The Lowther Gang

2010-01-27T14:54:00.002-06:00

First Major Boo Boo

First Major Boo Boo
Those of us with children can understand that there is no such thing as an average day. I thought I was having an average day yesterday until the director of the school, where the boys attend called me and said that Tucker had had an accident. So I get in the car and go to school, I walk in and see my son sitting on a teacher lap and she is holding apaper towel on his chin. At first i'm thinking they are over reacting to a little cut, but then, they remove the paper towel and I see a one inch split in my son's chin. I immediately say he needs stitches and proceed to the hospital. By this time I have called his mother and she too is heading towrds the hospital. We get there about the same time and go in to get my son's chin looked at. By this time mister did not want to sit still A.K.A. Jackson was ready to go. So mom stayed with Tucker at the hospital and Jackson and I came home. A few minutes later mom and Tucker returned home and mom proceeded to tell me about their experience at the hospital. She said Tucker was a real champ and did not cry the entire time they were there. Afterwards, Tucker got a popcicle and a ton of Thomas the train stickers. After all was said and done, Tucker received four stitches in the bottom of his chin. It is amazing to me at how fast they grow up. Hopefully this is not an omen of things to come.

Robin, the sidekick!

2009-07-24T15:37:00.001-05:00

Well, Dan & I just got back from Chicago - I was working a trade show and he came along to keep me company (and get away from the boys for a while, but shhh, don't tell them!)

Mom mom came down with Abby to watch them for the week for us - I think they had a great time! But I had no idea my mom turned them into Batman, and as pictured below, his sidekick Robin!!

P.S. - Picture above taken AFTER Nana left our house...not during her care!

2009-07-11T20:52:00.005-05:00

Poor Jackson - stitches or no stitches?? (I know, it looks small, but it was kinda deep...at least to a mom it seemed like it!)

It's all okay!

In other news...

Oh cool, a green spider! Only, they're not all they're cracked up to be!

Summer Fun

2009-06-23T16:43:00.003-05:00

Deanna Rose is a great time for all - Tucker still asks to go fishing again! They were "catching Nemo!)

And when it's hot out - there's nothing like a popsicle!

Fun times and happy boys!

Update on potty training

2009-06-23T09:19:00.001-05:00

(Well, I guess I had to post that we were potty training, but details...!)

Have you seen my Potty?

This is the story of Suzy Sue
Whose mom was going to cry
because her kids wouldn't go poo

Try as she might
they would just not listen
to their mom's advise
and her words of wisdom

they did not understand
how great it would be
to go poo with a poo pot
under their bottom - yipee!

Go Cards!

2009-06-20T10:06:00.001-05:00

And 1 more reason - Dan got me baseball tickets for the Cardinals & Royals game last night - 11 ROWS BEHIND 1st BASE!!!! And the Cards won 10-5!

5 years ago today...

2009-06-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

Today is our 5 year anniversary. 5 years ago, I married the man of my dreams…and its only gotten better since…

So to quote Dan, from an awesome card he sent me this morning, from a float trip to two boys, my life is complete. (Well, honey…I still haven’t totally made up my mind on that third kiddo!! Wink!)

In honor of our 5 years married, here are the top 5 reasons why I love you:

1. I was stinky and dirty when you met me (hey, we were on a float trip) and you fell in love with me anyway.
2. You are one of the most determined and dedicated people I know. Loyal, that’s the word I’m looking for.
3. When I am mad at you, you do something silly/stupid to make me laugh.
4. Your eyes.
5. You show me all the time what an awesome husband and father you are – our boys are lucky to be able to be home and spend so much time with their dads (and in case you haven’t noticed, they try to be like you all the time – the greatest compliment of all!). You support me in my career, you put up with my quirks, and I love you more now than ever!

Here’s to the next five years!

2009-05-04T21:47:00.002-05:00

What's wrong with my little boy?????

2009-05-04T21:16:00.006-05:00

So, instead of blogging lately, I've been COUPONING!

Talk about a rush - yes I realize this is lame!! Target is one of my favorites right now - did you know you can use a Target coupon and a manufactures coupon? I didn't!

And K-Mart has double coupons right now!!

So, tonight, for a grand totoal of $66 (in 4 transactions), Jackson & I got (he was a great sport through the whole trip!). My total before coupons was almost $200!!!!

Just in case you can't see all of it, some of the highlights are: 4 packs of Huggies Pull Ups, 3 boxes of Hugges wipes, 7 boxes of cereal, 2 packages of Chinette plates, 2 bottles of mouth rinse, 1 box of zip lock bag, 3 packages of disposable razors, 3 different cleaners, 3 things of deoderant, 5 things of lotion, Excederine 2 things of tooth paste, 2 packages of Juicy Juice drink boxes, 1 thing of V-8 fusion, 2 things of shampoo, 6 different packages of dog treats, and 1 gallon of Nursery water (hey, it was free after coupons!)

some of my favorite sites:
http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/

http://thriftypuppy.blogspot.com/

http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/

Jackson - Lowther Look-alike Meter

2009-04-01T00:13:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Tucker - Lowther Look-alike Meter

2009-04-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Ancestry search - Family name history

Still fun in KC!

2009-03-18T09:07:00.004-05:00

So, while Tucker is having fun at Nana's house (when he is not lost, that is!)...

Jackson's not suffering any in KC - we're having big time fun!

(mind you, if Tucker was here, Jackson would never get to have this many train cars!)

okay, so this was before Tucker left, but still fun! - my little daredevil!

Now, that's what I call a big gulp!

We took him to Fun Run last night in Liberty - he LOVED it! Even Dad & Mom got in on the fun!

Here's how the conversation played out

2009-03-17T16:24:00.006-05:00

Tucker's at my mom's this week. My mom called this afternoon. They went to the magic house - FUN!

Here's our conversation:

Mom: I have 2 bad news, and 1 good news, which do you want first?

Me: surprise me

Mom: -Bad News: we lost Tucker

-Good News: Tucker was returned to us

-Bad News: we lost Tucker's shirt in the process

(Can you put a microchip in kids??!)

Other than that - the trip has gone great! (Well, that, and Aldi's didn't have any "Cars" cars yet...don't ask!)

Dan met my mom in Boonville to drop off Tucker. Abby kept my mom company on the first leg of the trip. They met at McDonalds...

(You just need one more arm, Mom!)

Played for a bit on the playground to run off energy...

And kissed their brother goodbye for the week.

I was worried Jackson would be heartbroken when Tucker left with Nana & Abby, but I'm thinking he's just fine!

2009-03-16T21:33:00.003-05:00

video from Nana's

What in the world!?

2009-03-11T18:06:00.001-05:00

We always go in to check on the boys before we go to bed at night. So, last night, about 10:30, I went in for the nightly check. I looked at Jackson's toddler bed (which he's only been in for a month or so), and I didn't see him. I asked Tucker, who was still awake by the way, where Jackson was. He said "Under me".

Well, I guess we know who'd get top bunk and who'd get bottom!

Favorite new websites

2009-02-24T21:36:00.001-06:00

My camera doesn't put the date stamp on my pictures, so:
http://www.photostamper.com/

I like to eat out, but can't really afford it, so:
http://www.restaurant.com/

Catching Up...

2009-02-21T12:47:00.007-06:00

Birthday party preparations...

Papaw, Nana & Abby visiting for our birthday party weekend....

Our Birthday Party day...

Casey, Trace, Wyatt, Taylor & Jesse, and Abby - thanks for coming!

The morning after...

Trying to get cute cousing picts with limited success

Going to Fritz's (the coolest train resturant) for lunch

Valentine's Day...

I don't have any pictures of this day, but we had...um...great family time? Dan & I were both sick, yuck! But, we went out last night for a family dinner, and had the best night! The boys were great, dinner was wonderful at Chili's and we just really enjoyed it!

Growing up...

Tagged again!

2009-02-19T18:45:00.003-06:00

My pal Laney tagged me so here goes:

The Rules:

1. Go to where you store your digital photos and open the 4th folder.
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people.

I tag Jeanne, Alisa, Jesse and Angie!

This picture was taken in April of 2008. We were visiting my mom in STL, and Tucker, Jackson and Abby were watching (?)show on TV. (look Mom, no Christmas stuff out in that picture, so last year you had it all put away by April at least!)

More to come, sometime, on birthday part, Valentine's day, etc...sometime...

Dear Jackson,

2009-02-10T10:28:00.001-06:00

Jackson,

My sweet little baby boy. I’m so sorry that I didn’t get to write you this letter yesterday, on your real birthday, but we were too busy holding you tight. I’m so glad you’re feeling better, but I must admit that I truly loved having you snuggle on my shoulder!

Oh, this last year has been such an adventure with you! If I had to describe you in just one word, I’m not sure if I could. You are so many things…crazy, off-the-wall (literally), snuggly, giggly, clingy, whiney, beautiful, mama’s boy, adoring, adventurous, brave, no-fear (NONE!), energetic, loving, playful…I could go on and on. But the one word I think of when I think of you, is “Mine”. You are mine, and I adore you for that. You know, you were quite a surprise for us, but there is not anything in this world that I would trade you for.

You and me had to stick together that first year of your life, but the second year of you life, you have branched out a little. Part of me is a little sad that you have wandered a little way away from me, but I am comforted that you still need me. But why is it that only your dad can put you to sleep. You will let me rock you, hold you, and read to you, but you will have nothing to do with me when it comes to actually lying you down in bed…strange boy!

You are my little bookworm. You love, love, love to read! You will bring up any book, and put it in our lap, and ask “wead?”. And you are insistent…you will continue to insist that we read to you until finally, we give up whatever it is we are doing, to read you your book. The more times the better to you. And train books are the best, especially if they have moveable parts that you can rip…er…I mean play with.

You adore your big brother. Now, I know that he beats you up, but don’t worry about that. Cause you are starting to dish it right back out to him. Now, don’t misunderstand me, son, I am not encouraging you to hit or push your brother when he does that to you. But I am proud that you stand up for yourself a little bit instead of just crying or running to us.

And you are so independent! You insist on just doing everything by yourself, all the while looking back to make sure we are watching. Now, I am sorry for one thing, Jackie – I believe I have passed on my lack of coordination to you. It is a common occurrence for you to walk right into a wall, or to be running while looking behind you, and to trip. Or just to flat out hurt yourself while doing…well…nothing. You are constantly bruised and banged up. But you love for us to kiss your boo boos, and I love nothing better.

Oh, and all of a sudden you are so loving too! You kiss everyone and everything. All the babies you see are “baby Peter”, and you want to touch their eyes, nose, ears (sorry babies, I’m trying to help him understand it’s better to just touch your toes!). But when you kiss the back of their head, or hug your cousin Abby so tight, I get this little glimpse of the compassion that is in your soul…what form will that take as you continue to grow?

What a little talker you are now too…all of a sudden, about 2 weeks ago, you started talking. It is so much fun for me to finally hear what is in your little mind. You are so inquisitive, and you will be my “Why” child. (my mom says it’s payback). You insist on “wemonade” or “water” not “milk”, cheese is your favorite. I love to hear you and your brother talking and playing together…it warms my heart! (Even if it is 10:00 and you should be asleep!!)

Speaking of brothers, I love that you adore yours. I love to watch you chase him, imitate him, share with him, kiss him. And what is this new game you two have created where you fall down and shriek that you need “Help, help” until someone comes to help you up by the hand.

Well, little one, it might be a game for now, but please know, forever and ever, that your Daddy and I will always be here to pull you up by the hand. We love you, you are precious in every way to us. You challenge us and stretch us as parents and people, but your unconditional love is more reward than we deserve, and you are our baby!

I can’t wait to be with you this next year, and excuse me if I shed a few tears along the way as you grow up. But don’t stop, I might be a little sad that my baby is not a baby, but a big boy (as you told me last night), but I am so proud of you. And I can’t wait for you to start school this fall! Watch out Ms. Megan…here comes Jackie!

Happy Birthday Jackie Boy

2009-02-09T08:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday my Jackie boy! I'll have lots more to write to you later, and fun pictures from your party, but for now, just sleep and feel better! (and we're very sorry you're puking on your birthday!!)

Come rock with me a minute

2009-02-01T19:14:00.004-06:00

People say when kids turn a year older its amazing that you can immediately see a change. Well, it seems that these last few days, Tucker has embraced being a big brother. So not only does he thoroughly enjoy pounding his little bro, he loves loving him too.

My sweet boys!

Oh, and Jackson wants to know - anyone want to bake cookies? He calls the spatula!

Picture Day

2009-01-31T16:55:00.005-06:00

I cannot tell you how thrilled that I (and Dan) are that this day only comes around once a year now!!! But, we actually got some cute ones!!! And I would have bought more if I thought we had enough people to give them to!!!

Dear Tucker,

2009-01-24T21:04:00.008-06:00

Dear Tucker (Tut Tut, Tutter, "P"),

Today, you turn three. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, because I know it was just a few months ago that I distinctly remember snuggling with you in bed at 3:00 in the morning, because I was on maternity leave.

I remember our anniversary trip to Branson when you were 5 months old. I remember your first birthday. I remember ignoring all the nurses in the hospital that told me not to pick you up right after Jackson was born. I remember thinking you could never be sweeter than you were on those days when I picked you up from daycare and you came running.

Now child, don't get me wrong. You have surely given us a run for our money. I have begun to think you have a split personality. This year, you started preschool, and I was distinctly worried about you bopping another child on the head, as you are so fond of doing to your doting little brother. However, they assure us that you are quite well behaved...and quiet??? Really, they cannot be talking about you, son, because my experience with you at home, or anywhere else for that matter is that you are a wild man, and a loud one at that!

Do you remember spending a week with your Nana this summer. You went off in her van without another thought to your poor ol mom and dad who you left behind. And if memory serves, you were so good for Nana too, right up until the moment that Mom & Dad walked in the door, and the true little boy came out of his shell. You know, the one that runs around and yells at the top of his lungs, the one that runs in circles (seriously) so I can't catch him. I often wonder where you came from, because surely, your mom and dad NEVER acted like that as children. No sir, we were not at all headstrong.

You, little one, are also most definitely a first born. A true leader (i.e. bossy). There are boundaries drawn, toys named as yours, directions given. And your gift of language over the past year has simply astounded me. You are truly a sponge, and while I am quite proud of most of the things you repeat, because surely you are soaking up some of the valuable knowledge that your father and I are trying to teach you, I must admit I have cringed a time of two...like one day when I told your dad on the phone that "you suck" and that was promptly repeated to him by a certain little boy when we got home. Whoops.

You continue to amuse me with your curiosity and your conversation. Your dad is much better than I at interpreting your speech, but some things are crystal clear. Your love of "popcorns", and your requests for big milks, not wemonade. I promise to do a much better job this year of documenting your verbal skills, as I am sure this will provide years of amusement to come!
But little boy, you are so wonderfully sweet and tender too. You have discovered your dog this last year, Sissy (a.k.a. Missy), and delight in playing with her and loving on her. (P.S. - she much appreciates this as your dad and I have really not made her our #1 priority the last few years...go figure!) And you really do love your little brother, I don't care what you say. This week, remember, he was sick? And you were so gentle - reminding me when I walked in the door to "shhh" because Jack Jack was not feeling good. Your sweet kisses throughout the night brought tears to my eyes, because watching Jackson hug you bag fills my heart with more fullness than you can ever imagine. (Tucker, he adores you, if you haven't figured that out yet). You played with him all night, and even shared your precious "Harold" and let him play with (his) Henry.

And child, you are smart! (Sneaky, mischevious, cunning) I heard you in your room, long after bedtime last week. When I went to the door and opened it, you were standing there and pulled your shirt up, rubbed your stomach, and said "Mama, my belly, it hurts. I get in your big bed?" with a huge smile on your face. I admit, I caved, but give me these small indulgences, because, will you, in three more years, still pull on my heart strings to climb in bed with me?
And precious kiddo, you cannot lie. Your innocence is just ... so ... innocent. Jackson will cry, we will walk in the room and ask "Did you hit Jackson". You simply look at us, reply "Yep" with a nod of your head, and most of the times head to the time out stair! Please don't lose that this next year!

But please, Tucker, please want to go potty in the big boy potty! You know how, and you can certainly be convinced to do this, but you have absolutely no desire to do this on your own. Now, I understand, this can be quite a nusiance to a busy little boy like you, but really, you are three, and it is time to give us some of the luxuries of being a baby.

Son, every day is an adventure with you. Your dad and I love you more than you can even imagine. It brings tears to my eyes to think of you growing a year older, but I am more proud of you than words can express. My life has been blessed by you, and you warm my heart with your incredible smile, big bear hugs. When I walk in the door and you drop your toys to come running over for a hug, and ask me "No more work, Mommy? You stay home at Tucker's house with Tucker?" all of my worries melt away.

Grow little one, I want you to grow and experience all God has in store for you this next year. You are precious to him, and to me and your dad, and idolized by your little brother. Your potential is endless, and I cannot to know you better! However, please don't give up your nap quite yet, because you wear me out!

Happy 3rd Birthday Tucker!

Love,
Mom

P.S. - Tucker, remind me to tell your kids when your grown about the Frog/Cars cake and why you're wearing gloves!

2009-01-23T13:26:00.003-06:00

Back by popular demand...it's the Tucker and Jackson show......
and here are the star's of the show........

2009-01-23T13:00:00.001-06:00

2009-01-23T12:51:00.002-06:00

2009-01-23T12:41:00.002-06:00

2009-01-23T11:09:00.002-06:00

2009-01-21T21:45:00.007-06:00

YUM! Seriously, these are good! No Pudge! Brownies!

In other news...Dan has three potential job opportunities - all that he has interviewed for and all that he is still waiting for a decision on. I really hope that one of these comes through - they are all good for him, (and him for them!) in different ways!

In yet other news...Jackson is sick. We've been pretty lucky this year, since they are not in daycare, but I guess we couldn't escape it all. He woke up last night with 102.5 fever and has had it all day long, along with puking. Dan deserves a lot after today, because it was Tucker's b-day party at school too, so he had to get him inside with birthday treats. It spiked to 103.5 this evening (after Motrin!), so I called the doc and she said there is a nasty virus going around that dehydrates kiddos pretty quickly. So, armed with my medicine dropper and pedialite, I went upstairs ready to hydrate my baby (he hadn't peed since early afternoon). We got a little fluid in him, and he just laid around. Just as I was about ready to march him in, the kid seriously sprang to life. He seriously ate just about everything in sight - a cookie, string cheese, a bowl of cereal, Cherios snack mix...and was running around playing like a wild man. And then...the motrin wore off. But, at least we know he'll make it!

In still yet other news...in about 3 weeks, I will have a THREE year old and a TWO year old. When did that happen???!!

Future soccer player

2009-01-12T21:43:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow I'm off to Vegas until Friday - what a long trip! I'm headed there for a trade show. I'm totally looking forward to the weather, 60 degrees, but not the ding, ding, ding... Okay, aside from working the show (tons of work, but lots of fun meeting our clients), I want to do that roller coaster at the top of the Stratosphere - I was prego last time I was in Vegas and didn't get to do it!

Jared, my boss, gave us an extra soccer outfit he had. This came at a perfect time last week when Tucker was sick and needed something to distract him. Yes, this is a "sick" Tucker - in between puking sessions!

After

2009-01-11T16:06:00.002-06:00

Thank you Aunt Nessa!! We had a great time playing with Wyatt & Nessa yesterday, and getting to see Jenice, Alex and baby Trace!

Oh, a good time except for when Tucker accidentally flushed Wyatt's "The King" (the race car from the Cars movie) down the toilet, and both boys were quite upset!

Before

2009-01-10T08:56:00.004-06:00

Before the "real" (meaning I am not the one cutting) haircuts...

Just for Nana

2009-01-10T08:26:00.002-06:00

Nana, here's another one just for you. Just dancin' to some Thomas music!

Oh, AND he cleaned the BLINDS!!!

Watch out girls, he's all mine!

2009-01-09T20:46:00.004-06:00

Okay, I admit it - I'm totally and 100% IN LOVE. My husband, who watches our boys every day (and that is a job in itself!), IM'd me today and work to tell me he had cleaned the house so I could have a more relaxing weekend and not have to worry about it. WOW - seriously, WOW! I wrote back how much I appreciated it, and to help me remember to clean the bathrooms (you know, potty training). Cause I figured he had vacuumed for me, since that's basically the extent of my cleaning most weekends. NOPE - he had vacuumed for me, cleaned all the bathrooms, AND dusted, and not just the furniture - the ceiling fans and everything! Oh, and he had dinner started when I got home.

I think I have died and gone to heaven - I LOVE THIS MAN! Totally and 100% And he's all mine!

The Flip

2009-01-09T20:03:00.004-06:00

We got this really cool thing for Christmas that I just love:

http://www.theflip.com/store/Product.aspx?CID=F2

So, it allows lucky people like you to see lunch time chats like this:

I'm sure there is more to come! ;)

Potty Boot Camp Day 3,4,5...AND 6

2009-01-04T16:19:00.002-06:00

Okay, so day 3 and 4 were about the same. Tucker did pretty good, had a couple of accidents, you know the drill. And let me tell you, we were all getting a little tired of hearing the timer go beep. Tucker was excited when the beeper would sound, but was starting to resist wanting to go potty. And going poop on the potty was just not something he was interested in.

Day 5...and 6 - we decided by then we all needed a break. It was pretty obvious that he knew what to do, but wasn't interested or ready yet to tell us when he had to do it...and Dan and I were pretty tired of cleaning out poopy big boy pants in the sink! So, we opted to put him back in pull ups but still did the drill with the timer and asking him to go potty every...well, by this time we had extended it to every hour or so.

Friday night when we went to Wal-Mart, he actually asked to use the potty - the first time the whole week! Saturday we loosened up on it a little more. And today, well, we're asking him, but not making him go when he says no. And he's said no all day long.

For funny quotes:
"Mama, I don't want to go potty...my penis is closed"

"NO, I said NO!" (Tucker, not me or Dan)

"No, Tucker not go potty...Jackson (sticking his head in Jackson's face), you need to pee?"

So, were we successful in potty training before the new year...um...NO! But hey, he's not 3 yet! Oh well, it was still a good exercise for all of us. I think Dan's going to figure out what works best for them next week since we all go back to our regular routines (I'm sad, I've enjoyed my boys the last week or so!), but I will say the beeper was a good reminder for all of us!

Jackson is now sick...I'm trying to figure out if he is wheezing (he whistles when he breathes out). When is it just a cold and when do you go to the doctor. Ugh. Well, he's still dancing to the trains music so we'll call it good for now. He is such a little riot, talking a TON now and thinking he is pretty cute about it...which he is! :)

Back to work and school! Happy New Year!

Potty Boot Camp, Day 2

2008-12-30T20:18:00.004-06:00

Well, I would consider today a success! We went to Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and made it home with no accidents.

Tucker wasn't quite as excited to run to the bathroom each time the timer dinged, but we stayed pretty firm about that. We had one (poop) accident this morning and then tonight, we got a little too engrossed playing with trains and didn't hear the timer beep, so we had another little accident.

So, we have the going down when asked to go, but not quite the realizing that we need to go, and asking to go potty on our own. Any suggestions?

Day 3 - no set challenges, except to go accident free all day! We don't have any big New Year's plans, so it should be doable!

Potty Boot Camp, Day 1

2008-12-29T21:59:00.003-06:00

I'm off this week, and we've started Potty Boot Camp! Tucker will be 3 on January 24th, and it is my goal that he will be potty trained before then! So,

Potty Boot Camp!

He's totally excited. Basically, we set a timer to go off every 30 minutes. It dings, we go potty! Big boy britches only. Pee Pee = 1 jelly bean. Poop = 2 jelly beans.

He did great today. He woke up and I asked him what day today was and he said "POTTY BOOT CAMP!!! He actually told us about 3 different times today that he needed to go potty (now mind you, it might just be because he wanted another jelly bean, but who cares!) That's been our challenge...he'll usually go potty if you put him in there, but to get him to tell you...

So, day one - we only had one accident, which I thought was pretty dang good. It was while his friend Wyatt was over playing, so I'll cut him a little bit of slack. He even survived a car trip!

On a different note, the boys LOVE LOVE LOVE their Christmas toys. The trains are a big hit, and I had one of those moments while they both played upstairs in their new train room for over an hour together...WITH NO FIGHTING!

Tucker especially loves his new floor jigsaw puzzles, which he is starting to do on his own. Jackson loves his trains, especially his Henwey (Henry).

Me, I love watching my two boys playing so well together, and so intently alone. And I love that Jackson crawled into my lap so many times for me to "rwead" (read) to him, and Tucker would wander over and lean on my knee. I loved watching a movie with my hubby during nap time.

Oh, and the boys love their new bubble bath too! :)

Christmas Day & The Day After

2008-12-29T21:35:00.002-06:00

We spent Christmas morning at our house, and then went down in the afternoon to Dan's sister's house. We had big fun with Grandpa & Grandma, and Dana, Joel, Dale & Emily! The boys were both running on no naps, so we don't have pictures to show for it, as we were both busy entertaining a little one, and these two still didn't go down until about 11:30 when we got to Nana & Papa's house.

We spent the day after with Papa and Nana opening more presents, and having fun. Trains & McQueen were by far the favorite themes this year! My brother Tim and his girlfriend was there. Friday was a nice and relaxing day, and then my sister and her family came over that afternoon and we all got to open presents again! Tucker showed off his big brother skills, while Jackson just entertained everyone by being...well...Jackson. He's really started talking quite a bit this last week, and he's so funny.

Trains, trains, and more trains...Tucker loved his stocking...that's my boy...still my favorite part of Christmas, along with my new favorite addition of our Christmas care package from Dan's parents!

That's Jackson's butt! Chasing the Christmas Thomas around the tree!

I got the Christmas box!

Tim...

Carrie...

Austin...

Abby...

Yea...McQueen!One of the highlights of my Christmas was getting together with Andrea & Jeanne for a girls night (picture to follow soon!). We had so much fun catching up, talking, remembering...so bittersweet because now I miss them more that I did before, but so glad that I got to see them!

Saturday was a busy day! In the morning, we met my friend Renee and her kiddos at a little train store and played for a while. It was so fun for all the boys to get to play together, and they did awesome! Until we had to leave, and poor little sleep deprived Tucker had a little (okay, who are we kidding, huge meltdown as I chased him around the store trying to catch him so we could leave). But nothing a great Christmas present from Renee couldn't fix - thank you! Bob the Builder saves the day!

In the afternoon my mom's side of the family came over for Christmas Dinner!

It was a great holiday!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T21:20:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday Daddy (1 more year before 40!)

From our family...Getting ready for Santa to come...Tucker was very excited about the carrots for Rudolph, and told me Christmas morning that he heard two reindeer on the roof!! :)Showing Nana a preview of her presents we were delivering for PaPaHoly cow, I LOVE my new tractor!Did you SEE that!?Having some fun playing on Christmas Morning in the snow...I love a white Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas with both of our families! Such a joy to see it new through the eyes of my beautiful boys! We had so much fun with both of our families, and now are just enjoying some time together! I love that tonight, when Tucker asked me "You don't go to work tomorrow, okay Mommy?" that I could say "You got it buddy!"

Truman

2008-12-13T19:47:00.002-06:00

Andrea, this one is for you!

2008-12-13T19:46:00.002-06:00

Well, Tucker was okay with sitting on the drum, but Jackson would have nothing to do with it!

This is...

2008-12-05T12:24:00.002-06:00

This is the wreath that Dan & the kiddos made during their own "Christmas Crafts" time:) (okay, seriously, if you know my hubby...really...who's have thunk...craft time!!??)

This is the turkey my hubby brined and cooked...after Thanksgiving! We will be eating turkey for weeks!

This is my precious little boy sitting next to the tree...notice the lack of ornaments on the whole tree, but specifically the bottom half...this precious little boy is 1/2 the reason for that!!

Tagged

2008-11-30T21:34:00.002-06:00

Okay, Jesse, this one is for you!

The rules with this tag:
Answer the following questions using just one word and tag seven people.
Where is your cell phone? charging
Where is your significant other? downstairs
Your hair color? brown
Your mother? patient
Your favorite thing? (my)boys
Your dream last night? cooking
Your dream/goal? girl
The room you’re in? bedroom
Your hobby? reading
Your fear? snakes
Where do you want to be in 6 years? satisfied
Where were you last night? STL/KC
What you’re not? passive
One of your wish-list items? job
Where you grew up? STL
The last thing you did? blog
What are you wearing? sweats
Your TV? old
Your pet? underfoot
Your computer? works
Your mood? content
Missing someone? always
Your car? acceptable
Something you’re not wearing? shoes
Favorite store? Target
Your summer? typical
Love someone? absolutely
Your favorite color? green
When is the last time you laughed? tonight
Last time you cried? morning

I tag Angie, Laney, Jessica, Tiffany, Kathy, Alisa, Andrea (one more post ?:)

2008-11-30T19:08:00.006-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We spent Thanksgiving Day with Dan's family and then drove to St. Louis to see my family, and my grandma and aunt and uncle from Nashville. As always, the kiddos provided all the entertainment needed!

When we pulled into Thanksgiving Dinner with Dan's family, Tucker looked around and then started yelling "FOOTBALL!" and grinning - he loves playing football with his cousin Dale, and the other big boys! He was so excited - he talked about it forever!

In St. Louis, we saw lots of my family, including my sister's kiddos, Austin, Abby & Sierra. During one "nap" session, Abby explored Tim (my brother's) room and found his pack of gum. There were about 8 pieces missing when I went in to wake her up, and the chewed gum was all on the dresser - good girl Abby, you didn't swallow! I'm thinking the picture pretty much says "Guilty as Charged!"

And what would Thanksgiving be if Tim didn't wear a flower headband. Sierra has a special love for Tim, so he obliged :) Tim - next time you decide to leave early - say goodbye!!! Don't just leave a note!

This is one boy who loves his binkys! And the only one I know that uses them two at a time!

This post is totally out of order, but I'm tired and don't feel like re-arranging all the pictures. We got snow on Saturday night (fun times, since that's when we were driving back to KC) Tucker LOVED it. Jackson, not so sure!

My mom got the kiddos a little early Christmas pack, and there were these train window decorations! Tucker and Jackson both love them - Tucker spent quite a while playing with them after he came in from outside - check out that hat hair!

One of the fun things we did in St. Louis was go to this little train shop/house (Mom, what's the name?) in Valley Park. They have all these train tables set up that the kids can play with, they sell train sets, and they also have a really cool birthday party thing - we'd love to do that - too bad it's so far away!!! :(

Friday was pretty nice, so the kids got to play outside - they loved rolling down the hill!

It was a great weekend! We have so much to be Thankful for - too bad it often takes a national holiday to make us remember! My family is healthy, my boys are precious, my husband is thoughtful and wonderful, Austin is not in the hospital right now, I have a good job that I love, Dan will someday soon, I'm positive, find a job that he loves, we have a loving extended family, I have a warm fire burning in my fireplace, I got to visit with good friends, we have food in our fridge and cabinets, I had chocolate covered cherries today, my boys tell me they love me, even after they get in trouble, my husband tells me he loves me in his own "special" ways every day (even if it is telling me if I eat another chocolate covered cherry that I'll have to turn sideways to walk through the door!), Dan adores the boys, and even my dog is healthy - pain in the butt, but a good girl...you get the idea, the list goes on and on!

Someday soon, I'll have to write about the freak snowstorm that came through KC (specifically two little boys' room) a couple of weeks ago!

A DAY AT THE CIRCUS, FINALLY!

2008-11-17T13:47:00.008-06:00

Saturday was the official day at the circus. Not the week before, like my lovly wife thought, but this Saturday. I knew it was going to be a long day, when I had to wait to park and get to the auditorium. After the waiting, we ended up with really nice seats, with a view for the boys, and waited some more for the circus to start. Once the circus started, I thought poor Tucker's head was going fall off from all the looking back and forth trying not to miss anything that was going on. Jackson on the other hand was cranky, he was good all the way to the circus, but once inside he was a different person. I think it was the lights and sounds that had him confused. But after a while of complaining, he finnally began to calm down and start enjoying the circus. After all was said and done, I think the circus was a huge success. Next time we will take the boys to the Ringling Bros. circus instead of the Shriner's circus.

2008-11-16T18:42:00.004-06:00

Bathtime fun at our house - the boys are into bubble baths now - they've asked Santa for bubble bath in their stockings! Jackson likes to strike a pose!But doesn't like it when he gets rinsed off!

Tucker won't let us make "spiky hairs" on him - he hates spiky hairs!

I can't believe it, but I actually got out some Christmas decorations this weekend. Dan was hanging Christmas lights outside (no, they're not turned on yet!!!) and I guess it put me in the holiday spirit. Here's Tucker trying to put on a "sock" - it's a Christmas boot that my grandma knitted! :)

Alisa, this one is for you - we finally "used" our fireplace for the first time ever!

Is anyone else in denial that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away??!! I can't wait!

Circus...postponed

2008-11-08T12:43:00.004-06:00

So, before you wake up your two little boys, get them totally excited about the Circus, the lions, clowns, etc, have a melt down with your littlest on the way out the door, finally get everyone loaded, talk about the Circus the whole trip down, call Nana to tell her and Abby that you are on your way to the Circus and have your oldest excitedly tell Nana all the fun things we will see, get downtown, pay $7.00 for (non-refundable) parking, get into the building and start wondering which way you are supposed to go because you don't see any signs, you really

SHOULD

LOOK

AT

THE

DATE

ON

YOUR

TICKETS

because otherwise you might stand there wondering where to go, just in time to have this sinking feeling and ask you husband to look at the date on the tickets to find out it is really not this weekend, but next weekend, and now you find yourself feeling horrible because now you have to try to explain to two little boys that in fact they will not see the Circus today like you promised (but don't worry, sweety (insert wiping huge crocodile tears from sweet little cheeks) we'll see the Circus, lions, bears, clowns NEXT week, loading two very disappointed little boys who are both insisting they

DON'T

WANT

TO

GO

HOME

and a very frustrated husband back into the car, and trying desperately to come up with something fun we could do this morning, and convincing these same three people, that yes, going shopping for a new coat for Jackson IS really a lot of fun (because his coat is about three inches too short on his arms)!

Can I please have a do-over?!

Still more catching up!

2008-11-06T18:47:00.005-06:00

So, here are a few more pictures from last weekend:

Silly cousins...eating Halloween treats!

Going on a walk to collect leaves for a craft project with NanaCool, a snake skin...

Okay, craft project...2 year old with scissors...maybe not the greatest idea!

Austin playing in the garage! (I know it's blurry, but its still TOO cute!)

Making edible playdough! (Equal parts powdered milk, honey, and peanut butter...a little flour if you need to firm it up)

Ummm...what's wrong with this picutre?!

Playing outside - it was a gorgeous weekend!

Cleaning up after lots of playing!

After the weekend, my two cuties!

This is one of the cool effect my new camera can do - you can choose to only keep one color in a picture and turn the rest black and white...

I think my hubby should have been an architech...if anyone is interested, here is what the Christmas lights on my house will look like...real pictures to follow when they're actually up and lit...but NOT until at least Thanksgiving weekend! Still to come? Well, we're going to the circus this weekend!

A little catching up

2008-11-05T21:18:00.010-06:00

So, I never seem to have time anymore, go figure. I have a TON to catch up on, but I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. One of these days...

(WARING - LOTS OF PICTURES!!)

Tim & Laura's Wedding

And now, we're missing a few weeks, cause my camera got ... um ... kicked out of the car by a certain little boy (it really was an accident) and broken, and the memory card is broken. So we had to go buy a new one.

Halloween weekend with my Mom, Carrie, Abby & Austin:

Abby reintroduces baby dolls to our house:

Fun with Eucerin Cream (yeah, try getting THAT out of hair!)

Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Time

Trunk or Treat

Okay...that's enough for now...someday more pictures and stories to come! But for now, I want to kick off the Thanksgiving season. I am so thankful for

Two absolutely beautiful boys, one that won't stop saying "mommy" and one that tells me every night that he "misses" me
A wondeful husband that I wouldn't trade in for the whole world!
A country that we can choose our president, and if we don't like the choice that is made, we have another chance in 4 years
a job that I like and am challenged by
a moment of quiet
gas prices that are $1.89!!!!
prayer
forgveness
Sixlets (yep, the candy!)
Thomas the Train colorforms

2008-11-04T08:22:00.000-06:00

DID YOU???

Funny Wal-Mart Story

2008-10-13T12:12:00.002-05:00

So, Tucker is at that age (see previous post) where he is all the entertainment that you might need. (Now mind you, Jackson's pretty funny himself, but you add toddler speak, and it's a whole new ballgame!)

So we were at our friend Jenice's baby shower last week, and I told Tucker on the way up there that Aunt Jenice had a baby in her belly. I don't think he really believed me, but when we got there, we showed him, and he was pretty amazed. He's talked to us about it a few times over the last week, and thinks its pretty cool!

Well, an elephant never forgets, and neither does a 2 1/2 year old little boy!

We were at Wal-Mart on Saturday, walking down the isle. The boys were being great, and so we were just chatting as we shopped, talking about Tucker's new trash truck he just picked out for getting all the stickers on his potty chart.

Tucker looked up, and turned back to me, and (loudly) said:
"Mama, wook! Dere a baby in her belly! Wook, mama, Wook! A baby in her belly!"

Well, THANK GOODNESS, that yes, there was a baby in her belly! "She" looked over and smiled, and I ducked!

No he didn't

2008-10-13T12:01:00.003-05:00

Oh, yes, yes he did!

Last week, Dan, Tucker & Jackson went down to visit Dan's sister Dana. They had a great time playing, getting spoiled, you know...

So that when I got home that night, Dan mentioned that Tucker had sounded pretty conjested for a while. We just figured that he had picked up a cold from pre-school or whatever, but seemed fine, and was playing great.

Well, bed time rolled around, and it had been a no nap day. Tucker was NOT ready for bed, but so tired, and so he was crying. I was holding him, and noticed when he threw his head back to cry (for dramatic effect!), that his nose was really stopped up with "buggies", especially on one side. No wonder the poor kid couldn't breathe! So I grabbed a kleenex and told him to blow, but nothing came out. Tried again, nothing.

And more crying...

So, I did what any good mom would do, I grabbed the nose sucker. And went to work. While pinning my crying two year old to the ground! Nothing.

Poor kid. So I was about to go grab the saline drops, cause no cold meds at our house. And I looked again. And I stopped. And I tilted his head back. And looked again.

And yelled for Dan!

Kellie: "Dan, that's not a bugger - it's a RAISIN!!!!" YES, IN HIS NOSE! HOW DID IT GET THERE?!"

Dan: "Well, I saw him in the car today trying to put raisins in his ears for Talkie Talkies (thanks, Bob the Builder!), so I told him 'No', but I didn't see him put anything in his nose!"

(Note, child still crying!"

So, I try again with the nose sucker, and that thing is NOT moving. Well, Tucker by now is pretty upset, and he must have snorted or something through his nose, because the said object finally moved a bit. So I proceeded to pin him to the floor again so I could try the nose sucker (I did NOT want to go to the ER for a raisin in the nose!)

Well, the nose sucker didn't really work, but finally got it close enough (while Dan is searching for the tweezers that I SWEAR I will not use in my child's nose) that I could use my finger nail to pull it down the rest of the way.

When removed (and no, I'm kicking myself because I didn't take a picture!), this little white raisin (which is why I thought it was a bugger), had swelled back up to about 1/2 its pre-raisin size from the moisture in Tucker's nose.

And imagine, he stopped crying right away, after it was removed.

And now, Tucker will inform Jackson, us, whoever will listen, that "No raisins go in nose...only buggers!"

Just some random stuff

2008-09-29T21:28:00.003-05:00

So, I know it's been a while since I've updated...but not too much going on. Fall is here, finally, tonight, and we've turned off the AC...hopefully this time for good.

Dan's on a new excercise kick, so every night we've been going for a 1 mile + walk, and the boys walk most of the way! A few scraped knees along the way...you'd think they would sleep better, but nope, up at the crack of dawn, as always! And talk about shrinking, Dan's lost 15 lbs in the last two weeks! I wish I could drop it that quick! I'm down some, but not nearly that much. We kicked this diet/excercise thing off with the Special K challenge. I thought I would hate it, but its not so bad, and it really does give quick results. I think we'll ease from that into just healthier eating habits, and see how it goes. WW always works great for me too, when I can decide I'm committed to it.

Well, here's some random insights from the boys...

Hey mom, I know I'm totally beat up, and I like to use my face to catch most of my falls, but I'm still a happy boy! (Seriously, this kid is a walking disaster...he is CONSTANTLY beating himself up!!!!)

Thanks, mom, for putting up Mr. Pumpkin...I love to read him the Whoo Whoo (train) books!

This IS a great idea, Tucker! This train rug works great as a blanket, and Dad will never find us here!

Totally caught in the act! And too young to lie! When I asked him if he dumped water on Jackson, he just looked up at me and said "Uh huh" and then automatically turned around to kiss Jackson and say "Sorry" - hmmm, think we've been through that routine in our house many times?

I love being a fish mom...this is FUN!

Unknown Strength

2008-09-19T15:51:00.004-05:00

I've added a new link to my blog, over there on the side. I know we all have inner strength that we never know exists until we have no choice but to find it. And this story is pretty incredible. I read about it on Jenny's blog, and it ... well, it ... I don't know how to explain it.

But if you have a minute, jump on over there and read. And appreciate your life. This little girl is lucky - her dad is amazing - and she'll know her mom through him.

And grab a tissue...

So...

2008-09-16T20:46:00.004-05:00

He's done it...Jackson climbed up a bookshelf and pulled it over onto himself. It was a little one, thank goodness. It was pretty scary hearing the big crash, and then walking (okay, running) out into the hall and only seeing his hands and feet sticking out from underneath a wooden piee of furniture. It's now in our closet. And the big bookshelf downstairs is bolted to the wall. Now...what do I do about the changing table.

So...
When do they outgrow baby toys. They "found" this in a closet. Hours of fun followed! And, case in point with Jackson!

So...

Tucker LOVES school! He talks about "Ms. Megan" all the time, and when I ask him about school, le tells me they played with trucks! Glad he's getting something out of it! But he likes all the other stuff too!

So...

Tucker is starting to potty train! Love it and hate it all at the same time! He's pretty proud of himself, and it's fun to hear him say..."Potty, Mommy...HURRY"...hate it because we have lots of accidents, and now trips to the store take forever because we have so many "stops". 4 was the last count when we went to Target, and we were only there to pick up a few things!

So...

I have bookclub tomorrow night. Last read "Cold Sassy Tree" - really good, started a little bit slow, but then totally worth it in the end! And, I'm ready for a good girls night!

So...

I think I've finally found a church I like. Funny story that it's one my parents told me about a while back - one of our foster kids from a long time ago (I was three or four) - his parents go there. But finally visited it, and it feels like home. I got to meet them this last week and we had a good time swapping stories. They mission: "Discover, Develop, Deploy" I think I'm still in the "Discover" phase!

So...

That's our life in a nutshell. Dan's still looking for a job and going to school. We've been busy, but who isn't!? My boys, all three of them, are still total scoundrels, but endearing, all the same!

First Day of School

2008-09-03T18:49:00.004-05:00

Today was Tucker's first day of school. He's in the Lambs class at Little Lambs pre-school at Good Shephard United Methodist.

So, being new to this whole school thing, we went to the open house last night where we met his teachers, Ms. Megan, Ms. Tracy, and Ms. Sara. Tucker was just really excited about all the toys! (And so was Jackson for that matter, until he escaped out of the classroom and was wandering down the halls - batten down the hatches - his turn is next year!)

So, this morning, I went into work late so I could go with Tucker on his first day. It was a whopping 58 degrees outside so I had to dig around and figure out if we had a jacket that would fit him (seriously, the first week of September, who thinks of Jackets!!)

So, this morning we had a little "interview" about school:

The hardest part was killing time until it was time to load up and go! Now, keep in mind that I've done really, really good up to this point - no crying. I am SO excited about this for Tucker - I think he is going to LOVE school, and get SO much out of it!

And, I have to admit, I was pretty darn proud of this little cutie as he posed for pictures for me and said "CHEESE" - he was such a good sport while we waited to leave.

Even Jackson got into the fun and was really excited to go "bye bye" to school! (Little did the poor guy know that he wasn't getting out of the car!)
Then, when we got there, and walked in, Tucker was so excited about the fish waterfall! (This would be the fish that was referred to in the "interview"

Then, we walked to class, and dropped him off. He had this look on his face, this look of absolute wonder, bewilderment, and being totally overwhelmed! But he was amazed too, with all the kids, the teachers, the toys, the bustle, just everything that was going on.

And, my friends, that's when I cried - my little boy so grown up, and so totally excited about school!

When Daddy picked him up, Ms. Tracy walked him out to the van (thank you, thank you - it makes it so much easier with little brothers!), and said he was AWESOME! Not one tear shed on his part (only on Mommy's) and that he had a great day!

So, here's to a great year filled with learning and wonderful experiences!

On a different side note, Tucker now asks to go pee pee in the potty, when he remembers that he gets a chocolate marshmellow afterwards! We're starting to make progress!

And on Jackson's side of things, he was heart broken when he couldn't go to school with Tucker, and was a little cranky for Daddy, just to prove his point! And check out this self-inflicted shiner!

And now, it's 54 degrees outside, we've turned our air off, my kids are in winter pjs, and I'm getting ready to go mark stuff for the Mothers of Multiples garage sale this weekend!

Jackson - Say Cheese...or stand still...or at least look at the camera!

2008-08-28T20:19:00.007-05:00

So finally, here are the pictures of Jackson we had taken this weekend. These are the ones we ordered:

And I just ordered one of these for me, because I loved it:
But here's what most of the session was really like:

This is for you, Andrea

2008-08-27T20:42:00.001-05:00

As promised! Tucker eats poops, too! (This was back in March 2007!) I used to think he and Jackson didn't look very much alike, maybe I'm reconsidering!

Someday, I'll post Jackson's 18 month pictures, too!

A Day In the Life of...

2008-08-22T22:10:00.003-05:00

So whew, it's been a long week!

Monday morning, the boys dropped me off at the airport to fly into Tampa, so we could drive to Lakeland, FL to meet with our call center. So we drove about an hour, grabbed a bite for a late lunch at Crispers, and then went to the call center. When we walked in, well, there was lots going on but that's a totally different story, the HR manager met us in the conference room, and asked:

"Umm. Hello...you're here? Um, why are you here?"

We all kind of looked at each other, and then answered,
"We had a scheduled visit down here."

And then Linda (who is great by the way), the HR manager, said:
"Did anyone tell you you just flew right into the path of a tropical storm" (referring to Tropical Storm Fay)

We all kind of looked at each other and shrugged. I mean, really, how many times here in the Midwest do they tell us we're going to have bad weather and it turns out to be nothing. Seriously, the sun was still shining outside.

She kind of chuckled and said:
"No, seriously. They've already closed the schools for tomorrow and Wednesday."

So, she turned on the weather for us. Meanwhile, Melissa, one of the managers we were meeting with, came in and basically gave us the same scoop, with the added bonus of:
"If you guys can, you might want to see about a flight tonight, because I'm doubting you'll get out of Tampa tomorrow...it might be late Wednesday night even. Well, maybe Thursday morning."

And, although Florida is beautiful, none of the three of us had any intentions of riding out a tropical storm for the better part of the week in Florida!

So, long story short, we called the airlines, got on a flight for that night, spend all of about 45 minutes or so at the call center, turned around and drove an hour back to Tampa, got on the flight, and breathed a deep sigh of relief when we started to taxi off on time! Until...

they powered the engines down with only about 3 planes ahead of us waiting to take off and announced that they had grounded all north bound flights for the time being, but to please be patient and they'd get us an update as soon as they could. I looked out the window and probably about 30 miles away or so, you could see a solid wall of rain and black/grey clouds. Fun.

Oh, did I mention a kind man at the airport told us they had just cancelled all outbound flights out of Tampa for Tuesday (when we were originally scheduled to leave)???

But thankfully, after about 30 minutes or so, we finally got off the ground, and landed back in KC at about 8:00!

So, that's how my week started. We kicked off our call center that we set up for the 4th quarter at work this week, so we've been training all week, which is great, and I love it, but tiring. Jackson had his 8 month follow up from getting his ear tubes in today, and except for his busted lip (thanks, Tucker!), everything looked great!

Tomorrow morning we take Jackson for his 18 month pictures - should be fun. And of course, he slipped tonight and cut his lip again, and then promptly fell into the stair railing and now has a beautiful purple goose egg on the side of his head, complete with a small cut on it. Oh well, we wanted candid shots anyway!

So, I'll leave you with this video of my precious boys! They really have been quite entertaining as of late. Tucker now expects his kiss when I leave for work in the morning, and greets me with one when I get home. Jackson walks around saying "Mommy" non stop, and his other favorite word is "Doctor". Tucker called and serenaded my mom and Miss Chris the other night with "Jesus Loves Me", and is quite the mommy's little helper as of late - his favorite chore - letting the dog outside. He is still as rambunctious as ever, but has just turned up the charm a little to make up for it. And Jackson, well, I'll just let you watch and see! He's earned his nickname "Monkey" now for a reason!

Big boy Jackson

2008-08-15T20:48:00.002-05:00

Jackson had his 18 month checkup today - he weighed 27 lbs 10 oz and was 34" long - way to go big boy - 95% for height and 75% for weight. He's doing great, and other than looking like he's been beat up all the time, is perfectly healthy. Oh, and no shots - that was the best part!

So, you know those questions they ask you at the well baby checkups- does he say 8 or more words, yes, does he eat with a fork and a spoon, yet...you know the drill. Well my kids never like me to answer for them - they answer themselves! Monica, our nurse, asked us today - can Jackson jump with both feet - and he proudly JUMPED just to show. (And then giggled!) Then she asked if Jackson can walk backwards - I was about to answer no, I don't think so, when he stood up from the toys and took several steps backwards (now, mind you, I don't think I've ever seen him do this!)

I think the one thing we need to work on is the parts of the body, so we started that tonight, and Tucker is ALL ABOUT showing Jackson his body parts - never mind that he might poke an eye out in the routine!

He goes in for his 8 month follow up from his ear tubes next Friday.

Well, Monday I'm off to Lakeland Florida for my last trip this year! Bring on the band, I'm tired of traveling!

Tag, you're it!

2008-08-13T21:07:00.001-05:00

How it works:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and post their names, then goes to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the players blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers

Where were you 5 years ago?
I had just moved to Kansas City and started my new job. Right after I moved here there was a really bad hailstorm and then a tornado...

What are 5 things on your to do list for today?
Well for tomorrow...
1. Get all the computers set up at the new call center we're setting up
2. Pick up my room - there are clothes everywhere
3. Give Jackson a bath (tomorrow night)- he has his 18 month checkup on Friday morning
4. Get my haircut
5. Figure out a way to use the coupon I just got for the haircut, but I need about $5 in services to qualify for it...I'm sure I can come up with something!

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Sixlets
2. Ice Cream
3. Chips & Salsa (the lime and garlic kind from Wal-Mart)
4. Bagel Chips
5. String Cheese

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?1.
1. Pay off our house & cars
2. Feed the college fund for our kids
3. Figure out a miracle cure for Austin to make his life (or my sister's) a little easier
4. Start a really good daycare center that my kids can go to that I feel really good about if my husband decides he wants to go back to work
5. Donate (I know, everyone says that), but there are some special places - a woman that was just recently killed that we know of that had no life insurance, she left behind her husband and her three year old little boy; CFS; research for medical needs like Austin's
6. Sorry, there's a lot more, but we would take a really cool family vacation

What are five of your bad habits ?
1. Nagging
2. Obsessing about stuff/over thinking it
3. Worrying
4. Eating junk food
5. Making decisions to quickly/spur of the moment (not to be confused with spontaneity)

What are five places you've lived?
1. St. Louis - Webster Groves
2. St. Louis - Manchester
3. Kirksville. MO
4. Kansas City - Plattsburg
5. Kansas City - Liberty

What are 5 jobs you've had?
1. Kinney's Shoes (Andrea & Jeanne!)
2. American Eagle
3. Home Decorator's Collection
4. K&Company
5. Hallmark

Five people I tag.
1. Laney
2. Jesse
3. Jessica
4. Alisa
5. Laura

Yummy!

2008-08-09T21:21:00.004-05:00

What could be more fun that making cookies I ask you?

Licking the beaters, of course!

Today was gorgeous! Overcast, but that just made it even better. It was around 75 all day with lower humidity, so we turned off the air and opened up the house! The boys loved it - we had mega shopping to do this morning, so we hit three stores and then let them come home and play, play, play! How nice - we could actually play outside without melting! While Jackson took a long nap, Tucker, Dan & I "decorated" our driveway with sidewalk chalk and furminated Missy (I tell you, it's the best pet brush I've ever seen, this Furminator!)

I got home from Long Beach, CA on Thursday night late. It was a great trip - the show was wonderful - we met a lot of excited customers and had a great response. Tuesday night, we got to go to an Angels game which might have been the highlight of the trip! I had to call my little brother and brag just a bit! Wednesday night we walked out along the pier for a bit, and then caught a quick bite to eat and called it a night. I was so happy to see all three of my boys, though, when I got home!

My mom heads to Seattle, WA (or thereabouts) tomorrow morning to spend a couple of weeks with our friend Chris Mellor who was just diagnosed with lung cancer - Chris, we LOVE YOU, and want you to know we're sending you lots of loves and prayers from KC - and trust me, nothing is more encouraging than hearing my sweet 2 year old pray for you - it makes me tear up thinking about it - I wish you could hear him say Miss Chris, and then he'll look at me and say "All better?" and then "Yep!"

Slip N Slide Fun

2008-08-03T18:24:00.004-05:00

We got a slip n slide for the boys last week - I think they love it - especially since they're kids and can play with no shorts on - and we love it because we can fling them down it and the squeal with delight instead of screaming bloody murder - and they play together GREAT on it!

Off to Long Beach, CA for another trade show this week - should be fun - think it will be any cooler there - it's 101 here now, and I don't even want to know what the heat index is! We finally told the boys, it was just too hot!

And talk about culture shock - for those of you who know Mid-County, it was "progressive" back when I was going there - but as Tucker begged for "Bible Class" all week - we went Here - both boys loved it - it was total culture shock for me!

And a little voice said...

2008-07-28T21:10:00.003-05:00

I was sitting here reading my blogs, catching up on everything since I hadn't been on the computer all weekend (what a nice break!) The boys have been great today. We just put them down for bed and Dan had laid down with Tucker. We try to keep the nightime routine down to a minimum so we don't start any bad habits. Sounds like a good plan, right?

So, Tucker asked for me to come lay down with him after Dan left, and I came up here, but I could hear on the monitor that he was just fine. He and Jackson were "talking" and things were pretty quiet, so I thought I'd take a minute to myself...

It got really quiet, and I figured that both boys had fallen asleep.

When a little voice out of the blue said "Mommy, I love you"

So, who cares about a bedtime routine anyway. I went in there and snuggled with my little man. I walked into the room, Jackson giggled and held out his hand, and Tucker patted his pillow and said "with me?" (will you lay down with me?) And now they are both quiet and sound asleep! I love my little men!

And just because it's cute:

Good times with old friends!

2008-07-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

I got to meet up with Andrea and her two beautiful girls this weekend and we went to Grant's Farm. We had a ton of fun (even though it was HOT!) Who would have thought that just a few years ago we were sharing a college dorm, and now we're sharing a Sunday afternoon with our families?!

Fun times at Nana's

2008-07-23T21:53:00.003-05:00

Okay, I didn't cry when he left, but will I cry when he doesn't want to come home?

Alone time...and I'm bored?

2008-07-22T20:31:00.002-05:00

Really? How many days would I kill for this - an evening alone in a hotel room with room service? I'm in Chicago this week at the ASI show. We finished setting up the booth today around 3:30 or so, I headed back to the hotel, checked in, finished some things up for work, ordered dinner (really, when did room service get SO EXPENSIVE!), and opened up my book...because there is NOTHING on TV!

And now it is 8:30. I have read every blog. I have taken a bath. I have read. I'M BORED! I've talked to Dan & Jackson in KC, Tucker & my mom in STL. What's wrong with me? Too much traveling, lately, I guess.

But, on that note, I have had some chances to start reading again. I love to read, but (surprise), rarely find the time. A couple of friends and I started a book club, and I guess the reading bug bit me again. Oh, and I found our local library.

So, here's what I've read - all of them good:
The Center of Everything
The Rest of Her Life
The Red Tent
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Kite Runner
The Secret Life of Bees
Water for Elephants
The Poisonwood Bible

And now I'm reading
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night

I have to say, out of all these books, my favorite has been The Kite Runner & The Red Tent. Both of them were so good. The Kite Runner, specifically, was so good in so many different ways! I could go on and on about it, how wonderful it was, how it touched me, surprised me, shocked me, enlightened me, entertained me, sleep deprived me (I read it in 2 days, I couldn't put it down). But you get the idea! So if you're looking for a good book to read - GO GET IT!

Some future ones I just requested from the Library
Plainsong
Middlesex
and a bunch more I can't remember right now.

Any suggestions on good books? I still have a couple more trips coming up!

Another First

2008-07-20T20:30:00.003-05:00

Life is full of firsts...

So, I've been traveling a lot lately. A few weeks ago, I was in Duluth & Ely Minnesota. Last week I was in Atlanta & Dallas. Next week I'm in Chicago. Then onto Long Beach, CA (my first time in CA!), and then finally in FL (Jeanne, ever heard of Lakeland? That's where I'll be!)

But, I think Tucker is on the most exciting trip of all right now! We met my parents in Columbia, MO yesterday to drop him off to spend A WHOLE WEEK BY HIMSELF at Nana & Papa's house. He is SO excited to say the least, and from what I can tell over the phone, having a blast so far!

I don't think he was too sad to go, what do you think? He and Hana sang their way all the way back to STL!

And, I can't say that Jackson seems to be missing him too much yet, either. He's most certainly enjoyed being an only child today, and I have missed Tucker like crazy, but have also most certainly enjoyed having just one child - the difference is AMAZING! We met Nessa & Wyatt at the park for a while this morning, and then went to a car show and had a snow cone!

So, I know I haven't written much lately, but here's just a few fun picts from the last couple of weeks:

Daddy built a tent in the living room when I was in Atlanta - looks like fun to me!

Tucker found his Pooh costume, so we decided to have Halloween in July! Why not?

Happy 4th!

2008-07-06T18:47:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend, and COMPLETELY wore out the boys - we're still recovering!

Friday night we went up to Dan's family's house for a bbq and fireworks. The boys did pretty good until about 9:00 or so, but then we ended up putting them in the van to watch movies (we LOVE our DVD players in the van!). Jackson came out to watch fireworks, but Tucker was much more interested in Shrek! We ended up getting home around 11 or so, and the boys were spent!

The highlight for the night for both the boys was "riding" on Uncle Denny's bike!

Saturday we went up to Jen's for a bbq - the boys (well Tucker) loved the slip n slide, and the pool. I've heard nothing but "bye bye, Casey?" since we left! Time for another play date soon. Tucker did pretty good, but Jackson, by about 7:30, was loudly and constantly reminding us that he was tired, and wanted his own bed. By about 8, he was DONE - it was pretty comical - I told him we were going bye bye, and he settled down a bit as we headed for the house to get our stuff. I forgot something outside and had to turn around and go back, and he just melted and started sobbing - I think he thought he wasn't going to get to go home! Then, when we were walking through the house, he just kept looking at everyone and waving, very pitifully saying "bu bye, bu bye!) He looked at Jen like "I'm really sorry, I'm having so much fun, but I am SOOO tired and just need my own bed. Next time!"

But, the very best thing about this whole weekend, is OUR FENCE IS FINALLY FIXED, and all weekend, we were rewarded with this:

The fine art of excercise!

2008-06-30T21:21:00.002-05:00

At least someone uses it around here!

Buzzy Buzz Boys

2008-06-28T21:19:00.003-05:00

Summer is here, and we figured it was time to buzz the boys for their summer hair cuts! Both HATED it - were scared to death - so good thing it doesn't take long! Looks like they survived it though!

And better yet, the fence company finally started working on replacing our fence from the tornado that came through at the beginning of May, so soon we will have our backyard back!

We bought the furminator dog brush for Missy tonight -kind of expensive, but MAN, does it work! I think just on our first brushing we must have brushed off about 10 lbs - that should help her with her diet!

Jackson is cutting all four of his i-teeth, and it is no fun! Both my boys have had a really hard time with teething, but Jackson in particular gets really bad diaper rashes!

WARNING - don't scroll down if you don't want to see my little boy's butt!

This is what it looked like yesterday, and according to Dan, this looks much better than while I was gone. It was bleeding pretty badly the day before, and I believe him, because there's little blood spots on our changing table pad. We've taken him to the doctor, but there's not much they can do since it's from teething. It does already look much better today, though!

Ely, MN

2008-06-27T20:48:00.004-05:00

We headed up to Ely on Thursday afternoon. It's about a 2 hour drive north from Duluth. Driving up there, the country is just beautiful. We stayed right on the boundary waters. Below is a picture of our hotel from down below on the lake. It looked out on the water and was just amazing! We got checked into our hotel, and then walked downtown into Ely and walked around looking at the shops and then onto dinner at the Chocolate Moose. I was hoping to see a real moose or bear, but no such luck. I did get to hear the loons calling, though. Ely has quite a history for being such a small town, and it is just gorgeous! It was actually really warm walking around (I was a bit disappointed...I had packed jackets just like everyone had promised, and had only long pants and long sleeved shirts!) What was interesting, though, is very few of the shops have air conditioning, because the weather is normally so mild.

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel, and my favorite part of the night was when we walked down around the lake...look at this! These were taken from about 8:30 -9:30 or so at night:

Ely is a mining town, so right across the street from our hotel is what is left of an abandonded mine. There was a big mine pit that has since filled up with water, and was so peaceful!

In the morning, we got to go to the Ely part of Irrestisitible Ink, and meet the handwriting group. They were such a sweet group of ladies! They do the handwritten personalization for all of our cards when our clients choose that option. We were given a handwriting test and an assignment...let me tell you those are some dedicated and talented women...I don't think I could do that...and my handwriting isn't nearly as nice as their's!

After that, we headed back to Duluth to catch our flight back to KC! I really hope I get to go back up there and visit again soon, either for work, or better yet - VACATION! I would love to go dog sledding!

Duluth, MN

2008-06-27T20:40:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'll start with Duluth...

We got in about 5:00 and met the group from Irrestisitible Ink for dinner. You won't believe this, but it stays light up there until aroun 10:30 at night or so, and starts getting light about 4:30! So, we had plenty of time to walk around after dinner, and the weather was actually pretty warm. From left to right, our group was Doris, Katie, Marcia, and me. It was a pretty fun group.
We were staying right downtown in Duluth, right on the shore of Lake Superior. We walked around Canal Park which is right on the lake. This was the view from the back patio of our hotel:
We could also see the entrance to the canal marked by two lighthouses:

As we walked along the lake, there were lots of neat monuments like this anchor that Marcia, me, and Katie posed by, and this cute little boat. There were lots of fun little vendors and food shops, too. Downtown Duluth is really quaint and fun to walk around and shop!

We walked down the pier out to the entrance to the canal to see the lighthouses. The were lots of sailboats out on the lake for a race that evening, and it was fun to watch. We even saw Ben from Ink out for a ride!
There is a bridge that goes over the canal for card and pedestrians. It is over 1oo years old. When the big boats or sailboats come through, the whole bridge raises us to let them pass. The boats have the right of way, so whenever they go through, this really loud whistle sounds, and the cars clear, and the bridge goes up - it takes about 1 1/2 minutes to get to the top

Just as we were out on the canal, one of the really big freight liners came in. It was huge, and pretty amazing to watch it go through the canal and under the bridge. I think Doris told me that the canal is just about 20 feet deep...good thing this old girl was empty and sittng pretty high in the water!

I really loved Duluth. It wasn't a bad plane trip up. I think I'd like to take my family back up there for a family vacation sometime...the boys would love the boats! And the downtown area was so beautiful. Now, mind you though, I think I'd only visit in the summer...not sure I'm up for snowshoeing!

Onto Ely next...

Well Hail!

2008-06-26T20:20:00.003-05:00

I know, I'm a blog hog. You know, I read everyone else's blog (and even get frustrated when they're not updated often enough for me), but I never update my own! So, there's a lot to catch up on!

Well, first off, we got a pretty good hail storm a couple of weeks ago! We had hail covering our desk, and in little piles outside in our front yard. Luckily, no damage.

AND...DAN SHAVED HIS HEAD! We'd been giving him trouble for the last few months because he wouldn't cut his hair since he was "retired"...and he wasn't going to cut it until he went back until he went back into the work force! So, he shaved it with the clippers on Monday, and then shaved it bald on Tuesday. I have to admit...I LOVE IT!
Tucker has been binky free for almost a week yet. We tried Andrea's suggestion and picked up a toy for him and put it up on our mantel. We hadn't told him yet, because we weren't sure he would "get it". Well, he spied it on his own, and immediately wanted the Lightning McQueen car we bought for him and kept saying "want it, please?". So, we explained to him that he had to throw away his binky first, and he could hardly wait long enough to pitch it in the trash before he could have his precious car. So far, no binky since! He's asked a couple of times, but we just reminded him that he had thrown it away, and he was okay with it.

AND…I am sitting in Ely, MN right now, outside on the veranda, looking at the Boundary Waters. We are 15 miles south of the Canadian border. It is absolutely beautiful! We traveled to Duluth, MN to visit one of our fulfillment centers and print shops yesterday, Irresistible Ink, and then came up here this afternoon to visit our handwriting facility tomorrow. It was so nice, we walked uptown tonight to visit the town, look in the little shops, and had dinner. Then we walked back to our hotel and walked down to the lake. We head back tomorrow afternoon. I miss my boys, and Dan.

Last night, we walked down to Canal Park in downtown Duluth and walked along Lake Superior. We saw the lighthouses, and several sailboats and a large freight liner coming in. We were right down by the bridge, and we got to see the bridge raise to let the boats go through! So fun!

I haven't downloaded my pictures of the trip yet, so those are still to come!

Baseball

2008-06-13T21:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, my department had their "day away" - a fun day of team building where the whole department does something outside the office.

Ours was the Royals game, with lunch before. On Wednesday, they announced that there were extra tickets -first come, first serve - so I got some and the whole family joined me!

We had tons of fun - lots of people brought their kids, and so the boys had lots of friends to play with. I am so proud of them - they did SO good! If you know Jackson, you know he DOES NOT do good without a nap. Tucker can be a trooper, but Jack Jack is just like his mommy - he needs his sleep! So, I was a bit worried about that, since lunch was at 11 and the game was at 1.

But both boys did AWESOME! Jackson fell asleep in my arms for about 20 minutes right as the game started, and Tucker just had a blast. I loved getting to introduce Dan and everyone to my work bunch, and we just had a great day!

I didn't get a ton of pictures - we had our hands full most of the time, but I did get this one, and it says it all!

Oh, and get this - Jackson hates cotton candy - who's child IS HE??

And, just for the record, Tucker wore his CARDINALS HAT! Go Cards!

Curious Jackson

2008-06-08T10:28:00.004-05:00

Jackson (or otherwise known in our house as Jack Jack, JJ, little J, Jackie Jack...) seems to be on a roll lately - he is TOTALLY into everything. Tucker was, or so I thought, at that age about as busy as they could get, but either I've already forgotten how exausting it is, or Jackson is busier.

He is also the little dare-devil. He will try ANYTHING, and shows no fear! Look at this - I think something is a bit backwards in this picture - isn't the BIG brother supposed to be the one in the big swing??!!

We went for a walk today (the vet told us Missy is a bit on the chunky side). Tucker walked Missy the whole way, which is a little over a mile - what a trooper. I had Jackson in the single stroller (I LOVE my single stroller - it is SO easy to push, and I never get to use it!). Right before the end of the walk, Tucker fell down and got the first real skinned knees for us of summer. And he STILL wanted to walk all the way home...touching his bloody knees about every other second!

We went swimming and Grandma & PaPa Lowther's house last night - Tucker loves the water, Jackson...still not a huge fan - he'd rather run around wild in the yard!

I heard a great quote yesterday:

"I don't go skinny dipping, I go chunky dunking!"

Oh, and our computer crashed yesterday - we had to totally redo it. Luckily, we were able to restore it and still keep most of our stuff...but I lost all my email stuff! I'm sure the files are in my backup files somewhere that we saved, but I have no clue how to put them back into outlook...any suggestions?

How old is too old?

2008-06-04T20:57:00.000-05:00

One of my friends just sent me this link...I'll let you form your own opinion!

http://jezebel.com/389626/at-what-age-is-a-kid-too-old-to-breastfeed

Let me know what you think!

Wanna go to the park?

2008-05-28T21:35:00.002-05:00

So, I was greeted tonight at the door by a very excited Tucker saying "I go to park, Mama, okay?" "Park, mama, NOW?"

So, my super-hubby, or wonder-dad, has spent the last three days building this thing...see how excited he is!

I didn't get any before pictures, but it came in about 8 boxes. It says, it should take 2 people 14 hours to assemble...yeah, right. So, he went outside at about 9:00 on Monday and started (he had already assembled the main part of the frame over the weekend while we were gone, in between waiting for the coats of paint to dry in Tucker's room). At about 9:00 that night, he came back in with a good chunk of the tower completed.

Yesterday, he headed outside as soon as I got home from work, at about 6:00. At about 9:00, when it was getting dark, he took his work light outside and kept on going. I woke up at about midnight when he finally came back in and said he was pretty much done except for a few last things, and "tweaks" he needed to finish. Tucker got to swing just a few times right before bed, and he was HOOKED!

Today, he told the boys they could go play at their new park as soon as Mommy got home (he even waited for me to get home to let them go at it so I could see!) So, we went outside to play. And let's just say all of it, all of DAN'S hard work, was well worth it! I'm so glad we got those stimulus checks! :)

So, anyone have any great ideas what I can do for him for Father's Day, because I think he deserves something pretty darn good!

P.S. - see that picnic table under there - I got that for FREE! It was sitting at the curb by my mom's house - so, now it's ours. Let's just say it was well used, and needed just a bit of cleaning - but it works perfectly! So, that's my contibution - I'm being THRIFTY!

Never say never!

2008-05-26T14:11:00.002-05:00

When I have kids, I will never:

1. Let them sleep in bed with me

2. Let them mis-behave in public, or if they do, I will handle it well

3. Have children close together

4. Let them watch too much TV

5. Let them eat too much junk food

6. Yell at them or be impatient

7. Decorate their room in a specific cartoon theme

Okay, okay, you get the point. BOTH of my kids slept in the "big bed" (our bed) with us until they were about 10 months old. My kids often mis-behave in public, or are very loud. And I don't usually handle it well. My kids are 12 months and two week apart. They watch WAY too much TV and eat WAY too much junk food - Tucker is a COOKIE MONSTER! And yes, I admit, I probably yell at them more than I should, and I need to learn to have more patience.

So, when Dan came home last week with decorations for Tucker's room in the "CARS" theme, I balked. No, I don't want his room done in "CARS", no I don't want him to have "CARS" sheets and a comforter. NO, NO, NO...this is not what I want! I don't want a theme room! But, Dan finally convinced me, and really, what does it matter. Tucker loves "Cars", and if Dan wants to give him a "Cars" room, then so be it.

So, when we got home this weekend, here's what it was...

I LOVE IT! (and my hubby too, for doing all the work!) I think it turned out to be great, and best of all, Tucker loves it!

Someone should remind me, NEVER SAY NEVER! Oh, and did I mention Dan (with just a little help from me) also painted our kitchen which turned out great, and is now outside assembling the new "park" (a.k.a. play house thingy) that we bought him! I think he's enjoying retirement!

And I think I have a spending problem...let's just say that we are not the group that is saving their stimulus check! We're doing exactly what the government is hoping - SPENDING IT! Can someone also please remind me that we're a one income family! I seem to have a hard time remembering!

15 Months Old

2008-05-15T20:53:00.007-05:00

Jackson is 15 months old...when did that happen? I missed the actual day, but just realized it today when we took him to the doctor for his 15 month checkup! He's such a big boy - 32 1/4 inches long, 26 lbs! He is into EVERYTHING! He's such a monkey, and climbs on everything. And eats everything - no picky eater here! He finally cut his last molar, and has been so much happier these last few days! He waves at EVERYONE, and says ByeBye to EVERYONE! Most people love it, but we've gotten some weird looks too! He constantly looks like he's been beaten up - a combination of being totally clumsy, and having a big brother who alternates between kissing him and jumping on him!

He was a champ today at the doctor's - he got 4 shots, and then had to have blood drawn. He jerked his arm really hard the first time, so they had to stick him again! We were looking back over his chart at his growth, and even his doctor couldn't believe that he's grown up so much! So fast, it all goes so fast! When did he go from this...

to this?

In other news, Baby A is home from the hospital! YEA! She's doing pretty good, and time will tell what her future holds. But for now, she's just a precious little peanut, and we're so glad to have her back home! (And I know my mom is probably pretty glad to sleep in her own bed too!

I love my new job! I can't tell you how satisfying it is! I love the people I work with, and my boss is just truly a great guy! I really admire his knowledge of the business, and while I'm sure this is going to be a crazy busy year, I'm looking forward to it!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-10T21:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there! I hope everyone has a great day! Me...I'm hoping to sleep past 6:30!

Baby A is doing pretty good, considering everything she's been through. She is still in ICU, but they were able to take her off the ventilator today. They are in the process of weaning her from the oxygen now, and she's doing a pretty good job with that. My mom got to hold her for the first time since her surgery today! Her swelling and fluid(blood) is going down, which is really good. Her liver and kidneys are functioning, which is a huge step.

Neurology came in and she had an MRI...right now it looks like due to the spinal cord injury that she sustained during surgery (the doctor is calling it a stroke to the spinal cord), she doesn't have any function from her waist line down. They are not hopeful that she will regain many of those functions, but will start physical therapy to keep her muscles from atrophying. My mom said she is pretty peaceful, and not nearly as agitated as she has been. She will most likely stay in ICU through the weekend, and hopefully move to a regular room sometime early next week.

Tucker has a new toy...he found it while we were shopping last night at the store, and Dan convinved me to finally give in and just buy it for him. It's the Mack truck from "Cars" and the kid hasn't put it down since. It has slept with him, and if anyone but him goes near it, he goes beserk! But, it has kept him TOTALLY occuppied all last night and all day today, which is great!

Jackson FINALLY cut his 2nd back molar, and he is doing so much better! He struggles so much with the whole teething process, and it is completely frustrating because it takes forever for his teeth to come in, and there is nothing I can do for him. He suckered his Dad into getting him uptonight when Dan got home from work, so we had some fun family play time - we don't get that too much with our work schedules. But not for much longer.....

Dan's last day of work is next Sunday! WOO HOO!

Update

2008-05-07T20:41:00.002-05:00

Baby A, the little girl, who is my foster sister (my mom's foster baby), is doing a little better. Her liver is shut down, so her blood is not clotting, and she keeps bleeding out, and they have to keep giving her blood transfusions. Because she was bleeding out, they drained over 5 oz of blood from around her lungs. After they did that, she is doing a little better, or at least is more peaceful. She did make some urine today, 19cc, which is a little less than an ounce, so not much, but enough to keep them from having to start dialysis. So that is good. I just hope everything will turn out okay. I know she will probably be paralyzed, but we can just hope that she will recover her most vital functions, her kidneys and her liver, and go from there.

After I talked to my mom tonight, she told me it was a spinal cord injury that happened during surgery (which I think was a result of the lack of blood flow because they were in there longer than hoped) which is causing her paraylsis. A neurosurgeon is supposed to come in tomorrow morning to work with her and hopefully we will know something more then.

She is still on a ventilator, but is also starting to breathe on her own. So, they may be teeny tiny, but these are steps in the right direction, and I will take them! Keep on going in that direction, little girl!

Little Babies

2008-05-06T22:36:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Walk for Babies on Sunday - it was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun. Laney, Tucker is STILL talking about the choo choo train wagon, and every time, he also asks about Sophie! They must have made big buddies that day!

Thanks to everyone who supported us! Right now, little babies are a big part of my thoughts and prayers. A very special little foster baby through CFS is struggling in Children's Hospital. She had open heart surgery yesterday, and she is really struggling with several complications from it, and she is a very sick little girl. I don't know all the correct terminology, or all the right words, but basically, she had surgery, and then they had to go back in again. During the second surgery, they couldn't put her back on a heart/lung machine they had to get in and out very quickly so she didn't lose functions of her lower body. Unfortunately, there were some complications and the surgery took much longer than they hoped.

This little girl, who has already struggled so much in her short life, will probably lose all functions in her lower body, including her kidneys. The doctors and nurses (who one of her nurses happens to be someone we know from when I was growing up, so that's a great thing) are now faced wtih finding creative solutions for how to give this tiny baby dialysis.

Again, like I said, I don't know all the right terms and things, and I probably have some of this wrong, but basically, she really needs your prayers. Please pray that this little baby will heal. That she will be able to grow and survive. That her heart will be strong again.

Little girl, I know we can't hold you right now, but trust us, all of us have our arms wrapped very tightly around you, and we know the best doctors and nurses have your little heart held tightly in their hands. But more importantly, God has your precious little life in his hands, and he loves you very much! So do I!

Micro-burst or Tornado?

2008-05-02T19:40:00.005-05:00

Last night, right at about 2:00 in the morning, Dan woke up - it was raining incredibly hard, so he went to the window to close them. I woke up, and could tell something wasn't right...the bed was vibrating, and you could feel the walls in our house pulsing. It was so loud outside, I can't even describe it...like a really loud train or a jet engine roar.

There was a lot of lightning outside, but it was really dark, so you couldn't see what was going on...until the transformer that is caty-corner from our house blew. Dan was at the window, and I was sitting up in bed. All of a sudden he started for our door at a run, and yelled at me to grab the kids at get downstairs. I jumped up - he got Tucker and I grabbed Jackson. (I later found out that he had just watched our fence blow away.)

We stumbled, fell, ran our way downstairs (it was pitch black in the house, and we didn't stop to grab the flash light) and went into the downstairs bathroom. Dan handed me Tucker and did what any reasonable man would do, went upstairs to watch what was going on from the window! Jackson was amazingly still asleep, and Tucker was sitting on my lap. I was shaking, and holding onto both of my boys tighter than I knew I could...I just knew that at any minute the door to the bathroom would fly off, and it would literally be me holding onto both of them for dear life (for those of you who know me well, I am sitting here crying while I write this, because honestly, I have never felt that helpless, so not in control). Dan came downstairs and opened the door to tell me the worst of it was past (not sure I belived him, because of the thunder and lightning that was still going on...but the roar was mostly gone, and the walls weren't shaking). As soon as Tucker saw the lightning, he started shaking and immediately was so scared. Dan does a great job of helping him with this, so he took him, and we went out into the family room.

We hung out down there for a while, just to make sure everything was past. It was still really hard to see at night, but the toys were all grouped in one area of the yard, the climbing toy had been thrown up against the fence, and most of our fence was gone. The neighbor's two dogs were gone (luckily they found them later).

I was really upset and scared most of the rest of the night...it was hard to get sleep with all the sirens and things - they had to close the road right beside our house because of the electric lines that were down.

When I woke up, and saw this, I was devestated, and just so thankful that we were all alright.

(look really closely at the light pole - that's one of those big trampolines wrapped around it)

But I have to tell you, when I saw this story http://www.kmbc.com/tu/5xwvSUCKO.html, or pictures like this:I realized just how lucky we really are. We have some things to fix, but our house is standing. We have a roof to repair, but we have a roof.

I have never felt so vunerable as I did when it happened, and then driving through our neighborhood this moring, and seeing all the houses damages, and trees down. And never been so upset at all the people just driving through to look at it - I felt like they were invading our privacy or something...or that it was disrespectful in some way.

So, here's hoping tonight is a little quieter...the wind is blowing, but so far, no rain! And here's hoping that all our friends that live in the Northland too, are okay!

Walk for Babies

2008-04-30T20:18:00.002-05:00

I'm really excited about our upcoming March for Dimes Walk for Babies on Sunday - they boys love to walk, and I really love supporting a cause that is so near and dear to me! In addition to all our friends who have had premie babies, Austin & Abby, my niece and nephew, were both born 5+ weeks early! It's amazing work that this organization does!

Wish us luck as we walk with the G-Team and if you’d like to support us, you can click on this link to sponsor us: http://www.marchforbabies.org/dklowther!

Oh, and as luck would have it, the walk is RIGHT BY my new job, so I'll be able to find my way right to it...now if only I could figure out how to get home from work! All those darn one way streets!

A Walk In the Park

2008-04-28T21:09:00.004-05:00

It's been five years since I've had a first day at work, but as things go, this wasn't too bad! I had a 1/2 day of corporate orientation, and then was at my department for the afternoon.

The corporate orientation was pretty standard, but I will say the guy running it had a great sense of humor. It is very obvious that Hallmark is an extremely employee oriented company, and the employees are also very obviously proud of the company they work for. The facility is HUGE - I was in orientation with 3 other girls, and our main concern was where to park in the morning (there's about 4 or 5 different parking garages to park in) and how to find our way into the office (there are 4 main builidngs, and probably at least five or six more buildings - and each one is a maze!)

We got introduced to the cafeteria, the employee store, the medical office, the fitness center, the visitor's center, the Double D (surplus store), the list goes on and on...and the benefits and perks go on and on!

The afternoon I spent with my department was great! I had lunch with my new boss, and the department director. Everyone I met today was great, friendly, helpful, fun, joking - it seems like a great work family! I can't say how excited I am about this job. I even expected traffic to be really bad, and it wasn't at all either! All around, a great day! I remember leaving my first day at the other two jobs I have had with a huge headache (let's face it - first days are usually information overload!), but I didn't have a headache at all leaving today!

Also, I ran into Deb today during our tour of the buildings - there are over 4300 employees at this location, and I just happened to see her walking through! I'll take that as a good sign!

All in all, I think this will be a great journey - a fun Walk In the Park!

Chocolate Pudding & Climbing

2008-04-27T12:44:00.006-05:00

So, I need to do a lot of catch up on here, but I'll back up a bit first.

The boys have really LOVED the spring weather, and we play outside whenever we can. If I had to choose only one thing that I wouldn't ever give up from our new house, it would be our fenced in backyard. I love just opening the door, and saying "GO PLAY!". We leave the screen door open, and they come in and out as they want. Our kitchen looks out over our backyard, so I can cook or do whatever, and watch them play. It's perfect (until Tucker jumps on Jackson, or "helps" by picking up poop piles!)

So, when it rained last week (And I MEAN RAIN - it's really hard to see, but check out this lake in our backyard - and only after about 10 minutes of rain - you have to look through the rain drops, and it's really dark, but its out there!)

Well, I had read somewhere, or someone suggested, to let kids fingerpaint with pudding. So, we did! I happened to have some chocolate pudding, so after dinner, we stripped them down, and let them go to town! It was great fun, until Tucker realized he could see Mom and Dad jump up really fast when he had pudding on his hands and he flung it around, splattering it on the floor, walls, etc....but the best part is that it is really yummy to EAT!

So, we went and took a bath, got all cleaned up and jammies on, and went downstairs to jam to Laurie Berkner for a while (Check this out - Tucker's feet are actually OFF the floor!)

After a bit, the boys got tired, and sat down on the couch for a rest. And all I have to say, is MONKEY see, MONKEY do! Or maybe...2 little MONKEYS climbing on the couch, one fell off and he said OUCH!

Cousins

2008-04-25T22:06:00.007-05:00

Why the four hour drive from KC to STL is worth it!

We decided at the very last minute to drive up to STL yesterday, so we got to spend a fun morning at the Zoo! My mom's foster baby did great, she slept the whole time. Abby loved it! Jackson was very intent on watching the animals. Tucker was scared out of his mind once he say the elephant! Seriously- we were sitting there looking at them, and all of a sudden he lost it! Poor guy - but now he will tell you all about the "big poopy" the elephant did while we were there!

By the end, we were ALL ready to head home!

A Brand New Day

2008-04-24T10:34:00.002-05:00

The time has come
Today is the day
It's time to move on,
Up up and away!

Folks, it's been fun,
What can I say
It's been five years, in fact
Five years to the day

Scrapbooking, REALLY?!
I'm not creative at all!
I'm selling scrapbooks?
But I'm having a ball!

The people are great,
My customers are fun
But, oh wait, look at the clock,
My time here is done.

It's time to say goodbye,
It's time to part ways,
The memories, the laughs,
Oh, 'member the good o'l days!

K&Co - my first KC job
I've learned a lot here
Many lessons in life
All of which I hold dear

When I started here
I started as one
But now my Fam of FOUR
My boys, so much fun!

But change always comes,
and it's knocked on my door,
I've answered it gladly
And I'm ready for more!

Hallmark, here I come
Hope you're ready for me!
Cause sometimes with me,
You get more than you see!

I'm ready (I think)
I'm ready to go
Butterflies, yep they're flying
But really, I'm ready, SO...

I'll leave my desk now,
to walk and say goodbye
And really, I promise
I'll try not to cry!

So this is it, I'm saying "So Long!"
But only today
Because on Monday, watch out,
CAUSE IT'S A BRAND NEW DAY!

Seriously - to all my great friends at K&Co - you've been my family since I've moved to KC, and I am really going to miss you! Take care, and KEEP IN TOUCH!

All before 9:30 AM

2008-04-20T20:17:00.008-05:00

So, the boys have been waking up pretty early in the morning. Today, they were both up at 6:15, and finally, at 6:45, I gave up and got them out of their beds.

They were especially...energetic...this morning, so I got them dressed, and we ate breakfast. Okay, it's now 7:15. So, I found them so plastic bowls and a metal tube, and some wooden spoons, and we "made music". Okay...now it's 7:45. So we played play-doh, colored, read some books...

FINALLY...

It warmed up enough (or at least I declared it was warm enough) for us to take a walk! We were about the only ones up and about in the neighborhood, but we saw lots of pretty flowers, and birds. Tucker's new thing is "WOOK, MAMA, WOOK!" And he says it until you "wook" and tell him about whatever it is you're "wooking" at. Jackson is so cute, he is pointing at things. The boys really just like sitting next to each other. Tucker will sometimes turn his head and get right in Jackson's face to tell him about a plane, or dog, or whatever.

Poor little Jackson seems to have allergies. He gets hives about once or twice a day, and usually only one or two. But his eyes and his face gets really red and swollen...you can't really see it in this picture too well, but we've been using some Benadryl at our house!

And what do you do when your mom has delusions that she knows how to cut your hair, and gets a little out of control? You wear HATS! :)

7 things

2008-04-17T11:28:00.002-05:00

Okay Andrea...here I go, and I agree, much easier than 100!

1. I sometimes get my boys out of bed late at night to snuggle with them in my bed for a few minutes. Sleeping kiddos are so precious, and especially if we've had a rough day together, I want to snuggle with them and remember just how innocent they really are...even if they run around like wild banchees all day long!

2. I love that Jackson is such a momma's boy...and I am sad that he is turning into a daddy's boy. I can tell people till the cows come home that he is a cranky baby, but when I hear someone else say that he is fussy (other than Dan) it immediately makes me mad!

3. I am secretly jealous that Dan gets to quit his job and stay at home with the boys. I am also secretly excited that I am NOT the one who gets to quit my job and stay at home with the boys!

4. I sometimes (okay a lot) wonder what life was like before my kids, and wonder if I'll ever have a life (or even a date) that doesn't involve my kids. Do I still know how to carry on a real conversation in which I wouldn't talk about poop, or puke, or how smart or cute my kids are?

5. Andrea & I were roommates in college for a semester (did you know that?!) - I was really sad when she moved out, because let's face it...there's not too much to do in Kirksville, MO! And I really miss going to the Muny every week, stopping to get Subway on the way there, and waiting in line to sit in the free seats!

6. I ordered an elliptical last weekend, but am giving myself free reign to eat anything until it gets here (and before I start my new job...I have to go out to eat with lots of people to say goodbye! :) I also am going to do WW on my own instead of paying to do it (We have to cut corners somewhere since Dan's quitting!) But I do take the boys on a walk most nights...does that make it better!?

7. I wish I got to spend more time with Dan...and I can't wait for him to quit so I can actually see him more often. I kinda like the guy! I can't believe we've been married almost 4 years!

WalkAmerica

2008-04-17T11:25:00.001-05:00

The boys and I are going our friends Shane, Laney, Sam, Jules & Sophie in the March of Dimes walk on May 3rd. The Gliser triplets and some of our other friends like Drew were born prematurely. Every year, half a million babies in the U.S. are born prematurely. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and many life long disabilities. The funds we raise in WalkAmerica support research that saves babies' lives.

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Wish us luck as we walk with the G-Team (and I try to find my way around downtown with two little boys…I know, cake compared to triplets!), and if you’d like to support us, you can click on this link to sponsor us: http://www.marchforbabies.org/dklowther

Look how beautiful I am!

2008-04-14T21:18:00.008-05:00

What do you think of me mommy? Doesn’t this make me look real cute? Wait until you get home and see the rest of me!

Suffice to say, Tucker found where I had hid the pens and markers...oh, how I underestimate that boy! He had it all over his hands and arms, all over his legs...so we figured what the heck, and had sloppy joes for dinner!

And no...Tucker is not supposed to have his binky! And yes...he probably should have pants on!

But...

2008-04-10T08:22:00.002-05:00

I did accept a position with Hallmark as Client Executive in their HBE, and I start April 28th! Now, this may not seem like a big deal to most people, but it is a HUGE deal for me and my family!

Not only is this a great position with a great company (and a nice promotion), it is also a company that will probably not be bought or sold anytime soon, so I won't have to deal with all of that fun stuff that I've been through at K&Co.

It also means, for my family, that Dan will now get to be a full time stay at home Daddy, and my boys WILL NOT BE IN DAYCARE! I cannot tell you how much this means to me - I know they will be taken care of by someone who loves them as much as I do! And that is the best part! We will have to pinch some pennies and cut some extra stuff out, but it is all well worth it! We are going to enroll Tucker in preschool 2 times a week, and hopefully things will be great going forward!

And...

2008-04-09T16:03:00.001-05:00

I did not accpet a job offer with Vera Bradley, a position that would have relocated our whole family across the country to Ft. Wayne, IN!

(Side note, though - it was an incredible opportunity at a GREAT company working with an INCREDIBLE group of people, it was actually a really hard offer to turn down!)

And...

2008-04-09T12:55:00.000-05:00

...NO! I'm not pregnant!

Change

2008-04-08T20:48:00.001-05:00

There's some big changes coming in the Lowther house...yup...and I'm SOOO excited!

To be continued....

Whew...!

2008-04-07T07:09:00.020-05:00

What a long week it was last week - it seemed like it would never end, and things were just...um...crazy.

So, I think I'll pretty much skip over the week and fast forward to this weekend, but here are a few short recaps:

1. I turned 30 (YIKES) and my hubby got me these:

2. Dan had a job interview, and our kiddos were un-enrolled in daycare (long story), leaving us with no daycare for Friday.

3. My stay at home dad/husband, turned into a scrappin' fanatic and made this (I work at a scrapbooking company and I don't even scrapbook!!)

4. A wonderful person (LANEY) offered to watch our kids on Friday, and I was SO excited.

5. Jackson got sick...again...so no fun times at Laney's on Friday.

That pretty much brings us up to this weekend. Jackson got really sick on Thursday night and started running a fever, and the rash he had on his leg spread all over his body. I took him into the doctor on Friday afternoon, and learned the best way to get in and out of the doctor's office really fast - have your kid puke all over you and everything else while trying to check in at the receptionist desk! We think it's just a stomach bug, but on Saturday night, his fever spiked to 106.1! I don't think I've ever seen a thermometer with a temperature that high! So, we called the after hours doctor's office, and the doctor that called us back (and by that time we had got his fever down to about 103 or so, and it was still going down) told us if we could keep it down, we didn't need to do anything more (REALLY???!!!, doesn't your brain start cooking or something when you're that hot!)

So, we pretty much spent the weekend balancing...a really sick kid that couldn't do much except lay around (and really, wanted to be held most of the time), and spent most of his time doing this:

And a really active boy, with tons of energy who felt great, and knew it was beautiful outside, who spend most of his weekend doing this:

By Sunday night, I thought Jackson was feeling better, so we had spaghetti and popsicles for dinner:

But this morning, he woke up with 102.5 - I feel so bad for the little guy! And he's teething! Dan also found out this weekend that his company is "cutting costs" and so they took away a bunch of their benefits! Not good for us, b/c our insurance is through his company!

So, hopefully, this week will go a little better! As of tonight, I think Jackson was feeling better:

Easter a week later

2008-03-30T19:45:00.025-05:00

Well, I'm finally getting to post about our Easter trip to St. Louis. Tucker, Jackson & I headed out Friday to visit my family. It's the first time that we've all actually been together in a really long time, so we had lots of fun. Dan didn't get to go, because he had to work on Easter (I KNOW! Stupid, isn't it!)

Of course, the first thing Tucker wanted to do when we got there was to hold baby Anna. He loves babies, little black babies girls specifically. It took us a long time to convince him to give her back. He was so good holding her, really careful of her belly boo boo (her feeding tube) and just loved to look at her.

I was very content to go through the whole Easter holiday without dying eggs, but I guess my mom had different ideas. If you look really closely at Tucker's mouth, it's orange. He ate the coloring tablet...he thought it was candy!

The kiddos loved wearing the bunny ears around. In the last picture of Jackson, you can see he has red marks under his nose, and a big red goose egg on his forehead. It was a VERY accident prone weekend. (More on the rest in a minute.) For Jackson, he fell in the bathtub and hit the front of his mouth on the side of the bathtub, and ended up with blood coming out his mouth and his nose. First I thought he bit through his lip, but I don't think he really did. Right after that happened, he fell again and hit his head. And, just so everyone knows...I was there the whole time! He's not a very ... ummm ... balanced baby.

Saturday afternoon we had our Easter egg hunt, and Easter dinner that night. I'm posting a ton of pictures of it because my mom didn't get to see it. I (here's the other part of the accident prone weekend) pulled baby Anna's feeding tube out of her stomach by accident. It was the kind that you get before the Micky button, so it was stitched in and everything! My mom had to take her to the hospital to have it put back in, and she was there until after 10 that night! So she missed Easter dinner and everything! We really missed her, it's just not the same without Nana. And I felt HORRIBLE about what I did to Anna, her little face was just so shocked, and then she screamed and screamed. And worst of all, Tucker & Abby were right there and saw the whole thing, and were pretty upset about it too!

But, back to the egg hunt - the kids had a great time. Some of these are "action" shots, thanks to Uncle Tim. Notice Tucker's bucket at the end...I think he had more fun stealing the eggs out of the other kiddos baskets than looking for his own! And Jackson wasn't really sure what in the world was going on - he'd find and egg, only to have me show him to put it down again in his basket and go look for another one - really, quite a foreign concept to a 1 year old! Eating the candy at the end was the best part, though!

Easter morning was lots of fun - my mom was back (thank goodness!) and the kids loved their baskets and buckets! (You can really see the red under Jackson's nose in this picture!) Tucker showed us his big boy underwear (now, if only he'd actually want to wear them for real!), and Jackson played with Austin's ball, and Austin just hung out on the floor watching it all!

I tried to get some pictures of the boys with me on Easter morning, but as you can tell, they had totally different ideas! Tucker thought it was a game, and Jackson just wanted to take a nap!

I took the Monday after Easter off, so we hung out Sunday afternoon with Holly & Renee, and had a good time playing. Tucker got some 1 on 1 Nana time in the afternoon and loved it. We headed home Monday afternoon.

Ever since, Tucker has walked around our house calling for Abby - Mom or Carrie, want to send her my way? I'll trade you for Jackson for a while!

On a side note, we went for a walk today in our new double jogging stroller, and LOVED it. The boys sit side by side in it, and they shared snacks, and Tucker showed Jackson all the trucks and jeeps. That afternoon, Tucker got back in it and tried to snap himself in, and looked up at me and said "WALK?" and showed Jackson how to crawl up too! If it hadn't been raining, we'd have gone again!