Simplicity

1.2.11

2011-01-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Vacation is almost over...and I've been lazy. alot of this. alot of nothing.

Can you say addiction?

summer lovin'

2010-10-20T22:57:00.001-07:00

What a summer.
School ended.
5-6 weeks in California.
Return home for a weekend camping trip with friends.
Football begins for Lucas- 5 nights a week.
My sister gets married.
and school starts.

It hasn't stopped since.
But we've enjoyed almost every minute of it. ;-)

Our summer was awesome! Fun and relaxing. We did lots of fun stuff in California, we spent good time with family and friends, and we camped! Can't get much better than that.

Lucas started his first year of football, he's just old enough for the pee-wee team. it's full gear, tackle football. Hard for mama to watch, but over time, he's decided he really enjoys it.

Kilynn also had her first year of cheer. She enjoyed it. But she generally likes most things she tries (although she did not love softball). She cheers for Lucas' team. So it's fun for all of us to be there. She also started basketball last week.

Lucas headed off to kindergarten without a look back. He went to school like he's been doing it all this time..I guess almost three years of preschool will do that. He's an older kindergarter, his teacher says she can tell. But he's loving it, and is growing up so fast.

I'm going to try to blog more. I hope to elaborate on ours summer, the football season, Kilynn turning into a tweenager. ;-)

To Blog or not blog?

2010-10-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm undecisive.

baby jolene

2010-03-19T08:57:00.001-07:00

My brother and his wife are expecting a baby girl in April.

I'm stoked!!

I've been waiting for them to have a baby, and a girl to boot! woohoo!

update!

2010-03-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

I've decided to try getting back into the swing of blogging.

Not that I have many readers, but I do it for me mostly anyway. ;-)

Things have been busy around here. Nothing specific, just life in general.

I've been taking more and more photos, for people I don't know personally. Here are some from last weekends engagement session. I'm photographing their wedding in June as well.

I'm fairly certain weddings won't be something I do a lot of. It's stressful.

But I liked this bride when I met her, and she wanted fun, creative, artsy style photos. So I knew we'd be a good fit. I enjoyed photographing them, and look foward to their wedding.

If you know me, you'll understand how strange it is for me to be having to meet new people, and photograph them. I'm so shy, and horrible at meeting new people. But I've been doing it. Yes, I'm a bundle of nerves each time, but I'm getting through it. So, yay for me! ;-)

Kids are going great! Both enjoying school, and gearing up to start t-ball and softball in a week or so. Neither has played before. But wanted to try it this year. They are looking foward to it.

Confession from me: baseball bores me to watch. But I'll get through it.

I received Lucas' kindergarten registration last week. Oh!! My baby! off to kindergarten.

It's such a milestone. I mean, I can believe it, because he's technically K age right now. He'll be 6 when he starts. But it's still hard to believe it's truly is that time. Both my kids will be in school.

Wow!

Ryans doing great. His job move two years ago seems to have been a good choice. He enjoys his work, and he's been promoted, and moved up in pay quite quickly in two years. Plus, he's been working 4 tens, which has been nice to have the three day weekend with him as well. Though he'll likely go back to 5 days when baseball starts, so that he can be home in time in the evenings to watch the kids play.

So, there's my update! I'm hoping it'll be more frequent now.

Epiphanie Bag

2010-03-12T23:11:00.000-08:00

I want one of these bags. In fact, I think I NEED one.

I'm also stoked about a contest they are doing
Check it out

http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/

busy, busy!

2009-12-08T00:47:00.001-08:00

Things have been busy around here...whew!

Kids activities, pictures for people, holiday goodies...

This is a super fast post..Sharing some recent photos I've done for families, etc. Lots of fun!

wedding

2009-10-25T22:23:00.001-07:00

So, a couple weeks ago I got asked to photograph a wedding.

I'm not a professional photographer, and don't consider myself one...

In fact, I'd told myself even if I ever tried being one, I'd NEVER do weddings. In case I totally messed up.

But guess what I found myself doing yesterday?

Yes, taking pictures at the wedding of an aquaintance. I even made a little money.

I was soooooooooooooooooooo nervous leading up to this, not so sure I could actually pull it off. But the bride assured me she loved my pictures, and had complete confidance in me. And to consider them my guinea pigs.

So, I did it. I think I did well. I'm in the process of editing. It'll take awhile.

So, I'll keep you posted on if the bride and groom like them. I sent them a sneak peak and they seemed happy with those.

favorite things

2009-10-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my current favorites things...

1. Apple Dumplings found on PioneerWoman. I've made these more often than I should have. You've GOT to try them.

2. Vampire Diaries- loving this show. I read the first book, didn't love it enough to get any others yet. But the show has sucked me in. Watch it!

3. Fall- the colors I'm seeing everywhere! Loving it!

4. Kleenax with Lotion~ I'm so sick right now. I feel horrible! Kids are too, but they sure have more energy than me. I'd much rather not be sick, but since I am. I'm so grateful for tissues with lotion softness.

5. My Mentha Lip Shine from Bath and Body Works. I LOVE it. Especially since I'm sick, and my lips are chapped from mouth breathing for three nights.

But I loved it before that too!

One of my online friends, Jeni, sent it to me probaly two years ago now, and I've loved it ever since. .

**and a favorite for the men Mentha Body Buffer . Ryan loves this stuff. It works great on his rough hands.

preschool decisions

2009-09-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

Ugh!
So, back in August I applied for Lucas to attend ECEAP. The low-income preschool at the public school. A couple friends had gone there and liked it.
But we were over income and below income gets in first.

Soooo...We went ahead and started him at his old preschool. The same one he'd gone to the since he was 2.5. We love the school. It was tehe $150 a month that we are having a hard time swallowing.
But atleast we love the school ,and know he'll learn what he needs for kindergarten plus some.
But, it's also about 15-20 minutes from our home. More gas to attend there as well.
But we were happy with him being there, and had decided it's only 8 more months and he'll be done. We'd get by.
And just the other day the teacher mentioned that Lucas talked all day long..to other kids...and to the teachers. This was big for Lucas, because he's soo shy around other people.

So, today there's a message from ECEAP. Looks like theres room for him afterall.

Now I'm left decided what to do. ECEAP is free, btw. And he could ride the bus there everyday, I would just pick him up.

I'm soooo torn!

camping

2009-09-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

We went camping last weekend. It was the 1st, and most likely only camping trip this year.

But we had fun!

We went to Lake Chelan, which most of us had never been to before.

My mom came with us and we met up with more family there. My dad and step-mom and two youngest brothers. My little brother and his wife and my sister and her new boyfriend (whom we all met for the first time). It was a good time, and we hope to do it again next year.

I also want to try to squeeze in a couple weekend trip over the next month or so. I want to go take a drive up Mt. Baker highway, we use to go alot when my sister lived in Bellingham, Wa. It's beautiful up there.

I also want to get out to Spokane again, to my sisters. And hopefully hit up an orchard or something while out there.

Pre-K

2009-09-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

" I wish when Jesus made us, he'd gave us the force"~Lucas
(think Star Wars).
I thought this was so cute when he said it to me in the car today...

Lucas started Pre-K this year.

It's the same preschool he's been attending for 2.5 years already. And the same one Kilynn went too. But still, he was not so happy when I dropped him off. He gripped my shirt with all he had. Crazy boy! I guess my kids just like spending time with me sooo much. LOL.

really though, I knew he'd be fine.

And he was happy and content when I picked him up.

He also started soccer Monday, and is doing wonderfully. Lucas is shy, super shy around people he doesn't know. So I was very proud to see him get out there and not hide with me. He's having lots of fun with it, and was excited to go again tonight.

Spike

2009-09-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

Lucas decided that he needed a new pet with his birthday money.

I was leaning towards a veggie/cricket eating lizard, but my children and husband had something else in mind....

Meet Spike...or Spikey as Lucas named him.

I wanted to name him Fluffy. ;0) Or Tupac.

I was picturing Lucas at school, sharing about his pet snake, Tupac...or Fluffly.

But he was having nothing of that.

Spike is a Ball Python. We researched the best reptile suggestions for beginngers/kids.

This was one of them, though he will get bigger. 3-5 feet long, and quite round.

He could live 20-50 years. To think, Lucas' children may be meeting Spike someday.

So, Lucas is super excited. As is Kilynn and daddy.

Lucas

2009-09-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 5 now.

I'm amazed. Has it really been five years since my last baby was born?

It has.

It's funny though, because I think Lucas has always seemed older then he is, maybe because he's always played with older kids. I'm not sure. But he's 5 now, that's a big number. He's a big boy.

He's a crazy crazy boy. He will literally drive you crazy, but then he'll turn around and make you smile. Or give you the best hug ever!

He's funny and sensitive, and obsessive-compulsive. He's my boy!

He had a blast at his party. We ended up with 20 kids, and 14 or so adults. I planned for a *small* party. That was really our closest friends and family. But, alot of of our friends have 2+ kids, some 3 and 4 kids. So the kid count adds up fast. ;0)

A friend commented "you know the kids having a great birthday party when he doesn't even ask to open his presents"..which is soo true. His presents weren't his concern, he was just having a blast with his friends!

He had a Super Mario theme this year. I made his cake to look like a DS game screen. And he also requested a blackberry pie(which are growing wildly here right now). We made salmon (which somehow got over-looked..we ended up with tons left), hamburgers and hotdogs.

He did love his gifts, some highlights were his football, trampoline, new scooter, and wooden train set (which he decided he's into again).

Overall, a great 5th birthday for my lil' man!

here are a some other from the party

beach days...

2009-09-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

they are almost over....we will miss em'.

Ohhhh Mandy.....

2009-08-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Look what Ryan brought home tonight....

more salmon......;0)

Road Trip 2009

2009-08-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

Sooo..

Our road trip started on June 19th..the last day of school. I picked Kilynn up, headed for the ferry, met my sister and we were on our way.

We'd already decided we'd take the *scenic* route down, take our time. We took the boring ol' I-5 through Washington and Oregon. Then cut over close to the California border. We stopped and checked out some sites along the way. The coastline in Crescent City, the redwoods and Avenue of Giants near Eureka....through a small part of Wine Country, and into San Francisco.

From there, we decided after two days, and lots of gas we'd cut back over to the 5 and be on our way to our final destination, in SoCal. We had a very nice road trip though..the kids loved seeing the new places (I think the favorite was the redwoods trees, and golden gate bridge) and of course, they loved the hotel stays...so all were happy!

Here are some more photos of the road trip...

http://taksonyphotos.shutterfly.com/

Cousins

2009-08-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

The kids had so much fun with their cousins in California. We miss them already!

Dinner!

2009-08-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

Yum, fresh salmon.

Ryan went fishing and caught one the other night..

I keep thinking I'll sit down and blog about our trip to California. But, I just haven't had the motivation. It'd be long, we were there 6 weeks. I should've blogged while we were there, but we were just so busy.

Anyway. We had a fantastic time, and we're missing the sun. Since it's mostly rained since we got home, go figure.

still here...

2009-07-19T13:27:00.001-07:00

We're around.

We've been in California since June 20th..we'll be leaving in less than two weeks..

Time has flown by, and we've had a great time!

friends

2009-06-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday we had a few friends over to go swimming, and have ice cream.

We callled it a "big playdate". So I wouldn't feel obligated to get "party-goods".

We did this, because as Kilynns friends told me "you're leaving at the worse time.....". Because it's prime playdate time of year.

I really didn't have time to have 6 different playdates in a weeks time, especially with school still in session. So, we had a big playdate.

It was fun. I'm glad we did it. It was simple too!

busy week.

2009-06-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Super busy...
It's the last week of school..(serisouly, didn't she just start kindergarten? now she's just about a 2nd grader)....
we leave on the last day of school, for our extended stay in California.

and to top it off, I tried to freshen up my highlights last night with a boxed set, because I just didn't think I had time to go see my sister to get it done...
Well, of course, I turned my hair spotty, orange and super blonde on spots. Ugh!
So now I have to make the time to go get my hair fixed, which I should've just done in the first place.
LOL.

Stressed much?

Warm

2009-06-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

We've had record breaking hit around here..high 80s, even 90s someplaces. Yesterday was hotter.

I'm welcoming the beautiful weather. I love summers here, I'm actually going to miss it while we're gone next month....California heat just isn't the same, it's smoggy. and hotter.

Although tomorrow it's going to be 10-15 degrees cooler....and get cooler each day after that....

I like 75-80, it's the perfect weather here.

Will things ever slow down?

2009-06-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well, things sort of have. Kind-of.

I think we got our house stuff figured out for now. Things will be super tight for a few months. But we won't have to move. So we'll just have to figure it out.

We leave for California in 2.5 weeks. I've been baby-sitting a neighbor/friends kids...and she's paying me. So there's my *get-to-california* fund.

My house is thrashed...when I though we might have to move..I loss any motivation I may have had to clean much, which I rarely have as it is.

It's not dirty per say. It's just cluttered and messy right now.

Kilynn has a few field trips next week, and field day this Friday..Lucas is done with school, and his last speech is next week.

I'm trying to plan an end of the year ice cream party..something simple. But Kilynn and her friends are a little bummed about us leaving as prime playdate time...and there just isn't enough time to have that many playdates before we leave, especially with school still in session. So, I want to try to have several of their friends over for playtime, and ice cream...and do it all at once.

So, this was a total ramble of tidbits......

Sanchin Kata

2009-05-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

A month ago at karate, they announced that they'd be holding a tournament.
I asked Kilynn if she'd like to do it (totally expecting her to say No), and she said "yea, of course".
So, we signed her up.

She went to the tournament practice last weekend, and upon seeing what would actually be happening and hearing that she'd need to introduce herself, etc. she left the mat crying.
It was quite overwhelming for her.
She got through it with some tears.
It didn't stop her though, she still wanted to participate today so she practiced all week.
Today was the tournament. We weren't worried about winning any medals, we just really wanted to see her succeed at doing her sanchin kata in front of everyone...and gain some confidence in herself.
and she did!!
She walked up there with confidence, and conquered that fear. I was SOOOO proud of her, I was a little emotional. I know how hard it was for her. And watched her have that confidence made me so proud to be her mom.
She accomplished her sanchin kata as far as she had learned it thus far, and won 1st place.
She's loving her *first ever* trophy (shes already shined it)...and we are super excited for her.
A wonderful confidence boost for my little girl ;0)

Videos of course...

http://vimeo.com/4920446

http://vimeo.com/4920383

and photos

Kilynns 7!

2009-05-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

just a quick post, with a sample of kilynns 7 year photo session we had this evening....

tired....

2009-05-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

I'm tired.

Lucas is sick. We caught it at the beginning stage of pneumonia. It came on suddenly, and I hope it'll get better and not worse now.

I've been meaning to blog about my Kilynn turning 7! I just have had a chance to sit and give it the time I want.....

because I'm in awe of the little person she's become, and can't believe she's serisously 7!

I'm also been working on scanning in TONS of ol' photos for my grandparents anniversary slideshow I'm working on to play at their party next month...it's consuming tons of my time, and I should have started sooner, that's for sure.

I'm also trying to pin-point our plans for our trip down to California for the party, and the kids and I will be staying for 4 weeks or so after...Ryan will fly home after a week.

So...hopefully I'll be back soon to update! I'll attach a photo of my baby girl a day old...

2009-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

movie night for us...

2009-04-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

We just finished watching Marley and Me...oh my! I knew how it ended, and I planned on it being sad. But wow. It was heart wrenching. And the sad part lasted sooo long it felt like.

By the end, Kilynn was bawling. She said " I never, ever want to watch that movie again".

But it is real life. So, it couldn't have the dog come back to life.

Anyway. Pretty good movie, if you get past the sobbing at the end.

Has anyone ever watched PS I love you. That was is a sob-fest too! goodness!
I haven't got teary-eyed during a movie since that one--until now...
and before that was probaly Stepmom, or Armegeddon that did it to me.

happy easter...

2009-04-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

wordle

2009-04-11T23:29:00.001-07:00

I saw this on another blog I read.
It looked cool, so I tried it too. I pasted in my blog url, and these are the words it used.

better together

2009-04-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

We left *purple bear* at Aunties in Spokane after our visit. It made for a rough night that first night.
Kilynn hadn't slept without purple in almost 6 years.
But she survived, and purple arrived 3 days later by priority mail. ;0)

AAAAA!!

2009-03-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

that's me, being annoyed.

I took a friends family photos on Saturday...and got some nice ones, I think.
But my camera, which I assumed was on a good setting, was apparently on a lower setting..and most of the photos can only be printed as large as a 5x7, if not for some of them.
I'm so bummed!

I thought they were looking pixalted when I was viewing them on Adobe Photoshop..
silly me, to assume that since I hadn't changed anything..that it would be on the *best* setting possible.

we're around.

2009-03-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

Random picture I picked out of a folder. hehe.

Ryan and his brother Sean...Ryans on the right.

needing to blog...but haven't had time..or energy.

getting there....

buddies

2009-03-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

lucas and my lil' brother aiden..

Our lil' girl...

2009-03-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a Kilynn update...
Lucas is next!
hey, humor me, I'm a proud mommy!

--Kilynn is almost 7 now, and so udderly full of sass. It's crazy. Somedays I can just picture her at 13, and it scares me. ;0)
She's incredibly sweet as well. She's got lots of friends, and from what I can tell, isn't one of those friends who ditches you somedays....can you believe that's starts already at this age? ugh!
the playground can be a rough place I tell ya.

---She just got her mid-year report card. She did well. They don't do letter grades, it's a 4 (reserved for special cases, where studen consitently exceeds grade level standards/expectation...to a 1 (minimal progress).
She had mostly 3's. With a few 2's in her mathematics. She had a 3 in Algrebraic sense and geometry, but twos in some others like communcating knowledge, and mathematical reasoning...
ere's a condensed version of her teachers comments:
She's doing well..

Her reading is coming along wonderfully....she's becoming much more fluent.

---She recently participated in a 3-4 week Little Dribblers performence...they practiced twice a week, and performed at the half time of a girls highschool varsity basketball game...it was cute and she enjoyed it alot.

Little Dribbler

---She's also participating in the choir twice a week after school, until their Spring concert in March. It was free, and right after school..so we figured "why not?".

---She recently earned her first stripe in karate, which we sent pictures of already...she's still loving it..and so do we..we really enjoy watched her gain some self-confidance that she lacks around her peers, and other adults at times. The sensei is fantastic with the kids. We're very pleased.

---She's just as silly as ever. She plays very well with her brother, we're very lucky they get along as well as they do.
She's still loving the High School Musical movies, and Littlest Pet Shops.
The petshops have been something she hasn't outgrown yet, so it's great. We're definatly getting our moneys worth with those.

---She's taken a liking to iceskating..and was super excited to get some from Santa this year. In fact, her and daddy went last week one evening after school. She had a great time.
Ice Skating Kilynn

---She lost her two front top teeth...and was super super excited about that. You'd have thought Troy Bolton had walked into our living room the way she was screaming excitedly. She's nice and gappy now....hehe.

--- she went to the daddy/daughter ball with her daddy...and had a wonderful time..it's been a tradition the last few years...the 1st year, she ended up busting her bottom lip and needing stitches hours before the dance...she still went, but they were home early, and she didn't have much fun..

the last couple years, she's loved it..and had some friends there with their daddies...

It's very cute to see Ryan dressed up to go out with his daughter...

--- she tells me " I'm cool with that", when I suggest things...it's funny to me.

I'm sure there's more...but for now..I'll end it.

tidbits

2009-03-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

So, the kids are sick. Well, Kilynn seems to be better today, and she's back at school.

She'd had a fever since Saturday. I hate unexplained fevers. But maybe it was her bodies way of dealing with whatever Lucas had.

Lucas has been coughing since last Tuesday. Poor thing. He's been needing the nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. He's feeling better, and it hasn't stopped his activity level, but he's having coughing fits quite a bit. I'm still debating on if he'll go to school today....

So, I forgot to mention the camera I ended up with...

it's the Nikon D60.

It came with the kit lens..and I'm sure someday I'll upgrade to other lenses. But so far, it's working great for me...being a beginner and all.

It actually came with two lenses, it was a pretty good deal. The other lens is a 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G-AFS ED-IF DX LENS, whatever that means. lol. ;0)

and I'm still loving it...with my old camera, though it worked well...I ended up editing alot of my photos..with this one, I can tell, that won't be neccasary as often, unless I want to.

here's a few more.

it's arrived!

2009-02-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

my new camera got here today...so far, loving it!

these are a couple practice shots..in auto mode, of course..

gotta check out the book, and figure out how to use it to it's full potential...

i even love the sound it makes..hehe.

thank you family!!

Kilynns story

2009-02-19T21:53:00.001-08:00

Kilynn writes stories fairly frequently. But one day she came home with this one, and I was surprised she'd chosen to write about it. I can't believe the things she remembers. This is something that obviously remains in her memory.
I took pictures of it, but they aren't super clear. I'll should've scanned them in, but it's more time consuming at this point.

So this is a story about the time Kilynns eyes rolled in her head, and she became unconsiasde (i cannot spell that word right now) and unrepsonsive. It really wasn't all that long, but of course, at the time it felt like forever. Especially because we weren't sure what had happened. My mom had been olding her, carrying her outside, and she had been crying about something...
at the ER we found out she had pneumonia (we'd had her at the dr. that week), and she probaly went to take that deep breath and just didn't have enough oxygen.
Like how some kids cry so hard, and hold their breath that they pass out.

anyway, it was scary for all of us...
(actually, one month later, my panic attacks began..connection? maybe.)

so here's kilynns version....i can giggle about it now. i love the ending.

The first page read "when i was a little kid i pasawt then i wint on a amboolits"

Translation: when i was a little kid, i passed out and went on an ambulance.

2nd page "my antedeene was with me, my grammy was with me to, they wr wreed"

translation: my aunt deanie was with me, my grammy was with me too. they were worried.

(notice, mom and dad are not in the story...what's that about? lol)

3rd page " i got a x-rae. i asow got a sticr"

translation: i got a x-ray. i also got a sticker.

last page "i did not have fun"
not translation needed.

concentration...

2009-02-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Kilynn and I were at the table, working on her homework. I was observing awhile she did a worksheet..and I noticed her sticking her tongue out, over and over again....licking her lips, or just plain ol' sticking it out.

Finally, after awhile, I realized she does this when she's concentrating.

I have another picture of her doing the same thing at her karate testing for her first stripe.

Funny girl!

Alot of my wedding pictures show me face looking wierd, because I developed a nervous habit of chewing on the insided of my lip..I've never done it since either. lol.

slow down...

2009-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

life just does not seem to want slow down for me...even when I say please. ;0)
We're doing good...super busy last week.
will update soon.

back to the routine....

2009-02-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Busy weekend!

Friday, there was no school. But I had 7 kids here at one point..
My neice came over Thursday night to spend the night, and stayed until Saturday afternoon..she talked me into a 2nd night.."auntie, can I please stay the night again?".

My brother ended up over on Thursday night as well....Kilynns friend Emily was here for a while, but she didn't spend the night. Though she came back Friday later morning. I also watched another friends 2 kids that afternoon...

anyway. It was busy.

Saturday, I helped at Emilys (Ki's best friend since preschool) birthday party. I was in charge of hair. It was like a "spa/hair/pamper" party. 10 girlie hairdo's! I was pooped. LOL.

After that, my brother and his wife came over and we played Rock Band, and Call of Duty all night.

Sunday we went to a friend/neighbors for the Superbowl. I'll admit to only watching the last quarter. As I'm not a football watcher. But the part I did watch was fun to watch.
We had a great time, the kids were exhausted.

So, that was our weekend. And my update for now!
Oh, and keep us in your thoughts...Ryans job is handing out layoff notices starting on the 20th!
It'd be horrible for this to happen. We'd probaly have to move...etc....I don't even want to think about it.

tidbits

2009-01-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

tuesdays are my busy-run-around days.
Add in something extra, like a doctors appt, etc and it just gets worse.

It starts by getting Kilynn on the bus at 8:15. If I'm feeling especially lazy and Lucas is still asleep, I'll go back to bed and get comfy for another hour.

Lucas has speech at 11. That's over at 11:30. Then we use to have lunch with Kiley, but they changed her lunch schedule. So now, we stop and get something, or park at the beach and he'll eat a packed lunch. Maybe run some errands.
Either way, I don't bother going back home. He has to be at school at 12:30
Then, I drive back the way I just came from (speech is at Kilynns school), and help in Kilynns class room until it's time to pick Lucas up at 3pm. So, back up the island I go, to pick him up.
After that, I come BACK down the island, and pick Kilynn up from school.
Then, we have a couple options..we can come home for 1 hour, or find something to do until karate at 5. Most Tuesdays, we end up at the library until karate. I just hate driving back out to my house, and wasting gas.
Then, we head back up the island (yes, to the same area Lucas goes to school) and go to karate class for Kilynn.
Tonight, we added a free Reptile Man assembly put on my the PTA. It was after karate, and was lots of fun for the kiddos.
But, needless to say, I'm tired, and glad to be home.

Now, we're watching Spongebob...oh, how the kids had missed him. We're enjoying having cable back. ;0)

So, we watched most of the inauguration this morning, and I was really glad to hear they watched it at school as well. I felt it was important for my kids to see.
I was excited to see it. There's just something about our new president...just watching him walk through the doors gave me chills. It's not just him, it's what his being elected mean to america.
It's inspiring.

They also had a Inauguration of the Orca mascot assembly at Kilynns school. They voted for a new mascot on election day. I thought it was a great way to teach the kids about or voting system.

a funny note...the kids know who are new president is.
But Lucas is only 4. While he and I watched this morning, he said...
"mama, is Barack Obama a real person, or just in this movie were watching?"...
so cute! So we talked about it agai, and I explained it to him...
Logical question...most of what's on tv isn't real.

good times...

2009-01-18T21:58:00.000-08:00

These pictures make me smile...
it's from one of our sledding days...

here they are in the first one, headed down the hill, having a great time....

and here they are again, they crashed...but look, they are still smiling and having a great time. ;0) EVen Lucas, who ended up face first in the snow.. hehe.

greatest day of her life...

2009-01-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

today, kilynn had one of the greatest days of her life, according to her.

why?

I'll tell you...
#1, because she got to take her beloved gel pen set today to share at school today.
2, because one of her bestest friends came over for a playdate after school today (oh, and it was 1/2 day).
and the biggest one for her...we got cable.

yes, after a 2 year hiatus from cable, it was installed again today.
we no longer only have pbs( thought we LOVE pbs kids shows) for the kids to watch...and 4,5,7,11,13 for us to watch.

now, there are far too many options.
She's happily in the playroom watching The Wizards of Waverly Place.
Her options are endless now....
Spongebob, Hannah Montana, ICarly, Wizards of WP, Zoey 101, and it goes one....
;0)

Anyway, it was funny. She's been counting down the days since we ordered it. And told us it was "the greatest day of my life".

Our poor deprived Kilynn...
hehe, yea right!
She's survived the hiatus just fine.

painting day

2009-01-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

i've been painting all day...we re-arranged the house..and the playroom is now in the master bedroom.
i know, most people think we're crazy. but seriously, ryan and i have a bed and dresser...
the kids have tons of toys...who do you think really needs more space?

the rooms in this house aren't very big..but we're making it work.
so, back to my post..
i've been painting in there..
i looks like a playroom 1/2 way now...i even let the kids paint one wall with their doodles and such. i figure, what's it hurt? someday, if necessary, i can paint over it.
they had fun doing it.
so far i have that on one wall..and one lime green polka dotted wall.
it's got no ryhme or reason in there...i'm just going for it, and having fun!

;0)

2009-01-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Did I blog about my birthday?

I can't remember..suppose I could go look.
But I don't wanna. ;0)

So, I turned 30 on the 30th of December.. My friend Mandy pointed out that it was my *golden birthday*. I heard about those once, but had forgotten all about it. Now I'm just a little bummed I didn't celebrate more. ;0)
Leading up to my birthday, I thought I wanted to go out, and party. As it got closer, I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe it was because it's after Christmas and I was in "calm" mode.
So, instead Ryan and I took the kids and a two of their friends to the Seattle Aquarium, and then came home and had cake and ice cream with family and a friend.
Later that week, on Friday, I had a game night here with friends and my brother and his wife. It was lots of fun.
But none of it was the "partying" I thought would take place.
I've decided that my 35th birthday will be that for me. I hope to be healthy, and fit (and thinner, of course).
So, that's my goal.

So, happy 30th to me! I'm hoping my 30's rock!

Since I do it "flashbacks" with my kids, I decided to post a couple child photos of me.
hehe.
infancy-

babyhood-

toddlerhood-

1st grade- classic!

is Kiley going to look back at her first grade picture and wonder what her mom did to her?
I wouldn't think so...;0) but probaly, huh?
today..i'm not going through the teen years today....I know you're dissapointed. ;0)

I was tagged for a photo game

2009-01-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

My sil Jamee from Jonara Blu Maui (she makes beautiful jewerly) tagged me from her blog.

Here is the 6th photo, from the 6th folder in my pictures.

It's an unedited photo of Kilynn from her *6 year photo shoot*.

That's her webkinz, the penguin, with her.

Now I'm suppose to tage 5 people.

Here are the rules

1) Go to your picture folder, or wherever you store your photos on your computer

2) Go to the sixth folder and pick the sixth picture

3) Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes along with the picture

4) Tag five friends to do the same thing, and leave a message on their blog that they have been tagged

~ Tag You're IT!

1. Dawn from Life on a Budget

2. Mandy

3. Andrea from Live.Laugh.Photograph

4. Tina

5. The Simple Life

New Years Eve

2009-01-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any pictures, I'm bummed.
We went to a neighbors/friends house, with some other neighbors/friends.
We've met some great people in the neighborhood, nice and with kids.
So it was a kid/adult thing. My kids were up until almost 2 am. Yikes!
I drank just enough to have fun and feel comfortable, but not enough to make a food of myself. Yay me! ;0) I don't drink very often since being put on b/p meds, so it's fun when I do.

It was new for us, stepping out of our comfort zone. Thought we knew most of these people from our kids and such.
I call them our "adult" friends. Because we're the youngest couple there. ;0)

Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and look foward to 2009!

our holiday

2009-01-05T13:43:00.001-08:00

I finally bought a keyboard for the laptop, so I can type more now.
I was hating the laptop keyboard, especially since it was missing a few buttons, one being often used shift button.
Lets see.
We had a great holiday. It was a fairly white christmas, for the first time.

We loved it.
We played in the snow soo much, and did tons of sledding. It was exhausting.

One day Kilynn hit a jump just right and caught massive air. But she let go of the sled and got scared...she ended with with a pretty bad scrape under her chin.
But it didn't take long before she was back on the sled, though avoiding the jump this time. LOL.

We made cookies and goodies for some neighbors/friends of ours.
We made gingerbread houses, saw Santa Clause, and Kilynn got to go see the Nutcracker again, this time with a friend and Grammy.

Our Christmas was nice. On Christmas Eve, we have my family over to my house. It's simple, I made chili. We just hang out, play games, and play a gift game we all enjoy alot. It can get brutal, but is good fun!

Christmas morning is spent at home, we had a nice mellow morning. The kids checked out their stocking and goodies from santa (including an xbox, honeybee tree game, and ice skates).
Then we had breakfast, my mom made donuts like I remember my grandfather making often.
Then we continued to open the rest of the gifts. Luckily, though the kids were of course spoiled, it wasn't as bad as years past. I really tried to not go overboard with gifts from us as well. I just love giving, but we really just couldn't afford it this year.

Christmas night, we have a traditional dinner at my dads house. It was fun too.

It was a great holiday, we are blessed to spend it with those we love!

Here's a link to all of our photos from December- Christmas, Snow, etc.

http://taksonyphotos.shutterfly.com/

2009

2009-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

off to dinner with one of my bestest friends..she's treating me for my birthday!
update later!

Happy Holidays to all!

2008-12-23T21:56:00.001-08:00

white all around...

2008-12-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

it's still snowing ,and still cold..and still white out..
we've been loving it..and as much as it'd be nice to have a white christmas..
it makes it super hard to go anywhere. our roads are not sanded very well, or plowed so well.

i wouldn't mind a temporary thaw, so i can finish up some shopping!!

brrrr! some more!

2008-12-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

it's been cold, icy or snowy since Saturday.
I know lots of other people are use to this sort of thing, and other towns and states get tons more snow.
But for us, this is a decent winter snow storm. The ice is what's making the roads hard to get out on in our community.

Tuesday was the kids' last day of school, and that was 2 hours delay even.
So, looks like winter break starts early around here.
The kids have been loving all of the snow!
We've gone sledding twice at the park nearby. it's got great hills for sledding.
otherwise, we've stayed closer to home, and played in the yard.
today especially..it was the most snow we've gotten this week, and it was on top of ice layers from earlier this week..and it was still snowing, so we stuck around home.
plus, kilynn had to get put on zithromax. she's had a nagging cough for 3 weeks or so. sounds like broncitis. so it was good for her to only spend a lil' time out today. and most of it relaxing inside the warm house.

we're excited for christmas around here!! it's quickly approaching...super fast.

Snow fun!!

2008-12-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

We got a couple inches of snow today..the kids were super excited. We spent a few hours playing in it, and went sledding! We're exhausted now, lounging and watching The Santa Clause 2.
Nighty night!

speedracer

2008-12-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

here's lucas in his new hotwheel car. a friend/neighbor gave it to us because her boys outgrew it.

chicken fried

2008-12-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

it always cracks me up to listen to the songs that kilynn picks up from the radio, and decides she really likes..and sings all the time.

she really likes this song.
Zac Brown Band "Chicken Fried"

which is funny, because i've had this band on my myspace for quite some time..i hadn't realized they were played on the radio..

ignore the crappy quality of the video..it was taken with my cell.

Flash-forward glimpse

2008-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say this is Kilynn in 10 years. But if I'm being honest with myself, this could very well be her in 6 years.
Atleast I can hope I've got that many before hair colors and make-up arrive...on an everyday basis.

ramblings

2008-12-01T22:40:00.001-08:00

Things have been busy for us.
Not really in a - constantly going somewhere/doing something way- just busy.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. It was here at our house. My dad and his family came over, as well as my sister, my brother and his wife, and my other brother.
It was nice and simple. Everyone contributed a dish or two, and it worked out well.
I set my alarm to check out some black friday sales the next morning, but never did make it out of bed.
I did a little bit of online shopping, and still was able to get a few of the deals. I wasn't going for any major purchases. Little things, like pajamas, and movies.
We decorated the Christmas tree that night. The kids really enjoyed it.

Saturday we did a whole lot of nothing. I put some Christmas stuff up. Ryan looked for our outdoor lights. Of course, we can't find all of them.
Sunday, he put up what lights we did have. I made another no-sew blanket, and an advent calender for our house.

Everyone was back to business today. Kilynn had all of last week off due to conferances and thanksgiving. I enjoyed having her home, and sometimes serisouly consider homeschooling. But she enjoys school so much, and is doing well, I don't feel the need too. Yet.

I did make it to see Twilight finally.
Tuesday evening, a friend and I took the kiddos over to see Santa Clause at the mall. Then met up with Ryan. Ryan walked back across the ferry with the kids, so that my friend and I could go to the movie.
I loved it!
But I love cheesy love stories. And I LOVED the books. Seriously, so much that it's almost embarrasing. ;0)
Anyway, I''ll be anxiously awaiting the next one.
It stayed true to the book too, so that was good. Though I thought I'd remembered Alice being around more in the book.

After reading the Other Boleyn Girl, the movie was horrible to me..they had left out SOO much.
It annoyed Ryan to watch it with me, because I kept commenting on that fact.

Our new puppy, Nana, is driving me crazy. Serisouly. I've never seen a puppy pee so damn much.
I'm not sure what to do about that.
She's getting big already too. Wow. I can't believe how much she''s grown in just 3 weeks.
Did I ever post a photo here? I'll have to.

another pic of lucas

2008-11-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

we got out our christmas stuff this past weekend..it's not all up, i'll probaly be slowly working on it all week. and we'll decorate the tree this coming weekend.
i love christmas..i love the lights. the prettiness of it all.
kids are excited too. lucas especially has been thrilled with each new decoration i've put up. i love seeing it all through his eyes.

kilynns conferance was today. she's doing well. at grade level for everything. she just gets distracted sometimes. i'm not surprised. she's a dreamer and observer.
overall, i'm pleased with how she's doing.

elf yourself

2008-11-21T22:12:00.001-08:00

i remember doing this last year..but they have a few more options this year.
here's my family.
i've done a few, at the kids request, but we'll just share this one for now.

Elfs

twilight

2008-11-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

I want to go see this. But I don't want to go when everyone is going. Especially young teenage girls. ;-)
I'm not expecting much, maybe even a little cheesiness. But who doesn't love cheesy?
I know the books are always better, and since I've read them (and loved them), I may not love the movie.
But I've still got to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1GbukZnl1Y

4 years old

2008-11-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

I finally took Lucas out today to get some pictures of him..to mark is 4th birthday.

I'm only two months late. But I got it done. ;0)

I think I got several cute ones.

update. sort of.

2008-11-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

i'm sitting here trying to find a decent family photo for our christmas cards...i wanted to avoid the jcpenneys crazy-busy studio this year.

i cannot believe christmas is so quickly approaching. we're trying to simplify this year. due to financial issues, and the fact that my kids have far too much as it is.

i love giving, so it's hard for me not to go overboard for all of my family. but it's just not possible this year. and i need to accept that.

christmas has always been such a magical time for me, and i want that feeling back...or atleast a little piece of it. i want my kids to appreciate what they have, and be grateful for the family we have to spend it with.

so that's our holiday goal. wish us luck.

i've been busy lately. i spent a few days overtown yesterday. two of them visiting my sister and her new bundle of baby. ;0)

and i'm constantly running kids here and there. the life of a mom. ;0) i love it.

also been busy with the new puppy....she's like a furry baby. lol.

i don't like posting without a photo, so here's one of lucas and my niece the other day.

sleepyheads...

2008-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

babies, babies everywhere...

2008-11-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

although we haven't met him yet, and not sure when we will..i wanted to share Hanalei with you.

nephews everywhere...

ryans brother and his wife had their baby boy in hawaii a couple weeks ago. he looks super cute, and we wish were were closer. ;0) congrats to jason, charme and kila as well!

I borrowed the photo from my sil's blog..her sister took the pictures.

photo by Aihara Visuals (hope you don't mind)..

If you're ever in Maui, call Aihara Visuals and get your photos taken!! she does wonderful work!

Brayden arrived....

2008-11-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

my sister had her baby yesterday. we went to see my newest little newhpew. he's adorable, all 9bs 1 oz of him.

congrats tricia and wedo!!

Ice Skating.....

2008-11-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

The kids and I met Ryan over town after he got off of work today. It was a spontaneous family outing.
Kilynn has wanted to go ice skating for almost 2 years probaly, but we never went for one reason or another.
So, today, I called Ryan and suggested we meet him over town and go.
It was a surprise for the kids until we got there.
Kilynn loved it, and decided it was the best surprise ever.
I don't have as many pictures of Lucas because he was with me alot, and well, I'm not well coordinated enough to take photos and ice skate at the same time..while helping him skate too. ;0)
Next time.

Great family day!

HSM The Ice Tour

2008-11-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

We went to the ice show last night. Kilynn had a great time. Fun was had. ;0)

Change

2008-11-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween.

2008-10-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

We have a busy day/evening ahead of us....

K's 1st grade school picture

2008-10-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

Pretty good..I was worried she'd totally have her fake cheesy smile. hehe.

aren't we cute? ;0)

2008-10-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

soooo tired...

2008-10-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had a Halloween party for 20 kids today. It was lots of fun, and exhausting.
lol.

Right after that, we had my dad and his family..and my brother and his wife over for crockpot pot-luck, and pumpking carving. We finished up around 8. We didn't carve as impressive pumpkins as we have in the past. But it was fun.

All around, a fun day. I'm super tired now. We're going to try to have my sister take our pictures tomorrow, for our Christmas cards. I'm trying to avoid going to a studio. We shall see.

Off to bed.

i am

2008-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

52%

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

2008-10-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

More pictures of my sister and her kids...and her ever-expanding belly.

I was able to help in Kilynns class today, after dropping Lucas off at preschool. It was the first time I've been able to this year. and it was fun. i'll probaly do it most tuesday. afternoons..which takes away from the gym time i thought i'd have. but i'll figure it out.

i took lucas to an asthma/allergy specialist last week. i wanted a specialist opinion..they did the small poke/scratch on the inner arms for allergies. nothing showed up. so that's a good start.

he suggested i start him on advair instead of the flovent. hoping it'll work better. but it's got a black box warning, and i keep talking myself out of giving it to him.

ramblings

2008-10-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

I actually had some "me" time today, while Lucas was at school.

I went to the gym, finally. After 1 month of not going, and a coupe months of barely going. though, i'd like to work up 3-4. we'll see. of course, i was hungry after that. had 1/2 a sandwich, and some leftover carrots from kilynns lunch. lucas and i had lunch with kiley again today after speech.

so, nothing is being capitalized..my shift key is program and it's a pain. i don't feel like worrying about it right now. you can handle it, right?

we're having a kids halloween party. i decided to keep it simple, and not-so-scary.

i like to try going overboard..and i just don't have the time or money for that right now..so simple, and classic should work. i've got atleast 3 others moms willing to help out..so should be good.

we're also invited to a halloween party on halloween night..one of those that insist you wear a costume....who knows if we'll go..we're not real big on dressing up. but i was thinking of getting something to wear to our kids party anyway, for fun. it's hard finding an affordable plus size costume..any ideas?

monday

2008-10-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

We started our day today, by waking up late. Kind of intentionally, kind of not.

But, Kiley still made it to school only 30 minutes late.

I cleaned the house a little, cleaned out my car. That thing is sooo stinky. I want a new car. I started dinner, so it won't take so long when we get home from soccer tonight.

Soccer nights are hard because we don't get home until 6:30..and sometimes there's homework and baths and dinner that need to happen before 8:30.

Lucas is hanging out with a friend right now. I watch her a couple afternoons a week, while her mom coaches the highschool volleyball team. They live around the corner from us, in the neighborhood. We actually met them at preschool, when Kiley was in it with the girls older brother a few years ago. Nice family. And Lucas enjoys having some friend time of his own.

He started preschool last week. The first day, he talked me into staying for almost and hour and a half. The next day he went, he whined about going for three hours before it even started..but was fine once we got there.

He's a nut. But it's nice for him to be back in school. And I'm hoping it'll get me to the gym again. I honestly haven't gone all summer, it just wasn't on the top of my list. But it needs to be.

So I figure if anything, I can make it when he's at school. I dont' usually go back home anyway, it waste gas, and he's only there 2.5 hours. It take me atleast 20 minutes to get there, and then 20 to get back. So I don't bother. So anyway, back to the gym...2 days a week are better then none at this point.

Okay, off to get Kileys soccer stuff together.

win a free handbag

2008-10-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.handbagplanet.com/ is giving away a free handbag..Just click on the link, and pick the one you'd chose.

"Handbag Planet is almost here. To celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, we are giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. Our high fashion, trendy handbags are inspired by popular designer brands and priced between $30 and $80.After signing-up in one easy step below, you can select the handbag you would like to win. There's absolutely no catch - this means no shipping/handling fees or credit card required. Yes, it's really that simple! "

Although I really liked the one my sil Jamee chose...I didn't want to be a copycat.

So, I picked this one.

look ma, no hands.

2008-10-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

yep, those are my kids

2008-10-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

aren't they adorable? hehe. Another photo from the pumpkin patch..I have lots, obviously. I keep posting new ones.

The kids and I were going to go to the movies tonight, but we decided to wait until tomorrow afternoon. We're going to see Journey to the Center of the earth at the local/old (built in 1937) theatre in Langley.

So, tonight, we're having a slumber party in the living room. The kids love when we do this. We rented a couple movies, we're watching Ariels Beginning first...

Kiley didn't have school today and it was sunny, so we went out for some halloween costume photos. I'll probaly try to edit them this weekend.

movie day

2008-10-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

A friend recently suggest a couple movies, so I added them to my netflix list.

Love Comes Softly.

What a cry-fest. definatly girlie movies (something you'd watch on Lifetime). It's actually a series, I watched the 2nd one today, Loves Enduring Promise.

I'm really liking them. Sappy, mushy, perfect for a cozy morning at home. ;0)

now, I'm watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall while I fold laundry, and Lucas naps.

definatly not sappy and mushy.

random tidbits

2008-10-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

another pumpkin patch photo, just for fun.

Kids are in bed, so is dh.

I'm just hanging out, watching Hereos. I love this show, but do find it hard to follow at times.

They are always going back and forth in the future.

My gums are hurting on the right side. Not good. I was suppose to have my wisdom teeth removed a few years ago. And I just can't afford it. We have new insurance now, maybe I'll have to go back and see how much it'll be with that. Plus, I'm scared. I'm afraid to be put even a little bit under.

But I'll need to do it soon.

I need dental work all the time, it's annoying. But how it's always been.

First off, Lucas' cavities. Did I ever mention he had two? I was sort of shocked. But sort of not, he eats too much candy. I know that.

A friend and I (and Lucas) went thrift store shopping today. I got a couple fun finds.

A purple Gap vest, reversable for $2.00. I was just looking at them online they are running $30-50 brand new. Let's see what else. A pair of Old Navy jeans, a couple roxy shirts, and a comfy hoodie for Kilynn, all under $10 total.

Lucas has even more clothes than Kilynn..and I can get him new stuff fairly cheap, so it's not as often that I find stuff for him. He did get a new shark puppet though.

it's fall...

2008-10-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

I'm fairly certain we're recovered. Though, my tummy doesn't seem to be liking something I ate today, or last night. Kids are healthy, back to normal. Yay.

We went grocery shopping Saturday, and decided to stop by the pumpkin patch while we were there. We had a nice family day.
Today, Ryan went surfing with friends. Only the 2nd time he's tried, the 1st was when we went camping in August.
He's not home yet, so I'm not sure how it went.
I imagine he'll be super tired tomorrow though, it's already 9pm. He gets up at 4:30 to go to work.
The kids and I stayed home. I cleaned out some cupboards, and other kitchen things. It desperatly needed to be done. I'm exhuasted now.
A friend came over to help for a bit, and her daughter played with the kiddos.
I made zucchini cakes that I saw on poineerwomen.com. They were actually yummy. and I was out of ranch, so I went ahead and made her homemade ranch as well.
I made shrimp with it, at the kids' request, of course. I have another recipe from the website that I'm making this week..Pasta Carbonara. Sounds so horribly bad for me, but yummy all the same. My brother said it's typically really rich, so we'll see.

Now, I'm watching a movie. waiting for ryan to get home. and getting super sleepy.

better, maybe.

2008-10-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Kilynn went back to school yesterday, but then I got a call around 3 that she was in the nurses office with a tummy ache. So my step-mom picked her up for me and brought her home.
I couldn't move.
I got sick arouond 3am Thursday morning. It was violent, let me tell ya.
My whole body hurt yesterday, and I barely ate.
This morning, my body still hurts. but my stomach feels slightly better. I think if I eat carefully today, it should be okay. *knock on wood*.

Lucas was pretty good yesterday, though tired. He took a three hour nap with me.
But last night he cried and cried again about his tummy. And had another bout of diahrrea.
I'm worried. But I'm hoping it's more of him not really knowing how to handle it all, this is the first he's been sick like this as an older kid.
We'll see how today goes.

So that's our health update....

I really need to grocery shop, and clean the house.
I think I'll make a shopping list/dinner menu today.

Kilynn was invited to a friends, and then to the highschool football game with them. But I'm thinking she should stay home...and rest up a bit more before heading out till late at night.

sick kiddos

2008-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a long month.
I think Kilynn has missed more school in the last 4 weeks, than she ever did last year.
Let's see...a rash, a uti, a random neck pain...and now a stomach bug.

So,I think all the talk about vomiting on Mandys blog, was contagious. ;0)

Lucas was complaining about his stomach all day Monday...a couple times he curled over..and didn't want to walk, eat, or so anything. SOO unlike Lucas.
but he hadn't puked or had the runs.
So, the worrier that I am..took him into the ER around 9:30 that night.
He puked on the way up.
So, they do the usual blood work, urine sample, and put an IV in just in case. The IV experience was a little unneccassary. But it's typically fairly routine.
They also do a ultrasound. Because he is moaning and groaning about it hurting..and it's sensitive to the touch.
While they are doing the u/s, I get a call from Ryan that Kilynn is vomiting as well.
So, I'm fairly certain now that it's a bug. But we wait for the results.
The u/s couldn't see the appendix, but didn't show any secondary things indicating that. And after hearing about Kilynn. We decided the radiation from the catscan isn't necessary.
So, we head home at about 3 a.m.

Both kids continue to vomit off and on all night, as well as yesterday.
But Lucas was getting a slight appetite back...Kilynn wasn't.
This morning I had to wake them up for Lucas follow-up Dr appt from the ER visit.
Both kids were super tired, and Lucas was complaining about pain again...but also sleep, so possibly being a tad dramatic.
So....we're home..both kids fell back to sleep really fast..and this is soo unlike my kids.
So, we're hoping a day of rest today, and so far no puking....and things will be back to normal tomorrow. We shall see..
My tummy isn't feeling great..but I'm trying to ignore it.

Up late

2008-09-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

again.
I keep doing this to myself.
It's not wonder I want to pass out in the afternoons. I'm not getting nearly enough sleep, and I know that. But here I sit, not going to bed. I am atleast getting tired though.
But, also getting hungry. I really want some of the soup I made for dinner. But that would be a horrible choice. So I'll pass. It's midnight after all.

I'm working on some pictures. I really haven't had time for my own photos lately either. I soooo badly need to update our personal family albums..especially Lucas'.

Kilynn headed off to Sunday school with a friend tommorrow. We'll have to see how that goes. She's excited though.

Oh, she had her very first spelling test Friday. 100%. She was proud. ;0)

lil' brother...

2008-09-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

this is my lil' brother. He turned 23 today.
He refuses to take a decent picture..so here it is..;0)

He's another pain in my ass.

"can I show you how I groove"

2008-09-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

We don't have cable, so the only channel the kids get to watch is PBS.
It's fine, because PBS shows tend to be truly child-friendly, and my kids love em'.

Curious George, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Super Why and now Sid the Science Kid.
Lucas likes Super Why, and seems to really like Sid as well.
The opening song is really catchy as well. ;0)
Thumbs up from us.

Oct 24th. Who's excited?

2008-09-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Kilynn is!!

Okay, I'll be going with her too. ;0)

I sing the songs with her. hehe.

I wasn't lying

2008-09-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

He really is a crazy boy!!

Always crackin' us up!

Birthday boy...a lil' late.

2008-09-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

I don't think I ever posted any birthday photos of my baby boy!

Here he is!

with his cake from his *family* party, excited he got a Nintendo DS, and one of him and his new MP3 player (like sister has).

monsters in my house...

2008-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the season premier of Hereos right now.

I've missed it, so glad it's back on.

but I wanted to post this photo of lucas and his lil' buddy...silly boys.

a friends baby

2008-09-18T21:16:00.001-07:00

I took a friends family photos the other day. Here's one I really liked of her 1 year old.
It was not an easy family picture to take. She has a just barely 1, and just barely 2 year old.
It was definatly work trying to get everyone looking and almost smiling in each one. ;0)

I did run a vintage action on this. I loved the way it came out.

more doctors, and a dentist.....

2008-09-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

Lucas had a dentist check-up today. He was due for a cleaning months ago, but our insurance changed and we had to postpone. I started noticing a spot on one of his back teeth, so decided it was time to take him in.
He as two cavities. Yes, two!
I'm sad. We'd made it 6 years without any, and now Lucas has two. So far, Kilynn still doesn't have any.
So, he'll need to have those taken care of, I'm not sure how he'll do with it. We shall see.

I also took Kilynn in to the ped today.
We've had lots of struggles with her having pee accidents. Not to mention her years of constipation issues, which don't help the peeing issues.
We were starting to get concerned. Not knowing if it was truly just her waiting to long and training her bladder wrong, or is it was medical.
So, after two accidents at school yesterday and me needing to go pick her up. I decided to take her back in.
She does have a UTI, the first she's had. I'm surprised she hasn't had more, with as often as she hold it too long.
So she's on an antibiotic for that.
And she'll be starting a new medicine, that'll help relax her bladder. So that hopefully she'll be letting it all out when she does go, and retrain her bladder.
The medicine is Ditropan. It's used to treat overactive bladders.
I'm super nervous about starting her on a medicine, but I do think this is gotten beyond something "she'll grow out of" on her own.
I read a little about it online, if I read too much I'll talk myself out of giving it a try.

Right now, she doesn't feel it until it's typically too late. We try reminding her, we've tried being nice about it, tried taking things away because of it, on, and on.
So. We'll try this.
So that's me Kiley and Lucas update.

Ryans feeling lots better, hardly in any pain anymore. But that also means, he's forgetting the no lifting over 30 lb rule. His scar is almost all healed up for the most part. It still has some butterfly-bandages on it for now. He's been back and work all week, and feeling alright with that.

I'm doing good. I've had a lingering cough since I had a cold about 4 weeks ago. I was starting to worry it may be walking pneumonia or something. Wouldn't that figure?

long update

2008-09-14T21:40:00.001-07:00

Let's see. Where should I start?

Lucas had his birthday party with his friends the last week of August. He had lots of fun. There were about 10 kids total. A few of his friends, also have sisters who are Kileys friends. So that's nice for them both.
I cannot believe he's 4. We were watching home movies of them last night. They've grown so much. Watching the movies had me longing for another child, more on that later.
Lucas' actual birthday was on labor day. So we had family over for a bbq. He had a great time, and was super happy to get the Nintendo DS he's wanted since Kiley got one for her birthday.

My grandparents were here for a couple week, around Lucas' birthday and before Kilynn started school. So that was great. We'd been missing them.

We did have to call the ambulance for my grandfather one night, he was having trouble breathing. He spent a night in the hospital. Then, he had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they gave him for the pneumonia. So we went back up the day after Lukes birthday. We were up there all day, to treat the allergic reaction and get a new antibiotic.
They left that next Friday. We miss em' already.

Kilynn started school on the 4th. She's loving 1st grade, and her teacher. So far, so good. I was worried. I'm silly. ;0)
She's a little more tired, but is definatly adjusting to going to bed earlier than she was in the summer. She's making new friends, and seeing her old friends. So all is good.
I do miss her though. Now that she's in 1st grade, she's going full time.

So, that Saturday morning after my grandparents left )and I'd already spent 2.5 days in the hospital with my grandpa) Ryan woke me up at 4:30 in the morning to let me know he'd be in the bathroom and that his stomach hurt really bad. He doesn't wake me up for things like that. So I got up right away, and suggested we go into the ER. (I was thinking appendix, or ulcer). He said it didn't feel like any flu he'd ever had.
So after pain medication, and some testing it was determined that he did need his appendix removed. Luckily, it wasn't ruptured and didn't rupture while we waited hours for the surgery. He had the surgery that afternoon, and came home early Sunday afternoon.
He's been recuperating all week. He's feeling better, though still uncomfortable. He'll be going back to work tomorrow.
I'm glad he's feeling better, and it's over with. I was worried. Any kind of surgery worries me.
So, that's that story.

Lucas hasn't started back at preschool yet. I was attempting to get him into ECEAP at the primary school, but it's income based. So, I don't think he'll be getting in. So if that's the case, he'll start at his old school (which Kiley went too as well, and I've always loved), in October.
He's not in any hurry to go back, but it'll be good for him. I do notice he's getting a little lonely with Kiley back at school. And alot of his buddies are at school now too.

Sooo...I think that's it for my update right now. I'm sleepy. I'll post photos to go along with this email later.

It's me.

2008-09-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

I AM …I'm shy- but not all that quiet. I'm opinionated. I'm sometimes bitchy. I'm caring and generous.
I WANT… to travel.
I HAVE … an amazing family.
I KEEP … on swimming..keep on swimming.
I WISH I COULD …. pay off our debt.
I HATE … selfish people.
I FEAR …something happening to my children. Or me, and not being here for my kids.
I HEAR … a movie on tv that the kiddos are watching.
I DON’T THINK … we'll have anymore babies.
I REGRET … not travelling more.
I LOVE … my husband. my kids.
I AM NOT … going to give up.
I DANCE … with my children.
I SING … in the car, and at home.
I NEVER … dance in public. Maybe less than a handful of times, after many drinks.
I RARELY … wear a dress/skirt.
I CRY WHEN I WATCH … The Notebook and Step-mom.
I AM NOT ALWAYS … easy to get to know.
I HATE THAT …we're so in debt.
I’M CONFUSED ABOUT … not having anymore kids.
I NEED … lose weight
I SHOULD … go to bed.

Hobucks Camping 08

2008-09-12T17:34:00.001-07:00

I finally got our camping pictures all uploaded and ready to share...

Check em' out here on our Shutterfly sharing website. I decided to try that out for now.
I've been slacking on uploading photos..I'm usually sooooo quick with it. ;0)

Any..take a peek if you want.

http://taksonyphotos.shutterfly.com/

quick post

2008-09-10T22:42:00.001-07:00

it's been busy around....
and a long couple of weeks....

I'll update later.