Christmas 2008

Well, we are done putting away all of our Christmas decorations and new toys so I guess Christmas is done for this year. We got way too many toys again this year and our house is so full that I don't know where we'll put anymore. Our house looks like a Toys R Us! The boys had a great day although I'll not forget the constant "Mommy I want to go home and play with my toys" that I heard all day long. We made it without daddy although it wasn't easy by any means. I missed his help all day. He did get to enjoy the santa toys with the boys because we got them up around midnight to see them. I was worried about that and didn't want him to miss it. We did acquire our famous Christmas illness that we seem famous for getting. I really hate spending my break from school taking care of sick children. I'm just waiting to get it now because they have both had it. I am seriously considering telling everyone that if you want to see us on Christmas then come by but if you're sick or have been within the last week stay away. We don't want your germs! Oh well, I guess we'd probably get it anyway. I'm just being grumpy about it. It's not letting me post pictures right now so I'll be back to post them later.

Drew is potty trained!

It's official. He is trained and it has been super easy. Other than being a little lazy at times, he is doing great. We've also been going through a bit of sickness the last few days and that is not helping. He actually will not use the potty chair now either. He only wants to sit on the regular toilet. I am so happy that this has finally came! No more diapers. Yay! Only pull-ups, which are still expensive. Now I won't want to have another child because I won't want to change diapers again.

Sorry It's Been So Long

I haven't posted in a while...about six weeks I guess. The boys are growing and learning lots of new things. It's something new every day. We survived Christmas and I'm trying to sift through all of the toys and clothes and put them away. The kids are enjoying their toys and having fun. More to follow....

My Baby is 2...

and his momma is so sad. I can't beleive that it was two years ago that I woke up at 4am to my water breaking and then laboring all day and evening to end up with a stubborn child who would have to come c-section anyway. And to this day he continues to be stubborn. I wouldn't know where he would get that from. He is honestly the light in my life and I really don't know what I would do without his shining little face. When he got into that poison last spring we very well could have lost him. But God knew his momma needed him. Yes I get mad at him and frustrated at the things he does or doesn't do, but I would never give him up in a million years. As I think back over the past year, he has done so much growing and evolving as a little man. He still doesn't talk like I want him to but golly gee look at his brother who now talks up a storm and did the same thing. I only hope the next brings as many blessings and fun as what this year has brought!

Hellish Halloween

Here are the 2008 Halloween pics. We made it through yet another year of Halloween. I hate halloween. I don't think I've mentioned that before but I really do. I know the kids have fun and everyone loves seeing what they are dressed up as but I HATE IT! There are too many places that we have to go to and we really don't have time for other houses because of that. We have to go in and say hello and visit for a bit at each stop. Well, let's say that we visited at only a couple of places this year...ahem. I wanted to be done early because Mike had to work the entire weekend and we needed to get home early and spend some family time. Well, we didn't get done so early and Drew fell asleep in the car. It probably didn't help that we had been in the car most of the day traveling to Joplin to get the boys' flu shots. I'm just glad I had the day off! I guess I'll get over the awfulness of one night a year. They are only young once. One of these days I will be wishing that they were still little and I was still trick-or-treating with them.

Presenting....

Our new baby girl...Shadow

She loves the boys and Mike has her spoiled and lets her in while Molly is outside. Every night it's a chase-fest when she comes in. Her belly is so fat....she fits in nicely! Hehe! I said I never wanted a cat but I think we'll keep her.

Halloween Gifts

I finally got the mail yesterday and the boys had a gift from Aunt Shara and Uncle Ryan. They both got a new pair of jammies and a new movie to watch. Thank you Ryan and Shara for our jammies! We stayed nice and warm last night when it was so cold.

This is from last night at bedtime. Daddy has gotten them into the habit of going to sleep with a movie because it's easier at naptime for him that way. So, it has spilled over into bedtime....grrr. Drew is now in his converted toddler bed and can get out at will. He will crawl out during the movie and get into bed with Matt. Mike found them somewhat like this and hollered at me to get the camera. I don't know why Drew has taken to this hat but he loved it. He lost it at some point because he didn't have it on this morning. They really do love each other although at times it is hard to know that!

Our Newest Addition

No, I'm not expecting another child. We have another addition to our family. Most of you probably already know about her but we have a kitten named Shadow. She is gray and a cutie and loves to follow everyone around. The boys love her to death and get so excited when we go play outside on the porch. She is actually spry and alive and Drew is being very nice. Now Molly on the other hand isn't so loving to our new little girl. They both do not get along too well, mainly because Molly is very jealous. I really didn't want another animal because one is hard enough to take care of but since Shadow basically adopted us we didn't have much choice and I wouldn't let her be "gotten rid of". Crazy of me I know but even I got attached right away. Pictures to come....

It's almost done!

My roof that is! They are almost done with it and probably would be done if all of the boards were replaced the other day. Dustin is supposed to come by and finish it tomorrow and then I can pick up my yard! I'm so excited! We ended up with a bit of damage in the laundry room and kitchen but we're redoing the kitchen next year so I don't guess that matters too much.

As for the boys, Drew has decided he can pee on the potty. I would love to get him potty trained but I'm not sure if we're going to get it done. I had hoped to get it done over my 3-day weekend next week but I also want to go to SDC so I don't know if it will happen. We could wait until Halloween weekend and do it then. We'll see what I decide.

Here a few pictures:

Drew getting in the bathtub by himself before momma realized what he did!

Matt sitting in Daddy's fire truck.

Drew sitting in the drivers seat of Daddy's fire truck.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

After two weeks of work, Mike finally got all of the roof tore off. I never thought it would happen but it did. Then they started saying rain. He waited and waited on Dustin to come by and he has this inherant problem with saying he'll be places and he never makes it. So at 6:30 on Thursday night we had no covering on our roof and Mike had to go to work on Friday. Guess what didn't get covered. You guessed it- the roof. So Mike asked Dustin to come by on Friday and put up the paper. We were spared on Saturday morning when it rained. The only spots that I saw were in the bathroom but we're redoing that anyway so it doesn't matter.

Fast forward to Sunday. Dave and Mike finally got started on the roof around noon or so and worked straight through until about 7:00 Sunday night. All they got finished was the East end and half of the back. We still had around half to 2/3 uncovered but had tar paper on it. I prayed that would work. Guess what? It didn't- big surprise. I walked into my laundry room last night around 6 or 7 and the water was running down my walls. It was standing in the floor about a half inch and the light was full of water. Dustin came over and the tar paper had blown up. We have major water spots in there and it looks terrible but it's just the laundry room that no one really sees anyway I guess. Then around 8ish I heard dripping again. I look up to see water spots all in my kitchen and water dripping down the cabinets over the cooktop. I freaked out majorly. Dustin came back and tarped it and thought the satellites were causing it to leak. I did climb up in the attic to make sure that it hadn't ruint all of my baby stuff up there. My most prized possession- the boys' cradle made by my great-grandpa was up there and I would have died if it was ruined. It wasn't even wet so I was greatful for that.

Hopefully the rain is done and we can get the rest roofed asap. He talked about doing it today. We are going to owe Dustin so much labor we'll never get it paid back at this point. It really ticks me off in a way that we haven't had any help. But that's another post.....I won't even go there now.

New Babysitter

Mike and I went out last night in search of laptops that we like and to look at other things. We also had to get some groceries and other stuff for the house. Of all the babysitters that we have, none were available last night. So, we called Shelby Davidson who had been dying to watch the boys. She jumped at the chance. Obviously they had a great time with her and Spencer. Spencer sent Mike a text message at one point and told us not to hurry home, they were having a blast. I was worried that they would be a pain for her and she'd never want to watch them again. I don't guess they were because she was more than eager to watch them another time. It just get a bit expensive for us! I want to pay whoever I ask to sit well enough that it's worth their time. I remember sitting when I was younger and it not really being worth my time for the money. I guess it doesn't hurt once in a while to have someone else watch them and pay them. I'm just glad we have someone to fall back on if no one can watch them.

KC Zoo Weekend

I'm a little behind on posting this but we went to KC last weekend to get away for a day. Actually, it was Teacher Appreciation Day and we all got in free. Kudos to Shara for sending the invite to me. We had a great time! We (or at least I was) as we left Joplin and the rain was coming down. We drove in and out of showers, which were sometimes pretty hard. We got to the zoo and it was showering. When it slacked off we decided to go on in and Ryan and Shara got there about that time. It was still sprinkling some when we went in. After going through the education building, we went out and it had pretty much stopped raining! We rode the tram to see the Africa exhibit and spent quite a while there. Then we visited the Austrailia and Asia exhibit and rode the carousel. We decided to leave after seeing that the train was gone and wouldn't be back for 30 minutes. It started to rain as we left- great timing!

We decided to go down to Crown Center to a train restaurant. The food is delivered to you by a train. The food is in a basket under the tracks and the food is stopped by an arm that comes out on the platform above your table. It comes down the platform to your table. The kids can sit and watch trains go by the table from the windows that look like train car windows. Matt and Drew loved every minute of that place. The food was also very reasonable for Crown Center.

After eating, we walked over to the Amtrak platform to see if there were any trains waiting to leave or on the tracks. None were there by that time of day although there was one pulled inside the building. The boys saw it and liked it. They also had model trains on display in Union Station. One huge display was being set up and Drew wanted to stay there forever. All he could do was say Choo, Choo.

We left there and went to Cabela's. I wasn't impressed. Bass Pro is much better and has a lot better clothing/shoe selection. We saw stuffed animals there and saw their little shooting range.

Next stop was the Legends "Shopping/Entertainment" Center. We were going to go to the T-rex Restaurant but Matt was scared to death of the giant T-Rex inside the door. He screamed not wanting to go in. So we went to the Cajun restaurant instead. It took us forever to get a table and eat and by then we had one sleeping child and another who need to be that way. The food was pretty good and the entertainment ok. We were definitely pooped when we got back to Ryan and Shara's after 10pm.

Drew slept well after he went down but Matt had a short nap at 8pm and didn't really go to sleep until after 1am. That was hard on Mike and I as we were both up the night before until late and then up very early. They both slept in until 9am though. We got up and got dressed and then went and ate pizza at Uno Chicago Grill before heading home. We had a great time and I can't wait to do it again. I just wish I would have taken my camera!

Full of Knowledge

Matt is starting to become a plethora of information. He can now remember songs and asks me to sing with him on occasion. He is starting to recognize a few of his alphabet letters and knows what letter his name starts with. I asked him the other night if he wanted to learn how to read and he adamantly said "yes". So we may start in that direction.

Drew is starting to pick up a few more words and sounds. He says a few words much more plainly than he did. I know that I shouldn't worry about him, but I do. I don't want to have a child that struggles to learn and grow. Words are starting to become a bit of frustration for him and he's choosing to just not talk. He can do sounds now for objects such as trains, fire trucks, cows, sheep and a few other animals. And boy do we know when his favorite cartoon comes on! I hope we continue in this direction and he learns some more before returning to the doctor in November. I'm really concerned that she's going to suggest speech therapy or some other intervention if he isn't doing better in that area.

Another rough week

We made it through another rough week but the silver lining is a three-day weekend! We aren't really doing a whole lot but visiting with family but I'm sure it'll fly nonetheless.

The boys are doing well. Mike noticed today that Matthew is now singing the ABC song. He was playing with Drew's LeapPad and singing along with it. He asked me to sing to him tonight. What a sponge he is! He is picking things up from Noggin' and from reading and is zooming right along. I am very impressed with how fast he is starting to pick things up. Now if Drew will take the hint! That boy will never talk I think. He is still uh, uh, uhing all over the place. He is to the point that he is choosing not to talk. It's driving me nuts.

One week down

One week down, many more to go before summer break comes around again. We are getting into a little bit of a routine although it is very hard to do. The boys are sleeping late on the mornings that they don't have to get up. They both wanted to go to bed tonight. Matthew even asked to go to bed, but he's in there playing as I type this. They have played outside all evening- riding bikes and swinging on the swingset. It is really nice here right now because there is no humidity. The bad news is that the humidity is going to creep back in at the end of the week. Yuck!

School is going ok for the most part. This group of kids like to talk-alot. If I give them an inch they take a mile. It's been really nice to not have any interruptions like Title I but that all begins tomorrow. I am enjoying my students for the most part. The behavior problems that I thought I would have aren't that major. Talking is the biggest issue right now. We'll see how things go as the year progresses.

All of the fire trucks and the station are decaled. They look really nice. So "dressed up" now. It's amazing what a difference a little bit of lettering will make.

We've just about decided on siding color and roof color. I am getting very impatient because the work has come to a stand still like I thought it would after I went back to work. We have to get the vanity ordered asap as well as shingles and the siding bought. I don't care if it sits forever, I just want it bought. The windows on the house need measured so we can get those on their way. I really want to get the house up to snuff before winter. I've heard it's going to be a very cold winter so we definitely need to save all we can in heating bills. I don't want to go over that level pay amount that we are paying right now.

Life is Stressful

Life is just stressful. I am really feeling overwhelmed also. I am not usually like this but I have been letting things get to me lately. I have to stop the constant urge for everyone to like me and to get along. The world just isn't like that. I have to let things go and stop obsessing over the fact that some people will just not ever like me. I don't have to be perfect and I will never be perfect. Again, my perfectionist coming out in me. I could honestly let this problem at work consume me and put me into a depression. I have to let this go, I have to let this go, I have to let this go.

Enough about that. Can you tell I've had a tough two days at work. I'm really nervous and anxious about tomorrow also. I have 12 boys and 4 girls in my class at school. I think we will have a good year but I still worry. Think calming and peaceful thoughts for me!

The boys are adjusting to their routine. It has been tough to go from sleeping in to waking up early the past few days. They have been ready for bedtime for sure. We needed some structure back in our lives. It has been bittersweet though!

Mike is busily preparing for Roy Blunt's visit on Thursday. The trucks get decaled tomorrow and they have a few things to finish for the visit but I think it will all work out. Have I told you what an awesome grant writier my husband is today? I'm so proud of his accomplishments in the past few years. All those hours of work and time spent away from us are paying off.

Our Last Day

It's here. Our last day of summer and being at home full time. Life will officially begin to get crazy on Monday. I am not looking forward to no mornings of cuddling with Drew on the couch, Matthew finally getting up between 9 and 10 and automatically saying "Mommy I'm awake!" and Mike snoring in the bedroom while I'm watching tv. This is really a depressing day. The weather is not helping either, although it is absolutely wonderful temperature wise outside.

Our bathroom is progressing somewhat. The concrete board is down on the main floor and we're ready for drywall. Mike is wanting to tear out the shower soon but with everything that is going on the next two weeks I think that we should wait until it calms down a bit. I'm anxious to tile and get everything back in there. We are also currently picking out siding color and shingle color. If it isn't too expensive we are going with the wood looking siding. It may be too much though and we'll have to go with a regular brown. All of these decisions are about to send me over the edge right now.

My last week of freedom

My last week of freedom for another 180+ days. I'm so not wanting to return back. I've gone from loving school and wanting to return every year to dreading the impending arrival of returning. Maybe that's normal but I'm beginning to wonder if it really is. I shouldn't dread going back to my job if I really like it. Another thing that really has me down is the fact that I have 12 out of 15 boys. 3 girls! What the heck is up with that? Why does it feel like I'm being punished with boys only in my life? It's like the powers that be want to seclude me from girls totally! But that's our messed up policy on requesting and class division for ya.

The boys are being terrors right now. Drew cried for around two hours last night before finally going to sleep in his bed. He wanted me to hold him and it just wasn't happening. Mike went in and he got several spankings before he finally gave up. It's just so hard laying in my bed and listening to my baby cry.

We've made it! Five years of marriage yesterday. I never thought we'd make it there but we did. I really think that through all of the ups and downs we've grown as a couple. Of course we have our spats and we both tick each other off but I can say I love him probably more now than I did back then. I love the way he interacts and plays with the boys. I wouldn't trade him for the world- at this point! Ask me that though in a few days and I'll probably change my mind.

Our boring life...

Not much happening here the past few days. We are totally out of routine though and need to get that straightened out. The boys are staying up waaay late and then sleeping in waaaay late in the morning. Kinda nice in the morning for me as I have a bit of peace and quiet. Only 5 more days until I have to go back to work. Boo hoo!


We are about to get going on the vanity for the bathroom. Not sure what is going to happen in the closet. I'm thinking about looking at Lowe's to see what they have as far as organization. We talked about slide out shelves and such but I'm not sure. We're at a stand-still again and it's driving me nuts. Although, it is giving us a bit of time to do some family things and spend some time together before work starts again.


The boys are about over their rash. I looked last night and they have very little left of it. I'm just ready for Matt to start sleeping through the night again. He's woke up screaming in the night for the past 4 nights or so. He isn't fully awake and acts like he's in pain somewhere. I'm not sure that he's pooped for a few days so that could be it or he does that when he needs to pee. It could be a plethora of things and he can't/won't tell me what's wrong. That gets very aggrevating to me in the middle of the night.

The Latest Illness

The boys started a rash on Sunday that went into Monday and Tuesday. I knew it was Hand, Foot and Mouth disease by what I had found on the internet. Just for good measure I called the drs. office to make sure there was nothing they could do. Well, they made us go in to make sure it wasn't something else. They ended up testing Matt for strep and I am so glad he didn't have it. I'm sure the ENT visit would have been looming with that diagnosis. The "disease" explains a lot of what we've had going on as far as crankiness, tired, NO SLEEP!, and lack of eating. Mommy is really starting to feel the effects of it all and I've got to get back into a routine for school.

I got a new stroller yesterday. I went in for the Joovy Caboose but came out with the BabyTrend Sit N Stand. They didn't have the Joovy so I tried out the BT and compared them both. The BT is lighter and moves a bit better. After I put it together I really seem to like it and so do the boys. Plus it was a bit cheaper! Around $40 cheaper before I bought the BPP. I probably shouldn't have but I did just in case. I really can't wait to use it!

I also visited school last night to go through boxes and get my stuff that had to be made. I was very upset when I got there and looked around at my room after it had been used for summer school. Many of my clips on the wall had been torn off by kids this summer. Over half of my clipboard clips are gone as well as several for my pocket charts. I also did not have a new door on my room. I plan to go and visit Jeff as soon as possible and discuss several matters with him. It probably won't go well as I'm sure he'll just tell me that he's sorry and that's how it goes. Not a good way to start out the year.

Our Fair Trip

Well, we made it to the fair this year. Our trip always starts out as a fight it seems. We got left really late because of communication problems. That seems to be a reoccuring thing. Our visit is never really anything major-mainly just visiting some exhibits, eating and walking around. The boys loved the baby animals and the cow birthing center. We didn't get to see Zach this year because he left on Wednesday night. We also visited the conservation exhibit to see the reptiles and fish. Matt liked that. The highlight I think was the ice cream that we got at the end of the night. Both boys had ice cream all over them as well as me. We sat down outside near the guys playing the "nature" music. Drew kept clapping for them so he and Mike put some money in their tip box. It was a nice family outing, albeit expensive! We need to do more things like that.

Remodeling

Remodeling is driving me nuts! My house is a wreck and it seems as though things aren't going fast enough. We painted the living room ceiling and installed a new fan in there yesterday. It looks really nice. The bathroom is moving at snail's pace. We are all set to order new shingles and siding if Dustin will get his but in gear and bring us samples. Color agreement is the only thing left.


School starts just 3 short weeks from yesterday. I am so not ready to go back. I dread it actually. All the crap will start again I'm sure so another miserable year. Ugh! I will definitely miss our lazy days at home sleeping in and having fun with the boys. It's much easier to get up and go somewhere on a whim too.

Sunday again...

Mike had to go back to work today. I am so used to him being here for the last few weeks that I feel lost without him here by evening at least. Some days I wish we had a normal family life- one that consisted of him being here every night to put our kids to bed and have a family dinner. But for that I would have to give up other things also. He would probably not be very happy doing other things. That's just the work that he has grown accustomed to.

Wahoo- I got Matt to lay down and take a nap today. It was nice to be able to do a few things around the house and have some me time. Usually he will take a nap after Drew already wakes up and it's later in the day. Drew is still asleep and is taking an unusally long nap for him. Sleep is good though.

The Week that Never Ends

This has been a long week. I was supposed to go to a workshop tomorrow but we didn't have a babysitter and Mike is in class part of the day. I'm a little stressed about not having those hours for career ladder but I'll just have to make them up at some other point and time I guess. Those extra 30 hours that I have to do this year are stressing me out to the point that I'm going to have to stop, relax and have faith that I will get them done. (Even if it is at the last minute!)

Mike's board meeting has been cancelled tonight so we actually get a night at home tonight! We, or should I say he, has been gone every night this week pretty much. When he decides to do things, he does them all at the same time. That makes it hard on all of us.

Matthew decided he didn't really want to do the songs for the VBS program. He started out participating but then didn't want to anymore when he realized everyone was watching him. I took a few pictures and will try and post them.

Drew is being such a big boy. He is still doing without his paci and going to bed like a champ. Of course it being summer, they both hate going to bed early. I'm worried about his speech though. He doesn't seem to be learning anymore new words. I always would worry about Matt and then he would take a vocab explosion. I don't know if Drew will do that. And yes, all kids are different but I never dreamed that both of my children would have "talking" problems.

It's Summer!

Wow, it's been a long time again since I posted. I am going to have to get better at this. Things are crazy as usual around here. I'm hoping to get some time this week to get started tearing this house apart. If I didn't have plans that had to be done today I would jump in today and get it done.

The boys are both growing like mad. Both just finished with a round of strep throat but are now back to their usual selves. Drew is a big boy now- we officially do not have a pacifier anymore. The dog ate the only one that we had and it was late evening so we couldn't go to the hospital and get one. He made it through the first night ok and then the next night was better and now he's sleeping through the night again! It had only really become a crutch for everyone-me included. I would give it to him when he fussed and he would just fuss to get it really.

Matthew is becoming such a little man. He went to Vacation Bible School this week and loved every minute of it. They got t-shirts on Friday and you would have thought that he had gotten a million dollars. He put it on before we left and wore it around all afternoon. He wouldn't take it off! I finally got it off of him at bedtime and it's in the washer right now. It is huge on him and I'm trying to shrink it if I can.

Happy Belated Birthday my baby boy!

Yesterday was Matt's 3rd birthday. Wow! Time flies. I can't beleive my baby is 3. It seems as though just yesterday he was born. He had one heck of a day. He went to McDonald's with my mom and sister and then he had cupcakes with the cousins. We went home and he played outside with Drew most of the night. He loves to make a 3 with his last 3 fingers. He has to have help though. His party is on Sunday at the park. Hopefully it is a nice day and isn't too windy.

It's a nasty overcast day and all I want to do is sleep. I need to be getting ready for Matt's party next weekend but that's not happening today I don't think. I didn't get much sleep last night. We didn't go to bed until late and then the boys decided to wake up in the night last night. Then Drew decides that 7:30 is a great time to get up this morning-2 days in a row. Ugh! The joys of being a parent.

My Silly Boys

We have been playing outside every night that it isn't raining from the time I get home until dinner and then after until dark or bathtime. They love being outside. Last night Drew found a mud puddle in the back yard. Matt loves puddles but not as much as Drew right now. Drew was walking back and forth stomping and splashing the mud up. His pants were soaked for about 3-4 inches on the bottom and his socks were brown and shoes were soaked. He was laughing and having a ball though so I just let him play. Matt wasn't as impressed because he looked at me and said Drew splashin mommy and then walked off. We had out the bubbles last night and sidewalk chalk and they love both of those things. I wish my camera wasn't messed up right now and I would have pictures to post.

Another yucky day

It has rained here for the last two nights and there is water everywhere. I am so sick of the rain. I'm glad that we decided to change Matt's birthday until next weekend so that maybe it will dry out. It's not supposed to rain after Saturday. Bad news this morning. Mike's dog Shadow was loose and was hit by a car. I haven't told him yet but I hope that he takes it ok. He won't say anything but I'll be able to tell.

My New Blog

Thought I would create a new blog about all of us since we are more than just Matthew now. I'm hoping (again) to keep up with this better than before. Maybe this will help everyone else keep with us also. Please feel free to post comments and such!

REMINDER: MATTHEW'S BIRTHDAY HAS BEEN MOVED TO MAY 4TH @ 3:00PM. IF IT'S NOT RAINING WE WILL BE AT THE CITY PARK. IF IT IS RAINING, I WILL LET YOU KNOW!