Seize the Moments

In an effort to try to be happier I am going to try and do a better job of 'seizing the moments'. I've deleted all of my pictures from Facebook and intend to only use it for my original purpose of signing up (getting the free stuff!). I plan on spending less time on the computer which also means less time on the blog. My main intent on starting up the blog was to keep our family and close friends up to date on us -- so they can feel they are still a part of our lives while we are so far away. Since less than half of our family even views the blog and we very rarely have any friends view the blog (no one leaves comments anyway) then it only makes sense to cut back and use some of that time and effort elsewhere. I will still try to update once every one or two weeks for our family records and for those few that do read and care to know what we are up to.

Now.....I'm off to try to get my kids healthy again.

Happy Birthday Derek

Wish we could spend the day with you. I know you never read the blog but if, by chance, you do then Happy Birthday! Enjoy your tee time at Mamala Bay. I'm sure you'll do some body surfing later or at least some relaxing on the beautiful Hawaiian beaches. Have a great day.

My Wish

I cannot wait for the day that my husband gets a regular working schedule. He is NEVER home. He's constantly on the road. The only perks to that are that he's racking up some nice mileage for us (to hopefully us on an extra long vacation sometime soon). And, of course, the perks for him......he gets to see the world. JEALOUS!! When he is "home", meaning not out of town, he works 12-18 hour days and usually spends at least a third of his days on the weekends doing some sort of work for his job.

It's really starting to take a toll on me, especially now with a newborn in the house. I'm exhausted (physically, mentally and emotionally). I swear I'm going to have gray hair by the end of the year. It's not easy being a single Mom of three. Now is especially trying with everyone sick. I have never had much patience but, what little I did have, is quickly dwindling away. I wish there was some way I could figure out how to develop more. I know it's affecting our children. The fact that their Dad is gone all of the time affects them too. There is so much more that I could say. My Our wish is just for Daddy to have a normal schedule. Please.

The Day After, Bryan and Kim Visit, Plague

The day after my Mom and Dad left was AWFUL! The night that they left I went to bed not feeling very well. Around 11 pm I was up and extremely sick. This went on throughout the entire night. I called my parents the first thing in the morning and, sure enough, my Dad was sick too. The first thing that popped into my head was food poisoning. We had eaten at Golden Corral and, no joke, the minute I walked up and got my first plate I had regretted going there. The first plate I picked up had dried food all over it. I also remembered my Dad and I trying something and commenting on the weird taste. So, that was it. I was convinced it was food poisoning.

I don't have a lot of good friends here, but do have some acquaintances or at least some people that do care about me a little. With Mom and Dad now gone and Derek TDY I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day. It was THAT BAD! I somehow managed to get Allie to school, but it was picture day and she wasn't dolled up like she normally would have been. For the most part, I was pretty blessed this day. Avery had decided to wake up at 4 am. Because of that I was able to get her down for a nap at 10 and she slept for 3 1/2 hours! Blake slept for 3 hours during that time.......and so did I! I got another break around 4:30 when a friend came and took the girls to her house. This was another blessing because from the time Allie walked in the door from school the girls had been fighting non-stop. She kept the girls until 7:30, fed then dinner, and then brought them home and put them to bed. She even got me fresh cups of water, toast and mints. My neighbor also brought over a heating pad for my aching joints. Unfortunately, I didn't get any sleep that night since Blake slept all day..........

That next morning Bryan and Kim arrived. I still wasn't feeling all that great but forced myself to get up and shower so I could get Avery to preschool. The shower actually helped a lot. I dropped Avery off a little late and got home with just enough time to try to clean up the house a little bit. It's amazing how messy a house can get without taking care of it for just one day! And then Bryan and Kim were here! After about an hour of chatting and meeting Blake we left to pick up Aves and grab some lunch. Once we got home we all took a nap! Then it was time to pick up Allie........shortly thereafter Avery gets sick........all over Kim, the couch, and the floor. And that's about the extent of their visit because now we are plagued.

Obviously I didn't have food poisoning. After Avery got sick, Allie got sick. After Allie got sick, Bryan got sick. After Bryan got sick, Kim got sick. The person handling this the best is little Blake, thankfully. Although, he has had a couple of diapers that were runnier than usual. His stomach is gurgling an awful lot and he has vomited a decent amount twice. No fevers yet.......but he has been sneezing a lot too. Luckily he has an appointment tomorrow with the doctor.

No pictures from Bryan and Kim's visit because we were all sick or sleep deprived. I knew the 3 days would be short and it would be pretty much impossible to do much of anything, but never imagined it being this bad. I can pretty much guarantee that they won't want to come back to visit us.

The rest of today will be spent trying to disinfect the house........fun, fun.

Mony & Papa Visit: Part III

For some reason we found out about Allie's soccer practice at the last minute. My parents had planned on taking the girls to Sea World on Saturday, but since Allie had practice they decided to go to Fiesta Farm (right down the road) afterwards instead. Right in the heat of the day, I might add.

And, the girls all dolled up....

First Soccer Practice

Allie is playing soccer! We are all so excited. Her first game is this Saturday!!

Date Night

Since Mom and Dad were here Derek and I got to get out of the house for a bit without the kids. This is a very rare thing for us....especially with his crazy schedule.
We went to dinner and the Tower of the Americas and a 4-D Movie {Skies over Texas}

Mony & Papa Visit: Part II

To start off -- Avery showing off her goodies from Dave & Busters (minus the candy, which she devoured right away)

She's been wanting a watch ever since Allie got one for her b-day. I think she feels like a big girl when she's wearing it.

The many faces of Blake:

Allie made a Book Box for school

Go, Kuentz, Go!

While Allie was at school we took Avery to MiniTown

She shopped for groceries

Even did the self checkout

Danced at the Disco

Taught us how to draw circles

Then it was off to the salon

Mony's turn

Then it was off to the movie theater

After school we decided to go to the Kiddie Park

Blake and I just chilled in the shade

Oh, and on Thursday Mony & Papa went and had lunch with Allie at school

Mony & Papa Vist: Part I

GG, this post is for you!

Mony and Papa arrived late Sunday night. We're all so excited to have them here and introduce them to Blake. Allie is loving having more visitors walk her to and from the bus stop. Avery is loving all of the extra attention she gets during the day while Allie is at school. It seems like we've been on the go a lot but we've hardly taken any pictures. So here is what we have thus far:

After Allie got out of school on Tuesday Mony & Papa took the girls up to the pool for some afternoon swimming fun.....

Trying to get a picture of what his outfit says, "I Love HUGS from Grandma"

Other fun things not pictured:
- We took Avery to story/craft time at Barnes & Noble.
- Last night we went to Dave and Buster's.