Decorating sour cream cookies with Grandma.

Alyssa on the carousel ride at the mall.

Grandma & Grandpa with the kids.

Mom & daughter photo after getting back from church.



Kids decorated gingerbread cookies for Santa.

A visit on Monday to the Crown Center to see Santa at Crayola Land. Those were probably the best "smiles" I could get from John. Alyssa was being so patient with me having to take a dozen photos just to get one okay picture! :)



Here's some photos from a trip to Crayola Land in 2006 and for a train ride at Union Station - so amazing to compare from a few years ago!

Alyssa lost her 2nd tooth today (the first one was in July). She kept on showing me with her tongue how loose it was. So I took a tissue and took it out. She was so excited about it and wondering what the tooth fairy will bring her tonight.

Especially in the winter months it's great to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

The kids both had their dentist appointments this afternoon. Alyssa had x-rays done and has 4 loose teeth (the bottom tooth she lost in July is all the way in now)- with a good job of brushing. John was able to sit still and had a good report of brushing (I was pleasantly suprised). I was glad to hear that since I haven't been helping him with the brushing as much and his power toothbrush hasn't been used since the battery died several weeks ago.

We all got the tree decorated and daddy made some hot chocolate with marshmallows for the kiddies and can you believe it - no ornaments were broken in the process. :)

There are always going to be "bad days"

Last weekend we took the kids to Steak and Shake as a reward for John having "good" days at school. A good day consists of him either getting all smiley faces next to the following list...listening, keeping hands to self, respecting circle time, 1 step directions, staying on task, and lining up or not getting a piece of paper describing his "areas of improvement". He went 2 weeks without any issues! Definitely had to celebrate!
Yesterday though he didn't have a very good day. The note from the preschool teacher was that the "class lost center time because John threw a fit in gym and would not clean up". He also had frowns next to 1 step directions and lining up.
Today he had a good day again. I've come to realize that without those bad days we would forget to appreciate and enjoy all of those good days! I always need to remind myself to focus on the good things and not to dwell on the bad things. Especially during this Christmas season - all of the extra hassles and things we feel we just have to do...instead of getting all stressed out we need to remember to enjoy the moment and have fun and remember what the whole reason for celebrating is! I know, I know, easier said than done! :)

Kids enjoying the first snow this winter. Not much to play in but the kids seemed to have fun. John ended up going through 3 pairs of mittens - guess he needs some waterproof ones. Also found out the kids need boots since they outgrew the ones from last year.

Let the meals (or bites) begin

Today we went to John's preschool for Thanksgiving dinner or you could say "nibble" for the kids. Alyssa had some carrots, rolls and some pumpkin pie. John had a few bites of a roll and a few bites of pumpkin pie. What hearty appetites!

Guess it's been awhile ....I can't even think of what we've been doing lately. Seems like the weeks go by so fast with school, playgroup, and trips to the library.
The kids and I have had hacking coughs all weekend. Guess it's just that time of the year already. Will probably be many more months before we're back to normal. Seems like this time of the year someone is always sick and it seems to linger on forever!

On Sunday we spent some time out raking the leaves before heading to the park for a bit. Was in the 50's and the sun was out so had to get outside for a bit.

Trick or Treat

Picture of the kids before heading out for the night. John was "bored" and ready to go home after going down our street and the next one over! Alyssa probably could have stayed out longer.
Kids checking out all the goodies they got.

The kids helped decorate the cookies I made to take in to John's preschool for his Halloween party today.

The kids had a fun time at the Halloween Family Concert at the JCCC Carlsen Center. They enjoyed eating lots of cookies - John had three - and I just HAD to eat what they didn't - it isn't good to waste food now is it? :) John decided to get a pumpkin bat and Alyssa wanted a big pumpkin (wonder how hard that will be to get off later)on her face. John was getting antsy in the middle of the performance but was able to make it through with promises of the treat bag at the end. (I knew there had to be a reason they didn't give out the treat bags earlier!)

Welcome to the newest edition

Here is a picture of Monica Kateri Lynn born Oct.22 at 6:55 PM weighting 7# 3 oz. and 20 inches long. She looks like her mommy. Andrea and Monica doing well and Kevin is a proud daddy.

Baby's on the way...

So my younger brother and his wife that live in Michigan are at the hospital now...with meds she's doing much better....resting until later this afternoon when it will probably be the time for the baby to finally come....

Kids had a great time climbing in the tree after their last soccer games of the season. Alyssa scored a goal and was so excited.

Yesterday we went to parent teacher conferences for both of the kids. Alyssa's was a perfect report. The picture is Alyssa's self portrait. Teacher explained that the more details they had on the pictures, the more developed they were. John's was that he was still immature (aren't most 4 year olds!)and that he wouldn't sit still/pay attention for more than 4 minutes and had hard time staying on track but he was getting better every day. Don't think I'll worry too much about those things - he is after all a BOY and he is only 4! He has another year of preschool after this one....

On Tuesday we went to the Pumpkin Patch again - this time for Alyssa's field trip. Was raining a bit so not as nice as when we went before. Alyssa enjoyed her first time riding the school bus.

The life of my computer is coming to an end. So I am in the process of trying to get everything copied that I don't want to lose. I have taken so many pictures since 2005 when I got my digital camera....and I came across this photo that made me laugh. August of 2007 the kiddos were not monitored for a few minutes...and this is what they did....Alyssa was blaming the whole thing on John - but she never thought to come to me to "tattle" on her bro because she was having too much fun joining in! I made them put the stuffing back in the cushions - not as much fun! :)

Last night the kids had fun getting messy in paint at the Ceramic Cafe. We were suppose to put paint on the kids hands and make handprints, then make something for Halloween or other creative picture from them. The kids seemed to want to do their own thing so I let them at it! We can pick them up next week to see how they turned out. I tried to make something of John's plate after he finished and I tried to help Alyssa but she didn't want me to. And after we were finished I took them to McDonald's for ice cream cones.

We enjoyed a fall day with friends at the playgroup before heading off to school.

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch with John's preschool class. The kids had fun on the horses made of tires. John did some climbing (the picture shows him hanging) on the Humpty Dumpty wall. Grandma was with us and we all enjoyed a tractor ride and picking out pumpkins. Alyssa made sure to take her time to find the "perfect" pumpkin. Alyssa goes on her field trip to the same place next week.

Well the follow-up visit to the doctors on Wednesday was kind of a waste of a 20.00 co-pay. Basically told to stop the medicine and breathing treatments and just wait to see if or when it happens next and to take notes to see if anything is similar to try to pinpoint the cause. I did schedule an appointment for flu-shots in October - much to the upset of Alyssa. I told her that she wouldn't have to get any more shots until age 10 - guess I forgot about the flu-shots.
The kids were treated to some ice cream at McDonald's after so I don't think they minded. But it was the longest wait ever for "fast food"....after waiting almost 5 minutes in line Alyssa informed me that she had to go to the bathroom......so getting out of line and back in....added on at least another 5 minutes. Guess it was before 5pm so all of the workers hadn't gotten there yet....but thought after paying for the icecream and still waiting for them to make it was a tad frustrating- was so tempted to just go behind the counter and do it myself!

After arriving at the doctor's office John seemed to be getting worse - having an even harder time breathing and wheezing. After several nebulizer treatments and some medicine he was doing much better. The doctor said she didn't want to scare me but wanted me to realize the seriousness of it all - if his air passages close up all the way - death! Thanks - just what I needed to hear! So at the end of the day after the 25.00 co-pay and 85.00 in RX (Millipred by mouth - and Levalbuterol for the breathing treatments) it ended up being an expensive day. Was told the insurance should cover the cost of the nebulizer - so who knows what that may end up costing. Of course we and most everyone else would pay whatever they had for their child/loved one but just seems kinda pathetic that it's that expensive. We sure pay enough for insurance every month. Healthcare system is messed up - it's the insurance companies running the show when it should be the doctors who know what's best for the patient.

So the past week we have been doing medicine twice daily and the breathing treatments three times a day. John at first was glad to do them - now it's more of a struggle.
So we go back in for a follow-up appointment tomorrow. Possibly to do some allergy tests. So not sure what caused it but pretty sure it's some kind of allergen outdoors.

Well I just got back from picking up John from preschool. He just started crying at music time and coughing/wheezing and said he wanted to go home. (At least it wasn't due to bad behavior!) I was told that he sounded like a few other kids that have asthma so we are headed to the doctor this afternoon. :) Earlier this morning he kept on coughing saying he had to throw up and was doing a little bit of wheezing. He was like that another time when we were on vacation in July.

Was waiting....

I was waiting for some feedback from John's preschool teacher. I was happy that I hadn't heard anything....no news is good news.... Well today when I picked up John his teacher said he had 3 fits and was throwing toys - and that the other kids were surprised by his actions. (When I dropped him off one of the girls in his class said "John's here" like she was happy to see him.) Of course I tried to ask John about it and he wouldn't really say anything. Wonder what I should do - or think of some kind of discipline for him if (or should I say when) it happens again. Well better get going to pick up Alyssa from school. It is 73 and the sun is out so going to have a picnic at the playground. Still need to update everyone on Alyssa's 6th birthday.

Turn off the A/C and turn on the heater!!

Well not yet at least, but after talking yesterday about the heat.....and then today it's currently only 58 degrees and raining!

Doing Nothin'

So last night John was talking about going to preschool....he says...so Daddy's going to work, Alyssa's going to kindergarten, I'm going to preschool, and Momma's doing nothin'. So my day of nothing has been drop John off at preschool, race to take Alyssa to kindergarten, race back for the orientation for John's preschool and to wait there for him to finish. (Today and tomorrow he's only at preschool for an hour.) Then going to pick Alyssa up from kindergarten. Boy, doing nothin' is so much fun!!! :)
Another HOT day here. Currently our temperature says it's 90 (in the shade). I am oh so praying we don't have another year of SUMMER, WINTER, SUMMER,....seems like we've been missing the fall and spring weather. From A/C to heater isn't much fun - or easy on the wallet! But I shouldn't complain when there's really bad weather elsewhere...flooding, hurricanes,.....

Sprinkler Fun

Another "spa" day

At snack time yesterday at school, Alyssa had sliced cucumbers with ranch dressing but didn't eat them. She said she doesn't like them - I don't think she's ever tried one! Anyway, she brought them home so she could use them on me. (In preschool in celebration of mother's day the moms were invited to "the spa" where our kids would pamper us by rubbing lotion on our feet and legs. They gave us cucumbers for our eyes, etc.) So shortly after getting home Alyssa told me I needed to sit down and relax. She got the cucumbers for my eyes and she was putting lotion on my feet and legs - even John decided to join in!! She even rubbed my back for me. I thought that was so sweet and thoughtful of her!

Sar-ko-par Trails Park

Today for playgroup we met at another park we hadn't been to before. After the previous picture I decided this picture was needed! :)

Picnic and Play at Antioch Park

We spent the morning at the park and had a picnic before getting back home in time to walk to preschool. In the picture Alyssa is running away from John since he is trying to hit her with a stick. Or should I say "gunshot" - that's what John calls all sticks!

2008 Farmstead 5K

On Saturday I set my alarm once again to get up and go run a 5K race that was held at the Deanna Rose Farmstead.
I know that sounds crazy to most people, but I was glad I did. It always feels great after finishing a workout and it's always nice to be challenged. Several days later and I am still feeling some muscle soreness! Running on my treadmill is so boring and I never seem to go any faster than a 10 minute per mile pace.
Here's a picture of me finishing the race. I was able to find my picture out of hundreds on the SeeKCRun.com website. I still need to try to look up my finishing time and place. I wasn't paying attention as I was finishing and my cell phone only let me know that I finished in approximately 26 minutes. At this point in time, anything under a 10 minute per mile pace is acceptable to me!! I'd like to run some more races but seems like it can get pretty expensive. Twenty-five for that race and it seems like the longer the distance the more expensive. Also if you don't pre-register you always have to pay more. I don't like to register early since I'm never sure (until the last minute) if my schedule will allow....and with the kids soccer starting up in September being every weekend (Saturday and sometimes Sunday too)...that will really make it even harder.
So my finishing time was 26:43 and I finished 5th in my age group (out of 19) and was 122 overall (out of 283 finishers) http://www.opkansas.org/_Vis/Farmstead/Special_Events/Farmstead_5K.cfm

The First Day Today

The kids outside the school after taking in supplies and meeting her Kindergarten teacher. She's all excited about her first day today. Notice in the picture she is not wearing her cupcake shirt and monkey shorts!

Everything adds up

Earlier in the year I registered Alyssa for Kindergarten. But I guess that was only a pre-enrollment so I went back in a few weeks ago to "officially" register her.
I ended up having to pay an instructional fee of $40 plus an extra $9 for milk. Then after getting school supplies....it all adds up....so much for public schools being "free". Of course we all know that public schools aren't free because we pay for them through our taxes. I thought we had paid more than enough to cover instructional fees or supplies but apparently not.
Alyssa is so excited she has been counting down the days. We've already explained to her several times that she will have to wear other clothes than just the pink cupcake shirt and shorts. She's agreed and already picked out an outfit for the hour orientation day to meet her teacher and take in supplies as well as for her first day on Friday. We will see if she's as cooperative later on!

Last Day of Swim Lessons

It was overcast and looked like another day of rain, so I didn't bother putting my swim suit on before leaving for the swim lesson. Well a few minutes later on the drive to the lesson, the sun came out. Turned out to be a great day for the pool so Alyssa convinced me to stay from the time the lesson ended at 11:30 until 1:30. Not sure why but John didn't get into the pool after the lesson. He just played with the rocks and sat with me. Alyssa didn't seem to mind and found other girls to play with. I still can't believe that tomorrow is August and that I am still in the process of uploading vacation photos from earlier in the month to the kodak website and still planning to post vacation photos here.

Birthday

John woke up and had all his gifts open before Alyssa and I left for church. When we came home we had cinnamon rolls and french toast for breakfast since that's what John requested. He picked Deanna Rose Farm over going swimming, even though the whole time at the farm he kept on wanting to find the shade and sit on benches. I was feeling the same way as John since it was quite a hot and humid day, so I didn't mind at all! After we stopped at Sonic for milkshakes (for John) and slushes for the rest of us. Yum! Later on after dinner (John picked chicken nuggets) we had birthday cake and ice cream.

First Swim Lesson