Kenadie turns 5, CornBelly's, and feeling like crap

I finally am feeling well enough to give an update on what has been happening around here. Kenadie celebrated her fifth b-day the end of September. She got her ear's pierced and got to pick a place to eat with just mom and dad. Since this was her main present, she only had one present to open on her actual birthday. She got Hello Kitty PJ's from us, a gift card from Grandma Pat, money from Aunt Niki and Grandma and Grandpa Swanson, and a savings bond from Grandpa Ray and Janine. I think she did pretty well! She is looking forward to going to Walmart to pick out something....a baby I'm sure! Our big surprise for her was a girl trip to Disneyland with our neighbor and her little girl. We made reservations for a princess character dining, ordered princess dresses, etc, etc. Kenadie was very excited and so was I! I can't believe she is fine:( I still call her my baby girl and I'm sure I will continue to do so. She is a mellow child and just kind of goes with the flow...a lot like her dad. She also is very stubborn which is a lot like dad! Here are some of her favorites right now:
Favorite Show: Biggest Loser
Favorite Movie: Coraline
Favorite Food: Ramen noodles, applesauce, torilla's
Favorite Toy: Babies, of course!
Favorite thing to do: Playing with friends, Preschool
Favorite color: Rainbow color
Drink: Sprite
Subject: making puppets
Place: funpark, San Diego
Want for Christmas: purple camera
When grow up: a mom!
She was our easiest baby and our only "unplanned" pregnancy. She loves to cuddle and gives kisses. She is very mothering, especially to Easton. She is a great helper and loves to pretend to do "mom" things. She also is getting sassy and is full of attitude lately. She says funny things and keeps us on our toes! We love her!



Over UEA weekend we went to SLC and got to see Grandma Pat and Aunt Niki surprised us! We stayed over night in a hotel which is always the kids favorite. We ate yummy food at Spaghetti Factory and then headed to Thanksgiving Point to Cornbelly's. We had never been down there so we didn't know what to expect....but it was awesome! They had so many things to do. Corn mazes, pig races, jumping pillow, paint ball shooting, slides, tractor train rides, princess area with dress up, and the list goes on and on. I think we ended up being there four or five hours and there was still plenty more we could of done. I highly recommend it! Unfortunately, my head started to hurt pretty bad but I still felt able to do everything....more on THAT later. The next day, after much deliberation, we decided to go the Museum of Natural History. I didn't know what to expect but we were so surprised! They have lots of exhibits about bugs, rocks, earth, and dinosaurs. Tyler especially loved it! He is always reading books about history, rocks, space, and dinosaurs. It was educational, affordable, and fun. My favorite was the dinosaur lab where they actually work on getting the bones out of the plaster. Very interesting. We enjoyed seeing Aunt Niki and Grandma and wish it would of lastest longer.















Now for the "feeling like crap" part. I apologize for those of you who have already heard this but since this is my journal......My head had been hurting for several weeks on and off but I was able to work, take care of kids, etc. In SLC it started to hurt bad and I was pretty sure I had another sinus infection. Coming home really bothered my head and my ears so as soon as we got home I went to Instacare. They diagnosed me with sinus infection and sent me home with some meds. Sunday (conference) it got really bad and we ended up going to ER due to the pain was so bad. My head was throbbing all of the time and started to effect my vision, appetite, etc. They did a CAT scan, labs, but everything was normal. They sent me home with 3 more meds and to come back if it got worse. That night I started throwing up and was unable to keep any liquid or food down. It got so bad that we went to ER again on Monday. They didn't know what to do with me so they sent me over to my primary doc's office. He immediately gave me a shot of antinausea/pain meds plus prescriptions for more meds. The next couple of days were a blur of laying in bed, throwing up, fever, headaches, and the worst neck pain ever. I took pain meds, antinausea meds, muscle relaxors, etc, anything to try and feel better. It took all I had just to get kids off to school, Kenadie to Preschool, and make a quick lunch. My poor husband did everything while I layed in bed. Everytime I got up my head would feel like it was going to explode and then the dizziness and throwing up would start. We were getting worried that nothing was getting better, that I hadn't ate in five days, and that I might have meningitis. Finally by Thursday, I couldn't take it anymore so we headed up to the ER for the THIRD time. They did another CAT scan, gave me some fluids, a lumbar puncture, and tried to get blood. I was so dehydrated they couldn't get any blood out of me even after two different people and being poked six times. The results: everything was normal! So frustrating! So we went home completely worn out. That night I was able to eat and feel a little better. Friday I felt quite a bit better but still not even close to normal. I couldn't even drive since I would see spots and feel dizzy. Everyday I feel maybe 10% better but not quite normal. On Friday we went to a Chiropractor and he really helped relieve the tension in my neck. I've never heard such a cracking noise....especially when he cracked my neck. Then he put these electric nodes on my neck with ice and had me lay like that for 15 minutes. Heaven! I am so thankful for all of the help that we have received. We have the BEST neighbors, friends, family,, and co workers. It helped to have dinners brought in, laundry put away, anything to help relieve Eric's load. We are especially thankful for our neighbor who came over on a moments notice to give me a Priesthood blessing. THANK YOU EVERYONE. The real bummer to this is that Kenadie and I can't go to Disneyland:( We were supposed to leave tomorrow but it's just not fair to anyone to try and go when I don't feel 100% I am thankful that Stacey and her girl are still able to go and I hope they have soooo much fun! Kenadie is being a good sport and I promised her we will go soon. I am hoping this week is much better and I can get things back in order. Sorry for the long post!

Update

This past week has been packed with school, work, homework:(, lessons, practice, etc, etc. This has become normal life for us and will only get worse as our kids get older, and will cost more money.
The girls both had dance on Monday and are enjoying it so much! I have been impressed with Sky View's dance and would do it again.
Tyler had a flag football game and even though he enjoys it...I don't. I think it's a waste of time but he likes it. Even though I thought tackle football was wayyyy to big of a commitment and too competitive at least they actually practiced and did plays. In rec sports every coach is a volunteer, which is awesome, but some just don't quite do the job. Wednesday, Eric and I took Kenadie out for her birthday. She wanted to get her ears pierced and go out to eat with just mom and dad. She chose her favorite, Costa Vida. I could tell she was nervous, sitting in the chair, but she did such an awesome job. She didn't even cry or make a face. All night she kept saying, "mom, I just can't stop looking at my ears. They are so cute." We let her pick out something out at Claire's and that is all she is getting! I can't believe how expensive ear piercing is! Her actual birthday is this week so I will post more pics shortly.

On Thursday, Tyler had his first basketball game of the school year. For once he wasn't the tallest but he is with the fourth grader's. It took awhile for him to get warmed up but did really well. He had numerous rebounds, steals, and scored 8points. As soon as we were done with that, he had to shower and go to his first Pine Wood Derby. I don't know who was more excited. Eric or Tyler? Probably Eric. Even though his car didn't win he got "best paint job." I almost fell asleep but managed to tough it out.





I can't believe my kids are getting so old! It is fun to watch them grow and see them doing activities that they enjoy!

Preschool and financial goals

I have been slacking on the blog lately! Here is what has been going on at our house.
Kenadie started preschool last week. She was so excited and couldn't wait. She went to the Sports Academy preschool last year, which I loved, but it was just too expensive this year. I heard about a preschool in Smithfield that a bunch of my neighbors were going to. It is by Melissa Mortensen who was in our old ward. She is very smart and has a degree in elementary education. Kenadie has loved it so far and is excited when it's time to go.
Look at these cutie's all excited for the first day....


The traditional first day of school pic....


Eric and I made the decision to sell his motorcycle in order to pay our car off...and no, I didn't make him! I have always been interested in finance and love to read about it online, in books, and I love the Suze Orman show. We don't have any credit card debt but we haven't been as good about saving, being on a budget, etc. One of Suze Orman's BIG things is to have 8 months worth of emergency fund. This has overwhelmed me and seems like such a hard thing to do but we are determined to get this in place. Our goal is to start with four months of living expenses saved and then go from there. We got a computer program that helps with a budget and has really kept us on track. I couldn't believe how much money would just disappear and we wouldn't know where it went! Any extra that we make goes to savings and we have already increased our savings by a couple of thousand dollars in just a few months. Since our car is paid off we will be able to make triple payments on the van and it should be paid off in 18 months. After that, we will make double payments on our house. Our goal is to have our house paid off in 11 years. I am not writing this because I think we are better than anybody. I am just writing what has worked for us. I think too many people try to live outside their means and that is why our economy is in the state it is in. I am trying to live on less and hopefully it will all pay off some day!

Hogle Zoo

As soon as the kids got home on Friday we headed down to Hogle Zoo. Even though we go every year it still is fun to see all of the animals. My favorite was the new baby giraffe that is only 4 weeks old! So cute. After we looked at all of the animals we rode the train and then went to Spaghetti Factory. It was a fun night!

Our New Magnet Board

I am so excited! Remember me posting that Eric and I were working on a new magnet board? Well, probably not. But anyways, here it is! I saw this idea on a craft website and just knew I needed it. It hangs on a big wall in our mud room so the kids see it everytime they come in. It just helps me keep track of who is doing what and when.



First we decided what size we wanted and then Eric had Ipaco cut it. The sheet metal was $15. Then, we bought wood and Eric nailed to the wall. I think the wood was $12, most of the cost was for the decorative wood corner pieces. Then I printed out all of the names, activities, days of the week, etc. Next, I laminated them. Can I just say how much I love my laminator? I think everyone should have one. It is so handy for so many things and especially if you teach Primary like us. Ours was under $30 at Sam's. I put magnetic tape on the back and I was done. Tyler, for example has scouts on wednesday and practice on Tuesday. This week he has a game and scouts on the same day. I also make some for when dance starts, no school, basketball, field trips, etc. For now, Eric and I also have our own spots too. It is nice to not have Eric constantly asking me,"when are you working this week?" I also left room to put up school papers, etc. IF we ever do have more kids then we will make adjustments at that time. I LOVE it and we did it relatively inexpensive.

12 Years

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Back to School

This past week has calmed down a little bit especially since the kiddo's are back in school. The other night I went to check on Tyler and this is what I found.....I just LOVE the High School Musical eye cover.

While I was at work one day, Eric heard a big crash in Easton's room. This is what he walked in on:

And the culprit! Thankfully he wasn't hurt but it gave him a good scare. Hopefully he won't do that again!

Last Thursday was time for the kids to go back to school. Tyler was so excited he woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep until 5. I can't believe he is in third grade! He is a kid that loves structure and especially learning. He is also excited that he gets to ride the bus this year.

Kylie is in first grade this year! She has transitioned really well to all day school and loves her teacher Mrs. Miller. She, on the other hand, is a bear to get up in the mornings.

I haven't done as much "crafting" this past week but I did re-do a little bit in Kenadie's room. This is the before pic:

And the after. Not a big change but just added some ribbon and flowers to her name. It took maybe five minutes but I think that small changes can make a big difference.


I am excited about my latest project though. Eric has been making a huge magnetic board for our mug room and hopefully it will be complete tomorrow. I also have been trying to get caught up on scrapbooking and just finished some pics from January. Still a ways to go but I'll get there.
Tyler starts flag football next week and Kylie starts dance. They keep us busy but we wouldn't have it any other way!