Easter Weekend

Easter weekend went well until it was over...then it was not so good...but I'll get back to that later.

The good stuff:

Saturday we headed up to my Aunt Melodie's for an early Easter get together/Bday party for my Grandma who turned 83! It was fun to see everyone and it was BEAUTIFUL out! :-) Perfect weather for the kids to play outside in the jump house my brother brought!

Sunday we spent with Bob's family and had a great day! Another excellent day as far as weather goes! The kids got to do their Easter egg hunt and had a blast and were spoiled of course! :-) They all looked fantastic and were, for the most part, on their best behaviors! It was awesome, and our meal was awesome too!!!

The Not So Good Stuff:

Now, Monday morning (early, 6am) we were woken up by a very sick boy. Decovin started throwing up and continued to do so for the next few hours, he had a low grade fever to accompany this mess. He looked pathetic and miserable until about 10:45 and he started to perk up. We made it home around noon and then he REALLY perked up! He was perfectly back to normal by 1pm! Appetite was back and everything! Geesh!

Me, on the other hand, started to feel like a cold was brewing on Easter Sunday but felt fine until Monday afternoon when I started to go downhill. Aches all over, low grade fever, sore throat, sinus drainage, ears plugged, and over all ickyness...thank goodness for over the counter meds...they have been helping quite a bit but I wish I felt better especially since bob is getting ready to start his night shift and it's effectively like being a single parent. No rest for the wicked I suppose. I'm managing but I feel bad for the kids as I have no energy to take them outside to play in this nice weather and all I want to do is sleep and can't. I'm hoping it passes quickly and I am back to normal soon!

On a sad note, a guy in Bob's class lost his daughter yesterday in a 4 wheeling accident. She wasn't very old, maybe 13 or 14?? And another 2 other guys in Operations have lost their houses to fires. The Operations Department (Bob's department) has had a streak of bad luck...I hope it subsides now. If you pray, you might keep everyone in your prayers...Thanks everybody.

I hope you are all having a great week and I look forward to your updated blogs. Cheers everyone.

What a weekend!

Friday, Bob and I met up with Jeff & Marianne to get the kids' pictures taken for a late Christmas gift for our mom. It was a challenge and this was the best we got but it was still cute!

Saturday we surprised Christy for her 40th birthday! She thought she was going to a jewelry party and instead we were all waiting for her! It was awesome and she truly was surprised! It was GREAT! I think she had a blast too! I have lots of pics on Kodakgallery and if you did not recieve the email and would like to see the pics, just let me know! Happy Birthday Christy! I love ya more than my luggage! ;-)

Happy Monday!

Well, what a past week and a half!

Christy and I traveled to St. Louis to visit our cousin, Michelle! It was fun...we did a lot of cooking, chatting, and hanging out! It was fun! The boys stayed with my parents and when Bob was off of work he came and got them. They missed their mama as I missed them but it was nice to have a mini-break!

When I got home Bob still had the rest of the week off and we did a lot of veggin out. It was good quality family time. The boys played outside on Thursday and Friday and then it snowed like CRAZY on Saturday??? Random! So we have been stuck inside and the boys are already getting stir crazy after getting the taste of fresh air just for a bit! But it is melting really fast so hopefully it will be ALL gone by end of week and back to the 60's!! I bought steaks to grill and I can't grill til the snow is GONE! Come on warmer spring weather! I miss my grill!

Onto official business, we have completed our living wills and all is prepped and legal. The papers were all signed on Friday. It seems weird to have to do that but I guess that is what you do when you grow up and are forced to become responsible. *sigh* Depressing but necessary and I am really glad we did it...for the boys and for each other.

The boys are still fighting a cold! It seems to linger! Decovin started in with a fever and cough and runny nose and all the drainage caused some throwing up of phlegm, etc...he is still coughing somewhat and this has been lasting for over a week now, I think. Camden started in 4 or 5 days ago with same symptoms...poor lil' guys...but they are both on the mend and acting mostly "normal" aside from cough that won't go away and the runny nose that never stops! Camden's little nose is so raw! *ouch*

Bob and I are steering clear so far! I really do believe that exercising regularly has kept me "healthy" and free from most of the boys' illnesses...*knocking on wood*

Anyway...not much else is happening...we are on the countdown for Hawaii...1 month and 1 week away from take off! I'm getting really excited and can't wait! :-)

Look forward to all your new blogs! Keep 'em coming!! :-)

Woah.

Happy Spring??? What the heck?!

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My garage. When it rains or snows it is SOOOO nice to have my garage to protect me and my kiddos while I get them in and out of the car! :-)

2. Local grocery store...they are old school and bring your groceries out to your car EVERYTIME! So when it is raining like today, I don't have to stand out in the rain any longer than it takes me to buckle in the kids! Thank you Hoover's employee's!! *love it*

3. My mama...she always watches the boys for me at the drop of a hat! I really appreciate it and I do know how much work they are and I am so very greatful for this!

4. My dads health...he is doing better and better as time goes on!! To the point where he is having more good days and less bad! :-)

5. Super glue...my new "bandaid"...

What a great day!

Today was what I would call a "good day!" Nay, a "GREAT DAY!"

Seriously! I woke up, exercised, showered, dressed, hair and makeup done...boys both up by 7am...laundry started, dishes done and a yummy breakfast in my tummy and coffee before 7:30!!

The boys were awesome today...took them to the Rec Center for a playdate with some kiddos and were were there from 9:30 til about 11...then came home and had lunch and Camden nearly fell asleep on the floor afterwards...he was out by 11:45 and up at 2:35!! Because it was SOOOOOO nice outside...i bundled the boys up and we headed outside for some much needed fresh air! They rode their bikes, played with sidewalk chalk, rode on the power wheels, shoveled some gravel, played with dump trucks and kicked around a ball! We were outside for an hour and a half! It was FANTASTIC!! And when we had to come in, Decovin helped pick up and didn't give me any lip! WHOO HOO!

Decovin no sooner than sat on the couch and he was out like a light! It was really sweet. Then I made the boys and I breakfast for dinner! We had sausage links, fresh hash browns, french toast (made with cinnamon raisin bread), eggs, and cinnamon rolls for dessert! YUM! They both ate REALLY REALLY well and now they are watching The Incredibles and playing nicely with each other and BEST YET...Bob should be home any minute! What an AWESOME day! I just love days like this!!!

Just cuz...

So a lot has happened since I last blogged...or at least it feels like it anyway!

I decided to go spend a few days at my parents house while Bob was on nights for a few reasons...1. to get out of the house. 2. So Bob could sleep during the day with no noise to wake him up randomly. 3. To see my parents and the boys to see their grandparents!! (and Saturday Christy was having her Lia Sophia party!)

So I packed up the kids and I Thursday and we headed out the door after Decovin got out of school. Dad had called earlier and wanted to know if I could drive him up to the city when we got there as their garage door motor shot craps...so I dropped the kids off, fed us lunch and then dad and I were off! The kiddos stayed with mom!

Dad and I hit several stores...we got his battery for his schwinn exercise bike, went to Harbor Freight Tools, Jo-Ann's, Sears, Sam's Club, & Home Depot! I was EXHAUSTED by the time we got home but it was fun to hang out with just dad! I don't get to do that very often!

Then Friday as I was getting ready to hit mom and dad's treadmill, I realized not only did I forget work out clothes, I forgot my tennis shoes! GRRRRRRR! So, I had been telling myself I needed to get new shoes for quite awhile but just haven't gone and done it so it was now or never I suppose. So just as I was getting ready, my Aunt Mendy stopped by for a quick visit before she was heading home to Arkansas when I convinced her to go shopping with me! :-) We had a blast!

We hit Starbucks, the shoe store, Jo-Ann's, Archiver's, Walmart, DSW shoes, Michael's and then we headed home...It was two full days of shopping in a row! CRAZY!!! It was SO MUCH FUN though!

That night Amanda came over to spend the night and we hung out and just visited. Saturday morning we got ready and headed over to Christy's jewelry party! It was fun too! Then I came back to mom and dad's and scrapbooked a bit and then we all had dinner and then I packed us up and we headed home. It was a fun and busy weekend!

It was good to be home though and to see Bob...the boys were really excited about seeing daddy for sure!

Sunday, the boys stayed home while I went to Lawrence to meet my two girlfriends to exchange our xmas gifts! LOL! Better late than never! It was fun to see the girls and I went over to Kim's house afterwards to see her little girl! She is so cute! It was a fun day!

Today, we are just vegging! Bob still hasn't adjusted back to "days" for some reason...this last night shift has him all screwed up for some reason...so he is napping and I will go workout when he gets up and then we MIGHT just take the kids to the rec center to go swimming or play or something!! :-)

Back to the grind!

P.S. A special "thank you" to my mom for watching the boys almost all weekend! Thank you so much mama!

GratiTuesday once again!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Scrapbooking renewal! I went to my in-laws this past weekend for a scrap-a-thon! It was so much fun! I hadn't scrapbooked in over 2 years! So it was way passed time to get Camden's 1st year together! I completed 13 pages while there and I came home and scrapped some more and have completed too many to remember since then! His is getting somewhere! YAY!

2. My hubby! He is so crafty! He built me a contraption for my wall to hold our Recycling tubs! It freed up a bunch of floor space in my garage! Yay! Thanks honey!




















3. Minor accidents that do not require anything more than mommy & daddy! The boys were wrestling and Decovin accidentally landed on Camden's face and gave him his first official bloody nose. :-( Poor kid, really scared him but we got him calmed down and cleaned up and he was fine! :-)

4. Bonuses! Bob got one at work! Woot! How lucky are we for him to have such a good and secure job! I am thankful for this daily!!!!

5. Tax Refunds! Thanks Aunt Linda for doing our taxes once again! It's all in Savings and waiting for Hawaii! YAY!

6. I'm also thankful for my dad and his good days! I hope he is focusing on those more than the bad ones! Love you dad!


Hope you all had amazing weeks too!

Fat GratiTuesday!

Things I'm thankful for:

1. Valentine's is over! Yay! Finally got my 1/2 priced chocolates of goodness! YES! SCORE!!

2. Our colds are effectively over! Another YAY!

3. Rec Center, so I can work off the calories I will for sure consume from the above mentioned chocolates...phew!

4. My mom and dad for watching the boys for me so often! It is truly awesome and something I should say out loud more! Thank you mom and dad! Love you!!!

5. Working from home. Man, I'm truly lucky...I know this...I really try not to take it for granted!

6. Hawaii...3 months, 1 week and 2 days...just sayin! WOOT!

GratiTuesday!

It's that time again...

1. Hospital/ER's-thank goodness there are people willing to work all hours of the night so that parents have a safety net during non-normal business hours. Sunday morning in the wee early hours (3am) we finally decided to take Camden into the ER. He had started in on Friday evening with some lovely gagging and choking on his spit/phlegm which ended up coming up a few times...so Bob slept with him in a chair all night so he could be upright. That seemed to help. Next day he acted pretty normal during the day but that night was when he just couldn't stop coughing/crying/gagging, etc...so I took him into the ER by myself while Bob stayed home to get some rest and to be there for Decovin in the morning (keep in mind we were at his parents house for the weekend)...
So when we get there Camden is fairly calm, a little clingy, REALLY tired, but calm for the most part. The nurse takes his vitals and then we wait for them to call us back to the room. We finally get back there and the other nurse looks him over, asks questions, etc...Doctor comes in asks same questions, and looks him over and listens to his lungs...orders a chest xray, breathing treatment and for them to take samples of his snot to test for RSV and Influenza. The Respitory Therapist comes in to give him the breathing treatment of which he screamed through and coughed and fought...then literally right after that the nurses get their snot sample, then the xray technician came in and took an xray of his chest.
Apparently, during the breathing treatment was when they finally heard him cough and they thought maybe it might be Croup. So doctor came back in and listened to his lungs again and decided it was definitely Croup as the RSV and Flu came back negative...so he ordered a different breathing treatment and gave us a script for Albuterol and an oral steroid to help calm down his upper respiratory air way...so after about 3 hours at the hospital we were finally released and I stopped at the pharmacy to get his meds.
All the while the weather outside was frightful...snowing, melted slush turning slowly to ice. So I got back to the in-laws and we packed it up and headed home. We made it home safe and I was able to take a small nap before the SuperBowl...
Camden is doing much better as we are continuing the breathing treatments and oral steroid. All is returning to normal slowly. :)

I think that is enough to be thankful for in one week...I'm so tired today I can't think straight...sorry for long random post. :-)

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Miss Abby is TWO! Happy Bday my cute little niece!

Abigail Breck Wagoner
Born: 02/06/08
Time: 7:54am
Weight: 8lbs, 5.7oz
Length: 20 inches

Abigail, age 1:

Abigail, age 2:

GratiTuesday!

Tuesday's here again and the last Tuesday of January!!! Where did the month go?!
Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Sleep Talkin' Man, (http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com) he has kept me in stitches after my siblings introduced him to me!! HYSTERICAL! Seriously, check him out...he talks in his sleep and his wife records what he says each night and blogs it. Plain and simple and FUNNY! Be warned though, he does use profanity in his sleep and she blogs it as he says it, so there you go. But if you can get past the profanity. FUNNY!!!

2. Camden is using his words SO much more and is mimicking sounds more consistently! The other day he said a 4 word sentence even!! He had crawled in bed with me one morning upon waking and snuggled in next me and laid there for a minute when he suddenly looked over where Bob normally sleeps (but he was absent due to being on nights and hadn't gotten home quite yet) and he pops his head up and says: "Uh-oh mommy, where's daddy?" It was really really cute and I got all excited and praised him like crazy! :-) I'm just so thankful the tubes are doing their job and that he can actually HEAR!

3. FREE USE OF OUR REC CENTER!!! Why didn't I get my butt in gear and figure out I could work out in the morning before Bob went to work sooner?!?! I've been religiously working out since 2 weeks or so before Thanksgiving and I LOVE IT! I have a work out buddy, who I'm also ALWAYS thankful for and we have a great time! We workout at 5 am M-F for half an hourish and then I come home and do a 20 minute Yoga DVD on my own. When Bob is on nights, I just go in the afternoon when he gets up before work. It has been working out BEAUTIFULLY! I feel good and I actually started RUNNING!!!! WHAT?!?! I KNOW!!! I've never ever ever been a runner never liked it never wanted to do it. So one day a couple a weeks ago I decided I was going to give it a try and see if I could do it. I hopped on the treadmill and did it! I couldn't believe it...I am now able to run for 25 minutes straight on the treadmill and I'm trying to get myself ready for a 5K...my first EVER!! I'm excited!

4. HAWAII TRIP!!! Bob has officially scheduled the entire trip! We are BOOKED and ready to go! April 29th can't get here fast enough!!! YIPPEE!!! Can you tell I'm excited?? hehe!

5. My sister has made the list yet again!! She is coming this weekend and will be watching the boys for me Saturday while I go to visit with my two girlfriends in Lawrence! Thank you sister! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! P.S. The boys are ALWAYS excited to see their Aunt Chwissy!!! :-)

6. My boys. Even after I yell at them, (then I apologize, I'm so bad about losing my temper too quickly...something I'm TRYING to work on) they are quick to forgive me and I love them so much for loving me. They are the best! Thank you boys for giving your parents the unconditional love they need and cherish and know it is goes both ways!

Man, I was wordy today! I guess I had a lot to say. :-) Thanks for checking in!

GratiTuesday!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. My parent educator! She always has such good/fun ideas! Yay!

2. Combined bday parties...it was over and done with in a an afternoon. I will be sad the day we have to seperate the bdays...but for now it is nice to just do one big party!

3. My health. I am knocking on wood that I continue to stay healthy thru the rest of the "cold/flu" season.

4. Play dates...tomorrow we are getting back on schedule with these "dates"...it is nice to get the kids out of their everyday drone...plus it gives us mom's a break!

5. Girls night! I got invited to a "Girl's Night" this Friday by one of the mom's of a fellow preschooler! I'm uber excited to meet some new people and just have a fun and relaxing evening! Thanks honey for letting me go on your one day off this week! :-) Love you!

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!