Transitions...

February snow day

2012-02-13T19:30:00.000-06:00

This is the "snow" we got a week ago. Yeah, nothing.

Today we had about 2" or so and Daddy got a snow day! Yay!! Especially yay since I started with a new 8 month old & 2 year old today. I needed some extra help to get going! I'm up to a 2 mo. old, 6 mo. old, 8 mo. old, 2 year old & 2 2 1/2 year olds. Can you say crazy?? Anyway -

I got up and scooped snow at 6:00 this am and when Keaton arrived at 7:45 you couldn't even tell I had been outside! After all of the daycare friends left Cael wanted to go outside and "play snowman" so we all 3 went out. It was really fun!

Cael had to go down his slide. I think he liked it just as much cold & snowy as he does warm & dry!

In case you didn't know, this is how you "play snowman"! Throwing a snowball is playing snowman - I don't know where this kid comes up with this stuff! It's really hard to throw a snowball when they are sticking to your gloves!!

See?!?!

Daddy & Cael decided to make a real snowman. They rolled & rolled but Daddy decided it was too ugly with the leaves & dirt in it. So instead they just made a "big huge ball"....that Cael got to stand on. He's tall!

Cael & Daddy had to eat some snow. Cael said, "I want bites!" I had to zoom in & get some adorable pictures! I LOVE his eyes!

One of my favorite pictures of Cael ever I think!

Fun family times!

SMILE if you love snow!!!

Almost forgot this picture!

2012-02-03T09:41:00.002-06:00

Life lately

2012-02-03T08:12:00.000-06:00

Things as usually have been a little crazy around the Marsh house. We're doing pretty well though! We've been busy with wrestling on the weekends & daycare kiddos running around here during the week. Cael is loving both!! He is very good friends now with Noah, who is Jared's (a wrestler) nephew, and Elijah, a daycare friend. He also seems to really love MacKenna who is the 6 month old girlie at our daycare. Keaton started this week & Cael loves to give him his binkie. He helps mommy feed MacKenna and yesterday tried to help her "crawl". Well okay not really, he grabbed her by her dress and dragged her across the floor....yeah he sat in time out for that. Then he pushed Elijah....more time out. I've been watching Supernanny lately and trying some of her methods because I'm awesome like that! I also had 2 brothers come to daycare this last week that will be there just 1 day a week. One of them was in my Kindergarten class this year. Yep. That's all I'll say. I might have to tell them they can't come though because I got an e-mail last night about 2 brothers who are 18 months & 4 years. If I would get them I would be full on my numbers! Yay! Because I have 3 under 18 months I can only have 7 total. If they would come to inspect & I'm over on numbers I would be in trouble. :( We don't want that! I might be able to work something out to get everyone here, we'll just have to see. I am praying I get these 2 brothers full time. Life would be much easier, at least financially. I think Cael would LOVE it! I'm so proud of him for how he is behaving with friends around here. He is such a big boy!!

Courtney has a wrestling dual tournament tonight in Onaga but I don't think Cael & I will make it. Elijah doesn't usually leave until 5:00 or later and I'll have to go deposit checks from today & drop off our tax stuff so we can get our money :) and it's an hour to an hour & a half drive there. I'd get there maybe around 7:00-7:30 or later and they'll probably wrestle until 9:00ish. I don't want to be in the car longer than I would be at wrestling! I hate missing wrestling & so does Cael but that's our life now so we'll deal with it. I have to put on my big girl panties! I told Courtney that I know it's better for our bank accounts but not for my sanity. Wrestling is my out!! Wrestling is when I can get out and be among adults!! Oh well, date night for mommy & Cael.

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so.

Cael & Noah playing with cars at wrestling. As long as we have a bag full of cars we are happy!

The sister of one of the wrestlers LOVES to play with Cael. Sometimes he goes to play with her & he doesn't even know he wants to play with her.

I LOVE how these big teenage boys act around Cael. They genuinely like being around him. They play with him, wrestle with him, laugh at him. I love how he turns these big boys into little boys! Most of all I love how they treat him & want him around. I know that if we needed anything for us or for Cael those boys would help us in any way they can.

L.O.V.E. this picture of the 3 coaches!!!

I can't believe these next pictures were taken outside on February 1. No coats, beautiful weather!

Oh Miller Dog. Last week he got into a HUGE fight with a cat. I heard thumping & bumping on the door downstairs so I opened the blinds. He was bleeding a little. I went out there & couldn't see anything. Miller went under Courtney's old grill AND a stack of lawn chairs into a little corner. There was a big black cat in the corner. When Miller backed out he had this cat attached to his face!! His ear filled up & we thought it was just another round of cauliflower ear. This past Monday I opened the door to let him in to eat & he had blood all over his face and it was dripping from his ear. We took him to the vet thinking the hematoma had ruptured & he would have to have surgery. They called the next morning and said it was just an absess that was infected from the cat biting his ear. The absess got so big it split his ear open. Yuck! So he has to wear his collar & take medicine until the infection is gone. Poor dumb dog!

I love this picture of Cael!

Some of the daycare kiddos outside playing.

Pictures

2012-01-19T09:47:00.000-06:00

I promised yesterday that I would put up some pictures so you aren't just reading silly words on this thing. Here they are finally!

Yeah, so I forgot about some pictures that were still on my camera. Here is Cael painting some Christmas presents.

All the cousins took a bath together over Christmas break. Well, not ALL of them. You'll be happy to know that Curtis, Travis & Courtney DID NOT take a bath together! ;)

We had some pretty beautiful days here - enough so that we've been able to play outside in light jackets! I forget sometimes that it's January!

And, of course, there has been wrestling! We've had 2 tournaments since Christmas break. Last weekend was a 2 day so we got to stay in a hotel. Cael was up until 11:00 Friday night! We had a dual on Tuesday of this week so that was another late night. Courtney has a JV tournament Friday night & a Varsity tournament Saturday. Cael & I are sitting out for the JV on Friday. It's in Holton & so is the Saturday tournament. In case you don't know my history with the Holton tournament....every year I go to the JV on Friday. I can get there in 60 degree weather & when I leave that night, just a few hours later, it will be snowing or icy!!! EVERY year. NEVER fails! And we get home late & have to get up early Saturday to go to the same place. So this year it was either skip it & go see Grammy & Papa or go & sleep in a hotel with money we don't have. Pretty easy decision! So while daddy is working hard we'll be eating! I feel bad for skipping out but I think it's for the best. Papa was gone last weekend & will be gone for the next 2 or 3 weekends coming up so he needs some Cael time. And Cael's been asking about Papa's house. Cael has been doing amazing at tournaments this year! I was worried but he has surprised me. He just plays with his race cars....all. day. long.

Courtney is heading home this afternoon to be with our friend Alex. Alex's dad, Jim, passed away Sunday morning. Jim was a very nice man who will be greatly missed. Jim, Dixie & Alex were all involved in Courtney's proposal, we used to go out there & ride horses with him & Alex was in our wedding. Praying that they will find comfort during this difficult time.

Week 3: Organize Pantry, Spices & Food

2012-01-18T10:29:00.000-06:00

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I already finished week 3 of my 52 week challenge. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out and now I just have the challenge of keeping it that way. Hmmmm.... This week I have cleaned out our Tupperware drawer & cabinet and sorted through what had lids and what didn't, what I used and what I didn't. I now have a big box of stuff that I have to figure out what to do with. Take them to the DAV of Salvation Army? Take them out to the trash? Put them in storage - NO! I think my husband was impressed by my efforts the last couple of weeks but he of course doesn't really show it. I get an, "Oh. Wow." Not even an excited Oh! Wow! Just an Oh. Wow. Oh well.

I'm excited about next week's challenge which is organizing the freezer & fridge. I might even start on it early - that's how excited I am! Yes, it is nice to be home & be able to do all of this & to be home with Mr. Boy. Having said that I also must say that I miss having somewhere to go every day. I miss teaching. I miss my classroom. I miss seeing people every day that were excited to see me. I know things will get better with my little daycare & the kids will start coming - this week is just a frustrating one. I have a little one that comes....sometimes. He was here every day last week but I never knew what time he was coming. This week he hasn't shown up at all yet! On Monday he hadn't shown up by noon so I left to run errands. At 1:15 I get a call saying he's almost to the house so I said I would rush home. I rushed home and got a phone call at 1:45 saying he wasn't coming. Yesterday I called him to see what time he would be coming so I could finish errands. He said around noon....and never showed up. Seriously?! I need some serious parents who are going to come when they say they are. I need some stability for my own sanity! Cael needs friends to come play. I am so scared about what this decision is going to do to him in the long run it makes me sick to my stomach! Courtney tries to tell me that he will be fine and that everything will work out. I hope he's right. But anyway - enough complaining. We had a wrestling meet last night & I met a wrestler's mom who has a daycare. She took my name & number and said she would refer people to me. I hope I get some calls....and soon! I have a few pics of Cael from the weekend & Monday when it was so beautiful out that I will try to post this afternoon. As for now - I'm off to play race cars with the most important person in this house.

2012

2012-01-13T10:15:00.000-06:00

So we're off & running with 2012. I have decided that I need to be more organized this year. We also have to learn how to stretch a buck with the whole work situation. I'm trying to heal from this whole thing & I'm making strides every day. Now I know some people (Hi Uncle Curt!) won't be too excited about these posts because they aren't of Cael doing cute things but I'm doing them anyway! We leave this afternoon for a 2 day wrestling tournament & I PROMISE to take pictures of Cael being his normal cute self.....with his fat busted lip. I will post them soon!

I'm participating in a 52 week organization challenge.
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We're in week 2 & I'm pretty proud of myself! I know, I know, 2 weeks is nothing! But I'm proud of myself anyway! The first week was to clean up your kitchen counters. This is hard!! I'm doing it but it's hard. The counters get so cluttered....ON THEIR OWN!....every day. But I'm working at it. I try to clean them off every day. This week is to clean up cabinets & drawers in the kitchen. I feel like I've done GREAT with this one! I have cleaned out & organized almost all of them and plan on finishing today. I think Courtney's pretty happy with my progress on this week - even though he won't say anything. I'm also proud to report that we have made great strides in not spending too much $$ this week. We have eaten at home every day (this is huge for us!). I'm even packing a cooler for this weekend. I've done that for the last 3 tournaments so Cael & I don't spend much at the concession stands. Tonight we'll probably eat out but hopefully we can keep the cost low. Gas in the van is the kicker - and buying snacks to fill the cooler. :( Luckily that will even last us here at the house. I need to make myself more accountable for what I'm doing with $$ & being organized. I'm planning on writing on here each week how I'm doing with the challenge & $$ habits. I'm scared to death of our "new lives" but I'm jumping in feet first. I'm doing the best I can with how things are & I am pretty proud of myself. I would love even just 2 more full time kids but I'm working with what I've got.

I've got a 6 month old for 4 hours every day and 2 1/2 year old that I've had every day since last Thursday. The little baby is pretty easy - except for she doesn't want to be put down very much. Cael is so helpful with her! He likes to try to feed her!! The little boy is doing better. He's a month younger than Cael and doesn't speak. Like not at all. He says "no" ALOT and "dah" for everything that isn't no. He spends the first 10 minutes or so (it was about an hour!) when his dad leaves screaming and then he's fine. Every once in a while, out of nowhere, he's start screaming & crying. We kind of ignore him and he stops. It's been interesting to say the least! I have a BABY baby starting in 2 weeks. I believe he will be about 12 weeks old (maybe) and he'll be full time. The funny part is I'm going to be watching a student I had for 2 years & his brother every once in a while and the boy from this year that I was sooooooooo "mean" to is going to start coming for a few hours each week too! WHAT?!?!?! Yep - I haven't gone in to much detail but the school said I was too "mean & strict" to 1 boy. That's pretty funny because once I was out of there his behavior got so much worse that he was sent home, ON A DAILY BASIS! I was the 1 adult there he trusted & when I left him he got worse. Well since then his mom has pulled him from school to homeschool him!!! We are friends on facebook & she came over the other night! She wants to bring him & his brother over for a few hours each week. Wow. I'm so mean he wants to come to my house! But anyway - whatever.

I know I'm rambling on and on - the point is I'm trying to be more frugal & organized and I'm going to write it all down for whoever is reading this silly little blog to keep me on my toes. Don't get too excited! bb bbbb

0000

Cael whvfvfdcxnt wanted to say hello! I hope your 2012 is off to a great start.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T16:02:00.000-06:00

We had quite a Christmas this year! I was worried about our Christmas because of my whole job situation but we put it all aside for a few days and had a good time. Courtney had to work until Thursday so we went to Minneapolis on Friday to have Christmas with the Noon family Friday night. Cael had a great time opening presents. He LOVES the train table he got from Uncle Wilbur & Auntie Sharon!! He had a great time with Alta Joy & KayLynn. He got a recorded book from Great Grandma Hoard which was "very special" as he called it & Courtney and I got a plate that was given to Grandma & Grandpa Hoard on their wedding day. We were very surprised and touched.

This first picture is Cael opening one of his gifts...on his own....before Christmas. There were 6 gifts under the tree and only 2 of them were for him. He found 1 of his 2 and opened it! Smart little booger!

Friday night in their matching jammies!!

Saturday morning eating cereal (like a big boy!) in matching jammies!

Can you say FREAKING ADORABLE???? This is Cael getting ready to go sledding for the first time!

Cael kept wanting to play "snowman". He said he wanted to have yellow snow.....I told him no!

First time riding on a sled!

Look out, Cael's driving!

Opening his Innotab from Santa!

Mommy & Daddy gave Cael 2 games for his Innotab. He didn't even remember that he had already opened the Cars game!

Our Christmas morning family picture! Cael was much more interested in his Innotab which was on the coffee table.

Granddad & Grandma Marsh got Cael a remote control Lightning McQueen whose eyes move. He LOVES that car! Just look at his face in the 2nd picture when he was driving it!

Overall we had a great Christmas. It was MUCH better than I expected it to be. We have enjoyed having Daddy home with us - even though we've had to share him with the wrestling team. Things are moving along with the daycare. I've gotten so many calls I might be full! That would be so wonderful! We'll see what happens...

Cael got a haircut!

2011-12-14T11:03:00.000-06:00

I saw yesterday that Santa was going to be at the salon where Cael gets his hair cut so I decided to take him in. He needed a haircut anyway so it was perfect timing. He did the BEST he's ever done during a haircut! I was so proud of my big boy! He didn't want to sit with Santa though. He stood by him but he had a lot to tell him. He told Santa about cars, his haircut, his sucker, his sticky fingers, anything he could think of!!

Our Christmas Tree

2011-12-12T16:17:00.000-06:00

We decided to go to a tree farm in Platte City on Sunday to cut down our Christmas tree. We've had a real tree every Christmas now since Cael was born. That was one tradition that Courtney wanted for our family. The last 2 years we haven't gone to a tree farm but we have had a real tree. This year we went in hopes of finding the perfect tree to cut down ourselves....yeah. The trees were lovely but they weren't that big....or full. Every tree we found had a big bare spot. We ended up getting one that they had already cut down. Here are some pix of Cael & daddy checking out trees....

A perfect Cael sized tree! Too bad it would be too difficult to take care of or we would put it in his room! We did end up putting a fake one we had in Puerto Rico in his room.

Cael is obsessed with the movie Cars now. He was running around the tree farm being a "racing car".

"Dinoco All Mine!!!"

This was the first tree we thought we were going to get. We decided it was too fat & would be hard to get into the house.

I got out the ornaments & put on the lights. Then Cael started taking out ornaments & putting them on the tree! I couldn't believe he wanted to help so much!

"Up high, Daddy!"

Putting up his new Lightning McQueen ornament from Grammy & Papa up.

He had to put the star on the top.

He was over decorating so he went downstairs to play while mommy finished the tree!

Wrestling time!

2011-12-12T09:30:00.000-06:00

It's wrestling time again in the Marsh house! Two weeks ago we went to a dual tournament and got 3rd so that was good. It was the same tournament that we took Cael to his first time. Cael & Noah, Jared's nephew, had fun attacking Courtney in between duals. Then we went to Doniphan West for a dual last Thursday. We wrestled 3 times and only lost 1 dual by 4 points! This last weekend the varsity went to Sabetha and Courtney took the JV to Harmon in KCK. Yeah we were a little upset because we wanted to go see our people in Sabetha but oh well! The varsity boys got 3rd in the tourny and did great! The JV boys did really good too especially considering some of the teams we were up against. This weekend is the home tournament but Courtney has to take JV to Horton. People are pretty pissed that the JV won't be at their own home tournament but there's nothing we can do about it. Cael has been amazing so far at tournaments! I'm so proud of him!! Saturday at Harmon we had to leave a little early because he was over it. But no screaming fits.....yet!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T08:07:00.000-06:00

Love the pictures of the kiddos outside with the sun going down. L.O.V.E the pictures of KayLynn with the dogs!!

Just a few pictures from Sharon & Wilbur's backyard.

4th Generation picture. They took up the entire couch & did not want their pictures taken!

We went out to Courtney's Grandpa's farm to get some stuff for gifts we're making. I can't wait to take Cael out there when it's warmer!

On Saturday we went to the Arboretum in Overland Park. Courtney had wrestling practice so he didn't get to go. Santa was there and I wanted Cael to sit on his lap. He said, "No thank you, Mama!" So I said someone could go with him and he said, "No thank you." So I kept saying that someone would go and he started yelling, "No. Thank. You!" I ended up taking him in & Santa had to stand up to be near us. Goof ball! We went to Jackie's house afterwards to eat & hang out. We put Papa's wrestling hoodie on Cael and he was swimming in it! We had a pretty great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T07:33:00.000-06:00

What are you thankful for? In the last 2 months I have asked myself that question A LOT!!! For those last 2 months it hasn't seemed like I had much to be thankful for. But I know that I really do have much to be thankful for. I am struggling this morning with so much but I am trying to keep myself going. I am trying to remind myself of what I do have & not be so worried about what I might not have or what I have lost. So I thought I would take a little time & put down what I am thankful for, what I do have.

Family: I would be nowhere without my family. I know that there are people out there that don't have much family that they can count on. Through my hell I have been supported by my family - all of my family. My husband has been amazing. I know I don't give him enough credit or show him enough love for what he does for me. Courtney has helped me stay focused & reminded me of who I am and what I have done in my life that I should be proud of. He allowed me to make decisions that I needed to make for myself. I also know though that the decisions I needed to make for myself & that I made for myself are going to be hard for us financially - at least for a little bit. I am scared to death right now about money & how we are going to make it. But I know that we will make it. We've made it through hard times in our (almost) 10 years of marriage & we will make it through this hard time, too. My son has been amazing. He has no idea what's going on right now! I am thankful for that! This little dude is just happy as a clam because he's home with his mommy! I know that in the end being home with him, no matter how hard it may be financially, will be a blessing. I missed his first 2 years by having to send him to daycare but now is the time for me to be with him. These are the years that he will remember - not his first 2 years. He remembers things now and he will remember that his mommy got to stay home with him to take care of him. His smile has reminded me to be thankful for him. I adore that kid more than anything! My parents have been amazing! They have helped us financially, they have been there to support us - especially me. They have driven to our home to be with me when I've needed them. On days when I've been so far down I didn't think I'd be able to get back up. My sister has been amazing. She's so far away but she's been here with me, too. In fact, she's flying home for Thanksgiving and it will be so good to see her. She may be having issues of her own but I wouldn't know it because she's done nothing but listen to me complain! The rest of my family - everyone that knows what's going on (some of you that aren't quite sure what's going on!) that has called or even just said a prayer for me has been amazing. I know that I have people behind me supporting me. I know that I have people who think everything will work out for me. I sure hope you all are right!

Health: I am healthy, my family is healthy, my friends are healthy. I know I could be healthier but I am thankful for how healthy I am right now. I know things could be so much worse...but they're not so I have to be thankful for that.

Home: I have a home to be at. I have a bed to sleep in, a car that runs well, clothes to wear & food to eat. I have everything I need to survive. Could I use more? Of course! But I also know from living in Puerto Rico that I can live on less. Is it going to be hard? Yes it is. I KNOW it will be hard. I know that there are some tough times ahead but we'll make it.

Hope: Okay so this is the one I'm struggling with today. I am excited about getting to be at home with Cael. I am excited about bringing new friends into our home for him to play with. I am excited to be able to teach a much smaller group of children and to get to take the best care of them that I can. But I am struggling because I'm impatient. I want to get kiddos in this daycare so I can move on with my life financially. I need to be able to support my family but still live comfortably. I know we'll probably still live paycheck to paycheck but we can handle that.

I am trying hard to be excited for Thanksgiving & Christmas but I'm struggling there, too. Right now I'm worried about too much to be too excited. Cael & I will be decorating for Christmas when we get home from Thanksgiving and maybe that will help out. My yard sign & business cards should be in today (I doubt before we leave though!) and Courtney brought home flyers yesterday. Hopefully I'll be getting phone calls by next week! I'm really looking forward to next year - I think 2012 is going to be a great year!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving & start to the holiday season. I hope everyone takes a little time this week to stop & remember all that you have to be thankful for. Thanks for letting me get some things off my chest.

Cutie Patootie Picture fix!

2011-11-23T06:17:00.000-06:00

I L.O.V.E.this picture I took of Cael baby last weekend but it was so dark you couldn't really see his beautiful face. Courtney took it & fixed it and now you can see him. Love it!

Fall pictures

2011-11-20T10:06:00.000-06:00

Cheesing it up at Daddy's sports banquet!

Driving Roger's car!

Grilled Cheese sandwich FUN!

Cael with his friends Zeke & Ray.

First time eating at his Snoopy table.

This was the last Christmas gift we got from Cael's

Grandma Shirley.

Daddy reading to Cael & Bethany.

We had fun playing with friends!

Ena came over and took some fall family pictures & some of Cael.

We got our Christmas card pictures and I've already

had the cards made. Mama's on it this year!

Open For Business!

2011-11-10T15:30:00.000-06:00

I had my initial survey for opening my in-home daycare today! I have 2 pages worth of write-ups which I was freaking out about. She could tell I was freaking out and she said, "Oh no, this is good!" Apparently there are some places that have 5 or more pages worth of write-ups! It's mostly little stuff that you don't even think about. I have 5 business days to "correct" everything and she will come back in a week or so to inspect again. I won't know when she is coming for the next one either. Could be interesting! I figure I'll have everything done by this weekend so there shouldn't be anything to worry about. I posted on Facebook that I was opening and within minutes had a chick I know messaging me about my rates for watching 2 kiddos. I have my first "interview" with a mom tomorrow afternoon! It's a friend of Amanda's that is due in a couple of weeks. I won't have him until probably the first part of January and it will probably only be until the summer when he can go to his brother's daycare but that's okay. I'll hopefully be filled by then! I know the hard part will be getting my first kids but hopefully it won't be too bad.

While the lady was here Cael was crazy! He played....very loudly played....and ate the best he's ever eaten for me. I was so happy he ate! And he said the alphabet - by himself - completely! He says the letters here and there but this was the first time he said the entire alphabet by himself. It was ADORABLE! I tried to record it on my phone but he turned into a cheeseball once the camera turned on so I stopped. So again, if you know anyone in the Leavenworth, Lansing, Easton, etc. area that needs childcare send them my way! I'm officially called "Teach & Care Family Daycare" :)

What a Saturday!

2011-11-06T10:15:00.000-06:00

Okay so yesterday was quite a day! Cael spent the night with Grammy & Papa Friday night so Courtney and I could finish up cleaning my stuff out of the garage. We got up yesterday morning to head to the storage unit place. We got to the storage unit place which is just up the street from our house. We knew they had the size we wanted available, we just didn't know they didn't have that size at the location near our house! So we got everything ready and headed downtown to find our new "unit" (hee hee!). We opened it up and there it was. A sleeping bag, sweatshirt and food belonging to a homeless person. In our unit. Yeah. So we called the cops (we didn't know what to do!) and the storage unit people. A cop finally showed up - after 1 cop couldn't find us....even though I was waving at him wearing neon pink sweatpants & a jacket....maybe he's color blind?! The manager for the storage place showed up. That was about a waste of time. Neither one seemed surprised or apologized or anything. We felt bad about evicting a homeless dude but oh well. They moved us to a different unit. We got all my stuff out of the garage :) and mom & dad brought Cael back with pizza. We put Cael to bed and I stayed up watching the K-State game. Then at 11:00 the beds started to shake! I thought it was Winston licking himself so I kicked him - he didn't stop. Courtney came running in to ask if I had felt that. Apparently we felt the 2nd earthquake from Oklahoma! What?! It was wierd! Nothing else after that and we've had a quiet and "normal" Marsh Sunday morning....so far!

Cael hearts Hooters!

2011-11-05T08:36:00.000-05:00

If this were still in October it would totally be in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month but since it's already November (REALLY?!?!?! How did that happen?) it's simply because he hearts Hooters! Cael baby has gone to daycare all week this last week so I could clean out my stuff in the garage. Last Sunday we spent an emotional couple of hours clearing my stuff out of the school. It only took a coupld of hours because some of the other teachers spent hours on Friday after school boxing stuff up! That was so nice and it helped out SO much. Would you believe that we put off clearing it out because we were told we couldn't do it before the 30th because other people had to be there. I wanted to do it on the 23rd but was told no. So we made an appointment for the 30th. I even got a confirmation call on the 26th that yes the correct people would be there. So we arrive on the 30th at our assigned time. Guess who didn't even bother to show up?!?!? That's right, the people who HAD to be there or I couldn't take anything out of the room. How could you make an appointment based on YOUR schedule and tell me I CAN'T do it before then and then you have the audacity to NOT SHOW UP?!?! Grrrrr!!!! I finally completely believe that I did the right thing by resigning. That's all I'm going to say about that so I don't get mad. Moving on....yesterday Courtney decided that Cael should go stay with Grammy & Papa so he and I can get everything completely finished up. Good plan! I got through all of my stuff in the garage and yesterday I started in on the office. The office that will now be the office/daycare room. So after 10 years of teaching we have to get a storage unit because there is not enough room for 10 years of stuff! I think I did a really good job of going through things, organizing things and putting things in storage tubs. I'm actually very proud of myself for all of this now! So today will be spent moving tubs to the storage unit (which mom & dad will be moving stuff in to soon! Finally they will get to have their stuff here instead of Minneapolis!) and deep cleaning the rest of the house. :( It sucks but I want to be ready whenever I get my daycare license through and need my inspection. I can't wait to get things going here with my daycare!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:04:00.000-05:00

We finally had a chance to carve Cael's pumpkin the other night. Courtney started and Cael wanted to keep his distance. We tried to get him to help but instead he would say, "No Daddy! It gooey!" So funny - where does he come up with this stuff? He touched a couple of seeds but that was about it!

We went to State cross country on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawerence. Thank goodness it wasn't too far away! Cael still got to sleep - he didn't have the best night on Friday! They did okay at state. Not as good as everyone was expecting. I'm glad cross country is over!!

Saturday night we went to Tracy's house for a bouncy house party. Cael wasn't so sure about playing with the other kids....until Courtney & I left! We left so he could have fun & we went to have a beer. Things have been stressful for Cael too and he needed a little time without Mommy & Daddy. We have taken him out of daycare and he misses Tracy and his friends! This week he's at daycare so I can go through ALL of my school stuff. It's a tough week!

Cael's finished pumpkin! He wanted the cats and then at the last minute wanted the ghosts.

Here's our little Darth Vader! Yes, we stayed with the Star Wars costume theme! Last year a week after Halloween I got an e-mail that Wal-Mart had this costume for like $3.00 so I jumped on it! As we were putting it on last night I was praying it would fit. It did! I don't think Cael liked how it fit and maybe the velcro was itchy. He did soooo great! He would go up to the door & yell, "Twick Tweat!" He would even yell it before anyone came to the door. Then he had good manners and said thank you to everyone! He got a sucker at the very first house and it lasted the entire time! Yay!!

Getting ready to head out for the night!

Yes, I was THAT mom! This was his first house he went up to! What a surreal feeling watching him walk up to a house to trick or treat. My boy is growing up toooooo fast!!

LOVE these pictures of Cael & daddy!

Still has the sucker from the first house. This was when we got home.

Wow - that must have been alot of sugar in 1 sucker! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Our weekend

2011-10-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

Cael will pick up my handweights & say, "I stttrong!" So cute!

Cael pix

2011-10-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

Cael had a rough couple of days a few weeks ago. I left him with the neighbors so I could go watch Courtney's cc team in Lawerence. While he was over there he was chasing the dogs & fell and smacked his face on the concrete. When I got home I was talking with Donna in the kitchen & Winston knocked Cael over & he smacked his ear on the leg of the table and cut his ear. Then the next night he decided to climb up the back of the chair & it fell on top of him. You can see the bump/bruise on his head....the pictures really don't do his "injury" justice!

It's nice when we can have peaceful evenings at home....these are few & far between lately but hopefully things will start looking up SOON.

The Kauffman Center

2011-10-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

We had our first opera of the season at the new Kauffman Center a few weeks ago. That place is HUGE!!! It was also very very bright & during intermissions when we were using the bathroom or getting a drink Courtney had to wear his sunglasses! Our seats are great - again! It was nice to have the subtitles right in front of us & we didn't have to read them above the stage. It tricked your eyes a little at the beginning but we got used to it. There were 7 floors & there is a bar on every floor. The only thing missing was the cookies. Courtney LOVED the cookies they had at the Lyric! We've got another opera coming up in less than a month.

Bogum turned 80!

2011-10-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

On September 25 Bogum (Grandma Butler) turned 80! Courtney picked up Aunt Nila from the airport on Friday and we drove to Minneapolis to surprise Grandma. She knew Courtney, Cael & I were coming but she had no idea Aunt Nila was. She also didn't know Aunt Almeta & Uncle Wayne were driving up that afternoon. Needless to say she had a day full of surprises! On Saturday we hung out & had dinner. Sunday we went to church together and had pictures taken for her birthday. It was a pretty good weekend.

Picture Updates

2011-10-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

I really have been terrible (again) at getting pictures up here. Hopefully now that I'll be at home all the time I'll be able to get lots of Cael pictures to post on here. I can't wait! A while back we went to Seneca for a volleyball tournament. PRHS was playing in a tournament and some of my kiddos from my 1st & 2nd years of teaching were there also. It was fun! We went to lunch with Angelia & Jethro, Marilyn & Cole and Mr. Figgs. Cael got a mustache & Courtney tried to get a pic. The camera was so slow that by the time it snapped the picture we were having to adjust his 'stache and Cael did not want it back on!

On the way home from Seneca we drove into what we thought would be a wicked storm. As it turned out it wasn't too bad. It looked really cool though!

We have enjoyed our weekends at home watching football with Mr. Boy. He still loves his "gooball games". As you can see below, he is a very neat eater.....

Courtney's team had their 1 & only home cross country meet. Cael & I went this year - last year we were boycotting cc and didn't go. I know, we're mean. This is how we spent the entire meet. Not watching any racing (it's hard to watch anyway!), playing in the gravel & sand. The worst part was trying to keep Cael from throwing it out of the pit. I know it would take FOR - EV- AH for him to empty the pit but I didn't want him to throw it out!

Yesterday Courtney was in Riley County for cc Regionals. Cael & I stayed home. Cael got ahold of the camera and decided to take a self portrait. Lovely as always! Then I took one of him as he climbed into the chair with me. Yes, I know he has a lovely yellow bruise. Last weekend he tried to climb up the back of our kitchen chair. Well, he fell backwards & the chair came down on top of him. There were several minutes of screaming & crying with no sound and a HUGE lump & bruise but it's healing! I have more pics that I took yesterday but now I have to put someone down for a nap.....Cael might take one, too! I'll post more pics soon.

Life

2011-10-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

I've been putting off writing this post but I think I'll feel better once I do it so here it goes. Life in the Marsh household has been very stressful lately. Long, long, very long story short: I resigned as Kindergarten teacher last week. Like I said it's a very long story that I don't think I need to get too deep into right now. Everyone is healthy so please don't worry. I've been enjoying my time at home with Cael & have decided that home with Cael is exactly where I need to be. I am in the process of attempting to open my own in home daycare. That will take care of the expense of sending Cael to daycare which will help us out alot. I know you might be thinking I'm crazy and maybe I am. I know it will be challenging and that it's probably not going to be the ideal situation, however, if I can get just 4 kids I'll be making more money than I was at the school! I am looking forward to not having to worry about committees & meetings & conferences, etc. I will miss the (limited) adult interaction & my 22 kiddos that could do some things for themselves but I am excited to be with my baby boy. Cael will still get the benefit of the socialization that comes with daycare because there will (hopefully!) be kiddos running around here for him to play with. I just think in the long run this will be the best thing for our family. I appreciate everyone's concern & support - bet some of you didn't even know you were concerned or supporting us did ya?! ;) We will be back to "normal" soon & on to the next adventure. If any of you know of anyone in the Leavenworth, Easton, Lansing area that needs a daycare send them my way!!

September updates

2011-09-18T15:43:00.000-05:00

Curtis let me know that I, once again, suck at updating this here blog. So I am updating now & plan on updating next weekend also. (Who will be checking??) Let's see, what's been going on....

Nothing really! Courtney's gone a lot for cross country. Cael & I don't go watch for a couple of reasons. Mainly it's boring to watch & they all start at 4:00 which makes it really hard for us to get there. Tuesday they go to Tongie & it doesn't start until 4:45 but I just don't know if we'll go. I'm glad that he has something that he enjoys doing but it gets really really old with him gone all. the. time. And when he is home he's on the phone talking or texting about it! He can get home from practice at 6:00 and by 6:30 he's on the phone or texting about it. I don't get as upset about wrestling or baseball because I enjoy going to watch those. And even though he's gone so much during those they don't consume his every thought when he's home. I guess I just don't understand it. And of course this week he's got parent/teacher conferences Monday & Wednesday until 8:00. The one thing that makes it okay is it makes for a lot of quality mommy & Cael time!

I had a rough week at school last week & I am very excited about getting this new week started. I'm ready to start fresh without the drama. Seriously there is a lot of drama. In Kindergarten. DRAMA! I actually had a few thoughts about my career last week with all the drama. Thought 1: I remember how to work at Wal-Mart and I'll bet I'd be really good at it! Thought 2: I could change grade levels at the end of the school year. Thought 3: Maybe, just maybe, this will be my year to become an alcoholic! We had a meeting with our Principal on Thursday & I shared my thoughts with her. She was having the same sort of week & said she might become an alcoholic also. We decided we could all go to AA together!

Cael spent the night on Friday night with mom & dad so Courtney & I could have a date night. Well, maybe it wasn't for that reason but it sounds good. We went to the Elephant Bar for dinner (delicious!) and then bowling in Lansing. We had fun! Then yesterday I got all of my school stuff done & Courtney cleaned the house. Yeah, I know, I should have helped. Planning took a long time because I have a sub for 1/2 day on Tuesday so I can go to my Technology Leadership Academy training. I HATE the first time I have a sub for the year! Cael had a great time with Grammy & Papa until bedtime. He was saying, "Mama home!" and woke up at 3:00 in the morning saying the same thing. I guess it's been too long since he's spent the night away from mommy!

Last week I bought a desk & chair from a mom of mine from last year for Cael. We brought it home & cleaned it up together and he set to work on his first masterpiece. He loves it!! I bought him some washable crayons & he colored a picture for Bogum's 80th birthday next weekend. We'll be going home next Friday for Grandma Butler's (Bogum) 80th birthday on Sunday. I'm hoping to get lots of pictures of all of us together to put up here next weekend. Cael even got a haircut yesterday to be ready!!

Here are a few pix of Cael at his new desk.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-05T17:28:00.000-05:00

Courtney had his first cross country meet last Thursday and Cael & I went to watch. Probably the last one we'll go watch. The meets start at 4:00 and they are anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour away. There's no way we would even get there until they are halfway over. That's fine though - we get bored watching them. You don't get to watch much! And Courtney is so busy there he would run past us and Cael would try to get his attention and be sad when daddy wouldn't even wave. :( Oh well! I wanted a picture of daddy & Cael at his first meet but Courtney was too busy. So I had to settle for a picture of Cael & Carol (Amy Bergman's grandma) playing with Amy's phone. See how exciting it was for him?

Friday night we went to the first home football game of the year. Cael was a trooper! He did great! We played in the stands, ate lots of M & Ms, played football in the grass & played with Koontz's kids. (Koontz is the head baseball coach) I wanted to get a family pic at the football game but left the camera in the car. I swear I can't win for losing!

Saturday morning Sharon & Wilbur came up for the weekend. Courtney, Wilbur & my dad went to the car show at the racetrack. We've gone the last 2 years & taken Cael but this year we decided he might have an issue with not touching the cars. So mom, Cael, Sharon & I stayed home. We really didn't do anything and it was so nice! It was nice to get to relax & play with Cael for a day. That night Dustin, Monica & Gunner came up. We all went to eat at Fritz's in Shawnee. You order your food on a phone at your table. There are trains along the top of the wall by the ceiling & they put your food on a train & it delivers it to you. Cael went there on Thursday with daycare & loved it! Well Saturday night Cael was not as excited. He found a video poker machine & wanted to play that instead. Then he screamed when it was time to eat. So instead he sat outside while we ate. Of course this wouldn't go as I planned! He did ride a little train there & had a good time!

Yesterday we went to the Royals game. We were pretty excited to take Cael to his first pro baseball game! He did so good! It helped that he had 6 different laps to crawl across so he didn't get bored. And we were seated pretty close to the jumbo screen so he could watch everything. I'm pretty sure he wants one of those tvs at his house now! Didn't get as man pictures as I wanted but oh well.

Today has been spent doing little to nothing. We've played and that's about it. Courtney's at cross country practice :( so it's just me & Mr. Boy. We're going home in a few weeks & Joy will be here for Grandma Butler's 80th birthday. Should be fun!

Updates

2011-08-21T18:02:00.001-05:00

I realized today that I, once again, suck at posting!!! I am making it a goal to do better. We'll see! Cael is sitting here beside me watching my every move....I think he wants me to get more things posted too! I told him I had to get pictures up or Uncle Curt would be mad!

Let's see - last weekend I went to a couponing class in KC with Kelly from Kansas City Mamas. I learned some really great info! While I was at class Cael & Courtney were with mom & dad picking up Cool Aunt Joy from the airport. Jizzle was here for a week and just left yesterday. She stayed with Cael for a day last week. They had a blast!!!

Here are a few pix that were taken, I can't remember when. One day Cael decided he wanted to use the camera so we helped him out.

Some pictures from the day Jizzle flew in from DC. Cael LOVES to mess with the camera & took some self portraits...oh my that kid!

Seriously - is this not the most beautiful picture ever???!!!!

Damn, we do good work!

Cael's self portraits.

Our very own Handy Cael!

Can you fix it??

He sure is a great catch!

Courtney & I have both started school. I had my first day back at work on August 1 :( and first day with kiddos on the 9th. Courtney just started with kids on the 17th. I think it's going to be a pretty good year for both of us! Courtney is coaching cross country again this year which means he is gone....a lot! Oh well, it's worth the money! PRHS football starts with it's preview this coming Friday so we're excited about that. We get our new fancy schmancy windows installed tomorrow. I can't wait!!! I took before pix today so I'll try to get after pix tomorrow & get them up. I think that's about it for now. I better go feed Mr. Boy....he is CRANKY!!!!

Cael's picture for the paper

2011-08-20T19:53:00.000-05:00

It was that time of year again for Cael to have his picture taken for the Messenger. His first picture was taken at 5 weeks old! I can't believe the difference in his pictures in just 3 years!! This picture was taken literally 2 minutes before he fell & split his lip. Thank goodness this one was good! We HAD to go with it because we couldn't get anymore after the blood & fat lip! I freaking love this kid!!

I know, I know, I suck at updates!

2011-07-28T09:03:00.000-05:00

Cael & I took advantage of one decent morning a couple of weeks ago. We weren't out too long, just long enough to write all over the driveway.

We spent some time with some of the other teachers from my school and their kids at Play, Bounce, Jump. Cael wanted to play by himself most of the time. He loved the slide (mommy had to go with him) and the kitchen play area.

We took out some of the weeds in a corner of our yard and put down a rock garden. I decided the garden needed Cael's handprint.

Cael waiting patiently for his handprint to bake.

And then he saw that there was some clay left over and he needed to play with it.

I know, we have very exciting lives!

Summer Fun

2011-07-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

Grandma Butler & Aunt Kim were at mom & dad's over the weekend so we went over on Saturday. Cael & Courtney had fun playing with blocks while Papa grilled.

Sunday afternoon we went to Jackie's house for a bbq. It was fun! Cael liked the llamas but didn't want to get too close.

Mom & I played a game called "corn hole". It was so much fun! Both games we were tied until the last tosses & ended up losing. :( Cael had fun getting the beanbags & putting them in the holes....taking them out....putting them in.....taking them out, etc.

Can you even believe this is my mom????

Jackie's great-granddaughter, Annabelle, was there. She is just a little younger than Cael. They had fun playing together - chasing balls & playing in the pool.

Cael chillaxing!

4th of July......before we got too sleepy & the noises go too loud.

Branson, MO

2011-07-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

Last week we went on our family vacay to Branson, MO, to see the Dills. We really had a great time! We got there around 1:00 on Sunday afternoon & checked into our hotel. Cael & I took a little nap until Kate called and they were settled in to their condo & ready for a visit. We drove out to their place near the lake & Cael and Hattie were reunited! They were so stinking cute playing together! We ate dinner with them and hung out for a while.

On Monday we got up and went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. It was really interesting! Cael enjoyed looking at the different things - especially if it was something he could touch, of course. After that we had lunch and then it was off to our timeshare talk. It was pretty boring to say the least. We didn't give the guy anything to work with. We sat there watching Cael play most of the time. When we were supposed to ride the bus to the houses we took our own van so we would have his car seat. Then we had Courtney's alarm go off & we pretended it was the Dills calling to say they were in town. They "called" again to say they needed diapers! After that we went to the hotel to swim & then grabbed dinner. Cael didn't have a nap at all that day so he was wiped out early. He was asleep by 8:30.....okay so was Mommy!

Tuesday we decided to go for a ride on the ducks. The ducks are a "boat" that has wheels under it. They drove us around Branson, over to the dam & then took us into Table Rock Lake. It was really neat! Before you get on the boat you get a duck bill that makes noise & they take your picture. We didn't buy our pic because Cael wasn't even looking at the camera! Cael just sat & chilled on our ride. He loves his duck bill! After that we went to the hotel for a nap & then headed to the Dill's condo for dinner & more visiting.

We got up Wednesday morning to go to The Waltzing Waters and got our tickets. Unfortunately the wait was too long for Cael (15 minutes) and he started to throw down! We ended up leaving without seeing the show! Oh well. We did make it to a store that had some statues next to it. Cael is really in to making animal sounds right now. If he sees an animal that he knows the sound for he will do it. He saw these and went nuts!!

We drove home Wednesday afternoon. Cael did so good in the car on the way home! He really is just a good traveler! We've asked a lot of him this summer as far as traveling and he has done amazing. I know, I know I brag on my boy a lot but he really is AMAZING!!!!

July 4th

2011-07-05T07:49:00.000-05:00

We went to Topeka for the 4th of July again this year. Last year we went & Cael couldn't even walk yet. He belly crawled all over the grass & garage floor before I took him inside where he fell asleep. We didn't get to watch fireworks either because of rain & we left early. This year was completely different!! We went to the same place and Cael was ALL OVER THE PLACE!! He ran to the backyard & was playing with all the balls he could find! We got him in the front yard & driveway where he threw "snap its" one at a time. Then he figured out he could put them on the ground and stomp on them. Then he figured out he could take a handful and throw them. If they didn't pop he jumped on them! Then we spent lots of time getting Uncle Dustin to light & throw smoke bombs while we said the colors. We also had some cars & trucks that when you lit them it blew out the headlights & some of them were colorful. He did great....until he got sleepy. He was watching the fireworks and doing great but once he got sleepy the noise really bothered him. I ended up inside with him watching Nick Jr. for a while. Courtney came in to get us and we sat outside for a while. There were some REALLY loud pops & Cael really really didn't like the whistling sounds some of them made. We ended up going inside & upstairs to open up the blinds. We sat in some chairs watching from the window. He really did like them once they weren't as loud. The picture up top is of us when we were inside watching the fireworks. I thought it turned out really good....except for the really bright flash. I never get pix with Cael because I am usually taking the pix! We left Topeka around 10:30 last night for the drive home. Cael immediately went to bed and was up crying at 3:30. Then he got up at 5:30 and I put him in bed with me. I couldn't sleep so I got up around 6:00 or so. I. am. TIRED! He is sleeping soundly now, as is Daddy, and I am finishing up getting his 2 year pix ready to mail out and getting ready to clean out the fridge. Fun, huh? Maybe Mommy will get a nap today!

**Happy Birthday to Cool Aunt Joy!!! Wish we were with you....maybe next year?!?!**

Google it!

2011-06-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

I caught Cael on the computer tonight. He was actually on the internet & had done a google search. He googled "azithromycin z pack". Is that bad parenting that I didn't even know he was sick?!

Where else would Cael sit to snack?

2011-06-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

2 year pictures

2011-06-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

We had Cael's 2 year pictures done a few weeks ago & we got the CD back. They were good pictures, don't get me wrong, but....I was a little disappointed! Cael didn't give her much to work with at all. There were hardly any of him even smiling! So a few days ago I took some pictures of him to see if I could get any worthy of mailing out. I think we got some pretty good ones!!

Helping Daddy!

2011-06-23T20:14:00.001-05:00

Water sprinkler fun!

2011-06-23T20:10:00.002-05:00

Driving along in my automobile!

2011-06-22T22:04:00.000-05:00

Video of Cael & AJ driving his truck from Granddad & Grandma Marsh at his birthday party. I love that you can hear AJ giggling!!

Cael's check up

2011-06-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

Cael had his 2 year check up this morning with his new doctor. We have switched to a doc in Leavenworth so it would just be easier. We loved Dr. Yu but things were getting crazy. Over Easter when he had hand, foot & mouth disease and his fever was 104 I left messages & noone would call me back. I called this doc's office in LV and got to talk to a nurse right away. We've gone there a few times & I'm very happy. The nice thing that Yu did was he already gave Cael his hep A vaccine so no shots today!! Here are his stats:

Head: 19 1/2" - 13 1/2" at birth

Height: 33 1/2" - 19 1/2" at birth

Weight: 26 1/2 lbs. - 5 lbs. 14 oz at birth

They said he's doing great! He is on the slender side of all measurements but we kinda knew that was the case. He was 75th percentile for head size, 50th percentile for weight & (I think) 30th percentile for height. Our boy's growing up!!

Updates

2011-06-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

So I basically suck at updating lately! Sorry. There is no excuse. I am lazy and falling down on the job. I was getting pictures off the cameras to put up here & realized that there were pix from May that I had never even taken off the camera! Oy vey! Here are a few pix of Cael doing his chore....well, okay, maybe just helping Daddy. You can see Roger & Donna in the background of the first picture. As soon as Cael got done mowing he went running over to help them out! Such a helpful boy!

Cael loves balloons! My class had a big end of the year party for me on the last day of school. We had a silly string party outside. It was crazy!! We had a blast though so it was all good! They had balloons for me so I brought them home. Cael LOVED them! He would crawl around the floor with them, lay on them, rub them on his head, etc. He even took them into Miller's kennel with him!

I know he looks a little drunk in the last picture but oh well! On Cael's 2nd birthday last Friday we headed to Oklahoma with mom & dad for a family reunion. On Friday night we went to the wedding vow renewal for my Great Aunt Irene & Great Uncle Elmer. June 10th was their 50th wedding anniversary! Wow! That's a very long time! Cael did fabulous on the drive down to OK. It was a long ride for him & he let us know when he needed out of the car. If you recall last year for his 1st birthday we went to Hooters to eat. So we decided for his 2nd we needed to do the same! Wow. That's good parenting!! Here are a few pix of Cael on the drive to OK, 1 of him at Hooters with the waitresses (notice where his hand is placed), and some of him with his balloon from Hooters. The girls even signed a shirt for him for his birthday!

And yes, he drove his car into his sandwich & fries! I did not get any pictures on Friday night when we were all dressed up so spiffy....darn it! On Saturday we got up & went to our annual family reunion. It was much smaller this year & different. It was the last reunion to be planned by my great aunts so their kiddos are taking over. After the reunion we went to Great Aunt Billye & Great Aunt Irene's house to hang out. We also walked over to Great Aunt Irene's house to eat. Cael found this cat & HAD to ride it. He also found the ducks and walked around the entire time there quacking while holding the ducks.

I was able to get a picture of Cael with most of his great great aunts. Aunt Vera was busy playing a card game though! Here he is with his Great great Aunt Judie, Great great Aunt Irene & Great great Aunt Billye. He loved having his picture taken with them! He kept running over & sitting with them and then running away. He did that over & over again!

Man I love his face!! Anyway - here is the Cael & Courtney with the horse that bit him. Yes, I said it, the horse that BIT him!! Can't remember if I posted this yet or not so: Courtney was feeding the horse scraps. Cael touched the mama's cheek. She bit his hand. I pulled his hand & she bit harder. I smacked her in the face. She let go. Cael was screaming bloody murder. His finger was flat, cut, bleeding & swollen. We cleaned it up & he was fine. He might have a little scar on his finger but it will make for a good story!!!

On Sunday we drove to my Great Aunt Margaret's house so Cael could meet her. While we were there Punkin came over too. She had her grandson, Rhett, with her so it was nice to get to see him. I'm not sure if I've ever even met him! Aunt Margaret has cows outside her house. There were several longhorns there. Cael loved looking at the "moos"! We were ready to go inside to visit but Cael wanted to stay with the "moos". He ran back to the fence & crawled up himself. What a goober! Here are some pix of Cael with his "moos", his Great great Aunt Margaret, cousins Punkin & Rhett, & playing with Aunt Margaret's walker.

One of Cael's birthday gifts was finger paints for the bath! They are also apparently soap. The other night we had to try them out. Then we had to let Cael see himself in the mirror. He loves to see himself in the mirror after a bath. He likes to kiss himself, wave, talk to himself & try to find himself behind the door. After all - where is that other Cael hiding??

In case you can't tell we are having a great summer so far! Next weekend we head to Branson to meet up with the Dill family!! We are so excited to see them! It's been almost a full year since we last saw them. I can't wait for Hattie & Cael to see each other again & I can't wait to get my hands on little Hollyn!!

Cael is growing up

2011-06-13T23:15:00.001-05:00

I know, I know that's what he's supposed to do. He did something tonight when I put him to bed that I knew would happen eventually I just wasn't prepared for it to happen right now.

We've been working on getting him to stay in his own bed at night. We even had to put a door knob cover on so he can't get out. The first night it was on he cried & tried to get out for about 2 minutes but slept all night. The second night he cried & tried to get out for about a minute but then slept all night. The third night he didn't cry at all and didn't try to get out but he did wake up at 4:45. I let him go for a while but then got up with him because the alarm was going to go off anyway so I decided what the hell! Come to find out he had wet through his diaper & wanted changed. Poor guy!

So tonight we gave him a bath, chilled out in our bed with him & then I took him to bed. I stayed with him for about 15 minutes & he was still awake. I told him I loved him & he took the bink out & kissed me. Then I said, "I'm going to go now." He started to cry. I stroked his cheek and said, "You are a big boy now, right?" He grunted to agree. I said, "You are such a big, big boy, right?" He again grunted to agree. So I said, "Mommy loves you so much and I will see you in the morning." He took his bink out, kissed me & then.....are you ready....he waved at me. So I got up and left his room. He did not come to the door. He did not cry. He went to sleep on his own.

I must admit I got a little teary eyed because this was a big step for him. I know lots of people that will read this will think, "Big deal Kelly! My kid's done this since they were a baby!" But it IS a big deal for Cael. I am the mommy who rocked him to sleep from the time he was a newborn. I let him show me when he was ready to not be rocked but to just lay on me. Then I let him show me when he was ready to lay beside me instead of on me. Now I have let him show me that he understands what I am saying to him and that he knows he is growing up and doesn't need Mommy as much anymore. I love that he is growing up and is such a smart, sweet, caring boy but there is a part of me that misses the rocking him to sleep at night.

He has learned that he is growing up and doesn't need me as much anymore....and now I have to learn it too. Not too sure how I feel about this lesson yet.

Rockin' the Baby Bump linkup

2011-06-13T12:56:00.000-05:00

Picture taken June 8, 2009. Cael was born a day and a half later!

Don't go getting any ideas that I'm pregnant people - I'm just linking up with another site for her Rockin' the Baby Bump linkup. I promise that if & when I do get pregnant again you will all know.

Courtney & I waited a long long time before we got pregnant. We were married for 7 years before we even tried. We didn't even really try either, it just happened.

I was one of THOSE pregnant women - the lucky kind. I only felt sick 1 time when I was pregnant and it was before I even knew. I was cooking one night and the kitchen got really hot and I felt gross. I sat down and the feeling went away. I found out I was pregnant about a week later. If it weren't for the weight gain :( and growing bump I wouldn't have even known I was pregnant.

Cael grew behind the placenta & was breech so I didn't feel him kick much at all. I felt him every time he had the hiccups & I felt little flutters but I never saw my belly move or felt big kicks. Courtney only felt him move when he had the hiccups.

He did take a toll on my body & I am STILL, after 2 years now, trying to get it back to "normal". I do not like my body right now but I am working at it. I LOVED my body when I was pregnant though because of what it was doing. It grew the most wonderful baby boy ever. I can now look back and say I rocked that baby bump!

Happy Birthday, Baby Love!

2011-06-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Cael,

Wow! I can't believe that 2 years ago tonight I went into labor. It would only take 4 hours of pain to experience the most beautiful moment ever when I would hold you for the first time. The pain was 100% worth it. Every second of it! The fact that you are 2 blows my mind! I can't believe we've had you in our lives for 2 years.

Your 2nd year of life has been full of milestones. You (finally) got hair! You have a full set of teeth. You went from crawling to walking to running everywhere in 1 year! You are talking up a storm. We can even understand some things you are saying now. Most of the time you still speak "Caelic" but it's a beautiful sound!! Your daddy & I love to sit and listen to you talk and laugh. We could listen to you for hours on end and never get tired of it! You went from a crib to a toddler bed to a BIG big boy bed and just this week you have been sleeping all night in your own bed! (You've done that in spurts but we've put the door knob cover on and you now realize you can't get out so you have given up trying!) You've even let your daddy put you to bed twice this week which is HUGE! You are a mommy's boy right now and even though I know sometimes it breaks your daddy's heart I secretly love it! I love that you come running to me and want to hold my hand, hug me, crawl on me, kiss me, talk to me and just be with me. You are the sweetest little man ever!

We had your birthday party last weekend and you were once again spoiled. So many people love you because you are so wonderful. You are sweet to everybody around you. You love everyone and see nothing but good in people. You show us how we should be!

You are a happy boy and you are so full of energy. I wish I had a quarter of your energy! I am getting some of mine back because I am chasing you everywhere. You know you can walk, you want to walk and you WILL walk anywhere you want! You are loving your new swing set and you know how to slide down the slide by yourself but you still love to hold someone's hand when you are ready to go - it is so cute!!

I say this all the time to you but I love you so much! You have a beautiful soul. You have a beautiful spirit. I can't imagine my life without you. Having you was the best decision your daddy & I have ever made. We love being your parents.

You are my heart. I love you.

Mama

Just some pictures of Cael Baby

2011-06-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

I've said it before, if I weren't a teacher I would want to be a photographer. I love to take pictures & I don't care if I suck at it! I don't think these are too bad! I took these this morning when Cael I went out to play.

Cael's party

2011-06-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

Not a ton of pictures from Cael's birthday party because I was a little busy. I had to open all of his presents because he didn't want to do it himself. He wanted to play with the first present we opened and then he wanted to be anywhere but beside me opening presents! Oh well! We had another good turnout for his party. He is so spoiled! His food turned out pretty cute & tastey but I'm not sure if anything will ever top his light sabers from last year!

Chocolate motorcycles that took forever to make but tasted so good!

So I was a little disappointed in Cael's motorcycle cake. And then he didn't want to eat it anyway!! Oh well!

Putting my Cricut to good use!

AJ wanted to help him out!

Forget about the cake - there are chocolate motorcycles to be eaten!

Whoah! This is good!!

Cael's present from Granddad & Grandma Marsh. There's room for you, Hattie Jean!

You'll shoot your eye out!

Playing in his "Wiggly Waterpillar" from Ena!

Sliding SUCCESS!

2011-06-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Summer vacay is here!!

2011-06-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

I know I need to play catch up so here it goes....

Weather: We have been very lucky lately with our weather. We had a few nights of scary weather. A tornado hit Reading, KS which is very close to Emporia. Another one of course hit Joplin, MO. That whole week was CRAZY! Cael spent the night at my parents' house 2 weekends ago so we could celebrate our anniversary early. While we were driving home a tornado hit Topeka & the sky got very dark in LV. We decided to have dinner in town & while we were there the sirens started going off. We drove home & the sirens kept going off for about an hour or so. We didn't go inside until a black cloud went over our house & the wind picked up and it got COLD!!! Everything ended up fine though - we didn't even get rain that night! Last week while I was in school a tornado hit Overland Park close to mom's office. It was 1 tornado that kept touching down - I think 4 times. I was able to get a hold of mom to find out she was fine & let Joy know what was going on. Things have been pretty calm since then.

Kelly & Courtney: A week ago today we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. That's about it.

Cael: I can't believe it but in a week our little man will be 2 years old!! When did that happen??? Cael has been his own crazy self lately. We put up his birthday present from us & Grammy & Papa over the weekend. We went in together & bought him a swing set. Courtney, Papa & Roger put it up....it only took 2 days! I can't wait for us to be able to spend all summer on it!! I have a feeling mommy & Cael are going to spend all summer swinging away! He did have some boo-boos happen in the last couple of weeks - he is all boy! He has several scrapes & bruises on his legs from baseball games, he has what I think is the beginning of a scar on his nose from his Cinco de Mayo mishaps & over the weekend he slipped & smacked his head on the corner of the scale at Grammy's house. Oh Mr. Boy!

We are having a party tomorrow night for the teachers that are moving away from Courtney's school. Hopefully people show up....you know the last time we tried to have a party for his school no one came. If that happens again I'm done trying! I'm glad we have Cael's present up so he & I can be out there. I have a feeling that's where we will spend most of the party! Oh well! On Friday morning Cool Aunt Joy comes to town!! We are very excited! She will be in charge of playing with Cael while mommy makes his cupcakes & cake for his birthday party on Saturday afternoon. We are going to be so busy in the next month or so. This Saturday is Cael's birthday party, next Friday (on his birthday) we will be heading to OK for our family reunion, the next weekend Grammy & Papa will be in Meade for the other family reunion & then the last weekend we will be in Branson hanging out with the Dills (YAY!!!!!!) and Grammy & Papa will be in Florida with Fabiana & her family! We wish we could go to Florida to see them but it just didn't work out.

I started May trying out a "May Your Way" challenge...epic failure!!! I haven't lost any weight and I didn't do the push up challenge like I planned. I did stay up with my water - until this week - and I did pretty good with my working out - until this week. I am hoping I can actually get off my lazy ass this summer & lose some weight. I would LOVE to be at my goal weight by the time school starts but we'll see what happens. I'm hoping chasing Cael around his swing set all summer will help me out. And I'm planning on keeping him eating healthy with fruits for snacks instead of crap....we'll see how that one goes too!

Here are some pictures I took over the weekend of when Cael's gift was being set up. Enjoy! I will post TONS of pictures from Cael baby's birthday party this weekend - I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

The place is set...

Wood, wood everywhere!! This only took us over an

hour to set this all out!

Manly men getting ready to work.

The ladder will NOT be a problem.

LOVE this picture! You can see his

scale mishap.

What tools can I use?

Need to fix my loader!

I can do it, Daddy!

Things are coming along....

I'm doing it!

Daddy!! You're supposed to be working not playing!

Daddy & Roger hard at work again!

If Cael wants something done right,

he has to do it himself!

Climbing up the ladder - for real!

Can I really slide down by myself????

The finished product! We have a regular playground

in our back yard!

And Cael LOVES it!!!

Winston did too - until he got clocked in the head.

Daddy can ride too!

Wednesday check in

2011-05-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

Well - I didn't post last week because I was lazy! I still reached most of my goals, I just didn't post or check in. :(

This week I did alright.

1. I worked out 3 days last week and have worked out 2 times so far this week. For some reason I am struggling to get that 4th workout in. I'll try this week. I am really excited about this summer though. I found out that there will be Zumba classes every Wednesday night & it only costs $5 a class to go. I am hoping to go as many Wednesdays as I can! And - the gym at the community center is going to be open twice a week for 2 hours each day for "Toddler Time" so I can take Cael and we can be active. Cael's also going to be taking swimming lessons in a few weeks. We're going to be so busy hopefully it will work for me!!

2. I drank my full amount of water most days. I am getting at least 64 oz. in each day - sometimes it's a struggle for the full 74.4. :(

3. Yeah, about the push ups challenge - not happening right now. I've been doing a "Crunch" workout through Netflix that has me doing a lot of push ups so that's good, I guess.

4. Weight loss. Oh weight loss. Where are you??? I have 2 numbers that I bounce back & forth between. If I could just get below the lower of the 2 numbers I would feel better about what's happening! I just can't get below it - no matter what I do. I need something to kick start me so I can get below the low number!!! I wanted so bad to be at what I was when I got pregnant by Cael's birthday and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. That's really depressing! Two years after his birth and I'm still 12 pounds over what I was when I got pregnant. :( I've said this before - women who leave the hospital fitting in to their regular pre-pregnancy clothes make me SICK!!!

It's been a while

2011-05-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

Okay so I suck at updating this thing lately. We've had a crazy last month or so. We went home over Easter weekend and came home with a sick boy. He ended up with hand foot & mouth disease. From what we've heard now it's a very common thing, you just don't hear about it. His case wasn't as bad as lots of kids get it. He had a high fever for 3 or 4 days. On Easter Sunday it was 102.7 and by Monday afternoon it was up to 104!! It finally broke and he was fever free by Thursday. He had spots on his hands & feet but they never turned into blisters. We were pretty lucky! We were in Minneapolis for Easter and for AJ's 3rd birthday party. Her party was at the park and before cupcakes & presents we got to play outside. Cael had a blast playing outside and was not happy when it was time for us to go in the building. We are definitely buying him a big swing set for his birthday now! We will have hours & hours of fun this summer for sure!!

Since then (and the last time I checked in here) we have been very very busy going to baseball games. Cael is so different at games this year! I hardly get to watch the games this year but at least I'm there, right? Sometimes it's just hard and I get frustrated with what I can't do anymore. Like today - today is the Graduation at Courtney's school and 1 of our favorite boys is graduating. Courtney is there & Cael and I are at home. It sucks that I can't go because Cael wouldn't sit still there. Courtney said for us to meet him up there to go to Andrew's party afterwards but it's a waste of gas to have 2 cars driving all over. Oh well. I guess I just have to suck it up because this is the life of a mom, right? Easier said than done! Anyway - enough of my pity party...

Cael and I took a Saturday while Daddy was at baseball camp and spent the day with Grammy. We went with mom to get her new driving glasses and have lunch. Cael was pretty good, especially since he was just getting over being so sick. He & I rode on the merry-go-round. I think he really liked it! He didn't look very excited but he was just taking everything in.

We also went and played at a little play area at the mall.

He spent the night with Grammy that night and the next day when we picked him up we went to get his Easter present. Courtney bought him a 5 gallon fish tank and we had to go let him pick out fish! He got 3 ghost shrimp & 1 snail to help with the algae. He got 3 glo-fish that are a really pretty bright pink, 4 neon fish, 2 guppies (both boys!) & 1 Sunburst Mickey Mouse Platty. We had to name the Mickey Mouse fish Allyn! He's an orangey yellow color and in his tail is a perfect Mickey Mouse head! It's really cool. I don't know if I can get a picture of him - we'll see. Here's a pic of Cael "picking out" his fish. He had more fun banging on the glass to scare the fish. Yes, he's all boy!

On Cinco de Mayo we were supposed to be at a ball game but it got rained out. So instead we went to eat at La Mesa (one of my favorites!) with the head coach and his family. He's married and has 2 kids that are right around Cael's age. Jordan is 3 and Davin is 18 months. Cael really enjoys playing with them when we're at games. They all did pretty good at dinner and after we were standing around outside talking while the 3 kids played and ran around. Davin & Jordan jumped off the curb and Cael followed them....except he didn't see the curb and fell off it instead. He got a mark on his nose which was no big deal. Then he was trying to climb and slipped and smacked his face on some bricks. He was pretty beat up! These pictures were taken the weekend after that and he was still not looking very pretty. He loves the camera though!

This is from a while ago but he spent the night with Grammy & Papa one night and we picked him up the next morning. When we got him to the car he found 2 of his binkies and decided he needed both of them. He looked so funny!

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy too. We've got Regional baseball starting tomorrow - I don't know if Cael and I will go or not. Then I have Kindergarten graduation on Friday. Then the next Friday is our last day of school!!! I can't wait for the summer! Cael's birthday party is coming up on June 4, on June 10th (his 2nd birthday!) we are going to Oklahoma for the family reunion, on June 26th we're heading to Branson to see the Dills for a few days. We can't wait! I know this summer is going to go too fast! Hope everyone has a great week.

Wednesday Check In - on Thursday!

2011-05-05T08:26:00.000-05:00

I'm a day late checking in with my Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans - sorry! Okay so I'm doing pretty well so far with my goals. Granted it's only been 4 days but I'm pretty proud of myself! Here's my week so far:

Goal 1 - Exercise 4 days - I have exercised 3 days this week already! I plan on getting up and going tomorrow morning, too.

Goal 2 - Drink 74.4 oz of water - Monday I only drank about half but Tuesday and Wednesday I got it all in and a little extra! I've already started in on the water this morning so today's looking good for this goal.

Goal 3 - 100 push ups challenge - Yeah, haven't started it yet. I am planning on doing the test this Saturday or Sunday and then starting the push ups as part of my exercise in the mornings.

Goal 4 - Weight loss - I weighed myself this morning and was the same. I weighed myself after I ran and weighed 1 pound less. :) Yay for me! Even if that's not right and it goes back up :( at least I feel good about it and myself today. One day at a time, right?!

On my way to a better Kelly!

2011-05-03T11:47:00.000-05:00

Okay so I have REALLY slacked off on the working out. I mean REALLY!!! I've been looking at this great site on the web called Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. They have challenges every month or so and I've decided to join the challenge for May. I found the site at the end of the last challenge so I've waited til now....nothing like good ole procrastination!

The challenge for this month is May Your Way. Basically you challenge yourself however you see fit - perfect! For the challenge you do your thing and check in/weigh in on Wednesdays. I will try, try, TRY to do this every Wednesday. We'll see what happens with my friend procrastination!

The first step for this challenge is goals. Here are my goals for the month:

1. Get up and work out at least 4 days a week.

2. Drink at least 74.4 oz of water each day. (That's how much is in my huge jug I carry around....I did not just pick a random number!)

3. Work on the 100 push ups challenge.

4. Lose 5-10 pounds. I'll settle for ANY weight loss!!!!!

The 100 push ups challenge was on the site last month. You can check it out here. I haven't done the test yet but I'm hoping to maybe tonight. We'll see, Courtney's got a game tonight so we'll be home late.

So far for this week I'm okay. I got up and worked out yesterday and today. I drank 1/2 of my water yesterday and am doing alright today.

In other news - my son will be 2 years old in 6 weeks!!!! WHAT?!?!?! When did that happen? He is the best most wonderful human being ever to grace the Earth and I have loved every single second of this last (almost) 2 years. That's about it for me. Let me know if you want to join the challenge!

Playing outside!

2011-04-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night Courtney had a baseball game & Cael & I decided to stay home. The game was too far away & gas is too expensive! I decided I needed to take the picture for Cael's birthday invite for this summer. You can never be too prepared! We decided after pictures that it was too nice to go inside so we played outside for a LONG time & I took lots of pictures. I love to take pictures! It helps to have such a beautiful subject to snap!! ;)

Cael & Winston always have fun outside!

Cael likes to tickle things now. He found a leaf & was tickling his shadow.

What in the world are you doing, Miller?

This picture would be awesome if it weren't for the damn bink!!!

Popsicles are yummy.....especially outside on a hot day!

What do you think, Winston? Should we go downstairs?

Learning to walk downstairs like a big boy!

Spring weekends!

2011-04-10T19:50:00.000-05:00

We have definitely been enjoying these last 2 weekends of beautiful weather. Last weekend we mowed for the first time. It was actually nice to get out & do some work in the yard! Courtney bought Cael some tools to help him out in the yard. He was so cute trying to rake & dig! He saw a bucket & decided to pick up leaves & throw them in the bucket. Such a smart boy! Here's a pic from last weekend.

Last week Courtney had 2 baseball games. It was supposed to have been 3 but the last one got rained out. Thank goodness because those were 2 late nights in a row! Cael was such a trooper both nights. I hate not feeding him dinner until 8:00 but I'm not going to buy him crap at the concession stands! So we got up Saturday & I couldn't find Courtney's camera anywhere!! I searched everywhere for it! Courtney searched everywhere for it! Between the 2 of us we searched the van 3 times. I had given up hope & decided I must have taken it to the game in Atchison & left it there. I really didn't think I had but it was nowhere! We took the Blazer to Wal-Mart to get the tires rotated & balanced & came home to take Cael for a walk. I opened the door to get him out & there was the camera!! It was under his seat but far enough back we didn't feel it & driving popped it out! Yay! We took Cael out for a walk in his wagon. He finally wore a hat for the first time! He isn't as big a fan as his daddy. Here's his cheesey face.

Riding in his wagon from Granddad & Grandma Marsh.

Fun in the yard with Miller.

Winston followed him around the entire yard!

This morning we were hanging out in our room & Cael was "playing" with his Old Maid game.

Comfy watching Super Why!

Trying to pull his wagon by himself.

He gave up on the wagon pretty quickly.

Last week yardwork, this week the garage. What will next week be?

Tonight daddy hooked the wagon up to the lawn mower & took Cael for a ride!

He had a blast!

If these last 2 weekeds are any indication of what our summer is going to be we are going to have a great summer! I think we'll be spending a lot of time outside!!

Spring Break

2011-03-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

So at the end of my Spring Break (beginning of Courtney's) Joy came home. I convinced her to go to Chuck E Cheese with us. We went the afternoon she came home. Cael didn't eat a single thing...he wanted to play games. I guess I should say "play" games. He was more interested in putting the coins in slots where they didn't go.

This was before he took the ball & walked up to the hole to drop it in.

Needless to say the game didn't work properly when he left!

Holding the football that Mommy forgot to leave at her game. Oops!

On Saturday we spent the day with Grammy, Papa, Joy & Aunt Sandi.

We went to Old Navy & Cael loved the doggy that talked!

Courtney has spent his spring break painting our hallway, upstairs living room,

hallway downstairs & downstairs living room. I don't have pix yet but I

will soon. Here's Cael sitting in his new favorite spot!

Hi people driving by!!

Say cheese you beautiful boy!!

Johnson Marsh family pictures

2011-03-25T18:45:00.000-05:00

Jizzle was in town for a few days for spring break and while she was here we had pictures taken. We don't have pictures of all of us together since Cael's been around. I don't know if we had any pictures of all of us before Cael either! Matthew Dixon took our pictures. He & his mom work at my school. We had pictures taken on Sunday afternoon and he had them to me by Tuesday!!! Wow! I think he did a great job!

We ended up throwing Cael in the leaves & throwing leaves on him because he was grumpy!

Cael & his Papa!

Cael with his Grammy & Papa.

In a tree! He was okay with the tree....most of the time.

Our family!

Our beautiful boy!

So stinking cute!!

Love it!

The sun was so bright - my eyes are basically closed. :(

Love it!!

The Johnson girls

I think Cael was kicking my head...

Get me down!!

The Johnsons

I'm....we're....so cute!

Doesn't he have the most pefect face?!

I think Cael looks like a doll.

Mommy & Cael's date at the park

2011-03-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

Cael & I had a great day today!! We had a picnic on the back deck with the dogs and then we walked to the park that we went to last Saturday. It's about a mile from the house so I got my workout for the day in. We played for about an hour & then walked back. I had a blast with my boy!!!! Being home with him this week has been one of the best weeks ever! He wore his shirt that his woman, Hattie Jean, sent him for St. Patty's day and looked adorable....as always!!! What a great day!

Pimp Daddy Cael

2011-03-17T15:24:00.000-05:00

Is that inappropriate to say about your son??

Cael looked so adorable in his suit at the sports banquet last week. I am so glad we found his suits for so cheap!!!

Fun times!

2011-03-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend our cousins came up for a visit. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them! Friday I came home & Travis, Nicole, Curtis, Alta & KayLynn came up. We grilled for the first time of the season :) on Friday night. Saturday we got up and went to the park to play! Cael & the girls had so much fun! It was cold but they had no idea!!

We were going to go to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday night but there were too many people there. Then we went to the T-Rex restaurant at The Legends and it was an hour + wait. We looked in to Dave & Buster's but it was the same kind of wait! So instead we came home & had pizza. It was nice just to hang out again! The kiddos got to all take a bath together too which was fun. KayLynn is always smiling!!!

Cael is now a camera hog!! When he sees a camera he will stand up and yell CHEESE!!!! He cracks me up! They had so much fun playing in his room!

We got up Sunday morning and called the T-Rex place to make a reservation. I'm glad we did too because it was the same hour + wait!! Cael really didn't eat because there was too much going on. Curtis & Daddy took him around to see what was aroud and he liked it....until the T-Rex moved! Apparently he didn't like t moving!

After eating the Noon family made a dinosaur and we took Cael outside. Cael isn't much into his stuffed animals so we decided he didn't need to make one. We took him outside so he could get rid of some energy..ha!

This kid is so freaking cute!!! Even with drool hanging off his chin!

My Pity Party

2011-03-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my pity party. Yes, I'm going to throw one for myself right now. This is my spring break and I am spending it at home with my love Cael. I am loving being at home with him! And that is why I am throwing this party.

I love my life. I love my job. I love my students & would have no other job in the world. That being said - I am so envious of 99% of my moms. They get to stay at home! Today Cael & I had a picnic lunch on our back deck with the dogs. He barely ate & I didn't care. He was having fun being outside in the fresh air. Then we walked to the park about a mile from our house & played for about an hour before walking home & putting Cael down for his nap. Why can't every single day be like this?? Why do I have to work?!?! Why can't I spend the time with my son doing things that he loves?!?!

He's asleep now and I'm wiping down walls that I've taped off so Courtney can paint next week when he's on spring break. Is my house completely clean? No, but I don't care!! I've had a great week with my son! If I were a stay at home mommy I would clean the house & have dinner on the table for my husband when he gets home. It's really just not fair.

I'm not completely crazy. I know that there would be days when he would drive me insane with whining & crying but I would love every insane minute of it!

Okay - I think I'm done now. It's out of my system.......for now......

Can we fix it??

2011-03-14T15:08:00.000-05:00

Before Cael was even born we went shopping at the Ft. bi-annual garage sales. People who are moving (and some who aren't) sell TONS of stuff there! Everyone goes. You have to be in line early to get on post if you want the good stuff. I'm talking like 5:00 in the morning early!! Well, we got Cael a Craftsman tool chest filled with tools the May before he was born in June. We finally put it up a few weeks ago when he was trying so hard to help Mommy take down his toddler bed. Last night Daddy & Cael were trying on his goggles to protect his eyes. Granddad Calvin would be so proud!!

Cael Ryan

2011-03-14T15:02:00.001-05:00

Cael was just being his normal cute self the other day so I had to take some pictures. :)

Diaper Cakes!

2011-03-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

So last week we had double diaper baby shower at my school. I decided that instead of just giving diapers we should make diaper cakes to give. I bought all the stuff and then Cael & I tackled the project together. It really wasn't that difficult to do - once I got the first one done. So here are some pictures we took while making the cakes. Yummy!!

Step 1: Roll up & rubber band diapers. The 1st cake took 7 diapers & the 2nd took 71 diapers.

Step 2: Stand up a first row of diapers & tie them together.

Step 3: Stand up a 2nd row & tie them together.

Step 4: Stand up your 3rd row & tie them together. This is the absolute hardest part of making them!

Step 5: Start your 2nd tier by standing up a 1st row & tying them together.

Step 6: Stand up your 2nd row & tie them together.

Step 7: You need something to help make the 3rd tier.

I hot glued a little bottle on top of the shampoo bottle.

Step 8: Stand up your only row on the 3rd tier & tie them together.

Step 9: Decorate your cake! I decided to cover the skinny ribbons with fat ribbons.

Then I used the skinny ribbons to tie decorations onto the diapers. I decided to make

the decorations simple so it wouldn't look crazy.

Cael was trying to figure out how the diapers wer rolled up.

He gave up & decided to just help mommy make them stand up! Such a good helper boy!!

Don't they look delicious?!?! I am really excited about this fun, cute, new baby shower gift!!

Who's the doggy now, sucker?!?!

2011-03-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

Untitled from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

I just found this video of Cael from the PRHS home wrestling tournament. You'll notice my son already knows when to whine for what he wants and then turn the tables to make you look silly! We are going to have our hands full....oh wait, we already do!