the.most.perfect.day.ever.

We truly had a perfect day today. We awoke to many, upon many inches of beautiful, fluffy snow on the ground. A winter wonderland dream. We hurried to make sure the snow was shoveled and then off we went - The Herdrich Family was going SNOW TUBBING! Due to the Snowmeggedon that was predicted, the girls and I went on a hunt for sleds yesterday. All we could find were snowtubes. So, we got two - one for the little kids and one for Daddy! Reag, Ev, Daddy and Mommy all went over to a park with an extra-fun hill. It happened to be near our friends' home, so they met us at the hill, along with their 100 lb. dog, Max. It. Was. Awesome.! The kids had a blast. The parents had a blast. We went out again the very next day. Totally AWESOME!

Sick-As-A-Dog!

Ugh. Yesterday was a rough one. At 3:00am I woke to "stomach issues". I was up the remainder of the night with the tummy-bug and it lasted throughout the day. Having a stomach virus is not a big deal, unless you are a mommy, stuck at home with two children that you cannot care for because you cannot lift your head off a pillow. Meanwhile, the room is spinning, your guts are turning and any slight odor in the air or appearance of food will make your tummy turn. Worthy of note...you will also worry that your dear little ones are going to also come down with this stomach bug and you will be shortly holding their hair back, rubbing their backs and attempting to clean them up, while cleaning yourself up. Frightening. Simply a frightening scenario. Thankfully, my sweet girls have yet to fall ill. Oh please, PLEASE, do not let them get sick!

I did my best with the girls. I set 2 goals: 1) keep the girls safe, 2) try to stay awake between visits to the bathroom in order to make certain that the girls are safe. While resting on the couch, I had a visual on both girls. Both girls were perfectly distracted. I was thinking to myself, "I CAN do this. We WILL get through the day". Apparently and accidentally, I drifted off to a quiet snooze. I awoke to hear little Evie panting/grunting. She sounded like she was climbing Mt. Everest. What on earth could she be doing - she was reading books 2 seconds ago. Well...she WAS climbing Mt. Everest! My baby was half way up our staircase! Never ONCE in her entire 13 months in our home has she even peeked at the stairs, nor gone near them. I have never moved so fast in my life. I am SO VERY THANKFUL that she didn't fall. It could have been so terrible. I didn't gate off the stairs simply because I didn't think she could or would go for them. Why, on the only day when I could barely lift my head from a pillow, did my dear daughter decide that she was going to conquer the staircase? As sick as I was - I was still amazed at how proud I felt of her. She was so excited - and we were thrilled for her too.

As the day continued on, I did get better. It was rough but my girls made it better. I know that it was hard for them to see me "off my game". Reagan was a huge help to me. She was so kind to Evie and even gave me an extra set of eyes for additional ground support. I brought her/us a nice little snack of saltines and she said, "thank you for my snack Mommy. I was really hungry. I love you Mommy." I just about melted right then and there. I almost forgot that I was sick for a moment (and then remembered shortly thereafter when the bathroom came-a-callin'). Evie kept peering at me throughout the day with a very concerned look. After a few hours, she dared to flash me a smile - it was a tentative one, perhaps she was concerned that I would not share in our favorite little game, a smile-a-thon? Sure enough, I did manage to crack a teeny smile back and she came charging for me, squealing as she swiftly crawled across the floor.

At the end of the day, Ben ended up being our Knight in shinning armor again! He managed to get home early at 6:15 and was able to finish the evening by getting Reagan to bed so I could get some rest in our bed. Ah, it felt so good to lay my heavy head on our uber-comfy pillows.

While it is hard to be sick and at home, alone with the girls, I realized that they sure made me feel healthier, a whole lot faster.

It must be 1953...

On the majority of days, I get the girls ready (dressed & fed) before I even think about doing the same for myself. Today, while having completed Reagan's preparedness and while dressing Evie, Reagan says, "Mommy, you should wear more tights and dresses." I decided to delve deeper. "Reagan, do you think I should wear dresses here, at our house?" "Oh, yes...that would be nice." And to think, I thought that I was just letting Mr. Cleaver-Herdrich down with my frumpiness!!! :-)

Ben is sooooooo cute!

While dating Ben, oh so many years ago, I would often make reference to Ben "he's soooo cute!" Obviously, Nic-O had a heyday making a mockery of that one! Like mother, like daughter - Reagan said the following, while eating her dinner last night, "My Daddy Ben, he is sooooooooo cute!" :-)

Evie stood on her own for a brief moment today. She would have stayed there in standing position forever except she realized that she was standing WITHOUT HER MOMMY and freaked! Getting her to walk is going to be a challenge. Not that she isn't capable, she just isn't going to be willing to be without holding onto her MOMMY! Actually, I quite like that she is a mommy's girl. My sweet little buddy who gives kisses all day long. Kisses and growls - those are her trademarks to date.

While watching a movie with the girls tonight (Reagan watching, Evie and I wrestling on the floor in front of the tv), Reagan came down off the couch and sat on me. She said, "See Mom, look. All the babies come and hug and kiss me when I sit on their mommies and daddies." Sure enough, Evie climbed right on top of the two of us, and hugged and kissed Reagan. I don't know who these other babies and mommies and daddies are that she speaks of. We'll have to tackle that tomorrow.

We get to meet baby Kari this weekend! Kari is my cousin Kris' baby girl. Kari and Evie were due 3 days apart. Evie came 10 days early and Kari came 2 weeks late. They barely even made it into the same month!

One year ago...at this very moment

As I sit here at 7:36 pm on January5, 2010, I cannot help but recall what I was doing at this very moment, last year. I was also typing on our family blog. I finished the blog right at 8:00pm (started it much earlier in the day but couldn't wrap it up due to Reagan's ever-demanding schedule at the time!) just in time to see my ever-anticipated season premier of The Bachelor. Right at 8:00 pm - I was hit with CONTRACTIONS. I didn't know it at the time, but within 2 hours, Ben and I would be heading to the hospital and little Evelyn Maris was due to arrive shortly.

Evie turns one tomorrow. What a year it has been. Ben and I have learned a lot as parents. We have learned that raising kids is not easy work. We have also learned that being parents is incredibly rewarding, regardless of the challenges that we face. Parenting = challenging & rewarding, a packaged deal! We have been reminded that each of these children is a true gift from God and only ours for an undefined, unknown, glimmer of time. We were given the opportunity to be Evie's parents.

Evie was an absolute puzzle for us to figure out from the get-go. I found that a handbook really would have been helpful (why wasn't there one attached to her baby blanket when we left the hospital?). Now, at one year, Evie is thriving. We enjoy her so very much. She is a joy - a true joy in our lives. She has the best gut-busting laugh. She giggles and it is contagious. She gets cranky and lets the world know. But somehow, even when she is cranking, it is now quite cute! She has a serious side too. Most strangers see this side. She stares, inquisitively at anyone new that she meets. Some people even have commented that it appears as if Evie is "sizing them up or maybe knows some secret about them." It is almost as if Evie has a "list" in which you must be on for her to engage in smiles and conversation. Thankfully, Ben, Reagan and I are all on "the list"! :-) We seem to have figured out some food sensitivities that she may have been having which has allowed her to be a much happier and healthier baby. Her skin is so soft and her hair so fine yet thick. Her eyes continue to be a sparkling ice-gray. Truly Beautiful eyes. She is crawling all over the place now but would much rather be walking, holding on to someone's hands. Evie has found the joy in wrestling and tumbling, finding that throwing ones body weight around can have some benefit and can be rewarding! She is a good sleeper, for the most part and she loves, loves, LOVES to talk. Shocking. Evelyn's face lights up the brightest when her big sister Reagan is in the room.
Happy Birthday Little Evelyn Maris. We love you!

Lessons from Christmas 2009!

I have learned a thing or two about Christmas. Christmas isn't always a perfect night followed by a perfect day, with perfect food, perfect attendance or perfectly happy children. Sometimes we don't manage to find the right toy for our child or maybe we don't even feel like Christmas cheer. I still cannot believe it myself but, we can even have a few snafu's and still manage to find the true spirit of Christmas!

It was an "interesting" Christmas for our family. It all started with Christmas Eve day. Evelyn was sick AND teething which led to her not taking her much needed naps. She woke at 5:00am and cried fairly steadily for a good 4 hours. Reagan was a cranky pants because she missed her Daddy and was overly tired from waking up too early, thank you Evie. I didn't realize that Ben was on-call for the entire weekend (Thurs-Sunday) which included Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You would think, after 5 1/2 years of residency, we could get our communication in check and actually iron out details regarding his work schedule, rather than become surprised each and every day. "On-call" means a host of different things, based on different services at the hospital. I know this...I just continue to forget to ask what "on-call" means. And of course, Ben would never dream of offering up a clue about his days ahead. Ugh. Due to his absence and the difficulty of the girls, I was unable to "set the stage" for Christmas Eve. Mom's know what that means...music playing, candles lit, table set, menu perfected, etc. It just didn't happen. Long story short...the stage was set for a fiasco.

I managed to get the girls all dolled up for church on Christmas Eve. They looked ADORABLE. We were so excited to go in our glitz, even though Daddy wasn't with us. Sure enough, just as I was getting into the driver's seat to head out, Ben pulled into the driveway! He made it - our HERO! Off to church we went. Church was nice. It was the family service at 5:00pm. Reagan met a new friend, we sang Christmas carols and we were able to reinforce the fact that Jesus TRULY is the Reason for the Season! Back into the car and home we go. By the time we reached home, both girls were melting down and fading fast. Screaming, crying, sassing girls...can you feel the Christmas cheer? It was now 6:15, neither of them had had decent naps and they were hungry. We would have loved to provide them with a delicious Christmas dinner except that I completely messed up the roast. As Ben attempted to saw through the Beef Hockey Puck (the veggies were a total loss - dry as the Griswold's turkey), Reagan threw herself onto the ground screaming she wanted only noodles and wouldn't eat "this green stuff" (a Wessman family favorite - Sea Foam). After another 20 plus minutes (noodles to take awhile, especially when you are literally waiting and watching for the water to boil. Meanwhile, my blood seems to be responding in a more swift manner and coming to a boil at a much more respectable rate. Finally, Reagan gets her noodles, I bring crabby Evie up to bed, come back down to have a bite of Beef Hockey Puck and sea foam. Just ridiculous. However, there was still time to salvage the evening...PRESENTS!

While we were bummed that Evie had to go to bed, we were also excited to see Reagan enjoy her Christmas gifts. Evelyn won't have recollection of when she opened her gifts so this would be just fine. Reagan received great gifts from family and friends. We opened and opened and opened. We played and opened some more. She even managed to get to bed at a reasonable hour. She actually put herself to bed - she felt that she needed to get some good sleep before Santa comes!

Ben was off to work when the girls found what Santa brought. I felt bad for him to miss these moments. These are the special moments for kids that are even more special for the parents! The girls were very excited to see that their good behavior paid richly! There is debate whether Reagan should have been on the nice list but Santa is a very forgiving man - much like her parents are! She has been a tough little lady as of late. Boy oh boy, how we love her unconditionally! :-) We spent the remainder of the day opening more gifts, mostly Evie's, in different shifts. This was nice because I could clean up as the day went along. Ben made it home in the afternoon, took a nap and then headed back in to the hospital. Christmas Day was nice, we missed Daddy but that is just part of the residency package.

Saturday day was "our day". Ben did work for the morning but surprised us as he was home all afternoon and evening! We all took naps, played with toys (Ben and Reagan on the puzzles and Evie and Mom playing chase and cars) and even had a nice meal that I didn't ruin! We did a web cam with my family back in Minnesota. We got to see EVERYONE and all of our nephews looked so adorable. We sure missed them this Christmas - but soon enough we will be together all of the time! I had no idea that Saturday would end up being our Christmas Day but it was. It was filled with smiles and hugs - happiness and very few tears. Evie was feeling better, Reagan was delighted and Ben and I were both well rested. Ahhh - Christmas IS magical!

All in all, our Christmas events were GREAT! Even though Christmas Eve was not "smooth" we sure can count our Blessings. Our family is happy, healthy and together. We are safe, fed and sheltered. We have a church home and close friends. We don't need a perfectly cooked roast nor do we need cheery, well-rested, children to make Christmas special. We just need to be together. Ultimately, we finally managed to make that happen on Saturday afternoon. Christmas 2009 was WONDERFUL!

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a Good Night!

Prep and Launch

Christmas Eve is tomorrow! Honestly, I am wiped. From "Thanksgiving Friday" until today, I have been a mad Christmas-crazed tornado of activity. My goal was to have "Christmas" done two weeks ago, so that the remaining weeks could be spent only baking, with the occasional toy to be wrapped and bow to be tied. I was close. VERY close. All in all, my planning for the season was quite stellar. I just wasn't prepared for the preparedness that it takes to be Santa. From the Advent calendar to Minty to potty training and the "nice list", I am just zonked out. And, Christmas isn't even here yet! I just never knew how hard my Mom worked during Christmastime. Just another parenting task, "just goes with the territory" that I need to remember to thank her for. Let my complaints rest because - the joy of the season is abounding and the girls get to have their Christmas, oh so soon!

We have truly been enjoying our busy month. Reagan loves to find "Minty" (our Elf of the Shelf) and discover what day it is, each morning. On her advent calendar, I hang girly ornaments for the girls' toddler-sized Christmas tree that is in the front room/playroom. I have forgotten to move that Elf at least ten times and the advent calendar is consistently a race to see if I can beat her down the stairs and distract her while I position her ornament and special chocolate. Always trying to stay ahead of that little one! We have done lots of baking, constructed our gingerbread house, cleaned, organized, wrapped and wrapped and our most favorite...made tons and tons of bows! Just like me and my mom. Reagan loves it and Ev even tried to get in on the bow-making action. Reagan just woke from her nap and told me that "Baby Reagan is very excited for Christmas" (BABY Reagan is Reagan's Bitty Baby doll from her birthday...our newest member of the family). "What day is it again?" I reply the 23rd of December and she says, "Again!?! When is Santa coming?" Soon...oh, so very soon. And Reagan also knows that Santa isn't the REASON for the season...

Reagan is very into Baby Jesus. She sneaks to take a peak of Baby Jesus in the manger, in our Nativity scene. Of course, we have an all glass scene and Reagan has asked for a Baby Jesus that she can play with. Wow. A mother's dream! Hopefully we are at least doing one thing right with this kid!

Evelyn is enjoying the season. She is more interested in walking with assistants (namely her Mommy) and scooting herself around the floor by way of the army crawl, rather than with ornaments and presents. She has crawled on all fours for a total of 20 paces and I haven't seen it since. She has been busy cutting some teeth so has been kind of cranky - but who wouldn't be? Ev is now eating most foods but I am convinced that she has a lactose intolerance, limiting our food options. She has her yearly doctors visit in a few weeks and of course, I will be loaded with a list of questions. She sure is enjoying her new early-Christmas gifts from Gram and Papa Big Guy!

Pam and Gary were just here for our first Christmas gathering. While they were here, Philly was hit with 23" of gorgeous, fluffy snow! Thank goodness Big Guy was here - he shoveled everything!! We were spoiled to have them here. Big Guy completed our stair project to the basement and Pam helped me with the girls. I had reinforcements and time to myself. Ahhh, so lovely! We were sad to have them go. We dropped them at the airport and then received a call an hour later. Their flight had been cancelled, they were renting a car and driving home to WI. My friend's in-laws were doing the same thing (driving to Buffalo, NY instead)...what a mess! They made it home safely, and picked up their new puppy, Buster Brown. We are excited to meet the little fella. Ben and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary while P&G were here. I ended up organizing and cleaning the basement to celebrate. It was PERFECT. Every mother knows that when she can get several hours to herself to clean uninterrupted - it is a true gift! While cleaning, I stumbled upon tons of old letters and pictures of us, when we were "young". It was a truly wonderful way to spend the day!

So, the final hours before Christmas Eve. I can only think of my dear brother, Joel. Today is his birthday. For him to celebrate his birthday so close to Christmas must have been true torture as a child. Evelyn's 1st birthday is coming up on the 6th of January and I am already feeling bad for her. Poor, poor Joey. Years and years of birthday's overshadowed and overwhelmed by Christmas mayhem.

Merry Christmas to all! I will be certain to update our blog as soon as possible. We will have our Christmas with just the four of us and then my folks arrive on the 29th. It should be a grand time!