New Years Resolution

I do not make New Years Resolutions because I never keep them, however this year I have decided I'm going to make goals. I will re-evaluate every 3 months and see which ones I have hit and which ones I need to work towards, some of the goals I know will not happen until later in the year.

1. Be 145 lbs by my birthday.

2. Tone up my body (by doing ab exercises and then walk/running when the weather gets nicer)

3. Spend 7 hours a week with just my kids, no distractions.

4. Go on a date night with my husband every other month

5. Have my business see a profit

6. Send out birthday cards on time to all family members

7. Get the basement organized and looking nice

8. Have one month where neither kid goes to the doctor.


We will see how well I do on these this year and what we have to amend/change or what I leave by the wayside in the months to come.

2011 in Review

January-My business doubles.

February- Alyssa turns two!

March-We celebrate Colin's baptism and time with my mom and step dad.

April- I spend a day in the ER, Colin gets RSV and pneumonia and spends a week in the hospital. We celebrate Easter in our PJ's because we got home from the hospital the day before. Alyssa comes down with pneumonia and ends up in the ER.

May-Chris and I celebrate our 7 year Anniversary.

June- My Grandpa dies out in California. Colin and I make a trip out to the funeral and for family to meet my new son.

July- We celebrate 4th of July and enjoy the weather with swimming and watching Colin learn to crawl

August-My Grandma dies unexpectedly. The family makes a trip to central MO for the funeral and for some family to meet both of my kids.

September- Spend almost every weekend outside doing activities including corn mazes, zoo and a few others.

October- We celebrate Halloween with Alyssa as Tinkerbell and Colin as a Cow.

November- We Celebrate Colin's first birthday and also make a trip out to California as a family to mourn the loss of my Grandma.

December- We celebrate Christmas and the joy of having two walking kids. Watching their friendship grow and develop.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning Alyssa was up at 6:15. We were a little surprised that it was so early since she hadn't gone to bed till almost 10 the night before. Both Chris and I got up with her and brought her downstairs. We let her play with the toys she had gotten the night before and talked to her about her presents upstairs. At 7 we ate cinnamon rolls and let her open her stocking.


All morning she was alternating between happy and grouchy. At 7:15 we decided that we had made her wait long enough and we woke Colin up so that we could open presents.  They both really enjoyed opening presents and loved every gift they got. Colin would not let Alyssa touch his gifts once he saw them and Alyssa wanted to play with everything she got right away.
After all the gifts were opened we let the kids play while we cleaned up all the paper, boxes etc. We then brought Colin downstairs for breakfast and I started to get ready for church.
   We went to church and enjoyed the Christmas service, came home had some lunch then put the kids down for a nap while we put together the rest of the train table and I took a little nap myself.
   Once Colin was awake again it was off to Chris's parents house to open more presents. The kids were spoiled rotten and once again were well behaved and enjoyed opening all their gifts. They then played nicely or sat with us quietly while we opened our presents.

   At 7:00 we put them in the Pj's loaded them in the car and both were asleep by the time we got home so all we had to do was take them upstairs and tuck them into bed.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we got up and spent the first two hours of the day laying on the floor playing with the kids. Both of the kids were in a great mood. We danced, we played with toys and blankets, it was a great way to start the morning.

After naps we headed out to Chris's sister and brother in laws house to celebrate Christmas with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and extended family. Once again both kids were in a great mood and had a blast playing with the other kids. (Well Colin hung out with Chris or I but enjoyed just hanging out).   We got so many compliments on the kids outfits and how well behaved they both were.
At about 7:15 (so close to the kids bedtime) they decided it is time to open presents. They also decided to go oldest to youngest.  This meant that my two kids were last. While the other kids took their turns slowly Alyssa fingered each present and kept asking if it was her turn. I was afraid she was going to get bored and just start ripping open her presents but she was really good and waited.
Both the kids loved their presents and did great all night. Before we left we put both kids in their matching snowman PJ's and left.

It was the best Christmas Eve I can remember. I enjoyed my children and husband more than I can say and wish we had more down time in our lives that we could just sit for two hours and enjoy the good mood of the kids.

Ginger Bread House

A friend brought over a gingerbread house and told me that I should make it with my kids. I laughed at her and told her that she was crazy. I had watched my step mom make one with Alyssa right after Thanksgiving and said I was not doing it.

Well it sat on my counter all day and I kept looking at it so finally I decided I would give it a try. So before involving the kids I put all the walls together so that it would stay. I then let it sit for about 3 hours to harden.  Then after dinner I put more frosting on it and let Alyssa decorate it with the candy that came with it. She took this job very seriously and thought about the placement of each piece of candy. Every time she put a piece on and got frosting on her hand she would ask me to wipe it off. I kept telling her that she could eat the frosting but she didn't want to.
 After a bit of her watching me eat some of the frosting as I was decorating the walls and windows, she decided that she was going to try the frosting. Well once she tried it she was done putting candy on the house and only wanted to eat the frosting. Good thing the house was almost done.
Colin spent the time sitting in his high chair watching Alyssa and I. I think next year if I get one he will be able to help.

My life

If you would have told me three years ago that I would be running my own business and be successful I would tell you that you were crazy. When I was younger and childless I always said I wanted to stay home with my kids but I figured that was an unattainable goal (kind of like winning the lottery, we dream but don't expect it). When teaching was so hard for me I thought I was going to lose both my dream of teaching and my dream of staying home. I was looking at going back to retail or being a secretary somewhere.

I then got this job thrown in my lap. When I started last Aug I had two kids and I wasn't sure how long I would be able to make it. I knew I couldn't look for anything else until after Colin was born so I knew that I would stay home until at least the first of the year. I took the opportunity of having full days of just Alyssa and I too get to know her better and enjoy the park and other outings.

By the time January rolled around I was so full I had to hire an assistant full time and my kids just kept growing. I now have a waiting list of kids and a full house of kids on a daily basis, yet I still have a low enough numbers one day a week that if I want to take one or both of my kids and go do something I can. It is like having my cake and eating it too. I get to see my kids interact and grow every day, yet I'm still contributing to our household income. I didn't make as much this past year as I did when I was teaching(probably only about half of it in fact).  But if you could measure my success and money in happiness, I would have made 100 times what I made while teaching.

As I sit figuring out my end of the year money situation for the daycare I have found that I am actually not in the hole for my first complete year of business. (Even though I did officially start in Aug of 2010 I consider Jan of 2011 my true start. I will walk away at the end of the year with a VERY small profit (which when tax season comes will put me back in the hole).

I am very proud of the person I have become in the last year and I love my life more now than I have in the last 6 years. I know that I couldn't have done it without my husband's support. He has been there to listen to me cry, worry and stand tall. I also couldn't have done it without my family that encouraged me when I needed the extra push.

I am excited to see what 2012 does for my business and my family. My life has had some rough spots the past year but I can say that I am honestly a little sad to see 2011 end but I will look forward to my opportunities of 2012.

First Christmas Party of the Season

Today we had our daycare Christmas party. It was a huge success considering how many kids we had and the ages of all of them. All the kids did a great job waiting. The best part was watching their faces as they opened their gifts.
We did not let any of them take their toys out of their boxes here because we did not want to lose pieces around the house. So they got to open them, and then had to put them in a bag until it was time to go home.
   I know it was torture but none of the kids complained.  We let Alyssa get her Barbies out after dinner. For the first 10 minutes she had them she just walked around the house saying "I love my Barbies, I love my Barbies" over and over again. She would go put them down on the couch and give each one a hug then pick all of them back up and walk around again. It was adorable and put a huge smile on my face.
    Colin got a wooden peg holder and when you hit one down another one pops up. He would not let anyone else touch it. Alyssa tried to play with him and he screamed at her. I touched it and he came crawling across the room and grabbed it from me.
    As I sat and watched my kids play with their toys I got tears in my eyes because I can't wait to watch them Christmas morning. This Christmas might be the best Christmas ever. Watching my kids faces light up and know that they are truly happy is better than any present I could ever get.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas

I am so excited for Christmas this year. I haven't been this excited for Christmas since I was a little kid. I guess that is what having little kids does to you.
   This year Alyssa finally understands the concept of Christmas. She is so excited to point out everything she likes in the stores and tell people what she wants (though it changes every time you talk to her).
   I'm not sure if she fully understands that in less than two weeks she will get a lot of presents to open or not, but she is going to be so excited with what she has gotten.
   Tonight we put together her dollhouse that she is getting from my mom. It was so cute I wanted to go wake her up and show it to her right now just to see her face. Then I think about the other gifts she is getting from us, Santa and friends. I really don't know what she will like best because it is all so cool.
   After just celebrating Colin's birthday I know he could care less about opening presents but I'm excited to see what presents he likes too. It is so much fun to watch him play with his toys he got for his birthday and I'm sure it will be the same for Christmas.

    The other day I went out Christmas shopping, when I got home I left the packages on the table knowing there was nothing in there for the kids. Alyssa looked through the packages and then went off to play. Later that night we were eating dinner and out of no where she says, "Dad, mom bought you clothes for Christmas." Chris looked and me and I just started laughing and smiling. He said "Oh really, what else did she get me?" Alyssa said "nothing just clothes."  It was cute and reminded me of the time my brother did the same.

The count down to Christmas morning is on! I think I will be up before the kids.

Saturday in December

Yesterday we got up and got dressed and headed out to the library for cookies with Santa. It was a good event. Alyssa got to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, got to eat some cookies and listen to some stories. Colin went with us but wasn't so sure about the whole thing so he watched from the sidelines.

   After stories with Santa we went out into the mall and tried to get Colin's picture with Santa. He refused to sit with Santa so I sat in the chair and we had Santa stand behind us. I think the picture turned out cute.
  We then went and picked out the Christmas tree. Alyssa ran around saying "what about this one". It was cute. After two stops we finally found our tree and brought it home.
   Alyssa and Colin sat and watched Chris and I put the lights on the tree, then Colin got bored and crawled off while Alyssa helped us put the ornaments on the tree. I figured after about two ornaments she would be bored and leave, however, I was wrong she spent the whole time helping and asking if that ornament was hers. It was a nice distraction from the fact that over half the ornaments where from my Grandma Shores who passed away earlier this year. All of the ornaments she put on the tree went on two branches low on the tree. By the time she was done there were about 15 ornaments all on one branch. We let it stay that way until she went to bed and then moved them up.
   Once we had all the ornaments on the tree Alyssa went and got her chair pulled it up to the tree, sat down and said WOW. It was so fun to watch her admire the tree.

Birthday Party

Colin's Birthday Party was this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun and it is always so amazing to see how many people love and support our kids and us.
  We didn't have as many people as we had planned because of a nasty stomach bug going around. We had a menu of pulled pork, pulled chicken, potato salad, mac and cheese, chips, fruit tray and cheese tray. It was a big hit and we had almost nothing left over.
  Colin slept through the first hour of his party and was very surprised to see his house decorated and full of people and noise. He enjoyed playing with the other kids. He could care less about opening his presents but he did really enjoy seeing what was inside the wrapping paper or bag.
His two favorite toys were a fire truck that makes noise and can be pushed around and an elephant ball popper.

Sick Colin

Colin is still so sick. I do not cry often, but Colin has gotten good at making me cry with worry over him. Yesterday he seemed to be doing better. This morning when he got up he was worse. He had a fever again and was breathing over 72  BPM.
  I called the doctor and it took them over two hours to call back, by the time they called back his breathing had slowed some and his fever had come down so we decided to wait until tomorrow to see the doctor.

I really hope he turns the corner tonight and feels better tomorrow. I really hate to see him so sick. I really really wish I could take away his pain.

Tuesday Night

Ever had one of those nights where you are so tired you think of going to bed at like 7? Yeah that is how I felt Tuesday night. So at about 9:30 I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I went into check on Colin and he was really warm so I took his temp (while he was sleeping) and it was 102.6. I came down and got some medicine for him but then wondered if I should wake him up to give it to him. So I went back into my room and laid down.
  He was whimpering in his sleep so I went back in with my phone and counted his breaths per minute and came out with 64 (which is way to high). So I decided to call the after hours nurse line. They wanted me to do three breathing treatments back to back and they would call back in an hour.
  Well after that hour was over he was worse than when I called the first time and so Colin and I headed to Children's Hospital.
   By the time we checked in at 12:15 he had a fever of 104.5, had a heat rash that covered his entire body,  heart rate was at 210 and his breathing was over 70 breaths per minute.  Needless to say we did not spend much time in the waiting room.
  Once back in the back he got Tylenol and Motrin and a chest x-ray. By 1:45 everything was done and we were just waiting for results.
   About 2:30 they came in and said that he had pneumonia and that because of the fever his heart and breathing were so high. They were getting ready to admit him to the hospital. They went to do a few things and when they came back at 3:00 Colin had turned a corner. His fever was gone and he was breathing at about 56 breaths a minute. The doctor came back and said that he was comfortable letting us go home if I was. I said yes. So I had to wait long enough to get a dose of medicine in Colin and make sure he kept it down then we were released.
   It was super cold and I had to go out and across the street to get the car. When I brought him in, his fever was so high I didn't worry about taking him in the cold. But now that he didn't have a fever I didn't want to take him out there. So the front desk nurses watched him while I ran (and I really did run) to the car.
   I walked in the house at 4:15 and got up at 6:05 for the day. It was a LONG night and one I do not want to repeat anytime soon!