Eye candy... Of the older generation...

I love Captain Picard! 

Here are some photos of the Lovely Patrick Stewart!!!

These made me giggle!

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did... I hope to be back tonight to update everyone of what has been going on with me and the little guys!

Until then....

~TTFN!!

In Recent News...

I know I have not been on here to post much lately and I apologize!

Pre-read warning..... CAUTION BREASTFEEDING PHOTO BELOW! (just for those who don't want to see breast)

This is a long one... Hope you have the time! LOTS of photos too though!

In recent days we have made a few LARGE changes our lives. And they are revolved around our most recent big purchase!

Here is that purchase.......

It is a 1999 Ford Taurus SE! And so far it has been a complete save! 

1. A huge save on gas! 

We were paying double the gas to drive into town (roughly a 45 minute drive one way) twice a day to get my husband to and from work and allow me to have the other car at home just in case something else happened at home. Now, only one trip for him to go to and from work. And then when I need to go into town for groceries or what have you. Also, it costs less to fill this little car up compared to our van.

2. We both get more sleep! 

We were both only getting around 3-5 hours a "night"(he sleeps during the day and works at night) and then leaving early to take him to work (he was getting there 2 hours or so early every day!) so that I could get back home at a decent time and get the kiddos fed and into bed! And then I could fall asleep once all the kids were asleep and be up around 4:30-5 o'clock in the morning to go pick him up and bring him home and then go about my day with the kids (often after a nap). 

So I have had a little more time to spend with the kiddos!

He decided that Grandma and Mommy's cucumber looked yummy!

He ended up eating most of what we had on our plates!

That is not a "yuck" face you see there!

That is his "oh look a camera is out" silly face! 

The above photo is of one of our new favorite meals before it was baked! Spinach Chicken loaf! and below is the baked product! It is oh so yummy! I have not been able to decide if I like it cold or hot better yet! However, On a zero carb flax bun cold with a little bit of mayonnaise on it, it is to die for! And super filling! 

Next.......

The flax bun I spoke of earlier! This was my lunch one day though. I had a bun with 2 fried eggs, a few cheese slices and some mayo and mustard! It curbed one of my cravings I have had for awhile to make and enjoy a fried egg sandwich! YUM!

Next is the forewarned Breast photo!

Nursing and Giggling! We stopped in a parking lot in town to have a good nursing when we bought the Taurus last week. After we bought the car we went to the insurance company followed by the DMV and then gas all for the Taurus. So little dude was ready to eat! And he could not stop laughing at Daddy! So I took that opportunity to snap a few photos! And this is one of the cutest with his big grin on his face!

That would be my oh so handsome Nephew Gabriel! Hard to believe it but, he turned 6 months old on Friday! Half a year old! (Picture was taken on Friday and posted by my sister and I stole it from here Facebook!) I know I haven't seen him much in his short 6 months as I should! This would partly be because they live 400+ miles away. But I love seeing the photos of him and hope that with time I will be able to visit him (and my Sister) more often. Specially with having two vehicles, travelling just got cheaper! We wouldn't have to get my hubby a hotel room in town so he could ride the bus or his bike to and from work (he has a car now!) And we wouldn't have to board the dog! Because my husband would be home with him! The only expenses would be the gas to get there and back and our hotel there! Sounds like we may need to work out how to get there some time this summer once school is out!

Speaking of school!

Both boys completed their Science class early and were able to advance in to the next grade level! Since they are Grades 1 & 3 the school put them into Grade 2 Science (as well as History and Art) together. We have already sent back the Science 2 supplies that they asked us to and received the Science 3 supplies! So we are set for the summer and next school year! (Yes, I am going to be "that mom" and make them continue some school work during the summer, not every day, but every week!)

My 1st Grader has also advanced to his 2nd grade courses in Language Arts! He advanced at 95% and has completed all of the "set" of classes! We are still waiting on his school supplies to arrive for that class and hopefully we can get started on those classes next week! Since now all he has left to work on is History and Art with his brother and Math by himself for this school year!

I am so proud of both of my school going guys right now! They have worked their booties off! Hopefully their little brother will work just as hard next year! He has been accepted and starts home school on September 4th, 2013!

He is so excited that he keeps asking when his school stuff will get here and when he can start school! I had to break it to him that it wouldn't be here until the end of Summer. I thought he was going to cry. Poor little guy. Wish I could sped up time for him sometimes! LOL

This is my oldest on his first ever day of school!

First day of Kindergarten!

He was so little! He was also scared!

But he did AMAZING!

My little genius!

This photo would be his 2 little brothers hanging out in the stroller while we waited for the bus to show up! They were little troopers and would sit there every morning and when we would get home they would eat breakfast and then play, play, play... It was a simple time! LOL

I wish I had more photos of my older kiddos to share. I need to connect my camera to my computer and get them off there. I have started taking more and more photos on my camera since the in Wal-mart PictureMe Portrait Studio closed down. I am going to have to either take photos on my own or pay a lot more to get them done. My other option is also to have my friend who lost her job when the portrait studio closed take the photos. I would love to give her the money rather than someone I don't know or to a big corporation. When I have to photos on my computer I will be able to post them! The studio closing also got me thinking about how I am going to do Christmas photos for family this year as well and I think I have come up with a pretty neat and fairly cheap idea! Another reason I have been taking photos like they are going out of style!

That is about all I have for now... Take care everyone!

~TTFN!

Photo Monday Slacker Catch Up!

Sorry everyone...

I know I have missed a few weeks of Photo Monday... So here are a few photos for your pupils to enjoy!

All "Artsy/Craftsy" stuff and then a funny.....

I did not come up with any of these neat crafts on my own... They are not my own creations... Just sharing them for fun summer ideas!

Home made paint!

1 cup flour

1 cup salt

1 cup water

whatever color of food coloring you want....

BAM! Paint!

This one, I actually do not have instructions for (bad me!) But I think I want to try it.... It is pretty and looks SUPER fun! I think I can do it! We might see!!!! He he....

Stacked flower pots??!! Awesome!

This one, pretty self explanatory.... But....

1 LARGE pot

6 smaller pots

spray paint (color of choice)

Spray paint all pots the desired color!

Get a rod that is the height you want your finished project to be,

place it in the center of the bottom LARGE pot,

Slide the next pot on, repeat.

Place a bird bath bowl on the top and wah-la!

(Note: the instructions I read, I do not have them now, did not say how the bird bath would stay there. If anyone knows then PLEASE share the information! Thanks!)

FUNNY TIME!!!!!

Who doesn't love Dory?! LOL I love her and this made me giggle... Hope you all enjoyed it as well!

~TTFN!

Some Updates, education and lots of photos!

Recently my family has found out some new information that we must all work through. First off, back in February we found out the my 5 year old has a Lazy Eye. He has to wear an eye patch 1-2 times a day for 1-2 hours at a time on the other eye to help his lazy eye improve. He now has glasses as well that he must wear 24/7. He has been pretty good with them so far. The first few days were hard, but we do not have issues now! He still looks like the Jerry McGuire kid! LOL On Thursday (3/21/13) he had a doctors appointment to finish up his immunizations for school, we are waiting now to hear back from the school as to)if he is getting in or not. He had a bad reaction to the immunization the following day (1% of kiddos have this reaction) and now gets to soak in an oatmeal bath and then get his leg wrapped to prevent him from scratching it because he says it is itchy. (see photo below) While at the appointment Thursday I discussed with his doctor the fact that he spits (makes shooting sounds and saliva goes everywhere) all the time and has his hands in his face playing with just his hands or with toys. I discussed this with a different doctor when he was about 18-24 months old and they said that he was fine as long as I could get his attention and make him stop. Well, it has started to be that we can not get his attention and make him stop anymore. At the appointment she counted this as 2 tics (1 for spiting and 2 for the hands). Then as she was talking to him and asked him to do something for her he made a throat grunting sound, I am not sure how to describe it. And that made 3 tics. She asked me if he does a couple other things (I do not remember what now) and the answers to those were yes! Totaling at 5 tics!

The reaction to the shots! 5 cm long!

Here is where the Education part of this blog comes in. My 5 year old son has Tourette Syndrome or rather a form of. I feel so very bad for my small guy. This time last year we were learning how to use his medicines for his severe Asthma and now we will start neurological appointments and treatments. Things just do not seem to be getting any easier for him.

Tourette Syndrome (further referred to as TS) is:

Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Tourette Syndrome Fact Sheet

"Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. The disorder is named for Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette, the pioneering French neurologist who in 1885 first described the condition in an 86-year-old French noblewoman.

The early symptoms of TS are typically noticed first in childhood, with the average onset between the ages of 3 and 9 years. TS occurs in people from all ethnic groups; males are affected about three to four times more often than females. It is estimated that 200,000 Americans have the most severe form of TS, and as many as one in 100 exhibit milder and less complex symptoms such as chronic motor or vocal tics. Although TS can be a chronic condition with symptoms lasting a lifetime, most people with the condition experience their worst tic symptoms in their early teens, with improvement occurring in the late teens and continuing into adulthood."

You can use the link above to read more about TS on your time. This little guy has a tough road ahead of him. But at least we now know why he is the way he is. He does some of these things because he can not help it. He is often unaware he is doing them. And now to help his brothers understand him too will be easier. 

Now that this has all been lifted off my chest....

I took my oldest to get a hair cut last week before leaving to his Aunt and Uncles house with Grandma to help is Aunt out with some things that are going on with her. And to have a mini vacation with Grandma! While there, I decided I needed to come back with the baby and get his hair cut too! He had a pretty interesting mullet going on! Now he looks like a little boy again!

BEFORE

AFTER

Little dude here enjoys watching Baby Bach one of the Baby Einstein movies. He gets so distracted and will not pay attention to ANYONE!

Here he is enjoying a new movie I picked up for him yesterday on dad's lap!

Enjoying some Cheerios and Veggie puffs after nursing in the store parking lot yesterday!

He noticed the camera and this is his reaction! LOL

Well, That is all I have for now. I am sure that I will be back with loads more of information since now I am waiting for the nurse to call me back because the 5 year old's reaction to the shots just got worse and we found another spot on his leg! I may be going back to town tonight!

~TTFN!

Photo Monday 12

Thought this was pretty.
I would love to go to a place like this one day....

Hobbiton, New Zealand

~TTFN!

Photo Monday 11

Here we are Sunday night and I am a little ahead of the game... So! By just about 45 minutes early... Here is Photo Monday! LOL.....

I do believe I will try this out!

It has been getting warmer and the kiddos will enjoy this one....

My cousin had the great idea to use the ice cube tray that was designed to make the ice cubes that go in water bottles and I think that is brilliant! I may try both ways!

ENJOY!!

~TTFN!

The Little Guy Got Photos Taken

More pictures to share...

My sweet little guy here turned 5 at the end of February!

So, I decided we needed some 5 year old pictures taken! 

And here they are!

With Easter around the corner I thought this picture was appropriate!

Of course, I had to jump in and take a photo with my little guy as well!

He picked the background and was hamming it up for the camera!

This is the photo I have chosen to be his "school" photo! He is so adorable here! One of my favorites!

Of course, his glasses were a challenge as he likes to put his head up to have his photos taken and this is one of the few with little to no glare!

This one I fell in love with too and even ordered a special picture made with this one that should be here in roughly 2 weeks!

He  saw the sunflower a few photo shoots ago and asked then if he could get a photo with it but that was in the fall and I didn't think it would have worked for then. So, being Spring time I let him this time!

And of course, our reason for the photos in the first place!

Sadly, the giant white 5 has gone missing from the portrait studio so we improvised!

I found a giant 5 online and printed it then cut it out on red poster board and then stenciled out his name and we made it work! I love this photo so much I have several copies of it coming as well!

That is all for this post! I am so proud of my handsome little guy and getting used to his glasses!

Here is the topper for today in news with this kiddo as well...

I got online this afternoon and started the enrollment process in the online home school his brothers go to! 

All that is left is to fax in the paperwork that is required and for him to be approved! 

Yippee!!!!!

~TTFN!!!

Photo Monday 5

Back on track... I hope...

Know these guys?
No? These would be the 2 main characters of the Disney/Pixar Movie Up!
This is a super cute movie and my kiddos have all enjoyed it many times!

See above photo?
They are REAL?!?!? LOL
When I found this photo I had hopes of them making a live action flick with these two.
I think I am out of luck!
Also, just thought it was neat! 

Hope you all enjoyed it!

~TTFN!

The Last First 11/26/12

Today marked the last of the firsts for my littlest man! Today, the baby turned 1 year old! And I went through my day remembering every little bit of that day last year. The day I gave birth to my last baby!

I am so happy to have this little guy in my life. He has made me smile each and every day. If I was sad or upset, he got me into a better mood each and every time! His smile lights up my heart! the story of today, a year ago...

Around 10 PM the night before my sweet boy came into my life I was being admitted and told they were going to break my water and we were having a baby because he was a full day over due! I was supposed to have my little guy on Thanksgiving Day 2011. He obviously had other plans! I had NO contractions what so ever on Thanksgiving. And hardly any the next day. But that night I had a few really good ones so I called my doctor and in we went! By 12:30 AM on 11/26/11 My water had been broken and we were ready to go! They gave me some pain medication once the contractions were really hurting and I received a few heat packs to keep my back pain to a bearable point. I, as is normal for me, fell asleep during some point of labor (I think this is my body really getting to that point of knowing it is about time to push so it just shuts down for a bit) and when I woke up I wanted more pain medication but she said she could only give me one more of that kind so if I wanted to wait it out just a bit longer I could. I tried that, it didn't work out too well. I ended up getting more and this caused my contractions to almost stop!

So, they bumped up the pitocin and we were rolling again! They had me at 12 drops per minute at one point and that is pretty high! Everything went great for a bit... As long as you weren't ME! The pain was starting to get worse and all I wanted to do was make it stop! My nurse (who turns out was the mother of my oldest son's bully in school!) suggested I try standing for a little while. I had NEVER tried to stand while in labor before so I figured why not, let's try! This was my last pregnancy after all! So at about 10 AM on November 26th I stood there holding on to my Husband and crushing his arms during each contraction that seemed to come closer and closer together. Almost as if they did not break between them. Finally I caved and asked my nurse to give me the pain medication I am allergic to (it makes me vomit and on top of everything else I did not want that as well!) and she informed me that she would need to check my cervix one more time before she could do that. Sure enough, I was dilated to 10 cm and as she was "finishing" her check and removing her hand, my body decided it was time to push! I involuntarily gave a good push and my nurse let the doctor know to get in there quick that it was time to have a baby! The doctor barely got her gloves on and to the table as push number two came (again without my being able to stop it) and Baby Boy followed right with it and I am thankful that she had a great catch! He was born so fast that I was almost in shock at the time. They put him on my chest and he wasn't even crying. I knew that he needed to do that so I asked him to please cry and sure enough he did! There was my baby, handsome as ever! He weighed 9 pounds 0.4 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches in length!

I had to step away from this little guy just 7.5 hours after he was born and go into surgery. I was having my tubes tied. The hope was just to do the surgery and then bring me back to the room. However, I had a slight panic attack and ended up having to be "put under" so that they could finish the surgery in peace! LOL! I was then taken to recovery for an hour or two. That is the only chunk of time I do not have a great memory of due to the amnesia effects of the medications they had to inject into my system! I do remember wanting to get back to my baby so I could nurse him and hold him and just simply be with him! We were released the next afternoon and sent on our way to go be a family with his 3 older brothers! His youngest older brother was leaving just a few days later to go spend time with his Aunt so we really wanted to get home so that he could spend a little bit of time with his baby brother before he left.

But! Only 6 days after this guy was born we were on our way back to the hospital! The doctor thought I had a spinal headache from having an epidural for the surgery (not for delivery, only IV medications for me! LOL) when they took me into the room I asked for the light to be off because I couldn't handle it. They turned it off and then they took my blood pressure, well, tried to at least! It was so high that the machine couldn't even read it. they had to try 3 more times and on the 4th try they got a reading of 205/98! Yikes! The even scarier part was my BP that high with my pulse being super low! My pulse was in the 40's! So they started to give me more medicines and kept me laying down and calm (or as calm as one can be when they are freaking out on top of all of that!) and the room dark! I was readmitted to the hospital in the labor and delivery section and my new baby and husband were allowed to stay there with me! They pumped me full of different BP medications and magnesium until I was back to a normal BP. They determined that I am a freak! LOL! (That was my doctor's exact words!) I had developed Postpartum Preeclampsia. This is so rare that my doctor had only had one other patient have it happen that far out in 30 years! He said that it didn't normally happen that long after having baby and was caught a lot sooner! I hadn't even thought of calling my doctor until 6 hours after a Vicodin didn't even begin to touch my headache! LOL! In any case, I obviously got better... Here I am typing this little story to you!

COOKIE FACE!

Now, a year later, my little guy is still a dinky guy! But he is full of spunk, character and LOVE! Lots and lots of love! I am also very proud to say that this guy has been breast fed for a full year! With only minimal amounts of formula that he spit up 99.9% of anyways! (Take that, nurse who started giving it to him while I went to the bathroom!) He loves his nursing times and I am not sure he plans on stopping any time soon. He has backed off a bit but he still nurses like crazy! Specially at night! He is for sure a night drinker/eater! LOL! Just like with all my boys I can not wait to see who he is going to grow up to be! I love him so much!

Now that I have just rambled and rambled on about what happened to me a year ago...

Let's come back to today! I have below some of my favorite photos from today. I hope everyone enjoys them! Here they come! Enjoy!

The cake!
Made with love, by Mom!
Red Velvet with blue colored vanilla frosting and chocolate in the middle!

"My cake!"

"You mean I only get this small piece?"

"Well, it does taste alright...."

"I do NOT know what happened to that Smurf! I swear!"

Too good to pick up!

"Nom nom nom!!!"

"What?!?! It was yummy!!!!"

"Hooray for more Giraffe toys!"
The only "good" picture of gift time my phone let me have!
I swear, unless the lighting is just right I do not get good photos!

There it is folks! My baby is officially a whole year old! No more "months" Well, maybe! I usually stop that about 18 months old! LOL! So, maybe another 6 months. But he will always be MY baby! I am not one of those people who says the months all the time.... If I was, I'd have to say I am 323 months old! MAN! I AM old! LOL! I had this conversation with my favorite Starbucks employee today and he reminded me of the part in the movie Grown Ups when Chris Rock asks Kevin James how old his son is and Kevin replies with "48 months!"..... Chris replies "That's 4!" LOL I just so happened to have my 4 year old with me who said to tell them that the baby can walk too, (which yes, sadly, he has taken a bunch of unassisted steps... Grrr .. I want him to slow down on the growing up thing! LOL) so I said, "My 48 month old wants to you know the baby can walk too!" and he replied "THAT'S 4!" LOL! Anyways, that is how today went. Now all my boys are in bed and I am about to do the same! Take care!

~TTFN!

Craft Materials.....

Blog number 40! Can you believe it? Yeah, me either... On to the good stuff! LOL

Well, I was finally able to upload a bunch of the pictures I have been holding back and found that I have a lot of photos of materials I plan to use on upcoming gifts! My Sister showed my Mother how to make what is called a 1600 Quilt and my Mother in turn showed me! So, with some other materials I have (no photos of those) I am making each child in the family a little quilt! I have the first half of my two middle boys' quilts done and now I need to finish the beginning of my oldest so I can get working on the two babies!

Here are the materials I am using for the front of my oldest!

I cut each fat quarter into 8 stripes that were 21" long each. After that step was complete I put two of each of those together (at the thin end) and then they all get connected to where they make this extremely long length of material that is about 2 inches wide. So far, I really like it and I think it is going to be extra enjoyable! My 6 year old and 4 year old are both getting matching blankets and then the 2 babies in the family will be getting 2 different "pattern combos". One is "Letters to Santa with Reindeer" and the other is "penguins in scarves"! I love all the materials so much!

And, this year seems to be the year of the blankets. Either that or I am showing off how well I can work a sewing machine! I seem to be obsessed with making blankets! What can I say though, I like to keep myself and the ones I love warm!

I also ran across all of my PUL material the other day and the patterns to make diaper covers! Since I have a bunch of cloth diapers (I try to put cloth on the baby at night to save on the cost of paper diapers, plus they are super neat! LOL) and they are not water proof at all! So, I would like to make covers so that, for one, I have more bedtime diaper options (I have a total of maybe 3 all in one or pocket diapers that fit my son) and, for two, I can use the materials I got on sale!

Here are my four PUL material patterns that will someday be on Little Mans booty.... LOL....

Owls! (I have been on a hooter kick recently!)

Monkeys (Every little boy should be slightly bananas for mama!)

Dinos! (RAWR!)

Monsters (for my little monster!)

I also have a solid orange and a solid teal (they did not picture well at all!) that I will also be making into diaper covers. These are probably things that will wait until after my trip to see my sister and meet my Nephew at the end of the month! (Side note: He did not show last week due to under developed lungs, so her surgery was canceled  We were all disappointed  But, New appointment on Friday! Yippee! Can not wait to meet this little guy!) Since I have so much on my plate before that anyhow! We shall see. Maybe my Sister has some more diaper sewing tips she'd like to pass on to her little sis! LOL

Now, I have this other material that I am not sure what on earth I want to make, something I know! LOL But what? I just thought it was neat and had to get it! Plus, it was on sale and I do love a sale!

Isn't it super cute?!

I love it!!!

Finally, a FINISHED piece! I know, it has been so long since I did this that no one thought it would ever happen! But here it is.... 

A Mombo Cover! Remember the Monkey head print and the super duper fuzzy material I showed photos of a while back? Here is what finally became of that! I got the energy and ability to focus on my Mother teaching me the whole zipper thing again and got it done! take a look....

Top with super duper fuzzy goodness!
(yes, I see the ripple too, but it is okay!)

Bottom, all monkey all the time!

Side view to show the two materials together better!

Little man with his pillow that he LOVES!
He cuddles more with that thing than me when he nurses now!

So, that is what I have for everyone at the moment! The only other news I currently have is that Little Man turned 10 months in September! Can we believe it, NOPE! Almost too hard to believe that he turns 1 next month! Yikes! And he already has 8 teeth which the dentist said look great and that he is still a few more months from getting molars in! But here he is to say TTFN from us to you.....

~TTFN!