May the Force Be With You (It's With Aidan!)

I mentioned a while back that Aidan has developed a love for his cape, yes, his Darth Vader cape. It makes many appearances around our house and it is usually accompanied by a lot of sound effects, compliments of our son. Ryan was flipping through the channels and came across Star Wars. We wouldn't usually let our almost 4 year old watch a show like that, but sometimes the rules are outweighed by a love of Darth Vader. Aidan was ENTHRALLED and of course had to grab his trusty cape and light saber. I have to admit it was pretty cute to see him so excited!

Thanksgiving, cont....

Somehow I managed to forget some of my favorite pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend!

The front of the cabin we stayed at... Really, that's a cabin? Oh well, we managed to survive "roughing" it in the woods, ha! And Morgan doing a pose? Crazy, that's something we never see!

The girls LOVE playing with their Uncle Ryan. Whether it's teasing him about his unfortunate status as a Coug or putting signs on his back, he's a great a sport! My favorite sign read, "I may look like a boy, but I'm really a girl." I still get a giggle every time I think about the girls writing that and squealing with laughter!

Noelle and Morgan were trying their hand at picture taking... This was about the fifth one of Ryan and I, when my namesake (Cassie Jane) just couldn't take it any longer and had to jump in the shot. Jon and Heather were RIGHT ON when they gave this girl my middle name, we have a lot of similarities! Buckle up J and H! Anyone who went to college with me knows my love for hopping in the back of other people's pictures. I just wonder how many random photo albums my goofy grin is in....

Happy Thanksgiving from Byron!

Our very sophisticated, well trained dog would also like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season (if you know our dog, you know how funny the "sophisticated" and "well trained" statements are!)

Byron was thankful that he was able to spend the holiday weekend at his favorite getaway, the Bordner home. Thanks Bordners for another weekend of spoiling Byron!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our wonderful family in McCall, Idaho! It was such a great time, but sadly FLEW by! I guess that means we were having fun... The Foster's braved treacherous roads to and from McCall, so we're extremely grateful for their safety!


Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Foster cousins...

Sometimes when you are waiting, you have to do a little dance.

Or play on the internet.



The dads and their boys. I'm predicting some future fun amongst this foursome.


I could cook many a meal in this kitchen! Not too bad for cabin living!

The Thanksgiving Feast!

The five reasons that we gave thanks!

Max's addition to our family is one HUGE reason we gave thanks. We love you little man, so, so, so much!

Preschool Thanksgiving Celebration!

Aidan's preschool put on a darling Thanksgiving celebration... After the kids sang songs and said their pieces, we sat down to a holiday feast. I should probably apologize to all of the parents there, as we were leaving, I had the grand idea for Aidan and I to go and say "happy thanksgiving" to all of his friends. It consisted of him pointing out our target, us walking up to them, Aidan staring at them and then refusing to say anything. That's my shy boy! We'll get there someday!


One Mama with a lot to be thankful for!

A happy daddy and his crazy off-spring.

Who's missing in this picture? That would be Aidan. He was hiding behind me... Like I said, we'll get there someday!

JUMP!

I really can't tell who liked this place more, the kids or the parents). Seriously, a building full of trampolines, how can you go wrong? (Until both Ryan and I got nauseous from all of the jumping anyway!)


Running just as fast as they can! (Who can resist a Tiffany reference, right?)


JUMP!

I had to make fun of Ryan just a little bit for his jump technique. Hands in the pockets? Really? Looks like an accident waiting to happen to me. Oh wait, that's me who's not allowed to put my hands in my pockets, given all my stumbling...

Date day....

I've always been a proponent of date night for parents, but have come to realize, date days are just as important for parents and kids, one on one... If you are ever trying to find Aidan and I, you can find us at Java, enjoying a cookie, milk and of course coffee for mom.



I just can't get enough of this kid... If only I could push a little pause button!

Milestones....

Another week of milestones for the Kearney children! Morgan had her FIRST elementary school field trip. I was a chaperone, in charge of three sweet, energetic and EXCITED kindergartners... We had a great time, but I was exhausted afterward (working in the ER until 3:30 a.m. the night before didn't help the tired factor!) But don't let my reported exhaustion fool you, I had some flashbacks to my school days when I was given a serious scolding by the zookeeper for my chatting with another mom. Get in line zookeeper, you aren't the first or the last to complain about my blabbermouth!

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My crew... Alta, Sam and Morgan. Alta and Sam were darling children! I just loved getting to spend time with these sweet, well mannered (and did I mention energetic?) children!

Okay Boise Zoo, are you serious? You have to be kidding that you had a Boa Constrictor OUT OF IT'S CAGE and letting the children touch it. I about jumped out of my skin when the older gentleman, zoo volunteer cautioned the children, "Don't get close to the head or it will strike." I wanted to ask this man if he had ever met a kindergartner before, because if he had, he would know that although they have great intentions, listening to directions is not a strength! No wonder I am exhausted, I was on high alert after this little adventure.

Aidan's milestone was that he went to his first "buddy" birthday party! Aidan has lived in the past almost four years in Morgan's shadow. He has always considered her friends to be his friends, so it is really exciting to see that he is making friends with kids who are not associated with Morgan or even children of our friends, they are truly "his" buddies! We have to work on his party etiquette, halfway through the party, Aidan announced, "Okay, I'm done, Mama, let's go!"

Aidan's other milestone will happen tomorrow. He has informed me that he plans to wear a cape to school. As I've said before, it isn't easy being awesome!

Super Hero Buddies!

While I am finishing up my responsibilities at work, our beloved Stacie has been helping us on the days we don't have Kindergarten or preschool. Which the kids were ECSTATIC about. Aidan LOVES Stacie's son, Jack. They have developed such a strong friendship, really more of a brother-ship! Here are the super-preschoolers keeping Boise just a little safer than it already was!


On days that Stacie is coming over, usually Aidan's first words of the day are "I lub Schtashay and Jack!" And then he picks out which drawing he is going to bestow to his buddy.... A budding bromance, lub it!

My Dumb Davis....

While driving home from Kindergarten today, Morgan was explaining to me a story about her French teacher, "My Dumb Davis." "What?" I asked, over and over. To which an exasperated Morgan continually replied, "My Dumb Davis!" Finally, the slow mommy brain wheels clicked... "Oh, you mean 'Madame Davis.'" It is French class after all! I wonder how many people think Morgan is calling them a slightly endearing (the 'my' part) and a really rude (the 'dumb' part) name, while she is supposed to be studying French... Oh how I love these adventures!

Josh Ritter!!!

Ryan and I had a GREAT time Saturday night at the Josh Ritter concert with some wonderful friends. Unfortunately, I didn't have the memory card in my camera so no pics from the night... Oops. What I love about Idaho concerts at the Knitting Factory is how close you can get to the front. Don't get me wrong, it takes a lot of work to get up to the front, you get a lot of dirty looks and have to really suck in the gut, but trust me, it's worth it!


Josh is an Idaho boy and he's pretty fantastic!

The Itch Chronicles....

We keep getting frequent questions about how Morgan has progressed since we've back from Denver. I have to admit, I didn't want to be a skeptic that our adventure to Denver was going to make a major impact on our lives, but I was. So I am extremely happy and elated to report and that a month and a half post discharge from the hospital.... SHE IS ITCH FREE! To just say she's itch free really minimizes what we were going through, even I didn't realize how much the constant itching was affecting her (and us). To be "itch free" means no more bloody sheets in the morning, yes peeps, she was itching that much. It means no more battles about what she's going to wear to school because I think she feels so much better about she looks that she's not OBSESSING about her clothes anymore. It means she sleeps through the night, no more tossing and turning for hours, crying for me to scratch her back all night. And what does a good night's sleep do? It does miracles, yes miracles! It means she's rested, she's been growing like a weed, she's excited to go to school instead of crying for reasons unknown every morning and night. It also means that she is not covered in infections, which brought on a whole other host of issues. It means that she is just really, really happy. It means we won't be on multiple antibiotics and oral steroids to try to calm the flares and infections this winter. It also means that we are barely using topical steroids, whereas in the past, it was a daily thing. Last week, Morgan was "person of the week" in her kindergarten class and she had to choose a word that describes her, she chose "self-confident." Enough said!

Thank you National Jewish, Dr. Atkins, Dr. Leung, Dr. Abbott, Dr. Robinson, Nurse Beth Anne, and all the rest of the people there that did change our lives!

I QUIT MY JOB!

Yes, I did, I really did. Whew, what an emotional roller coaster. I have had the honor of spending the past couple of years working with some of the most dedicated, smart, funny, caring, brilliant and innovative people. If you ever worry that your tax dollars are being wasted, I can honestly say that you are getting more than your money's worth with the specialized court I have worked with. These people put in crazy and long hours and do some pretty amazing work, with relatively little resources. Up until recently I was able to do this job on a part time basis, but this position needed someone on a full time basis, who can be completely devoted and energetic about this work everyday. As much as I have LOVED this job and all that I have been able to do and learn, it came down to this, I love my kids more. It was a no-brainer that I need more time with Morgan and Aidan. Morgan's medical issues are extremely time consuming, it's a full time job in and of itself. There came to be absolutely no way that I could be a loving and caring mom, full time nurse to Morgan, full time social worker, and squeeze in being a wife and partner to my husband without finding myself needing a social worker. Something had to give, so I chose my family (and sanity). I will be there for a while longer, but the search is on for my replacement (who I will be so jealous of because you are getting a great job!) I will continue to work in some limited capacity because I do love social work. But now in the very near future, I will be going back to being a full time mom, part time social worker.

Happy Halloween!

We ventured out into our new neighborhood for some trick or treating fun. Word to the wise, this neighborhood gives out FULL SIZED CANDY BARS! I'm not sure who was more excited about that, the kids or me. I guess I'm going to have up my game next year! The kids had a wonderful time, running around the neighborhood with the neighbor kids.


The kids were so brave this year, I didn't have to be attached to the hip while they ventured out. My favorite part of the night, Aidan is almost to a neighbor's door, looks back at me, lifts his mask and says, "I still lub you mama. I really do. I lub you." Oh Aidan, you have no idea how I LOVE you!

Dorothy, Dad, Darth and Dog (Byron) all heading out for some trick or treat fun!

This tree will never be the same now that Darth had a smack (or 50) at it!

Pretty little Dorothy, always posing!

I love these little goblins!!!

And the party went on and on!

We had a fun evening with friends the Saturday before Halloween. We had a progressive "party," starting at McBrides, headed to the Hamiltons, then the Glavins and then the Kearneys!! Unfortunately, too much fun led to me not taking many pictures...


This Darth Vader was ready to party.

A BSU star and his jersey chaser. Also known as the Richins.

Two Hairy Gals.

Boise was very safe on Saturday night since Dog the Bounty Hunter and his side kick Beth were out on the town.

Sppppoooookkkkkyyyy punch. I love dry ice, just love it!

School Party Time!

Morgan had her first, official elementary school "party" to celebrate Halloween. Fun times! And an added bonus, she was able to eat everything at the party, which is a little bit of a HUGE deal when you are six and want to be like everyone else! Her classmates' parents are just an incredible and sweet group of people who wanted her to be included, so they let me do all the baking and had other allergen free treats for the kids. I've never been on the band wagon of "change all your lives for my kid" but it really makes things special when people take this into consideration and don't listen to me, when I say, "don't worry about accommodating us."


The whole gang! The kids were supposed to dress as their favorite character from a book. Due to a little pre-party meltdown, we didn't go with that theme and just wore the actual Halloween costume. Sometimes being Tinkerbell is just more than you can manage, I get it!

I channeled my inner Martha and had the kids make spider cupcakes.

Dorothy and the beautiful bride, Petra!

Happy Birthday to Papa J!!!!

We had the honor of celebrating Papa Jim's birthday with him the day after the walk! We had fun celebrating with him!!


Trick candles in the Starbucks ice cream amid the massive amount of art that gets produced in our house EVERY DAY!

Aidan loves this guy and I have a hunch the feeling is mutual.

Papa loooovvvveeeessss his ice cream. I have many a fond memory of my pregnant days, sneaking away with mounds of ice cream with Papa Jim as my accomplice. Good man, that Papa Jim!!!!

Another member of Papa Jim's fan club, snuggling up to her buddy.

Walk for Food Allergy: 2010

Another Walk for Food Allergy down! The rain kept some of the peeps home, but we still had a good turnout and raised some duckets for a cause that will always be near and dear to my little heart.... Dreaded food allergies... We had some of our wonderful family make the long trek over and had the support of our wonderful and dear friends. Thank you Boise and Seattle family. Your support means more than you can ever know.


Being married to me means that my poor husband gets signed up for a lot of random jobs....

I had a hard time looking at these "walkers" without getting a little choked up. They lost their father/friend/husband to a reaction to peanuts. Unfortunately, someone sent this family a Christmas gift that unknowingly contained peanuts. He had managed a life-threatening peanut allergy his entire life and was found dead with a packet of benadryl in his hand. And there we have it, that's why we walk.

A BIG, BIG moment for Morgan. Morgan's fear of the Red Robin bird has been monumental, but she did it folks, she got within 10 feet of the dreaded bird and guess what, she survived!

My little Cassie Bug made it all the way from Seattle. Special time for us!!! Aunt Sarah loves this little lady!

Face painting! This little decoration kept freaking us out, when Morgan has a reaction, she gets pinky, fire like blotches, akin to this.... So from a distance, we kept having to do a little chest pound and remind ourselves, she's fine!