4 wheelers, robin eggs, herding cats

PopPop took the kids for a little ride on the 4 wheeler...they love it!

We saw these robin eggs on a little walk. We snapped a pic and then left 'cause the momma bird was in the tree above and her opinion on us looking at her eggs known, in a very loud way!

Trying to get a pic of the kids with Mommo and PopPop...I think herding cats would've been easier. Maybe next time!

Kyra finds a beaver dam

walking with Mommo

On the beaver dam with PopPop

PopPop showing her where the beaver had chewed on the wood

Great! Let's throw it in!

Liam on a nature walk

Walking with Mommo

Throwing sticks in the water

Just bein' cute

My silly boy

Update and a treat

Quick health update: We still don't have all the test results back (don't get me started on how ridiculously long it is taking). But, we are feeling better and have been for a couple days. I'm really hoping it means we're really "in the clear" this time. We'll see. I did some research on parasites in kids on the CDC website, I believe we've had Cryptosporidium. It's fairly common, you get it from water (or caring for someone who has it), is cyclical, causes terrible diarrhea and occassionally vomitting, and sounds exactly like what we've had. The good news is, you usually get over it (even without treatment) in 2-6 weeks (it'll be 4 weeks for us tomorrow).

Cute pics from today:


Isn't he just about the cutest little guy?!?!? He's quickly going from a baby to a little boy though. He has started shaking his head "yes" to answer questions. It's so cute 'cause his whole upper body shakes with him. He also is starting to express his opinions on things (mostly about what he wants to eat, not that he's picky, but if he says "cookie" and I say "apple" he says "no, no, no, no, no!") Too cute, but I'm not sure I'm ready to have two opinionated ones around here!

What could this little girl see out the window that has her so excited? The words she was saying as I snapped the pic, "WooHoo! A playhouse for me to play in!!!!!"

I've been looking for a playhouse for our backyard 'cause I knew both kids would really enjoy one. I wanted a wood one, but they're really expensive to buy new. So, I've been looking in the classifieds and on craigslist for a used one. I saw this one last night and couldn't pass it up. It's only a year old and in REALLY good shape. It has a little sink inside, two tubs for sand or whatever on one side, a spot for a puppet show on another side, a grill, and enough room on the inside for me to sit with my legs outstretched. New, it costs around $450. Mommo and PopPop bought this one for the kids for less than half that!!!! YEA!!!!! I'm going to put some stain on it tomorrow morning, but it's awesome! And Kyra has hardly been out of it. Liam liked it too, but he had to take a nap :)

PopPop and Pappy getting it all set-up for the kiddos!

watermelon and twinkle toes

We had our first watermelon of the season a couple weeks ago. Kyra LOVES it, William liked teething on the rind.

Kyra painted her own toe nails and my finger nails. See how the polish is all the way to the second knuckle on her toe? That's how my fingers looked too! :)
Sickness update: We're all still sick. I decided it had gone on way too long so we went to the doctor on Monday. It appears as though we have a parasite of some sort and are "heading toward anemia." We should know later today exactly what kind of parasite and what the treatment will be. I'm hoping so! We're all pretty tired. Plus, everyone has felt good for a couple days which should make me happy, but, as the course has gone lately once we feel good for a day or two it's only 12-36 hrs before sickness strikes again in full force.

the night before

It's been awhile since my last post. I'd apologize for my absence, but it's been a bit crazy around here. You see, since Sunday, May 15th one, two, or all three of us have had some sort of stomach bug. I won't go into all the nasty details, but it started with Liam on the 15th; then both kids had a touch of it that week (Kyra said she had leaky toots~so funny!); Liam got worse the next weekend, both seemed to improve over the next week; the evening I took these pics I thought we were "in the clear" 'cause everyone was better. I was wrong. We all got MUCH, MUCH, worse just a few short hours later. Now, Liam seems to be about over it (finally!), and I'm hoping Kyra and I are just a day or two behind him.
For those who know me, you know I handle most things quite well. Pee, poop, diarrhea, snot, blood, whatever. They don't bother me. But, vomit. Well, that's a whole other story. I would say I have a borderline phobia when it comes to puke. I've handled it all fairly well. Was proud of my handling of it on the night when it was really bad. But, when it all became too much (about 3am on the night in question), I called Jeremy and he came over to help. He's been a great help. He's pretty much kept the kids at his house so I don't have to worry about taking care of/cleaning up after them while I've been sick. They've come over here a few times, but he has really done most of the caring for them since that awful night. I appreciate it!


A pretty columbine growing in the yard

Blowing bubbles is a popular outdoor activity around here. Notice Liam in the background? He's pointing at the cupboard where I keep the bubbles and saying/whining/crying "bu-bl!" I' already given him some, but he apparently didn't like them or something 'cause he wanted different ones.

Kyra is very into pouring things from one container to another. A very typical developmental thing. It's fun to pour bubbles from one container to the next. Unfortunately, it's not fun when the bubbles make the concrete slick and you slip and fall (no pics of it, but both kids took a couple tumbles, then mom said they had to come inside!)

Blowing bubbles and splashing in the puddle of bubbles. Even the cat got in on the action!!!

Kyra bathes Percy

While Kyra doesn't watch Thomas the Tank Engine like she once did, her Thomas toys are still a fave. Last night she decided Percy needed a bath. She bathed him for over 45 minutes.

Scrub-a-dub-dub

All soaped up

She decided to give herself a good scrubbing too!

Liam goes to work

Doing dishes is everyone's favorite chore

Mmmmmm dishsoap!

He literally stands at the closet where the vacuum is kept and cries, "voom! voom!" The boy LOVES to vacuum!!!!

recent pics

The new house has a large basement that is partially finished. For now, the kids' riding toys are down there. They love having tons of place to play on them. I love not having them in the living room!!!

Blowing bubbles outside. Actually, he just walks around carrying the wand and bubble bottle. But, we have a nice, big backyard for him to play in and he wants to be out there all the time. I love it!

Isn't her new haircut cute? I just love it and it's so much easier to wash and comb now!!!!! She actually does know how to blow bubbles and LOVES to do it. She's afraid of bugs, especially those that fly, so she's not as enthralled with the big backyard as her brother is. She loves playing all the games on my iPad...her favorites are Angry Birds (she's passed more than one level for me), Memory (she's really good at this, she has a systematic approach that she figured out on her own and can even do it when there are 60 cards-30 pairs), and Google Earth (not a game, but she loves looking at the earth and we randomly choose cities/countries for it to zoom in on. She thinks it's WWWAAAAAYYYYY cool!)

PopPop put a tire swing up for them last week. This is all either of them want to do now. So fun!

the long overdue post

I'm feeling very slackery (is that a word???) with my blog. I have good reasons to have been so absent the last month or so, but in all honesty, I've also been avoiding blogging.
I got an iPad2 a little while back. I love it! But, for some reason I can't figure out (so if you're reading this and you know how to solve my dilemma, please share!), I can type in the subject area of my blog, but when it comes to actually typing text, it won't allow me. Kinda strange. So the iPad has solved my ridiculous internet and computer problems, but has created a blogging problem...
Lots has changed since I last posted and I'm not sure how to delve into it or if I really even want to. There's so much backstory that I haven't shared on here, in a desire to protect our privacy and, well, frankly because it isn't everyone's business. But, without the backstory the last month or so doesn't make a lot of sense. Hmmmmm.....I guess I'll just give ya'll the nutshell version of things and if you want to know more, email or call me!
A little while back it became apparent to me that Jeremy and I could no longer be together. The emotional/mental/spiritual rollercoaster of PTSD, TBI, and Bi-Polar Disorder were too much. It seemed no matter what I did to try to help him get better, it wasn't enough and he would just crash again. Each time he crashed, we all went down with him. I was exhausted to the soul. Taking care of 2 little kids, and trying to care for and do what was best for Jeremy, but never reaching a stable or healthy place, became too much for me. I decided that the best thing for all of us was for Jeremy and I to separate. It was a gut wrenching, heart-breaking decision. I didn't enter into marriage thinking of it being anything other than "'til death do us part." But, once I decided to file for separation (and through the whole process), I have known with every ounce of my being that it was the best thing for everyone.
Ironically (which I say, but I don't really believe there's anything truly "ironic" about it), once I made that decision Jeremy started getting better. He was with his mom and other family and friends in Indiana for about 4 months. During that time, he made a lot of progress in getting himself healthy. He's been back here for about 6 weeks, and continues to do well. He's volunteering at our local zoo 5 mornings a week and seems to really enjoy it; he has adopted a dog; he comes to hang-out with/watch the kids several afternoons a week; he's found a church he likes and he takes one or both kids with him each week.
What I have come to realize is that Jeremy was never going to get better as long as I was in his life. He didn't have to. I would make the phone calls to doctors and different treatment programs. I would make sure he was awake to go to his appointments. I would remind (or nag) him to eat better, get exercise, take his meds. Basically, he didn't have to get better or do anything because I would do it for him.
I don't know what that means for our future. Frankly, it doesn't matter. When I decided to leave all I cared about was making a healthy and stable life for all of us. I think we're all finding it now.
To that end, the kids and I moved a couple weeks ago. My parents were generous enough to buy a little house for us (I will buy it from them as soon as I can figure out what I'm going to do for a job and that sort of thing). Thanks to the help of a lot of family and friends, we've been able to settle in pretty quickly (read: there are no boxes left to unpack and only a few decor sorts of things left to do). The kids seem to like their new house just fine. Kyra is sleeping MUCH better now than she has in over a year (yea!!!!!); and Liam finds new things to climb and get into on a daily basis.
If you want more backstory, want our new address, or whatever, feel free to email me!
I'm going to try to get some recent pics up soon. The memory card on my camera is full. But, Kyra got a cute haircut a couple weeks ago that I need to post pics of and Liam's hair has finally grown out from that ultra-short cut he got 3 months ago!