The Dunlap Diaries

No pain, no gain

2012-01-31T22:10:00.002-06:00

It has been unseasonably warm here the last few days-my kids wore shorts to school today and Will had his physical therapy appointment outside yesterday. I bought a deal on our local add sheet for 10 Jazzercise classes for $18. I decided today would be the first day I would try to go. It was fun but I am so sore this evening--I can't imagine how I am going to feel tomorrow:-) We haven't had a lot going on the past few days--Jake had his 100th day of school celebration yesterday and we had to send a 100 ct snack to school--we picked M&M's. He had a good day Monday and an even better day today--we have been having a few issues with him not wanting to do his work and this week he has done a great job of doing everything he is supposed to--I am very proud of him. This is another random post but that seems to be how our life is lately:-)

Another relaxing weekend

2012-01-29T12:36:00.003-06:00

We have had a relaxing weekend with nothing on the schedule for the kids, which I really appreciate. On Friday night I went to a thirty-one bags party that one of the girls from my bible study invited me too. It was a lot of fun and I was able to meet more ladies that go to Woodcrest. When it was time to leave, we discovered it was snowing outside--a very wet snow, but not too cold and not bad to drive in. We probably received a 1/2 inch. We didn't do anything on Saturday--I really like those days. I am re-reading all of the Left Behind series and am now on the final book, so I got a good portion of that read yesterday in between meals and naps and baths. Will is really enjoying the big bathtub ( another confession--I bathed him in the kitchen sink as long as possible to avoid having another kid bathing in the upstairs bathroom). He likes being able to move around and splash and lie down, although he covers both ears with his hands anytime he goes underwater. Today we got up and headed to church, and I sat with my friend Melissa, who took me to the thirty-one party Friday night. After church we came home and had lunch, and Shon graciously agreed to go to WalMart for me--and took Caleb with him. The middle two are outside playing with friends, and Will is about to go down for a nap. I am headed out in a little bit to go see a movie with some friends--Shon has been really good about letting me have some "friend" time:-) How was your weekend?

Testing, testing

2012-01-26T20:47:00.002-06:00

Caleb had an assessment today at the University to see where we are with his ADHD and ODD. He was tested in 2nd grade and determined to have ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder, and I just wanted him re-tested to figure out if we were on the right track with our treatment. When I made the appointment, they told me to expect it to take from 9:30 until 2:30 pm. I figured that was only for the really troubled kids, and that we would be done by lunch at the latest. I also had to bring Will with me since it was not one of his school days. I ended up having to talk with the person conducting the assessment for about 1 1/2 hours at the beginning. Caleb was a real trooper and took care of Will remarkably well. After my part of the interview Caleb went to the first part of the testing which was an IQ test. We broke for lunch around 12:15pm. I had texted Shon to see if he could come home and stay so that Will could take a nap and not have to be in a small room waiting for Caleb to finish. ( he had had enough by lunch and had fallen off the couch and got a nice bruise while we were there). So, Shon came home and I left Will with him and Caleb and I went back to the campus. We got back about 1pm and didn't finish up until 3:30. I got to sit and read a book without interruption, so that was nice, but the chairs were pretty uncomfortable. Caleb was pretty tired when we were finished. The results/recommendations should be back to me in about a month. So it was a long day but I think it was good.

Random Monday Confessions

2012-01-23T13:17:00.005-06:00

My new washer was delivered this morning. I am washing my second load as I type. It is sooooo quiet! Love it.

Small confession: Will doesn't get a bath everyday. He has super-sensitive skin and some eczema so he is an every other day bather--and I really like that I don't have to do a bath everyday.

I don't ever make our bed--ever. If someone comes over, our door gets closed. And stays closed.

On that note, it is rare for the kids beds to be made. Emma is the only one who does it on a somewhat consistent basis.

My Christmas trees are still up, even though it is January 23rd. Every time I look at them, I say to myself that I will put them up tomorrow:-)

I have 2 baskets of folded clothes in my bedroom that we have been getting clean clothes out of because I am too lazy to put them away.

I secretly enjoy watching Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2--if only to realize how much worse my life could be:-)

I love food and hate to exercise, which is where this weight gain tends to come into play--really wishing the reverse were true.

Any secret confessions out there? Or am I the only loser mom? :-)

White cake with strawberries and whipped cream/cream cheese icing

2012-01-22T16:12:00.004-06:00

Yes, another food post, but this one is so yummy I had to post it. You know how you can picture something in your head the way you want it to look and taste but it usually (for me) doesn't turn out the way you think/hope it will? This one does! Here is the recipe I used:

1 white cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines)
1 container strawberries, rinsed and chopped into small pieces (I bet you could use frozen as well).
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 16 oz Cool Whip, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk or heavy cream or half and half

1. Follow the directions on the cake mix and bake the cakes. I used my 9 in pans.
2. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
3. Chop up your strawberries and mix into 4-6 oz of Cool Whip (any more and it will run down the sides of the cake--guess how I know that:-)
4. Spread the strawberry/Cool Whip mixture on top of the first cake. Put the second cake on top of the first.
5. Mix together the cream cheese and sugar until all mixed together. ( I used the Kitchen Aid mixer for the frosting).
6. Add in 8 oz of Cool Whip and mix together until fluffy.
7. Add in the vanilla and milk or heavy cream or half and half ( I used half and half).
8. Mix everything together until creamy.
9. Spread icing all over the cake, starting in the center and spreading down the sides. This actually made enough to generously cover the whole cake.
10. Enjoy!
My kids LOVED this--Emma has already requested it for her birthday in April:-) Shon even enjoyed it (which is saying a lot). I will definitely be making this again.

Another day, another trip to Sam's:-)

2012-01-20T18:50:00.002-06:00

So today Will was at school so I had to go to Sam's as soon as I dropped him off. I wanted to beat the crowd and was thankfully able to do that because of my in-laws getting our Sam's card for us. They are business members so I can shop early:-) I was in and out in 30 minutes--even though I ended up with way more than was on my list ( it had 3 items--I walked out with about 15:-) I then headed to the mall and spent my Gymbucks I earned (which basically means I spent more money to save 1/2 off:-) I picked Will up from school and came home and relaxed until the older kids got home--it has been extremely cold here the last few days so I really wanted to just cozy up by the fire and stay warm:-) We ordered pizza tonight and the kids are all in their pjs watching the Disney channel while Shon watches the WWE for laughs on tv. Just another normal evening at our home:-)

A cleaning tip:-)

2012-01-19T20:19:00.002-06:00

For those of you who know me well, you know I really don't enjoy cleaning--I enjoy staying home but am not really all that bothered by dust (mom, don't get too "twitchy"). So shockingly, with four kids, we had a few stubborn carpet stains. I found a recipe for a carpet cleaner that I wanted to try. Mix equal parts ammonia and really hot water into a spray bottle, and liberally spray the spot you want to treat. Get out your iron and a clean white towel. Place the towel onto the spot you just sprayed and put your iron on towel (have it on the steam setting). You just iron back and forth and the spot is supposed to come up. I have to say this worked really well on most of the spots I tried it on--the carpet looks a lot better:-) I wish I had taken before and after pics but I was trying to get it done before I had to go get Will from school, so I was being quick.

Lasagna roll ups

2012-01-18T18:30:00.004-06:00

Another recipe post--I like having these on my blog because they are easy to look up for future reference. I made lasagna roll ups tonight--a recipe I found on Pinterest (it is my go-to spot anymore for recipes:-) I also made parmesan pull apart bread (thanks Reba) from a friend's blog. Here is the recipe for the lasagna:

1 lb ground turkey ( or ground beef)

1/4 onion, minced

1 tsp garlic

1 can petite diced tomatoes

2 cans tomato sauce ( there is only 1 in the picture, but I added another one)

1 Tbsp parsley

1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

mozzarella cheese (however much you like to cover the meal)

ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

lasagna noodles ( I used 8)

1. Boil your water for the lasagna noodles. Cook until al dente.

2. In saucepan, saute onion and garlic together ( I forgot to do this and added them to my ground turkey that was already browning. You can use a little olive oil to do this step).

3. Add turkey and cook until no pink remaining.

4. Add seasonings and tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

5. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

6. In small bowl, beat egg and then add ricotta cheese, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Stir together.

7. Lay lasagna noodle on paper towel. Pat dry. Spoon ricotta cheese mixture across noodle. Add a little bit of meat sauce along the noodle (if you put too much on it will squish out the sides--not that I know that from personal experience or not:-)

8. Roll up the lasagna noodle and place in sprayed dish. Repeat until all the noodles are in the pan.

9. Put more meat sauce onto each noodle. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese all over the dish ( as much or as little as you like--we like a lot of cheese).

10. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly:-) Enjoy!

New washer and the laundromat:-)

2012-01-17T22:32:00.003-06:00

Here is a picture of the new washing machine we had to go and order today. The man at Lowe's promised me it would be in my house in less than seven days:-)
I was attempting to start my enormous pile of laundry yesterday, and the first load I did would not finish--it kept throwing an error code with 1 minute left. When Shon got home, he was able to get the door unlocked, but that was it. I should preface this by saying we had a repairman come look at the washer in August, and he told us it needed a new motor control board, which runs $700 for the part alone. So we knew it was only a matter of time. I attempted this morning to do another load of laundry, and it flat out would not start a cycle at all--I tried all of them. After talking with a sweet woman from Sears and finding out what they had in stock, we almost went with a Kenmore Elite, but the price tag was just too much for us right now. SO we picked out a Samsung, which is what we were leaning towards anyway.
However, we literally had 4 full laundry baskets and a huge hamper full of towels that needed to be washed. Shon suggested we head to the laundromat, so that is what we did. Apparently it has been way too long since I have been to one. I figured it wouldn't be more than $1-$2 at most to wash the clothes. The huge washer was $5.50 (!) and the smaller ones were $2.75. Thankfully it was only $.25 to dry, but the dryers needed to run about 3 times for 1 load. I left Shon at the laundromat and went and picked up Emma from ballet and supper for everyone at McDonald's. The kids ate in the van while we finished the laundry. We ended up bringing home about 3 loads that were still damp, so my dryer is working overtime right now. However, it was pretty great to be all done with all that laundry in less than 2 hours (washing anyway). I'll post a picture once my pretty new washer gets here--it has steam and everything:-)

Homemade chicken n dumplins

2012-01-16T19:38:00.005-06:00

I was in the mood for chicken and dumplings and found several recipes online. I picked the ones I liked and combined them to come up with one of my own--and it was delicious! Here are the ingredients used:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cans chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

a pinch of garlic powder

1/2 onion, diced

1-2 celery stalks, diced

10 mini carrots, chopped small

Half and half, to taste

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

salt to taste

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter

In crockpot, place chicken, 1 can broth, soup, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir together and add celery, carrots, and onion. Cook on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken in pot and replace lid. Add in half and half to make creamy. In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter in with pastry cutter or 2 forks. Stir milk in with fork until dough forms. Roll dough out after sprinkling surface with flour. Cut into squares after rolled flat ( I used a pizza cutter). Drop dumplings into crock pot and cook for 30 extra minutes on high in the crock pot. Serve warm!

As an extra note, the kids all loved this--even Will--he ate seconds:-)

Homesick

2012-01-15T23:27:00.003-06:00

As I was sitting in church this morning I realized that I still would rather be back in Northwest Arkansas. I hate that I still feel like this but why hide the truth? Moving is just as hard when you are 35 as it is when you are 11. There are still cliques no matter how old you are, and it is just as hard for me to make friends at this age as it is at age 10. I mean, I am friendly and can really talk with just about anyone, but a true friend who really knows you is very hard to come by:-) Don't get me wrong, I am making friends, but right now I really miss "home".
All of this to say, I am praying for peace and contentedness for where I am right now, even though it is not where I would have chosen for me. There is a reason that we moved here, even if I don't see it and might never see it. Thanks for listening to me ramble:-)

More on the birthday....

2012-01-14T21:23:00.005-06:00

Jake requested eating out for supper, so Shon picked up Mad Cow (which is identical to Five Guys) and brought it home on his way home. After eating, he was ready to open his presents. He received a Finn McMissile ridemakerz car from my mom and dad ( mom sent me money to pick something out for him) and he received several (on sale) Lego sets and a big floor puzzle from us. After presents it was time for cake. We then spent the next few hours putting together 4 different sets of Legos. Then it was time for bed. Today we decided to continue his birthday celebration and eat out for lunch:-) We ate at Texas roadhouse and it was very good. We had a lazy rest of the day and evening, which are my favorite kind of days on the weekend.
I tried to upload photos but so far no luck---I will edit this and add pics if I have the chance!

Happy 6th Birthday Jake

2012-01-13T23:20:00.002-06:00

Jake, you are 6 years old today! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I remember the day you were born very clearly--it was another Friday the 13th and was also a full moon that night:-) We lived in Springfield, MO at the time. Mommy's doctor had been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and I had an appointment with him that morning. I was very ready for you to be born so we agreed to induce on Sunday. After the appointment I ran a few errands and then picked Caleb up from preschool. Emma started running fever so I took her to the pediatrician where she was diagnosed with strep throat and given an antibiotic shot. We went home and had naps and I can remember feeling contractions throughout the day. About 4pm I decided to take a bath and see if that helped soothe my back. My contractions were still pretty regular and starting to get closer together, so we called my parents to let them know we were heading to the hospital and would call them when we knew if it was "real" labor. When we got to the hospital about 5pm I was dilated to a 4-5 and they agreed to keep me. My parents arrived from Mountain Home (about a 2 hour drive) and took Caleb and Emma with them so that daddy could stay with me. I had decided about 6:30pm that I was ready for an epidural, and then when no one was in the room by 7:15 we called again and they finally came in (we had hit them right at shift change the first time). It was the worst epidural ever because it was a student and my blood pressure bottomed out and I passed out and threw up when I came to. After that experience, your birth was pretty easy. I pushed for about 10 minutes and then was told to stop pushing because my OB wasn't even in the room yet. Three pushes after he arrived in the room you were here. You weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and were born at 10:54 pm ( I believe that is right on the time). You were our biggest baby and had quite the squished appearance:-) You are a wonderful addition to our family.

You can be silly and goofy or shy and quiet. You are in kindergarten this year and love your teacher and your class. You enjoy going to school for the most part and look forward to it most days. You still don't really have any interest in playing sports, preferring to spend time playing with Emma or Caleb. You are a big momma's boy still, and are very helpful when you want to be. You love Will but are sometimes a bit too rough with him. Jake, we love you and hope you have had a very happy birthday!

Snow Day

2012-01-12T19:29:00.002-06:00

We woke up to about an inch or so of snow today and the news that school was cancelled. I was pretty surprised it was cancelled until I tried to drive Emma to ballet this afternoon and slid around the neighborhood a bit:-) The kids enjoyed their day off and I can say I really didn't get much done at all. I had a girls night out last night which was a lot of fun. We meet at Applebee's on Wednesdays because it is ladies night and half-price appetizers after 9pm.
Jake's birthday is tomorrow so I am hoping he gets to go to school since I have ordered 24 cupcakes and really don't want all of them staying at the house:-)
Short post today--not a whole lot going on with the snow day.

Wishing fairies were real

2012-01-11T14:21:00.003-06:00

I really wish I had a magic wand that I could wave and all the Christmas decorations would be neatly organized and put away. I am procrastinating so much on getting everything put away this year. Will went to school today and I ran to Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and a teacher supply store for a few items that I needed. I also was happy to learn that there is chalkboard spray paint--I really want to make some teacher gifts with the paint, some clay pots, and some herbs or flowers. Will is sleeping right now but instead of hitting hard on the cleaning, I am enjoying the solitude and sound of silence while I peruse the internet:-) Thankfully no one has anything after school today. I am making a recipe I found on pinterest, spaghetti braid. I have made it once before and it was very good. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I would be happy to post it. I hope everyone is having a great day!

Will's 6 month review

2012-01-10T17:29:00.002-06:00

This is mainly for me for remembering later on in life. Will had his 6 month review from starting physical and speech therapy today. It is so amazing to see how much he has learned in the past 6 months. The main objectives for his physical therapy were to be rolling over and to learn to catch himself when he was falling. He is now walking (almost running) and doing much better at catching himself if he falls forward. Our goals for the next year are for him to learn to walk up and down the stairs and learn to balance on surfaces that are not flat ( ie. our driveway, which has a steep incline). We also want him to be able to use him tummy muscles more:-) As far as speech goes, he has learned so many words, especially in the last month. We would like him to have 2 word phrases and be able to say the names of his siblings. So, all in all, Will is doing extremely well in both speech and physical therapy. He is going to be starting occupational therapy in a few weeks to help with using both hands equally and a few other things. Also he learned a new word today--bubbles:-)

Trouble with Jake

2012-01-09T16:31:00.003-06:00

Well, I am seeking advice today. Jake has been having issues the past few weeks in school with not wanting to do any of his writing work. He missed a recess last week because of his refusal to listen and do the work. Today I missed a call from his teacher and she left a message saying he wasn't doing his writing work again today and that after she worked with him for 10 minutes or so and sent him back to his desk, he got mad and scribbled all over his work so she decided he needed to miss lunch with his class and recess today to see if that would stress the importance of listening and following instructions. He had to eat in the office and stay there for recess. My question is, what should I be looking for as far as true delay in fine motor skills versus just not wanting to do work if it is a little difficult? His teacher is great and she and I so far have not come up with something that is working. Thanks for any advice you guys can give--it is much appreciated!

White Chicken Chili

2012-01-08T17:56:00.003-06:00

Here is a recipe I found for white chicken chili--very good and low cal too.

1 package chicken tenderloins, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp oil ( I used extra virgin olive oil)
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed ( I will probably add 1 more can of beans)
1 can chopped green chilies (the recipe called for 2 but 1 was perfect for us)
1 can chicken broth (14-15 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pkg sour cream (8 oz) I used light
1/2 cup heavy cream ( I used half and half)

1. Saute chicken in pan with oil, onion, and garlic powder in large sauce pan. Next time I think I will boil the chicken and shred it first, and then cook it a little with the onion and garlic powder.
2. Add chicken broth, green chilies, other seasonings, and beans to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add sour cream and half and half. Stir and serve.

My kids ate this pretty well. I served it with corn bread.

Sleepy Sunday

2012-01-08T15:31:00.001-06:00

We did not make it to church today. Will seemed to have a bit of what I had yesterday and I didn't feel 100% so we stayed home this morning. We have not done much today. I found a new knitting pattern I wanted to try, but have not had much success trying to knit with all the kids needing something--I think I have started it over 3 times now:-)

We don't have much going on this week, thankfully. Will has his 6 month review for First Steps, which is his therapy program. He is still receiving speech and physical therapy, and I think we might be adding occupational therapy:-) He has learned a few new words this week--"no no no" and "dat". He has also finally learned the sign for thank you:-)

I also have my hair appointment. It was cancelled last week because my hair stylist was sick. Emma has ballet as usual and is also now selling Girl Scout cookies, which should be an adventure. Jake's birthday is this Friday, so I am going to take cupcakes to his school and also eat lunch with him. He has requested a Cars 2 cake in chocolate and would like Legos and a Ridemakerz car--so pretty easy to make happen:-)

I hope everyone has a great week!

Cotton Bowl and sickness

2012-01-07T20:17:00.004-06:00

We watched the Cotton Bowl last night and our beloved Razorbacks won--no thanks to the horrible commentators from Fox Sports. I will admit I started getting super sleepy at half time and went to bed, but I heard the comments became much more blatantly pro-Kansas State after I went to bed--which I had already thought was the case. As I said, I went to bed before half time and was awakened by a tummy bug about 1 am--no fun at all. I think I managed to get back to sleep about 2:30am. Thankfully no one else in the house seems to have caught it, and I have been eating very little today to stave off any relapse. I was able to take a really long nap today thanks to Shon--I slept from 1:30 until 5pm:-) Apparently Will slept about as long as I did--so I hope he is not catching this as well. Short and sweet today--did any of you get to go to the Cotton Bowl?

Learning a new skill

2012-01-06T12:42:00.004-06:00

Just a cute picture of Will:-)

The knit stitch

The elusive (for me until today) purl stitch:-)

For the past month I have been teaching myself to crochet, and it has worked pretty well. My grandmother taught me the basics when I was 8, but I could never get past the slip stitch and making chains. I watched a few YouTube videos and that really helped, as well as buying a learn to crochet book. I made scarves and hats and gave them as Christmas gifts. Emma came home from church a few weeks ago and was learning how to knit. I admit, this is something I have always wanted to do but never succeeded when I tried to learn the first time, even with the YouTube videos. I bought a book which was more confusing than not and watched a few more videos and finally learned casting on and the knit stitch, but could not for the life of me learn the purl stitch. ( For those of you who do not understand a word of what I am saying, just stay with me a little bit longer:-) Today I was finally able to conquer the purl stitch:-) Up above is the proof:-) And yay for me--I have blogged everyday this week and everyday of the new year:-)

Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

2012-01-05T08:07:00.003-06:00

Here is the recipe for the fish I made last night if anyone is interested. Once again, a post without pictures, but I will try and get better at taking them:-)

tilapia fish fillets ( I used 8, because for our family I had to open 2 packages, but you can use the amount you need for your family).

panko bread crumbs ( I used about 1/2 cup since I had so much fish to cover)

grated parmesan cheese ( I used about 1/3 cup of this--probably a little less)

italian seasoning (1 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp butter

lemon juice

1. Thaw and pat dry tilapia.
2. Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and italian seasoning together in bowl.
3. For the next part, I got out a paper plate and put some of the bread crumb mixture on it. Then I squirted lemon juice on 1 side of the fish and place that side down in the bread crumbs. I then squirted more juice on the uncoated side and flipped it over. I used my hand to get more crumbs on the fish.
4. Place fish in greased baking dish. ( I ended up using 2 dishes--a 9x13 and an 8x8 for the amount of fish I had).
5. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. I covered the fish with foil for the first 20 minutes, and then cooked it uncovered for 5-10 minutes more.

The verdict--very yummy! All the kids each ate a whole piece of fish and Emma ate another 1/2 piece. You could also add paprika to your mix and I have dipped the fish in egg instead of lemon juice and it has turned out good as well.

1st day back to school!

2012-01-04T16:40:00.002-06:00

The kids survived their first day and I enjoyed doing absolutely nothing:-) They are off playing with friends and on the computer, while Will is drinking a cup of milk and hanging out in the living room with me while I fold laundry:-) Will had an explosion of vocabulary while we were at the in-laws, and has added "choo-choo", "cheese", "turkey" and "mynee" to his list of words. I believe the last word is a combo of mine and I need--because it is only said when he is trying to get something to eat from the table:-)
I am glad to get back into the routine of school--I am really trying to come up with a master schedule for myself that will let me pick what to do on each day so that everything in the house will get cleaned once a week and I will not feel so overwhelmed. I bought a 3 ring binder and some page protectors and I am googling different calendar/organizing sites. Wish me luck!
I feel like my word for this year is simplify! I want to simplify our lives and get rid of all of the clutter--whether it is physical like toys (or weight gain:-) or emotional or spiritual.
I feel like this is a really random post, but I received an iPhone for Christmas from Shon and have had such a good time finding different apps to use. A friend of mine told me about an app called Grocery IQ that is very cool--you can keep your grocery list on the phone and the neatest part is that you can scan bar codes of the foods you run out of at home, and it will put it on your list for you:-) I also found an app called My Fitness Pal where you can track your calories and exercise for each day--it is really similar to Weight Watchers online. My sister told me about urbanspoon. We don't eat out much, but it is fun to shake it and see what restaurant it lands on:-) Of course instagram and Pinterest are 2 others I have downloaded--the best thing is that all the ones I have mentioned are free apps:-)
Well, supper duty calls. We are having parmesan crusted tilapia tonight--trying to eat healthier!

Last day of the break

2012-01-03T20:52:00.002-06:00

We have been on break since December 21st, and can I say that, while I love my kids, I am very ready for all 4 of the them to go back to school tomorrow. I have broken up more fights than a WWE referee:-)
I think the kids are ready to go back as well--Emma had ballet tonight and was excited to start learning her recital dance. They are going to dance to music from Titanic:-) She asked if she could watch the movie and I had to tell her no--not quite ready for her to see all that movie involves.
Jake is still asking to take karate, so we will probably sign him up as a birthday present (which is in 10 days--how does that go by so quickly?). I will let him try it for a few weeks and see how he likes it.
Caleb is enjoying his new Kindle Fire and also playing on our computer. He received a Lego Harry Potter game from Shon's mom and he and Jake have played that as well.
Shon went back to work today after over 2 weeks off--poor guy had to go and sit through hospital orientation even though he has been working here well over 2 years. It somehow slipped through the cracks and they made him go today:-)
I am very ready to get back to my routine and hopefully incorporate exercise and better eating as part of that routine. Tomorrow I have a hair appointment scheduled, so at least that will be something enjoyable:-)
I need to import some pictures from Christmas onto this computer and will post them whenever I can.
Hoping everyone enjoys their first day back to school tomorrow!

Recipe post

2012-01-02T09:38:00.002-06:00

I know, blogging 2 days in a row--don't fall over!:-) I am going to post a link to the roll recipe I use, because I pretty much follow it exactly and I don't ever remember to take pictures when I am cooking. I will say that you need to bake these the same day you make them, because they don't really work as well rising if you try and put them in the fridge and then bake them the next morning (I have tried it). They are also a bit labor-intensive, but very worth it. If you don't have time to follow this recipe, I just discovered Pillsbury's hot roll mix, and you can make cinnamon rolls with it as well, and they are just about as good. Here is the link for the rolls ( I divide the dough in half and make half rolls/half cinnamon rolls).
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/worlds-best-dinner-rolls/ I use dental floss to cut the cinnamon rolls--works very well. I make up my own glaze for the cinnamon rolls--melted butter, powdered sugar, and milk. I don't really measure--I just mix until it looks right. Hopefully next time I make these, I will take some pictures of the process. Let me know if anything is not clear!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:53:00.003-06:00

Wow, it has been a really long time since I have blogged. We have had a really good past few months, just very busy with the holiday. A brief recap:

Halloween was fun--Will went with me and the other 3 but did not dress up--he rode in his stroller and had a good time just being outside. The other 3 did extremely well candy-wise--we didn't even make it around the whole neighborhood before calling it a night.
Thanksgiving this year was just the 6 of us--and I am proud to say that I did the whole meal, including the turkey and it all turned out great:-) I bought a turkey breast that was 8 lbs and brined it--I think that is the way to do it from now on. It only had to cook for about 2 1/2 hours too. I also made rolls from scratch and they rose and turned out so yummy--we had enough dough that I also made cinammon rolls for the next morning.
For Christmas, my parents came here the 24th and we had a good time baking and hanging out. They stayed and ate veggie beef soup and rolls (from Harps--I really miss those!) and then we watched A Christmas Story and got the kids to bed:-) The next morning they weren't up too early and Santa brought them each a Kindle Fire (except for Will--he received a lot of toys with balls). We had a really good Christmas day--lots of eating and watching the kids play. The next morning we headed to Shon's parents and had Christmas with his sister, husband, and nephew and his parents. We stayed until the 31st and headed home yesterday. As always the kids got too much stuff but have really enjoyed playing their electronics and other items.
I have a few resolutions for this year that I really want to stick with so maybe if I list them here I will be more likely to do them:-) Here goes:

1. Exercise at least 3 times a week, preferably more (we have a beach vacation in August--definitely wouldn't want to be in a swimsuit right now).
2. Organize the house.
3. Clean the house more often and better:-) (this is my least favorite but most needed).
4. Be more intentional with praising my kids when they do well.
5. Be more intentional praising Shon for all the help he provides.
6. Try to read the Bible through in a year.
7. Try to add a new recipe to this blog a few times a month.

That is probably enough for now--I will keep you posted on my progress:-) I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Crazy busy week

2011-10-19T13:59:00.002-05:00

So this week instead of sickness we are dealing with busyness. Shon is working 12 hour days with a go-live this week, so I am on my own to get all the kids to their respective locations. Here has been our schedule so far:

Monday--thankfully nothing!
Tuesday--ballet at 4:30, football at 5:45, Girl Scouts at 6:30, which meant take Emmaa, run home and get supper going, take Caleb all the way across town in 5:00 traffic, come back and pick up Emma, run home to eat, take Emma to GS, then head to pick Caleb up. Come home, feed Caleb, bathe Will and put him to bed, then go pick up Emma ( Shon was home at this time so I was able to leave the boys with him)
Wednesday--today we have a dentist appointment for Jake (4:00) pick up cookie dough from the school, and take Caleb to football
Thursday--ballet at 4:30, football at 5:45, and Will has a doctor's appointment at 2:30.
Friday--Caleb has chess club, so he as to be at school at 7:40, then both older kids have eye appointments after school, and I am supposed to take my van in for an oil change and a recall notice on the power steering stuff. I am tired just typing everything:-) Jake asked me yesterday why he doesn't do anything after school--he told me he wanted to do karate--I told him if we can do it at a time right after school it would probably be ok:-) Are you guys busier in fall than in any other time of year?

Sickness abounds

2011-10-19T13:54:00.001-05:00

So last week 2 out of 4 kids and both parents fell victim to the sickies. Not a fun week. It started with me on Wednesday--I woke up with an ache in my stomach that got worse as the day went on. I was able to take Will to his school and pick him up but nothing more. I called Shon to come home and he arrived around 3pm. I don't remember a whole lot because I slept off and on but finally threw up around 8 pm and felt much better. The next day I went to Bible study and when it was over I had a few messages on my phone saying that Jake had thrown up at school--they were from an hour earlier. I felt like the worst parent ever. I drove quickly over to the school and picked him up-he proceeded to throw up while we were there and then came home and slept for a few hours. He continued to throw up and not want to drink or use the bathroom, so I took him to the urgent care clinic. He was diagnosed with strep throat. The next morning Caleb came down and said that his stomach, throat and head hurt, so I let him stay home that day as well--along with Jake and Shon was home too. I took Caleb to the clinic and he was also diagnosed with strep throat. Thankfully everyone felt better by Sunday--but it was a chaotic week for sure!

Fourteen Months Old

2011-10-10T22:06:00.001-05:00

Will you are 14 months old today! You have been sick for the past week with some kind of bug--we have been to the doctor twice and you are still not over it. You started running fever last Wednesday and continued to run fever until Saturday. You have had an ear infection and cough and runny nose as well. You have been sleeping a lot more than normal and your appetite is way down. You are having trouble drinking your milk and water as well. Normally you eat very well and are doing a great job drinking from your sippy cup. You are enjoying school a bunch and have a great time while you are there. You are wearing size 12-18 month for the most part in clothes. We had to buy you some new sleepers this month since the others were getting too small--they are 18 month size. You are finally getting a few more teeth--one has broken through on top and it looks like 3 more will come in pretty soon. You are still eating mostly baby food, but have really enjoyed eating deli turkey and square cheese lately. You also like goldfish, ritz crackers, mini vanilla wafers, and mini club crackers. You have been standing up on your own but don't like to do it for long. You are very fast at crawling and love to go up the stairs--however you do not like to be up there by yourself. You actually fell down the stairs a few weeks ago--you managed to catch yourself about 3 stairs down but had a huge goose egg knot on your forehead:-(
You are still receiving speech and physical therapy, and you are doing very well even though you protest at times. You don't have any new words right now but are doing much better using the sign for more:-)
You had an ENT appointment last week and we started you on Prilosec 5 mg twice a day and also on Flonase, 1 squirt per nostril once a day.
You weighed 22 lbs and 15 oz at the doctor's office on Friday, and your head measurement was 49 cm.
Since you have been sick you have been letting us snuggle you a bunch, which mommy loves, but wishes that you didn't have to be sick for you to act that way.
Will, we love you so much!

Thirteen months old

2011-09-13T17:32:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday Will turned 13 months old. So far this month you have had a few milestones. You have completely stopped breastfeeding. You are drinking whole milk and water out of you sippy cups (we finally found 1 type you would take--so I bought about 6 of them at Wal Mart). You still eat baby food but we have introduced quite a few 3rd foods and a lot of table food over the past month. Your favorite food to eat right now is probably "square" cheese (American). You get so excited whenever you see it and are very impatient for me to get into small enough bites for you to eat. You also are really enjoying whole bananas. Another favorite food of your this month has been pumpkin muffins--you can eat a whole one on your own:-) You are wearing 12-18 month clothing--some of the pants are a little long but most everything else fits you. You have moved up to a size 4 diaper and are wearing overnight diapers at night. You are still not sleeping through the night--but now you wake up and want to get into bed with daddy and I and then you go right back to sleep. However if we try to move you back to your bed, you immediately wake up and are very unhappy. SO needless to say, mommy is very ready for this phase to stop:-)
Another first for you the past week is that you are standing on your own. You were so proud of yourself the first time you did it you started clapping and that threw off your balance and you sat back down:-) You also started going to a Mother's Day Out program last week--and you had such a good time. There are only 5-6 other kids in the class and there are 3 teachers. It is at one of the Methodist churches here and you did so well--no crying either day I left you. The school is from 9 until 1. Both days you did not take a nap but fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep--for 2 1/2 hours the first day and for 3 hours the second.

You still love to play with balls--we bought you a toy that looks like a gumball machine that came with about 8 balls--you LOVE it. You will play with it on your own for quite a while. You also like to bring the balls into the kitchen and roll them around and chase after them. You are cruising around on all the furniture and think it is really fun to fall into mom or dad when they are at your level.
You are also saying ball, mama, dada, and making motor noises with your mouth.
We love you Will and can't wait to see what the next month brings!

September 11,2001

2011-09-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago I was working as a pediatric nurse in Fort Smith, AR. I had arrived at work around 7:45 and remember doing my normal morning routine to get ready for the day ahead. Dr. Whitaker had a tv in his office and we were in there watching the news and they were showing the first tower smoking. We were speculating that an airplane must have been way off course when the 2nd tower was hit. I remember being shocked and upset--I wanted to run and get Caleb from daycare and just head home. He was only 4 months old at that time. Shon and I talked about whether or not we needed to get gas and keep things stocked up at home--we remember a lot of lines at the gas stations that day, even in our small town of Lavaca outside Fort Smith. We kept watching tv and saw the towers collapse--such disbelief. I don't remember much else about that day--I think we were all in a daze. I can hardly believe that it has been 10 years--every image of that day brings tears to my eyes. I am thankful they have completed the memorial in New York and really want to go and visit that someday. I hope we never take our freedom for granted--I can remember thinking that I would really like to go and help somehow in New York but that I couldn't leave Caleb. I just wanted to post my memories as hazy as they are about that awful day.

Quick update

2011-09-08T20:26:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to mark this occasion--Will has decided he is done breast-feeding:-) I am mostly relieved and a little sad as this is definitely the last baby I will do this with:-( He is doing pretty well with a sippy cup of whole milk. He also started school on Wednesday this week--can I even tell you how nice it was to run errands ALL BY MYSELF? He goes from 9am until 1pm Wednesday and Friday--I think it will be great for both of us--he came home and took a 2 1/2 hour nap afterwards:-) We are in the busy season with football practice 3 nights a week and ballet twice a week (and they are on the same days of course). There is also school and doctor's appointments and I have started a Bible study at church on Thursday mornings. It is a good but busy time for us--more later!

What a week!

2011-08-24T10:40:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to write down everything that has happened over the past few days--I hope this doesn't come across as complaining--we have just had a bunch of stuff happen to us in the last 1 1/2 weeks. So here goes:

Tuesday (16th): Emma gets stung by a wasp/bee/something after going across the neighborhood to the park (where she is not supposed to go by herself). It was also open house for Caleb and Emma (Jake's was the night before). They found out who their teachers were. Caleb also had football practice.

Wednesday (17th): Will runs 101.4 temp off and on all day and is really fussy. Caleb has football practice.

Thursday(18th): First day of school for Caleb, Emma and Jake. Will is breaking out into clusters of spots all over both arms and is still fussy. Washing machine locks and will not unlock while I have Caleb's football clothes in it. I have to take off the bottom panel and manually unlock the door, then hand wash football clothes. Kids arrive home from their first bus ride with good reports on the first day of school. Caleb has football practice.

Friday (19th): Washing machine repair man is supposed to come between 12-5pm today. Will and I make a quick run to the grocery store since we are out of diapers, milk and bread. Will is breaking out even more in spots--they are now on his legs, bottom, and around his mouth and on his wrists and fingers. I debate whether or not to take him to the doctor but ultimately decide to wait. Kids have a great 2nd day of school. Washing machine repair guy arrives at 4:53pm. Says we need a new control unit board. It will cost $600--we opt to get a new washer instead as this problem has been ongoing for over 2 years.

Saturday (20th): We decide to go look for a washer today at Sears. Since Will was up a ton last night, we get a late start to the day and have to wait until Will wakes up from his nap to leave. While waiting after lunch, Jake rolls off the couch and starts crying about his arm hurting. He cries for 15 minutes straight and asks to go to the walk-in clinic. Emma decides to go with me. Caleb is playing at his friend Christopher's house, and Will is asleep at home with Shon. We get to the urgent care clinic and there is a bit of a wait. Once back in the room we wait even longer. They take us for an xray and we wait some more. The doctor comes in and to my shock says the elbow is broken and that we need to go over to the Women's and Children's hospital to await the ortho guys there. We receive a copy of our xrays and they put a fiberglass splint on Jake. I take Emma back home and Will is still asleep (3:30 pm at this point). I get Jake a stuffed animal to take with him and grab my ipad for some entertainment. We head to the ER at the hospital. There we wait some more and are taken back to a room. We have more xrays done. Jake is examined by the ER doctor, a peds resident and a peds med student. He is then examined by 2 orthopedic residents. After much discussion they finally decide to send us home after re splinting his arm. We are told they will call on Sunday about his surgery appointment for Monday. Jake is given pain meds (Fentanyl) via his nose before they splint him. He is very happy after this:-) We arrive home around 8 pm after getting McDonald's to eat.

Sunday (21st): Shon stays home with Jake and Will (who had a 3 1/2 hour nap total on Saturday and has no more spots thankfully but the ones he does have are more red/blistery). Emma, Caleb and I go to church. We drop off Jake's prescription for Tylenol #3 and go get some lunch. We pick up the prescription and head back home. After lunch everyone rests and then we decide to grill out steaks for supper. I head back to the store. We get a call that Jake has surgery scheduled for Monday. We need to be at the hospital between 6:30 and 7 am. Everyone goes to be early. My cell phone decides today is a great day to completely quit working.

Monday (22nd): Jake and I leave the house around 6:25. We arrive at the hospital and after a few minutes are told the right area to go to. We get him signed in and get back in a room around 7:30am. He gets into his hospital pjs and settles into the bed in the room. We watch tv and watch tv and watch tv. The anesthesiologist arrives to talk about what he will be doing. We watch a lot more tv (Phineas and Ferb). Finally around 10:15 they arrive to take him back to surgery. The peds ortho doctor says they will try and do a closed reduction (meaning no surgery necessary) but if they can't then he will have 2 pins put in his arm. I head out to the waiting area. Around 11am they call me back to the consultation room and let me know the doctor will be there in a minute to talk to me. Shon's cell phone, although fully charged when I left the house, is now almost dead so I cannot update that way anymore. The doctor says they were able to do a closed reduction. He is in recovery and I will be able to see him soon. About 20 minutes later they let me back into a different room while I wait for Jake. He starts crying as soon as he sees me:-( He is most upset about the fact that he has an IV in his foot. He is able to eat a popsicle (orange) and drink some Sprite and they take out the IV. We leave the hospital around 1pm. Jake falls asleep in the car after receiving morphine immediately after the reduction and then oxycodone before we left the hospital. He sleeps at home while I run to the store (Shon is home with Will after taking the older 2 to school). I get soup, Jello, and Sprite at the store, along with a few other items. Jake does well most of the afternoon. He falls back asleep around 4:30. When he wakes up at 6 he just wants to go back to bed. I feel his forehead and he is really warm. Temp is 101.6. I give him Tylenol along with some sips of his Sonic orange slush. About 10 minutes later after refusing supper I help him sit up and then go grab his pjs. He stands up for me to help him and immediately throws up everywhere. I hustle him to the bathroom where he throws up again. We get his clothes off and get him into the bath after wrapping his cast in a Walmart bag. After the bath I help him into pjs and then off to bed. He does well for most of the night--no more throwing up.

Tuesday (22nd): Jake is staying home today. He continues to run fever off and on. I call the ortho office and they say to let them know if it gets over 101 again. So far so good. He has a great day for the most part and is able to keep down everything. No complaints of pain. Emma and Caleb have a good day at school. Emma starts ballet today and Caleb has football. Shon and I divide and conquer:-) Emma wakes me up in the middle of the night saying she feels sick to her stomach:-( Hopefully things will get back to normal soon! Jake is going to school on Wednesday and Emma is probably staying home since she felt pretty warm to me.

I am impressed if anyone other than my mom is still reading after all of this:-)

1 year old!

2011-08-10T10:51:00.002-05:00

Will you are 1! Mommy cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. You have been doing so much over the past few months (mommy missed posting your 11 month old post--oops!) You are rolling over from your back to your stomach both ways and love sleeping on your tummy now--you are sleeping without anything covering you other than a blanket. However, your sleep has not been great--you are only taking 1 nap and we have been struggling at night to get you to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time. You are crawling everywhere and are pulling up on everything. You also will cruise along the couch (just to the left) and love banging on the windows in the kitchen and the sliding glass door. You are eating about the same but we have introduced more crackers, american cheese, turkey from the deli, biscuits, and chocolate/whole milk. You are not too sure about the sippy cup with milk in it and absolutely do not understand the bottle concept.

You are wearing size 3 diapers and are wearing Huggies overnight diapers in size 4 at night. You are wearing 12-18 month clothing. You still love going to the pool and splashing. The last time we went, you tried to crawl into the deeper water and got a faceful before mommy rescued you. You like going into the deep end with mommy holding you but you try to get me to let go:-) You enjoyed going to Meme's for the 4th of July--mommy almost wanted to leave you there because you slept so well--you took 2 five hour naps and slept most of the night because we stayed in the safe room there, which has no windows:-) You still take a pacifier a lot of the time. You have been to the doctor a few times--once for an ear infection and once for croupy cough. You also started therapy this past month after your evaluation for the early childhood program through the state, which you did qualify for. You are receiving physical therapy once a week and speech therapy as well. You also are wearing orthotics in your shoes to strengthen your ankles, which you really don't like. Both therapists come to the house so that is very nice for mommy.

You are growing and learning new things almost everyday. We are so proud to call you ours and love you so much Will! Happy Birthday!

Vacation Daze

2011-07-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

Well, the youngest 2 and I are back from our vacation in Branson--oh my. I think this is the only time mom and I will try to go without the guys and with all the kids. I loaded up and arrived last Sunday with all 4 kids in tow. We met mom at her time-share and went to check-in at the place we were staying--Wyndham at Branson Meadows. It was very nice--we had 2 adjoining rooms that both had their own kitchens and bathrooms, and a nice balcony as well. We unloaded our van and went and ate at Steak and Shake for supper. Then everyone went to bed after baths when we got back to the room. Caleb was able to stay with mom in her place ( his choice). The next morning we had decided to go ahead and get shopping done in the morning so the kids could swim in the afternoon (mom's time-share has a neat zero depth entry pool that is about 1 ft in a lot of areas so I knew Will would enjoy that). We went to the "blue-roof" mall (Tanger) and shopped for a little over an hour. Then we decided we would go back to where I was staying and eat lunch and then go to the pool at mom's. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans? On the way to where I was staying, my van locked up and completely died--no power steering, no air conditioning--I could barely get it over to the side of the road. I had no idea what was wrong--we had no warning and then 4 different warning lights came on. I immediately started to panic--I had literally no idea what to do. Then I decided to call our auto insurance--who were no help whatsoever. They told me the soonest they could get a tow truck to me was 60-90 minutes but if we were in an unsafe place, it would be better for us to call the police. I admit--I wasn't very nice--I just hung up. Then I had to look up the non-emergency police and call them--I had just spoke with a very nice dispatch person when a police car pulled up behind us--thank you Jesus! The officer was extremely nice and called the dispatch back and told them since we were not completely off the road he would stay with us until the tow truck arrived--which ended up taking about an hour. So, just imagine--all 4 kids plus me in the back of a police car (since his car had air conditioning he very nicely let us sit in his car and kept it running). Police cars have no comfortable rear seat--it has no cloth or leather--just the molded form, not to mention no way out with the bars and no door handles. Then the kids started whining--I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, etc. Thankfully my mom brought 2 apples and 3 bottles of water with her so that sated them for a little while. Caleb was very impressed with the 2 guns and the taser kept in the console area of the front seat:-) After about an hour the tow truck arrived and got the van ready to tow to Springfield to the Honda place there. I forgot to get the base of Will's car seat out of the van (important for later) and I also forgot all of our shopping bags. We had to call a cab to take us to the place where we were staying because the police officer was going to but after talking to his sergeant he was not allowed to ( he said some do and some don't'--it just depends on who you talk to). My mom rode in the cab to get her car and then came back and picked us all up. I asked the police man if it was going to be a problem for us riding the way we were in her car--he said--I'm going the opposite direction you are--so I won't see what you are doing:-) Like I said, a very nice man. We finally made it back to the condo and ate some lunch. Then mom took the 3 oldest to her condo for some swimming and I had a few hours to myself after I put Will down for a nap. We decided to eat a simple supper that night and tried to put the day behind us. Caleb ended up staying with mom again that night.

Tuesday: By this morning we were waiting to hear from the Honda place on what was wrong with the car--it turns out that the engine had completely shut down because there was hardly any oil left. I always went by the light in my van that showed how much oil life was left, and it showed 30%, so I'm still not sure how that could happen. SO, we would need a new engine. A brand new one is $9500 but they were sure they could find one or two at a salvage yard that might be cheaper if we wanted them to look--um, yes please. That was not a pleasant conversation to have with Shon. We were quickly determining this would be our only vacation this summer with the cost of an engine obliterating our trip to Williamsburg this summer. Shon was on his way to Branson so that we could drive to Fayetteville later on that day--we really didn't know when he would be arriving so we decided to find something to do other than swimming and ended up going to the Butterfly Palace. It was a pretty neat place--you went in and the butterflies literally would land on you--we told the kids repeatedly to be careful not to step on any:-) There was a maze they could go through, a (LONG) movie about the butterflies that we decided not to watch, and an outdoor climbing area that we did not go on because of the heat. We decided after that to go to Olive Garden to eat lunch. The kids did really well and when we got done there, Shon had made it and met us in the parking lot. We went back to the condo for a few minutes and then piled in 2 different cars to head to Fayetteville. We made good time there (I was in the car with mom, Will, and Jake, and Shon took Caleb and Emma). Will cried a good portion of the way there--not much fun for either of the adults in the car. We made it to our hotel in Springfield and since it was right behind Marketplace, that is where we ate supper (it didn't hurt that kids ate free:-) After supper we headed back to the hotel and watched tv and the kids ran from our room to my mom's (thankfully we had 2 suites and were on the end of the hallway where no one else was:-) Everyone slept really well and at a good breakfast at the hotel the next morning.

Wednesday: After breakfast Shon had a few things to do so mom and I decided we would head to Target really quickly to get a little shopping in. We met Shon at our house in Fayetteville and were greeted with a yard with weeds that were taller than I was--it looked really bad. We also discovered that some siding had blown off the side of our house from one of the recent storms in the area. I called the guy that was supposed to meet us at the house and he was not going to be able to join us for a little bit so Shon decided he would go ahead and go back to Columbia with Caleb and Emma (they were going to go back to summer school). Mom and I ended up sitting in a really hot house with 2 cranky kids for about 2 hours waiting on the guy to show up so we could sign the final paperwork on the repairs that had been done for the frozen pipe. After he came and went (which took all of 10 minutes) we headed to Red Robin for lunch. Will fell asleep on the way there, and was pretty cranky off and on during the meal. Mom and I then headed on to Rogers to do some shopping at the Promenade. I went to Williams Sonoma as Jake had fallen asleep on the way to Rogers:-) I bought everything I had on my list and used some birthday money. We also went to Pottery Barn and Sephora. By that time, it was time to head home--which was a disaster. Will cried the entire trip back, save about the last 10 minutes--we even stopped outside of Huntsville to see if he needed his diaper changed or what--he was just extremely fussy. So needless to say, mom was pretty much done at that point and dropped us off and went back to her condo for some peace and quiet:-) I bathed the kids and got them in bed and then just tried to have some relaxation time for myself. Shon and the other 2 made it home fine--they actually decided to drive through Joplin to see the damage for themselves and Shon said it was really really bad.

Thursday: We decided we needed to go ahead a rent a car for me since they were not sure when the engine would be available. We headed to Springfield and went to the car rental place (enterprise) and got a car, then we headed to Schlotsky's to eat lunch. After lunch we went to Krspy Kreme donuts:-) I had never had a hot donut from there before and the lady working was kind enough to give us the hot donut holes that were being prepared while we were there:-) We ended up getting some for breakfast the next day. After that it looked like a storm was heading our way so we loaded up in 2 cars and headed back to Branson. We decided to have mexican for supper that night and went to a little place in West Branson that was very good. After that, mom came by the condo and helped me get them bathed and in bed, and we both went our separate ways and collapsed:-)

Friday: This was the day we decided to go ahead and head home. Mom came over and helped watch the kids while I loaded the car. I was able to fit everything in except for the stroller I had brought, so mom took that with her. We decided to go to the Landing before we left. We went to Belk's first and got some Yellowbox flip flops. We then wandered around and decided to eat lunch at a burger place there. After lunch we went into Ridezmakers--Jake ended up getting a Lightening McQueen car that he customized:-) ( if you haven't been in one of these stores, it is like Build a Bear but for cars). We then headed home. Will began screaming of course as soon as we got on our way. I stopped in Springfield and bought a new car seat for him at Walmart, since I though maybe that was the problem (Shon had brought a new car seat for him since we left the base of the car in the van). It didn't help much, though. After spending about 40 minutes switching around car seats, I went to McDonald's and got Jake and I a Rolo McFlurry. We then got back on the road. The new car seat helped some but as soon as we got into town I went to the urgent care clinic for Will ( we didn't even go home first). He was diagnosed with an ear infection and was given an antibiotic. So thankfully there was a reason for his crying. I took the antibiotic to be filled and then we made it home. I don't think I will ever go on vacation with all four kids by myself again!

10 months old (a few days late)

2011-06-11T17:55:00.003-05:00

Will you are 10 months old! We have had quite a month with you:-) At your 9 month doctors appointment, she recommended that we see a pediatric neurologist since your head was continuing to get bigger at a faster rate than what is "normal" and also due to some hypotonia, which basically means low tone of muscle in your legs. That means that you are not really pulling up to stand or trying to crawl very well right now. So, we went to get an appointment to see if you had any developmental delay, and they earliest we were told he could get in was July 11th. I don't know about you, but if you were told your child might possible be delayed, you really wouldn't want to wait until July to address the problem.

Thankfully, with the field Shon is in, he had access to a neurologist and could ask a lot of questions to find out if it was ok to wait that long or not. The neuro doc Shon spoke with offered to help get us in earlier, and we took him up on it. So, Will was seen on May 23rd instead of July 11th:-) We met with Dr. Hoffman, who was wonderful. He fit us into his schedule and took a lot of time looking Will over and going over with us what he was looking for. He did not think there was anything wrong with he head, other than the fact that he always sleeps on his back--he never rolls over, so the back of his head is flatter, which make the sides larger, which accounts for the big head size:-) Plus, Shon had a big, big head as a baby:-) On the low tone issue, he did agree there might be some developmental delay, but though that an evaluation by a program in Missouri called First Steps would be the first thing to do--they provide therapy free of charge to kids 3 and under if they qualify for it. So Will might need some physical therapy to help catch him up with where he is supposed to be. Dr. Hoffman called it "delayed myelination", which basically means his nerves in his lower extremities are not as far along as they should be, but they should catch up by the time he is 2 years old. We were very relieved to hear this news, since being in the medical field you know all the worst-case scenarios and try not to think that direction but it is hard:-) Will was started in the program with all the paper work on Friday , and we should get together with a PT person in the next few weeks for an evaluation.

Will, you weight 19lbs 13 oz and were 29 inches long at your 9 month appointment. I took you to the walk-in clinic yesterday because we are leaving for vacation on Sunday and you had been up 5 times on Thursday night and also refused to breast feed, which never happens. I just wanted to make sure your ears were ok. You weighed 20lbs 13 oz at the walk-in clinic:-) The doctor said you had a little fluid in each ear but they weren't infected, and that your throat was red but it was not strep. He did give us an antibiotic just in case but I have not filled it yet--we are waiting to see how you do over the next few days:-)

You are sitting up extremely well these days and have just learned how to push yourself back up into a sitting position from being on your stomach. You are not crawling but will push yourself backwards across the floor--which of course makes you mad because you are not going in the direction you want to go:-) You still are drooling a ton and still have no teeth to speak of. We started you on Cheerios this past month and you love them, but not as much as you love the Gerber's Yogurt Melts--you get super-excited whenever you see that package coming your way:-) You have also tried the puffs and as far as table food goes, you have tried refried beans ( a few bites) rolls, deli turkey, guacamole, strawberries, and watermelon. You liked most everything you tried, but seemed like you couldn't quite figure out the watermelon:-)

You wear size 12 month pajamas for the most part--the size 9 month are too short:-) You are still wearing a size 3 diaper and wear 6-12 month and some 12-18 month clothing. You are still waking at night at least once but usually twice--mommy is ready for this stage to be over with:-) You go right back to sleep after eating, though. You are still saying dada and have recently started making a lot of noise with your tongue--sticking it out and in very fast:-) You also have really started to enjoy spitting at everything--always with lots of drool involved. You light up whenever you see your brothers or sister and are enjoying watching them play video games.

This has been a busy month and I expect the rest of the summer will be as well. You go on your first trip to Branson next week and I look forward to seeing how you do. We love you Will!

9 months old

2011-05-10T23:02:00.002-05:00

Will, you are 9 months old today! You are wearing size 3 diapers and some 6-12 month clothing, 9-12 month sleepers and 12 month sleepers. You are also wearing some 12-18 month clothing. You eat 4-5 jars of baby food a day--the second foods. You are still not eating any solid foods yet, although we did give you bites of roll at Lonestar yesterday, and apparently I was not fast enough a few times because you helped me put the bite in your mouth. You are sitting on your own really well--but we still like to be right near you in case you lean back too far--which you have done a few times and fallen backwards:-) You are not crawling but will push up pretty far when on your stomach--you just can't figure out what to do with your legs yet:-) You don't have any teeth yet--but you are still drooling a bunch.
We went back to the ENT doctor last month and he said we could take you off all the medicine you were on for reflux, but that we needed to come back 1 more time to check you.
You are still not sleeping through the night, but we did manage to get you out of being swaddled thanks to a wonder product called the Peke Moe--it is a big blanket that looks a lot like a Snuggie except that it goes over your head and has an opening at the top and zips at the bottom--you really like it and have slept well in it from the first time your wore it.
We have an appointment for your 9 month check up tomorrow so I will blog about your weight and height then:-) I am sure you are over 20 lbs though:-)
You said your first word last month--dada, of course. You have been jabbering quite a bit--lalala, gagaga, and dadada are words I recognize. You have also taken to growling at people--you growled at Dr. Gov-Ari after he said you didn't neet to gain any more weight:-)
Will, you are really showing us your personality more and more--we can't wait to see what the next month brings:-) We love you!

Double Digits

2011-05-09T00:09:00.003-05:00

Caleb is 10 years old today--I can't believe he is in double digits now! It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital waiting to be induced--how time flies! I made cupcakes for your class today (yellow cake mix with homemade chocolate frosting). Then we went to Lonestar for supper per Caleb's request--such a good supper. After that we ate cake and ice cream and then opened presents. I will add pictures soon, but wanted to make sure I wrote on Caleb's birthday. Caleb, you are growing into such a sweet young man. It is fun to watch you with your youngest brother--you are so gentle with him and love him so much. You and Emma and Jake can fight at times but I know you all love each other. I hope you had a wonderful birthday--I love you!

Out of Comission

2011-05-01T20:26:00.002-05:00

With so much to do in the next week, Shon and I decided to run some errands on Saturday after Emma was finished with track practice. Our first stop was Lowe's after eating lunch. Of course Emma and Jake decided they needed to use the bathroom after being there for 5 minutes so I took them toward the back of the store. As we were walking, Emma's foot kicked back and connected with my flip-flop covered foot and I felt instant pain that took my breath away. I seriously think this hurt worse than childbirth--I could barely walk. We finished in the store with me walking very slowly--I probably would have used one of the scooters if they had had one in the store:-)
We obviously did not go anywhere else but home after that and I hobbled in the house and put my foot up. We got Will down for a nap and that's when I noticed my toe felt numb--so I decided it would probably be a good idea to go to urgent care and get an xray just to be safe. I told Shon I was leaving and drove myself there.
Thankfully I was the only one there at urgent care and was seen and taken care of in about 20 minutes. They took an xray and it was definitely broken--I received some pain meds and a lovely black boot/shoe to stabilize my foot when walking. I dropped off the script and headed back home. Shon went and picked it up and I took some meds and finished the rest of the night on the couch. I also buddy taped my toes (which means you tape the injured toe to the one right next to it to stabilize it more) and that helped some but it still was pretty swollen as I went to bed.
The doctor said it would take 6 to 8 weeks to heal completely--but that the first 48 hours would probably be the worst. Today has been better than yesterday but it is still hurting. Emma felt so bad about what happened and has apologized at least 15 times:-) So, I will be more careful from now on when walking in flip-flops:-)

Emma's Birthday in Kansas City (warning: picture heavy post!)

2011-04-29T16:54:00.005-05:00

Emma with her cheesecake:-)

Emma's 8th birthday was April 13th, and she requested that we go to Kansas City so she could go to the American Girl Doll store there. We invited my parents to join us for the fun, and they agreed. We fit a lot into basically 24 hours in Kansas City. When we arrived and after we checked in to our hotel, we left to go eat at Cheesecake Factory (yum--I had never been before). After eating we went to Barnes and Noble so the kids could use the gift cards they got from my sister. By the time we finished there, we went back to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and got ready to go to the American Girl store:-) Emma was so excited:-) We arrived a little before the store was open, so we went into another Barnes and Noble (we apparently like books a lot) and shopped some more. Then it was time to go in. Emma ran in and started looking at everything. She had brought one of her dolls with her, so she took her over to the doll salon (these people know how to get you to spend money). We signed Julie (her doll) up for a cleaning and hairstyle and ear piercing. Emma, mom and I then went and looked around the store while the boys gladly escaped to the rest of the mall:-) I had told Emma she could have the doll of the year for her birthday, so we set about buying her and 1 outfit (Emma picked a running combo) and mom bought her another outfit and a little purse thing to carry her dolls in. When we were finished we met the boys and did a little more shopping. Then it was time for lunch! We had decided to try and eat at the T-Rex Cafe. It was at another mall near the Kansas Motor Speedway, so we headed out. It was a very neat place to eat, and of course the kids wanted to go to the Build-A-Dino store they had in the restaurant:-) ( I know it sounds like they are spoiled, but we rarely buy them things other than birthdays and Christmas, so we felt ok letting them have a few extras this trip). They each picked a dinosaur to get (except Will--he slept through most of the restaurant). After we ate, our last stop was to go to Union Station and go to the Science Museum. It was a little pricey but the kids had a lot of fun looking at the different exhibits and they loved all the hands-on stuff. We left KC and headed home, where my sweet husband stopped at Krispy Kreme donuts for all of us a few miles outside of KC. We also took a quick tour of Shon's corporate headquarters, since they are based in Kansas City. All in all, it was a great weekend and a lot of fun for all the kids. Caleb has requested to go to St. Louis for his birthday in a few weeks, so hopefully we will have a fun adventure there as well.

8 Months Old

2011-04-10T13:42:00.002-05:00

Will, you are 8 months old today! You have finally learned to roll over from your stomach to your back (on March 19th) but have not tried the other was:) You are babbling so much the past week or so--a lot of lalala and gagaga but no true words yet. It appears you found your voice while the other kids were gone on Spring Break:) You are still enjoying baby food--you have tried all of the 2nd foods now. You will chew on a sippy cup filled with water but are surprised when you actually get a drink:) You probably weigh over 19lbs now--we go back to the doctor on Wednesday to re-measure your head circumference, so I will post the weight then. You wear 6-12 month clothing for the most part, although I did put you in some Old Navy pjs that were 12-18 months since I think they run small. You still wear a size 3 diaper. You love to take a bath and splash anyone in sight. You also are drooling like crazy and want your hands in your mouth constantly--but still no teeth. You are still not completely stable sitting up although you are much improved. You still have trouble sleeping through the night and that is the 1 thing mommy wishes would resolve before you are 9 months old:) You still light up whenever you siblings come into view--after not seeing them over Spring Break you just jabbered when you saw them for the first time. We had to travel to Texas for my grandmother's memorial service and you were such a great car rider. We rode down and back with nana and papa. Mommy calculated that we were in the car for about 30 hours total getting to and from Columbia and you were wonderful. You have started taking an interest in other people and will flirt quite a bit if someone talks to you:) Will, the time is flying by! I can't wait to see what the next month will hold. We love you!

Random post

2011-03-11T11:56:00.002-06:00

I want to try to "catch up" with several things that have happened over the last few months. So, here goes:-)
We have had record snow falls here in Columbia (and in NWA as well). My kids missed 5 Fridays in a row of school--I was about to go stir crazy. We have missed a total of 9 days of school so far for weather, so that puts the kids getting out on June 3rd as of right now. Our biggest snow fall of the year was around 19 inches--it was crazy to see so much snow--I don't remember ever having that much growing up.
During the big snow and freeze that happened in Fayetteville, apparently a pipe froze and burst in our house there--this was discovered by a realtor attempting to show our home--instead he found about 1 inch of water everywhere in the downstairs. He did turn off the water and called our realtor, who went out to the house, took pictures and called us. So for the past month I have been dealing with getting the claim started, getting people out to the house to get the water-damaged areas stripped, and now we are waiting on a contractor to give us an estimate to start fixing all the damage. I will say that so far things have not been to overwhelming--I just hate not being there in town. Our realtor and one of my very best friends have gone to the house whenever we needed someone to be there, for which I am grateful. Our insurance will cover all the damage except for our deductible--which was smaller than I anticipated, so that is another blessing.
We are gearing up for spring by getting ready for baseball season with Caleb. He has player evaluations on Saturday--I am hoping his nerves don't get the best of him:-) Emma has decided she wants to try track, so the sign up for that is also this Saturday. Finally, Jake has a birthday party that I still need to go out and get a gift for that is tomorrow as well--very busy weekend.
Spring break will be here in a few weeks as well--the older 3 kids are going to stay with my in-laws because Shon will be working and Will and I are headed down to Texas for a memorial service for my grandmother (my mom's mom). She passed away after dealing with Alzheimer's and then got pneumonia and quietly passed. So, I am headed down there with mom and dad to meet my aunt, uncle, cousins and their families, and my sister. I am actually looking forward to this mini-reunion. It's been years since we have all seen each other. Another thing I am looking forward to over Spring Break is rearranging the kids bedrooms to try and get Will upstairs and out of our bedroom-this momma is ready for a full nights sleep again. Speaking of Will--I just heard him crying to that is my cue to cut off this post and go get him!

7 months old

2011-03-10T11:13:00.002-06:00

Will, you are seven months old! It doesn't seem possible that you are now closer to 1 year--time is really flying by:-) Here is what you have been doing:
You still are not sleeping through the night--most nights you wake at least once. You still won't go to sleep without being swaddled--we tried last night and you did eventually fall asleep, but you refused to stay that way, so momma swaddled you anyway--and you slept from 10:30 until 4:30 this morning. So who knows what we are going to do with you and sleeping.
You have tried all the first foods and most of the 2nd foods. We give you one fruit, one vegetable, and one cereal 2nd foods everyday. You usually have cereal in the morning, but I switched it yesterday and today to fruit in the morning, veggie at lunch, and cereal at bedtime to see if it will help you sleep longer. We will see if the better sleeping continues.
You wear size 3 diapers and size 6-9 or 6-12 months clothing.
You are able to sit on your own for a few seconds before you topple in different directions.
You still are refusing to roll over--you hate to be on your stomach for any amount of time at all--you actually look a little like a reverse turtle-your hands and legs are flailing and you rest on your tummy (shell). Mommy and daddy might have laughed at you quite a bit when you do this:-)
You love your brothers and sister--they can make you smile even if you were just screaming your head off--and they love trying to make you smile--so no jealousy still, which is nice.
You are taking 2 naps (for the most part) each day--one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening.
You have graduated to the "big" bathtub. We have tried several things and when you are sitting up on your own we will use them but for now you lie down on a little sponge-type blue penguin and love to kick and splash mommy with water:-)
You are drooling constantly but still no teeth or swollen gums--you can soak a bib in about 5 minutes time, though.
You still love the jumper and will tolerate the swing, but you have not been enjoying the baby gym as much.
We went for a walk outside in a stroller and you LOVED it--mommy can't wait for warmer weather so we can do this everyday.
Will, we are so proud to have you in our family and look forward to seeing what you accomplish over the next month!

Six (actually seven) month well child check up

2011-03-09T13:54:00.002-06:00

Will had his well child check up today--and he turns 7 months old tomorrow, so I will write about all the statistics today and write about what he is doing tomorrow (yes 2 post in 2 days!). Here are the stats from today:
weight: 18 lbs 4 oz (75th%)
height: 27.5 inches (50th%)
His head was measured but I don't remember what it was, only that it was between the 75th and 90th %--so the pediatrician wants us to come back in a month to measure it again because he had moved up some in his percentile from last time. Of course, when I told Shon he tells me he had a big head as a baby, so that made me feel a little bit better.
He also received 3 shots--which he was not a fan of. I also forgot to bring his pacifier with me, so he resorted to sucking on his burp cloth in between bouts of crying. Poor baby. The doctor said he is on track developmentally even though he is still not rolling over--although he almost did when we were at the office:-) She advised me to stop swaddling him and try to get him to go to sleep without it--that should be fun. I am also going to have to re-start him on his Zantac and vitamins. He sounded pretty bad today--the first day I have noticed him with "wheezy" breathing since taking him off the Zantac (per our ENT doctor's instructions:-) Anyway, maybe it will help with the lack of sleeping through the night-although I won't hold my breath:-) That's all for now--he just woke up from his only nap today--and it wasn't very long so we'll see how the night progresses:-)

A first

2011-03-07T14:13:00.002-06:00

So we had a bit of excitement in the house yesterday afternoon. Jake was telling me how hungry he was and I told him to go in the kitchen and finish his peanut butter sandwich from lunch--he immediately ran from the living room to the kitchen. A second letter I hear a loud scream and then crying. I figured he must have hit his head on the edge of the bar ( he has done this several times) so I thought his head must hurt but I admit I didn't jump right up since he has done this before. However, as all moms know there are cries and then there is the cry--the one that tells you something is really wrong. This was one of those cries. I got up and went to him and immediately saw his hair looked wet in the front--only to discover it was blood, and a lot of it--he had it dripping down his face and all over his hands. I admit--I panicked! I ran to get a towel and was very upset--Shon was just telling me to calm down. Jake was crying mainly because of the blood on his hands--Shon helped him get it off and then I was able to check out his head--he had a pretty good gash on the top--almost and inch long. I couldn't really tell how deep it went because of the hair in the way, but I figured we should definitely take him to the ER or urgent care to get him checked out to be safe. So, Jake and I loaded up in the van and left for urgent care. Thankfully it is only about 5 minutes from our house and they weren't very busy.
We arrived and got checked in and were taken back to see the doctor in about 15 minutes. The nurse cleaned off his head with some normal saline and gauze very gently. Then the doctor came in. He looked at the gash and decided he needed something to help it stay closed so it wouldn't keep bleeding. He came back in the room with all his supplies and Jake turned around on the table and laid down. I held his hands and the doctor gave him about 5 shots of Lidocaine to numb the area--Jake was such a trooper. All he kept saying was ow but he kept still. Once the area was numb, the doctor cleaned it a little more vigorously and I was able to see that it was a deeper gash that I originally thought--so I was very glad I took him. He produced a little miniature staple gun and after 5 staples the wound was closed. He even made sure to get all of his hair out of the way for the staples so we didn't have to cut any of it:-)
The nurse came back in with our instructions for caring for his head and also to put some antibiotic ointment on it. Then we were able to leave. I took Jake to Andy's for some frozen custard and we went home to show the kids his war wound:-)
I was able to gently wash around his staples last night to try to get some of the dried blood out of his hair so that he could go to school today with semi-normal hair:-) The first thing he did this morning was tell every child that came through the door that he got staples in his head:-) It's never dull around here!
I am thankful that this is the first time anyone in the family has needed this type of urgent care--God has been very faithful to take care of us.

6 months old!

2011-02-10T14:34:00.004-06:00

Will, you are 6 months old today! I cannot believe half a year has already gone by since you were born--time is flying!

You are no longer on any medicine for your reflux and laryngomalacia. You are wearing 6-9 month and 6-12 month clothing--and it mostly fits:-) You wear a size 3 diaper. You take 2-3 naps a day--always swaddled. However, your daddy has started calling you Houdini because you have been kicking your legs out from the swaddle blanket. You have finally started sleeping more at night-the last few nights you have only woken up at 4-4:30 to eat.

You started baby food about 3 weeks ago--you have tried all the fruits and cereals, and most of the veggies. You really like sweet potatoes and carrots but really don't like peas:-) You have finally figured out how to eat from a spoon without spitting all of it out on your bib.

You have been drooling a ton the past month--I have bought you several teethers and you enjoy chewing on the a little bit but you mostly like your hands.

I have really been trying the past few weeks to get you on a better schedule--you are usually up by 7:30 and down for your first nap between 9 and 9:30. Your next nap is usually around 1 pm unless you sleep later in your 1st one. Then you may have another nap between 4 and 5pm, which only lasts 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then it's bedtime between 7 and 8pm.

You still do not roll over, mainly because you absolutely hate to be on your stomach. Lately if I put you on it you pull your legs underneath you, so you might crawl before you roll over:-) You are really enjoying your jumping gym.

You LOVE hearing your brothers and sister and your face lights up whenever they come around you--you always have a smile for them, even if 1 second before you were fussing.

We love you so much and are amazed at how fast this time has gone with you. We look forward to many more fun months ahead.

Quick Post

2011-01-18T16:44:00.002-06:00

I have a lot of posts that I want to write but have not had the time lately since we have had way too many days with all the kids and the hubby at home ( and more snow is expected this week--another 3-6 inches--we just got rid of all the stuff that fell the last time!) Anyway, just wanted to write down about Will's appointment today for my memory. He had an ENT appointment to check on his reflux and laryngomalacia. He did so well! He weighed 16.3 lbs and the effects of the laryngomalacia are just about gone--no more noisy breathing or choking when he eats. He snores every once in a while but nothing like before. The doctor wants to continue him on Zantac for 6 more weeks and then take him off and see how he does. We are supposed to go back and see him in 3 months for our final appointment. God is so good--no long term problems and he is almost done with medicine:-) More later! I have to go fix something for supper:-)

Happy 5th Birthday Jake!

2011-01-13T22:13:00.003-06:00

Jake, you are 5 years old today! It doesn't seem possible that my 3rd baby is that old and will be heading off to kindergarten in August. Time has flown by! We had your well child check up today and you weighed 39 lbs (50th %) and were 43 inches (75%) tall. You love all things Toy Story 3 and Cars. You love playing with Emma and sometimes with Caleb:-) You love going to school and ask everyday if it is a school day (you go on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). You have learned to write your name and can count up to 16. You are a very good eater and will usually eat anything put in front of you (except for roast and cubed steak--maybe a texture thing?) You are very helpful with your baby brother and love to hold him. You can dress yourself but still enjoy having help with your bath, washing your hair, and brushing your teeth. You go with the flow pretty well unless you really wanted to do something else. You have enjoyed learning to play video games this year--your favorites are on the DS and the playstation. You have some trouble staying in your bed at night--a process we are still working on. We tried a ticket system to get a toy at the end of 14 nights of staying in your bed, but after the 14 nights you were right back downstairs. You hate talking on the phone to anyone, including me. You also dislike when you have to have your hands dirty--especially if you have to touch something cold or sticky:-) You are a sweet little boy and I can't wait to see what exciting things God has in store for you this year--we love you Jakers!

5 months old

2011-01-10T21:13:00.002-06:00

Will you are 5 months old today! Here are some highlights from the past month:

You had your first Christmas and didn't really know what to think--you actually slept through the older kids opening all their gifts and woke up about 8:30am. You didn't pay much attention to you gifts but enjoyed the company of both sets of grandparents that day.

I am not sure how much you weigh but you are starting to outgrow your 3-6 months clothing.

You tried rice cereal but really didn't seem to like it (like every other child). It seemed to upset your tummy so we are waiting to start it again until you are 6 months old.

You wear a size 2 diaper although I feel like we will move up a size before you are 6 months old.

We finally ordered your crib and put it up last Friday--you have been sleeping great in it. We are still waiting on your bedding.

Mom finally figured out that you would enjoy being swaddled for naps as well--the first day I swaddled you for a nap you slept for 3 hours.

You have been taking 2 good 2-3 hour naps each day since and still sleeping most of the night.

You have really been blowing raspberries this month--and drooling all over the place.

You have been spitting up more lately--I think due to the fact that you have outgrown the current dosage of Zantac you are on.

You are smiling a ton at your brothers and sister--all they have to do is start talking and you grin and grin.

You love your daddy--you missed him when he went to the Sugar Bowl ( he left on Saturday and didn't make it back home until Thursday)

You still hate tummy time but we are trying to get you to roll over so it is a must:-)

You were pretty high-maintenance this month until mommy figured out the nap problem.

We love you and can't wait to see what you do next Will!

Resolutions

2011-01-01T13:53:00.002-06:00

Resolutions for 2011:

Listen more, talk less
Exercise
Eat better
Cut down on caffeine
Keep a prayer journal
Find a church in Columbia
Make friends in Columbia
Be less homesick for NWA
Do a better job of speaking my hubby's love language
Don't sweat the small stuff

Happy 2011 everyone! What are your resolutions?

Too much to do!

2010-12-22T14:28:00.003-06:00

I am one tired momma:-) Christmastime always makes me more tired, but add baby who has suddenly stopped sleeping through the night and this momma is more than tired:-(. Here is all I have done over the past few weeks:

ordered gifts for all family members, even a few for myself

wrapped said gifts

bought more gift bags/tissue paper/etc

made 2 cakes with homemade frosting for class parties

bought sprinkles, m&m's , and treat bags for parties

made food for teacher gifts

bought gifts for teacher gifts

helped with a school science project

went up to the school to see daughter present said project

strained back getting youngest back into the car after viewing said project

bought all food for Christmas at our house this year

determined menu for Christmas and made list after list after list

made sure Santa had his ducks in a row for gifts this year

ordered shirts for Christmas cards

took pictures for Christmas cards

ordered cards

addressed and mailed out 50 plus cards

decorated the house for Christmas (with help from the kids and the husband)

made sure the kids were fed and bathed while everything was going on

laundry, laundry, laundry

cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

moving furniture to make room for the tree

This is all that has gone on over the past few weeks in our home. I love Christmastime--it is my favorite holiday. I hope I don't sound ungrateful or like I am whining. I just want this to look back on to remind myself to START EARLIER next year:-) I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and remembers the true reason we celebrate!

4 month well child check-up

2010-12-15T19:53:00.004-06:00

Will had his 4 month check up today. He weighed 14 lbs 14 oz, which was the 50th %, and was 25 1/2 in long which was the 75th %. He got 3 shots today and did really well with them--he only cried for about 1 minute. He has slept a bit more today, which worked out great for me. We were able to run some errands this morning, which meant I was able to go to Best Buy, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart before I had to pick up Jake from school. I had to go to Hobby Lobby to try and find some things to make a tree topper with, as Emma pointed out we didn't have one. I will post a picture of how it turned out--not sure I'm crazy about it but it works for this year:-) I also picked up our Christmas cards and will hopefully get those out by Friday. I was going to order from shutterfly but they wouldn't arrive until the 20th:-)

We didn't do too much else today--Caleb had mail club after school so I decided to make cube steak in the oven for supper--quick prep and easy meal. Hopefully I can keep posting more often--I really want to be able to look back and remember this crazy time in our lives:-)

It's (finally) beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-12-14T14:15:00.004-06:00

I just wanted to show some pictures of our decorating thus far--Shon and the kids really pitched in and helped out:-) Here you go!

4 months old!

2010-12-10T15:08:00.003-06:00

Will you are 4 months old today! Here are some highlights from the last month:

You went on your first road trip--we drove to Mountain Home and then Fayetteville for a wedding. You also traveled to Lepanto for Thanksgiving. You did great in the car--only fussing when you were hungry.

You weighed 14.5 lbs at your ENT appointment last week:)

You have been mostly sleeping through the night, save for a few days this week.

You still eat about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day.

You have started giggling, which I love to hear.

You are wearing 3-6 month clothes and they fit:)

You love to bounce up and down so we got you a jumparoo--your feet don't touch the floor yet but we think you will really like it when you get a little taller.

You are still on Zantac 1.3 ml TID for your reflux. We tried Prevacid but it did not agree with your tummy.

We cannot wait to see what you are doing next month!

3 months old

2010-11-11T12:50:00.003-06:00

Will, you are 3 months old as of yesterday! You have gained a bit of weight in the past month (some in our family call you chunky, but mommy would never say that:=) You are smiling at everything and have even giggled a few times. You have slept through the night a few times here and there but still wake up at least once during the night usually. We stopped swaddling you for bed this week, and you have awakened a bit more often but are getting used to having your hands free:-) You still take a pacifier but this week have started sucking on your first 2 fingers.

You have moved from 0-3 month to 3-6 month clothes for the most part:-) You nap 2-3 times a day for at least 30 minutes but usually at least an hour at a time. You still like your Mama roo and your baby gym. You also really like being held. You did very well at your 2 month check up--you weighed 12 lbs and were 24 inches long. You had 3 shots and 1 oral med and did very well--you calmed right down after I picked you up. At your 2 month check up, our pediatrician agreed with me about your noisy breathing and spitting up and made us an appointment with a pediatric ENT doctor (ear, nose and throat). We went to that appointment and discovered you have laryngomalacia--which basically means that his larynx is a little floppy because the cartilages hasn't formed completely yet. He will grow out of it by age 2. He also was diagnosed with reflux, and has been on Zantac which is helping a lot with his spitting up--we aren't changing near as many outfits:-)

Your siblings are still being very good with you, although Jake has been in trouble a few times for waking you up. We are so happy to have you in our family and can't wait to see all the fun things you will show us as you grow!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

2010-10-31T19:32:00.003-05:00

So on Saturday I decided to make cupcakes for the kids for Halloween. I loved the cake idea from Angela's blog but thought cupcakes would be easier. I followed this recipe for the batter:

1 white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
yellow and orange food coloring gel (I found mine at Wal-Mart)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and mix on high for 2 minutes. Divide your batter in half and color. Below are the pictures of the colors.

Next use a cookie scoop to evenly fill each liner with batter--yellow on bottom. orange on top.

Here they are after baking for about 22 minutes.

Finally you can add your frosting. Store bought would be fine, but here is a really yummy recipe:

5 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup sugar

Begin by whisking together your flour and milk in a saucepan and heating it until it thickens up--then put it in the fridge to cool it down. Once it is cool, add your vanilla. While it is cooling, cream together your butter and sugar until all the sugar is incorporate--no grainy texture:-) When the flour mix is cool, pour it into the butter/sugar mix and beat on medium high for 7-8 minutes--yes, minutes. That is why this works great with a kitchen aid mixer. I used the wire attachment and just left it alone. When it was done, the frosting was phenomenal--very light and not too sweet but it stacked up high on the cupcakes.

A few orange sprinkles and you are done! I think I am going to make some for Christmas that are red and green:-) The kids loved them and the taste was very good--Shon even ate one and he doesn't like sweets.

Perception

2010-10-25T12:08:00.003-05:00

Isn't it amazing how one little piece of news can change your perceptions. I have had a long week--Shon was home sick all week and the 4 kids were basically mine to deal with (he doesn't do sickness well:-) I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and was short with the kids, wondering when I was going to finally have a break and some time to myself (short of locking myself in the bathroom, which doesn't work because they still come in/knock on the door). Then on Saturday I found out one of my best friends from middle school on has a 4 year old little boy who was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday. Today they are in St. Jude's in Memphis waiting for chemotherapy to start, central lines to be put in, and bone marrow to be tested to find out what kind of fight they are up against. It really put my petty complaints into perspective. So what if my house isn't cleaned up and my kids still step over their toys rather than pick them up and take them upstairs? They are all healthy and happy for the most part--and I need to remember to be more thankful. Same goes for my husband--yes he tends to be more crabby and helpless when sick, but he is a wonderful provider and helper when he feels well and I should try to have more sympathy when he is ill:-)

I pray that I will remember to let the little things go, as the time the kids are little is so fleeting. I pray I will try to laugh more and make things fun instead of always telling them something they need to be doing to clean up or help out with their younger sibling, etc. I want them to look back on their childhood and remember it fondly. I also pray that my friend Mandi's little boy Eli will be miraculously healed of his cancer and this will be just a bump in the road of his very long life. More later....

10-10-10 Happy 2 months Will!

2010-10-10T16:42:00.003-05:00

I thought for your 2 month I would leave you with a video of Will and Jake:-) You are getting so big! You have your 2 month check up on Wednesday, so I will have all of your stats then. You are sleeping about 5-6 hours at a time at night, which averages to me waking about once, usually. However, at times it will take you about an hour to an hour and 1/2 to get back to sleep, so I 'm still not doing great with sleep:-) The kids are all still taken with you--they love to hold you and get upset when they miss a day. You have moved from newborn to 0-3 month clothing. You are exclusively breast fed--which is another reason mommy is more tired:-) You have started to lose your hair in the back, and you are definitely more alert. You love your new swing daddy bought you--it is called a Mamma Roo (I'll put a picture on here). You are also enjoying your baby gym, although you have only been using it this past week. You are smiling and generally happy unless you are hungry, and then you make your presence known quite loudly. You have been to church a few times but had to leave the service both times:-) We all love you and can't believe you are already 2 months old!

One month old!

2010-09-10T14:23:00.003-05:00

Will is 1 month old today! How is that possible? It really doesn't feel that long in some ways, and in other ways (mainly the sleep-deprived category) it feels like he has been here forever.

Here are some statistics just for me to remember:-)

Weight: 7lb 13 oz at 2 week check up
Length: 21 in at 2 week check up
You are sleeping between 4 and 5 hours at a stretch at night, and going about 3 hours between feedings during the day.
You have some periods of fussiness that last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
You do not like the swing at all, and really only tolerate the bouncy seat, car seat, and the newest contraption, the MamRoo.
Your favorite sleeping position seems to be on mom or dad's chest:-)
Your siblings all love you and will fight to see who can hold you first.
You are our last little one and we are so excited to see the person you are becoming!
We love you Will--happy 1 month birthday!

More baby pictures and the first day of school

2010-08-31T16:46:00.016-05:00

And finally, tired baby at the end of the day--I love how he curls up like this.

And here is one from yesterday--wide awake and actually in clothes for only the second time as opposed to pajamas and gowns:-)

We were not having any cute pictures in our hat--apparently we don't like them at all:-)

Precious baby feet--love how little they are:-)

Will on his beautiful blanket from Jennifer--so soft and I love the personalization.

Will and daddy--too cute!

Second real bath but we didn't get pictures of the first one--such is the life of a 4th child.

Thought this was cute of Will--love the tongue out:-)

A shot of Will with with Nana--at least her shirt:-)

Trying to get a good shot of Will with his eyes open--and I really can't tell now what color they are:-)

Proud big brother--although his arms tend to get tired very quickly--especially if Will starts crying:-)

First day of school--and yes, every picture of Emma she had her eyes closed:-)

And once again I managed to put in every pictures backwards--it's a talent I have:-)

Baby is here:-)

2010-08-22T08:44:00.007-05:00

Our newest bundle of joy arrived on August 10th at 5 pm and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 in long. We started out our morning headed to my routine doctor's appointment. While there, our doctor asked when we would want to have the baby--and he decided that we would be able to go over to the hospital right then and get induced! We went next door and were admitted and set up pretty quickly. Shon was completely unprepared and was in a suit for work, so he ran home and got all of our stuff while I was being prepped for induction---they started the IV and got the antibiotic started due to me being Group B strep positive ( a first for me). They started Penicillin, and I immediately became sick to my stomach and threw up. The nurse was unsure if it was from the meds or from the strong contraction I had just had, so we waited a few minutes and tried again. That's when things got fun:-) A few minutes after restarting the medicine, I felt myself get very light-headed and then everything went black. I could hear the nurse but that was about it--she told me that my blood pressure had bottomed out at 70/30, and that we would definitely stop the penicillin and try something else! Shon felt really bad that he was not with me but there really wasn't anything he could have done. Anyway, they got orders from the doctor to stop the penicillin and start Vancomycin instead. That went in fine until about the last 5 minutes when my scalp started itching very bad and my palms and in between my fingers were itching. So they had to stop that as well but I got most of the dose. Then I got a dose of Benadryl and felt fine--it was so strange for me to have all these reactions as I have never had a problem before.

She had the Pitocin going during this time and my contractions were regular but not very strong, so she came back in after about an hour and doubled the dose--after feeling about 4 of those contractions, I opted to have my epidural put in:-) That went fine this time ( I had issues during my epidural with Jake) and I was not feeling any pain:-) My water broke on its own while the epidural was being put in, and I think that helped speed things up as well. I was able to rest a bit over the next hour or so, and then apparently the baby's heartbeat was going down with the contractions so they put on an internal monitor and then another monitor to measure the baby's heartbeat a little better. I think I was about a 6 at that point. About 20 minutes later I felt a lot of pressure and I was at a 10.

Mom and dad had left Mountain Home about 12:30 and made it to Columbia about 4:50pm. Mom was able to come into the room just as I was getting ready to start pushing:-) We had my doctor, a medical student, 2 residents, and Shon and my mom in the room--it was pretty crowded! I pushed 2 times, and Will was born! He did so well and was able to be put right on my chest--he cried right away and had a great color--I thought he looked just like Jake!

They took him to be cleaned up and weighed/measured and then brought him back all snug and secure. After everyone cleared out of the room, dad was able to come in and see him for the first time. My nurse and the doctors were all wonderful that day--everything went great!

The kids were able to come that evening and see him--along with my mother-in-law. They helped us when we had to move to the post-partum room:-) All of the kids did really well around the baby--something I was very happy about.

We went home after 2 days in the hospital-we were able to leave after 24 hours but I was given the option to stay another night and I took it:-) I knew I needed more rest than what I would receive at home and it was nice to send Will to the nursery in between feedings. Shon and my mom were able to come and help us get home while my mom-in-law stayed with the other 3 kids. Dad had to go back to Mountain Home after the first day, so mom has been with us since he was born and has been such a big help. My mother-in-law was here up until he was born and she was a huge help as well-we have been very blessed with our family support.

Will is doing great so far--he goes about 4 hours between feedings at night and 3 hours during the day. The kids only fight about whose turn it is to hold him:-) They are all very gentle and loving with him. I am learning to survive on less sleep again and trying to nap at least once a day right now. I will post more later but wanted to get a few pictures up while I had the chance (sorry about the order of them--not sure how to change that).

2 weeks or less to go!

2010-08-03T15:58:00.002-05:00

So don't fall over, but yes, this is another post:-) I went back to the doctor today--still only dilated to 2 but he said anytime the contractions start and are regular to head straight to the hospital--I can't believe I am already 38 weeks! It has been SOOOOO hot here, as I know it is everywhere else but I have really just been trying to stay in and soak up the AC as long as possible. I have washed all the baby clothes, put the pack n play together, the swing is ready, now all that is left is to put the car seat in the car and pack my hospital bag.

My older 2 kids arrived home after 3 weeks away on Saturday. My mother-in-law is staying with us right now and I am very thankful for her--not only did she have my older 2 the past 3 weeks, she is going to stay until this baby arrives:-) I was worried it would be just me alone in the delivery room while Shon dealt with our other 3 but now that she is here I feel much better about things.

We are just trying to get the house more organized and cleaned and get everything in its place. I hope everyone stays cool and I will post more when I know more:-)

Finally a post!

2010-07-21T14:50:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been too long and this post is likely to be short, but I wanted to catch up and say that we are finally moved to Columbia! It was an eventful move--one I don't want to repeat anytime soon:-) You never really realize how much stuff you have until you try to box it up and make it fit into a truck. I am so thankful we had a team of packers and people to load and unload the truck for us--I can't imagine trying to do everything on our own. My in-laws came and helped with getting the rest of the things that were not allowed to be on the truck ( it was quite a list and we ended up having to rent a uhaul to get everything to fit). They were also gracious enough to take my 2 oldest back with them so it has been me and Jake for the past week or so. I have been unpacking boxes when I am not too tired--I did manage to unpack the kitchen in 2 days ( we had 25 boxes for it alone:-) The bedrooms are coming along, as is the living room. Shon had his birthday recliner delivered today, so we finally have somewhere comfortable to sit in the living room ( we got rid of our couch and recliner rather than bring it with us).

I have been having sporadic contractions for the last week, and am really at the point where I just get tired very easily--which is frustrating because I feel like there is a lot I need to get done--I guess the nesting mode has hit:-) I just really want everything in its place before we have to go to the hospital. I already bought all the kids school supplies and have them labeled and put in their backpacks. I have been cleaning when I can and just want all the odds and ends to have a place to go right now.

Well, this is a pretty boring post but does let you know what we have been up to the last few weeks. I will try to blog about the beginning of our summer soon but who knows when that will actually happen:-)

Happy Birthday Caleb

2010-05-09T22:44:00.002-05:00

Today my oldest is 9--where has the time gone? I can remember the day he was born so clearly--everyone in the family was there because I was being induced at 39 weeks and because he was the first grandchild on both sides of the family. Renessa was there as well because she only lived an hour away at the time. My sister was unable to come because she was in college at the time, but everyone else waited patiently. Shon and I arrived at the hospital around 6 am and we had the I.V. and Pitocin started pretty soon after 7am. I was ready to push at 12pm and Caleb was born at 2:14pm on that Wednesday. It was so special having all the family there, and none of the other kids have been able to have that.

Caleb is a sensitive, loving, headstrong, strong-willed, fun-loving child whom I have been given the privilege of helping to raise up to love God and others. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us as we move to a new area and take on the particular challenges that come with it. Caleb, I love you and am so very proud to share this Mother's Day with your special day.

Columbia for Spring Break--and some baby news:-)

2010-03-25T18:41:00.003-05:00

So mom and I headed out with the kids on Monday morning to go to Columbia for Spring Break. The trip took about 5 hours so we arrived right at 5pm--thankfully the traffic wasn't bad. We met Shon at the hotel and got checked in and then headed to Ruby Tuesday's for supper. After that we got ready for bed and everyone settled in to watch a little tv. The next morning Shon had the day off so we got ready and went down to the hotel restaurant for a yummy breakfast. Then we headed out for the day. Shon showed the kids and mom around Columbia. We saw the University of Missouri and went around to several different areas. We ate lunch at a a Mexican restaurant called Chevy's--it was fabulous! The kids really enjoyed it. Then we headed to one of the many parks in the area. After that everyone was ready to head back to the hotel. Mom and I took the kids swimming in the indoor pool. After about an hour of that everyone was ready for a rest. We piled on the beds and turned on a movie. Jake fell asleep about 30 minutes in and slept until we were ready to go to supper. Everyone was in the mood for pizza, so we went to CiCi's. It was a cheap meal but not necessarily the best food:-) The next day Shon had to work again, so mom and I took the kids to breakfast and then I headed to my nurse's appointment. Mom took the kids to Barnes and Noble, the mall, and Target while I met with the OB nurse. We then headed to Fuddrucker's for lunch and then went back to the hotel for some rest. Jake and I took a nap and mom had the older 2 rest and then headed to the pool. We then got ready and went for a drive and to buy a new fan for Emma ( hers had died the day before). Once we bought the fan we went to McDonald's for a quick snack of ice cream cones and then went on a drive around town. We came back and got ready for supper. The family decided on Macaroni Grill--Jake decided that would be a perfect place to have a meltdown about some smell that was making him sick--he refused to eat anything and would only drink water. So we ate fairly quickly and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. Today I had another appointment, this time with the OB in Columbia. We had a bit of a discrepancy on the due date, so I had an ultrasound this am as well. Shon and I headed out at 7:30 to make the 8 am appointment, where we found out that we are having.........a BOY! The kids were very excited when they were told--even Emma, whom I was sure would be upset. After all the appointments we headed back to the hotel to pack up and head home. Mom and I stopped at Target to get her some medicine (she has come down with a sinus/sore throat thing) and then we headed home. We ate at Culver's in Osage Beach and made it home around 4:30pm. We are relaxing as we speak and getting ready to put the kids down for bed so we can both go as well--it has been a long week! Tomorrow we wait for the washing machine repair man again--second time in 1 week!

Funnies for the week

2010-03-19T21:24:00.002-05:00

Here are just a few items I want to remember my kids saying:

From Jake:

On Monday I spiked Jake's hair because it was getting to long to do anything else with (haircut time). So I had him look in the mirror and said, "What do you think of your hair?" He said, " I don't think my people will like it." I have no idea where he got that saying from, but he has said it a few more times when talking about his friends at Kids Day Out.

From Emma:

On the way to Friday night out we passed a car that had 2 dogs leaning out the windows--1 in front and 1 in back. Emma said, " I can tell if they are boy dogs or girl dogs by their ears." Shon and I both smiled and held back a laugh:-)

Still on the way to FNO: Emma told us that today all the kids in her class had to go and kiss a rock and that she didn't do it--she told us, " I didn't want to kiss that bologna stone." I said, " You mean blarney stone. " She said, " Oh yeah, I can never remember what that thing is called."

Just a few good memories to make me laugh when I look back on them.:-)

Movin' on up (north)

2010-03-09T08:13:00.003-06:00

Shon's job with Cerner has taken him to Columbia, MO since August of last year. The University signed a 10 year contract with Cerner, so they are asking Shon to relocate to Columbia. After visiting there this weekend (just the 2 of us--thanks MeMe and Papa for watching the kids) we are in agreement that a move is the best thing for our family at this time.

As sad as I am about leaving friends and not being as close to my family, I am thrilled that we will all be back together in the same town. It has been hard on the kids, particularly Caleb, myself, and Shon during the time he is traveling. Right now our plan is to fix a few cosmetic issues up in our home and put it on the market soon. We are planning to move to Columbia by the end of June if everything works out. Please pray that our house will sell quickly so we don't have to try and sell from long-distance (been there, done that before, hated it the entire time). We also need prayer to determine where the best fit will be for our family with a new church, school, etc. We are looking forward to the journey that God will be taking us on, but will definitely miss everyone here.

Ice Storm 2010

2010-01-29T11:51:00.002-06:00

So we are back with more bad weather--same time as last year--at least this year Shon is home and we have not lost electricity (yet). Last year my sweet friend Jennifer took us into her home and we ended up being their house guests (me and the kids) for 1 week--they never lost power and were very hospitable to us, especially when you consider we had 6 kids 7 and under in the house at 1 time:-) When Shon was finally able to fly back into town, we drove to his parents house and stayed there for the weekend and finally came home once we knew the power was on. We lost a lot of food (since I had just gone to the grocery store before the power went out) but that was all, aside from the expense of the gasoline. I just hated the helpless feeling of being here alone with the kids without power.

So this year we bought a generator and stocked up on flashlights and gasoline to make sure we were more prepared. Shon drove home a day early from his work and we managed to get accomplished everything I think we needed to before the storm hit. He even went out last night and got me my craving of Chinese food:-) What a great hubby! So today we are hunkered down watching the beautiful snow falling (it finally changed to snow about 11 am for us). It almost looks like a blizzard outside with the wind swirling the snow all around. I am snuggled up in my Snuggie (thanks dad:-) and have the fireplace on and the laptop fired up--the kid are quiet for now and life is good! Hopefully the power will stay on since we are overly prepared this time:-) Hope everyone stays safe during the storm!

Blog failure--for a good reason this time:-)

2010-01-20T15:21:00.002-06:00

Well, I once again have been failing majorly at blogging--at least this time I have a good excuse. We found out right before Christmas that baby #4 is on its way--due date sometime in August. We were initially very surprised but are now very excited that this blessing is coming. However, I have been exhausted even with napping with Jake and most days do not even have the energy to pick up toys, much less find the time to blog. So I have fallen behind.

We did have a great Christmas--we spent a week at my in-laws and it was a lot of fun. However, I think it will be the last year we can travel--with 4 kids and all of their stuff, we would have to rent a trailer to pull behind the van to carry everything:-) As it was, Caleb was squished next to a bike and a Handy Manny repair shop on the way home:-) The kids had a great time opening everything all week long. They were allowed to open presents from my in-laws as soon as they arrived, and then on the Sunday before Christmas they opened presents from my sister-in-law and then on Christmas eve they opened 1 gift. Then of course, there was Christmas morning. Caleb received a Nintendo DS from Santa, Emma received a bike, and Jake received the Handy Manny repair shop. Jake and Emma also got game systems--a Leapster 2 for Jake and a Didj for Emma (great sale at leafrog.com right before Christmas). Caleb got some Star Wars people and they all received books.

My mother-in-law got sick while we were there, so I did a lot of the cooking--which was fun. We had told our parents about the baby but held off on telling the kids until after the first appointment. So they understood my need to sleep a lot:-)

My first OB appointment was during the very cold, very icy week that everyone was out of school. It happened to occur on a day when every one of my kids had no school. So I bundled them all up and took them with me:-) The nurse was wonderful and let them stay in the office playing their video games while I had my appointment. I was able to hear and see the heartbeat, and so when Shon arrived home later that night we told the kids. Their reactions were quite amusing--Caleb said he hoped the baby was different from the other 2 kids, Emma wanted to know if she could name the baby, and Jake surprisingly said the baby could share his room. Then a few days later, Jake asked me if what I did was make people:-)

So, all in all, right now I am tired and nauseous in the afternoons--mornings seem to be ok for me. I went for my prenatal nurse visit today and got lab drawn and answered all the medical history questions (Jake was ready to go by that point--he told me --all you are doing is saying no mom--let's go!) Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping up with this blog once the 2nd trimester is reached, but no promises.

Merry Thanksgiving:-)

2009-12-16T19:19:00.002-06:00

So I realized I hadn't blogged about Thanksgiving, and here it is almost Christmas! I tried to do better with my procrastinating abilities this year, but I still have no presents wrapped--so much to do!

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents this year and had a great time. My mom and dad came to Fayetteville on Tuesday afternoon to go to the Razorback basketball game, and they picked my kids up when the game was over and took them home--I got to have a whole night in the house by myself (Shon was still out-of-town). I can't remember the last time that happened. The next morning I woke up ON MY OWN and got ready to meet Jennifer and Becky for lunch and a movie. We ate at TGIFriday's and went to see New Moon--it was so nice not to have to worry about the kids:-) After the movie I made it home and Shon was home from Missouri--we just ate supper and hung out watching all the shows I had DVR'd that week:) We also shared the rest of this fabulous cheesecake that I brought home from TGIFriday's--which is sadly now closed in Fayetteville as of this Monday:( The next morning (Thanksgiving Day) we left here and drove to Mountain Home. We arrived around 11am and I went to work making the chicken dressing. We ended up eating a wonderful supper--mom cooked her first turkey and it was PHENOMENAL--she used a recipe from the Neely's and it was so moist and seasoned to perfection:-)

The next morning we got up, got ready and went to Branson to ride the train. (It was supposed to be the Polar Express ride, but we messed up and bought the wrong time for that, so it was just the regular train ride, which was fine:-) We ate lunch at the Macaroni Grill and then rode the train. We did a little shopping and then drove back to Mountain Home. Shon and I went to put gas in the van and ended up looking in Harp's for waffle mix. (A side note--I cannot find plain waffle mix anywhere in Northwest Arkansas--other than Williams-Sonoma and I don't really want to pay that much each time I want waffle mix. Wal-Mart used to carry the Krusteaz brand but doesn't anymore--now everything is pancake or pancake AND waffle, which makes non-crisp runny waffles--I'll get off my soap box now). So we found some (dance of joy) and made it back home, where my fabulous mother had already bathed the kids:-) The next day was just a relaxing one, and we headed home that afternoon. All in all it was a fun holiday. Now to gear up for Christmas!

Asphalt--+1, Minivan -2

2009-11-20T09:03:00.003-06:00

What an eventful week we have had so far--and not necessarily in a good way. To clarify my title I must first give a little background. We live about 2 miles from Caleb and Emma's school, and you don't have to get on any major roads to get there, so it takes only a few minutes--they get out of school at 2:50, so I usually don't leave the house until about 2:54 to get there to where I don't have to sit in line a long time at the school. I also have Jake with me, and he has usually just woken up from his nap--which means he is cranky and does not like to put his clothes back on--so he goes a lot of times in his top and his underwear:-) Well, on Wednesday Jake didn't take a nap because we had a lot of errands to run and didn't get home until around 1pm--so no time for a nap. He was dressed except for his shoes because I told him it was too cold to go in his normal attire. So we finally headed out and it was 2:56-- a few minutes later but I figured we would still get there in plenty of time to pick the kids up. Once you get onto 54th street, it is pretty narrow in a few spots--not much more room than for 2 normal-sized cars to squeak by one another. Right after turning onto the road I noticed a car coming so I slowed down--however the car decided not to scoot over much. I went off the road and while attempting to come back on-apparently hit something that took out both tires on the right side of the van.

So I stopped on the curve ahead to assess the damage and was pretty upset at that point. Shon was out-of-town, I knew no one who lived close to me, and my kids were still at the school. After a panicked call to the school, I told them I would call them back after I figured something out. So I called Megan, and she graciously agreed to come pick them up (love you girl!) Then I needed to figure out how to get the car fixed. I called my dad and he didn't answer, so I tried mom next-she suggested calling the Honda place, so that was my next call. They gave me a towing company recommendation and so that was the next place to call ( I was so thankful that I had remembered my phone!). The woman said she would put the call in and asked me my address:-) I told her I was on 54th street--no address:-) Then I called Sam's, which is where we bought the tires in June. We added the Roadside Hazard protection for $15 a tire, which I later found out was the smartest thing we could have done. I asked if there was any chance that the tires would be covered, not thinking they would be, and the guy said they should be covered. So, at this point, Jake has fallen asleep in the car, I had a plan, and my kids were being picked up:)

Megan and John arrived shortly after I got off the phone with Sam's, and John stayed with me while Megan picked up Caleb and Emma. We all waited on the tow truck, which showed up after about 40 minutes. ( he was on the other side of Springdale when he received the call). We all piled in their car after the van was on the truck, and headed to Sam's. Once there, I was in for a fun hour plus wait with my kids while they fixed the tires. Thankfully, our service plan covered the tires, so I only had to pay around $36 for the instillation.

All in all, it was a very exhausting day. We left Sam's a little after 6 pm, and ran through the drive-through at Sonic for supper. I went to bed early that night, ready for a better day the next day!

Sickness is here:-(

2009-11-16T08:01:00.002-06:00

Well, I was just thinking on Friday that we had avoided any of the sickness that has been going around--looks like I thought that way too soon! Emma started off the weekend with diarrhea all day on Saturday (sorry if there are any squeamish who read this, but I am assuming it is my mommy friends:-) She ran fever of 101 after her nap, and I just kept waiting for her to start throwing up as well. Thankfully, she woke up Sunday am starving and had no more symptoms of any kind. However, last night Caleb came downstairs 3 different times to tell me he couldn't sleep--all between 11 and 12 am. Finally, the last time he ran to the bathroom and threw up everywhere (thankfully he made it in the toilet, though). So, we are home today and I am making sure he eats bland food-no more throw up as of right now, but I am weary and wondering when Jake is going to catch something. I also feel really bad because my co-teacher at Kid's Day Out is out today with her daughter (the flu) and so our sweet 3 year old class will have 2 subs today instead of 1-I hope they don't freak out too much!

I may have forgotten something...

2009-11-15T12:17:00.002-06:00

So, I was so proud of myself for remembering everything that happened that was major over the summer-then I realized I forgot a pretty important event (actually a few of them:-) The big one I forgot is that Shon and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in August. Of course, we have no pictures, but we had a great time--our church has a ministry for couples called Friday Night Out. If you are in Sunday school, you will get a voucher for the next Friday night's childcare. You email the coordinator by Wednesday to get your kids on the list. Then on Friday, you bring said children to the church, drop them off, and go have fun! The wonderful workers keep the kids from 6-9:30pm--and it is FREE! What a blessing! So, Shon and I dropped off our kids, and headed to Ruth's Chris steak house in Rogers--it was fabulous! We had eaten there (sort of) on our honeymoon, but I ended up feeling ill and we had to leave--and the steak we got on our honeymoon was wonderful even though it was cold by the time I was able to eat it. So, I knew the warm version would be even better:-) We were at the restaurant for about 2 1/2 hours, and it was perfect. We each had a wonderful steak, salad, side, and then our waiter brought us out a free dessert for our anniversary, complete with candle:-) The manager brought us a gift certificate for $25 off our next visit. Then we closed out the night by going to Wal-Mart:-) where I got a wireless speaker for my ipod.

I also forgot to mention that Shon and I both celebrated birthdays over the summer--mine in June and his in July. I don't really think we did anything to special--other that wish one another happy birthday:-) So, sorry for the double post, but I did want to remember such a memorable evening!

Long time no blog!

2009-11-15T10:56:00.011-06:00

SO,epic fail on my part to blog over the summer at all--and also the start of school, and our Disney vacations, and Halloween--so this will be a pretty long post. Sorry the pics are out of order--can't seem to figure that out on here:-) So we will start with Halloween and work our way backwards through the summer:-) Here are the kids with mom on Halloween--she and dad came up for the Razorback game and she got the pleasure of trick or treating with us. The kids had a lot of fun and we were able to keep it short since we had to get mom back to pick up dad. I was also very thankful for an extra hour of sleep that night:-)
Caleb was Duke from GI Joe, Emma was Pocahontas, and Jake was Woody from Toy Story.

He had to try his costume on as soon as it came in the mail-hence the single shot of him above.

Here is the start of our Disney pictures--which is actually the end of our vacation. Here is my sister Christy and her husband Josh with the kids--they really enjoyed being around them all week--and I think Josh and Christy had fun as well:-)

Caleb and the other boys (adults) went on to Star Wars, so mom and the kids and I took a detour to see Lightening McQueen and Mater--Jake was a little tired of smiling at that point.

I think this was probably the highlight of Jake's trip--I love the look on his face as he sees Woody "in person". We only had to wait 10 minutes in line--it worked out great. We went on the new Toy Story ride right after this, and that was our longest wait at the park--1 hour from start to finish.

We waited to see Mickey and the rest of the gang about 30 minutes-this was towards the end of the afternoon at Epcot and they are getting a little bit tired. We stayed at Epcot all day long--through the fireworks that night, and they were such troopers! I can tell you my legs hurt something fierce by the time that night was over-I'm surprised I could walk the next day.

Here's the gang getting pictures with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee--they were all really into getting the characters autographs.

Emma, Jake, Shon and I waited in line to meet the princesses--mom, dad and Caleb went and rode go karts:-)

I love this picture of Jake--he really seemed to like Belle:)

Here we are at the first afternoon in Downtown Disney--Emma had a princess makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique--she loved it! They fixed her hair, put makeup on here, and painted her nails. Plus she was able to keep the makeup and nail polish.

The boys got "cool dude" makeovers--Jake wasn't thrilled while it was being done, but seemed to enjoy it after he got down from the chair. They both have "pirate dust" (confetti) in their hair and Mickey Mouse painted on the back of their hair.

Christy with Caleb and Jake

Mom and Emma

1st day of school--Caleb started 3rd grade with Mrs. Huddleston, and Emma started 1st grade with Mrs. Hill.

We also had swim lessons at the end of the summer at Swim Ranch--they loved it, as did I. They made such strides from the beginning of the week to the end. Caleb and Emma both swam the entire length of the pool by the end of the week without any help-I was so proud! It was very warm that week, so we made good use of Sonic's happy hour!

For 4th of July we enjoyed the fireworks at the crosses at Pinnacle Hills campus--it was so pretty and let me try out some night shots with my new camera. The kids enjoyed it as well.

Summer vacation started out with swim lessons at Wilson Pool. Caleb and Emma were in the same class and really seemed to enjoy being in the water. Jake and I hung out and waited at the pool--he had fun playing with cars and eating snacks:-)

We also visited my sister-in-law Renessa and her husband Greg and our nephew Clayton this summer, but of course I forgot my camera and so I have no pictures of that. The kids were able to swim everyday in their pool and we had a great time.

They also got to visit my parents and Shon's parents at different times this summer--they enjoyed both visits.

So I think I am caught up for now--we are looking forward to Thanksgiving with my parents and getting ready for Christmas. I can't wait!

Kindergarten Graduation, an unexpected suprise, and the end of the school year!

2009-05-27T16:24:00.001-05:00

So today was Emma's kindergarten graduation. It was at 8:30 am with 1 other kindergarten class (the other 3 classes were at 10am). Mom drove up yesterday so she could go, and it was wonderful that Shon is home this week and could go as well. They looked so cute in their graduation caps and Williams t shirts. All of the kids had a line to recite in the microphone--Emma did a great job (no surprise there for someone who loves being in the spotlight). After their song and recitation, they received their diplomas from Mrs. Gardenhire, the principal. Then it was back to her classroom for a group picture. We decided to just stay after dropping off Emma so we would have a good place to park. While waiting they announced student of the month--and Emma's name was called (each teacher picks out 1 child from their class for each month). This month's word was perseverance. We are very proud of her. I forgot to mention on here that Caleb was student of the month in April--and neither of us can remember his word:-) I am so proud of both kids--they received a special t shirt, and a certificate good for a free meal at Denny's:-)

After graduation, mom and I took Jake to Different Strokes to get him a plate--his brother and sister both have special plates that have their names on them--so she wanted one for Jake. We painted his hand and put different colored stripes around the edge of the plate. Hopefully it will turn out really cute.

The big surprise for me came from Shon. He came home from graduation after running errands and had a package for me--a new camera! I have been wanting something to replace our old digital camera--it is held together with a rubber band after I dropped it and broke a tiny piece off. So I got a Nikon D40! I am very excited to learn how to use it. I really had my heart set on it, but after seeing the price told Shon we could make do with another regular digital one. He saved up the money and bought it--I am so thrilled:-) It will be wonderful to take to Disney when we go this fall.

I really can't believe there are only 2 days left of school for Caleb and Emma--and actually Emma can leave after she finds out who her teacher is on Friday. I don't know if I'm ready to have a 1st and 3rd grader in the house--can't they just stop growing for a little bit? I will try to post some pictures soon of graduation. And I will definitely post some of the pictures from my new camera--once I figure out how to load them on here:-)

Quick post

2009-05-12T22:29:00.001-05:00

Just saw an awesome video on youtube (thanks Dixon) that I want to post the link to so I won't forget it--it tells you how to chill a room temperature Coke in 2 minutes:-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc9BHiQUpWU Can't wait to try it out!

Caleb Stewart

2009-05-09T21:54:00.002-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday Caleb! I can't believe I am the mommy of an 8 year old! Where has all the time gone? I can remember waiting and waiting for you to get here--making sure the nursery was stocked and ready, and worrying about how our dog would react to you:-) You were a beautiful baby--thick brown hair and a pretty blue eyes. Everyone was at the hospital waiting for you to arrive--the joys of a first grandchild:-)

You have grown into such a sweet young man--you are diligent in your schoolwork, love your time at home, are always up for any kind of fun. You enjoy building with Legos, drawing and coloring, basketball, and soccer. You also love playing video games--especially Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and anything on the Wii.

You are a loyal friend, and are willing to put your feelings aside for someone else to feel better. You are a (mostly) sweet big brother--always trying to help with Jake and play with Emma.

You are a perfectionist and can get upset when things don't go your way, but you usually bounce back fairly quickly from any outburst.

You had a rough start to school this year, but over the last few months have improved tremendously--your reading and writing skills are phenomenal, as evidenced by your reading certificates. You also achieved Student of the Month last month--I am so proud of you for that!

You are a joy to have for a son, and I can't wait to see what new things you will accomplish over the next year--I love you son!

Emma Grace

2009-04-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

Happy 6th Birthday Emma! I can't believe it has been six years since you were born--time is going by way too fast. You are such a sweetheart and put up with a lot being the only girl in the family (other than mommy). You love to help and love to be in the middle of everything. You have perfected the art of conversation--even when no one is in the mood to talk:-) You are unfailingly curious, wanting to know everything about a subject that interests with you. You have the ability to memorize music very quickly--you only need to hear a song 1 or 2 times before you know it.

You are a great little/big sister. You enjoy playing with Caleb and Jake and help out whenever the mood strikes you around the house. You have enjoyed emptying the dishwasher for me and dusting is one of your favorite pastimes (you must get that from Nana).

You like being girly and wearing dresses, singing and dancing, and ballet. But you also like playing ball, wrestling with Jake, and playing fight outside with Caleb.

You love school and are doing really well this year--you even received a note home complimenting you on your manners and helpful attitude. I am very proud of how loyal you are and the big heart you have for everyone. I can't wait to see how you grow over the next year, and what big things God has in store for you. I love you, sweet girl!

Mommy

2009-04-12T22:12:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH5u7UuzDyc

Well, I tried to embed this video but I couldn't get it to work, so please go to the above link and watch--very powerful--I love Selah and the imagery in this video is perfect for Easter. I hope everyone had a wonderful day (even with the cold and rain in NWA) and please have a wonderful week! We have a busy one ahead with Emma's birthday:-)

Boobs and Brain Damage

2009-03-23T17:37:00.002-05:00

So I wanted to post this quickly before I forget: the kids have been playing outside all afternoon since getting home from school. Emma ran in a few minutes ago and told me she had brain damage:-) She said that Caleb had kicked her in her headfore and damaged her brain! What an imagination she has. She ran back out and came in a few minutes later and said, " 100+100 is 0--see, I have brain damage!"

Jake came in a little while after that holding 2 bouncy balls up to his chest, yelling, "I has boos, I has boos!" Never a dull moment in the Dunlap house! Hope everyone is enjoying their week!

Spring Break Pt. 2

2009-03-17T16:56:00.002-05:00

So things have been going well with the kids at Dale and Marie's--I called to talk to them last night and they were both telling me different activities and things that had been going on. Marie and I decided not to drive to Louisiana this week. I am disappointed but know that the kids would be too tired to try it--hopefully we can go in the summer for longer. As I'm talking with Emma, she suddenly asked me how baby Clayton was doing. I told her I wasn't with him, I was with Jake. So she says," How is Jake Renessa?" The child had been talking to me for at least 5 minutes. I swear she has blonde roots.

Jake has been really into singing at the piano. He gets his play microphone and starts banging on the keys and singing High School Musical and songs from church--really too cute.

Shon told me today that a friend of his that he works with lost their baby last month--she was stillborn. What a tragedy--it made me really thankful for my children being healthy--even though some days I wonder what I was thinking having 3, I can't imagine them not being here. I hope I never have to.

Well, Jake has been down for a long nap, and he'll never go back to bed tonight if I don't get him up. I'll try to post pictures soon--I have some good blackmail material on my phone for when Jake gets older. It involves him, a tiara, and his sister's purple princess dress;-)

Spring Break!

2009-03-13T21:06:00.002-05:00

Spring Break is officially here! I am excited because my oldest 2 are spending the weekend with my in-laws:-) I literally am so excited to have a break from the arguing and back and forth between the 2 of them. I have been trying a new concept lately with discipline--it's a book called 1-2-3 Magic. Basically you count the behavior you want stopped (like whining, arguing, fighting, etc) and you reward behaviors you want them to start (keeping their rooms clean, putting away clothes, unloading the dishwasher, etc.) I now only ask them to have their rooms cleaned on Wednesday night and Sunday nights before bed. If they comply the receive their full allowance--$3 for Caleb and $2 for Emma. If it's not clean then I take money off--same with their chores. It has really been working well except for this week--I think the time change also threw them off because they are more tired and cranky. I am hoping this break allows us to catch up on some sleep:-)

Shon is still traveling every week, Monday through Thursday. Caleb has started baseball--it's a lot more than I bargained for. With tball he had 1 practice and 1 game a week. With baseball it is 2 practices a week for 1 1/2 hours each, and the games are here or possibly away. It's really hard to do with the other 2 having no one to stay with, but we'll get through it. Emma's ballet recital is next month, and she has been so cute going around singing El Shaddai. She and Jake have been singing at our piano a lot lately--they love to belt out any song from High School Musical, although today Emma busted out with some Beyonce--Single Ladies. Too funny:-)

Not much else I can think of right now--I will try to be more consistent. Both Caleb and Emma had to take a round of antibiotics this month--Emma for a deep cough that wouldn't go away and Caleb had strep last Saturday. Hopefully everyone else will stay well!

Long while

2009-02-19T17:31:00.003-06:00

So it has been too long since I have posted, but so much has been going on. We survived the ice storm of '09--our power went out Tuesday afternoon around 2 pm. The kids tried to nap but were unable to, save Jake. We turned on the fireplace and were plenty warm for awhile. My friend Jen called and she and her husband and 3 kids were our and checking out the damage--they offered for us to stay with them, and we took them up on it. Shon was out of town, and I wasn't really sure what I would do with 3 kids without anything electronic to entertain them:-) I really only thought we would be there for 24-48 hours max, so I packed a few changes of clothes and we were on our way.

No one had eaten supper so on the way to Rogers, we decided to stop at McDonalds. We were literally there for 1 1/2 hours! It took about 30 minutes to get our food, and Jen, who ordered right behind me, had to wait forever for hers. It turns out the 1 person working the register lost their order--it was not much fun! We finally made it to their house, and I was really glad for heat and electricity! We ended up staying with them through Friday! It was crazy in the house with 6 kids 7 and under, but we made it work. Mike and Jen were wonderful, and the kids were well behaved up until the last day:-) Shon was diverted flying home Thursday night and ended up in Tulsa--he drove home early Friday morning rather than wait on the plane. He was feeling really ill with a sinus infection so we decided to drive to Lepanto where Shon's parents live and stay there until our power was back on or until the kids had to go back to school, whichever came first. We ended up coming back home Monday morning:-) We had to throw out all of our food, which was quite depressing, but it is nice having a clean refrigerator:-)

We had an uneventful few weeks after that, and were able to enjoy Valentine's day with my parents, sister and Josh. We went to Caleb's Upward basketball game, where he scored his first basket. Then we went and ate lunch at Red Robin (yummy). We went to Target after eating and Christy and Josh let the kids each buy a toy for their birthdays. The had fun looking through EVERYTHING before picking something out. Josh and dad were at the Razorback game, so we came back to the house and played for a little bit. Then we went to Catfish Hole and ate supper, and they had to leave. It was fun to spend time with them.

Caleb will be starting baseball soon, and finishing up basketball this Saturday. Emma will be done with ballet in April, and has decided she wants to play soccer--we'll see if this lasts:-) Hope everyone is doing well--sorry for not commenting lately--I do read your blogs though!

Carolynn

Go to this site now!

2009-01-22T21:29:00.002-06:00

So I saw this site on another blog and am just overwhelmed and in tears--God is so good! Please go check out www.iamsecond.com --you will be blessed! Just be sure to take some Kleenex with you! Click on any of the pictures for different and powerful testimonies about putting Christ first in your life--just what I was needing today:-) I hope it encourages you as it did me.

Yesterday

2009-01-21T08:36:00.003-06:00

So I went back over my post from yesterday, and needed to clarify something for myself. I don't mean that I am expecting Obama to fail--far from it. I am praying for him and his family during this transition--especially his sweet girls. I can't imagine how this new life will be for them, but am thankful that they seem to have a mom that puts their needs first. Still, it can't be easy to have to go to school having big men with dark jackets and ear pieces following you around:-) My point of my post yesterday (and today) is that I wish the majority of the American people were not pinning their hopes and dreams on one man. The only "man" who deserves that honor is Jesus Christ. I know people are anxious for change, but that can come in many forms, and not all of them are positive. So, while I didn't' vote for Obama, I will support him as best I can since he is our president. On a different note, Emma and I were talking yesterday about the events of the day, and she mentioned watching Obama on tv. She was telling me he was the 45th president, then she asked how many of them had been boys. I told her so far all of them had. She looked at me and said, "Well that just isn't fair--they should let a girl be president. Why don't you work at being president mommy?" I told her I had enough to do here:-) So then she told me she was going to work on it herself. She also told me she was happy that "Mark Obama" was now the president:-) Never dull with her around! I still need to post birthday pics, but am really tired this am. If anyone has any suggestions for how to keep Jake in his bed, I would love to hear them. I am thinking I will try a baby gate for his door as my next option. I am just really tired of being awakened at 3 am every night:-( Hope you all have a great day!

Historic Day

2009-01-20T08:42:00.002-06:00

So I know I need to post about Jake's birthday party, and I will, but I wanted to put down my thoughts about today first. I do understand that this is an historic date in our country's history. And I am praying for the president as he transitions into this role. However, I don't like how every media outlet and a lot of people are looking at him like he is the messiah come to fix every problem of every person. That's a lot of pressure for one person. I do hope he lives up to the promises of his campaign, but I don't feel like he is going to solve all of my problems. Jesus doesn't promise that all of my problems will be solved (far from it!) , but He does want me to rely on Him and Him alone for my happiness. I guess I just wanted to write how I was feeling--I truly hope I don't offend anyone--but I probably won't be watching much of the coverage today because I am a little sickened by how ingratiating everyone in the media seems to be. When you are put up on a pedestal, it is just a further fall when something happens to knock you off of it. I promise to try and post a more upbeat post about Jake's birthday party later!

Am I in the right house?

2009-01-16T20:50:00.002-06:00

So an amazing thing happened at bedtime tonight. I told Caleb and Emma to go upstairs and get in bed--I folded a load of laundry, helped Jake get ready for bed, and when I went up to check on them, it was almost too quiet. I figured they were in Caleb's closet holed up with a bunch of books since all the lights were on upstairs. Instead, I found each one, in their own beds, ASLEEP! I cannot ever remember a time they have done this, let alone both at the same time, so I figured I needed to mark down this special occasion. This really brightened my day, especially with all the fighting and arguing that went on this afternoon. The long weekend is starting on a good note! Hope everyone stays warm--Jake is having his birthday party tomorrow, so I will post pictures of that event soon!

Carolynn

Happy (belated) Birthday, Jake!

2009-01-14T12:15:00.004-06:00

I can't believe you are already 3! You are the only one of our babies to be born in a state other than Arkansas. You are such a sweet boy when you want to be, but you definitely have a strong willed side. I can remember when I found out we were expecting you. Daddy had to go out of town for a funeral, and I was home with your brother and sister. I took a test in the morning, and I remember it was around 6 am--it looked negative, so I went back to bed. When I got up a few hours later it was positive. I quickly got everyone ready, ran to Walmart, and bought a digital test:-) It was positive as well. So I called your daddy and told him, and he of course told everyone there, even though I asked him to wait:-) We had just moved to Springfield, MO 2 months before finding out about you, so I didn't really know anyone or anything about the doctors in the area. God blessed us with a wonderful OB, the only problem was that he perpetually ran 30min to 1 hour late for appointments. It was exhausting:-) We had a lot of false alarms with you--the scariest for mommy and daddy was at 23 weeks when I started having contractions while we were at Celebration City. We headed to the ER, and were told I was just dehydrated. So I had to drink a ton of water and nana and papa actually drove up to stay with Emma and Caleb, so we just went out to eat after leaving the ER:-)

I went to the ER 2 other times, a few weeks before my due date with contractions that were 3 minutes apart, but you weren't ready to be born yet. My OB was on vacation for your 38th and 39th week check ups, which I wasn't real thrilled with, but as soon as he was back for the last one, we scheduled your induction for the 15th. Mom and dad were coming up the next day and we were going to shop a little and do a few more things before you were born. However, you had other ideas. My OB appointment was in the am, so I remember doing some shopping, then picking up Caleb from preschool, and Emma from Mother's Day Out. I was having contractions, but they got stronger around 4pm, so I called nana and papa to go ahead and come up. We left for the ER around 5, and I was finally dilating--I was a 5 when we arrived. Nana and papa arrived a little later ( your daddy was very happy to see them) and took them home. I had a very fast delivery with you--I pushed 3 times, and you were born! They had me waiting to push until they knew the doctor was in the building:-)

You were a really good baby, but you had to go in the hospital with fever at 2 weeks because you got the flu. We moved back to Arkansas when you were 1 month old. You love to spend time playing with your brother and sister, and right now your favorite things to do are play with your Geotrax, your Cars cars and legos, and anything to do with Toy Story.

I hope you continue to grow and learn in this next year. Mommy, daddy, Caleb and Emma all love you very much!

All I Want for Christmas...

2008-12-18T20:29:00.004-06:00

is my 2 front teeth:-) Caleb lost BOTH of his front teeth yesterday--with a little bit of help from a basketball to the mouth at Upward on Tuesday:-) His teeth were loose, but after getting hit, they really were about ready to come out. Caleb was really bothered by them, so he kept messing with them and wiggling them back and forth--then he pulled the first one out and asked me to pull out the second:-) They bled a little bit, but now he is fine. I told him now he could sing the above song for Christmas, so he started in. He has a pretty cute lisp when he says he "s" sounds, and I have noticed him sticking his tongue in the spots where his teeth were. He already has 1 of the "big" teeth coming through--he is growing up so fast!

PS And yes, I'm keeping it real--that is my ironing board in the background, along with the box for my Christmas tree, which is up without lights or ornaments--how did I get this far behind?

Spoke (or wrote) too soon

2008-12-17T16:59:00.002-06:00

Well, I mentioned in my last post that Emma has been sick twice in the last few weeks. Well, we can add 1 more time to that for her, and also 1 to Jake's tally. Both of them had incidents where they threw up out of nowhere a few times, and then were fine. Emma's was in the middle of the night around 2 am, and Jake's was in the afternoon, but it was just in time for us to miss our Kid's Day Out Christmas parties. Thankfully he gets to go tomorrow, but I missed out on seeing all my sweet kids on Monday. I did go up to school to deliver the birthday cake for Jesus that I had made for class. I also had a bunch of embroidery items to get delivered ( and get paid for:-).

Mom came down last week to help me transport kids everywhere. Caleb had Upward basketball practice Tuesday, and choir practice Wednesday and Thursday. I just didn't want the other 2 kids to have to sit around and wait for him to be done. So mom was wonderful to come and help. She stayed with the younger 2 Wed. night, and took Caleb Thursday so she could watch the dress rehearsal. The program was on Sunday, and it was so good! They had 3 different acts, and Caleb and all the other kids were in the 2nd act. It was really sweet:-)

This week I have a cold that is really wiping me out, on top of Jake deciding that he needs to get up every few hours at night--it is really exhausting! Not to mention trying to finish up shopping, embroidery, cleaning, cooking, etc., all while Shon is out of town. Plus it has just been really stinkin' cold this week!

I do love Christmas, and thought I would leave you guys with my favorite version of "O Holy Night"--I absolutely LOVE David Phelps:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZFxG6-WSnI

Hopefully I will get to post again before Christmas, but if not, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Catching up (the story of my life)

2008-12-04T22:20:00.002-06:00

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in forever--Shon has started traveling again every week, and it seems by the time I have the kids down and in bed, I can't form a coherent thought, much less blog about anything.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Shon's family--it was wonderful to finally meet my nephew. Jake was predictably jealous at first, but seemed to do better the longer we were there. He was very sweet to "baby pa-ton" (Clayton) and towards the end of the visit was wanting to help by handing Renessa his blanket and paci.

We have been busy with choir for Caleb and Emma, ballet for Emma, upward basketball for Caleb, and just the KDO work/school for Jake and I. I have also (thankfully) had several people wanting me to monogram Christmas gifts for them, so that has kept me extra busy.

Also, Emma has been sick twice this month--more that she was all last year. She woke up one Saturday afternoon with high fever, so I had the pleasant experience of sitting in a walk-in clinic on Sunday for about 3 hours waiting for her to be seen. She ended up having strep throat, so after a shot and some Motrin, she was good to go. Thankfully she doesn't seem to be bothered at all by high fevers--I remember having to take her to the ER on Christmas Eve when I was pregnant with Jake because she woke from her nap with 104.6. She was still talking up a storm and jumping around:-) Then today she stayed home with me because she had fever upon arriving home from school yesterday--none since, but the whole 24 hour rule with school applied. I admit, if the temp is right at 100, sometimes I do go ahead and send them, but only if it has been long enough for the medicine to wear off, they are having no more fever, and they are acting fine.

Our KDO Christmas Party was yesterday, and it was so much fun. To my delight, I actually won a door prize:-) It is a really cute "bowling bag" style cosmetics case, and inside it had a manicure set and a set of yummy lotions from Bath and Body works.

I am trying to come up with some less expensive ideas for Christmas this year for family, so if anyone has any good ones, I would love to hear. I will email you mine, since I have some family that reads this and I don't yet want them to know what they are getting:-)

Since this is such a random post, I will go ahead and write down a few funnies from Jake today:

Jake(just out of the bath and in his room spinning around): I a princesh
Me: really? you are? what princess are you?
Jake: I wal mawt princesh
Me: ok, you're a wal-mart princess?
Jake: no I not princesh, I muh mayd.
Me: oh, now you're a mermaid. Have fun swimming!
Jake: ok-bye momma!

I really have no idea where that came from, but he really enjoys Wal-Mart- probably because he knows that is usually where we are going if I fix my hair and put on makeup. Hope everyone is gearing up for a wonderful Christmas--it is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I can't wait to decorate the tree this weekend.

Post-election musings

2008-11-05T13:17:00.004-06:00

So the election is finally over--votes tallied, races won and lost, and history has occurred. Although the person I voted for did not come away the "winner", I truly believe that everything will be ok. God is in control--and He alone knows what will happen. I also know, thanks to a certain sweet lady from my meeting this morning, that we are called to pray for our leader, no matter who they are. So I need to search my own heart and admit that while I am not thrilled right now with the way the race turned out, it does not mean that I can turn my head or my heart away from our president-elect. He needs and deserves my prayers and support. So I guess this post is just to remind me I need to "put on my big girl panties" and be the adult and Christian God has called me to be--even if I don't feel like it.

I am gratified that we still have people in our country who believe in the sanctity of marriage and believe in what is best for the children of today. I praise God that in California marriage is now on their state constitution as being between one man and one woman only. I praise Him that in Arkansas you must be a non-cohabiting adult, either married or single, to foster and/or adopt a child. I know there were many opponents to both of these amendments who will say many things against those who voted their conscience, but God also knew the outcome to these votes, and for that I say amen!

Caleb's class had a mock election yesterday, as did Emma's. He voted for John McCain, and when I asked Emma who she voted for, she said, "Mark Obamba". I told her his correct name, and then asked why she chose him over McCain. She looked at me and said, "I can't read, so I just picked the wrong one." Thankfully they are still too young to really understand all that has been going on, but I will make a point today to talk to them about how significant this election really has been.

Sorry for the rambling--just wanted to get some of my thoughts out while I have a few minutes of quiet in the house.

Catching up

2008-11-02T20:44:00.003-06:00

Well, once again I have fallen behind in blogging--it never fails. We have had a busy October--finishing soccer for Caleb, a trip to Silver Dollar City with mom, Razorback football with dad and of course Halloween. I will admit, usually I am much better about planning the kids costumes, but this year I decided that they could use what they already had. Emma received a Sleeping Beauty dress for her birthday this year, so she wore that--we already had the matching shoes, so I just bought her a new princess wand. Caleb wore the same costume he had last year ( I know, bad mom), but it fit him better this year. I bought him a new light saber. My sweet friend Jennifer loaned us 2 Toy Story costumes for Jake--he wore the Woody outfit on Monday to Kids Day Out, and Buzz for Thursday and Halloween. He looked really cute (they all did), and was thrilled to wear his favorite characters from one of his favorite movies.

The kids and I trekked to Branson with mom a few Saturdays ago--I don't think I have ever seen SDC that crowded--you could barely walk. The kids had a great time riding rides--Jake especially loved it--he laughed through most of the rides--that sweet little boy belly laugh:-) We ended the day by splitting a funnel cake--the perfect end to the day!

Caleb had his last soccer game yesterday--his team did great! They won 6 to 2. Caleb really hustled and had 2 assists--he was so proud. His team received their trophies, which Jake somehow has already manged to break:-( I am hopeful that we can glue it back together.

Emma is continuing with ballet--she lost 1 of her shoes a few weeks ago, so last week I broke down and asked for another pair. Of course, we found her other shoe right after her class--it never fails!

Jake is doing really well with potty training (hope I am not jinxing it). He has not had an accident in a couple of weeks (as far as #1 goes). He enjoys wearing big boy underwear, for the most part.

We are gearing up to start Upward Basketball with Caleb in a few weeks. I am hoping he will do well in it and enjoy learning to play.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I will try to do better with updating! I am just proud of myself for understanding how to change my background without help from Shon!

A few funnies to remember

2008-10-07T09:44:00.001-05:00

So I wanted to write down a few funnies from my kids before they leave my brain forever:-) Last night we were sitting down to a later than normal supper (breakfast for supper--yummy!), and I said the quick and easy, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food, Amen". Emma turns to me and I hear her say, "How do we know that God is great?" Thinking this is a great time for a "Bible lesson" I tell her that it says in the Bible that God is great and that we can look it up after supper. Then she asks me, " How do we know He isn't peach?" I sat for a few minutes and then had to leave the table so she wouldn't see me laughing. I figured out she had asked me how we know that God is GREY, not great. After recovering, I went in and told her the correct prayer. It's pretty sad that she has been saying it for years at church and Kids Day Out and never knowing what she truly was saying:-) This also occurred with her saying the Pledge of Allegiance. It is the United Stakes of America, and one nation, under God, invisible, with liberty and justice for all:-)

Jake has his own unique way of pronouncing words that is really cute. Some of my favorites are as follows:

His supper prayer: Deah Goh, Deah Goh, Ame ( no "n" on the amen)
His sister Emma: Gray ( he calls her Grace instead of Emma--her middle name is Grace)
Talking on the phone: Hewo dere
Needing something to drink: My dink peese
Wanting to be tickled: kickle me
Pick me up: Pick up me
His brother Caleb: bubba
My sister Christy and her husband Josh: Crick kee and Jwah
Calling my dad a goober (thanks for that word, dad:-): Papa, you a googer!
Needing a band aid: Need a dan dane
Saying yes ma'am: bed pan

I'm sure I will think of more, but I wanted to get them down while a could. We are busy into the swing of school and work and everything that goes along with it. I joined the choir a few weeks ago and Emma and Caleb are both in the kids choir. Caleb is almost finished with soccer, but Upward Basketball will start in November. Emma is in ballet 1 day a week, which is more than enough:-) Jake just comes along for the ride, but is really enjoying his Kids Day Out class. I am enjoying my class, although it has taken some getting used to, going from 4 1/2 year olds to 2's turning 3. Thankfully I only work 1 day, and get a day with no kids on Thursdays:-) Hope everyone is well, and I will write again soon!

Remembering

2008-09-11T21:15:00.000-05:00

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post today, but feel I should write down my memories of 9/11 so that I will have them. I remember it being a normal work day for me--Caleb was only 4 months old, so I had not been back to work very long. Dr. Whitaker had his office tv on, and was watching it while waiting for patients to be checked in. I wasn't usually over at that part of the clinic, but I don't remember Casey (Dr. Stewart) working that day, so that's probably why I was over there. As soon as the news came on and we saw what had happened, I remember thinking how awful it was that the airplane had crashed into the tower--still thinking it is an accident and that something bad had possibly happened to the pilot. When the second plane hit, I knew then that it was no accident. My first thought was to get to Caleb. I remember it so clearly in my mind. I just wanted to hold my baby and make sure he was fine, although I knew he was. We kept the tv on the rest of the work day, and I remember leaving at lunch and going over to Caleb's daycare ( it was on-site) and just holding him close.

I remember how Peter Jennings became teary while reporting on the towers collapsing. I remember how he told every viewer to hug their children and family members. I remember Mayor Rudy Guiliani, and how in control he seemed. I remember being so thankful that President Bush had won the election. I also remember wondering where God was in the midst of the horrible act. Then the stories started to come out--stories of courage and honor. I can remember the woman whose husband died on Flight 93-I can still see her pregnant form standing up in her black dress at one of the many special reports that were still on days and weeks later. I remember being so proud to be an American and so unified with the rest of the country. I can remember reading about all the different stories in People and Newsweek. I saved the magazines and newspapers in the days after the attacks.

And now it is seven years later. My baby is in 2nd grade, and the country is no longer united. I think about the different people whose lives were irrevocably changed by 9/11--those who lost loved ones, and my heart still goes out to them. Today was a normal day for our family--school, work, laundry, etc, but I wanted to remember and reflect on the significance of today while it was on my mind.

Survivor--Mommy Edition

2008-08-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well, we survived the first week of school! Emma had a pretty good week--her teacher gives the kids a play dollar for everday that they don't get in trouble. At the end of the week, if they have at least 5, they can get something out of the treasure box. If they want to save their "money", they can get a better prize. Emma of course spent hers as soon as she earned them--no saving up for something better:-) She picked out a penguin (looked like a McDonald's toy), and she also was able to take home the Play Do she has been using all week. Caleb had a good week as well--he made a 100 on his spelling test, and he was able to pick something out of the treasure box on the first day. He did have to miss 5 minutes of recess a few times this week--one was for tooting in class ( he will kill me for that later in life). He told me he just couldn't hold it in:-) I bought each of the kids a toy to celebrate surviving the first week--Caleb received 2 small ($4) Lego sets, Emma received an small Ariel doll with outfits and small shoes and such, and Jake got 2 new "Cars" cars. They were so excited and appreciated--I was told over and over that I am the best mom ever:-)

Jake did well without Emma here--he has asked everyday where she is, and once I answer that she is at school, he is fine. He has become very sufficient at playing by himself, which suprised me--he has been watching the movie "Cars", and has been playing that a lot.

Caleb had soccer practice Thursday night, and they received their uniforms--I hate to say it, but they really aren't that cute. They are black, grey, and white. I guess I don't like them because there is no color--last years had red, white and blue. His first game is tomorrow, and it is in the middle of naptime, so Shon will unfortunately have to take him alone--I know Jake will sleep, and I am betting Emma will be exhausted as well. Emma starts ballet Monday, and hopefully her things will be in, as her outfit from last year is not fitting to well--she has grown taller. (For those that don't know, our church has a dance program called Circle of Praise--the girls dance to praise music and the instructors teach that dance is a way of praising God). She is really not that excited, because after watching the Olympics she has decided she would rather take gymnatics. I told her since we had already paid for dance we would do that this year, but maybe she could take gymnastics in the summer.

I am going to try to finish up all of my outstanding embroidery projects this weekend so that I can use some of the new fabric I bought to attempt to make Emma some new dresses. I bought a few new patterns at www.youcanmakethis.com, and am anxious to try them.

We missed promotion Sunday last weekend, so the kids will all go to new Sunday School classes this weekend. I am praying that Jake will react well--he is at a really difficult stage right now with going into new situations. At my Kids Day Out meeting last week, he sat by the door and cried for the first 45 minutes, and then he fell asleep by the door. He got better as the week went on, but I felt so bad, both for him and for his teachers. I do know, though, as mom says, this too shall pass.

Well, gotta get to bed--I am sure my kids will be up early tomorrow even thought it is Saturday!

First Day of School!

2008-08-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

That line always makes me think of "Finding Nemo". You can definately tell I have children in the house! Today was Emma's first day of kindergarten--I can't believe my baby girl is in school! I did great getting her there and into her classroom--and that is when my eyes started to tear up. I tried really hard not to let her see me, though. I had dropped Caleb off in his second grade hallway (apparently it is "not cool" to give your mom a hug when you are in second grade), and Jake and I took Emma in. She found her desk right away and hung her backpack on the back of her chair, put her napmat in her cubby, and was ready to go. Jake went over and hugged and kissed her, which started me going teary, and then I had to hug her and leave her there--she looked so little to me at that moment! Her teacher, Mrs.Petrie, was wonderful and gave me an encouraging pat on the back, and out the door we went. Once in the parking lot we made our way to the van and as Jake was getting into his car seat, he said," Where's Gray?" (for some reason he calls Emma by her middle name, Grace). I said she is at school. I immediately tried to call mom once I was on the road in the car, but she didn't answer. I called Shon and started truly crying, and I could tell he was uncomfortable on the phone as he asked if I had talked to mom yet:-) I did eventually make it home and talked with mom. Thankfully I had a Kids Day Out workday today, so my mind was elsewhere most of the day.

At pickup time, Emma was all smiles about her day, as was Caleb. However, by the time we had snacks and were relaxing a little bit on the couch, she began to tell me she didn't want to go back and she wanted to stay home with me. When I told her it was the law that she had to go to school, she told me to change the law:-) She cried a few tears, and then went upstairs to play. At supper she told me she had a good day, she was just upset earlier because she couldn't be a but rider.

Caleb won the distinction of being the first patient for the school nurse for the year 2008-2009! All of this over a bloody nose. Ms. Tracy is so sweet to him, though--not that he is in her office a lot, but on the last day of school I had to pick him up early for--a bloody nose! Nice that we are bookending the years like this. He enjoyed his day and his teacher, Mrs. Davis.

Jake was a little lost at home without Emma, but we quickly left to go up to church and work. We didn't leave there until 2, and then it was on to pick up the older kids.

Tonight at bedtime Emma was telling me the story of Sleeping Beauty--in her version Aurora "picked" her hand on a "steering wheel" and was friends with the "tooth fairies". Life is never dull with her!

Before I forget, Jake learned a new word tonight (thanks Papa!): googer, which means goober:-) He also learn b-ikle --bicycle, and ikle--motorcycle.

PS I was going to post of BTS pics with this, but I can't find the cable to plug into the computer and camera--so I will post them when I find it:-)

Bits and Pieces

2008-08-03T19:40:00.000-05:00

So we have been trying to get ready for school, and 1 of the things we had to do was take Emma to her Kindergarten testing. So we went to the school and she went right in and one of the teachers took her back. When she was done, the teacher came out and said that she was very smart. I asked if she talked a lot, and the teacher (who was also named Emma) said, oh yes:-) Hopefully we won't have a problem when school starts. After we did testing, we went to Wal Mart so Caleb could pick up his school supplies. Emma did not need any, as we pay for all of the at her school. The kids had a good time looking at everything, but the Wal Mart I went to did not have a very big section. So on Friday I had to go back. Thankfully Shon was home and I was able to go to Wal Mart, Sam's and the mall sans kids. However, that meant I had to go in the heat of the day, where it was almost too hot to breathe:-)

Saturday mom and dad came here so they would be here for Caleb's baptism. They arrived around 12:30, and we just bummed around the house. I tried a new chicken recipe which thankfully tasted really good. (I am always nervous about trying new recipes, especially when it is not just Shon and the kids, but it turned out great). We also had squash casserole and salad, and pound cake with strawberries and fresh whipped cream. It was nice to cook for my parents, since I don't really have a chance to do that very often.

Today was Caleb's baptism. We had to be at the church at 8:30, which meant leaving the house at 8:15 at the latest. Thankfully we made it there with time to spare. Shon took Caleb to get changed, and I took Emma and Jake to their classes. Caleb did great! He was nervous, but Mr. Greg (kid's pastor) was really good with him. It was over by 9:10, and we enjoyed the rest of the service and sunday school. Then we went to eat at Las Palmas (yummy) and came home to pack up Emma and Caleb. Jake seemed disappointed that he couldn't go, but he has had a good time playing with daddy and getting into brother and sister's rooms:-) He brought something of Emma's downstairs, and I took it away from him. He forgot about it for a little while, and then tried to get it again. I told him no, and he crossed his arms and said, "oh man!" Thank you, Dora! Well, tomorrow is the dentist for Jake (Caleb and Emma had their appts. last week, and did great). I have a feeling that tomorrow will not be as smooth. That is the only thing we have to do before the older 2 come home, so I am looking forward to trying to get some embroidery and sewing done.

Welcome baby Clayton!

2008-07-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I am offically an aunt! Clayton was born today at 12:24pm, weighing in an 4 lbs 15 oz. He is 19 in long, and has black curly hair:-) He is about 5 weeks early, so for right now he is in the nursery as he is having a little difficulty breathing.

The kids were very excited--Caleb and Emma were singing "we have a cousin" over and over loudly. Jake was just being loud because they were, so you can imagine the fun.

Dale and Marie left this am to head to Baton Rouge, and are hopefully arriving soon. Marie kept me up to date and called as soon as he was born to let me know the details. I really wish we could be there, but it would be complete chaos with the 3 kids.

It is special today not only because of Clayton, but also because it is Shon's birthday. He is 38 years old today! What a wonderful birthday present to have his first nephew born on his birthday!

I don't have much more to report--Shon and Caleb were gone all weekend, and we hung around the house and went to Sam's and Wal Mart. Hope everyone is well!

Adabacadoes, Cannibals, and more

2008-07-25T21:46:00.000-05:00

So it has been quite a long week. Not for any reason in particular, just the busyness of having all 3 kids here and "bored". I heard that phrase a lot, especially from my oldest. Nothing was fun, he had no toys to play with, and he was bored. It's really funny to me that his room is full, he has access to tv, games, dvds, etc, but still can't find anything to do. Not to mention the backyard with the swing set. I guess he was used to going and doing with MeMe and Papa, and our slower pace here was "boring".

I am not to feel the need to entertain my kids. I know there are some people out there who feel differently, but my kids need to learn to entertain themselves and use their imaginations. He was put out a few times, but managed to find legos to build or drawings to complete to keep himself busy.

I have also been noticing how his appetite has been increasing--I really think he about to hit a major growth spurt--he ate 4 biscuits, eggs and bacon for breakfast this am alone:-) Then he wanted 2 turkey sandwiches at lunch, along with carrots w/ranch, strawberries, and grapes.

Mom said she was talking to Caleb today and he asked is she would bring Emma some legos when she comes to see them next week. We both thought it was really sweet. He really does seem to have a heart for trying to make everyone feel better. He is very sweet with Jake (most of the time) and always tries to help me with getting things for him.

So for the post's title, Emma has just been so funny to listen to lately. Last night we had quesadillas, and I made Rotel and guacamole. Emma wanted to help, so she got up on a stool and watched. She asked what I was making, and I told her guacamole to go along with our supper. She said, " Oh yeah! I love adabacadoes!". You just have to laugh! Then today she and Shon and Caleb were wrestling and playing around, and she stands up and yells, "Cannibal!" and jumps on Shon. I am sure she was trying to say cannonball, and it came out totally wrong. I really do think she has some roots blond somewhere in there.

Jake is still pitching fits--I am getting more used to them, which is probably a bad thing, but he has taken to also hitting you and thinking it is funny, so we are definitely going to have to stop that behavior. He is truly more strong willed than what I expected him to be, but he is definitely a mommas' boy--Shon and Caleb left this evening to head back to Lepanto, and Shon asked if Jake wanted to go, and he clung to me even tighter. It's really sweet, but sometimes it would be nice if he let daddy do more.

Well, this post is all over the place, but these are the thoughts in my head. Hope everyone is going to enjoy a great weekend!