It is Friday, FINALLY...

Jeff is now off for three days. I am so glad because it seems like I am doing a lot of single parenting. Face it, the baby just isn't much help when she destroys everything I do in one single cute little bound. She is the busiest baby I have ever seen! But at least she is happy. I spent the day cleaning house, mainly deep cleaning things that have needed to be done but I didn't want to do. I had an Advocate come by this afternoon to talk with us, and I wanted things to look nice, plus tomorrow people are coming over because we are having our Church party in the afternoon. It was going to be at 11:00 AM but the weather is being silly and unpredictable so we moved it until 3:00 P.M. instead. So in the morning I have to get up early and get some things cooked.

We had a fun evening with the kids. We went to Wally World to look around and the kids were able to spend a little of their money, we came home and actually PLAYED together and everyone had fun. The kicker of it all is that Matthew stayed up until 10:00 P.M. What is up with that??? I am amazed because most evenings he is ready for bed no later then 7:00 and is up by 4:00 A.M. I am curious to see how long he sleeps in the morning!

Life is busy...

I usually like to post each day, but I have had hardly no time! I have not had a lot of important stuff, but its just the this 'n' that business. The kids have been great, school is good and at home is good too. I am quite pleased with this week. Tomorrow is Friday already. On Saturday, we are supposed to have our Branch Christmas Party (at Church). I am not sure it is going to happen though, because the weather is being silly and threatening. I hope we do. I have a huge ham in my fridge just waiting for me to cook it tomorrow so I can slice it on Saturday morning. My mom is doing the other ham, and we have potatoes and other little things to get done for it. It is all up in the air (which I hate!!!).

Madison has rediscovered her tongue, and let me tell you, it is LONG! It stretches clear down to the bottom of her chin. (GRIN)

Quiet day???

The kids are both in school today after a rather extended Thanksgiving holiday. The house is very quiet (and clean), and Jeff is outside raking leaves with his dad. Madison is taking a nap and I am working on my Christmas cards so they can go out soon. I am sad that there wont be any recent pictures of the kids in them, but then again, there is always the blog to look at for recent clips of everyone.

The most recent news in the life of the kids is that yesterday, while nursing Madison, I discovered that her first tooth is coming through, FINALLY! She is less than two weeks shy of her 1st birthday and she is only just now getting a tooth! I am glad for her though, it will make eating for her much easier since she just wont eat baby food any more. She is toddling all over the place now. Crawling is pretty much a thing of the past. Bethanie, for some reason, is delighting in knocking Madison down though. Sometimes I think she forgets that Madison is still small, and isnt sturdy on her feet like she needs to be for that kind of play. I am going to try to get through Matthew's bedroom today.....pray for me....it is a very scary place to go into right now. But it has to be done. I am so tired of him trashing his room and then not wanting to pick it up before bed (our house rule, clean up all messes before bedtime).

OK, better get back to work.

I am exhausted...

Because I have been sick the last two weeks (and finally am almost better), my poor house has suffered. Things piled up, and it was driving me totally nuts until I had a meltdown last night over it. Today, I spent the ENTIRE day cleaning and putting out Christmas decorations. I must say, it is all pretty now that it is up, my house is very clean and I am not as overwhelmed as I have been with all the clutter. I cant stand to be that disorganized and have that kind of a mess! I just finished planning my Primary lessons for tomorrow, it is just ME with all the kids, and so I am worried about how it will all go. I am looking forward to Monday when I have three less people in the house so I can get some down time. I don't want to get sick again!!! It was fun waking up this morning to around 1/2 inch or so of snow!! The kids wanted to make a snowman so bad, but I am afraid it would have been more like a mudman. Eeeww!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I know, I know....its only a day after Thanksgiving, but how can I help it? I mean, its snowing, we did some Christmas shopping, and we saw Santa! We have had a really fun day. Downtown this evening was Santa at his Santa House. We froze our toes off waiting to get in to see him, but it was worth every minute of it. It took us a good hour of waiting, but the kids got to tell him what they wanted. Bethanie told him she wanted a kitty, and he took her on a long story about how he has to ask the parents first because he once gave a kitty to a little girl and it jumped out of the box and scared the family. LOL! Matthew said a mouthful to Santa in record speed and it was funny, Santa couldn't understand what he said because he said it so fast. Madison curled up backwards, head and legs because she wanted NO PART of this Santa business. LOL! What a fun evening. After we went to see Santa, there was a live Nativity (the baby doll used as Baby Jesus was one of Bethanie's baby dolls that someone asked if we would loan it to them). Then I took the girls on a surrey ride with two Clydesdale horses all while it snowed. It was beautiful! Then we came home, made a vague attempt at our tree, decided we were too tired and so it sits until tomorrow. LOL!

Bethie wants a kitty for Christmas.

Matthew wants more than time can take!!













Madison just wanted away from Santa.

It snowed today...

but only just a little. It is super cold outside, too! We have leaves everywhere still. I guess I need to get out and pick them up so that we can make nice looking snowmen this winter!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I cant believe how fast time is going by. In just two weeks, my baby will be turning ONE!!! We have been bustling around the house cleaning it up for tomorrow. I have not felt well for going on my second week and so little has been done to make the house tidy. Jeff is feeling tired and overwhelmed. He has so much responsibility with Church, scouts, school, family. I feel bad for him, but not too bad. I have for the past year asked him to cut out some of the stuff he "is in charge of", and he hasn't, so I guess he is paying for that choice. I wish he had more time at home, and could be happy. He is a grump! YES, I HOPE YOU READ THIS!!! ;O) LOL!

Anyway, Friday, hopefully is the day we get the tree up. We will go down town in the late afternoon to do a city opening celebration for the Christmas holiday.

Its Monday...

So, death still has not found me. I guess that's a good thing. I am still sick. All of this coughing is messing with the pressure in my head. I had to do all the shopping today for 2 weeks and Thanksgiving. That was a little too much for me I think. I am very light headed. Madison is down for a nap, so I will put the dog out and head there too, hoping she will take an extended sleep. My dad came home from the hospital last evening. The good news is that he is no longer going to be insulin dependant! He may have to start on glucophage though, but hey! No shots is no shots! I have a busy afternoon. After I get the kids, Matthew has to get homework done fast, Bethanie has dance class and her pizza fundraiser has come in. I am so fundraisered out. It is 3 months into school and between dance, cub scouts and school there have been like 10 fundraisers. I think that is RIDICULOUS!! OK, my head is killing me. I need to go to nap.

Our Primary Program

Today was the Primary Program at Church. This is what the kids have been working on in Primary all year. This year we learned a lot about Faith, and how they can make their faith grow. We had about 7 kids there doing the program, and it really went pretty well. Matthew had some issues though, goofing around. It involved him being removed from Sacrament Meeting because he was heading towards meltdown. All in all, the kids did a WONDERFUL job. I could hear Bethanie sing, and she did so well!!! The Spirit was very strong at the ending song and now we can sit back and take all pressure of this program OFF!

My toddler

So, nothing is safe. She is such a big girl. We are still timid of letting her go on her own, but daddy was steadying her and off she went. It was hard getting a digital picture of her fast enough because when she goes, she almost runs! This was the best one I could get in a hurry!

She is so funny, she loves to chase the vacuum cleaner (making vacuum noises all along), loves to get into the fridge, loves to be in the kitchen drawers....as I said, nothing is safe! She will be a year old soon!

It's Saturday...

And since my dad is still in the hospital (and will be a couple of days) we are staying home. So, it is pancreatitis. We have no idea what is causing it because he has never been an alcoholic, and he doesn't have a gallbladder to have gallstones. So, it could be that the diabetes is some how irritating his pancreas. I wish I had more details. I have been sick this week and have very little voice, so I cant even call him to talk to him. I guess that around 1:00 a.m. his nurse came in to draw blood from him. He isn't an easy stick because his veins are very small. So, he was annoyed because he had taken an ambien to sleep and there they are waking him up, plus she was digging for gold in his veins and so he told her to stop digging for gold and she started to laugh at him (he wasn't joking either). He told her to leave his room and find someone who knew what they were doing (all while his Dr was there, at 1 AM!!!) The Dr. was not happy about the nurses attitude. So, that is all I know about that so far.

For us, Jeff and the kids are going to put up Christmas lights because it is supposed to get colder towards the end of the week. Me? I am just going to lay around for death to find me....that's how bad I feel. I need to go to the Dr. but since it is a Saturday, there isn't any around. There is always the ER.

***UPDATE***

So, Jeff drove me to Clay Center to a Dr. clinic there. It is around 45 miles away (he works there), but at least I was able to go, get some meds and start to heal. Apparently I have a nasty (really bad) sinus infection and so she put me on a heavy dose of antibiotics for 10 days. I really just want to feel better. Still no news about my dad.

It has been such a long day...

We went to Topeka for Matthew's dr appointment (check out the page Our Lives with Asperger's). We did a little shopping and found some cute clothes for the kids on clearance at Kohls (I LOVE KOHLS!!). They don't have a whole lot of winter warm clothes so it was good to find some good deals.

My dad has not felt well all week. He has been to the Dr once, and we have urged him all week to even go to the ER just to get some treatment. It seems as though this evening he finally went and had some CT scan and sonos done. He has pancreatitis. I am thinking he will stay in the hospital a couple/few days to get him straightened out. I hope it isn't too severe and that there have been no damage to his kidneys and heart. I worry about this man! He has had such a tough year. I will update when I know something more....

Today...

I'm still sick. In fact, I am convinced that if I move my head just right, it will explode. The kids are off to school, and Madison is off to "White" Grandma and Grandpa's house so I can go back to bed. I feel miserable! The morning with the kids didnt go wonderfully well.....I am sure it would have been better had I felt better. I go to the school today at 11:40 am to eat lunch with them for Thanksgiving. All I really want to do is to stay home and feel sorry for myself in my cosy and warm bed. But, I would not miss this for the world. I love doing this stuff with my kidlets, I just wish I felt better. **WHINE**

I'm all tuffed up...

I'm sick. I am sure that the past couple weeks of single parenting has all caught up with me. Jeff has been so busy with work, recertification classes, and his bachelors class that it has just mostly been me taking care of everything....including the dog. I have a head cold that is quickly turning into a chest cold. I feel terrible! The air is so dry, and our hair is all full of static, and Matthew loves walking around zapping me with electric finger tips.

One week from tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I cant believe the holidays are staring down on us just waiting to pounce! I am really excited about them though. Last year I was SO pregnant, hardly able to walk (she was 9 1/2 pounds), and I was MISERABLE. But this year I am looking forward to decorating the tree, having lights up outside and just enjoying this time. It will be Madison's 2nd Christmas, but she will be only just one. I cant figure out where this year has gone! Must be that I am sleep deprived.

I guess I need to go to bed. My cough medicine wants me to go to sleep now.

A Bethanie-ism...

So, this morning, Bethanie was trying to put on some boots that she just LOVES. She calls them her "Cowboy girl boots". Well....they are getting too small, but she is in denial, so I broke out the shoe horn that is like 12 inches long or more. Needless to say, it didnt work, so she had to wear something else, which was OK. I left the shoe horn on her bed, took them to school and went to do some shopping (the kids needed new winter coats this year). Tonight after bath time, Bethanie was in her room with Madison. She put Madison up on her bed (its a day bed with a back on it), and Madison instantly started to jump on the bed (that little monkey knows EXACTLY what not to do already!!!). Well, Madison saw the shoe horn on the bed bouncing, and Bethanie-the ever loving, protective and good big sister that she is yelled, "NO! Not the Shoe Honk!". **SNORT!**I couldnt stop laughing over that one. LOL!

Matthew had a couple of WONDERFUL days at school, but most importantly at home too!

Crazy Weekend!

This weekend has been VERY busy. Jeff's oldest brother, Greg came to visit his parents, so I took the kids over to visit him. We only see him (and is wife and ds) a couple times a year. It never seems like enough. Jeff also has another brother, Randy. He is married to Christine, and we dont see them either!

Today was Church. It was a really neat day because we received a new Stake Presidency. I think change can be hard, but it can also be good, and I am excited to see what new things come of it. Generally, Stake Presidents run for about 10 years in that calling.

Another fun thing about today is that my dad became an Elder in the Church. This is HUGE considering a year ago, things were very different. I am so proud of my dad and all that he has accomplished through this year. My mom is very excited too, now maybe they will be able to make it to the Temple. That is of course, my ultimate goal to see happen and they are actually planning on it!

This evening after we got home from Church (which was held in the Salina Stake Center), we took the kids to the park and then to the track where our friends the Richey's came. It was nice to visit with them and to have good friends close by. Bethanie just informed me that she is ready for her bath, and I think it will be an early bed time for one and for all.

Introducing.....

Heather! This is my only niece, and she is the SWEETEST THING EVER!!! Heather is my brother, Sunny's (and wife Ann) daughter. Heather turned 12 this year. She was the first born child in our family, and she is like a daughter to me. I love her! She is such a sweet girl, with a strong mind (and she is boy crazy!!!). I remember the day Heather was born. How can I forget? We thought for a few minutes that she was actually going to be born on my birthday, but instead, she held out for her own special day, the day after my birthday! Bethanie and Heather look so much alike, except for opposite colors. Heather has very dark hair, and Bethanie is very blonde, Heather has dark eyes, Bethanie is light, but they share many mannerisms, and characteristics. They are close friends (as close as can be with a 7 year age difference). Anyway, I just was thinking about her today and wanted to include her in my blog.

My BIG girl..

Madison is now 11 months old. She just thinks she is so big! I sit in amazement at these children because their spirits are so big, and their bodies are so small! Madison will NOT eat baby food anymore. She only eats big girl food. Tonight I showed her how to use her fork, and she now uses her fork. This just isnt right! She is still my baby!!!!!

Mr. Sirius

So, the good news is that Sirius's eye looks like it will be saved. The bad news is that it looks DISGUSTING-for right now. The vet has sewn the third eye lid tissue down across the eye and it looks nasty. Within the next week, that tissue will start to pull away and reveal his eye. I wanted to PUKE. I think at this point, Jeff will be needing to do the medication until that tissue comes off. I hope the kids wont be too traumatized by the site of it. Maybe it will help when I tell them it is only temporary and then we will see his eye soon. Blah! I am SUCH a girler.

What Was I Thinking?

I have that silly ambition bug. Today, it BIT me. Yep, I was bit by it. I decided to get the kids all gussied up after school (BEFORE HOMEWORK) to take them out and do some pictures for our Christmas cards. The kids were so excited! Then they decided to not do what they were supposed to. I came away sooooooooooo stressed out! I didnt get any really great pictures, so sorry in advance! LOL! Then since we didnt do homework right after school, it was sooooo hard getting it done. Tomorrow....um, less ambitious, I think!

Kitties And Purple And Crowns- OH MY!

Today I was feeling rather ambitious. For Christmas I am planning on making pajama's for the kids. Madison and Bethanie will have matching satin Tinker Bell fabric with a flannel backing on it. It will be a sweet little two piece pj set. Matthew will have flannel (super hero) bottoms with a white T-shirt for the top. I am not a person who likes to sew by nature, but I really want to make something for the kids, so today, I bought some cute and inexpensive flannel to do a trial pair. I saw this fabric and instantly thought of Bethanie. She LOVES them! I made a matching pillow case too. I am so glad that I did a trial run because the pattern I have has terrible directions. I am so lucky to have Binny [dearest friend] and my mom who both are great at sewing to supervise me especially when it comes to doing the satin material. I would hate to ruin such beautiful fabric!!

A Little Of This, A Little Of That...

Matthew had a great day at school today. I always love it when he does. When I say great, I mean no getting red slips (for misdeeds). Bethanie, it goes without saying, she LOVES school.

Sirius' eye is getting better. He is letting me put the medication in it by myself. I am happy about that in a way because this way I dont have to take him to the vet twice a day for the week to have help. I hate having to put it in his eye, but it has to be done.

Jeff is a busy man this week. He is working and then on ALL of his days off, he has classes. He is having to renew his licenses. I wont really see him until Sunday, at Church (Stake Conference).

Madison is getting very good at walking. Tonight she walked all the way across our living room. Every time she would get close to me, I would back away and she had to walk to me to reach me. She looks so proud of herself! She knows she is a big girl!

Oh, something exciting is coming up in a few days. I will blog about it early next week.

And She Walks!!!

Madison is such a big girl! Over the past couple of days she has been walking more and more on her own. She has been standing up on her own in the middle of the floor, and she will walk from one chair to the couch on her own. She still falls [a lot] but she is doing very well! Madison is still only just 10 months old, even just for a few more days, but I am impressed that at 10 months she is walking, and talking. She says bye-bye and waves her hand, she says mamma, dadda, and her newest one and with a lot of expression, "HI!" Some of her favorite things is when Bethanie runs around the living room, she gets very excited. She loves to dig in the kitchen drawers, get into the fridge (NOOOOO!!!) and she is enjoying the extra time with Sirius (the dog). I am really enjoying this time and I was stunned to realize that her 1st birthday is just a month away! I thought I had more time!!! I never want my kids to grow up. I love them so and I cant imagine things any different (even though some days seem to drag on for an eternity). :O)

Tomorrow my mom is coming over. My dad has been put on layoff for the winter so they are going to be home full time. Dad travels around the state doing different construction jobs. He drives heavy equipment. So anyway, she is going to come over and we will have a chance to just visit with one another. I am so glad for that!

I should update...we ended up having a plumber come and finish the plumbing job. I am so grateful that the guys (Jeff and JR) did what they could on it. It was really stuck. I had lots of spaghetti and potato peels down inside there and they were jammed in tight. The plumber was at least 50 feet down, so the guys had some success in pushing it as far as they could! I am so glad to have my sink again. Bethanie and I did bake cookies tonight while the boys went to cub scouts. Madison helped by pulling stuff out of the kitchen drawers and getting into the trash.

Our little Sirius

One of our dogs, Sirius Black (2 year old male Shihtzu) is having surgery done on his eye today. It seems like he has some sort of ulcer in his eye that errupted yesterday, and he is now blind in that eye. :O( We are going to try to save his eye, but if that doesnt work, we will have to have it removed. How sad for this sweet little dog. I just feel so sad for him.

I picked up Sirius from the vet. His eye is very swollen and stitched closed. He is on a pretty serious regimen of medications until next Friday. I am dreading having to give him his medication because it has to be given under his sutured eye. OH GAG!!! So this isnt all bad enough. Matthew has taken nearly 4 hours to complete his homework, THEN while he is cleaning up his room [at a snail's pace] he finds two more worksheets that needed to be done, so he STILL isnt finished with it. Plus his room is a sty. Not done yet! This morning I plugged up the plumbing in the kitchen. Jeff and JR {a friend of ours} have worked on it a good part of the day. It still isnt fixed and I just hate not having my modern day conveniences like running water!OK, enough whining for the day. I have kids to feed and get ready for bed.

Halloween is over, finally....

Matthew was pretty sick the whole week of Halloween. Poor thing! But I wanted to include a picture of the kids so that you can see what their costumes looked like!

MATTHEW (8): Optimus Prime

BETHANIE: (5):Black Kitty Cat

MADISON (10 months): Cute Little Frog

happenings

I think that Madison is trying to kill me with sleep deprivation! She is nearly 11 months old and she is STILL not sleeping through the night regularly. I have decided that she loves to cuddle so much that she will go without sleep to do so. The past few nights I have been up with her 3-4 times. I am going to be going as a ZOMBIE for Halloween tomorrow! There is no use being annoyed, she is too cute! She is standing next to me singing. I wish she would sing me a lullabye so I can take a nap! Soon Matthew and Bethanie will be home and then the races begin and will go until bed time! How do moms with more than three children survive! :O) Its all worth it, but it would be nice to enjoy life with out being so tired!Tomorrow is Halloween! The kids are very excited. Matthew is going to be a Transformer (Optimus Prime) and Bethanie is going to be a black cat ( with very long blonde hair), and Madison is going to be a frog. I am helping with Bethanie's Kindergarten party. It will a lot of fun, I think. I am just hoping that the kids wont have homework, so we can have a day off just to play. I cant believe that October is over already! I am not so sad to see it go, only because it means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. This year will be a lot of fun because I wont be so miserable (from being pregnant) and we can actually decorate and do more things that we want to, and the best thing of it is, Madison will be having her first birthday in early December and Jeff's is mid December so its like we will party all month! :O) I hope everyone enjoys a fun and safe Halloween!

all about us..

(Please note: This first blog was a group of blogging that I did on another blog site and I just brought it over to this one. Sorry it is so long!!!)

Greetings to our Family and Friends!This is my first attempt ever to create a blog. I am still learning this process, and I will update it as often as I can! I am a busy mom of three very happy and active children, plus a husband, so imagine if you will, how crazy our lives can be! Please check back often to see what is going on in our lives!!

OK, so I now think I have a handle on how this blog page works. I am going to start introducing members of my family so that later on, you will be able to have an idea of who I am talking about. :O) I will start off with me. I am 34 years old. I grew up in the Uintah Mountains of Utah. I lived in a teensy town called Neola. I loved it there! There is nothing like the mountains to make me feel safe and secure, and the beauty is breath taking! When I was about 12 years old, my parents and my brother Sunny, who is a year older than me, moved out to Kansas, where we still live. My parents live about 30 miles South of us, which is wonderful because they are still close enough to drive to when we want to or need to. I am still not exactly sure WHY we moved here (Kansas) nearly 20 years ago, but we did, and that is where I met my sweet Jeff, three years later. My life changed! I knew when I first saw him that HE WAS THE ONE. Most people thought I was just crazy and didnt know what I was talking about since I was so young. We married in August of 1991. I was just barely 18 years old. We have just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. I love this man! He is my best friend, and I love seeing the father that he has come to be! Jeff was born in Kansas, and has two older brothers. We live in the same town as Jeff's parents, which is very nice because we love having the kids close to grandparents. Jeff is an RN. He works at a hospital about 45 minutes from our home. He is a wonderful nurse, and takes great care of his patients. Currently he is taking a business class to get his Bachelors Degree, so he may not always be in the nursing field. Jeff and I are members of the LDS Church. We have served in various callings and currently Jeff is EQP (Elder's Quorum President) and I am 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency (I work with the children). We have THREE beautiful children! Having children in our marriage has been a difficult thing because it seemed at some point like they would never show up, but our first child born is our son, Matthew. We had been married for 7 years before he joined our family. He is now 8 years old, and has recently been baptized into the Church! He is such a sweet and active boy with ADHD and Asperger's. He is very smart and his favorite things to do is read and play with his toys. He really values family time as well! Matthew is the most sentimental person that I know. Matthew is in the 3rd grade and is reading at a 9th grade level, and this is with comprehension at that same level. He has a near photographic memory, which never works to our advantage because frankly, there are things I wish he would forget! ;P Matthew is in Cub Scouts with his dad, who is always there to be with Matthew. What a special bonding time they have with one another!So now the baby is awake and I need to tend to her. I will tell you more about these precious spirits when I get the chance!

So I now have just a few more minutes to write. I am trying to get down a basic history and it is very difficult to do this without the very willing and anxious hands of a 10 month old trying to help! Anyway, Bethanie is our sweet, shy and beautiful daughter. She is 5 1/2 and is in full day Kindergarten. She LOVES her Kinder teacher, and Bethanie is also a dancer. She is taking Ballet and Tap, and this Christmas, she will be involved with putting on The Nutcracker with her dance group. Bethanie is very demure, and is so kind. She loves to help out, no matter what. She loves to cuddle, loves cats and loves to "teach" her class (dolls, what ever she can find). Bethanie and I are very close, and I am so grateful for her sweet spirit!Madison is the newest edition to our family. She was born nearly a year ago. This pregnancy was extremely difficult because I had gestational diabetes and was on insulin. She was born at 9 1/2 lbs and even though the pregnancy was difficult, she is a very good and easy baby. She is nearly 11 months old and has a fun personality. She isnt going to be nearly as shy as Bethanie, and she doesnt know she is little. She thinks she is big like her Sissy and Brother. It never occures to her that she cant do something. I am so grateful for my three children! I know that they are sent to us from the Lord, it cant be any other way! Each one of them is special and they all teach us so much! I am now going to start on my blog frequent updates as I get the chance. Sometimes it may seem daily, sometimes it may be weekly or who knows. Life with three kids is very unpredictable. Now I have to leave to get Matthew from school to take him to the Dr. Last night he started to complain of ear aches and sore throat. Then it is off to dance class for Bethanie! I hope that you enjoy my blog. Our life isnt all that exciting, but I wanted to have a place to go to write some of the fun things we have going on in our lives! Halloween is in two days, there is going to be something fun! YAY!