Snowed in

We have had 2 days of being stuck inside. Yesterday it snowed all day long. Then the temps dropped. It's been in the negative here. I have cleaned every corner of the condo and done all the laundry. I have read a book and napped. I    may actually be Looking forward to going to work tomorrow. I do like a clean home but I also like to be able to leave when I please. 

We are dog sitting for a friend. The boys have made a fort in his crate. I colored my hair.  I have decided blonde is not really my thing. So back to dark. Of course my hair turns red whenever I color it. So I am a bit of a redhead. 

I have a week and a half left until I am 31. This makes me officially in my 30's. When did I become a grown up???!!!

Mom truth

This post is something that has been weighing on my mind lately. Being a mom. No one told me how hard it would be. I was the little girl who loved playing house and dolls. I loves watching my parents' friends kids. I always wanted to be a mom. When I was pregnant with Jaxon, I was excited to finally have a baby all my own. A baby to hold and snuggle and feed. Little did I know Jaxon didn't want to be held unless he was moving. He never snuggled and the boy ate, only to vomit 10 minutes later. It was beyond stressful. 

11 years later and I feel like I have a handle on the stress part of it, and I get kicked in the face again. This past year we have struggled. Not only me, but my children. Tim and I were separated. Jaxon's dad has also been seperated from his wife. This has proven to be hard on Jaxon.  He is my bright kid. The one who gets up and actually likes to go to school. The one who has gotten straight A's for 3 years in a row. Now he only has one A. I am not disappointed in him. I am in me. He's suffering. I am going to help him focus on himself and school for the next few weeks.

Serena is also struggling. She has always been a slower reader. I have read with her and worked with her. While everyone else is moving forward I feel like Rena is stuck. She is also not picking up other things. I am having a hard time dealing with this. I want to deny that there is something wrong, but in my gut I know there is. She has issues with her behavior and know with learning. I want to help her. I don't know where to start. I am going to talk to her teacher and her doctor and see what the next steps are. She already receives speech therapy and is in a special reading group at school. I am going to get all the help that she needs. 

Being a mom is hard as hell. Even after learning this the hard way I wouldn't trade them for anything. We'll maybe my 19 year old body and millions of dollars. I kid I kid!!

Clean out the fridge day

Weird title huh? It's what happened at work the other day. You know where you go through the fridge and get rid of the food er science projects in the fridge. I had things in there I don't even remember putting in there. Left over fast food, left over dinner. Frozen meals from who knows when. Cleared it out. It's very refreshing. It's clean it's empty. It's ready for new and fresh things. I am like that fridge. I have some things inside that I need to get out. Some old things that I don't know why I am still holding onto then. And some things I don't remember why I have them. So I am comparing my self to a refrigerator. Out with the old. Bad negative thoughts. In with new fresh ideas. New challenges. Going to go to the gym tonight. That monstor cardio machine that I dread getting on cuz I can't crank out more than 10 minutes without wanting to call a medic? Yea I am going to kick its ass tonight!!!!

2014

Happy New Year! A little late, like always. I am going to be honest, 2013 was a shitty year. Full of insecurities and bad decisions. I questioned myself too much and had high expectations. In my 30th year I had to let go of what I "thought" my life should have been. The process was long and painful. In doing so, I realized that I am extremely happy with the life I do have. Yep it needs some tweaking. I am forever on a journey of learning. 

I do however have many blessings to be thankful for. I have 3 beautiful children. And 3 stepchildren. That I almost let out of my life. I also realized that I have a wonderful husband. And with some work from both of us we can live a happy healthy life. 

So this year is my year. Many good changes. A more positive outlook. I stopped drinking soda. I am changing the way I am eating too. 

I am trying to be more patient as a wife and especially as a mother. I know this will not happen over night. I am ok with that. I am setting a good example for my children. 

Here are a few pictures from the holiday season. 

I am loving life. Soaking it all in. 

Jaxon, a birth story. 11 years and a few days later

I haven't ever written down the events of Jaxon's birth. 11 years is a long time later. I remember a lot of it. Some of it I am sure I have forgotten. I want to have it in words so I can look back and remember always.

I was very young when pregnant with Jaxon. 19. A child myself. I wanted to be a mom as long as I can remember. I played with so many dolls and was sure I was ready to be a great mom. My pregnancy was easy with him. No morning sickness, no real cravings. It never crossed my mind that anything could go wrong. And how lucky I was that nothing did. My sister Shauna and I were pregnant together. Her with her third, me with my first. She was 2 weeks ahead of me. Any symptom I had I just had to call and ask her if this was normal.  I didn't realize just how lucky I was to have this. We had the same doctor and often would time our visits together. We even found out the sex of the babies on the same day. 

I reached 40 weeks of pregnancy. Every visit to the doc revealed the same results.  No changes and labor didn't look like it would start anytime soon. I had a cold and was beyond frustrated. 2 days before my due date I got the same news. The dr sat and said we have some decisions to make. We could wait and let labor come naturally on its own. Um... No thank you. We could induce labor. Hmmm. Ok. If we did this the dr said my progress would be hard and slow. He didn't think I would dilate fully and if I did I had a 50% chance of needing a c section. What??? This is news to me! Why? Because the baby is close to 9 pounds and I have narrow hips that may not allow the passing of a baby this size. My third option: schedule a c section. 

At 19 I felt like this was a death sentence. No one wants to end up with a c section. Let alone just have one Witt out trying labor first. With tears steaming down my face, I left the office to talk to my mom and husband to make my decision.  After much discussion I decided to go ahead with the c section. This was a Thursday afternoon. A call from work to the dr and he let me know we could go in Friday morning. Wow this was really happening. 

After work we headed to the hospital to pre register. We then went out to our last dinner as childless people. Side note, pasta con broccoli is not a good choice for dinner right before surgery. 

Bright and early Friday November 22, we arrived at the hospital to have our baby. I remember being so excited. My swollen belly was soon to produce a baby. I kept thinking about what he was going to look like. A baby, my baby was going to be here soon. I was nervous about having surgery but the nerves were drowned by excitement. My mom and my husband john were there with me. Soon after we got there I was taken to per op. Here they asked me a zillion questions and administered my epideral. I was wheeled into the operating room. I was all alone and trying to take it all in. My arms were straight out to each if my side. A curtain was put up so I couldn't see the surgery. I could hear everything but see nothing. John was brought in to sit by me and his my hand. I remember tears of joy and just  repeating, we are going to have a baby.  Next thing I know, the anesthesiologist leans to my ear and says you are going to feel a lot of pressure, like an elephant is sitting on your chest. Then the sweetest noise ever... A cry. The dr held him up for me to see. And in an instant I feel in love. I was filled with joy and love and awe. This beautiful boy is mine. 

He was cleaned up and weighed while the doctors finished up surgery. Jaxon, weighing 8 lb 14 oz was handed to dad and I got to touch him and talk to him. As I was transferred to a bed to leave the OR I held my boy for the first time. 

Halloween 2013

I had a crazy Thursday morning. Kinda like every morning this past week. Woke up late, rushed kids to school and daycare. Was almost late to work. Once I got there things got only slightly better. I found out I would be rooming for 2 providers as we had someone out sick. Thankfully we were not that busy. I forced myself to be in a better mood after this. 

The nurse practitioner that I work for, Jen and I dressed up as teenage mint ant ninja turtles. Jen spray painted cake pans    green that we used as our shells. Then we had our ninja ties. It was a cute costume thought up and made in less than one day. 

We closed the office early and I got to pick the kiddos up early. All chaos reigned after this. The kids were on a super high from sugar. They had their school parties. I took them home and Jaxon and Serena were transformed into zombies. I have to say I was pretty proud of their face paintings. Payton was a lion this year. He had a really warm one price outfit that was really freakin cute. He even kept the hood up most of the night.

We went trick or treating with a friend and her family. The kids got a shit ton of candy. So for the next month they will be rotting their minds and teeth. We had a great time even though it was pretty windy and a bit rainy. After our candy haul we went to my friends fathers house and were treated to excellent chili and great company. We came home cold and exhausted. The kids may or may not have fallen onto bed with only washing their faces.

Calm down and focus

Here lately my life seems frazzled and crazy. I feel rushed and stressed on a daily basis. I can't seem to do things in calm and timely matter. I have been having trouble falling asleep at night. I seem to get my best sleep between 5 am and 8 am. We have to leave the house at 8:20. I haven't been able to pull my sleepy a hey body out of bed until 8:05 every morning this week. That means we have 15 minutes to get up get ready and out the door. The kids have been almost late every day.

This is not how I want to do things. My nights are crazy. I don't get home until after 6. Then there is dinner, homework, baths, ect. I feel like I don't get much quality time with the kids. 

I am making changes. I talked to my doctor. I have had back pain for 2 months straight. She has prescribed something to help stop the pain. Hopefully this means I can fall asleep at night and get up refreshed....earlier. Smooth mornings make for smooth days. I am going to get the kids clothes ready the night before. And pack my lunch too. This pain has made me feel like doing nothing. I haven't even been working out like I should. This weekend I am going to relax, enjoy my children and focus on our changes. 

I am going to do a post about our Halloween tomorrow. Happy weekend. 

Random happenings

We stay pretty busy during the week. Monday through Friday I feel like I go non stop until about 11:00 pm. Makes for one tired mom.

Sometimes it makes for cranky kids. Payton has been 2 for 2 weeks. He knows how to turn on the crying and whining. He will go from sweet little angel face to thrashing screaming demon baby in 2 seconds flat. Then he doesn't know why he was upset on the first place. Gah. The life of a 2 year old.

Rena and I have lost weight since moving onto a new place. I don't buy a lot of junk food or soda. We have also been eating mostly home made dinners. I am enjoying it. 

Work is work like always. I am thankful I have a job and enjoy it most of the time. Jaxon is doing great in school again. I  so freakin proud of him. He resently spent a week away at camp. In fifth grade that's what you get to do. He LOVED it.

Rena is getting better and better at school every day. She struggles with reading but we are working with her and her teachers to improve this.

Marbles and a laundry basket. Did you know this sounds like fire works? We'll it does and it's LOUD. But oh so fun. Until you listen to it for 10 straight minutes. Then you have a dog who is near heart attack and a mom who wants to rip her hair out. It is amazing I even have hair. 

If I didn't have a crazy life, I think I would be bore. A lot. 

It's almost the weekend. Thank goodness. 2 days off. This weekend we are going to six flags. Pretty seen excited about it. 

2

Going to do 2 posts in one day! A friend and blogger told me about an app for my phone that let's me blog and post pictures easy. Here are some pictures of my littles. And one of the new tattoo I got while my sister was in town 2 weeks ago. 

Weekender

This weekend my little dumplings are at their dad's houses.  I am alone.  I don't mind it at all.  It's nice to have a break.  But, about mid day Saturday, I start to miss them.  The noise, the craziness, the love.  I miss it all. 

That being said, I try to plan things to do when they are not home to keep myself busy.  So Friday night I met up with some guys and dolls and watched game one of the Cardinals vs Dodgers NLDS series.  A cute little place called Town Square Pub.  The service there is awesome, the beer is cold and the food good.  Had a great time, but did not stay till the end of the game as it ended up going into extra innings.

I worked Saturday morning.  That was busy busy busy.  I think the office had been closed the previous 2 Saturdays.  So we were slammed.  Saturday afternoon was spent quietly inside.  I cleaned a little, got a lot of reading in and even enjoyed a little nap.  I rented a terrible movie that I did not stop watching in hopes that something good would  happen.  2 and half hours of my life that I will never get back.  I do not recommend you watch this is the end with Seth Rogan.  I don't know how a movie with so many great actors in it can be so bad.

Sunday was great.  We had a girl's afternoon out.  We went to a new strip of outlet malls in St Louis.  They are called Premier Outlets.  We spent close to 5 hours there.  I got some great deals on a few Christmas presents for the kids and a secret pal at work.  And I even bought something for myself. 

I don't know how to get my pictures from my iphone to my computer, once I do I will bombard this place with pics.  Until then you get my words!!

This week at work is going to be weird.  Jen, the NP that I work for is out all week and I am not really scheduled anywhere.  I am sure they will find something for me to do.  I took Wednesday off to spend with the big kids.  That will break up the week pretty nice.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I am off to learn how to run.  This girl is going to complete a 5k before the end of the year.
Gasp I know.  I have NEVER been a runner so this should be interesting.  WAY back in 6th grade I went for a jog once.  Made it to the top of my street.  Then I landed on my face and banged up my knees.  Here's hoping that doesn't happen again. 

Back....I am back!!

I have been missing from this blog for almost a year.  I have been following other blogs like I usually do, I have just been without Internet for a long time.  I am so so glad to be back.  This is the place for me to empty my head.  Also a place for me to write about my day to day life with my family. 

A lot has happened in the almost year that I have been away.  Tim and I separated.  I got a different position at my job.  My kiddos and I are living in a new place.  It is taking some adjustment, but I think we are finally getting used to things. 

We still live in the same city (O'Fallon MO), just the other side.  We have a nice little condo that I absolutely adore.  It fits us just right. 

At work I am no longer sitting answering phones all day.  I am now working along side a nurse practitioner.  I get to do more hands on work and actually see people face to face.  The hours are different, but the work is more rewarding.

My parents moved up to Michigan.  I miss them a lot.  It is weird living here with out my sister and my parents.  I have my grandmother and for that I am very thankful. 

So back to Tim and I.  I think the beginning of the end for us was while my parents were staying with us.  Life was hard and we were not getting along the best.  Things never really recovered after this.  I was miserable and I think Tim was as well.  We agreed to a separation.  At this point I am not sure how things stand.  Tim tends to not believe and separations and doesn't think this will work for us.  So unfortunately I think I may be headed for the big D. 

I am thinking of changing the name of the Blog.  We are no longer going to have a last name that sounds like wax so it doesn't make a lot of sense to keep that name.  I don't know how to go about doing that, so who knows when it will happen. 

I am so happy to have a place to write again.  More to come soon.  Because this girl has Internet in her home again!!

So Happy It's Thursday or SHIT!

I have had a fairly smooth week.  Monday was a little rough.  Busy day at work and something put me in a bad mood all day.  I got over myself and the rest of the week went good.  I am fitting in at work pretty good.  Starting to settle in to my new position and the challenges it brings being a working mother.  I don't like the time away from them, but I do know that it is good for us all. 

I am re connecting with the adult world and that feels good.  I missed that while I was home.  I had some deep conversations with old friends and new friends and it felt wonderful.  I am feeling a little bit like the old me. 


Last weekend we made Christmas cookies with a friend and her daughter.  It was a lot of work and a lot fun at the same time.  I am hoping to fit that into my schedule with my kids this weekend.  I am finally going Christmas shopping for Tim.  I haven't shopped this late in a long time. 

The next couple of weeks promise to be busy.  I am trying to step back from the craziness of it all and enjoy.  Enjoy my kids and their eagerness for Christmas.  Enjoy Payton.  He has a new thing he does where he tenses all of his muscles up and smiles huge.  He looks so funny.  He does it when he gets really excited about things.  Enjoy time with family.  I need them right now.  Not only blood family but friends that feel like family. 

My mom, dad and sister will be visiting next week.  Dad is officially retiring.  We are having a little get together here for his commencement.  It should be fun.  Something else to enjoy.  So many things going on this month.  It will be good to see them before Christmas.  I don't know when they will be back down after this.  Still feels weird that my family lives in Michigan and I live here.

Loving life right now.  One more full week of work and school and it's Christmas.  Time for family and church.  Giving and receiving.  Playing and remembering! 

Happenings

Not much going on this weekend.  Just soaking up some quiet family time minus my big kids.  Tim and Layne went Christmas shopping and Payton and I stayed home Saturday.  It was a gray hazy day.  Perfect for staying inside and snuggling with my one year old.  Pot roast was made for dinner.  Campbell came over in the evening.  We played.  She loves my camera and takes 50 pictures while she is here.  I delete most of them but I will show you a few good ones!  Maybe we should get her a camera of her own.  I think we may have a future photographer.

It is finally chilly here and feels like it should before Christmas.  The kids and I took 2 nights this past week to drive around and take in all the Christmas lights.  I love seeing how people decorate.  I love the tradition of it.  We found a house nearby that has over 70,000 LCD lights on their house.  They time it to music.  Ummm, I could have sat in my van all night watching!  They take donations and give them to a local food ministry.  We are going back next weekend when we have everyone here.  


The kids are doing great in school.  Jaxon still carries straight A's.  Rena doesn't get graded on a letter scale yet but gets mostly 2's and 3's.  Which are equivalent to A's and B's.  So proud of those too.  Serena has a slight behavior problem.  I don't think that I have ever mentioned it on here before.  She has been acting out on the bus and at home.  We have seen a doctor and are going to pursue counseling.  We have a big blended family and I bet it is really hard for her to cope sometimes.  I know it is for me.  Can't imagine what it would be like for a 7 year old.  Payton is doing great.  Getting in to a good grove with being at the babysitters.  He even slept through the night 5 nights in a row last week.  Last night was doosey.  He is teething and has a tough time with the pain.  Poor baby.  4 molars and 2 eye teeth all coming in at the same time. 
                                We got a Fischer Price nativity set.  Cute and Payton can play with it!

                               This is one of Campbell's!

                                Self portrait

                                Payton wants to start his own blog.

16 days until Christmas.  The kids are getting excited.  I am getting excited.  There is nothing like seeing the joy on your kids face on Christmas.  We have a Celtic Christmas program that we are going to attend at my grandmothers church tonight.  Should be fun.  We will see how Payton does. 

Whats been going on in my neck of the woods!

                                         Alexis Renee my niece

                                        Layne,McKenna,Jaxon, Serena,Kiera and Payton

                                         Grammy,mom and sister.
We have been busy busy busy.  My sister and her 4 kiddos were in town for Thanksgiving.  They stayed here at the house with us.  We had our family plus mom and dad plus 5 guests!  My nieces and nephews did stay st their friends houses some of the nights.  It was so nice to see them.  You don't realize how much you miss someone until they don't live 10 minutes away anymore.  It was so nice to have everyone here.  Talk about being thankful!  Shauna and family left Sunday late morning.  Then mom and dad left Monday early morning.  Dad is officially retired from work and they moved to Michigan!  While it was a little crazy having them stay with us I miss them.  They will living in a rental house up there while they have a home built on some property they own.  They are closer to our family in Michigan.  This is the farthest I have ever lived from my parents.  It is quite the adjustment.

We celebrated Jaxon's 10th Birthday.  His day fell on Thanksgiving this year so we did cake and a present the following weekend.  He got a video game for the xbox he had been wanting.

I made a cookie cake for him.  Not bad for my first attempt! I got the wrong kind of icing but it looked ok and tasted awesome!  So hard to believe he is 10.  He is such a little gentleman and I am so proud of the child that he is!

We decorated our home for Christmas the same weekend that we did Jaxon's birthday.  Last year we put our tree downstairs so the kids would have more room to open gifts.  It just didn't feel like Christmas with no tree upstairs.  So I had an idea to put a smaller tree upstairs and the big one downstairs.  We have my dad's HUGE TV downstairs right now.  So we decided to just put the small tree upstairs.  This is also in hopes that Payton will stay away from the ornaments!!
The kids did a ginger bread house!

One last thing to update.  Payton got his first hair cut on 12/1/12.  He HATED it.  Cried the whole time and I had to hold his head still.  He looks like a big boy now.  All his crazy curls are gone. His hair still looks wavy.  So I have a feeling that he will have curly hair.  Tim and I both do.

Crazy week, relaxing weekend

I am officially working again.  My first week of work went well.  Payton does not like it when I go in, but I am sure he will adjust.  I work 4 minutes from home so as soon as I clock out I scurry home.  Everyone I work with seems super nice and I had a good week.  Nights at home are a little crazy.  We still have house guest and things are frantic when I get home.  We have to get dinner, homework, baths and fun time in 3 or 4 hours.  We are making it work! 
We are spending the weekend just hanging around home.  Nothing too exciting going on.  Cleaning our house for the arrival of my sister and her 4 kiddos for Thanksgiving next week.  We are stocking up in the delicious food for Tday.  And looking for good deals for black Friday.  I don't have to work, but have not decided if I am going to brave the crowds or not.  If I find something that I can't pass up I may head out. 

I have not started Christmas shopping yet. This is unusual for me.  I start early and stay out of the last minute panic.  This year I may be shopping Christmas Eve!  We do have some stuff for the kids, but I need to get things for Tim.  I have some stuff in mind just have to find the time to go and get it! 

Jaxon's Birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year and he is so excited for it.  We will have his official Birthday party the following weekend.  He will be 10 this year.  I know every mother says it, but it seems impossible.  I remember our first Thanksgiving with him when he was only 4 days old.  He is such a good kid.  So smart and funny.  Always so loving! 

Have a great weekend.

Midweek

This week is my last week as a stay at home mom.  I so enjoyed myself for the 5 months that I got to stay home with the kids.  But reality hit....I am not the greatest stay at home mom.  I feel better about myself when I have something to do every day.  A crazy schedule and plans.  I need the structure of getting up and going somewhere to be productive.  Staying at home has made me feel like a lazy slug.  Not to mention the second income is much needed.  Also while being a stay at home mom I worked part time in the evenings and on weekends.  The time when the rest of my family was at home, so I felt like I was missing the real quality time. 

I start my new job Monday.  I am very excited.  The doctor's office where I will be working is like 3 minutes down the road.  Also happens to be where I take my family to the doc!  This week Monday I had to go to a physical for work.  They have you do the weirdest things!  Guess they want you in tip top shape to work with patients.  I had to have blood work done and a ppd!  The big kids were off yesterday for election day (there school is a polling place).  And they are off again on Friday.  It's nice that they are off on my last week home.  Can really soak up some family time. 

So for the next few weeks we will be settling into our new routines.  I think Payton will be the one most affected by it.  He does not like to be with anyone besides Tim or I.  This will do him some good and allow him the chance to mingle with kiddos his own age.  We are lucky and have a sitter right across the street.  So I walk him over there every morning and then head to work.  Many prayers have been answered with me going back to work.  I have to get out of lazy mode and get back to working mom mode! 

On a side note... I was diagnosed with shingles this week.  I had been having back pain right in the middle of my back on the left side.  I noticed that it wrapped around to the front following a rib.  It was so so sensitive to even the lightest touch.  Then 3 days after the pain Tim noticed I had what looked like a pimple directly on the spot that hurt.  My medical brain kicked in and I got to the doc asap.  We caught it early enough that it should clear up pretty quickly and not leave too much damage.  It HURTS!  I will be glad when it is gone.  This is not something I would want anyone to have. 

Halloween 2012

Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween.  We did.  Payton dressed up as Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bumble bee.  Not my first choice in costumes but we ran out of time and money!  So this worked and was pretty warm.  He looked so cute.  Jaxon and Serena were at their dad's house so I didn't get any pictures of them in their costumes.  Jaxon was a swamp monster and Serena was a witch.  They had a blast and came home with lots of candy. 

We had pizza for dinner.  We got these cute jack o' lantern pizzas from Papa Murphy's.  They were delish and adorable!  We took Payton up and down our street and got some candy.  We didn't stay out long because it was chilly and Payton doesn't really eat that much candy.

We made a little fire pit and had chairs lined up around it.  This is where we handed out treats to all the little people dressed in costumes.  We had a good time and I love to see what all the kids are dressed up as.

Later in the evening Layne and Campbell stopped by.  Campbell was dressed as Cinderella.  She was a very pretty princess.  I didn't have my camera out and they only stayed long enough to say hi.  Layne didn't dress up this year but still was stylish as always!

Next year we will have all the kids together for Halloween.  That will be fun.  I don't like the years when we are not together, but that is something we have to deal with being a big blended family! 

Monday Monday...La La

Good morning!  Feeling so so much better today.  We had a nice weekend.  Friday we just hung out at home.  We craved our pumpkin.  Tim is really in the mood for Christmas to be here so we used Christmas cookie cutters to crave the pumpkin's face.  It turned out pretty cute.  Saturday afternoon we celebrated Campbell's 9th Birthday.  It was so nice to have her over.  Unfortunately my big kids were at their dad's house so they missed out on the fun.  We had a Toy Story themed cake but in pink and purple instead of the blue and red.  I made lasagna and garlic bread for dinner.  It was yummy.

Sunday we lounged around the house watching football and the world series.  The Cardinals didn't win it this year but at least we were beat by the team that won the championship! 

I am in better spirits after spending the weekend with my family.  I also have an interview for a full time position.  This interview is tomorrow.  Amazing what family time and prayers will do for a person.  Wish me luck.  I really want this job.

I also started working out again today.  I am trying to lose weight once again.  This is an issue of mine.  One that is not easy.  I LOVE to eat.  I am learning how to make healthy stuff that tastes good.  Just have to stick with it. 

My parents cats have moved out of our house.  It was not a good fit for them.  Their puppy tried to chase them whenever they came out of our room.  So they took shelter in there and would not come out for anything.  Including potty time.  So you can imagine what that meant for our room!  Ewww.  I have borrowed a steam cleaner and am slowly getting that nasty smell out.  They are happy now as they are living with my grandmother dog free.  And they give my grandmother some company! 

Hope you all have a great Monday.  And a good week.  Here are some pictures of our weekend.  God Bless.

Blah Blah Blah

Unforntunatly this is how I am feeling today.  I feel like life is kicking my butt right now.  Things are tough.  Tim is at work all of the time.  I work 2 nights a week and on the weekend at a job that I am not loving anymore.  I am waiting for a position to open up so I can go back to work full time.  I have mixed feelings on going back full time.  We need the money.  But I love love love spending time at home with Payton and the big kids.  At least when I do go back we will have the weekends together as a family.  I may even get to know who my husband is.  I feel like we are strangers passing in the night!  Our house is full to the brim.  I like having my parents here, but I am not going to lie, it's hard sometimes. 

I know that things will get better.  We always find a way to make it through.  That's life.  It's what you do.  I am praying that they will get better soon.  I need to get out of this funky mood.  I am going to spend some time out side with the kids and a good friend today.  I know that will help. 

Happy Weekend

We had a nice Saturday here.  Tim, Dad and I had to work to start the day.  Then we played outside because the weather was super.  We played a frisbee game called Kan Jam.  Its really fun.  Payton likes to sit outside in the grass while we play.  The dogs got some exercise as well.  Then later in the evening my mom made us a delicious dinner.  It was grilled fillet mignon, asparagus, broccoli, and sauteed mushrooms.  YUM-O!!! 

Payton has been super sick this week with a double ear infection and a cough that was almost pneumonia.  He ran high fevers for 3 days.  He did not sleep at night for 3 or 4 nights in a row.  That means that Tim and I also did not sleep for 3 or 4 nights in a row.  Talk about tired family.  Payton started to feel better yesterday.  I guess he needed to catch up on his sleep because he slept in until 11am and the took a 2 and half hour nap later in the day.  He went to bed around 10pm and slept all night until 8am today.  Thank goodness he seems to be back on schedule. 

Today is football day.  I have to work this afternoon but the rest of the family will watch football and eat snacks.  I think today's menu consists of meatballs and homemade hot wings.  Its so nice having my mom here to cook us yummy food!

 See that dog?  That's the 7 month old German Shepard!!  Huge huh?

Here's our yummy dinner.  I ate all of this!  MMM MMM Good.