what a day

The day started with school being called off this morning for the terrible blizzard that never really hit. It was the most ridiculous snow day ever. The snow melted the minute it hit the ground and was over 35 degrees outside. Many people were disgusted that school was called and I don't blame them.

I started rinsing dishes this morning with water that didn't seem very hot. I called the husband to question what could possibly be wrong, since we hadn't used any water. Well, it was warm, just not hot. Then I went to take a shower and I didn't have to turn any cold water on and within 5 minute I was in luke warm water. At that point I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, the heating element went out of the water heater. Just our luck, right! So the husband was busy plowing the slush off the roads and still managed to get a new element bought. This was even after my dad suggested not replacing that. Good thing my husband is so good at fixing anything and everything because replacing the heating element gave us hot water again! And we definitely needed it after Jayden had a major blow-out. Haha.

Devin, Jayden and Shaylee used some paint dabbers to create some fun pictures. Shaylee was more monitoring to make sure there wasn't a mess for Devin and then Jayden wanted to join in. It was so cute. They all had such a blast in doing this.

Jayden also worked hard to show how careful he could be.

Devin made beautiful pictures using stamps and paint.

Jayden says "He eh go" as he tries to share with Devin.

Some days are harder than others. Parts of today were rough in trying to get my boys to clean their room. I expect all of my kids to pick up after themselves. I have no problems letting them play and make a mess, but when the playing is done, it needs to get picked up. Well is that too much to ask?

After giving warning after warning, setting the timer, giving time limits, and telling the kids they would get their toys taken out of their room if they aren't picked up, it really happened. I spent the entire day (well almost every day) trying to get my boys to pick up their room. Every single time I walked out they would go back to playing and would not pick up their toys or clothes. I was beyond frustrated as well as the husband. He would ask how they were doing and I would tell him and ask what next. After he came home and talked to them himself I expected to see results. Nope. Not a thing. In fact, it was almost worse. Why is it that hard to pick up toys and clothes? I just don't get it. Do they not want to do anything fun? I mean seriously, they could have had that picked up in 30 minutes, but nope. They wouldn't do a thing in there but play.

The last straw was when I gave a 30 minute warning saying I was removing all of the toys, every single one of them from their room if they weren't picked up when the timer went off. So, 30 minutes later, I went back in there and nothing was done. The work was cut out for me. Shaylee and Shawndra helped and within 20 minutes, all that was left was clothes, their dressers, books, and the beds.

The husband and I fight with this problem every single time we ask for something to be cleaned in there. No consequence ever works. We've taken toys, computer time, Wii, outside time, bikes, early bedtime, no cake or ice cream, among many others. Nothing works. I give up!

Then I get to hear what someone says on the phone to the husband, "I'm glad your not my dad." That's it. Seriously. If anyone thinks they can do it better or have better ideas then please share because both of us are at our whitts ends trying to come up with a strategy that will work. And let me remind you, both of us feel our kids (after a certain age) are perfectly capable of having chores and cleaning their own rooms.

Sorry if this seems a bit harsh, but I am stressed and am going to bed. G'night!

Picture or Two

Now I don't know if there is a science to this tree or not, but a few weeks ago this tree was not painted this color. Maybe the owner thought it looked better black, than a fresh cut look. Who knows.

I came home to see my little man wearing a very beautiful tiara looking out the big picture window. As soon as I came upstairs I had to get a picture of it. Now have you ever seen such a handsome little man in a tiara before??

Good Morning

I've been on a bit of a hiatus. I think I'm back. I'm not sure though. My thoughts are consumed by Mckmama and Stellan lately. I'm anxiously waiting to hear the latest today, although I'm very nervous as to what that news will be. I pray for this family and my heart aches for them. According to Twitter, Mckmama will update when she feels she can.

We've had our own issues in our house. Jayden is sick, again, and back on antibiotics. I should be hearing today about his ears and if it's MRSA again. The medicine he's on gives him terrible diaper rash, so now his bottom is extremely sore, almost to the point of being raw! We keep caking it with Plender's Diaper Ointment and I believe that helps. We've still got a week on this medicine.

I'll try to post more later and maybe a picture or two. I've just been a bit preoccupied lately.

Gliding

MckMama's little man, Stellan, still is not doing good. He is receiving thousands of prayers, but needs more as his situation continues to worsen. Please visit MckMama's site if you feel pulled to do so and say a prayer for this family. Her posts show amazing strength and faith in GOD and are so worth taking the time. This family has been on my mind constantly the last few days.



As far as our family goes, we are doing well. Jayden has not been on medicine for about a week now. He still continues to fight a runny, green nose and some draining from his ears, but not bad enough to warrant another trip to the doctor.

The kids brought home report cards tonight. Wow, were we impressed! Lot's of "Excellents" for Joseph, but still needed some work on self control and organization. This is hard for him with the ADHD. Shaylee and Shawndra had lots of A's and just a few B's. Plus, they improved from the previous quarter. We are very proud of how well they are doing. Dalton also has many "Excellents", but does need to work on his social and emotional development.

I'm anxious for Friday as we are having a Nike training for work. I'm curious what kind of stuff we will be doing since they said to wear comfortable clothes and shoes and also said we'd be active 70% of the training. I guess I won't have to work out when I come home, huh?!

I got some awesome pictures of some geese gliding in for a landing. This one was my favorite.

Baby Stellan & MckMama

Because MckMama's baby Stellan is in the PICU, I will not be posting my Not Me Monday today. Stellan is suffering from a very fast (250-290) heart beat. He also had this same problem while he was in her womb and the doctors told MckMama that he surely would not live. Now he's back in the PICU. You can visit the site by clicking on her name. Please take a moment to say a prayer for this family.

A River Runs Through It

As the snow starts to melt the banks of the river run

over and the water takes over the land.

The picture still shows the general direction of how the river

should be flowing, except it has taken over other land, too.
A log that found itself stuck on a piece of dry land.

The highway goes over the bridge. The water is nearing the top.

A closer view of how close the water is getting to the top.

Nothing New

I took the girls into town today and bought them some summer clothes. We hit up JcPenney, Maurices, and Trendz, but didn't have much luck there. The girls have to try everything on in order to find things that fit. It would certainly be nice if they could just wear a typical size and I could buy stuff as I find it, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

We also worked on the yard. I guess I didn't help much today. Mike did an amazing job and spent all day taking care of the leaves. We have a large yard, so it's definitely time consuming to do this. I think the deck might be out next project. There are a couple of boards that are starting to rot, so they need to be replaced and then the whole thing needs to be stained.

I took Jayden for a bike ride this afternoon. I knew I was out of shape, but holy cow. I rode around town and when I got tired I decided to head home.....INTO the wind. Yep, silly me I didn't realize the "slight" wind was going to be strenuous on my way home. But we made it! I also met an elderly neighbor on the way home. She was sure sweet and enjoyable to talk to.

Grandma and grandpa came by on their Harley Davidson's. Shaylee wanted to know if they were coming to give them a ride and she said, "Shawndra, you'll have to ride with grandma because I always ride with grandpa." It was at that point that I said they weren't coming to give rides and besides, "Nobody rides with grandma, ever." Nothing against my mom by any means, but Craig said it best, "You have a hard enough time not tipping over alone." Haha! I love you mom!

The kids are making new friends around the neighbor hood now that the weather is nice. The bikes have come out of the shed and the days are spent outside. Now I see it's supposed to rain almost all week. Just our luck, right?

Anyhow, there's no picture for today. Just an update.

Spring means yard work

With the weather turning so beautiful, Mike and I are beginning to realize how much yard week we need to do along with things around the house outside that we said we'd fix in the spring. I guess it's a good thing I don't work weekends anymore, so I can help keep us going with this.

All the kids helped put leaves in the garbage bags. Last fall, Mike raked a bunch up, but we never got them put away, so now we're doing double duty. The kids actually liked helping too. Even Jayden was adding his handfuls.

We are about 1/4 of the way through the yard with raking and we already have 13 bags packed full of leaves. Now we just need to figure out what we're going to do with them.This was a spur of the moment picture I took of Jayden while he was outside. I couldn't resist not showing you. It turned out so cute.

The water runs

There's something about water that just intrigues kids

to go check it out. Our two youngest thought it was neat.

And we tried to keep him out of it, but he kept insisting

on getting the ball that "kept" landing in the water.

Oh well, he had fun.

Honkers are back

The honkers are back and making tons of noise!

Hospitalis Restaurant

Do you ever get sick of the same old places to eat? Do you want a crazy dining experience? Check this out!

Hospitalis is a disturbing new restaurant that has opened in Riga, Latvia. Its weird and wacky hospital themed dining experience takes place in a sterile, modern medical environment and boasts nurses in complete uniform, patients in straight jackets, and the opportunity to dine on gurneys and operating tables. Meals at this strange and disturbing restaurant are served in a way that might shock and disturb you. The dining experience available at Hospitalis certainly isn't for the faint at heart.

This gory and bizarre Lativian restaurant is not cheap by Latvian dining standards at more than 7 LVL (about $13 USD) per meal, but it certainly makes for a unique and gory dining experience you can't get anywhere else. The strange restaurant's meals are served in flasks and operating room dishes that appear straight out of the ER. Food and drinks served at the disturbing restaurant may not look appetizing, often appearing like something a patient regurgitated or body fluids that have been shed. But the dining experience is also made fun and unique since diners are provided a-typical cutlery to eat with; including syringes, tweezers and scary cutlery that resembles a scalpel.

Patrons are also treated to unique dinner entertainment while eating in the disturbing restaurant, which includes scantily clad nurses playing morbid tunes on violins
and crazy patients escorted through the restaurant environment in straightjackets and wheelchairs.

While the servers and bartenders may not actually be medically trained, there is good news for diners who have the daylight scared out of them as a result of this gory and disturbing dining experience. Restaurant owners are in fact Latvian doctors, so medical help is on hand for those who find the unique experience to be too much.

Have a fascination with the disturbing, gory and morbid? Turn off CSI, and take a trip to Latvia and eat at a unique restaurant unlike any other.

What do you think? Would you ever eat here and be served food that has fake fingers, tongues, noses and ears in it?

Sophie

Here's Sophie up in the tree.

Airplane

Joseph tried running to get the aiplane flying. He was

determined it would work, then the batteries went dead.

Make sure you scroll down for Not Me Monday if you haven't

seen it already.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT go to Wal-Mart to buy ingredients specifically for a smoothie and then make it a few days later just to hate the taste of it. Not something I would do because I am NOT a picky eater by any means.


I did NOT under any circumstances consider taking a picture of my son’s “grass green” diaper just to put on this post. Thankfully, the camera was packed up and put away because I know you did NOT want to see a vivid picture such as that.


I did NOT talk to our family doctor or see him in person at least 4 times this week. And the receptionist does NOT know it’s me by the sound of my voice before I even say my name because we do NOT frequently visit the clinic on a weekly basis. Nope, not me!

After having a brand new windshield installed in my car, I most certainly did NOT hear an abundance of wind noise coming through every section of it. And I did NOT call my husband to tell him he better call them and get it fixed because the sound is absolutely ridiculous. I would never, ever do that.


Whenever I’m meeting a semi-truck, I NEVER grimace or hug the shoulder out of fright. And I’m NEVER afraid another rock will nail my windshield and crack it again.


I did NOT get 8 miles into my commute to work to realize I didn’t have a box full of stuff I needed. Of course, I did NOT turn around and drive the 8 miles back to my house and then head back to work again with my box. And as I was just pulling into town (33 minutes later) my husband definitely did NOT call me and say, “I don’t know if this will make a difference or not, but I just got into my van and pulled your coat out and your keys fell out.” Well of course, my ONLY set of office and work vehicle keys were NOT on that keychain. At that minute, I did NOT whip into a parking lot, turn around, and head back towards home to try to meet my husband somewhere on the road. Nope, certainly NOT something I would do!


While I was NOT backtracking for the 2nd time this morning, I did NOT find myself in a conversation with a radio dj for 5 minutes. I really did NOT go off on a tangent about my own experiences at weddings when he was asking about his. And I NEVER heard the sound of my voice on the radio because that would just make me giggle. This moment did NOT help put me in a lighter mood again. After this whole conversation, I did NOT ever, NOT even once, ponder how many people recognized that was me.


So there you have it, now what did you NOT do this week? Now’s your chance to NOT admit it!

We got a new toy

The kids seem to think my new exercise ball is the coolest

and biggest ball they've ever seen. Jayden rolled it all

over from room to room today.

Then it went down the stairs. Jayden and Devin weren't

sure how to get it. Let's see how it was accomplished.

He's pretty little and had a bit of trouble getting

his arms around the ball to get it back up the stairs.

But with a little help pushing it up the stairs, "Where's Jayden?!"

Ohhh there he is!

Working Hard

Today was a gorgeous day and my hubby took advantage of it to wash both the vehicles. I even caught him spraying the dirt off the driveway when he was finished. Both vehicles sure are shiny! Jayden had a good day today. He still has grass green poop, but has not thrown up.

Covered Wagon

This is the covered wagon Shaylee had to make for a project at

school. She spent a lot of time on it and had a lot of great help from Mike.

He's so much better with making things and creativity than I am.

She had different things she had to include on it. The top had to come

out on both sides and it had to have the rings in the middle, horses or some animals

to pull it with. Lots of criteria to complete it. She even made a little ax, a bucket and

a barrel for water. I think she did a great job.

Jayden had a decent day yesterday and today. He hadn't pooped

yesterday until this evening and it was greener than grass. Then he threw up

at supper. We did give him Pediasure for the first time in 3 days. Now we're

questioning if it's something along the allergy line or what. He's been drinking

Pediasure for over a year, so I'm not sure why something would start now.
Mike thought the throw up was pretty mucousy and I know milk products

are bad to take when that's going on. I guess we'll go back to Gatorade for a day

or two. I get nervous because he's not getting very many calories during

the day, especially since he's not eating much and now he's not getting to

drink the Pediasure. I'll keep you updated as things change.

Feeling a bit better

Jayden had a better night last night. He was able to tolerate the feeds all night long and did not throw up. He went to daycare today. He has not had a poop yet today, so we're not sure if he's got diarrhea yet. I guess it's good he hasn't pooped if it is diarrhea, but it would be nice to know how that end of things is going. He was extremely clingy and crabby tonight and is already in bed at 7pm. Hopefully another good night ahead of him tonight.

You can see in the picture he's not feeling like himself, yet. The spunk is missing from his eyes.

Daddy and Jayden getting in some time together. He had to be held all night tonight.

Update on Jayden

We hooked Jayden up to the feeding pump last night and started running 2 ounces per hour. At 4 hours he threw up, so we discontinued using it. I talked to the doctor again today and the C-Diff came back negative, so that's good. We are still waiting for other results. Jayden has not thrown up since last night. However, he would not eat or drink anything today, again. I have had to use the G-tube just to get him to take his medicine and then I give him an extra ounce or so of water or Gatorade to flush it through. He's had the same "Easter green" diarrhea several times today resulting in bathtime both times as it literally oozes and runs down his leg. Jayden finally ate an entire piece of toast tonight and had a few drinks of Gatorade. Then after supper he shared some Sam's Choice fizzy water with daddy. I'm hoping he's making improvements.

The doctor suggested turn the pump down to a lower rate tonight and using Gatorade or Pedialyte to hydrate him. He's very close to needing IV fluids. He didn't have any wet diapers today, but after taking some liquids tonight, I'm hoping he'll start. Doctor said if he becomes lethargic to bring him in because we would have done everything possible at that point. I think tonight he was feeling a bit better. He's still very cuddly, but has started to show some of his sense of humor again. We praying with the piece of toast and some liquids now that his diarrhea will subside. It's been 6 days of this.

Here he is sleeping peacefully tonight. He has to have the pillow that Grandma Rhonda gave him whenver he goes to sleep. And his teddy bear blanket I made him.

On the other end of the crib is the pump with purple Gatorade going through it.

And here he is all bundled up. We're saying prayers that he can keep this fluid down tonight as he does need it so badly.

Feeding Pump

Well, we haven't had to use it for 8 months and 3 days. The feeding pump that is. Jayden went to his appointment on Monday in Sioux Falls and had an Upper GI done, which looked good. The stomach wrap was still in place and the doctors seemed happy about his progress, other than the fact that he has MRSA again. MRSA is a staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics. Anyhow, the doctor talked about taking the G-tube out in May or June.

Then we hit today. Jayden has thrown up for 5 days and had very stinky diarrhea along with a runny nose, and nasty cough. I took him in to the doctor today and he threw a fit for an entire hour nonstop. It was so stressful, I had sweat running down my back. Many times he actually had a firm grip on my glasses, which he bent, or my hair, which he pulled out. When he did this in front of the doctor, the doctor even said NO. It takes a lot for a doctor to step in and help in situations like that. Anyhow, after drawing blood, he has a bacterial infection, possibly bronchitis and now they need a poop sample. I was able to get a small amount to the clinic before they closed, but haven't heard the results. Jayden's ears (both) are draining. He's on antibiotics again and ear drops. Since he didn't pee until this even and not wanting him to get dehydrated, we have to put him back on the pump for some liquids. I guess that's the one nice thing about having a tube. Hopefully we'll hear the results on the other stuff tomorrow.

Here's his pump, ready to go for tonight.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her site to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT tell my 2 year old over and over to sit down and stop touching the curtains. I did NOT keep noticing how filthy they were getting and in dire need of washing. After washing them and drying them, I did NOT stare at them in disbelief after they were hung to see they were about 4 ½ inches shorter than they were BEFORE they were washing.

I did NOT get upset at all, not one little bit, when I found out my 4 year old had created a new “lip gloss” scent in her room by brushing it all over everything. And upon trying to figure out where she hid the lip gloss, I did NOT notice some new decorations on the wall, door, and door frame. It was most certainly NOT made with a green or black marker.

After having a tough evening with the young artist, I certainly did NOT get on my treadmill with my IPOD blaring. And while really burning off the stress, I did NOT start singing, “I Wish I Had A Million Dollars” when I realized that only I could hear the music. And let me tell you, I never sing out loud. Ha!

I did NOT smile at all when I stepped on the scale and seen the number went down. I did NOT feel the slightest bit happy and I definitely did NOT have a feeling rush through my body that I can do this. Nope, not me!

I did NOT gripe and complain about blogger showing my images in HTML code for many hours, which led to days, which led to months. And I did NOT ask for help from various sources and I honestly did NOT try to upload new backgrounds and delete page elements to fix it. Finally, after resorting to blogger help, I have NOT, no way, been uploading in “HTML” versus “Compose” on the little tabs above your post. That would just be silly for me to NOT notice that!

I did NOT spend over 3 hours cleaning two of my children’s ONE room. And when finished, I did NOT have 2 garbage packed full and 6 boxes of garbage. Nope, not me!

Last night I did NOT lose much sleep because of a crying, not feeling well baby. And I know that the time change did NOT have anything to do with NOT wanting to get up this morning.Now it’s your turn. What did you NOT do this past week?

Birds

I stepped outside on the deck today to see how warm it was and I

found these two birds on top of the playset. I ran back in and

grabbed my camera. They started keeping an eye on me as well!

YAY! My problem is solved. Now to pick out a template that I really like. Although this one is kind of nice. Devin fell asleep sitting at the table. Isn't it cute? By the way, this is the 3rd post today, so make sure you scroll down. There is a much more important image down below.

Under construction

This blog may be under construction for awhile. I need to figure out why my pictures are showing up as the code instead of the picture. I'm planning on deleting everything and starting from scratch. We'll see how long it takes me. I'm hoping this will fix the problem.

Guess What Came in the Mail!

The mail man delivered a very valuable piece of my life today! Hooray!

Doesn't it look so official?! Oh wait, it's because it is official. FINALLY!

Devin and Jayden

Two of our little people cuddling up on the couch. Only took me 3 attempts to get this picture.

Helping Hands

Mike helping Shaylee get started on her "covered wagon" she has to make.

Then he tells her on the count of three turn and make a funny face. Well she was laughing to hard when she turned.

Jayden checking out his "pretties".

Do these make me look beautiful, mom?