Outdoor World...Found Indoors

Devin's Doozie

After not even being able to get near the place last week, we decided to give Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World another try.

Sure enough, the crowd was much smaller and we were able to get in and out of the massive tribute to all things outdoor with ease.

We went there because we knew that Devin would love it. It has everything a little boy could wish for: NASCAR, camping, fishing, hiking, boating, hunting and ATVs. There's even archery!

And the place is so much more than retail. There's a huge, two-story waterfall that cascades into a pond stocked with fish and a river that runs throughout the store. There are tons of taxidermied animals (including a lion attacking a zebra...try explaining that to a little boy who idolizes the animal characters of the movie "Madagascar) and even a place to purchase some freshy made fudge.

Chocolate? Who? Me? Well...if you insist.

Animals and wildlife are represented throughout the building and in one of the display cases was the skin of a tiger (I'm not sure if it was real or not -- I'd really rather not know).

Devin happened across this skin and said, "Oh Daddy...how sad! Someone squished a tiger!"

Needless to say, it was a fun time and, thankfully, we got out of there only spending $10 on some over-priced (although very yummy) fudge.

Have a great weekend!

Yoakum High School Class of 1986and other exciting tales

This weekend was Todd's 20th (bah ha ha ha ha ha ha!) high school reunion in the booming metropolis of Yoakum, Texas.

We arrived in Y-town around noon on Friday and spent some time with Todd's parents while they cooed over the girls and played with Devin. It was nice to sit and let someone else entertain the shortest Pruetzes.

That night was the Yoakum Bulldogs vs. the Cureo Gobblers (no, I'm not kidding). We took Devin, got settled in our seats and watched kickoff. Yoakum scored a touchdown and extra point almost immediately, but whatever happened after that is a total mystery to us.

You see Devin, my sweet, precious three-year-old, does not have the world's longest attention span. In fact, he is in the running for the world's shortest attention span. And while he loves sports, he'd much rather be playing than watching. What's the fun in watching?

So while we got to watch a little bit of the game, our little Doodle found it to be much more exciting to jump from the steps of the stands down to the walkway below. Over and over and over again. He was fine for awhile, until he started doing it from the fourth and fifth steps. Then he was annoying the fire out of everyone around him, so we took him below the stands to let him run around.

True to form, he picked up a game of football with some kids while Todd caught up with a number of his former classmates. When it was time to try to get back to our seats, though, Devin would hear nothing of it. He kicked and made a fuss, telling us that he wanted to return to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

That's all we needed.

We loaded the boy into the car and drove clear across Yoakum (2.5 minutes, tops) and dropped him off with Todd's folks. Then we hopped back into the mini-van and returned to the game where we were able to watch the bands perform at halftime and spend too much time in line for nachos. We saw a number of Todd's friends, though, and had a good time laughing and having fun, sans children.

Yoakum lost, 33 to 7. Apparently, the touchdown we saw was the only highlight of the game.

We woke up on Saturday morning and Todd and I headed to the High School for a tour, given by the Yoakum High School Principal and Class of '86 graduate. A number of Todd's friends were there and we enjoyed talking with them in the auditorium, one of the only rooms in the school that remains almost exactly as it was when the school was built.

Wooden, folding seats, with initials (some suspiciously looking like T.O.P...) carved deeply into them. A cement floor and a balcony. It was like stepping onto the set of "Grease."

Pricipal Kvinta (that's pronounced "Kwinna" for those of you who do not have Czechoslovakian backgrounds) pointed out the two pencils that Todd had thrown and stuck into the ceiling so many years ago and then took us all throughout the building.

The first stop was the computer sciences room. Interestingly enough, this was the only other room in the school that has not been renovated. Yoakum High School opened for its first year in 1892 (no, you're not reading that wrong), so you can imagine what the architecture was like; hardwood floors, raised "stage" areas for the teachers' desks, and tall windows for cross-ventilation.

It was interesting to see rows and rows of computers sitting in a room that looked straight out of a page of a history book. A juxtoposition of cultures, if you will.

The rest of the school looked a lot like my alma mater of Kingwood, Texas. Typical classrooms with rows of desks, dry-erase boards and inspirational posters on the walls. Some of the rooms had old desks from the 1950s, though, which were also interesting.

The tour of the main building ended in the Principal's office, where Chris Kvinta took out the paddle from their high school days. Back in those days, anyone who got paddled got to sign their names to the piece of wood. Todd won with the most signatures: TEN.

We saw the rest of the school, with some new outter buildings and updates. It was a lot of fun and it wasn't hard for me to picture Todd running through the halls.

We returned to Todd's parents house and got ready to go to the reunion party that night. We arrived around 4:00 with all three kids in tow (including Devin who had been up until 11:00 the night before and who had not had a nap that day). Everyone gathered around the twins and marveled at how much Devin looks like Todd. We enjoyed showing them off and stayed until about 6:00, when Devin's steam wore out.

Again, we did the drop at Grandma and Grandpa's house and returned to the party. On the way, we picked up a bottle of wine and, for Todd's posterity's sake, a bottle of MD 20/20. You'll be happy to know that we did not even open the stuff.

We had a great time, laughing and recalling goofy Todd stories. I finally had a number of faces to put with names and was able to catch up with some people we hadn't seen in a long time. It was really fun.

If you haven't gathered by now, Todd was Yoakum High Class of '86's class clown. And being married to the class clown brings a lot of pressure. Everyone is wanting to see just who would marry such a character and what is that person like? I had to make sure I was at my goofiest, so not to let anyone down.

The goofiness included taking a decades-old Air Force photo of one of Todd's friends and taping it to the mirror in the women's bathroom with a note that read, "For a good time, call 1-800-AF-STUDS." His wife found it almost immediately and brought it out, laughing. So, I wrote another one and sent Todd into the men's room with it. This one read, "Trumpet Lessons. 1-800-AF-STUDS." It stayed up for hours, until Jimmy saw it and nearly peed his pants. My work was done.

And that was the long and short of the reunion. A hysterically fun time in Yoakum, Texas.

More Exciting Stuff

Last Thursday, we decided we would take a trip out to the new Bass Pro Shops here in San Antonio. I've been to the one in Dallas (Grapevine, actually), but Todd had never seen one and I knew Devin would love the fish and all of the animals and outdoorsy stuff.

So we loaded up the family truckster and headed out I-10. We were excited to get to do this on a Thursday because, really, how many people would be there during the work week?

A lot.

We couldn't get near the place. They tried to get us to park across the freeway at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and take a shuttle to the shop.

Um...no thanks. It's just not that important.

So we took a drive up I-10 and decided that Devin needed to see Natural Bridge Caverns. We were headed the absolute wrong direction to get there, but we took a detour and got to our destination in about 55 minutes (had we left from our home, it would have taken 20).

Once we got there, we made the executive decision to not actually tour the caves. With a stroller full of babies and a nearly 90-minute tour, we both agreed that it may not be a good time to go spelunking.

But there are plenty of other things to do, including mining for gemstones, which Devin did like a pro. He loved it.

After awhile, we went next door to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. This is one of these places where you stay in your car and drive through different zones, filled with animals from all over the world.

In our ride, we met up with some very fiesty ostriches (who pecked at my window for food and stuck their heads in Todd's window, looking for a bite to eat -- luckily he was holding the bag of feed) and some hungry zebras (Devin is a fan of the movie, "Madagascar," so he was thrilled to see so many Martys in one place).

We also encountered a number of different types of antelope and even some bison. There were deer and giraffe and dozens of other animals. Devin was in awe.

After our drive, we stopped at the petting zoo. It was going to be impossible to get the girls' stroller in and out of there, so I sat in the car while Devin and Todd explored. About 20 minutes later, they returned, with Devin covered in dirt from head to toe on his left side. Apparently, a goat was interested in his shirt and knocked him down. I'm proud to say he laughed at the whole situation!

Of course, since this whole thing was spur-of-the-moment, we did not have the camera. The digital camera we have is a professional-quality one that is too big to keep in my purse, so we have to remember to get it and all of its accoutrements every time we go on an outing. I'm hoping for a small, point-n-shoot for Christmas so that I can keep it with me at all times.

We have, however, gotten a few good photos of the kiddos lately. Enjoy!

E

An Update on Video Egg
I've been hoping to post video to this blog for awhile, now, but apparently, Video Egg is not compatible with Macs. Either that, or our DVD Cam is not compatible. Todd tried explaining it to me, but my eyes glazed over. So, until we can figure out how to make it work, we'll have to stick with stills.

Grace on the left, Faith on the right


Devin in our bed


Faith in her swing


Devin and Grandpa asleep in Grandpa's favorite chair


Goofy Grace. This is easily the funniest face I've ever seen any of my kids make!

Exotic Animals Found in San Antonio

Today, Todd, Devin, Faith, Grace and I all went for a walk at the new park near our home. It's called Stone Oak Park, named after the master-planned community in which we live.

To be realistic, it's not as much of a park as is a nature area. No playground or sandbox (so far...I think there are plans for them, though), but rather gravel trails with benches along the way. The trails circumvent a cave system that will be open to the public some day in the future.

The park is very pretty and, although it is only partially finished, the trails are beautiful and rustic. They are pretty easy, although Level 2 and Level 3 trails are part of the newest expansion, set to open at the end of this year.

So we had a great time just meandering along the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather and God's glory around us. Since we were there during the heat of the day, we didn't see a whole lot of animals, but we were able to point out different animal tracks, trees and cactuses to Devin. It's hysterical to hear him say, "Prickley Pear."

At one point, though, we heard something scurry into some of the brush (remember, this is San Antonio, so it's more like short trees and scrubby brush than the pine-straw blanketed piney woods of Houston where I grew up) and Todd investigated. It was a squirrel and he pointed it out to Devin. This was the first time Devin realized that there may be animals along the way and he became very interested.

Devin's Doozie

A short way past the squirrel-sighting, Devin shushed Todd and me and told us to stop. He said he'd heard an animal in the distance. Todd and I exchanged amused glances and followed our son to the edge of the trail.

There he stood, crouched down, quietly peering into the bushes. Todd whispered, "What do you see, Devin?"

Devin's response, "An itty, bitty hippopatamus."

Well who-the-heck knew? Apparently, San Antonio is home to exotic, wild animals. I didn't see the hippo, nor did Todd, but Devin swore it was there. And who are we to doubt him?

Updates from the Home Front

It occured to me earlier today that I have made a number of statements and prayer requests, but have never followed up on the news to go along with them. So...here you go.

We had our check-up on Friday to make sure the girls were healing well after their bout with strep. Sure enough, their oxygen levels were perfect and the wheezing had stopped. We got instructions to continue with their Amoxicillan (since it seems they are not allergic to Penicillan-based drugs like their mommy is) and continue life as usual.

We did talk, though, about Faith's failure to gain weight. Right now, there is a larger discrepancy in the sizes of the two girls than there ever has been in the past: a full pound! Fully clothed, Faith weighed only 10 lbs, 7 oz.

Babies at this age should gain six to eight ounces per week and Faith has only gained seven ounces in three weeks.

Dr. Trexler didn't seem too concerned, but wanted me to start forifying Faith's breastmilk again in an effort to up her calorie count. Breastmilk is 20 calories per ounce and with fortifying, it becomes 22 calories per ounce. Two calories don't seem like much, but when you really don't do a whole lot more than just lie around all day, it makes a huge difference.

So we're back to buying Enfacare and putting measured amounts of it in Faith's breastmilk. Hopefully, this will do the trick and she will get chunky like her sister.

And in other news...

So many of you all have inquired about how my niece, Presley, is doing. The great news is she's doing fine. After an initial diagnosis of tubular sclerosis, ZZ took her to see many, many doctors to see how far the disease had reached in her body. An appointment with her neuorologist, though, brought an interesting turn of events -- it may not be TS after all.

It seemed that many of Presley's symptoms were more indicative of epilepsy than of TS. There's no denying that TS symptoms are present, but epilepsy seemed to be the prevailing concern.

So a 24-hour EEG was done on Presley to determine what kind of activities were going on in that noggin of hers. She was hooked up to a machine with a zillion little wires attached to her head. She had to sit in bed for 24 fulls hours, getting up only to go to the bathroom (for which she still had to be attached to the machine, meaning ZZ had to carry all of the wires for her!). She was also videotaped for the entire 24 hours, to monitor any physical correlations with any seizures that were recorded.

Can you appreciate what it must have been like to have a four-year-old stuck in bed for 24 hours? It wasn't pretty...

A few days later, though, Z and Presley saw their neurologist and he confirmed it: While it may be TS, it's more likely epilepsy. They just can't ignore the epileptic-type sympoms she has.

They will continue to test and monitor for TS, which could rear its ugly head at any time. But epilepsy, especially juvenile epilepsy, is much preferred over TS. Praise God!

You can keep up with Presley on her CaringBridge Web Site.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for Presley and inquired about her health. Once again, God has shown His mercy.

During her stay, Presley was given a very special hat, made by a local ministry, to help keep her from fidgeting with her cranial connections and to make her smile. I couldn't resist taking a photo.

Cosmic Math

Today's post is brought to you by a Type-A personality with too much time on her hands.

I actually figured this whole thing out in the days after the twins were born, but I'm just now writing it down. I am sure it's a stretch, but I really don't believe in coincidences and I think God may have had a hand in my kids' times of birth, if for nothing more than to amuse someone who spends way too much time just "thinking."

Let's start with the time of day each of my kids were born.

Devin: 1:01 pm
Faith: 2:11 pm
Grace: 2:12 pm

Here is the pattern I noticed -- When you add up the hours and minutes of their respective births (separately), you get their birth order:

Devin: 1st pregnancy, 1st child
Hour: 1+0=1 (1st pregnancy)
Minutes: 0+1=1 (1st child)

Faith: 2nd pregnancy, 2nd child
Hour: 2+0=2 (2nd pregnancy)
Minutes: 1+1=2 (2nd child)

Grace: 2nd pregnancy, 3rd child
Hour: 2+0=2 (2nd pregnancy)
Minutes: 1+2=3 (3rd child)

I'm sure a lot of people are out there saying, "Okay Erin...this time you've really lost it," but I think this is pretty cool! Of course, if we were using military time, this would never work, but since we're on a 12-hour clock...

So ponder that! Have a great weekend!

PS - Todd is in the nursery dressing the girls. They are both just giggling up a storm. They've given us a few chuckles here and there, but this is the first time they've both consistently laughed. It's like music to my ears!

Dawn Arrow Death House

After nearly a year of defiantly titling each of my entries with the date of my entry (even though Blogger.com dates every entry automatically), I have finally decided to give it up and give them cute names. All of my friends' blogs have cute names for their entries, so why shouldn't I do the same? I've been doing it for consistency's sake and I've decided to let go of my OCD tendencies and throw caution to the wind!

Ha!

Today brought lots and lots of fun to the Pruetz house.

Ha! Again.

Todd has been feeling sick for a couple of days. Head and chest congestion, sore throat, achiness...the works. I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone else started to feel the wrath of this mysterious malady.

Sure enough, Devin crawled into bed with me this morning (can't-get-a-good-night's-sleep-Todd was in the guest room) and immediately started hacking. I could hear the congestion rattling around in his throat and chest and he complained all morning about his nose being stuffy.

Around 7:45, both girls woke up and sure enough, they were stuffy and congested too.

At the stroke of 8:00, I called our Doctor's office and made an appointment for 9:00 for all three kids.

An hour later, we were sitting in the office of Stone Oak Pediatrics and were seen fairly quickly.

Luckily, our pediatrician, Cheryl, is a personal friend of mine and she always takes extra time with our kids.

First she examined Devin. Then Faith. Then Grace. Then pulse-ox meters for both girls. Then tempanograms for all three. Next were rapid strep tests for the brood and finally Xopenex nebulizer treatments for the babies.

She was right -- all three had strep. She gave Devin a prescription for a decongestant and all three got Amoxicillan to clear up the infection.

Three short hours later, we were home.

Four o'clock was Todd's turn to see our doctor. Sure enough, he returned 90 minutes later with a Z-Pack in hand, to clear up his strep throat (the first time he's ever had strep!) and sinus infection.

Luckily, I have escaped all of this. Until this evening.

First the cough. Then the tickle in the throat. Now the inability to stay awake, even while typin...zzz...zzz...zzz...

Just kidding.

So, the whole family is on antibiotics and I'm waiting for morning to arrive when I call my doctor and say, "Look -- my husband and three kids all have strep. I think it's safe to say this is what I've gotten," and hope that he just calls a prescription in for me.

So, if you plan to stop by our home any time in the next two days, here's a word to the wise: DON'T. Save yourself. You won't regret it.

Me

PS - On a lighter note, here are the kids' stats:

Devin: 35 lbs
Faith: 10 lbs, 7 oz
Grace: 11 lbs, 7 oz

We're a little worried about Faith's somewhat stunted growth, so we'll go in on Friday to revisit this whole strep thing and talk about why she's not gaining weight as quickly as she should. Here we go again...

October 10, 2006

Yesterday, as the girls were lying on the floor of their room (with Todd and me, of course), they came to an awesome discovery: one another!

We give the girls "floor time" a few times a day, letting them roll around and stretch out. They aren't quite to the point of reaching for toys yet, but they do enjoy watching the ceiling fan (we call them ceiling angels) and having the freedom to move around.

Well, yesterday afternoon, they were next to one another on the floor, as is the usual custom. At one point, Grace turned her head and saw Faith. Now this has happened a zillion times and it's been no big deal. But this time, it was like a lightbulb popped up over Grace's head and she said to herself, "Hey look - that's another person over there!"

So she reached out for Faith and Faith responded to Grace's touch with her own turn of the head and proverbial lightbulb.

You think that's cute? Wait 'till you hear about what happened next!

Everyone says twins have their own language. My sister, ZZ's twins had their own for a long time. They were just mumbo-jumbo to the untrained ear, but to Kaelin and Brendan, they made total sense to one another. They asked questions, answered back and collaborated on many "projects."

Naturally, I've wondered when it will start for my twins.

Apparently, yesterday was the day!

As the girls were discovering one another by patting the other's arms and shoulders, they were also discovering that they could communicate with sounds.

It started with Faith (she's our talker, while Grace is our mover) who made a sort of trill sound with her lips. Grace follwed with an, "Ah-gee," and it went on from there. They both still do their little "Hi!" and are making lots of other noises, too.

This whole communication went on for nearly an hour. They were so content to just sit there and "talk" with one another. I started to get the video camera, but then thought twice about it, as I was afraid if I moved around a lot, I'd distract them and this important moment of bonding would be lost. I'll catch it next time.

I'm still trying to figure out our video camera (Todd is the techincal guru around here -- I just know how to take video) and get stuff uploaded to VideoEgg.com. Once I do, though, you'll have video to go along with Pruetz family stories!

Peace.

E

October 4, 2006

Erin's Doozie

I'm just so proud of this, I had to write it down.

As many of you all know, Todd was a stand-up comedian in college and that makes him much funnier and wittier than I. Rarely do I get to a joke before he does. Until today.

Todd was reading a CNN.com article about Teleporting Atoms when he said, "How do you tag an atom? Do you color it blue? Do you put your name on it?"

My response: "Hi. My name is Adam."

He was furious that I got to it first. He threw himself on the bed and swore this was like that Friends episode where Chandler had his third nipple removed. Chandler later missed a very obvious joke about Rachael's high school reputation and swore that he had lost his witty power when his superflous nipple was removed.

Today's Final Score
Erin: 1
Todd: 0

October 3, 2006

Good Morning,

It's a typical morning in the Pruetz house. Devin is searching for some long-lost toy and doing his version of "The Running Man" for Todd. The girls are still sleeping and I'm banging away at the computer. What fun!

Todd and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend by retreating to Fredericksburg for some wine tasting and R&R. It was so good to have some time with Todd and reconnect without someone screaming, whining or spitting up. Dad and Jean, being the wonderful people that they are, stayed with the kids while we were away. We couldn't be more thankful for their generosity.

We left Friday afternoon around 3:15 and made it to Fredericksburg around 4:45. We checked into our Bed and Breakfast, the Schandua Suite. We stayed here four years ago for our first anniversary and were so impressed with it, that we returned again!

It's not your typical B-n-B. It's not some old, victorian house with bedrooms upstairs and a common area downstairs. Instead, it's a single, two-room suite that is completey separate (although in the same building) from the owner's home. It has an enormous bedroom with the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. In the bedroom is also a couch, a TV and a table and chairs. Attached to the bedroom is a double-sink bath, a separate water closet and a big walk-in closet. All of the ceilings are like 15 feet, so you can imagine how big the place feels.

Off of the bedroom is the library. It has a couch and chairs, a desk and a TV, along with a 25-foot wall filled completely with books. Behind the living room area is a small table and chairs and a complete, pullman kitchen.

The owners, Jon and Sharla, keep the kitchen stocked with all sorts of goodies. Milk, OJ, veggie juice, Cokes, cereal, fresh fruit, coffee and fresh, German pasteries from the bakery downstairs. YUM!

The best part about this place is the location, though. Like most quaint little town, Fredericksburg has a Main Street on which there are cute shops, fun eateries and entertainment as far as the eye can see. This little town's Main Street is about five blocks long and our suite sat right in the middle of the action. It's perfect!

So we checked in on Friday evening and enjoyed the appetizers that are a part of your arrival package. Then we headed out for some good German food and beer. We found The Auslander Restaurant enjoyed some good fried mushrooms and excellent German potato skins!

Then we headed down the street to the Fredericksburg Brewery where we had a beer and just relaxed.

It was back to the suite for one of the best nights sleep we've had in a long time.

The next morning, we woke up and enjoyed having a leisurely morning with nothing to do. We eventually headed out to walk Main Street and shop for goodies. We found a beautiful iron piece for the wall above our bed and a few other knick-knacks here and there.

Then...it was time. Wine tasting. This is what the trip was all about.

Before we left San Antonio, we found a map of the Texas Wine Trail and scoped out the wineries that we wanted to visit. Becker, for sure, as we visited them four years ago and buy their wine very often.

So we started there, tasting a number of their reds and a couple of their whites. We bought a glass of their ... something or another. I can't remember. But we enjoyed it a lot, sitting on their patio and making friends with some folks who walked up with their Yellow Labs. So much fun!

We headed down the road to a newer winery called Torre di Pietra. We did more tasting there, supplied by our now-good-friend George and purchased a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Again, we sat out on their patio and enjoyed the live swing band.

By now, we are feeling no pain.

Our last winery would be Grape Creek Vineyards. I won't even go there. We were less than impressed. 'Nuff said.

On our way back into town, we passed some little place called, "Chip, Putt and Taste." Could it be? Golf and wine? We had to find out.

Turns out, that's exactly what it was. A little place, decorated with photographs of famous golfers like Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods, with a chipping green and putting green out back. On the menu were wines from all over the region and even some sparkling wines. We tasted a Syrah, a Zinfandel and a Merlot and purchased a glass of peach champagne. So yummy!

By this time, we needed to dry out a little, so we headed back to the suite for a snack and a nap. That night, we had dinner at the Rathskeller Restaurant where we just split an appetizer and a dessert. They had a great, live guitarist who played many of our favorite tunes, from James Taylor to the Beatles.

We were exhausted, so we retired early and, again, enjoyed a full-night's rest with no interruption.

Sunday brought the reality of having to return home and after a quick walk down Main Street, we returned to San Antonio. I was ready, though. I really missed my kids!

Naturally, we forgot the camera, so you'll have to just picture all of this in your mind. But if you're ever in Fredericksburg, please stay at the Schandua Suite and tell Jon and Sharla that we say hello...

Me

September 26, 2006

Way back when, during the days of the NICU and daily trips to and from the hospital, I mentioned that Faith does everything Grace does, only a few days later.

Well, she has stayed true to that statement.

Gracie has become a pro at rolling over. In fact, like her mom, she likes to sleep on her side, giving us all the more reason to keep her sleeping in her car seat at night (the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development recommends all babies sleep on their backs until age one). She just flips over all the time with ease.

Faith has been staying on her back, contetedly. Until now.

Todd and I were standing in the living room, talking about something, while the girls laid on the floor nearby. Devin was being his usual self, bouncing around, trying to interrupt us.

He succeeded when he said, "Mommy! She rolled over!"

Without glancing down, I said, "I know. Grace rolls over a lot now."

He replied, "No! The other one!"

I looked down and, sure enough, there was Faith, quietly lying on her tummy.

Geniuses. Both of them.

Peace.

September 23, 2006

Just another day in paradise...

On Tuesday, the girls turned four months old and that meant another trip to the doctor's office. So on Thursday the 21st, I took them in for their check up.

They are doing so well! Faith is exactly ten lbs and 21.75 inches long. Grace is ten lbs, 12 oz and 23.5 inches long. Both are finally on the charts for their true age (four months) and for their corrected age (two months). Faith is in the 8th percentile for a four-month-old and in the 80th for a two-month-old. Grace is in the 15th for a four-month-old and in the 95th for a two-month-old! Woo hoo!

Both girls passed their physicals with flying colors and even did some cooing and talking for Dr. Trexler. She was very impressed. I'm telling you, they're geniuses.

Earlier today, I left the two girls lying on the family room floor while I went into the kitchen (we have an open floor plan, so I was essentially still the same room with them. Don't call CPS). I was talking to Todd, with my back to the girls. In mid-setence, though, Todd interuppted me and said, "Did you leave her on her tummy?"

I turned around to find Grace on her belly. Apparently, Wednesday's roll-over wasn't a fluke (like we thought it may be, since she didn't seem to have much interest in doing it again). We rolled her back onto her back and she flipped right back onto her tummy. We turned her over one more time and got smart -- the video camera! As soon as I get it figured out, I'm going to use Video Egg (thanks for the idea, Meg!) to post the amazing images of Grace rolling over. No baby in the history of babies has ever completed such a feat. :)

September 20, 2006

Houston, we have a roll-over

It's official -- my girls are growing up! Today, while we were having floor time in the living room, Gracie rolled over from back to tummy and then again from tummy to back! We are thrilled by her obvious brilliance and are excited to see what kind of rocket-scientist-like stuff both she and Faith come up with next.

E

September 16, 2006

For those of you with kids, or kids in your lives, go hug them now

I just got the news that a friend, and fellow MOM'S Club member, of mine went to wake her 20-month-old daughter up this morning, but instead found her lifeless in her crib. The little girl had been suffering from seizures most of her life and it seems that she likely had a seizure in her sleep and suffocated.

When she went to bed last night, there was no indication that anything was wrong. They were on their way to a playdate at the park when my friend made the horrible discovery.

Please pray for the Long family. Their suffering is enormous -- more than I can fathom.

And please, go hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Life is precious and fragile and can be taken from us at any time. No one knows God's plan and while He always knows what's best for us, it's not always clear to those of us on Earth as to why things happen. Live every day like it may be your last.

September 14, 2006

Happy Birthday, Butch. You're officially in your 30s. Scary.

A series of musings from me. Nothing exciting...

The girls are cranky and seem to like nothing. They don't want to be in their swings, their cribs, their car seats (although they sleep in them at night and love them then, thankfully), their bouncy seats, their play gyms or anything else. They only want to be held. They are either awake and crying or asleep for a few minutes at a time. It's enough to make Todd and me looney.

But there's just so much to love! When they are in good moods (it happens every so often!), we get the sweetest smiles and the most adorable coos from the girls. They both give us a breathy, "Hi!" or say "Ah-gee" (see, Gene and Linda, they're already learning your name!) and sometimes a giggle or too. It makes up for all of the crying, screaming and seeming hatred for any and everything other than me.

Devin is such a little boy now. This morning, he has managed to play teeball and golf in the front yard, eat everything in the house (yoghurt, strawberries, grapes, carrots, Goldfish and two bean-and-cheese tacos), tear up my latest issue of "Parenting," drink my Diet Coke, usurp the girls' new (well, new to them) play gyms and find a lot of joy in the words, "Pootie" and "Booty." Not words bad enough to punish for saying, but not words that you really love hearing from your three-year-old's mouth.

We're working on a new "rewards and consequences" system. We have a dry-erase board on our fridge that has two columns: one for stars and one for Xs. When Devin does something good, he gets a star. Consequently, when he does something bad, he gets an X. Once he gets to ten of either one, there is a reward or a consequence. Ten stars equals some sort of treat while ten Xs means something gets taken away.

Yesterday, he reached ten stars and got lunch at Sonic. We wiped the slate clean last night and have managed to amass five Xs already today. He's trying very hard to catch up to the Xs with stars so he can get a reward. We'll see.

Todd's getting a little restless at home, but that bodes well for me because he keeps finding projects to do. He finally refinished the chandelier in the formal dining room, rearranged the formal living room, re-painted the kids' bathroom (one side with a blue wave for Devin and the other side with pink and yellow flowers for the twins) and spot cleaned the carpets. He even refinished all of our bedroom furniture, which is gorgeous now. It was pretty to begin with, but was starting to look dated. Now it's all satin-finish black with wrought-iron hardware. So pretty. We just need to find a headboard for the bed. That'll come with time, I guess.

I love being married to Todd for a zillion reasons. First of all, he's easily the funniest person I have ever met. It's great to go through life laughing. There's never an end to his silliness and I never tire of the way he sees the world. For example, in kid-friendly neighborhoods, there are often signs that say, "Slow -- Children at Play." To me, that says, "Go slowly -- there may be kids in the street." Todd sees it completely differently, though. He sees it the correct way, of course, but he also likes to muse over the fact that the kids in those particular neighborhoods don't run very fast. You know, "Slow children at play." See what I mean?

I love Todd for his depth, too. He's not just this goofy, silly guy. He's got a lot of conviction and excellent ethics. I'm proud to be with someone like him.

And finally, I love that his family means more to him than anything else. He just lives for Devin, Faith and Grace. He dreams up ways to make them all happy, whether it's playing ball, going for a bike ride or rolling around on the floor.

And, being an excellent artist, Todd is always creating things for the kids. Devin's nursery was Raining Cats and Dogs, with giant, cartoon-like kitties and puppies falling from a rainy sky. Now Devin has a Hot Wheels room, complete with seven-foot Hot Wheels logo and orange Hot Wheels track chair-rail moulding. And you've seen the photos of the girls' room.

Along with fun, custom-painted rooms, Todd is also always making posters and photo montages of the kids. Just last night, he sat down at the computer and came up with a new rock group starring Faith and Grace -- the Sugar Honey Girls. Using sayings from two of their onesies as their hit singles, he created a promotional poster of this new musical sensation and even formed a production company (SPIT UP - Sugar Princesses in Training Unlimited Productions). All of this in a couple of hours. We'll have this printed out and will hang it in their room in a poster frame.

The Hot Wheels Wall in Devin's Room


The Sugar Honey Girls

Yep, life is good. Precious (albeit loud) little girls, a spirited son and a talented and hysterical husband. What more could I ask for?

September 11, 2006

Where were you?

I was sitting in my bathroom, putting on my makeup and getting ready for work. It was pretty late in the morning, but I worked for a company that allowed me to roll in any time I wanted to. Ahh...the days of the dot-com.

I had the morning news tuned to the Dallas FOX affiliate when I heard the network break in with news of a crash or explosion at the World Trade Center in New York City. I immediately left my bathroom and ran to the TV to watch the horror unfold. Reporters were already speculating on what had happened and I was furious that they were calling it terrorism so early on. No one knew that the first plane to hit the building was a passenger jet -- no one was 100% sure if it was even a plane. So why would they be saying so early that it was terrorism? Not long before September 11, 2001, PGA golfer Payne Stewart had died in a plane crash in which the aircraft lost pressure and went on auto pilot, eventually crashing as it ran out of fuel. I was sure that something of a similar matter had happened. No one in the world is evil enough to actually hijack a plane and crash it into on the world's tallest buildings.

But then, as I was yelling at the FOX news reporters, a second airplane came into view and a huge explosion errupted on my screen. I was stunned. I sat there, silent, my mouth agape, not being able to comprehend what I was watching. Certainly this was just a reply of the earlier event, but how could it be since now both buildings were burning? I must have realized what happened the same time the FOX newsroom realized it, because as I screamed an expletive, so did everyone on TV.

I called Todd on the way to work and he hadn't heard the news (he left his house very early every morning to drive to Fort Worth for work). He and his co-workers turned on the TV in their office and watched the replays over and over again.

I got to work to find that I was only the second one there. Most everyone else had opted to stay home, while a few co-workers trickled in. I tried to get on my computer for the latest update, but all Web sites were bogged down. I couldn't get on any of them -- local or national.

Then, as I sat and pondered the meaning of what had happened, news of the Pentagon came through the radio. Then Shanksville. I thought to myself, "No one is safe."

A co-worker ran in and said, "One of the towers fell." I just couldn't comprehend what that meant. The towers are each like 110 stories tall. A tower that size could never fall.

But it did. And minutes later, the remaining tower fell. I buried my head in my hands and sobbed. I was scared, sad, mad and confused, all at the same time.

Those of us in the office decided to go down to the bar atop which our office sat (we worked in a hip part of Dallas called Deep Ellum) and ask if we could watch their TV. They agreed and even provided us with beverages as we watched in terror. Finally, my boss called me on my cell phone and said, "Everyone just go home." We did.

Where were you?

Our show of solidarity.

On a much lighter note, here's a Devin's Doozie for you

Last night, as his is usual ritual, Devin came out of his room long after he should have been asleep. He hollered down at Todd, who was in the kitchen setting up the coffee maker for the next morning.

"Daddy..."

"Devin, Daddy is busy. He's fixing his coffee."

*Long pause*

"What happened to it?"

And finally...

We got our first giggle out of Grace last Tuesday, September 5. I was wiping some stray milk from her cheek and she started to cry. When I looked down, though, I realized she was smiling. It wasn't a cry -- it was a laugh. Apparently, she likes to be tickled!

Peace. Please.

Erin

September 4, 2006

Happy Labor Day! I hope that everyone is having a great time enjoying their day off and the "fruits of their labor." Whatever that means. :)

So much going on here and yet, so little. I have tiny bits of news here and there, but really nothing huge to speak of.

First, the kiddos. All are doing well. Faith and Grace are growing like weeds. Grace is a bottomless pit who eats whatever Faith doesn't finish. Faith is still smaller, although also gaining. It's been a month or so since they've been weighed, but I'd estimate that they are around 11 (Faith) and 12 (Grace) lbs. It's getting harder and harder to carry two infant carriers!

Devin is doing well, too. We are officially potty trained, going days now with no accidents (knock on wood). It's just in time, too, since he starts religious education this week at church. It's the Good Shepard program which gives younger kids the chance to learn about the Mass and the basics of the physical chuch like the altar, the ambo, the vestments, etc. It comes highly recommended and we're very excited about it!

And I'm doing well, too. Life has been a little stressful around here, needless to say, giving my Zoloft a run for its money. Some days I think it's working, while others make me want to call my doctor and say, "Prescribe something stronger." Post-partum depression is one heck of a strong illness. It really sticks around and plays tricks with your mind. I have to wonder how long this will last, because I'd really just prefer to feel normal without medication.

The job hunt is going well for Todd. He had an interview that went very well last Thursday, although I am not convinced it's the right job for him. He's in touch with former employer Accenture and should hear from them this week about some positions they have here in their new San Antonio offices (which were supposed to open on the 1st!). I would really like for him to work for Accenture again -- they are a great company to work for. We'll see what God has in store for us...we're trying to keep the faith.

Last night, Todd, Devin and Uncle Brian went to San Marcos to hear Uncle Brian's favorite band, The Derailers. Apparently, a good time was had by all! Devin danced for the entire two hour set and even asked a little girl to dance. They had a blast, just the boys.

That's about all for us. Thrilling, huh? To add some excitement, here are some photos. :)

Me

Da girls


Faitharoo


Gracie Too


The girls' room -- a work of art by Todd. It's fun being married to an artist!
On the left side of the window is a quote from Cinderella that says, "A dream is a wish your heart makes..." The right side finishes the sentence with, "When you're fast asleep..."


Grace's bed with her name and life-size Tinkerbell
On the wall over the side of her bed is the quote from Disney's Alladin that says, "Let me share this whole new world with you."


Faith's bed with her name and life-size Tinkerbell


Guess who just had to get into a photo?


The sign on the girls' door


Smiley Face Faith


My kids


Faith and Grace


Devin and Uncle Brian at the Derailers' Concert

August 24, 2006

I've been trying for a couple of days now to get some new photos up on the blog: the girls, Devin, the girls' room (a work of art from Todd), etc, but Blogger.com is having problems getting my photos uploaded. So, until then, you'll have to bear with just words. :)

Devin's Doozie

For the past couple of weeks, Devin has been talking about something that he sees out of his window on our next door neighbors' roof. Two or three times a week, he calls me upstairs after we've put him to bed to tell me about whatever it is he is seeing.

Last night, I got the usual call and I met Devin at the top of the stairs. I asked him what he wanted and he said, "There's that thing on the Kuklas' roof. It's sticking out and wiggling around!" Of course, I have no idea what he means, but I go to investigate anyway.

As I proceed down the hall, Devin runs ahead of me and disappears around the corner, chattering the whole way about the subject at hand.

As I round the corner, he's standing at the door to his bedroom, waiting for me. I asked him, "Now what is it you're seeing?"

"It's a thing on the roof and it's popping out and it's freaking me out!"

On a completely different note

Just when we thought life had finally calmed down for the Pruetz family, we were dealt another tough hand. On Monday afternoon, USAA decided to pull the plug on the position they created for Todd only two months ago, leaving Todd without a job. No severence, no opportunities elsewhere -- nothing. Just, "Pack it up and thanks."

Needless to say, we're freaking out. It's pretty hard to live on zero income. Todd's got some good leads from Accenture, his former employer, and we're hoping that one will pan out ... soon.

If you have any suggestions, we're open them. We're open to anything right now.

And one last thing...

We still haven't figured out what it is that Devin is seeing each night out of his bedroom window. So, to placate him, I have named this unknown (and unseen to Todd and me) object a "flootenschpiel."

August 17, 2006

Extolling the virtues of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

It happened again. My wonderfully talented and artistic son took ink to furniture this morning. This time it was indellible marker (not a Sharpie, but one of those big, round, encased-in-aluminum markers with big, fat, felt tips -- you know, the ones you can smell from a mile away) on my mother's antique hutch. I have a number of things of my mom's since her death in 2003, but this hutch is my favorite. It was one of her favorites, too, as it always held antique family photos and knick-knacks. I used to love to open the glass doors and look at the pictures of my mom and dad as little kids or read my grandmother's diary from the 1930s.

Needless to say, I went berserk. He was sent to his room, while I cried for a few minutes. Then I went upstairs, told him in quite a few loud words why he was in trouble and then took every toy out of his room. Even his rocking horse and pillows went. He's been on his bed now for about an hour and I just served him his lunch of crackers, a slice of American cheese and water. Now it's nap time. I'm not foolin' around here -- he needs to know just how much trouble he is in. I think he's getting the picture.

Once I calmed down, I Googled (as my friend Meg said, "I can't believe Google is a verb!), "Getting marker out of finished furniture," and the first site that came up was Thrifty Fun. I found a posting that said that someone had had a similar experience with their kid and had gotten the ink out with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

I had one under my sink downstairs, but thought, "This will never work." But I gave it a shot and wouldn't you know it -- the darn thing worked! Every last bit of ink is gone!

So, for all of you with kids or spouses who act like kids, these things are worth their weight in gold. They clean everything! Run out and buy some today (hint: Target has their own brand for about 50% of the cost) and keep them around for everything from smudges on your floors to ink on your furniture. You won't be disappointed!

E

August 16, 2006

Devin's Doozie

Boy do I have a good one for today. In fact, barring any future ridiculous words coming out of my son's mouth, this one may take the cake as the funniest of all toddler sayings.

But first, you'll need some background.

Recently, we've had a lot of talk of Jesus in our house. We try to talk often about God and Jesus and the very basics of Catholicsm and Christianity, but in recent days, there's been more talk than usual, due to the girls' Baptism. We've talked about Jesus' love for us and how the girls were Baptised into His church just like Devin was when he was a baby. He's very interested in it all.

There's also been a lot of talk about weddings lately. I recently pulled out our wedding album and Devin is very taken with the special clothes and food and flowers and such. He's commented on the tuxedos, the bridesmaids dresses, the flower girls' dresses and my wedding dress.

Finally, Aunt Jill was in town last night. Jill is Todd's sister who is a professor of Anthropology at Iowa State University. She spends half of her time teaching Anthropology up North and the other half of her time teaching a field school in Senegal in Western Africa. Needless to say, we don't get to see her very often and when she is in town, it's a big deal. Devin just loves her (we all do!) and he had a great time playing with her last night. After spending the summer in Senegal, she's headed back to Ames, Iowa today to start the fall semester.

Okay, all of that being said, I can get on with the story.

Devin took a shower with me this morning -- it's his new ritual. When we got out, I wrapped my towel around me in the usual female fashion: under the arms, covering from underneath my shoulders down to above my knees. Devin asked if he could please have a towel wrapped around him in the same fashion.

So I grabbed Todd's towel and did the same for the munchkin. He took one look at himself and said, "It's like a wedding dress!" I agreed and we talked for a minute about weddings. I asked him who mommy is married to. His answer was pricesless:

Aunt Jesus

Have a great day!

August 14, 2006

It's the first day of school in San Antonio -- at least in the Northeast Independent School District. So all of my neighbors' kids have gone off to their respective educational buildings. They range from their first day of Kindergarten up to their second year of middle school. One started her first day of middle school in the 6th grade today and left the house in nervous tears.

It gets me thinking (as it would any mom): How am I going to deal with this in two years? Ugh...the thought of my little boy being big enough to go to school is enough to make me want to crawl in bed and stay there all day. I just want him to stay little for the rest of his life.

And what about when I have to say goodbye to two at once? And return to an empty house? Devin will be in the 3rd grade when the twins go to Kindergarten. I'm going to need a job.

I'm already having a hard time with the fact that Devin is now signed up for pre-schooler religious education classes at church. I just can't believe he's old enough for this. Time goes too quickly.

But enough of that. I could "what if..." this until I'm blue in the face.

We're all doing very here in Pruetzland. The girls are doing so well, especially sleeping at night. They consistently go six or seven hours each night -- that's HUGE for babies who are technically only three weeks old (it's call correcting back -- gestationally, they would have only been born three weeks ago. They'll always have a two month grace period for their development). All of this makes for a much happier Erin.

Devin is doing well, too. We nearly had potty training down before I entered the hospital in April, but he reverted back to diapers before I got home. Our doctor suggested a month or two with the babies at home before we tried again, so we're just now back to going to the big boy potty. I thought it would be like starting over, but he seems to have a pretty firm grasp of what to do. In fact, in the time that I've been typing we've made two trips to the potty -- one for tee-tee and one for poo-poo. I think we're well on our way.

The only real roadblock we have is that when he gets to playing with his friends or running around outside, he doesn't think about the sensations and has accidents. Any suggestions on getting over that?

So there is the excitement from our neck of the woods. It's not exciting stuff to the rest of the world, but it sure is good stuff to us.

E

PS - So my blog has become eligible for an advertising campaign. Hence the ads at the tops of the pages. They'll stay small for now, but depending on how successful they are, they may get bigger. Ignore them if you want to. Click if you want to. I hope you don't mind.