So sorry

Ahh!  Look at that it's been 10 days since I've blogged!  I feel so ashamed. . . I really thought about it a couple of times in the last 10 days, but I've always found something else that required my attention more.  And as you can imagine, 3 kids are keeping me hopping, and I love it!  :o)

Jaxen is still as wonderful as can be.  I love him more and more every day!  He's finally got the smiling down!  And I am totally jealous that he loves smiling at Chloe.  She can get him to smile most of the time, it's so stinkin' adorable!  I've only been able to capture his smile on my cell phone, because when I pull out the big camera he get serious and stares at it like, "What's that?!"  I'll have to work more on getting him used to the big camera. . . then maybe he won't stare at it!  And with the smile come laughter. . . It's not all the way laughing yet.  Mainly because I think when he starts laughing he scares himself.  I can't wait to hear Jaxen's laughter!

Jax is starting to sleep more consistently.  As long as he's in his crib and goes down with a clean diaper and a full belly, he will sleep through the night. . .11pm - 7am.  He won't sleep long stretches like that in his playpen. So now that I got him sleep trained for nighttime. . . I need to get my body back on track to going to bed earlier than 2am!  Especially now that I have to go back to work!!

Chloe and Jacob are still their lovable, loud, crazy selves.  Jacob is getting really close to completely being out of diapers. . . I think some time this week or definitely next weekend, I'm going to try potty training him at night.  He thinks he's ready for no diaper at night, but occasionally he has a wet diaper in the morning.  But I think cold turkey is going to be the best chance we have to getting him completely diaper free.

Chloe's birthday party is Tuesday night at the bowling alley.  Since we didn't get to have a family party for her this year, she and 9 friends get to bowl for 2 hours Tuesday night.  She is so excited and I hope she has a lot of fun!  :o)  I made the cake and have most of the stuff packed up, I just can't forget to take my camera!! 

Well, I hate to cut this short but Jaxen is asleep and I have to work in the morning, so I am going to get off of here and *try* to get some good sleep tonight.  I've uploaded picture in the picasa web album for you to take a look at.  Hopefully, once I get the "working" mother of three routine down I can update more often!!  Until next time!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT KAREY!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!

Hello, Again.

I've been away for so long, I have no idea where to start.  Literally, there are thousands of things I could write about because it's been an extremely busy two weeks. . . but sadly, I doubt I have that much time!  So lets see if I can just highlight the last couple of weeks.

Monday, February 7th - Chloe's 6th Birthday!!  Can you believe that she's already SIX?!  Planned our trip to Iowa for Great Grandma's funeral and Michelle's Wedding.  I spent most of the morning on the phone rescheduling appointments, contacting Chloe's school and paying all the bills.  Joanna and Caleb came over that night to give Chloe her Birthday presents and pick up my packed luggage. . . we needed all the room in the car that we could get - had to take 3 dogs to Iowa with us.

Tuesday, February 8th - We got 4.5 more inches of snow!!  Mother nature was trying to ruin our plans. . . It was bitterly cold outside, so I went to the re-scheduled Wic Appointment by myself. 

Wednesday, February 9th - I had a doctor's appointment at 9:40am.  Once again it was cold outside so I went alone.  After my appointment, I dropped my Girl Scout Cookie money off at my sister-in-law's house to turn in for me.  Then I went and picked up a few things at Walmart and got my hair cut.  When I got back home, I packed up the car and talked to the post office.  I had a package that was suppose to get delivered this day and it hadn't arrived before we were ready to leave, so I wanted them to hold the package until Monday - not leave it on my porch.  We waited for Chloe to get home, but before we could get out of town I had to go back to Walmart and get cat food!  Officially we were on the road around 3:30pm.  Trip was very uneventful, kids were good and dogs behaved.  Arrived in Davenport around 10pm.

Thursday, February 10th - Spent the morning hanging out and catching up with family.  Great Grandma's visitation was from 3:30 - 8pm.  Afterwards we had Rudy's for dinner!!

Friday, February 11th - Great Grandma's funeral was at 11:30am, followed by a huge family lunch/get-together at church.  Went back to Grandma's house to hang out until Michelle's Wedding Rehearsal at 6pm.  Jerry and I took the kids, Aunt Karey and Joanna to dinner at Reife's!!  Had to have my Hollywood burger and chili fix!  After dinner, we dropped Jerry and the kids off at the house and us girl's went out with Michelle to help her celebrate her last night as a single lady!  We had a blast but I was really ready for bed when we got home!!

Saturday, February 12th - Michelle's wedding day!  There was tons to do and thousands pictures to take!!  It was a good celebration after the two previous and emotional days.  It was so nice to see the family come together and setup/take down the wedding details.  Michelle and Dave didn't have to worry about a thing!  After the wedding we all went back to Grandma's house and had Taco John's Pizza. . . Yay!  Also, Joanna, Mom and I order Joanna and Caleb's Save the Date Magnets!  Got Whitey's Ice Cream on the way back to Aunt Karey's house.

Sunday, February 13th - The long drive home to Missouri. . . got home around 5:30pm.  Unpacked and got ready for the school week.

Monday, February 14th - Valentine's Day!  Jerry let me sleep in - I really needed it after chasing after 3 kids all weekend.  I finally got moving around the house just in time for Chloe's Valentine's Day party at school. . . Jerry had to work this night so the kids and I hung out around the house before bed.

Tuesday, February 15th - Had dinner with Joylynn and the kids. . . Loretta turned 5!!  It was so fun hanging out and letting the kids play.  Definitely going to hang out more often.  Went to Walmart before heading home for milk and lunchables.  Late night for us, Chloe wasn't in bed until 10pm.

Wednesday, February 16th - Nothing major happened. . . just hung out.  Work called and wanted to know when I was coming back . . . LOL!  And it was a Girl Scout night - my girls and I are all ready for Thinking Day on Saturday!!  So excited!!

Thursday, February 17th - Today was beautiful!!  77 degrees outside.  Jaxen had his doctor's appointment at 9am, he weighed in at 11 pounds, 7 ounces (50%) and was 22.5 inches long (65%).  Took the car to the car wash and totally washed and vacuumed every inch of the car!  Hated having to take the dogs to Iowa because it's so hard to remove the dog hair out of the carpet!!  Afterwards we went to Walmart and turned in my return to work release, official day back to work is Monday, February 28th.  Once Chloe got home we relaxed for a little while and then took the kids across the street and let them ride their bikes that Santa brought them!  Came home and grilled dinner on the grill. . . it was perfect!

HaHa!  Not bad remembering all that!!  I'm totally impressed that I remember all the food we ate and when we ate it!  LOL

RIP Great Grandma Hudson

Gertrude Hudson, 101

5 Generations!
Great Grandma Hudson, Grandma Kay, Dad, Me, Chloe and Jacob

This morning my Great Grandmother passed away.  It was sudden and unexpected, well besides her being 101-years-old! . . . but after a long and happy life, I am at peace with it and she is finally Home.  I have contemplated writing this blog all day.  There is so much to say.  I am sad.  I am morning.  I am at a total loss for words.  So tonight I leave you with just this. . . I am okay.  Once everything sinks in and I dig and poke around at all my memories - it might be a few days or even a few months - I will blog about my 101-year-old Grandmother and what she meant to all of us. . . and just like her, it will be epic.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Rest In Peace, Great Grandma!

Updating

Not much is going on around here, hence the lack of updates.  Last week's Blizzard had us all cooped up inside the house and I am looking forward to Monday - just so Chloe goes back to school and our lives fall back into our boring routine!  (Not to mention, Monday is also a certain little girl's birthday!!)  :o)

By Thursday, the county had gotten our roads cleaned off enough that we were able to venture out to Walmart.  We needed milk and we needed to get a money order for the car dealership.  We left the house mid-morning because I needed to be back home when my Girl Scouts started dropping off their cookie money.  (I will be so happy when these cookie sales are done, I am so frustrated with council and the lack of communication!) 

Anyways while we were out it seemed like a fantastic time to go and get our eyes tested.  The vision center wasn't busy and Jerry, Chloe and I were able to see the eye doctor.  Chloe went first and did perfectly, she was a little shy at first but quickly came out of her shell when she realized that it was easy and didn't hurt.  I am happy to announce that  her vision is near perfect and she wasn't prescribed glasses.  But because children's eyes change so rapidly, she will need to be retested in the fall before she starts 2nd grade.  However, Jerry and I were not as lucky.  But this is something we knew, it was getting harder and harder to see.  The last time I had my eyes tested it was before I have Jacob. . . and I only got contacts at that time.  I never replaced my glasses which were a few years before that!  So my glasses were at least 5 years old!  And Jerry has never had his eyes tested since we have been married.  (It's so true, we let ourselves go when we have children!)  And let me tell you, even with 20% employee discount, we spent a lot of money!  But once you add up 4 eye exams (Mine counted as 2 because I got both contacts and glasses), top of the line glasses for Jerry (I mean his bend and twist without breaking. . . a must have when he wrestles with the kids), middle of the road glasses for me, and a year supply of contacts for me - it's sure to get quite expensive!  As sad as it was to spend that mush money, it was definitely something we had to do!  I walked out of the Vision Center a whole new person, everything was clean and bright! 

Jerry worked overtime on Friday, we went in at 5am and didn't get home until around 4pm.  Which is awesome money at $40 per hour!  And we really could use the extra money since I am not working yet and my short term disability ran out.  So the kids and I played around the house and I tried to tackle Mt. Laundry.  (Still had some to do today, but most was done yesterday)  And actually since he can't get the time off next weekend to go to Iowa with us, he's going to work overtime again next Friday, too.  I know he'd rather go with us, but overtime isn't a bad deal if he has to stay home anyways!

Well I better get off of here, I have about 2 dozen Hello Kitty Birthday cupcakes for school.  :o)  Hopefully, Jaxen will cooperate long enough for me to at least get them baked tonight.  Frosting can be done tomorrow. . .

Slow Down, Jax!

So from day-to-day I can't tell how much Jaxen is growing.  I know he is.  But I see him everyday, so my perspective is a little bias. 

Jaxen 7 days old. . .

Jaxen (a day shy of) 7 weeks old. . .



Why do they grow up so fast?!?!  Almost time to trade the bassinet for the play pin. . . :o)

Blizzard 2011

Midwest Snow - What a storm!

The last 24 hours has been crazy outside.  In the end it looked like this:

Top 11 Largest Snow Accumulation:

11. Peculiar: 10.5 in.

(Us - We are only 6 miles south of Peculiar)

10. Lee Summit: 10.5 in.

9. Trenton: 10.6 in.

8. Olathe: 11.5 in.

7. Bates City: 14 in.

6. Rich Hill: 15 in.

5. Sedalia: 16.3 in.  (My family)

4.Appleton City 17 in.

3. Fort Scott 18 in.

2. Butler: 19 in.

1. Warrensburg: 21 in.

Today we start digging out.  And when I say "we", I totally mean Jerry, Chloe and Jacob. . . Jaxen and I stayed nice and toasty inside.  And while I'm truth-telling, I'm sure Chloe and Jacob weren't a ton of help, but they did have fun playing in the snow.  So I guess that leaves just Jerry.  Yep, Jerry dig us out!  :o)  Good Job, Jerry!  Our driveway is clear and the car has been found under a mountain of snow. . . so if we have to go somewhere, we are able.  Here are some of the pictures I took during the 2011 Blizzard!

Our street, during the blizzard.

Looking into town, during the blizzard.

Look at the snow!  Jacob loved seeing it snow.

Kairi loved the snow!  She would have played outside all day!

Daddy hard at work!

Chloe, Jerry, and Jacob - trying to find the driveway.

Chloe and Jacob flattening the mountain Jerry made!

Shoveling a path to the road!

Chloe and Jake

Putting the kids to work!

Teamwork. . . the kids are earning their lunch!

Daddy needed a break.

LOL, the neighbor must have felt sorry for Chloe and Jacob! 
We  were very thankful for his help!

Jerry finishing up the driveway

This really puts a damper on our plans this weekend.  And the bad news is we are expecting more snow on Monday.  Argg!  Hopefully, it will start melting so we can see our family from Iowa this weekend and next!