Happy Birthday Katrina!!

My niece Katrina turned 6 today!!!

Katrina Nicole Long
Born: 01/18/04
Time: 3:54pm
Weight: 6lbs 4.6oz
Length: 19 3/4"

Katrina, age 1:

Katrina, age 2:

Katrina, age 3:

Katrina, Age 4:

Katrina, Age 5:

Katrina, Age 6:

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My family. I love that we are now close enough for a quick visit whenever we want! LOVE IT! We had a good time seeing my mom & dad and sis. Played some games, watched some movies and cooked some yummy meals! Yay for family time!

2. Pediatric dentists! Ours is awesome...they are so good with the boys and they both will let them clean their teeth! It amazes me EVERYTIME...Camden went yesterday and didn't cry once! It truly suprised me!

3. My neck pillow that i got for Christmas from my Aunt Mendy & Uncle Jim...it really has been awesome this week...I just warm it up in the microwave and put it on my shoulders and it not only warms me up, it released the tension in my shoulders from working out, etc! LOVE IT! Thanks guys!

4. Internet...not sure how anything was done before the internet...Bob and I have pretty much planned our entire Hawaii trip online! How cool is that?!

5. Bob's job. I'm still so thankful that Bob got this job that has allowed me to continue to stay home with the boys and for the pay raises he has been getting that is allowing us to take our honeymoon to Hawaii in April/May! SO EXCITED!

6. The "heat-wave" that has come to Kansas! I might actually get to see my friend Sarah this week! YAY!!! I'm having major withdrawals and can't wait to get back to our play dates!

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Amazon.com...what did we do before this website wonder?!

2. Routines...I'm not sure what I would do without them...keeps everything in order

3. Preschool back in session...get's Decovin out of the house and then Cam and I can go grocery shopping! Fabulous!

4. My boys being so close in age! We recently moved their beds into the same room and made the other room the "playroom!" They LOVE it and I do too! Still working on bedtime though...Camden is still in that "get out of bed 100 times" phase...and with Decovin being in the room it isn't helping much...so we have decided to put Camden down 15-20 minutes before Decovin...it worked wonders last night!! :-)

5. 4-wheel drive. So glad Bob's vehicles have this since he has to travel in all this nasty weather everyday...makes me feel better knowing the chances of him getting "stuck" somewhere are lessened! ;-)

6. Snuggles...my boys are awesome at it right now!

Here are the boys wrestling:

Me and Camden just got done wrestling:

Decovin getting ready to go play in the snow!:

Decovin getting in the "cave" daddy and him dug out of a snow drift in our back yard:Daddy pushing Decovin on a cardboard sled...we're ghetto like that! (Thanks Christy for providing not only a shop vac for bob but for an awesome ghetto sled too!: LOL!

Happy New Year!!

Wow, it 2010!! It's been awhile since I posted last...a lot has happened since then!

Christmas has come and gone and so has the year! Wow! We had an AWESOME Christmas this year and we were able to make it to our destination amid the blizzard we had the night before! As a matter of fact on Christmas Eve our power kept going off and on for a solid 2 hours in the middle of the day and it worried me that I wouldn't be able to get my baking done! But it finally came back on and stayed on until 10pm and then it went out and we finished up our packing via flashlight. Around 2:30 am I woke up with a VERY COLD head...I sat straight up and said: "is our power still off??!!" Bob got up and checked the thermostat and said it was 54 degreess!! GAH! So he braved the weather and bundled up and got some wood to start a fire in our fireplace (that we have never used since we bought this place and knew it probably should have been properly cleaned out before, but we were desperate at this point!)...meanwhile I went to put more blankets on the boys (who were perfectly warm and in peaceful slumber!) WHOOHOO for good circulation! haha! Anyway...Bob finally got inside with all the wood and was trying to start the fire (we only had ONE newspaper as we had JUST set out recycling two days prior and it was the Burlington paper at that...so like 6 pages!!) and it wasn't working wasn't working and then BAM, lights came back on! Phew! So we had a warm Christmas morning afterall!

It was really cute to see the boys come down the stairs that morning! Their eyes were in total amazement that Santa actually had come to our house! Camden belted out a low and slow "WOOOOAAAAHHHH" and Decovin just stared! LOL! Then the excitement of it all started. Santa brought them a really cool basketball goal and scooter and a fun bouncy ball with handles...GOOD TIMES!

Bob and I also faired well with an ipod, nintendo ds, boston red sox gear, and other randomness...I did get my Chi flat iron! YES!! It was a good year!

We spent Christmas afternoon and the next two days with Bob's parents...we only got the van stuck once in his g'parents driveway of death, but other than that, we didn't really have a problem.

On the 26th, Bob and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! It's crazy to think we have been married this long...it seems like just yesterday...but this is a good thing, b/c I still love him and I couldn't imagine life without him!! We were going to out on a date but ended up not going due to weather...so we ordered pizza with his family and we drove to the store to pick it up...that's how we roll, classy style! Really it's not a big deal b/c we are going to Hawaii in April/May to celebrate. We never had a honeymoon so this is it, 10 years later! I'm so excited. We have our plane tickets booked and our first four nights booked...we will be finishing up the bookings over the next week or so! Totally excited!

For New Year's Christy came over, as is our tradition now and we snacked on cheese, crackers, and sausage, creamcheese ball of goodness, chex mix, margarita's, chocolate, and little smokies! Can you say belly ache?! LOL! It was fun and Decovin actually made it to midnight! Camden went to bed at normal bedtime hour! LOL! It was fun!

Tomorrow is back to the grind. Bob is back to work and I'm now in prepping for two little boys' bdays! It's a crazy time of year for the Plummer's! LOL! I can't believe they will be 4 and 2 already! *sigh*

Sorry for the long post! Hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season!

GratiMonday!

I am just too thankful to wait for Tuesday I guess! LOL!

1. My snuggly boys! They just warm my heart when they snuggle with me! I love it so and I know it won't last forever so I try to enjoy it when they do snuggle with me!

2. My hubby's work schedule. Although sometimes this could easily go in the "not thankful for" category, it is truly nice he gets 6 days off in a row every 6 weeks and then he gets to add vacation on the back of it so he gets 2 weeks off for Christmas starting tomorrow! Love it!

3. Having two kids...there was a time when I considered only having one and now I couldn't imagine life without both! They get along, for the most part, with each other and play well together! I love that they "take care of each other" too...it's real cute...plus Camden now calls Decovin "bubby"...I secretly LOVE this! ;-)

4. Hubby's job...I've been thankful for this in the past but I really am so greatful that he has a job that allows me to stay home with the boys and one that is very fruitful! ;-) So much thanks there!

5. Friends and family! I love you all so much and I couldn't imagine my life without you all! Thank you for being you!

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you all have safe travels to all your desitnations this season!

Holiday Baking Begins

I started doing my annual baking today. So far I have made truffles and chocolate covered pretzels. Christy came over and Decovin, her and I decorated a gingerbread house...it has now become an official tradition!! A dash to the store is now necessary to further my treat making extravaganza...I ran out of vanilla!!! Who runs out of vanilla?!? Gah! Anyway, I have plans to make peanut butter kiss cookies, some yummy macaroon version of the "kiss" cookie and who knows what else! I just love to bake!

Anyway...this week will be pretty busy. Tomorrow Camden has is follow up with the early interventionist to go over her findings. Tuesday Decovin has practice for his Christmas program in the morning then his program in the evening. Wednesday Bob is taking me up to the city for a belated birthday celebration and Thursday is Decovin's school holiday party! Friday I am going to take the boys over to our friend Sarah's house to have a little mini party for our kiddos to exchange their gifts, etc...Saturday I am attending a wedding of a very special friend...Sunday is free...I think! LOL! Phew...like I said...BUSY!

Well, I hope you are all doing well and this holiday season is happy and joyful!

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Parents As Teachers and the coop for screening Camden for his speech. It is only SLIGHTLY delayed but I will find out more tomorrow after he is screened by the speech therapist fully. Puts my mind at ease. Plus I'm an advocate for early detection!! ;-)

2. My hubby for having a stable and good paying job to allow me to be able to stay at home with my kids. Not sure how to ever repay him for that!

3. The Christmas season! It is my favorite time of year! The lights, the decorations, the giving, the family, EVERYTHING!! I love it!! (I secretly even like the snow!!)

4. My dad's progressive healing...he is such an awesome person! I love him dearly!

Hope you all have a great week!

Much love!

Bday Fun for Mac, Early Bday for me, and Christmas in the Park!

Well yesterday was a fun-filled day! It started out at Dave & Buster's for McKinley's 13th bday! We ate lunch then headed off to play some arcade games and collect tickets...Decovin ended up with a cool car and Camden got a stuffed lollipop...;-)

Then we headed off to Christmas in the Park (a family tradition since I was a kid) in Lee's Summit, MO. It is really fun and the kids go gaga for all the lights! They were both squealing and giggling and generally had a good time!

It was then off to On the Border for a yummy mexican treat and some early bday wishes and singing from the staff! GAH! It was fun and the free soapapillas were worth the embarrassment! Yum! Thanks Christy and Amanda! They bought my dinner and the boys' dinner and Christy got me a smelly good plug-in scentsy thing with refills and a new bookmark with Edward on it! Whoo hoo! haha!

It was a good bday...only sad Bob wasn't able to come. Stupid night shift! Oh well.

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...