Party Number Two!!

On Sunday, we had Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa T. We had an awesome dinner, compliments of Jen, :) and we just had an all around good time!

Here's a quick montage of the gift opening! :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our first Christmas party of 2008

On Saturday, we went to my mom's to celebrate Christmas. Last year, we started a new tradition to do it on the Saturday before Christmas.

She, of course, made an AWESOME breakfast, and spoiled us rotten with all of the gifts and treats! We love you Mom/Grandma! Thanks for such an awesome morning!!!

I put together a little video of the morning for you. Enjoy!!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Stay tuned for Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa T.

A bunch of random...

This morning I went into Chloe's room to wake her up for school. We have to wake her up about 6:45 to get her to school on time. When I crept into her room, I noticed that Owen had gotten into her bed and he was sound asleep! Chloe was so excited to tell me that in the middle of the night, Owen went to the edge of her bed, and gave her a big smile and then asked if he could sleep with her! So cute! :) Good thing she has a queen size bed, because I'm sure there were legs and arms everywhere! Those two are some wild sleepers!:)

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Last Friday, my dishwasher broke. Ugghhhh!! I guess I really took my dishwasher for granted. I absolutely HATED emptying and reloading that thing! Oh man, what I would do now to be able to empty and reload it! I loathe washing dishes by hand!! My hands have gotten so dry, because they are in water so much more now! O well, enough complaining! :)

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Saturday morning, we went to my sister Melanie's house for Christmas with my dad and Bette. We had loads of food and fun, and the kids had a blast. It was a little bit loud and rowdy at times, but totally fun! We missed my sister and her family from Florida, and my niece Dana though! :)




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And then on Sunday, Chloe and I went to Long Grove with my mother-in-law, two sisters-in-law and my niece for a day of shopping! The ladies had a lot of fun - I'm not so sure the two girls did, (the shops were tailored more for adults) but we had a nice dinner and fun conversation!

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This week I'm concentrating on getting everything checked off of my to-do/to get/to make lists, and I'm doing a fairly good job so far. We have 3 parties this weekend - 2 on Saturday (Christmas with my mom on Saturday morning, and then Christmas with my mom's extended family on Saturday night) and 1 party on Sunday (Christmas with Ryan's parents). So needless to say, we are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! It's totally fun though, and I'm really looking forward to it.
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I've not yet gotten out my Christmas cards. They are all printed (Melanie even printed my envelopes for me) how much easier can it get? And I still haven't done them. I will though - this week....hopefully....

I'm not sure I'll be able to post again before Christmas, so I'm wishing you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and an AWESOME NEW YEAR!!!! GOD BLESS!!!

Do the Hustle!!

O.K., so I couldn't come up with a better title, but it sort of fits my mood lately!

I absolutely LOVE the holiday season. I LOVE getting together with family and friends and having parties of all kinds! I LOVE decorating 250 cookies in one day! I LOVE fighting all of the crowds trying to find the perfect present for everyone! I LOVE seeing my kids faces as they walk into the family room and see the presents waiting for them. I LOVE preparing for our trip to the Wilderness 2 days after Christmas, because my kids just LOVE it!

BUT - you had to know their was going to be a but....

I'm tired.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE all the things that the season brings, but man oh man, am I exhausted! I have three parties this weekend alone, and I still have so much that needs to be bought for those parties, and the food that needs to be made for those parties. Sometimes, I just feel so overwhelmed.

Today though, I decided that during this crazy busy season, I'm going to take time to enjoy it all. Too many times I find myself getting wrapped up in what presents I need to buy, and what needs to be done, that I find myself getting so stressed out - to the point that I'm crabby and don't enjoy it!

Make the choice to enjoy this season - as crazy as it is - and concentrate more on the family and friends that we have! We are so very blessed, not only during this season, but all year long!!

It took a lot of guts...

So, those of you that know me, know that I can talk - A LOT sometimes! Well, on Saturday, I was in Kohl's all by myself [read: NO KIDS!!!] and I happened to walk past a women who looked totally familiar, but I couldn't place her. I thought for a minute, and realized that it was Crooked Eyebrow!

I turned around and was starting to walk towards her, but then I stopped. It's hard for me to just walk up to someone I didn't really "know" and ask her who she is. So I turned back around, and thought that I would just send her an e-mail, and ask her if she was at Kohl's. Yeah, that's what I was going to do! And then I saw her again. I had to say something! So I walked up to her, I'm sure bright red in the face, and told her I have something really stupid to ask her. She was so incredibly sweet from the minute I started talking to her. I then asked her if she had a blog, and if she was Crooked Eyebrow! She did and she was! :) We chatted for a few minutes, and then went on our way! I was so happy that I said something, as awkward as it was for me to do it, at first.

Oh, and I am so there the next time she plans a local get together! :) (Hopefully it's soon! ;))

I couldn't resist

I did this last year, and I couldn't help but do it again. It is just too stinkin' funny, and my kids get a kick out of it too! :)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Am I the worst mom ever?

Take a look at this video, and let me know. Ryan thinks I'm not being so nice...

He is his fathers son...

Saturday morning, as usual, Ryan went duck hunting. The boys have now really gotten into duck hunting. When I tell them that dad is duck hunting, they get all excited and ask if he's going to bring home duck meat. When I tell them "yes, he is" they jump up and down and yell! It's really a cute sight.

The boys LOVE to eat the duck meat. I on the other hand, do not like duck meat, do not cook duck meat and I most certainly DO NOT eat duck meat. So, thankfully, once a week I have "cards" with my girls, and this is the time that Ryan cooks his meat for him and his boys. Chloe WILL NOT eat the duck meat either, so Ryan has now agreed to make two separate meals. (He's so good!)

Anyway, back to Saturday. Ryan got home from duck hunting, and the boys immediately had to go and check out what daddy brought home. I bundled them up and let them go outside. A few minutes later, my doorbell rang. I opened the door to find this...



And here's a quick video...

NO GIRLS ALLOWED!!!!

I can't believe it has started already...

A couple days ago, Brett and Owen came in from playing outside with the next-door neighbor, and told me that they made up a club. It's a club that you bring your bear, wear a hat and have your pocket knife. (Brett's is plastic, and Owen's is an old butter/cheese spreader.) "Wow guys! That's great!" I tell them. Only for them to reply with, "Yeah, and there's NO GIRLS ALLOWED!" :D

Here's a little video I took of them just before we started eating dinner...

We just have too much fun.

Last night, Chloe and I had to be at church until 6:30. We didn't get home until about 7:00. When we came home, the house was dark, and we totally thought that the boys were going to jump out and scare us at any second. We looked around the house, and couldn't find the boys anywhere. Then we realized that they weren't home yet. :) So Chloe and I got the great idea to set up the camera on the tripod and scare the boys as they came into the kitchen (actually it was more my idea than Chloe's, but she willingly played along). Check it out...

Wordless Wednesday - This is what happens to your daughter when the neighbor girls give her a "makeover."

(she actually has a masque on - that's why her face is so shiny!)

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 minutes for mom!

Well, at least I can say I voted.

Today, I voted. I was going to wait until after I picked up Chloe from school, because she is really into this whole election thing. She doesn't understand all of it, but she had to vote at school, and it was all just really fun for her. I really thought that I shouldn't wait for her, because I was afraid the lines were going to be too long at that time, so I went ahead and went without her. Not sure how she'll feel about that one, but hey - I'm the boss, right! :)

Man, am I glad that I decided to go with only 2 kids instead of 3. First of all - there was a line - out the door. Never a good sign. I decided to go anyway. I had to vote, right? We barely get inside the door, and there are about 50 people waiting to vote - with only 2 machines to vote at. My mind was immediately thinking that I wanted to just walk away and forget about it, but I knew that I had to just wait it out and get it done.

Owen immediately started to say that he "wanted to go home" - seems to be his phrase that he loves to say lately. He starts pulling on the bottom of my shirt. Him and Brett start batting at each other, because "Brett's touching me!" [said in a whiney voice] They both wanted to hold my hands for a bit, so I let them do that until they started kicking each other. I picked up Owen. I figured if he was higher than Brett, there would be no problem. Nope - perfect spot for Owen to kick Brett right smack dab in the middle of his back. I haven't even signed in yet. I've been waiting about 15 minutes at this point.

Brett notices the pop machine after I sign in. I thought that if I got him a pop it would keep him a little bit quiet and occupied. I bought a bottle of Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Figured the extra caffeine and sugar weren't a good idea. I open the pop, and it squirts! Thankfully, not all over the place, but a good amount to make my hands completely sticky - my diaper bag is in the car - no wipes. Not the end of the world though.

Did I mention that I'm still holding Owen at this point. The kid wouldn't let me put him down.

Thankfully, a chair opens up in line, and I take it. Much easier to hold a 40 pound kid while sitting.:) A little time goes by, and Owen thinks that its funny to push on my breasts and yell out BOOBIE, BOOBIE, BOOBIE!!" He is cracking up hysterically, thinking this is so funny. While I, on the other hand, am sure that my face was as red as a beet, and completely mortified. I finally got him to stop, but it sure did get everyone's attention.

Are you feeling like you are at a comedy show here? Well let me tell you, that's exactly how I felt! And I certainly had a big enough audience! But wait, it doesn't end here!

I feel something warm on my lap. Yep, you guessed it - Owen peed on my lap!?!?!? What in the world? This kid has probably had 3 accidents since he's been potty trained, and he chooses this moment , right here to pee on my lap?!?!!? I just couldn't believe it!! At that point though, there wasn't much I could do. I had already been in line for 40 minutes, and I am committed - wet pants or not!

I ask Brett to have a drink of his pop and he throws a HUGE fit! I'm telling you - he was screaming, crying - you name it. I now have every single eye in the place ON ME! Not good! I wouldn't give him the bottle back. Hey - you throw a fit like that, you don't deserve a treat, right? I had to stand my ground. He kept crying and asking for the bottle back, and I knew that if I gave him that bottle back, he would stop crying, but I just couldn't do it - audience or no audience, you don't behave like that. PERIOD. He cried for a bit, and I made him sit in the chair. Told him if he wasn't going to stop crying he would NEVER get the pop back. Needless to say, he stopped crying, but I did NOT give him the pop back - yet. I had this one Grandma who was just staring at EVERY move I made. Thankfully, I was calm enough to talk into Brett's ear so no one would hear me, but still she would not keep her eyes of me. There was another lady who was so sweet, telling me that everyone goes through it. And I can't really blame these kids for being so antsy. I certainly didn't feel like waiting in a line for over an hour - what little kid is going to?

I finally was next in line, and it was my turn to vote - sweat on my brow, Owen in arm, pee stained jeans and a happy Brett because I gave him the pop back.(only after having a good talk with him.)

I voted.

I think I laid on your kiss...

Brett used to hate it when I would kiss him. He'd immediately wipe it off, and then I'd pretend that I was crying, blah, blah, blah...you get the picture.

So lately, I would kiss Brett, and he would say - "I didn't wipe it off!" I would get super excited.

Tonight, I kissed all the kids good night, and went downstairs. Chloe started crying for some reason, Brett wanted water, then Owen wanted water - you see where this was going. I was super frustrated!

I went upstairs to get them back in their beds. When I went to tuck Brett in again he said, "Mom, I think I laid on your kiss. Can you give me another one?" I wanted to melt right there, and it seemed that all my frustration was gone. He knows just what to say, and when to say it.

Educate Yourself...

I am not posting this to start a debate/discussion, nor do I really care for Howard Stern - whatever - I'm posting this to urge you to educate yourself before you decide who you choose to vote for on November 4. This is just absolutely ridiculous...

Owen's Third Birthday!

Yesterday, we had a birthday party for Owen. The theme this year was "John Deere." He is all about John Deere and all things John Deere. This was a fun theme for me, because not only did we (I say we, because me, my sister and my mom all get into the theme! :)) try to find John Deere items, but we could also just go with green and yellow items too!:)

This year, Melanie came up with the idea to make the banner like this....

...and I think it's the cutest banner EVER!!! (the treat bags were pretty cute too! :))

We even found little John Deere coloring books for the little ones! :)



He loved reading all of his cards...not really, but I made him look at them best I could! :)

He couldn't wait to start opening the presents!

The infamous Rice Krispie Treats that my mom makes!:)

I wouldn't have been able to do it without this girl right here! She even wore green to the party! :)

Mom - you rocked this cake! :) It was awesome!

Even my hubby wore green!:) He's so good!

We had a blast! Everything worked out great -except we probably could've used just a little bit more taco meat!:)

Here's a video of Owen getting his surprise present...






The great thing about this tractor was that my cousins gave it to us! Their kids were done with it, and seeing as my boys LOVE John Deere, they were willing to part with it and let our kids get some use out of it! It really was such a blessing to be able to surprise Owen with this awesome gift, and not have to spend any money on it! Thanks Thane and Dawn!!

This is dedicated to the one I love!

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of Ryan and I's first date! I can remember it so vividly. I'll spare you all the details, but I pretty much knew after that first date that I was going to marry him. I for sure knew after the second date, just two days later!! :)

Anyway, I got these pictures in my inbox this morning, and thought it'd be fun to show them to you. It doesn't happen very often that I post these types of pictures on my blog, so don't get used to them! :) These pictures are from Saturday morning - opening day!

The whole group of guys that Ryan hunts with!

I love you Ry! There isn't anyone I would have wanted to spend the last 9 years with! Here's to MANY, MANY more!!

What are the odds?!?

My license plate sticker expired the end of last month. I knew about it. I knew that I had to get an emissions test, and I've been pushing it off.

Yesterday, I had to run some errands after picking up Chloe from school. I was going to pass the Emissions Testing Center, and I figured I better just get it done. Passed with flying colors ~ well, I don't know if I passed with flying colors, but I do know I passed!:)

Before dinner, Ryan decided he'd take the kids to go run some errands, while I went grocery shopping! So nice! Anyway, I'm on my way to the store, that is only like 3 minutes from my house, and I get pulled over - doing 41 in a 20 (I was excited to get to the store without kids!), and because of an expired plate. At that moment, I was so thankful that I had gotten the emissions test done, because then I was able to say that I just got the test done, and I planned on getting the sticker. The police was like 12 years old, and crept up to my window like I was going to pull a gun out on him. I will say though, that he was super sweet, and he let me off with not just one warning but TWO! I was so thankful, because the last thing I need to be spending my money on are stupid tickets. (both of which, I know are my fault) I call Ryan, and he tells me we have to get the sticker tomorrow. (meaning today)

This morning, I realize that our movies for the library were due yesterday. If I got to the drop box before 9, they are not considered late. I pack up the boys (who insisted on getting dressed for the day) and me in my HUGE sweat pants, greasy hair and no makeup ~ I was only going 3 minutes away to the library - who was gonna see me?!?! I get to a stop light, and what do you know - another coppy cop is right behind me. I saw him looking stuff up on his computer, and knew that at any moment, he would be pulling me over. GREAT! I couldn't believe it! Here comes another 12 maybe 13 year old cop up to my window, again like I was going to pull a gun out at him or something ~ or maybe he was scared of me - I looked a sight! "Mam, I pulled you over because of an expired plate." Again, thankfully, I had the document from the emissions testing center, and I pulled it out and told him I was planning on getting the sticker today. He looked over the sheet and said, "well, you better get it done today!" "Yes sir, thank you so much!" Phew!!!

Two things ~ what are the odds that I would get pulled over twice in a say 14 hour period and both cops let me go? And I really felt like the Lord made me go do that emissions test. It just sort of popped in my head as I was driving by. Sometimes the Lord does cool things like that. Had I not had the proof of the emissions test, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten off both times! So cool!

Oh, and I'm pretty certain that I have the youngest cops in my town, but definitely the nicest! :D

***As I was proofing this post, I just looked down at my shirt, and there is a big syrup stain from my waffle this morning! NICE! Slob...

Mom, I need you...

My mom is so good with helping out when she comes here. She'll help with the kids when needed, she'll help fold laundry, she helps prepare dinner, the list could go on...

Well Mom, I've got two baskets of clean laundry with another 3 loads to clean, and a basket FULL of socks. I need you, Mom! :)

In all serious, I just miss you mommy! Anytime you want to come to...ahem...match some socks...I mean hang out - let me know! I'll put the coffee on! :D

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch with Paul and Kristin and their kids. We had a lot of fun - especially trying to take pictures with the sun DIRECTLY in our eyes! They turned out o.k....

We told the kids to close their eyes, until we said 3! and then open them. Brett's eyes are still closed in the above picture - O well!

When did this little boy grow up?!?!?

So sweet!

I love it when he gives me nice smiles!!

I told the kids that they could pick any pumpkin as long as they could carry it. Brett and Owen took me serious, because these were the pumpkins they picked! :) Chloe's was a little bit bigger. (I didn't get a pic of her with it though.)

We had a really great time, and now the pumpkins are on my front porch just waiting to be carved - yes, we are going to attempt that this year. In years past, we've just painted the pumpkins. This year is a different story, Chloe wants to bake the seeds. So, I told her that we could do that with hers! Should be fun!!

2.96

$2.96 is what I just paid for gas!!! I never in a million years thought that I'd see it below $3.50, let alone $3.00!! Wooo Hooo!!!

O.K., now back to your regularly scheduled blog. (I've got a post coming together about our pumpkin patch, so stay tuned for that!) :D

Let's get down to business

O.K., so I'm sure you've all noticed my new look! Thanks to Melanie for getting it done in like 2 minutes. It's so funny, because we do it together on the phone. She asks me what I want, I tell her and then she gets it done! So fun!!! Anyway, I'm sure the picture behind the title will change, but I just laugh so hard every time I see that pic so I thought I'd put it up there for a bit!

Second, there used to be a button on my the top of my sidebar for blog.lines. They stink, so it's gone. At first it was so awesome, and then for two days I got no updates. I thought, man, blogland is sure slow - and I have a lot of blogs I subscribe too. Well, I started to look up some that I know post on a regular basis, and wouldn't you know, they've updated, and bloglines didn't tell me about it! Ugggghhh! Anyway, I've moved over to Google Reader, and so far so good!

I think that's about it! Happy Blogging! :D

Call me what you want, but I love my stinkin' family!!!

I cleaned out my hall closet yesterday. While doing so, I found a tripod for my camcorder that was still in the box. We had gotten it free when we bought our camcorder - 6 years ago!! I broke that sucker out of the box, and was thrilled that my camera fit on the tripod. I told everyone to get by the fireplace, cause we were taking a family picture, and this is what we came up with...

I think this has CHRISTMAS CARD written ALL OVER IT!!! Just kidding - it would be kind of funny though! Chloe is pretending that she's a bunny, Owen's pulling a "silly face", suprisingly Brett is sitting perfect, Ryan's holding a stinking PINK umbrella for.crying.out.loud, while I'm laying on the ground like I'm the stuff! (If only that hair wasn't stuck to my lipgloss!!!);)


Next, I tell the kids that I was going to do one of just them - again, this is what they came up with...


Man, I love this family!!! Oh, and I am fully aware that we are DORKS!!:D

At the races!

Saturday night, Ryan and I took the kids to watch my niece and nephew race their BMX bikes. It was loads of fun to watch. My brother Paul was really into this when he was younger, so it's a lot of fun for him to watch his kids do it too! :D

They did really good, and we had a great time! Great job Cameron and Leah!

Towards the end, my niece, Leah was dancing. She claims to say that she knew I was videotaping her, but I really don't think she did. ;) She's got some good Michael Jackson moves going on...

Try to paint a mental picture...

So yesterday, my mom came out to spend some time with me and Melanie and the two sets of younger boys. We went to Kohl's which turned out to be a semi-disaster. The boys have a hard time sitting in a stroller for so long. All three of us were trying on clothes and looking at EVERY.SINGLE sale rack, and they had had enough. I did manage to find myself a nice new pair of jeans, so that made it all worth it for me!

Anyway, we get all four boys in Mel's van (she's got a t.v. in her van, and I want one REALLY BAD) and we start to discuss where we are going to go for lunch. I was on my mom's side of the van when I notice a huge long hair on her chin. Now, for those of you that know us, Mel and I are in charge of keeping all of my mom's hair on her chin tamed (Oh man, my mom is going to kill me for writing all of this). I immediately announce that I need the "plucker." Mel gets out a pair of tweezers, and there I sit plucking all of her chin hairs. I was definitely "plucking the mother!"

**Side story - My aunt Jerri (who just recently passed away and also my mom's sister) used to have her granddaughter, Dawn, pluck her chin. I don't know, it must run in the family. Anyway, last summer, up at the lake, Dawn was plucking my aunt's chin, and my aunt called Dawn a "mother plucker!" Since then, it's just been a running joke in my family.:D

Brett must have a magnet in his body that attracts all things froggy, wormy, slimey....

He's done it again. I was walking out the door to go pick up Chloe from school, and Brett is running around the van telling me he found a frog. I'm telling you - he's either really super good with spotting them with his eyes, or he has a magnet in his body that attracts them to him! :)

He spent so much time trying to catch that thing I thought we were going to be late picking up Chloe. Watch the video to see if he caught it!:)




The frog spent the night in the jar - along with a cricket that Chloe caught the day before and put in the jar - and then dad said we had to let it go. Yeah, that didn't go too well.

I love you my Brett boy - even with all of your frogs and worms! :)

Close Call

Brett just can't seem to catch a break lately. If it's not an MRI, then it's falling off a teeter-totter at the park, or getting a fat lip from him and Owen bonking faces, Owen cutting Brett's finger with the scissors (I'm partly to blame for this one)...the list could go on.

Today though, was a little bit scary for a second. We were at the lake to close/winterize everything up for the winter. Ryan had started a fire in the fire pit this morning to burn all of the leaves. By this afternoon the fire pit was basically smoldering. Definitely still hot though, and unfortunately we found out the hard way.

Brett and my nephew, David were playing with a jump rope, and the next thing you know, I hear Brett screaming and he is standing up next to the fire pit. He tells me he fell in the fire, and I immediately start to scream - thinking "this is gonna be bad!" I quickly took him over to Ryan and we put the hose on his hand. He was screaming so bad, and really didn't want us to try to clean all of the ashes off his hand. He had ashes all over his shirt and pants, and I later found out that his whole body fell in the pit, but only his hand was slightly burnt. He's got one big blister, and maybe 6 or 7 little blisters on his hand.

When I think about how bad this accident could've been, I get really upset. Once again, my God was there to protect my Brettie and I'm so thankful for that!

Just as I suspected...

The doctor just called and the results are NORMAL!! :0) Praise God!!!



***This picture was taken of him early yesterday morning when we were playing games to waste a little bit of time. Yes, his eyes are crossed! :)***

Brett, you are MY Super Hero

First off, thanks so much for all of your prayers today. I really felt them, and I just felt a peace about the whole situation, and I'm sure that is in part because of your prayers, so thanks!!

I'll start with last night. Because we had to sleep deprive the little guy, it meant that he wasn't going to bed until at least 11:00 p.m., which is a huge difference from the 7 - 7:30 bedtime that he is used to. He was, needless to say, thrilled that he could stay up late with Mommy and Grandma (my mom spent the night to watch Owen for us in the morning). We watched T.V., played endless amounts of Hi-Ho Cherry-O and Candy Land, gave piggy back rides, we talked in the fan to make our voices funny and had a lot of snacks! :) We pretty much did anything to keep him awake, including holding him upside down - which he loved! Every now and then he would say, "can we just go in our bed now." And after I told him I wasn't going to bed, he said he would stay up. He did awesome! He was so happy too - not crabby at all (and there were times I'm sure I was a bit annoying to try to keep him awake). Finally, at 11:30, I said we could go to bed. I set my alarm clock for 4:44 a.m., and called it a day!






I woke up this morning, glanced over at the clock, and it read 5:46 a.m.!!!!! WHAT!?!?!? I totally set that alarm clock and double and triple checked it! O well, I hurry up and wake up Brett, and again he was so happy! I thought for sure that when I took him out of his nice warm bed he would be a crank - especially after going to bed so late, but he wasn't. He asked one time for a "snack," and I told him that the doctor said he couldn't have anything to eat until after we got the "pictures" of his head, and he said "o.k.", and never asked again. That in and of itself was an answer to pray. That was the thing that I fretted about the most, and it wasn't even an issue!

It wasn't long, and we were at the hospital. He didn't even try to fall asleep on the way there. Just talking away, happy as could be. We got there, and you could sense that he was a bit nervous. The nurse explained everything to me, and thankfully, they weren't going to put the IV in until after he had fallen asleep, and they had already numbed his hands so he shouldn't feel a thing. We tried to give him the liquid sedative, and he was having nothing of it. He spit it all over the place - including all over Ryan's glasses! :P I had to bribe him with a new Hot Wheels car in order for him to take the dose. It worked! He drank it right down. It wasn't long before he was asleep in my arms (I loved that, by the way) and we tried to transfer him to the MRI machine. I stood up, and he immediately woke up and said, "I'm falling, I'm falling!" We continued to go to the MRI room, and tried to get him to fall back to sleep. He did, and then we tried to put him back on the table only for him to wake up again. Repeat this cycle about 3 times. Finally the nurse came back in with the o.k. from the doctor to go ahead and give him another half dose of the sedation. He would not fall asleep, but man was he loopy! It was hard not to laugh at him, because we felt so bad for him and what his little body was going through. I have no pictures, because....well...that's just wrong. The nurse was just about ready to call it quits, when he finally gave in and fell asleep. I could hear him snoring, so I knew he was in a pretty good sleep. She wanted to put him on the table, and I asked if we could just wait a few more minutes for him to fall into a deep sleep, so we did. I put him up on the table, and he was out like a light! Thank you Jesus!! I then walked out of the room. I walked out of the room. I'm having a little bit of a hard time with that one. As I said before, MRI's just make me sick. I couldn't stand to see him get his head strapped down and the little cage put over his whole head, so I had Ryan stay in there with him. I feel a little bit like I wasn't there for him when he needed me, but I have to just come to grips with the fact that he was SOUND ASLEEP, and his daddy was there for him. They had to do a dye contrast also, so half-way through they had to put an IV in. He didn't even wake up with that! :) He did just awesome!

Waking him up was the hard part! He was so out of it. Again, it was pretty funny to hear the things he was saying. He would sit straight up in the bed and say, "I can cross my eyes!" All the while his head is bobbing all over the place. :)

The nurse said if we felt comfortable taking him home like this, then we were free to go home. She said it is completely normal for a child to act this way after oral sedation, so we agreed to just take him home. The nurse said that we should expect results tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted. He fell asleep in the car, almost immediately, and slept the whole way home. As soon as we got home, he said he wanted to lay on the couch and he stayed asleep until about 2:00p.m.!

I am so proud of my guy! He did so incredibly awesome throughout the entire situation, and couldn't be more proud of him!


****The pictures in the super hero costume were not staged for this post. The boys found their halloween costumes that I bought for them last year, and Brett's pretty much hasn't come off of his body since! :)****

Semi-Wordless Wednesday - They love their new beds!!

I caught Owen singing when I went upstairs, and got the tail end of it, before he got too embarrassed.



For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 minutes for mom!

Brett is having an MRI on Thursday

Brett has been complaining about headaches on and off for quite some time. There are days that he will just lay on the couch all day and complain of a headache.

A few weeks ago, I had Brett at the doctor for his 4-year check-up. The doctor asked me if I had any concerns, and I had mentioned the headaches to her. She almost immediately said that we needed to do an MRI. We talked about him falling out of the shopping cart, and how we had 2 clear CT scans, but she still said that a lot could change in a year and a half. She also said that mom's sometimes don't take headaches seriously, and then it ends up being a tumor. She in no way said that this is what she thought it was, so I'm not too concerned. She's also doing an MRI of his sinuses just to rule everything out, because "kids don't get headaches." If everything looks good, then it could just be migraines.

So Thursday morning, we go in for an MRI. I feel more nervous about the test itself than the results. I do want to rule everything out, but I really feel like he's just fine. Some of the reasons I'm so nervous about the test is that I am VERY claustrophobic. I myself cannot have an MRI unless I am sedated. The thought of it makes me panic. (Side note: I have a tumor on my pituitary gland, so I've had to endure several MRI's - so I know what I'm talking about.) Brett will need to be sedated, because he is so young, and most likely will not be able to sit still for the hour test. Because he is being sedated, he can not have anything to eat 8 hours before the test, and only clear liquids 3 hours before the test. This is going to be a problem. We all know that Brett loves to eat - first thing in the morning he'll ask for a snack. Next problem - because of the sedation, they say that sleep deprivation is VERY important. "Do not allow your child to sleep more than 5 hours the night before, and do not allow naps the day prior to procedure. Awaken your child in the morning no later than 5am, preferably 4am." YIKES - he normally sleep 10-12 hours a night, and he likes to eat FIRST thing when he wakes up!

I'm writing all of this to ask for your prayers. Not only for the test results themselves, but also the day of the test. Please pray that Brett will not be hungry (I know, strange request) and that he won't have a problem with the sleep deprivation and that the sedation does it's trick and he sits still for the test. Please also pray for my anxiety of the MRI machine. Thankfully Ryan will be coming with me, but I'm sure my boy will want mommy in there with him. :) (Hopefully we both will be able to go in there with him.)

Thanks so much!

Random Facts about me...

Gayle is having a contest. Here are the rules and my entry.

The "rules" of the game are as follows:

1. Post the rules on your blog

2. Write 6 random things about yourself

3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post

4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

O.k - here goes:

1. I sleep with socks on - have too or I'll freeze.

2. I love chocolate. In fact, I just ate a Chocolate Sundae Cone, and now the 3 Musketeers in my cabinet is so calling my name.

3. I vacuum my family room almost every single day. Hey -with three little ones always asking for snacks, I gotta.

4. I'm not a huge fan of cooking - baking is o.k., but cooking is done, only because I have to.

5. I get a thrill out of saving money - especially if I buy something when it's super cheap!! Crazy, I know.

6. I don't exercise as much as I should - unless you want to call running after my boys all day exercise! :)


O.K, now I have to tag 6 people:

Kristin

Melanie

Shawnie

Megan

And anyone else who wants to do it !:)

Weekend Warrior

Clair over at Mummy Deals had a post about procrastinating, and challenged us to do something that we have been putting off.

I have been wanting my boys room painted for quite some time. So long, that I actually bought the paint in November of '06 - yep, you read that right - '06!!!!!

I decided that this weekend, while Ryan was away camping, I was going to paint the boys room.

Thursday night, Katie mentioned that her kids were going to sleep at their Grandma's house, and that she would be willing to come help me on Saturday night! That sealed the deal - who's going to turn down help?!?!?

Friday, bright and early, I headed to the paint store (with the paint that I bought in '06) and asked them if they thought it was still good, and if it was, would they be able to mix it up again in that shaker thing. Sure enough, they thought it was still good, and they went ahead and mixed it up for me! :)

I started to clean out the room, and move furniture and get holes patched and everything on Friday afternoon. By Friday late afternoon I was taping everything off, and then by the evening, I was starting to do the trim work and cutting-in of the painting. I got all of that done, and then called it a night.

I, of course forgot to take a before picture, but here is an in-between picture...:)



Saturday morning, I felt like I could conquer the world, o.k., not really, but I really wanted to get the paint finished before Kate got here so that we could just decorate the room, and not have to worry about wet paint. So I finished painting - 2 coats of it!!! Man was it a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it!!

Here's the finished paint product (minus the furniture)


Then came the fun part!! Decorating the room! We got the beds from Ryan's Grandma, and we haven't put the kids in them yet - Brett was still in a toddler bed, and Owen was still in his crib - yeah, I'll save that explanation for another time. Anyway, Ryan's sister gave me all of the decorations for the room!! Her son outgrew the stuff, so she handed them my way, and I am so thankful, because I didn't have to buy a thing!!! And its cute too! :) Thanks Grandma and Heather!!!

Here's my favorite decoration in the room....


And here's Katie's.....
Brett's bed...(notice the little cowboy boot rug!:))
Owen's bed....(see the cute hook for his robe?!?:))

And the little valances I made...

DONE!!!! I can call their room done!! I feel so awesome that I did it myself (well, with some help from Kate) and I can't wait for Ryan to see it!!!

A blog track mind....

You know the saying 'one-track mind?....

Well, I've got a blog track mind. By that I mean that throughout my day, if I see something worthy of taking a picture or writing a story about, I'm obsessed with creating into a blog post. I even find myself writing notes to remind myself of what I wanted to write about. Or I'll try to get the perfect picture to include it into my post. I'm a bit OCD about it.

Please tell me I'm not the only one, and if I'm not, maybe we'll have to start a blogger's anonymous group...

At the park...

So we're at the park today - me, Melanie and Kristin. All was fine. We grabbed some Subway sandwiches, ate a little lunch, and then let the kids play. My sister brought Capri-Sun pouches for the kids to drink.

My kids learned a new trick with the pouches. Once they are done with the juice in them, they blow them up with air, and then jump on the pouch to watch the straw fly out - but not before they yell "Fire in the hole!!!" :D

Brett was playing on the playground with his empty pouch in his hand and pretending like he was squirting people with it. Probably not the best thing to do, but hey - he's a 4 year-old boy who loves to watch people squirm. Well, he pretended to squirt his juice at another mom, and she turned around and pointed her finger at him and yelled at him not to do that to her.

I watched the entire thing transpire, and it wasn't but a second later that I got off the picnic bench and started marching over to the scene. I called Brett's name, and told him to come to me. The mom turned around and smiled and in a sing-song voice said, "he said it was empty he he he." To which I replied, in a very calm voice, "I can take care of my own son, thank you." I wanted her to know that what she did wasn't appropriate.

What gives this lady the right to point at my son and yell at him. No one, and I think that's why I reacted the way I did. I cooled off, and then enjoyed the rest of my time.

My question is this - did I overreact?!? What would you have done in this situation?

O, to be a kid again...

The other night, I came home and found this on my counter...


How fun is this that Chloe gets to do stuff like this with the neighbor girls. The girls are twins and a couple of years older than her, but they get along so GREAT!! Needless to say, she's excited to get home from school to have "Cheerleading Practice!":)

I remember, when I was young, we were outside all the time playing with all the kids in the neighborhood. I can't say we were always the best acting kids (I won't mention jumping off anyone's garage) but you get the idea. It really is a joy for me to see all the kids in the neighborhood playing together (boys and girls) and they just have so much fun!

"Flood Day!"

So, it's official...

Just got an e-mail from Chloe's school. No school tomorrow due to flooding!

Unbelievable....

"Flood Day!"

So, it's official...

Just got an e-mail from Chloe's school. No school tomorrow due to flooding!

Unbelievable....

Never

Never in my whole life have I gotten to church to find the parking lot submerged in water and a sign that said that church was canceled!

While driving home, we saw SO much flooding! We actually had to take a couple of detours because a couple of roads were closed! Lots of water and rain around here!

Crazy to think that I'm hoping for a "Flood Day" for school tomorrow!?!?!?!?;)

Simplicity in a puddle!

It has been raining for I think 399 days - o.k., maybe just two, but with three little ones it seems like FOREVER!!

I was quite surprised today when Ryan pulled me aside and told me we should let the kids go outside and play in the rain - it was still pouring outside! I said sure and we told the kids about it. They weren't too sure about it at first but when they finally got wet, they LOVED it!

My mom, Ryan and I all sat on the front porch (out of the rain) and watched them have fun! Some of the neighbor kids were out playing and they just had a great time.

Brett had a ball, and before you knew it, he found a frog! I was pretty excited for him, because as we all know - Brett loves anything slimey!!:)

Brett put the frog in a bucket and continued to play. When I walked inside I noticed that the frog was gone. I felt a little sad for Brett, but didn't say anything to him, because I didn't want to ruin his fun. I figured we could just tell him later.

We got the kids inside, and put them in the tub to get ready to go out for dinner. Once they were out of the tub, Ryan asked me why I put the frog in the fish tank? What?!?! Let me back peddle just a little bit - the fish is from my MOPS meeting last week, the kids named it Cheeto. He hasn't been doing very good. Just hovering at the bottom of the tank, no eating - well this morning he was moving all over - seemed very happy - until the frog got put in his tank. We asked around to see who put it in there, and of course, Brett said that the frog needed to go in there, so he put him in there.

I get the net out, and fish the frog out (does that make sense?!?:)) and the frog immediately hops out of the net and onto my counter. I screamed - pretty loud - and ran away. I'm not good with slimey things. My husband carried it out to the front yard and let him go - all the while, Brett is crying his little heart out.

The sweetest part though, was when Ryan had to explain to Brett how it would feel if he was taken away from his mommy and daddy, and that the frog had to go back home to his mommy and daddy, but he had a fun time visiting us! :)

I threw together a little montage of our afternoon. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One Mile

We live somewhat behind a school. By that I mean that beyond our backyard is a field that belongs to the school. This field rarely gets used. On occasion for a football practice, and they use it maybe once a season for a cross-country track meet.

Well, today just happens to be one of the days that it is being used - for a cross-country track meet. I really had no idea that they were going to use it today, until I went outside to push the boys on the swing and noticed a big orange sign that said "1 mile" on it.

Brett asked me if I saw the sign, and I said, "yeah, but I'm wondering why it's in our yard?" Brett replied with, "Oh, I put it there!" I then say, "Oh buddy! Why did you move it - where was it?" I then start walking into the field with the sign to put it in it's proper place, whatever that place might be. "No mom, I was further in the field," he tells me. So I walk a bit more and settle on a spot that I thought was pretty reasonable.


I turn around and go to push Owen on the swing when I see a little flag on the ground. (It was the type of flag that they would use to mark off gas spots or cable lines, etc.) "What's this?" To which Brett replies, "Oh, that was under the sign!" Oh Man!! I got a little nervous, and thought - they must've really marked out 1 mile, and now my son has just screwed it up!!

I casually walked to my garage and threw away the flag...

Can't help but feel a little guilty because I feel so happy?!?

Remember this post? Take a minute to read it...I'll wait for you! :)








Yeah, ummmm.........well..........they're putting their house up for sale next week...

She's tarnished?!?!?

So, the other day, I was in the kitchen (aren't I always in the kitchen?!?) getting ready to put dinner on the table. Chloe walks in, and the following is what was said:

Chloe: (in a sing song voice) Daddy sang bass, momma sang tenor...
(Click on the link to hear the song)


Me: What?!?!

Chloe: (in a sing song voice) Daddy sang bass, momma sang tenor...

Me: Where'd you hear that?

Chloe: Me and daddy listen to it when we go to school in the morning! (Big grin on her face)

I go into the family room and tell Ryan what just happened in the kitchen, and he too gets a big grin on his face.

A little background for you, Ryan LOVES Johnny Cash! I, on the other hand - HATE IT!! Really, I don't like his music at all!!! Well, I had the great idea last year for Christmas to get him the Greatest Hits CD, and he listens to it - ALOT and apparently even when he brings Chloe to school each morning.

While I can't say that Johnny Cash is the best thing to fill her mind with before school, I can say that those are awesome times that she shares with her daddy each and every morning, and those are going to be the times she remembers!

So when she's singing, "we got married in a fever - hotter than a pepper sprout" through the house, I just have to come to grips with the fact that she will be a Johnny Cash fan, if she isn't one already...and I'm o.k. with that.

The blob!

At the lake, there is a trampoline, and a yellow pillow type thing that the kids call the blob. Chloe absolutely HATES getting bounced off of the blob, while Owen and Brett won't come near it...until my niece Leah came! Brett allowed Leah to "blob" him off and absolutely loved it! Now you can't get the kid off of it! As I've said before, this kid is a fish, AND a daredevil! :) Thanks Leah - now you have to work on getting Owen out there! :) (Again, don't mind my voice...I can't stand my voice on video!!!)

Too many cooks in the kitchen didn't spoil this corn!!

(l to r: Aimee, Amy, Susan, Michelle, Katie, Melanie and Christina (32 weeks pregnant with TWINS!!!))

As most of you know, I go to Katie's house each week to play cards. Well, last night we decided we would make freezer corn. I got the idea from the Mummy Deals website, so if you're interested in getting the recipe - go here.

We decided we were just going to do 15 dozen to start out with, and if we wanted to do it again, we would. We had a so much fun! To start out, only 5 of us were there, so we got all of the corn shucked, and then moved into the kitchen to start cleaning, cutting, cooking, cooling and then bagging! :)

It's amazing when you get us girls together in the kitchen. Everyone just starts a job, and it all gets done so quickly. We've canned tomatoes before, made freezer meals (which we're going to do next week), and now corn. We just have so much fun together!

Anyway, Katie got a new camera, and we thought we'd try to figure out how the timer works, ahem...yeah, that's why we took so many "corny" pictures of us!!


I just love this next one - Katie is hilarious! :)




Not sure what our thought was with this one!?!?



And last, but certainly not least, a picture that Katie forbid me to put on this blog. It is just too stinkin' funny not to post up here! Katie's expression is just priceless!!! Love you Kate!

All joking aside though - I love you girls! You are my bestest friends and I am so blessed to have each and every one of you in my life! I don't know what I would do without you guys, and I certainly don't know what I would do without "cards" each week! Love you!!!