A post in pictures

Lots of stuff

I was going to start this post off with the fact that I hate being sick, but instead decided I should go in chronological order to explain how I got sick.

Emma and Morgan started school.  Emma is in Kindergarten and LOVES her teacher.  Morgan is in THIRD GRADE! and loves her teacher too. 

Here they are on the 1st day of school

Sooooo old!!!

Anyway, with the beginning of school comes beginning of school viruses.  On the 5th day of school, Morgan's teacher called and said Morgan felt like she was going to throw up...but she didn't have a fever or anything.  She let me talk to her and we decided she'd stay through lunch and if she didn't feel any better, she could come home then.  Well, she made it through lunch and felt a little better...so she went to recess and threw up. Bummer! Anyway, I went and picked her up.  Fast forward to Wednesday night.  I was so grumpy and irritable and nothing sounded good.  Chris said he knew something was wrong when I called him and asked him if he'd stop and get me a hot fudge sundae at McDonald's and he said "what did you have for dinner?" and I said "powdered donuts...nothing sounded good" HA!  Anyway, at 2am on Thursday, I started throwing up.  I ended up throwing up 14 times in 7 hours.  At 5:30am, Chris called the on-call doctor and went to Walgreens to get me a Phenergan prescription.  Didn't help.  At 8:30am, Chris texted our doctor (who is also a good friend)  He called right back and said to bring me in for an injection.  I still threw up 3 more times, but at least it knocked me out.  I slept literally all day long.  Then Saturday, it was Chris' turn.  He only threw up once like Morgan and Carter, but he felt lousy all day.  Then, Saturday night, it was Emma's turn!  All 5 of us had it within 5 days!!  Mine just didn't ever quite go away, and then on Wednesday, I had a fever and a sore throat and hugely swollen lymph nodes.  I am just now kind of starting to feel better. 

In other news, the girls are both participating in a cheerleading clinic put on by the high school cheerleaders.  They have a little performance at a football game tonight.  It should be cute!!  I am hoping to feel well enough to go.

Chris is doing his first sprint triathlon next Saturday!  I am so proud of him!  He motivated me to do mine by all of his marathon training, but then watching me do the triathlon last summer got him inspired to try one too!  We're just a healthy little family! HA

That's all for now....I need to have a way to share Facebook things on here so I have all of my updates in one place.  Maybe I can copy all of my status updates into one big post!

Long time, no blog

Wow...I do not know why it has been so hard for me to do anything on the blog lately.  Maybe because everything is on Facebook these days!  Oh well...

The girls are all signed up for school and ready to start.  Emma's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's, was a success...pictures to come.

Off to the lake!

A List

• Allergies suck
• Beautiful weather rocks!
• Cycling Class is fun!
• I love crispy turkey bacon
• Lost is the best show ever!!!
• I don't care about American Idol this year.
• School is almost out for the summer.
• Kindergarten round up is in 3 weeks
• Emma is thrilled about Kindergarten round up!
• Other than peeing in his cage at night, Winston is the best dog ever!
• Chris owes me for letting him take a "boy's night away"
• I like it when I'm the one who is owed something! 
• I am working out like a crazy person, however not losing a pound. When I eat perfectly for a week, I lose like 0.6 of a pound, but when I have one bad meal, I gain 4 pounds overnight.  How is that possible?
• Gotta run, turkey bacon is ready! (Thanks for the tip, Tia!)

A Scene With 3 Children

I love my children.  Truly.  There has never been a love more intense than the love of your children.  Other than my husband, there is just about no one else that I care to know every minute detail of their lives than theirs.  I remember my mom saying once that of all the things she missed about her mother when she passed away, she missed not having her to talk to the most.  Because whoever you are talking to in life, there is always going to be some subject matter you bring up that they are not going to want to hear about or care the foggiest about....but to your mother, nothing is in that category.  Mothers want to hear EVERYTHING their child has to say about their lives. (well, at least when it doesn't revolve around how their lives are over because you didn't buy them those shoes)

Having said all of that, there are times when my children are talking (usually ALL AT ONCE) that I find myself daydreaming about what it would be like to jam sharp, pointy objects into my ears and the instant silence that would provide.

This afternoon was one such occurrence.  Carter was sleeping, Emma has having quiet time watching a show, and Morgan was at school.  For a full 30 minutes, all was calm.  Then, Morgan got off the bus and Carter woke up and Emma was done with quiet time.  Suddenly, they were all talking and they all wanted to talk to ME!  I listen with as much pretend excitement as I can muster for as long as I can.  Then, I have a genius idea.  I can go outside for a minute to get the mail.  I'll sneak out so they don't see me because if they see me, they'll want to come with me.

Me:  *ever so gingerly, easing the door closed so as not to alert anyone to its closing*
Carter: *face pressed against the glass* MOMMY! DOING?
Me: Getting the mail, buddy, be right back.
Carter:  MAIL?!?!  I GET MAIL???
Me:  No, close the door, please.  I'll get it.
Carter:  NO MOMMY! I GET MAIL??
Me: *getting slightly firmer* Mommy will get the mail.  Please close the door.
Carter: *closes door, presses face back against the glass*
3 seconds pass
Morgan:  *opening door* Mommy?? Why are you outside?
Me: Just getting the mail, please close the door.
Morgan: *pulling the door a little bit closed but still cracked enough to yell out of it* Can I get the mail?
Me: No thanks, I would like to get the mail, please close the door.
Morgan: *pulls door a millimeter further towards closed but still not all of the way*
Me:  *firmly* Close the door, please!
Morgan:  *closes door, still watching me*
Carter: *face still pressed against glass*
5 seconds pass.
Emma: *opens door and yells* MOMMY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE??
Me: Just getting the mail, honey. Please close the door.
Emma: Can I get the mail, Mommy?"
Me:  No thanks, I will.  Please close the door.
Carter: I OUT, I PLAY?
Me: No Carter, Emma PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR!
Emma: *once again barely moves the door* Why do you have to get the mail? I never get to get the mail!
Me: Emma, I am going to get the mail and the discussion is over. Now, close the door!!!!!!!
Emma: *pouts and closes door*
Carter: *face pressed against glass* MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY
Morgan: *watching me while pouting*
Emma: *watching me while pouting*

aaaaaand scene.

Spring break

I love Spring Break.

I do not love the end of Spring Break.

Whoever put that thing in my room that started buzzing at 6:45am is in big trouble!

Time to:
Wake up Morgan.
Keep her quiet so she doesn't wake up Carter & Emma.
Supervise her dressing and tooth brushing.
Keep her quiet.
Fix her hair. (today is so a pony tail day)
Get her breakfast.
Keep her quiet.
Let Winston out.
Keep him quiet.
Make sure Morgan has all of her papers/backpack/folder/lunchbox/coat/shoes/socks.
Keep her quiet.
Emma wakes up anyway.
Keep Morgan AND Emma quiet.
Turn on TV.
Spongebob is no longer on at 7am due to daylight savings time.
Explain this to Morgan.
Watch for bus.
Bus is here!
Don't slam the door and wake up your brother!
Brother wakes up.
It is only 7:35.
Yesterday he slept til 9am. *sigh*

Next up:
Take Emma to preschool.
Go walk at the Y with Caryn.
Go get Emma from preschool.
Come home for lunch/Carter nap/work
Morgan gets home.
Snack time for all 3 kids.
Morgan homework.
Get dinner started.
Cycling class at Y.
Finish dinner.
Eat dinner.
Morgan Gymnastics.
Home for showers/baths/bedtime routine.
Bedtime for kids!
Time for Mommy and Daddy time to breathe and talk and watch TV and relax!
Time for bed for the insanity to start again tomorrow.

That stupid thing that buzzes better not still be in my room!!!

Blogging?

Wow.  Look at this.  I have a blog!

I have still been doing my blogging about my food & exercise but I also realized that no one really cares about that, so they're all saved as drafts for my own information.  It is going well.  I'm not losing weight as quickly as I would like but I am definitely getting stronger and more toned.  I'm anxious for April 1 so I can take all my measurements again and see if they've changed.  I put my scale away (as instructed) so I haven't weighed myself in a week or so.

This week is Spring Break.  Fun times and stressful times.  I often welcome things that are out of the routine, but I also crave routine.

Here are some pictures since it has been a while since I've posted any....

This is one of Winston's favorite sleeping positions.  This was a few weeks ago.

Here I am shoveling a path in the very deep snow for poor Winston who didn't even know we had a yard for a week or so after he came home.  I was using a very scientific method of boiling water and a paint scraper.

Queen cookies that Emma and I made for the Q-week snack for preschool.  (They have a pink sparkly gown on and a crown cut out of fruit roll-up)

Emma's lapse in judgment which resulted in her spending the rest of the day in her room. (this would be pen on my brand new bedside table skirt)

Morgan typing her report about stars.  She had to dress up like an astronaut to present it to her class.

The astronaut costume was borrowed from Evan Smith and the helmet from Papa Swank!

Our Sunday School class had a Fondue Party! (this is Derrick Williams cleaning up the chocolate)

Carter needed to try on Papa's helmet too....

And Emma...monkey see, monkey do

Winston!  4 months old....he's getting bigger! (well, a little bit)

And speaking of getting bigger, here is Carter in his newly converted BIG BOY BED!  He has done great so far.  He even stays in it at naptime!  He's so proud of himself!

February so far!

Here is February so far...in pictures!

 

Emma and her friend Emilee playing in the snow!

 

Carter found my make up bag.

A winter workout!

 

Carter loves the snow (for a few minutes)

 

Watching American Idol with Daddy

A new puppy!!!!  Winston!

 

Winston is a 3 month old Boston Terrier

 

We got him from a rescue in Columbus but he is full bred!

Emma loves him!!!!!!!  Hallelujah!!

So does Carter...

 

and I think he loves them!

and guess who else is smitten??

Valentine's Day breakfast!

 

Heart shaped cinnamon rolls with pink icing

 

Poor little guy gets so cold outside, Grandma got him a coat....he doesn't care for it.

 

"Hey! What's going on up here?"

What I See....

My friend Tia did this the other day and I thought it was a neat idea...so...

From where I sit, here is what I can see.

Folded laundry from yesterday that needs to be put away
Charging iPod for the yet to be done workout today
My cell phone (never far away)
A Little Tikes truck
Big Bird's Guessing Game about Shapes book
Morgan's spelling words from last week (twinkle, quilt, wrapped, blankets, hatchet, patient, preserve, valuable, represent, and concentration...in case you were wondering)
A stack of papers/books that needs to find a new home
An order form for Morgan's school yearbook (A yearbook in 2nd grade!  Seriously!)
One lone peanut butter cracker in the middle of the living room floor.
The clock, telling me it is just about that sweet sweet time of day when Carter lays down for a nap!

Exciting Day

Wow...what an exciting day and it isn't even over yet!

This morning we got up and got Morgan on the bus as usual. Took Emma to preschool and then took Carter to his 18 month well baby appointment. I placed my wager on him weighing 29 pounds 6 ounces. I was 5 ounces over. He was 29 pounds, 1 oz. and 34 inches tall. (Just to put that in perspective, his sister Morgan who is VERY tall was only 33 inches tall and was only 23 pounds 10 ounces and his sister Emma was only 32 inches tall and only weighed 20 pounds 7 ounces....AND she only weighs 31 pounds NOW at age 4 1/2!!!!!) Anyway....everything about him was perfect except his lack of speaking. He has ONE word. "Mommy" It is his all-purpose word. He uses it for EVERYTHING! He used to have a few words but I can't ever get him to say them. He will periodically still say "ball" and once in a great while "bye bye" but that is it. I honestly think he just doesn't feel the need to speak....but we're going to get him evaluated by a speech therapist anyway.

After his appointment we ran to WalMart to get some pictures for Emma's preschool and a retirement card for my mom. Then back to pick up Emma. Came home, had lunch, layed both Carter AND Emma down for a nap (Because Emma had a night terror last night and that is the rule, the day after a night terror she has to take a nap....she usually wants to because she is extra tired so I didn't even have to force her)

Carter was supposed to have his follow up hearing check at 5pm but the now infamous doctor's office called around 3:15 and wondered if we could come earlier. I told them I could but I'd have to bring his big sisters since Chris wasn't planning on being home until 4:30 to watch them. They said fine, come on in. Dr. Rude McNot-so-nice was slightly better today than last time but still very cold. (By the way, no one thanked me for coming in 2 hours early so she could leave the office early and not have to wait on my appointment at 5pm!) The news was that his hearing was a little better but it really wasn't that bad to begin with...at least not bad enough to be affecting his speech.

Back home, get cleaned up and wait for Chris to get home. I left around 5:15 to go to my Mom's Retirement party at Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was really nice (and I had the Calypso Chicken Salad....the single best salad I have EVER had!!! SOOOO GOOD!!!!)

Now, I am sitting by my phone waiting to hear word that Chris' my cousin Elizabeth (biz) and her husband Mike have had their baby. She went in last night for an induction and so far, it has been EXACTLY like my induction with Morgan....except for the fact that its actually working for her! She is pushing as I type this and I am so excited to hear that baby Anabelle is here and healthy and then so excited to see her!!!!! Please keep them all in your prayers!

Here I am!

My friend Tia just messaged me on Facebook to ask if I was ever going to blog again. Oops. Guess I've been absent a while. Here are some highlights of the exciting things I have not blogged about this week....

1. Carter STILL has an ear infection. This means we're going on month 3 of an ear infection. I have also had one that won't go away. Evidently its the Paris Hilton of ear infections (can't take a hint, won't go away, is resistant to some antibiotics) Anyway, I took him in on Tuesday after he finished his last round (round 3) of antibiotics to make sure the infection was gone. It wasn't. So, the doctor decided we were going to hit it hard. My poor baby is getting 2 Rocephin injections a day for 3 days! (if you haven't had a Rocephin injection, they STING!!) Anyway, the first day, he didn't know what was coming. He cried just for a minute while giving the nurse the evil eye. It wasn't too bad once the stinging went away. Yesterday, for shot #2, when they layed him down on the exam table to give him his shots he tried out his most newly acquired vocabulary skills and said "NO! NO!!" They laughed and said "awww, so sorry, buddy" That time he cried HARD and for quite a while longer. It actually took some mommy bouncing to make him stop. We shall see how #3 goes today.

2. My mom has laryngitis. She has for an entire week. They sent her home one day last week because really she felt OK but couldn't talk at all. I can only barely hear her on the phone. It has, however, been kind of fun having her home for a whole week. I told her I was ready for her to retire so she could be home during the day like this all the time! She will be 65 this year, so maybe retirement isn't too far off!? She's kept the girls a couple times while I've taken Carter to get his shot. She's come and visit. On Tuesday, I wasn't going to make it out of the doctor in time to get home to get Morgan off the bus, so I called Mom and she came over.

3. I've been working more than usual. Poor Chris has been working SO hard and you can't MAKE people give you their money (well, you can, but that is a whole different occupation that requires running from the law and I don't have that kind of energy) So, I've been trying to work whenever Carter is napping and even sometimes when he is awake if he's being agreeable. For instance, right now, he has been sitting at my feet being completely captivated by putting a tiny piece of gravel into a hole on his baby gate and then taking it back out and starting over. I hope its always that easy to entertain him!

4. Chris grew a beard. Didn't shave since before Jan 1. I thought it looked pretty cool until one day he kissed me good bye and I promptly decided I was done with the beard. He put up a Facebook poll (cause he's a geeky nerd) and the "Shave Its" won out. So, he shaved it. (well, because of the poll and because I bribed him) I have my pretty pretty husband back.

5. Had a fun Mommy and Me meeting on Wednesday about saving money with coupons. It was very informative and now I'm addicted to finding coupons and deals at stores, etc. Hopefully I can save some big cash! (I used to be pretty good at it and then kind of lost track because it was hard enough juggling kids at the grocery let alone juggling kids and groceries and coupons and keeping track of how many boxes of Hamburger Helper I needed to get in order to use the coupon and save the whopping 35cents I had the opportunity to save. Didn't seem worth it.)BUT, as I learned this week, if there is a limit on 5 and I use it for each one and it gets doubled or tripled and there is already a store special on it, I can get things really cheap! (sometimes free!) So, I'm all about that!

6. We got a bunch of snow last night. It was SO beautiful coming down. Big fat flakes. I love snow. At least until I have to bundle 3 kids up, find 6 matching boots in the bottom of the coat closet, find 6 matching gloves in the bottom of the coat closet, find 3 hats....(you get where this is going, right?) I also discovered yesterday that I don't have any boots other than these big, black, rubber soled, fleece lined boots that I wore for snowmobiling when I was in HS. (and let me tell you, they are sexy!)

7. Good TV started again!! (this is probably the biggest reason for the lack of blogs, I've been too busy watching TV at night instead of blogging) I swore I wouldn't get sucked back into 24 again because I couldn't stand the torturing and killing from last season and stopped watching, but they sucked me back in with the resurrection of Tony Almeida. Darn you, 24, with your heart warming story lines! I also LOVE The Biggest Loser, Big Bang Theory, and Lost which starts next Wednesday! (Seriously, that one is even on my calendar!)

8. I finally broke through my last weight plateau. Been at it for 2+ months. That was a little frustrating. I've been religous with my Couch to 5K plan and just finished my run about an hour ago.

I think that is about all I know. I have no pictures. I should take some of the snow but its too cold to go out and play in the snow (it was -7 when I got up, and now its up to 0! Heat wave!) I'm going to take Carter to the doctor for the (hopefully) last time this afternoon. Tomorrow, Emma probably won't have school and Morgan will probably have a delay again. This weekend we have nothing unless we get a good offer....anyone? anyone?

pictures!

Here are a few pictures that I should have posted in the last post but hey, better late than never. The first 2 are of how we must construct our living room these days. I know what all those people who always said someone was "100% boy" were talking about now! This child....it started out with just a gate at each entrance to the living room, followed by one around the fireplace followed by one by the entertainment center, followed by one that blocks out the entertainment center AND the desk, followed by one that blocks out all of the above PLUS the fax machine/telephone that he took off the hook every 30 seconds. So...this is what you get now...my mother says it looks like a maze! HA

Here is Carter "playing" with his new birthday big boy toys.....who is playing, Carter or Daddy???

Carter's new Colt's sweatshirt from Nana and Papa Day. He and Daddy are watching the Colts and practicing saying "TOUCHDOWN!"

My Colts boys!!!

My mom got these dresses for the girls for Thanksgiving while she was on vacation in French Lick a few weeks ago. They are SOOOO cute. They wore them to church on Sunday and I coincidentally put Carter in something that was coordinating...so I had to get a picture. Of course, Carter pulled Emma's hair and she cried and this was the best we got....

There you have it.......the upcoming week is a busy one. Tomorrow, Emma has preschool, Morgan has school (if she's feeling better) and Carter will go to play day while I go volunteer at Morgan's school counting Box Tops.....(at least my friend Kristen will be there too!) **Speaking of Kristen, you should check out her website, she is an amazing inspiration to anyone trying to lose weight! Check it out...she's even about ready to have a contest for new subscribers!** Tuesday, we have Emma's preschool feast in the morning. It will be our 4th annual feast! Tuesday afternoon, I hope to be traveling to Warsaw for the calling hours for Olivia's brother, Zach. Tuesday night, we will watch the BSU Football game on ESPN!!!!! Wednesday, is tentatively our Christmas decorating day. We usually do it after Thanksgiving, but we'll be leaving for St. Louis for Chris' family's Thanksgiving on Thursday morning and not getting back until late on Saturday and then with church on Sunday, we might be ready to relax after that and it will be so fun to come back to our beautifully decorated house!!!

I think that's all I know!

pretty, pretty girls

My pretty girls got new outfits this weekend, Emma's came from her Nana for her birthday and Morgan's came from her Grandma who had a weakness at TJMaxx! We had a busy day today and they both wanted to wear their outfits....

After we got all dressed up, we went to Morgan's school to register her for first grade, then we went to see Dr. Hughes for Emma's 4 year check up. She weighs 32 pounds (finally over 30! YAY!) and was 39 and 3/4 inches tall! He said she was perfect! (We knew that) We also had lunch, went to Target for school supplies, and met my Dad for ice cream at Baskin Robbins on an impromptu trip. Poor Carter was exhausted!

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm very nervous....thankfully my good friend Xanax is helping me out! (thanks to my fabulous, wonderful doctor who called me some in yesterday!) I have never liked flying anyway but the thought of being on an airplane for a total of almost 12 hours just kind of sends me over the top....and leaving my kids on top of that!

This will probably be my last post until we return home next week! Can't wait to show off our pictures!!!!!

reason #48889384

There are a billion reasons why I love staying home with my kids and here is one more...we have had the coolest day. We all slept in until 9am....even Carter!! and then we took our time getting ready and went out to my very good friend, Olivia's house to swim in her in-law's pool (they live practically next door) we hung out there for a couple of hours....Morgan was swimming like a fish and Olivia had a really cool baby float that Carter LOVED!!!..... and then came home, I layed Carter down for a nap and he slept for 2 good solid hours. The girls and I have been playing outside and I decided to just bring the lap top out to blog while relaxing and watching the girls play! What a life! Here is what they are all doing currently as I sit here from my vantage point....

How cute are they?! Cracks me up. The next pictures are of the girls' new presents that Rhonda Reynolds gave them....they've been going with their Daddy to Southside's band practice every once in a while and just love watching the guard, well, I guess Rhonda was cleaning out some guard closets and found these old silks so she put them on some poles and even taped them up for the girls.......they're loving them!

Last night, we went to a cookout at my cousin Sandi's house....she had her grandkids in town from Florida and invited a bunch of us over to see them and let them get to know their Indiana cousins.....it was also a good excuse to see my cousin Megan who was in town from California. We also got to let Carter and his little cousin Hudson play together...they're only about 3 months apart but since Carter is so big, he looks like a little bruiser next to Hudson. We were afraid he was going to steamroll over him, but he was very gentle! ha

Here I am with 2 of my favorite cousins (I have several, but these are 2 of them!) Megan (who now lives in CA) and Ty who lives right here in Muncie but I don't get to see him that often! (Hudson is his son)

Tonight, Chris has band practice and the girls will probably go with him and leave Mommy home with Carter for some (slightly) quiet (er) time! Almost time to start packing for Spain! ACK!

In other news, there is a GORGEOUS house less than a mile from here that we have commented on since we moved into this house 5 years ago that just went up for sale by owner. Hilariously, Chris and I BOTH called the number today to find out more about it....not having any idea that the other was going to call!!! The guy is probably pumped that he got TWO calls on his house today! HA! Anyway, it sounds amazing....we're going to look at it next week, hopefully. I'm not getting my hopes up since its probably out of our league, but its soooooooooooooo beautiful!!!! That is all I know for now......My Daddy just pulled up, I'll take his picture since the camera is sitting right here!!!!!!!