Fresh Start...

I've wanted to get back to blogging for awhile now, but every time I open my blog the first thing I see is my last blog post, dated JULY 27, 2013... and I get overwhelmed and think, "Where do I begin?"  So I'm going to do a quick rundown of life over the past few months and then start fresh.  Here goes...

Kaylee started the 5th grade and loves everything about her new school, her teacher, the responsibility that comes with being a 5th grader and being another year older.  I have to remind myself that she is JUST a 5th grader, because she is fairly responsible and sometimes I expect more out of her than what I should.  She has always been a huge help with Anden and I know that at times I take advantage of this.  She played basketball this winter and her AAU team just finished their season this past weekend.  She scored 15 of her team's 25 points in one of the games over the weekend!  Jesse coached her team and was so proud of her!  This spring she's trying volleyball for the first time, so we'll see how that goes!  Of course, she continues to love working with her cows.  She amazes me how confidant she is with them.  I still remember the days of her running in to grandma's house at the mention of moving the horses or cows from one pasture to another.  She was a wreck thinking they'd get loose.  Now she carries a bucket of feed into the barn to get the cows to come in, throws a halter over the cows head, and walks her out of the barn all by herself.

Jacob is in the 3rd grade.  This year has been a pivotal year for him.  He has struggled with reading comprehension for sometime.  I've always attributed it to the fact that he does not like to read.  However, this year, his reading comprehension started affecting his other school subjects.  In Math, a subject that he loves and had always gotten straight A's in, he now was getting B's and C's.  When I looked at his papers, he'd get 100% on his math facts, but if the paper had any kind of story problems involved, he struggled with figuring out what he was supposed to do.  Science and Social Studies are also difficult for him.  After meeting with his teacher and trying to figure out options for him at school, it became apparent that without a diagnosis of some sort, we weren't going to get any help for him.  Long story short, we had him evaluated by a Developmental Optometrist (Dr. Bauernfiend) who determined that Jacob would benefit from Vision Therapy.  Jacob has 20/20 vision, however, it's not functional for him.  It's like saying that just because a person has two legs, they shouldn't be clumsy.  With Dr. Bauernfiend's help, we were able to implement a 504 Plan for Jacob and he's now allowed to read his test to someone and is given extra time to complete the tests.  We see Dr. Bauernfied 2 times each week and she is pleased with his progress.  We still have a long way to go, but his grades have improved some.  I also noticed a change in his attitude towards reading and schoolwork in general.  He actually told me the other day that he, "Likes reading."  Say what?!?!?  Never in a million years did I think he'd say that!  Anyhow, moving on... Sports is still his thing.  He played football in the fall, basketball this winter, and is already starting baseball.

Anden is in preschool again this year.  His teacher is Mrs. Brenda and she walks on water.  He loves everything about preschool.  He's getting very close to being able to write his name by himself.  He's recognizing more letters and the sounds they make.  He can count to 30 and knows all his colors and shapes.  He played soccer this past fall and basketball this winter, both at our local YMCA.  I think he's following in his brother and sister's footsteps with his love for sports.  Not sure that he had a choice though... I remember toting him around at the ballfield when he was less than a week old.  I had to laugh though recently.  His basketball games were always on Saturday mornings.  It never failed... if the other two didn't have a game they had practice, so it was normally just Anden and I that went to his game and Jesse and I finagled getting the other two where they needed to be.  The week before Anden's final game, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "I just want my whole family to come to my basketball game."  It happened to fall on the same weekend as our school's 3rd grade boy's basketball tournament, so I ended up stuck in the concession stand while Jesse, Kaylee, and Jacob went to Anden's game with him.  That satisfied him to have them there though.  He's always been so laid back about getting drug around to their activities.  I'm proud of him for letting us know that it was not cool that he have to go to all their games and they not come to one of his.  :) 

So that's our life in a nutshell! 

My Worst Nightmare...

So, I've been contemplating for the last two days how to nicely say that our trip to Disney World really sucked... and I hate that word. But that's the only word that comes to mind. We made it to one theme park and literally one ride.

Kaylee caught a lovely stomach bug Monday evening that got worse Wednesday night (I'll spare you most of the details, but imagine waking up to Jacob screaming because his sister just vomitted on his head.)  Thursday didn't get any better, so that evening, around 6:00 we cancelled our Saturday morning flights, rented a van and drove home all night and we walked in our door Friday morning around 11:00.

That's it.

Oh and I took Anden to the doctor two hours after we arrived back home because he's had a terrible cough.  Guess what... he has RSV. Seriously? Can it get any worse?

Digging our way out...

We are slowly digging our way out from the stomach bug.



Jake started with it Wednesday afternoon and didn't stop vomiting until around 10:00 that evening. Anden started in around 9:00 PM that same day and didn't stop until about 3:00 AM. I started in Friday about 1:00 AM and am finally feeling better this morning. Kaylee came home from school Friday, laid down on the couch and woke up an hour later vomiting. Jake started in for a second round with it yesterday late afternoon, but is feeling better this morning. And last but not least, Jesse finally succumbed to it around 9:00 last night and was up all night with it, but is feeling better today.



Needless to say, we are not traveling to my mom and dad's this weekend like we were planning to do. Instead, we're tackeling the laundry room.

Still no answers

Jake continues to be the "Mystery Kid." After a full week of fevers and belly aches, I decided enough was enough, poor Jake needs to start feeling better. Dr. Bies is as baffled as we were as to why his symptoms have continued this long. So today, he ordered a CT Scan of his abdomen which ruled out appendicitis and an infection of the lymph nodes in abdomen as well as more blood work which ruled out Mono and once again showed that all his blood counts are normal. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful everything is coming back normal... but I'd really like some answers! So we're back home again and just continuing to treat it as a virus. We've got a follow-up appointment with Dr. Bies on Monday, but I'm really hoping Jake's going to turn the corner this weekend and get better.

I also went ahead and called Dr. Hunter (our Naprapathy Specialist in Henderson, KY.) He's the one that recommended the pumpkin seed oil which has worked miracles on Jake's food allergies and also recommended raw carrots and celery sticks for me when I developed the HELPP Syndrome after having Kaylee. He recommended we have Jake drink as much Welch's Grape Juice (which I think is high in antioxidants) as possible and eat scrambled eggs (to increase his sulfur.) His suggestions seem so simple and each time I've had this doubtful voice in the back of my head saying , "Well carrots and celery aren't going to hurt me, so it's worth a try," or "Well pumpkin seed oil isn't going to hurt him, so it's worth a try," or this time, "Well, Grape Juice and scrambled eggs aren't going to hurt him, so it's worth a try." I really think it's just the simplicity of his concoctions that make me so doubtful. Honestly though, I really don't care at this point what will help him feel better.

Jake's sure hoping he starts feeling better soon. He and Kaylee have their soccer tourney this weekend and he didn't get to play last weekend because he was sick. So hopefully my next post will be full of pictures from my two little soccer stars.

Have a good weekend!

Jake's giving us gray hairs again

Where do I begin? Jake took a few years off mine and Jesse's lives this past weekend. Long story short, Jake ended up in the hospital Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. He had what we believe to have been a febrile seizure at Diane's house (our sitter) after spiking a fever. His pediatrician called him the "mystery patient" because just a few hours after spiking the fever, having the seizure, and getting him to the hospital for numerous tests (all of which came back normal), he was feeling fine. Since Sunday though, he's ran a fever and hasn't felt very well, so we're assuming its just a virus. I really thought he'd be able to go back to school today, however, he woke up again over night complaining of a stomach ache. He's not had any Tylenol/Motrin since 2:00 AM though and still no fever, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope that he's on the mend. I, on the other hand, woke up feeling terrible. I had Jesse take Anden to Diane's, Kaylee's at school, so it's just me and Jake here at home. I know Jake woke me up at one point this morning to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Other than that, I've slept all morning and when I woke up around 11:00, Jake was curled up next to me. I'm feeling much better, I think I've just worn myself down since the weekend and needed to rest some. I hope Jake sleeps for awhile and wakes up feeling as refreshed as I did. Well, scratch that, I just glanced over at him. He's starring at me with glassy eyes and now says he wants a bath because his belly hurts. Ugh, when will this end.

I'm back. Jake's had Motrin and a bath now. Feeling much better and is up to no good. Take a look at what I caught him doing.

When I asked him why he was pulling all the diapers out of the basket he said, "I'm finding Elmo diapers for Anden." Jake's favorite Sesame Street character is Elmo, so if he's around when it's diaper changing time, Anden's sure to be stylin' an Elmo diaper.

Well, I'm going to go now, need to pick up a little around the house and disinfect a few bathrooms, kitchen countertops, telephones, doornobs... the list goes on. Hope you are all staying healthy!

Anden's Two Month Checkup

I took Anden to see his pediatrician this morning for his 2 month checkup. He weighed 10 lbs. 15 oz. and was 22 1/2 inches long. I can't believe how much he has grown! Dr. Bies said he looks great, which was no new news to me! HA HA! Unfortunately, I also had the dreaded vaccination talk with Dr. Bies... it makes me sick to my stomach to think of starting his vaccinations. Jake had such a terrible reaction at 4 months to his vaccinations (he had 5 shots at one time.) I think it was too much for his immune system and ever since then we've battled a very sensitive immune system, food allergies, motor planning issues, and of course a significant speech delay. I can't say for sure that the vaccinations he received that day caused those things, but it was enough for me to demand that his vaccines be split up ever since. It's also enough for me to say we will not take that chance with Anden. Fortunately, Dr. Bies was understanding enough to give me some advice on which vaccines he would recommend starting with and which ones he would put off for awhile. I've worked with some families in First Steps that choose to delay vaccinations and their doctors give them such a hard time. At least I feel like our doctor is somewhat supportive of our decision.

Enough about that though! Here are some recent pictures I took of Anden. Isn't he cute!

Here he is smiling. Priceless!

Here he is showing off for the camera. Look how strong he is!

Happy One Week Birthday Anden

I cannot believe Anden is already a week old. I know it's silly, but I'd be fine with him staying this size F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Maybe it's because I know he's my last baby, maybe I'm just more relaxed and laid back this time, maybe it's because he's such a good baby, who knows, but I just want to enjoy every moment with him and quite frankly, I have been!


He's already been to two ballgames this week. He slept through Jake's today, but was alert for part of Kaylee's on Thursday. I think he liked watching her hit off the pitching machine... I'm sure that's it.


He's also been to the doctor twice this past week, both times for weight checks. Tuesday he weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. Friday he weighted 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. He's a true Welp I suppose... he's already shrinking! Actually I expected it because I watched them measure him in the delivery room. They measured right over his little conehead, so I expected him to shrink some now that that has disappeared.


He spends most of his days sleeping, obviously. Earlier in the week, he thought it was quite fun to hang out with me or Jesse from 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM (while I was pregnant with him, this was also his most active time of the day.) Since then, I've tried to get him to stay awake more during the afternoon/evening. Last night he went down at 11:00, woke up at 2:30 for a bottle and then again at 6:30. I sure won't complain about that one bit!


Kaylee and Jake are great with him. This morning, he was fussing in his bassinet. I went to the kitchen to warm him bottle and then headed in to get him. There I found Kaylee and Jake bent over his bassinet singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." They love on him so much. Kaylee wants to hold him as much as possible and Jake hasn't gone to bed yet this week without running back down the steps because he forgot to give Baby Anden a kiss and a hug.

Here's a picture of him from today.

Happy One-Week Birthday Sweet Baby Anden!

We Love You SO MUCH!

Catching Up a Bit

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated our blog. It's been a little hectic around here. We're pretty much over the winter bugs, I hope. Now if spring would just decide to stay for good! The spring flowers are blooming and I'm more than anxious for the warm weather to stick around.



We traveled down to Gatlinburg, TN for Spring Break a couple weeks ago. It was a surprise birthday present for Mom and Dad. Dad turned 60 in March and Mom will turn 60 next Jan. We surprised them with it at Thanksgiving. I think we all had a good time. I'm sure it wasn't as relaxing for them had they just gone the two of them, but I hope they enjoyed the time spent with their grandkids. Fortunately we were able to bring Ben along too! We stayed in a beautiful chalet that was right along the path of the tram lift for Ober Gatlinburg (I think close to tower #5 if I remember right.) We spent most of Saturday traveling down there (and through there... it took us nearly an hour and a half to get from Sevierville to Gatlinburg.) Sunday we spent most of the day at Cade's Cove. Jesse and the kids took their bikes along. Jake was amazing. He biked 9 out of the 11 miles around Cade's Cove. Kaylee and Ben were on and off their bikes and in and out of the vehicle the whole time. But Jake refused to get in. Finally at the very end, it took some major convincing, but he finally agreed to hop in. On Monday, we hiked Laurel Falls in the morning and then went up to Ober Gatlinburg that afternoon. That evening we took the kids to The Dixie Stampede. They all loved it. I wish they would have allowed cameras because I just would have liked to capture the look on their faces as they watched the horses, the trick riding, and the costumes. The evenings were spent back at the chalet with Jesse relaxing in the hot-tub with the kids (did I say relaxing... I meant refereeing!) We headed out then on Tuesday and got home mid-afternoon. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Pa, Nana, Ben, Jake, and Kaylee at Laurel Falls

Ben, Kaylee, and Jake found a perfect place to pose for a picture.

They're standing 5-6 feet off the ground

on a tree that had fallen down

and was laying across the raveen.

You will see at the bottom of the picture

the hand of a nervous Grandpa standing to the side.

Kaylee, Ben, and Jake at Cade's Cove in front of the old mill.

The little ducks in the hottub splish-splashing around.

This was a photo of the back of our chalet. This picture was taken as we were on the tram lift headed up to Ober Gatlinburg.

The day after we came home, Jake had an appointment with an allergist from Louisville. This was something that was recommended by our pediatrician because of Jake's frequent stomach aches. He's had trouble since he was born. As a baby he had reflux. We changed formulas from milk-based to soy-based. When he turned one, we started him on soy milk, then switched to rice milk around 15 months. Things never really got better. Around 3 we finally switched him back to regular cow's milk. All along, he's always complained of stomach aches, recently 2-3 times a day. He would even wake up in the middle of the night screaming because it hurt so bad. According to the skin prick test, Jake is allergic to beef, pork, soy, rice, tomatoes, and strawberries. Our plan is to eliminate all those foods for 6 weeks, then add them back one at a time and see what happens. If he has any sort of reaction to them when we add them back, then we're to eliminate that particular food for 1-2 years. The pork and the rice aren't too big of a deal. Fortunately since Jesse likes to hunt, we use venison in most recipes that call for beef. However, he ate tomato products (ketchup) on a daily basis. Everything that is meant to sit on a shelf for any length of time has soy in it. And he LOVES strawberries. Kaylee is the food label Nazi. The first evening we were home, she saw me going through cabinets looking at labels. It came time for them to brush their teeth and head to bed. She brought me the toothpaste so that I could check it out and make sure it was okay. He's been pretty good about it too. He really misses dipping things in ketchup. We've tried every alternative to ketchup under the sun, but he's not been a big fan of any of them. What makes it all worth it though is that since eliminating those foods, we have seen a HUGE decrease in the number of times he complains of a stomach aches. I am keeping a food diary though so that when we go back to the allergist in another month, we can have him tested for other foods that we think might also be causing him trouble. Currently at the top of the list is red grapes. He's had them twice in the last week and complained both times. If anyone has any good recipes they'd like to share that don't include any of those foods, feel free to share! I've had to do an Extreme Makeover to our menu choices. We're pretty limited at this point to what we can and cannot eat.

So that pretty well sums up what we've been up to lately. Hope everyone is doing well!

It's been a L...O...N...G winter

I'm ready for winter to be O-V-E-R! Colds go on and there seems to be a never-ending river on snot flowing out of our house. Sorry, really don't mean to gross anyone out, but that's what we're up to around here. Jake is now healthy, Kaylee (knock-on-wood) has remained healthy through all of this, but late last week, Jesse started in with sinus gunk, and now I've finally succum to it as well. I'm well on my way to loosing my voice. The kids are so funny. I try to whisper to them and they look at me and whisper back, "Why are you whispering?" Anyhow, hopefully next week will be better.

Short funny story about Jake before I go... you know I can't get on here without sharing something funny about my crazy monkeys. Two Sundays ago, he was a nightmare in church. It wasn't that he was loud or screaming or anything like that. He just wouldn't listen to us, was very mouthy, and I'd had it with him. Afterwards, we head out to the car and as we're driving home, I say to Jesse, "So what are you and Kaylee doing at 10:30?" Sidenote here, we have threatened (empty threat by the way) time and time again that if they don't behave in church, we'll go back to church for the 10:30 Mass; but we've never actually done it. So Jesse knew exactly what I meant when I asked him what he and Kaylee were doing at 10:30. He starts talking about going 4-wheeler riding, going down to Grandma's house, petting the horse... you know, all Jake's favorite things to do. Jake speaks up and says, "Yeah and me too!" I said, "Nope Jake, we're going back to church." You would have thought I had beat him to a pulp. He screamed, fussed, kicked, and threw himself around. So after getting no reaction from us, he finally settles down. 10:30 rolls around and we head back to church. He and I walk in the door and he looks around and says, "Were all these people bad in church?" It was hilarious. In his 4-year old little mind, he thought that there was a mass for people who misbehaved in church. How funny. I do have to say, he was the most behaved little guy in church that day as well as this past Sunday. Trust me, if that's all it takes to get him to behave in church, IT WAS SO WORTH IT!

What we've been up to lately

We've officially got Strep in our house. UGH! And it doesn't look like it wants to leave anytime soon. Poor Jake came down with a soar throat Friday evening, ran a fever and complained of a headache all weekend, and then I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel yesterday when his fever started to vanish. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance yesterday afternoon along with stomach cramps. So we were able to get an appointment with our pediatrician who did a strep test and confirmed it. They acted like once we got 2 doses of the antibiotic down him, he should be good as new. Well, we're going on dose #5 and still can't seem to kick the fever and belly ache. He's finally napping now, although he cries out in his sleep every now and then. I'm just hoping it ends with him and no one else gets it.

During the last week of January, we got hit with a ton of snow and ice. The kids were out of school for 4 days and had several more 2 hour delays. They've never done so much sledding in their whole little lives! It was a very pretty snow. Jake thought it was so pretty one day, he decided to pull up a chair and watch.

Here's a picture from Kaylee's Birthday party. We had it the weekend before last. She and her cousin Emma, who also has a January birthday, wanted to have their parties together.

The kids started Bitty Basketball through the YMCA last week. Thinking they'd be put on the same team just as they were with Bitty Baseball and Soccer, Jesse told them that he'd coach their team. At the sign ups, it was announced that they'd have 3-4 year old teams and 5-6 year old teams. Neither of them were going to let him off the hook, so guess who's coaching TWO teams. There is a HUGE difference in watching the 3-4 year olds play versus watching the 5-6 year olds play. It's very entertaining!

Well, I'd better go check on my little patient. He's hollering for more "Dadoraid" (Gatorade.)

The Holiday recap

Christmas and New Years have come and gone and we're back to school and work. The first half of our break was WONDERFUL, the second half was not so great but I'll get to that in a bit. As stressful as it was getting everything ready, it was all worth it. We had a fantastic Christmas. The kids got more toys and goodies than they know what to do with. Jacob's favorites included his toy rifle and remote control car. Kaylee's favorites included her new guitar and Easy Bake Oven (which has been tucked away in my closet for the past week due to a certain little girl's very sassy attitude.) Our Christmas officially started Christmas Eve afternoon with the Children's program and Mass at church. We were SO PROUD of Kaylee for actually participating and singing along up front rather than standing up there crying which is what normally happens. Of course now I owe her a trip to Walmart (bribery never hurt anyone, right?) During Mass, Father Dave asked all the kids to come up front for his homily. He started out by asking all the kids if they've ever been hugged before. Jacob hollars out, "NO!" Father Dave spun around to see who that poor little child was that had never been hugged. He had Jake get up, gave him a hug, and then said, "Now you can say you've been hugged." So he goes on with his homily and towards the end he asks somewhat of a rhetorical question about what everyone wants for Christmas. Jacob again speaks up and says, "A gun!" Fortunately, Father Dave thought he said, "A dog," (thank goodness for speech delays.) He proceded to send the kids back to their seats. It was all I could do not to shoo him out of our pew as if he didn't belong to us. :-)

My Mom and Dad got here the evening of Christmas Eve and were here for part of Christmas Day. The kids were up bright and early, ready to tear into all the presents underneath the tree. They opened a few, we ate a quick breakfast, and then went back to opening the rest of their gifts. We had a very yummy Christmas dinner, then scurried to get the house cleaned up and presentable for Jesse's family who were all coming over that afternoon/evening for Christmas. They came, we ate more very yummy food, opened more gifts, and then it was finally time for bed. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Here's a shot of Kaylee and Jake showing off

a couple of their favorite gifts along with Nana and Pa.

Here's a shot of Kaylee and her cousin Emma waiting for their double layer cake to finish baking in the new Easy Bake Oven. It was actually pretty good considering it was cooked with a light bulb!

We were gearing up for a New Years Eve party at our house when suddenly on Tuesday morning, Jesse came down with what we thought was the flu. He rarely gets sick and when he does, he normally goes outside, works his butt off, and sweats it out of him. This time was different though. Nothing he did seemed to make him feel better. By 5:00 AM Wednesday morning, he finally gave in and let me take him to the Emergency Room where they scanned his stomach and determined that his appendix was enlarged and infected. They removed it that afternoon and kept him over night, so instead of bringing in the New Year the right way, we got to spend it at the hospital. He's been a pretty good patient overall and is feeling pretty good. Fortunately they were able to do it laproscopically, so he's hoping for a quick recovery. He headed back to work tomorrow.


Kaylee and Jake along with a couple of their cousins received Build-a-Bear giftcards this year for Christmas. On Sunday they got to experience Build-a-Bear for the first time. They enjoyed it SO MUCH. Kaylee picked out a Moose and dolled it up with frilly dresses and accessories. Jake picked out a dinosaur and dressed him in a camo hunting outfit. They've hardly put them down since. Here they are with their little creatures.


At the end of the week I will be 1/2 way through this pregnancy, not that I'm counting down, no never. Jacob asks almost everyday when he'll get to see the baby. I started feeling little twitters, wiggles, and kicks just before Christmas and I think the baby might have had it's first case of the hiccups last night. We go back to the doctor later this month when we'll hopefully find out what we're having, so be sure to stay tuned!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Take care!

ARGH who goes there!

Had a little mishap this weekend, that could have been much worse. Thankfully it just ended in Jacob getting to be a pirate for the next day or so.

While helping Jesse carry firewood and fire Grandma and Grandpa's wood stove yesterday, somehow, Jacob managed to get something in his eye. We think an ash or amber flew out and landed in Jake's eye. He didn't say anything at the time, but wanted to go in the house right away. For the rest of the day, he rubbed at his eye and wouldn't open it. This morning when he woke up he was in better spirits, but still didn't want to open his eye. We took him to the doctor and they discovered that he had an abrasion on his eye. Poor little guy. He's not hip on the eye patch, but he's a little trooper. Took a good nap this afternoon and is back outside now with Jesse cutting more firewood. Nothing can keep him down for long! We go back in tomorrow to have the patch removed.

Each week, Kaylee's school features one of the kids from each grade. This is her week to be "Kindergartener of the Week." She and I worked this afternoon on her posterboard which she'll take in tomorrow and show to her class as well as the principle, Mr. Begle. She did so well picking and choosing pictures, placing them and then decorating it. She's got pictures of family and friends, pictures with Cinderella from our Disney vacation, t-ball and soccer pictures, puppy pictures, pictures of horseback riding, fishing, and even a pictures of her tubing with her cousin Ben. Here she is showing off the finished product.

We also had the annual Christmas party at the Babysitter's house. The kids enjoyed playing with all their friends, not to mention getting a couple presents. We have been so fortunate to have had the same sitter for the kids since Kaylee was a newborn. Here's a shot of them with Diane.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!