December Snow

Boys excited to go outside Our house covered in snow

Bryce and Grant making Christmas cookies for the neighbors; our family tradition

Playing in the snowy backyard while I do dishes Bryce singing with his class in church service

December Snow

I am finding it hard to keep up with the blog as two little boys are more than enough for me to handle. :)My mom told me once that a mother of toddlers need about 12 hours of sleep. I am sure finding that to be true as every free quiet moment I find myself dozing.

We have had a busy year filled with joy and frustration but if I had to do it again I'm not sure I would change a thing. To see God working in my life is what brings me the greatest joy. Our house in WA continues to be a source of stress and irritation. We have gotten to where caring for our family is more important than keeping the mortgage current. The tenant is of course still giving us no money and lots of stress. We are praying come the new year he will be out, we will win the suit and get the money he owes, sell the house and put that fiasco behind us. Even with all that we still see God working in our lives, Jim has a good job and is in a good spot for a promotion, I don't have to work and can stay home with the boys, we have been able to provide for the family, and we are learning to solely rely on Our Lord God. Great place to be!

On the flip side we have been able to have very enjoyable vacations with family and friends. Our 6 year anniversary was wonderful. Jim surprised me and took me away for the evening and we spent the night in a romantic retro hotel. :) I love that man!!

We had snow this year and the boys have so much fun sledding and having snowball fights. They also thought it was great to play at the park in their snow suits. Going down the slide was never so much fun. It is hard not to grin when I watch them play in the snow!

This Christmas is going to be the best in a long time. My family is getting together at my parents. Jon and his new wife, Marlies and her husband, the four of us, and my parents all under the same roof. Dad is going to show old home videos of our traveling, we're going skiing Christmas day as was our tradition growing up, and just lots of games and laughter. I hope and pray getting together like this will happen more often. I love my family!

PICTURES

I noticed the last time I posted pictures was June.The boys have grown a lot in that time. So here are some pictures. :)

Here's one of my mom with the boys at my brother Jon's wedding.

Siblings at Jon's wedding.

The whole family in Colorado near Estes Park

The boys and their friend Nate at the harvest party and Jim and boys (wearing first Halloween costumes-lion and frog)

Allergy treatment # 6

Today is number 6 and I was treated for dust and internal environmental things. (house stuff) This one will be good as I hardly dusted the house . It always made me sneeze and have difficulty breathing. I'd have the boys or Jim do it for me. Vacuuming also would mess me up. So today is cleaning day. I haven't had a problem yet. :)

I'm almost feeling normal... well I think it's normal. I've never been normal so I'm not sure. ;) it is nice to be able to go to people's houses and no my body is not going to over react to the pets, dust, or whatever.

I had to take the boys to this one and it was nice to hear the receptionist (who watches them for me during my treatment) say they are so good. The doctor even said they have had some other kids that were not so well behaved, but mine are so good for their age. I love the pats on the back like that! Well done boys!

Allergy Laser treatments-day 5

Today marks half way done on my laser treatments. I had my fifth treatment today. After the last treatment I went to play group as usual. My friend has cats and dogs, and for those of you who know they are the worst for me! Normally I could last a couple of hours before my allergies flared up. This time, 15min. Not good. I also felt completely wiped out and had a hard time sleeping. When my symptoms continued up to thursday I cancelled my next one for fear my asthma would get flared up. (I hate the nebulizer treatments so I never let my asthma get that bad.)

This time the Dr. did a booster treatment to help my body desensitize. After this one I felt my energy return and didn't really have a problem. I went back to the cats and dogs and had no problem what-so- ever. It was so nice not to be a sneezing snotty mess. I even was fine after leaving the house. (in the past I had most my reactions after leaving then house.)

So another success. :)

Allergy Laser treatments-day 4

Dr Edwards has cleared the foods,materials and started the animals. I am pleased to say I can now eat apples and carrots without my lip swelling or an itchy mouth/throat! I don't even have to spray them with the special cleanser I used to have to use. However, because he did animals which is one of my big struggles I have had several bad allergy attacks one of which triggered my asthma. I had been doing two laser treatments a week but this week I had to cancel the second. I thought with my asthma getting involved now my body might go over the top and I'd be needing the nebulizer at the ER. So we'll see what the doc has to say next week.

Allergy Laser treatments-day 1

So my first day Dr. Edwards hooked my up to a computer and a little machine kinda like a lie detector. The idea behind the treatments is that I have allergies to a bunch of things because somewhere my body developed a sensitivity or negative reaction to something normal. This lowered my immune system causing my body to "panic" with several other normal things. Each "thing" sends a frequency to the body. The brain interprets it as positive or negative. If negative I get the allergy symptoms as a means for my body to get away or rid of it. So back to the lie detector thing. This computer sends various frequencies to my body and records it's reaction. It goes through all the systems(respiratory, digestive, etc) testing for irritants. Once it finds a reaction it determines what it is. I showed having a variety of things: animals, foods, environmental, and clothing materials. So today I discovered the 320 things i'm allergic to and he did the first treatment.

For the treatment he runs the laser wand from my forehead down my spine to my hips and back up three times (once with my eyes open then closed then with me taking a deep breath, then blowing out.) After that he shines it on pressure points on my thumbs, elbows, and feet. Then done. After the session about 2 hours later I feel completly drained of energy and then got a mild headache. This, Dr. Edwards said was good. It meant my body was flushing them out and correctly identifying them as positive. Kinda like the body taking a deep breath he said.

Allergy Laser treatments

For those that don't know, I have struggled with allergies and asthma for 15+ years. I have tried pretty much everything to help: Allergy shots, diet, avoidance, medications. Nothing seemed to really help. I have my asthma fairly under control. I had a great doctor in Vienna Austria to thank for that. He taught me how to listen to my body and learning warning signs and the best time to take my inhaler. Thanks to him I have only used my inhaler maybe 3 times a year versus weekly.:)

After moving to Idaho , I started a new job. After being with them 6 months I got moved from Boise clinic to Nampa clinic. This was a great move for me as it meant shorter commute, less hours and more time with the kids. It also meant I'd be sharing a building with a chiropractor well known for his Wellness style. Dr Edwards believes the body is able to heal itself if encouraged. He also is one of the few that has studied laser treatments for allergies. I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I read/heard that. Laser treatments?

So after being there a month or two I started talking to the receptionist about the laser treatments. She sent some info home with me. After reading it I thought" this sure sounds hokie but what have I to loose?" So I hung around and asked some patients and red testimonies. One guy was severely allergic to the ink on newspapers so he hadn't read one for 20 years. After 10 laser allergy treatments he is now able to read the newspaper daily with no reaction. Another lady learned she wasn't allergic to cats but to a food. After the laser treatments she was able to

keep her cat.

I looked into insurance. Of course my insurance is lousy and I would have to pay out of pocket unless my 6000 dollar deductible was met. So after talking to Grandma she offered to pay so I started my treatments.

Fall is closing in

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything. With FB available I have become lazy in my writing. I have missed my blog though and have returned to use it like a journal. First though i need to update all my loyal followers:)

Summer has come and gone. The nice thing about fall in Idaho is that you randomly get 70 degree weather in October. I absolutely can get use to that!

This summer was very busy for us. I think we tried to pack in as much as possible so here is the snap shot of our summer: June- My dad turned 60 and had a big birthday bash. Family from Germany came to visit, family from Oklahoma and Missouri came, my brother and sister and their significant others came as well. It was good time! Also in June Jim went to N. Carolina for his best friend Joel's wedding. He had a great time and came back with lots of stories. July- We flew to Seattle for a wedding reception for Joel and Melissa. The boys had a great time on their first flight (well it was Bryce's 2nd but he was 3 mths old on his first). We also had Melissa and Joel over and we showed them all the fun summer water activities here. We rafted the white rapids of the Payette river, floated down the Boise river and relaxed and played games. We also had a visit from our friend McFarland. The boys were very enamored by his motorcycle and each got to sit on it and try on the helmet.

August- Grant turned 2 and we had a small family party. Both boys were in swim lessons this month. Bryce had his first time in a preschool class and without mommy. It was so neat to see him grow and learn how to back float and try the breast stroke. He is becoming such a little swimmer. Grant had his first class with mommy. He had no fear and loved jumping in and going under water. He'd come up laughing. We also moved to a larger rental house this month. It's a four bed 2.5 bath plus a bonus room. We love it! It has lots of room and a better backyard space to play as well as a safer end of cult-de-sac. We even have a play ground within walking distance.September- The boys had their first lemonade stand and had a lot of fun with it. We also flew as a family to Colorado for my brother's wedding. We stayed most of a week and enjoyed the time. It was beautiful wedding up in the mountains in the sunshine. We also drove around looking at the fall colors. Simply lovely!

That brings us to October. The boys started AWANA the end of September and love it. I love having the extra hour and half time alone with Jim and the kids learning bible verses. :)

This October has been pretty uneventful except for two things. Jim's hours are starting to pick up for peak and I started a new allergy treatment: Laser! More about that later.

I did make one trip in October. Jim and I flew to Seattle for the weekend. I went to my continuing education class and he went to a fantasy basketball draft. We also made time for a triple date with three other couples (mysister and bro-inlaw and two friends and their hubbys). It was a great time of food and games. I came home so tired though. :)

Summer has begun

Summer is in full force here. The weather is getting warmer though I wish it would stay consistently warm. (not sunny and hot one day then cold and raining the next). I know it's summer though, because of all the plans for vacation. Oh and all the weddings coming up!

Our first vacation was back to Seattle for a week. Unlike the last few times we made sure we had lots of time to sleep in, relax and have family time. We didn't cram everything in. Some highlights of the trip were: Visiting family, the Seattle Aquarium, visiting some great friends, a double date with my sister and brother in law, and spending the day with my sister (no kids:) After that we took a mini trip to McCall where Jim had to work a few days (we stayed with him in the hotel) then we joined some friends in the cabin.

Next up Jim leaves for North Carolina next week. His best friend Joel is getting married and he's the best man. I wanted to go so bad but it didn't work out for me to go for financial and child care reasons. I'm bummed I'll miss out but will hopefully get some pictures. While he's gone my dad is having his 60th birthday and it's going to be a big party. That will be fun!

Then in July I get to go away for the weekend and go to my friend Angela's wedding. Then in

September my brother gets married. We hopefully will go as a family to that one. Then back to Seattle for Brick Con. ( a big Lego convention that Jim builds something and enters it in the contest.) Here are a few pictures of the last trip to Seattle

Bryce turns 3!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRYCE!!!!!

Time has flown so fast for me. I can't believe 3 years ago I started this blog to show off my new little bundle of joy named Bryce! It has been more challenging and more fun/rewarding than I thought. I have truly loved being a mom and look forward to many more years of motherhood.

For Bryce's 3rd birthday I thought it would be fun to drive me and the kids to WA to celebrate with those grandparents, aunts uncles and friends. i am daily amazed at Bryce's memory and the people he remembers. He was just 13 mths old when we moved to Idaho but he remembers his friends from nursery, family members we see less often, and places we went. He was totally excited with having a party in WA. The drive over was pretty rough for me only because the kids were restless and the more stops I made to let them run around the worse it got. The last stop Grant threw a big screaming fit and kept signing and saying all done when I put him in the car. It was so sad and frustrating. The time there with family and friends was priceless and we had such a good time. As always we had a hard time leaving everyone. The drive home was much easier and less screaming. :) I think they were too tired to care after the packed 3.5 days of fun. :)

Here are some pictures of our time. Also upon coming home Bryce is completely potty trained and proud to help teach his brother. Grant is also growing up and is now in a toddler bed. The first few nights were rough as he is a busy sleeper and kept falling out. Last night was much better so maybe he's getting the hang of it. :)

Bryce's 4th visit to the ER

About a week before Easter I had to take Bryce to the ER. This makes 4 times in his life time of almost 3 years! His 3rd since moving to Idaho. They are starting to recognize us at the Mercy ER here in Idaho. I told them please don't report me to CPS. I promise I'm not hurting him! They told me " don't worry. We see lots of 2-3 years old coming in. It's just that age."

You are probably wondering what happened. Well, I just finished giving him a bath and got his jammies on. He ran into the living room and jumped on the big theraball( which we have told him not to do) and rolled forward, hitting his head right on the corner of the ottoman. This split his head about 1 inch. We went to the ER because it was after business hours and we couldn't get the bleeding to stop, plus Bryce was unable to tell us who we were. ( that was a little concerning). At the ER the bleeding slowed down and Bryce was his normal self. The Dr. had to put a staple in his head which was a little creepy. Bryce was a trooper though and hardly cried. Why a staple instead of stitches I wondered. The dr. said with this age group stitches don't work well. They don't hold still for them and they pull them out.

Here's a picture of Bryce's staple he had for a week.

The working mom

Since January I have been working one day a week and every other week 2 days. It has been good to get out of the house and good for the kids to be cared for by someone other than me. I have also been able to refresh my rusty skills as an Occupational therapist Assistant.

With that said I have to get something of my chest. I work one day a week every week for a clinic that sees only outpatient children. I love the work and the fact that I have to be independent and travel between two places. I am quickly finding that I have a much higher work ethic and sense of Professionalism than some of my co- workers. This has lead to a few confrontations, much to my dismay. ( I don't like confrontations.) One of these such confrontations was my personal cell number being handed out to clients without my knowledge. Now I am marked as one who is not willing to be contacted. I only work one day a week people! I am not on call 24/7 for therapy! Plus is a breech of professionalism to have clients have my personal number. They should call the clinic!

This is all frustrating but even more than that is having to be gone from my kids for 10-11 hours and then when I pick them up all I get until they are tucked in for the night is whining, tantrums and clingingness. How do working moms do this every day??

Spring is here

It has been a long time since I've blogged. To all my blog followers I'm sorry. We have lost the cable to our camera so I haven't been able to put up pictures. Well then I discovered I could just put the card in the actual computer and do it that way. That never occurred to me before because my laptop doesn't have that option, but my laptop hasn't been used in a while since it is SOOOO slow to load anything.

This month Jim and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. Though it hasn't always been bliss we are still very much in love with each other and enjoy being married.

Flowers are blooming and the weather is getting warmer here. Aside from the allergies I love this time of year. It gives me hope after a long winter season. :)

Bryce and Grant are about the same size and weight. Grant has from day one been slightly more in weight and a couple inches shorter and has continued that trend. Bryce is learning all sorts of new things. He has figured out how to pedal a bike although it's not his favorite thing. He is learning to pump his legs when swinging. He can kick throw and almost catch a ball. He loves singing and already has a little girlfriend at church named Carmen. He comes home and tells me he likes Carmen and likes to give her lots of hugs. So cute! He is learning to play board games and games like hide n seek, duck duck goose, and tag.

Grant is learning to talk and sign. He is getting better at both each day. He loves being outside or in the tub. He has learned how to catch and throw a ball and can almost kick it too. He loves to go down slides and climb stairs or ladders.

Jim is busy with work but is loving spending more time with the boys now that it's light longer. I enjoy watching them play and having a little break.

Here are a few pictures of our favorite activities.

December and January

Each day with two toddlers seems like it was busier than the last. Though I love my little boys I'm finding it very hard to keep up and not get worn out. I know it will get better as they get older and require less of my time, and then I'll miss this time. lol

It's hard to blog without pictures. I love looking at the pictures on all the blogs I follow so if you are like me and miss the pictures too, I'm sorry. I still can't find the camera cable and I asked Jim to get me one but he's been busy with other things so ...No cable. :(

I never made it to the tree festival but we did do some other things. Christmas we spent at Mom and Dad's. We had our family Christmas breakfast and presents and the Christmas story just the four of us then went over to my parents. The kids had a lot of fun and enjoy going to my parents as often as we take them. They made out like bandits with gifts though as usual. :) They even got a sled this year which was great. The problem is this winter has been really mild and we only had a week of snow before Christmas and then a day or two after Christmas... so they really haven't had a chance to enjoy the sled. Bryce did make his first snow angels and snowman, which he enjoyed. After Christmas Jim's friend Joel and his fiance' came to visit. We took them to the botanical gardens in Boise and saw all the Christmas lights. It was beautiful and the kids enjoyed it... especially the little barrel fire pits we'd go to and warm up.

We all rung in the New year as a sick family. All four of us ended up with a bad cough and cold so we went to bed early. :( We did watch a movie together which was fun. Also in January I got a new job at the Children's Therapy place. I know work every Monday for 8 hours and then every other Saturday (for Optimal Staffing) for 8-9 hours. This has been a good thing as we still own our house in Wa and were on a VERY tight budget because of it. This extra cash will help us save a down payment for a house down the road as well as give a little budget wiggle room. The down side is my weeks are a lot more busy and tiring for me.

In December for my birthday Jim got me the Wii Fit so I could work out at home. Sadly I was great at daily working out with it for three days and then haven't done much. I've been needing more sleep and just haven't been real good at it. I'm hopeful I will start up again. With working, Bible study, MOPs, and potty training Bryce I've just been out of energy for any extras.

Oh that's right! Bryce is potty trained now! well mostly. I still diaper him at nap and night but other wise he uses the potty. He even woke up and told us he had to poop! I think in the next week or so I can stop the diapers at sleep time. He's just such a deep sleeper I don't think he'd get up to go.

well now you are caught up with us. In February we will trek out to McCall for the Winter Carnival. That will be fun and maybe we can get some sledding in. :)