OK, I'm back from the doctor. Sorry, you can't get rid of me easily. I'm healthy as a horse (are horses healthy?) and just perfect (as I'm sure you were already thinking:)). So we adjusted my mood meds because since i stopped breastfeeding it doesn't seem like mine are working anymore. Same thing happened when i got pregnant. I had been fine on my meds and then "poof", it was like all of a sudden I wasn't even taking anything. I think it has something to do with the hormone difference, like they just can't sustain themselves. Anyways, I'm going back on what I was on before I got pregnant, so I'm sure it will work. So of course as a new doctor he is asking me all of my history, and I'm telling him about the depression, and he is checking to see if it is the "your just a new mom" or "this chick is gonna run out in the middle of 40" type, and so we are going through my whole history - sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh when he asked if I thought it ran in my family!!! Nothing serious, but just need a low level dose to keep from the great valleys and on a common ground. For the heart palps, he said basically, yes it happens, but didn't see any indication to think of it as anything serious. Just one of them things. he gave me some medicine to knock this headache I've felt like I've had for the past month, ugghhh - so hopefully that will work. And we did blood draws, but I'm confident those will come back fine too. So.... your stuck with me!!

I just made an appointment for today at 11 for this heart arrhythmia I’m experiencing today. I had it 3 times on the way in to work and 3 times again in the past 40 minutes and have a tight chest, a little more than I'm comfortable waiting till Friday to have checked out. I'll try to post later today after my appt.

The past 2 weeks or so I've been searching for a new daycare. Right now the kids are at a fantastic home daycare, but it is located by my work. With my work location transitioning to a different site after the beginning of the year, I figured I needed to go ahead and start looking for someone. I had met with 2 people that were not at all what we were looking for, but last night I think we may have met our match. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't find out she was a serial killer or anything! And she lives in our school district, so that would mean that Mackenzie would be able to ride the bus to/from her house next year for kindergarten. I'm not counting my chickens yet, but at least I have hope. As anyone knows, finding care for your children is such a stressful thing. And it is especially hard because I wish that it could just be me. It always brings to the forefront how much time they will be there compared to how much time they are at our house. I can't even think about it, gets to be too badly. BUT, I do believe I'm a better mom for having to work, and my kids are probably better kids for having to go to Nany's. If I had been able to be a stay at home mom when Mackenzie was born, I don't think I would have been able to fully appreciate it. Life takes turns that we don't necessarily think we want it to, but then it all works out. There is a bigger plan and I have to trust in that and just go with it.
Things are still going good with my brother living with us. I really truely enjoy having him around. He is still putting in applications and folllowing up with places, but nothing has turned out yet. I'm sure it will soon though. Turner still continues to call him "Boy", it is so darn cute. Turner just absolutely LOVES uncle Cameron. I love that the kids will have these memories of Caitlyn and Cameron staying with us. It will bond them. I just asked Cameron the other day to promise me that when Turner is a teenager, and I'm "the stupid mom who doesn't have a clue", that he please guide him down the right path!!!! See it is like an early investment to make sure my brothers and sisters get on the right path themselves, because I know that there will come a time in my life when they are much more influencial on my children than I can be.
Aaron has been sick the past two days. The doctor said she was pretty sure he has streph. He hasn't hardly been able to eat or drink anything. I can tell it really hurts him. Mackenzie stayed home yesterday with him because the night before she had come in to our room in the middle of the night crying that her ear hurt (flashback to my childhood!), so I wanted her to go to the doctor to see how bad it was. The doctor said she does have a minor ear infection, but wanted to see if it would clear up on its own before treating with antibiotics since Mackenzie wasn't complaining anymore that it hurt. Last night she did fine, this morning she was saying that her throat and ear hurt a little (but I hae sneaky suspicions she was trying to just stay home again), but I went ahead and gave her a little Ibuprofen and Benadryll to help with the discomfort. Turner of course then being the copycat, decided that his ear hurt, but you know that after just a dropper full of water that it was all better!! Who knew!! LOL
I've been having a little bit a heart arrhythmia/murmur thing over the past few days. I've always felt it here or there, but it has been really noticeable over the past couple days. Like that feeling you get if you were standing right in front of a big bass drum when it was hit. Just tightening in my chest, causes me to catch my breath. So I called my dad this morning because he has a heart murmur. Don't know if that would be genetic or not, but he said that they don't do anything to treat it, and that it is fine. I have a doctor's appt on Friday to meet with a new primary care (now that I don't foresee having an OB for my regular doc) and I'll mention it to him, but I'm not worried about it being anything that I need to worry about until then. My dad said that stress makes it worse, hmmmm.....wonder if that applies here!
Can you believe it is already October!!

I'm standing!

Well, I've been coming out of my funk a little, but the stressing over money weighs heavily still. With the holidays and everyone's birthdays quickly approaching, I need to find some way to bring in some extra money for a couple months. Any ideas? I'm contacting the workout places around the house to see if they need help in their daycares, because I figure then I could take the kids with me and still have time with them. That is the hard thing, I don't want to sacrifice our time together for $. But it will all work out it always does.

On to more important things....Austin is pulling up to things now. This table is his favorite at our house and Nany said he is pullin up to the walker at her house when the other baby is in it to Play with him. It is so adorable to watch Austin play with other kids right now. They jsut stare each other up and down, then start patting at them and babbling away. The other favorite thing is Austin in a bathtub. Man he LOVES to get in the bath. I can hardly keep him on my lap to fill the tub with water with him trying to crawl off and dive right in. We dont use anything in the bath anymore, he just crawls around and plays like a big kid. And he is getting big, and heavy. Whew, my arms get so tired holding him these days. But hey, I figure it is my muscle building activity these days!

This weekend not a whole lot planned. Soccer tomorrow morning, Sunday I think a friend of Aaron's and her boyfriend may come over to watch football and hang out. We may check out the new outlet mall that opened near us - but not sure how much fun that would be without any $$ to spend. need to do the normal gymnastics tonight, and grocery shopping at some point. I'm sure it will go too quickly. Hope you all have a good one.

What the Funk

Someone get out the funk-o-meter, I'm in overload. I don't know quite what it has been lately, I've been getting PLENTY of sleep, probably too much if you can think of that. I'm usually falling asleep with little able to keep me up by 9, and then I sleep til 5:45. That is plenty, way more than I'm use to. But yet I feel like I'm so much more tired now than I ever was when Austin was still getting up for a feeding in the middle of the night. I wake up every morning with a headache and groggy as can be. What gives? At least I have 3 beautiful smiles everyday.

Cameron did make it up this weekend and is living with us now. I have to say, it has been even better than I would have wished for (knocking on wood as I type!). We went around last night and picked up applications for him. Hopefully one of those jobs will come through soon. And he has mowed our yard (we told him that was his job until he got a job) and he cleaned the downstairs, and swept/mopped my kitchen floor today. It is GREAT! The kids love him, watch out "Aunts", Uncle Cameron is moving in on your territory! lol As soon as we get home, Turner wants to go downstairs to see "the boy". I'm just glad we've had the time together.

Last night Aaron got tickets to a Cardinals game (Thanks Aunt Joan), so he decided he would take Mackenzie. Then of course Turner wanted to go, and luckily he didn't need his own ticket, so he got to go along with them. They took the Choo Choo Train (Metrolink) downtown, and I think that might have even beaten the game! The kids had so much fun, and even though daddy didn't feel all that great, he had a good time too. Sure it was a late night, but well worth the special memory with daddy. So Mackenzie said that her favorite part was riding the train, eating popcorn, and DRINKING SODA. That's right....daddy got them a soda, not Sprite, but the kind like mommy and daddy drink (with Caffeine). After he told her that is the kind she could get, she told him, "it will be our secret!" Well, isn't that the way it's supposed to be?!!

Tonight it was just me and the kids and Cameron. Aaron had his last night of softball (Just a second while i just up and down). Not that I don't want him to have his own time, and I know it is only 1 night a week, but I'm really ready to have him home. I think just with soccer and gymnastics it is just one more night when we aren't all together. We didn't do much, the kids played outside, we went on a walk, baths and bedtime. Just a normal night in our lives. I do feel a little more refreshed tonight.

Home Safely

Children of the Corn! - They have a cornfield right behind thier house, so we had to take the opportunity to show Mackenzie how corn on the cob grows.


Next year they will love me for sure - but even if not, I'll steal my hugs and kisses again too.

Turner within 5 minutes of us leaving - SOOO tired.



At the zoo - what an awesome zoo they have, puts ours to shame.

This is a little blurry - but just have to take naked bath pictures to embarrase them when they are trying to be cool teenagers!

Awwww....Turner just loved Delana - cried when she wasn't coming home with us.

"Mommy, will you please tell this crazy lady to stop taking pictures of me!"

"Here ducky ducky"



We made it back from Iowa. It was a LONG drive, but well worth it. We had a great time. It was nice to spend some good ole quality time with such a good friend. It was weird for us to look at our 5 little kids and remember like it was yesterday when we were sneaking over to the nearby town to hang out! Oh Delana and Adelyn, just wait till I tell you ssome stories about your momma! lol No I would never do anything like that, I think she has more dirt on me than I could ever have on her! The kids had SOO much fun playing together. Delana (3) and Adelyn(1) are so adorable, and they have every toy you've ever seen in the stores so my kids were in hog heaven.

Last night I had to buy 4 new tires for the van, so that is kind of a big damper right now. Really only needed 2, but then they had a special for almost a free tire if you got 4, and my other two were on their last leg, just not all the way gone. Anyways, hate to have to throw out $400 unexpectedly. Not having money weighs so heavily on me. I want to be able to buy the kids winter clothes - not tires!

BUT at least I learned I needed tires before I headed out on the road today with all 3 kids by myself for the 5.5 hour drive to DesMoines on roads no one else is on with no cell phone coverage! Gotta see the good side. My babysitter took tomorrow and Friday off so the kids and I are heading to DesMoines to see my friend Pam – I’m really looking forward to it. I NEED it.

Aaron already has lots of plans for while we are gone so i'm sure he will fine. lol And i think I'll be coming home to a new houseguest. Seems that my brother Cameron is moving in with us. He's had some rough times, but we have always offered that he is welcome to get back on his feet with us. Hopefully it will work out. But I'm really looking forward to seeing Cameron - he is a really fun, cool guy and it will be nice to have my brother back.
Guess that is about all the updates I've got for now. Wish me luck on my drive with the kiddos. We are leaving after Mackenzie's soccer pictures at 6 tonight, so we'll be on the road late, but also hopefully that means they will be tired and fine sitting and watching a movie.