Christmas 2012

Hi all It's Sunday afternoon and I decided to take a quick minute or 10 to update my blog.  It's been so long since I updated we have been super busy and I was waiting to get the first year of my blog printed so I can ideally delete it.  I think by deleting the first year than I will have enough free memory left to upload more pictures.

Not sure when I will be able to do that, but know its on my mind.  Like I said, I have been so busy this month between Christmas activities and working out.  Before December I did a craft with the kids and we made our very own/first advent calendar.  That has been fun trying to incorporate activities into our December, but kept me on my toes.

Also the beginning of December I borrowed an exercise program from my sister in law called Insanity and started it.  You may have seen the infomercial for it.  It is supposed to be the hardest workout ever put on a DVD. And let me tell you it is HARD.  I am 4 weeks in and going to be starting my recovery week on Monday and then it starts up hard again the following week.  But it has been so worth it.  So far in one month I have lost 1 1/2 inches off my thighs, 1/2 inch off my arms and calves and 1 inch off my hips and bra band.  I can't WAIT to see how the next months results.  I am getting stronger and more toned.  Getting the muscles I wanted.  It's a 6 day a week workout and Sundays are our rest days, so today I am taking it easy, which is nice. I am definitely feeling how hard it is and have to ice my knees and make sure I stretch really good each time, but am finding it enjoyable.

K has been working lots of hours. The week before Christmas I think he worked 60 hours.  But he had the week of Christmas and this week off which has been kind of nice.  Well when he isn't doing extra side work for his new business!

The kids are doing well and Grace is my smart big girl.  She loves getting on my computer and doing 'letters', she has been learning to read and sounding out small words.  Sometimes I would write down on a piece of paper the activity we would do for the advent calendar and help Grace sound them out.  She is doing well with it.  She also got a bike for Christmas and although we haven't had a chance to take it outside and ride it yet(too much snow) she has enjoyed it in the hallway.

Aaron also got a bike for Christmas that he enjoys in our hallway.  His is called a Strider bike and it doesn't have pedals.  It's meant for 2 year olds+ to learn to balance before they get a bike.  I think he will have it mastered in no time.  Aaron is also learning to put his shoes on (he got some new Crocs for Christmas) and learning his ABC's.  He is kind of shy about singing them.  He just recently got his haircut again and the blond is fading and getting darker. :( Which makes a mommy a bit sad.  He is still a skinny boy but when he is going through a growth spurt he can really put down some food! He got some Lightening McQueen underwear for Christmas but I think we are going to hold off on the potty training for a little bit longer, he only is interested sometimes.  I think by summer if he hasn't become more interested then we will put a little bit more energy into full time potty training then.

Our little Sarah peanut is a spitfire.  Well both girls are really, I am going to have my hands full in several years.  She is crawling, crawling, crawling.  I think she will be walking soon.  She has the desire to walk and tries often, she just doesn't have the core strength and balance to get far.  She LOVES Grace especially and Grace can always crack her up and make her laugh.  The big kids will play some game where they are growling at each other and Sarah will start growling at them from her high chair.  She loves eating big food like us and is fazing out the baby food.  She loves Cuties Clementines, and french fries and most anything that isn't too hard for her to eat.  Which is a nice change from our learning to be picky big kids.  The only thing I wish was that she was a better night time sleeper.  It seems like the older she gets the less she sleeps during the night and that she is a light sleeper.  It's quite frustrating since she is getting bigger now, I don't want to be getting up as much and she has the LOUDEST, most PISSED OFF scream you ever did hear.  It really is quite terrible. 

So that is what we have been up too, hopefully life is treating you all just as good!

Sick and Still Sick

It was decided recently that our family has had the WEIRDEST stomach flu ever. My last post described how Sarah threw up over a week ago right before bedtime and then was fine.  Then Aaron got sick.  Well let see, Aaron continued to be sick once during the middle of the night, last Friday, (not Saturday) Sunday, and Monday night.  On Monday night I was beginning to think something was really wrong with him, because he would be fine during the day.  And I decided after he threw up at 1am on Tuesday morning that I would be taking him to the doctor first thing.  Well then Sarah threw up a ton of breast milk at 7am on Tuesday morning so I realized that it wasn't just Aaron and they must have a bug.

Normally Tuesday morning is playgroup but I text my friends to let them know I wouldn't be there and my girlfriend called me and described how her 2 girls were doing the exact same thing! Fine during the day and then WHAM throwing up at night.

Well I took the kids to the doc on Tuesday and they of course were fine and the doc thought it was strange as well. (As did my friends' doctor) Our pediatrician suggested a pro biotic to kind of help with resetting their stomachs.  (Oh and Aaron also started with the really bad diapers that morning as well) However...he hasn't thrown up anymore and his diapers have been getting better.  But last night poor Sarah had a fever all night she was just burning up and restless and fussy.  I think her teeth were really hurting her and she hasn't really wanted to eat.  You can see pretty clearly her other bottom tooth popping out now, but I think her top tooth receded a bit and it's paining her a lot.  Her fever had broke by 7am this morning and her naps were decent but she hasn't been interested in eating at all and tonight K got her to eat all of her baby food and then some mashed potatoes and then she threw it all up.  :( Poor thing.  Also by bed time she had a fever again and today her diapers have been bad as well.

Grace on the other hand has been fine.  So I pray that she doesn't get it either because it lasts like a week this weird flu bug.  And it's deceptive because you think the kids are all better and then their not! My poor little monkeys.

Grace has been having a blast with the advent calendar I made.  (Sorry no pics, I'm not sure when I will be able to get more up but hopefully soon! I am working on it!) It makes me really think about how my week is going to go. 

I started doing Insanity on Monday.  If you haven't heard of it, it's an insane, rigorous, intense, workout program doing calisthenics.  Google it.  It. is. Insane.  I haven't been perfect at it by any means but...I am doing it and today was day 4. Pure Cardio was the name of the video and despite be the least sore of all the days by the end I was still doing push ups when he moved on to the next move. But I still keep moving and try to keep good form for the whole 40 minutes and it seems to go fast too, which I like.  I am eager to get some muscles and definition and feel strong! And I know that I need to work on my strength training to do that.  (Haven't I been saying that and saying that??? But I finally did it!)

So that's what we have been doing, sick kids=lots of laundry. Tomorrow=more laundry.  (Have I mentioned I would LOVE a new washer and dryer?? Never bothered me before having a smaller washer and dryer, until Sarah was born. Well at least just a bigger washer. Oh and since I am dreaming of new appliances, definitely a new dishwasher as well.  Ours is horrible! It's only 3 brand new appliances, a girl can dream right??? lol)

Ok laundry, Insane workouts, a little bit of house cleaning and I did a lil bit of Christmas decorating today.  Hopefully to finish up tomorrow and Saturday, (maybe we'll get our tree then?).
Time to hit the shower and wash the sweat off!
Love!

Sick Kids

It's late here, 2am to be precise.  I have been up with sick kids a lot this week. Tuesday night Sarah got the stomach flu.  We had gotten her out of the bath and was all clean in her pj's when I heard Grace say, "Moom! Peanut spit up!"  Except she had more than just spit up.  She threw up some more and had another bath and pair of pj's before she fell asleep in my arms.  Then the next morning she was fine and back to her normal self. She woke in the middle of the night to nurse but no more throwing up. 
She also has been SO BUSY! The week before last she learned how to sit up on her own and then she is getting 2 more teeth. Her other bottom tooth and her first top.  And I wouldn't be surprised to see her second top tooth show up next week at this rate.  And then Saturday she crawled! We baited her with my cell phone and she crawled 3 steps!
On Friday night I had just finished putting Sarah back to bed and I heard Aaron crying and he had thrown up.  We cleaned him up and K went downstairs to sleep with him so I could get the baby and he didn't throw up anymore either.  The next morning we had Grace's dress rehearsal for her recital and we were up early and he kept saying, "I hung-rie" Tried to feed him a light breakfast but by lunch he was back to normal and had a turkey sandwich.  He seemed just fine today as well, although he didn't eat dinner.  But that isn't anything new as he is a picky eater with anything good for him! Rotisserie chicken, green beans and applesauce.
We were in a hurry tonight to get out the door to Grace's recital but he acted fine and played in the nursery while we watched the performance.  Again, I had just put Sarah back to sleep and I heard him throw up and went in there and sure enough. Shower time! Poor kid is sitting here on the couch with me.  I just think it's so weird to go a day in between being sick. I pray he gets better soon and that Grace doesn't get sick. She is supposed to have another performance tomorrow night and family is attending that.

 

I also pray that Sarah doesn't get it again like Aaron did. Or K or me for that matter.
Well that has been our crazy week so far and looking forward to a new one tomorrow.  Time for me to get off the computer and figure out how to get to sleep with a sick kid.
Night!

Thanksgiving Prep

I am sorry I don't have any pictures today.  I went to upload my pictures and blogger says I have reached my max limit of free photo space, so I have to have my blog printed and then I can start uploading after I 'erase' some blog. Who knew?

Today has been a great day.  Sarah went to bed at 8pm but she fussed a little bit before falling asleep.  Then she slept straight until 1:45am and then slept until 7:30am!! WOOT WOOT! I have been waiting for less wake up times.  Moving Grace into Aaron's room has made it possible for me to be more awake when I get her and then nursing her better and putting her back to bed with a full belly. 
Also she has been getting a 2 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  It has been so nice.  Putting the space heater in her room has been the best thing ever!

Once we got going this morning I started getting busy with Thanksgiving prep.  Baked Chess cake, cut celery and onions, and other casserole prepping. Scooped dog poop and picked up the back yard and moved patio furniture. Good thing because it was nice but windy and by this afternoon it got cold.  After that we came inside and made lunch and continued with more Thanksgiving prep before putting Peanut down for her afternoon nap with the big kids.  Then I jumped on the treadmill and got my run in.  On Monday I had the best run ever! I did a warm up for 5 minutes and then was able to run for 35 minutes straight and then had a 5 minute cool down. I think that's the longest I ever have run! It felt great!

We had leftovers for dinner (got clear the fridge out) and then bath for the kids. (Bath every night for peanut=helping her learn a sleep pattern) Kids are down for bed now and the hubby and I are watching a movie.  Looking forward to another good nights sleep (praying that this is a trend!) and then lots to do for tomorrow! K has a 4 day weekend and we are having massages tomorrow from a Groupon we have to use.  Then its a girls night out tomorrow for me! And maybe a boys night in for K this weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Project time

I have been behind on the blogging! I think I said that last post as well! Ha Ha oh well.  What have we been doing?? Today we got up and made a run for the grocery store to get all of our regular and Thanksgiving shopping done.  We are having Thanksgiving here so there is lots to be done.  When we got home we had lunch and then Grace got to finish making her Thanksgiving project. She keeps forgetting and calling it a peacock. After I put the Aaron and Sarah down for naps I cut out the pieces and let her use the glue stick we bought to put it together.  She thought that the glue stick was so novel! 

Lately I have been considering preschool for Grace and recently decided that preschool would wait for at least 6 months.  Right now we are trying to get Sarah's sleeping schedule more regular and for her to sleep longer.  Last Thursday we moved Grace into Aaron's room temporarily so that we could get Sarah sleeping longer and better at night.  Right now she is waking up 3 times during the night.  We also moved a space heater into her room to help keep the room toasty.  We think she may like a nice warm room.
Anyway, so I decided that having a 7 month old right now and having a 3 year old in preschool was too much stress for me, especially since Grace won't be able to start Kindergarten until Sept 2014.  So we will revisit in in 6 months. 
I have been working out still and hit the treadmill hard tonight. Did my best run ever, 35 min of straight running on a 2 incline. This past Saturday we did a 5K walk for St. Jude's Hospital for Children.  They make it so families don't have to pay anything for sick kids.  So far I am down a total of 24 pounds.  I was going to take my measurements yesterday on the 18th but since it's almost that time of the month I am going to post pone that for a little bit.
K's still been working crazy long hours but at least he is done traveling for a little bit.  Time to jump of the computer and get to bed at a decent hour because my little peanut will be awake before I know it!

Hangin with Friends

Another group of pictures from our San Diego trip.

 Just a swangin... I love this picture wof the big kids with Nana. Grace's face is just pure joy.

 And Sarah wanted to swing too!

 Such cuteness!

 This was after a swim night in Memaw and Pepaw's pool.  The pool wasn't exactly warm and before we tossed the kiddos into the bath we let them eat birthday cake outside in cups.  They were all a little cold but still enjoyed their cake!

Today we hung around the house and shoveled snow before heading out to a new store called Scheels.  It is the coolest store! They sell sportswear and gear, hunting gear, regular clothes and shoes and lots more! Inside they have a ferris wheel, small bowling alley, play gym and a cafe where they give all the free samples of fudge you can want. The fudge is SO GOOD!! I was able to try on some new running shoes and wish I could have left with them.  The last couple of weeks I have thought that I might need some new running shoes because my feet have been hurting, sometimes during and sometimes after I run. Oh the new ones felt so light! They are going on the Christmas list. And we left with some fudge..so I better keep up the workouts!

Speaking of workouts...I've been hitting the treadmill hard last week and Saturday I weighed in and was down another 1.5 lbs. I know that I have said that I need to focus on the strength training but I totally haven't.  Last week I did better with my situps and push ups after my runs, but I am thinking I need to some how shake things up with that and really get focused!

On another note Sarah is growing bigger and bigger all the time we had her 6 month appointment when we got back from SD.  She weighed 16 lbs 6 ounces and was in the 50 percentile for weight.  Her height was 27 inches I think and the 96 percentile for height.  And we noticed today that her feet are practically sticking out of the infant carrier. Soon she will be in a convertible car seat! And yesterday I noticed she has her first tooth!!! She has been having bad naps so that may be why.  Tonight I thought I saw a slim white line that may be her second bottom tooth, but that one I am not sure about.  We got some teething tablets to help with that.  She also has been super needy to, really wanting mommy to hold her and soothe her every time.  Sarah is also rolling all over the place and is working hard at strengthening her arms to support her weight.  The dogs are SO good with her.  Not that they weren't good with the other two, but I think she gets around faster then they did and she will grab at the dogs feet and fur so quick before I have a chance to move her.  They walk carefully around her and Briggs let her grab his paw and didn't even flinch.

Friday we got our first real snow!  It was great, we got lots of snow all day Friday and Saturday, our streets are so pretty with snow and I think there is more to come!  We are finishing up our weekend with a pizza, fire and a couple of movies! Night!

Aaron's Birthday Party

I have a ton of pictures from our San Diego trip and I need to get them upload so I am going to make an effort to get them all done relatively quickly! Otherwise we will have holiday pictures to upload as well! Ha!  We did a Curious George birthday party for Aaron.  Aaron LOVES Curious George or Georgie as we call him at home.  I got these little George masks for the kids to wear and I think Aaron liked his the most.  He also liked his new Rescue plane and helicopter.

 The cutest little monkey ever!

 New friends!

 Another cute monkey!

 I ordered an edible cake topper to place on his cake.  At first I was worried that it wouldn't come in time because of Columbus Day being a holiday but it did come on time.  However after we trimmed it to make it fit on the cake we had a hard time peeling it off the backing with out ripping it.  Daddy was able to save the day and peel it and place it without totally ruing George. Yay for Daddy's!

 Waiting for his cake!

 Blowing out his candles with Daddy.

 Opening some presents with Uncle Cameron.

 His Georgie from Memaw and Pepaw!

 Presents and fun times!

I love my sweet boy, he is so tendered hearted and sweet.  I love how he has such good manners right now, saying, "No Thank you." He loves playing with Grace and he will say, "Hi Peanut!" to Sarah.  Love my boy!

Halloween 2012

A quick update on our Halloween.  This year I wanted it to be inexpensive and so I let Aaron pick between a dinosaur his costume last year (it still fit because he is so skinny) or Grace's tiger costume from when she was 2. He picked the dinosaur as you can see.  Sarah also was not happy about being a little cow. The same costume Grace wore when she was like 9 months old.  I got Grace's Alice in Wonderland costume for $10! I figured she would want to be a princess of some sort but didn't want to pay $40 for any of those so I was stoked to find the costume for so low and she loved it.  And now we have another dress up dress to wear! Bonus!

 Checking out the stash.

 Grace was more interested in the little rind and coloring book she got than the candy, which is typical and of course Aaron wanted to eat more and more candy!!

 Surprise peanut!

 And just for giggles I tossed in one of me.  I got 15K in steps in today so felt pretty ok with eating a few pieces of candy.  I am at my pre pregnancy weight now but would like to lose maybe another 20?? We will see how that goes, what with the holidays coming.

We had a great Halloween...hope you did too!

Birthday Boy at Papou's

Just dig right in!

 Here let me help you Aaron!

 Chuck the truck! He loves it!

 Papou and Sarah!

 Aunt Me Me with the peanut

 Uncle Cameron and Ethan (love Sarah's expression on the bottom)

 Grace needed some cuddle time apparently.

 Such a cutie she is.

 Smiley faces!

 Girls just wanna have fun!

 Splish splash!

 I kept trying to keep my ties out of the water.

 Hungry kiddos ready to eat Papou's yummy steak he cooked.  We had a blast swimming and meeting new friends! Celebrating Aaron's birthday.

Just some pictures

 

I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago before we went to San Diego.

 Had to take a picture of Grace's drawing of Elmo..so cute.

 The tubes the dr removed from Grace's ears...soooo tiny.

 Look at those kids!

 For some reason she decided the front door was a good place to sit and color.

We got back from SD yesterday and K should be done with all of his major traveling until the end of the year.  It was nice to enjoy an extended summer and come back to fall!  I am so ready to get back into the swing of things and enjoy the holidays!  More pics to come!