Thankful part 2

Wow, I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We were very busy with many things. My husband and I both had a 4 day weekend so we planned a trip to Bend once Thanksgiving was over to spend some much needed family time together.
If you dont know, Bella was diagnosed with Asthma 3 weeks ago and we have been battling what meds to put her on and what will help her cough so we all can get some rest. The first medicine they tried was singulair which she is still on and it worked great. But only for a few days. That is when they decided that she needed an inhaler. Albuterol was added. That quit working so a steroid was added. The only problem is, the pharmacist told us we did not need a spacer so because of that, Bella ended up ingesting most of the inhaler instead of it going into her lungs and she became sicker than a dog while we were in Bend. So, instead of playing all weekend in the snow, we were taking care of her in a hotel. Poor Syd didnt get to do anything, so we will have to make it up to her soon.
Anyways, I took her off that steroid and let it work its way out of her system and then Monday night we started all over with the coughing. Yesterday, the doctor called us and said she should have never been on the first steroid because it is not for anyone under 4 and she is only 2. They now have her on Symbacort and it is working well. She ate double of everything today and has so much energy and is NOT coughing. I am so thankful that she is ok and that there are knowledgable doctors out there that listen and help.
So, that is where we are at now. The kids are already asleep and I am headed that way myself, but here are a few pics of our few minutes in the snow in Bend this last weekend!

Im a bad Blogger

I have been gone a while from blogging....it seems like life has just taken over - literally everything. Our house was so messy, we took this weekend and re-organized EVERYTHING. We tried to deep clean and d-clutter everything in sight. I can say that we did well on the kitchen and living room. Redecorated a little and moved things around. As the holidays are starting to approach rapidly, Im trying to do too many things and what I really need to do is slow down and enjoy every moment.

I have to say that alot of blogs that i read really inspire me to decorate and get into the spirit which I have been bad at doing in the past. The kids are really into the holidays this year as they understand what it is all about. Last week I visited a store called Real Deals in Corvallis and found an awesome sign that reads, "Thankful hearts gather here." I hung it on my mantel so it is the first thing we see everyday. It really inspires me to stay positive and be thankful for everything, including my daughters Asthma which she was just diagnosed with.

I didnt really want to hear that she has Asthma, she is only two. But, the thankful part to it, is now I dont have to run to the doctor at every little cough and wonder why it hangs around for 4-5 weeks when she has no other symptoms. Now, we know what to expect and what to do for her. That is a blessing instead of always questioning what was wrong with her.

So, that is all for now. Time for us to have dinner and finish this mess that was created in order to be more organized !

Blessings

Can I say, WOW?!! As busy as we have been, we have been abundantly blessed.
A little history so you understand. One year ago, my husband was laid off from work. He was home for 4 months with our girls while trying to look for a job, trying not to think about how he was going to provide for our family, trying to be our rock while I worked and also tried to figure this all out too. The first blessing was that he was able to cash out what retirement he had and that paid our bills for 2 months. We then were at a point we qualified for WIC and this is our last month - they certified us for a year because we were at the income qualifications. The first blessing of the new year was that he was able to get on at the hospital where I work which at the time we did not know what great things that would bring. He has been working there for 10 months and we have had our struggles. There have been sacrifices of him having to work weekends just so we can afford part time daycare and gas. We have commuted on all the days we could together, and done as much as we could to make our schedule normal when we were all together. And the entire time I kept praying, asking God to keep taking care of our family. Whille Don was off, we still had a roof over our head, food to eat, and warm clothes to wear. Times were tight, but we have been so thankful to just have that. As I have prayed, things have gotten rough at times, but we have already been taken care of. Well, last week my husband became the Assitant Manager of the department he was hired in. Because things have been tight, we have alot of bills to catch up on and the kids were in need of some clothing that we have not been able to buy. Well, two different people from my work, randomly asked if we needed clothing and both girls got some hand me downs, which are like Christmas for all of us. Of the things we received, there were dresses in them, which is another thing I wanted to get for them so they could wear them to Church. It was just so much - almost like overload. God is Good- and is taking care of our family in so many ways. I just wanted to share those blessings:)

For Jill, I love the Barnes Yard. Sorry I didnt participate, but that is great. Any ideas for us?? Williams House seems so plain - which we are not, but I didnt really put alot into it when I started my blog.
For Melanie, Love that you are current on your blog. Little Nae Nae is a doll - love her pics.
For Jasmine - Preston is so adorable and a fan is the best white noise there is - our kids cant sleep without it and they sleep better with it and then we dont have to be quiet:)
For Natasha - you need to update your blog :)

For me - everyone is asleep and I am catching up on Greys, ER and Army Wives. This week has been so crazy busy that we have not had a chance to watch anything, so that is what I am doing now all alone :) Mommy time is good. I should be doing laundry or something, but relaxing is the best energy booster.

First Open House

Tonite was Sydney's first open house at her school. I was rather excited about this because there are days that I feel so out of the loop with what Syd is doing. If you have kids, you know that they dont tell you everything even if they do talk non-stop. I was hoping that by going to this I could see what she does during the day as well as find a way to stay in contact with her teacher.
While we were in her classroom listening to her teacher explaining what they do, she asked if anyone had any questions and Sydney raised her hand. I was anticipating that she might ask her teacher to talk about something great she did in class. Much to my surprise, she caught me off guard. She says, " I wanted you to ask my mom what she did." I looked at her and said, "what?"
She looked at me and said, "what do you do mom?" I had no idea what she was talking about. She then said, " What do you not do, mom?" My mom does Not sing me to sleep at night." So, there I was stunned, blushing and the room of parents was laughing at her comment of what I, as a mother did not do. It was too much.
We then got to meet her best friend Lisi that she has had since school has started to then find out that she lives down the street from us so now we know where she lives.
We got a tour of where the gym, library and music room were and as the open house came to an end and Sydney walked her sassy self out of the classroom, I managed to get an email address of her teacher so I could be kept more in the loop other than through my 5 year old. It was an interesting evening :)

Jill is right

Ok, Jill this post is for you. I got a kick out of your blog comment tonite. Where do you find the time and if you dont have a computer, how do you update your blog?
My time seems so stretched thin - really thin this week. Bella had her tubes put in Monday morning. What they dont tell you is how horrible it is. They say, "oh, it takes ten minutes" and they fail to tell you that after you get there at 630 to check in, your dr could be on call and show up 2 hours later to then bump you because they felt like it. So, our 7 am surgery happened at 9 and then we were there 2 more hours because Bella was so disoriented and every noise hurt her since she has not been able to hear for the last 18 months. her ears were full of infection. to add to that, Sydney has had homework all week for school and I feel like a bad mom sometimes because I dont have the energy to do the homework. But I make myself do it since all she wants is my attention. Then to add to that, I realized that I had so many piles of laundry to get done since I have neglected that for a while. Anyways, my energy leaves me by 7 pm and i forget to blog. But, I will agree, I like reading other people's blogs and love the new posts....I just need to work harder at mine. So, Jill, I will work harder at it for you!!:)

Can life get too crazy?

Just when I think I will keep up on something, like my blog, life takes over and every hour of the day seems to be filled up. My friend Melanie was in labor last time I updated anyone and since then, she has had her baby girl, my oldest child started Kindergarten, My youngest child got an ear infection and is now scheduled for Tubes, I have been vomited and coughed on, spent 2 hours in the ER, Played tag with the school bus and school personel and been to the doctor twice and pharmacy three times to get meds. I am surprised I am not insane yet.
Honestly, this seems to be how my life is every week. If the kids are not sick, or the laundry has not overflowed, then there are bills due, grocery shopping to get done, or tv to catch up on. I have not really gotten into TV much this summer since A - there is nothing on, and B - I have been too busy trying to fit everything into my all too short day.
I never realized that having a child in kindergarten would really change how tired I would be. We get up at the same time, but Sydney is so tired from the stimulation of learning at school that she does not get a nap and so by the time we get home, dinner is now served at 430 and she and Bella both are in bed by 700. I have to say that time is nice because I have a whole evening ahead of me, but I feel old because I quickly follow to bed by 8. We dont have much homework, but they send home a packet of stuff for us parents to read each week and it is alot of stuff so that takes up time. Not to mention the fact that we have to help Syd memorize things and go over rules and stuff. She is loving school and thriving with it. She has a best friend named Lisi and they hold hands and eat lunch together. It is too cute.
To add to a normally exhausting week from school, Bella was diagnosed with yet another ear infection. This would be number 11 and so we saw an ENT doc today and he scheduled her for surgery for next Monday morning. She will be getting tubes and we are so glad. Maybe now she will sleep better, eat better and most of all hear and talk better. She has been sick for 2 weeks with this and a nasty cough and so we have lost a lot of sleep.
It is only Tuesday and feels like it should be the weekend. All in all though, we have some great kids and our time with them is so valued. Even with them being sick, they are still funnier than ever.
So, this blogging is MY time and it is very valued. It is short lived MY time as my youngest has poured all my shampoo and conditioner into the bath with her, my oldest is coloring a cake for a contest and my husband is watching Return of the Jedi. I take what I can get.

Babies

My Friend Melanie is in labor as we speak. She has been having contractions all day long and I think finally might be headed to the hospital. Childbirth is one of her biggest fears and so I know this part is pretty tough with the pain and all. We are trying to keep in touch so i can go and see her before the baby is born. There are so many things to look forward to becoming a mom. And there are trials too. Last night I was measuring meds for Bella who has another cough and runny nose. I turned away for a second and she got ahold of the benadryl bottle and took a nice big swig. This has never happened before for us, so i panicked, unsure of how much was in the bottle before she drank it. I called poioen control to see what they would say. Based on the info I told them, she had not had enough to go to the ER, but I had to monitor her for 2 hours and it was already 8 (past her bedtime) and she had no nap yesterday. I then spoke to the on call pediatrician and she gave me the same info. We kept her up for an hour and nothing changed about her at all, so I called poison control back and they said I could let her go to bed. I let her sleep with me as i wanted to make sure she was breathing ok and all that. She slept really good and then was groggy this morning, but everything is ok. Something about that little life that is a piece of your heart, you want nothing bad to happen to. As a mom, I would do anything for my kids to keep them safe and well. My friend Melanie is embarking on this experience now. She is going to be an awesome mom and I think really be blessed with just how great motherhood is.

I'm a slacker

Ok, so I have meant to blog this week but it has been crazy. I took Tues off so I could go with Syd to her school for some things and ended up only being there for an hour. They tested her on her fine motor skills and such and it was funny on one question. The teacher asked her if she had a dog. She says. " No, my parents wont get me a dog, but that is ok because I have Bella." It was so funny and probably not the answer she thought she was going to get.
Then Wed back to work I went. Today, I had to take Syd to have a health Assessment before school starts and she did really well with that. She was quite disappointed that she didnt get to start school today, but we marked days off her calendar and now she only has 4 days left. I am really starting to get excited for her now.
Bella has been in her own mood too. She doesnt understand why sissy has to go to school and leave her behind. She is trying to cope the best she can as a two year old and is being funny in her own way. She was sitting with me on the couch this morning and farted and said," whew whee mommy, u stink". which is cute because she did it and tried to blame it on me!!
My parents are taking both kids tomorrow night which is nice, I need to finish cleaning house and maybe will try to get some scrapbooking done.
For now, I still have to bathe kids, do laundry, clean the kitchen, try to get some reading in and maybe even watch some tv before I colapse :) This is just a day in my life and I would not trade it for the world!

Our family time

Yesterday for Labor day we went and hung out with our friends Brock and Natasha and their two girls Madison and Alex. Our kids are the same age and so they really had fun playing together - there was actually no fighting which was really nice. We rode our bikes up Bald hill in Corvallis and it was so much fun. I was the one lagging behind because I dont ride enough and so the hills were kind of tough (we went 10.9 miles) but when it was all over, it didnt seem that bad. It was fun to have some family time together as well as hang out with friends and relax.
When we got home, the kids were in meltdown mode as they did not have naps, so once dinner was done and they had their baths, they were asleep in no time.
I took today off work because the school that Sydney is going to is having open house for the kindergarteners and she will meet her teacher today as well. Im excited, but its still wierd to think I have a 5 year old starting school. She is already dressed in her school clothes and waiting for 2 pm to get here. She thinks she will be there all day, and its hard to explain that we are only going for a little while. It was definately nice to not have to get up early today after yesterdays bike ride, but Im not getting very much done since Bella thinks I should be holding her and Syd keeps asking me when we are going to school. Don as the car, so the plan right now is to ride our bikes to Syds school since it is only 2 miles away and get some excercise at the same time.
So, once we get back from that, I will post again to let everyone know how it went meeting her teacher and seeing her school!

KIDS!

The family is quite tired today. We had our friends Chris and Jenn and their three kids Kierstyn, Morgan and Gage and Chris' mom over for dinner on Sat night. Our kids love to play together, and I had to laugh today when Syd woke up with attitude and sassiness. Our friends' kids are 12 and 8 and so Syd tried to act older today with how she was talking to people. It comes out more especially when she is tired, but oh boy - look out for when she is 10 or so....
The first thing she did today was call me by my name instead of Mommy. I asked her why she was calling me Kirstan and she said, "Because that is your name, isn't it?" It was so hard not to crack up at that.
Then she was talking to her Poppy and was getting sassy with him. She said she was so smart so my dad (Poppy) asked her what 10+10 was and she said I dont know that, I am only 5. She is smart with what she says in tone and in logic!
It has been a weird day too. It has rained off and on and the kids have been cranky since we stayed up pretty late last night. They have already taken naps and I am currently doing laundry while thinking about what to do for dinner.
We have plans tomorrow to go to Corvallis and ride bikes with our friends Natasha and Brock and their girls, I guess we have to wait and see what the weather does though....Im just glad I have two more days off to get our house work done so this week goes by smoothly!

Oh Brother!

Well where do i even start? Totally taken back that Kirstan has gotten so into the whole blog thing. i'm the computer savvy one. when i had a friend tell us to join MySpace, Kirstan was all up in arms about joining or doing anything like that. When it came to texting, she was totally against that as well.

Now here we are and she has become a total Cyber blogging, MySpace, texting maniac!!! i hardly ever go to Myspace or never was really into blogging. texting i do as it's a quick and easy way to communicate with friends and what not. I'm a guy, come on! There is no sitting on the phone for days on end talking about everything under the sun like you wonderful women can do. When we as men get on the phone it's short and sweet and we get out what needs to be said without an indepth interview about every detail.

I guess that's what makes us different and compliment each other so well is that we are so different. it kind of balances us out. Not to mention our two wonderful daughters who keep us guessing day to day on what will be said or done. They are so much like each of us that it's really scary when you see yourself in your child and the crazy things they say and do.

Our children are a product of us, so cherish every day with them because they grow up way too quick.

Well i guess I'm done now and hope you all enjoy our family blog.

ITS The Weekend

Its Friday night and not a sound in my house right now. We recently have had some changes - like our schedule so we get up around 5 since we have to be at work by 7 in Corvallis. We also changed daycare providers, so this week the kids not only get up at 5 with me, but they are adjusting to someone new taking care of them and so they were really cranky tonite. When this goes on for 5 days in a row, meltdowns erupt from my girls as early as 5 in the evening.
We went to Walmart to get some additional groceries for some friends we have coming over on Sat night and the girls fought the whole time in the store. Some days I just want to crawl under a clothes rack when they act that way, but anyone that is a parent understands, which is why I dont take them with me that often. Saves us all some grief.
After we got home, they had dinner and baths and they were asleep by 730. Don is at a movie with his best friend, so I am actually getting some Mommy time - it is really nice. And I am spending it blogging.....thats why this one is longer than the others because I dont have a 2 yr old asking me what or why and I dont have a 5 yr old staring at me asking when I will be done. I should be doing laundry or something, but instead I am goofing off and it feels great!
This weekend we are doing a few things. We have a bbq dinner with friends Sat and then hang out at home Sun and then bike riding with our friends Natasha and Brock in Corvallis and then Tues is the start of School festivities for Sydney. She doesn't actually start Kindergarten until Sept 8, so this week is her open house and meeting teachers and doing assessments and stuff. She is really excited about getting to go to school. I guess that is all to report on for now. Nothing really that funny today- just an exhausting Friday where we are hoping to get some good sleep and be refreshed on Saturday!

Word of the day : WHY

Why has become Bella's favorite word. Sydney went through the stage at the same age, but I forgot just how many times one person can say why.
"Bella you need to get your shoes"
"Why mommy?'
Bella, can you please get your sweater?"
"Why mommy?"
This continues no matter what I say or ask her to do.
Syd doesnt make it easier on me. She asks questions like, "why do we have hair"? And last week it was. "why do we have necks?"
Her best question was asking me how babies were born. I said that we push them out (not thinking that since I had c-sections, she was going to question what I just said) and she did. So I explained how they come out as brief as I could and when I was done, she said: "Mom that is so gross and you are going to jail for telling me that"! I could not stop laughing at that one.
We get stuff like this every week from them - and never know what they are going to come up with next. All I can say, is keep it coming girls. I want to capture as many wacky Williams moments as I can, for they are growing way too fast for me.

A day in the life

Wednesday: Hump Day: ready for the weekend day: kids were home with daddy day and he is going crazy....Ahhh if only the husbands could live a day in the life of Us - Women.....how would they deal with the multitasking of our brains. The millions of thoughts we can have in one moment about what to do for dinner, the budget, what to wear the next day, what the kids are going to wear the next day. Gifts to buy for friends, who has a wedding or baby shower coming up, did I pay the bills? Planning the next grocery list, trying to schedule play dates with friends for mommy time. Excercise, laundry, meds, shower - shave our legs?? Yes, these are things we think about all the time...because we are women - we are pretty close to Wonder woman and We DO it all.
Today Sydney sang Mary had a little lamb a million times and Bella says No way hososose (jose) to everything Syd does, so Don was a little crazy when I walked in the door. I think it is quite comical...they will go to daycare tomorrow and Don and I to work and our schedule will return to normal for a few days. I'm ready for the weekend!

Im a Blogger

So, I finally joined the world of bloggers. My husband gave me the one eyebrow look of why, and I just shrugged and said "because". I find it interesting to read and keep up on how everyone else is doing and this way, others can do the same with ours.
Our family is pretty typical you could say. Don and I have been married for 6 years and we have two little girls. Syd is 5 and will be in kindergarten full time this year and Bella is two and a half - they do keep us busy. 3 out of the 4 of us are left handed so we do have our moments where we are all at each others throats....but otherwise, we are a well rounded family that loves to spend time together.