You haven't missed much.

Same old same old around here as far as schedules go.

The kids were on vacation from February 21-March 2nd. We unfortunately didn't do much over vacation. The kids seemed to be happy with being able to play with toys and video games of course. The day before school started again, I took them to meet my mom for lunch at Zachary's pizza place. I could tell that day that Caleb wasn't feeling that great. He had started with a cough and he looked tired and well, like he was getting sick. Sure enough he had a fever that night and proceeded to have one until yesterday. I took him to the doctor on Wednesday because he was acting almost like he did when he had pneumonia. We didn't see his regular doctor, but got into to see another one. She said that he did sound wheezy and we got sent home with an albuterol inhaler. He seemed to get better but the fever lasted forever! By Friday he was driving me nuts! He even cried because he wanted to go back to school. I thought maybe I should tape him so I could show him in 5 years. Ha, ha! Now Hayley has a fever and cough. Poor girl was not herself at all yesterday and just laid around. Hopefully Meghan will stay healthy. I was all excited that maybe we would be getting to some sort of normal schedule, but it's supposed to snow 20-30 inches so they canceled school. Oh well, at least they can rest up one more day.



Nothing new with Bart. His hours have finally let up for the moment. During the kids vacation he worked a 90 hour week (yes you read that right 90 hours). People think I'm kidding when I say he is never here. I am so over him working 24/7.

One other annoying thing, is that we finally ordered a treadmill (since we live in the boonies and I never leave here) so I could work out at home. We get it delivered had to call both our fathers so we could get the beast of a treadmill downstairs, get it set up, turn it on, nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Awesome! That was the beginning of February, and we have called and got the run around...so we'll still waiting on them to fix it.

I am really looking forward to Spring.

Same old, Same old.

Another week gone by, and really not much to say at all. It really is the same thing just different day. I am thankful it is Friday though! Let's see here's a recap:

Sunday-I had my dad and Penny over for the Superbowl. We had a lot of good snacks and it was fun, except for the going to bed late and Hayley being up on and off for an hour part. Bart had to get up early and go to NY.

Monday-Meg had dance. Caleb stays with gram and Hayley goes with me. I dread Mondays for this reason. We don't get home until about 8. Bart is NY for the night.

Tuesday-Same thing. Bart got home about 12:30 am from NY.

Wednesday-I had to go audit for our town. Hayley didn't take a nap and I had to go pick up Meg from tutoring after school. Bart got home about 12 am (I'm assuming since I was asleep).

Thursday-Same thing. I picked up Caleb from after school program and headed to hockey. It was supposed to be the last night for hockey, but I guess they might have one more? I still might tell them that it was the last night (hee, hee). Bart's parents came up to help me get the kids ready and to see them play because Bart can't. After hockey we went to McDonald's. Bart got home after 12 am.

Friday- I will have to pick up the kids from after school program and then there is a dance tonight for the school. Which I know we will have to go to because the kids love it. Even though no one really dances..the kids just run around and play with friends. We did get our treadmill delivered today but it can't fit through the door. Hopefully we will get it in piece by piece? The thing is monstrous! Bart is headed to NY this weekend.

Do you see a pattern here? I don't ever see Bart. I know when I say he works all the time that some people are like, yeah, yeah... but really he does. I see him in the morning for about a half an hour. Oh but it's only for busy season right? Umm sure. It used to be, but now it seems that busy season is all year long. This past summer he had to travel every week for 2 days or so. Even when we took our vacation to Disney he had to work some. I am grateful he has a job, I just wish it was one that was more flexible and less hours.

Walk to Cure Diabetes

This past August we found out that my nephew, Jack has type 1 diabetes. Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people, a large and growing percentage of them children.

Currently there is no cure. But with your help we can make a difference. Would you please think about supporting me in my cause? Any amount is helpful! I would appreciate it so much! You can easily donate online here

Thank you so much!

Weekend Recap

I'm really trying to post more, and I realize no one will care what I write and it's boring..but at least I can look back and see what I was doing at this time.

Friday I went to my sister's Silpada party. If you don't know what Silpada is, it's really expensive jewelry. I had to make 2 maple cream pies for the dessert. SO yummy, but I didn't have any, cause you know I'm dieting AGAIN. Anyways, I didn't order anything because it's expensive, and I am not a huge jewelry wearer. But it was fun and I got to have a little adult interaction.

Saturday the whole family went down to the in-laws and we hung out there first. Then we went out to eat for Bart's 30th birthday. It was a good meal, and shockingly and surprisingly the kids were decent.

Sunday we failed to make it to church. Plus there was no Sunday school so that was almost a given not to go, mostly for the sake of the other members. It was a lazy day. I went grocery shopping alone {bliss}! Bart had to leave early for his 6 hour drive to NY for work. BLECH.

My life right now.

I would really like to start blogging again so I can remember what we do. But mostly I feel like my life is lather, rinse, repeat. It's not very exciting. Mostly my day consists of :

• Getting Caleb and Meghan off to school.
• Having coffee and get on the internet.
• Hayley wakes up. She has breakfast and we play and watch cartoons.
• Time to fix lunch.
• Hayley brushes teeth and then goes down (hopefully) for a nap.
• I get the kids off the bus.
• We do homework. Then Caleb and Meg either go to gram's or play here.
• I take out all their snow stuff, hang it up, put mittens on heater to dry, clean out their lunchbox.
• Hayley wakes up.
• I start dinner.
• We eat dinner, and then the kids have some chill time before bed.
• Bath & showers
• Snack, read books, brush teeth.
• Caleb and Meg go to bed.
• Hayley and I read books, then brush teeth and Hayley is off to bed.
• I clean up from dinner, pick up the house, and watch some TV or go online.
• Go to bed.

The only differences are on Mondays Meg has dance, and right now on Thursdays Caleb and Meg play hockey, but that will be over in 2 weeks. Bart is in his busy season so we don't see him much. That's pretty much my life right now in a nutshell.

Our trip to Disney!

Tap, tap, tap is this thing on? Anyone out there?  Hoping to revive this thing soon!

Fair Fun

We took the kids's to the fair on Sunday. We also took them after school on Tuesday. In our family the first Tuesday of the fair is when all of our family goes. It's been a tradition for as long as I can remember. My gram loved to go to the fair. She looked forward to it every year. She loved to go into the craft buildings and look at all the crafts. If she saw something new that was knit or quilted she would buy one and then figure out how it was made and make one herself at home.

My favorite story about the fair is the one from my mom's childhood. My mother is one of 10 kids and like a lot of people back then, they didn't have much money.  But my gram always took them to the fair, and they each got a roll of dimes to have. They could use the dimes for games or rides it was up to them. My mom said the games were 10 cents and the rides were either 25 or 50 cents.  They never ate in the fair, instead they would go to the parking lot and eat the lunch my gram had packed for them. What made it special was that my gram bought things that they didn't usually get to have like soda and oreos.
I just love to hear this story over and over. It shows what a great mom my grandmother was, and how she did the best she could with what she had.  I miss her so much and think about her everyday. Her absence is felt every year we meet on Tuesday at the fair. We all toast to gram with our coffees.

And now I leave you some pictures from the fair!

 

 

Kindergarten

Caleb and Meghan started Kindergarten today! I can't believe that they are already 5 years old and starting school. They were so excited to go to school today. I really wanted to drive them today and go in the school with them, however they wanted to ride the bus. I didn't cry even! But they went to preschool last year on the bus, so I guess I was used to it.

Today has been a quiet day and Hayley likes having all the toys to herself without Caleb and Meghan taking them away from her. I can't wait to hear how their first day went!

I am ready to get back into a "schedule" and start back on losing weight. I don't look forward to winter though!

Prayers for baby Jack

My best friend who you might remember me talking about here and here went into labor today, and they ended up doing an emergency c-section because the baby had a high heart rate. She had a baby boy and his name is Jack. He is currently in the NICU and they estimate for about 10 days are so. He was having trouble breathing. I don't know anymore at this point. If you are the praying type could use please pray for baby Jack and his mommy Jessica? I would appreciate it.

5 year appointments & Lawn Sales

Caleb and Meghan had their 5 year appointment on Monday. They did unfortunately get one shot, which went over better than it did last year. Caleb didn't cry, but Meg did. They asked if they could go to school now that they have a shot. They are so excited to go to school!
Caleb weighs 50lbs and is 46 inches, 95% for both.
Meghan weighs 41lbs and is 45 inches. 95% for height, 60% for weight.
The doctor says they look great!

We have been really busy getting ready for our lawn sale. I am hoping to get rid of some stuff! I don't care about making money so much, I just want to get rid of some major junk. After we get through this we are FINALLY going to be painting the downstairs. We WILL get the basement room finished before kindergarten starts!!!

Babies

Hayley loves babies. At first I thought it was just a phase of taking her "babies" to bed with her. It started with one baby but now she has 3 in her crib with her at night. Meghan was never like this as a baby and still isn't that interested in babies. I thought that it was just a comfort item for Hayley. Well the other day I went to the neighbors to get Caleb and Meghan who were playing on the swingset. There was a baby on the ground and I let Hayley play with it while we were watching. Then when it was time to go and give the baby back to the neighbor kid, Hayley would not let go for the life of her. I had to pry it out of her hands and she is strong! After I got it back I gave it to the neighbor girl and Hayley proceeded to cry and have a huge fit like I have never heard. It continued for about 10 minutes after coming in the house too.

When we went to the mall this past weekend, Bart brought the kids in to the toy store and I went to look and try on some clothes. When I met up with him later, he said that when he got to a certain part of the store Hayley would cry and have a fit. He finally figured out that it was because she saw the baby dolls. She sure shows her temper when she wants something!

Weekend Recap

We had a good weekend. This weekend unlike all the others didn't seem to fly by. Bart mowed the lawn on Thursday so we didn't have to spend 2 hours doing that. I had every intention on going to WW but it was so nice and it was actually a weekend we didn't have anything planned. So we got some small projects done while Hayley was napping. After Hayley woke up, we decided to go and get Caleb's haircut. It was desperately needed! We then went to the mall, which wasn't that fun with 3 kids. So we left not soon after and headed to the in-laws and had dinner.
On Sunday we went to church, where Hayley proceeded to crack up people with her scowl look and waving to gram in the choir. She is getting harder and harder to entertain there. I bring a variety of snacks but those only work for so long. After church my sister took Caleb and Meghan with her to my nephews t-ball game. We drove down later for and met them, and then ate dinner at my sisters. It was a nice relaxing weekend!

The kids are done school for the summer but have been approved for summer speech classes, which I am so happy about. I am still waiting for details on when it will be. I know that Caleb and Meghan will not be happy about it.

I can't believe it's June already! Time seems to be flying by!

Hayley is 1!

I can't believe that Hayley is 1. This past year flew by! (a lot faster than with the twins!) She has been such an easy baby. She has been pretty much sleeping through the night since she was 3 months old. Having one at a time seems so easy!
At 1 year, Hayley:

• has 4 teeth on top and 4 teeth on the bottom.
  
• She is in size 4 diapers.
  
• She wears 18 month clothing.
  
• She loves music.
  
• She has a favorite baby that she sleeps with.
• She still has 4 bottles a day.
  
• She will eat pretty much anything you give her.
  
• She is crawling, and standing up holding on to something.
• She points.
• She loves being outside.
• She loves playing with her brother and sister.
• Lately she has been scowling at people and then turns and smiles.

BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!

I just found out that my best friend Jess is 4 months pregnant! She is due in September. You might remember me asking for prayers here. She has been trying for 3 years. What a blessing. If you could continue your prayers for a happy and healthy 9 months I would appreciate it. I am beyond thrilled for her!

Dr's & ER's

Since the last time I posted I have been to the Dr's twice and the ER once. I got a call from school saying Meghan was complaining that her leg hurt and she didn't want to go outside and cried while getting her snow pants on. She had complained at home but I downplayed it because they are always complaining they can't walk etc. She had a low grade fever so I called the ped's office and they wanted to see her. We went in and the dr said the pain seemed to be in her hip, and then she went to talk to another Dr. and they both came in and said it could be a virus that sometimes makes your hip ache...I had never heard of this before. They were concerned that it would be bacterial. So they wanted me to come in the next day to see how she was, unless she got worse or had a higher fever then I needed to call right away. Well the next day she seemed totally fine, but we went in and they said she was better and to keep an eye on her.

Last weekend we went to my dad's to go snowmobiling and sliding. While we were hanging out after lunch the kids were playing on my dad's stairs. They were going down on their butts, so I didn't really see anything wrong with that. I heard a big boom and saw Caleb at the bottom of the stairs and he had a big egg on the side of his forehead. When he first got up he sort of stumbled sideways, and that worried me. Bart laid with Caleb on the couch while I went outside with Meghan because she had friends over. My BIL came to tell me that Caleb had thrown up. So I called the on-call ped which luckily was my Dr and he said to watch him and if threw up again to go to the ER. We got home and he threw up just a little. I called the Dr and he said since it wasn't a lot to just watch him and really I should base it on how he was acting. He was starting to perk up and we watched Toy Story 2 and then he had some cereal. He went to bed about 7:30 and at 10:00 he threw up in his bed. So I called again and he said we should go to the ER so I took him in and the Dr said after a few tests that he didn't look worrisome. I was thankful for that and took him home. The next morning he wanted cereal and not 10 minutes later he threw up again. So we called the ER and the Dr said that if he was acting okay to just watch him. He was acting fine, and he never threw up again. Thank God.
I really thought it would be Meghan who would be my accident prone one. Since Caleb has turned 4 he has been to the ER 3 times. Once for pneumonia, once because he went under water, and the most recent one. Can your insurance drop you? I can tell you I don't feel like parent of the year, that's for sure.

Car meets Deer...

There goes the $ 250.00 that Caleb won at the Superbowl pool...

Hayley's 9 months old!

Hayley is 9 months old. Wow how the time flies! She had her 9 month appointment yesterday and here are her stats.

Weight: 21lbs and 15 oz
Height: 29 inches long

She is in 95 % for both. At 9 months old, Hayley has her 2 bottom teeth, is starting to wave, and has been saying "dada. She also just recently started army crawling. She likes music, her brother and sister, she loves to be on the go, she loves mimi's blue shoes and patty cake. She is more and more into baby food and her favorites are pears, vegetable beef, and applesauce.

I can't believe she is already 9 months old. She is such a good baby. She takes about 2 naps a day. She is now officially in her crib after being in her bassinet for oohhh 7 months...oops!

2008

2008 like any other year had it's ups and downs. Obviously one of my major highlights was having Hayley. One of the lows was Caleb being in the hospital for pneumonia and him almost drowning. But you could look at those being a big up too. He is healthy and still here. I guess you could say 2008 was in some ways one of my better years. This time 3 years ago I was watching my grandmother die from cancer. I can't believe it's been 3 years already. It feels like so much longer.
I wish you a Happy New Year full of good things!

Mother of the year

Wow, haven't been here in a while. I have come many times to post but decided against it. I have been in a funk lately. I would say a little depression with a little anger too.

We had a great time in Florida, it was exhausting but worth it to see the kid's faces. We did have one really frightening episode, and since I feel like mother of the year I haven't wanted to exactly talk about it all that much. The house we stayed at was nice, and had a pool. (you see where this is going right?) Well Caleb wanted to go swimming and my 3 aunts were by the pool and my 8 year old cousin was in the pool as well. There is this ledge in the deep end and Caleb was on it and apparently went off it. One of my aunts noticed and got him out, when I came out he was throwing up a lot of water and his lips looked blue. I started crying, trying not to freak but I couldn't help it. My aunt who is a nurse suggested that we go to urgent care just to be safe. So we did, and the Physicians assistant we saw said "I hate cases like this. He may appear fine, but there is a thing called dry drowning and he could die later" Umm thanks, and please don't be a little more sensitive since my 4 year old is right here with us! Anyways, they sent us to the ER for a chest x-ray to be safe. We got there and waited, and they acted like it was no big deal there. Finally we saw a Dr who listened to his lungs and said he was fine. I cried and asked if he could please have an x-ray. He told me that it would be unneccesary radiation, I said yes but I wanted to make sure that he was fine. The Dr. didn't seem pleased but agreed. But how could I just take his word when the other urgent care Dr said you couldn't tell? Not to mention he just got over pneumonia. He finally came back and the x-ray was clear. THANK THE LORD. That put a little damper in our vacation. I realized how so very lucky we were. I should have made sure my aunts knew he was out there. That is guilt I will just have to carry with me. Sometimes I feel like eventually my luck will run out.

I have been feeling a little angry lately because I am getting sick of our basement not being partly finished. We are going on over a year now. We aren't even doing the whole thing! We just have to wait to do it whenever my FIL is available. Ugh so frustrating! But the closet did get done, and even though it's kind of a shitty paint job, you won't be looking that hard. I started moving some stuff into it today so Hayley can finally have a room! Yay! They are supposed to do the ceiling this weekend. We are going to have someone else do the carpet.

Bart is in Dallas this week. He comes home Friday night at 11 pm, and then has to leave for Dallas again on Sunday for another week. They did this last year and really the timing sucks because I am no where near done Christmas shopping. Although I did go out on Black Friday.

Oh and since Bart's insurance decided to change their payments we now have to shell out 800.00 for Caleb's hospital stay when he has pneumonia. Ugh! Bart's insurance used to rock, and now it sucks! Why is it always around Christmas too? Plus we just put 300.00 into the van, and now it sounds like Bart's car needs brakes. It never ends. Hey at least gas is going down.