Life on the run

3 day walk for a cure

2012-01-23T22:38:00.002-05:00

This Aug 17-19 I will be walking in Michigan's Susan G. Komen's 3 Day Walk for a Cure, I need to raise $2300 by Aug 16th. I thought I would put my donation information here and then come back and update when I have a bit more time. Feel free to share the images.

Mommy time....

2012-01-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

I just got back from a weekend in Florida all by myself. It was great. I went to Busch Gardens where an amazing friend made me get onto a roller coaster that freaked the bijibbies out of me. Shiekra included a 200 foot and 130 foot 90 degree drop that left me without even a scream at the end. I saw some awesome animals and beautiful scenery. I found that little bit of myself that I haven't seen since I was 18 on had last ridden a roller coaster. That concur your fears moment. It was great. The little girl we were with also took to the roller coasters with the no fear attitude.

The rest of the weekend was spent being a tourist in Tampa and just spending some great time with good friends and their family and friends. By the way the movie Contraband was really good too.

On Sunday night and Monday I got to just hang with my favorite sister, Dani. We had dinner on the beach and took in the sunset. Was nice to just breathe and talk. The time went too fast and the gorgeous weather will be very much missed. I can't wait for summer to come this way again.

I had flown AirTran and was given the chance to check in early. When I got the chance to checkin there was only one seat left in the coach area that was in the exit row. It cost me an additional $20 to book it. The other seats in business that were available for an additional $49. It drove me a bit crazy that I had to pay for the only seats available, but I really didn't want to take the chance on having to be on stand by or missing the flight entirely. The choice ended up being good as the flight had been overbooked by more than 10 people. My flight to Grand Rapids from Baltimore ended up only having 20 people on it so I had 3 seats to myself to stretch out in. Grand Rapids was foggy to the point that the pilot couldn't see the runway. We made 3 approaches and finally landed safe and sound.

I really needed the time to relax and just be me not mom or wife. I am finding that it is so easy to loose myself and needs in the house. As soon as I stepped into the car I was already figuring out what needed to be done, and was awake until 3 am thinking through things that I knew needed to be done yet.

It was a great vacation and my mind and body thank the hubby for the short time that I had to recuperate.

Little time for me

2011-04-22T14:00:00.003-04:00

There has been very little time for me the past month. I had planned on going out every morning with Charlotte to walk or run but it has just been too cold to take her out there or it has been raining. My treadmill and the bike have also been broken and I can tell in my mood and peace of mind and body that it has affected me. I really want to join a gym and get back onto the machines and see a difference in me.

It is confusing to me to want to move and exercise because I never had that need in high school or college. It wasn't until I started drinking coffee regularly and was given the chance to try and find me. Nearly 3 1/2 years ago I began this journey and it has been put on hold way too long.

The kids are all doing great and hitting all expectations put before them. It is great to see their personalities coming out of them and their talents grow. Each is amazing.

Happy Easter to all and don't forget the reason we celebrate it.

Back on the run...this time for me

2011-03-09T12:43:00.003-05:00

I am back on the run, literally and this time it is for me. I am hoping to lose 100 lbs by December of this year. The first few months were difficult. I tried to run and my ankle, foot and heel just wouldn't do it. I sprained my ankle fairly bad in November and had done something to my foot last May. Neither time did I go to the dr so I have just been letting it heal on its own. But something clicked just over a week ago for me. I ran without the ankle brace for the first time, and not only did I run...I ran a 5k on the treadmill. I did it in just over 41 mins...for me a personal best then.

The next day I got onto the treadmill again and again ran without the brace...this time I completed the 5k in 38 mins. I amazingly had shaved off 3 mins just with one run...It has been a great feeling. On top of the running I am trying to use the elliptical at least once a day.

And to top it all off, I have now lost 7 lbs...only 93 more to go! My motivation is me myself and I. I know that I can't rely on the rest of the world to pat me on the back everytime I accomplish something, because my goals are not those of a superhuman. They are as basic as running one mile in 12 mins, running a whole mile in 10 mins and feeling like I want to go on with more, losing at least 1 lb a week, buttoning my pants without a muffin top.

I am also using myfitnesspal.com on the computer and on my phone to keep track of my calories. What I have found is that a lot of days I am so far below my calorie needs that I have been sabotaging myself by not eating enough, but then other days just totally binging on all the high calorie junk food I could find. I was putting myself last knowing fully well enough that at the end of the day I was only hurting myself by not taking care of myself first.

I am using dailymile.com to track my fitness for the week. When I ride the bike my goal is to get a min. of 25 miles in a day, running to get at least 30 mins in of however long I do, and the elliptical tends to fall into 15 min increments. The calories burned seemed to be higher than on a lot of other sites, but as a tool to keep track of what and where I did the workout it is awesome.

Stay tuned for more results in the future weeks.

Pictures from last year

2011-02-17T12:46:00.004-05:00

Various pictures from the last year that didn't really fit into any other category or blog that I wrote.

My new year resolutions and finding Me.

2011-02-17T12:30:00.003-05:00

My goals this year were to rid my life of all the extras that make me frustrated, stressed out and at times panic stricken. I started January 1st with a 1 mile run with Veronica in the first snow of the new year. I have maintained some exercise everyday since then. While the scale is seriously not budging my clothes are beginning to get looser in a lot of places. I am most happy of all that it is in the waist too. So I can check off working towards losing those pounds that leave me sad to look at myself somedays. Every day is a new start and every day I choose to make positive choices...well except that pizza I ate last night....

Next I am going through closets, cabinets and hidey holes and tossing, giving away, and really trying to decide why I felt I needed all that stuff anyways. I've managed to get through the kitchen, bathrooms and linen closets....still need to do the storage room and bedrooms...Good thing the year is 12 months long...I still have 10 months to attack the worst areas of the house.

Thirdly is the relationships in my life that just draw so much energy out of me. You know which ones those are...the ones that you put so much of yourself into them and in the end you get nothing out of them. This one is the most difficult out of all the areas. I am not good at telling people that they aren't good for me and need to take a hike. I worry about their feelings even as I begin to tell them that there is something wrong. I see the look in their eyes or a hitch in their breath as we talk on the phone. Once I see the look or hear the intake of breath I back away. Definitely need to work on this more.

My mantras throughout the day: Clutter free is the way I am meant to be...; The pain is only temporary...the exercise is a lifelong process; My time not theirs...I deserve this time; It is only 1 hour out of the day that I am stealing away from others; I need to put me first...they will always be asking for me.

Without those mantras I wouldn't get all the way through the first mile of the run, the second shelf of the closet, or many other places I find myself to be. Don't get me wrong.. I love my family and friends and they do deserve time with me or the time that I put into the relationships, but I also need to take time for me to be the best me I can be. All too often women place so much onto their plates then are unable to find a moment for breath. I want to be the grandma playing with her grandchildren, the lady travelling the world in retirement, and the soul feeling free and careless when I am 60 or 70. I wont have that if I don't do this for myself now.

Summer went by fast..but I have pictures to prove we had fun.

2010-11-15T11:40:00.001-05:00

The summer went by so fast, but my trusty camera was with me a majority of the time. We have hundreds if not thousands of pictures of all the activities we did. Meijers Gardens proved to be an awesome place to get some pictures of the kids, but the beach also provided fun backgrounds. From the pool in the driveway, camping with Bridgeway Church at Pioneer Park in Muskegon, to making S'mores in our kitchen oven we kept busy and creative.
The kids are all in school now and picture opportunities are rare, but keep watch because more will be popping up again.

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we went up north and spent time with my family. Mom and Dad finally moved up there mid April of this year. Dad retired July 2nd from Hersolf after more than 30 years of working for them. Yeah! I've attached some pictures from the past weekend. The first is of me and Charlotte. There is quite a huge color difference in us...can you guess who gets bathed in sunscreen every day?

The Next picture is after the fireworks. Nicholas fell asleep and slept through the whole thing on Mom's lap. Dad held Charlotte. She ooohed and ahhhed or maybe gooed and gurgled through the entire show. The last picture is Grandpa and Charlotte after the fireworks. She is a happy lil girl!

5 weeks already..

2010-01-08T10:19:00.002-05:00

It has been 5 weeks already since Charlotte Rose entered our world and family. The kids love having her here and we have a few volunteers to pat her head, hold her or help feed her throughout the day. We've also had our share of 'mom do I have to???" moments from the boys about putting away what they are playing with to help hold her for a minute while mommy is doing something else.

She is growing well, and as of last night slept 10pm-530am. Was a great night for Mommy to sleep until about 2 am when there was no wake up noises and I freaked a little. Charlotte was sound asleep snuggled up and happy, but at 530 there was no putting off the milk...she wanted it now and has continued to snack her way through the morning.

On Monday we have her tests down at Spectrum starting at 930am. There are supposed to be at least an ultrasound and one other test done, but possibly 2 others depending on the outcome. We then see the specialist on February 9th.

Nicholas also sees the same specialist on February 2nd to see if he will need more surgery for his hypospadias. Right now everything seems to be ok other than a small hole that never quite healed...we are working on potty training right now and that should help with being able to tell if he will need more surgery or not too.

Patrick turns 8 years old on January 11th, It is hard to believe that it has been that long already, I really don't feel like 8 years have passed yet. He is planning a wii and pizza party for this coming sunday for his friends...His choice this year for a cake is an ice cream cake...still need to find where I can find one of those.

Sean is very into going over to his friends houses lately...makes me sad that it is happening already....in just a few short years I will see him hardly at all. I am truely missing that little boy that used to cuddle up and let me play imaginative games with him. He gave me a brief moment yesterday when we played Indiana Jones together....

Veronica is having issues with not being the "baby girl" lately. She has gotten herself stuck in some imaginative places lately...between the 12 and 18 month clothes that she squeezed herself into the other day and the baby swing we almost had to call the fire department to get her out of yesterday. I am thinking that we may just need for mommy to take Veronica out on a mommy and me date where she gets to do big girl things and be happy about being bigger.

Nicholas is working on expanding his vocabulary. Today he has been telling me very clearly what he wants...especially when it comes to the potty. Why is it that they learn No and I don't want that so early on??? Otherwise he is so into elmo that he sings elmo's world while playing throughout the day.

I will add some pictures in another post later today or this week....

Charlotte Rose and the family

2009-12-22T16:10:00.005-05:00

Charlotte Rose was born on Friday December 4, 2009 at 4:15am at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI . She came into the world at 20 inches long and 7 lbs 14 oz. She is a perfect and quiet baby. At 2 weeks she is sleeping for one 5 hr period at night and another 3 hr period right after a quick 15 minute feeding.

She does have a kidney issue, but we aren't sure of the extent of it yet. As of right now she is peeing enough for the drs not to worry that something is in need of being done right away. She is on a small dose of amoxicillian every day to keep kidney infections away.

The kids all love her and try to help. My biggest two helpers right now are Veronica and Nicholas. Both want to rub her head when she nurses or hold the bottle when she eats. I constantly have diapers right at hand and a nuk ready to be shoved in her mouth at the smallest of squeaks.

The kids can't wait for Santa to come. St. Nick brought Charlotte just in time for us all the enjoy her. The second picture is the kids cheesing it up for the camera. Notice all the teddy bears that came into the picture with them.

The kids thoughts for Christmas presents this year range from transformers and star wars to the typical books and video games. Only a few more days to see some major twinkling in their eyes.

The reindeer food has been put out on the counter and the cookies have been made and tested. More need to be made.

Mommy and Charlotte snuggling for a few minutes the day after being born. Please excuse the spit up that is on the shirt. That seems to be a perpetual thing these days.

The nuk in my hand has been deemed clown face. When put into baby's mouth she has a clown smile. If anyone knows where we can buy these let us know....if we ever lose this one clown face we are in for trouble. The soothie pacifiers just are not the same.

The next picture is of Daddy and Charlotte the day she was born. Somehow that little girl got him wrapped around her little finger before she even entered the world. He comes home and drops everything to scoop her up and get some snuggling in before the rest of the group can attack. More pictures will come as we move along in the upcoming weeks and months.

Thank you all who prayed for Charlotte's safe arrival and for her kidney issues. The last picture is of all the kids with Santa Claus....

Halloween and all things Fun

2009-10-28T22:13:00.001-04:00

Pickle is here to say hi and tell you what has been going on lately. We are all just recovering from getting the swine flu. What an exciting week. EMT's , fevers of almost 106, breathing treatments, convulsions, and dehydration. Way too much fun for us, we have decided to not do that again anytime soon.

This week we have decided to clean the house, get ready for baby girl due in about 4 weeks, and play outside when the weather allows it to. Today I even squeezed a little christmas shopping in with Pickle before Veronica got home from school. The colors are changing on the trees and this week the leaves have even begun to fall.
Patrick has begun to read, is pretty good at numbers and has tied his shoes one time by himself. We are slowly getting to where we need to be. He was just accepted into the speech program at school. We are waiting for the results to start showing, it could really be towards the end of the school year that we see what we want to. Patrick is getting excited about holding another baby and getting to cuddle and love her. He is such a sweetheart and so tall. He is already up past my armpits in height.
Sean is busy being busy. He is constantly on the move and never slows down. I swear he walks in his sleep too. He has begun to start reading and doing simple math. He has also really connected with some of his classmates and is excited to play with them when he can. His favorite activity right now is legos. He has quite the imagination.

As for the baby I really think he could care less at this point. He has a difficult time already just dealing with Pickle and Veronica haha.
veronica is in school 5 days a week every morning. She loves it so much that she is the first one up at about 630 in the morning. She has a little attitude but it really shows that she is a strong willed little girl. She is getting really good at drawing things and has started writing her letters and saying their sounds. :) What a big girl.

Well need to head off if I am going to be up with this little girl in the morning. Love to all!

summer drawing to an end...

2009-08-10T11:32:00.003-04:00

Summer is fast approaching the end, and I really have to say that after nearly 3 months of "summer break" the kids really do need to go back to school. The boys are "bored" a majority of the time or just don't want to see each other anymore. I am keeping them busy watering the lawn for Tom, watering the vergetables, picking vegetables, picking fruits, cleaning and freezing them. I am going to have to find another chest freezer or start canning before I have this baby.

We've found time for fun things this summer. The kids and I went to Wisconsin for a few weeks in June and helped out at Mom and Dad's. We've gone to the beach a few times, done scavenger hunts, caught tadpoles, chased baby fish, gone for bike rides, and just enjoyed playing together.

Updates on everyone:
Tom: Working a lot of hours, but being somewhat of an expert in his field, that is to be expected. He also is in the midst of changing his hours for work to an earlier time so that I can get to work without needing a babysitter for the kids. His favorite hobby lately is playing boomarang with the boys...I am pretty sure that Patrick has taken to showing him up.

Nikki: Working as Store Detective nights a weekends. I get to play spy and catch shoplifters for the store. I am really liking the work and the hours. It has been nice to get out even for a few hours and meet up with adults and use my mind to learn new things. Baby is doing well. We were hoping to find out the sex of him/her on July 20th, but baby was stubborn and wouldn't move their foot. We are hoping to schedule another U/s to check renal function and the spine one more time in a few weeks, so we may find out yet before baby come in November/December.

Patrick: He's growing tall, already up to my armpit and I am sure by December will be to my shoulders. He had a big accomplishment last night, he tied his shoe for the first time by himself. This is a huge accomplishment as he doesn't have the fine motor skills that most children his age do, due to the Autism. I haven't had him on his concerta all summer as it gives him headaches, so I just deal with the outbursts and daily outcomes as they come. We've also been working on the reading and writing, two skills he is really lacking. his favorite activity has been playing the wii and playstation. I really wish they made games that would work towards the reading and math on there, but haven't found any yet.

Sean: He has been a socialite this summer, making friends and having friends over nearly every day. He also has gotten to be quite the artist with Legos. We've had so many creations over the summer and a lot of imaginative play with them. He got a big boy bike for his birthday so his little bike has become a trick bike that has gone down slides, off ramps and down hills and stairs. he is all boy for sure.

Veronica: a princess comes to mind when I think of her. She even has told me that the new baby cant be a princess if it is a girl since she is the princess in the house. She has gotten really good at riding her bike, doing flips on the monkey swing out back, talking and is learning her letters, numbers and counting. She is all about babydolls, doll houses, and being a little mommy. Too bad that she hasn't yet figured out how to keep her room clean.

Nicholas: aka pickle.. is finally growing. He is into 18-24 month clothes, talking and just jibber jabbering, His favorite activity other than snuggling with mommy is playing outside in the water. anything to do with the sprinkler or hose and he is right there. He loves to play with his siblings but hates when they play with any of his toys. His largest use word is NO lately so we are working on YES...

well that is all for now...need to go freeze some more beans and do another load of laundry.

OH BABY!

2009-05-21T16:06:00.001-04:00

Surprise! Surprise! Sakes Alive, here comes baby #5, we are hoping to survive! Yep that is right we have another little one due around November 30, 2009. Today's ultrasound showed him/her healthy and moving around. Heart rate was 154 for all the rest that meant girl, but we are assuming nothing. So here is the ultrasound picture from today. He/She is measuring a week ahead of what we thought, but that is ok too. That means he/she is healthy and happy in there.

A few pictures

2009-04-22T15:17:00.001-04:00

Just thought that I'd add some pictures. I actually just tried posting a blog but I think I closed it before it finished.
This first picture is of the boys. I think it is one of the best we have of patrick and sean...purely accidental.
The 2nd picture is of Veronica in a dress that i made for her. The next picture is of the kids and the farm with grandma great. Finally is a picture of veronica at meijer Garden. We had a great time there today on a field trip with Patrick's class.

This weekend is promising warm weather so be sure to check back.

Just a few fun pictures

2009-04-22T15:09:00.003-04:00

The first picture is of a dress that I made Veronica. She loves frogs and butterflies and dragonflies. Walmart had the fabric and we found some cute ribbon and buttons to go with it. She loves it and it is difficult to get it off of her most days that she is wearing it.

The 2nd and 3rd pictures are from meijer gardens today. Veronica was amazed by the butterflies and enjoyed floating the boats out back. This was the first time that we've gone there and we will be going back again in the future. :)

Patrick loved going there too and sharing his mommy with his friend Brandon and Nicholas. Poor Mrs. kraft was running around the whole time we were there trying to keep everything straight and getting things paid for.

The final picture is from last week Thursday. I had forgotten my camera and the farm on easter so we went back to get it. The kids enjoyed the time with Grandma grape (great) and granma (aunt) jo. We played outside a ton and got a few things done around the house and yard.

This weekend promises warm weather so be on the outlook for a lot more pictures...Oh and Uncle Chris is coming for the weekend too.

Spring Break is done and now we countdown...

2009-04-20T12:07:00.002-04:00

Spring break has been over for a whole week here and we are counting down the days left of school. 17 days left....well the boys do only go 2 1/2 days a week so that is far fewer than the regular kids, but still scary enough. We are trying to come up with plans for things to do this summer.

We are really hoping to make it up to Grandma Rose's and Grandpa Chuck's new home on Youngs Lake this summer for a few weeks if a job doesn't come around instead. we are also making plans for bike rides, sandcastles, and swimming at a nearby lake. We've been in this house nearly a year now, but it doesn't feel even close to it. We've barely put our own personalities into the house to all it our own. We just finished getting the office/guest room finished for the most part and the boys have decided they like that room a lot better than their own room, so in the near future we will be moving them into there and making their room into the office/guest room. Really i have no qualms about it because I will get natural daylight to work by.

Nicholas is really enjoying his time outdoors, but God help you if you take him outside barefoot or without a hat. That little boy has listened to his Gpa Tom and makes sure his tootsies are covered with socks minimally.

Veronica has figured out how to pedal, I bet by the end of summer we'll have another bie w/o training wheels. She is very vocal and such a little chatterbox...reminds me of someone else who used to be like that...hmm who could that be???

Patrick is moving up to a 20" bike. He is so tall and muscular truely amazing. He is still doing really well on his meds and continues to make great strides in his work at school and home.

Sean has been all about fixing things and putting things in order for Spring lately. We have seeds planted and strawberries growing. This boy is going to have veggies all winter long.

Homemade Ravioli Recipe

2009-03-27T11:21:00.001-04:00

The kids love ravioli, but I can't fathom spending as much as the store wants for them so I've been making them myself the last few weeks. I thought I'd share the recipe here for those that aren't scared to make the kitchen a little messy. This is a great way to hide vegetables in the kids meal as they don't usually pick through it to see what is inside. My favorite veggie so far to hide in it is carrots as it adds a sweetness to the recipe.

Pasta:
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. water
2 eggs
1 tbsp. olive or salad oil
1 tsp. salt
In large bowl with wooden spoon, stir 2 1/4 cups flour with remaining ingredients to make a stiff dough. On well floured surface knead dough until smooth and not sticky, about 20 minutes. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes for easier rolling. Makes 1 pound noodles.

Filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup parm. cheese
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp basil
1/4 cup shredded veggies (spinach, carrots, zuchinni, sweet potato *ideas*
Optional: 1/2 lb ground turkey or beef
Mix together in a medium sized bowl and set aside until after you have rolled out the pasta dough.

Cut your dough in quarters and roll out into rectangles either with the pasta machine or just your standard rolling pin. I only have a rolling pin so that is what I use. Spread flour onto your rolling surface so dough doesn't stick to it. Roll it out until it is thin enough that you can see your hand behind it if it was held up to a window. My rectangles are usually about 8x12 or so.

There are two ways to go from here. The first is to cut your dough into 2x4 inch squares and put 1 tsp of filling mixture just on the other side of the middle and seal by running a finger dipped in water on the edges. Flip the dough over itself and seal with a fork. These create cute little crescents or squares.

The second way is to roll out two rectangles of the same size, put down 1 tsp of filling every 2 inches on the dough. Run a wet finger around each pile of filling and place second rectangle over the filling and run finger around all the piles of filling to seal it. Cut with either a serrated cutter, pizza cutter, or cookie cutter that fits over the filling and noodles.

You can either cook right way by placing in a pot of boiling water for about 4-6 mins. The ravioli will float when it is finished. Or you can flash freeze by placing on cooling racks in the freezer until frozen (about 45 mins) then place in ziploc bag. Can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just pull out of freezer and place in boiling water until they float. (about 8-10 mins.) Coat with a sauce of your choice, serve with a salad and breadsticks.

Where did the time go??

2009-03-27T10:44:00.001-04:00

20 months has gone so fast. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were trying to figure out how we were going to get all 3 kids to a sitter with the chance that there was something wrong with baby? 20 months ago Pickle didn't pass his NST, a scary proposition for any parent, but then to try and consider that there is no one to watch your other children if you end up in the hospital right away is even scarier. Giving birth should be a miracle that is enjoyed and the time spent with the new baby bonding should be stressfree, but this time around it was none of that. Bad things happened through the three days that I was in the hospital. Nicholas was to stay one extra night and I couldn't do that. Things just wouldn't have allowed it back at home.

Nicholas was born with a hypospadias, two urethra holes. a simple fix supposedly, but somehow even this was botched up. He is looking at another surgery after this July to recorrect what was to be his recorrection. The skin didn't heal flat or in the manner it was supposed to. The one hole they tried to close up has reopened again, and he wont be a straight shooter yet. He also had his scrotum reattached and things lengthened. I know this isn't the most significant surgery out there. Babies are on the Operating table hours after birth for harder and worse things than this, but it is hard to be there when they put that mask on your baby and he is looking at you with wide open eyes scared.

He also has an asthma issue. Any time he has a cold he is put onto a nebulizer a few times a day. It is to the point that he loves to put the mask on and wont pull at it. He knows that it is going to help him, which is great, yet sad to know. His first treatment was when he was not wuite 4 months old due to a bad cold that stuck in his chest that the drs couldnt rule out RSV. Since then we have to pull this out every few months to use, sometimes for weeks at a time.

Due to the inhaler and steroids he is a little bit smaller than kids his age. He is fitting quite comfortably in 12 month clothes, sometimes even 9 month clothes. Regardless of his size he has the spitfire of a normal 20 month old when it comes to his attitude. He is the first to scream sTOP of Mine when the other kids are playing rough. He also has the boys running and jumping on chairs when he comes after them with play swords or the light sabers. He just figured out this week how to climb onto chairs and our bed. He is in a big boy twin bed for the last three months. He also is starting to use the potty. I just can't imagine what it would be like not to have any diapers in the house, we've had them for over 7 years.
He amazes me with his growing vocabulary and need to voice his opinion. He'll tell us when he wants something or more often than not when he doesn't want anything. He has a love hate relationship with Veronica that is enough to make me pull out my hair some days. There is that twinkle in his eye that lets you know that he is schemeing his next plan of attack. Too funny and cute.

Because he wasn't walking yet last fall he really wasn't able to experience the outside like the other kids have in the past, so when we go out now everything is what's that? or where did it go? as things blow around in the wind. He loves everything about balls: hitting, kicking throwing, and has one mean golf and hockey swing. His second favorite is sand...Just sitting and watching it fall through his fingers is sheer amazement. The wind through the dead leaves on the front tree leave him just staring for ten minutes at a time. He is all about seeing his world for the first time, something that the other three kids really never did. So I am once again seeing the small things around me . It is truely an uplifting experience.

If the next 20 months go as fast as these did, I hope that they can be as enjoyable and amazing.

Veronica 4

2009-03-20T12:35:00.000-04:00

Veronica 3

2009-03-20T12:34:00.000-04:00

More veronica

2009-03-20T12:33:00.000-04:00

Veronica's pictures

2009-03-20T12:32:00.001-04:00

Veronica was in a great mood, freshly scrubbed and cleaned, sat for me to do her hair, and then continued to smile for the pictures. I can only post four pictures at a time here and we had over 100 taken. My favorites really are the candid shots like thi first ne that looks like she is praying. Really she just didnt want to smudge her freshly painted nails ;)....angel indeed. I will post more pictures in more blogs and you can help me choose the best 3 or 4 to print out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T10:39:00.003-04:00

Happy St Patricks day to everyone, even those honorary Irish leprechauns. The kids are having a great day and tying to think of ways to catch a Leprechaun. We are also enjoying some warm weather that will hopefully be bringing 70s later today.

We've accomplished a lot in the house lately. The first floor has been painted though the colors are still in question. We've also finished organizing and going through the basement storage room. Shelves were built this last weekend, and two work benches. The garbage men wouldn't take the cardboard this week so i guess we will be hauling it somewhere later this week or next.

On a frustrating note, the Envoy was broken into and the TomTom was stolen...really stinks, but oh well what are you going to do. Well back to the kids. I hope to post pics of the house in the next few days again.

An update on the kids....

2009-02-28T17:10:00.003-05:00

Its been a while since I updated you all on the kids and what is going on here.

Patrick: Still struggling with school and the social aspects of life. He is a borderline autistic, ADHD and possibly dyslexic. We are working on various therapies involving art, textures, social situations, and role play to get him used to working outside of the house. We also have started him on some medication to try and help with the ADHD. I was very skeptical at first that it would actually help him, but his is amazing on it. This is a side of the kid that i have never seen before. He is questioning, concentrating and focusing on everything that he needs to. Amazing indeed.

Sean: Flying high and just moving along at a steady speed. This kid has the energy of about 5 kids. he loves to flip around and jump off things. We are talking about getting him involved in some sports and see what he can do to reign that energy into something constructive.

Veronica: completely potty trained and her vocabulary is growing wonderfully. She also is a budding artist. This last week she has been drawing people on everything, including her walls and herself. very cute indeed.

Nickle Pickle (nicholas): talking and walking. Climbing and scooching. He has about 50 words in his vocabulary and loves to tell you his opinion. He is healed from his surgery in october, but there may be another one in the near future and something didnt heal correctly. he is still pretty little. At 20 months he is still wearing a lot of 12 month clothes with room to spare. We bought him his first pair f shoes not too long ago and he is just into 5w.....

Tom- working hard and if I get this job will be working even harder every night.

Jobs and more Jobs

2009-02-28T17:01:00.002-05:00

I've been looking into getting a job nights and weekends for the last couple of months. So about two weeks ago I started working at a gym in Grand Rapids. The greatest benefit to this is that I get a free membership and it is a 24 hour gym so I can go workout whenever I find the time to. I am also working from home for the gym which is another great benefit. I just put in 3-4 hours a day when the kids are napping.

Well with this in mind I decided ok this is going to work really well for the family, I am making money, spending time with the kids and Tom, so I am no longer going to apply anywhere else. I stopped reading papers, online advertisements, etc etc and was happy as could be. Well all the sudden Wed I got a phone call from Meijer for a position they wanted me to interview for. So today I went in for the interview and was told to expect a second interview late next week. This would be a full time position nights and weekends. I also have been getting emails lately for tutoring, painting murals, canvases, and various other odd jobs that I do. When I finally gave up looking is when jobs started coming to me.

I am excited by the prospects of all this but at the same time am worried that I might be stretching myself thin.....Being grown up is hard...

Lutheran Family and Child Services

2009-02-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

I donated a painting the the Lutheran Family and Child Services building in Greenville, MI. Some of you out there knew that I was doing this, so I thought that I'd post a few pictures of it done. These dont show all the depth to the paint, but they at least give you an idea. This painting is a popular one for churches and religious groups, as I have now done it 3 times. Each time is a little different though. I had the kids with me for the painting and they managed to make it through the 7 hours it took to paint today and the 2 hours to draw it out last week Friday.

Patrick and Sean's Pictures of Yesterday

2009-02-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

Patrick took this shot of the three other kids.

Patrick took this picture of the sky.

This was Sean's picture of the "pond" at the tennis courts.

Sean's Picture of Pickle going to get the bat and ball.

I think they both have an eye for pictures. As I have let them borrow the camera on walks this past winter their pictures have been getting better and better. They love to focus in on the small things such as berries on the tree or needles in the pine tree. Pretty exciting stuff and the greatest part of using the digital camera is that we are not wasting any film or money.

A warm February day

2009-02-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday temperatures reached near 60 and everyone felt it in their bones when they woke up. The sun was streaming in the windows, and for once the furnace didn't kick in the whole day. We played outside splashing in mudpuddles, climbing through melting snowbanks, found hidden treasures long forgotten way back in November when the first snows fell.

This was Nicholas' first time walking around outside and seeing what the world was all about from the level of 30 whole inches. He was amazed at the leaves blowing in the wind on the tree in our front yard that held to the belief that summer was going to last a few more months and refused to drop its brown leaves. Puddles were investigated thoroughly by splashing and jumping through them. A worm was thrown across the tennis courts. We also drew our first chalk drawings of the year on the driveway, only to have them wash away today.

Veronica loved the wind in her hair, fishing in the "pond" by the tennis courts, and sliding in the mud until she slid face first into the puddle and came up looking worse than a pig in a pig pen. She is learning all about shapes and colors so she would yell out what she found for the world to hear.

Patrick and Sean played baseball on the tennis courts. Originally the idea was to go to the baseball diamond out back, but the mud proved to difficult to get the stroller through. Amazingly the boys actually were able to throw the ball and hit the ball thrown to them. Something that could never be done just a few short months ago. The boys also got ahold of the camera and took pictures of their own.
I will post those in another blog.

Pictures frm the photo shoot again...

2009-02-05T12:58:00.000-05:00

More Pictures...

Photo Shoot.... Say CHeese!!!!

2009-02-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Hmmm say cheese??? Yeah sure, let me fidget, poke my sister, take my brothers head off first, stick my tongue out...everyone else smile and look at the camera while one looks towars only God knows what. But somehow we managed to actually get a few nice shots. Let me know what you think, as I took them all on my own...I really think that I am insane somedays. These pictures and the ones in the next post took all of 10 mins to take, but it sure felt like an hour and a half.

Holland State Park-01st weekend in February

2009-02-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

A blustery cold day at the beach, that is what last Saturday was. The wind howled through our ears and sand pelted our faces as we kicked up little chunks of icesand on the beach. The kids enjoyed seeing what happens to Lake Michigan in the winter as the waves freeze into awesome ice sculptures made by Mother Nature and Jack Frost themselves. After a whole ten minutes we resigned ourselves to the idea of a picnic. Just kidding, we really weren't planning one, but thought it would be a neat opprtunity to do pictures of the kids to go with the summer one of all of them sitting in front of Big Red. Holland State Park would have been truely amazing had it not been for the wind off the lake.

Here are pictures of Veronica out to the lake. Only minutes after leaving the warm truck. THe boys booked it out to the lake were atop the ice within the first 3 mins. There is a picture of Tom and the kids atop the "summit". Pickle was in the backpack on my back hiding behind my head to block the wind. And finally a picture of Big Red...

The floor and a black eye....

2009-01-26T19:11:00.001-05:00

As if finishing the office wasn't enough, we also laid the floor in the dining room on Sunday. It took 6 hours to lay the whole floor but it is was well worth it. The transformation to the room is so amazing. I've included a few pictures.

The other picture is of the storage unit in the office. I have crafting supplies and fabric in it right now.

Veronica also fell off the stool anhd as a result got a black eye. Here it is after a few days....

It's coming along!

2009-01-24T21:51:00.000-05:00

Here are two shots from last night when we primed all the drywall in the office, and the bottom two are shots of the room today. I finished painting and putting in the padding and carpeting. We need bookcases, shelves and cabinets yet BUT I officially have an office. I can not wait to put it to use. This next week will be sorting through boxes in the storage room and finding more things for this room to be put away. If there is anyone out there that has extra bookcases, file cabinets, or wall cabinets laying around let me know as I'd like to finish this off even more. The baseboard has yet to be bought and put in too.

We have room for people to stay now...hmm just need to find the bed for in here.

Random pictures from last weekend.

2009-01-14T15:47:00.001-05:00

Pickle says cheese..Pickle pushing Vern in the stroller, Pickle wearing a hat Aunt Susan made, Pickles 1st pair of shoes

Pickle eats cake

2009-01-14T15:44:00.000-05:00

Just had to post these pictures as they were too cute to keep to myself.

Happy 7th Birthday Patrick

2009-01-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

Wow 7 years went fast...I hear they get faster yet. Here is Patrick blowing out candles on his cupcakes and cake. He loved everything that he got for his birthday including money in cards, a race car set, cassettes, and a walkman! What a lucky guy. Check out the second picture there was some double exposure on the digital camera...very cool

Wii Party

2009-01-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

The Shavinski family came over for an evening of Wii fun last weekend. Here are some Pictures of the Shavinski's bowling. Each had their own unique approach to throwing the ball. Enjoy!

Just some randomness

2009-01-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

Random pictures from this morning's teaparty and I hope a movie...

Table for two Please...

2009-01-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

Veronica and Nicholas had a tea party this morning. It was too cute to pass up the opportunity to take some pictures. Nicholas' legs are so short he just couldnt get the hang of sitting on the chairs. He was falling off constantly. And when he wasn't falling the coffee mug Veronica gave him did.....

I have to say today's hero of the day is the plastic food inventor.

My office...Your guest room

2009-01-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

We've been working on building an office/guest room in the basement the past couple months as time has allowed. Our goal was to have it done by Christmas, but obviously that did not happen. But as of last night we had all the drywall up and started taping and mudding seams. The first picture shows the nook where the desk will be. Tom is standing in the alcove where you first come in. I am hoping to get bookcases lined across this wall.

These Pictures were taken at 930pm last night...as you can see in Picture #3, Princess Veronica stumbled out of bed and came down to see what was up with us all. Again that is the alcove coming in. The last picture is of the other side of the alcove....hmm maybe I should have gotten a better shot of the desk area.

The lady that lived here before was a photographer and used the dark as her studio. It was painted that purple you see on the beam and had a green backcloth on the wall behind Tom. The ceiling was lined with a white sheet. The floor is painted to look like a wood floor. That will be getting carpeting in the soon future.

Watch for more pictures as we accomplish more this week.

Happy 2009!!!!

2009-01-01T11:01:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone. We spent the night in with the kids. We enjoyed a night of appetizers, grape soda, and Wii. Here are four pictures from the night. Patrick wanted to take a bubble bath in the middle of the party so that is why that one is in here. Please forgive the mess in the kitchen!

Nicholas...aka. Nickle Pickle

2009-01-01T10:58:00.000-05:00

Some of you have asked for some more recent pictures of Nicholas. He was so smiley last night so I took advantage of it. This was right after a bath, thus the snuggly towel. :) The puppy he is with at the end was his favorite Christmas present. It currently gets dragged around about as much as his blankeys.

Today's accomplishment!

2008-12-31T16:50:00.000-05:00

I just tried blogging this so if it repeats sorry. We worked on the boys bathroom/laundry room today. The first two pictures are now and the last one is when we bought the house in May.

The "Ice Age"

2008-12-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

We decided to take a walk today to Bostwick Lake. We had to walk over "hill and dale", through trails, over a river and an icy bridge, and along very icy roads to get to it. Once there we slid down a set of stairs to the icy lake. The boys were absolutely amazed at the lake. We walked out to near the middle of the lake. There were a few ice shanties to be seen and previous ice fishing holes to look through. Though they had frozen over again, we could see through the clear as crystal ice. It was a great learning experience for the kids, though next time we might drive instead of walking there.

We were only on the ice about 20 minutes when Veronica informed us all that she had to poop, so we gathered up. I threw Veronica into the backpack and carried Pickle and we all ran, yes ran, the 2 + miles back to the house. Of course once home she no longer had to go poop, so instead we savored a nice cup of homemade cocoa. MMMMMmmm

So to caption the pictures: The first one is of Pickle and me just after we got on the ice.

The second Picture is of Patrick and Sean wondering whether or not they could go even further out.

The third picture is Sean and Veronica "ice skating".

The fourth picture is the kids all pooped out from the long walk, and investigating a fish hole.

If there is anyone out there that likes to ice fish and is looking for a place to go and some company let me know, we'd love to fish on this lake and see how it is done :).

More of the winter thaw....

2008-12-29T17:58:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you can add more than 4 pictures or not to a blog, but here are the ice skating in the tunnel pictures. It is amazing that they were able to hold their balance like they did. Sean can barely walk without falling over, but on the ice he held steady. Pickle was just happy as can be being in the backpack...

So some of you have asked what has been going on here....so here it is:

Patrick is borderline autistic with ADHD. We will be starting him on meds sometime in the next few months as well as therapy for the autism. We also will begin meetings with the school to get an IEP going. Finally with this diagnosis we are able to get the necessary help that he needs to succeed. The good news is that Patrick is beginning to sound out and spell words. Amazing given that last year we struggled the whole year just to get him to write his name. He had trouble just learning the letters necessary to spell Patrick. He now is able to spell words like cat, hat, pickle, mom, dad and write the word love.

Sean is flying through school. He is learning all his letters, beginning to read and write. He loves socializing with the other kids and learning. His favorite part of the day is being line leader for the bus in the morning and lunch. He has really taken to bologna sandwiches and fruit by the foot. Oh the corruption of youth in school. HAHA. The boys love playing Wii and their leapster.

Veronica is finally potty trained. She has so many words as of late that we are constantly amazed at what she is communicating to us.
She will tell us exactly what she is thinking and will even use her words instead of pushing her brothers around about 15% of the time. She is really into babydolls right now. Her other favorite activity is reading books and coloring. She can't get enough of either of these.

Pickle is healed from his surgery. We have another drs appt on the 22nd, I think, to see what the dr thinks he can do with the scar tissue from the surgery. Another surgery may be necessary, we of course are really hoping it doesnt happen. Nicholas thankfully isnt much of a climber, but he finally mastered the stairs yesterday. Up and down all day long...what a fun game. He has quite a few words like mama, daddy, fish, nigh nigh, up down, all done, book, baby, ball, etc. It is exciting to see him grow.

Other than the colds and flus that have come through we are all doing well. Tom has been busy with work, but has been able to take off a few days around the holidays. That has been nice. I have been busy with painting, organizing the house, and taking care of me. I am still trying to get in at least 45 mins of exercise in a day...the treadmill is my best friend.

The winter thaw...

2008-12-29T17:42:00.000-05:00

Today we thought we'd take advantage of the warmer temperatures before winter returns tomorrow. We have a trail that runs the outside of the neighborhood that offers many examples of nature and a moment of quietness, that is if you can truely find that with four children ages 17 months-almost 7 years. Here are some pictures from today. I am hoping to add some pictures later to another post of our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's in South Lyon, Mi the weekend before Christmas.

This first picture is walking up the first incline of the trail. Patrick is in the front, Sean in the middle and Veronica taking up the rear. Nicholas was on my back in the backpack.

The second picture is of the kids in the woods looking out over the pond. Patrick asks where do the fish and frogs go when the water is ice? Good question so we will look that up later tonight.

Sean took this picture of the sky and the trees. If you look closelythe tree branches look like a spiderweb.
Nicholas peeking over my shoulder. For the most part he tried to hide from the cold wind that seemed to be swirling about. There are other pictures of the kids "ice skating" through the tunnel in Tillicum Farms subdivision.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T18:15:00.000-05:00

Christmas was fantastic this year. Santa left a great note for all and a tree full of presents. The kids fed Santa's reindeer some magical oatmeal and glitter. Santa played tricks by taking a picture of himself, eating the reindeers food, and putting presents in the tree.

The kids woke up after 8 am to open presents...that really doesnt take into effect that Patrick was up at 10:30 pm Christmas Eve telling us that he slept enough...

Thank you to everyone for all the great gifts, thoughts and blessings for us on Christmas. We hope the same for you and your family through the next year.

Christmas in South Lyon, MI

2008-12-21T18:05:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago we went to South Lyon to visit Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas. Uncle Mark, Noah and Nora were up visiting from South Carolina. Just in time for their arrival we got nearly 2 feet of snow. The first picture is of Tom pushing Veronica down the hill.

Next is Mark and Nora going down the hill...please note that steep first 4 feet...nearly a straight dropoff .
Finally here is Pickle going down the hill....no we didnt just push him. Patrick helped him slide controlled down the hill. We had a great time with the cousins, despite the fact that Noah had the flu, and Grandpa was down for the count with the flu too the day that we were there.

Snow day...

2008-12-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you have 14 inches of snow fall in just a few hours?????

A snow day home from school and an early start to Christmas vacation.

Sean in a snow cave.

Veronica is the smart one....she stayed inside the whole day.

Halloween

2008-11-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd just share some pictures from Halloween. Pickle didn't go trick or treating as he wasn't feeling all that well. The kids pooped out after only 1/4 of the subdivision. Patrick went as Superman as superheros has been his theme for the past 3 years. Sean was a pirate...in honor of his best friend Colin in West Bend. Veronica was a butterfly/fairy. Pickle a pumpkin. I dressed up as a hockey player to hand out the candy...

Pickle's Surgery

2008-11-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

Pickle had surgery to correct his birth defect, a hypospadias, in layman's terms he had two urethra holes. So they had to close one up and move the other to the appropriate position. He was also attached too far down on his scrotum. So basically he had a total reconstruction of penis and scrotum. It was about a 2 1/2 hr surgery. And he's had a catheter in for the last week and a half. Veronica saw it during one diaper change and told me that he had a sucker stuck in his butt. Yep that is what it looks like. A dum dum sucker.

So the first week we had a lot of swelling and pain and bladder spasms. We just finished the tylenol-3 script and still need to use the meds for bladder spasms and the antibiotics. He isnt too fond of the meds so we've been sneaking them into bottles. Tomorrow he is supposed to have the cath taken out as long as everything is healed.

There is a possiblity of one more surgery depending on how this one heals and how he urinates, but for now we are done.

Patrick's Diagnosis

2008-10-17T21:40:00.001-04:00

Edit

Patrick's Diagnosis...as of 10/16/08 9:58am

Patrick has definite autistic markers, but is also showing a lot of ADHD markers. After a 3 hr appointment and 8 forms asking questions about his personality we are a bit closer to finding out what we can do for him. The two drs that we met with yesterday are going to meet and discuss what was found in his mental and personality/behavior that would qualify him as a certain Autistic. The teacher has two or three forms to fill out yet about his behavior in school. And we need to do conferences at the school. Once those are all done we will meet again for a feedback session and see what we can do from there. The ADHD can be treated with meds, but that isnt necessarily the best route to go so we will see about that. The autism will need lots of training to get over the sensory issues, the personal space issues, the attention issues, and the overstimulation issues. You may ask what our ultimate goal is here...well it is for Patrick to lead as normal a lifestyle as he can with successes just like any other person. We want him to be able to function in society by being able to figure out himself what needs to be done from beginning to end to accomplish a task whether it be tying his shoes or if he so desires designing with a CAD program. He will have to understand the consequences to actions and be able to think ahead. I am not sure how we will accomplish all this..right now as always I am just going one day at a time, sometimes just one minute at a time. With a lot of patience, repetition and caring I hope to get him where he needs to be.

Feel free to ask questions, offer suggestions, or if you know of something out there or another person who can help feel free to give them my email address.

Not much...but then again a lot

2008-10-14T17:00:00.000-04:00

Not much is really happening though a lot is... The last two weeks have been filled with dr appts for preops, annuals, and this week there is the autistic clinic in Grand Rapids for Patrick. We also have school field trips, family life, and oh this little thing called work. It doesn't seem like a lot when it is on the calendar, but once you go through it all it is a lot.

Last night we got a call to send in a treat for the Halloween Party that is coming up on the 31st. We don't have costumes picked out yet. I am not even sure we will be able to go trick or treating. It all depends on how Nicholas' surgery goes on the 27th.

This weekend was supposed to be my weekend in Wisconsin but plans changed on that too. I am tired and overwhelmed right now. I am hoping that feeling passes soon cause the 1/2 pot of coffee sure isnt helping it.

Patrick and Sean are doing well in school and making a lot of friends. I really wish that the Kindergarten program here was full day and that the 3k had room for Veronica. It throws them off so much having this time off every other day. I don't get a lot done in the house on Tuesdays or Thursdays either.

The growth chart orders are still coming in and I have been doing some marketing to hopefully keep them coming. Tom is still busy busy with work and life....guess I better go and play.

Is it really almost October???

2008-09-25T12:02:00.000-04:00

Is it really almost October? Did summer really fly by that fast? I just can not believe that this year has gone as fast as it has. Last year at this time we were just learning how to live in a house with a single parent...had a child catch on fire and a hot pad...a window on the house replaced and a basement wall shored up. Patrick was just starting school and we were busy with picking grapes in the old backyard.

This year....Two kids in school, business growth charts flying out the door weekly, Tom busy with work, building a guest room and office in the basement, all the outside work to get done before the snow flies. Oh and trying to find time for me and seeing and talking to friends that I greatly miss.

We spent last weekend in Wisconsin and had an awesome time seeing everyone that we fit in. I wish I could have fit in even more. We are hoping for another weekend in October that I can get over there, but not sure when that will happen yet. In the future months we have family soccer games, parades, school fundraisers, a wedding in South Carolina, and all the holidays and then we start all over again.

The first day of school. Pictures

2008-09-05T15:52:00.000-04:00

The boys on the first day of school

After a slow start the boys were excited...to put it mildly... to get on the bus and go to school.
Everyone made it through the day with just minor problems. Patrick was biten by another student and also got on the wrong bus. Sean's lunch got thrown away before he finished it all. Today they had a good day with gym and art as specials.

A new school year.... and another year of running

2008-09-03T12:33:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of school for Patrick and Sean. Both will be going to school on Mon, Wed and Friday. Patrick in regular 5k and Sean in Dev-5. They were up and running this morning and couldn't wait to get onto the bus. Veronica waved goodbye. Pictures to be posted later.

Me...this marks the start of year 2 of running for me. My goal is to lose another 30 lbs by Thanksgiving. I have added weight training and a lot of walking into my routine and really hope that I can continue it through winter. The treadmill is my friend..the treadmill is my friend....I might just have to go buy some new music for the mp3 player.

Also the growth charts have been flying out of the house. I have made and sent out a dozen in the last 3 weeks. I am loving the quiet time and
art therapy" it is bringing.

Well two kids are down for a nap so I am going to to go fit in an hr of running while I can and 30 mins of weights.

Into August we go....

2008-08-06T22:27:00.000-04:00

We are heading into August and are just getting the hang of getting to and from different places in Rockford. Yesterday night we spent a great night downtown listening to some folk music, eating ice cream, and walking around the beautiful gardens.

Tonight we spent the night cleaning out the van as we are hoping to trade it in and get something a little more reliable. I can't believe that the Kia is just over 5 years old and already falling apart. Then again we also put on 100k in the five years that we've owned it. Just don't think it is worth putting that many more dollars into it. Crazy isnt it?

Life ....

2008-07-07T10:25:00.001-04:00

So we just got back from a weekend in northern Wisconsin with my family over 4th of July. Crazy crazy crazy. Mom and Dad are in the process of building a log cabin up there. For those that don't know, last year their cabin burned down with a lightening strike. Well their new home is gorgeous, but still needs to have the finishing work done on it. We laid nearly 1500 sq feet of flooring and the boys build a new dock.

So life here in Michigan...

Not sure where I fit in yet. I don't know many people and I truly miss my family and friends back in Wisconsin. My cell phone bill really shows it. I've even added 5000 txt msgs to my cell just so I can stay in touch without a million phone calls.

Life ending in Wisconsin

2008-03-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

My life as I know it will be ending soon as I move out of my house of 4 years. Here I am at 30 years old and starting over again. We have had our house on the market for 6 1/2 months and an offer came in on Saturday. We grabbed it and ran with it, just to find out today that the buyers financing wasn't what he made it out to be, so we are working with them to try and make the offer still work. We will be losing out on money, but in the end we need to decide if it is more important to get the family together or lose a little bit of money. I choose family. In the end that is what I always decide.

About us...we've been married for 8 1/2 years and have renovated 2 homes now in that timeframe. We've also had 4 beautiful children ages 6, 4 1/2, 2 1/2 and 7 1/2 months old. They keep us busy night and day. Even when they are sleeping I am keeping busy. Like right now I am blogging, checking email, paying bills and a few other things.

Life around here starts about 5 or 6 am when the sun comes up and first potty stops are made and ends around 11 or midnight. Patrick is in school, kindergarten, and loving it. We are having some testing done to help him in school. We are trying to complete it before the end of the school year so that we have something to work with next year. I can't tell you how much of a failure I feel as both a mother and an educator knowing that I can't even help my own child learn and that he is so far behind.

Anyways Patrick goes to school at 8. I have my nephew dropped off here nearly every day around 730am to play with the kids. By 8 am everyone else is up for the day, in fact most days breakfast is done by 715 and we are moving onto morning snack by 830-9am. between 11 and 3 it is naptime around here. No they dont sleep that long. The kids are up and down the whole time, but we attempt at least 1 hr of sleep. By 430-6pm my nephew gets picked up and we start dinner, homework, baths and getting ready for the next day. At 7pm the kids all head to bed. And I finally get a few hrs of quiet to myself.

Well I need to get back to some things around here....more on life and the house later