Grati Wednesday!

Yesterday got away from me so I am going to be thankful today! LOL!

Things I am thanful for this week:

1. For the outage to be over and that I got to spend Thanksgiving with my husband!
2. That I got to spend some time with my dad at the hospital on Thanksgiving too! We watched the plaza lights/fireworks from his hospital room window. We also watched "It's a Great Thanksgiving Charlie Brown" together! It was special.
3. Our DVR! I hate that i rely on it, but it really is one of my most favorite things!
4. Black Friday Shopping! Got some steals and deals and managed to get almost the rest of my xmas shopping done! I only have a few more things I need to get then I'm done!
5. Digital cameras...not sure how anyone managed to get pictures of their kids in front of a Christmas tree without spending a gazillion dollars and a lot of time before these little wonders were invented!!

For Jennie & Sarah per their request! ;-)

Gravy Making 101:

Let the Christmas season commence!!

Got the tree up today thanks to my hubby and my sister and Decovin! ;-) Bob lugged it in the house and set it up. Christy, Decovin & I opened the ornaments and put them on the tree! It was so much more fun to have someone else help me! Bob doesn't like to decorate so it is all I can do to get him to bring the tree in! ha! With Christy's help though, we got the entire tree up and decorated all while Camden was taking his nap so no little "accidents" could happen. It was AWESOME! It feels so good to have it done! Thanks again crew! (and yes, my tree has presents under it already!!)

Black Friday!

I made it thru Black Friday shopping and got some STEALS! My cousin Amanda and I shopped for 9 hours!! Oh yes! We are serious shoppers! WHOO HOO!!

So steals of the day you ask? I got a dual screen dvd player for the car that attaches to the headrests for $88!

I called mom and told her about the AWESOME sale at Old Navy and she told me to go ahead and pick up some clothes for the boys from her for xmas...so she got them 2 pairs of jeans and 3 shirts EACH for $60!!!! And can I just say that the one pair of jeans I found for them is LINED with fleece! AWESOME...AND they are adjustable waistbands...a MUST with my skinny waisted kiddos!!! The coolest unexpected deal was if I used my O.N. credit card I got an additional 10% off the sale prices!!! WOOT!!!

I got SEVERAL xmas gifts for family and maybe even some stuff for myself...oops! ;-) Kohl's was awesome and after we had left and gone to another store I realized I had a coupon for Kohl's that I forgot about and so we went back in and asked if we could get it even though we had already checked out...the lady rocked and returned and rechecked our stuff and gave us the additional 15% off! The coupon was good for the entire weekend so we gave our coupons to two people in line to use as we weren't coming back the rest of the weekend...;-) I gave it to a guy who had a newborn with him and he looked like he could use it...it felt great to offer it to someone else! ;-)

We also hit Walmart first and it was a MOB of craziness but we managed ok, I didn't get my Nintendo DS I was hoping for, but that's ok...I wasn't going with any expectations so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Overall, it was a great day and I had so much fun and many laughs with Amanda...we always have a good time together! *heart*

GRATI Tuesday

Grati Tuesday Everyone!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Doctor's, Nurses, and hospital staff for taking care of my dad!
2. Friends, old and new!
3. My cousin Michelle and her courage to keep fighting!
4. My husband, he is still my world after almost 10 years of marriage. I love him.
5. Family
6. And of course, THANKSGIVING!

Update on Daddy

Yesterday I went up to the hospital to hang out with my dad for the day. Thanks to my friend Sarah for watching my boys so I could go! When I got there he was still without food/nutrients/etc...but he was able to get up and walk around the ICU floor. He did two laps. Then back to his room to sit in a chair for a bit. He REALLY likes getting up and moving...he is getting STIR crazy!

The nurse said his infection is looking better but it is still draining pus and still has a ways to heal. This is apparently the only reason he is still on the ICU floor. Hoping it will heal fast so he can get off that floor! Later in the afternoon, the physical therapist came in and took him for another walk and to attempt some stairs...he made it up four steps and down twice! He was a little stumbly on the first attempt as he was trying to go all gung ho and too fast. But then he got it no problem! We were joking around and telling the nurses he was "bustin' out of the ward" as the stairs were out in the hallway were the waiting room is...he REALLY liked seeing something new! He LOVED it in fact!

They did finally prescribe him some "nutritients" via IV, or TPN, Total parenteral nutrition. TPN is a way of supplying all the nutritional needs of the body by bypassing the digestive system and dripping nutrient solution directly into a vein. While this won't make his belly feel "full" he will gain some more energy. 9 days with NOTHING can take a toll on a guy. So this is a VERY good thing...he has also been successful in the extraction of gasses in his chest and intestines making his belly look less distended and "soft" again! YAY!

Slow process but he is getting better everyday! Thank you all again for your prayers, thoughts and concerns...we truly appreciate it!

Update

I have been up to see my dad Thursday, Friday and will visit him again today, Saturday. Yesterday dad had a pretty productive day. He met with physical therapy and they got him standing and he took several steps and was able to"march" in place also. All good things. He was disappointed though because he thought he was going to get to walk more. Because he is so tied up to so manydifferent tubes he couldn't go but 4 steps away from his bed...he did great though!

Somewhere between getting back in bed and lunch time (for Mendy & I anyway) dad's feeding tube came completely out so Dr. Hup (sp?), the doctor who assisted Dr. Al-Kaspools (sp?) in the surgery came in and put it back in for him. They had to give him a local to numb the area and a few stitches to boot. :-(

I was able to help him brush his teeth, he REALLY enjoyed this since he isn't allowed water or food. He said it tasted like candy! LOL! I actually helped him brush his teeth 3 times in total yesterday b/c he liked it so much! LOL! Later in the afternoon they were able to give him a sponge bath and shampoo his hair...he enjoyed the shampoo a great deal! They lotioned him up and he smelled pretty good! ha!

Dr. Al-Kaspools had come in the afternoon and checked him over and told him he was doing well and that he was likely going to be moved to a room by Saturday! YAY! And if everything goes well with that, he will likely have the test on Monday to x-ray his esophagus while he swallows to see if there are any leaks in the incision, etc...if no leaks and everything looks good, he will get to start liquids that day also! So keep those prayers, positive thoughts, etc coming so dad can start drinking his food...he is LONGING for a vanilla milkshake. If you come and visit him, there is a likely chance he would bring it up in conversation at least twice! haha! He's got a ways to go before he can have something like that, but a man can dream can't he?!

I'll try and update what I find out today. Thanks for checking up on my dad...we really appreciate it. :-)

Happy Veteran's Day and GratiWednesday all in one!

First of all, Happy Veteran's Day! This includes my hubby! Love you honey!

GratiWednesday begins:

1. Dr. Al-Kaspools (sp?) and his team...my dad's oncologist/surgeon. He was able to get all of my dad's tumor out, perform the resection of his esophagus all done lapriscopically! No need to disect him anywhere! (well, he did have to make a small incision and cut a small piece of his rib out to remove the tumor, but hey, that's minimal compared to what it could have been!) The surgery took around 9 hours to complete and my dad did great! He was out of recovery around 9:45pm last night and mom said he was in a lot of pain and puffy (all of which is expected and normal.) I'm just glad he is done. Now onto the hard part, recovering!

2. My friends and family for all their support via positive thoughts, prayers, etc...they have been WONDERFUL and I know that is why the surgery went so well! Thank you all!!

3. To the veterans, thank you for serving our country and sticking your neck out for all the rest of us, it truly is amazing what you do for your countrymen! Thank you!

4. And finally, coffee. Thank you coffee, for without you my days would be dragging and long...thanks for boosting me up when I need you most...first thing in the mornings! ha!

Hope you all have a great week!

GRATI Tuesday

I'm going to try to be thankful right now and maybe it will help me get out of my funk! Daylight Savings time I am NOT thankful for but I will try and move past this...

1. My sister. She really makes a solid effort to hang out with me and my kids! She really loves them (and me I assume...ha!) and they really love her back and me too! Case in point: she came to our house on Halloween just to hang with us and see the boys! She also helped out by passing out candy to our trick-or-treaters that came by while we were gone. We had over 100!! Awesome! Thanks sis!

2. November. New Moon comes out this month and it seems like we have been on countdown for a VERY long time! It's finally here! Wheeeeee!

3. Health. I am thankful that we have been "cold-free" for over a week now! Knock on wood it stays that way!

4. Last minute plans. We get to have Thanksgiving with my dad afterall! We decided we could all get together this Saturday to have our traditional Thanksgiving meal before my dad is fed through a tube for who knows how long after his surgery on the 10th. So I am pulling out all the stops and going to try to make all his favorites!!

5. My husband. He has been working this outage for 4 weeks now and is really exhausted, yet he doesn't complain about it. He's the reason I get to stay home with my boys, and for that I am truly thankful!

I feel a little more lighthearted now, but I really miss NAPS! Thanks for reading friends!

Preschool Party

So today was Decovin's Halloween Party and I was the coordinator! I was slightly stressing out about small details right up until the last minute. But once things got going it all went smoothly! All the moms/grandmas/etc, were AWESOME and everyone chipped in and helped with whatever was needed!

We had 5 "stations" for the kids to do and we broke them up into groups of 4 kids per station. We had the 1)popcorn popping station, 2)beanbag toss game (a mom made a cute pumpkin out of cardboard for the kids to toss into its mouth), 3)Witch's Ringtoss where they tossed rings onto a witch's hat, 4)drawing/coloring/dancing station, & 5)making their teacher, Ms. Tina, into a mummy with toilet paper!

It was such a hit! And I'm glad it is over, phew! LOL! It really was a good time. This kids also got their picture taken in front of our "homemade backdrop" in their costumes and one of the moms printed them off on site for them! They decorated a cute picture frame to put the picture in also! And right before they left, another mother read a cute Halloween story and had props for the kids to participate in! Uber cute! I think fun was had by all!

Alzheimer's Walk

This years event was WAY larger than last years. It was cool to see how much it grew in one years time!! Our team was a wee bit smaller this year due to work schedules and medical issues so we were forced to be shrunk. That's ok though because we still raised over $1000 and we had fun! Thanks so much to Mendy for all her effort to put our team together! Thanks auntie, I love ya!

So Tuesday I wasn't so "grati"...but today I am!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Cold medicine & Kleenex. We've all been struck with the sinus bug of ickyness! So we've all had our share of over-the-counter meds and heavy usage of the ol' kleenex!!

2. Sick leave. Bob RARELY EVER takes off work from being sick...only if he is forced to stay home does he (i.e. when he had his hernia surgery's and wisdom teeth yanked)...but I am still grateful that he is allowed to take some sick-leave (and still get paid for it) when he is under the weather, which he was yesterday! :-(

3. Fall. Fall to me equals baking and I triple heart baking! I have no idea why I do, but I just LOVE IT!!!! I hate the clean up, but I love the making! Decovin loves to help too, so it gets us working together and helps to teach him patience...which he still isn't so good at. ha! Tonight I made Pumpkin Bars courtesy of Paula Deen (http://www.foodnetwork.com/, then search "pumpkin bars" and hers is the first one on the list!) Bob LOVES this recipe and I must say so does everyone else that has tried them! YUM! Who can resist cream cheese frosting?!?! Decovin and I also baked a Pumpkin Pie. Can you tell our theme?! I'm debating on making either pumpkin bread or pumpkin cookies next as I have half a can of pumpkin that needs to be used and I would hate to throw it out! ;-)

4. People who appreciate my craft enough to want to learn it themselves. My friend Sarah recently asked me to teach her to crochet and she is picking it up quick! Tomorrow I teach her how to go beyond a chain! LOL! ;-) Ok, so she just started but you have to master the chain first! ;-)

5. My fellow bloggers! I so enjoy reading about what is going on in your lives. I feel, somehow, that I am able to connect with family and friends this way on a level other than just seeing them once a year or at family functions. So awesome! So thank you for blogging!

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Thought I would share a fun picture of my youngest who does NOT like to get his hair cut and will pout the whole time with an occassional tear along the way...

GratiTuesday!

It's that time again...

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My friend Sarah tops the list again. I just can't express how awesome it is to have such a friend like her...it's nice to have someone in the same boat as you that you can rely on and chat to whenever need be!

2. Crockpots! My dinner has been cooking all day with wonderful smells of roast, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, and mushrooms! It was so easy too! Love it!

3. Our Grand Cherokee. I was so hesitant to let Bob convince me to buy this vehicle and not sell one or do a trade-in of one of our other cars...luckily we did just that and when I had my wreck we didn't have to rely on a "rental" for who knows how long!! I'm thinking I would be a rental until 2010 at the rate all this insurance junk is taking to do. His insurance is a joke, he only has/had $10,000 in property damage coverage!!! So now I am having my insurance fill out a claim and see how much I will owe this way instead of thru his insurance. Either way we will be out some money as we owe a bit more than the car is worth right now. *sigh*

4. Halloween Planning Committee! Without this I would be a ball of stress trying to figure out what to do for the preschoolers for their Halloween party this year as the "coordinator"...I was getting a little nervous. But after the meeting, we got a plan and delegated out the items we needed to the other parents involved and it is going to be a super fun party I feel!

5. New sunglasses...nothing like getting a new pair of shades on a cloudy day to make your day "appear" to be bright! ;-) They are fun in a "willy wonka-esque" fashion! LOL! The sides are interchangeable though...how cool is that?! And they are prescription so that makes them even more fun!

It's Tuesday, we know what that means!!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Cool weather so I can make yummy comfort foods like Chili, cinnamon rolls, roasts, fried chicken, etc...Yum!

2. Soft foods...otherwise Camden would not be able to eat. He has Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease (which sounds worse than it is and his mouth is the only part affected) and has sores in the back of his throat making it hard to swallow, etc. Soft foods slide right down without affecting him! Poor little guy.

3. My cell phone. Without this little device I might just very well go stir crazy!!

4. Grocery shopping trips sans my kiddos. Who knew getting groceries could be so relaxing?!

I hope you all have a good week and have many things to be thankful for!

Grati Wednesday ya'll

So I missed Tuesday cuz my hand was in a brace and it was really hard to type...I should technically have it on still but it was itching so I took it off for a bit to see how it would feel. So far just stiff fingers where I hit it.

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. WALKING away from the car wreck! Mostly thankful Decovin didn't get the brunt of the collision...I couldn't think straight until I knew he was ok.

2. EMT's and Police at scene of the accident. They were quick to respond, efficient, and calming...The EMT's even gave Decovin a teddy bear of which we named Lucky but then he changed his name to Tricky. LOL!

3. Pain meds...it was my salvation yesterday. Trying to not take any today...so far the pain is manageable.

4. My hubby...he has really stepped up and helped take care of me and the house...doing the dishes and everything! Love you babe!

5. My friend Sarah makes the list yet again...she is AMAZING! I'm not sure what I would have done without her the day of the accident. She was watching Camden for me and that eliminated him from being in the accident as well! She watched him the rest of the evening until we made it home! She is so caring and just purely AWESOME!

6. Insurance...THANK GOODNESS both the gentelman who failed to yield and myself have some!

7. Having an extra vehicle! Lucky for us we didn't need to use a rental car...less hassle this way and I like driving my own vehicles more anyway! Phew!

8. Family and Friends who care enough about us to ask us how we are doing and checking up on us. How lucky are we to have such people in our lives?!

9. Text messaging...saves so much time in spreading the word. It's fantastic! Especially when you know if you start talking about something that soon after an accident breaking into tears is inevitable...so I saved a lot of tears too! LOL!

Well, I think I was thankful for a lot this week! Thanks for checking in with me. Love you all!

It's Always Dinner and Then the Accident Story...

My drivers side front tire and door: Drivers side Back door (where Decovin sits):

The other guys car:

So here is what happened:

Yesterday, Decovin and I had just left to head out for gymnastics and left Camden home with my friend Sarah to watch for the 45 minutes we thought we would be gone for. As we are approaching the gym (about 3 blocks away), a middle-aged gentlman, who was driving, and his son failed to yield at the intersection and t-boned us. I got the brunt of the hit though (thank goodness!!). The first thing I did was check to make sure Decovin was ok and he must have sensed my panicked state as he was fine and then he started freaking out and crying after I asked him if was ok.

Turns out the house that we wrecked in front of was a day care and one of the parents was there to pick up her daughter and she came outside to halp with Decovin. She talked with him and kept him calm the whole taime. I was so thankful for that! My prescription sunglasses went flying off my face when we were hit so I did a quick search for those so I could see what was going on. I knew immediately that I had hit my head on something and then my hand started hurting pretty good too.

The EMS & Police officers arrived SO FAST!! I did refuse ambulence transfer as were only like 4 blocks from the hospital and I knew Bob could come and get us. I called him at work and the plice officers called him too and he was able to get out of there relatively quick and arrived w/in 30 minutes of the accident. He cleaned out the car and then took us up to the hospital to get checked out just in case.

They did an x-ray fo my hand and it was fine. But he did put me in a wrist guard to wear for a couple of days. They also gave me some painkillers via shots in my hip...3 to be exact!! YEEOUCH!! It was meant to be a hurts-so-good pain but I was still sore and stiff all night and today for that matter. They did give me a prescription for pain and for spasms...fun fun.

Decovin was 100% fine (thank goodness) and the EMS team gave him a really cute teddy bear at the scene of the acciden too. He even took it with him to show-and-tell today. Luckily Bob is off for the next 5 days so I have lost of help around the house with the boys, etc.

So our car is not driveable but I am gathering that it will not be totaled because the insurance company told me that with as new as the car is, it would have to be almost 95% damaged in order for them to total it...so it will just be a matter of when they can fix it and get it back to me...*sigh* We have to wait to hear from the other guys insurance company and the adjusters, etc.

So it was a crazy evening and I am just glad no one was seriously hurt. I'm also truly thankful for my friend Sarah who was only supposed to watch Camden for a short time and ended up watching him for nearly 4 hours!! Thank you so much Sarah! You are AWESOME!! Thanks also to all of you who have been praying for us and thinking of us, etc. It means a lot. Thanks again!!

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week!

1. BASEBALL!! Going to the Red Sox game tonight with Decovin...this will be his first game ever! SO SO excited!

2. SOCCER!! We are letting Decovin participate in a 4 week soccer program put on by our local rec center. Hope he has fun!

3. Medicine!! Without this stuff, sleep time could be WAY worse! LOL!

4. Busy calender of events. Although it might seem hectic at times, I am truly thankful to be busy and not constantly at home! ;-) Makes my days at home without the hubby go by MUCH faster! Yay!

Just had to share this

Went to take Camden to get his hair cut while brother was at school and this was the look he gave me:

He got a sucker for his efforts but as one of my friends stated...it looks as if he was saying: "I'm coming for you! Don't think this sucker changes that!" haha!

GratiTuesday!

Well it's that time of the week again!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My two darling boys. They truly make me laugh everyday...there may be stress at times but they always put several smiles on my face each and everyday! Thanks boys!

2. My shopping partner in crime, Sarah! We had a blast on Friday and I can't wait for the repeat perfomances we will have in the future! Watch out mall!

3. The 25% costume sale at Old Navy last week and my add'l 10% coupon that afforded me a really cute spider costume for Decovin for Halloween this year...$10 baby! :-)

4. Chester's Puffcorn! $2 ONLY! The BEST snack EVER...my boys (and myself) love these!!

GratiTuesday & some other stuff

First and foremost, the things I am thankful for:

1. Camden is using his words more often than he was which is so exciting!!

2. Decovin is on the mend and was able to attend school today! He was so excited!

(This picture is actually from his first day of school taken by the teacher)

3. Fun new recipes that are yummy!

4. Oh and the best weenie roast EVER at my parents house yesterday! Fun times! :-)

Now for the "other stuff":

Camden met with our new parent educator, Carolyn, and she had some helpful tips and suggested since he had the tubes put in to have them checked by the doctor, just to be safe since he is my stubborn child and ignores us alot! It's really hard to get his full attention with eye contact! Sooooo, I scheduled his 18 month well-baby check up for next week a month and a half late. Ooops...I'm a bad mom I guess...

Check out Decovin's mad skills:

Ms. Tina writes their names in green (in this case) and then has them trace over it with another color (yellow in this case)...pretty good for having never done this before!!

The he came home and drew some train tracks! Pretty good if you ask me!!

Stuff

Poor Decovin. Got sick on his 2nd day of school. We had to keep him home due to a low grade fever. He was pretty miserable all day yesterday and I pumped the tylenol all day. He did wake up this morning feeling much better though! Phew! I was worried our labor day weekend was going to be a LONG one. I disinfected my whole house in hopes of keeping the rest of us from getting anything! Here's hoping!

Today we will do nothing and try to stick to home to make sure he is 100% all better before venturing out. So I will finish up some laundry today and try to keep the boys entertained. Bob will be home around 4:15 so it isn't a long day at least. His outage is coming up starting on Oct. 1 and he will be working 4 twelve hour shifts in a row then one day off then 4 twelves then one day off throughout the entire outage which is currently scheduled for 6 weeks but usually they last longer...so I'm hoping I don't lose my sanity during this outage as I will be the sole care taker for the most part as Bob will be up and gone before they wake up and get home right before they are about to go to bed. It will make for a long fall season. But I have some stuff planned that will hopefully keep things copacetic. Like a trip to the mall with my friend Sarah and her girls and possibly a zoo trip in there as well...plenty of trips to the park (or gym at rec center if rainy or too cold out) and lots of play dates at each others houses! I will still have pre school to keep Decovin busy and Gymnastics and Camden will start up with our new Parent Educator this month also! So I'm hoping it will all fly by! ;-)

Ok, so I've rambled enough...love reading all the blogs still so please keep them updated...I really miss the people that quit! ;-(

Happy GratiTuesday!!

Oh I am so happy today! Really and truly! I am so thankful I think I'm oozing with happiness! ;-)

So here's why!

1. My hubby survived his SkyDive! It was an awesome experience for him and I was so glad we were able to provide him with such an awesome gift for his 30th bday!

2. My oldest started preschool this morning. There were absolutely no tears! He barely hugged me bye when I left he wanted to play and have more fun! :-) I had a slight lump in my throat when I left with just Cam and I but I held off the tears! Whoo Hoo! We did it! He had so much fun! He played, colored, ate some donuts, and did some puzzles!! It was truly a successful first day of school!

3. Camden will now get some quality mommy time! We will try to work on his speech and words. He is only slightly delayed due to his awesome ear infection fiasco from this past winter. He is slowly catching up but we definitely have some work to do! ;-) I just set up his first appointment with the new Parent Educator for this Friday so I hope she has some positive feedback for us! :-)

4. This weather...it just makes me giddy for craft fairs and weenie roasts! SO AWESOME!

5. Once again, my friend Sarah makes the list...she helps keep me motivated like none other! Thanks girl!

So why jump out of a perfectly good plane??

Why not?


For Bob's 30th Bday I got him a tandem skydive! It was awesome! He said it was one of the coolest things he has ever done! Yay! I scored big for the big 3-0! Whoo hoo! It was a PERFECT day for jumping out of a plane! It was a really neat thing to watch I tell ya!

Happy GratiThursday!

Hello, I have been busy this week so I am changing the day of my thankfulness this week! ha!

The things I am thankful for this week:

1. My bunco group. It is so nice to have an evening "away"! Mama's need their breaks too! ;-) (um, plus it helps win you win! YES! Cha-ching!)

2. My mom. She seems to always be willing to watch the little guys in a pinch. Thank you so much mom!

3. Latte's. Mmmmmmm. Because coffee sometimes isn't strong enough!

Happy GratiTuesday!!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My friend Sarah. Not sure if there will be a week I am not thankful for her. Play dates rock. I'm not sure how I managed for so long without one before this!!!

2. Facebook. Without which I would not have caught up with an old friend from High School to have dinner with him and his wife. Fun times.

3. Hair products. Withouth these my hair would look CRA-ZAY!

4. Mi familia! It's so wonderful to have my family close and not just geographically speaking. I love them so!

Grati Tuesday Everybody!

I love this new tradition of things I am thankful for. Makes me stop and smell the roses and appreciate the good things that surround me and push out the things that are troublesome...

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My friend Sarah. I am so thankful to have met someone like her and so glad that our kids play so well together. Mostly I am thankful for the adult interaction that is otherwise lacking in my daily routine. She has livened things up and for that I am truely thankful!

2. I still love my washer and dryer. It makes doing laundry almost enjoyable!

3. My ability to cook. Without this particular skill I am sure our dinners would most certainly always be from a box. I am so thankful my mom and mother-in-law taught me some of their best tricks!


Happy Grati Tuesday everyone! I hope everyone has something positive to think about and are able to hone in on it! Happy day!

School Days

So last night was the official open house for Decovin's preschool. The teacher, Ms. Tina, went over what to expect in her classroom for the preschoolers and what kinds of things she does with them. They all get matching T-shirts (not to wear everyday, but they suggest wearing these on show and tell days). He had fun. He played with legos and play-doh and made some friends really fast. He helped another little girl open her play-doh...real sweet. Ms. Tina let them each take home a play-doh too. He thought that was just the bees knees. I, as a parent, had to sign up to help with two holiday events (not that I have to be there but just to help supply some of the items that will be needed)...I did offer to be a room mom though! I LOVE THAT! So exciting that I am able to do that! Oh and did I mention that we live across the street from the preschool!! So we get to walk as long as the weather permits! AWESOME!

He's growing up really fast. Crazy how the time has flown!

Grati Tuesday Everybody!

Things I am thankful for this week:

My youngest easing into a toddler bed with relatively no problems! I don't have any babies anymore.

Lazy mornings. I am so thankful I have these opportunities thanks to my husband's wonderful job that allows me to stay home with the kids. Lazy mornings are my favorite and for this, I am thankful!

My computer. Without this I would have little to no contact with the outside world.

Unlimited text messaging. Without this I would have NO contact with the outside world...ROFL.

18 Months Old

Camden is 18 months old today! Where did the time go?! I took him to Walmart today to get his pictures taken and you can view them by following these steps:

Go to: portraits.pictureme.com (do not type in www otherwise it won't work) then enter my last name: Plummer, then Studio ID#: 10382 then Session #: 100904

The pictures are REAL cute. Enjoy.

After we got the pictures taken we went over to my grandparents house for a small visit. It was good to see them and they were, as always, in awesome spirits! My grandma Stenzel is the most positive person I know. It's amazing! Anyway...it was a pretty decent day and the kids were, for the most part, well behaved. I always dread longer trips without Bob but this one went swimmingly! :-)

Grati Tuesday Everybody!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Gymnastics, my son's only organized outlet outside of this house! He loves it and I love watching him get better and better each week he goes!

2. My grill. It made the most yummy Pork Steaks and Chicken the other night!

3. My sister-in-law and her BF (Liz & Jake). They came up this weekend and watched our boys and our friends kids as well so we could get out for a double date! They ROCK!

4. Our grocery store. It is so close to our house and in a food/recipe emergency it is so nice to have it SO CLOSE!

5. Facebook. It is my outlet that I get the most enjoyment from as I get updates on old friends, new friends and family that I otherwise would have no clue about!

6. My new psuedo niece: Aedri Leigh Grooms who was born last Tuesday! She is a week old today! And man is she CUTE!

7. Online Shopping. Without this my kids would never have new clothes! :-)

8. My washing machine. Without this I would not be able to wash the over abundance of towels we used this week all in ONE load! OH YEAH!

9. My husband. He is 30 today!

10. Nap time. Without this I might go insane! It is a really good day when they both go down at the same time! ROCK STAR!

Date Night

So another couple (Sarah & Jeremiah) we are friends with (Bob works with the guy and the girl and I get along swimmingly) decided to go out on a double date and leave our kiddos (they have 2 girls, ages 2 and 10 months) with my sister-in-law, Elizabeth and her BF, Jacob. They informed us that this was their first time going out without their girls since before they had either of them!!!!! GAH! It was time to get them away!

So we went to Emporia and had yummy BBQ and then to the movies to see Harry Potter. It was great fun to get out and we all enjoyed ourselves a lot! :-) When we got home, Sarah & I went upstairs to get the girls and we found Decovin & Emma (their 2 year old) in Decovin's bed together laying back to back and Emma was snoring away and Decovin was sleepy peacefully...it was the cutest thing since sliced bread! I should have grabbed the camera! It was precious!

The evening was great and we hope to do it again in the near future! :-) Fun times!

GratiTuesday!

I'm stealing Jenni's GratiTuesday blog to also mention things I am grateful for this week, no matter how small!

1. My husband, although not the most romantic man in the world, did stop and notice my simplistic outfit the other day and told me I looked good. I do still catch his eye! yay!

2. My kids' giggles. Without these I wouldn't understand the meaning of true, unconditional love.

3. Toilet paper. THANK YOU!

4. Bunco, my once a month get away!

5. My husbands job which allows me to stay home with our kids. I'm so lucky and I often forget this!

6. Digital Cameras! Enough said!

7. My car. I really do love my Malibu!

8. My GPS!!! The most used electronic device in my car! I use it ALL the time. I am so geographically challenged, this really helps me get me to where I want to go! :-)

9. Internet. Without the internet I would not be able to stay close with so many friends and family!

and finally...

10. Hot dogs. Without these, I'm fairly certain my 3 year old would starve!

Trying to be better!

I'm trying to be better about updating my blog. It went to the wayside for awhile as it has with many of us, but it seems we are all, for the most part, back to blogging! Yay! I think we have lost Amanda, Judy, & Uncle Bob forever. Their loss. :-)

We had an eventful, busy, & fun weekend. Headed to the parents house on Saturday for a wonderful bday celebration picnic! It was perfect weather and we had a yard full! It was good food, good fun and good people! Thanks to all who came and brought food, etc. It was delicious and my kiddos had a blast!

We stayed the night and got up the next morning and just kinda lazed around and didn't really do a whole lot, which was WONDERFUL! Then we headed home in the evening and put the kids to bed straight away.

Today is full of chores for me. I vacuumed, am doing laundry and I plan to clean some toilets I think too! I'll save some other chores for tomorrow. My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, is coming down on Friday for the entire weekend! She is going to babysit my kids and our friends' kids Saturday night while we go out on adouble date! AWESOME! We are going to go out to eat and then to see Harry Potter! SO FUN! Looking forward to it!

Anyway, hope you all have a great week!

Potty Training

Well, I think we have officially mastered the "pooping" portion of potty training. Now to get him to NOT wait until it is too late to make it to the toilet for peeing. He will literally make it to the bathroom jumping up and down and then proceed to stand in front of the toilet and pee his pants...it's like he can't get his pants down fast enough so why bother. GAH! He is too busy playing to be bothered with such things. I guess it could be worse...he could be peeing on the carpet still. Linoleum is easy enough to clean. *sigh* We're getting there! I do enjoy not having to buy diapers or pull-ups for him. He wears undies ALL the time! It rocks...just a few messes here and there to clean up, nothing I can't handle...just wish he wouldn't wait so long!! Boys!

I'm still here!

Just been gone.

For 4th of July we stuck around home and went to the local Burlington Fireworks show. Not bad for a small town. Christy was here and volunteered to stay home with Camden so he could go to bed and we took Decovin. He LOVED the fireworks. Well, not at first. He cried through the first 5 or 6 and then it was WHOA and OOOOOOOO and AHHHHHHH and LOOOOOOK MOMMY! LOOOOOOOK DADDY! It was really cute! And the show only lasted about 35-40 minutes...That was about all D wanted to sit still for so it worked out great!

Went to the lake last week and took my cousins, Quentin (14) & McKinley (12), with us. We had a good time and Bob's cousin and family showed up too. So there were lots of kids for one another to play with and it worked out well! We all ate good, maybe too good, and we all swam a bunch! We even took the boat and jet ski out several times! My in-laws also purchased one of those intertubes you pull behind a boat and we did that a few times too! Talk about FUN! The boys, Q&M didn't want to ride that though. Even though a 7 year old little girl & 8&9 year old little boys did! :-) Oh well, maybe we can convince them another time!

How is everyone's summer going?! Anything exciting going on?!

Zoo, sick, park, sick, fine.

So we went to the zoo on Sunday and then that evening Camden presented with a fever and some major drooling and crying...teething...molars...ok. Two and a half days of crying, fever, drooling, gagging, biting his tongue so hard it bleeds, and some motrin he is fine.

Today we go to the park, just Decovin and I to meet up with Decovin's girlfriend and then we come home...D doesn't want to eat his lunch and is real whiney...so I put him down for his nap and he wakes up looking miserable and radiating heat. Fever of 102.2, then 20 minutes later, he pukes. Lovely. About an hour after that, he pukes again and then within 30 minutes of that he was acting completely back to normal. No fever, no more puking, eating just fine and running around like crazy.

Fine.

Weird?? I think so!

Pool Fun

Fun day today. My friend Abbi came over with her 3 kids and an extra to go to the pool here in Burlington! I also invited my friend Sarah and her two little girls to come along as well! It was a lot of fun and all the kids had fun plus us adults! :-) The kids are crashed too! Gotta love a day in the sun! :-)

First Movie Experience

Decovin getting ready for the movie to start...he has his popcorn, check.
He has his hot dog, check.

He has the after movie nap, check.

It was a really fun day! We got up early and we were worried about the previous nights thunderstorms as to whether or not we would be going through flood waters, but we lucked out and made it to my mom's house no problem. Dropped Camden off with her and then Aunt Christy, D & I headed up to the Palazzo for D's first movie theatre experience. We got there, got the tickets, got the food, got him a booster seat, got our seats and he patiently waited for the movie to start. (Ok, so maybe not PATIENTLY, but the food was a good distraction!). The movie we saw you ask? Up. It was so cute! Decovin really enjoyed it and he did REALLY well considering he has NEVER been asked to SIT STILL during an ENTIRE movie before. He only got up a couple of times to stand by the bars and talked a little bit during but mostly he did REALLY well! I was so impressed with him! There was one part toward the end when he leaned his head on my shoulder and said to me: "I loves you mom!" It was SOOOOO sweet! How does it get any better than that?!

I'm back!

Ok, so we have been out of the state for the past week on vacation and also after our computer crashed I had to wait for Bob to install the antivirus software, etc so he finally did that today and so I am now fully back online!

So...we just got back from the Lake of the Ozarks and we had a great time, for the most part. The trip started last Friday leaving when Bob got home from work and we made it to the cabin with our new/used jet ski a little after 9pm. We stayed through to the following Saturday...we swam, used the jet ski, took out Bob's parents new/used boat, and even hit up the annual cavern trip (Bridal Caves)!! It was relaxing and overall we had a good time. I started out the trip with a nice tumble down our stairs Friday morning at home before we left. I was fine Friday but by Saturday and well into Sunday I was STIFF and REALLY sore!! I could hardly turn my head left & right and I must have jarred my left shoulder as I could barely rotate my arm and it was hard to get dressed! LOL! Oh and I also got a cold too...lovely sore throat with chills and aches (although not sure if this was from cold or falling down stairs) and just overall "ucky-ness"!! Oh and did I mention aunt flo invited herself too?! GAH! It was a trifecta of annoyances! LOL! Oh well, it was still managable and we still had fun! Pictures to come soon!

We are back home now and I am so glad to be home. My bed was so AWESOME last night after not being in it for over a week! It was very welcoming! :-)

Oh and have I mentioned that we bought new front loader washer and dryers and still have not had them hooked up yet?!?! The cord needed to set up the w/d properly was not long enough and the guy ordered me a new one but ordered the wrong size!!! So we were supposed to get it Friday before we left but they didn't get it in in time so I have to call them tomorrow and hopefully they can come out and hook it all up so I can do some laundry!!!

The boys are doing great and getting so big. Decovin is doing so awesome on potty training. He is telling us when he needs to pee AND poop now! YAY!! We still have accidents here and there but we are in underwear all day with the exception of bedtime. But he has been waking up dry for some time now. Just too chicken to take the pull up away just yet. But we are getting there! Yay!!

Camden is finally saying words since he had his tubes put in...it's like all of a sudden he can hear properly and it is "clicking" for him. It's really cute. His laugh will make anyone laugh also. He sounds like a little billy goat. It's quite humorous. Anyway...

That is all I can think of for now. I hope you are all still blogging! I do love to check them!!

Ear Tubes, Crash, Graduation, Parties, & Fever

Camden had tubes put in his ears last Monday on the 11th. It was SUPER fast!! We were told to be there at 6:50am. Checked in, did some paperwork, they sent us back to the room to talk to the doctors and nurses, more paperwork...this took approximately 40 minutes. Then the nurse took him back and they told me to wait in the waiting room and they would call me back the minute he was brought back to the room. I read a page and a half in my book and they called me back!!! SO FAST! Then it took another 15-20 minutes for him to come out of his drugged up stuper and we were on our way! In and out in like an hour and 20 minutes! CRAZY! He was completely back to his normal self after he took his afternoon nap! AMAZING! He has been doing well ever since...haven't had any drainage or him grabbing at his ears or anything!! Keeping our fingers crossed!!

So our computer crashed last week and it still isn't up and running fully... Internet access only and only to safe websites until virus protection is uploaded. Lost all my photos (will have to order them from KodakGallery if I want them here at the house) and all my videos. Whatever I didn't get around to uploading on UTube is gone...*SOB*

So I have learned my lesson and will start backing up EVERYTHING at least weekly if not every other day! Grrrrrr! Please do not lecture me mother. :-)

Next Subject: This past weekend was graduation central on Bob's side of the family. It started with Friday night. Elizabeth, his littlest sister, graduated from Johnson County Community College during a hail storm and pouring down rains! We all sat SOAKED throughout the ceremony...BRRRRRR!!!!! Then Saturday Decovin woke up with a fever and so we missed Bob's cousin Brad's high school graduation in the morning and his graduation party in the afternoon. It was looking like I was going to miss his other cousin Austin's high school graduation that evening but lucky for me I have the greatest family in the world and my Aunt Melodie and her two boys came over to watch them for me so I could go! Yay!

Decovin's fever was off and on all day Saturday and when he woke up Sunday it was back to normal...so I decide we can make the trek to the park for Elizabeth's graduation party. It was fun and a BEAUTIFUL day for it and we stayed for a couple of hours then I left as both the boys were EXHAUSTED! So the trip home was QUIET! YAY! Then after a few hours of being home I checked D's temp again and BAM, it is back up through the roof...more motrin was administered and then I put him to bed. I checked on him again at 5:30am and it was back up again so I gave him another shot of motrin and he slept til 8:30 and it has been normal since...I did call the doctor's office this morning to see about talking to a nurse to see if it was necessary to come in or not. He is acting fine otherwise and Amanda said that as long as he is "normal" then a fever is not going to hurt him. So I am waiting for the nurse to call back. We'll see.

So I am exhausted from this weekends festivities but it was a fun weekend and now I am looking forward to my MaryKay party this weekend...everyone is invited. I am having two parties...one at 2pm and one at 3pm so that everyone can get a color makeover! :-) Let me know what time works best for you so I can start tallying my lists!

Oh and the last weekend in May thru June 6 we are headed to the Lake of the Ozarks for our family vacation! It is our only opportunity to do something this year as Bob will be in training for the better part of the summer. So I am SO looking forward to this! Just have to get some ear plugs for Camden so he doesn't get lake water in his ears...that is IF we decide to go in the water...it may be too cold yet...but we do plan on taking out my father-in-laws new/used boat they just bought!!! YES!!!

Sinus Icky!

So Decovin and I have been down and out with the sinus funk. We are all stopped up and draining and coughing and just feeling lovely all over!

Last Thursday I met up with Amanda to go see The Color Purple at the music hall in downtown KC. We hit happy hour first at an awesome hip and trendy restaraunt called Nara (http://www.narakc.com/) and had some really cheap appetizers that were to die for and some pretty yummy martini's as well! Then we headed over to the theatre and watched the AWESOME production and then I had to head back home. Well, I had to pick up the boys first from Bob's cousin's house as they were babysitting for me then on home...so I didn't get home until just after 1am! Oh well, it was totally worth it! FUN!

Saturday I drove back to Olathe to throw my best friend Kim a baby shower!! Crystal and I did the hosting and I think we did a pretty good job if I do say so myself! :-) Afterwards I drove up to Shawnee Mission Medical Center to visit my Aunt Melodie who landed herself in the hospital with an inflamed bowel! OUCH! No fun! She is supposed to be released today so that is good but she had to hold off on eating per doctors orders for 2 days! I am not sure how she did it but I am glad she is getting to go home soon!

Now I am focusing on Marianne's shower this coming Saturday...I just hope the baby holds off until AFTER the party. hehe! I can't believe he is coming this month already! I will have my very first nephew! YAY!

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on. Just trying to get caught up on chores around the house and then I feel like May will be over in 2.2 seconds with all the baby showers, baby arrivals, graduations, graduation parties, AND my marykay party (which is on the 23rd at 1pm, feel free to come!)!! I feel like it is going to be a big ol' blur! YIKES! Buckle up! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

The Chicago Trip

So this weekend was our big trip to Chicago for the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K walk/run for the colon cancer coalition. So we decided to make a little mini-vacation out it while we were up there. Our flight left KCI on Thursday evening around 6:20ish with no problems and we arrived at the O'Hare Airport and caught the shuttle to the Hertz rental car place and got our car with no problems. We were STARVING as it was 8pm by the time we got the car but the restaurant we wanted to go to (Burt's Place) closed at 9pm and we arrived at 8:46pm and they were not making any more food for the evening...they are strict about how you order! OY!

Friday morning we woke up and headed to downtown Chicago for an exciting day of sightseeing and museum walking...hmmm...well after we parked in a lot (that cost $18!!!) we decided we might not see as much of Chicago as we would hope to, not at those prices as nothing is close enough to walk to several things...you have to get a cab or catch a train or trolley or move your car to another $20 lot!! OUCH! So we only went to the Museum of Science & Industry and we didn't find out until after we already paid our money that it was geared more towards kiddos and not adults, although it did have some adult moments, it still wasn't necessarily worth the tour. Thanks goodness I had a coupon for buy one admission get one free! :-)

After that, we headed to the outskirts of downtown and tried to eat at a Gino's Pizza joint only to find out it was closed! So we went to a little restaraunt next door that was a little hole in the wall Italian joint! The food was delicious and it was worth the mistake!

Then it was back to downtown to pay for more parking and up to the Sears Tower Skydeck. They were only open to the 99th floor that day for whatever reason so we didn't ACTUALLY get to the top but whatever. It was still cool and I'm glad we went, it was a nice 360 degree view of the city!

After that we decided to call it a day for the downtown area and headed back up to our hotel and called in a reservation at Burt's Place for their "famous" deep dish pizza. I found this joint from a TV show I like to watch called Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations...too bad we actually had to make a reservation...heh heh! Anyway we ended up sitting at the exact same booth as Anthony and I got my picture taken with the owners wife and we enjoyed our meal! It was TRULY delicious! Mmmmmm!!!

Saturday we got up early and headed down to pre-register for the 5K run/walk. We got our bag of goodies and put them in our car that was parked across the street in a $25/day lot...sigh...and then waited for the walk to begin. It rained a little on us before the walk started but let up and didn't do it again until WAY later on in the afternoon! So the walk was fun and we had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan and other random sights along the way! When we were done with the walk we decided to walk to the Hitchcock building and purchase the recommended trolley/double decker tour of the city...this was fun! We rode it to the theatre district where we got off and found a cute little greek diner where we ate lunch then hopped back on the bus and went to Shedd Aquarium...we were planning on this being our museum of the day but when we got there, there was a line so long we said forget it and went to The Field Museum next door instead. Well worth it! It was only sad b/c we had to rush through in order to see everything and to catch the trolley back to "near" our car!

Got back on the double decker bus and DOWN POUR of rain came BLOWIN' in!! They gave us a poncho and we were the only two who braved the storm on top exposed to the elements. It was cold, rainy, and windy! AWESOME! We were forced to the lower level once lightening started to strike! YIKES! So, soaked and cold we departed the trolley for our 1 1/2 mile trek back to our car! We had to stop at a Barnes & Noble to get coffee and a snack and to warm up before braving the winds again. But we made it and it was a good day!

When we got back to the hotel, we dried off and decided to ask the locals where to go for dinner...so we hit up a hole in the wall Mexican joint with authentic Mexican food...we ordered the Flautas de Pollo and they were DELICIOUS! I was only sad that I didn't read the menu more carefully as they had Brain Tacos and Cow Head Tacos that I totally would have ordered just to say I had eaten it!!! Oh yeah! I like to live on the edge! Bummer!

We went back to the hotel and played some Wii (the hotel had one in their lobby, of which we played every night we were there!) and then crashed at 9:45pm! We were exhausted.

Sunday we decided was going to be our sleep in day and not worry about touring day...so we took our time then headed to a nearby strip mall to go see a movie, 17 Again, pretty funny! Then we ate lunch next door at Shaw's Crab House and it was DELICIOUS!

Then we decided we better head back to the Hertz rental to drop off the car and get checked in for our flight...they told us to allow 2 hours for this process...we allowed 3! Apparently that didn't matter!! We were scheduled to leave at 5:22pm but our flight was delayed initially b/c the plane was late getting to Chicago. Then when it did arrive they discovered a mechanical error and pushed us to an adjoining gate which pushed out the departure even later. Then we think they were just making stuff up because we didn't start boarding until 7:45pm!!! Then, because they overbooked the flight (awesome) they had to make sure we made the weight limit and they put in the maximum amount of gas b/c they anticipated having to fly in a holding pattern due to weather. Unfortunately they put TOO much gas in it so we had to sit on the runway for half an hour just burning fuel to get to the legal limit to take off!!! We finally took off around 8:45pm to head for KC.

We get above Kirksville, MO and are put in a holding pattern. We are in this holding pattern for just over an hour. During which we hit a random patch of what we all thought was turbulence only to hear the captain on the radio tell us, that it wasn't turbulence but that another plane is in the same holding pattern and he thought he better get out of their way?!?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?! Ok, we didn't need to hear that, whatever! So then the captain gets on the intercom and tells us that we are starting to deplete our fuel and they are thinking about sending us back to the Chicago! OMG! They nix this idea and land us in St. Louis to refuel. We are not allowed to leave the plane and on short flights like this they don't provide snacks so if you didn't have dinner beforehand you were screwed! Luckily we brought some snacks on board. We finally take off from St. Louis around 11:45pm and head back to KC for attempt #2...they had to fly us south of KC under the storm and so we finally landed around 1am! That's right...1am! So by the time we got our bags and caught the tram back to our car in extended parking it was 2am! Then we were starving so we found a 24/hour McDonalds and grabbed something to eat and then headed to Bob's parents house where we arrived at 3am! We were EXHAUSTED and just glad to be near a bed! So we got up this morning and headed back to Burlington after lunch and I couldn't be happier to be home.

Chicago was fun, it had its high points and its low points but I am not sure we will be rushing back to get there again any time soon! haha! I hope the Get Your Rear In Gear group does a Kansas City function soon! :-)

Last chance-------------->>>>>>>

Last chance to donate to the Colon Cancer Coalition...Bob and I leave Thursday for Chicago for the 5K on Saturday! The link is to the right of the screen. Thank you so much for your donations! It really means a lot!

For those of you not familiar with my family, that is my cousin Michelle who has been battling colon cancer since December of 2004...she is a fighter and her faith is unreal and for that I admire her. I love you Mic!

Not much...

Nothing real exciting has been going on since Easter. My in-laws celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on the 13th with my father-in-law being sick so we ended up not going out. :-( We did go over to my sister-in-law Tabitha's house though and ordered pizza and visited. It was fun. Our niece, Abby, is so close to walking it's not even funny! She is one smiley baby and I just love her to pieces!

Went to Emporia on Friday and delivered my lasagna to one of Bob's co-workers whose wife just had twins. Then we decided since it was so nice out to visit the Emporia Zoo. Although VERY small, it is free and worth it for toddlers...quick walk (they don't need a stroller it is so short) and they have SOME interesting animals to look at. Ha! Decovin was scared that all the animals were going to get him, we had to keep reassuring him that they were behind a cage and could not get out. Not sure where he developed this fear.

Then Saturday I went to Paola to see my grandma in her new assisted living home. It is very nice and I was glad I went. She was just as excited to see me I think! LOL! I helped organize a few of her dresser drawers and label them so she can remember where things are and then I went across the street to the hair salon to see some dear friends whose daughter was getting her hair done for prom! I got her some flowers for her hair and she used them, it was REALLY REALLY cute! :-) Then I headed to LaCygne for a sleepover at Christy's with MEAGAAAAAAANNNN!!! We attended the Prom Walk-In at Prairie View then we went back to Christy's house and watched a couple of movies and ate a TON of food! It was fun! Stayed up WAY too late and woke up WAY too early but it was a blast! Then Sunday I came home and hung out with the fam for the rest of the day and here I am today...typing away my weekend stories for you all! ha!

Oh! Side Note: When we went to Emporia we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things and a friend of mine suggested we let Decovin pick out his own underwear so he could feel like he was a part of the process. He picked out Thomas the Train ones and was SOOOO excited...so we let him wear them and he wet the first two but he TOLD us so that is a start, although he did poop in a different pair and didn't tell us...so that is going to be a whole other battle...then the next day he stayed dry ALL day! And as of 11:30am this morning he has been dry all day too! Waiting for the poop though as he didn't poop yesterday...we are bribing him with "coins" if he goes poop in the toilet. We keep telling him that Thomas doesn't want to get wet or dirty so we have to keep him clean by using the toilet instead of our pants...*shrug*...we'll see. The saga continues...

Easter Weekend Fun

Well Easter has come and gone with a blink of an eye! I can't believe it is already over! We colored eggs, hunted eggs, played with new friends and cousins, ate LOTS of food, and all in a 2 1/2 day period! I'm exhausted!

Friday was coloring egg fun with Aunt Christy, Meagan and her niece Gracie. Saturday was spent traveling up to my brother's home and letting the kids play together and then Sunday was FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! It was a fun weekend but I'm glad to be home. Just sad Bob had to work all weekend and missed out on all the fun. :-)

Decovin & Aunt Christy coloring some eggs! He LOVED it!

Gracie and her Aunt Meagan colored some too!:

Us Girls after the coloring was all over!:The Kiddos playing in the JumpHouse. They all had a blast together!!

Well, that's that...

I cancelled my subscription to Weight Watchers online today. I met my goal back in October and have maintained it since...so I figure I can keep it up on my own. Was meaning to cancel it months ago but just got scared that when I did, the weight would just come back on...stupid superstition, but I think I believe in myself enough to know it's going to be just fine now! Wish me luck!

Another ear infection plagues this house!

Poor Camden, he just can't win for losin'! He, along with Bob & Decovin have been coughing for over a week now. Other than the cough and slight runny nose, there was NOTHING to indicate doctor attention until yesterday when Camden cried/screamed for 3 hours straight!!! I tried EVERYTHING in the book. Diaper change, food, drink (even juice), orajel, tylenol, vicks rub, warm bath with vapor bath stuff, laying him down for a rest...NOTHING worked!! GAH!

So I called Bob at work and instructed him to go buy some motrin on his way home just to try something else and by the time he got home we gave it to him and within 30minutes he was fine. Random??? We put him to bed at 8:20 and he didn't get up until 7:20 the next morning and acted fine all morning...so then I was stuck with the dilema of: Do I call the doctor or not? I finally decided to make an appointment and good thing I did b/c he has a flaming red ear and the doctor is referring us to see and E.N.T. to talk about getting tubes put in...yippee! So he is on antibiotics again and hopefully it will clear up fast. He has been happy as a lark today though...so I have NO idea what will be next for that little boy! LOL!

I wish I could post: APRIL FOOL'S at the end of this but alas, it is true. *sigh*

I'm Bored

So I was expecting to wake up to a SNOW covered ground and all we have is some freezing rain. It's not even sticking to the roads?!?! Weatherman said 100% chance for snow yesterday...WRONG! Whatever! I'm sure it will snow some but I'm doubting 10 inches will be fallin...I guess I should bite my tongue.

Anyway...I've been cooped up in this house for a week now due to my boys being sick. I did manage a grocery store run yesterday but I don't really count that as "getting out!" More like a necessary evil. Was supposed to go to my cousin Wendy's wedding but had to cancel those plans b/c I didn't want my sister-in-law driving down here (to watch the boys) in this supposed bad weather and on top of that Bob and the boys are SICK! So, I stay home for yet another day in this house. I guess I should clean or something but I just don't have the will or energy to do such things. Excuses, I know.

I was lucky enough, knock on wood, to not get whatever gunk the boys got, but am not ruling it out b/c the moment I do, BAM...I'll be sick! It is no fun to be a sick stay-at-home mom...there is no rest for mom when you're sick.

Bob is sleeping right now as he just got off of nights this morning...but since he is sick himself, I'm doubting he is going to be much fun to hang out with...ha! Oh well...I guess I will have to find something to entertain myself...was crocheting something special but ran out of yarn...ordered some but have to wait for delivery...

Any suggestions???

New Ride...

Well, we bought a new (well, new to us) vehicle yesterday. But not without some drama along the way...

We have been searching for a Jeep Grand Cherokee for a couple of months now so that we have the capability to pull a boat (eventually) and to be able to haul things, etc. So we started our search on CraigsList.com but with little luck. A new jeep would post and we would call first thing and it was either sold or listed incorrectly or there was something wrong with it or it didn't have the tow package, etc...SOOOoooooo...finally we looked on AutoTrader.com and found one located in Wichita that was perfect! We called the guy up and he still had it and everything was what we wanted, so we hop in the car to head that direction...

We stop half way in Emporia to snag lunch and we waited to start giving the boys their food until we got on the turnpike. Decovin then says he doesn't want any and that his belly hurts. I didn't think anything of it, b/c lately his new thing is to say his belly hurts and that he needs to go to the doctor and then seconds later will ask for food...so when he said it this time, I wasn't thinking it was a big deal. Well, minutes later hot shot throws up everywhere!! Wonderful. No place to pull over or turn around as we are on the turnpike so I pull off the road and Bob starts cleaning him up and this required stripping the boys clothes off b/c they were not salvagable for wear at this point in time. Now keep in mind yesterday was WINDY and GUSTY and just plain horrible for driving conditions so we think that he had a case of car sickness (granted he has been coughing a lot lately and has a runny nose so not to entirely rule out just plain being sick). After that little fiasco he asked for his french fries and ate happily while watching Wall-E on DVD and so we proceeded to Wichita. When we got there the first stop was Walmart to get him some clothes to wear! So I grabbed a few outfits (just in case it happened again) and then off to the dealership.

The purchase was smooth and the Jeep is AWESOME! We love it! We lucked out too b/c while we were there someone from Oklahoma called in and said he would take the Jeep...luckily we were already purchasing it! Phew! Almost lost another one!

Decovin was fine the rest of the day and slept REALLY well last night and the only thing he has is a runny nose (or as he likes to call it: A boogah nose) and a cough. So maybe it was just the wind causing the car to jerk around enough to make him car sick? You never know with kiddos...so of course when we got home I stripped the car seats down and washed them and I cleaned the seat in the back of the car and the seat belt, although I can't quite get rid of the smell on the seat belt...lovely!

So that was our Monday...how was yours?

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month! Have you been screened lately? Think about!

Bob & I have officially registered for the 5k Run/Walk in Chicago, IL with the non-for-profit colon cancer coalition. I just love their campain slogan: "Get Your Rear In Gear"! (http://www.getyourrearingear.com/) Such good advise! So with that said, get yourself screened even if you think you are too young to worry about it! It can hit ya at any age!

If you would like to help raise awareness along with us, visit our donations page at: http://www.active.com/donate/gyrigchicago09/JenandBob

Your help is greatly appreciated! Love you all!

Trip to Michelle's

Christy & I had us a short vacation to Wildwood, MO. We went to see our cousin Michelle. It was a lot of fun and we had some really good laughs! It was so good to see Michelle and she was the perfect host! We watched more YouTube videos in that short weekend than I have ever watched in my whole life in one setting! LOL! Michelle's little guy, Ben, wanted to see videos of Decovin & Camden so I let them watch a bunch of those and for the adults we watched a lot of old SNL skits and other comedians that crack us up. It was good times!

I also got to see an old college roommate who happens to live 5 miles from Michelle. It was awesome to see her and her husband (he went to college there too)! They have a little boy that is only a couple of weeks older than Camden so I got to play with little Will while I was there also. They took me out to lunch and we got to catch up a little.

On our way home, Christy & I stopped in Hermann, MO to pick up some wine and cheese and whatever else we could find! It was really fun but I am EXHAUSTED! It is always good to be home but I miss Michelle already! If you are reading this Michelle, I hope you are feeling better and LAUGHING at something! ;-) Love you!

Misc

So Monday night I decided to take Decovin to a "trial" gymnastics class. Basically they let you take them to one class for free to see if they are suited to take the class yet. They have to listen and be able to follow simple directions, etc. Well, at first Decovin didn't want to do it but once he got going he had a blast! Especially when he got to jump on the BIG trampoline! So we are going to enroll him and he starts full time in two weeks. And by full time I mean once a week for half an hour. Haha! They figure that is about all that is necessary for tots! Right-O!

Last night was Bunco and I didn't win a darn thing...oh well, it was still fun. Christy was the host and it was "80's Night"...so we got to listen to 80's music and movies while we played...it was fun! I brought a macaroni & cheese bake and it was ever so popular, so I thought I would share the recipe in case you were interested...

INGREDIENTS
1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (I didn't have seasoning salt so I just used some salt, garlic powder & onion salt)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water.
In a bowl mix milk, eggs, sour cream, seasoning salt, and pepper. Layer macaroni, cheddar cheese, and milk mixture until pan is full. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and pour melted butter on top.
Bake in a preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until milk mixture is done

St. Patty's Day fun!

We had a blast! We were going to go bowling but it took us about an hour just to get seated and so we decided to just stay at the restaurant and drink a couple of margaritas instead. Yum! Oh and the table next to us was quite entertaining to say the least...so we had fun!! LOTS of fun! Thanks for going out again ladies!

Don't it always seem to go???

I am scheduled to get my hair cut and colored this afternoon and this morning I went into the local coffee shop and the lady working is also our P.A.T. lady and she says to me: "Did you just get your hair cut? It's really really cute!"...DOH! Then I follow up my coffee visit to the doctor's office for my "yearly exam" (fun) and my doctor says the SAME THING!!! Don't it always seem to go that the day you plan to change something b/c you are tired of it, everyone else starts to notice your hair to then make you not want to change that something! LOL! Oh well. Still gonna do it...this will be the first time I have colored my hair in over a year! The last time was when all of us gals went right after Camden was born last year! We should do that again...I have another fun salon full of fun gals!

A fun visit!

My friend Lynn Gonzalez, whom I originally met in San Diego (we worked together at UOP), came to visit me this weekend! Her and her hubby now live in Texas and she was in Tulsa on buisness so she decided to rent a car and drive up to see us! It was so good to see her! I practically LIVED at their home(s) in San Diego when we lived there! We had some good times. We didn't do anything exciting, just hung out at home here mostly. I took her around town, which only took 5 minutes...ha! I cooked a lot and we chatted a TON! It was so fun and I was sad to see her go this morning! She did get to see the awesome Kansas weather in action though. When she arrived on Thursday morning it reached almost 70 degrees and when she left this morning it was snowing...OY! She loved it though, since she has only see it snow maybe one other time in her entire life! LOL! Anyway, that is all that is going on for now.

Camden's eye still looks gross but it is healing just fine. He is walking SOOOO good now too! It won't be long before he will be standing up on his own in the middle of the room without the assistance of a couch or table or chair!

Oh and Wednesday night I tried to slice off part of my thumb with the mandolin slicer...that was painful and altogether awful! It still hurts and looks disgusting but it is healing now too! That's all that's new for now.

Eye Doctor

So Decovin had his first eye doctor visit today. He was a very big boy and did everything the doctor asked and didn't complain at all! It was AWESOME! Totally unexpected. I forgot my camera but took a few with my cell phone...

The doctor said that he is a wee bit farsighted right now but that usually most kids are up until the age of 5 and then it evens out. He also said that if one parent is near sighted (me) then there is a 5 out of 10 chance our kids will be too! Oh well. There could be worse things.

I took another pic of Camden's eye today...day 3 after the incident and it now has that awesome "jaundice" yellow look to it. haha!

Right in the kisser!

Yesterday I went to my in-laws for my sister-in-laws bday dinner my M-I-L was making. Camden decided to trip over his own two feet and smacked RIGHT into their coffee table...his eye turned purple IMMEDIATELY and then it started swelling w/in a minute after that...it was pretty traumatic but he got some tylenol and some ice and he was fine. Left a nice little reminder though! YEEEEEOUCH!