Year end review

My job recently changed. I finally started working part time again. I love it! But even though I'm not working nearly as much or as often, I am still finding myself just plain old busy. I guess that is to be expected with the Christmas season nearing....

I worked way to much this year. Over 50+ hours most weeks since January. I had several doctor appointments this year, which revealed nothing new. By September I started to finally feel good. I've had no swelling and am on a very low dose of steroids. I follow up again in January and am hoping to be able to go off of all of my medications. I turned 32 this year and love my husband and my boys more then ever! I am so blessed to be able to continue to work from home. I had my second colonoscopy this year. I love the drugs, and hate the prep. I was informed I had the nicest looking colon of the day....what a nice compliment.

Owen had his first cavity filled this year...they say it was juice induced so we have cut back on juice for both of the boys. He also spent two nights in the hospital earlier this year for gastroenteritis. he was severely dehydrated. Owen started kindergarten at a private Christian school. He loves it and kris and I are so fortunate to be able to send him there. Owen ran in his first race this year with aunt Julie. It was a very short distance followed by a mud pit he had to crawl through. He didn't like the mud, at all! He mastered riding his bike this year over Memorial Day weekend while we were on a camping trip with our good friends. He continues to be an amazing big brother for the most part. He started reading which was a beyond proud moment for kris and I. I'll never forget that moment! He also memorized the most of the united states song this year. We would sing it over and over and over on our camping road trips. He has it mastered except for two states, Oregon and South Dakota. His vocabulary is superb and he continues to amaze us in every aspect of his little life so far.

Wy man is a big beast. There are almost exactly 3 years between Owen and Wyatt and Wyatt only weighs 5 pounds less than Owen does. We started potty training Wyatt in may and he did great. It took a few weeks for him to get the concept and a few more weeks of practice but now he is such a champ!! He started talking up a storm in may as well. It was like the day he turned 2 he was a little talker. He is so much fun and is such a sweet boy. He is funny too!! He still takes naps everyday and thankfully with my new work schedule I get to nap with him! He goes to Grammys once a week and has a blast... So blessed for Grammy taking wy. As much as I love him he also exhausts me! Wyatt also had his first teeth cleaning this year, a real cleaning. He did awesome! The staff at the dentist could hardly believe he was only two!

Kris is still teaching. What a blessing his job is. When he teaches he isn't home often but all in all it is such an awesome schedule for him. The drive is a bummer but he just got a "junker" car, or at least that is what he calls it so he can save money on gas by not driving his diesel 100+ miles per day. So far we have noticed a huge difference. He loves his job and that is so important. I'm so happy for him that he can do something that he loves, is confident about and can support our family. I know the boys and maybe me ( :) ) mean everything to him.

We went on several trips this year. Splash village a few times....it is a favorite of ours! And of course numerous camping trips....frankenmuth a few times, pj hoffmaster another favorite destination of ours, holly, silver lake, port Huron, fairview, gladwin, Gaylord and I'm sure I am missing a few.

I kept up my end of the bargain on my New Years resolutions. We have saved money and paid down debt. Primarily paid off some debt but managed to save a little. I have been reading my bible every night and have only missed a handful of nights. We have been eating better, not perfect, but better, and my family time is getting much better since I am not working so much.

We can't wait to see what blessings 2013 will bring....we pray for nothing but God's will for us!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Puppet Show and Flying Pancakes

Last night we went to an event at our church. It was a "flying pancake" dinner followed by a black light puppet show. We were not quite sure what they meant by flying pancakes....but they are just as they sound....flying in the air and we had to catch them. It was a fun night out. The puppet show was awesome. We went to one last year as well and it is very well organized and both fun for the kids and adults!

Wy soooo excited!

Wyatt recently found Owen's old backpack and has been infatuated with it ever since. He is so adorable wearing it and says that he wants to go to his "class" with it. Of course the only class that he goes to is his Sunday school class at church. But he also likes wearing it to visit his Nana and Grammy!! So cute!

Parenting...the hardest job ever!

We have been trying to encourage healthy eating habits lately. But it is so hard! Tonight for example we made pizza for dinner, a quick and easy dinner since Kris hadn't voted yet. I was working so he took the boys with him so that they were able to "experience" what our freedom is all about. Since it took him longer then he was expecting I just decided to throw in a pizza. But as I was getting drinks out of the refrigerator, I saw that I had the right fixings to make a decent salad....broccoli, carrots, lettuce and shredded cheese. We even had a new bottle of ranch dressing. It was going to be a perfect start to a relatively unhealthy dinner. What was I thinking? I don't know! Maybe that my boys would just chow down on their salads and beg for more. Wishful thinking....

Instead this is how our evening went down.....

 Owen wouldn't try a bite for the life of him. He acted as if we were forcing him to eat a pigs head or a plate of worms or something. Really, I promise it was a nice salad!

 And then there is this kid. Freaking out, screaming and crying and just saying over and over again, "ewe gross!"

So what do you do? Reward them for not trying something that is good for them? Something that will help become big and strong and healthy? And just say "oh well, we tried" and let them have the pizza?

Or do you say enough is enough and enforce them to eat what is on the table in front of them?

We chose the second option and listened to uncontrollable screaming and crying for about 30 minutes....then they were put to bed, without dinner.....

As a mom, this decision broke my heart. I just wanted to break down and say, "okay you can just have peanut butter toast for dinner." But that is only giving in to what they want and what they were hoping the end result would be. Kris and I were both strong and firm in our choice.

They are both sleeping now and I just want to go and give them a nice squeeze and kiss their sweet little faces up!

Parenting...it is hard...very hard!

Wyatt a bit OCD?

The other night we all piled into my bed for story time. We read lots of books and had some nice family cuddle time. I remembered that I told my sister in law that I would give her some jeans to try on so I went into my closet, pulled out the jeans and then plopped back down on the bed. I forgot to close the closet doors and it was bothering me, but I was too lazy to get up again and close them. So I just tried to get my mind back into our books. Less than a minute had gone by and Wyatt jumped off of the bed, ran to the closet and closed both of my closet doors, came back and crawled back into bed. I said, "Thanks Wyatt that was bothering mommy too." He responded with a "you're welcome."

This kid is a bit O.C.D...I don't know if that's good or bad for only being two years old!!

Owen's school picture

Here is Owen's school picture this year. I'm like a kid on Christmas waiting for his school pictures to arrive. Love this kid!!

Happy Halloween

yesterday i took wyatt to our local library for a Halloween event. We met with another kindergarten mom and her daughter who is the same age as Wy. It was a lot of fun.

Getting ready for Halloween

Last week Owen had a field trip to a local pumpkin patch and cider mill. We had a great time and he even got to pick out two pumpkins to take home.

 Later that night Kris took the boys to get larger pumpkins to carve. Kris did an awesome job helping the boys.

 Owen was a champ at scooping out all the guts.

 Here is Wy's pumpkin!

 And Owen's.....he wanted a Castle Grayskull.

 They both turned out great. What a fun tradition!