Happy Working Mom

A Night With Nothing To Do...

2012-01-25T08:21:00.002-05:00

It’s funny how just a few years ago I always felt the need to go somewhere…to do something…at all times. Even if it was just to run to the grocery store…something…anything…just not sitting around the house doing nothing!

Now I cherish the nights when we have nowhere to be…don’t have to drive a kid anywhere and don’t have to worry about time. Last night was one of those nights. I came home and made dinner…the house was quiet because Colton was down for a nap. I can’t decide if I like this or not…sometimes the peace and quiet is nice (but that’s usually after it’s been loud for a long time), but often when I come home to a quiet house it’s kind of creepy, I have to admit. Kylie was designing her coach’s wedding dress in the kitchen, Ryan was playing in the playroom, and Josh was telling me all about the bowling game he had set up for all of us to play later that night.

John got home just as dinner was ready, and just as we sat down to eat, Colton woke up. So I brought him down and we all ate dinner. After dinner, I took the kids downstairs and we played some hockey and other miscellaneous stuff while we waited for John to finish cleaning the kitchen and join us. When he and Colton came downstairs, we started the bowling. While we played, Colton crawled around and played with all kinds of stuff. Somehow (I really can’t remember how), John and Colton started singing Karaoke, and I joined in between my turns at bowling. We were really having a fun time.

John did have to leave for a football game, so around 8:15 the kids headed up to get ready for bed. I fed Colton and put him down, and then Kylie and Josh read in their beds and Ryan watched the CBJ game until 9:00. Then it was bedtime for the kids and sock-folding time for me :) After I folded all the socks that have accumulated in the “un-matched” drawer, I actually got to read for ½ hour, which was a nice way to end the day!

I love nights like that! Unfortunately, we usually only get a couple of them per week, but when we do, I really try to enjoy them!

Kiddo Update - Joshie

2012-01-24T09:13:00.005-05:00

Joshua, Josh, Joshie – the kid that keeps on surprising me, I swear! Every time I think I have him figured out or I know how he’s going to react, the complete opposite happens and I’m baffled.

Let’s start with school. After having Kylie and watching how much she loved to learn when she was little, and knowing that Josh never did any of the things she did (and he hated being read to), I was prepared to have to really help him in school. I was so surprised last year when he was one of the top readers in his class and his teacher had nothing but great things to say about him. And now first grade…his teacher told me at his conferences that when she and the student teacher looked at his paper during a pre-test, they both looked at each other and commented that they had a special student on their hands. I get the idea that this year is so easy for him…he barely has to put any effort in. Every sheet I get back is either perfect or he missed something silly. The only area I have to push him in is reading, and that’s only because he just doesn’t really like to sit and read a book. He’s still super good at it and will read whenever he needs to (i.e. anything sports related), but he’s just not into chapter books. His handwriting is amazing and he’s even learned some cursive from Kylie!

As far as sports go, he’s his father’s dream! He plays Streak For The Cash with John and all the other big boys (Pappaw, Uncle Josh, Jarrett, etc.) and honestly knows what he’s betting on and his chances. He wants to watch sports every night (especially if John’s watching them) and knows so much about teams and statistics and everything else. And it doesn’t matter which sport…it was football during the fall, now it’s basketball and hockey…if there’s a winner and a loser, he’s in :)

He loves to play basketball in the basement with his scoreboard app on his iPod. Speaking of which, he’s completely addicted! He got an iPod touch for Christmas and he does so much on it…Streak For The Cash, all kinds of games, scoreboards, music, Tango…he even watches TV. He’s pretty tech-savy for only being 6 ½! He had a friend over one time and they couldn’t figure out an answer to something so Josh told him to “Google it” and the kid asked him what Google was! I bet Josh’s knowledge of Word and Excel surpasses many adults :)

He also loves to set up games on the Wii in the playroom and just watch them...not play, just watch the games to see who wins. He set up an entire NFL championship bracket one time...he matched up all the helmets and had games going all the time. The losing helmet would fall down the slide and he'd re-match as teams were eliminated.

Josh is my sensitive child. Even the slightest thing brings tears to his eyes, which, I have to admit, is so annoying! Take last night for example…I handed him a Lego man and told him to put it away. I find it on the stairs (strategically placed back in the corner) a few minutes later and I sternly told him to put it away and then commented I shouldn’t have even mentioned it to him…I should have just thrown it away. He should have expected this…he’s a great kid and the fact that he did this surprised me…but not as much as me finding him going to bed with tears in his eyes instead of watching the basketball game. Again, his reactions always catch me off guard!

He gets so annoyed with Ryan…poor Ryan just wants to do everything Josh is doing (as soon as Josh heads to the basement to play basketball, Ryan all of a sudden decides that’s what he wants to do too), but Josh has a hard time handling the 3 year age gap. He doesn’t have much patience for Ryan and the learning curve. When he does have the patience, he’s a great big brother and the two of them have fun together. With Colton, on the other hand, Josh’s face lights up when he sees him! It’s probably because he subconsciously sees another brother to hang out with in the future, but right now, he doesn’t want to play with his cars or use his basketball hoop :)

He is still a little boy, which I love! I was a mystery reader in December and the minute I walked into his classroom, he got up from the floor and ran up and gave me a huge hug! He still loves his mamma :) But not enough to guarantee me a free ticket to the Super Bowl should he ever play in it (the discussion at dinner last night). Kind of bothers me…I hate football, and yet I’m at every single one of his games cheering the loudest…that should guarantee me a ticket to the game and spot next to him in the parade car, right? (that was the discussion during the Parade of Roses – would he bring me with him and he said “no!”).

Josh is a tiny, little stick-figure of a kid. But he’s fast! He’s got some huge brown eyes with long eyelashes and makes some of the funniest faces I’ve ever seen! Again, they all catch me off guard and I usually erupt in laughter because they are so funny and unexpected. He is still an extremely messy eater…both on the table and floor as well as his mouth :) And he would still, here in January, wear shorts to school if I let him!

I love learning all about boys as he grows up. I don’t have any brothers, so John and Josh are my first experiences with boys…and I definitely still have a lot to learn! But Josh is a good subject…he’s a sweet and caring boy and I love him so much! And hopefully I learn a lot since there are two other boys coming up behind him :)

Date Night!

2012-01-20T08:50:00.002-05:00

Last night John and I got to do a rare thing…we got to go out without the kiddos!

John had arranged for the leadership team at church to go to a CBJ game again this year, only this time, they each got to invite someone. So we asked Miss G if she could stay over and watch the kids and we set a date!

Of course, our luck, it started snowing pretty hard right before rush hour, and all I wanted to do was curl up at home and hibernate! But we loaded up and headed down to the arena without so much as a whine from the kids! But it was hard for me to leave them after having only seen them for an hour and a half :(

John and I made it through the snow-covered roads and got the arena with perfect timing. Some of the group was already there and the game was just about to start. The best part of the night? I got Dippin’ Dots!!! The worst part of the night? We were on the “Kissing Cam” up on the big jumbotron (yes, when they show you you’re supposed to kiss – yuck!). The Jackets lost (what’s new), but we really did have a good time.

We got home and Miss G said all the kids were great and everything got done (homework, etc.). She headed home, John turned on a basketball game, and I immediately crashed into bed after kissing the kids goodnight :)

Sometimes I Hate Being the Parent...

2012-01-18T14:32:00.001-05:00

I swear, punishing and disciplining your kids is often harder on you than it is on them. I can see how it would be so easy to just not do it…

John and I have pretty traditional expectations when it comes to our kids. We expect them to be respectful, especially to adults, we don’t allow them to interrupt, especially adults, and overall we just expect them to be good kids. About the only thing non-traditional that we do with our kids is we don’t expect them to call all adults “mr.” or “mrs.” Unless that is the person’s preference. Most of the time It’s “miss [insert first name here],” etc.

We’ve been having a pretty difficult time with Kylie lately…there are times that she has been a total brat and that just does not fly in our house. She has spent many weeks grounded from going to Rachel’s house or talking to her on the phone. She has gone without her iPod and had to write letters of apology. But none of these seem to really work, and as any good parent knows, behavioral changes only happen if the punishment really works.

Yesterday Kylie was unhappy that she was picked up from her birthday party early, so she called me at work crying and complaining that we should have checked with her first, etc. Excuse me? Last I checked you were 8 years old and a child…

When I got home, Miss G said that Kylie had been extremely disrespectful to her as well later that day. I was fuming. I was so done with coming home to this, or getting calls at work. I was so sick of her sense of entitlement…she is a child and her life revolves around ours…not the other way around.

So before John took the boys to the CBJ game, we chatted about what we thought we should do. We came up with the following list:

1.) Every night she has to be in bed (her own bed) by 8:30. She has to make sure this happens no matter what – even if the boys are staying up later;
2.) No going to any friend’s house or using the phone to talk to any friends;
3.) No iPod, TV or computer (except for homework);
4.) She had to write out apologies to both myself and Miss G; and
5.) Every night she has to write out some Bible passages that I selected for her that talk about respecting your parents, respecting each other, and God’s call for parents to raise their children right.

There is no set end time for any of these punishments. John and I will watch her and slowly start giving her the privileges back. I really hope this works because I told her if it happens again, I’m pulling her out of the gifted program at school. That would be the ultimate punishment for her, but at the same time, it would obviously hinder her education, so I hope it doesn’t come to that.

It was so hard last night watching her cry and tell me that I don’t love her. If only she knew…it would be so much easier to “yell” at her and move on…

Thankfully by the end of the night (after she had completed her writing exercises for the night), she and I did some Zumba together and then I sat with her for a little bit when she went to bed. I think we’re OK, but I know that at any moment she can revert and be mad at me for “doing this to her.” And I do know it’s for her own good and it’s my job…but that doesn’t make it any less hard.

Busy Night...

2012-01-17T10:42:00.001-05:00

Last night was kind of a crazy night…

The kids were off school yesterday for the holiday, and then they’re off again today for a teacher-workday. So Kylie’s best friend had a birthday party sleepover last night, which Kylie went to super early (as in around noon yesterday), which meant that I had to take the present that I had got for her during lunch yesterday over sometime last night. We also needed to get the boys’ hair cut (including John’s), and run over to Wal-Mart for some miscellaneous items.

So John parked in between the haircutting place and Wal-Mart, and he took the boys over while Colton and I went into Wal-Mart. Colton had so much fun riding around in the cart! I guess I haven’t taken him to the store much (if ever) because at first he was really scared…he kept holding on super tight and whining if I stepped away from him. But then after a while he really started having fun and turning around and pulling things out of the cart and throwing them on the floor! For a while he was holding my parmesan cheese and I kept saying “do you have my cheese?” and he would repeat “teese.”

When we were checking out (I don’t know how long I had been in there, but I definitely took my time) I called John to see how much longer they would be, and he told me they were just starting! So I took Colton in to the Subway that’s in our Wal-Mart and ordered dinner for the family because John had a flag football game that night, so he needed to eat quickly! I also got a bag of chips and a cookie. Colton and I sat down by the door and ate our little snack. Aren’t I great mom? My one-year-old had chips and cookies for dinner :) But we had so much fun together sharing the food and talking and pointing :) John finally called around 7:25 and we loaded up in the car, went to drop off the present, and then headed home.

Once at home, everyone ate while I put Colton down to bed. Then I put away all the groceries and John and Josh left for football (Josh was so excited to go watch because the games are at 9:30, but since he didn’t have school today, he could go and stay up late). Then I gave Ryan a bath (he asked me “can I take a bath in the one next to your shower?” I was fine with that so we headed up. He played in the tub (even had the jets on for a while) while I started working on my nails which was nice! Normally I don’t get to do much when he’s playing in the bath, but since he was in my bathroom, all my stuff was there!

After his bath, Ryan went to bed and I finished painting my nails and crashed! I fell asleep around 10:50, John said that they got home around 11:10 and I didn’t even hear them! I must have been fast asleep to not hear them come in only 20 minutes after falling asleep!

What we have been up to...

2012-01-16T09:01:00.002-05:00

Last week our family battled the stomach flu. What amazed me was how differently it affected the different members of the family.

It started with Josh, and he was up all night throwing up. Then Kylie got it a few days later and she too was up all night. The next day, John and I had stomach aches and felt horrible, but we never got sick. A couple days later Ryan threw up around bedtime, but then slept through the night and was eating and fine the next day.

The whole time we were just waiting for Colton to get it…he would be by far the hardest one of our kids to get through this…no warning when he throws up, can’t understand why he can’t eat, etc. So days and days go by and we finally accept that since he hadn’t shown any signs of it by Friday (days after everyone else had gone through it) we start breathing a little easier. I think God was really looking out for us…we made it through a very long and stressful week!

I went scrapbooking with my friends this past weekend. I left right from work on Friday and spent the whole weekend scrapbooking (I finished my sister’s album…yippee!!!!), eating great food (La Paloma is amazing!), getting a straight night’s sleep, and hanging out with good friends. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing weekend!

I finished scrapping the one page I was working on and decided to head out around 3:45. I got home a little before 4:30 and John was right there ready to help me bring my stuff in. Ryan and Colton were sleeping and Josh and Kylie were doing their own thing. As soon as we brought all my stuff in I heard Colton crying. I ran up the stairs super excited to see him! But when I went in, he didn’t even smile at me :( He just kept crying. So I picked him up, walked around a little, rocked him, walked around a little more and then…

He promptly threw up all over me :( Welcome home Mommy!

I’m just glad I was home…I would have felt horrible if John would have had to deal with all of that by himself! He ended up throwing up one more time and then we finally got him to sleep for the night around 9:00. He woke up at 4:00 AM and I fed him and he went back to sleep and kept that down, which I’m so thankful for. Hopefully he will have a good day today and we can finally say that our family is done with this stupid stomach flu!

Winter Has Arrived - On January 12th?

2012-01-13T08:41:00.005-05:00

Winter has finally arrived here in Central Ohio! I swear though, this has been the most crazy “winter” I can remember! It was a high of 50 degrees just a couple of days ago, today it’s a high of 20 degrees, and we’ll be back in the 40s next week. What kind of weather is that in January?

We had our first real snowfall last night and as a result, it took forever to get into work.

It’s funny…we only got a little over 1 inch of snow, but there is a layer of ice underneath, but anyway, since it’s the first of the season, the weather/news people are going crazy! School delays and closings, constant weather updates, etc. Give us a month when we get 5 inches and then we’ll talk.

But it’s pretty outside, and if it’s going to be cold, there might as well be snow on the ground :) and the kids are super excited about the snow...they love it!

Colton's One-Year Stats...

2012-01-13T08:41:00.004-05:00

Colton’s one year stats:

Weight: 21 lbs. 4 oz (27%)
Height: 31 inches (85%)
Head: 46 cm (39%)

He really didn’t grow very much at all from his last appointment, which the doctor commented on, but we both figure it’s because he’s so mobile now that he’s burning everything he’s taking in, because let me tell you, he’s definitely eating :)

Colton's First Birthday Party...

2012-01-12T08:40:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Colton’s first birthday on Saturday. I decided to take a very low-key approach and yet stay away from the typical “pizza and cake” party that we always seem to have. So thanks to Pinterest, I found a cooking blog that has some wonderful recipes on it, one of which looked super easy and had great reviews, so I decided to try that one for the party – Caprese Pasta.

So Saturday I took Kylie and her friend over to basketball (my dad stayed with them) and Ryan and I headed out to get balloons for the party and to pick up a couple of outfits for Colton since I realized that I only have summer 12 month outfits because of the time of year that both Josh and Ryan were in 12 month clothes.

After that we picked up Colton’s cake from our “cake lady” (she does such an amazing job on all of our cakes!) and then headed home for naps. I started getting the food and decorations for the party. I made that pasta dish, a big salad and some homemade garlic bread. I also had some chips and dips out for appetizers.

The party started at 5:00 and we started with dinner (pasta was AMAZING!) and then quickly moved on to presents and then cake. It’s sad that it’s taken us four kids to realize that Colton could not care less about the whole ordeal, so that’s why we moved through things quickly…people wanted to get home and there was an OU basketball game on that some people wanted to watch.

When it came to the cake, Colton put his hands in right away, but then it took him a while to really dig in and get messy. But by the end of it, he had it all torn apart and was a complete mess. A bath was definitely necessary!

All-in-all it was a great first birthday party. It was great to see everyone and hang out!

Happy 1st Birthday Colton!

2012-01-11T09:55:00.001-05:00

My little CoJo,
Happy Birthday my little man! I can’t believe it has been one year since you became a part of our family…this year has gone by way too fast!

While we always said that we wanted four kids, you were actually quite a surprise. And I love that because with my type A personality, I didn’t think I’d ever get a surprise baby! The timing of everything from the pregnancy to your birth was the farthest from ideal, but looking back it’s easy to see how it all worked out perfectly and obviously God had everything planned out!

One year ago today I was in a hospital bed chilling watching The Early Show. A big snow storm was coming into Columbus and we kept looking out the window waiting for the snow to start! Things progressed so quickly I was so worried that my doctor would not get there in time, but thankfully she did! You could have been born at 12 something, but we wanted to try for 1:11 to keep with the 1/11/11 theme :) But unfortunately you were a big boy, and your shoulders got stuck and it was a little scary for a few moments. Thankfully you finally arrived…at 1:12 :( Stupid nurse ;) You were so bruised! I’ve never seen a baby so bruised…that was so hard for you! I was glad that you were a boy because I really loved the name “Colton” and was so glad that we would get to use it. Kylie was not so happy that you were a boy – but thankfully, now a year later, she has adjusted and realized the benefits to being the only girl.

The past year has brought a lot of new experiences with you…a hospital stay for RSV at five weeks, delayed circumcision at around 3 months, reflux, sleeping through the night until about 3 ½ months old, so many teeth at once (top four came in at the same time!), “crawling” (really army crawling) at 7 months, and complete defiance when it comes to climbing up the stairs :)

You are such a laid-back baby and always content. Once we got you on the medicine for reflux you were such a happy baby! And we were able to take you off that medicine when you were 8 months old, so now you are completely fine! You smile at us, you make funny faces and you like to laugh…although not as much as the other kids did – it’s hard to get a belly laugh out of you.

You are really crawling now (you will sometimes drop and army crawl if you want to get somewhere quickly), you pull yourself up on everything, you are a good climber, and you will cruise along the furniture if you want to get somewhere. You still aren’t really showing any signs of wanting to walk by yourself at all.

You clap, wave “hi” and “good-by,” you make kissing sounds and have just started blowing kisses (but you put your whole hand in your mouth and pull it out), and you put your hand up in the hair and point your finger round and round when I ask you what a fan does. With the clapping, there was one time I was nursing you and watching a talk show and when they started clapping, you had to stop eating and clap too…such a pain in the butt!

As for words you are really doing well! You say “hi,” “nigh-night,” “mommy,” “momma,” “daddy,” “dadda,” “Kyie,” “sissy,” and “baby.” You are such a babbler, and you always try to copy what we’re saying, so I know that it’s only a matter of time before you will be talking up a storm! Good thing we’re not used to a quiet house :)

As for eating and sleeping, you are great in one department and we’re working on the other :) You eat everything! You have never not liked something I’ve given you, whether it’s been baby food or table food. At this point you are eating mostly table food…last night it was chicken and broccoli. Pretty much whatever we eat, I cut up super tiny for you and you go to town! Of course you’re a mess, but you’re learning :) I nurse you 2 – 3 times per day. Daddy is working hard to get you to sleep through the night. So I feed you before you go to bed, and then you get up and we just put your paci back in and turn the music on – you’ve been doing OK at this :) Then I nurse you again around 6:00 AM when you wake up, and then you go back to sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.

You are such a sweet little baby – I love you so much! I can’t imagine what our life would be like without you and I’m so glad that God’s plans override ours! Clearly he knew how much we needed you and how happy you would make us. Thank you for being such an adorable little boy!

Happy First Birthday!
Love,
Mommy

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Kiddo Update - Kylie...

2012-01-06T09:09:00.002-05:00

So what has Kylie been up to?

Ahhh…my little princess :) Not really a princess per se anymore…more of a little diva/super smart girl/crazy person/great big sister. She is at such an interesting age right now…it’s like she wants to be older, but sometimes slips into being a little kid – such an awkward age.

At home she’s a wonderful big sister and help to Ryan and Colton. I can ask her to watch Colton for me while I do other things (i.e. laundry!). She desperately wants Ryan to constantly give her hugs and hold her hand, but unfortunately, Ryan is just not that way with anyone but me, so she is always so disappointed and sad :( As far as being a good big sister to Josh, that would depend on the day…sometimes they play so great together, but other times she just picks and picks at him.

She loves to read! She got some new books for Christmas and had two of them read before she went back to school. She wakes up in the morning and reads in her room…she reminds me of myself when I was younger! She sometimes plays with her American Girl dolls and Monster High dolls – again, she’s at such an in-between age and she’s constantly worrying about what kids at school will say if they know she plays with certain things. I’ve told her over and over again that 1.) it doesn’t matter what the kids think and 2.) she can play with these things at home and no one ever has to know if she doesn’t want them to know.

At school she’s excelling more than I could have ever imagined! She is with the same kids and teacher as she was last year which is awesome because I really think she has formed a great bond with all of them. She did outstanding on all of her standardized tests so she is in the gifted program. She goes to the gifted class every day for math and let me tell you, when I help her with her homework I often have to read over and remind myself how to do the stuff! She’s learning geometry for goodness sakes! I learned that in 8th grade, and here she is in 3rd grade learning about acute angles, isosceles triangles, and parallelograms! Seriously! She always does so well on any project she has to do and she loves to write. She is so hard on herself all the time, which is normally a good thing, but it is also such a stressor for her. I was exactly like her when I was little, so I know exactly where she’s coming from.

In sports she continues to do gymnastics and she also is in basketball with Josh for a couple of months. I would love to see her participate in a school sport along with gymnastics…she has mentioned wanting to try volleyball next year (they start in 4th grade). As far as gymnastics goes, she’s in level 4 and has had two meets so far this year. She has done wonderfully at both of them…she’s working so hard at being “perfect” during her routines. She is so pretty and fun to watch! We upped her to two classes a week, so she goes Wednesday nights from 6:30 – 8:30 and Thursdays from 4:30 – 6:30. The Wednesday class has been hard on us because she never gets her homework done before she goes, so she has to come home and finish it and usually doesn’t get into bed until 9:30 or 10:00. But that class has one of the best teachers and it’s a small class, so she gets a lot of coach-time. She has talked about joining the competitive team, but so far it has only been talk (which I’m thankful for because the location she goes to doesn’t have competitive team, she would have to go to their bigger gym that’s about 20+ minutes away and there’s always a ton of traffic).

So that’s a quick recap of what my little sweetie is up to. I can’t believe that she’s 8 ½ already…she’s growing up to be such a sweet and special big girl!

Christmas 2011...

2012-01-04T15:26:00.008-05:00

Ahhh, another Christmas come and gone, another year come and gone…way too quickly…

I had the great fortune of having a lot of time off left to use at the end of the year. I love doing this for a number of reasons…I’m usually pretty burnt out by then and really need a break, there is always so much to do around this time of year, the kids are off school, and I am so busy at work in January and February so it’s nice to really rest and relax before jumping into the craziness. So the week before Christmas I was off for a couple of hours for the kids’ Christmas parties, and then off the following day, and then off from the Friday before Christmas right through January 2nd. Another nice thing was that my dad came up that Tuesday before Christmas and was up here the whole time as well. It was a glorious vacation!

The Friday before Christmas we just hung out around the house and finished getting ready for Christmas. I took Ryan to get some last minute things, including his present for Kylie, and then we spent the day wrapping presents and just playing. On Christmas Eve the kids and I baked the rest of the cookies, John and I finished wrapping presents, and I baked the cake that I was bringing for Christmas dinner. We went to church where the kids sang (John and I had been working with all the kids for the past three weeks on two completely new songs…it was stressful but fun :) ) and they did such a great job! The service was great and it was good to see everyone on Christmas Eve.

After church we went over to Max and Erma’s for dinner. I was trying so hard to make the night as stress-free as possible, so having dinner without having to cook or clean-up sounded perfect! I tried to get us reservations at Bucca or La Scala, but they were booked. So I called Max and Erma’s a few days before to let them know that a party of 8 would be there Christmas Eve for dinner. I was really surprised when we pulled into the parking lot and it was pretty much empty! It’s weird that some restaurants were completely booked, but others were empty…not what I was expecting, that’s for sure! We ordered our dinner and poor Kylie’s stomach started hurting again…really bad. She laid down on the floor while we tried to eat our dinner as fast as we could. A server (not even ours) was really nice and brought her some ginger ale and crackers, which helped a little.

After dinner we came home and Kylie started feeling better, so we went over to my parents’ house so that the kids could open their presents from them. They had so much fun and got some really neat gifts! They got a really nice block set to play with there, the boys got Bobcat hats, Kylie got a microscope and piano book, Josh got a Brain Games book, a reading book, and an electric drum set, Ryan got a little drum set and an activity book. Colton got some Gerber Graduates food :)

After that we headed over to our house so the kids could open the presents from each other. The boys got their Bears outfits and huge inflatable goal posts. Kylie got her art set and her Monster High journal. And of course all the kids got their pajamas :)

After the kids went to bed, John and I exchanged our gifts as we normally do on Christmas Eve. I got him a Bears flag and a new cordless drill. He got me a Bose wireless speaker (that I connect with my phone when listening to Pandora or iHeart radio), my slingbox app and a memory card that has wifi in it so I should be able to upload pictures as I’m taking them.

The next morning Kylie and Josh came in around 5:30 AM and I told them they had to wait until it was light outside. At 7:00 they came back in (even though it was not light outside) and I told them that they had to wait until Ryan woke up. John and I got up and got some food ready, etc. and Ryan woke up around 7:30. My parents came over and the kids started opening their presents! Joshie got his iPod touch, little football helmets, sweatpants (the kid lives in them), a suitcase, a sleeping bag, and a new backpack. Ryan got little football helmets and tons of footballs, along with color changing cars. Kylie got a karaoke machine, shoes, a suitcase, a sleeping bag, a fashion design pad and a make-up case. All three of the kids got new sleds. Colton got a toy piano and a bath toy.

After the kids were done with presents, we took our time getting ready and headed over to my sister’s house for my family’s Christmas. We had a really nice brunch and opened some great presents. My sisters got me the necklace I had desperately wanted from Tiffany’s :) I think I’ve worn it almost every day since I got it :)

After presents we headed home and the kids stayed in the car while John and I switched out the presents. Opened ones inside, wrapped presents for his family in the car. Then we headed over to his sister’s house (after I made myself a huge glass of iced coffee…I was dragging!). We had a great Mexican-themed dinner and the kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We opened presents in phases while we waited for John’s brother and his wife to get there. Once they did, we had our big gift exchange. I really enjoyed this year because the kids pretty much drew each other’s names…Kylie drew Colton, Josh drew Ryan, and I drew Josh. I liked being able to get the kids extra gifts :) I got the bowl set I had wanted, along with a whisk and poultry shears (can you tell the theme of my Christmas list this year? :) ). Colton took a little nap while we were there, so he honestly was really good…I thought the day was going to be such a pain with him because of lack of sleep, etc., but it actually turned out to be totally fine! We finally left around 9:30. When we got home we all crashed! We didn’t even bring the gifts inside…just the kiddos :)

The next morning we got up and just started cleaning up the house. We put toys together, threw out boxes, and put toys away. It stunk because we literally spent the whole day doing this, but in the end, it made for a much nicer week not having to worry about all of it.

The rest of the week was wonderful! The only thing that stunk was that I had a stomach ache Tuesday and Wednesday, so I wasn’t able to fully enjoy my days off with the kids. And the whole family was supposed to go to the CJB game Tuesday night, but I just didn’t feel well. So instead, John, Josh and Ryan went with our neighbors. Kylie went out to dinner with my mom, and since Colton went down pretty early, I was actually able to rest for a while.

We stayed in pretty much the whole week, with the exception of eye doctor appointments and dentist appointments for the kids, which took three days to get through :) But there was lots of playing, resting and just not being busy!

John took some guys from church and went down to Athens for an OU basketball game on Friday. Unfortunately, one of the guys was sick and all the time in the car with him got to John and he woke up Saturday morning really sick. We were supposed to go over to the neighbor’s house for New Year’s Eve, but she was under the weather, so they cancelled. I decided that I was going to take whomever wanted to go with me to dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant. It ended up being everyone (plus Kylie’s BFF Rachel) because John was feeling better. We really had a great dinner (outside of Colton screaming when he wanted something…not crying, just screaming to get attention – which I’m sure all those couples that were trying to have a romantic night out enjoyed). But when we got back home John crashed…he was out! So the kids and I played games, watched TV and made milkshakes. Ryan went up to bed fairly early and Kylie’s friend ended up falling asleep. Colton ended up waking up to eat right before the ball dropped, so I got to toast and kiss three of my kids at midnight :) After that I made beds on the couch for Kylie and Josh, fed Colton and put him back to sleep, and then crashed myself!

New Year’s day and Monday were more days to rest. John was still a mess Sunday morning so I took Ryan and Kylie to church. Our children’s pastor preached which was such a nice treat! We came home and I made John some homemade chicken noodle soup. Between the soup and the meatloaf we were having for dinner, I felt like I was cooking all day! John started feeling better and I even got a little bit of a nap. My dad came over for some meatloaf (of course…one of his favorites) and it was a great ending to New Year’s day. Monday we spent the day taking down some of the Christmas decorations and then had dinner at Mellow Mushroom with our neighbors (it was good to get out of the house, but it was FREEZING!).

Coming back to work was hard…I really had such a great time with the kids and Colton is at such a great age now that being home with all of them is not near as hard as it used to be. I couldn’t help but think about how much easier next year is going to be…I might actually get to take a few more naps :)

Crazy Week...

2011-12-22T09:15:00.002-05:00

This has been a crazy week, but what else would I expect for the week before Christmas? :)

I worked a full day Monday, worked Tuesday but left at 2:30 to go to the kids’ Christmas parties at school, I took off Wednesday, and then I’m working a full day Thursday and then off until January 3rd. Crazy!

So Tuesday John and I went to the kids’ Christmas parties at school. The parking lot was insanely packed, so I parked in our neighborhood and walked over (normally I would have walked no matter what, but my leg is still sore). So John and I were a little late :( We started in Josh’s classroom because he is still so happy to see us and wants us to be at everything. After about 7 minutes we headed over to Kylie’s class. Kylie is at that age where inside she wants us there, but on the outside, she acts like it’s no big deal if we’re there or not. We talked with her a little bit and watched her make her ornament and then we headed back to Josh’s class. He finished up and we got him packed up and then we finished the time out at Ky’s classroom.

When we got home we all just hung out and relaxed. My dad came over as soon as he got up here (he’s here for a while now since all of his students are on break) and we chatted for a while. Ky, Josh and Ryan spent the night with my parents and after we put Colton to bed John and I spent a while wrapping presents.

On Wednesday Colton let me sleep in! He didn’t wake me up until 9:00 AM and boy, I needed that sleep! While he was eating breakfast I started making some cookie doughs that had to be refrigerated. The kids slowly started coming back over and we spent the morning baking, playing and chasing after Colton! He was such a pistol yesterday as he was into EVERYTHING! He really didn’t want anything to do with any of his toys…he just wanted papers, poinsettia plants and the remote. It was exhausting! The worst part was that my leg was pretty sore, so I would try to rest it, but I just couldn’t trust that little booger so not much rest was had.

The bad part to yesterday was that Kylie got a horrible stomach ache in the early afternoon. It was so painful for her and she would cry in pain every so often. The stomach ache ended up lasting the whole day and finally after throwing up once in the middle of the night, she felt a ton better. And thankfully she’s old enough to know when she’s going to be sick, so there was nothing for me to clean up :)

So last day of work today and then a whole bunch of time off with the kiddos! I have all my shopping done and wrapping started, so I’m feeling pretty good right now :)

Oh, and the best line of the season so far:

I got the kids’ presents wrapped and put under the tree yesterday, so when Ryan woke up from his nap, he was so excited to see presents! When my dad came back from shopping, he told Ryan that he had gotten him some presents and Ryan replied “Can you buy us some more presents because we don’t have so much.” What an adorable, honest child :)

Vein Surgery...

2011-12-20T08:38:00.001-05:00

With the birth of Colton and the hospitalization of Colton earlier this year, we spent a lot of money on medical bills and were quickly approaching our out of pocket maximum with our health insurance. Yes, you read that right, our out of pocket maximum. Sheesh!

So I decided it was the time to see a doctor about a hideous vein that I have always had on the back of my leg. After a couple of appointments and an ultrasound, it turns out that not only was it hideous, but there was also some leakage, so we were set to remove this thing. The only problem was that it was attached to a nerve, so if the doctor shot it up with the killing stuff (normal plan of action) it would also kill my nerve, so that was not going to work. Which meant I actually had to have surgery to remove this vein.

So last Thursday John and I headed to the hospital at 7:00 in the morning (the time my doctor’s office told me to be there) and checked in. Even though this was a very simple, common procedure, I was still super nervous because I’ve never had surgery before. What made my nerves worse was that the hospital didn’t have me scheduled until 12:15, and there was an emergency that came in that morning, so my surgery was going to be even later! After some pushing from me, I finally went back around 12:45 and they started getting me ready.

The nurses were fantastic back there and finally around 3:00 I was ready to go in. I remember being wheeled into the operating room, but that’s it! The next thing I remember was waking up in recovery about an hour and a half later. Once I was awake, they brought John in and I got dressed and we headed out. I was so groggy and slept the whole way home. Once John got me settled into bed, he took all the kids out to get me pain medicine, the kids dinner, and me some fries and a frosty (I hadn’t eaten since 9:00 PM the night before!). I slept some more and finally around 7:30 I was able to get up and eat and move around.

I was (and still am) surprised at the amount of pain I have had. While my leg is sore and looks horrible, I really expected more pain. I have been walking around and going up and down steps since the night after my surgery.

The worst part about the whole thing was that I couldn’t nurse Colton for 24 hours after my surgery, and he doesn’t take a bottle anymore, so poor John was up with him a few times at night and he was a pistol! And on top of that, Ryan had some kind of a stomach thing, so he was throwing up every 40 minutes. So John would deal with Colton and I would take care of Ryan and put the laundry in, etc. It was a horrible night, but thankfully, Ryan was done being sick by morning and was fine the rest of the day!

I’m still recovering…I often forget that it hurts to bend my knee (the incision spots are still really sore) and it’s hard not wrestling around with the kids. But it is getting so much better every day and I can’t wait to see what my leg looks like after all this bruising is gone!

Online Shopping...So Easy A Child Can Do It...

2011-12-13T16:15:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we had some goals of things we wanted to accomplish. One of the major items was for us to take the kids out shopping for their gifts to each other. So after basketball on Saturday, we loaded everyone up in the car and went and had a wonderful lunch. After that lunch, we headed over to Target.

We were prepared for crazy busy – Christmas was two weeks away, and while it was cold, the sun was shining so we knew people would want to get out of the house. We were all talking and singing and whatnot when I realized that we had been sitting in the same spot on the road for a while. Then we looked around at the parking lots and realized that they were not just packed, they were FULL! And people were driving around just trying to find a spot. This was not just crazy busy, it was insanity! Horrible visions of us trying to navigate through a busy parking lot and store with four kids, one of which was a baby that probably wouldn’t last long, and knowing that we would have to trade off a couple of times so that all kids could get all presents for all kids started playing in our heads. So John whipped out of the line of traffic and turned around and headed home stating “we are going to go home and teach our kids how to online shop!”

So when we got home we put the younger two down for naps and John took Kylie upstairs to our computer and I sat with Josh on the couch with my laptop and we shopped! The kids had fun thinking about what they wanted to get each other and I liked that I was teaching them how to price compare and read reviews.

That night John and Josh went to the CBJ game with a friend and his son, so his wife and daughter came over to hang out with us while they were gone. We went out to a Chinese buffet for dinner and Ryan cracked me up when he exclaimed “Mom, this is the best broccoli ever!” Colton ate a ton of food…noodles, potatoes, cheese and melon. Then we all went home and after I put the boys to bed, I painted the girls’ nails

All in all, a really good Saturday :)

Seeing Santa...

2011-12-07T10:42:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was the annual trip to see Santa :) And it was also a time for me to realize that even when I think I can predict reactions…I can’t.

The weather was so nice on Saturday (in the 50s!). We started the activities with taking Josh, Kylie and Rachel to basketball. I took Ryan with me, and my dad stayed home with Colton. The kids both loved basketball!

After that we went home for naps and just hung out for a while. The kids finished up their letters to Santa and around 4:30 we headed over to Holidays in Powell (John was already there because working). We waited in a long line for Santa (very unusual…never waited that long before, but since it was so nice out, everyone waited to come until the end). I figured that obviously Josh and Kylie would be fine with Santa, Ryan would be fine because he was fine last year, and I thought Colton would cry (which I love because you always have to have the crying-Santa picture!). As we were in line, Ryan starts saying that he doesn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap. What??? I told him that if he didn’t, then Santa wouldn’t know what he wanted for Christmas and he wouldn’t get any toys (harsh I know, but I was trying to take 4 kids to see Santa without the help of John and I was frustrated and tired). We get up to Santa (after a very nice talk with Mrs. Clause) and Josh and Kylie do their thing. Then Ryan starts crying…ugghhh… Luckily John (who was able to come over and help at this point) was able to get him on Santa’s lap and even tell him what he wanted. And then Colton’s turn…he just looked at Santa, trying to figure out what this crazy site was…no tears whatsoever! I was so disappointed! Oh well, maybe next year :)

After we saw Santa, we went into the other room and the kids did some crafts and then we followed Santa out for the tree lighting. We’ve never seen this before because it’s usually cold or we’re not there at the end, but it was really nice outside!

I say it every year, but this year I mean it (we’ll see) – no more Holidays in Powell! It’s just too hard for me to take the kids by myself and navigate the crazy craft tables…all for things that we just throw away! I always want to shoot myself at the end of the day and this time was no exception. But the kids had a lot of fun…and I guess that is what matters…(although mom’s sanity should count for something).

Blog Reading...

2011-12-05T15:12:00.002-05:00

It actually happened last night…Kylie started reading some of my blog entries :)

I get my blog published into a hardcover book every couple of years. It’s the best $100 I spend! The books are gorgeous and my memories are forever saved (well, maybe not forever, but I feel a little better knowing that if something ever happened to my blog I would at least have every entry somewhere). Anyway, I have kept the books in our family room, right next to all the photobooks I have ever made. I have told Kylie that every year I write her a birthday note, and that she should read it sometime, but she always blows me off and complains that I write about her at all. I tell her not to worry and that I only write about her so that I’ll remember it and that no one reads this but me (shhhhh, don’t tell!).

So last night I hear her laughing from the couch, and I ask her what she’s doing and she says “I’m reading the purple book.” I have no idea what she’s talking about, and she clarifies with “the purple book, you know, the one you keep over on that table.” Ohhh yes…the purple book is the first book. She happened to read a post about me trying to deal with my frustrations better and not take them out on John or the kids. Of course she would have to start reading posts that had to deal with me and not the kids! And she was surprised that I am still blogging…and nervous…she’s scared to death I’m going to write something embarrassing about her (who me??? Never :) ).

I hope she keeps reading pages from those books…I hope she sees how much John and I love her, and I hope that even when she feels like we don’t, she’ll be able to read those books or even sneak a peek at the live blog and see that everything we do we do out of love for each of our kiddos.

Thanksgiving 2011...

2011-11-29T13:53:00.006-05:00

Wow, what a wonderful, wonderful time off and Thanksgiving we had!

Our break started Wednesday when we packed up the car and left for Michigan. What’s sad is that we actually sent down a suitcase, pack ‘n play and turkey fryer down with my mom the day before, and we were still stuffed to the brim with stuff! The weather was gorgeous and the kids were settled in with a movie. We made a stop at a candy store that we always see and never stop at and got some fudge and popcorn. We made it to my sister’s by about 1:30.

We spent the rest of the day getting the rest of the groceries and waiting for Suzie’s new TV to be delivered. We ordered some dinner from a local place that I love and her TV finally arrived! Around this time my sister Cindy and her husband Josh and my dad got in, so we all caught up and relaxed a bit before everyone headed off to bed. Cindy and Josh were only staying two nights, and the place was a little cramped, so my mom and dad stayed at a local hotel and each night some of the kids went with them. Colton was a pain that night and decided that 3:30 was a good time to get up. Thankfully he was only up an hour, but he still managed to wake everyone else up :(

Thanksgiving morning John and Suzie headed off to run the Turkey Trot while I stayed back and got cinnamon rolls ready and Cindy got the sticky buns ready. John and Suzie were back in no time and we all enjoyed a great breakfast and the Macy’s parade. I also got to do Suzie’s hair which was fun for me :) We spent the rest of the day cooking our fabulous feast. Kylie helped Cindy make the noodles as has been their tradition since Kylie was really little. Around 2:00 all the boys headed down to the garage to get the turkey fried and hang out. Josh and Ryan had fun down there with them. Since Suze lives in a townhome, there isn’t much opportunity for them to go outside and play, so they jumped at the chance to play some football outside with the bigger boys :)

We were ready to eat dinner around 5:30 and it was amazing! The best turkey we’ve fried yet and all of the side dishes were perfect! Colton enjoyed his first Thanksgiving with a full tray of food – turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. I’ve never had a child old enough to eat real food at their first Thanksgiving, so it was neat seeing him chow down and get messy! After dinner we all collapsed in the family room to watch Spy Kids (obviously Kylie and Joshie’s choice :) ).

The next morning we got up and had a great breakfast of pancakes and then Cindy and Josh had to leave because Josh had to work that night. After they left we got ready (again, I did Suzie’s hair and she did my make-up) and all the girls headed out to the outlets. Of course it was crazy busy because it was Black Friday, but on top of that the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Especially for being up in Michigan! But I got an awesome deal on a new coat and a Jacket and a Jacket for Kylie and a coat and snow pants for Joshie. Then we went to the HUGE Christmas store where I was able to get Colton’s first Christmas ornaments. Then we had a great fried chicken dinner in the adorable little German town right there…so fun and yet we were so beat…we just wanted to get home (it was about an hour away from where my sister lives).

Saturday we woke up and had another great breakfast of eggs and sausage. After that we all just played and hung out waiting for the OSU/Michigan game. Since I’m not a huge football fan I started packing us up. After the disappointing game, we really got ourselves packed up and started to load the car. My parents were leaving too, so they were loading up, and found out that the battery had died in their car. While they were jumping it, something weird happened and the doors all locked…with the keys in the car :( So we waited for AAA to come and unlock the car. Honestly though, I’m really glad it happened because the weather was still absolutely gorgeous, so the boys played football out in the front and we just sat on the steps and watched them while we waited. Short sleeves at the end of November in Michigan…who would’ve thought???!!!

After AAA came and fixed the car, we were on our way home. But not before the kids made a discovery as they were in going potty before we left…their elves had returned! This time with another little friend for Ry-Ry! They were all so happy see their little friends and all held them tightly in the car on the way home. The trip was going well until we realized we were really hungry. So we ran through Burger King and John took the boys in to the bathroom. Colton was being a pistol and refusing to eat even though he hadn’t eaten in a while. We loaded back up and headed down the road eating our dinner. Just as our dinner was about gone (with Colton crying the whole way because duh…you’re hungry dude!) Ryan says “Mommy…when we get home, can you take me potty?” Now, this was about 10 miles from the last potty stop, and still 1 ½ hours away from home, so I said “Ryan, do you need to go potty?” and he told me “yes.” So we stopped again! I tried to feed Colton again, without success and we loaded up and hit the road again. Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful and we got home around 9:30 Saturday night.

We unloaded the car and I could easily tell that Colton was super excited about being home…he just looked so much more at ease. We put a bunch of stuff away and went to bed! All the big kids showered and went over to sleep with my parents.

Sunday morning we went to church and had a really wonderful Thanksgiving Communion Service. We came home, ate lunch, put the little boys to bed and started getting out the Christmas stuff! We got most of the stuff up before we had to leave to go to John’s sister’s house for another Thanksgiving dinner. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and the adults had fun just relaxing and talking. Dinner was really good too! We left to come home around 8:00, which made for a really long day. We got home and the kids all got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Monday was hard getting back into the work and school routine, but it’s nice knowing that we’ll get some more time off in just a couple of weeks! Now it’s time to buckle down and get this Christmas shopping done!

2011-11-22T09:19:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was another fun one!

John and I took off work Friday to try to get some stuff done around the house. John took the kids to school and I jumped right into cleaning out all of the kitchen cabinets. The dust in them has been bugging me for a while now, and I also needed to sort through everything I had and get rid of stuff I don’t use. It took forever, but it was worth it! Now I have clean kitchen cabinets and more room because I really cleaned out the stuff I don’t use. That night we went to dinner with our neighbors. The kids were all really good and the food was great too (we went to Mellow Mushroom)!

Saturday was a fun, relaxing day. John got up early and got some meat in the smoker and I made some cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for Josh and Noah (he slept over after dinner the night before). The rest of the day was spent relaxing, running to the grocery store, John watching football and me getting food ready for later in the day. The OSU/PSU game started at 3:30 and my dad and uncle came over to watch. Those two (they are brothers) always bet against each other on the game so it was fun watching them cheer against each other :) We had pulled pork, sausage sandwiches, corn chowder and homemade mini-apple pies. We also went outside and played some football during halftime which was fun!

Sunday was Kylie’s first gymnastics meet of the season. It was also her first gymnastics meet as a level 4. She was so nervous because there was a skill in particular that she had just gotten the week before (her front hip circle on bars) and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it in the meet. My parents were so nice and watched Ryan and Colton so we didn’t have to worry about trying to keep them entertained during the long meet. Josh and John sat and played games on the iPad and I watched Ky warm up. When the meet started, her first event was beam and she started her day off great with a 9.25! After that it was on to floor where she scored an 8.3 (we thought that was low and couldn’t figure out what she had done to get such a low score for such a great routine). Then she went to vault and got an 8.85 and then it was time for bars. I was so nervous for her! I watched her routine and was so excited when she made her front hip circle, did her shoot-through without falling forwards or backwards, and did a good mill spin! I was so happy for her! She got an 8.0 on bars which was great for her! Overall she did so well!

After the meet we went to Olive Garden (she got to pick since she got a 9.0 or better on an event – Daddy’s incentive for her) and had a really nice meal. John and I just kept marveling at how easy life would be if we only had 1.) two kids and 2.) they were Josh and Kylie’s age. I mean we hardly had to do anything…Kylie could go to the bathroom by herself, they could both get themselves in the car and in their seatbelts by themselves…so easy! But, we also agreed that when we were driving and looking in the backseat, it seemed so empty and weird with only the two of them! We didn’t like that at all!

When we got home we spent the rest of the day relaxing. I cleaned out the boys’ closets and finally got the rest of Ryan’s clothes moved into the room he shares with Josh. It felt so good to be able to just hang out at home since it was so rainy outside.

And the best ending to the weekend was knowing that we only had two days of work this week and then it was off for Thanksgiving!

Apothederm Review

2011-11-21T09:50:00.003-05:00

I’m not sure what has happened to me, but all of a sudden I have become super worried about my skin…specifically my face. I have never really done much for it besides wash it and moisturize it, but lately I have been scouring the internet, reading reviews and trying to find the best products to brighten my skin and prevent aging. I was fortunate a few weeks ago to be selected to try a couple of different Apothederm products and see how they worked for me.

The first product that I selected was the Bright Skin Serum. I have felt that my skin is pretty dull, and now with winter approaching, I really wanted something to brighten it up! I tried it as soon as I got it in the mail! Here is an excerpt from Apothederm.com about the http://apothederm.com/shop-products/brightening-acne/bright-skin-serum/:

“Our specialized formula refines, brightens and hydrates for a more even complexion. Our SmartPeptide™ technology specifically targets impurities to refine blotchy, discolorations and imperfections. Your skin will look and feel rejuvenated and radiant.”

After a week I did start to see a difference…my skin did look more luminous! However, there were a couple of downsides for me to this product – 1.) it remained sticky if I didn’t put anything over it. So the first couple of nights I felt like my face was sticking to my pillow. 2.) My face itched after I put it on, but that didn’t last long…usually a minute or so. Because of this, I contacted Apothederm and reached out to them hoping they could offer a solution. They sent me their Moisturizing Cream to layer over the Bright Skin Serum. Here is an excerpt from Apothederm.com about the Moisturizing Cream:

“Hydrate your thirsty skin with our emollient-rich cream. Developed specifically for dry, aging skin, this cream nourishes, replenishes, and firms, helping to reduce visible signs of aging.”

This stuff was great! Not to heavy or thick, nice smell, and felt good on my face! So now I put on the Bright Skin Serum and then put the Moisturizing Cream over top of that. My face does still feel semi-sticky though, but that’s a small sacrifice for bright and silky skin :)

Overall I really like the way my skin looks. I can only imagine how great it would look if I used all of their products! I also had such a great experience working with the company…they listened to my concerns and were ready to help me out however they could. I encourage you to head over to their site and look around. They have a lot of great facts about the technology that goes into their products and some great before and after photos. And until December 31, 2011, you can use the code “TENOFF” to receive $10 off your order!

Apothederm partenered with Mamasource to provide bloggers a chance to try their products and write a review on them. I was given the Bright Skin Serum and Moisturizing Cream to try out, and I was not monitarily compensated for this review.

Christmas Cards Ordered - Check!

2011-11-15T21:41:00.002-05:00

I just ordered my Christmas cards from Shutterfly! I am on the ball this year!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Warm Weather, Last Football Game, Productive Weekend...

2011-11-15T10:36:00.004-05:00

What a weekend!

Friday night we spontaneously had dinner with John’s parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and niece and nephew. My mom graciously offered to babysit Colton, so John and the kids and I headed to Cinco De Mayo and had a really nice dinner with everyone!

Saturday John and Josh had football practice and I started the huge project of cleaning out the playroom! I know with Christmas right around the corner and more toys coming in, that the room was going to get even more out of control if we didn’t do something. So I went down there and just started throwing things away and donating! Then Kylie and I had to leave for our hair appointments, so it was nice to have a break!

After our hair appointments, I got the pot roast in the oven for dinner, and then I went out and cleaned out the garden. It was absolutely gorgeous! The sun was out and it was 65 degrees! The only downside was the wind, but that was OK because I loved being able to clean out the garden in just a long-sleeved shirt! After I was done with that I went inside and Kylie, Josh and I went back to cleaning out the playroom.

Kylie’s BFF Rachel came over and we had a really nice family dinner with my parents. After dinner, Kylie, Rachel and Ryan went over to my parents’ house, my mom stayed with Colton (who was fast asleep), and John, Josh and I ran to Menchie’s :) I love that place!

Sunday we were all up and getting ready for church when my dad calls and says that he’s bringing Ryan over because he threw up. Sure enough he kept at it when he got home :( So we skipped church and I sat on the couch with Ryan sleeping on my lap for a good part of the morning.

My mom volunteered to watch Ryan and Colton so that I could go to Josh’s last football game of the season. So we loaded up the car and headed out. They played their last game in a high school stadium and they won! All of us parents of his team were the loudest cheerers there by far! It was a good game :)

After that we headed home and the kids and I went back to cleaning out the playroom (I said it was a mess!). We finally finished around 7:00 Sunday night with I think 8 bags of trash and 5 bags going to Goodwill! I was so happy with how much we got rid of! The kids were all hungry, so we loaded up the car and headed to Max & Erma’s where all of the kids were super well behaved and Colton ate Mac & Cheese for the first time :) Then it was home to bed!

11-11-11

2011-11-11T08:43:00.001-05:00

Today is such a cool day…11-11-11. But luckily for me, it’s not just “a cool day,” it also happens to be the day that my littlest baby turns 10 months old. 10 months! I can’t believe he’s that old already…where has the time gone?

My little Colton – you are such a sweetie and you capture everyone’s heart the minute they lay eyes on you! You have the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen, and the cutest bald head that has just recently started sprouting more and more little blonde hairs. You have four teeth on the top that all came in about the same time, and two on the bottom that you have had for a while. I have been giving you samples of pretty much everything we eat (ranging from broccoli to Kit Kat bars) and I haven’t found anything you don’t like yet!

Your “crawl” is adorable! You army crawl everywhere and the workers in the church nursery think you’re such a hoot! They get such a kick out of watching you get where you need to go. You have just this past week started getting up on all fours, but then you collapse and take off in your normal manner. You can easily get to and from a sitting position which has been nice, except in the crib when you’re supposed to be sleeping :)

Speaking of sleeping! You have actually only gotten up once the past two nights (you had been getting up at least twice every night before that) but I’m not holding my breath…I don’t feel like we’re out of the “sleepless” woods yet :) But thankfully you are so easy when you do get up in the middle of the night…get you (and you are chatting up a storm when I bring you to my room!), feed you (only about 6 minutes) and then lay you back in your crib with your blanket and you’re good to go. So I can’t (and really don’t) complain.

Yesterday was a pain with nursing…I feel like you’re ready to give it up. You get so distracted and are constantly trying to leave! So unless you are super tired (or it’s the middle of the night), it is such a struggle to nurse you. I’m not really complaining though as two months from today you will be cut-off completely :)

You have become more and more happy as the days go by…you laugh and smile and talk. You are waving “bye-bye,” you were kissing for a long time but have taken a break from that, when you see a fan you put your arm up and make circles with it (I usually make a sound acknowledging you know what a fan does), you respond when someone says your name, and when I ask where someone is (i.e. “where’s Kylie?”) you turn your head toward them.

Thank you for being my sweet little boy! I love you so much and I can’t wait to see how you fit yourself even more into our family as time goes by!

Love,
Mommy

Colton's 9 Month Visit...

2011-11-07T09:59:00.003-05:00

I took Colton for his 9 month well-check last week and here are his stats:

Weight: 21 lbs. 7.5 oz (57%)
Length: 30.5 inches (94%)
Head: 45.5 cm (48%)

So he's still a tall little guy! The doctor mentioned something about him waking up so much to eat during the night - using the word "absurd" if I remember right :) But she acknowledged that it might be necessary since he's not taking much breastmilk during the day.

But overall a great appointment and he barely cried when he got his shots! Such a great little boy!

A Fun Tuesday Night...

2011-11-02T11:22:00.002-04:00

Last night was a fun night :)

As I was leaving work, John texted me and told me that he was still stuck at work, so I went home knowing that it would be a little crazy and that dinner probably wouldn’t get made right away. So when I got home, I fed Colton and went downstairs to the playroom to watch some hockey by Ry-Ry. As we were down there, Noah and Zora knocked on the door to see if Josh and Ryan could play outside. So I got Colton ready and we all headed outside (Kylie was at gymnastics). It was really pretty out…the highs yesterday and today are in the mid-60s and sunny.

I put Colton in the stroller and I played football with the boys. Josh really wants to get an interception, so I worked on passing to Noah and Josh kept trying to intercept it. Then I played a little with Ryan :) It was nice being outside and getting some exercise!

John picked Kylie up on his way home, and by then it was getting pretty dark and pretty chilly, so everyone went inside. Since the kids just turned in their October reading logs for school and got their Book-It coupons back (and also because we had just had the house cleaned that day and didn’t want to mess it up with dinner :) ), we decided to go to Pizza Hut for dinner. We loaded the kids up and went to the only Pizza Hut around that still has a dining room. As usual, we were one of about 3 customers, so it didn’t matter how loud Colton got or how crazy our table was :) Each kid ordered their own personal pan pizza (black olives for Ky, sausage for Josh, and cheese for Ryan) and John and I shared a pizza. We had a really great time talking and laughing and eating!

When we got home it was time for bed, so everyone got ready quickly and fell right asleep!

A Fabulous Halloween Weekend!

2011-11-01T11:23:00.005-04:00

It sure was one heck of a Halloween weekend!

Friday night was going to be low-key, hang out at home and relax. Yeah, not so much. Kylie and Josh’s class Halloween parties were Friday afternoon, so John and I took some time off work and headed over to the school (along with my dad) and bounced between the classes (I think we spent more time walking the hallways than actually in the parties, but whatever). After the parties, Kylie’s BFF Rachel came over (she was spending the night) and Josh’s friend Merritt came over for a playdate. Kylie and Rachel set up a spa for me that included a foot bath/massage, a real massage, and make-up!

The afternoon/evening was going great, kids were playing, having fun, and apparently that triggers something in us (John specifically) to mix it up a bit. He suggested that the girls go to open gym at Kylie’s gymnastics. They have a neat thing on Friday nights that lets you pay a small fee and kids get to play on all the equipment for an hour and a half. Once Josh heard that Ky and Rachel were going, he wanted to go, so we called up our neighbor/friend Noah and he went with him. So my dad stayed with Ryan and Colton (who had gone to sleep a little earlier) and we loaded up the car and took the kids to Buckeye. We dropped them off and headed to the grocery store to pick up stuff for our little get-together the next night. After that we needed to meet someone to get adult flags for Josh’s football practice the next morning, so we waited around for this person for a very long time, and by the time we were done with our errands, it was time to pick the kids up! So we loaded them all back into the car and took everyone home and put everyone to bed!

The next morning John and Josh headed out to football practice and worked around the house getting ready for the people that were coming over later that night. When John and Josh got home, Kylie and I headed out to get her some fangs and then to exchange a hair dryer I had gotten. We stopped at the Halloween store and the fangs that would work for her were $17, so I told her we would wait and look some other places first. Went to another store and didn’t find anything. Then went to Ulta to pick up some make-up and exchange my dryer. Kylie got some cool make-up put on that would go with her costume later that night. Then they told me that they didn’t have any more of the hair dryer that I wanted, but another store did (that happens to be over by where I work, about 25 minutes from my house!). The coupon expired that day, so we had to go, even though we were running so late!

We got over to the other Ulta store and got the dryer. We quickly went into another Halloween store and found the same fangs that we had seen earlier (except they were $3 more here!) and Kylie agreed they would be good. We walked up to check out and the line was wrapped around the store! Now we had been in 3 Halloween stores, and this was the only one with such an obnoxious line! We had no choice but to get in it :( Thankfully, I think we only waited about 15 minutes, and in all we were only about ½ late to the party…thankfully John was home and had the food ready to go for everyone!

After we all ate dinner we got the kids in their costumes and headed into downtown Powell for Candy by the Carload. Local businesses dressed up and handed candy out of their trunks to all the kids. It was chilly, but not super cold, and all the kids seemed to have a great time. After we were done there, we went back home and the guys all watched the Buckeye game, the kids played downstairs, and us girls sat in the kitchen and chatted about Pinterest :) It was so fun that the last people didn’t leave until around 11:00!

Sunday we headed to church (we were definitely pretty tired!) and then back home for lunch and naps. Our nanny Miss G. came over to watch the kiddos so that I could watch Joshie’s football game with NO INTERRUPTIONS!!! It was awesome! The only downside was that they lost :( But Joshie had a touchdown catch and some flag pulls, so he had a good game.

After the football game we headed home and John surprised Josh and Ryan with tickets to the CBJ game! They got dressed up (it was “kids in costume get in free with adult”) and headed out. I played with Colton for a while, talked to Kylie while she worked on her projects, and finally put Colton down for bed around 7:00. Then Kylie and I started making the food for our Halloween potluck. Kylie peeled the carrots and chopped the celery with a sharp knife! After we were all done with the food, she got ready for bed and then we played Uno and Boggle. I had such a great time hanging out with her! And I love that she’s old enough to play some fun games :)

She went to bed around 8:45, and as I was cleaning up and thinking I would get to sit and relax, Colton decided he wanted to get up and play. So he and I got some one-on-one time together :) John and the boys got home around 9:30 and they told me all about the fun time they had! John put them to bed and then he and Colton had some fun playing together.

Monday was another crazy day! I left work 2 hours early and headed home to get ready for our Halloween/trick-or-treating night. And of course, as I was loading the kids up in the stroller to pick Josh and Ky up from school it started raining! So I covered Colton up, gave Ryan and umbrella, and off we went! When we got home, I threw everyone’s clothes/coats into the dryer. Then we started getting costumes on and food ready. I made a Buffalo Chicken Chili in the crockpot that turned out really good! All the neighbors participating filed into our garage (we had the header going) and the kids ate dinner. After dinner it was time for pictures, and then off we went to get candy! Thankfully the rain was gone, the sun was out (setting, but out) and it wasn’t as cold as it could have been!

As usual, we stayed together through the first half of our neighborhood, and then the dads followed the big kids as they took off and my neighbor and I stayed back with our little ones. It was so neat to see how much difference a year made with Ryan! Last year he was so slow and it was such a struggle, but this year he was off and running and kept up with Zora! After they were done we headed back to the house and sat in the heated garage and drank hot chocolate and ate dinner while the little kids played.

The big kids stayed out until 8:00 and then came home and dumped their candy out on the kitchen table like last year. I can’t believe how much candy they got! It filled up three large bowls! I got everyone some awesome Nutella hot chocolate (tasted fabulous!) and slowly the kids trickled out to go home and get ready for bed. After our kids were in bed John and I cleaned up the house (the cleaners came today) and then crashed!

Another fabulous Halloween down in the books!

Drama with Halloween Costumes...

2011-10-28T09:15:00.001-04:00

So I thought I was being smart every year when I let the kids pick their own Halloween costumes. Except for that first year or two of life, I’ve always let the kids pick what they wanted to dress up as. I assumed that this would make my life easier…no fighting! So back in September when we were away for the weekend and we stopped at Cracker Barrel and were looking at Halloween costumes and Kylie wanted to get the long red velvet dress, I asked her over and over again if she was sure this is what she wanted. The costume was technically a queen, but she was going to wear it as a vampire princess. She assured me, all through lunch that she wanted it, so we bought it.

Around the beginning of October I started hounding Josh about what he wanted to dress up as, and he finally decided he wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Again, I spent the next week asking him over and over again if he was sure that was what he wanted to be, and he told me over and over again he was sure.

Starting about 3 weeks ago Kylie started complaining that kids were going to make fun of her costume. She said they were going to think she was a princess. I told her that she was wrong (princesses usually don’t wear long dark red and black velvet dresses) and that her teeth and make-up would make her look like a vampire. It finally got to the point that I told her if she complained one more time about the costume SHE PICKED OUT she was not going to go trick-or-treating.

Then last night at dinner Josh started complaining! He started saying that kids were going to make fun of him because “everyone” else will be dressed up as something scary. We reminded him that he just went to a Halloween party where 1.) there were lots of kids not dressed up as something scary; and 2.) no one made fun of him. Again, I told the kids that if I heard another word they would be sitting with me around the fire Monday night instead of trick-or-treating with the daddies.

Seriously??? Where did I go wrong? I know one day we’ll look back at this and Kylie will wonder why she was so worked up about it, but in the moment right now it’s really frustrating!

Look, We Can Do Impromptu Things!

2011-10-26T10:28:00.002-04:00

Last night was kind of an impromptu night, which unfortunately, doesn’t happen very often anymore. That would probably be one of the downfalls of having a large family for me – the lack of impromptuness because we are always so busy and our lives are always so scheduled. But I digress…

Yesterday, John went golfing with some work people, one of which happened to be my uncle (he’s one of John’s business partners). After they were done, John called me and asked if I had any dinner plans, and since I didn’t, he came and picked us up and we headed to a local restaurant (Liberty Tavern) for dinner with my Uncle Mike (when I told Ryan his response was “like in New York?” because we had spent a lot of time with my uncle and his family at the wedding).

Anyway, we got to the restaurant and got everyone situated. And by everyone, I mean John and myself, my uncle and his brother-in-law, and Ryan and Colton. Josh was a friend’s house and Kylie was at gymnastics. I ordered food for myself and for Ryan and Kylie, but not Josh (because he was eating dinner at his friend’s house). After the orders were in, I headed out to go and pick Josh up (had already set up a pick-up time before our impromptu dinner plans). After I got him, we got gas because the car was running on fumes, and then headed down to pick Kylie up from gymnastics. While I stayed within a 5 mile radius the whole time, the entire trip still took about 35 minutes :(

After I got Kylie we headed back to the restaurant and Kylie and I ate dinner. My uncle was being such a good sport with the craziness because of course Colton was sick of sitting in a high chair and Ryan was done eating and bored (they had been there for over an hour at that point). He kept making comments like “watching you guys is making me tired” and “you guys are reminding me of my past life” (because he also has four kids of his own). In the end it was a good dinner and a fun time.

And since Liberty Tavern happens to be right next to Rita’s, the kids begged to go there after dinner. Since I love Rita’s, I couldn’t say “no” :) So we went in and Ryan got half cotton candy/half orange, Josh got half root beer/half chocolate, and Kylie and I got Cookies and Cream. We got everything to go and headed home to begin the rush of homework and bedtime.

The kids ate their dessert, I put Colton to bed, John and Ryan showered, and then Kylie and Josh worked on homework. The last child (Kylie) finally got into bed around 9:15 and John was already asleep on the couch. I finished the night up with a long phone call with my sister Suzie and then desperately tried to watch TV but was unsuccessful and fell asleep within about five minutes :(

So while it was crazy and chaotic and NOT something I can handle doing all the time, this family of six can still be spontaneous…even if that spontaneous activity is just a dinner out :)

Girl Time With Ky-Bear...

2011-10-25T10:37:00.002-04:00

Last night was such a great girl night with Kylie!

First, she got to ride her bike while John ran, so they got to have a really good conversation about school buddies and God giving us opportunities. She got paired up as a buddy with a little boy with down syndrome, and she was nervous being around him because she didn’t know how to act, so John had a really great talk with her about how God gives us opportunities to show His love and to show kindness, and it was her choice whether or not she would go for it or not.

Once they got back she and I headed out to the mall to find her a winter coat. Luckily we found one she liked at the first store that we went to. After that we went looking for jeans for Ryan (we officially hit the age in which Josh put holes in the knees of all of his jeans, so Ryan has to get new ones from now on). After that I told Kylie that she could get a feather extension in her hair. She was ECSTATIC! She has been asking for one for a long time! It looks really cool!

After that we went to dinner at Cantina Laredo. She and I had some great conversation about boys and getting married. She said something about liking her best friend’s brother and I told her to never pick a boy over her best friend (because I told her that if she liked him she would not be allowed to go over to Rachel’s near as much anymore!). It was just such a fun night!

We got home late, around 9:30, so she showed John her stuff and then headed right up to bed. John had a pretty easy night with the boys…Colton slept the entire time I was gone and they just ate pizza and watched football! So definitely a successful night!

A Good Day!

2011-10-21T14:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was such a great day :)

I got to work from home, which meant that I got to have lunch with Kylie and Josh. So Ryan and I headed over to the school at lunch time and had a great lunch with the kiddos.

Then last night we took Josh over to a birthday party at a laser tag place. After we dropped him off, we headed over to pick Kylie up from gymnastics. While we were waiting for her to finish, we talked to our neighbors as they were watching their little girl in the preschool gym. When Kylie was finished, we headed out and headed over to Polaris for dinner. We were going to go to Max and Erma’s, but we decided to be adventurous and try Mellow Mushroom, which we had never been to before. It was busy and loud and fun! Our food took a long time to come, so once it did we had to scarf some of it down because we had to leave to pick Josh up from his party. But the food we scarfed down tasted SO GOOD!

We picked Josh up (he had so much fun at the party!) and we drove up the road to Dairy Queen and everyone got a blizzard. We took them home and ate them and then everyone got ready for bed. Poor little Colton was done! He was so tired! He snuggled right into me when I fed him and rolled right over to sleep when I put him in his crib.

And for what feels like the thousandth time, I got all comfy in my bed and started watching one of my DVRd shows, only to wake up an hour later realizing I fell asleep during it! I’m so sick of being so tired! But I don’t think that is going to change for about 15 years, so I had better get used to it :)

Some One-On-One Time With Colton...

2011-10-19T09:06:00.002-04:00

Wednesday??? I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already…this week is going by so quickly…so quickly in fact that I haven’t done the weekend recap from last weekend yet…agghhh! Well here it is…

Last Friday evening we had a nice night at home just relaxing. I got the bright idea to make fried chicken, but had the unbright idea to use a small pot, so I ended up frying chicken for 2 hours before it was all done! Nonetheless, it was a good dinner and a good evening.

Saturday was absolutely amazing! John took Kylie, Josh and Ryan down to Athens for Homecoming. It was a chilly day, with brutal winds, and along with trying to squeeze in naps I realized that Colton would be miserable and a pain if we tried to take him down there too. So he and I stayed home and had a wonderful day together! John and the kids left at 7:30 AM, and I got to go back to bed for about an hour before Colton woke up. When he woke up we played and my dad came over and played with him too. After a little while it was nap time, so he went down and I got a ton of work done around the house.

The rest of the day I was able to play with him and get stuff done around the house that has needed to be done for a while. My biggest accomplishment was getting my scrap room completely cleaned out and organized! And I had such a great day playing with Colton and watching him explore as he army-crawled his way around the house.

My dad went and got us all dinner, and he, my mom, Colton and I sat around eating and just relaxing! Around 8:30 John and the kids got back and they were fired up with stories about their day. Especially Ryan – he was sound asleep but as soon as he heard my voice he popped up to tell me all about the football game. And then I found out that he had gone potty all day and didn’t have any accidents the whole time, so he had a really great day! After all the stories were done, we got the kids ready for bed and Kylie and Josh went over to my parents’ house and we all went to bed.

Sunday was church and then Joshie’s football game. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous, so all the coats and blankets I had packed were not needed. Joshie had a great game (one touchdown and three flag pulls) and they won by a ton! The whole team did really well!

When we got home we ate some food and then relaxed a little. Josh and Kylie both wanted to play with the neat toy-things they had gotten from their grandparents the day before, so we helped them with those – Kylie got a piece of rock that she could chip through to find gemstones. She really loved it and it was really fun! Joshie got these Orbeez things that you put in water and watch grow…they were cool too! After that the kids went over to my mom’s to play for a little bit while John and I played with Colton and organized the house a little. When the kids got back, I surprised Josh and Kylie and took them to Menchie’s (a great frozen yogurt shop with a bunch of flavors and a huge toppings bar!). We each made up a dish and took them home to share with John and Ryan. After we ate our dessert it was time for bed.

So a pretty low-key weekend and most importantly, a great Saturday (and a very quiet one) with some great one-on-one time with Colton!

Colton is 9 Months Old...

2011-10-12T09:12:00.002-04:00

Colton turned 9 months old yesterday, and I’m just sick over how fast the past 9 months have gone by…

Seriously…how does that happen? I feel like we were dealing with all of his “issues” (RSV hospitalization, circumcision, reflux, not sleeping) and then all of a sudden we blinked and have this happy, exploring, sweet baby boy. I’m glad the newborn months are behind us…I’m not really a fan of those anymore, but it all didn’t have to go so quickly :(

So Colton can finally sit well on his own, although that really doesn’t happen much because as soon as I sit home down somewhere he flops himself onto his belly and takes off! He army crawls everywhere! He has no interest in getting up on all fours and crawling the right way…probably because the time it would take to learn how to do that would take away from time he could be exploring somewhere in the house. He loves to crawl on top of and wrestle with anyone that gets down on the ground in his way, so of course the boys love doing that with him!

He still nurses, but I’m not sure how much longer that will last (at least at any time that is not the middle of the night). He is just too busy to sit there and nurse! He gets distracted too easily and always wants to be looking around. He has also given up on bottles :( He’s starting to take up sippy cups, but not as much as I would like…the poor kid is not getting very much liquid during the day! But he can eat, let me tell you! He has his two bottom teeth, and his top two coming in (canine and top right), so he can down some cheerios and puffs like it’s nobody’s business! He eats at least two jars of stage 2 baby food each meal, and loves yogurt and cheese. He is such a messy eater that I’ve had to bathe him each night before bed. Thankfully I can now bathe him in the kitchen sink while I’m cleaning up after dinner :)

He still gets up 2 or 3 times in the middle of the night to eat. I’ve gotten pretty used to the lack of sleep, and him eating in the middle of the night gets him the liquid he’s not getting during the day and keeps my supply up, so I really don’t mind it too much (but I’m on the 3 month countdown to being done with nursing and hopefully getting him to sleep through the night!).

He is just such a fun baby…when he sees me for the first time, he kicks his little legs like crazy, flails his arms, and digs his face into my shoulder when I pick him up. When I get him from the crib, we pause in front of his bathroom mirror and I ask “where’s the cute baby?” and when he sees his reflection and hears that he smiles and starts the kicking all over again :)

I love this little guy so much! I just wish he would stop growing up :)

A Chaotic, Apple Pie Evening...

2011-10-11T14:41:00.001-04:00

Last night was a little chaotic…although it should have been a fun, quiet evening. What sent it into a tailspin? The little voice inside of me demanding that I make apple pie…

I was supposed to make apple pie on Sunday, but then John got his migraine, so I wanted to make it Monday night, even though clearly, something so time consuming should really be saved for the weekend…

I love my apple pie…I even took it to the next level this year by rendering my own leaf lard and making it extra flaky and good this year. So when I had to go two weeks without making it because we were out of town, I knew that I desperately had to get more made.

So last night I got home from work and immediately started making dinner. I should have known things were no going to go my way when I couldn’t get the grill to light. Thankfully, John stopped mowing and changed the propane tank for me :) So then I continued making the burgers while the kids played outside. After they were done, we all went in and I got them all situated for dinner and eating and I started making pie.

But Colton was crying because I was not giving him snacks fast enough in his high chair. And then I was about to throw my apple peeler out the window because my apples were getting soft and they weren’t peeling. Again, Johnny saved me by peeling and slicing my apples for me :) Then I started wrestling with the dough for the crust…cursing it the whole time and telling any of the kids that walked by how much I hate pie crust dough (but thankfully knowing how well-worth all of this pain would be in the end).

I finally got the pie in the oven around 7:30 and was able to work on spelling words with Kylie and get Josh started on his weekly homework. I also popped Colton into the sink for a bath and cleaned up the kitchen. All the kids then got ready for bed and tried some of the pie – none of the kids like it, which is fine by me because between John, myself, and our nanny, the pie goes fast enough as it is!

Finally, everyone but Ryan went to bed. I made myself a nice little serving of fresh apple pie and vanilla ice cream and sat and watched The Hart of Dixie (I love Rachel Bilson). After I was finished, I got Ryan ready for bed and he came and snuggled with me and we both fell asleep rather quickly.

So it was by no means a bad night, just a little crazy. And thankfully the little voice telling me to make apple pie has shut up, so maybe tonight we can enjoy more of this beautiful fall weather and relax a little :)

A Fabulous October Weekend!

2011-10-10T09:34:00.004-04:00

What a weekend!

Friday night was the kids’ school carnival. John and I were “lucky” enough to volunteer* to work a booth the whole time. We took pictures of the kids and printed them on a little card that had the school’s name and the date. It seemed to be pretty popular this year which was good. In the beginning of the carnival I took Ryan out to jump on some of the big bouncy things which he loved. Josh was walking around with some of his friends, and Kylie was with her best friend. My dad also took Ry-Ry out while John and I were busy…he came back with rainbow colored hair :)

Saturday was so gorgeous here (the whole weekend was actually)! John and Josh had football practice in the morning and I did a bunch of stuff around the house. It was so great having the windows open and just relaxing! Even though I was organizing and “working,” the beautiful weather and sounds from outside made it so enjoyable!

Saturday evening was our niece and nephew’s first birthday party. So we went over to John’s sister’s house and all the kids had so much fun playing together! Again, the weather was so gorgeous and it was great sitting outside, hanging out with everyone, and watching the babies :)

When we got home from that party, Joshie headed over to the neighbor’s for his birthday party sleepover. John set up the Buckeye game outside to watch with a neighbor, and I got Colton to bed, Kylie over to my parents’ house, and sat and watched some TV.

Sunday morning we had church – John and I were teaching the little kids, as well as graduating our Kindergarteners during the service. It was a little hectic, but once we got back to the classroom after the graduation it was much better. Colton was the only baby in the nursery for a while so he got spoiled by the two workers :)

After church we headed over to Joshie’s game. We picked up lunch on the way, and Colton fell asleep :) So since Joshie had pictures an hour before the game, he and John went over there to get those done while the rest of us stayed in the car and ate our lunch. We had fun listening to We Sing Bible Songs and eating and talking :) About ½ hour later Colton woke up and we walked over to see the team.

Joshie’s game was fantastic! He had a really great flag pull, a long run, and a touchdown on top of all that! As always, I had such a great time watching him and his team play! They won by a ton which was nice too :)

After Joshie’s game I was supposed to go to the grocery store…on the way home in fact. But John was getting a Migraine. So we went straight home (on the way, Colton, Ryan and Josh fell asleep). When we got home, John took Ryan up to bed and laid on the couch with a blanket over his head. I took Colton upstairs to bed, Josh went out to play with Noah, and Kylie went over to my mom’s house. I took this time to very quietly fold laundry, unpack the car, and do some other miscellaneous stuff. I didn’t want to go to the grocery store because I was afraid Ryan or Colton might wake up and John was in no position to take care of them! So I had no choice but to do nothing :) What started out as an inconvenience and a pain (I hate it when I have plans and they get messed up), was actually a blessing in disguise! The weather was gorgeous! So I headed outside and read my Nook on the hammock…something I have not done since last fall! After I did that for a while, I went back inside and laid on my bed and watched some TV. With the windows open it was so relaxing! I kept telling myself how lucky I was to have this hour and a half to really enjoy myself!

Around 5:45 John woke up and his headache was gone. I was able to run to the store while he played with the kiddos and started dinner. When I got home, we all ate the pizza that he and Kylie had made, finished up homework and got the kids ready for bed. Kylie and I snuggled for a little bit and John and the boys watched football. Then it was bed time for everyone!

So a great and relaxing weekend! A nice treat after the crazy busy weekends we’ve been having!

A Typical Weeknight...

2011-10-07T09:37:00.003-04:00

Seriously, weeknights are kicking our butts! I constantly feel like I’m playing catch-up and I’m always so far behind…

Last night was a great example of where I feel so defeated. Kylie had gymnastics, so I dropped her off there and then came home and we all played outside while John mowed. I knew that the kids were starting to get hungry, but I couldn’t go in and make dinner because then I would have had to bring Ryan in with me, and he was having so much fun playing with Zora, so I decided to wait to make/eat dinner until after Kylie got home. That way too, John would be able to eat with us. So I played with the boys/entertain and fed Colton. I also had to clean Ryan up as he had an accident while playing (and I had just taken him potty 15 minutes before that!). Thankfully my neighbors were out and watched Colton for me so I didn’t have to drag him inside.

At 6:15 I loaded Ryan and Colton up in the car to go and get Kylie. We get home around 6:45 and Kylie immediately goes in to start homework and I go in and start dinner. Thankfully Colton really likes his doorway jumping thing (we call it “bouncy-bouncy”), so he jumped around and watched Ryan play while I made a simple dinner of mush and sausage. Right as dinner was about ready John came in and we all ate dinner. At this point it is about 7:15.

After dinner Kylie and Joshie shower and I go up and give Ryan and Colton a bath while John cleans the kitchen. After everyone is clean, it’s time for homework. Kylie studies math and Joshie finishes his homework packet and then studies for his spelling test. I get Colton fed and into bed, and then get Ryan’s teeth brushed and then him into bed. Joshie finishes his homework up around 8:40 and heads up to bed. Kylie whines about not being able to do well on her stuff, I pack her lunch for today and then she finally heads up to bed around 9:00.

Now John and I are ready to collapse at this point, but we have to get our stuff ready for the kids’ school carnival that’s tonight. We have a picture booth, so we need to test out the camera and printer. Finally, at 10:30 we sit on the couch. John is asleep within 10 minutes, so I head upstairs and go to bed myself. We are dead! On top of all that, Colton gets up to eat around 11:30 and then again at 3:00 AM.

This is a typical night for us…if Kylie doesn’t have gymnastics then Joshie has football, or John has a meeting, or I have something…and trying to stay on top of all the homework/schoolwork is draining! But don’t get us wrong, we do love this life that we have created, and while it may be hectic and chaotic while we’re in the fire, we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Journey Softball...

2011-10-05T11:52:00.001-04:00

Last year our church started a softball team. I was bummed because I love softball, but I was pregnant and couldn’t play :( So this year when they played again I was super excited! However, the league did not have enough teams sign up in the “for fun” league, so we were stuck in the competitive league…bad move…Our games are on Tuesday nights (were supposed to be on Friday nights) and some don’t even start until 8:20, and we always have a double-header. So needless to say, John and I have only played two nights because there is no way we can keep the kids out that late.

Last night was one of those nights…the games started at 6:20, and the weather was really nice, as opposed to the cold and rainy weather we have been having. So we loaded the kids up and brought along our neighbor girl that has just started babysitting.

When we got there, Kylie and Josh immediately ran off to play with their friends (there are always so many kids there!), and the babysitter entertained Ryan and Colton. John and I had a great time playing (although one of the first balls hit came right at me hard at third base and hit me smack in the knee…still very sore!). And it was so nice this time not having to worry about Colton and Ryan!

On the way home we grabbed dinner for John and I (the kids ate before we left) and Frosties for all the kids. Then it was time for showers and bed! We were all pretty exhausted from playing!

A New York Wedding Weekend...

2011-10-03T11:09:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was amazing!

Thursday, as soon as the kids were done with school, we loaded up the car and headed out on a 7 hour car trip to Rochester, NY. The last of my nine cousins was getting married! Our car was packed to the brim, and I had snacks and toys ready to go!

The kids did wonderfully! We made a bathroom stop, and then stopped in Erie, PA around 8:00 for dinner. We got complimented by two different people about how “beautiful” our family was and how well-behaved our kids were. At 8:00, after being in the car for four hours, with tired and hungry kids, those comments absolutely made our night :)

We pulled into Rochester around 11:30 and checked into the hotel I had got on priceline.com earlier that day. The kids were so tired, but Josh and Kylie were great helps in bringing the stuff to the room (there was no elevator anywhere near our room and we were on the second floor!). Colton had a crib, and the room had two queen beds, and Ryan slept on two plush chairs that I pushed together for him (a perfect little bed!). When we woke up the next morning (at 6:30 thanks to CoJo), we hung out and played for a little bit, and then headed down to the pool. The pool was awesome! It had a separate little section (roped off) that was only 1 foot deep, so the kids could easily play there. They also had a really nice hot tub that John and I took turns in. The whole time Colton sat very content in the stroller and watched us play.

After we were done swimming, we went back and showered and packed up and went to lunch. The lunch was great, the kids were great, and again, a wonderful older lady stopped by to tell us how beautiful our family was (she also told us that she had eight kids herself). We left lunch feeling full both physically and emotionally :)

Then it was time to head to my aunt and uncle’s house. They were so kind and invited us to stay with them the whole weekend. We got there and got unloaded and the kids immediately went down to the AWESOME basement they have set up for all of the grandkids and played. John and I visited with my aunt and then my aunt and uncle from Columbus were also there. I loved sitting there and catching up! And my aunt kept going above and beyond making us feel comfortable and playing with the kids…I felt so bad that she was doing so much, especially when her son was getting married that weekend! John and I played board games with Kylie and Joshie while the younger two were napping. We were ashamed to admit that it has been a long time since we have both felt relaxed enough to just sit and play with the kids…it always feels like there is something that needs to be done when we’re at home :(

That evening the babysitter that my aunt had hired to watch my kids when needed over the weekend came over to watch Colton. He immediately took to her and the rest of us headed out to the rehearsal dinner. I got to see all of my cousins! I loved seeing some of their kiddos and catching up with all of them. We also had a really fabulous dinner!

We went back to the house and got ready for bed. My aunt and uncle’s house is quite large (wouldn’t it have to be to accommodate nine kids?), so when my aunt was showing us our rooms, she just kept stopping in doorways and saying “you could sleep here or here or here…” and Kylie and Josh loved it! They couldn't decide which room to pick! I ended up in the nursery with Colton, John ended up in a room with Ryan, and Kylie and Josh ended up in a room clear at the other end of the house (their choice!). We all slept very well that night!

The next morning Colton actually slept in until 7:45, which was a very nice treat for me! We all then went downstairs and ate breakfast and just relaxed in their gorgeous family/sun room that is full of windows! We talked with aunt a little bit before she headed out for make-up, talked with my uncle before he headed out to get breakfast for the groom and his friends, and then we all started getting ready for the 12:00 ceremony. The wedding was beautiful, and I spent most of it in the crying room with Colton and a few of my cousins and their kids :)

After the wedding we all headed back to my aunt and uncle’s house for a mini-reception. We got to change clothes and eat a fabulously catered lunch out in a gorgeous tent, and then there was football and hanging out in their “barn” (not a real barn…animals…here anyway :)). I loved that I could put Colton and Ryan down for a nap and still enjoy time with my family…I honestly couldn’t thank my aunt and uncle enough for letting us stay there!

Later on we all started getting ready for the reception. The babysitter came and John and I headed out for an evening of fun! The reception was gorgeous and a ton of fun! I got to hang out with my sisters (both of them came with their husband and boyfriend) and my parents.

Around 10:00 John and I decided we should leave. The reception was by no means over (it actually was really just beginning), but we had to leave at 5:30 the next morning in order to be back for Joshie’s football game. So we went around and said “good-bye” to everyone and headed home. The sitter said that the kids were wonderful (I was again so thankful to my aunt for finding such a wonderful sitter!) and that they had a lot of fun playing with the new toys my aunt had gotten them. John and I then packed up as much as we could and headed to bed.

We got up super early (Colton actually had me up at 4:50 to eat) and loaded up the car and headed out. To say we were tired would be an understatement. The trip went fairly well (Colton did amazing!) considering how tired we all were. The only downfall was that about an hour into the trip Kylie tells me that Ryan is crying. I look back and he is rubbing his eyes and kept telling me they itched. So we pulled off to get him some drops and got him to fall asleep. When he woke up his eye was swollen shut! But it didn’t itch anymore and it didn’t hurt, so it really didn’t bother him (thank goodness!). As the trip progressed, his eye got better, but nowhere completely better.

We made it back in time to stop at the house, grab some lunch, and then head out to Joshie’s game. It was great to get back into football! His team is the Buccaneers this year and he is in the older group this year, so he’s the youngest of the older kids. He’s also the smallest by far! But he’s fast and had some great plays! They ended up tying, which I think is great considering it was the first older group game for him and coach Dad (John’s coaching again). The team played really well together, which make sense because over half of them have been playing together for years now!

After the game we went home and John crashed on the couch, Ryan took a long nap, Kylie and Joshie played, and I watched Colton/tried to clean up and do laundry. I made dinner, and as we were sitting down to eat, Ryan finally woke up (he was down for about three hours!). John gave him a bath and when he came down he said his eye was really bad and that we should probably take him to urgent care. I looked up the hours of the Children’s Hospital urgent care and we had 25 minutes to get there before it closed! So Ryan and I zipped over there and got right in. The doctor thinks that since he’s been sick, some bacteria has gotten up by his eye and caused it to swell and turn purple. So he prescribed an antibiotic and sent us on our way. Ryan did great the whole time and also while we were waiting for the prescription to be filled. I got him a Happy Meal (since he didn’t get to eat dinner), and when we got home he happily ate it and told John about our adventure! Then it was some couch time with Daddy and then bed time.

So it was a fabulous weekend! I’m tired and worn out, but it was all wonderfully worth it!

Aunt Suzie with Colton:

Ryan's 3 Year Stats...

2011-09-29T09:07:00.002-04:00

Last week I took Ryan for his 3-year checkup, and here are his stats:

Height: 37.5 inches (50%)
Weight: 31.2 lbs. (44%)
BP: 96/58

And much to his surprise and delight, he didn’t have to get any shots! He got the flu mist, so that was a teeny bit uncomfortable, but no shots!

And I told John, I think this was the first appointment that he has had where he has not cried! Every other time he would cry the minute the doctor came in, but this time he was happy and a chatterbox, which was nice!

A Fun Fall Activity...

2011-09-26T10:32:00.003-04:00

Anyone that knows me well knows that I really don’t like fall. 100% of the reason that I don’t like fall is because it’s getting colder…my ideal temperature is in the 80’s, and I will not complain if it’s in the 90’s…I like it hot! So because I don’t like fall, I usually resist fall-like things…warm drinks, fall colors, fall smells, pumpkin anything, etc. Now I like those things individually, but as everyone else is diving into all of those fall activities, I’m pushing them all away with all the strength I have. And what is worse is that I live in a city full of people that LIVE for fall and the changing of the seasons. I’m seriously one of the very few that is not a fan…

But there is one fall activity that I look forward to every year, and for a while, I didn’t think we’d get to do it this year because we were supposed to be out of town every weekend…apple picking. We loaded up the kiddos (plus Kylie’s friend Rachel) and headed out to go apple picking late Saturday morning. We got there around 11:30 and the kids all got busy picking. I pushed Colton in the stroller and actually did not pick a single apple because I was taking pictures the whole time and just enjoying watching John and the kids have fun. I’m not sure how many apples they ate, but I know every time I saw them they were eating :) After we were done picking, we went up to the building and got some apple crisp mix and some awesome salsa!

After we were done with the apples, we headed on down the highway and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. It’s a place that my friends and I go twice a year when we go scrapbooking. I absolutely love the place and the kids all really enjoyed it too (John could take it or leave it, which makes me wonder if he’s alive). After lunch we stopped at a local ice cream stand that my friends and I also go to and I got my favorite – a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate.

After that we headed home, and I did some work around the house, talked with the neighbors a little, and then made meatloaf and apple pie for dinner/dessert. It was a fabulous day and the food was amazing. Days like that help me to tolerate fall a little better :)

She's Such a Fighter...

2011-09-23T10:11:00.001-04:00

Kylie is known to fight and fight until she gets her way. If I tell her she can’t do something, she will argue and argue us about it until either 1.) we give in (not the best solution, obviously) or 2.) we punish her for not stopping the arguing.

She’s most known for fighting to play with her BFF Rachel. She will ask if she can go to Rachel’s house, and if we say “no,” there will be so many reasons and arguments as to why she should be able to go. I’m such a stubborn person, that usually, her arguments make me more mad and I don’t usually give in…I know what kind of trouble that can potentially lead to as she gets older.

Wednesday morning was no exception to her arguing…she was sick (which she never is) and I told her she needed to stay home from school. She was upset! She kept begging me and begging me to let her go to school. I told her that it wasn’t fair to the other kids and that she needed to rest. I left the house, knowing she was mad, and sure enough, about 10 minutes later I get a call and she’s begging me to go. I tell her “no” again and we hang up.

Just as I’m pulling into work she calls again. She argues about how she’s feeling better and that she needs to go to school. I’m so exasperated and sick of arguing at this point that I give in and tell her to go to school. My daughter won the battle.

She could have been fighting for worse things, and I figure if this is the type of stuff I cave on I will do an OK job at this parenting thing :)

Ryan's Birthday Recap...

2011-09-21T08:31:00.004-04:00

We decided, now that we have four kids, that doing birthday parties for each kid was getting ridiculous. And it really had nothing to do with any friends the kids were inviting, it was because we have such a large, wonderful family that always wants to come and celebrate with us. But with that comes trying to accommodate everyone’s schedule, and feeding a lot of people…four times a year now.

So we decided that we were going to start celebrating each child’s birthday on (or very close to) their actual birthday. Anyone who is around and wants to join us for dinner and cake and ice cream is more than welcome to, but there is no obligation to be there. We started this with Ryan’s birthday and let me tell you, it was so nice to not be stressed about a party!

So we asked Ryan where he wanted to eat dinner. He got to pick anywhere he wanted to go, and his answer was “the hot dog place where we play hockey on the table.” That would be Skyline Chili. They give you oyster crackers while you wait for your dinner, and my dad started a little thing where they use their forks and the crackers are the pucks and they play hockey while they wait for their food. So Skyline it was!

We celebrated his birthday the night before his actual birthday because we had a lot of stuff going on the evening of his actual birthday (gymnastics, softball, etc.) No one else from our family ended up coming, so we were able to take our time have a very relaxed evening. We got there and picked our table and we had a fantastic server who brought the crackers right away and immediately after ordering the kids got right to their hockey game! Meanwhile Colton ate some Oyster crackers for the first time :)

We had a great dinner and when we were done we headed home for cake. Ryan opened his presents, the kids did some homework, and then we had cake. After the kids were in bed I hung up the streamers and blew up balloons like I always do for a birthday (so the birthday kid wakes up on their birthday and sees streamers hanging at their door and balloons all over outside their door).

For his actual birthday, my mom and sister took Ryan and Josh to a CBJ pre-season game. When they got home they were so excited and Ryan had so much to tell us! He really had a great time!

So I think Ryan’s third birthday was a success! And to top it off, he really hasn’t gotten many of his presents yet from the family, so he’ll be opening presents over the next couple weeks! You can’t get any better than that!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2011-09-20T08:42:00.004-04:00

Dear Ry-Ry,

Oh my little guy…you are turning 3 today…my baby Ry-Ry is not a baby anymore! I asked you last night where my baby Ry-Ry was and you told me “all gone!”

You are such a hoot, let me tell you! You are so very different from your older brother and sister, and even though it can be exhausting and you wear me down, I’m glad you’re different because it helps you stand out. No forgotten third child for you! You are the most stubborn child I have ever met! But your ability to make us laugh helps us forget how frustrated you can make us :) Daddy has nicknamed you “Stink” because you are such a stinker! And what’s funny is that you respond to that name! Little Zora says “hey Stink” and you turn and around and say “what?”

Right now you are very much into two things…Cars 2 and Thomas. I asked you the other night what you wanted for your birthday, and you told me “Cars.” I asked you what else, and you thought for a moment, and then said “Cars 2.” I asked what else and again, you thought for a second and said “Cars again.” You were no help :) But at least buying presents for you is super easy…I got you a couple of Cars 2 cars and some new Thomas trains and you were a happy camper!

Right now we are desperately trying to potty train you. Again, you are asserting your independence and showing us that this will happen when you’re ready. We first tried last January right before I had Colton…that didn’t work. And then we really did it in June, but you are still dragging your feet. And we all know that you are physically and mentally ready for it, but I can see the little wheels in your head spinning and knowing that this is one area that you can control and you will do this when you’re ready. This last week we are making great progress, and I do know that no one goes to Kindergarten in diapers…

You love to play sports, just like Joshie. You want to play baseball outside, and it’s so cute to see you and Zora get out the bases and try to play together. You like to play kickball with the big kids in the court when they get a game going, and of course you absolutely love football. You copy Joshie in everything and yet he gets so frustrated with you…he forgets that you are three years younger than him! But when he does calm down and the two of you play together, it just melts my heart!

Poor Kylie loves you so much and always wants to take care of you, but you usually want nothing to do with her :( You won’t hold her hand and you won’t sleep in her bed with her, which really hurts her feelings :( But again, I know it’s because of your personality and we love you for it! Sometimes you do indulge her and it makes her so happy! She loves to take care of you!

I think you and Colton are going to be great friends. You get so excited when you see him and I think you two are close enough in age that you won’t get as frustrated with him as Joshie gets with you. I have a feeling that you two will be very similar…he already seems so much like you!

You have the most gorgeous, huge blue eyes, and the most amazing eyelashes I have ever seen. Couple those with your beautiful blonde hair and I think you will always have every girl watching you! You love it when we spike your hair, and you still can’t say your “S’s” very well, so it’s so cute when you say “look at my hair, it’s all fikey.” I’m amazed at how blonde your hair has stayed too…which is good since I often call you “blondie.”

Oh Ryan…you are such a special boy! I remember cuddling with you on the couch when you were a newborn and just feeling such a special connection with you. You light up the room and really are such a good boy. You are so good that Daddy and I kept forgetting that you were only two this past summer…we kept expecting you to act older and stop crying, etc., and then we would have to remind ourselves that you were still a baby!

Thank you for being such a great boy and for making me so happy! I can’t imagine life without our little Ry-Ry…you are such an important part of our family and we love you so much!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday!
Love,
Mommy

A Surprise Weekend in Indianapolis!

2011-09-19T09:24:00.008-04:00

A couple of months ago, we, along with three other neighbors, planned a surprise weekend getaway for the kids. We were so excited about it, and had learned to talk in code around the kids so that none of the kids had any idea what was going on. This past weekend was the big weekend and everything went off without a hitch!

Friday morning we woke the kids up and told them that we had to take them to a baby-sitter’s house because Grandma couldn’t watch them that day (as she normally does on Fridays). We got everyone ready, and around 7:00 AM as we were about to leave the house, John stopped them and told them that we were lying, there was no baby-sitter, and in fact, they were not going to school that day. They were to get in the car and we wouldn’t tell them anything else!

I had gotten them each a new book, and it was waiting on their car seat when they got in the car. We got everyone loaded up and off we went. We went to Tim Horton’s to pick up some breakfast and what do you know - one of our neighbors pulled up beside us! The kids were so excited and the questions started coming…”where are we going?” “Is it Chicago?” “is it the airport?” and so on…

We drove over to Indianapolis and outside of a 20 minute delay because of a wide-load truck, we had an easy drive. Our first stop was to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. We weren’t originally going to go there, but we started hearing such wonderful things about it and I read so many great reviews about it, that we decided we couldn’t pass it up. And boy am I glad we went…it was definitely my favorite part of the trip!

The kids walked through a huge dinosaur exhibit, and the kids loved the Egypt exhibit where there was an airplane they could play in and houses and shops to play in, there was a wonderful Barbie exhibit that the girls loved (even us big girls :) ) and the boys ended up laying in too, and an exhibit that showcased three kids that changed the world, and another exhibit that had a clubhouse and Sundae shop to play in…the whole place was so wonderful and the kids absolutely loved everything they saw!

After that we went to the hotel and checked in. There the kids saw the waterpark and were super excited! We got unpacked and headed out for a late dinner. Right before we left the kids found out that the other two sets of neighbors were there, which of course was a wonderful surprise!

We got to the Cheesecake Factory and had a 1 ½ hour wait. Thankfully, it was attached to a mall, so John and I took the kids on a walk that ended with playing in the Apple store :) The kids were so good! We didn’t sit down to eat until around 8:30, and yet the kids were wonderfully behaved!

Dinner was a little bit of a pain as our waiter really sucked. Us adults didn’t order our meals until after the kids’ meals had arrived (because he never came back) and our drinks weren’t refilled, etc. I actually asked the manager to take off the automatically applied tip (because there were 10 of us) because of how bad the service was. Thankfully, our manager was awesome and finished bussing our table, getting our cheesecake, whatever we needed because he knew we had 6 little kids that wanted to go home! But again, the kids were so good!

The next morning we got up and went down to breakfast. John stayed behind because all of the drains in our room (which was a huge suite!) were clogged, so he waited while the maintenance guy fixed them. Ryan had a meltdown at breakfast because I wouldn’t let him put butter on his fruit (so mean I know), so I took him back up to the room and within minutes he was asleep (no nap the day before :) ). But while I was there, I smelled the horrific smell that was the result of the drain cleaning. The guy assured us that he would get rid of the smell, so while we went down to the waterpark, he put some machine in the room that was supposed to clean the air.

So we took the kids down to the waterpark and they had a blast! Kylie and Josh went down the raft waterslide with John and I multiple times, and Ryan had so much fun playing with Zora in the little pool. Colton spent the entire time in the stroller sitting next to me (I sat on the edge of the pool most of the time because the water was a little colder than I liked :) ) and he was amazing! He didn’t fuss at all, and actually fell asleep for a while (he was in the umbrella stroller, which was why I was shocked he fell asleep).

At break time we headed back to the room for lunch. Since the machine was still cleaning our air, I grabbed the lunchables and we sat outside our room and ate lunch. I’m glad no one came by because we were a sight! After lunch we headed back down to the park until 3:00 when they closed for an hour. At that time we went back to our rooms to start getting ready for dinner. And the maintenance guy was right…the bad smell was gone from our room!

We all got showered and met downstairs. All 18 of us were heading into downtown Indianapolis to Hard Rock Café for dinner. We had a wonderful meal, a great server, and an overall great time! And again, all kids were fantastic! Colton fell asleep in his carrier (thank goodness because he was tired a fussy!), so John and I really did have an enjoyable dinner.

After dinner we headed back to our room where almost all of us watched the Buckeye game. The kids were insane! They were loud and crazy and seemed to be having so much fun! There were so many games going on, and at one time, a huge pillow fight on one of the beds. A couple of the families left during the game, but our one neighbors (who had the room next to us) stayed the whole game, and by that point, the kids were slowing down :) The boys were playing video games, the little ones were watching movies, and Kylie and Jill were playing a quiet game themselves. The kids definitely crashed hard that night!

Sunday morning we got up and took our time packing up and checking out. We then headed to Cracker Barrel and had a really nice lunch…the food was great, the service was great, and the kids, again, were phenomenal! We loaded up the car and headed home!

It was such a great weekend and the kids had a lot of fun. Thankfully they are off school today, so they can catch up on their rest and get back on a semi-normal schedule. I hope they have as great of memories of this weekend as I do!

An Evening At The Park...

2011-09-15T09:42:00.005-04:00

The other evening I took the kids over to the school playground to play (I love that the school is in our neighborhood and it's just a 3 minute walk to get to the playground!). It is so much easier now compared to last year in that Ryan can go play and I don't have to worry about him climbing on the equipment and falling. So I walked around holding Colton watching them play, took a bunch of pictures and even played a little kickball until Colton let us know that he was done being in the stroller and ready to go home!

A Check-Up...For Me This Time...

2011-09-14T08:52:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Obama, I can now go and get a physical, immunizations and lab work done for free. I use the term “thanks” loosely as I used to only have to pay a small copay/fee for those items, and the rest of the things I had done (i.e. sick visits for the family, etc.) didn’t cost me a ton of money as they do now. But anyhoo…I usually try to stay on top of check-ups and things like that, but since it was 100% free and it earned me points for our challenge at work to earn an extra PTO day, I made the appointment and went.

Stats at the office were good, BP was 106/64 and my weight (116 lbs.) is officially back to where it was before I had Colton (which is fabulous, although I definitely don’t feel 100% happy with how I look…I desperately need to tone up!), and I’m measuring at 5’ 3” (I believe I have shrunk as I swear I used to be 5’ 3 ½” but oh well). They took some vials of blood for blood tests and I received my flu shot and a DpT shot.

This was my first time meeting the doctor (I had read rave reviews about her Angie’s List so I decided to try her out). I loved that she came in and met me first, asked me some questions and talked to me, and then left so I could change into a gown and then came back in to do the exam. I really liked that she has two kids, and her youngest is a little newborn, so she can relate to a lot of my issues.

Which is what I decided to talk to her about…weird as it was the first time I met her, but I had to do it. Over the last few months I have found myself so short and snappy with people. I feel myself doing it, but, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t stop doing it. I also found myself so annoyed with everything and everyone. Even my good friends were annoying me, which seemed so strange to me. I also found myself not enjoying being with the kids. Of course I still loved them, and did whatever they needed me to do, but if you asked me what I would like to be doing, it would not have been playing with them…I was just doing it because that’s what I was supposed to do. And for those that know me, that is not like me at all…I LOVE kids, and I have always enjoyed being around them and playing with them. I have also found myself super tired lately. But, over the last few months, I have chalked all of these things up to being a mom of four kids, one of which still gets up multiple times during the night. I truly felt that I had just hit my max and that it was perfectly normal that any “free” time I had I would want to just sit and relax and not play with kids. Or that my tiredness was affecting my tolerance of those around me. But over the last couple of weeks, I started to think that maybe this wasn’t normal…or right.

And my doctor agreed. She thinks I have a bit of post-partum depression. Thankfully, from what I read and hear about, it’s not so bad that I don’t still love being around my kiddos…especially Colton. But she didn’t like that I no longer enjoyed doing things I used to enjoy, or that I wasn’t super happy around my kids like I used to be, or that I was so annoyed by everything around me. So she prescribed Zoloft (the safest to take while breastfeeding). She told me what to expect over the next week, couple of weeks, and so on, and told me that she wanted to see me back in 6 weeks to see if it was helping.

I went back to work and immediately started Googling Zoloft and side effects and whether it works or not, etc. There are side effects to worry about (the biggest one I’m worried about is the weight gain – I don’t want all my hard work to be thrown out the window), but based on what everyone was saying, the benefits far outweighed the side effects, so I came away from it knowing I had to do this.

I took my first dose last night and so far I don’t notice anything. My doctor said that I might feel nauseous over the next week, but thankfully I don’t feel that way…yet. I really hope this works…I hope that I can get back to loving life and everyone around me like I used to. And more importantly, I hope that this truly is just PPD and that come next spring I can stop taking the drugs (as my doctor is hoping as well).

Colton Turns 8 Months Old...

2011-09-12T09:32:00.006-04:00

Colton turned 8 months old yesterday (on 9/11…strange). I just can’t believe how fast the time has gone by…wasn’t he just born???

Right now he is exhausting me by constantly moving! He still can’t sit on his own for any longer than 5 seconds before he topples over (and back), but that kid has decided that he wants to move! He has never made any attempt to get up on all fours to crawl, but when he’s on his belly, he will stretch his little arms and legs out, use his little toes and knees, and push himself wherever he wants to go. It started out slow…it would take him a while to get anywhere, but now, he’s there in a blink of an eye!

Because of this, we need to remove all little toys (which is so hard for Ryan to understand and remember to do) and watch places like the bottom shelf of our coffee table, which is where Colton likes to pull the kids’ games off of and try to open them. He is a rolling, scooting on his belly machine :)

As far as eating goes, he’s a pig! Nursing him just doesn’t seem to be enough anymore…I usually feed him, and then he’ll want to eat again an hour or two later. When he eats jar food, he will eat at least two of the stage 2 jars, if not three! He loves everything we have given him so far…applesauce, bananas, peaches, green beans, corn and sweet potatoes (all of my kids’ favorite), broccoli and chicken, peas, yogurt, and everything else! He’s getting really good at picking food up off his tray and eating it, so we’re able to give him some of the baby snacks, broken up, and he will entertain himself eating them. We’ve been slowly starting to introduce some table food as well…he had some pancake when we had pancakes for breakfast on Saturday, part of a tater tot when we were out to eat and he had a little bit of a cookie when I was baking cookies this past weekend.

As far as sleep goes, he’s still a pistol! He takes great naps…we can still just lay him down with his paci and one of his special blankets (the large, breathable swaddle blankets), sometimes we turn the music on but not always, and he’ll go to sleep. But during the night he’s still getting up every 3 – 4 hours, which is taking a toll on me, that’s for sure! But I know that it will be over when he turns 1 at the latest since I’ll wean him then :)

He is babbler as well! And a loud one at that! He has a lot to say and will make sure you are listening to him :) He watches in fascination when I say “momma,” and I know he’s trying hard to say it. I’ve noticed when he’s really hungry and I’m getting ready to feed him he’ll keep saying “mmmmm” in a whiny voice, and I think he’s trying to say “momma” :)

Overall he is fitting into the family so nicely! The kids love him more and more each day and love finding out what they can do to get him to smile at them. The only complaint I have is that he is not sliding into the “4th child position” very easily. He is a very needy and demanding baby! He doesn’t care that I have three other kids to take care of as well! But that’s OK…I keep hoping that because he’s keeping me on my toes, it will help shape his personality later on in life and he’ll be just as demanding and hard working as if he were the oldest child :)

My Gifted Child...

2011-09-08T13:44:00.002-04:00

Last night was curriculum night for grades 3 – 5 for our elementary school, which means we got to meet with Kylie’s teacher, as well as “meet” the new principal. We also got a letter sent home saying that we were to attend one of the gifted services sessions as well…

So Kylie did really well on her Terra Nova tests last year…really well. She was in the 95th percentile or higher (she was in 98th and 99th in two of the areas) in math, reading and social studies. Science she was much lower (83rd I think), but even that was considered above average. We also found out from our friend that works in the district office that because our school district is so good, the gifted students are on a different bell curve than other school districts, otherwise a large portion of our school would be “gifted.”

Anyway, we learned that now that she has been classified as gifted, she will be considered gifted all the way through high school – there is no retesting or anything like that. We also got a glimpse of what options are open for kids in high school, and made especially easy for gifted children (i.e. getting both college and high school credit for classes in high school, flex time – this allows kids that participate in sports or arts for hours a week to not take those classes in high school, etc.). We also learned about a math program in the 5th grade that lets kids combine two years of math into one, therefore entering pre-algebra in 6th grade, and if they are super smart, they can move faster and enter algebra in 6th grade (yeah, I took algebra my FRESHMAN year!).

So for the most part, when it’s time for math (that’s all they’ve started with so far), the gifted teacher will come and get Kylie and a couple other kids and take them to her room and teach them. Kylie loves it!

This whole process has been somewhat numbing for me…we are never ones to really brag about our kids. We support them and they know we’re proud of them, but outside of super accomplishments, we rarely tell friends about things they may have done. Of course our families know every little detail, and I like to use this blog to brag about my kiddos, but I know that there are so many kids out there that are fantastic, and I want my kids to grow up with humble attitudes, so I don’t feel it right for them to watch me brag nonstop about them and expect them not to have that mentality.

Anyway, I’m trying to take it all in, and absorb the magnitude of it all. This of course means some extra work for Kylie and extra responsibility, which of course she loves. But it’s also a wake-up call for us to be sure that we’re keeping up with Josh and Ryan and Colton when their turns come. So far Josh is doing super well in school. Now whether he’ll do as well as Kylie did on the tests, who knows, but I definitely feel a bigger responsibility for keeping up with him on school work, even though he hardly ever needs my help.

Most of all I’m just so proud of my little girl. I can’t remember the last time I really helped her with homework. She usually races home from school and gets it done and we just check it at night. I would love to sit here and say that I had something to do with all of this, but in reality, God gave her the amazing mind and wonderful work ethic, and she has put forth all of the effort needed to get her work done.

I love you princess and I’m super-duper proud of you!!!

Trip to MN, Punishments, Cute Things, etc.

2011-09-02T08:57:00.004-04:00

I was in Minnesota the last couple of days for work. It was a whirlwind trip (flight left at 6:25 AM and the returning flight the next day did not get in until 11:00 PM), but I still managed to have fun :) It was great meeting some new people and doing some different work than I normally do, and then the we also got to go the Mall of America, which I had never been to.

That place is huge! I was just amazed at all of the stores in it, and then of course the fact that there’s a mini amusement park inside too. I convinced (OK, really dragged) my coworker to ride one of the roller coasters with me, and it was so much fun!

Then we had a really nice dinner with some of the people that we met while we were there and then went back to the hotel and crashed!

While I was away, I really, really missed John and the kids. It doesn’t help that of course I saw families with small children traveling, which made me miss my kids even more. I vowed that when I got back, I would try even harder to remember that they are only small once, and that even though I’m exhausted and sick of filling cups with water or changing diapers or whatever, they were my precious babies and they deserve to have a full-time, hands-on mom…even if I’m faking it because I’m asleep on the inside :)

Yesterday I had to dish out one of the hardest punishments I’ve had to do so far in raising the kids. A couple of weeks ago our nanny told me that Kylie was back-talking her a bunch and that she had a bad attitude. I believed it because we were dealing with the same thing with her. So I told her no friends for 1 week. I told her that hopefully the next time she tried to fight something, she would remember this and keep her mouth shut. So she made it through (barely :) ) that week and I felt bad because we were so busy this week that the first time she could play with her BFF was today (Friday). They had so much planned and she was going to go home on the bus with her and she was just so excited.

But I came home yesterday and Miss G said that Kylie talked back to her again and disobeyed her. I was so mad! For about 10 minutes I wrestled with what to do…I knew I had to tell her she was not allowed to go to Rachel’s, but it hurt me so much to think about how hurt she was going to be…I knew this would devastate her. But God gently reminded me that it is my job to bring my kids up to be respectful adults, and I let myself think to the future of her as a teenager if we don’t stop this behavior now (yikes!). So I told her…and she was mad…and crying…and hurt. She ran down to the basement to talk to Rachel on the phone and I retreated to my neighbor’s house to check on the other boys and to just get away for a minute.

Kylie came over (I had told her that’s where I was going), and we were able to distract her by asking her questions about her second grade year (my neighbor’s son is in second grade this year and was trying to understand what they would be doing all year). When we got home, she and John had it out and after some time in time-out, she and John had a nice heart-to-heart talk.

The one good/bad thing I am seeing is that Kylie is very similar to how I was when I was younger. When my parents would punish me, they would do things to push my buttons after the punishment was given out (it appeared they were just being mean as I told them over and over again how much they were hurting me). I’m able to take that information and hopefully be “nicer” with Kylie. I don’t want to keep harping on the issue…the punishment is given, you cannot change my mind, let’s move on. Unfortunately, John tends to handle things like my parents did, and I had to talk to him last night about how that makes her feel and that he needs to stop.

I still love the fact that Kylie is still young enough that within minutes of being punished, she will come looking for me and/or want to do something with me…I know the day is coming, all too soon, when she will actually hold a grudge for a while :(

In happier news, Colton has learned to smack his lips together like he’s kissing! I don’t think he knows what he’s doing yet, but it’s so cute when he’s just sitting there and starts smacking his little lips together…such a precious little guy!

This weekend is Labor Day Weekend, and except for a wedding Sunday evening, we have nothing going on, and that’s awesome! I can’t wait to just relax all weekend, hopefully get some sleep, and make some great meals!

2011-08-29T11:04:00.002-04:00

I survived!!!

Actually, this past weekend was really easy and definitely boosted my self-esteem when it comes to being able to care for 4 children…alone :) Not long ago, the thought of John leaving for more than a day was giving me anxiety attacks. It was horrible…I was constantly yelling at the kids and I felt completely drained.

So fast forward to last Thursday when John packed up and hit the road with some friends to head down to Bristol, TN. I had such a positive attitude about it and was not worried at all. However, I was realistic and had no plans, other than going to church, to leave the house the whole weekend :) But then Friday night Kimmie suggested that we go out for pizza, instead of ordering it in, and I thought “OK, I can do this!” I also had my dad there to help, so I was not completely alone!

Then on Saturday we just sat outside all day…it was so gorgeous out! And I decided to take the kids to a hot air balloon show that night. It turns out some other neighbors/friends of ours wanted to go too, so we all went. Unfortunately it was too windy for the balloons the launch, but the kids still got to jump on the bouncy-things and we saw the “glow show,” which was all the hot air balloon baskets in a row playing with their fire-things. We didn’t get home from that until 10:00 and we had so much fun! Again, my dad was there which really helped when I needed to run somewhere and didn’t want to take all the kids with me (i.e. to change Ryan’s d pull-up).

Sunday we went to church (thankfully all of our teachers showed up so I didn’t have to spontaneously teach!) and then home. Somehow I even ended up making lunch and feeding other neighborhood kids for lunch along with my own, and I was fine! Johnny finally came home around 4:00 and it was so good to see him! Not because I felt worn out and exhausted from the kids, but because I really missed him while he was gone :)

Looking back I almost wonder if I was going through some mini-type of depression or something…I know John was having such a hard time because I hated to be home with the kids by myself…it just seemed like so much work! I’m sure the fact that Colton being so young and constantly needing me didn’t help my crazy hormones either. I just always felt so worn out with all of them! But now, I honestly think that I could handle a very long time without John (although I hope I never have to!). It’s a very peaceful feeling to be back to myself, that’s for sure! Colton, while still getting up a lot at night and needing me, has done a great job of sitting in the stroller and playing, or rolling around the floor and entertaining himself, which of course makes it easier for me to care for the other children…he’s not constantly attached to me! But I also feel a huge different in my emotions…I think, maybe, my hormones have finally balanced out, which has made such a difference!

So I’m happy to report that the kids and I survived another Bristol weekend! And while I know I could easily do it again, I’m happy that I won’t have to for another year :)

First Day of School - 2011

2011-08-25T14:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. Kylie started third grade and Joshie started first grade.

At open house a few nights ago, Kylie was so excited to be there had a blast reconnecting with her teacher and getting her supplies set up. She was so excited that she had a desk this year, and that her teacher, since she looped with them, decided that she would flip the alphabet when assigning the kids’ numbers…so Kylie is number 5 this time, whereas she’s normally in the 20’s.

Joshie on the other hand was not quite as enthusiastic as Kylie about going back to school. It’s not that he was dreading it, but he definitely was not looking forward to it as much as his sister. When he met his teacher he was really quiet and shy…I think she was a little worried about him :)

We started off the first day with our second annual “cakes on the court.” We (us and our neighbors) bring our griddles out and cook up pancakes and sausage and all the kids get to play and eat a great breakfast before heading off to school. This year started out a little rocky as it had been storming since early that morning. We knew we would still do the breakfast; it would just have to be in the garage. But thankfully, it stopped raining and we were able to have the whole thing out in the court. The kids of course had a lot of fun playing with each other and getting some of their excess energy out. We then snapped some pictures and headed off to school.

Kylie tried to convince me that I didn’t need to walk in with her (fat chance!). So John and I quickly dropped her off (not without a quick kiss and a quick picture), and then headed to Josh’s hallway. Same thing, a quick kiss and picture and we were off! I’m very thankful that I’m good with my kids growing up…I think it’s because I have so many of them :) I’m so excited about everything each of them will learn this year, and I’m honestly ready for the family to get back into the “normal” routine, that I was extremely happy they were back to school! So definitely, no tears shed!

We walked back home and I put Colton down for a nap and John played trains with Ry-Ry. I made up a batch of coleslaw (I’ve never made it before because I don’t like it that much, but Kylie and Joshie love it). Then John went out and mowed and I took the boys on a walk down to the pond. By now the sun was out, the skies were clear, and it was gorgeous outside! So very different from just a few hours before…

When John was done we went to lunch at a little place in our town that we had been wanting to try. We sat outside, which was right on the streets of downtown, and since Colton was sleeping, we got to have a really nice lunch with Ryan. After lunch we headed to the cupcake shop for some dessert for that night :)

We went home and Ryan went down for a nap, John ran to the store in order to get some food for his trip, and I sat down on the floor and played with Colton. I’m so amazed at how he rolls all over the place. Rolling is his crawling, and it’s annoying because I can’t take my eyes off of him for one second! He still really has no interest in sitting by himself or getting up on all fours to maybe think about crawling, but he is definitely a rolly-polly :)

I went to pick up Josh and Kylie from school and they both had a fantastic day! They talked non-stop the whole way home! Once we got home they both went off and did their own thing – you could tell they needed some downtime to just chill. I made dinner (shrimp quesadillas that were wonderful!) and then we headed out on a family bike ride. It was Colton’s first ride (he rode next to Ryan in the carrier) and it was Josh’s first long bike ride on his big bike. It was a great ride…the only downside is that even though we were gone for a long time, we did not see a train, and that was all Ryan wanted to see (we normally see at least one while we’re out).

After the ride we talked to the neighbors for a while and then headed inside for cupcakes and baths. Kylie had already gone in earlier and taken her shower and gotten ready for bed! She was so excited for school the next day :) After the kids were in bed, John packed up for Bristol and I went to bed.

It was an awesome first day of school and a fabulous day off work for John and me.

Another Crazy, Busy Weekend!

2011-08-23T09:33:00.002-04:00

What an exciting and busy weekend we had!

Friday night we took the kids out to get their school supplies since they are starting school tomorrow (agghhh!). After that, my mom watched them and we went out to dinner with my sister and her boyfriend who had just gotten in from Michigan. We had a great time with them!

Saturday morning was a very crazy day, and everything was timed down to the minute! I started it off with an early morning walk with my neighbor. Then I came home and showered and got ready and was able to sit outside and drink an iced latte with John and the neighbors for approximately 10 minutes before I had to head to the spa. My sisters and mom and I were having a spa day in celebration of my mom’s birthday back in July…it was our present to her. So I went and had a massage and then we all got pedicures and manicures together (my nails look fabulous!).

After that I rushed home to feed Colton, grab some food and get Kylie and go see John’s sister for our hair appointments. Kylie got her hair cut short with layers and it looks adorable! After we were done we rushed home again and found Suzie sitting on the porch with Dad saying that they were going to go downtown early because she was bored. Here’s the thing…she thought we were all going to dinner for Mom’s birthday that night, when in reality, we were going down for her surprise 30th birthday party. So her wanting to leave early was messing everything up! Thankfully, Mom and Dad took her and her boyfriend downtown to another bar for drinks while I rushed and fed Colton and got ready and waited for Miss G. to get there to babysit.

Once the kids were settled and we were ready, we left and got to the restaurant where my other sister and her husband were waiting with two of Suzie’s out of town friends. When Suzie got there she was surprised! We had an awesome dinner at Bucca Di Beppo and then headed over to the piano bar where we had been for Cindy’s bachelorette party the year before. Let me just tell you, it was a lot more fun this year not being pregnant! And John and I really had a great night out together!

Sunday we taught Sunday school and then came home and really just chilled. My sisters came over and we hung out for a little bit before everyone had to head home. After that, I tried to take a nap (not very successful) and then we headed out to finish getting the school supplies we didn’t get Friday night and kind of just had a nice, laid-back evening out with just our family. We are really bad about giving the kids their allowance, so at Target they each got a pack of Squinkies. They are pretty cute and the kids love them!

So now we’re set for a busy week ahead…first day of school tomorrow and then John is leaving for Bristol for a weekend with the guys. I hope I survive this week :)

Another Great Weekend!

2011-08-15T09:35:00.002-04:00

What a weekend!

So Friday was our anniversary, and John and kind of thrown the planning of something on to me, and kind of rightfully so… He always plans great things when it comes to anniversaries/birthdays, so I think he might have been a little tired of planning, on top of being busy with work. So I thought about it and decided that I would surprise him with some golf! We used to play at this little Par 3 in the city we used to live in, long before we had jobs and kids. So I looked the course up and saw that they don’t do tee times during the week, and that league plays were not on Fridays.

So I went home and packed up our clubs and shoes and waited for him to come home. Once he did, and we got my parents settled with the kids, we left and went to lunch. We went to Max & Erma’s for reubens and tortilla soup and had a really nice lunch! After that I started driving, and he didn’t figure out where we were going until we were right there! Success! He was really excited, as was I. We went in to get on the list, and this older guy just looked at us and told us there was a league out there. I told him that I checked the website and this was not a league day, and he just casually said that they were making up a rain-out. That guy did not care at all that my big plans were ruined!

So we left and John started calling golf courses all around trying to get us a tee-time. Of course it happened to be an absolutely gorgeous day out and none were available. He finally found one in our city (so basically I drove for an hour for nothing). We ended up having so much fun, and for me not golfing in a long time (over a year), I did pretty well!

After we were done we headed home and my mom and Kylie left for Michigan to visit my sister. We got Josh and Ryan ready for bed and they went over to my dad’s, and Colton went down to sleep. John made a fire and we sat outside for a long time…it was wonderful! We had our drinks (mine was a great frozen margarita my dad had given me) and we just talked and listened to music. We reminisced about the last 14 years together and dreamt about our future…it was awesome!

Saturday we headed down to Athens because my college roommates and I were having a little 10-year reunion. We got down there around 1:00 and hung out with John’s parents at their house. The boys had a lot of fun playing, and John and I were able to go uptown and grab some OU gear. We then packed the kids up and went to dinner with all my old roommates…it was so good seeing everyone again! Then we took the kids back to John’s parents’ and we headed back to the house we lived in and all sat on the porch remembering our college days. It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone!

Sunday we went to church (even though we didn’t get home until 1:00 that morning!) and then afterwards John and the big boys took a nap. I had wanted to take a nap too but Colton had other plans :) So I went outside and hung out with the neighbors the whole afternoon. John and the boys came out after their naps and it was a relaxing way to end the weekend. The only downside is that our high was only 75 degrees (in August!), and it was cloudy, so I was in pants and a jacket and cold! The guys were making fun of us, but to us, it was chilly!

Now it’s back to work…hopefully this week goes quickly, I’m ready for another weekend!

11 Years of Happiness...

2011-08-12T09:41:00.002-04:00

11 years ago today I married my best friend. Cliché? Definitely. True? Absolutely!

When I try to remember what I was doing at certain times 11 years ago, it’s hard for me to remember. Unfortunately that was before the days of video phones and Flip Videos and blogs. But what does strike me, especially now for some reason, is how extremely young I was…

John and I got married right before our senior year in college. I had only been 21 for 12 days when we made that life-changing decision. 21! To think that I was capable of making such a big decision at that age is a little scary, and even more scary when I think about my own kids coming to me at that age and saying they are getting married. I mean seriously, I stress over deciding where to have a birthday party or where to go on vacation, but 11 years ago when I was just a baby I didn’t stress about marrying John AT ALL!

But obviously us getting married was just another step in God’s plan for our lives. Neither of us had second thoughts (which I find rare when I hear about other guys and their thoughts pre-wedding. Or even pre-engagement for that part). We just knew that we were meant to spend the rest of our lives together. And looking back at our lives it's so obvious to see how everything happend according to God's perfect timeline.

It’s funny how a relationship changes over time… It’s funny to think about how I’ve changed over time. We know each other so well and are so secure in each other, which is such a contrast to how we were the first couple of years we were married!

I’ve heard over and over again that marriages have a “7 year itch,” and if you make it past that you’re good. I couldn’t agree more! I remember when we had hard times with each other and our constant fighting…and then “magically” (right around year 8), we settled down and were so much better.

Johnny you are my best friend in the whole world, and you know me better than anyone else. I thank God for being able to be your girlfriend for the past 14 ½ years and I feel so lucky that you chose me to be your wife. I pray that I can be a better and better wife each day that goes by and that you will always believe that you made the right decision when you asked me to marry you. I love you so much!

A Fabulous Night...

2011-08-10T08:30:00.002-04:00

What a relaxing night we had last night!

John and I took Ryan and Colton to a local restaurant that we like (Liberty Tavern)and sat outside. Ryan was absolutely wonderful, and Colton only started fussing in the middle of dinner, so I gave him some mum-mums (rice snacks he can eat himself) and he was happy. The restaurant across the parking lot had a live band, so we got to eat outside in the gorgeous weather, listening to great music, and really have a great time.

After dinner we went over to Rita’s because it was just a few doors down. Ryan got his normal cotton candy and I got my s’mores. We sat outside in the nice chairs and again, just relaxed! Ryan fed CoJo some of his Italian Ice and he loved it :)

When we got home, Ryan’s friend Zora was out, so we popped the chairs out and just sat. The kids played, we talked to our neighbor for a little bit, and then when they had to go in, I went in and got Colton ready for bed and we headed out on a walk. We walked up through the new phase of our development, and then back past our house towards our pond. Some friends were sitting outside down there so we stopped and caught up with them for a while. Finally, as it was just about dark, we heard the thunder rolling in and the lightening start up, so we rushed home. Ryan fell asleep seconds after we laid him in his bed.

I miss the big kids a ton…it’s very weird not having them there and having a quiet house. But I am definitely enjoying the different pace of life we have right now. Even though Josh and Kylie are the “easy” ones, they are also the ones that ask the most questions and need the most “guidance” when it comes to things (“get out of the shower,” “did you brush your teeth?” “drink your milk,” “are you done in the shower yet???” etc.).

A Crazy VBS Week...

2011-08-09T15:14:00.006-04:00

Last week was a crazy, insane week…to put it mildly!

Each day John and I would go to work (and Monday and Tuesday happened to be my busiest days), and then leave at 3:00. We would go home, I would feed Colton, John would steam our shirts, and then we would load up in the car and head out to get dinner and then go to VBS. When we got there, I would get the kids their dinner and John would immediately start getting everything set up. I would help as soon as the kids were done with dinner and everything was cleaned up.

Around 6:00 all of the kids would start coming in and at 6:10 they would come upstairs and we would start song time (with primarily me leading the motions). After a few songs it was time for the skit and prayer and more songs. Then the kids left for their first rotation. I would use this time to feed Colton and catch my breath :) Once the first rotation was done, I would go in and teach the Seahorses (ages 2 to entering Kindergarten) their lesson. Let me tell you, 25 minutes to teach a lesson to kids that age is nuts! I can barely hold their attention on Sunday mornings for 5 minutes! But we sang songs and played games and we made it work :)

During the third rotation I would go around and take pictures of the kids, and then after that was over, all the kids came back upstairs for songs and the Jeopardy game where some adult was nailed (music pastor the first night, children’s pastor the second night, another staff the third night, our head pastor the fourth night and John and I the fifth night. Each night got progressively worse…silly string, toilet paper, shaving cream, whipped cream, blue frosting and finally ending with slime for John and me on Friday :)

After VBS was over, we would clean up and finally head out around 8:45 or 9:00. We would rush home and get the kids ready for bed (if they didn’t need to eat another meal, in which case we would feed them again and then get them ready for bed) and then John and I would just crash.

Friday night was a fun ending in that we had songs and then Carlo gave the lesson to everyone, and then we had refreshments and the kids and families got to play in Sports Ohio. As we loaded everything up that night, it was sad that it was all over :( 5 weeks of planning and pushing hard and fast and now it was over…but it had been fun and worth every second of work!

Saturday we totally relaxed! We headed over to Yutzy’s for customer appreciation day (free hot dogs, popcorn, snow cones, corn on the cob and donuts!) and then came home and just chilled! John, Ryan, Colton and I headed out late Saturday night to pick up the market day stuff for us to give the little kids at church the next day (their reward for all of the points they earned at VBS). Sunday we had our VBS recap during service where the kids sang two songs and John and I talked about the week. Then the kids went in to market day and got really cool prizes!

After church we put up the big waterslide and just relaxed in the sun with the neighbors. It was gorgeous out! Then that night we went to dinner with a couple of the neighbors. John and I had it easy as Kylie and Josh went down to Athens with my dad…they won’t be back until Thursday night! I miss them a ton, but I have to admit, I am enjoying this week of only having two kids…it is so much easier!

So we’re trying to recuperate! Each night we’re having easy dinners and trying to just sit and relax…such a change from the way things have been the last couple of weeks!

I've Been Busy!!!

2011-08-03T09:43:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks!!!

Two big things have been going on: one, it’s my super busy time at work, and on top of that, there was a new requirement that I had to comply with this quarter, so I’ve been so busy with all of that. Two, our church decided to have VBS for the first time this year, and John and I are in charge of it, and we just started planning it 5 weeks ago! So to say that life has been crazy would be an understatement :)

Sunday was my birthday, and I started it off by unexpectedly working the nursery because none of our workers showed up at church. None of the baby teachers and none of our preschool teachers. So John and I had to watch all the kids together. After that we had a big VBS meeting with all of our volunteers.

After that we headed home and got out the big waterslide. I laid on my raft and floated in the water for a while and then sat in the sun and read my 10-Q a little bit. The day was gorgeous and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the kids and the neighbors. After a day in the sun, we headed to a nearby restaurant called Thai Orchid and had an absolutely wonderful dinner! Cindy and Josh went with us, along with my parents. After that we went home and I ate the cake I ordered for myself (almond cake with chocolate ganache filling and fresh strawberries and chocolate buttercream icing), and opened presents. I got so many wonderful things! My parents gave me an ice cream maker, John’s parents gave me an amazon gift card and a very cool OU jacket-thing, John’s sister gave me a gift card to William Sonoma, my neighbor gave me a gift card to a local spa, and my sisters got me my very first Coach purse (which I LOVE!). John has told me that my present from him is a double-glider or two single gliders for the front porch so that Front Porch Mondays can resume in full force! And the kids (Kylie’s idea) got me two plants for the front flower beds that have had a huge empty spot since the original one died years ago. John, the kids and my dad planted them for me on Sunday and they look beautiful! It truly was a wonderful day!

This week has started VBS, so our days and evenings are crazy! I finally filed my 10-Q yesterday, so at least my days are not as stressful as Monday and Tuesday were. I leave every day at 3:00, head home, feed Colton, John and I pack everyone up, and try to leave the house by 4:15. We head to Sports Ohio, which is where VBS is, eat the dinner that we picked up on the way, and John and I get to work making sure everything is ready for the kiddos! John and I lead the singing and welcome the kids, then there is a skit (which has been hilarious the past couple of nights), more singing, and then the kids head off to their stations. We have games, snack, and lesson, and I teach the little kids during lesson. After that, John and I lead some more songs, there is a Jeopardy game, and then we sing to close out. The official time for VBS is from 6:00 – 8:00, and then we clean up after that.

So needless to say, we are exhausted right now, and it’s only Wednesday! But it has all been worth it! The kids seem to be having a blast and I know we are all having a ton of fun. We had 35 kids pre-registered, and have ended up having around 50 show up the first couple of nights, so for the size of our church, I think that is amazing! Watching all of this come together over the past 5 weeks has been yet another example of how amazing God is. We were stuck for a while on a location…we had planned on having it outside where we normally meet for church, but they had something else going on, and for the longest time, we just couldn’t find a place. We were so blessed that Sports Ohio was open and willing to work with us, and God’s hand in all of this was shown when there was a massive thunderstorm with hail on Monday night. There’s no way we could have been outside during that! So God is good and always watching out for us!

I really hope the rest of the week goes as well as the first couple of nights went…I know that I will be having a ton of fun!

Colton's 6-Month Stats...

2011-07-25T08:17:00.002-04:00

Last week I took Colton in for his 6-month check-up. Both the nurse and the doctor commented on how big he is and how fast the time has gone by :( He was so good during the appointment though…he just laid on his belly and looked at himself in the mirror before the doctor got there (actually, he rolled himself right up next to it and kept trying to eat his reflection). Then during the check-up he did wonderfully…giving the doctors big smiles and talking a little bit. Even during the shots he only cried a little bit and was fine the second I picked him up.

Here are his stats:

Weight: 18 lbs. 5.5 oz (61%)
Length: 28 ¼ inches (92%)
Head: 43 ½ cm (38%)

Food For Colton!

2011-07-19T12:29:00.004-04:00

Last night we finally bit the bullet and gave poor Colton some “real” food. It’s sad how the novelty of feeding your baby “real” food wears off sooner and sooner with each kid :) I was starting to feel really bad about it, so last night John brought up the high chair and we fed Colton some rice cereal that I had actually purchased about 2 months ago!

He was such a champ! He still made a huge mess, but he loved it, and ate the entire bowl, and screamed when it was gone. All of the other kids have been so-so about the first couple of experiences with solid food, but Colton is clearly serious about his food. At the rate he’s going, we might be able to introduce Big Macs next month :)

Colton Has Left The Building...

2011-07-15T09:13:00.003-04:00

Well, maybe not the building, but our room. Two nights ago we had a really bad night with Colton. He kept waking up “starved” and would not have any patience with me as I would try to feed him. Needless to say, John and I were very tired when we got up the next morning.

So last night as we were getting Colton and Ry-Ry ready for bed, John decided it was time to put the rail back on the crib, and the bumper, so that Colton could start sleeping there. He got everything ready and after I fed Colton and gave him his medicine, I put him up there with his little blanket that he likes to scrunch up with his hands and left the room. I went back in about 20 minutes later and he was sound asleep.

So we moved the monitor and went to sleep. He woke up at 2:00 to eat and then again at 5:15. That’s pretty typical for him, and while the 5:15 one sucked because I ended up having to make him a bottle and was up with him for 40 minutes, I would say that whole first night was a success. It was nice not having to worry about being quiet this morning when I got ready for work.

Of course the whole thing is pretty sad for me…another milestone that I will never experience again. If this continues, the bassinette in our room will never again be used by a baby of mine :( And my little boy looks so little in that big empty crib! But I know it’s for the best and it’s time. But that doesn’t make it any easier…

I will miss seeing this:

Journey Church's First Ever VBS...

2011-07-13T08:19:00.001-04:00

So John and I have volunteered to head up a VBS at our church. We are part of a smaller church (roughly around 200 people) that just started about 3 ½ years ago. We head up the nursery/preschool kids on Sunday mornings and are very involved when it comes to the kids at our church. So it only seemed natural that once someone mentioned possibly having VBS that John and I get heavily involved.

From the get-go I was super excited about it! I found a curriculum and impatiently waited for final approvals from the leadership team to dive in head-first. We have a great little team that consists of two other couples and our children’s pastor and we seem to be working really well together.

We’ve only had a few weeks to plan this…our VBS starts August 1st. That’s 2 ½ weeks away. Aaaaggghhhh!!! When I see that number my insides start convulsing. But like I said, God has blessed us with a great team and some fabulous volunteers at our church, so we should be OK :)

Last night we had another meeting…we didn’t get home until midnight! We first went and looked at the spot where we will have our VBS (Sports Ohio), and then we headed over to the one family’s house for dinner and a meeting. It was nice because our pastor came to the meeting and offered some great ideas and insights that we hadn’t thought of before.

We still have so much to do, but with God’s help, we will get it done. And my only goal for VBS is that the kids have fun and learn about Jesus and see Jesus in all of us volunteers. Anything above that is just icing on the cake :)

Colton's Six Month Picture

2011-07-12T08:54:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures I took of Colton on his six-month birthday:

I swear the kid is going to need Botox if he doesn't quit bunching up his forehead!! :)

Colton is 6 Months!

2011-07-11T09:48:00.001-04:00

Colton is 6 months old today! I can’t believe that my little baby boy is six months old…where on earth has the time gone? Wasn’t I just in the hospital???

He is such a happy little boy right now. You can tell when he’s in a super good mood by how hard he kicks his little legs while he’s giving you the biggest smile. He doesn’t laugh a whole lot – you really have to be doing something funny or that he likes to get a laugh out of him, but he definitely gives a ton of smiles.

He loves to play “itsy bitsy spider,” “pat-a-cake,” and “this little piggy.” He loves to have his face touched and he loves it when I take his shirt/onesie off saying “naked baby” and rub his little chest. And I love to rub his bald head :)

I love that he recognizes me. I was just gone for the whole weekend, and when I walked in the house yesterday he smiled so big and you could tell in his eyes that he had been confused about where I was and was so happy that I was back! He also always wants to nurse as soon as he sees me if I’ve been gone, even if he has just eaten! So I know that every day after work I have to come home and feed him. And while it is annoying, I know that it’s his way of being comforted and showing me how much he has missed me :)

When we leave him anywhere he immediately rolls over. And now, if he’s on his belly and sees something, he will wiggle like crazy, and sometimes will pull his little knees up under his butt like he’s going to crawl and get it! My kids have always been on the late end of mobility, so this is making me a little nervous :)

The one area we are totally slacking on is food. We should have started him on cereal two months ago, but the thought of trying to teach him how to eat and having the high chair upstairs again is not very appealing to us. So we will be starting this all soon…it’s just so much easier for me to feed him! But I want him to taste different foods and learn how to eat…

His reflux is still there (I think :)). I’m too scared to ever try to take him off the medicine. But thankfully, it’s very well controlled with the medicine and he’s a completely different baby from that one 4 months ago when it was first diagnosed! I’m sure the doctor will discuss it with us at his 6-month check-up.

The kids all love him and play with him. Josh has especially been spending more and more time with him which is odd since he hadn’t really paid any attention to him until now. Kylie has asked me to teach her how to change his diaper and get him dressed, so she has been helping with that. And Ryan always says “Oh hi Colton” whenever he sees him for the first time after a nap or anytime he’s been away for a little bit.

So that’s my little CoJo! While the time has flown by, it definitely feels like you’ve always been a part of the family. You are stuck with us, and judging by your smiles and giggles, I think you’re happy about that :)

First Tooth (Teeth)...

2011-07-08T10:21:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago (June 23rd to be exact) I was playing with Colton and noticed that he had some white spots on his bottom gums. I put my fingers in there and sure enough I felt two teeth coming through! Although I’m obviously happy that my kid does in fact have teeth down in those gums, I am sad because my little baby is getting bigger. I was almost yelling at him to stop growing! To which he gave me a huge gummy (with the exception of little white specs below) grin with his hand jammed in his mouth. So at 5 ½ months, my little boy has his first tooth (but there are two of them coming at the same time, so it’s teeth). My littlest baby…my last little one :(

I think this is also a sign that I need to bite the bullet and get out the high chair and feed the kid some actual food. By the fourth, spoon feeding has definitely lost any appeal it may have had with the earlier children, and now I’m just plain dreading having to teach him how to eat and him learning about food. I don’t want him to learn about food because then when I’m eating something, he’ll want some. Right now I can eat a wonderful chocolate brownie or big bowl of ice cream and he couldn’t care less. Those days will soon be gone…

4th of July, 2011

2011-07-06T15:44:00.003-04:00

What a fabulous, wonderful 4th of July weekend!

The weekend started off with Joshie’s birthday party Friday night. Around 6:00, family members and friends started arriving for his party. He had 5 friends there to spend the night, my parents, John’s parents and his sister and her family, as well as our neighbors. We ate pizza, opened presents and ate cake. Then we all headed over to the baseball field for a nice game of kickball. I loved watching the kids play! They then walked over to the basketball court and played.

We walked back home and John started setting up the tent (they were all going to camp out) while I sent the boys through the slip ‘n slide to get cleaned off :) Then we went inside and got ready for bed. John got them all settled in the tent and they all went to sleep around 10:30 (I was impressed it was this early). Around 5:00 AM I saw the lightning and heard the thunder and knew this was not good :) John came in and we quickly got all the boys in and settled in their sleeping bags down in the playroom just as the rain started to pour! Thankfully, every single boy went back to sleep until 8:00!

We got everyone ready that next morning and headed off to see Cars 2. The boys all looked adorable sitting there with their 3D glasses on and their popcorn and drinks. I thought the movie was really cute! Afterwards all of the parents came to pick the kids up and we all crashed! Everyone took a nap…except me! Just as I was drifting off, Colton decided it was time to wake up and play/talk.

After nap time we all headed outside and the neighbors and us hung out on the porch. We decided to head downtown to Schmidt’s for dinner. By the time we got down there it was a 1 ½ hour wait, but thankfully it was gorgeous outside and the kids were amazing! We finally got seated after 2 hours and dove into the German food buffet. It was worth the wait!

Sunday we got to announce our first ever Journey Church VBS! So those of us involved got to wear our Lifeguard shirts and went in blowing whistles and throwing volleyballs to all the people all to the tune of “Wipeout.” Then we announced the dates/location/etc. After church then we had a VBS meeting and quickly tried to divide up the first set of tasks that need to be done (we only have 3 ½ weeks!!!). After that we headed home and spent the rest of the day out in the sun with the neighbors. We had a cookout, my sister came in, and we watched fireworks all over that night (so many people were setting them off that we could see three sets from our yard!).

Monday I made some homemade waffles for breakfast, and then Kylie, my two sisters and I headed over to the mall and had lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We ate outside on the patio and had a really nice lunch! Then we went shopping at Charming Charlie’s (LOVE that store!) and Kylie used her Visa gift card that my sister got her for her birthday, so it was her first “swipe and sign” (of many thousands in her lifetime I’m sure :) ). The rest of the day we hung out with the neighbors and then all went to get ice cream together.

That night, as I was getting into bed, I got a call from our nanny saying that she was in the hospital with food poisoning. I of course told her to stay home and get better, so Tuesday I got an unexpected day off with the kids! The weather was gorgeous! We went to some fountains and really enjoyed ourselves! I was able to hold Colton and stand by Ryan, all while water shot up to my knee area and kept me cool. After those closed down for the afternoon, we headed home and the two youngest boys took naps while the neighbors and I got out the waterslide. The kids played and we weeded the garden :)

After that we decided to go to McDonald’s and take advantage of $1.99 happy meal Tuesdays and headed to a park close by. John had taken the kids there before, but I had never been there. It was so secluded, had an awesome playground (that even John and I had fun playing on) and a beautiful trail through the woods. It was one of the most fun evenings we’ve had as a family in a long time!

So yes, it was a wonderful long weekend!

Some Summer Time Off...

2011-07-01T09:05:00.003-04:00

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to take some time off. I was home with the kids on Tuesday afternoon, as well as all day Thursday. And we spent just about every minute of that time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather!

Tuesday afternoon started with a picnic lunch outside and was followed by hanging out in the backyard the rest of the day. We jumped on the trampoline, played in the sprinkler, ate snacks and just enjoyed each other for hours.

Thursday started with homemade waffles, which Josh and Kylie helped with, followed by a little bit of playing inside while Colton napped. As soon as Colton woke up we headed to the splash pad. Again, it was a gorgeous day, and we had a picnic lunch and then the kids ran through the water and then played on the playground. After the kids were done with that (and I could tell that Ryan was getting ready for a nap), we walked over to Rita’s for some Italian ice. And as it seems to go for the 4th child, Colton has yet to have any “real” food (cereal, baby food, etc.), but he has been fed Rita’s on multiple occasions :) After Rita’s we came back home and Ryan and Colton went down for naps while Kylie, Joshie and I went out and jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler on it and then laid on the hammock for a while. It was a glorious day!

I love summer, and I love taking days off in the summer to play with the kids. I ran through the grass barefoot for the first time in years yesterday. Such a simple thing that a lot of people do all the time, but I have not, and when I did it yesterday, it felt so good! I was recently asked what I loved most about being a mom, and my answer was that I get to be a kid again. Adults often miss so many little things, and having kids makes us go back and enjoy them again :)

Loved Our "Boring" Night...

2011-06-28T09:03:00.001-04:00

Last night was nothing special, but it’s the first time in a long time that I can remember us just chilling as a family.

The boys had haircuts, so John and I took them over to his sister’s to get that done. After that we rushed home and ate some dinner and John and Josh headed out to football practice. I immediately started getting the house picked up because the cleaners are coming today.

As I was putting away the laundry that Miss G had done, Ryan was practically on top of me! It was so annoying because every time I tried to move, he was there in my way. And he kept wanting to close the drawers that I had open! But I kept making myself step back and enjoy his little chatter and high-pitched squeals :) I ended up switching out the boys’ summer and winter clothes which desperately needed to be done.

After that was done we went down and started watching a movie, per Kylie’s request. She chose Shrek The Third, which I hadn’t seen yet, so that was nice. About ½ way through it John and Josh got back and somehow we all ended up in the playroom. John and the kids were playing Guitar Hero, Ryan was bowling, I was sitting playing with Colton, and at times Kylie and I both were doing gymnastics.

I kept looking around and trying really hard to enjoy those moments because I know how rare they are anymore. John and/or always seem to have some type of work to do around the house, or we have somewhere that we need to take the kids…it’s not often that we’re all in the same room at the same time anymore…and I know that it’s just going to get worse and more rare :( Part of the reason is that there just isn’t a lot of time in the evenings, so when the kids are in school we run out of time so quickly. Last night the kids didn’t get to bed until 10:00! But it was worth it :)

So I had fun last night, and I’m going to try super hard to make sure we have more of those evenings!

Another Busy Weekend...

2011-06-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

What a weekend, let me tell you!

I got to leave work early on Friday thanks to our summer hours program at work. Since Miss G was watching the kids on Friday, I decided to have lunch with my friend Sarah before heading home. After a nice lunch with her I went home and wished my little boy a very happy 6th birthday!

In my head I had a whole plan of what we were going to do that afternoon, but the neighbor kids were over playing with my kids, so I didn’t want to be a meanie and send them home when everyone was having such a great time. So while Colton and Ryan were sleeping, I cleaned out my closet and got a couple of bags ready to take to Goodwill. As I’m finishing up, another one of the neighbor kids comes over to play.

I go down to check on the kids a little while later, and I see Joshie sleeping on the couch! Kylie said that while they were playing he sat on the couch and got super tired and just fell asleep! So she and the neighbor kids made a present for him while he was sleeping :) He was so tired that when I asked him if he still wanted to come and pick out his cupcakes he told me to go so that he could keep sleeping!

So my dad came over and watched the boys while Kylie and I headed into town to pick out some birthday cupcakes. We have a local cupcake shop that makes wonderful cupcakes and now also has divine chocolates! So we picked out some really great flavors of cupcakes and chocolates and headed home. Josh woke up shortly after we got back, and we asked him where he wanted to go to dinner and he said “McDonald’s” – what a surprise! I asked him what his second choice was and he said “Burger King!” We compromised with Wholly Joe’s – a Chicago hot dog/pizza place that is wonderful! Thankfully he loved the idea!

The only downside to the weekend was that it was also the weekend of our local festival, so that meant that John’s company had their normal booth there and John would be working there all Friday night and all day Saturday.

After dinner at Wholly Joe’s, we headed home and had cupcakes and Joshie opened his present from Kylie and Ryan. We had picked out Cars Monopoly, and he seemed to like it. So we all sat down and played a quick game before sending everyone to bed.

Saturday morning I got up and did my weekly 7 AM walk with the neighbor girls. I swear the 1 hour walk goes by way too quickly each week! After that I started cooking for the cookout that we were going to that night. John’s parents came and picked Joshie up because they were taking him and my nephew, whose birthday was that day, out shopping for their birthday presents. They gave each of them $100 to spend however they wanted to…and guess what Joshie got? GoGos…and batting gloves…and more GoGos :)

When John’s parents got back with the boys, Jody rocked Colton on the porch while I took Kylie and Josh to meet Miss G, who was taking them to her son KC’s birthday party. When I got back I sat on the porch with her and chatted while Colton peacefully slept in her arms. It was so relaxing! Dad was inside playing with Ryan, so I went in and made them lunch and sent Ryan over to my dad’s to take a nap with him.

When John’s parents left, I loaded Colton up and headed to the festival. I parked kind of far away and really enjoyed the walk into town with just Colton. He was content just riding in his stroller and the weather was gorgeous! We met John and ate some great “fair food” for lunch. Then Colton and I left to go pick out a birthday present and head home. Again, it was so nice just hanging out with Colton, especially when I was in the store and had him in his sling right up against me!

When we got home I finished up my cooking, Kylie and Joshie came home, and we all packed up and headed over to the neighbor’s for a cookout and to watch the fireworks later. It was a mix of neighbors and some of their other friends that I’ve met a few times since this was the 3rd annual cookout they’ve had. They best surprise for Kylie was when Brendan showed up :) He is her little boyfriend, and his brother plays on our neighbor’s baseball team, so they were invited, but we didn’t tell Kylie that he was coming :) She was so cute! All of the kids played really well together!

John arrived right before the fireworks started and as usual, our town had a great display! As soon as they were over I took Colton home to eat and put him to sleep and John and the kids followed shortly after.

Sunday morning was church and then John went golfing while I took the kids to a Build-a-Bear birthday party. Overall their behavior was really good and outside of constantly trying to keep my eye on Ryan, it was pretty easy. We finally left around 3:45 and headed home, where Colton and Ryan took naps and Kylie and Joshie played. When John got home from golfing he mowed the grass and we all played outside and I painted Kylie’s nails. I made a really good dinner using peas from the garden (I was supposed to also use parsley from the garden but I accidentally threw that away before I put it in the food :( ). We had tried to get the kids to bed early, but they didn’t actually get into bed until 8:30, and they crashed hard! Except for Ryan, because he had just woken up from a 3 hour nap at 7:00 :)

So a good and busy weekend. I keep saying I want to slow down, but I just don’t know how to do it. When we’re in the moment it doesn’t feel crazy busy or chaotic, but writing it all out it sounds like we don’t have time to breathe. Maybe I’ll get a chance to sit down next weekend :)

Happy 6th Birthday Joshie!!!

2011-06-24T10:04:00.002-04:00

Dear Joshie,
Today you turned 6! I look at you and I can’t believe that my adorable baby boy (“baby Joshie”) has grown up into and adorable little boy. Every time I look at you I see a very cute and very smart boy and I feel so proud!

This past year you started Kindergarten and did so well in it! I was so proud all year at your ability to read and do math. I felt so proud every time Mrs. Roberts told us that you were one of the top readers in the class! I was expecting you to not enjoy school, but you really liked it and that made me so happy!

You had another year of football (2 seasons) and an all-star tournament last summer. You really like football and I have loved seeing you get so much better this year! You were the best one on your team this spring and I was always so proud!

You went through the silly band phase and are now on to the GoGo phase :) You are obsessed with these little things and they are the first thing out of your mouth when people ask you what you want for your birthday.

I just talked to you on the phone and asked you where you want to eat for your birthday and you had me look up what toys McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King were offering :) You are so simple to please!

Cars 2 opens today and all you wanted for your birthday party was to have a sleepover with some friends and go and see that movie. Since Daddy is working Powell Fest this whole weekend, we will be doing just that next Friday!

I love you so much and I can’t wait to watch you grow up even more this next year! Although, I do wish you would stay a little guy, and when I told you I was going to stop feeding you so you would stay little, you looked up at me and very matter-of-factly told me that you would die if I stopped feeding you. So I conceded that I guess I would have to keep feeding you :)

I hope you have a very wonderful 6th birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Issues I'm Dealing With...

2011-06-21T10:30:00.002-04:00

I always seem to post about the happy things going on at home, so here is a post on the struggles that we’re having with each of the kids:

Ryan – This little guy is causing us the most headaches right now! John and I joke that had we stopped at two kids, our lives would be so simple due to the sole fact that Kylie and Josh do not have a history of challenging us and pushing our buttons. This is Ryan’s specialty. I have never met such a stubborn 2 year-old in my life! I swear the first word out of his mouth no matter what you tell him to do is “no.” BUT…he is also the most comical and affectionate and I could sit and watch him for hours. I believe God gave him this side of his personality so that we wouldn’t kill him :)

Right now he’s battling us on potty training. After 1 ½ weeks at this, he has yet to tell us he needs to go potty. He does a pretty good job of holding it, and we just need to tell him to go potty every hour or so, otherwise he will go in his pants. And pooping is a completely different story! Our nanny will get him to poop on the potty, but he refuses with John and me. We have thrown away more shorts and underwear this past week than I care to admit (there’s no way I’m keeping those nasty things). And I know (call it mother’s instinct, knowing my child, whatever) that he is playing a mind game with us. I can tell he is perfectly capable of going – when I sit with him in the bathroom and tell him to try he won’t, because he knows he will go (he has “tried” before when he hasn’t had to go, that’s why I know he knows what I want him to do). When I tell people about our potty training issues their first response is that he’s young, and he’s busy and maybe he’s not ready and blah-blah-blah. I would be the first to admit that if I even for a nanosecond thought it was true. But again, I know my little blondie, and I know that this is yet another area he has found where he is trying to beat us…and I’m afraid he’s getting very close :(

Josh – Both Kylie and Joshie went through a period of time, after they had learned to talk pretty well, of stuttering. When Kylie did it I absolutely panicked, especially since she was always our phenomenal talker. But the doctor assured me that all kids do this and it happens because their brains are going faster than their little mouths can spit the words out. Of course this was true and Kylie came out of it, as did Josh…the first time.

Josh then started the stuttering back up. Right after I had Colton I noticed that it had gotten really bad, so at one of Colton’s check-ups I asked the doctor if this was still normal or if I should have him evaluated. She told me at his age it was time to have him looked at. So John and I took him to a speech center and came out of there with a recommendation of ½ hour therapy once a week. I started him up and each week during the rest of my maternity leave I would take him to speech therapy. While his therapist was really nice, she never got him talking about something that excited him in order to bring out the stuttering. See, Josh mainly only stutters when he’s really excited about something, so when you’re just talking to him, you wouldn’t hear it. When my maternity leave ended we went on the waiting list for an evening appointment – and I still haven’t heard anything from them! But at $67 per session (not covered by insurance), I really didn’t miss those therapy sessions. John and I still aren’t convinced that he’s still developing, and that he’ll grow out of this, especially since I believe only 1% of the population stutters. And I never felt like I could trust the speech evaluators...I always felt like even if he was fine they would have told me to keep bringing him so that they could make more money. And I don’t know if I’m becoming desensitized to it or whether he is truly getting better, but I don’t notice it near as much as I used to (I’ve also had people comment that they think it’s getting better as well). Thankfully it has not affected his schoolwork in any way and his friends don’t seem to notice it…yet.

The other issue we’re dealing with in Joshie is his constant whining. The kid is about to turn 6 and he whines at everything! And he cries a lot more than any other little boy I’ve met. I’m learning to accept that he is a lot more sensitive than other kids, but he still needs to learn better ways of dealing with disappointment than crying…at some point kids are really going to start making fun of him! And we’re trying really hard to deal with the whining. I swear even something as simple as “please take out the recycling” starts a huge whine fest.

Kylie – Kylie has decided to start doing something that even I, in all of my childrearing knowledge/experience/research have no idea how to deal with…pulling out her eyelashes. That’s right, at one point a month ago she had no top eyelashes because she had pulled them all out. I have asked her why she does it and she says that she always feels like she has something in her eyes. I have tried rewards, I have tried punishments, and I have tried scaring her by telling her that at some point they won’t grow back. Nothing works. Thankfully, right now, she’s doing better and about ½ of them have grown back. I asked the doctor about it and she recommended that she see a psychologist. While I have no problem with that, I’m assuming that my insurance is not going to cover that, and if this is a problem that we can control, I would rather not spend hundreds of dollars for her to talk to someone at such a young age.

Colton – this little stinker still wakes up twice a night!!! He’s killing me! Thankfully he’s such a good baby when he’s awake that it’s manageable, but I’m one tired momma!

So all of these issues happening at the same time has really taken its toll on me. There are many days that I feel like a failure as a mother, and there are times, briefly, when I wonder if it’s all worth it. My heart and head obviously knows that it is, but my body is tired, and desperately trying to keep up with everything. And I know this is just a season in our lives, and one day I will hopefully look back on this and laugh because we all came out fine on the other side of it, but for right now I’m not laughing, I’m stressing and I’m tired.

A Little Trip to Louisville...

2011-06-16T09:19:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was an amazing little adventure for our family of 6 :)

We and our neighbors planned to take the kids down to Louisville to go to the Louisville Slugger museum. We planned this a couple of weeks ago and did not tell any of the kids anything! So Thursday, as soon as we got home from work, we packed up the car and told the kids we were going on a trip. We picked Kylie up from gymnastics and I handed her some clothes to change out of her leotard into and she gave me a puzzled look. In her little mind she thought we were just going out to dinner! But when she got in the car, her brothers quickly filled her in :) We then went through the drive-thru at Wendy’s and the timing was perfect enough that our neighbors were in line in front of us. Their order was taking a long time and John and I kept saying things like “man, these people in front of us are taking too long, this is ridiculous!” Then when we finally both got through, we pulled up next to them in a parking spot. It took the kids about two minutes, but they finally looked over and Kylie goes “that’s Brett and Kim next to us.” They thought this was just a weird coincidence! So Kimmy comes over to the window and we tell both sets of kids that we are all going somewhere together – but we still won’t tell them where!

The drive down went very smoothly. All of the kids except for Kylie slept at some point, and we did have to stop to feed Colton once. I had bought them some new movies for the trip (thank goodness for the $5 bin at Wal-Mart :) ) and before we knew it we were there. We got in around 10:30 and the kids were wired once we got inside. I pricelined a hotel, so we were staying at a local hotel downtown that had a lot of character to it. We also got luck and got an end room that had a lot of space! The kids slept great and even Colton slept really well in the porta-crib.

The next morning we got up and went down to breakfast…all 10 of us! This was the worst part of the whole trip…the food was just OK and the service was not that great, and our bill, for just OUR family, was $90!!! I’ve never been so upset and sick to my stomach over a bill in my life! John just kept telling me that we got such a great deal on the room and to put it past me, but it still to this day makes me so mad!

After breakfast we headed to the museum. We walked in and saw the giant glove with a ball in it and immediately the kids started playing on it. They also hit balls in the batting cages. After that, we went and placed our bat orders (All of the kids, except for Colton, got bats with their names and the date on them). After that we went on the factory tour and it was so interesting hearing and seeing how the bats are made! After the tour we went through the exhibits and then to the gift shop. After we were done with the museum, we walked through downtown a little bit and found a place to eat.

We ended up heading back around 3:30 and we hit some really nasty storms along the way. The first time we pulled over, only to realize that we had to drive right back into it because it was following our highway. So we pushed through and finally came out on the other side. It was the scariest car ride I’ve had in a long time!

The kids really had a great time down in Louisville (even Kylie!). It definitely showed John and I that we could actually travel with our 500 kids, and that the kids really like surprises. We had so much fun doing that that we’re in the process of planning another surprise getaway right now :)

Colton Turns 5 Months...

2011-06-14T08:47:00.003-04:00

Colton turned 5 months on Saturday. 5 months…where on earth has the time gone??? He’s such a good baby – he really doesn’t cry unless he’s hungry, tired, and sometimes when he needs changed :) He sits out in the stroller with us when we’re outside in the evenings and on the weekends. He plays with his crinkly book and puts his little feet up on the tray. When we lay him down on the ground he immediately rolls over and then gets mad because he doesn’t want to be on his belly (silly nut!).

His sleep sucks right now…he gets up twice at night and I’m one tired momma! But he’s so adorable, and he wakes up in the morning so happy! And his brothers and sister love him so much! I’m so thankful for this adorable little guy!!!

Potty Training...Again!

2011-06-13T11:23:00.001-04:00

We decided to potty train Ryan (for good) on Saturday. The night before we realized that we didn’t have anything going on Saturday and it would be a great day to give it yet another go. So we woke up and put him in underwear. The nice thing was that it was warm out, so he could run around (in his undershirt and underwear only :) ) and we didn’t have to worry about him having accidents on the carpet.

We brought the little potty out and set it up in the garage and John, the kids and I cleaned the garage out while constantly asking Ryan if he needed to go potty. He did so well going in the potty and getting his emmies (M&Ms). When we were done cleaning, we took him inside and we took showers. Ryan took one with John and then I took mine. While I was in the shower, John looked over at Ryan and saw him in our closet looking guilty! That stinker had peed on my carpet and pooped in his underwear! We were so mad! We got everything cleaned up and after a few minutes Ryan looked up at me and said “sorry Mommy.” I feel like he got it, but who knows! The rest of the day went great! And when we had to run an errand, we put the big plastic underwear-things over his normal Thomas underwear and he was still dry when we got back!

Sunday we went to church and he stayed dry! We went to a nursing home for the kids to sing and he stayed dry! We went to a park for lunch and he started to go but stopped and went in the potty! Then the rest of the day yesterday he did great…including when we went to the driving range and out to dinner!

He’s still in a pull-up when he sleeps, and he has not yet pooped on the potty, but I’m still calling this a success! If we can eliminate him wearing diapers most of the time, I will be one happy momma!!!

Last Day of School...

2011-06-09T09:20:00.003-04:00

It is official, I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader on my hands :) Tuesday, June 7th, was the kids’ last day of school. Last day of school means parties, water balloons, and the customary “can my friend come over after school and spend the night since it’s not a school night?”

John and I took Ryan over (Colton stayed back with Miss Gee) and started at Kylie’s party since that’s the one that started first. We watched them do balloon races, limbo, and get wet from the water balloons. We went and checked on Josh, who was still eating lunch, and then back to Kylie’s party.

When it was time for Josh’s party, we headed down there (their classrooms were on opposite sides of the building). It’s so funny the difference between a Kindergarten party and a second grade party. For Kylie’s, only about ½ of the parents were there, but for Josh’s, every parent was there! His room was packed where Kylie’s was definitely more comfortable. Kylie’s party was so laid back whereas Josh’s constantly had activities going on. It’s definitely fair to say that parents get “older and wiser” when it comes to class parties as the years go by!

We went back to Kylie’s party and finished up there and took her and Rachel (her BFF who was spending the night at our house) back to Josh’s party. By this time his class was outside doing the water balloon thing. Poor little guy got hurt and John thought it would make him feel better if he got me wet with a water balloon :) As Josh’s class was heading back in, I got to see the 5th grade send-off. Parents and students line the hallways and cheer as the 5th graders run through for the last time (our middle school is 6th, 7th and 8th grades). I definitely had tears in my eyes as they did this, knowing that in just a few short years that would be my little girl…the time has gone by too fast as it is.

So Josh and I gathered everything up and said “good-bye” to both of his teachers (his “real” teacher had gone on maternity leave back in March but was back for the party). We went and picked up our neighbor who was going to come over and play with Josh the rest of the afternoon, and headed home. As I walked the halls, I told John that we would blink and it would be the first day of school again before we knew it.

That afternoon all the kids played together. Unfortunately we got a pretty bad storm, so they were stuck inside (I think I was more bummed about this than they were). But on the upside, the kids got to see hail for the first time, and it was pretty big!

That night, after the neighbor boys had gone home, we headed out to McDonald’s and then to Rita’s. We figured it was a great way to end the last day of school :) Then John put the tent up in our loft and the girls “camped out.” They had colored grass and put it up against the walls and put “lily pads” on the floor. It’s funny because they actually ended up sleeping in the bed :)

So another year done, and most of me is so glad! It will be so nice not having to worry about homework and getting to bed early, and checking folders each night and studying for spelling tests! But of course, I’m also sad that my babies are growing up :(

Kylie with her teacher, who she loved, and is super excited because she gets to have her again next year!

Football in the Shoe...

2011-06-06T14:53:00.004-04:00

What a weekend!

Friday, John and I took off work, as we usually do at this time, and headed to the Memorial Tournament. This year was super nice because our neighbors and good friends went with us too! We got there around 12:00, went to the house on the 18th that we’re lucky enough to go to each year, and sat at a table for a good chunk of the day! I drank a bunch of vodka/lemonades and ate some good food! Some of our other friends were there as well and for yet another year, we had an awesome day!

That evening we came home and decided to go to a local hot dog place with those same friends and all the kids. We had a great dinner! Then we headed over to the mall because Kimmy and I were going to go shopping, but John ended up getting a migraine, so we headed home shortly after we got there.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to the Horseshoe (the stadium the Ohio State Buckeyes play in). It was the day of Joshie’s flag football tournament! Our first game was at 9:00 AM and the weather was gorgeous! The Saints won and the boys had a ton of fun! We headed out to the parking lot where one of the families had set up a tailgating tent with tons of food for everyone! It was so nice! After that we got on the bus and headed to the second game, which was at some fields down the street. By this time it was getting really hot, but thankfully, all of the kids (including Ryan and Colton) didn’t complain at all. The boys ended up losing their second game, and to be honest, I wasn’t that sad…by now it was 1:00 and we were exhausted!

So we went home and John, Ryan and Colton took naps while I took the other kids out to the waterslide that our neighbors had set up. I hung out with everyone for a few hours and then my dad and I went to get the plants for the vegetable garden. When we got back, Kimmy and I headed to the mall to do the shopping that we didn’t get to do the night before. After shopping, she and I had dinner at a pub at the mall and sat outside and had a really nice time. It was great to not have to worry about the kids, or even our husbands for a few hours :)

Sunday we went to church and then to the mall with our house church group so that the kids could play in the play area and we could discuss the future of house church for the summer. After that I took Kylie into Justice and got her some fun summer clothes. After we left the mall we went on a mission looking for Sharpies for Josh, and not just any Sharpies, “little ones, in gold and silver.” We went to a couple of different places, until he finally had to settle on little ones in red and green and black and big silver and gold ones.

After we found the Sharpies, all of the kids fell asleep in the car, so we drove around and looked at some big, gorgeous houses that John had seen on google maps :) The houses were really big and really neat to look at.

When we got home we cleaned up and then got to work on the garden. John tilled while I spread dirt. We realized that we need a ton more dirt, so the garden will have to wait to be finished until Tuesday :( Then we went in to eat dinner and relax before bedtime.

I’m excited about this week because Tuesday is the kids’ last day of school, so I’m taking a ½ day and then I’m off Friday because we’re taking the kids on a surprise trip down to Louisville to see the Louisville Slugger museum with our neighbors.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011...

2011-06-02T16:06:00.004-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend!

It was a fabulous weekend…relaxing for the most part and full of great warmth and SUNSHINE! After the rainy weeks we’ve had it was wonderful to see!

Friday night we loaded up our kids and Kylie’s BFF and headed to CiCi’s pizza. I couldn’t believe that we were able to feed all of us for $27!! It was such a cheap and good meal! We all came home and crashed into bed as it was a pretty late dinner.

Saturday morning I got up to go walking with my neighbor. Getting up was no small feat as Colton had been up SCREAMING at various points throughout the night. We don’t know what was wrong with him, but he had done it the night before. It was horrible because nothing would calm him, and I believed it was reflux or tummy issues because he kept stiffening up and arching his back. But the walk felt great and as always it was great to catch up with Kimmy. When I got home, John and Josh headed off to football practice. After that we hung out outside and then Kylie and I went to see Aunt Sarah to get our hair done. After our hair appointments, we hung out outside some more with our neighbors and the kids got out the big waterslide. We all decided to go to dinner together and headed to El Vaquero’s for some strawberry margaritas :) Colton fell asleep at the beginning of the meal, so it was a wonderful dinner out on the patio. The kids were all really good, as was the food!

Sunday morning we went to church and then headed over to my niece’s house for her 4th birthday party. We got a great picture of the grandparents with all eight of their grandchildren, and all of the kids played in the little pool. After a few hours there we headed home to get the younger kids a nap and give John’s parents the computer they ordered. As soon as Ryan and Colton woke up we headed out to the graduation party of our old babysitter’s daughter. It was fun reminiscing back to how Josh and Kylie were when they went there every day. We also learned (the hard way) that Colton does not want to fall asleep in his carrier in the car. If he is really tired, he will scream and scream until you get him out and either hold him or lay him in his bed. He’s like that with strollers too…he just won’t fall asleep!

Monday morning we woke up and headed to our local Memorial Day parade. We’re usually in Charlotte for Memorial Day, so we’ve never been to the parade before. We sat next to our neighbors and were hot and miserable the whole time, but enjoyed it :) It was a neat parade, and when it was over, we took the kids to get ice cream. After that we headed to the grocery store to pick up some items for a cookout later that day with the neighbors and then home to get the waterslide out!

We set up both waterslides (ours and our neighbor’s), a table full of snacks, and our chairs and tried not to move all afternoon. Colton went down for a very long nap, and Ryan took a long nap as well, so I was really able to relax and enjoy myself. It got so hot (high in the mid-90’s) that Kimmy and I actually went down the waterslide a few times! When Ryan woke up he had a blast playing in the water and going down the slide too. When Colton woke up, I brought him outside and had him in the stroller, and then his Bumbo chair (that was so nicely given to us by John’s sister Jamie), and then finally laid him out on the towel with me (sunscreened of course). I was talking to the girls when all of a sudden I looked down and he had fallen asleep! No swaddle, no crying, nothing! So I picked him up and moved him to the towel laying between the stroller and a chair (so that I could drape a towel over him) and he didn’t flinch! He had a nice second nap out there!

We cooked up some food (which was the first solid meal that we had had that day…what a great mom I am :) ), and had a great dinner with some neighbors. After that it was clean-up time and bath time :)

It was a wonderful weekend. I got a lot of good sun and we all had a lot of fun together.

Kylie's 8 Year Check-Up...

2011-05-27T08:36:00.002-04:00

Kylie had her 8 year check-up and these are her stats:

Weight: 53.6 lbs. (36%)
Height: 48 ½ inches (21%)
BP: 98/60

She has been super consistent the past three years – all within 1% of each year. She’s growing great!

We didn’t have time for our annual Olive Garden lunch after her appointment, so we went to Olive Garden for dinner instead…just us! We had fun talking and eating and spending time with each other!

One of the most exciting things about her turning 8 is she is finally not required to ride in a booster seat anymore!!! Whohoo! Ohio law states that kids have to be in a booster seat until they’re 4’9” or 8 years old. We still have her in one as much as possible, but at least now if we’re in a pinch she doesn’t have to be in one :)

Kylie's Birthday Party Weekend...

2011-05-25T08:49:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was really fast-paced but it was also so much fun!

John and I, along with some of our neighbors, took off Friday to mulch. The guys arranged everything, which was nice, and we had the mulch delivered on Thursday and were ready to go first thing Friday morning. My neighbor and I walked the kids to school and then started helping the guys (they had started around 8:00). While it was hard work, it felt good to be active and hang out with our friends! It was also fun to watch Josh and Ryan ride around in the Jeep and play basketball and just enjoy the day. Around lunch time I had to feed Colton, so my friend and I went and grabbed Graffiti Burger burgers (LOVE them!) and we all took a lunch break. Around this time the sun came out, which was a very new thing for us here in central Ohio :) Seriously though, it had rained non-stop the entire week, so not only were the dry conditions a breath of fresh air, but the sun was the icing on the cake!

We finished everything around 3:00 – just in time to sit down for a few minutes and then go pick up the kids from school. After we got the kids we got cleaned up and my friend and I headed to the liquor store for some strawberry margarita mix. Because it was the start of Kylie’s birthday-party weekend, and her best friend Rachel was spending the night, she got to pick the meal and wanted tacos and watermelon :) So we turned it into a court dinner and had a huge taco bar with watermelon and strawberry margaritas! Around this time my sister Suzie got into town with her new boyfriend Jarrett. We had actually met him before when we visited her in Michigan (it also happened to be the weekend I told her I was pregnant with Ryan), but it was nice to “re-meet” him! The biggest shock of the weekend happened when Kylie opened her present from Rachel…she got her a retired American Girl doll (Elizabeth)!!! I was so shocked at such an extravagant gift…I had no idea what to say…

We all sat outside and enjoyed the fire and drinks while all the kids played. Because the day had been long and exhausting we all went in pretty early. We played Catch Phrase with the girls and after they went to bed I hung out with Suz and Jarrett a little while longer before going to bed.

The next morning we were up bright and early. John took Josh to football practice and I started getting ready for the party. The sun was out and it was warm and gorgeous outside! My neighbors came over and helped me set up a little later as well as John was quickly mowing the grass.

The party was nice…chips and dips and pizza and cake. John’s sister Jamie and her two kids (Mya and Mason) were there, his parents, my parents, my nephew Carson, Suzie and Jarrett, my sister Cindy, and our neighbors and their kids (Jason and Kate and Brett and Kim). We ate and then Kylie opened presents and then we ate cake and then sat :) People started leaving around 2:00 and our family got started on our dad’s birthday present…his garden! They measured and headed over to Home Depot to get the stuff and then we all got to work. Since it had been raining so much the past week, the grass was a muddy mess down there, but we survived! Around 7:00 I went in to make Dad’s birthday dinner (meatloaf) with Cindy. She ended up giving Colton a bath which was a big help. Kylie had gone over to Rachel’s to spend the night, so at least that was one less child to care for :) I gave Ryan a bath and then Josh came in to take a shower. I fed Ryan and put him to bed (by now it was 9:00). Then all the big people came in and showered and we all sat down to a very late, but very good dinner :) We finished it off with a Dairy Queen Heath bar blizzard cake!

Sunday we got up and went to church and then headed over to Josh’s last football game of the season (he will be playing in the Horseshoe in two weeks, but that’s separate). We were at a local high school so we got to sit in the bleachers and the kids got to play on the turf. My whole family came as well as John’s dad. Joshie had a great game…a bunch of flag pulls and some great catches (one of which resulted in a touchdown).

After the game and after the kids got their trophies and we did the pictures, we went back to our house and we got out the giant waterslide that the kids got for Christmas. We set it up in the backyard, sat out chairs and brought out snacks and the kids had a fabulous time playing in the water, and us adults had a great time sitting around talking. Jarrett was joking with Kylie about her “online dating profile” that he “set up” for her…I guess she wants a guy that does not wear capris, works for her dad, doesn’t wear glasses, and I can’t remember the rest. It was so cute hearing them talk!

Then it was sad time…everyone had to leave :( First Suzie and Jarrett left, and then my dad shortly after that. We stayed outside for a while and then as the storms started coming in, we quickly cleaned up and headed inside. Kylie and I played American Girl dolls for a while and then we ate dinner and the kids went up to bed a little earlier than normal since they had had such a busy weekend.

It was a great weekend…I hate that Suzie lives so far away, but at least she’s close enough for visits! I hope the upcoming Memorial Day weekend is just as much fun, if not more!

Happy 8th Birthday Kylie...

2011-05-18T14:30:00.006-04:00

My Princess,

Today you are 8 years-old. Wow. I know I say this every year but I can’t help it…where has the time gone? You are blossoming into such a young lady! You ask questions that adults would ask; your mind is always going a thousand miles a minute; you often talk like an adult. Stop it!!! Stay little!!! :)
Daddy and I surprised you for lunch at school today. I brought you Sonic to eat and we sat and laughed and joked with you and your friends. We talked about boyfriends and Daddy told everyone that you couldn’t have a boyfriend until you’re 30, but the boys could have girlfriends now. You were so happy to see us and kept giving us hugs :)

You are about to complete the second grade. You have Mrs. Burns as a teacher, and were super excited when you learned that she was going to be looping and that you would have her again next year. You started the year with addition facts for math and are currently on division and learning fractions. You have done three full presentations in class (Brazil, your science experiment showing how heat rises and the wax museum where you were Jane Goodall), and rocked every single one of them. Your best friend this year has been Rachel and you guys see each other at least once a week outside of school, and usually more than that.

This past year you have been really into Monster High Dolls, American Girl dolls, and now, Lalaloopsie dolls. You have been so creative with making houses and furniture for whichever type of doll you are playing with. We have also had to teach you some lessons about money and not always getting what you want…you had been telling everyone to get you American Girl dolls for your birthday! But you’re smart, and I think you’re starting to understand that everything costs money.

This past year you have lost some teeth…four to be exact! Your hair has been short and long. You have been able to get yourself completely ready in the mornings and completely ready for bed (unless you want me to flat iron your hair…I still get to do that :) ). You were a flower girl for the first time in Aunt Cindy and Uncle Josh’s wedding. Your freckles are multiplying :)

You and I are starting to have some rough patches, but I’m hoping that as you are testing your limits and learning about life, you will remember that I love you more than anything…you are my only girl and you’ll always be my only girl, and because of that, you are so incredibly special to me! I hope you know that you can always talk to me about anything…no matter what, I am always here for you!

I love you so much princess!

Love,
Mommy

Colton: 4 Months

2011-05-17T08:28:00.002-04:00

Colton turned 4 months old last week (on my dad’s birthday to be exact). He went to the doctor yesterday and these are his stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 8 oz (60%)
Height: 26 ¾” (94% - holy cow!)
Head: 41 ¾ cm (35%)

As you can see, this kid is a “tall” one! I’m used to having kids that are fat and short, not average in weight and long! We’ll see if this stays or evens out over the next couple of years… :)
He is becoming more and more fun every day. I hate the fact that he is getting bigger and my “baby” is going away, but thankfully with each day he gets older, he also gets more fun. He smiles and laughs a lot now and he is rolling all over the place! And he keeps trying to sit up that little stinker!

As far as sleeping goes, I can now bundle him up like a burrito in his swaddling blanket and lay him in his bed and he goes to sleep. He is still getting up twice a night, which I’m not happy about, but at least I don’t have any problems getting him back to sleep in his bed after he eats each time!

When he wakes up he is so happy! When I hear him “talking” I’ll unwrap him and watch him happily stretch his arms out and kick his little legs. He just smiles and smiles at me!

The kids are all great with him, and with him getting bigger I can tell they are having more fun with him as well. Ryan is the cutest…if I walk into the room he’s in holding Colton, Ryan, in his sing-song little voice stops what he’s talking about and says “Oh hi Colton!” He says it like he hasn’t seen him in weeks and he’s so excited he’s come to join him :)

I think we’ve all completely adjusted to him being a part of the family now. If he’s not around the kids will ask where he is, and when the kids are praying, they usually remember to include him now :)

Colton Update...

2011-05-12T10:07:00.000-04:00

I actually have a baby that is a good sleeper at a young age...I can't believe it!

Kylie was a HORRIBLE sleeper! I'm sure most of the problem was that she was our first and we just wanted to hold her all the time. She didn't end up sleeping through the night until she was over 1 and didn't go to bed easily until she was at least 2.

When Josh came along, I got smart and put him in a bassinette in our room. When he was 8 months I moved him over to the crib in his room and after about 2 nights of crying (and only about 20 minutes at that), he could be put to bed awake and put himself to sleep. From then on he was a great sleeper (although didn't sleep through the night until after he was 1 and I weaned him).

With Ryan, I did the same thing as Josh - bassinette in our room, but I still had to hold him until he fell asleep and then laid him down in his bed. I decided to move him to the crib when he was 6 months, and like Josh, after a couple of nights I was able to lay him down awake and he put himself to sleep. And also like Josh, he didn't sleep through the night until after he was 1 and weaned.

Colton? Even better! For the past three nights and during naps we've been able to just bundle him up and lay him in his bassinette and he puts himself to sleep. Since he was about 1 month old he has slept in long stretches at night (with the exception of the last few weeks). And at 4 months of age, I am contemplating moving him to the crib in his room...it sure would save us from constantly trying to keep quiet while he's napping.

So I'm thankful...thankful that I have an easy-going baby and thankful that I'm getting some sleep at night myself :)

An Absolutely Fabulous Day!

2011-05-11T10:40:00.003-04:00

What an amazing day I had yesterday!

Our nanny needed the day off, so I stayed home with the kids it was the best day…I feel so rejuvenated and relaxed and happy after it! The day started off rocky with Ryan’s diaper leaking and me having to wash bedding first thing in the morning, but after that it was smooth sailing! I got everyone ready for school and we all walked in the gorgeous weather! I love taking/picking the kids up from school when it’s warm and sunny outside!

After that I loaded up Ryan and Colton in the stroller and my neighbor, who had also taken yesterday off work, and I headed out for an hour-long walk. I got some great exercise let me tell you! My legs were definitely sore afterwards! After that, Ryan wanted to eat lunch (and it was only 10:50!) so I made him lunch and fed Colton. After lunch Ryan asked me if I would “take him up to nap,” so I carried him up and put him to bed. Then I bundled Colton up in his swaddle-thing and laid him in his bassinette and crossed my fingers he would put himself to sleep. I went downstairs and did some things, checked on Colton and saw him wiggling around, but not making a sound, did some more things, and checked on Colton again and found him sound asleep! I was so happy! So I finished up a bunch of chores around the house (which included bringing up the exersaucer and cleaning it up for Colton), make a Paula Dean cake, ate lunch, and 2 hours later Ryan called me up to his room. I smuggled him with kisses and we went downstairs and got ready to play outside.

Soon after that Colton woke up, so I fed him and then we all headed out to the grocery store. Ryan was so good! He’s such a cutie when it comes to food/grocery shopping. I always ask him what I should buy and he tells me “grapes and blueberries and oranges and strawberries and blueberries.” Colton was good until about the last 15 minutes where he started in with his screaming thing. He’s not crying-screaming, he’s just screaming because he wants to talk and doesn’t think anyone is listening to him :)

I put all the groceries away as soon as I got home. I put Colton in the exersaucer and I could see how overwhelmed he was! There were so many toys and so many colors. One time he looked at me and started to cry, but then I rubbed his head and talked to him and he was OK :) Then we went outside in the gorgeous weather for a little bit before leaving to pick the kids up from school. Again, a gorgeous walk over there and the kids were all in great moods too!

Once we got home I immediately wrapped Colton up and laid him in his bed again because he was so tired. Again, he went right to sleep :) Then I started working on dinner since my neighbor and I had decided to do a dinner together. We made a really, really good dinner. It involved some pan-cooked rib eye steaks on top of a four cheese pasta with added peas from Pioneer Woman, a salad and some garlic bread. Our table was stuffed with 6 kids, my neighbor and her mom, John and me. I couldn’t have asked for a better dinner! Oh yeah, and then we had toffee butter cake from Paula Dean :)

After dinner my neighbor had to take her kids to sporting events, so John and I headed outside with our kids. Colton sat in the stroller while Kylie and I jumped on the trampoline and John, Josh and Ryan played baseball. The weather was still so gorgeous! After a while of jumping, Kylie and I got her Kindle and my Nook and laid on the hammock and read. Josh saw us and ran in and got a book and the three of us laid there and read for a while. Josh wanted to go on a walk, so we loaded Ryan up in the stroller, Colton into the Baby Bjorn, and Josh and Kylie got their scooters. We walked up through the new phase of our development.

Once we got home it was snack time and then baths and bed. We had all kids into bed by 8:50 (including Colton, who again, I just wrapped up and laid down in his bed!) and John and I watched a little TV and then went to sleep ourselves. And as a super bonus, Colton only got up once during the night, unlike his “usual” of 3 times that he has been doing the past 3 weeks.

So that was my day off, and like I said, it was one of the best days ever!