This & That - Sleeping

• I'm tired.  Period.  I have no energy.  I just want to sleep, and I don't sleep well at all.  There are a list of reasons - 
• I can't shut my mind off...  if I do take the melatonin, it does seem to help a little...  but I don't want to take that every night??
• I worry.  I worry about my family, my Mom, the kids, Ryan, life, money, being safe, being healthy.  I have some anxiety. 
• My husband snores.  And once I'm awake in the middle of the night, and I hear him, I'm awake... I go out to the couch and toss/turn. 
• Kayson wakes to go to the bathroom.  Which is awesome...  he's been better about not actually waking me/telling me, but I sleep so lightly - that I just wake no matter what.  
• Last night he had his first accident.  He was so bummed.  I was too.  Actually sad - after getting his bed changed at 2:30 am... I went back to bed, and cried.  I felt bad. 
• I don't workout - I know it's my fault, I know I'm being lazy, and I need to change that.  What is going to push me to do that?  How do I find the time?  
• I've found that I sleep ok from about 4:30 til it's time to actually wake up, then I really don't want to.  And then I'm super crabby.  Sorry family.

Cora sleeps well...  I probably shouldn't write this out, or say it - I'll jinx it.  But she's a great sleeper, and so is Kayson.  And so is Ryan.  Why can't I be??  :(

Basement Update

We LOVE our basement.  It's great, it's spacious, it's clean, it smells good, it's cozy, it's perfect.  Over the past month or so, we finally got some things purchased (decor wise) and things on the walls.  We still have a ways to go, but it's all coming together really nicely.  

Decor near the 'play' area

Bar...  Hawkeyes.

Still need to purchase a media unit, but this works for now.

At the end of the stairs.

Play area

Saturday

It's been a nice day... 

The day started by the kids sleeping in.  Ryan headed into work fairly early, and then I tossed and turned once he was gone, figuring the kids would be opening their doors soon.  Well...  over an hour later, K was up first - around 8.  Not too shabby!  Then miss thing slept til a little before 9.  Amazing.  :)  

We just hung out in the morning for a bit...  breakfast, cartoons, and quiet time.  Then the kids and I ran to Target.  We were in no hurry, so we walked through the toy aisles...  they talked about the things they liked, I took pictures (in case we purchase anything for Christmas).  Then we got the few things that we actually went there for... and we were on our way.  We met Ryan for lunch, which wasn't good - the kids were tired, owly and didn't eat.  Why oh why!!?!??!  Eating out is SOOO hit or miss... and it's so annoying.  

We got home, Cora took a short rest, and then Hope and Logan came for a visit.  First off - so very thankful and thrilled that my beautiful niece and her boyfriend think it's cool to come hang with us on a weekend.  I mean - really?!  We are so lucky!!!  We played some...  kids fought some...  and we made supper.  We had a really nice time, a good night!  

They actually just left a little bit ago.  The kids got baths, and crashed!!!  

Here are a few pics from today. 

We actually had some leaves!!  They were so pretty.

Kiddos.

Smiles with Logan.

Cora cleaning the basement...  :)

Kayson - Sick?? YES.

Well...  we ended up taking Kayson to the doctor this afternoon.  He's actually acted pretty good for us, but Monday afternoon I got an email from the teacher saying that Kayson wasn't feeling well.  When I picked him up Monday after school - he seemed ok, said he was tired, and said he pooped at school.  WHOA.  Yes, that's a big one.  Anyway, we got home... and he just layed around.  

In a nutshell - I called the doctor, and made an appointment.  

Ryan took him this afternoon...  and he tested positive for strep.  Gosh darnit, I should have taken him last week when he wasn't feeling well.  I thought the whole time - 'he could have strep'.  Strep is a really hard thing, I think.  Typically your throat doesn't actually hurt... it's more tummy issues and achy.  Anyway... he got some meds, and we are good now. 

Moving on to disinfecting everything and washing everything.  (Just like I did last week).  Hoping the rest of us don't get anything. 

Flag Football Update

Over the past 4 weeks-ish - I've stayed home with Cora while Ryan and K go to flag football.  It's right in the middle of her nap time... and really, to be honest - nap time is very important for her (and us).  So I've missed Kayson's games.  Two weeks ago, I got the "You need to come watch him" talk from Ryan... and the "When are you going to come watch Mom" question from Kayson.  Insert knife into heart.  

So...  today (after Cora sleeping til 8:00) and doing well at church/Sunday school, I decided today would be the day we would go watch him.  While the boys went to the practice part, C and I went to the grocery store to get that out of the way.  We unloaded groceries, then back in the car to go watch brother.  The weather was super nice (windy), but nice... and Ryan's parents came to watch as well.  One of my friends, Brenda, has a boy on K's team, so it was a perfect day to be able to talk with Brenda, while Cora talked and put stickers on all of us!  I was able to watch Kayson too...  he did great - got a touchdown, and smiled.   It was fun to watch, and I'm glad we went.  

Papa Mike actually took some pictures on his phone - it's awesome!  I plan on going next Sunday as well, and plan on taking more pics with my camera... 

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday morning we did our annual trip to Center Grove Apple Orchard.  Trish and Eden met us up there, which was fun.  The weather started out cool - definitely brisk, fall weather.  We dressed in layers, which I'm thankful for.  Around noon, the sun did really warm us up... which I was thankful for!

We just walked around for about 4 hours, which was plenty...  played in the corn pool, watched a dog show (weird, but we did), jumped on the trampolines, Kayson went down the big slide (Cora didn't want to), fed the animals and rode the tractor trailer out to the pumpkin patch and corn maze.  It was a good amount of time there...  we were ready to go home by 1:30!

Cora looks less than thrilled.

Love my sister.

We had a nice time...  glad we went (even if at first the kids and daddy don't seem thrilled)... we go and we have a good time.  :)

This & That

• White clothes - tops, pants, even socks.  The story with this --- Cora and her friends at school think it's fun to crawl and roll on the playground.  The playground has a large section that is a dark rubber type surface... and it literally ruins her clothes.  UGH.  Double UGH.  Two shirts and one pair of leggings, in the trash.  I mean, literally can't put them back on her...  it looks awful. 
• I'm glad it's Thursday night...  laundry is done... I do need to dust some stuff, but I really don't feel like it.  I'm ready for Ryan to be home.  Tomorrow at 4:00 can't come soon enough. 
• We picked up some mums and a few more pumpkins the other night.  The mums (yellow) are so pretty... and look so nice at the front stoop.  Just that pop of color, I love.
• The Iowa weather is becoming more brisk!  I better start dressing warmer...  for some reason, I keep thinking it'll be warm at my desk, and warm in the afternoon when I leave.  But I've been wrong.  I've got to start pulling out the sweaters and scarfs!  and socks!
• As much as I hate to say this/write this - but it appears that Christmas will be here before we know it.  A friend posted on Facebook - something like 71 days???  YUK YUK YUK.  We need to start thinking about it...  thinking about gifts... thinking about a special birthday... thinking about the traveling.  Or thinking about limiting gifts - that's not what it's about, right?  (I've said it before...  why do we have to do so many gifts???  It just causes me stress.)  blah. 
• I'm really loving having the fall shows on again...  Grey's Anatomy, Blacklist, CSI.  I hope to find a couple hours this weekend to catch up on a few, with Ryan.

Kayson - Sick??

I wrote about Kayson's tired, leg aching, feverish day on Sunday...  well, he slept well Sunday night, but woke up this morning just not himself.  He tried eating breakfast, but instantly was crying, saying his stomach hurt... and just layed around while the rest of us got ready.  Ryan was heading out of town for the week, so it's me... keeping him home.  He really kept it low key this morning...  layed around, didn't say much... then around 9:00 he perked up.  He said his tummy felt better, etc.  GRR.  :)

But then within an hour or so, he was back to just moping around.  So I know he doesn't really feel right, so I guess it was the right decision to keep him home.  Eventually, we read some books and tried to do some learning...  

He asked for lunch around 11:00, he didn't eat much, but he at something...  then I required him to lay down.  I ended up laying down with him... sleeping about an hour and a half.  He now seems much better...  had a snack a little bit ago... and has a little sparkle in this eyes.  

I'm hoping he'll eat something tonight and get a good nights sleep... and back to normal the rest of the week.  

Weekend

As always, the weekend has gone by too fast!
Friday evening Ryan and I actually stepped away and had dinner with our neighbors, Jess and Lex.  We've talked about this for months - and it took months to nail down a date.  Apparently our lives our busy.  :)  We had a very nice time...  we needed a little break from our week, and it was perfect timing. 

Saturday morning was an Iowa football game for Kayson!  Both kids were up early...  which I worried about Kayson, but just gotta hope he has fun, and rests on the way home.  And he did.  JeanAnn hung with me and Cora...  actually that morning, I went over to Lacey's for a jewelry party.  Nikki came with me, so that was super fun...  good couple hours with the girls.  Then JeanAnn, Cora and I grabbed lunch out - and watched the game (win win!)  We did a quick errand, then back to the house to just relax.  Cora took a nice nap too.  Ryan, Kayson, Mike, Lester and Larry got back around 5:00...  they had a great time, and I could see on Kayson's face that he was tired.  He was complaining that his legs hurt.  Poor kid.  We had a quick supper... then medicine, then bed.  

Unfortunately, Kayson didn't sleep well.  He was up at 2:40 (bathroom, which is good!), then 3:00 complaining of his legs, 4:00 saying he just couldn't sleep, 5:00 (bathroom again) and then again at 6:00 - and at that time, I felt him, and he was super warm.  I should have felt him before then, but I was so tired!!!  So...  I gave him medicine, and he slept til about 7:45.  

We needed to decide if we'd do church...  we ended up going... but Kayson definitely wasn't himself.  He was trying really hard to be 'fine', but I could just tell.  So we got home, and he said he didn't want to go to flag football.  Huge bummer, but we can't force him, especially when he wasn't feeling well.  He just rested (not really sleeping), but just took it easy.  He drank a huge glass of water, and just hung out.  Around 3:00, he asked for a snack - crackers and cheese... and he started to perk up.  He still complained of his legs hurting too... but no fever.  All kind of weird, but could just be exhausted???  

Between all of that... I did some laundry, and grocery shopped.  Ryan still had to coach football, and then he needed to mow.  It was another busy Sunday, even though we layed low this afternoon and evening.  

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the Iowa game, the new playset at church and tonight decorating cookies.  

The new playground at church - we donated to this awesome item for the kids!!!

Kayson - Outstanding!

Thursday, Kayson came running up to me as I picked him up from school saying - "I got outstanding today!!!  You should be contacted by Mrs. Turner!"  He was thrilled and so was I.  With his 'talking' problem over the past couple weeks, it was nice to hear that he was able to talk when he's supposed to and have a positive attitude and be helpful ALL IN ONE DAY!  ha.  

This was one thing he told me:
K: You know how many paper towels were on the bathroom floor Mom?
Me: How many?
K: 13 - I picked them all up. 
Me:  That's so nice of you!!

He told me he helped a couple friends with some of their reading too.  


Mrs. Turner's email read like this:
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor -
Kayson reached outstanding today by demonstrating positive behaviors.  He continuously went above and beyond by doing the right thing and being proactive. I am so proud of his leadership skills and appreciate his positive attitude towards learning. 


This is so awesome to hear, and I'm so thankful.  

Cora

Kayson got his own post... and Missy Moo does too.  
She, too, is growing up.  She's changing.  She's STILL ornery, a pistol, naughty, but loving.  Cora is the biggest challenge of my life so far - over being young and dumb at one time, over getting a divorce too!  She's my challenge.  God has blessed me/us.  :)

A few things lately where her 'growing up' has really stuck out --- 

She has always wanted to dress herself.  But lately it's everything - including socks.  And she wants to undress herself too, which is fairly new.  She balances herself on her bed or her chair and takes her leggings off.  "I got it Mom", she says.  

Cora is growing up before our eyes with learning.  I've said it before with her writing, her art, her love for coloring and things like that.  Today her Sunday School room got to choose something special from the church bucks - she chose a coloring book.  No surprise to us.  She may be our artist.  :)

Her talking and imagination is at the highest...  talking like she's 12 - saying things like "So, I'm just going to go over there and wait for you", "So, will you help me please?"  She uses the word "So" a lot, which I find hilarious.  

Cora's painted pumpkin

A little quiet time while brother was gone - She said she missed him.

Kayson

And just like that...  our kid(s) are growing up.  (Cora too - see separate post).  

Kayson is a typical boy.  Stubborn, smart, emotional, sensitive, caring, loves electronics and only wants to do the best.  

Friday his school had their 2nd annual Miles for Maple Grove.  It's basically a fund raiser for the school and the kids get tshirts and get to run a mile (around the school).  They run in their classes, and again - Kayson got first place.  This literally explodes my heart.  He's fast... and he likes it.  I love it.  A couple of my friends sent me pictures of him that afternoon, which was much appreciated. 

And Saturday night he was invited to a birthday party.  It was a sleepover, however, we decided against having him sleep over.  We weren't comfortable with that, for several reasons - 1. we don't know the parents at all and 2. we think he's still pretty young for that.  He went to the party for about 3 hours, and we brought him home.  Which I think both Ryan and I were glad to have him back home.  The home that we dropped him off at was dirty... the parents seemed nice enough, but we just weren't comfortable.  So it worked out...  Regardless, he's growing up - doing things like this and just being a big kid now.  

The bedtime alarm system is also going well.  We are about 3 plus weeks in, and we are seeing improvements.  We've had several dry nights (all night long), and several times of him waking BEFORE the alarm goes off.  I don't think we are completely 'trained', but we are getting close. 

Here are a few more pics from our weekend.

Helping with the fire.

Seriously - that giggle.