The pictures:::::Christmas day

                                        Enjoying his first Christmas morning!

                                                      Slightly excited!

                                               Checking out all the goods

 I wish I could say this is his "morning hair", but this is pretty much how it always looks :)

                                      Trying his own technique at opening gifts

The pictures::::Christmas Eve

                     Matching jammies!!!! Do you think they will eventually get too old for this???  ;)

                                              Tyson opening his first present

                                                Kayden opening his jammies

                                                   Tyler opening his jammies. 
He has no clothes on because we had to put him in the bathtub after supper (a pretty regulary occurance)

A little catch-up

Without boring you with all the details, I will just tell you we had an awesome Christmas.  We were very busy, running here and there, but we made it to all of the places we were supposed to be.  We were blessed to spend time with all of our families, immediate and extended.  We have one last celebration with Mike's mom's family this Sunday. 
We took Kayden to church on Christmas Eve, and left Tyler and Tyson with my parents.  He did really well for the first half hour (before Mass even started), and then he fell asleep ;)  We got to church early, knowing it would be packed, but by the time we got there, the actual church was already full, and we had to sit in the "gathering area".  Sitting out there is fine, it's just not very church-ish. 


It was so fun to watch the boys, especially Kayden opening presents.  He's really starting to "get" the whole Christmas/Santa thing.  He was so excited about all of his presents and loves to show them off.  When people asked what Santa brought, he'd tell them, "You just have to come to my house and see, there's too much to tell you!"  I WILL post pictures eventually, as my camera issues continue. 

Monday I kept the boys home, and Morgan and Amazih came over so that I could take Tyson to the clinic---again---yes, another ear infection.  I decided to take him in, because he had been sleeping worse than ever!  I was really hesitant to take him in, and I couldn't get an appointment with his doctor (or any other doctor for that matter), so I took him to the walk-in clinic, and I am so glad I did.  He's back on ear drops and an anti-biotic.  The doctor that we saw suggested that we wait a few days for the meds to take care of things, and then we need to let him cry at night.  So, we will.  This has been my plan for a long time, but it's really hard to find two or three nights in a row where I can let him cry, especially since he'll wake up Kayden and Tyler.  We'll see how this all works out. 


Yesterday (Tuesday), the boys went to daycare, and Amazih and I had a shopping day.  She had some gift cards to burn, and I had a couple returns to make, we shopped, had lunch, and headed home in time for my dad to pick her up since she had a basketball game. 
At the last minute, I decided that we'd go to her game too.  So, my mom and dad picked up the boys at daycare, then picked me up, and Mike met us at the gym.  Things with all three boys went a little better this time.  I wonder if we'll ever get Tyler to sit semi-still to watch the games???  Dumb question, I know. 

Today (Wednesday), I took the boys to daycare and I am supposed to be crossing things off my ever-expanding "to-do" list.  Instead, I sit here writing. 

Traditions. Some new. Some old.

As our boys get older, I've started to put a little more thought into our Christmas/holiday traditions. There are some, I have carried over from when I was younger, and there are others that we've started or will start with our boys.  

One of the traditions that has carried over from my youth, is opening one present on Christmas Eve, and it's ALWAYS a pair of brand new jammies!  The boys are too young to realize it yet, but soon enough, they'll see the pattern ;)

Some that we've started more recently, include: 

• Baking cookies with Grammy (baking cookies, making a mess, whatever you wanna call it)
• Gingerbread houses.  This is something we did for the first time this year, and it was fairly successful, so I think it might be something we continue.  
• Decorating our tree.  This year, Kayden and I did most of the tree decorating.  I let him put the ornaments where ever he wanted, and that's where they stayed.  
• Caramel rolls on Christmas morning ::something I'm going to attempt this year, for the first time::
• Cutting our own Christmas tree.  We have had an artificial tree up until this year.  

I love that my boys are getting old enough to start some of these fun things.  Hopefully they'll be things they look forward to each year.   

Look here for more holiday traditions:  The Bonjour Family

Here we go!

This is a snapshot of what our Christmas weekend will look like--assuming everything goes as planned =)

Thursday:  

I am off, so the boys and I will stay home, wrap presents, clean, nap, pack things for the weekend and bake our birthday cake for Jesus.  ::I'm not sure why I even put anything on my list for Thursday other than disciplining kids, changing diapers and making lunch and snacks.  We all know that's probably all that I will accomplish, but I can hope, right? ::

Thursday night I work at the bowling alley.  I'm actually kind of looking forward to working on a night, when I don't have to get up early the next day for work. 

Friday:

Mike and I are both off on Friday.  He wants to go fishing or hunting, or do some other manly thing in the morning, but I'm working on talking him out of it.  I feel like, if I'm going to be working late on Thursday night, I might want to sleep until 8:00 or so on Friday.  If he is gone fishing or whatever he plans on doing, he'll leave early in the morning, which will wake the kids up, which will make for one-cranky-mama!

Friday afternoon, we plan on taking the boys sledding at the high school in Albany.  They have a huge hill, and I haven't been there in forever, and I know the boys will love it, plus, it will be a good workout for me;)

Friday evening the plan is for Mike and Kayden and I to go to church, and Tyler and Tyson will stay at my moms.  I'm just not up for the challenge of taking all three to such a crowded Mass.  After church, we'll have supper at my mom's and birthday cake for Jesus. The boys will each get to open one present (pajamas for each), and then if all goes well, they'll all three fall asleep on the way home.  

Saturday:

Saturday morning,we'll be at home. The boys will have time to open presents, play for a while, have caramel rolls for breakfast, then get ready for the day.  We'll head to my mom's in time for lunch, and we'll celebrate Christmas there with my family.  

Saturday evening,we have the Frericks family Christmas, which, conveniently is going to be in Albany this year!  Then, we'll either head back to my mom's or Mike's parents to spend the night. 

Sunday:

We'll head to Mike's parents' house on Sunday to celebrate with his family.  We'll have lunch there, open presents, etc, then head back to my mom's for Christmas with her family.  

By Sunday night, everyone should be good and exhausted.  I'm thinking I'll keep the  boys home on Monday so that they can have some time to finally try out all their new goods, while I try to find homes for everything. 

Things will be crazy-busy, but as long as everyone stays healthy, and we get sufficient sleep (haha), things should go fine.

Germs, and a little sleep!

The sicky-ickies have finally made it to me.  I went to the clinic today and found out I have an ear infection and pink eye.  So, antibiotics and eye drops for me.  I swear, there is always someone on an antibiotic at our house.  

On the up-side of things:  Tyson woke up just once last night, and Tyler and Kayden slept all night! Of course, I was awake before Tyson woke up at about 2:00 a.m because my ear REALLY hurt.  BUT, he woke up just once!  I REALLY hope this isn't just a coincidence, but rather, a sign of things to come.  

We have no plans for tonight or tomorrow night. Thursday I will be home with the  boys all day, since I don't have school.  We'll finish wrapping presents, clean a little and make our birthday cake for Jesus.  Then, I work Thursday night and by Friday, the holiday craziness begins!!!! 

My little barometers!

There is a snow storm moving through Minnesota today.  I knew this already yesterday.  Not because Chris Shafer (the weatherman) told me, but because my kids were N-U-T-S!  They were bouncing off the walls.  It only got worse as the day went on.  By supper time they were jumping on everything and everyone.  Throwing things, yelling, crying, giggling, running, just nuts. 

So, I finally got them all bathed and in bed last night, up and off to daycare today, and I came to school to spend the day with my 16 other little barometers.  I tell you,these kids are much better at predicting the weather than any meteorologist.  The weather, combined with the excitement of Christmas being just days away, might just send me over the edge!!!!

Proof that Santa IS watching!

Santa sent Kayden an email!  You can see it here.  It is so fun!  It was REALLY easy to make.  I made one for Tyler too, and even Amazih got one (she was on "naughty watch"), which made Kayden really think.  I highly recommend making one for you young-ins!!!

GERMS!

This weekend will be spent cleaning and disinfecting our house to try to get rid of all the yucky germs that have been lurking, causing lots of runny noses, coughs, head-aches, and over all crankiness in our house.  

The cold symptoms started for all three boys on Monday.  Tyler definitely had it the worst to start out with (I think for him, it was a combination of the cold, and new teeth coming in).  I took Tyson to the clinic yesterday because his breathing sounded horrible, and even our daycare provider (who doesn't worry often) said that it worried her a little, and she'd have it checked out.  Turns out he has an ear infection (yes, even though he had tubes put in just one week ago) and croup.  So, he's back on ear drops, and a steroid for his croup. 

As of last night, Kayden is really starting to feel the symptoms too.  He was home with Rhonda while we went to my sister's basketball game, and she texted me to see what she could give him for his cold/cough/aches. 

I, also started to feel some of the cold-ish stuff coming on last night, but I am the least of my worries:)

So, we'll spend our weekend relaxing at home (with the exception of my dad's family's Christmas celebration tomorrow) and try to get everyone healthy before the highly anticipated Christmas time finally arrives next week! 

Thank You

Thank you to my friend Gail for letting me use her crib.  We have a crib, but Tyler is still in it, and I'd like to keep him there for a while.  So, we were in need of a second crib for Tyson.  I really didn't want to buy one, so Gail is letting us use hers.  

Thank you to Holli for having four boys, and passing on lots of hand-me-downs to my boys and for letting us use her spare toddler bed. 

Thank you to Tammy for letting me borrow a mattress for the crib that I'm borrowing from Gail =)

Thank you to Target for giving free gift cards when I buy diapers and for providing me with a generic, much more inexpensive formula than I used to use.  

Thank you to Rhonda for picking up two carseats at a garage sale, saving us at least $100.00!

Thank you to our pediatrician, Dr. Peitso, for referring us to ENT so that Tyson could get his tubes before the end of the year. 

Thank you to all of our family members who are always there when we need someone to babysit, pick up at daycare, etc.  

We are lucky people!

Christmas Letter

I had trouble deciding whether or not I should include a "Christmas Letter" with our Christmas card this year.   In the end, I decided to skip the letter for this year.  Mostly because it is December 14th, and I don't even have my cards addressed yet, and because it took me about 100 attempts at getting a picture of my boys and I was still unsuccessful, so I ended up using their JCPenney picture (if I end up in the slammer for this, please say that you'll come visit me).  Anywho--we're sending just the photo card, no letter.  BUT----
If I would have written a Christmas letter, this is what it might have said:

The past year has been an interesting one in the Frericks household.  Life has been VERY busy.  We put our house up for sale last December.  We bought land from my parents and will eventually build a new house there.  We aren't in any real hurry to move, we just want to be moved in time for Kayden to go to Kindergarten in the Albany district. 

Mike is still working at St. Cloud Refrigeration, where he's been since college.  They keep him busy, and they treat him well. 

I am in my 3rd, and probably final year teaching 4th grade at St. Mary's School in Melrose.  I spent my summer months working part-time at Kids Company, and more recently went back to working every-other Thursday night at the Albany Bowling Center.  With our busy work schedules, we thank God for our wonderful daycare and very helpful parents and siblings.

Our boys keep us busy every day.   

Kayden turned three in February.  He is an excellent big brother and usually, a HUGE help to me!  He spends his days playing dinosaurs, building, climbing, throwing, running, riding, shooting, chasing....you know--boy stuff.  

He goes to pre-school on Monday evenings and loves it.  He loves to tell people that he goes to school.  

Tyler is our BUSY toddler.  He has really changed over the past year.  He went from being our baby, to a walking, talking, running, throwing, wrestling, cuddly, tornado of a toddler who really needs his first haircut.  He is a completely different kid than Kayden, but he is SO fun!  He really keeps us on our toes. 

Our littlest present from God joined our family in April.  7 pound, 9 ounce baby Tyson John was born on April 20th.  Yes, that makes him and Tyler just 11 months apart (insert your comment here--we've heard it all) ::okay, maybe I wouldn't include that last, kinda snotty part in my Christmas letter if I were sending a real one::  He is a healthy, happy baby, and fits perfectly in our little family.  He just recently had tubes put in his ears because of recurrent ear infections.  Now, if we could just get him to sleep at night....

As you would assume, our lives are busy.  We are extremely blessed to have our very helpful families so close to us, and for them to always be willing to help us out when we need it.  

We look forward to 2011 and the many things that will surely come with it.  Challenges, life changes(this does not include babies), milestones, family time--the list goes on. 

Wishing you all a blessed holiday season, 
The Frericks Family:  Mike, Sarah, Kayden, Tyler, Tyson and Maya (the dog). 

Something's brewing....

Tyson woke up at his usual, 1:00ish.  I tried to let him cry for a while, but since he wasn't giving up, and I was tired, I went to get him up.  ::usually, a 15 minute process at most.  change his diaper.  feed him.  hold him until he's for sure sleeping.  put him back in his bed::  Not this time.  Soon after I got Tyson out of his bed, I heard Tyler whining in a sad, scratchy voice.  I went to tell Mike that if he didn't quit whining in a few minutes, he'd have to go get him up.  (We would usually just put him in our bed or rock him, and within minutes he'd be sleeping again.)  Next thing I know, I hear Kayden and Tyler's bedroom door creeeeeeeeeak open.  This tells me Kayden is now awake too.  ::or Tyler activated his go-go gadget arms to open the door from his crib::  

So, I head to our bedroom to tell my snoring husband that he needs to get up NOW, because we now have all three boys awake.  So, he rolls out of bed.  Makes what seems like a 5 minute pit-stop at the bathroom, and finally makes his way into the boys' bedroom.  I hear him talking to Kayden, and finally they come out.  Kayden heads to his pillow on the living room floor, while Mike rocks Tyler, and I feed Tyson.  

15 minutes later, Tyson is sleeping, so I put him in his bed, go back to carry Kayden to his bed, and then I head back to bed myself. Within minutes, Mike and Tyler join me.  Tyler lays with us for a few minutes before he is squirming, and whining.  "Wah-er".  He wants water.  So, to the kitchen I go.  He has his water.  Still awake.  So, him and I go to the living room to rock.  I attempt to put him in his bed twice, and he wakes up both times.  Finally, at 3:02 a.m, he's sleeping and I'm able to put him in his bed.  Remember what time I got up with child #1?  1:00ish.  It's now 3:00ish.  Ugh.  

Now, the reason I worry about what might be brewing:  We were with Sydney and Karsyn this weekend (Mike's nieces).  They both had miserable colds and coughs.  Karsyn went to Urgent Care to find out she has an ear infection and the start of pneumonia.  It's coming.  Tyler sounded terrible when he woke up last night.  His throat sounded like it hurt.  Bad.  He seemed fine this morning, and I texted Sharon at lunch, and she said he seemed fine.  I just wonder what's going on, because he NEVER wakes up at night.  We'll see. 

It's exhausting being a kid

"Moooooommmmmmyyyyy!  I'm just whining because I'm so tired!".   This is the cry of my exhausted almost-four-year old on a Thursday afternoon on the way home from daycare.  We had a long week.  

Thursday night was our first evening at home all week.  

It's times like this, that I realize how important routine is in kids' lives.  

It's a busy time of year for us.  November is full of deer hunting and all that goes with it, and Thanksgiving, and then we're pushed right into December:

Christmas is approaching.  

It's basketball season. 

Tyson has surgery.  

I have my school Christmas program.

We need to process all the venison from deer hunting.  

I need to shop, wrap presents, bake, and shop some more.  

Life is nuts.  I struggle, because there's so much I want to do, but with 3 kids under 4, it's not always that easy.  

My sister plays basketball.  We took all three boys to her first game this year.  Mistake.  The games don't start until 7:00 or later, so by half-time, we've lost Tyler.  He's ready for bed.  He's crabby.  He doesn't want to sit still (well, he doesn't EVER want to sit still).  So, I decided that whenever possible, I will get a sitter during basketball games for one, two , or even all three boys.  So, there will be games I miss.  There will be games where, we'll try to take all three boys again.  We'll see. 

I'm looking at my planner for next week.  There are basketball games on Tuesday and Thursday night.  I asked Amazih which I should go to, if I can only go to one.  She says Thursday.  Rhonda is available to babysit during either one, but, I don't want to over-use her either.  Monday night is pre-school/volleyball night, so Mike will have Tyler and Tyson......and the cycle continues. 

3 for 3

Well, we're 3-for-3 when it comes to tubes in our kids' ears.  

Kayden got them at about 15 months, Tyler was about 9 months. 

Tyson went in yesterday morning.  We were supposed to be there at 5:00 a.m.  I say, "supposed" to be there, because, well, for some reason, my alarm never went off, and I just happened to wake up at 5:02 a.m.  In a slight panic, I told Mike that we needed to get up, because we were supposed to be there "right now!". So, I quickly threw on some clothes and went into Tyler and Kayden's room where Tyson was sleeping (Kayden and Tyler stayed at my mom's), flipped on the light, got him up, and while I had him on the changing table, getting dressed, I called the surgical center to let them know that we'd be late, but we WERE coming.  Within 15 minutes we were out the door, and in the car. 

By 5:30, we were at the surgical center, and by 6:00, he was in surgery, I think it was about 5 minutes later, he was out, and by 6:30, we were in the recovery room with him, and by 6:55, we were on the road, heading home.  

The whole process is so quick, and as far as I know, painless.  With Kayden and Tyler we were in the room when they "put them under", but this time, the Anaesthesiologist just took Tyson back, and said he'd just hold him and rock him until he was asleep.  

I know there are LOTS of people who think that tubes should be a last resort for the wee ones, but I am all for them!  My kids have constant ear infections, and once the tubes are in, it's like some kind miracle---no more infections, or any of the crap that goes with them:  sleepless nights, fevers, crying....it's all over. 

So, here's to hoping for better sleep at night, a healthy household, and happy kids (which makes for a happy mommy).  ;)

This-n-that

We have a busy week ahead to follow up our busy weekend.  This morning, Tyson had his appointment at the ENT.  They scheduled him for tubes this Thursday!  I'm hoping tubes in his ears might help with his sleeping habits [have I mentioned before that he doesn't sleep???? :)]  BUT, I know from experience with Tyler---it probably won't.  We'll see.  I can always hope, right?

Tonight is preschool for Kayden, and volleyball for me.  Mike is still on call, so the little boys will go to my mom's while we're gone.  Which means that today I will drive:

From St. Joe to St. John's to drop of Kayden and Tyler at daycare.  

From St. John's to St. Cloud to take Tyson to the ENT.  

From St. Cloud to St.  John's to take Tyson to daycare.  

From St. John's to Melrose for work.  

From Melrose to St. John's to pick the boys up from daycare.  

From St. John's to Albany to take the little boys to my mom's before preschool/volleyball. 

From Albany to Avon for preschool/volleyball.  

From Avon to Albany to pick up the little boys.  

And, finally, from Albany to St. Joe/home in time to go to bed and get up and go again....;)

Tomorrow night (Tuesday), Rhonda is coming over to watch Tyler and Tyson while Kayden and I and hopefully Mike (if he isn't working) go to Amazih's basketball game.  

Wednesday night I have my Christmas program at school.  I'm taking Kayden with me, while the little boys spend another evening with Grammy.  Kayden and Tyler will actually spend the night at my mom's Wednesday night since Tyson has to be at the Surgical Center REALLY early Thursday morning.  

Thursday, Tyson will have surgery in the morning, and him and I will spend the day napping, cleaning, and napping.  

Friday night the plan is to head to Mike's parents to make sausage =)  Oh, the fun!!!! 

Traditions

As my boys get older, we are forming a few traditions.  It seems like we add a few things each year.  This weekend consisted of a few.  

*Saturday I had a day of shopping (and bonding) with my mom, Amy, my aunt Ruth, and my two cousins Holli and Tammy.  (Amazih would have joined us, but decided to work at a basketball tournament to make money instead).  We spent the day shopping in the cities.  We first hit up the General Store in Minnetonka, then headed to Eden Prairie Center.  We had lots of fun, laughs, and I actually got LOTS of Christmas shopping done.  I'm VERY close to being done!  Mike was on call (again) this weekend, so the boys spent the day at Grandma Doris' house with Rhonda and Grandma and Grandpa.  

*Sunday the boys and I headed to my mom's to do some Christmas baking.  We met Amy there, and we worked hard and made a HUGE mess!  Kayden loved it. He brought his tractor apron form home and by the time we were done, he was covered in powdered sugar, flour, chocolate, etc. from head to toe!  

*Sunday night St. Nick made a stop at our house while the boys were sleeping.  This was the first time since Kayden was born (I think)---mostly, because I have always forgotten about it. I actually kinda forgot about it this time too, so after they were in bed, I ran to the basement and grabbed a few little things out of the Christmas stash.  Kayden loved that there was a surprise in his shoes this morning, Tyler was just excited that  there was fruit snacks there.  He didn't care where they came from, who put them there, or why the heck they were in his shoes, he just wanted them open, NOW!!! 

Too cute!

Check out these cute hats!  Tyson definitely needs one!  OR, I know LOTS of people having babies----oh, the possibilities!  

P.S.  This is a blog that read regularly----so entertaining!

BOYS!

Being a mom of BOYS has taught me:

~pee doesn't always land in the potty

~there are 1,000,000 uses for a jump rope other than jumping

~boy clothes ARE cute and ARE fun to shop for

~you can never have enough matchbox cars

~no matter how many times I say, "Couches are for sitting and laying!", they will stand/jump/climb/run on it. 

~getting their first haircut is torture (for me). 

~pee doesn't always land in the potty

~November will, eventually, be a very lonely month for me (it might be nice, actually)

~"Quiet" is a thing of the past

~although monkey piles are fun, the baby should NOT be the monkey on the bottom!

~pee doesn't always land in the potty

Thankful Thursday

I am so very Thankful for:

*a pediatrician that listens to me

*a mom that takes off work to go with me to take all three boys to the clinic

*a husband who finally agreed to get a REAL Christmas tree

*10 sick days per school year---although, they are disappearing fast!

*a girls-only shopping day

*my first snow day of the 2010-2011 school year

*a sister-in-law who is willing to watch one, two, or all three of my boys when I need her

*Target gift cards

my stinkin' camera!

So, when digital cameras first came out, Mike bought me one for Christmas.  At the time, it was the cream of the crop, the cat's meow.... 

This past summer, I decided to buy a new one.  I wanted one that was a little smaller, took better pictures, and had a bigger screen for viewing my pictures.   Plus, for some reason, I my old camera would connect to my computer to download pictures. So, I went to Target and bought a new one.  Nothing fancy, just a $100 little, red camera.  It worked wonderfully.  Now.  It won't connect to my computer to download pictures (it did at first, but now doesn't.  It's not just my computer either, it won't connect to others either.), AND I can't "review" my pictures.  What the ???????  So, I emailed Kodak.    They suggested I try a few things.  Take out the battery.  Put it back in.  Take out the memory card.  Put it back in.  If it still doesn't work---send it in to be fixed.  Oh yeah, and send the receipt with it for warranty purposes.  What?  I don't have the stupid receipt!  I threw it away, because the camera worked, and I'm trying de-clutter my life (again, a whole other post).  So, do I spend the money to send it in to be fixed?  Do I just deal with it, and not "review" my pictures, and go to my mom's whenever I want to download pictures?  Do I just buy a new one?  Dumb.  

I can hear my husband already--"I don't know what you bought such a cheap, piece of crap camera anyway".  

To that I say, "Because you tell me all the time that I need to save money.  I needed a new camera, so I bought a cheap one."  I'm stuck. 

So, this is my excuse for the lack of posted pictures in the past few months.  I hate it.  I want to post pictures.  I want to take my Christmas card picture and order it from home. 

An unexpected week-long vacation

I am back at work today for the first time since last Tuesday.  That's right.  I had a whole week off.  

I was off last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Thanksgiving.  Monday, my daycare needed the day off, so I stayed home with the boys.  We thought about having Mike stay home, but then I decided that I get 10 sick days per year.  If I don't use them, I can carry them over to the next year.  The only problem:  I am about 90% sure there won't be a "next year"--at this school anyway.  (That's whole other post).  So, I plan to use each and every one of my sick days so that I don't lose them.  So, Monday, the  boys and I stayed home most of the day.  They ALL had doctor appointments in the afternoon, so my mom met me at the clinic to be my assistant for the day.  Tyler had his 18 month appointment, and Kayden and Tyson needed their ears re-checked, and flu shots.  Overall, the appointment went well.  Tyson still has fluid in his ears, I talked the doctor into referring him to ENT so that we can possibly do tubes before the end of the year (we've obviously met our deductible already for this year).  That appointment is Monday morning (hopefully Mike will be taking him).  

After the appointment, my mom took Kayden to school, and Tyler and Tyson and I headed home.  I got supper ready, ate quickly, and then headed to volleyball.  

TUESDAY, I had my first SNOW DAY of the year!  How lovely!!!!  I got a call at 5:54 a.m. from my principal saying that school would be two hours late.  Around 8:00 he called again, to say school was, in fact, CLOSED!  So....I let Kayden sleep in, made breakfast, cleaned up a bit, then took the boys to daycare so that I could head into St. Cloud to get a few more Christmas presents and groceries before my 3:30 doctor appointment.  

By 5:00, I picked the kids up, we headed home for supper, and then went to Auntie Mazih's first basketball game of the year.  She is a 9th grader this year, and this was her first time STARTING  a varsity game!  She played well (although, she wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement), and they did win.  Kayden and Tyson did well, Tyler was a bear!  He did well for a 1 1/2 year old on the top row of bleachers in a loud gym, but, by about 8:30, his time was up!  It was his bedtime, and he wasn't shy about letting everyone in the gym know!  I'm thinking we'll have to make alternate arrangements for him when we go to some of the games in the future.  Auntie Rhonda???????????

Home games aren't so bad, because there is room for him to run where we usually sit, but when it's an away game, I just never know what to expect. 

The busiest time of year

As I've mentioned before, November is crazy for us.  Mike spends A LOT of time hunting, and then, the holiday season begins. 
We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday at my mom's house with her family.  There were far less people this year than there usually is, but still, they managed to be just as loud as normal ;)
Thursday was also the day that Mike finally came home!  The boys were so excited to see him.  Kayden and Tyler were napping when he got there, so I had him go wake Kayden up right away, and they were able to have some time together before we woke Tyler up.  It's nice to have him home again. 
Friday morning, Holli, Tammy, Amy and I headed to St. Cloud.  I picked Amy up at about 4:30, and we were at Shopko by 5:00.  We didn't necessarily find any amazing deals, but we all managed to buy a lot.  I'd call it a successful trip, since I did get quite a bit of my Christmas shopping done. 
Saturday, the kids and I spent the day at home while Mike worked, and then we met Mike and my mom in St. Augusta to cut down our Christmas tree.  We've always had a fake tree, but this year I really wanted a real one.  So, we ventured out and cut one down.  (I'll add pictures later). 
Sunday we had Thanksgiving with both sides of Mike's family. 
Today, I am home with the boys, because our daycare is closed.  This afternoon, I need to take ALL of them to the clinic.  Tyler has his 18 month appointment, Tyson is getting his 2nd flu shot, and Kayden and Tyson are having their ears re-checked.  Should be interesting ;)

Thankful Thursday

 A few things I am very thankful for:

~all of my boys(including my baby daddy) =)

~a job

~friends and family who are always there to help

~health

~weekends without plans

~weekends with plans

~a happy baby

~nights with at least 6 straight hours of sleep

~snowdays (for those of you who don't live here, when there's LOTS of snow---I don't have to work!  When the weather's bad enough, they cancel school.  This usually happens once or twice a year).

~other mommies' blogs

~time to blog....
Happy Thanksgiving!

Appointments

My little planner is full.  Next week, appointment on Monday for Tyler's 18 month check up and Tyson's 2nd flu shot.  Tuesday I have an appointment---no, NOT a pre-natal appointment! 

I need to make appointments fairly far ahead of time, since I have to be kind of picky on times and days.  I can't take a lot of time off work, and I only have so many scheduled days off between September and June.  Thank God, my principal is fairly flexible, and lets me leave school a little early if necessary without having to use sick time. 

AND, this is the list that sits on my desk of appointments that need to be made.  Soon. 

Ears: Kayden and Tyson.  (They need to have them re-checked after their ear infections 2 weeks ago. )

Flu shot (or hopefully mist):  Kayden

4 year check up: Kayden

9 month check up:  Tyson

4 year pictures:  Kayden
Dentist:  Kayden

The little things

*funny things a 3 1/2 year old says

*a sleeping baby

*sometimes crazy, long curly hair on a one year old BOY

*tickle-ish babies

*time to read a magazine dated June 2010

*being able to threaten, "Santa is watching!"

*watching 14-year-old Auntie Mazih freak out when she is handed a baby with green poop smeared up his back, leaking through his clothes

*no mountable deer this year :)

*not having to save all of my sick days for a spring maternity leave

*no kids on prescriptions this week
*three more days til Daddy comes home

Monkey George!

We braved the terrible, icy roads this morning, and headed to the Target Center to see Monkey George!  Kayden, Tyler, Amy and I picked up Tammy and Emma, and then we met Holli and Ben for lunch, and the big show.  The kids did well for the most part.  The show was "ok".  Since the show was at 12:30, by the end, they were all getting tired, so Kayden and Tyler had a few melt-downs, Emma fell asleep....
Needless to say, it was a quiet ride home:)

Waiting for the show to start

Checking out the big stadium

And the action begins...

Eyes glued

Less than 1 week away!

BLACK FRIDAY!  I used to think those women who went shopping at 6:00, 5:00, even 4:00 a.m were absolutely crazy.  I still think they're crazy.  They only difference?  I've become one of them.  For the past two years, I have gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving with my two cousins and my brother's girlfriend.  We haven't gone super early, but this year, we're thinking about going earlier than we have in the past.  I have started to at least think about Christmas shopping, but I haven't bought much.  The main reason---I'm afraid I'll buy something, and then find it cheaper on Black Friday.  Dumb, I know.  Here are a few things I'll be looking for this year:

-Movies at Target.  They always have lots for $5 or even $3.  

-MobiGo games.  Kayden is getting a MobiGo from Pat and Leah (his godparents) for Christmas.  I believe the frappis(a word invented by Mike's uncle Baylen) comes with one game, but if I find them cheap, I'd like to get an extra one or two for Kayden's birthday in February.  

-One of these things.  Don't tell my husband.  He'll say it's dumb and pointless, but I want one.  You can fill it with those little balls, and it becomes a ball pit too.  My plan is to put it in the basement, and start sending some of the chaos and mess down there. 

-A DVD player for the in-laws. They still have just a VHS, and we're sick of having to bring a DVD player when we go there in order to be able to entertain the kids with movies.  

My list will grow in the next week, and I plan to head to St. Cloud on Wednesday (my day off) without kiddos to get a jump start on a few things.  

Happy Shopping! 

A day in the life....

People ask me all the time, "How do you do it?", "How do you have time for everything?".  So, I thought I'd just give a little snap-shot of what a normal weekday looks like in our family--

6:15--I get up and start getting ready.  I shower at night for two reasons:  1.  To save time in the morning and 2.  so that I don't have to make lots of noise using the blow dryer, etc.  This way the kids can sleep a little longer.  

6:55--I wake up the boys.  I usually just have to change Tyson's diaper.  I take them all to daycare in their jammies.  Kayden and Tyler always get juice or milk for the car ride, and by 7:05, I'm buckling kids in the car.  Mike is home during this time most days.  If the kids happen to wake up before I'm ready for them, he'll entertain them while I finish getting things ready to go.  

7:10--We need to be leaving the driveway!  

7:25ish--we arrive at daycare.  I get the boys out of the car one-at-a-time.  Kayden is first.  Then Tyler and then Tyson.  I usually don't put shoes on them in the morning, so I have to carry them in when we get there.  

7:30/7:35--I'm on the road, headed to work. 

7:50--I arrive at school.  

around 4:00--I leave school to head to daycare.  I usually pick the boys up between 4:30 and 5:00.  

5:15--We get home.  I get Kayden and Tyler a little snack and send them to play while I make supper.  Tyson often falls asleep on the way  home, so he naps in his carseat while I get supper ready.  

6:00ish--We eat supper.  

*Mike usually gets home anywhere from 4:00 to 9:00.  It changes every day.  

6:30/6:45--Supper is finished, but Tyson needs his cereal/babyfood.  Once this is done, I start the dishes.  If it's bath night, and Mike is home, he puts them in the tub while I do the dishes.  After baths, it's jammies and then they usually play for a while.  

By 8:00 we are picking up toys and then reading books.  After a few stories, Mike usually rocks Tyler, Kayden lays on his pillow on the floor or the couch, and I get things ready for the next day.  (Since I take them to daycare in their pajamas, I need to pack their clothes, etc). 

8:30/8:45--One of us gives Tyson his bedtime bottle, and if all goes well, by 9:00 all three are in bed (this is rare).  

9:00--I shower, and if Tyson is still up, when I'm done, I work on getting him to sleep while Mike showers, etc.  On a good night, I'm in bed by 10:00.  

The end? Oh no.  Tyson usually wakes up sometime around 2:00, and then often before 5:00.  We are working on this =)

There are certain nights and times of the year that are crazier than others.  Mondays I play volleyball and Kayden has preschool, so things tend to look a little different.  Every-other Thursday night, I bar-tend, so Mike is on his own on those nights.  Weekends are crazy.  Basketball season gets a little hairy, since we like to go watch Auntie Mazih play, but she plays varsity basketball, so the games don't even start until 7:00 or 7:30, which makes for LATE bedtimes!  

Needless to say, life is crazy.  This is why I really try to take advantage of my days off, and weekends without plans.  I also REALLY appreciate being able to work part-time in the summer(one of the perks of being a teacher).

An update

A little update on our lives this past week:

Monday was crazy as usual--first day back to work/daycare after the weekend.  Kayden had school, I had volleyball....

Tuesday night we took the boys to get their pictures taken.  We needed Tyler's 18 month pictures, and I wanted an updated picture of all three together.  Tyler decided to make use of one of his newest words: "NO!".  He was not cooperative for the pictures of him alone.  I just told the girl that as long as I got one half-way decent picture, and as long as he wasn't crying, it was fine.  When it came to pictures of all three they all did marvelous!!!!  They turned out awesome!  I was a little worried about how Kayden would do, since his 3-year picture experience was anything but good.  I explained to him that he needed to be the biggest brother, and show Tyler and Tyson how to take really nice pictures!  He did awesome!  

After pictures we headed to Target for formula, and a little pre-Christmas toy browsing.  

Wednesday we were actually at home.  Mike worked late, so I was on my own.  We had supper, baths, books, and bedtime.  

Thursday, again, we were home.  Mike was busy getting ready for Wisconsin hunting and spending a little extra time with the boys before he leaves for almost a week.  I made supper, did dishes, laundry and made cookie bars for Mike to take with him. 

Mike left this morning for deer hunting in Wisconsin.  He won't be back until Thanksgiving , so I'm on my own!

Tonight we'll hang out at home, tomorrow we'll stay home most of the day to catch up on laundry, cleaning and packing for the next week. We plan to head to my parents' house tomorrow later afternoon.  Sunday Kayden and Tyler and I are going to see Curious George Live!  with Tammy and Emma, Holli and Ben, and we're bringing Amy for help =)  Tyson will spend the day with Grammy. 

Single-mom November continues

Mike hunted at his parents' house this weekend.  I decided that the boys and I would just spend the weekend at my mom's. 

Saturday morning we met Leah, Rhonda, Sydney and Karsyn to complete a  "secret project"  the kids are working on. I can't divulge any details here since Grammy reads these posts.  

After the secret project, we headed to the bowling alley for lunch.  We met Amy, Susan, Blake and Grammy there.  While we were there, we commented on how nice it was to be able to let the kids to play in the little arcade area alone.  (Mind you, this is not really an arcade, more of room with two pool tables, and three racing games and we could see them from where we sat, and we were less than 10 people in the whole building at the time.)  We also commented on how nice it was that we could let them go play, and they are still too young to realize that those games need money to really work.   

Saturday night we hung out at Grammy's.  Sunday we woke up to snow still on the ground, so Tyler and Kayden played outside for a while, then we went with Grammy to Amazih's basketball games, and then got back to Albany in time to play outside for a bit, take a nap (Tyler and Tyson), and have supper before heading home.  

We have another busy week ahead.  Tonight Kayden has school, I have volleyball, tomorrow Tyler's 18 month pictures and pictures of all 3 boys together.   Then by Wednesday and Thursday we'll be packing to head to Grammy's again since Mike is leaving Friday morning to hunt in Wisconsin and won't be back until the following Thursday (Thanksgiving day). 

4 more days...

Just four more days of forcing my biggest baby and my littlest baby to take that yucky, yucky medicine!  They're both on the same prescription---and it's yucky! Tyson was on amoxycillan(sp) for an ear infection about a month ago, and he took that like a champ.  Not this stuff though.  I had my mom hold him down while I gave it to him this weekend (it wasn't as torturous as it sounds, "hold him down").  As fast as I could squirt it in, he spit it out, right in Grammy's eye.  Kayden has to be bribed/threatened twice a day to take it.  He hates it, but he's doing really well with it.  Yesterday I told him, if he doesn't just take it, we'll have to go back to the doctor and get different medicine.  His response?  "That's what I wanna do".  (Maybe I should have specified, "yuckier" medicine). 

"Not-Me-Monday"

The things I did not do in the past few weeks...

1.  I did not look like a saw a ghost when one of my students said to me, "Mrs. Frericks, what does ejaculation mean?"

2.  I did not secretly kinda hope that my kids were ill enough for me to take a day off work.  (I needed a mental-health day)

3.  I did not laugh at Tyler as he tried walking through the snow for the first time.  The fact that he was wearing Kayden's old boots that are about 4 sizes too big didn't help the situation much =)

4.  I did not leave my  house in an absolute state of disaster multiple nights because I was just too exhausted to clean up all the toys before I went to bed.  

More pictures I found =)

Tyler and Amazih choosing the perfect pumpkin

Silly Kayden and Mylie

Our attempt at a picture of all three (Tyson was with us, but in the stroller, sleeping)

Tyler and Amazih checking out the horsey

I think it was maybe late September?  Early October?  Anyway--Jessica and I took the kids to Collegeville Orchards.  We took Amazih and Morgan for assistance.  The kids picked out pumpkins, petted the animals, lots of fun =)

Pumpkin Carving

Which one's scarier???

The littlest helper

As I'm uploading pictures to my computer, I realized I never wrote about our pumpkin carving from this year.  There isn't really much to tell, but there are a few pictures to share.  Enjoy!

Mostly treats (not-so-much tricks)

All the kiddos dressed up and ready for trick-or-treating

I took my little football player, my Eeyore and tiny mouse trick-or-treating on Halloween.  Mike was still gone hunting at Fort Ripley so my mom was my assistant for the evening.  Leah, Karsyn, Sydney and Rhonda also joined us.  We just hit up a few houses of people we knew.
We started at my parents' house where we fed the kids their McDonald's that we picked up on the way to Albany,   Once they were all done eating, we started dressing them up, and got them outside to attempt to take a few pictures of them with my parents' HUGE pumpkins.  We got a few.  Nothing spectacular, but you can't expect much when you're trying to take a picture of two 3 1/2 year olds, two 1-year-olds, and an infant.
Once they'd had enough of the picture taking, we started loading them in the car.  By the time we got to our first stop, Tyson was sleeping, and he continued to sleep until we got to the last house  before we planned to go to Eric's (where I was going to feed him).
We got everybody out at Eric's, and snuck in the back door.  They didn't have their porch light on, so there shouldn't have been any trick-or-treaters other than us, but apparently lots of people don't understand that concept.  There were people knocking and ringing the door bell all night.  So, Eric and Amy and the other roommates did their best to hide out and ignore the knocking and ringing, but as we loaded the kids in the car to leave, Eric and Amy actually beat us out of the driveway (they decided it'd be easier to just leave).

Turns out....

Caution:  This post might be a little TMI for those who don't care about Kayden's vomiting, BUT--there's good stuff at the end, so keep reading=)

Turns out, Kayden's vomiting incident at daycare yesterday was probably MY fault =)  He threw up just once.  I did have my dad go and pick him up from daycare though, because I figured he would probably rather be around less kiddos while he tried to recover from his rough morning.  Anywho--I have come to the conclusion that the vomiting was MY fault, because I gave him his dreadful medicine in the morning before we left the house.  I sorta forgot that he is supposed to take it with food.  So, today, I sent it to daycare, and I'll leave Sharon with the challenge of getting him to take it =)

Now, a few side notes:

Tyler is crazy.  This time change has really screwed up his sleeping habits.  I think every day this week, he's been awake by 5:15.  This morning he was yelling, "Mommy!!!".  When that didn't work he switched to, "Daddy!", and when he still got no help, he started yelling, "Papa!!!!".  Now, if only Papa could have been around to deal with him!

Tyler has also really been working on talking.  He is getting better and better at telling us what he needs or wants.  He has a pretty clear , "juice", and if you don't give it to him, he has a pretty clear, "NOOOOO!".  He is also working on his brothers' names.  Kayden is, "Day-in" and Tyson is just, "I".  It's pretty cute, because he tries to fight with Tyson the way he fights with Kayden.  He's always saying, "No, I!!!  Mine!"   

I guess I kinda needed a day off anyway....

Tyler fought a fever all day on Sunday.  By Monday morning, he seemed ok, so I sent him to daycare, and told her to call me if she thought he seemed sick.  I warned that they'd had a LONG weekend, and they would be tired.  I texted Sharon (our daycare provider) later in the morning, and asked how Tyler was doing.  Her reply was, "Tyler seems fine.  Kayden's temp is 101.2".  What the ??????   Ugh.  So, she had Kayden take a nap, and I picked him up at our normal time.  We got home, and he was pretty sluggish.  Laying around on the couch.  We talked about skipping pre-school, but in his mind, that was NOT an option!  So, as soon as Mike got home, off to school we went.  He seemed fine at school.  He even got to stay and watch me play volleyball.  

We got home, put him to bed, and I checked his temp in the morning.  It was 100.3.   So, I decided I'd keep all the boys home, and take all three of them to the walk-in clinic that morning, and as long as everything was ok, I'd go to work after lunch.  

I was a little nervous about taking them all to the doctor, by myself.  They did amazingly well!  I loaded Tyler and Tyson in the double stroller, and explained to Kayden that he needed to be a big boy and be my helper for the day.  Thank God, Tyson slept through everything until the very end of the appointment when the doctor was ready to check his ears.   Verdict:  Kayden has an ear infection and (as he says) "a pink eye".  Tyson has an ear infection, and Tyler just had a virus, and is still trying to recover.  

Next stop, Target.  We shopped around a bit to give the pharmacist time to fill the prescriptions.  Kayden chose a $3.00 toy, and we picked up our prescriptions and were on our way home by noon.  Tyler fell asleep on the way home, and took a 2 1/2 hour nap, Kayden played with his new toy while he watched a movie, and Tyson had a bottle and took one of his longest naps to date!  All of this gave me some time to catch up on laundry from the weekend, dishes, etc. 

This morning, I took the kids to daycare, just like any other day.  Kayden had a strange meltdown as I dropped them off, but I figured he was just tired and a little cranky.  Sharon distracted him while I snuck out the door.  

My latest text from Sharon, "Kayden threw up.  He seems ok now.  That explains his behavior this morning.  I'm making him soup".  

Ugh!

The Annual Hunt

Kayden concentrating on his masterpiece

The final product

                                               

Frost a little, eat a little...

Tyler's cookie never saw the "finished product" tray

Working hard

This past weekend was opening weekend for deer hunting.  Every year, we spend the weekend at Mike's parents' house.  Before we had kids it was a weekend of girls shopping, laying around, catching up on sleep, playing cards....oh, the memories. 

NOW, it's a weekend of crabby kids, waking up early---too early, time change, eating way to much, cutting up and packaging deer....it has become work!  None-the-less, it is bonding time =)  The kids do love to spend the time together, and it's all good and grand until Sunday afternoon.  This is when they are sick of each other.  They're fighting.  They're crying.  They're exhausted.  We've run out of creative ways to entertain them, and we're ready to pass them onto their daddies!!!!!

This year, we did think ahead a little bit.  We brought ingredients and frosting to have the kids make, cut out, and decorate cookies.  This was splendid.  They loved it.  They made a mess.  They took a nap.  Mission accomplished.  

All day on Sunday, Tyler had a fever.  His temp was between 100 and 103 all day.  We gave him lots of Tylenol.  I thought by Sunday night he was better.  More on that in my next post....

P.S.  The actual hunting part was successful.  Mike shot a small 8-pointer and another small buck and 3 does shot.  Isn't that enough you say?  I sure would think so.  BUT, my lovely husband will hunt again this weekend, the following weekend in Wisconsin, and he'll bow-hunt until the end of December.  Oh joy....