Thanksgiving in Peoria

We had a delightful trip to Peoria for Thanksgiving last week! Howie and I baked a vanilla cream pie for our contribution. This was my first attempt at a pie with a real pastry crust, and it was hard. I can't say that I was very proud of the crust- it was pretty tough and crunchy, but the filling was delightful. Howie was a good little helper. We cubed butter together for the crust- he tried to convince me to let go of the knife and let him cut by himself, and that gave me a good laugh. I had a very difficult time getting the crust rolled evenly and smoothly and then fitting it into the pie pan. Oh well- I'll hope for a better result next time but at least the inside was good. We spent Thanksgiving at my Aunt Martha and Uncle Glenn's house, and it was delightful as ever. The boys always so enjoy being with family!

The newlyweds! Carrie and Brent!

Grandma and Grandpa eating with the crazy 3-year olds

Marnie and Carrie

Aunt Marnie reading to John, Howie, and Pax

This is just because I thought my nephew John looks hilarious. Here he is, playing in Grandma's basement with Howie, saying "cheese" as enthusiastically as he can for the camera

Harry Potter, Interrupted... The Tale of a Date Night Gone Wrong

On top of the lovely surprise party Josh threw for me (see below), he also took me to see Harry Potter #7 on opening day! (yes, they picked my birthday for the opening of Harry Potter. That means something.) We went to a local theater called The Moolah on the campus of St Louis University- it was such a fun place to go because you can sit on couches (if you get there early enough) and eat food and drink beer- not your normal movie theater fare. We were very excited to go there and see the movie!! So we gave the boys their dinner and put them in bed and left them sleeping in the care of our dear friend John, who was so gracious to come sit on the couch and listen for the boys, heaven forbid that they should wake up. We left with plenty of time to get to the show, confident that the boys would sleep peacefully and wouldn't even know John had been there (although we did brief Howie earlier in the day so he wouldn't be freaked out if he did wake up. Unfortunately that's not possible for Justice... oh wait, is this foreshadowing?). Our overconfidence was our first mistake, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We got to the theater with 30 minutes to spare, but we were still the second-to-last people in a very long line. So obviously our shot at a couch was gone. But we went into the theater undaunted when the doors opened and still got a good seat in the back. I put my phone in the cupholder so I would see it light up if John called. The movie started and was going swimmingly when all the sudden, to my shock and horror, my phone lit up. John was calling. Oh dear. Not good. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Justice was awake and inconsolable. (An aside: Justice has always been somewhat of a fireball. He has known what he wanted since Day One, and he has always made it known. Usually what he wants is Mama. When he wakes up all the way usually only Mama can get him to go back to sleep. So waking up to a strange man? Not a chance that he would go back to sleep. Not a chance.) So Josh answered John's call, and proceeded to talk to him a couple times in the next 30 minutes while John tried to settle Justice. All for naught, we thought, so we left the theater and got in the car to head home. (This all started maybe a little less than halfway through the movie.) As we were pulling out of the theater John called back and said that Justice had gotten quiet after John put a movie on for him to watch, and he was able to lay him back in his crib and so far no more noise. So John told us to go back into the movie theater and finish the movie. So we re-parked the car and ran back inside (don't forget that we had read the book, so we had a basic idea of what was going on). We sat peacefully for probably 10-15 minutes when I saw my phone light up. Again. This time we knew it was for real. There was no going back, no finishing the movie. It was over. So we left for the last time to go home probably about 30 minutes from the end. Justice had woken up and was quite upset that Mama still wasn't home. Poor John got much more than he bargained for and was so gracious. Oh well. We decided to netflix the movie when it comes out and for the next several years just hold our breath on date night! It was fun anyway! Such is life with little kids in the house!

Surprise Party!!

My birthday was November 19th, and it was very well-celebrated! Josh threw me a surprise party, complete with 45 friends (counting kids!) in our very packed apartment and delicious Mexican food! It was such a blast! I've got to say that Josh was acting a wee bit suspicious all day, but he did a wonderful job- it was so much fun! Thanks to my friend Coralie for these photos!

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??

In truly Josh fashion, all of our friends came to the microphone (Josh did manage to procure a microphone) to announce the Mexican dish they brought to the party. Here Lisa displays her glorious food.

Mary Beth with some luscious cupcakes

John with Corona- always a safe bet

Our awesome new neighbors Justin and Danielle

Our wonderful friend Dick from church- he brought some fabulous tacquitos

Add a lot of kids to the mix and you get some serious craziness!

Thanks to everyone who came! It was such a blast!

Justice Claps...

Justice just learned how to clap!! Please notice in the first few seconds of this video he chucks a carrot onto the floor and is then quite preoccupied with saying uh-oh, as if I didn't notice. Enjoy!

... And He's Walking

The Wedding of the Century

My dear sister Carrie got married this weekend, as I mentioned below. It was such a wonderful event! I could not be happier for her- she is an amazing woman and I just want all the happiness in the world for her. We knew that this party would bring down the house, and it did. The ceremony was wonderfully personal and God-honoring, and convicting for me too as I looked back on our wedding! And the reception was on a boat... enough said. We had all been looking forward to the wedding and "Aunt Carrie's party," as Howie called it (after which he proceeded basically every time he thought of it to ask me if it was time for the party yet... finally this weekend I could say YES!). The boys looked dashing in their tuxedos and shockingly didn't complain about wearing them! We are just thrilled to welcome our new brother-in-law Brent to the family. He and Carrie are a wonderful match and we really couldn't be happier for them.

Just To Whet Your Appetite

My sister Carrie, who we love dearly, got married this weekend in the event of the century. We seriously had the time of our lives. Many more pics are coming, but for now, feast your eyes on this.

Never Know What You'll Find In Your Boot

Today I put on my cowboy boot and felt something in there, so I turned it over and shook it. Out fell some saltine crackers and a green letter G magnet from the dishwasher. Such is life right now.

Just For Fun

I thought some photos of the handsome Desch men were in order. Josh preached this morning and they all got spiffed up. Love it.

Love Those Crisp Fall Mornings

I Think Winter Is Here

Today the high is only 46, and it finally feels legitimately chilly out there! But who knows... St Louis weather is so bizarre!! Maybe it'll be back up to 80 tomorrow!! The boys went on an outing with Josh this morning, and this is how they were dressed:

Howie Goes to the Hospital

Right on the heels of our Halloween fun, Howie came down with pneumonia and had a stay in the hospital overnight. Monday morning he was not acting like himself, but we all figured he was just off from a Halloween hangover (lots of candy, late bedtime, etc) and he would be fine after a nap. Before he had lunch he was asking to go to bed, which he NEVER EVER does, and that's when I knew something was wrong. He woke up with a high fever and told me his ear hurts. This is when I began to feel some motherly guilt. He had an ear infection about 3 weeks ago and was prescribed amoxicillin to knock out the infection. Unfortunately for Howie and me, the medicine was dosed to be taken 3 TIMES DAILY FOR 10 DAYS. EVERY 8 HOURS. There are so many problems with that dosage. First of all, every 8 hours? Do you seriously expect me to wake my little boy up overnight for 10 days to give him medicine that he really doesn't want to take? Yeah, that's not happening. Second of all, 3 times a day? That stuff tastes terrible. I consider getting 1 dose in him a major victory, and I was supposed to do that 3 times every day for 10 days? That's 30 TIMES! Whoever prescribed that kind of dose has clearly not tried to give a little kid nasty pink medicine. So you can see where I'm going with this... my delivery of the amoxicillin was not exactly perfect. I called the dr's office to ask if I really had to wake him up overnight to give him medicine, and they said I could just space out 3 doses over the course of the day. That wasn't much better, but a little. So over the course of 10 days, I definitely missed a couple here or there because I just forgot to keep pumping it in him (or delayed a couple times because I wasn't armed for battle... oops). ANYWAY, all that to say that when Howie told me on Monday that his ear hurt, I instantly thought his ear infection had returned because I hadn't given him that amoxicillin perfectly. His temp hovered around 102-104 all afternoon and into the evening, and we finally got it to come down with some medicine and I think he slept pretty well Monday night. Tuesday morning we got up and I took him the doctor and confessed my slightly shoddy medicine-giving. While I felt a small bit of chiding, the doc generally agreed with me that that dosing wasn't very good and saw Howie's ear was infected again but also thought his lungs sounded a little rough. We were sent down for a chest X-ray and then told we could go home after a preliminary x-ray reading looked fine. The doctor called me back later that afternoon to say the radiologist thought Howie had mild pneumonia and because of his high fever I should take him to the ER. I first thought this was a bit overkill but took his advice and we went to the ER. By the time we got there Howie measured in with a 104.8 temp... long story short we were ushered back into the pediatric ER, he was given a magic straw (that's what the nurse called his IV, which I found hilarious but Howie didn't find funny whatsoever), some antibiotics to kill the pneumonia, and we left the hospital the next morning almost good as new. It's amazing to me how quickly children can bounce back from something. He was given the antibiotic through his magic straw and by morning his fever had disappeared and he seemed to feel better! I'm so grateful for medicine and for how well he was cared for. He was really miserable in the hospital and kept asking me to take that magic straw out, but when we left he had at least part of the bounce in his step back and he told me he had a good time in the hospital. That's kid logic for you.

Halloween Fun

We had so much fun trick or treating this year. We had the privilege of Nana's (Josh's mom) company, who was in town for the weekend, and that made it extra fun. Howie was NOT happy about putting his costume on, but I guess once he saw the candy piling up, he forgot all about the costume. The weather couldn't have been more lovely.

Here he is... Curious George! Complete with a banana in his pocket! Already testing out the candy before we even left the house! (Side note: Tuesday morning Howie told me his teeth hurt. Excellent. Only 3 and already following in my awful teeth footsteps. Mental note: must take Howie to the dentist and hide the fact that he eats lollipops when Mama needs extra leverage.)

Justice, our precious little shark. It was 4:00 Sunday afternoon and we still didn't have a costume. Josh was going to make him a Peyton Manning jersey out of a brown paper grocery bag, but to save him from bad costume humiliation, I ran to Old Navy real quick to see if they had any cheap baby costumes left. Sure enough, scored the last baby costume, this shark, for $5. Please leave a comment below to tell me how impressed you are. He curiously had absolutely no issue with wearing this costume.

The boys with Nana, ready to go

Meeting up with pals... here they found Mya (the little mermaid, of course) and Maggie (a rabbit!). It made me a wee bit sad that this was our last Halloween in St Louis with these precious friends.

Justice with dear friend Lisa, making the rounds. I think everyone knew that candy given to him was going straight to Mom and Dad, so that was slightly embarrassing.

Howie and Mya, checking out the haul afterwards.

Have you ever seen a shark:

Drink milk from a sippy cup?

Check his cell phone for messages? I think not.

What the Kids Look Like Now

Dad pushing the boys like a madman. What's not to like about this scenario?

When Howie plays dinosaurs he really means it. Notice the straining blood vessels and intense roaring going on. It's a sight to behold (and of course hear).

The boys and their good friend Caroline

Mom, do you mind? Even in my crib?

The closet is a fabulous place to hide

Honking the horn on this tricycle at Grandma and Grandpa's is the best part of my day

Howie, Justice, and cousin Pax visit Tanners Apple Orchard in Illinois. The apple cider! The apple cider donuts! The pumpkins! The goats! It's just too much fun!

It's so hard to get a pic where they are both standing still and looking mostly normal... even if part of Howie's head is cut off!