Day 179: Coke Float Day

I didn't know it was Coke float today when I woke up, but I got invited to an event on Facebook, for a Coke Float Day to remember a little girl named, Teagan. Or just to celebrate today. I remember the story of Teagan, and her Family, and the other Family that had a tragedy that same day. On July 29, 2001, in the town of Johannesburg, Mi. sat a small little restaurant called the Old Depot Restaurant. The Ferlaak's, Teagan's Family, and others went there that day for brunch. Little did they know this was the day that would change their whole world. A lady who was set on suicide, drove her car into the restaurant, and killed 2 people, and injured many others. Teagan died the next day due to her injuries. Her whole family was injured, and some were seriously injured. The other Family was the Koronka Family, who lost a Wife, and a Mother, who was just 29 years old. Her family as well had some injuries. It was such a tragedy, and a loss for our community. I remembered Teagan's name, as I have a Keagan. I often thought of the Ferlaak Family, and they even appeared on Oprah. I remember watching that. It was about Forgiveness, and the stories of how people forgave the ones who caused so much pain, and hurt to them. I did a little research on the Ferlaak's today, I was curious to see how they were doing years later, after this tragedy. They no longer live in Michigan, and they have added on to their family. I was happy to see that they happiness in their lives, and make each day count.

So after day of the kids playing with the neighbor boys, and me playing with my new lens....I got it a few months ago with my camera, but have not tried this lens out. It's a 55-300mm, I already have an off brand 75-300mm, but this one is a Nikkor lens, so it's a bit nicer. :) Kwin & I were looking & shooting grasshoppers. Tiny little guys! We ran to the store to get stuff for floats, had baths, since the ice cream was a little melted, so we had to wait a bit for it to harden back up. It still was pretty soft, but the kids didn't care, and it was going in a float. We picked Dr. Pepper for ours, I had a Dr. Pepper Cherry, and YUM!!! We enjoyed our unexpected treat, and we thought of Teagan, and her Family. Kwin had a little bit of float, and he changed his mind & wanted ice cream instead. Keagan missed out, as he is at Brandon's STILL!!!!

                               Enjoy the little things...Coke Float Day!

                                           Grasshopper hunting

Day 178: Oh, Baby!

Today was the baby shower for Kari. It was a nice little break away from the house & kids. Kwintyn doesn't really know Kari to much, but he knows her Mom better, I mean it is our neighbor, and we are always saying Hi, to Paulette, & Art, can't forget Bentley either. So I told him that Paulette is going to be a Grandma, and he has been asking me that every now & then, now. LOL He had to know where that diaper baby was going. Haha He really liked it. The shower turned out very nice, the decorations that were done by the Paulette, were so cute!! She made a stork, Chelsea had told me about it earlier when she was over playing with the neighbor boys. LOL She got a lot of cute gifts, and my diaper baby was a hit. I myself, wanted to keep her! She was so cute, and her outfit was adorable. I can't wait to make another one. Paulette forgot her camera, good thing I hardly ever leave home with out mine. I took lots of pics for her, was like 140ish. Hahaha I won a game!! I won the belly measuring game, I'm getting good at that! Cause last time I went to a shower, I won for the same thing. :) I forgot my gift though!!! D'oh!! It was a cute hat & a hanging hummingbird window hanger thingy. Kids hung out with Dad today, not sure what they all did. Chelsea played Wii, and I picked Kyle up from his friends after the shower. I'm just glad I got some time out alone. Chelsea could have went, but she didn't want to. She thought the neighbor boys would be over, nope!! They were at the shower! LOL Told her she should have went.

Yummy cute cupcakes, Kwin wants mini cupcakes for George's birthday. Yes, his Curious George. LOL

Day 177: Lazy Saturday

We didn't do much of anything today. Just sat around. Well I did. Haha Frank was nice & cleaned today, and made dinner. I was feeling icky...woman troubles....ugh! ;) I pulled my new camera out today & tired to mess with it to see if I could figure out this problem with the ERR that pops up on my screen. The nurse at the hospital told me it might just be the memory card. I had the ERR pop up on me 2, or 3 times today, so less than what it was, and I didn't try out a new card, so still going hmmm. Guess I'm just gonna keep messing with it. We took a walk & I got a few pics. It was hot, and I was getting eaten up, so I didn't as many as I would have liked. Kyle got home yesterday from camping, and he is off again today. Keagan was home for 2 days & he went to a friends on Friday & is still there. They did clean before they went anywhere. Kameron stayed at his friends last night & got back today. And GASP!! Chelsea attempted to clean her room today!!! o.O

                                                        Silly Boy!!

                                               Going on a walk

Day 176: Getting Crafty

This post is late, but by the time I got done with my crafts it was after 10:00 p.m. and I was tired. Kwintyn had no problems today, and seems to be back to himself. He did complain of his teeth hurting a little when I brushed them, and then before bed. I have a baby shower on Sunday, and so we got the stuff I needed today when we went into town. I kinda spent a little more than I thought I was going to...oops! Stuff is not cheap anymore, even at the dollar store. LOL Stuff adds up....fast!!! I was really excited to make this one particular gift, a sleeping baby diaper cake. I was hoping she would turn out cute & not weird looking. I think I did a really good job, because she sure is cute!! Kwintyn even said "Aww" when he saw it. haha So it must be cute! I also made a Hospital Survival Kit, bag and filled it with snacks, a bottle of water, hard candy, gum, socks, slippers, hair wrap, mini fan, nursing pads, maxi pads, toiletries, body pouf, chap stick, nail file, stuff like that. I also made a card for a free photo session for either hospital photos, or newborn photos. And I made 2 prints of digital art, and printed & framed them. They turned out better than I thought they would, and now I am wanting to make some for the kids room, and for the rest of the house. The ideas are endless!! I told Frank I should start getting into crafts too, and start selling something? I have so much fun doing these kind of crafts, but I don't go to a whole lot of baby showers. I wanted to post these pics so bad, but I didn't want the Mommy to be, to see her gift. But I think I am safe here. I don't think many read my blog, although I do see that it does gets some views, so I do have some people reading?

                             Sleeping baby diaper cake, isn't she adorable?!

                                              Hospital Survival Kit

                                                  Digital Art

Day 175: Kwintyn Goes To The Hospital

Just like Curious George. I'm glad that we prepped Kwintyn early on for this procedure. Back in March, when we were told he would need this dental surgery, we started to talk about it. He watched old Curious George movies, on YouTube. He was told if he was a good boy that he would get another trip to Toys R US, we used the Dentist's name, so he got familiar hearing it, we told him step by step what would happen....we left a few parts out. ;) And DeAnna, whom he sees for play therapy knew about this procedure, so she could have discussed this with Kwintyn at therapy, too? I showed him pictures of a friend, from CM/FaceBook, her child had had a procedure done, and they were wearing a gown, and so I pointed that out to Kwin. I tried not to over talk about it, though. But I would have to say that everything that we have done, has worked. He did great today!!

He wasn't to happy to wake up, and to be put in to Grandma's car. He has anxieties about riding in others vehicles. I have to sit in the back with him, if we are ever in this situation. But we took my MIL's car today, it' a Ford Focus, so it saved us on gas. He fought us to get in, but once he saw me sitting next to him, and I told him it was time to go to T.C, he was ok. We left at 4:30 a.m. and he stayed awake the entire ride. We forward faced him, as he usually rides rear facing, so he was all about checking out his new view. We arrived on time, and I had to pee SO bad!!!! My only thoughts were to find a bathroom. LOL We checked in with 4 minutes to spare. We waited for a bit, then were brought up to the surgery unit, and got Kwin prepped, and the nurses came in, and checked him over. Then the anesthesiologist came in to talk to us, and get a look at Kwin, too. I had a concern because he just acquired this cough again, with in the past few day, but noticed he was coughing a lot last night. He slept with me, so I did not sleep at all!! Not a minute of sleep!!! But anyways, they said his lungs sounded clear, and it could be allergies like I had discussed with his Pedi, at his Pre-Op Appt. One nurse said he felt a little warm, they checked his temperature a few times, and it wasn't worry some. He did get hot while sitting there waiting, and he did start to have a little meltdown. But I knew he was hot, and tired. He took his shirt off that he was suppose to wear, and he did give a fight when they gave him some meds, so we had to hold him down, and do the syringe way. Not sure what was in the meds, they said it was Tylenol, but he started to get a little sleepy. His Dr. came in, and had a talk with us, and gave Kwintyn a 4th of July Beanie Baby. We waited a bit more, and then they were ready for him. I thought he was going to cry, and fight at the hand off, but the nurse came in with a warmed blanket, and took her from Frank, and off he went, and no tears, no fights! I think he was just tired at that point.

Frank & I then went and headed to the cafeteria to get some thing to eat, and some coffee. I have to say the staff at Munson is terrific!!! We must have looked confused, because some Nurse? Dr? said "Can I help you with anything?" And then told us the break down of the cafeteria. LOL Every other staff member we came across was very helpful. The nurses were just wonderful!!! This hospital is so much more advanced than the one we have here. We got this little disc looking thing, that I guess is a pager. You hold on to it for the day, and so if you leave the waiting room, and they need to find you stat, then they page you. They also had a T.V. that showed all the surgeries, and the time, and the Dr, and the patients initials, so you could know if they are waiting, in OR, Recovery, ect. It showed the start time of the surgery, and would keep updating. I thought that was a nice way to let people know how things were rolling along.

 His surgery started at 7:18 a.m. and around 9:15 it finally said finishing. We then got called back shortly after that, and were put in to a small room, and waited for the Dr. to tell us how everything went. He said things went well, and that Kwintyn was a very brave boy. Said that most kids cry when they go back, and he didn't. Told us what was done, and what to expect for after care, diet, ect. They were also to get X-rays, and it showed that he not only has an extra baby tooth, which we already knew, but he has an extra adult one too. I guess a lot of the time when people have extra baby teeth, they usually don't have an extra adult one. But he already told us a plan of action when we start dealing with adult teeth coming in.  He fixed Kwin's chipped tooth, and it it looks awesome!! He also did some other dental work since he had some decay going on in a few other area's. He made sure to tell us it's not our fault, and that this type of bacteria can spread like wild fire. Still feel bad. :/ He told us that Kwin is good to go for 6 months, and that he will do a cleaning then, and check everything out. So no 2 weeks re-check, or anything.  He said he will call us tomorrow, as our number is on HIS phone, and if we have any concerns to call. He then thanked us for trusting him, with Kwintyn. And just as he got done talking with us, a nurse came in, and said we could go see Kwin.

We walked in to the room quietly, I really didn't know what to expect. As I walk in I see a Nurse laying on the bed, with Kwin and he's laying on her chest, as she is patting his back. I thought that was sweet. Once he saw us, he wanted his Momma!! I sat & cuddled him for a few minutes then, he then started to get antsy with the pulse oxygen thing on this finger, and was trying to get it off, and wanted the tape, off! He said "You're being a meanie!" The nurse didn't want him getting upset, and so they were going to oblige & take it off. He then said that he wanted "Daddy to do it!" So Daddy had to help. They also took his I.V. out at this time. He then wanted his Daddy, so he cuddle with his Daddy. We were told that he ended up getting a fever, and then there was talk about an upper respiratory infection. That still confuses me a bit, because they checked him before & said his lungs were clear, and before we left they said they were clear.  There was two nurses in the recovery with him, one was a male, the other female. I guess he went to the male nurse first, because he probably thought it was Dad at first. They were really great with him. And the female nurse & I had spoke in the down time. We had to wait an hour in recovery with him before we could be released. But she is an amatuer photographer too, so we talked lots of photography when we weren't talking about Kwin. He was very excited to get his clothes on, and hear that we could leave. Just before we got to T.C. I realized I had forgot Kwin's shoes!!!!! So like we promised we had to take him to Toys R US. I ran in to Walmart, and bought him a $5 pair of clearance shoes, then we went to Toys R US. He was still a little groggy, and we have to watch him close over the next few days. Especially stairs they said, just because the anesthesia can last up to 48hrs. He was walking a bit funny. LOL He picked out a Matchbox car set that has a skull, and a bridge, as he says. We picked up lunch on the way home, he had a few bites before falling asleep. We were almost home, and he wakes up just screaming "Owie, Owie, Owie, my pee-pee hurts!!!" OWWWWW!!!! And just crying. I thought maybe it was from sitting so long in the car? We get home, and I change him immediately, and see things are not looking normal down there. I called the hospital & kinda got a run around, but did get to a nurse. Said it should not be from the surgery, and I thought that as well, but I was worried, and he just had surgery, and never had this problem, ever. Well about 20 minutes after I got off the phone with them, and we were saying good bye to Grandma,  I see drips, and wonder why they are coming from Kwin? Then I started to feel something warm........It was pee!!!! I took him in and changed him, and myself, but holy cow did his pull-up weigh a lot!!! I'm hoping that his bladder was just so full, that it made him hurt down there, and now he is all good. I know when we were arriving in T.C, and I had to pee, I was almost in tears cause I had to go so bad! LOL He's had a nap, and a bath, and is now playing a video game. Gonna keep a close eye on him over the next few days, and will follow up with his Pedi about this allergy? thing. I'm just SO, SO proud of my boy! He was so brave! He had a rough day today. And if nothing makes sense in this, remember lack of sleep. :D

                                          My Brave Boy, & George

                                           Watching some T.V.

                                            Little Meltdown, but Daddy makes it better.

                                  Going home! Had to check out their deer statues.

Day 174: Getting Ready

Well tomorrow is Kwintyn's dental surgery. We have opted to stay at home instead of staying at James', or getting a hotel. So that means we will have to get up extra early tomorrow. I had to call today to find out the time of his surgery, and we have to be there at 6:00 am, and his surgery is scheduled for 7:15 am. It's going to be a long day! I hope Kwintyn falls back to sleep on the ride over. We are leaving at 4:30 so we can get there early. Traverse City is about an hour or so away. I hope he doesn't fight & cry when we get there. I hope he doesn't get scared. :( Going to talk to him about what is to be expected, even though we have talked about it many times before, I just don't want to have any anxieties about it. Grandma came over today, and will be watching the kids & the dogs for us tomorrow. And we are using her car, so that will save us on a lot of gas. A Ford Fusion VS a Ford Expedition. LOL

Kyle left to go camping with his friend until Saturday. Not sure why we let him go since we just had a talk with the kids about chores, and things like that. Keagan just got back from his friends yesterday, after staying there since Friday. The kids will now be expected to do their chores before going anywhere for now on. I've been kinda going crazy lately. Feeling overwhelmed & frustrated lately, that things have got to give, and they can help out. We'll see how that goes......:/

                                Kwintyn playing with side walk chalk he found today.

Day 173: Just Another Tuesday.

Nothing to exciting today. It rained. We went grocery shopping, and I can't believe how much we spent at Walmart for just the few things we bought!! Oh, wait.....yes, I can. We went to Save-A-Lot, and we spent a lot less. I never liked shopping there a whole lot, because I am a name brand kind of girl, but damn!!! The money we saved I might not care about certain brand names. There are some brand name items that I have to buy. I would like to coupon, but I'm not very good at that. Plus I have no printer. Think I might do some shopping at SAL, and for the other items that have to be name brand, I'll go to Walmart, or Meijer.

Today we had a couple of Frank's old friends stop out. He went to school with them, and hasn't seen them in a long time. So that was a nice surprise for today. Tomorrow I'm going to really have to prep Kwintyn for his dental appointment. I still have a few anxieties about it, but hopefully he will surprise me.

                                   My Dad say's I get my good looks from him.

                                                      Only picture I got for today. <3

Day 172: Toot, Toot....it's the Poop Truck!

Thank God for people who do this job!! And people thought they had a real shitty job?! ;) LOL Kwintyn enjoyed the poop truck for a bit, until it started to smell. Holy shit, did it smell! Hahaha Almost a decade of poop!!! I guess we were like 3x's over.....Ooops! We never had to deal with a septic before & we always questioned when we should get it pumped. Well now we know, 3-6 years, but it can also depend on a few other things, I guess. So we will now get it cleaned every 4 years. The 2 guys that came out, were really nice. They let me get their picture, and one had said, "Well that's it, now your going to be all around the world on face book." Haha I was a little surprised at their age, but I was also impressed. They had also said that they did our septic when it was being built, and that his son, had helped work on the house. Thought that was cool. The kids had came over, with the neighbor kids, and they said that our neighbors had to go on a golf cart ride, to get away from the smell. Hahaha Sorry, Neighbors! We did go over & chat with them, and Frank played a game, I think it was called Cornhole?! LOL It's like a bean bag game, kinda like horse shoes. So no hard feelings.  Shit happens they said. :)

                                            It happens.....

Day 171: Oh, Poop!!!

Well, we have to have our septic pumped. Bummer it's a Sunday.  Frank called a few places, but no return calls back yet. Hopefully we can get someone out tomorrow. I would hate to wait until later in the week, because we already are giving the bathroom a rest. I'm just thankful I have more boys than girls at this point. LOL Thankfully the tank has not overfilled, as that would be a much bigger problem, but it's full. I just hope it's fixed before Thursday, Grandma is going to watch the kids when we take Kwintyn in for his dental restoration. I was hoping this would be a chill week, as I am already anxiety ridden from this procedure coming up. I did end getting a nap today, so that was nice. And Frank cooked dinner tonight. We went for another walk, I had to just go on a walk. Kinda a stress reliever in a way. Got a few pictures & we of course checked out the beautiful purple flowers again tonight. Frank was sneaky, & was snapping pictures of me, while I was taking pictures. LOL He actually got a pretty good shot. I just did a few easy edits to make the sky not looked so washed out, but he got a good sun flare!  We saw a frog at the pond today, too, and a few Golfers. Kwin was happy that one waved to him. Haha! Hopefully tomorrow looks better, and we can get the septic pumped!!

                                        Pretty leaf I found on our walk

                                                       Frank's picture he took of me.

Day 170: ConGRADulations!

Today we went to a Graduation party for Bri. She is the daughter of a friend, whom we got Sarge from. So we made some new friends too, when we got Sarge. They are a great family, and love Kwin! We had to drive 45 minutes to get there, but it was worth it. :) I just forgot how had of a drive it is! Bri's party was nice, and the food was great! They had a photo booth type thing set up, and that was a lot of fun. Kwintyn even joined in on some pics, and he had a blast! It was actually his idea to go get pictures taken. I think the firefighter hat, and big sunglasses played a part in that. We picked up a pizza on the way home, and after dinner, we went on a walk. I got a few beautiful shots on Nature. Always find some beauty whenever we go out. Grandpa even stopped out for a bit. Was a good day, until about 10:30. Kyle used the bathroom, and then informed Frank that the toilet was clogged, and the plunger wasn't working. We got a new toilet so we knew it couldn't be that. I told Frank earlier I heard the toilet go "blup, blup, blup" when I was in the shower today, & yesterday. Well Frank tries to plunge, and it gets worse. Water is now coming up thorough the bathtub!! Niiiice!! So I google, and tell Frank there is a clog, or we need our septic pumped. I'm leaning more towards the septic pumped. We have never had it pumped, since we have been here, so I'm sure it's time. Just sucks when it happens & you don't have any extra money at the time. Guess T.C, is gonna be a really cheap trip, and we will have to be more frugal with groceries this week. Things always find a way to work out, I guess.


                                                Photo Booth Fun!

                                                              Nature Walk

Day 169: TGIF!!!!

Yay!! Thank God it's Friday!! Work week is done! Oh.......wait......I'm a stay at home Mom. I don't get days off. Yeah, working Mom's don't get days off either, but sorry, today is a week I wished I had worked out of the home!! Not to make this a who's a better Mom, Working VS Stay at Home Mom's. Not that at all. But I'm sure some of you Working Mom's get a little fed up with some Co-Worker's at work, my co-workers, just so happen to be my children. And they don't work very well. So the Boss has been quite cranky, and yelling this week. Suuuure get a job they say, it will do you some good they say......it will be helpful they say........I say No, no it doesn't. It just makes me stress about a bunch of new things, and if people haven't gotten the memo, I have anxiety......so I can't calm the F#%K down. I'd be the bag lady at your grocery store, asking "Do you want F#%king paper or F#%king plastic, B*$h?!" Or the lady running drive thru at your favorite fast food place, "Um, Where's my BBQ sauce?" Customer asks?  It's in the F#%king bag, open your F#%king eyes. What are ya stupid, or something?" So where should I go get an application?! Yeah.......that would go well. Oh and another thing, I'm just a plain Ol, mean B*$h. Won't deny that one bit. You put me in to a place that stresses me out, I am not a joy. It's funny I "think" like this, because the one thing I do is I like to make people laugh & smile. And I do have a big heart. But once you are out in that working world, people can be A$$h*les. You F#%k with their BBQ sauce & it's the end of the World!!! Really, it is!! Same goes for a toddler when you put milk in the worn damn cup! It's the end of the World!! So, see working just sucks whether you stay home or go to work. Life's hard no matter what you do.

I guess I'm just trying to say, I NEED a break!! A break for myself. I don't care if that sounds selfish, call me selfish, but Mom's do NEED their OWN time BY THEMSELVES!! It refreshes her mind, and calms her nerves. Which makes for a better Mommy. I get about an hour a day, and that is my time when I am writing this blog. Or taking pictures. If I ever do get time to myself I feel guilty. Guilty because I left the kids. It's what I have been doing for 15 years, a Stay at home Mom. I wish I could say that I am some awesome ranking Mom since I have been doing this so long, but I can't. Parenting is one of the toughest jobs out there. It'll make ya go crazy, kinda like I did. I find myself to be like the Mom, Lois, from Malcolm in the Middle, more,  & more, everyday. Enough said. Vent Over.......WOW, Don't know where that came from?! LOLOLOLOL!!! Crazy, absolutely crazy!! Don't hate me cause I'm crazy, darlin'.

But I am a firm believer that "Everyday may not be good, but there is something good in everyday." So I try to find it, everyday. Which is why I LOVE doing the 365 projects. Today's good was Chelsea & Kwintyn making a blanket fort on the couch. But their imagination turned it in to a race track!! Ka-Chow!!

                                                 Blanket Fort

                                                                 Boo!!!

                                                Ka-Chow!!! A race track!

Day 168: Adventure Time!!

With Brownie!! Took Brownie outside today, I don't think she really liked it. LOL Or she just could have just not liked the collar & leash she had on. Haha Eh, she got some fresh air, she should be thankful!! I even got some blanket out on the clothes line today. I still throw them in the dryer when I bring them in, kinda defeats the purpose, but well I like clean things. And it kills any bugs that may have been brought in. lol But it does save the dryer. Picked up the yard today, mostly toys. the pollen was so bad here it covered everything, so I hosed some things off. Cleaned up some outside toys, and bins for storage. Fed the chipmunks that have been hanging around, Chelsea named one, Brittany. Was going to go on a walk after dinner, but Kwintyn fell asleep at the dinner table. I noticed that he has been taking naps recently, and I'm watching him.....the diarrhea has gotten better, none so far today, but I'm just watching him, I'm worried about Lyme Disease. Just because he has been exposed to ticks & well, I get paranoid!!! I'm sure it's nothing, but it's not something I'm going to ignore either. I noticed a spot on the back of his ear, it's not a bull's eye rash, but it looks like a bug bite of some sort, and the skin is kinda peeling around it.....And the fact I found one on the back of my ear, yeah, you see now where I am coming from. It's Summer, the time to watch for stuff like this, and all the other lovely bugs, and plants that can cause havoc!

                                            Brownie's Adventure!!!

             Kwintyn & the Blankets drying on the clothes line, prompted a few photos!

                               Beauty attracts the eye, but personality captures the heart.

Day 167: Wheelin'

Spent the day doing laundry.....ugh! The neighbor boys came over today, and they had their four wheeler over there, it's the neighbors grandkids, but Kameron got a turn on it, and he looked huge on it! lol I'm sure he had a blast playing around on it. Kwin & Chelsea watched, while the boys took turns. Yesterday while shopping, I found some ice cream......get this, it's Coffee, & Donuts!!!! I had to buy it, and I had some today, and it is SO good. I had a little of mint chocolate chip too. I eat my ice cream like the kids do, in a cone! Frank eats it in a bowl. Ice cream cones are just the best! Haha

                                           Kameron wheeling

                                    Coffee & Donuts Ice Cream!! This was made for me! LOL

Day 166: Today's Forecast.....

Manic with a slight chance of bat-shit crazy!! Kids at it again!! Over messes, again! The day just got better when we lost power. Bad thing about that is, I had no access to coffee!!! Which made things worse. My day started out shitty.......literally. Kwintyn had diarrhea, again. And it made a HUGE mess allover him, and on my couch. So a little after 9am he was in the tub. I had called the Dr. back, for this issue because it slipped my mind while I was there yesterday. They said to do they B.R.A.T. diet, which I had nothing for, because we needed to go grocery shopping. He acts fine otherwise, so I'm not sure what is going on. He has had diarrhea since Friday, and I thought it was from the shrimp we had, since he never had it before. So hopefully it's nothing. Frank gets home, sand low & behold the power comes back on! I quickly take a shower, and off we go to go grocery shopping. Kwin was pretty funny when the power went out, he went to every room, and had to try flicking on the lights, and then would say, "Nope, no power!" LOL He also told me today that his Teacher killed a chippy, aka chipmunk. Kyle & I looked at him like WHAAAAA?!?!?! LOLOLOL!!! That boy is a hoot!! Chelsea was excited today, her dresses came in the mail today! I ordered these Frozen dresses from my Co-op that I am on, I ordered them a month ago, so she has been asking, & asking about them. I just ordered Kwin a Peppa Pig set today. LOL Chelsea looks really cute in her dresses, although they are more like a tunic, as she had to wear a pair of leggings with it. She actually let me braid her hair today, too! I also had to do Kwin's hair. Haha So I put a small pony in his hair, which shows he needs a haircut again.  So I guess the day wasn't so bad.

                                             Chelsea in her Frozen Dress

                                             Kwintyn & his pony tail. LOL

Day 165: Melting Your Troubles Away

Kwintyn had his Dr's Appointment today, for his Pre-Op. He did SO well!! I was thinking Who are you, and where is my child?! He walked right in when his name was called, stepped on the scale, and stood there till we said to get down, then he went and did his height, and then he let the nurse & Dr. check him out!!! Last few visits were Hell!! Crying, and kicking, and oh what a tantrum! When our appointment was over, he got a ton of stickers, and a sucker, and he gave a high five, and a HUG to the nurse!!! o.O He has just done a fantastic job these past few weeks with coming out of his shell. I'm not sure if it's the play therapy that is helping, a or the fact that he saw his BFF?! I was questioning the play therapy for a while, but I'm pretty amazed at his progress over the past few months. Potty training is going well, there are still a few things we need to work on, but I prefer to keep those things private. People just are not so understanding on the issue we are working on. I now have a pretty low anxiety on his dental procedure now. He is wanting to go to Traverse City. :)

Our citronella candle.....it's melting....melting!! How neat though!!

Day 164: Happy Father's Day!

I feel bad, I didn't get my Husband anything for Father's Day! He didn't get me anything, and I really could have cared if he had. But I did save a card from Zulily & Kwintyn gave that to him today! LOL Chelsea had also made something in school before Summer break, and I hid that so she could give that to her Dad. We went to my In-Law's today, and had a fun time. It was like a combo of a get together, Mother's Day, Grandpa's Birthday, & Father's Day. Frank did get a gift from them, and Grandma had a gift there for Frank, from the Kids. And I even got spoiled today! Mother in Law & I went to the garden shop, and picked out some plants. I bought her a few & she bought me a lot. LOL Frank & the boys helped with some odd jobs that they wanted done, and Kwin got a tractor ride with Grandpa.

                                              Riding with Grandpa

                                                  Happy Father's Day!

                                                 Picture Chelsea made

                                                Card from Zulily. :)

Day 163: Yard Work!

Did some yard work today. Phew!! Frank, Kyle & I, are beat!! Planted some flowers, and laid some patio pavers down. Still have a lot of work to do. Still have to make a fenced in area for the dogs, plant some more grass seed, in various spots, get some wood chips for my gardens, put up the brick border around my garden. I want Frank to finish the wall on the outside of the house where the mud room/porch is. So we will be quite busy this Summer doing yard work. Hopefully I get a good tan. :)

                                                  Working hard in the back yard

Day 162: Flowers & Salamanders

My Iris's bloomed, and the kids found some salamanders. Chelsea found a baby one, and Kwintyn found a big one. Kwintyn had a belly ache earlier today, and he felt a little warm at bedtime. He did have the poop soup, but after 1 messy pull-up, he used the potty to poop, all by himself!! I was SO happy he did that all on his own, and not leave me with another messy pull-up. He has been doing really well on potty training. Just over the past few days he really has taken to it! He will just go in to the bathroom, and go all by himself, and he still loves peeing outside. So happy that he is taken to it really well, and I have not had to push him what so ever!! I knew he would go when he was ready, and he did. I continue to hope that this is it!

                                              My Beautiful Iris

                                            Salamanders!!!

                                                 And a Silly Little Monkey!!

Day 161: Mmm Mmm Good.

Another day of cleaning & bickering today! LOL Got Kwintyn's room cleaned, annnnd well, that's it. LOL Kid's played outside for a while today with the neighbor boys. Frank & the boys went out to finish getting a few things that we could not get last weekend, at the "looting" place. lol And I made a fantastic dinner!! It was a late dinner, but well worth the wait. We ate about 8:30ish. We had steak, with shrimp, that was cooked in a butter garlic sauce, potatoes....I had a baked potato, everyone else had fried potatoes, broccoli & cauliflower mix, & I had some cottage cheese. Kyle is the only other person that likes it besides me. Next time I do a steak dinner, I am making a parmesan sauce, and will have corn on the cob, and salad. Everyone gobbled their dinner down tonight. Some good eaten'!!


Steak & shrimp, baked potato, broccoli & cauliflower, & cottage cheese.....YUM!!!

Day 160: For The Love Of My Sanity!!

What a day, what a day!! Kids were *this* close to driving me bat shit crazy today!! I think I had a break down while on was on the floor. Yes, I was on the floor! LOL!!!! I threw in the towel, I was done!! I thought I could get better at this whole mess theory. If you don't know, messes bother me a lot! They never use to, as I had the messiest bedroom, ever!! It's just MY house though, I couldn't really care if other people's houses were a mess. It *might* bug me if it's really messy, but hey, not my circus, not my monkey's. ;) (a Polish proverb.) I had the house spotless a few weeks ago, but now that the kids are off School, it's driving me mad!! It's like they don't see the mess!! How I don't know?! But it surely bothers me to the point of a breakdown, and I'm not sure if that is normal. I don't think it is, but who knows? I'm a much nicer, and happier person when things are organized, and clean. I guess it effects my mind, the mess I see, makes a mess in my head. Does that even make sense? Eh, I don't know, but I can't figure out how to let up a bit either. I give an inch, and they take a mile. *sigh* People say that children don't stay little long, so leave the housework for later. Well if I did that, it would look like a hoarder house! Haha. I get that saying, I do, and I'm sure I will miss the messes, as some have said. Not really sure about that. LOL But for now, it's hard to deal with, and I hope my kids can learn to pick up after themselves......Ain't nobody gonna marry a slob!! Hahaha! So I'm doing them a favor, and their future spouses a favor.........You're Welcome, Kids. ;P

              Kwintyn was a little pest today, too! He sure can get in to lots of shenanigans!!

                                                 Credits: The Zoo News

Day 159: Made in the U.S.A.

Today the boys, Keagan, Kyle & Kameron got up early & went to help some family friends clean out their attic today. The boy's really weren't too thrilled to get up early, and go clean. But they ended up having a fun time. Ron is an Army Vet, & a Cop, so he had some good stories that he told the boys. And he gave a lot of his Army gear to the boys, and they were just over the moon happy!! They thought Ron was pretty cool. :) They had all things to show me & tell me when they got back home. They had a pretty awesome day! And I'm sure they will sleep well tonight. :) I can't thank the boys enough for doing this. They don't know how much their Dad & I , appreciate this. I have some pretty awesome boys!!

We had a fun mini shoot with the Army gear. I did this session in all black & white, just to give it the old look. :) Kwin was our little Village child that they helped feed, and he was our Terrorist that was captured. Had fun playing with the boys. ;)