It's Madness!!

Its March Madness and everyone has their brackets filled out and at this point and time, I'm losing bad. Blake started baseball up again, so life now revolves around that. It will keep us busy all summer long. I have a feeling that its going to be a long and hot summer. Here we are mid March and today it was 80 degrees today and no snow in sight. Baseball will be hot this summer! Carter start soccer soon. He will be on a 3 vs. 3 developmental league. Hopefully he likes it. With all this March Madness watching, he's been more into basketball and wants to play another season.
I worked my first graveyard shift at North Suburban the other night and it made me realize that I don't want to work there full time. I've been pretty spoiled at Avista, the patient population is healthy and clean and I don't want to go back to the sick and poor. I know that sounds bad, but I just like easy breezy exams now. I don't miss getting down and dirty.
Mike is suppose to close on his second house later this week. We are excited about that! Our goal is year is 6 houses. I believe he can do it.

Funny Things the Kids Have Said Recently
- For lent I gave up dairy. Carter and I were having lunch outside and I told him I put fake cheese on my sandwich since I couldn't eat real cheese. He looked concerned and as I took a bite he said "Mom, don't eat that!" and I asked "why?" and he said "what if the plastic cuts up your insides". The cheese was made of soy, not plastic.
- Blake and Carter were discussing St. Patricks day. Usually they build a leprechaun trap in pre-school and this year Carter didn't. I asked Blake if the schools' trap caught one and he said "no". Carter said their class trap didn't catch one either. (I don't think they built one, he remembers other peoples stories and re-tells them as his own). Blake said "Carter when you get to 1st grade, its serious. You, don't build traps, you work".

Happy 5th Birthday Carter!

Today is a special day. My baby Lee Lee is 5 years old. I can not believe how fast time has passed. If you were to ask me 5 or 6 months ago (which someone has actually), which time period was the hardest as a mom, I would've told you when the boys were 1 and 3 years old. But tonight, while watching home videos (in particular Carter at age 1), I bawled my eyes out thinking of how great that time was in my life. I can now say that, although there were a lot of great years, my kids at 1 and 3 years old was probably the cutest and most fun year. I'm not denying that the was also probably the hardest time as a mom. In fact, it was so hard that I hardly remember it. I was busy and tired most of the time, but watching that video made me realized how adorable, cute, innocent, and snugly they were. I saw a lot of the same attributes and characteristics C had at 1 that he still has today and it warms my heart to know that that is just who he is going to be. He is a loving, funny, smart and kind person. I love him so much.

On another note, Mike sold his first house! I'm so proud and relieved. Money was getting tight and we needed his paycheck. I hope this is the beginning of a long, lucrative, and fulfilling career for him. He's such a hard worker and he definitely has it in him to be very successful.

I am so grateful and blessed to have two beautiful baby boys, a husband that loves me and a dog that doesn't pee or chew up stuff in the house. haha. Loving life.

It Looks Like A Barn In Here.

It really does look like a barn in here. I got a lovely sliding barn door that is our new pantry door. I got so tired of the kids leaving the large pantry door open and it constantly being in the main walk way from living from to kitchen. Now, when it gets left open, it'll just slide along the side of the wall. I think it looks great and it made me re-organize the pantry which needed to be done for a while now. Plus, it goes with the decor of my house. I live in a pigpen with these boys. It blows my mind the things I find in the areas that I find them.

Tomorrow is Presidents Day and the boys are super excited not to have school. B would be even more excited had he not bruised his heel. Like mother like son. I was 12 weeks pregnant when I bruised my heel and I could've sworn to you that it was broken. So now B is limping around with a cane and missing baseball practice because he decided to jump off the fence, barefoot, on concrete.  I don't believe it's broken but I know it probably feels like it. Lessoned learned for him, poor baby.

Sometimes the kids say the funniest things or do things that I say to myself "I'll always remember this moment". Reality says otherwise. That is the main reason I wanted to start blogging again. C is our little cookie monster. He has a really bad sweet tooth and if we aren't careful, I'm afraid he'll end up diabetic. After dinner one night, I decided that I would take the boys to get a Dairy Queen blizzard. The kids and I jumped in the car and drove to Walmart. They were wondering why and I told them that we could buy more cookies and ice cream for the same amount of money (Mike really wanted warm chocolate chip cookies). C was a bit upset about it because he was looking forward to having a Blizzard and proceeded to tell me "Mom, I'm just not a huge fan of cookies." I just about choked on my spit because that was a total lie and the way he phrased it was so funny!

Long TIme No See

Ok, so it only took me four years to get back to writing. That's not too bad hahaha. So let me catch you up as briefly as I possibly can .

Mike- He is now 36 years old and after running his own design and marketing business for the last 10 years (roughly and successfully I might add), he felt it was time for a change. After much contemplation   he decided to get into real estate. So last summer, Mike studied hard and received his real estate license.   Currently we are still waiting for his first closing. Hopefully that will be really soon. Mike is still involved in softball and has completed a few races with me including a half marathon. He's been coaching B and C in their sports and seems to enjoy it, for the most part. He still likes to go snowboarding,  although that sport is getting pretty pricey for us at the moment. For our 10th wedding anniversary we took a cruise to Alaska and it was breath taking. A must-do for everyone. We had a really good time and much needed R&R.

Me- I am 35 years old and am feeling every bit of it. I am still a Sonographer and for the most part enjoy it, but there have been times (more and more lately) that I think about what else I could be. I kinda want to help Mike out in real estate once business picks up. I don't think I could ever leave ultrasound permanently so who knows what I'll do. I enjoy going snowboarding with Mike (and B now too).  I am still running, but after many 5k, a few 10K,  a 15K and 2 half marathons, the desire to race isn't there at the moment. I've been more interested in body building/fitness competitions lately, but would probably never really do one. After 5 years of working and St. Joseph Hospital, I left and went to an OB/Gyn clinic. I quickly became bored after 4 months and decided to pick up on-call hours at an ER across the street from my house. There was enough variety of exams between the two places that I was able to last for 3 years before I started having problems with my shoulder. My right shoulder was constantly hurting and I was beginning to lose feeling in my fingers and strength in my hand. I had to quit the clinic and cut back to part time. I am currently working and Avista Adventist hospital in Louisville, CO. This is where I've learned echocardiography (which uses my left arm). I am pretty happy where I am at for now, it's been 1.5 years and I don't plan on leaving unless its for a career change.

B- He is now 7 years old and I feel like he looks and acts much older than that. Some words that describe him would be:
-Aggressive
-Passionate
-Smart
-Athletic
-Leader
-Competitive
-Funny
-Confident
B is great at sports and loves playing them. He excels at football and baseball and gives everything he has on the field. He is reading above his grade level and seems to be really good at math as well. He is taller than most of his classmates and hates changing his smelly socks. (barf). Girls seem to crush on him, but he doesn't reciprocate it. His focus is sports and winning. B says he wants to be professional baseball player and looks up to Derek Jeter and Bryce Harper. He just learned to snowboard this year and is picking it up pretty fast, but that's B, he's athletic. I'm not shocked by this. He's currently in first grade and doesn't care for his teacher so much. He loved his kindergarten teacher though. We took the boys to Disneyland in 2015 and it has been, by far, our favorite vacation. B spent some time at Children's Hospital with a bout of pneumonia. Whenever he gets a little sick, for some reason it always affects his lungs more than any of us. We sense he has a little asthma that is triggered with allergies and illness.

C- He is almost 5 (13 more days, but who's counting, oh he is because now he'll be allowed to chew gum). Some words that describe C would be:
-Sensitive
-Empathetic
-Analytical
-Curious
-Motor head
-Shy
-Funny
-Loving/caring
-Girl-crazy
-Tough
C is finishing up his second year of pre-school and we just got report today that he is doing excellent and is a joy to have in the class room. C likes to play sports, but he LOVES to play video games. He is pretty good at them too. If we're not careful, C will play for hours. I'm not gonna lie or deny it, but C is the classic "baby of the family" My schoompie gets away with things he probably shouldn't. Our fault I know. In school he seems pretty average compared to others in his class and he says he enjoys science (I don't know what kind of science they do in pre-school or if he is just copying B). C loves trucks, cars, and motorcycles. He is always running around pretending he is a race car or monster truck. C never really stops running, in fact, he can run a mile without stopping! Pretty impressive for a 4 year old if you ask me. After B was in the hospital, C thought he should be next and crashed his bike (of course not on purpose). He ended up knocking out his two front teeth, getting stitches in his chin, and lots of scrapes and bruises. He was so brave and tough at the hospital. I can't help but think, all the years B has messed with him made him really brave and tough. C seems a little afraid of heights, I've noticed. I'm curious to see how this plays out as he gets older.

Breck- she is an Australian Shepherd we got last year as a puppy. No one, but Mike wanted a dog, but she has turned out to be a really good dog. Super smart (potty trained really fast), loves people, and very trainable. At first the kids didn't really like her (they were a bit scared of dogs), but now they love her. C even calls her his best friend.

That's about it in a nut shell. I'm sad I let this go for so long and I'm sure there are so many memories I wish I would've wrote down. I think Facebook took that away and I hope there is a way to print out all my posts so I can have them to fill in the gasps. My purpose for doing this is so when I am old and can look back at these times reminiscence, then when I am dead and gone, my boys and read about their lives as kids and share with their families.

1 and 3

I am a mother to a 3 yr. old AND a 1 yr. old! C celebrated his birthday a week late due to illness. We have been sick since the beginning of February into March, and I am sick of it. C has had ear infection after ear infection. B has had sinus infection and pink eye (both eyes), I have had a respiratory infection and head colds, and Mike has had his fair share of colds too. So for is party we just had a small gathering of family, nothing big as it was a last minute get together. It was nice. C loved his cake er....I mean frosting. At first he didn't want anything to do with his cake and started crying until I stuck my finger into the frosting then shoved it into his mouth. Then he realized that it was sugar and he loves sugar. That's the only thing he really eats and if he sees any of us with something sweet, he will throw the biggest tantrum until we either give in or distract him. Sometimes when he does this, B will say "crying about is not going to make it any better." Sometimes B will just give him a cookie without us knowing it just to shut him up.

Today C took some balanced and calculated steps! He was just falling with style before, but now he is actually taking 3-4 balanced and controlled steps. So exciting to see him develop and learn. He is looking too big to me now. He is also waving good-bye and hello, he can follow some commands (i.e. Where's your belly? Touch the button.  Put it in? Get another one?), and he is trying to make us laugh all the time. Looks like we will have two "class clowns".  His personality is so big as well. I think he could be more strong willed than B was/is. Time will tell.

B wrote his name and my name for the first time on his dry erase board yesterday! I was so proud! Granted I had to tell him how to spell it (although he can spell his name to the tune of B-I-N-G-O), but he wrote it all by himself. He is such a little comedian. He thinks it is so funny to put his underwear in my work bag so that I find them when I am at work. Actually, it is kind of funny. He is still having issues with staying in his room all night and frequently sleeps in "his corner" in our room. I don't mind too much because I know it won't last forever. He is very loving when he wants to be and very demanding at other times. I suppose this is typical for a 3 year old. It is getting so much more fun to do things with, just him and I. For instance, he went to see an IMAXX movie for the first time. It was in 3D and he did so good and loved it. I love taking him to experience things. Oh, and he also refuses to wear anything but sweat pants. Nothing matches sweat pants! Now add the pair of plastic neon green shoes that Mike bought him, and the fact that he never wants to come his hair, and we got a pretty interesting looking kid. Aye! It's so fraustrating trying to teach him to take pride in the way he looks. Oh well. I am sure this will pass to.

 At the Zoo (notice the outfit hahaha)

 At IMAX

 C's favorite ride.

 B's first snowman

 Acting goofy

I decided to do another 5k race and possibly a 10K later this year. Other than that my life if pretty much wrapped up in my boys. That is whats going on in my life (in a nut shell) right now. I feel totally exhausted and my house is always a mess, but thats the season of life I am and I do love it. I love all three of my boys .

Wait! What just happened? It's 2013!

So the holidays have come and gone and celebrating C's first Christmas was so much fun. He really enjoyed hanging out with everyone until he puked. Yeah, I forgot to mention that Christmas was almost ruined thanks to the parents of a little girl at Daycare. They thought it would be a good idea to watch their older son in the Christmas play do his thing while his poor little sister vomited on everyone else, ruining Christmas for a lot of other families. (I have to blame someone). So B got the stomach bug and was over it by mid day Christmas Eve and then on schedule, C vomited Christmas Eve. I am just thankful that both kids only puked once and felt fine after that.

C had fun trying to open gifts, but really just loved the wrapping paper. B was so excited to see that Santa brought him an indoor trampoline and a dinosaur. He is finally realizing the magic of Christmas and it is so much fun to watch his imagination just take off. This year was our first year doing Elf on the shelf and we had a lot of fun with that as well.

C has had an exponential growth spurt lately, not only physically but intelluctually as well. He can now walk with a walker and climb over just about everything. He constantly babbles, he got two new teeth (left bottom and left top), and he is into everything! He is such a little explorer. C is perfectly contant being alone and exploring his world (the opposite  of B). B always wanted to play with us at that age. Unfortunately, with all this brain growth, he is having a hard time "shutting it down" at night and is waking up for hours in the middle of the night, ready to play.

B is really starting to show his protectiveness over his baby brother. The other day C fell over and the walker fell on top of him, hurting him. B got up  and said "poor baby" and grabbed the walker and through it across the room. Then went over and hit it while saying "bad walker, you don't hurt my baby brother". While initially Mike and I were stunned disturbed over such violent behavior we also thought it was quite sweet.

Christmas Time again

I distinctly remember saying last year to Mike, "just think, this time next year we will have two kids here for Christmas." And now we are here. I can't believe how fast this last year flew by. I realize every year goes by faster and faster and it makes me a little sad. C is about to celebrate his first Christmas and I think all he will care about is the wrapping paper. B has been so good about not opening his presents until Christmas and he makes sure everyone that comes over knows that too.

This year we decided to try out "Elf on the Shelf" which, if you haven't heard about it, is a fun new tradition we decided to start. It involves a small elf that B has named Norman (he got the name off a show Fireman Sam), that flies in everynight and props himself up somewhere in the house and watches over the childrens' behavior then reports it back to Santa. The kids can not touch him because he'll lose his magic and will be unable to fly back to Santa. The elf can not speak either per request from Santa, but he can hear and will tell Santa whatever the kids want to say to him. It's cute and we are having fun with it. Its fun to watch B try and find him every morning. As far as behavior goes, well it sure doesn't prevent him or alter his naughty behavior.

Tonigh his B's first school play of the first Chirstmas and he plays a wiseman. He has 3 lines and he already has it memorized. I am so excited for this play that I might cry watching him up there. I know I am that mom.

looking like Papa Lyle

C is pulling himself up now in his crib and the bathtub. I think it is time to drop the mattress. Just another reminder of how big he is getting. He is just so darn cute I could eat him up. I think he is looking more and more like my dad, especially now that the bags under the eyes (classic Penner eyes) are becoming more prominent. He is such a good baby and so chill. Love. And to think I was afraid I would not love him as much as B, ha!