Easter Pics!

Cookies, Curley's, Colitis and more...

Ahhhhh!!!  What a ride we've been on the last couple of months.  I've been dying for weeks to jump on here and dish all that's been happening around here but I just haven't had much time to sit down and actually do it.  So now I get to type out one big ol' long post about it all.  Hope I don't bore you to death. ;)

So first off... cookies, cookies, cookies!!!  This year was Alyssa's second year in Girl Scouts and so it was also her second year selling cookies.  Last year she did great and sold over 300 boxes.  This year... over 700 boxes!!  She set a goal and totally reached it and I am so proud of her!  In pre-orders alone she whooped the pants off her overall total for last year.  Many thanks to our family and friends for all of the help... she wouldn't have made it without the support of all of you.  I wish I would have taken a picture of our downstairs with all of the pre-ordered boxes.  We were swimming in cookies there for a minute. 

The last day of booth sales for Alyssa and the day that began her spring break, she came home from school and immediately broke out in hives.  Poor girl... she has had them off and on for the last couple of years and we have yet to figure out what causes her to have them.  Took her to the doc, got her on some meds and she went and sold cookies like a total trooper and then even stayed the night with a friend afterwards.  The next night, Grandma Carla came to stay with the kids.  It was my dear friend Stephanie's 30th birthday party/80's prom.  Jason and I didn't dress very "promish" but it was so much fun finding and putting together our outfits.  

The party began at Steph's house, she had drinks and snacks and a super sweet balloon arch for prom pictures.  And then we made our way to Curley's.  Jason and I never go out, so this was our first time going there.  Can I just tell you, walking through there was almost like being in Frontierland at Disneyland.  The place is awesome!  If it wasn't a bar, I would love to take Alyssa there just so she could see it.  Maybe when she's 21.  Maybe.  We had so much fun though.  The band was great, I'm not much of a dancer, but we totally got a kick out of watching all of the "older" people out on the dance floor.  Curley's is a biker bar, and aside from the group of us that were there for Steph's birthday, I would say the majority of the crowd that hangs out there is 55+.  The only thing that wasn't enjoyable was the fact that the bar is in Idaho and in Idaho you can still smoke is some public places including bars.  I had to come home and shower right away.  But we had the greatest time and it was our first somewhat official date, well, night out without kids since having Landon.  I'm already looking forward to the next date night.

We were probably one of the first people to leave, but I am happy we got home when we did.  Alyssa had fallen asleep in the living room and when we woke her up to take her back to her bedroom, she got sick and threw up and had hives again and this time all over her entire body. :(  We decided she needed to be seen, so Jason took her down to the ER and I stayed home with Landon.  They were there til 4 am.  As a result, she has an appt this Friday for allergy testing.  The kind of testing where they poke you a ton of times with different extracts on your back to see what you react to.  I'm hoping it wont be too uncomfortable for her.  And we've got a deal, that if she makes it through her appt. like a champ, she gets to go out for a treat.  I'm anxious to find out what has been the cause of all the chaos in her body.

For Valentine's Day I bought tickets to Elton John for my mom and I.  Can I just say how pleased I am that I made that decision? :)  I haven't been to many concerts lately, just cause tickets are so dang expensive.  BUT... this IS Elton John people!!  A total legend, and let's face it, the guy is not getting any younger.  I figured if I was ever going to see him, I had better do it now.  He was/is amazing!  His voice is just as great live as it is recorded and the guy can rock!  His whole band rocks!  My ears rang for quite some time after we left the arena.  I would go again in a heartbeat!

Lately, we've been dying to get out and work in the yard.  We have bigger plans for our garden this year and are anxious to set those plans into motion.  We have had the coldest, wettest spring this year, it's made it hard to get out and do much of anything.  So we have to take advantage of any days that haven't been totally soggy.  Landon had his first experience with grass a couple of weeks ago.  He wasn't too sure about it at first.  Every time he put his hand down to touch it, he immediately pulled his hand away.  We've been out a few more time since then and he's warmed up to the grass much more and now of course like everything else all he wants to do is put it in his mouth. :)

So, for the last couple of months, I had been noticing things weren't quite right with my health.  My symptoms were subtle, but the longer they lasted, I grew increasingly more worried.  I have always been a fairly healthy person.  Never have I broken a bone, been in a hospital, other than the time I ate some grapes and my mom thought I had ingested something poisonous and while giving birth to my kids, never had to have a surgery.  Never had a major horrible illness.  I've just been good my whole life.  I went in to the doc and was checked out and left feeling good about what was going on with me.  It "supposedly" wasn't anything serious and a few quick fixes was all I needed to heal this "supposed" problem.  But then the next day came and all of a sudden, not only was I having the symptoms I had the day before, but they suddenly grew 100 times worse.  Horrible, terrifying, just not good.  I decided to give it a day.  After what I had been told the day before, I was sure that it would just go away.  Maybe I ate something that wasn't right.  I had to just be something that would be gone the next day.  Wrong.  Super wrong.  So I called the doc again.  This time he sent me in for a colonoscopy.  Can I just tell you how out of place I felt sitting in that waiting room?  Everyone else there was at least 70.  And even worse, they were all looking at me like... What are YOU doing here?  I wasn't too freaked out prior to the scope.  I figured I had an infection or something similar that could just be taken care of.  But of course being me, I prepared myself for every possibility, however, I honestly didn't think I would walk out of there a different person.  But.... I did.  That day, April 12th, 2011, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.  A disease somewhat similar to Crohn's Disease, but one that affects the large intestine, rather than the small.  Something that I will live with the rest of my life.  I will forever deal with periods of flare ups and periods of remission.  And can I just say, I feel like I have been taken on quiet the roller coaster ride these last couple of weeks.  My emotions have been up and down and all around and right now I am still trying to soak it all in.  I will write a post dedicated just to this subject soon. 

A few days after my diagnosis, a friend of mine was in town for the weekend and a few of us got together for dinner.  It was just what I needed.  Get out, talk, laugh, just be surrounded by some good girlfriends.  Sometimes girlfriends are the best medicine.  Thank you ladies for sharing your ears and your hearts with me.  The next dinner date cant come soon enough.

In the middle of it all, I decided at the super last minute to consign a BUNCH of Alyssa's old clothes at the Just Between Friends sale.  I really wanted to shop the pre sale to pick up some summer clothes for Alyssa and some new jammies for Landon and whatever else we could find.  In order to shop the pre sale, you must either volunteer or consign.  I didn't have the time to volunteer this time around, so I figured I better get to tagging.  I spent 150 dollars at the presale and got a bunch of super cute stuff for both the kids and I made almost 180 dollars on the stuff I sold.  So I came out ahead... that is always good!  And when it came time to pick up the items that didn't sell, I only got back 6 items!  Yay for good deals, yay for making money, and yay for clearing out space in my house!!  Next time around, I may price my stuff just a tad bit higher and see what happens.  I was at the super low end on my pricing, compared to everything else I was seeing.  Some people's pricing was just flat out ridiculous though.  Anyway... I'm already totally looking forward to the fall sale.  I have a ton more stuff that I need to get rid of, but I am also considering volunteering too. 

So needless to say, we've had quite a month around here.  We've had our share of highs and lows, no doubt.  We've got a couple of weeks of down time.  Hoping to finally be able to get out there and get to those garden plans.  I don't want to get a late start on my planting.



Waiting...

I am probably one of the most impatient people I know.  Sometimes I think it actually helps me, but usually it does not.  And waiting on something medical related... ugh, that is even worse!  I went in to the doc on Monday for an issue that I have been dealing with for the last few weeks.  Major step for me... I would rather just not go to the doctor at all and ignore whatever is wrong and wait for the day that it goes away.  But... now that I am getting older, I really should probably start taking better care of myself and that would include getting checked out when things aren't quite right.  Plus I am just downright tired of whatever is wrong with me.  So initially, my fears about this issue were calmed on Monday at my appt.  It was a pretty uncomfortable appointment, but I left feeling better about what I was dealing with.  Until yesterday.  It all of a sudden just got a whole lot worse.  So I called the doc today to discuss the new details of my situation.  Now I have to stop all meds and wait until late Friday afternoon to be seen again.  UGH!!  Pure torture.

growing...learning...8 months old.

My boy is 8 months old!  Actually in less than a couple of weeks, he'll be 9 months old!  Where has the last 3/4 of a year gone?  And while the time has gone fast, his growing, and learning, and changing has happened even faster.

As soon as he learned to sit, just a few day before Christmas, his development has just taken off and everything started happening faster than I can almost keep up with.  I am so thankful that I get to stay home and watch him grow, something I missed out on with Alyssa.  His little personality is really starting to shine through also.  He is the sweetest, most lovable little man I know.  I can see hints of stubbornness, but with Jason and I as his parents, that probably just comes natural to him. :) 

He is both talkative and quiet, depending on his mood.  I find he is a bit more talkative in the evenings.  And as soon as you talk back, he is very still, just listening.  I am sure he is just soaking it all in.  The sounds he makes have really developed over the last month.  His first sound was bubba, then momma, then dada.  Now he is talking all sorts of gibberish.  I just love it!  And the raspberries... oh how I love when he blows little raspberries.  :) 
He is really starting to love his toys and is learning to play with them.  The more noise they make, the better.  It's fun to watch him explore his little world. 

He loves music, and will rock on his bottom (dance) to a beat. 

He also loves commercials on tv, the strangest ones too.  His favorite, the Nationwide Insurance commercial.  I haven't quite figured it out yet, maybe it's the white background that makes everything else pop, maybe it's the little tune that they play.  But whenever it comes on, he will stop whatever else he is doing and watch it. 
Oh, and the vacuum!!  Landon is a big fan of the vacuum.  He gets so excited every time it runs.  And if it's just sitting out, he will talk to it with loads of excitement in his little voice.  It's times like that, I really wish I could know what is going on in his little head.  I wonder just what his thoughts are.
After quite a few months of rocking on his hands and knees, he started crawling... the day after his 8 month birthday.  When he crawls, he turns his little hands inward and looks like a bulldog.  Jason, of course, loves this!  Jason loves bulldogs and now he has his very own... well, sort of. :)

Landon loves to open and close anything that he can, doors, books, some of his toys.  But in the last couple of weeks, his curiosity has grown and he is starting to become a little more interested in what is behind all those doors he is opening and closing.  I am now picking up our dvds at least a couple of times a day. 
With his new found crawling skills and my lack in judgement as to how fast he can actually move now, he fell down the stairs last week.  Ugh.  One of the worst mom moments ever!  I stripped his jammies off and checked all over for injuries.  None to be found.  The kid is tough! :)  Thank goodness, because I just about had a heart attack and poor Alyssa cried worse than her brother.
We started feeding him foods at about 6 months old.  He still isn't eating much though.  Maybe a couple of tablespoons once, sometimes twice a day.  And that is fine with me.  He is still nursing and I plan on that being his main source of food for at least his first year.  There really hasn't been much food that he doesn't like, except apples, and I'm thinking it's more of a texture issue.  He isn't quite ready to eat anything that isn't fully mashed up.  We've tried cut up bananas, peas... he just isn't ready.  His favorite foods so far are peas, spinach and bananas.  Funny, right?  Alyssa loved all things orange as a baby and her brother loves his greens.  I hope he grows up to love all fruits and veggies like his sister, I have been so blessed by her eating habits.

Landon started off his life being the best little sleeper I could ask for.  By week two he was sleeping through the night and only waking once or twice.  I was only lucky enough to have that last for the first four months though. :(  Now he is up periodically, some nights worse than others.  I hear he takes after his dad that way though.  Jason, I guess, wasn't much of a sleeper either.  We started putting him in his crib around 6 months to see if that would help...not so much.  Halfway through the night, he usually ends up back in our bed.  We went out and bought him a Sophie to keep in his crib because he started refusing his pacifier and I really wanted him to have something that would offer some sort of comfort to him.  His sleeping could definitely be worse, so I wont complain too much.  And I am almost certain it has a lot to do with his development.  As soon as all of that started really taking off is when his sleep patterns also changed.  I will say, the last week or so, he has taken some really great naps though!  And I have to remember that it will get better.

I am in love with the way he reaches up to me now.  He loves his daddy, and is so happy to see Jason when he gets home from work every day, but Landon is a total momma's boy through and through right now.  And that is just fine with me!  I feel a little selfish, but my heart just swells every time he reaches for me when he is in someone else's arms.
Landon also loves sweatshirt strings, well, any strings really.  But especially sweatshirt strings.  Teething (he has his two bottom front teeth) would have probably been less tolerable if it weren't for the strings.  It's one of the first things he looks for when Jason picks him up.  He also likes to untie the strings on the chair cushions at the dining table and chew on them.  He is constantly making me smile. :)

Landon's newest trick that really has me on edge lately is his new found ability to pull himself up on things to stand.  He still isn't quite tall enough to reach the chairs, or the couches, or the coffee table, but he does use his toys, the bricks in front of the fireplace, and as of yesterday, he discovered he can also use the tv stand.  It scares me a little, okay, sometimes it scares me a lot.  Now I am wondering how much longer it will be before he is walking?  Jason was an early walker, 9 months.  I was a late walker, 13 months.  And Alyssa was in between, 11 months.

I have to say, even though he keeps me on my toes, he fills my heart with SO much joy.  I am so thankful that God decided that he was the one for our family.  I cannot imagine life without him.  It's hard to remember life before him.  He just fits.

February 2011

February is a great month in our household.  So many great things to celebrate in February.

The month started off with a great gathering of some of my best girls.  It's not often, that we all get together at the same time...so when we do, well, it's just great.  (great must be the word of the day. ha!)  Sitting around reminiscing of the past and catching up on the current events in each others lives, I always have such a good time when I am surrounded by them. 

Mid February is where it's at though!  We've got Jason's birthday, Valentine's Day, our first meeting anniversary, and the anniversary of our engagement.

Jason's birthday is the day before Valentine's Day... he is a love baby. :)  It's hard to do much though with all of the Valentine's Day crowd out and about.  So this year we stayed home.  I made dinner and Alyssa helped with dessert.  Blondies with butterscotch chips and vanilla ice cream.  Delish!

My mom came over for dinner and we exchanged Valentine's with her since Valentine's Day was the next day anyway.  My mom had decided to get the kids clothes this year since Landon obviously isn't old enough for chocolate and none of us really need it anyway.  Landon didn't care too much about the clothes but oh boy, he sure did love him some tissue paper!

  And who could forget the hangers?

Alyssa is very much a girly girl and developing a love of clothes and shoes and accessories.  She wore her new sweater to school right away.

I gave my mom her Valentine after dinner.  Tickets to Elton John!!!  Yay!!  That is right... I said tickets... guess who has the other one?  Me, of course!!  I'm so excited!  Mom is too!!  We are going to have such a great time, I can hardly wait!  I was debating getting a ticket for Alyssa as well, and make it a true girls night out.  I mean it IS Elton John after all!  But as I played some of his music for her, she just sat there with a blank look on her face and said she would rather see someone that she actually knew.  So it's just me and my mom and that is okay.  It's been a long time since we have done something, just the two of us.
We, of course, had to serve Jason his dessert with a candle.  Alyssa sang him Happy Birthday.  And then we surprised him with a gift of his own.  A new pair of jeans that he so desperately needed and the new Toby Keith CD.  I think if Jason could be anyone other than Jason, he'd love to be Toby Keith.  I don't get it... but that is fine.  Sort of like the fact that he doesn't get my love for Kieth Urban.  Both Keiths!!  What do you know? :)  Mine is still the better Keith though. ;)

This year for Valentine's Day, we decided to make our Valentines for each other.  I love making cards!  I cannot scrapbook to save my life, but cards... that is a whole different story.  Jason even made his card to me.  I think it challenged him a bit.  But I think he was also proud of himself and the masterpiece that he came up with and he should be.  It was great. :) 

Alyssa made hers to both Jason and myself from her and Landon.  So cute!  She did a great job too.

And here are the ones I made for them...

We also made some for school and Girl Scouts

Needless to say... we were really busy being crafty in this house.  It was fun... something that I really haven't taken the time to do since I've had Landon.  I think making each other Valentines is something we will do every year.  I'd much rather get one of those than something anyone can buy in a store.

February was also the beginning of Girl Scout cookie selling season.  Alyssa has a goal this year to sell 700 boxes!  My more reasonable goal for her is 500, but I am fairly certain that she will surpass that.  Just after pre-sales, she is at 430!  A big thank you to all of our friends and family for their support!  And especially to her grandmas... we couldn't have gotten this far without you! 

The rest of the month was filled with regionals high school wrestling, the boat show, dinner at the Steam Plant Grill with friends, our niece's birthday, and Jason registering for school!  Yep!  Jason will be going back to school this fall.  As long as there is no waiting list for the program he has chosen which is HVAC.  I couldn't be more proud of him!  He still has to go in and take the placement test and apply for financial aid, but we are keeping our fingers crossed and sending up lots of prayers that the path will be cleared for him to start this new journey in life.  So anyone else who would like to also keep him in your prayers... well, that would just be awesome.

So that was our February.  Fun as always.  I cannot believe March is here already!  Spring is right around the corner.  Whoot!!