Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for every successful diaper change I complete with a squirmy 9 month old.

I'm thankful Kent's home.

I'm thankful for a visit from my cousin and her two boys. Wish we got together more often!

I'm thankful for the grocery app Kent put on our phones.  You guys it is life changing.  We used to have this problem where Kent would say, "Laura we're out of fill in the blank".  I would nod as if I heard him.  Neither party would write it down, then when I would go grocery shopping a few days later and come home without that item, well, it went a little something like this:

"I told you we needed _____"

"Did you write it down?"

"No, but I told you!"

"How was I supposed to remember? If you need something, write it down!"

"Well I don't even know where you keep a list."

"Ughhh! Well I'm totally not going back for it.  So if you want it next time, write it down."

"Fine, where's the list?"

(Insert picture of me rolling my eyes.)

Now, friends, enter our grocery app.  If Kent realizes we're out of something, he just types it in on his phone and like magic, MAGIC I tell you, it pops up on the list on my phone.  The very same phone that I always have on me when I'm shopping.  So I don't even have to carry a handwritten list, which, by the way, Kase usually grabs out of my hands and tries to eat anyways. I can't even tell you how much I adore this app. I think it's called OurGroceries.

Moving on. :)

I'm thankful for a whole stash of baby stuff my mom brought me from Target the other day.  There was a deal where if you buy a billion diapers they give you a Target gift card, so Mom went ahead and bought me the billion diapers, a couple cans of Kase's crazy expensive formula AND gave me the gift cards.  Moms rock.  Well, mine does at least. :)  She knocks it out of the park really.

I'm thankful that while Kent was out of town I got to take Kael to his wrestling practice. No, that's not a joke and no, I'm not trying to be sarcastic.  Kent always takes Kael and I've never really gotten to see Kael in action and wrestling practice.  It was cool to see him there- just so happy, and  in his element.  It's fun watching your kids do something they love so much, right?

I'm thankful Super Bowl Sunday is upon us and I'm thankful that since I don't care much for either team this year I can shamelessly say I'm truly as excited for the snacks and commercials as I am the game.

I'm thankful that I have children of both genders.  Really I had no idea what a blessing that would be.  Kent has fun fake shaving with Kael. (Well, Kent is real shaving.  Kael is not.) And I get to do fun girl stuff with Kylee.  It's fun for me to be a mother of boys, too.  And to say Kent is crazy about his little girl would be an understatement. :) 

I'm thankful for snow days and playdates with neighbors.

Lots to be thankful for today.  How about you?

Stuff

I've been catching some slack for my shorter than normal posts. In my defense, it is awfully tricky to write such verbose posts from a phone.  Anyhow, you asked for it... (well, one of you did.  The rest of you, enjoy. :)

I recently discovered that Kael doesn't do puzzles starting with the outside pieces, then filling in the middle.  Rather, he does them from left to right.  This is fascinating to me.  I don't know anyone else who does puzzles like that, do you?

Kent has turned into quite the handyman for me. Please excuse the blurry iPhone photos.  I'm still working on filling the first set of shelves with pictures, but the shelves themselves are PERFECT.  I love them and seriously am considering filling every open wall in the house with the same.exact.shelves.

This next one I saw on Pinterest, but the ones I saw used four crates instead of two.  For one, Kase is small and we really just needed a small shelf.  Secondly, Kent and I were tired of priming and painting.  Third of all, I had only bought two crates to begin with and the day I planned to go back and get another it was freezing rain out and I refused to get out of my pajamas to go across town for another crate.

OK so Kase LOVES these next shelves Kent built him! He stands there and pulls every single book out. Have you seen this idea on Pinterest also? The idea is to use IKEA spice racks behind kids doors for books.  Mega space saver, right? It's just that I'm not trekking all the way to IKEA for $4 spice racks.  Enter Kent.  He built them for me using leftover wood from previous projects.  In other words, FREE! Take that, $4 IKEA shelves! ;)

In other news, Kase thinks he can climb stairs.  He can't.  But he sure looks cute trying.

This morning before school Kylee and I whipped up a batch of homemade granola bars.  I was out of chocolate chips so we used peanut butter chips.  They turned out fine, mostly I was excited that we made 28 granola bars for literally pennies.  I figured out the other day that I serve 33 after school snacks every week (7 on MTWF and just 5 on Thursdays).  So any opportunity to save money on after school snacks is a total win in my book.

There is far too much wrestling in this house, if you ask me.

Could someone please teach me how to hold my hand more steady when I am taking phone pictures? Honestly, Laura. Do better.

Kent is in Georgia for work for a few days.  He's been gone for 7 hours which means that I have only about 50 hours left to get through until he gets home.  Not that I'm on the countdown or anything.  We miss you, Kent!!!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that Kael got invited to a birthday party this weekend.  I know that's not a big deal for some of your kids, but it is for Kael.  See, he has been invited to parties before, but really only parties of kids I babysit, or neighbors, or kids of moms that I'm friends with.  The party this weekend is a friend Kael made at school, someone who I didn't know first, someone I didn't try to forge a friendship with for Kael's sake.  A friend Kael made completely on his own.  I'm so excited for him.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to volunteer at Kael's school.  Seeing his smile in the middle of the day is just so reassuring.  I'm so glad to know he's a happy kid at school.

I'm thankful I have some Chicken and Wild Rice soup simmering away in the crock pot for supper.  Soup is the only way to go when it is this freezing out!

I'm thankful that every breathing treatment we go through with Kase means we are one more step closer to being done with them.  He definitely doesn't love the mask.

I'm thankful for our loud, crazy, silly, happy home.  There is a whole passel of kids here every day after school and it is a chaotic, awesome thirty minutes.  The kids have all been coming here for the last six years and it never ceases to amaze me how well they get along, how much fun they have together and how creative they can be with the same, old stuff.

Short and sweet again.  Have a great weekend!

On being productive

All this being stuck inside has its advantages.

Kylee and I decorated a bit for Valentines Day. These heart garlands were so fun to make!

Kent finished three shelves for me and my very high, perfectionist expectations. I will post pictures once I have them decorated.

I made a big batch of pizza dough for homemade pizza lunchables for the kids.

I organized a TON of family pictures and sorted them neatly into photo boxes for each kid.

While I am motivated in this new year, I am equally exhausted. Wonder how much I could get done if I ever got a full nights sleep??

Sick, again

Winter, why do you hate us so??? What did we ever do to you??

I was really looking forward to a day home with the kids. We planned a couple of fun outings that we were all excited about. Then, it was -10 degrees out. And then Kase was sick. Kael and Kylee were SUCH troopers as we spent half of their precious day off at the doctor's office.

As it turns out, Kaser has double ear infection, and honestly I am thrilled we have made it this far without him having one. Then there's this cough/wheeze thing he has going on which my doc labeled as bronchialitis/restrictive airway disease. (Although she tells me that it is her professional opinion that he has RSV, there was just no real need to test for it since we would treat it the same as we plan anyways.) She gives me a prescription for the ears and instructions for a breathing treatment for him.

It took awhile to run all around town picking up sick baby necessities and prescriptions. My parents saved the day and took Kael and Kylee bowling so they at least could have fun. Killed me to not be with them but not being with Kaser when he was so sick would have killed me a little bit more.

So, we struggle thru yet another winter sickness, more sleepless nights and a bad case of cabin fever.

Hurry up spring!

Right now I'm...

...working on Kylee's kindergarten registration papers.  Girl is sooo ready!

...looking forward to a Mexican-themed night in with the neighbs.

...PSYCHED about the nearly 60 degree temps we're going to have this afternoon. Spring fever.

...loving that my mom dropped of some tubs of my old school papers.  It is so fun to look back through things I did when I was little.  Makes me wonder if I'm saving enough of Kael, Kylee and Kase's things? The ten tubs I have marked "Kids Keepsakes" in the basement lead me to believe I've held on to plenty of memories.  Now if I could just get them as nice and neatly organized as my mom has mine.

...overusing the word "totally". A friend and I took Kylee and  her daughter shopping yesterday, bought them BFF shirts and let them try on nearly every pair of shoes in Children's Place.  Ky and her friend Kaelyn kept saying things like, "These are like totally so cool."  Then the other would respond, "Like, totally." This exact conversation happened no less than twenty times and now I can't stop saying, "Totally" to anything anyone asks me.

...really really hopeful that Kent can make time this weekend to build  me some little shelves for a gallery wall of pictures. Now that we have at least a few things on the walls, I'm dying to just finish the job and get the whole house decorated.

...hearing some adorable little baby squeaks coming from upstairs.  My cue to wrap it up and go snuggle a baby.  :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for any minute that Kase sleeps.  He is still waking up several times a night and napping sporadically at best.

I'm thankful we're all feeling better.

I'm thankful for dinner plans with friends.

I'm thankful for warm-ish weather.

I'm thankful the spaghetti Kylee barfed up over the weekend has almost come out of the carpet. You're welcome for that visual. :)

I'm thankful for coffee. (How many times has that made the Thankful Thursday cut? At least a dozen...)

I'm thankful for other people with young children who just "get it".

I'm thankful my mom is the one downstairs refereeing an argument between Kael and a friend.  Sometimes a fresh take on things is what Kael needs to gain a different perspective on things.  I feel like I'm always repeating myself.

I'm thankful for a low-key weekend ahead.  One basketball game is all we have on the docket besides one of my besties coming to visit.  Ahhh I can NOT wait!

I'm thankful for the spinach cubes in my freezer.  Now if only I had some fruit I could throw in and make a smoothie.  Why do I always have HALF the ingredients???

What are you thankful for today?

Weekend Wrap-Up

It has been an interesting weekend around here.  It started off so nice and normal...

Kael came home from school with a HUGE smile on his face- he was the Main Event again! He was so proud.  Awesome.  He was hoping to go out to celebrate, but Kylee and I had made deep dish pizza dough earlier in the day so we had fun making pizza at home. It didn't turn out quite as well as I remember my mom making it, but still good. Later Uncle Kevin stopped by to hang with the kids and help Kent in the garage a little bit. 

Saturday Kent finished building some shelves in the garage.  He's informed me this is all part of his grand plan.  Part 1: Buy a truck to haul stuff.  Part 2: Build shelves in the garage to get stuff out of the basement and into the garage. Part 3: Finish the basement.  So evidently all is going according to plan.  Kael had a basketball game and was hands down the best defensive player on the court.  He ran around like crazy! Saturday evening we enjoyed dinner out with my parents and grandma. 

I love his proud, shy smile.  

It's fine to make pretend snow angels on the wrestling mat, right? 

Sunday Kael had a wrestling tournament.  He did a great job- I was so proud of him and he was awfully excited about the giant trophy he brought home. Had lunch out with Kent's parents after the tournament.  Then, this is where the weekend took a sharp turn.  Kael started feeling sick at the restaurant and ended up throwing up there a couple times (in the bathroom at least).  By the time we got home we were all feeling sick and a couple hours later we were MISERABLE.  The flu hit us hard.  We suffered through the afternoon, tried to sleep and woke up this morning feeling a little bit better.  By 10:00 this morning I'd finished 7 (!!!) loads of laundry.  It was a nasty bug but at least it was short lived.  Kent stayed home from work and the kids stayed home so we've had a lazy day around here.  It's actually been a really nice TV-watching, pajama-wearing, Wii-playing kind of day.  Kent also had some time to build a bike hook rack in the garage and hang some decor in our bedroom/bathroom.  My goal is to get stuff on the walls before we live here for a year.  That's doable, right?

The real news of the day though, is that the heart tests my dad had done today all came back OK.  No major blockage and no surgery needed.  What a relief! 

In other news, Kase learned today how to make an elephant noise.  This maybe isn't so notable to you, but I distinctly remember the day Kylee learned how to make an elephant noise when we were at the zoo and I have the cutest pictures of her as a babe sticking her arm up in the air mimicking an elephant trunk.  So when Kase learned the elephant noise today, that prompted Kylee to question all sorts of things about when she was little.  So we dug out her baby book and had fun looking through it.  Being sick is no fun, but our sick day today really turned out lovely.  I never have/take the time to sit around and look at baby books with Kylee.  We're always running here and there, busy with school, work, etc.  I loved our little sick day.  

Now back to reality tomorrow... 

Thankful Thursday

I am SOOOOOOOOOO thankful that some miracle happened and I was finally able to change our photo on this blog! Kase has only been in the family for 8+ months now- so sad it took me that long to figure out how to put a family picture up.  And for some reason this Thankful Thursday posted on a Wednesday? Sorry if that threw anyone...I tried to schedule it to post tomorrow but here it is today. Someday I'll be a little more technologically-savvy.  I hope. Baby steps. :)

I'm thankful Kent got the truck that he wanted.  His car was beyond repair, and even though a new truck might not have been in the budget, I'm happy for him.  Now I'm just hoping we win the lottery so we can keep our plans to finish the basement sometime before the children move out.  Ha! :)

I'm thankful Kent was able to put a good word at a previous place of employment for his brother.  Chances are Kyle would have gotten the job anyways, but sometimes 'who you know' doesn't hurt, right?

I'm thankful for some warmer temps and a renewed attitude towards working out/being healthy.  40 degree days sure make it a lot easier to go outside for a run.

I'm thankful the detox/cleanse idea I saw on Pinterest doesn't taste as bad as I thought it might.  Kind of refreshing, actually.

I'm thankful for the French toast Kent made this morning.  Delish.  Why does food always taste better when someone else makes it?

I'm thankful that I'm not the only one who is having a major case of cabin fever.  And it's only early January! Ugh! Every neighbor I have run into in the last couple days is like, "I'm going stir crazy! Let's make plans to do something fun!!" Slowly our social calendar is filling right up, breaking up winter a little bit.

I'm thankful for the Eucalyptus Mint candle Cindy gave me- seriously feel like I'm in a spa when I light that thing.  The house smells so good and it's just....relaxing.

I'm thankful the candle is sitting right in front of me or I would have had zero idea how to spell Eucalyptus.

I'm thankful I finally figured out a way to (sort of?) get my hair to stay curled the way I want it.  Now if Kase would just stop ripping handfuls of it out at a time, we'd be set.

I'm thankful for Voxer.  Do you vox? Is that a verb? Not sure I just used that correctly.  But it's our favorite new app.

I'm thankful Kael and Kylee haven't (seriously) hurt themselves rollerskating in the basement.  They take some pretty hard falls.  Glad for helmets and knee pads.

I'm thankful we fit in our annual early morning "pancakes at McDonald's" trip with my parents.

Happy Thursday!

Thankful Thursday

Happy 2013!

I'm thankful for a new year and a fresh start.

I'm thankful that Kael heads back to school today.  Selfishly I'd love to have him home with me for at least a few more days, but I know he's ready to go back and see his friends.  We had a really good time hanging out together over winter break.  Due to the weather and family being sick, we were home much more than usual and I really enjoyed Kael's company.  I loved watching him be a big brother to a sick sister and a baby brother.  He has such a good heart.

I'm thankful for a last minute dinner out with the big kids last night.  Thanks Mom and Dad for keeping Kase for a bit!

I'm thankful Kase has officially learned to crawl.  He can really move now- watch out world! You guys it is the cutest thing.  The first time he crawled all the way across the living room- all wobbly and uncertain....my heart just melted.  It's such a funny thing about your kids reaching milestones- you're so happy for their new independence, but at the same time a little bit sad that they need you a little bit less.  My baby is growing up.

I'm thankful for slippered footsteps quietly scurrying around upstairs.

I'm thankful Kylee is finally feeling better.  This one totally took it out of her and I missed my happy-go-lucky, always smiling, full-of-life Kylee.  I'm so happy to have my little spitfire back. :)

That's all for today...blueberry muffins in the oven have been beeping at me for a full minute now and I have a terrible reputation for letting things get just a teensy bit too "done".  So I'd better go. :)

Happy Thursday! Make it a good one!