First Day of School 2014

 This year all the kids are enrolled in the Nauvoo school district.  YAY!  School started on August 18th for all the boys.  Tristan is a Freshman at Warsaw High School.  Warsaw sends their middle school students to Nauvoo and Nauvoo sends their high school students to Warsaw.  He was able to get into some awesome classes and was excited.  So far he is loving high school and that makes me happy to know that he is happy.  

 Cullen started Kindergarten and his teacher is Mrs. Fink.  She is the second Mrs. Fink that we have had.  This one used to be Mrs. White though before she was married.  The old Mrs. Fink teaches Pre-K in Warsaw now.  (Side note: The old Mrs. Fink adopted a daughter a few years back and emailed me before they got her and asked what I thought of her naming her new baby Kalista!  I thought it was super, lol! Obviously she isn't named after me but, she got the idea for the name from my name, because she hadn't heard it before me.) Also, Cullen was convinced that he was going to stay in PRe-K with Mrs. McConnell.  In fact on the back to school Open House night he threw a huge fit in the PRe-K room on how it was HIS and not Eden's classroom.  Jeremy finally had to take him to the car because he was screaming so loud! :) Anyway, Cullen is happy to be in Kindergarten now and again...that makes me happy too! 

 Liam started 4th grade this year and his teacher is Mrs. Rose.  Tristan had Mrs. Rose back when he was in 1st grade.  Liam adapted very quickly (he had a few friends from Scouts in his class that he knew so that helped!).  So the transition from Carthage to Nauvoo was fairly easy on him.  He seems happy....and of course, that makes me happy! 

 Cedric is in 7th grade this year and my only one out at the Middle School.  He was very nervous to start that first day.  And for the first week or so, he struggled with not know the school or anyone in it, and being shy.  I got the inspiration to send him to school with a couple of packs of gum to share with people and help start up conversations and, voila, it seemed to do the trick!  He is doing well and is happy to be there!  And when he is happy, let's all say it together, "That makes me happy too!"  LOL! 

 They are all so cooperative and happy to pose for pictures for me.  

(Please note the sarcasm.)

 Asher started 3rd grade this year and his teacher is Mrs. Nolte.  Asher is doing great in school.  He is always very excited to talk about what happened that day when I pick him up.  He also had the duty of picking up Liam from his classroom the first few days to help show Liam around.  And now he gets to go to Eden's classroom to pick her up and walk with her to the Music Room where I pick them up each day.  He is excited that she holds his hand while they walk.  I think it makes him feel like a good big brother and he is!! So, can you guess what I am going to say about that??  I am so happy that he is happy!! 

 Don't they all look just THRILLED!?! 

 Eden started school on the 21st of August (Tristan's birthday.)  They started half the class on Thursday and half on Friday and they all went they following Monday.  This is her first day of school ever!  She is in Pre-K with Mrs. McConnell. I took her to the classroom that morning and she waved goodbye and told me "See ya later!"  No tears, nothing. She did GREAT! I am so proud!  The first day the teacher called and told me a couple of funny stories.  One, Eden decided to leave a lasting imprint with her new friends and laid it all out there for them by getting naked on the playground!  lol!  She took her shoes, socks, shorts, and pull-up off but, decided to leave her shirt on at least!  Oh my!  Also, she got away from the teacher and decided to take off to the other side of the school and hide out in the Kindergarten loft!  Mrs. McConnell looked there first because she said Eden was wanting to visit Cullen earlier in the day.  And yep, there she was! 

She loves getting up to get ready each day since and is always happy when I pick her up.  I already notice a difference in her.  She is talking more, using sentences more, and waiting more.  She is also letting me do her hair and washing her hands.  

I think this is going to be very beneficial to her. 

So, it is just me and Vivianne all day, all by ourselves.  It is good and bad.  The first day Eden was at school I was Anxiety Girl and couldn't focus to get anything done.  The days since have been better and we are all getting into a new groove.

Liam and Viv

 Liam loves Vivianne.  He loves to help out with her and always wants to make she she is happy and okay.  If she starts fussing while sitting in her port-a-crib or swing he will jump and and get her.  He says "It's okay, Vivianne." He likes to tote her around like a little doll but, I prefer it when he sits with her, lol.  But, he is always very careful with her.  

 He was just hanging out watching t.v.  

 She doesn't mind at all.  I think they are going to be buddies! :)

Rollin' With the Crab Apples

 This is where I find Eden most since we have moved here.  She loves to pick up the little crab apples from the ground and roll them down the slide.  I wanted to try to capture how cute she is while she does it.  I love that she never wears shoes like me and that she loves being outside.  

 What are you doing, Mom?  

I had tried to kind of sneak up on her so I could catch her natural faces and such but, she was on to me, haha! But, she just kept right on doing what she was doing. 

She would  make a few trips and make a pile then roll them all down the slide.  Then I pushed her on the swing for a while.  She loves swinging really high!

Trying to Update

Oh my goodness, these past couple have days have about done me in.  From leaks in the ceiling, to starting a new school year, to puke galore, organizing house, BIRTHDAYS, and regular life.
 I NEED a VACATION. 
Like a long one on a beach somewhere.  As soon as my Carthage house sells, it's on like Donkey Kong.  Well, and I better start actually getting some dieting done too so that I will feel remotely comfortable while on the beach, lol!
So today Eden's teacher, Mrs. McConnell, came to see her for her home visit.  She rang the bell and presented Eden with a yellow helium balloon tied to a pack of crayons and a coloring book!  Eden was thrilled to say the least!  "Oh, it's a baloo-loo-oo-oo-oo-n!"  Mrs. McConnell is the best teacher EVER.  Like ever-ever.  She is totally great with the kids and great as a person.  I am over the moon that most of my kids have gotten to have her for a teacher...everyone except Liam and Asher :(
We decided that Eden will start school tomorrow.  Half the class starts on Thursday and half starts on Friday.  Then they all go full time starting Monday.  I am nervous and excited for Eden at the same time.

I have more to say but, I just cannot type right now.  It pains my arms so much. I have to blog about my hands/armsss too but, not now.  Sorry.

Meeting Kylie!

 At the end of July my friend Tuesday came to Nauvoo for the City of Joseph Reunion.  I didn't end up going to it because we were in the middle of a move and most of my best COJ friends weren't there.  But, anyway, Tuesday came by with Kylie!!! She is adorable and way bigger than Viv, which I wasn't expecting....her being 8 weeks early and all!  Tuesday was having to plug her into the wall for her heart/breathing monitor.  Kylie was feeling out of sorts after being out of her element the whole day and Tuesday felt bad that she wasn't her normal, happy, cute, self.  Luckily, I know how that goes and didn't mind one tiny bit! 

Kevin came over too and we just hung out, ate tacos, ate banana splits, and chatted.  Tuesday had asked me to take some pics of Kylie but, she just wasn't in the mood.  So, I just snapped a few randoms and got some cute ones! 

 My Vivianne was just quiet and sleepy all night long.  I don't snap enough pictures of her.  She is simply gorgeous.  We are seriously smitten with her.  Like I can't imagine not having her in our lives.  I am SO stinking glad that we got pregnant with her. 

 Tuesday came bearing gifts!  She makes the cutest little barefoot baby sandals.  I got a white pair and a pink pair.  Then she made the bows/flowers interchangeable.  They just snap on and off.  I got this floral one, a pink one, and a white one.  I think they are awesome! 

Things of the Recent Past

A couple of nights ago, I got to go out with Trisha to Burlington for a girls night.  We do this sometimes and it is always nice to get away without kids and just hanging out.  We hit up Shokai Sushi place again, as usual.  It is always SO freaking yummy!! I never think to use my iphone for pictures but, I should start taking some because our food always looks like it came from a magazine or food show.  Anyway, I also tried sake for the first time.  There were two versions of it.  The first was served warm and burnt going down like drinking warmed up vodka.  Eww, who the heck thought that was a good idea!?!  The next was a plum sake and it was served cold and tasted super duper!! The kicker was it was served in the cutest little asian style flask and itty bitty little tea cups. 
Then we went to Target and shopped.  We both picked up some things for Eden's birthday.  I got some more school supplies, etc.  Then we had to stop at Sassy Strawberry before heading home because ya know, FRO-YO!  I love getting to hang out together and have some girl time. 

On Wednesday, Liam had a cub scout activity.  Grandma Trapp is his leader and had planned to visit the Kibbe Nature Preserve in Warsaw and go on a hike to cross some things off for their badges.  They went to the Hamilton Park afterwards and played and had a picnic.  He really had a good time!  Then, since I was gone with Tristan and Cullen at the doctor, he stayed with his friend Will Skog and rode bikes around the neighborhood.  He is super excited that Will will be in his class at school.  I think that will make the transition easier for him. 

Yesterday, Liam and Cedric said they found a bug in Liam's hair but, got it out.  I said, where is the bug?  They flung it off onto Liam's bed apparently.  I just shook my head.  Good grief.  I went into the bedroom and tried to locate the bug to see if it was a tick.  Couldn't find it.  Great.  So, I took all the sheet off and threw it outside.  Then started checking Liam for any others.  I told him to go check his crotch.  He came back and said he thought he had a tick there.  He let me look and sure enough there was a tiny tick there. UGH!  I got online to see how to get it off of him.  I followed the directions and but, still got the head stuck in his skin.  We had to call the doctor and they were booked full so we had to get him to the after hours walk-in clinic.  They were able to get the head out and sent him home, good as new! Whew!  Now, as I type this I feel like my head is crawling full of bugs!! EWWWWWW. Liam was a super trooper though and Jeremy even got him a Chips Ahoy Blizzard from DQ on the way home for being such a brave boy.  Apparently they had to dig around in a very sensitive area for a bit, lol!  Poor kid!!

Also, there is something wrong with both my hands and arms.  My right one has carpal tunnel so bad that it is pretty much painfully, tingly, numb all the time.  It is the worst I have ever felt it.  My left arm/hand is throbbing all the way from my hand, up to my shoulder and down my back. I can't put any pressure on my hand or arm.  It is slightly swollen and feels like it is broken....like a hairline or green fracture.  But, I can't think of how I would have done that without myself knowing that I had done that, haha!  I have broken my bones plenty of times and always remember it being very painful. Anywho, not sure what to do at this point.  But, last night it was throbbing so bad, I thought I should cut my arm off.  Ugh. 

Today, my new washing machine gets delivered!  I am thrilled because I have been having to go to the laundromat and it is getting old.  Really old.  Now, I will have a matching set of washer and dryer.  Sweet.  Tomorrow my new living room furniture gets delivered.  Finally the house my start getting my organized and nice looking. 

Blueberries and Cream Pies

 I was really, really craving a blueberry and cream pie the other day.  I used to make these when I made desserts for Mike's Homestead Diner.  I also made raspberry and cream pies that were equally as good.  I had a ton of blueberries on hand and decided to do it.  I didn't realize that I didn't buy deep dish crusts so I ended up with two pies after the filling was too much for just one pie.  I started to cut into one and eat some before I thought to take a picture but, whatever.  I ate WAY TOO MUCH pie on the first day so I wanted to get rid of the second pie.  Nathan Nelson's baby girl had passed away earlier in the week (SO SO SAD) and the funeral was Friday morning.  I decided to take the pie over for the family dinner after the funeral.  I didn't talk to anyone and left the pie kinda anonymously so that felt good too.  I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.  

I should put the recipe in my cookbook. 

Burping

Vivianne burps like a man.  And she has since she was born. 

Eden the Girlie

 One day about a month or so ago, I walked down the steps to find Eden's baby doll on the table like this.  Covered up and "put to bed" with a shirt for a blanket.  Eden does this all the time all over the place.  Sometimes we will find a super tiny doll, like one from her dollhouse, covered up with a full size adult blanket with only the little head sticking out.  It is super cute and I love finding these little surprises.  

 Later on she actually sat semi-still for me to attempt to do her hair.  She still wiggled quite a bit so that braids are uneven and not perfect at all but, she let me do it!!! Baby steps.  

 I love my girlies so much!!

Boring/Fun Day

Okay, so the day to day chores and taking care of the kiddos is taking up all my sorting and organizing time.  Jeremy says we just need to calm down and do what we can.  Life is completely overwhelming me right now.  Yesterday was a horrible day for me and I probably made it horrible for the kids.  I hate that.  I just feel all weird and out of wack when I do that.  Especially when I leave the kids somewhere after arguing with them.  Which I did.  So, today I am just trying to relax and have fun and not worry about getting a darn thing done even though I have a crap ton of stuff to get done.  Like getting them registered for school which I can't figure out how I am going to do because I don't want to drag them all into the school and try to fill out paperwork and talk to people.  Sheesh.  Oh well.  Today is funday.  Now, what to do for fun?????

Vivianne's First Bath at Home

 Jeremy took the pics and said that I should be taking them but, I wanted to bathe her.  So, they are a little blurry but, he did a good job anyway.  

I got a cool Spa tub for her that has vibration and music I think.  I have yet to put batteries in it though and it still functions as a bath tub, lol!  Good grief, sometimes the smallest things are the hardest for me to do.  Like putting batteries in a baby tub.  You would think at some point in two months I would have thought to do it but, nope.  Just nope.  

 Anywho, the point is, Viv loved the bath(mostly).  She is cute, cute, cute.  She was so tiny this first time, I was scared to bathe her almost.  She kept flopping over.  Poor thing.  

 We are enjoying having a baby in the house again.  I am trying to soak up as much as possible as this is my very last baby.  I know, I know, I have been very blessed to have as  many babies as I have but, it feels so rewarding to carry, birth, and take care of newborns.  I am going to miss it when it is all gone.  For now I will try to live in the here and now and enjoy it.  

Still Moving

We are still only half settled in our new house.  Even with that being said, I am so stinking happy to have moved back to Nauvoo and I am in love with our new house.  I keep telling the kids that we bought a Tardis house (Dr. Who reference) because it is bigger on the inside! haha! It really is though.  The house looks like a cracker box from the outside and you wonder how in the world nine people could possibly fit.  But, somehow we do and we are happy!  The yard is perfection for me.  I always told Jeremy that I wanted a yard completely surrounded by trees and forest but, still in town....we both thought I was nuts!  Well, I got it!  We have had to buy and fix more stuff than we planned on but, hopefully it will all still go smoothly.  I will be posting pictures eventually.  We got a new living room furniture set that includes, couch, loveseat, chair, and rug.  We got a new tv stand for downstairs.  New rugs for the whole house. A new washing machine is on order too.  New (used) beds for Liam and Cedric. What else??  Hmmmm, maybe that is it.  Our Keurig isn't working right all of a sudden either.  It is still under warranty though so Jeremy called the company.  They are sending a new reservoir and hoping that fixes the problem.  If it doesn't they will be getting us a new machine.  Saa-weet! 

So last night Jeremy and I went to the Carthage house and picked up garbage laying around the house and set the garbage out for pickup.  We sorted some of the stuff still left there and fed/watered the cat.  Then we went to Macomb for a grocery run.  I am going to miss shopping in Macomb and Quincy.  Anyhow, we came back through Carthage on the way home and picked up Sookie in the cat carrier.  He made the most awful, strange sounds I had ever heard a cat make......the entire drive to Nauvoo.  He just hated the ride.  Right before Bluff Woods, there was an increase in the wackadoodle noises and some thrashing about in the cage.  Two seconds later, the most horrible stench straight from the depths of hell started to permeate the car and into our nostrils.  Dear God, the car ride had scared the crap right outta the kitty.  We got to the house as quick as possible.  I thought we were going to pass out from the overwhelming nastiness of it all.  Once in the driveway, we opened the back hatch and let the cat out.  He was covered in liquid poo.  We ran away from the cat and I'm sure, didn't make his transition to his new home very easy.  Jeremy's new name for the cat is Poopy Cat. 

Funny Girl

Okay, this is embarrassing and funny at the same time.  Eden just picked up my flipper (fake tooth, retainer thing) that was sitting on the desk next to me.  She put it in her mouth and said "teeth, YUM!"  Bahahahaha!!! I laughed so hard!  Oh my!  She sees me take it in and out.  Oh funny stuff.  But, I hate that thing.  I have an appointment on the 5th of August to consult next on what to do with my teeth.  It should be fun I am sure.  Please note the sarcasm in my typing. 

Dying Easter Eggs

 And now for another journey back in time....here are some pics of the kiddos coloring easter eggs a couple of days before Easter.  Tristan, Liam, and Asher were the only ones who wanted anything to do with it this year.  Cullen finally came around towards the end of coloring them and was slightly annoyed that there weren't more eggs for him to color.  We tried explaining that he should have come in to dye them when we told him to but, he kept telling us no.  But, he did get to do a few so that is good! 

 Jed had come over a few days before this and started on the wainscotting.  There is still sawdust on the walls and stuff but, still a HUGE improvement!! 

He will coming to the Carthage house sometime this week or next to finish up so we can start listing the house.  

 Pretty eggs.

Our kids rock! 

Tuesday's Baby Shower

 Way back at the beginning of April one of my very best, life-long friends had her very first baby shower.  Jeremy and I drove to Peoria so that I could be participate in her shower with her.  It was at a very old historic house in a historic district of Peoria.  A funny thing happened as we were trying to get there.  We had just left Babies R US after getting her a gift and I told Siri on my iphone the address of the shower.  We drove around, got on the freeway, crossed a bridge into East Peoria and thought the whole time it was really weird.  Right at 1:00 when it was supposed to start, Siri says: "You have arrived at your destination."  We were in a rundown part of town, next to the railroad tracks at a building that said, Rick's Towing or something like that.  What a strange place for a baby shower!?!?!?  LOL!  Nope, I had said Randolph street instead of Randolph Drive.  So, we had to drive back across town and finally made it!  haha!  

Anyway, Jeremy dropped me off and I had a great time visiting with Tuesday, Alison (pictured above, Tuesday's niece who was due a couple of weeks before me), and Tuesday's sisters!  She also had a ton of friends there from Peoria.  

She got a crap ton of stuff too! 

It was awesome to get to spend time with her on her special day.  She and Chad had to really go through a lot to get pregnant.  And it finally happened with invitro fertilization.  And as I think I wrote about already, she ended up having her baby, Kylie, 8 weeks early!! But, her baby is doing wonderfully and so is she!! 

A New Job

Okay, so I really want to be a birth photographer.  I am going to just do it.  I need to find a couple of pregnant people that would want me to photograph their birth and I would do it at a discounted rate to build my portfolio.  hmmmm.....And start a web page and facebook page.....yep.  I think I should do it.  It will be satisfying to my soul. 

Vivi Lu

I feel like I haven't been keeping up with posting about Vivianne because we have been so busy.  And when we have a minute to relax, we are too exhausted to actually do anything.  Vivianne was two months old on the 15th.  Crazy!  We all love her so much!  She is a good baby and has gotten over her fussy stage that she had at the beginning.  She is a super sleeper and often sleeps through the night.  Even when she doesn't, she only wakes up once or twice to eat.  I just feed her there in bed.  Breastfeeding has been a battle this time for me but, one that I am going to win!  I have to eat a shit ton of oatmeal, take the More Milk Plus pills, and down water like it's going outta style but, I am determined to feed her the BEST possible food.  We bought one container of formula to give her when she is at Grandma's or whatever and it is about half gone.  She finished off a sample small container but, otherwise it is all Mama's milk.  I am having a hard time pumping enough to give Grandma but, at least she is eating from me the majority of the time.  And now that the move is nearly complete she should be with me all the time. 
We took her to see Dr. Davis on the 10th.  We LOVE Dr. Davis and have switched our entire family care to him.  She weighed in at 9lbs. 1oz.  and that puts her in the 10th percentile.  She is a little miss.  Her length was 21 inches and that also put her in the 10th percentile.  She got a couple shots which I hated and so did she.  I love how Dr. Davis approaches shots too.  He listens to me and I feel like I can talk to him like a normal person rather than "doctor". 
Vivi Lu is starting to coo a lot and make noise.  It is very cute and we are sure she is speaking some cute little fairy language.  Today I am going to do her two month photo.  A couple of days late but, whatever.  I am trying to do a month by month photo with the stickers and blanket that Trisha got me at the shower.  I think today we will do an outdoor shot. 

Planting Flowers

 I didn't play in my yard much at all this year because I was very pregnant in the Spring and very busy in the Summer.  But, I did do some big pots finally.  I bought Eden some Minnie Mouse gardening gloves and let her help me.  She loved it!! I thought maybe I was wasting money on the gloves but she wanted to wear them and was excited to help me plant the flowers too.  Score!  I bought the "good" potting soil and the flowers that are easy and don't require much actual care.  We had fun together just Eden and Mom.  

 Unfortunately these pots didn't survive though.  They got busted in the move.  Not a big deal really, just a waste of money.  But, I guess not really because Eden and I got to spend time together.  I also planted in the pot that Debbie got us when my Dad died.  It also got broken in the move.  I knew the pot would break eventually but it was still sad.   But, this day with Eden will last forever. 

Life Is Crazy Busy

I have not, in fact, fallen off the face of the earth!  We are just so caught up in moving, doctor appointments, life, etc. that there is no time left over for anything!! Agh! I feel like the entire summer is being occupied with "things we need to do" and not with "fun summer things".  I swear once we are fully in the Nauvoo house I am going to have so much fun the rest of the summer. 
Right now we are in limbo as Jeremy and I have moved almost the entire house by ourselves.  My body hurts SO BAD.  I haven't had a decent nights sleep either.  But, it should all be worth it in the end.  I only have a few minutes to update this blog right now because I am waiting for Jeremy to get back from the bank so we can go to add another couch set to our already purchased couch, loveseat, chair, ottoman, and rug.  We are buying another set for the upstairs sitting area in the new house.  They said it could be up to a month for our other set to come in!!! WHAT THE WHAT?!?!  Apparently it was special order.  We had Mediacom to the new house today, pest control on Tuesday, Tony with Nature's Caretakers there yesterday.  Things are getting done though.  My brain is fried.  I can't even write a cohesive paragraph so I think I should just stop already.