Its been a long time.....

I am sorry that I have not done this in a while..it just seems like time just gets away from us. We have been keeping busy these past few months. We have had Halloween, the boys dressed as a dragon and a crocodile. They absolutely loved drssing up and getting candy. It was so much fun this year. We also had a hayride at my parent's house in October. We invited lots of people and it was a great time of family and friends. At the end we had a hayride..it was a lot of fun. The weather held up and it was not too cold for the hayride.

We have come right into the holiday season so quickly this year. The boys are super excited for Christmas. We put our tree up last weekend, the boys helped and had such a great time doing it. Chris put up the lights outside the house and the boys helped with that as well. We also painted our living room a few weekends back. My brother and sister came over and helped up the whole weekend. We were able to complete it in 2 days..it was such a relief to have it all back together before the Christmas Tree went up. The room looks great and I will post pictures as soon as I take some.

Thanksgiving was a blast this year. We had it at my mom's house. Our family and Chris's family went to my mom's house this year.. it was much easier and less hectic for us to only have to go to one house to eat. Everyone had a wonderful time and it was a time to be together and enjoy each others company.

We have been keeping super busy with basketball and the boys swimming....Chris has been having games 3 nights a week and practices 5 nights a week. This leaves me and the boys at home a lot...so we have been frequenting Fusion quite a bit. Owen has actually learned to swim underwater and that is all he does now... he get into the area where he can touch and just swims under water.. getting rings and everything. Peyton is still a bit hesitant to go under.. he hates the water in his face and has a hard time with it still . He will catch on eventually..it will come with time.

So, that is pretty much our last few months in a nutshell. We have been super busy and it will continue as the holiday season nears. We are so ready for Christmas this year.. the boys are super excited and Owen wants Santa to wake him up so he can hug him. Its so cute!

Here are just a few pictures that we have compiled over the past 2 months.. I will post more as I take them.. spec. of the living room and tree!

From our house to yours: Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Pictures

In case anyone has noticed, I have put up new pictures on the blog...I know, they are great aren't they? THey were taken by Stella Turner..she is a wonderful photographer, friend and she is also our babysitter. If you have small kids, or want to have a family photo taken, please call or email her. Her prices are the most reasonable around Litchfield and she does wonders with kids... just look at my kids pics...I cannot get them to pose like that at Sears when we take them!
here is her email if you want to schedule a fall picture or winter christmas card picture!
stella_72@hotmail.com - email
here are her rates for pictures as well...she is very reasonable and does a wonderful job!

4x6 Proof…….. 50 cents each

5x7 …………….. $4.00 or 2 for $7.50

8x10 …………… $7.00 or 2 for 13.00

11x14 …………. $11.00 each

12 Wallets …… $5.00

24 Wallets …… $8.50

www.facebook.com/home.php?#/stella.t.photography

Thank you Stella for great pictures!!

Our blessings

As I type this, I am sitting in the hospital hoping that I can go home today. I have been here since Saturday afternoon. I got my PICC line put in on Thursday so that I could do antibiotics for 3 weeks at home. I was doing well, very tired from the stress of it, but it was tolerable. Saturday was our yard sale, we got finished with that and my arm started to hurt, not just sore, but ached. I knew that I knew I had had this before and I figured it was a blood clot. I sat down and rested a bit thinking it would go away..it did not, it only got worse. So, for those that know me, I don't like to go to the ER, I would rather wait until Monday and go the my doctor. I called the doctor and he said I needed to go to the ER. I got up there about 5 and my sister met us up there to be with the boys. After a couple hours and about 5 diff. tests, they determined I have a blood clot. BIg surprise! So I waited until about 1 am to get a room. It was determined the next day that I would need to get a port put in. This will go under the skin in my chest and I will get my meds taht way. The port will be able to be kept in for a long period of time and will have a very slight chance of blood clots. I was prepped for the minor surgery on monday..Monday rolled around and the surgery was cancelled, my blood was too thin to do the surgery...so yesterday was the day. I went in about 10 am and was back in my room by 1 pm. Chris came up for it. I think that he was more nervous than I was..not really i was pretty jumpy! I am used to many diff. medical things, but this was something new and I did not know what to expect. So all went well, the port is in and I am, to say the least very sore! I did not sleep much last night, my chest and neck are very sore, from all the manipulation and I am finally getting some stronger pain medications. Hopefully I can sleep better tonight.
The title of my post is to express my gratitude and to share with everyone the blessings in my life. First, my family. Chris has been up here with me everyday..he goes home, makes supper, cleans the house and get the boys ready for bed. He is such a wonderful husband and there are many times that I do not thank him enough. He is truly one of a kind. He came into our relatinoship knowing what baggage I had, but he has truly stepped up the plate when things get rough adn I am not at home...
My kids have been wonderful through all this...they are helping daddy and picking up their toys and are being such angels. I know that they are so scared when I am not there, wondering where I am and when I am coming home...they are so strong and brave and never fail to melt my heart when they call me..
My mom has been a godsend through this, she is there to help with the boys, clean my house and to help me when I am home and not able to do much. It is very hard for me not to do things around the house, I usually do too much...my mom is there to help me to sit and not do too much...
Thank you all for all you have given me adn for sticking with me through all the ups and downs...you are all truly angels and I thank God for you everyday!!
Hopefully my next post will be from home!

Fall is upon us

This blog will come in two parts...I don't have my camera to post any pictures, but I will do the writing now and post pictures when I can find my USB cord to my camera.. I am convinced my children have something to do with it missing.. Fall is definetly upon us. Football games have begun on Friday nights..that is where you will find us on Friday nights. The timber and pond have been calling out names on Saturdays..we are going out there, cutting firewood, clearing brush, cooking hotdogs and doing a little fishing. Chris has finally said he does not want to see another hot dog for a very long time. Fall for us is a busy time. Chris is in full swing with school, basketball has begun which means many late nights and the boys are finally settled into a routine. Along with all this come my illness. Fall is historically a very rough time for me, health-wise. I am usually in the hospital one or two times during the fall. This is when infections sprout (the flu and pneumonia get the best of me every year). Because I am in the hospital, fall is especially hard on Chris. I know we all say this but, my husband truly is a saint. When I am healthy and at home, we usually split the work around the house 50/50. We are a very good team. We always have been. We really have had to be a team from the day our boys were born. There were always two of them, so both of us were always busy and all the childcare responsibilities were split 50/50. But..when I am sick...poor Chris has to take on all the household and childcare responsibilties by himself. I am not there to help. He has to work, be home with the boys and do all the nightly routines and morning routines and on top of that, always manages to have the house spotless when I get home. He is truly a saint. So, fall is coming, that means I have gotten out many of my fall decorations and am ready for pumpkins and planting mums.. I hope to do this this weekend. I am now ready for the cool weather...I will have pics up tomorrow I hope, once I can find my cord to down load pictures. Until then...everyone have a great week!

Halloween

So we have been discussing Halloween. Last year the boys did not want to dress up..they got dresed up and ended up just wearing black and we only go to a few houses.. they love getting candy and doing it, but its exhausting for their parents. So this year, I asked them what they wanted to be and Peyton told me a witch. Owen said he wanted to be a crocodile ( no big surprise here, he is infactuated with crocodiles). Last night in the car I asked again what everyone wanted to be..Peyton said witch again.. owen said,"Mom, I want to be God."
The boys are very interested in God. We don't go to church on a regular basis, but we do talk about God and heaven a lot at home. We have many books that are toddler oriented about heaven and God and we read them a lot. The boys are always talking about God adn that is a good thing. They know enough about him at their age..I feel. They know the importance of God and the important things that he is about...and that is all they can comprehend at the age of 4.

School days...school days

So the first day of school has come and gone. The boys did great and did not even cry this year. Much smoother than last year I have to say. The boys have the same teachers as last year. I am saddened as they enter their 2nd year of preschool. I know that they are growing up just like every other child in the world does and they are going to school like everyone does eventually, but its hard for me to comprehend that next year they will be in school all day! I know that they love going to school, but not is only for 2.5 hours..next year it will be all day. Its just had to believe. Perhaps as this school year goes on..it will be easier for me to realize that they are growing up. Owen asked me the other day if when he gets bigger can he drive his dozer to Caseys and put gas in it...I said sure...you can ride it to Casey's now if you want on our walks...of course you cannot put gas in it, but you can ride it to Caseys..that is going to be on our list for this week I have a feeling.
Peyton missed the 2nd day of school on Friday. He came down with Croup on Thursday night and by Friday early morning he was having a hard time breathing. So I took him to the dr. to get more meds for breathing treatments for both he and Owen. Wouldn't you know it, Friday night...Owen came down with it as well. This morning we got up and did our breathing treatments and seemed much better. Nothing like missing the 2nd day of school to start off the school year right!

Before I go...

I cannot close today without commenting on the boys birthday. Owen and Peyton turned 4 on August 1. We had a pool party for them on Friday, July 31 at the Litchfield Memorial Pool. If anyone has a child with a birthday in the summer.. I suggest that you check out the pool for a birthday party. Its perfect for little ones and also for big kids (diving boards and the deep end for those advanced swimmers). The party was wonderful..everyone had a great time and it was big enough that everyone had their own space in the pool and yet could socialize at the same time. The boys got so many great toys and I just want to thank all who came and who helped..we appreciate you helping us celebrate two very special little boys!

Summer is officially over

Yes, you heard me...Summer is officially over in the Baugher house. Chris has headed back to work and the boys start their 2nd year of preschool ( I can hardly believe it myself). Our last week of summer was spent on vacation. We started out in Sandusky Ohio, at the Great Wolf Lodge...waht a place! It came complete with a waterpark for the boys to enjoy. Boy did they enjoy it...they absolutely loved it! We ate on Lake Erie the first night and the next day hopped a jet boat to Put-in-Bay, an island about 40 minutes from Sandusky. It is a small island and it full of shops, restuaurants and places to see and visit. We rented a golf cart for the day and carted around the island the entire day. We headed to Pennsylvania the next day, with a stop in Pittsburgh. We visited the Carnagie Science Center and rode up an incline to the top of Mt. Washington where we could see the whole city..very nice! We then headed to Hershey, PA. After some nervewracking hotel problems, we finally got settled and visited Hershey Park. We toured the Chocolate factory, watched a 3-D presentation about Mr. Hershey and participated in a chocolate tasting. What a full day!! On Thursday, we got up and headed to Lancaster. We rode a steam train through Amish Country and visited the Pennsylvania Train Museum. We ended the day at Dutch Wonderland. This was the highlight of our trip, that's for sure! Dutch Wonderland is a wonderful place for little kids. They have tons of kid rides and family friendly rides where parents go on the rides wtih the kids. The boys especially loved the airplane, log flume and the frog hopper (which they asked to take home the back yard). We watched a dive show as well, Owen absolutely loved it...
Friday we packed up and headed home. Ugh! I am tired just talking about it all .

We are back to reality this week..boys at Stella's, Chris and I at work...but its the life we love
Looking forward to Old Settlers this week and Chris's class reunion on Saturday (15 years)

Chris starts basketball next week and the boys start swimming lessons in October at Fusion..should be a great fall!
Pictures will be up soon!

Fun Times

This past weekend was filled with fun. Friday, I took off a half day and Chris and the boys came up to Springfield. We went to the IL State Museum, which is right here where I work. Then we headed over to the Henson Robinson Zoo. I have to say that the weather has been so beautiful these past few weeks...but, Friday was a bit warm. We had a blast at the zoo.. the boys loved watching all the animals and our favorite part is that its never crowded. The boys are free to run ahead and look at the animals. The animals are not as exciting as some of the larger zoos, but for us its perfect.

On Saturday we got up late, had breakfast and headed to Nana and Papa's house to work on fence and to swim in the pool. The boys had a blast and loved helping Papa. Owen's game plan is that the dirtier that you get, the harder you are working. He loves to have his hands dirty, just like Papa. Saturday night we decided to camp out in front of my parents house. The night was beautiful and cool and we had gotten my parents a tent for Fathers Day. We got all set up, got some padding under the tent, our blankets and pillows and settled in for the night. Papa and the Boys fell asleep quickly...Chris and I however, did not. At midnight we decided that we had to go home.. the ground was just too hard for us. We are not much for the camping life. We loaded up the boys and headed home,where we slept like babies.

Monday, we had a playdate planned with the Schwabs. They all came over, we played ball, rode cars around the driveway and played with tractors. After we had all played hard, we had banana splits. They were delicious! The boys sure thought so. I want to say to Ben, Jenny, Tug and Sam, we had a wonderful time with you all. We are looking forward to doing it again real soon!!

Tonight, we are getting haircuts for the boys and hanging out at home..nothing too exciting!

Long time...

It has been a long time since I have blogged on here. Partly due to my job.. we have been super busy at work settling the budget and partly because I have been feeling a little under the weather. Work is finally quiet again and I am starting to feel more like myself (thanks to IV antibiotics). Blastball is over, the boys birthday is in 2 weeks, we finally have settled on a family vacation spot and date (which had to be postponed, due to me getting sick). Blastball turned out to be a huge success. All of the kids loved it..We handed out trophies at the last game, which turned out to be a make up game from earlier in the season. The weather was just beautiful and the kids really enjoyed it.

We have picked a date for the boys birthday party, they decided that they want to have a pool party at the city pool. After having a blast at Kylie's party, we decided to reserve the pool for their party. I cannot believe my babies are going to be 4 already. They have grown up so much just in the past year. Just this past weekend I took the boys to their first birthday party where I actually leave them there...ugh! It just killed me.. but they were ok with it and loved it. We have come so far in the last 4 years. The boys love to watch themselves as babies and just think it is so funny what they do. We have a lot of video from when they were in the NICU and they just don't understand it yet..but they still love to watch themselves. I think that I fall in love with these little guys more and more each day! Didn't think it was possible to love something so much...but it is!

Chris's birthday is on Wednesday, he will be the big 34. Since the boys love birthdays..we are going to make a cake tonight and hopefully go shopping for something for Daddy..Someone once told me that it is important to take your children along for the purchasing of cards for your spouse..it shows your kids the importance of it...I totally agree!

On a lighter note..we have decided on a vacation spot ( 2 actually). We are going to Sandusky, Ohio for 2 days and staying at the Great Wolf Lodge. There is a water park inside the resort and many fun things for the kids to do. We will be there for 2 days, then we are driving to Pennsylvania to Hershey. We are staying there for 2 days and then taking our time driving back... We are very excited to just explore and not have to rush around...it will be refreshing.
Thanks to all who gave me many ideas for vacation!!

The boys enjoying the "game" or the fence at the game

The team getting ready to get their trophies

A typical inning in a blastball game

Peyton getting ready to bat

Owen just getting done batting

Happy Fathers Day!

This Fathers Day weekend was wonderful. It makes me think of how lucky Chris and I are to have two wonderful, healthy boys and to have each other. This years Fathers Day also happened to fall on our anniversary. We started out the weekend on Friday, I was off work. The boys went to the dentist in the morning. It was their first dentist appointment. They did awesome! Dr. Shafer said their teeth looked great and had plenty of spacing. Peyton did wonderful..he said it did not hurt and loved his Spongebob toothbrush and toothpaste. Owen did great too, but he had a bit of a crying fit and was not too happy. Eventually he calmed down and he was given a clean bill of dental health! Friday after the dentist we went and had Chinese (our favorite) and went home and got into the pool for a couple hours. My kids just love the water and I think that Owen is partly a fish! After swimming for a bit, Chris and I got ready and took the boys to my parents for the night. We went to St. Louis to the Fox Theater and saw Bill Engvall and Frank Caliendro (the guy that does all voices). They were hilarious. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the night out. Saturday was another pool day and we took Chris's dad out for dinner for Fathers Day. We went to Cracker Barrel in Troy and made it home just in time for the rain..or downpour. We drove right into it on the way home and it looked scary! After the storm, the boys decided that they had not had enough pool time and decided to go outside and run up and down the sidewalk ( I will post pictures tomorrow). They were actually laying in the water that had gathered on the sidewalks and were "swimming" in the water. It was just hilarious. Sunday was Fathers Day and our annivrsary. The boys gave Chris their cards that they made themselves. I will post pics of these as well. We went to Hillsboro and had breakfast with Chris's dad and then came home to get ready to celebrate Fathers Day with my family. We had a great fathers day, swimming, dinner and banana split party! Last night when we were getting ready for bed..the boys were exhausted. Peyton was playing with his train on the floor and owen was laying down I told Peyton it was time for bed and he just looked at me and put his hands up and said, "I can'ttttt.....I am playing..." I told him to take the train with him. He laid down and asked for a blanket and I told him he can reach it and he said again, "I can'ttttt....my hands are full" Where do kids get this stuff! I could not help but laugh. So, our weekend was great...lots of rain (please stop rain) but it was great! I will post pictures tomorrow.

Peyton in the water

The boys in the water ( I think they are desperate for a pool)!

The boys again laying in the water getting their hair wet and filthy!

Owen laying in the water

So far this summer..

With all the craziness that is my job during the months of January - May...I really try to enjoy summer and devote it to my kids and husband. I try to take time off and spend it with the boys and do family things. We have done a few things so far this month. We went to Decatur to the Kids Museum (which was closed...note to all parents..they are closed on Mondays). We have gone to the Scovill Zoo in Decatur, the boys loved it and it was perfect size for us. They also have a massive playground right next the the zoo entrance, its packed with giant slide, climbing things and a trampoline. It is free and perfect for little kids! In addition to family outings, we are spending everynight outside in the fresh air. We have been fishing every weekend out at our pond and we all love it! Even me...I never thought I would. We just bought a fire pit and the boys love it! We have been cooking on it, having hot dogs and marshmallows. It is really fun on a cool summer night. We have many other things planned for this summer..hopefully we can get it all in. We have not nailed down a vacation spot yet, I guess I should work on that. We are thinking about Gulf Shores, Hershey Pennsylvania or Indianapolis. Hopefully we can make a decision soon.

Owen on the way to fish

Peyton at the pond

Peyton on the way to fish

The boys and Papa fishing in the rain

The boys at Scovill Zoo (Decatur)

Peyton getting ready to leave for the zoo

Help....I need advise

You would think that this is some big emergency...don't panic...
I need some advice or personal experience on some vacation ideas with 3 year olds.
Chris and I are wanting to go on vacation with the boys....here are some ideas we have been throwing around.. please feel free to give me any ideas or warn me about any places you have not been happy with.
1. Pennsylvania (hershey factory, crayola factory...any more ideas)
2. Michigan (beach somewhere, don't really know much about the area)
3. Florida beach (not really sure, don't want to go too far south.)
4. any ideas you have..

We really don't want to fly anywhere, we'd rather drive. Its just too expensive to fly for all 4 of us.
We love to drive and stop place and not be rushed!
Thanks for any advice you have!!!
have a great weekend!

Pictures..finally!

Here are some pictures from Graduation about 2 weeks ago! Everyone looked so nice! I just waned to share these with everyone. I am so proud of Chris...what a feat!

Blast!!!....ball

The boys had their first blasball game on Monday. It was quite the experience. Fun and exhausting at the same time. I have determined that having 9 - three and four year olds on a field is almost too much. 6 would work much better. I have also determined.....since I am the expert already...gloves and hats are just a distraction to the kids and we really don't need or use them in blastball. Here are some pictures below of the game..just my kids of course and Daddy (one of the coaches). Owen and Peyton both did good, there was some arguing over who got to stop the ball and if they were going to bat or not..but in the end we went onto the field and batted all three innings..that is all I can ask for. I am curious to know how everyone else's games go! In addition to Monday's game, this past weekend was Chris's graduation from UIS with his Masters. He looked so cute in his gown and hood..I will post pictures once I download them..Saturday was spent in Springfield all day and Sunday we had his party. A very busy weekend!
I will post pictures shortly!