On resolutions

I'm not really one for making too serious of New Year's Resolutions.  I kind of like me the way I am, which is not to say that I couldn't stand to make a few little changes, but I also know myself well enough to know I'm not going to stick to anything if it's too lofty a goal.

When Kylee was sick over Christmas break I let her take a bath in my jet tub.  As the water was running I said, "Wait here for a sec, I'm going to go change my clothes".  I walked into my closet and started to change when I got the feeling that I was being watched.  I turned around and sure enough Kylee was standing there.

"Do you need something, Kylee?"

"No, Mom.  It's just that I was wondering, um, why do your legs jiggle like that when you walk?"

Silence, as I buried my head in my hands, trying to stifle a giggle but look slightly offended at the same time.

She seemed confused by my non-answer, so she was quiet for a second too.  Cautiously, she proceeded,
"I'm sorry, is that embarrassing for you? I didn't really mean to hurt your feelings."

Oh, Kylee. I tried to explain to her that sometimes you don't have to say out loud everything you think in your head.  And while I do very much appreciate her honesty, yes, it can be a little embarrassing for me to be told that my legs jiggle when I walk.

So this year, it looks like I'm going to have to resolve this business of jiggly legs.  What about you? What New Year's Resolution do you have?

A Memorable One

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.  We finished up the last of our holiday celebrations today.  Our Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful.  Every year I am just blown away by the thoughtfulness of others and the amazing (and sheer amount of) gifts we receive.  We are one lucky family.  And this Christmas was not one I'll soon forget.

For example...at my family's Christmas I set my camera lens cap on the floor or...somewhere...and spent the rest of the day looking for it. My mom found it several days later. (Thanks, Mom!!) Also while we were there, my practically vegetarian mom ate a bite of breakfast sausage and I have a picture to prove it. :) Lastly, I blamed Kent for losing Kase's pacifier that I later discovered I had left at home. But that's just the beginning of the memories...

We, like 95% of Ankeny, spent our Christmas being sick.  Poor Kylee had it the worst of all- I took her to the doc on Christmas Eve and her initial strep test came back negative, but a couple days later I had a phone call from the doctor saying she actually DID have strep and another test they ran on a virus came back positive too.  Unfortunately before knowing all of this, we celebrated half of our Christmases with family so half of them got sick too.  We did bow out of one Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve and the kids were absolutely devastated.  Honestly I think it is one of the first times in our married life that Kent and I have missed any of our seven Christmases.  Sad. :(

Christmas morning was so....lackluster.  Kylee had cried herself to sleep on Christmas Eve, just miserably sick but of course she and Kael woke up at the crack of dawn to see their Santa presents.  They rolled downstairs, half awake and sleepily looked at their presents.  They were happy to play with their new toys but the excitement just wasn't there. Kael was actually THRILLED with his fake glasses he got from Santa, then five hours later lost them at Grandma Cindy's house.  Another memory.


And there's another reason this Christmas was so memorable.  Tammy, my younger sister, shared some news with us that she and Rob are expecting! She's due in July and had a fun present-unwrapping- game for us to play at my Mom and Dad's that had an ultrasound picture in the middle.  Aww!! We are so excited for you guys! Now, about getting you guys back to Central Iowa.... ;)

Everyone is finally on the mend around here- thank goodness! We are so ready to flip the ol' calendar to 2013. But first, a few photos from Christmas 2012.

Kylee was still feeling well here- this was after her preschool Christmas program.

Another reason Christmas was so memorable- Kase learned to crawl!! We had bets on whether it would be before or after Christmas and I would say that today is the first real day he's crawling proficiently.  It's soooo cute!

Learning to crawl makes him sleepy.  

Such hard work! So tired!

Santa baby.

The Reaction. (to the baby news)

Ahhh!!!!!

Uh-oh.  Someone's not feeling so hot.

One of our traditions is to make pancakes in holiday shapes before going to Christmas Eve church. We couldn't make it to church this year but we wanted to do pancakes anyways.  Can't you just see the Christmas joy on Kylee's face? If a snowman-shaped pancake complete with chocolate chips and whipped cream doesn't make her smile...she's definitely sick. :(

Kael somehow escaped the virus and stayed healthy all holiday season! Fingers crossed he can stay healthy for a few more days before heading back to school. 

Kent made sweet potato pancakes for Kaser. He absolutely devoured them. 

Kent made some crazy pancake/egg/bacon taco thing for himself. I can't even. 

Have you guys seen these EzyRollers?  Kael and Kylee (um, and me :) have been having a BLAST in them. Turns out having an unfinished basement isn't all bad. Seriously these things are fun.

Hilarious.  

Some cool kicks from Uncle Kevin helped perk this one up.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Thankful Thursday

In the wake of such a terrible tragedy, I feel there are no words.  I'm from the "everything happens for a reason" camp but when something like this happens...I, like everyone else, am just completely shaken and am left wondering "Why??? What's the reason?"  And I hate that it takes something so big for me to be so thankful of the little things.

I am thankful for every day that my children arrive home safely from school.

I'm thankful for those brave souls that sacrificed themselves and ultimately saved lives that day.

I'm thankful for hugs from my kids.

I'm thankful for a husband who loves me.

I'm thankful for a baby that needs me.

I'm thankful for a warm home to live in.

I'm thankful for a God that saves.

I'm thankful for a friend who understands me.

I'm thankful that there is good in the world.

I'm thankful for people who stand up for what's right.

I'm thankful we have enough.

I'm thankful for people who do the right thing whether it's going to get recognized or not.

I'm thankful for the parents that raised me.

I'm thankful for my sisters who are my best friends.

I'm thankful for time to reflect.

I'm thankful for a fresh blanket of snow.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for gingerbread "villages" instead of just one house.  Our elf brought a kit that had 5 mini houses so everyone could decorate their own. Well, we did Kase's for him.

Kylee's thankful I let her dive in face first. She asked me like five times, "Really, are you serious? I can just like put my face right up to it and eat it?" Go for it, girl.

Seriously, Kent? 

I'm thankful for...wait for it...Kase's first teeth! After a few worse than usual nights, those painful first teeth popped through and he has been sleeping soooo much better now.  Well, maybe not soooo much better.  But better.  We'll take it.

I'm thankful our first Christmas celebration is right around the corner. It's going to be a fun weekend!

I'm thankful for 12.12.12.  So cool.  I took a screen shot of my phone at 12:12 on 12.12.12.  Just 'cause.

I'm thankful for a cute picture my mom snapped of Kase while I was volunteering at Kael's school.

I'm thankful he can stand alone.  Sort of. :)

I'm thankful Kase had fun seeing Santa! I had something to pick up at Bass Pro anyways so I decided to just go during the day and take Kase while the big kids were at school.  I am so thankful to be a stay at home Mom and go to places like this in the middle of the day instead of a night or weekend because there was no line at all.  Actually, Santa was about to go on a lunch break and saw us coming and waited for us so we could see him before break.  How about that? Santa waiting for us, instead of us waiting to see Santa.  

I'm thankful for you, readers.  LOVE that you keep on comin' back for more.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend did not go as I had planned.  I had full intentions of finishing up all my shopping.  Like, gone all day-type shopping. Friday morning I woke up with a killer headache and I thought it was just a result of staying up too late with some friends Thursday night. (Insert comment #6,736 regarding how much I love my neighbors.)  However, as the day went on, I felt worse and naturally, Kase hopped on the sick bandwagon.  We were a mess by the evening and just when I go and think, "At least Kase's sleeping habits can't possibly get any worse," they do.  He was up the.whole.night crying.  The kind of night where I just wished it would hurry up and be 4:00 (the earliest respectable time to actually be up for the day, in my book).

So, scrap the crowd-fighting shopping spree. We did some other stuff and it turned out to be way fun.

Made and delivered neighbor gifts.

Got e-mails from Santa. Have you all tried Portable North Pole? I'm pretty sure I talked about it last year, but it''s really neat.  The kids were on the edge of their seats waiting for Santa to say if they made the "good" list. :)

Played in the snow and made mini-snowmen.

Anyone for a little *snow*ball? Bahaha I crack me up. 

Every year I try to make Kent wear a Santa hat while we decorate the tree and every year he refuses.  Imagine my elation when I walked outside and saw him sitting on the front porch in his Iowa Santa hat, watching the kids play in the snow. 

I also took the big kids up to the Fire Station and the Annual Tree Lighting- something I have wanted to go to for years.  It was so fun!

Well, it's off to bed for this gal.  Hope you had a good weekend too!

Thankful Thursday

Weeks are flying by at breakneck speed lately, are the not? I swear I just wrote a Thankful Thursday post.  Lucky I have lots to be thankful for...

I'm thankful Kael loves wrestling.  I was talking to another mom at Kael's wrestling tournament last weekend, asking if her boys were enjoying the season so far.  "Nope.  They hate it.  My youngest has been crying all morning and my oldest just does it to keep up his strength for baseball season.  But they truly hate wrestling even though we've made them do it for three years now." Um...what??? I really didn't know what to say.  Even though I don't know a lot about wrestling, I'm just happy Kael enjoys it and would NEVER let my personal preference of sports force him into doing something he hated or out of something he loved. At least I like to think I wouldn't.  Never say never, I guess.

I'm thankful my Christmas shopping is done.  NOT! Not even close actually.  I seriously gotta get crackin'.

I'm thankful that dinner is planned and ready for the night.

I'm thankful for plans with friends.  And really thankful for the 'plans' I don't plan.  When fun just happens.  That's the good stuff.

I'm thankful for the candle warmer on my desk.  Some sort of cinnamon/holiday candle is going right now and it smells amazing.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to volunteer in Kael's classroom. I had the most fun there the other day when I was trying to get kids to work on Word Ladders.  Hang with me for a sec and I'll explain it to you.  So, you start with a word, say, "dog".  Then I give the kids a clue and they're supposed to just change one letter from the word dog to make a new word.  For example, I'd say "polka ___" and they'd change dog to dot.     So, the word was "lap" and the clue was "when my dad is lost he looks at a ____" (clearly, map, right? well, at least I thought it was obvious.)  This clue stumped every.single.kid I worked with that day as they tried their hardest to turn the word "lap" into GPS or iPhone or Garmin.  Even as I pointed to a nearby globe, trying to get them to think of a map they looked at me completely dumbfounded.  Finally I'd give up saying, "So back in the olden days, when people were driving and didn't know where to go, they'd often have a map in their car to look at." Then I tried my hardest to pretend like such an archaic practice was long before my time.

I'm thankful for the sparkle in Kylee's eyes.

Happy Thursday, friends!

On remembering

"Change it to track 13.  I like that song," Kael said to me as we were driving Kylee to tumbling.

I had just put a Christmas CD in that we rarely listen to and certainly haven't listened to since last Christmas. But I was curious, so I obliged. It was Silent Night.

"I like this one too, Kael."

"Yeah, number 4 is a good one.  And so is 17." 

I smiled, knowing what was about to happen.

"Kael, you know all the songs and what number they are on the CD, don't you?"

"Yes, actually I know both of them (it's a 2 disc set, folks).  Number 1 on this CD is All I Want for Christmas, Number 1 on the other one is Holy Night.  Number 2 on this one is White Christmas and...."

I won't list the rest of the 32 tracks for you, like Kael did for me.  But he knew them.  All of them.  In order.

I am as fascinated by his brain today as I am the day we got his diagnosis.  And once again, I am baffled by the fact that he can remember complete lists of seemingly random things he hears once a year, but is incapable of completing any multi-step task I give him at home. "Kael, go upstairs and get your shoes.  Also put your laundry away while you're up there." He makes it upstairs.  Maybe grabs his shoes.  But definitely does not remember to put laundry away. I walk up and catch him staring out the window.  "Um, Mom what was I supposed to be doing?" 

I just finished reading The Journal of Best Practices,  a book written buy a man who has Asperger's Syndrome (which isn't exactly Kael's diagnosis, but very similar) and his quest to be a better husband. Some of the author's comments literally had me laughing out loud, not because the thoughts themselves were really that funny, but they were just...so....Kael.  Even though the author is in is 30s, I saw Kael on every page.  For those of you whoever question Kael's diagnosis or are curious about what might be going on in his head- read this book.  It will give you just a glimpse of what Kael deals with every day.  The book also gave me SUCH a great attitude for Kael's future.  Of course, every parent hopes their child finds their perfect match in a spouse, and of course, I assume and hope that Kael will get married.  Reading about the wife in this book, and her patience with her husband made me feel so reassured that one day, God will send a girl like that into Kael's life.

Lots of you have asked about how Kael's year is going, and I appreciate those who take time to really care about what's going on with him.  Truth is, he's doing as well with the transition to a new school as I'd hoped.  Maybe even better.  There are hard days, like when a game of tag doesn't go exactly the way he wanted it to, bringing him to tears of rage on the playground after school. Or when I look on the wall of self-portraits in the classroom and Kael's is the only one who still has a stick figure.  But, his teacher really gets him.  She knows he struggles with fine motor stuff (ie, handwriting isn't the neatest) and her attitude for that is, "Kids these days barely need to put pencil to paper.  Honestly, don't you even use your iPhone for grocery lists and stuff? Kael will be able to use technology to his advantage.  He knows how to write and I can read it.  Not a big deal if it isn't perfectly neat." She pushes him when she thinks he can do better (Kael is dying to learn multiplication tables- something they don't usually do in second grade, but she dug out a bunch of multiplication activities just for him) but let's it go when it's something minor.

He's making friends, and I am THRILLED when I peek out the window and see him joining a football game with peers at recess.  He's confident when he needs to be, but I know he's self-conscious about things too.  Just the other day he asked me if I could take a few practice pictures of him (he has a tendency to squint his eyes in photos) for when he gets to be The Big Deal in his class (which will happen in April, by the way :).

So, for those of you who keep an eye out for Kael, or anyone in your life who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder...thank you.  Thanks for trying to understand him.  Thanks for being patient with him.  Thanks for not acting like he doesn't have "it".  Thanks for not giving in to him.  Thanks for realizing he's different, but not making him feel like he is.  Thanks for remembering what a special kid he is.

Whelmed

"I know you can be overwhelmed.  And you can be underwhelmed.  But can you ever just be whelmed?"

Ten points to you if you happen to know the correct answer (and the end of this movie quote) is "I think you can in Europe." Bonus points to anyone besides my sisters who can name the movie it came from. :)

So.  How's your Christmas prep coming?  Per usual, I was crazy excited for the holiday season to start.  I had lists, ideas, and activities all planned out.  I made Kent print me out a December calendar to keep track of my fun-bullying plans.  I have little printouts in our Advent calendar- some days a gift or something fun for the kids; other days a fun activity of how we can serve others.  I have Kent has scheduled the DVR to record any and all Christmas movies you can imagine. I have written a daily plan for what our Elf on the Shelf  will be doing each day. You guys I even made a Christmas binder to organize it all.  I know. 

And today I find myself trying to do so very many things and that perhaps by doing so many things, I'm not doing any of them well.  Decorations are up, but not exactly what I had envisioned.  Some gifts are bought but I'm getting annoyed at "out of stock" messages and all the running around from store to store. Plus there's the guilt of overspending.  And the holiday baking I usually do just sounds like unnecessary extra calories this year.  And this weather feels more like Spring Break than Winter Break and I just can't get as into the holiday spirit as I want.  I'm so whelmed.

I tried.  I made Grinch Punch as the kids and I settled in for a movie night last night.  Turns out the punch didn't taste that great and the movie scared the heck out of Kylee. Total bust.

What I really want is for the kids to enjoy it all.  I want the season to be as magical as possible. I also want them to experience the joy of giving.  The fun of doing Random Acts of Christmas Kindness. I want to spend time with family, friends and neighbors.  I want  be available when friends need me.  I want to relax which is soooo hard for me to do.

Last night I pulled out some coffee filters and asked the big kids to help me make some good old fashioned paper snowflakes to decorate the house.  We sat around chatting, perfecting snowflake designs for like half an hour- way longer than I anticipated on snowflakes keeping their interest. Then, out of nowhere, an easy, happy smile came across Kael's face.  "This is so much fun, Mom.  Thanks for doing this with us." 

It's always the little things, isn't it?

My girl

Kylee.

I say it all the time, but you have NEVER met a mother/daughter duo that is so very much alike.  I watch her life play out, like a movie, before my eyes and it's one I've seen before.  Like a classic, remade.  A slightly better, newer version.

The other day we were in a pretty serious debate over whether she would or would not wear leg warmers to tumbling.  This is probably the first of many arguments about clothing that she and I will have.  She was being soooo stubborn- absolutely refusing to wear them even though they were brand new, and she'd cut the tag off just seconds before this argument, swearing she loved them.  But when she has her mind made up, there is absolutely no changing it.

These petty arguments drive me totally bonkers. But I love her so hard it hurts.

The boys were at wrestling the other night, and Kase was asleep so it was just Kylee and I hanging out.  We were having the best time together and I felt kind of a pang in my heart, knowing that not too many years from now she'll be busy with friends and other things and we won't have many nights like we had that night.  "Stay." I whispered to her.  She kind of rolled her eyes and laughed because I say it to her all the time.  She knows I loved her at age one, two, three, four, and now five, but time is just going way too fast. But she gets it. I don't even have to tell her, "You'll understand when you're a Mom." Because she already understands.  After a big hug, she replied, "Mom, of course I'm going grow up so I can't stay like this forever.  But I'll always be just like this, you know? Just me.  I'll always be your Kylee. I'm  not going to change who I am you know."

And oh how I hope those words are true.  I hope she never changes.  I love who she is.  I love her stubbornness, her crazy emotions, her easy smile and her contagious energy.  But what I love most about Kylee is that she doesn't let other people change her.  She is who she is, she likes what she likes, and she says what she thinks.

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Kael's first wrestling tournament this weekend.  I know how crazy excited Kent and his family are for it and the excitement is contagious.  I've never seen Kael wrestle and I admittedly know nothing about the sport, but Kael seems really into it so, here goes! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving leftovers. I don't think I made a legitimate dinner once this week.

I'm thankful my kids love going to the dentist.  Kylee was asking all morning, "Now how many minutes until we go??" They make my life so easy sometimes.

I'm thankful for what is most likely our last run of warm weather.  I hear it's going to hit 60 on Sunday.  Yippee!!!

I'm thankful for free Christmas printables I found on Pinterest.

I'm thankful for other people's creative Elf on the Shelf ideas.  Looking forward to some shenanigans this weekend as our elf makes his appearance.

I'm thankful that I bought some caramel coffee creamer the other day.  I drink my coffee black, but I wanted to have some on hand for when friends and sisters come over for coffee.  Then I accidentally discovered how amazing the caramel creamer tastes in my homemade hot chocolate.  Oh brother.  Calories shouldn't be counted from Thanksgiving through New Years I think.  As if I count calories anyways.  :)

I'm thankful Uncle Kyle stopped by on his way home from Camp Dodge the other day in his full army gear.  Kael and Kylee looked at him as though he was famous and peppered him with questions about it.  Their awe reminded me how thankful I am for all of our service men and women. We have a lot to be thankful for in this great country of ours!

How about you? What, or who, are you thankful for today?

Kase is 7 months old!

Kase is growing up right before my very eyes.  Every day he does something new and I'm so thankful that I'm around him all the time so I don't miss a single thing.  I just want to freeze time- he's at such a snuggly, giggly age.

He says Dad and Mom sooo clearly.  At first I thought it was a fluke, then I thought I was just hearing things because I wanted to hear him say Mama...but now there's no denying that soft, sweet voice that comes over the monitor when he wakes up.  Like a question.  Just to make sure I'm still around.  "Mama?" To die for. The absolute best sound in the world.

He is very interested in crawling but just can't seem to get the going forward part down.  He's pushing himself up really well and I think our immobile days are numbered.

He sleeps, um, well, terribly.  Last night he was up maybe eight times.  I have high hopes that once he's more active (crawling, walking) he'll tire himself out and get into a more sound sleep.

He LOVES food.  Any. All.  If you're eating something within a hundred yards of him, you'd better be prepared to share.  The blueberry muffin I tried to eat this morning turned into a "share" situation before I could get one bite down.  And he pretty much finished off the rest of it.

Kase got sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving.  And a  teeeeensy bite of pumpkin pie. :)

Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving Edition

If you've been wondering that perhaps I'm off somewhere in a turkey coma, fear not, friends.  Nor, have I forgotten about you and this blog.

Although it would be hard to top last year's Thanksgiving Edition of Thankful Thursday, we had a pretty great one this year that included lots of family time, a bit of Christmas cookie baking, some family pictures, a little Christmas shopping and decorating, and way, way too much food.

So, without further ado...

I'm thankful for good food.  I mean, really, reallllly good.  I love Thanksgiving food, but only on Thanksgiving day.

I'm really thankful for time to just hang out with family.  Seems like we're always rushing around doing stuff, but I feel like this year we really got the chance to relax and it was amazing.

I'm thankful that I put down the camera (besides the big group shot) and spent more time just hanging out. Unfortunately for you that means more reading, less picture viewing. :)

I'm thankful that the Christmas tree and most of the Christmas decorations are up.

I'm thankful that Kent's feeling a little better- poor guy got sick Thanksgiving night.  We even had to miss the Iowa game on Friday that we had tickets for! Not that it was a great game anyways...

I'm thankful that Christmas cards are ordered and a big chunk of Christmas shopping is done.

I'm thankful that we're back to the daily grind.  I was kind of happy to wake up and have it be Monday morning.  I adore long weekends and a break from routine, but something about today had me motivated to be super productive around the house.  I saw the bottom of the laundry basket before 8:00 AM, made Christmas lists (and lists of my lists), edited some pictures, did some shopping, planned meals, scheduled appointments, hopped on the Cyber Monday bandwagon, gave my Kylee a manicure and....I could go on.  But I'm tired. :)

Here's to a great week!

This weekend ...

...I wasn't fast enough to stop Kase from grabbing an open container of baby carrots and dumping it all over himself.  It was so darn cute.

...I Kent put up Christmas lights outside.  Yippee!! Don't let that smile fool ya.  He hated nearly every second of it.

...I sent this beautiful gal off to a birthday party.

...Kent (and Pinterest) salvaged my frame that I broke the glass out of last week.


...I attempted a photo shoot of {a very serious} Kase.  He wasn't really excited about the mirror (this can't be Kent's kid then, right?! ;) but was happier back inside with  his favorite hat.

There is a matching hat to this outfit but someone's head is, ahem, a little too big for it.  Forget what I said about this not being Kent's kid. ;)

...I took Kylee grocery shopping and this happened:

...I watched the kids get along better than usual.  I suspect they know Christmas is right around the corner. :)

It was a fun, productive weekend.  Hope your week is off to a swingin' start!

Sorry.  I couldn't help myself.  You laughed though, right??