Funny things kids say....

Kaylee:
When I dropped her off for her first day of horse camp I hadnt told her about the camp prior to that day. I didnt want there to be any problems with Ainslee feeling left out or Kaylee having trouble sleeping beforehand from being excited. Anyways so we were walking up and Kaylee kept asking questions about what was going to happen and what they were going to be doing. As I was saying good bye to her she says "Mommy I might get to touch a horse today!" Little did she know then that she would be riding one. And to think that she was SOOOO excited about the thought of even touching one!

Ainslee:
we were driving one day and she asks "Mommy where are we going?" I said we have to find somewhere I can park so I can nurse Brynlee. She then noticed the car in front of us was making the same turns as us and appeared to be going the same place as we were. Then she asked "Mommy is that car going to find somewhere to nurse their baby too?"

Kaylee:
One night we were out to eat dinner and we ordered fries. As Kaylee bit into her giant steak fry she looked inside of it. She leaned over to me and whispered "Mommy there are potatoes inside these fries!" and I said "YES Kaylee that is what fries are made out of." She immediately leaned over to Ainslee and said "Ainslee we are eating potatoes!"



There have been MANY more things they have said lately but I failed to remember them or write them down, so they are lost and gone forever, unless they ever say them again

Brynlee's Medical Update

Brynlee has been experiencing some medical "issues" for quite some time now. She has had blood in her stool since she was about 2 months old. It isnt an every day thing, and it started out just little eraser size chunks (sorry for the graphic description). This was about the time I started putting her on the potty.  While I never noticed it in her diaper I recall seeing it many many times when she went on the potty, but i didnt keep track of how often it was. I didnt bring this to anyones attention, even Marcus' until she was about 3 1/2 months old. At that point I still wasnt quite sure if it was blood or not.  I continued to monitor it and then one day it was WAY more than usual, and it really alarmed me. I decided to bring her in to the doctor. The diagnosis was an anal fissure. I was never quite pleased with that diagnosis. And the next time it happened I examined the poo more.....gross I know! But i came to the conclusion that the blood was not with her poo it was IN her poo!  There is a big difference! I decided that I needed to bring in a sample for the doctors to see. So I waited.......until one day we were at the allergy doctor getting our shots. Brynlee was acting super strange and i decided to put her on the potty, which by the way I think is SUPER disgusting to put her on public pottys at this age, but she wanted to go and wouldnt go in her diaper! I noticed that there were a few BIG chunks when she went so I acted quick. My mom had the big girls out in the waiting room. I called her and asked her to come in the bathroom. I told her i needed to get the poo and blood out of the potty to bring to the pediatrician. She said she would rather be on "poo fishing duty" than keep the girls for me. So I gladly went and collected some supplies and she began fishing. We brought the sample to the doctor where it was confirmed blood. They sent me home with a proper collection kit and asked that I get a "clean" sample for testing. And also suggested that I remove dairy from my diet because she was fitting all the signs of having issues digesting dairy through my breastmilk.  So for the next 3 days I had to put her on the little potty so that I could catch everything, and I was officially gluten AND dairy free!

Finally Brynlee gave us 2 samples in one day and I saved them both. Since she gave them to us on a Saturday of a holiday weekend I had to keep that in my frig until Tuesday! double gross! I brought it to the doctor and also had an appointment to see the doctor. But this time her doctor was out of the office so we saw a different doc. She assured me that the blood was NOT coming from the fissure and that she wanted to run more tests. They attempted to draw blood from her but were unable to find her vein so I was sent to another location to have the blood drawn. About a week later we recieved the results back and her blood was negative for ALL allergies and her poo tests came back completely normal. The only thing that was slightly alarming was her hematocrit level. But since it was still within the "normal" limits (the very lowest number in the normal range) they said it was ok. I still continued to monitor the poo and they told me I could start eating dairy again. Then they referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist. When I called for an appointment the earliest they could get me in was 7 weeks. I was NOT pleased with that, so I called my pediatrician and they were able to expedite the process and get me in the very next Monday! Amazing how those things work out! We saw that doctor and got a better diagnosis of Allergic Colitis. At first I wasnt too keen on this diagnosis. But the more I thought about it I think I wasnt happy with the way it was presented to us. Here's what went down: we were brought to our room where the nurse asked lots of questions about her symptoms and dates and things of that nature. She feverishly wrote down everything in Bryn's chart and left the room. About 10 minutes later the doctor walks in carrying a piece of paper and begins to talk to us. Within the first 3 minutes he says "I think she has allergic colitis" and hands me the paper he brought in. I felt like he made the diagnosis without even looking at her or talking to me personally. But whatever, maybe this is so common and so trivial that it didnt require more of his time. To me this was a big deal! My infant daughter has had blood in her stool for 4 months! I took the info he gave us and went home to digest everything. He also told us this is something she will outgrow and that it doesnt mean that she will have allergies in the future. He assured me that she has a mild case and that I dont need to do anything to alter my diet/lifestyle as of yet. He said if the symptoms worsen then we will begin exploring options then.  And you know what......she hasnt had A SINGLE DROP of blood in her stool since! How crazy is that? So now she is medically cleared to start solids and we have been full force ahead trying and experimenting with all different kinds of food. Turns out she is much like her sisters in that she is NOT a fan of typical pureed baby food. She much prefers regular table food.  I am hoping that we have all blood issues behind us now! And I just want to know why kids start so early scaring the S**T out of thir parents?

Brynlee Growing - 6 months

Here are the lovely pictures I took of Brynlee on her 6 month birthday (a day late)

arent they just fantastic? NOT

ANd then I asked my super-D-duper friend to snap a few and this is what hers turned out looking like!

Dont get too excited people Im NOT putting headbands on my baby! I just let Bethany do it for pictures because it makes her happy! It just so happens that this one turned out AMAZING!!!

 I cant wait to get the rest of the pictures back from her......there are so many more cute ones!

1st Camp

Kaylee went to her first camp this summer. She has been to VBS, which I dont consider a camp, but it is sort of like camp. HA! anyways, I signed her up for a horse camp. I couldnt pass up the Groupon deal when it rolled through my email. It was $125 for a 5 days, 6 hours/day camp. I think she was a bit young for the camp, but I think she still enjoyed it. The days were SUPER long for her and she crashed hard every night. I really enjoyed the extra time with Ainslee and Brynlee too. While at camp she learned not only how to ride, but also about horse equipment and general info about the horses. Like I said she was a bit young for the camp (even though they allow 5 year olds) but one day she came home so excited that she got to take the horses' temperature she said "mommy I even got to stick the thermometer in its booty!" She can be so disturbing sometimes. One day they rode the horses in the water, and while I think she thought that was the coolest thing when we got her home and found TWO ticks on her she quickly began to DISlike the whole situation! Then after doing her laundry from that day I noticed tons of seed ticks on her socks and her shirt. I did not count them all but there had to be over 60 ticks on her clothing. DIS-GUSTING!!! And while she wasnt a fan of the long hot days, I wasnt a fan of the dirtiness! But we all made it through the week. Oh and on top of the "horse" stuff they did and the educational part of the camp they also threw in some crafts. One day they decorated horseshoes to bring home, one day they cut out pictures from magazines and made a wish list of horse things, one day they tye dyed shirts, and I cant remember what they did the other days.

The final day the parents were asked to come early to watch them "perform". My parents wanted to join us so Kaylee had a pretty big crowd. Before the riding began the campers showed us a dance they learned during their "down" time. You can tell where she got her dancing skills.....from her parents! (neither of us like to dance!) And you can also tell how incredibly exhausted she is! But it sure is funny!

Here she is riding her horse. The camp leaders told me that Kaylee always chose to ride the biggest horse they offered her. That didnt surprise me! Oh and she also learned how to trot at camp, which she was totally proud of. They gave the kids the option to show off their skills to the parents and Kaylee chose NOT to show her steering skills. This totally bummed me out. The counsellors said that she could in fact do the skill which made me a little happy, but sad she wouldnt show us. :(

As of right now I do NOT forsee horses in our future......THANK GOD!!!

Dug Deep and Working Out

I have been meaning to write on here for quite some time now. It has been over a month since my last post and OH so much has happened around here. But every time I felt like I could get around to writing, something always came up. And then once it got to a certain point i had dug myself into such a hole that I didnt know where to start.

I use this blog primarily for ME as a way to remember and document the things that happen in our lives. The good, the bad and the ugly. I like that it also is a place that others can read/comment on the crazy things I have to say, but that is not why I am writing this blog. So back to my point, I am going to try and catch up on the past 5-6 weeks or so and then work hard not to get myself behind again.

About 2 months ago I bought a groupon for 6 weeks of CrossFit classes. I was so eager to start and excited for finally getting to do something I wanted to do (sans kids). Dont get me wrong I get to do things I want to do but this was something that I have been dreaming about for years now. I have neglected my body since having kids. I have made half-hearted attempts to "workout" but none of them led to any results. Insert groupon

So the 1st class I attended I was nearly shaking I was so nervous. Would I be able to keep up? Would i fall out and die? ok maybe not DIE but I was scared I would injure myself or end up in the hospital  Would I make a complete fool of myself? That 1st class was ROUGH, but aren't they supposed to be? It felt so good! i couldnt walk for a couple days afterwards and it hurt to sit down but it was just what I needed! I continued on and attended ALL 12 (3 classes a week for 4 weeks) classes without missing a single one. I was pretty proud of myself for that. But what I was more proud of was the changes that I was making with my body. It made me look completely different. I had many people point this out to me before I actually saw the changes myself. My clothes were getting looser and looser. I was sleeping better at night. I had more energy. I looked forward to working out. I was LOVING it! After the 4 weeks of classes I still had 2 weeks of "unlimited" classes. Sadly I was only able to make it to 5 classes in those 2 weeks. And now this is my first week NOT working out. And I am saddened. I cannot/will not pay the price of a membership to this particular gym. But more importantly it is a small gym therefore there is no childcare, which is a major reason why I cant afford to join. I would have to find someone to keep my heathens and it just isnt feasible right now. Sooooo instead I have decided that I am going to attempt the workouts on my own at home. I know that this route is not the "best" but I am going to try and make it work. I will miss my friends at the gym, I will miss my trainer, and most of all I will miss the motivation that the other guys and girls provided. In order to keep up my workouts at home I am going to make a small investment towards the equipment needed; some of it I will make and others I am going to buy. I am excited about this new adventure. I am excited that I can do this at home on my time and not have to drive an hour (round trip) to the gym, and I am excited that I can get the girls involved. I want them to grow up with a passion to live healthy lives, I want them to eat right and I feel like the best way for me to instill this in them is to lead by example. And secretly I am hoping to get Marcus involved too!

When you hear about CrossFit training you most likely will hear about a diet that goes along with it. I really dont like the word "diet".  For me, I like to say "way of eating". Maybe it is the same thing, but to me the word diet has taken on a negative connotation. The way of eating that is encouraged in the CrossFit community is called Paleo. I tried super duper hard to stick to this while CrossFitting. I did have some cheats, but overall I'd say i did a good job. I have continued to eat better even after my classes ended.

So if you want something that will make you look better and FEEL better and overall live a better life.......try CrossFit! Oh and what I love most about CrossFit is..... I wasnt just running on a treadmill or riding on an elliptical the entire time. I was engaging in purposeful movements, things that will aid me in my everyday life.


Here are some of our favorite recipes....

Kale Chips The girls couldnt shove these in fast enough

Steak Ive made this twice now and it is a HUGE hit!

Peach Crisp I made this 3 times with some of the 25lbs of peaches I got from the bulk co-op (more on that later) I joined. It is divine!

Pad See Ew I made this last night for dinner. It was my most favorite meal at this Thai restaurant we used to eat at. The last time I ordered it, I ended up in bed for like 3 days because of the gluten content. Needless to say, this version does NOT contain gluten!

Pork Chops Im not a big pork fan, but this was pretty good

Mashed Cauliflower (I loved this, but the girls wouldnt touch it, in fact it nearly made them gag. But then again they dont really like mashed potatoes either)

Dates watch out! these suckers are ADDICTIVE!!! YUMM-O!

we love making homemade lara bars too. Our recent favorite is dark chocolate macadamia nut!

and of course we make smoothies almost everyday too which is a fantastic way to get in more veggies and fruits and healthy fats

Here's to living a healthier, happier life!

and not abandoning my blog for weeks months at a time

Brynlee Growing - 4 & 5 months

We have started eating the props. There's not much that doesnt end up in her mouth. please excuse the double negative I hate it when people use them.....sorry Nicole

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And now we are 5 F-I-V-E 5 whole months old!

And just as happy as ever

especially when something is in the mouth!

The monkey is her friend......for now

I am loving 5 months! She is so much more portable than the big girls at 5 months. The biggest difference is that she doesnt mind her car seat. By this age BOTH big girls had moved out of the infant seat, in an effort to get them to "like" the car! Brynlee does fairly well in the car and that makes me happy considering how much time we spend in it. Some days her hair seems super curly and others it is so straight, I am still putting my money on curls for her though! She loves her bath, and would stay in it for hours if I let her.....I cant wait to get her in the pool and see what she thinks. She still isnt sleeping near as well as the big girls did at her age, but I probably shouldnt complain, because it could always be worse! She started solids, when I say started i really mean we tried them for a few days but she stopped poo'ing so we stopped the solids. She is good with her diet breastmilk for now. She has rolled over a few times, still isnt too fond of her belly, sleeps on her side (arms swaddled, darn you startle reflex!), seems super ridiculously interested in my cup when I drink. Is most happy in my arms, but will go to just about anyone. She will watch her sisters for hours and be completely happy. She doesnt nap consistently (my fault) but when we are home she likes a super long afternoon nap which is quite nice. Overall I couldnt ask for a better baby. We love her to pieces! I cant believe she is on her way to being 1/2 a year!

Our birdhouse

I think I told you guys a few months ago my dad gave the girls a birdhouse he made with the children at Madonna Learning Center. Well I never got around to doing any lessons on birds like I wanted to, but they have gotten some lessons the ol' fashion way.......by experience!

Here is Ainslee checking out the eggs for the 1st time!

 Kaylee shows her emotions way different, but she was so excited. She was trying to wrap her brain around what she was looking at.

Here are the 3 tiny blue eggs. It was really hard to get a picture through the plexiglass

I know you can hardly tell, but there are 2 little birds in there

This shot seems to be a bit better. Im not quite sure why 2 of the eggs have hatched and the 3rd has not. I hope that baby bird is going to make it into the world safe and sound.

This one is ready to eat

This video reminds me of Brynlee (and the big girls too) when they are itty bitty newborns and they are trying to nurse. They look like blind little baby birds trying to find food from their mommy. It is so neat to witness this perfect slice of nature.

Zoo

I enrolled Kaylee in a homeschool class at the zoo a few weeks ago. She was more than ecstatic about this, and I was thrilled that she had a great time. Too bad I didnt get any pictures of her spider monkey she made, or her behavior chart, or even her on this day........but here are the shots I did get.

This is the first time since last year we've been able to ride the rides. Ainslee was SOOO excited about riding the train! And NO I'm not pregnant again! That's Brynlee in the sleepy wrap

Amma came with us too

We have to ride the cow, she nearly fell off this time

stopping to smell the flowers.......man I love this little girl!

over Spring Break when Johhny was home we went to the zoo. He and his girlfriend joined us.

Here they are on the bridge

It was so cute watching them walk and talk

This video was taken a little too late. Ainslee had been walking over the grates all day. She insisted on holding someones hand, and she was VERY cautious when standing on the grate. Each time she would walk ever so delicately and then jump off at the end. I tried to get it on video, but this time happened to be the time she wasnt as exaggerated, but it was still cute.......to me at least!

Kaylee's New Room

We I finally moved Kaylee up into her new room!
I removed all the office "stuff", and cleaned it out
I paint it
repaired parts of the wall thanks dad
I drug the bed rails out from the back of the tiny attic crawl space and set them up just to realize they dont go down to a full size. So i asked my mom if we could trade rails. She had a set just collecting dust in her attic.
I set up the new rails
Put the foundation together, its my old select comfort bed, so it is a solid foundation made of plastic, not a box spring
I fixed the zipper on the cover of the mattress, which included ripping it apart and resewing it, after watching a YouTube video......YouTube is awesome for stuff like that!
put the mattress together and inflated it
washed all her linens
hung the curtains my mom made for her
and am almost finished with her desk....so far i have painted 3 coats of white on the desk, and 3 coats of purple on the drawers, my mom has decorated it ever so awesomely with a quote and some flowers.........see pics below, I have put 3 coats of shellac on it to seal/protect it. And when doing a 4th and final coat on the top surface I accidentally grabbed the wrong paint brush and ruined it! UGH! Now there are little specs in the top coat of shellac because of lint/dust/paint residue from the darn paint brush! Oh well it is definitely a one of a kind piece, and I know Kaylee will just adore it!

Here she is coming into her room for the first time when I told her she was going to sleep in it.

She was so excited. Even though she has no furniture**, the desk isnt completed, and there are no decorations are not on the wall, she LOVED it anyways!

She walked around looking at everything. This is her beloved "fishy light" Amma gave her for her birthday. It is a source of power when it comes to naps and bedtime. If she doesnt do as she is told she gets her fishy light turned off. Which is a huge deal to her!

Climbing into bed for her first nights sleep

All tucked in

The first night went surprisingly well. The second night not so much......

 

This was the end of a nearly 2 hour fit she threw. i didnt catch the good stuff on camera. Since this night she has slept much better in her new room, but man that fit was C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

Now if Ainslee's bed would just arrive and then I can get her moved into her room and Brynlee in her crib. Brynlee is now spending her nights and naps in the bassinet in Kaylee's old room. We have gone 2 nights now with her out of my room. I have to ask, why are transitions always harder on the parents than the child? Part of me wants her back next to me, and part of me is thrilled to pieces that I have my room back. She is growing SO fast, but anyone with children knows thats the way the cookie crumbles!

notice the highlights on the word Imagination

**Kaylee is getting my grandmother's furniture. It is still at the furniture repairman getting a make over. More on that in another post.

A Little of this and a LOT of that

This post is ALL OVER THE PLACE! I had some pictures and videos I wanted to share so I just threw them all into this post! But I have to admit the reason why I've been able to get all these blog posts together is because of these first few pics.

My parents took Kaylee OUT OF TOWN with them! They are a bunch of travelling fools now that my dad is retired, they are always on the go! I mentioned on FB to my mom something about Kaylee wanting to join them on this trip and sure enough mom called later that day and told me they wanted to take her. What was even better was that the trip was A WEEK LONG! Dont get me wrong, I love my little girl, but in most cases (especially this one) absence makes the heart grow fonder. Here is what my big girl has been doing with Amma and Abba. Im sure there are WAY more things that have happened that I havent been told about ;)

on the steps of the castle at Ha Ha Tonka State park where they went hiking

riding a ride......because thats what Amma and Abba let her do

outside the Mexican restaurant where they ate

in the condo before bed, she has gotten to stay up WAY past her bedtime every night, I hope she doesnt think she can do that when she gets home

Amma did put her to work......she has to earn her keep 

playing a photo scavenger hunt inside on a rainy day, mom has even been squeezing in some of the school work i sent

there is a playground on the property, Kaylee has been a regular visitor

out to eat AGAIN

Then she got to drive the boat, and everyone survived

AND drink a ROOT BEER!!! This is a big deal since she never gets drinks like that!

Needless to say she isnt missing us too much. And we have had a productive week at home. It is amazing how much of a difference one child makes when taken out of the mix. I am ever so thankful and grateful to my parents for this opportunity not only for me but more importantly for her! She is making memories that will last a lifetime and that is just plain awesome!

 Ainslee's 1st swim of the year, the water was FREEZING cold! But she still tried to talk me into getting in with her.

The girls saying the "Our Father"

I converted Ainslee's crib into a day bed. She wasnt too thrilled with it at first. She demanded her crib back, but overall it was a pretty smooth transition. And she now sleeps in the big girl bed at Amma's house. We are still waiting on her's to arrive so I can move her into her new room.

Kaylee came down from playing in the playroom one day with this get-up on. She claimed she was "wearing" her baby, and she made this wrap. I did not approve of the strap tied around the baby's neck, I have no idea where she got that idea.

Brynlee chillaxin' in the wagon on a walk

We've been clothing diapering around here! And LOVING it! It started when I borrowed a few diapers from a friend and I fell in love, so we bought some. So we are officially cloth diapering. Im so thrilled that Marcus is totally on board with the whole diapering thing too. I am just regretting not going through with it when Ainslee was little like I wanted to.

Could she be any cuter/fatter? 

I always knew about sunning diapers, but Ive obviously never tried it until now! Do you know the power of the sun? Holy Crap it is amazing how it just zaps those stains right out of the diapers!

While on the diapering subject, I might as well update you on the potty front. She goes on the potty EVERYDAY! Some days she doesnt poop in her diapers at all. I would like to think that she doesnt like to poo in her diaper, I mean who does? But she will tell me when she needs to go, and if I happen to miss her cue she will only go a little in her diaper and then finish in the potty. She gets so proud of herself when she goes. Here she is on the throne in all her glory

This is evidence of our first attempt at a new hairdo. Ainslee took it upon herself to cut this chunk of hair off her sister's head. This wasnt even all the hair

And this happened 10 minutes after the hair cutting incident

can you see the huge dent in the wall? That was from Kaylee's head hitting it! 

I went to the homeschool conference a few weeks ago. This is the stack of paperwork I came home with on the 1st day. It was so fun and informative, and I was SO happy I went. A lot has happened in my head over the past few weeks. I have made up my mind to change a lot of things in my life and approach things differently. And I have to say that the changes have made a huge impact on our family. It has been nice! 

oh and Kaylee's curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday! I am so excited about the coming year. While at the conference I also decided to not be so consumed by all the hype that can come with homeschooling. I am not going to try and cram 5 subjects and a foreign language down her throat when she is 5 years old. We are taking it slow and easy and just taking time to be a kid and grow as a family. I dont think that this approach will put her behind in any way should we eventually put her in school. But the more I delve into this whole lifestyle Im beginning to become more open to the idea of continuing on the homeschool path longer than originally planned. Im not saying for sure what will happen in the future but i know that for now i have an open mind.