One proud Mommy

Today, Colin was given his first bucket award (I guess that's what it's called???). Each kid is given stars every time they are seen being exceptionally nice, polite, etc. in school to put in their bucket. After "x" amount of stars, they get a little award, empty their bucket, and start over. Today Colin filled his for the first time since starting Kindergarten. I was one proud Mommy to see that in his folder!

Overall he's doing great in Kindergarten. He has already declared gym is his favorite - such a boy! He's getting closer and closer to reading on his own. He can manage most level 1 books, but still needs help from time to time. He has weekly homework packets he is to complete, and so far, he loves doing them, which I know will change in the near future. He's playing soccer and is unbelievably awesome at it. His last game, I can't even remember how many times he stole the ball and took it down the field. He's got some talent, that's for sure!

Jackson's a spitfire, as usual. Rarely does he sit still for longer than 10 minutes, although he's a sucker for watching the Fresh Beat Band and Dino Dan on Nick Jr. But the energy he has is unreal. He just never stops! He likes to be a stinker and declares himself a "fricken nut" frequently, and he's mastering back talking to me... OY! He has quite a temper, but is always quick to apologize. He's a typical younger brother and is definitely rougher than his big bro. But in the same respect, he's a complete Mommy's boy and pulls all the dramatics out for me. Not to mention, he is absolutely hilarious. And he's still a cuddler, which I love!

Fall is here!

I love, love, LOVE Fall! This weekend we enjoyed every minute of it, despite the rain. And my boys were miraculously on their best behavior. It was such a perfect weekend!

Saturday I worked at a Mom 2 Mom sale. It was pouring pretty much the entire time of the sale, but the turn-out was still good, and I made a decent amount of money. After packing up and the boys taking a quick nap (and by quick I mean only an hour.... ugh), we headed out to the cider mill. It rained while we were there, but we still enjoyed it. We got cider, donuts, and yummy carmel apples. After indulging in the snacks, the boys got to feed some goats and watch the water wheel. We even managed a dinner out! Today we met some friends at the outlet mall in Howell and shopped until, well, a certain 5 year old got bored (typical boy to hate shopping *sigh*). And then after shopping, we hit up Castaway Cafe where all the kids got to run around and burn up their energy while us girls chatted.

And now here we are, the night before the start of a new week. Let's hope it goes fast - we have another fun weekend ahead!

I'm baaaccckkk...

Not that anyone reads this after over a year hiatus, but oh well! Since we've made a huge milestone in our house, I figured I should start this back up. Time flies and well, it's going to start moving even faster because....


Colin started Kindergarten!!! He was a little excited:

When he woke up in the morning, he ran in my room and his first words were "Today is my favorite day because it's Kindergarten day!".

We got there a little early because I wanted to make sure he was all settled in. You know, in case he was nervous or something. Him... not me, I swear.

He found his room:

And then his cubby:And then finally his seat:


In the end, it was much, MUCH harder for me to leave him than it was for him to leave me. I may have been "that" parent and left and went back in about 3 times before finally leaving. It was just SO hard to actually leave him. I knew it would be emotional, but wow, I was not prepared to want to keep going back in to say bye. He was fine.... I was not! I held the tears until I got in my car, and then drove of.... to Kohl's. Retail therapy ; ) After the long 1 hour and 15 minutes he was in school for day 1, I picked him up for a day out and about with me. We hit up Target, Cheddar's for lunch (where we indulged in a delicious cookie monster dessert), grocery shopping, and a nap. It was a great day.


I'm officially a Mom to a school-aged child. Holy crap.

Is it June already?

Time is flying by, which although everyone tells you it'll happen with kids, you just don't realize it until you have them and they're turning 2 & 4.... which is what my boys did just over a month ago. I cannot believe my boys are that old already *sigh*

They're as exhausting as ever, but also just as fun as ever. Colin has truly become a little boy, no longer a toddler, or preschooler for that matter. I've noticed he's really stepping into the stereotypical oldest child in being the more serious, responsible one. He *loves* playing, being goofy, etc, but yet he also watches over Jackson, and tries to do everything to make me happy and/or proud of him. It's adorable, and I just love him to pieces.

Jackson is our little comedian. His only mission is to make us laugh. Constantly. And boy does it work! He talks up a storm and loves, loves, loves when his big brother plays silly games with him. He has one of the most adorable laughs that you can't help but smile and laugh right along with him when you hear it. Just like his brother, I love him to pieces.

And one last thing about my boys based on that pic you're seeing up above. They need haircuts. Desperately!!! LOL Hopefully this weekend we can take care of that ; )

It's pointless to even apologize

I'm horrible at keeping this blog up-to-date LOL But finally 2 nights ago I took the time to upload pics since Christmas. Wow, my guys sure are getting big! I'm starting to plan their birthday parties, which Colin has decided to have "Bolt" as the theme. I give that a huge thumbs up because I can use the same theme throughout the whole party for them (since their birthday's are only 3 days apart, I'm having their party together). Prior to choosing "Bolt", Colin had said that he wanted monster trucks and Jackson wanted monkeys. Trying to figure out how to make that work was giving me quite the headache! So needless to say, I'm really talking up "Bolt" and what a great idea it is. Besides, the dog in the movie is awfully cute too ; ) So in a few short weeks, I'll be the Mommy of a 2yr old and a 4yr old. How crazy is that?!?!?

The boys are doing great in our house, and they've even been getting along pretty well, although they've both mastered the art of brotherly fighting. Colin's a lot stronger, but definitely more sensitive, while Jackson is the more fiesty one. Good old toddlerhood strikes again in the house LOL But when they get along together, they have a blast. I love it when they play together and listening to their laughter. Jackson clearly thinks that Colin is the funniest person in the world and it's so cute!

We've had some nice weather (up until the snow hit last night), so we've spent a lot of time outside and at the park. The boys love being outside and so do I. Enjoy the pics!

Jackson after bathtime:

Colin in his new twin bed for the first time:

The boys at the park:

Oops

Apparently it's been awhile since I blogged... I'm not really sure why, just laziness I guess LOL

We're pretty settled into our house, the boys seem to love daycare, and I'm enjoying my job and being able to see smiley boys when I pick them up everyday :) So since there's nothing exciting going on to tell you about, I'll share some pics:

It's crazy to think in just over 2 months, I'll be having their 2nd & 4th birthday's!!!

Since it never got mailed...

Here's the pic from our Christmas card. I had every intention of sending out Christmas cards to friends, but with the closing and moving, it never happened. Sorry!!!

And here's a couple individual shots...

Colin (3.5yrs):

Jackson (18 months):

More pics to come :)

Isn't this just my luck?

Yesterday was the big day - the cable & internet were to finally be hooked up after almost 3 weeks of being without. The guy came and did his magic (yay for N.oggin again!), I got the kids in bed and get all excited to have the night to watch my shows, and mess around online. Maybe even finally post some pics. I make myself dinner, turn on Ug.ly Betty, decide I can live with the 2ft wire connecting my laptop to the modem, even if it meant sitting on the floor instead of my nice comfy couch, and guess what happens? Out goes the cable. Yep, because that's my luck.

I waited about 10 min and decided to just fold my laundry and head to bed *sigh*

**It's back up and running this morning - I checked before leaving for work ;)

Happy New Year!

At the end of 2007, I thought that 2008 just had to be better. Who would've known that it would actually be worse? Regardless, I am not about to let that happen for 2009. 2008 ended on a good note at least - I got a good job, a nice house, and AMAZING friends that got me through the holidays without me shedding one single tear. I am so incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful support group around me.

So thank you a million times over to Amy & Rebecca for making our Christmas as perfect as it was. And thank you Sarah for making New Years Eve so much fun - you're more than welcome to come over for a night of daquiris, champagne, and Rock Band anytime you want ;)

And thanks to all of you, and Michael, for lending an ear when I needed it. I'm sure it got tiring (and frustrating) to listen to me about all of this, so I really appreciate you all being there for me and not judging me. It means a lot <3

Happy New Year everyone!!!

P.S. I found my original cord to my camera so I can download pics finally! Now the problem lies in getting internet set up.... I'm going a bit crazy without it for 2.5 weeks now (although I sure am getting a lot done on the house because of it! LOL)

Quick update

We're officially moved into our house! The boys (thankfully) slept through the night in their new rooms for the first time last night. All of the furniture is in place, and now all that's left is many, MANY boxes to unpack. I think I'll be busy for awhile.

Once things are more organized at home I'll make sure to post some pics of the kids and our new house for you all to see. Of course that means I'll have to make sure to buy a memory card reader and get the internet working, but in time it'll all be done ;)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

My theme song

Ever have a song that seems to be the theme of your life at that present time?

Here's mine:

I lost it again

For the second time now, I've lost the adapter thing to download my pics. Ugh!!! The good news is that we'll be starting to pack up & move next weekend (yay!), so I'm sure it'll turn up sometime then. And if not, I guess I have yet another purchase to make before the holidays *sigh*

And yes, I am beyond excited to move into our new house!! Friday after closing I plan on going to the house and start tearing down wallpaper in Jackson's future bedroom (because no boy should have to sleep in a "princess" room LOL), and the pink polka dot bathroom. Although I think it's a pretty cute bathroom, something tells me I can find something a little more appropriate for a bathroom soon to belong to 2 adorable little boys. (Side note - I actually already did - they're getting a full "Cars" themed bathroom set for Christmas, which I'm sure they'll love). The carpet cleaners are also coming that day, and then after some dinner & drinks with a couple friends of mine, I'll be crashing the night there on my brand new air mattress. I know you're all jealous ;) Saturday & Sunday will be spent scrubbing everything down and painting Jackson's bedroom and the boys' bathroom. Colin's room is yellow & dark green (which will match his new dinosaur bedding), but it does have a Sp.ongebob border which I'll have to take down at some point. His border is a little less priority than the princess room though...

So stay tuned.... after the craziness of moving I'm sure things will be a little more organized on my end and I'll be able to post pics and update more often.

Updates are coming

Sorry, I've been slacking lately! I promise I'll get a new post up soon. I bought a house (woohoo!), I've been busy Christmas shopping, and I had a very nice, and very much needed 3 day weekend away with the girls (woohoo again!). Hopefully I'll have some time over the weekend to upload new pics and show off our new house :)

Halloween

Halloween was a blast! We had awesome weather (around 70 degrees!), and the boys were ready to go when I got home from work. Jackson didn't really know what was going on until at the end, which was when he chose to run up to every house with his pumpkin, making sure to say "hi" and "bye" to everyone - at the beginning he'd try to take out & hand me every piece of candy he was given (he's very into taking things out of containers right now). Colin ran like a crazy man from house to house, and cracked me up because everytime he was given a piece of candy, he'd hold it up and ask me "does this have peanuts in it, Mommy?" (he's allergic and VERY well aware that he can't have peanuts). Then he'd say "thank you, Happy Halloween!" to the people in the house and run off to the next one. His running came at a price at the end when he fell and scraped his hand on a twig. Luckily we were only 2 houses away from being done because the tears were not about to stop. But overall, Halloween was a blast and my boys were as cute as can be!

Here's my little dragon (aka Colin):

And my little penguin (aka Jackson, who's not very good about smiling for the camera):

The boys together:

And last, the 3 of us:

I have to include this last pic to show that every once in awhile I do catch a smile of Jackson's on camera ;)

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

All About... Colin!

Where to start with Colin? He is growing into such an amazing little boy - there is no baby left about him. He is incredibly smart and his memory is a million times better than my own. He's 3.5yrs old, 41lbs and about 41in.

He is such a sweet kid. He uses "please" and "thank you" almost all the time, and tells me he loves me every night before bed.

His language is phenomenal. Every now and again he'll say something I don't understand, but that's very rare nowadays. And of course with any 3yr old, he tends to repeat phrases that he never should've heard in the first place (like "d*mnit"). I'm not sure where he heard it, but it took awhile to get him to stop : / Of course it took me awhile to figure out how to hide my laughter when he said it too LOL

Things he loves: riding his bike, watching his new Backyard.igans DVD, slurpees (and candy, cookies, ice cream... anything with sugar of course!), helping cut the grass and even picking up the dog poop beforehand (seriously), Mommy's computer, jumping on Mommy's bed (along with his brother), buttered noodles, and hot chocolate.

Here's one last pic of him after his last haircut all styled up ready to go - such a stud doing a classic "Zoolander" pose :) Hardly looks like the same kid from the picture above when his hair's nice & short!

All about... Jackson!

I figured it was time to give an update on the boys, and what they were each up to.

Jackson is now 17 months old and has definitely entered the "terrible 2" stage. He throws the most dramatic tantrums I have ever seen, and within the last 2 days decided it's fun to hit Mommy... in the face. Oy.

That being said, he is still the cutest little toddler I know! He is so much fun and absolutley hilarious. I have no idea where his little personality came from (ok, ok, I know it's my wonderful charm rubbing off on him), but I have a feeling this little guy is going to be one to make people laugh. He knows just how to work the room to get the attention, and makes sure he waves and says "hi" to everyone he walks past. If other people laugh and he doesn't have a clue why, he'll jump in with the funniest fake laugh ever. He is also my little cuddle bug, which I love - he gives lots and lots of hugs, along with saying "awwww" as he does it - what a charmer.

He talks A LOT. I'm sure he's in the "normal" spectrum for speech at his age, but he's so different than Colin was. I'm not even sure how many words he says because he says so many.

Things he loves right now are: Elmo (or "Melmo" as he calls him), being outside, jumping on Mommy's bed, "Nonny" (aka Colin), and Mommy's cell phone (not so fun when he wakes up at 5am yelling to play with it). He's still a huge fan of all fruits and with veggies he rotates what he likes, but green beans are always a hit.

Here's one more pic of my 29lb chunk-a-dunk - and yes, that is "Melmo"s head on his feet ;)

You think you know, but you have no idea...

I thought I knew what I was getting into with working full time and having a commute that's 1hr 20min each way. The first couple days weren't so bad, but now into week 3 I'm feeling the pain from it all. I'm exhausted beyond comprehension and have no clue why I'm on my computer typing this instead of sleeping. I absolutely cannot wait to move closer to work!

On a good note, I love my job (dealing with families who have adopted children with various special needs, and helping them financially). It's insanely busy, which makes time go by fast. They had told us the volume of what we'd be responsible for within our 3500-4000 caseload (each!), but wow. And of course with any new job, there's so much to learn. I remember around 2:45pm looking at the clock and realizing my brain has turned to complete mush. I got so much done but yet I still had about 35 phone messages sitting on my desk, along with about 30 other case files I received various requests and had to research, and another 20 that are sitting waiting for other people to make certain changes I requested so that I can finish my end of the work. And don't even get me started on how many things still need to be filed away. So yes, crazy busy in my office!

The boys are doing great with my cousin babysitting them. Colin was extra needy with me during the first week, but he's settled into the routine now. It's too bad I'll have to throw yet another new routine at them when we finally move. My poor Cousin sure did get dumped on though. Last week (her 2nd week babysitting them), Jackson came down with hand, foot & mouth disease, except that his sores only appeared in & around his mouth. He was miserable. He couldn't eat, drink, or even suck on his binky (which caused me to only get about 3hrs sleep each night last week). It was heartbreaking to see him in so much pain. And his poor gums swelled so bad that you could barely even see his top teeth - all you could see were white specks :( And to top it off, he was also cutting all 4 of his eye teeth at the same time. But he's all better now and the teeth have cut through, so we should be all set. Of course just as Jackson started getting better, Colin came down with a fever and was complaining his throat hurt - that lasted about 3 days. Fortunately he never had any sores, so no hand, foot & mouth disease for him. I also had him checked for strept throat, but that also came back negative. Thankfully, he's all better now too. I love having healthy, happy kids again :)

Here's a pic of Jackson from last weekend when we made our way to the cider mill. This was day 7 (or 8?) of hand, foot & mouth disease. He seemed to be feeling fine, but the sores were still very much there (they're finally fading now, thank goodness):

And Colin just had fun riding on the tractor:

I'm off to bed now... *yawn*

Summer reflections - July

July was quite a busy month for us. Between packing, moving back to Michigan, and settling into my parents house, we rarely sat still. Here's a few of my favorite pics of July:


Uh oh, someone doesn't want to leave the park:

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that this was Jackson's 1st popsicle. Can you believe that he was 14 months old before he got to taste a popsicle?!?! Oh and yes, he loved it ;)


It just doesn't get better than this *sigh*:

Summer reflections - June

I just realized with all the craziness that this summer has been, I haven't shared many pics of the kids. This post is pics from June, and I'll be adding July & August later today :) I need to get my blogging on track because I start back to work on Monday *sigh*


In June we were still down in Texas, and pretty much all of our free time was spent at the water park that was almost next door to our apartment complex. The boys LOVED it (and so did I!).




And who can resist a fun bathtime pic ;)



And just as a note to myself so I have it on record, June was the month that Jackson really started walking (second child syndrome - I have no dates recorded for any milestones of his, poor kid got jipped!). He had taken steps here and there in May when he was 12 months old, but June was when he became a walking pro.

Another update...

The ENT called me back and had us come in this afternoon. J's ears (and tubes), nose, & throat all look good, and his chest sounds clear. The ENT was baffled as to why he spiked a fever after surgery. He even called his former mentor to ask his opinion - neither had ever seen this happen after a kid got tubes. So the verdict was that he caught a viral bug and it just happened to be at the same timeframe as his surgery.

The poor kid is miserable :( I gave him Motrin at noon (fever of 103.2) and when he woke up at 2:30pm, it was down to 99. About 1.5hrs later it was back up to 101.7 at the Dr's, so they gave him some Tylenol. I gave him a bath before bed, took his temp again, and it was up to 102.3. I gave him another dose of Motrin and off to sleep he went.

Hopefully he'll sleep good and feel better in the morning!