Since everyone else is doing it...

30 things I am thankful for, both big and little:

1. Having Christmas $ set aside and ready to go this year. Last year Josh didn't get a bonus and we didn't know that until Christmas was nearly upon us. A sweet angel friend helped us out last year, which I will ALWAYS be thankful for...but this year we have been setting aside our excess financial aid awards for college and have a nice little amount ready to go!

2. My Biology grade, which is roughly a 103. I have made 100's on both lecture exams and 105's on both of my lab exams. '

3. The balance we seem to have struck in this crazy life of ours.

4. KayTar potty training herself.

5. BubTar getting so many badges at his scouts award ceremony.

6. Being able to be at his award ceremony, even though it meant sneaking out of Bio lab early.

7. New "winter" coats!

8. I waited to write the rough draft for my Comp II research paper until the last day and I churned that thing OUT. It was extremely satisfying to put it off for so long and then rock its face off. My professor gave me really great remarks on it, too. I'm thankful that I can procrastinate to the LAST SECOND and still put out good work.

9. The super fun girls weekend KayTar and I had a couple of weeks ago.

10. The way KayTar does the robot to Safety Dance.

11. The fact that my security badge at the hospital now WORKS for everything I need. No more asking, "Can you badge me in?" 500 times a shift. It is amazing.

12. The kids' school. I'm really enjoying it a lot. I'm pretty involved and I've made some friends there.

13. My H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.

14. BubTar, my little bookworm. That kid can a finish a book in no time flat.

15. The fun weekend the kids and I had while Josh was hunting this weekend. We saw Santa, spent time with my parents and niece and nephew, and even helped decorate my mom and dad's tree.

16. KayTar's year. It has been a big one for her. She is a totally different (yet equally awesome) kid than she was a year ago. This has been a year of major growth for the littlest 'Tar, both physically and developmentally. I never thought she would accomplish much of what she has this past year.

17. Insurance for the kids. We were able to renew their coverage without a major crisis this time, though Josh had to ask his boss NOT to give him a raise this year.

18. The way BubTar set a goal for his popcorn sales and reached it. He's already upped the ante for next year!

19. My husband. Though we are very different, we really enjoy each other and have a ton of fun together, even when we are doing nothing.

20. Television. I'm a television addict and it is my favorite way to relax. I'm actually thinking of writing a post about this one soon.

21. The opportunity to follow my (very expensive and time-consuming) dreams.

22. The end of my semester being VERY near! The month of break will be heavenly!

23. That our Christmas tree is up and decorated!

24. That I am done shopping for the kids! It isn't even December yet!

25. My van. I'm so glad we found it for such a reasonable price. I spend a ton of time in there and it is perfect for us.

26. Extended family. My parents spend a lot of time with the kids and are wonderful and involved grandparents. Josh's parents have always been a great support to us, too. I'm thankful that I happen to be best friends with my sister-in-laws, we've been friends for a very long time.

27. Black Friday. I know some people don't go for it, but I LOVE it. It is the one thing that my parents and I do together, just us, every year. It is fun to wake up super early (they picked me up at 3:30am this year) and go shopping together. This year I didn't HAVE to go for anything major, I mostly purchased board games for significantly reduced prices, but I just really enjoy it.

28. Hand-me-downs. KayTar and BubTar have pretty great wardrobes and most of it has been provided by friends and family with kids a bit older than mine. I really only buy a few filler pieces through the year. We either pass the clothes on to someone else we know who can use them or we donate them to local shelters and such, once they outgrow them.

29. Hot colored index cards, my preferred study aid. This year I'm using pink and orange for Biology and yellow and green for Chemistry. The cards are arranged so they alternate in color (pink/orange/pink or green/yellow/green), then they receive a single hole punch and are put on a ring. Josh thinks I'm nuts, but I love my index cards.

30. Our faith and the way the kids are learning about it. KayTar, her school librarian, and I had a crazy deep conversation about Jesus the other day. You don't realize how much they are absorbing and then it just comes out of nowhere. I'm especially thankful for our faith and our Savior around the holidays.

As a bonus, I am thankful for these bright and happy faces.

KayTar said grace yesterday...

And this was what she prayed before our meal with my parents...

Dear God,

Thank You for this food, but I do NOT appreciate the cheese so I will not eat it. I will eat turkey and mashed potatoes, but I will NOT eat the cheese. AMEN!

We got a huge kick out of it at the table. Gotta give her credit for telling it like it is!

Wordless Wednesday: Last night

Miscellany

1. KayTar is potty trained! She took to it easily and we are beyond thrilled. NO MORE DIAPERS! It took her less than a week once SHE decided to do it.

2. BubTar and KayTar are learning to cook. It started on BubTar's scout trip...he made bacon and french toast for the whole camping group! This week, Josh has taught them to make tuna casserole and macaroni and cheese with sausage. Tonight we are doing french bread pizza. They are so excited about it and the best part is, next semester when Josh is taking an evening class and I've got the kids, THEY can do the cooking. Heh. They are better than me in the kitchen already!

3. BubTar got a bunch of badges at his Cub Scouts award ceremony. He got one for fishing, camping, his Bobcat badge, and his golden arrow (for accomplishing 10 goals). He is doing such a great job! He set a goal of selling $1100 worth of scouts popcorn and he did it! He got a microscope and telescope set for his hard work and will also be getting a gift card.

4. BubTar is reading at an average of a 5.3 Accelerated Reader level, which is FIFTH grade. Quite impressive for my little 2nd grader. He's reading these books in a single day mostly and always gets a 100 on his AR tests.

5. KayTar and I had a girls' weekend when the boys went on their camping weekend. We went out to dinner on Friday (IHOP, she had the grilled tilapia and devoured it..she also stole my bacon). We rented Monsters VS Aliens that night. Saturday we went to the mall, which is was insanely excited about. It was fun traipsing around the mall with her. We looked at kids' clothes and made a turkey (who she named Candace) at Build-A-Bear. We planned on having lunch out, but she was too exhausted from all of the walking. I sometimes forget about how easily she fatigues, but by the time we were leaving the mall, she said that she was feeling hot and shaky and NEEDED A PEDIASURE. I gave her a can in the car and she guzzled a bit and went right to sleep. She was pooped! We came home for her to get her nap out and then we went to the toy store for some browsing, then out to dinner with my sister-in-law at Applebees. It was such a fun weekend! She's at the age where she is great company, funny and smart and well-behaved. Who could ask for more? Both my kids are at really wonderful ages and we are enjoying them so much.

6. I'm sick with some little upper respiratory infection. Josh is on vacation today and it sure has been nice to get a chance to totally laze around on my sick day for a change. I took the kids to school this morning and picked KayTar up (after taking a nap for a couple of hours) and that is the most I've done all day. I don't have class tonight and I couldn't be happier about that! I'm curling up with my book, blanket, and DVR remote and taking it easy. Ahhhh.

Wordless Wednesday: Proof

A tattered flag, cross-stitched by Josh.

27 things about Josh!

1. He is a criminal justice major.
2. He is going to be a game warden.
3. He enjoys hunting and fishing and all kinds of outdoorsy things.
4. He is my opposite in many such ways.
5. He always gets a day off on his birthday (Veteran's Day).
6. He painted KayTar's fingernails and toenails for her today.
7. He enjoys video games.
8. He likes Sci-Fi shows.
9. He's a horror flick fan.
10. He makes some yummy jerky.
11. He does all the dishes, plus most of the cooking and kitchen cleaning.
12. He is a bit of a homebody.
13. He is very funny.
14. He is probably the ONLY person I'm really, truly myself with.
15. He dislikes sports. All of them.
16. He is the scout leader for BubTar's pack.
17. He has migraines.
18. He loves peanut butter candy.
19. He gets Milk Duds at the movies.
20. He makes a mean baked potato.
21. He has a red beard, but brown hair.
22. He likes to wear his t-shirts until they practically dissolve into nothingness.
23. He likes girly drinks.
24. He can cross-stitch.
25. He is very supportive.
26. He is a super amazing dad.
27. He is the love of my life!

Happy 27th birthday, Joshie. We love you!

The Potty Report: Day 3

This might be the most stereotypically mommyblog-esque post I have ever written.

The Ups:
* 2 out of 3 days, no accidents at school
* 3 accident-free nights
* All but one pee made it into the toilet
* Several twosies made it into the potty

The Downs:
* One pants wetting accident yesterday on the playground
* Several partial twosies have ended up in the undies

She is still very enthusiastic about it and is making a great effort. I think the Miralax is to blame for the partial twosie accidents. The current consistency is more like what you might expect from a newborn which makes it somewhat difficult to control, as you can probably imagine. We're playing around with her dosage to try and get something a little less unpredictable, but that doesn't totally shut down production (in the poop factory, as she affectionately refers to her colon) altogether. That is a whole different problem!

I'd say, so far, so good. She's happy with her pretty little princess under-roos and I'll be happy when my years of bottom cleaning finally come to an end.

She's wearing underwear today.

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I have a 4.5 year old who previously had global developmental delays but now only seems to have ONE major delay, POTTY TRAINING. We have tried and stopped, tried and stopped, tried and stopped. KayTar has chronic constipation (and a level of intelligence that makes bribes and other motivators a little bit beneath her) and every time we have tried, she has ended up badly constipated and we've had to quit. Honestly, though, she has never been too terribly motivated to use a toilet. She has even been known to say that it would be too much work to use the toilet all of the time, why stop and potty when you can keep playing?

You can imagine my (delighted) surprise when she walked into my room yesterday and said, "I'd like to wear underwear. This diaper feels like PAPER! Ugh!" I said, "Okay, sure." And she said, "I mean TONIGHT." in a tone that suggested that I get up NOW and put her in some underwear, STAT! She used the toilet and then she put on undies. She stayed dry and clean until bed. We then put her in a diaper for overnight, but she woke up dry this morning and used the toilet. She insisted on underwear at school today, too. We will see how it goes!

We always said it would have to happen this way, one day SHE would have to decide it was time, we just never really believed she would get there! I was shocked when she came in and demanded some underpants yesterday. I'm sure it will take some work on all of our parts, but I've got my fingers crossed that it is important enough to her to stick with it this time and we will be able to work through the other issues, as long as she is motivated to keep trying. This might be it!

Wish her luck!

A Girl and Her Dumptruck

Happy birthday, Button.

A year ago, I thought that I would miss the sight of this unblemished belly, but I haven't.


I look at you, Button, and think of the wonderful things you have done for my KayTar.

Growth,

Development,

Nutrition,

Hydration,

Decrease in episodes,

Decrease in illnesses,

Fewer hospitalizations,

Fewer absences,

Freedom to discover food on her own terms,

And so much more.

Happy birthday, Button, we love you so.

BubTar's Pumpkin Party!

We hosted a pumpkin carving party for BubTar's wolf pack this Saturday and it turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone! I think we're going to do it again next year.(I didn't post any photos of the guests out of respect for their privacy.)

Josh worked on that crepe paper thing for like an hour on Friday night. There was even a yard stick involved.

Hot Dog Mummies! Delicious!

Wormy ice cubes, for the punch.
Putrid Punch. Looks disgusting, tastes delightful!
Brain Cupcakes. Zombies love 'em.

KayTar the Sorceress, who posed like this for every photo.
BubTar the Vampire.


The pumpkins! I drove to SEVEN stores on Friday night to find pumpkins!





BubTar's pumpkin.
KayTar's pumpkin.

You tell me...

This time last year, KayTar was approximately 29 pounds and 37 inches tall. She was wearing a size 3T and could still fit into many of her 2T clothes.



This time last year, we were in quarantine, preparing for a feeding tube placement.



Today, KayTar is approximately 35.4 pounds and 41.5 inches tall. She wears a size 5. In one year, she has gained almost 6.5 pounds and grown 4.5 inches. She went up two clothing sizes.





What do you think made the difference?

This week, I...

Made it to class every night!

Completed all of my Composition II assignments for the week (minus the essay, which I saved for today)!

Worked in the Book Fair for three days!

Recopied two weeks worth of Biology notes!

Finished my Biology note cards!

Grocery shopped!

Spent admittedly too much time working on privacy settings on Facebook (my mom AND mother-in-law friended me, enough said)!

Made an invitation for BubTar's Halloween party!

Had a conference with BubTar's teacher!

Completed several loads of laundry!

Read a good-sized portion of Othello for my upcoming research paper!

Cleaned/swept/mopped the living room on more than one occasion!

Got a haircut!

Grocery shopped again!

Made cookies with KayTar!

Visited my parents!

Went on a date with Josh!

Slept in on Sunday!

Things are finally getting back to normal around here.

Books for Christmas!

This week I have been volunteering at the Book Fair at the kids' school. I just couldn't hang out around those books all day without finding an excuse to buy a few, so I started my Christmas shopping a little early. BubTar always has a book in hand these days (and 3 or 4 more in his backpack every day), so it was a perfect place to shop for him! These are the books I purchased for BubTar.

1. Time Traveler's Journal:


This is one of those cool hardback books with the appearance of a homemade journal, with envelopes and notes, and all kinds of cool extras (including a backward spinning pocket watch).

2. Blast Lab


BubTar is really into science and science experiments right now and this one has simple experiments to do at home, that seem to have a very high fun factor.

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw


4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days



He got the first two books in this series today (to start reading now), so I decided to pick the rest up for Christmas. The trick will be some how preventing him from burning through the first two too fast!

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book



He was very interested in this fun do-it-yourself version of Wimpy Kid, too, so I snatched it up.

6. Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2009


I bought him a Guinness Book of World Records the year he was born (2002) and he has been dragging it around everywhere lately, it only stands to reason that he would love an updated version that deals with one of his favorite hobbies, video games! My mom bought this one for him.

I also purchased a Phinneas and Ferb book (a KayTar and BubTar pick), Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom (a KayTar pick), Wimpy Kid #2 (a BubTar pick), and Nighttime: Too Scared to Sleep (a collection of mildly scary stories I chose for BubTar)...all for a surprising grand total of $24! Volunteering in the library has its perks, evidently, one of which is MAJOR discounts on Book Fair fare. I intended to pay full price for these, but the surprise at the register sure was nice!

Discombobulated.

I seem to have lost my groove. I have missed two Biology lectures and two Chemistry lectures in the past month or so, either due to my falling apart or KayTar's recent illness. Prior to that, I hadn't missed a single one. Last week I got behind in my Composition II assignments, they were completed on time, but I procrastinated right up to the last instant. I've only missed one volunteer shift at the hospital (when I was hobbled by my defective knees), but I've missed 3 volunteer days at the school library, 2 due to my injuries and 1 due to KayTar's illness. Today I should be there, though it isn't my regular day, because it is the Book Fair and I really wanted to help the librarian this week. This weekend Josh and I were scheduled to host a game night (we even had my parents slated to keep the kids overnight) but we had to cancel it once KayTar spiked a fever. On the invite I even wrote something like AS LONG AS THE KIDS DON'T GET SICK, KNOCK ON WOOD. Evidently, the knocking on wood was ineffective. I have a poetry analysis essay due (I hate poetry, HATE IT) at the end of this week and a prospectus for an 8 page research paper due next week in Comp II. I have a Biology exam over cellular respiration and photosynthesis a week from today. My Chemistry exam is soon after that. Life is happening, but that extremely efficient routine I had going has been disrupted and I'm having a bit of difficult getting with it again. It is a feat equivalent to jumping back on a high speed treadmill, really. We all know how that ends.



Yeah, that.
I can't really tell if KayTar is improving yet or not. Wednesday we were up all night, coughing and puking. Thursday with the help of medicine she slept, but had very little to drink all day. Friday she didn't drink, but we gave her 8 ounces of half and half (Pediasure and Pedialyte, the lighter mix helps her to keep it down when she is heavily congested) through her tube, and she slept some. Saturday we tubed her 16 ounces of half and half, but she was up coughing and vomiting (due to the coughing) in spite of medication from 4-6am, after going to bed at midnight. Sunday we tubed her 12 ounces of half and half , she napped for 3-4 hours, and slept well after going to sleep at 1am. We've been giving round-the-clock doses of Benadryl and Albuterol, plus Ibuprofen when her fever spikes. This morning she asked for chips and Pediasure (regaining an appetite seems hopeful), but she only had negligible amounts of both and specifically asked for medicine to help her feel better, plus she is complaining about her bones hurting. It is a toss up this morning. I'm sure she'll be on the upswing pretty soon, but it has been almost a full week (last Tuesday) since she has had a regular amount of Pediasure, which makes me a little nervous. It has been 95 since her last episode and we'd really, really, REALLY like that number to keep rising.


We're having gorgeous weather, so KayTar spent part of the day watching her brother out the window while enjoying the cool breeze. I think we would all be outdoor people if we had that kind of weather more often!

All that vicarious playing and fresh air wore her right out.