Spring Break Round 2

Here are some photos from Kyra and Valynn's Easter Parties. Kyleigh got to participate in Kyra's party. Kyra is on Spring Break this week but things haven't slowed down like I was anticipating. I worked Monday and Tuesday at the school. On Wednesday I went into town by myself and did some shopping and met a friend for lunch. Today was Valynn and Mason's Easter Parties. I hid the eggs for Mason's party and then went over for Valynn's party. I also mowed the lawn for the first time this year. I felt like I was in ND mowing when it was only 40 degrees outside. If I didn't get the mowing done today it wouldn't be until sometime next week that I would get a chance because of rain in the forecast.

Mark was given a scare last week. His tuition reimbursement was denied by the VP. This week he talked to his boss who talked to HR and it was found that there was a computer glitch so his tuition will be reimbursed. That could have been an expensive computer glitch. His classes are going well, he will be doing an interview tomorrow so he can get started on his 20 page paper due in a couple of weeks.

Mason was given some good news last week. He is allowed to have milk for the next six weeks. At which time he will have an endoscopy and then the following week we'll get the biopsy results to see if milk caused his stomach problems or not. If anytime during this month he starts having stomach problems he'll immediately have to go off dairy.  He also gained another pound in a month.

We are staying in Illinois for  Easter this year. The kids are excited, it's always nice to spend a holiday at home. We will be keeping busy, tomorrow Valynn and I have volleyball practice and then the whole family if Mark is done with his interview is going to Bloomington to visit with some friends that we've had to reschedule on too many times to count. Saturday is volleyball games and First Communion class. On Easter I'm helping the ladies serve breakfast before the Easter service, I have the pumpkin bread made and will be making something else. OK to be honest, Valynn made the pumpkin bread for me and Mason made cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow. Kyra and Kyleigh made Jello eggs.  The kids are singing in church and then Easter dinner at home.

Happy Easter!

Blizzard

I can't believe how far behind I am on posting. Last Saturday, the 4th, we rang bells as a family for the Salvation Army. On Sunday we went to the CAT Holiday show and saw the Chinese Acrobats. Wow, very impressive show. On Monday the 6th we met a friend at McDonalds so Kyra and Kyleigh  could play and Valynn had a Girl Scout meeting. On Tuesday, Valynn was home from school, her asthma was acting up during the night and didn't get much sleep. We got Mason's Endoscopy result. His biopsies came back better than expected, even the doctor was surprised. Mason's eosinophils (allergens in his esophagus) were less than 1, normal is considered less than 15. In September his eosinophils were around 150. Wednesday morning Mason was home, he didn't get much sleep because of his coughing. Mason had a Boy Scout Meeting. Thursday morning Mason was home the whole day because he didn't get much sleep again. We took Addy to the vet to get fixed. She cried the whole way there and Kyra and Kyleigh cried the whole way home. Friday Valynn was home from school with a fever. We picked Addy up at the vet Friday afternoon, we also took Buttons and Snaps for their shots. When Addy heard the girls talking, she perked up and finally started eating. On Saturday we had practice for our Sunday School program. Today we had a blizzard so church was cancelled. The kids will still get to do their program in January when we get back from vacation. This afternoon despite the blizzard conditions we took Valynn and Mason to the Nutcracker Ballet. Very impressive production.

We have a busy week ahead of us. On Monday Valynn and Mason have their school programs. On Tuesday Mason has a Pack Meeting for boy Scouts. On Wednesday Kyra has her Christmas Program and we're going to do our annual drive through Folepi Wonderland. Friday is the classroom parties and then we leave for Montana.

Here's hoping to a wonderful 2010

We rang in the New Year in Indiana with Rick and Cindy. Here is a picture of Ethan and Kyleigh. Ethan is my cousin Derrick's boy, he is about 4 months older than Kyleigh. We had a wonderful visit as always. Sunday Mark took the kids out on the ice. It's been a whirlwind since we have gotten back. Mark started school last night, I consider myself a single mom during the week now. I only worked Monday and Tuesday this week so that was nice. Tomorrow afternoon Mason has his endoscopy and we hope to find out the reason for his stomach problems.

The Lazy, Hazy, Days of Summer

It's hard to believe another week of our summer has gone already. I am happy to say we are finally getting some sleep around here. Kyleigh decided not to sleep more than 1-2 hour stretches at night for over a week, needless to say, both Mark and I were dragging because we were taking turns getting up with her.

On Tuesday we met the Padilla's at Safety town and let the kids ride their bikes. They always think it's a cool place to go.

Wednesday we had a wiener roast in our backyard. We had been promising the kids one and what better night than when it's only about 65 outside.

Thursday we were supposed to meet some friends at a local pool but it was too cool to enjoy swimming so they came over here for supper and a visit. The kids went behind the dam to play in the little creek that runs back there and got soaking wet. All in fun.

On Friday we went to the fireworks in Wyoming. We had a great spot where we could see all of the fireworks. It was a nice cool evening and we enjoyed the fireworks, except for Kyra. She loved the fireworks but didn't like the loud noise that comes with them. Kyra doesn't like loud noises but as long as she knows something is going to be loud she is OK with it.

Speaking of Kyra. Her quirk lately has been to call us King and Queen and to refer to herself and siblings as Prince and Princess. It is so cute, Mark will say I love you and she corrects him and says no King loves me. She will ask if the Queen needs any help and inform us that Princess Kyra would like some juice.

Yesterday we got our second crop of spinach and peas planted in the garden. Mark has been busy mole hunting again, so far he's gotten 5 this year. We are having some acquaintances from Florida over for supper tonight. We met them 7 years ago on our honeymoon in Maine and they are up visiting relatives nearby this week.

This is the Queen reporting and we hope you all had a fun and safe holiday weekend!

We won

We won four tickets to the Cubs vs. Cardinals game in September in St. Louis along with a hotel room. Only problem, the hotel doesn't allow kids. We don't know if we'll try to go or try to sell the tickets. We went to Heritage Day in Princeville last night. The kids got to go to the Carnival. They had fun going on the rides. We're enjoying our rainy Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all.

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm excited I haven't cooked supper since Wednesday, and no my kids aren't starving or living off of junk food, everyone else had been doing the cooking for me or it's been leftovers. Thursday we had supper at the Bowdoin's. Friday Valynn had a softball game so we had a snack since no one was hungry. Valynn's team won, they did very well and improved greatly from their first game. One of these games we'll have some pictures, you need to talk to Mark about that, but since he's busy keeping track of three kids and watching the game I guess we can cut him a little slack. Valynn got some good hits in but she always waits until the last pitch before she hits the ball. She played catcher for an inning and liked that position.

On Saturday Mason had Teeball practice. Mark worked some in the garage and then we headed to Bloomington for supper with the Bane's. We had a great visit and I got my Uppercase Living order of Kyleigh's name, I'll post pictures when I get it done.

Sunday we went to church and then had supper with the Endres' in Chillicothe. We had a great visit and Laurie served some great Chocolate Martini's.

Yesterday we met our friend Donn Schuschke from ND, his parents, his aunt, and his cousin's family from Pekin for lunch at Avanti's and then went to the cousins to visit. We always enjoy getting together with them.

It's back to the grindstone this week. Valynn has softball practice tonight and games on Wednesday and Friday. Mason has Kindergarten registration on Wednesday and his first teeball game on Saturday. Kyra is done with gymnastics for the summer. Here is a video of Kyleigh with her unique crawl. Sorry it's sideways.

Easter Eggs

Before we left for vacation the kids decorated Easter Eggs. As always they had fun and made some pretty cool eggs.

2650 miles

Give or take a few. We made it back safely last Saturday. We had a nice trip but were glad to be home. We left early Thursday the 18th to beat the ice storm, I heard we got .60 inch of ice. The kids had fun in Minnesota playing the Wii with their cousins, milking cows, and snowmobiling. It snowed every two days so there was plenty of fresh snow to go sledding down the hill in the yard. The kids were impatient for Christmas to come. The kids made out like bandits on toys. We left on the 26th for North Dakota. North Dakota had a pile of snow for the kids to play in, we built caves and a tunnel to play in. We got to visit with family and neighbors. I even got to see my high school classmate from Indiana (that's right, we travel to ND to visit). On the way home we stopped at Brady and Jodi's to see them, and Paige, Adam, and Ty to visit with them.

Valynn went back to school today and Mason goes back tomorrow. I've been busy trying to get caught up and reorganized.

What no mom wants to see!

When I walked into Valynn and Kyra's room last week, this is what I saw. It got worse when Mason told me he was on the bed and pulled Kyra up because she couldn't get up by herself even when on the stool.

It's been crazy here, I'm doing my best to stay one day ahead. Friday Mark was home from work so he helped with the kids while I had my doctor's appointment. I was dealing with headaches and a backache for three weeks, it seem the virus I had, imbedded itself in my back. I'm finally getting to the point where I don't need my ibuprofen to function. Saturday we rang the Salvation Army bell at a store in Wyoming. The Lutheran church was asked to provide bell ringers so we volunteered. Saturday evening we went to a dinner theatre with Mark's work group. We had a great time and it was nice to get away, it was even better knowing that Kyleigh was good for Kayla. Sunday after Sunday school and church we helped decorate the church before coming home to watch the Vikings. Sunday evening was the holiday homecoming in Princeville and Valynn sang with the Girl Scouts. Yesterday was Mason's classroom Christmas party. It's full steam ahead the rest of the week and right up until we leave.

I posted a couple of pictures from ice skating. Valynn and Mason have really improved a lot over this session. Our garage is completed, now we are waiting for the electrician to visit. It's so nice having a garage for the suburban and pickup. The neighbors were complaining because they can't tell if we're home now or not since we don't have any vehicles parked outside.

I have to close with a story about my 2 year old. Last Friday we took pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits. When we were done Kyra got mad because she didn't want to take her dress off she wanted to "look pretty". So I told her she could wear her dress on Sunday to church. Sunday rolls around and I get another outfit out for her. She comes running in saying "I want to look pretty". I show her the clothes I had picked out and she told me "NO". She remembered that she could wear her Christmas dress to church and that's just what she did. That girl has a memory on her.

Happy Thanksgiving and Three Months

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I know we did, we had so much to be thankful for. The meal was wonderful (of course I'm going to say that, I cooked it) and we had great friends to enjoy it with. The Donsbach's joined us and we had an enjoyable visit. Thursday night we went to the Endres' for appetizers, dessert, and chocolate martini's. The kids always enjoy playing with each other and the adults had a nice visit.

Kyleigh turned three months on Thanksgiving. She is growing so fast. She has learned to turn herself in a circle, it's so fun to watch her push herself around. She has also started putting her legs down so she can lift her butt off the ground. She is our wiggle worm, constantly moving and rolling to her side. It won't be long before she's rolling over to her tummy. Kyleigh always has a smile and definately enjoys being entertained by the older siblings.

Valynn set up the Christmas village yesterday. She was entertaining to watch. She had a story for every person and house that she set up. It all had to make logical sense to her or she wouldn't place it there. For example, any figurine that was a kid had to be next to the school for recess unless that child was homeschooled, then they didn't have to be around the other kids. And since there was only one figurine with ice skates, that person didn't have many friends which is why he was ice skating alone. She spent hours arranging and rearranging it, she's still rearranging it.

Mason set up the nativity scene for me. He placed all the figurines looking at baby Jesus so all that you can see are their backs. I loved how he had a different perception of how it should be arranged.

Kyra wished everyone a Happy Birthday Thanksgiving. We even had to sing Happy Birthday to Kyleigh since Kyra insisted it was someone's birthday. She is a constant ball of energy.

We've enjoyed being home for the Holiday. We are getting a few projects done around the house, I had a honey do list for Mark. The only thing that hasn't been done yet is decorating the outside of the house which he insists it must be cold outside before he'll do it. Tomorrow looks promising for the decoration since we're supposed to get about an inch of snow tonight. We have some decorations up but last night we decided to order a new Christmas tree so it'll be a couple of days before that arrives and we can decorate it. I had to buy candy today for the candy ribbons so the kids can start the countdown on Monday.

Today Mark took Valynn and Mason ice skating. The had a great time. Kyra, Kyleigh, and I braved the crowds at Target to pick up a few things. We're gearing up for a busy couple of weeks with doctor's appointments, Christmas concerts, meal prep/ cookie baking, and Christmas parties just to name a few. The neighbors and I have been busy scheduling babysitting swaps to make all the errands easier for those involved. I hope everyone has a good week.

Videos of Kyleigh

I have added some videos of Kyleigh. I was trying to get her laughing but of course she didn't really laugh once I got the camera. She is getting so big and it's hard to believe she's almost three months. Don't you love the hair in the second video, the poor girl has quite a few bad hair days.

Our weekend was pretty relaxed. I had my last day of tutoring on Saturday. Mark got his papers written for his class and he finished putting new trim around the living room window.

Kyra was a chatterbox yesterday in church. I don't think she went thirty seconds without talking. The funniest part was during the sermon when Kyleigh passed gas loud enough for the people around us to hear and Kyra loudly exclaims for the rest of the congregation "Kyleigh passed gas". It took a lot of self control for us and the rest of the congregation not to laugh. Kyra also made sure everyone heard that she got candy during the children's sermon. Thankfully it was a Lutheran Sunday so the congregation just laughed at her antics. During Sunday School Kyleigh attended the adult forum with the pastor's wife, she was very good until she got hungry. I got the feeling not much got discussed instead Kyleigh was the center of conversation. Don't worry I wasn't kid free, I took the Sunday School teacher's 1 year old and entertained him since he was giving his mom fits. Mark covered the other three in Sunday School, actually it was just Kyra he had to watch and she did very well listening, sitting still, and doing what was asked.

We're getting ready for Thanksgiving here in Illinois this year. I first have to get my over fixed, the heating element went out in my top oven yesterday. This morning I had a light go out in the fridge. Our garage should be complete by Wednesday! Tomorrow they are finishing the siding and on Wednesday installing the garage doors. Have a good week!

Happy Halloween!!!

The kids are on sugar overload. Another successful trick or treating around the lake. Mom even scored some wine at one house and mom and dad got beer at another. For some reason it took us 3 1/2 hours to make it to 11 houses. We maybe shouldn't visit so much. Wednesday Mason had his Halloween party. On Friday Valynn had hers.

This morning concrete was poured for the garage. On Monday they will start framing and by next Sunday the roofers will be here. It's so nice to see this project finally going and be done in a timely matter.

Keep cheering for Princeville, they won their first game in playoffs last night. Also, school test scores came out yesterday and Princeville High school was ranked number 37 in the state. The elementary school didn't rank as high but they still made adequate progress with over 91% of their students passing.

The toothfairy should be fired!

That's right, another tooth falls out and the tooth fairy is a no show. That's the second time this week she has failed to show up the night the tooth falls out. Valynn lost her other front tooth last night.

This morning Valynn took part in her birthday present from us. She took a horseback riding lesson. She had a great time prepping the horse and learning riding techniques. That girl truly loves horses.

We went to the annual Blue Ridge Church Halloween party this afternoon. The kids came back loaded with cakes from the cake walk as usual. I think Kyra won 3 times and the other kids won twice. We're going to take the cakes with us to church tomorrow to share. I think we'll also take some to the neighbors. The kids loved getting dressed up. The girl holding Kyleigh is Kayla our babysitter.

Daddy has a new job at night, putting Kyleigh to bed. I don't know how he does it but he has the magic touch. If I lay her down she always wakes up and wants to be picked back up, if Mark takes her from me and lays her down she stays sleeping.

4th of July

On Thursday night the kids and I drove up to Wyoming for fireworks. We parked out in the country and sat on lawn chairs in the back of the pickup eating popcorn, drinking pop, and watching the fireworks. The kids thought it was great and I didn't have to deal with any crowds. On the 4th we went to the rehearsal supper and then over to our old stomping grounds (Lawn Ridge) for a 4th of July party. The kids had a great time and we enjoyed visiting with everyone. One of the neighbors had brought the fireworks from Montana when there were there earlier this summer since most fireworks are illegal in Illinois. Valynn and Mason had fun with the sparklers and we let Kyra hold one with my help and she thought it was great. We also got to watch the fireworks from three different towns, Peoria, Chillicothe, and Henry.

Happy Easter

We are enjoying our first full Easter in Illinois. Yesterday we did the egg hunt in Princeville, all three kids got the right amount of candy. We were up at 5:00 this morning to make it to church by 6:30. The kids weren't thrilled to be up that early, but they were very well behaved. Kyra was the only one that was moving around this morning before we left and she started picking up the eggs she found. After church we ate breakfast at the church and then the kids went on an egg hunt there. We then came home and the kids had to find eggs here. Valynn and Mason were sent on a Scavanger Hunt by the Easter Bunny in order find their Easter gifts of new Nintendo DS games. They then went outside to find the eggs that the Easter Bunny was to lazy to hide and just put in a pile. It did take the kids a few minutes to find the pile. After Kyra woke up from her early nap she found the rest of the eggs hidden around the house since Valynn and Mason were too busy playing their games to look for more eggs. We are taking the rest of the day easy and have a late Easter dinner. We hope everyone had a great Easter.

Valentine Box

As promised a picture of Valynn's Valentine Horse.