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.

Payton turns one!

Payton's birthday was 10/3/12.  It was in the middle of having to move my parents out of their house and during the work/school week.  So we had a little celebration the following Saturday with just close family.  The picture above was taken the morning of his party.  He loves to make some goofy faces!

 Here is the big guy getting started on opening some presents.  He LOVES Mickey. If you look close you can see that the tablecloth is Mickey.  The whole house was decorated in this theme, but I failed to get any good pictures. 

 Big brother and sis like to help Payton open his presnts! More Mickey. 

 Tim and baby posing.

 Cake time!  My mom made this little Mickey smash cake for him.  The rest of us had chocalate cupcakes. 

 He didn't make too big of a mess.  He was busy eating it!  Afterwards he had quite the sugar rush and then dropped off into a great sleep. 

I felt a little guilty about Payton's birthday this year as it was overshadowed by the events of my mom and dad moving in.  Next year he will have a bigger better party!


Payton's Stats:
Weight 26lb 5 oz
Height  32in
Head 20in

He is still in the top precentages for his age.  So big!  He does not crawl or walk yet but he can sit on his own and will scoot on his bottom.  He gets wherever he wants to go.  He is just starting to pull up on furniture and people.  This slow progress is partly because of his urostomy.  It's the opening in his abdomen to let the urine come out from his left kidney.  He was unable to much tummy time as an infant. 
 Payton can say a few words.  Like da da and mama.  He will also say cracker and a few other random words.  He talks in his own language and will jaber on forever.  My dad said it sounds like he is talking to aliens.  He also knows some sign language.  His favorite one to use is more.  He will use it and just laugh and laugh.
 So there is my little man in a nutshell.  The year went by too quick like they always do.  We have done so much in the past year.  Payton has shown us how strong he is.  He is always so happy and a great snuggler.  I love him so much!