Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful I am FINALLY caught up on all of my children's photo books.  I had several books when Kael and Kylee were little where I actually printed off pictures, labeled them and put them in albums. Then evidently I took a couple years off.  Now I have caught up on photo books from 2009 and 2010 (the years I was missing) AND completed 2013 photo books.  What a project.  Does anyone have a good system for photos? My kids love to look at the books so I like having them actually printed off instead of just on the computer.  But by the time I make three separate books for every year...well...it's just very time consuming.

But doing them makes me happy-sad.  So happy for all the fun memories and so very thankful my mom captured a lot of pictures I would have never been able to take with my hands full and busy with two little ones.  But it makes me sad that Kylee's chubby little toddler cheeks are gone forever.  Sad to see pictures of Kael sitting on my lap because, well, Kael no longer fits on my lap.  And even if he did- he's got more time for friends and video games than kisses and hugs from Mom.  Happy for pictures where I look younger, more fit.  Sad that running has fallen to the way way way waaaaayyy bottom of my priority list these days.

Here's to hoping that Kase's chubby baby cheeks stick around forever and that his long, blonde curls come back for at least one more summer.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a good one, folks.

Friday afternoon, Kylee came home from school and announced that she had been announced as Main Event (a weekly "Good Job" award at school- usually a couple kids per class are picked).  She was thrilled and well-deserving of the award.  What a lovely start to our weekend.

Kent spent parts of the weekend helping my dad in his new office.  They worked hard installing cabinets, etc.  I always say that Kent's happiest when he's got a project.  And, as a thank you- my parents took us out for dinner at Wig & Pen (my dad's new office is just a couple doors down).  We were so surprised to run into the Vogel clan there! You'd be surprised how little we see of them even though we only live a few minutes apart! How fun to see them at dinner!

Saturday night Kent and I actually got all dressed up and went out for dinner at Ranallo's here in town.  It had been months since we'd been out for dinner, just us two and years, perhaps, since we'd been somewhere nice enough for me to wear a dress.  It was so nice.  Thanks to my parents for watching the kids so we could enjoy dinner out!

Sunday morning we went to church, where Kase lasted the entire service in nursery.  This is notable because we almost always get our number called to go pick him up.  Woo hoo for Kase! And woo hoo for us being able to sit through an entire church service! After church we went to the new Hy-Vee in town and had their brunch.  Have you been? You must go! It was sooo good.  Kase enjoyed the food but the real highlight was wandering out to the meat counter and watching the lobsters.  He loves it.

So basically, we ate out a lot, and enjoyed lots of family time.  What can I say? We're easy to please.

How was your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm really thankful for Kael's teacher.

Every once in awhile, you come across someone great.  Someone really great.

I've mentioned several times how pleased we are with Kael's teacher this year.  And let me tell you, we have been very, very happy with all the kids' teachers up to this point.  They all have been truly wonderful.

Kael's teacher this year is just something very special.  The kids have been doing a very meaningful project (and raised quite a sum of money) for Nothing But Nets and the Simon Estes Foundation. Last week, we got an e-mail with these pictures attached.

Can you imagine how excited the kids were (it was a surprise) when Simon Estes himself showed up to accept the check?

It's really cool to see what she's done with and through these kids this year.

Kael has had tremendous growth, particularly notable in his handwriting and his teacher has gone above and beyond in helping him not only stay organized, but learn some tricks so he can be more organized, independently.

Both of the kids conferences were great and I would be remiss not to mention how thankful I am that Kylee is having such a wonderful kindergarten year.  Not lacking in confidence, she is smart, social, and a constant little ray of sunshine. 

How did conference week go for you and your kids? 

Happy Valentine's Day!

2013 (above), 2014 (below)

Thank heavens for Pinterest.  Kylee was absolutely squealing with excitement over the heart strawberries and heart cinnamon rolls. 

We covered the cinnamon rolls with hot pink frosting and Kase couldn't get enough. 

Kase is killing me in these pictures.  His cheese face is hilarious. 

I have said it several times recently, but I can't get over how grown up Kael is.  He was so sweet and very appreciative of his Valentine gifts this morning.  

These three.  Love 'em. 

A special Valentine from my Kylee. 

It's been a fun-filled, love-filled Valentine's morning already! I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon at the kids' class parties.

Kent and I have a lovely Valentine date planned tonight- we're taking all the kids to the Jags basketball game since it is Ashland Ridge's Spirit Night! ;)


Happy Valentine's Day, all!

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a weekend, you guys!

Friday night after Kent and Kael had basketball practice, we loaded up and headed to North to watch Kevin's team play.  We wore our Ottumwa gear proudly.  Kael's cheering was intense.  The highlight of Kylee's night was giving Kevin a Hawkeye colored Rainbow Loom bracelet.  Kase mostly liked the snacks and the Polar Bear out in the hallways.  :) It was great to finally get to one of Kevin's games and we were happy to see the fam, too.

Saturday morning could not come fast enough.  The kids were so excited to get to Adventureland Inn! We met my mom, dad, sisters, and their families there and swam the day away.  We had a great time hanging out, playing games, snacking and pushing the kids around on the luggage carts.  And we had a wonderful surprise- we ran into Kent's cousin and her twin girls at the hotel! So much fun.  Hotel weekends are the way to go during these long Iowa winters! It also happened to be my dad's birthday, so we had fun with his gifts, cards and cakes.  My grandma even made it out to see the kids swim on Sunday morning.  What a blessing that we are all so close and get along so well! I think all the cousins had a great time together.  What's that? You'd like to see some pictures? Ok.  ;)

Kylee teaches Brooklyn and Tammy the fine art of looming.

Uncle Justin played Kael's favorite game with him. 

When did Kael get so big? 

The birthday boy! 

I love our family so much. Seriously! Wouldn't you want to be part of this fun group? 

These two are the closest in age...

...which means they occasionally want the same toy. ;)

These two are closest in height and evidently share a secret love of cleaning.  They were using these spray bottles to pretend to clean the doors of the hotel room- ha!

They did find fun in other things besides cleaning, too. ;)

Kylee's half birthday was Sunday.  She was trying to hold up 6 and a half fingers, which was tricky.  When we got home Sunday afternoon she decided to, "bake herself some half birthday treats" in her EZ Bake.  

"Uncle Kenner" is so much fun. And if you could hear how cute it is when Brooklyn says "Uncle Kenner" you would just die. 

They could hear that Asteroids Machine calling their name from the game room. Sorry.  My sisters will appreciate that, as will anyone who watched Happy Gilmore 3,546,267 times like we did back in the day.  But really, Kylee started messing with this candy machine and someone must have left money in it because she got several turns, winning candy for all the kids! Woo hoo! 

Donut cake!

The fellas.

The crew.  Besides me (stomach bug had me on the couch) and my mom who was taking the picture. Please note Kase's face in this picture as he recently figured out how to smile on cue. 

Push-up contest while waiting for the pool to open. 

Kent's not to good for a tea party. 

More pool fun!

Sunday I woke up not feeling very well and was so thankful for Kent's willingness to swim with and entertain the kids the rest of the afternoon.  He even went and got me some chicken noodle soup once I finally felt like I could keep some food down.

My stomach bug pales in comparison to Kent's grandma though- she went to the hospital Saturday night with some pain and ended up needing her gallbladder out on Sunday.  Hoping she makes a speedy recovery!

I actually had to wake my kids up for school this morning which has happened, well, maybe never. I think all that swimming tuckered them out!

How was your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Clinique bonus time.

I'm thankful my dad shared some birthday cake from Jethros with me. Chocolate bliss.

I'm thankful that warmer weather is on the way.

I'm thankful my neighbor had her baby! I've been staying away as long as possible since I was sick on Sunday but I can NOT wait to hold a newborn! 

I'm thankful there are only 125 short days until I head to The Big Apple with my sisters and mom. Not that I'm excited or anything. ;)

Happy Thursday!

Thankful

I'm thankful for texts and e-mails from friends and family who read the post about Kael the other day. You guys are the best.

I'm thankful that while out for dinner the other night, a girlfriend told me, "You're going to be a good crazy mother-in-law someday." I took that as such a compliment.

I'm thankful I didn't chase down a book thief at the library even though I really wanted. I had picked out some books I wanted for the kids, set Kase's stocking hat AND my library card on top of the pile so people would know they belonged to me and someone had the audacity to move Kase's hat, my card, take my chosen books and put them in her bag. I followed her around for awhile, loud-talking to Kase saying, "Buddy, I wonder where those books went that I picked out for us? I had them right here under your hat and now they're gone?" That heartless book-stealer didn't even look our way.


I'm thankful for a CD I found recently with a bunch of songs on it from when I lived in Mexico. Actually, I'm thankful for burned CDs in general.  Those were the days.

I'm thankful for the Frozen soundtrack.  I think I love it more than Kylee.

I'm thankful Kase got Kent's techie abilities. He salks around all day hooking cords up and plugging them in.

I'm thankful for our church's Toddler Time, which involves storytime, playtime and open gym time.  Kase has the best time! 

I'm so thankful for fun plans this weekend.  We're heading to Adventureland Inn with my whole fam and I canNOT wait to see all the little ones splashing around in the pool.

What are you thankful for today?

On Kael

It should have been lovely. Fun. Easy.

It wasn't.

We were at a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl and I was struck by what a hard time Kael was having.  To Kent's credit, he knew, going in.  "This is going to be tough for Kael," he said.

We were taking him to a place he knew, to watch a game he loved, and to eat some of his favorite foods. Sure, there were a LOT of people there, but I was hopeful that he'd handle it.

I outlined my expectations before we left.  Simple stuff.  Food and drink stays in the kitchen. No yelling, running, etc.

We hadn't been there for ten minutes and he was throwing balls against the wall, trying to break into the room the girls were playing in after they'd clearly asked him to "stay out!" (they were practicing a top-secret Frozen performance), taking drinks into the living room, asking for food after I'd told him no, then yelling, "That is so rude!" at me as he stomped away.

Typical nine-year-old behavior? Maybe.  But you guys, I knock myself out when it comes to parenting Kael.  I'm not the type of mom who lets that kind of stuff slide.  I'm not the type of mom who is afraid to discipline her child.  I'm not the type of mom who flies off the handle and yells. Day in and day out I read- books, blogs, Autism websites- for ideas on how I can reach Kael.  He's not naughty.  He's not "just a typical nine year old".

And I'm frustrated.  I'm ready to throw in the towel.  Because my efforts are not paying off.

It kills me to watch him be the one who is mildly annoying to his peers, and occasionally to adults. (Think Ray Romano's character on Parenthood.) It hurts so badly to be disrespected by him in front of some of my best friends. And my heart breaks when I hear him yelling at Kent. And I told that to Kael.


"Mom?"

"Yes, Kael?"

"Want me to get some glue? You know, for your broken heart?"


And that's how it goes with Kael.  Not an apology.  Not a hug.  Not an "I'll try harder next time".

So, I pick up the pieces of my broken heart and forge ahead.  Today is a new day and I'm certain he'll come bounding in the door after school with a smile on his face and absolutely no memory of what a tough evening last night was.  I'll ask how his day was and he'll respond with something like, "Owen got a haircut."

And that's my Kael.  And I love him so much it hurts.