Winter

So, the holidays have come and gone. We had a wonderful holiday with the boys, they got so many awesome gifts. Owen's favorites are his digital camera, work bench with real wood and real tools and his train. Peyton's favorite is his train of course. And the digital camera he guesses. Chris and I had such a wonderful time watching the boys open their presents and their eyes just lit up when they came downstairs and saw all the packages. December has been a very busy month for us, in addition to to Christmas. Chris's 8th grade girls basketball team went to state and won again this year. This is the 2nd time in two years...they won last year as 7th graders. We are so proud of the girls and they did awesome! The boys absolutely were in heaven with the girls and the trophy and medals they got to have. They were just so excited to be there in the middle of it all! We also had our family pictures done this past November, they turned out awesome! I have posted some pics of our last few months.

That is about it from our house hold for the winter.. we had a wonderful 2010 and are looking forward to 2011.

Fall is here!

Fall is finally here and almost gone. I cannot believe it. Soccer is over, the boys loved it and did great. Our team was awesome and everyone on the team had a great team! With the changing leaves come busy nights for Chris, his basketball season is in full swing. His team has only lost one game and is gearing up for the Regional and State Tournaments. Last year, this team won state, so this year hopefully will be no different. The boys love to go watch the girls play and they love acting like they are basketball girls while they are at home. They always have a basketball or football jersey on. The boys are loving school, they are learning so much and really love to go to school everyday. We have also signed the boys up for Tumbling in Hillsboro. They really love tumbling and are pretty good. They have only had 3 lessons and Owen is already doing a pretty good cartwheel!

I did spend some time in the hospital this fall already, just 3 days and I was on IV antibiotics for 3 weeks to get rid of the infection that I had. I am better, not great, but feeling better than I did. Lets hope that that is my only hospital stay this fall!

I have been subbing at the schools a little bit these past 2 months and its so much fun! I love interacting with the kids and Chris especially loves having me in the middle school! Just ask him!

So that about sums up our last few months. Time really gets away from me, even though I am not working and am less busy than I used to be.

Update Finally!

So I have not updated this blog in a long time. Since I have posted, so many things have gone on. I have quit working as of May 31. It was bittersweet, but I am glad I chose to stay home with the boys. They have started kindergarten and love it. They are getting used to getting up early and getting out the door by 8 am. They love their teacher, Mrs. Niemann, she is wonderful! Owen was leader yesterday and Peyton is leader today. They love to help in the classroom and at home so that is right up their alley. We had a great summer. We really did not go anywhere exciting or do anything exciting..the boys swam almost everyday, we have been taking care of our Golden doodle puppy, Winnie. She is a handful, but loving. She is still a puppy, but is very fun! The boys love taking care of her and being in charge of her! We went to Six Flags and the boys loved it! They rode rides, loved the water rides the best! We also visited Chicago at the end of summer, we visited Navy Pier, Sears Tower, Shedd Aquarium, The Museum of Science and Industry. The boys loved the museums. Navy Pier was packed, but the boys loved Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. We took the Amtrak up there from Springfield. It was awesome! The train was so much fun and the boys loved it! We took cabs all over the city and the boys thought that was very cool.

School is back in full force. Chris starts basketball next week, so the nights will get crazy around here! I have loved being home and doing things around the house. Now that everyone is at school, its much easier to get things done here. I am looking forward to fall and football season! The boys are pumped to go to the football games! That's about it from here, talk to everyone when the leaves turn red and orange!

Mothers Day

Mothers Day is right around the corner. I am posting this picture to show one of my most proud moments in the early days of my boys' lives. The was one of the first times I was able to hold them in the hospital. I cannot explain the joy I felt being able to hold them and not have all the wires attached.

Hope you all enjoy this picture as much as I do

Where has the time gone?

As I sit here at work, I am thinking that in about 6 weeks I will be done working.. I only have about 6 weeks left of work. The thought is exciting and scary at the same time. I am so happy to be home with the boys all summer and to spend the time at home doing things that I have neglected. Working full time, or more than full time at my job and then coming home to fix dinner, give baths and do bedtime stuff, leaves little or no time for extra things. Weekends are spent mowing the yard, laundry, cleaning the house deeper than I do throughout the week, cleaning rooms, stripping beds and playing outside in the nice weather. With Chris and I both working, there is not much time for starting a house project or organizing the kitchen or bathroom cabinets. I cannot wait for the time when I don't have to finish things before the weekend is over and the I cannot wait for the time when we are not rushing around the house at 6:30 am trying to get out before 7. I cannot wait for the days when the boys can sleep in until 7 and we don't have to rush all over. I cannot wait until the day when I can take them to school and pick them up. The boys and I are so excited. Of course, I do plan to sub if I am asked and feeling good and my mom and I are doing great on our Etsy Account...
Check it out if you like antiques or cool stuff for the house.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mbaugher
So, the countdown in our house has begun...we have really no summer plans, except to use our Knights Action Park season passes that we got this year. I want to paint my bathroom and the furniture in it and Chris wants to put in new basement windows. We worked over the weekend on getting our new basketball system installed, we have the concrete poured and will try to get the rest up this weekend..
So, I have updated my blog finally... I will see you all again in the summer!
Have a wonderful Spring!

Holidays and SPORTS

We hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed the time spent with family. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful family to share the holidays with. Our entire family so blessed. The boys had an amazing Christmas, thanks to all of our families. They received tractors, planters, a combine, a Nintendo DS, tumbling mat, football uniforms and many other great presents. In addition to all the Christmas excitement, the boys have begun to become VERY intersted in sports. This is not due to any encouragement on Chris's part (he wanted me to add that in there). The boys have become obsessed with basketball and football. On any given night, the boys attire goes from a basketball practice jersey and Chris's basketball shoes to a football uniform and helmet. They usually change 3 or 4 times throughout the evening. Owen loves to dribble the basketball and then change into his football uniform and play football. Peyton does as well, but he is not quite as serious as Owen. I will be posting pictures of this soon. It is really entertaining for Chris and I to watch. This is going to be a short blog this week...I will post pictures tomorrow I hope. We hope that everyone had a wondeful Christmas season with their families and again..we are so very blessed!

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!