The Harnisch Family: What a week!

(I am cuddling with my snugglie, feverish Little Miss Macy as I write this blog entry...poor baby girl isn't feeling well that last couple days :-( No fun!)
Between our regularly schedules activities of Volleyball, M.O.P.S, Bunco, Cook Club, Early Intervention, Doc Appt, Bounce U, Gymnastics, a couple playdates, Swim Party, 3 Birthday Parties, a class reunion, church and working out, we've be runnin' these last few days. And when we are not runnin' we are bunkerin' down trying and to lay low. It has been SOOOO cold 'round these parts! :-)
Now that I've been a stay at home mom for a little over 6 months, I am beginning to get the hang of this staying in and laying low stuff! I am still waiting for that one day when we have literally NOTHING going on and NOTHING to do and NOWHERE to go. One of these days, right! :-) According to my calendar next Tuesday looks promising. hehe
There are a few fun pics I wanted to share from some of our past weeks' events...so enough with my "blog-crastinating"! :-)

At Thursday night's "Cook Club"...PROM was the theme! Yes, some wore OLD School prom dresses from back in the day. My friend Leah wore her Cougar print prom dress from Junior year, too funny (I very much remember that night). Sad thing is, it still fits her to perfection. No surprise right? I chose to don the pretty in pink number from my friend Nikki's wedding. I was delighted that this "pre-baby" dress still fit me as well! hehe. Yes, we took a few pics...this is what you get when you hand your camera over to someone else (plus the flash battery was dying)...

A few of us who followed the rules and dressed up like we were supposed to :-)

The one pic that actually turned out. Nice. Not sure what we were trying to do here exactly? Is it from Charlie's Angels perhaps? haha

I love you Leah!

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Friday morning we had a fun impromptu playdate with some friends. A few of Macy's Down Syndrome buddies were there (Vollen, Tessa, Brady & Wesley). Most of these guys also have siblings that are McKenzie's age, so these playdates are a lot of fun for everyone. Especially for us mommas.
After that morning playdate, me and the girls met up with my friend Leah (pictured above in Cougar dress) and her little guy Charlie for some fun at BounceU. My sis Lisa and her kiddos joined us as well. FUN!!! (Lisa took pics, perhaps she'll send them to me soon.)

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Later that evening, we met up with the Cooke's at a downtown hotel that happens to feature a kick-a$$, indoor waterpark - which happens to be the perfect size for our little ones. It was a GREAT way to get out of the cold and enjoy some fun family time.

Little Miss Macy models her brand new swimsuit! Thanks Gordy, Shelly, Ash, Autumn & Mason, what a perfect B-Day present! :-)

Mommy's beautiful ballerina :-)

After being a little hesitant at first, she really started to LIKE the water :-)

Now what?

Splish splash

Hi Ally!

Daddy & Kenzie climb up the big tower. McKenzie thinks she's brave enough to go down the BIG-KID slide!

Check out that expression! priceless.

She said she had fun, but when I asked her if she wanted to go again...I got a "heck NO" response. haha

This place will be a lot more fun once Macy can run around with the rest of the big kids.

McKenzie and cousin Brook checking out the big pool.

JUMP!

Based on this pool experience, I'm pretty sure Macy will be much more of a water-bug that her big sister. :-)

McKenzie's always been super cautious around water.

"Look Mom, I'm SWIMMING!"

Making it go SPLASH!

Gotch-ya!

Ready - Set - GO! Go Ally GO!
The kids swam the night away...well past their bedtime mind you.

Four very worn out kids = Success.

Mission accomplished :-)

Thank you Cooke family for inviting us to crash your "staycation" in Omaha!
McKenzie keeps asking, everyday, when we are going to go back.

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McKenzie's been talking about it all WEEK and the day had finally arrived for her to go next door to celebrate the twin's Birthday! Lauren & Dylan are FOUR! :-)

awww. Here's a pic of the three besties...Lauren (love the smile btw), Kenzie & Dylan. I am SOOOO anxious for Spring so that these little ones can get together more often!!! They have so much fun running around together outside :-)

The party had a really fun Monster theme. They played this really fun "oooey-goooey" game.

Lauren digs in the "slime" to find a special prize!

Dylan's turn! McKenzie says "eeeewwww".
What a super fun & creative game. The kids loved it!!

Zach watches and waits patiently for his turn.

And he's off!
I'm so glad that our other dear neighbor friend Zack was able to come to the party. (The twins mom had this be a "no food" party and had a "special" cupcake made just for Zach.
This little guy is four and has a severe form of epilepsy. He has been having a wide range of seizures several times a day for about a year now. Meds were not working out too well, so his parents and doctors have decided to give the Ketogenic Diet a try.
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low carb diet, that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control epilepsy in children. The diet mimics aspects of starvation by forcing the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. It is very strict and requires a LOT of discipline for not only him but his whole family. As you can imagine Holidays, family gatherings and parties, where food is usually the "centerpiece" is challenging. Too much temptation for a four year old to handle. This is main reason he was not able to come to Macy's party last week. Lynette & Doug are hoping that this life change will only be a few years, and the end result will be Zach being seizure FREE.
Please hold him up in your prayers...we do EVERY NIGHT!!!!
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The fun was just getting started and I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to leave and drive to Lincoln for cousin Sam's three year Birthday party!

What a rough day huh?

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Here are some pics from Sam's fun party :-)

Sam got this really cool keyboard mat from Grandma & Grandpa. All the kids LOVED it! Well, to be honest, at the moment of gift opening Sam had a pretty strong preference for the dinosaur....but hey, all the OTHER kids loved the mat. I know Sam will too once the dinosaur excitement wears off :-)