to use them!

Weston is 2.5 now and he loves, loves, LOVES, Thomas the Train, otherwise known as "choo-choo". In fact, he loves anything train right now, but mainly Thomas. We don't even have T.V. The only episodes he has seen are what I have allowed him to watch on our laptop through Netflix. I honestly hate the show. Who films a children's show with a plastic train set? Have you seen the program? The only mobile part on the trains is their eyes and the fake smoke that rises! It is so annoying. Only the very recent episodes are animated and almost likeable. For some reason though, this is the only program that Weston will actually sit and watch for a long period of time (spanning greater than 15 minutes). On the eating front, he's finally eating! He eats almost anything we put in front of him. I am thrilled that we no longer have him on the supplement. He is still a skinny tall little dude, but at least he is eating!

As for Chad and myself, we are busy working on the house. Back in September, I did run the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patt AFB. It was a truly amazing experience. We got to the base very early-1.5 hours before start time. They tell you to get there that early for some unknown reason. Well, I didn't realize that Chad and his dad could come with me to the starting area, so I stripped off my sweats and sweatshirt and just roamed around in my shorts and t-shirt, freezing my rear end off. I did warm up after the first few miles of the race though!

I signed up to run with the 4:15 pace group and found them about 30 min before start time. The start was amazing. There was a flyover that featured the B-1B Lancer. It was so loud that it literally shook my chest cavity. All of the seasoned marathoners that were there said that it was the best start to any race they have ever been to.

After the first 5 miles, I was getting claustrophobic running in the group and getting jostled, so I decided to get ahead a little bit. The first 13 miles were awesome. I ran strong and felt great. About that time, my ankle started bothering me but I pushed through. Mile 17, it hurt too much and I had to start walk/running. I didn't walk much, maybe 10-30 seconds of each mile, just enough to give my ankle a break. Unfortunately, b/c of the overcompensation, my knee on the opposite side starting feeling it too. I pushed through and finished strong with a time of 4:23:48. The experience was indescribable. I met so many people running for different reasons, but the one that stuck with me most was a woman who was running in memory of her husband and 6 others that were killed in action this year. It broke my heart and brought me to tears out on the course.

As I was running and a few days/weeks afterwards, I said I would never run a full again, but as I think about this experience and all that it has rewarded me with I bet I will run again. I don't know when or where, but I've been infected!