Santa

Maybe the worst pic of my kids ever.  I would take a screaming kid over this one.  It has been summer weather here in Dallas.

I decided at the last minute to take the kids after school.  There was no line and Santa spent alot of time talking with the kids.  Hazel was doubtful but didn't cry.  What you don't see is that I am sitting on a folding chair and Hazel is sitting on my lap.  So she isn't actually sitting on Santa's lap.

Hagen was SO excited to see Santa!  I failed him and had him wearing shorts...didn't straighten out his shirt...forgot to spray tan him...etc.  He is also sitting very oddly.  Maybe I should have also taken him to the bathroom?

But they are so cute...they are mine...funny/odd pictures and all.

Carrie

Thought about quitting

This blog thing sometimes takes a LONG ride in the back seat!  I don't WANT to stop but I just feel overwhelmed and guilty when I neglect it.  I'm going to keep it up so that I can put random posts up when I feel like it!

Hagen is LOVING kinder!  He jumps out of bed in the morning and is ready to go!  He is quite the little independent guy.  He is in love with Hazel...I wish it was mutual.  I mean she loves him but she points her anger towards him most of the time. 

Lately he has been quite obsessed with the iPad...so much that we need to start limiting the time on it.  For Christmas he wants an Xbox and a nintendo DS.  gifts sure do get more expensive as they get older huh?!  Geez!

Hazel is so freaking cute.  Her hair is long and I recently had it TRIMMED...we are talking about 1/2 inch...just to get the fuzz off the ends.  She is REALLY into pink right now.  She wants pink clothes (so most mornings are a struggle) and loves the pink flower for her hair (Also a struggle as I put whatever matches her outfit on...found some DARLING felt flower clips for her hair). 

The night before Thanksgiving Ryan and I were out in the backyard playing with the kids and Hazel said, "pee pee pa-yeah".  I took her in and she went...and went 3 more times before bed and had a dry diaper!  So we are going with it.  Her teacher isn't ready to put panties on her yet...she has to focus on 4 at a time so they get undivided attention.  Last night she actually went #2!  Ryan even said "it wasn't a bunny ball either...it was more like a pickle!"  We are aiming for pickles folks...sista has a constipation prob...BUT I switched her to 2% milk and it has finally resolved.  Who would have thought that going from whole milk to 2% would make THAT big of a difference?!  not me.

Work is going awesome...still love it...still look forward to coming in. 

I have a new niece (she is about 2 months old now).  Faith Ann came earlier than expected and is DARLING...black Mohawk and all.  She is the cherry on the top of the sundae of kids...

Ryan has started working out...he is doing the crossfit thing.  I have continued with my workouts too.  I am as shocked as anyone.  I go 4-5 times a week for weights and am trying to get on the treadmill for cardio the days I'm off.  I LOVE it...  It is nice that we are both doing something about our health together so we can support each other. 

Dapper...it seems that he is getting older and older.  He sleeps alot more, snores more, and his dog beard is getting greyer and grayer.  He turned 10 in September...

That's what I have for now.  I'm going to try harder to keep this blog going!  It is a constant battle, but I want to remember things about the kids and the fam.

Tata,
Carrie

Us lately

Not blogging in awhile makes me feel the same feeling that I get when I haven't been to church in awhile...which is going on now too.  Double Whammy!

I wanted to document a few things that have been going on.  Nothing bad, just want to remember!

1.  Hagen LOVES school!  It is still so precious to me to drop him off in carpool and watch him go into the school.  He is just so little compared to the other kids....but then again they could be in the older grades.  He did get in trouble the 2nd day of school (way to go kid) and was talking too much.  He had to sit out during the first 5 minutes of recess.  Luckily since then it hasn't been a problem.  I found out his teacher is the lead in the kinder classes, she has been there for 8 years, and I love her already!

2.  Hazel and her biting is getting out of control.  I got a naughty note yesterday that said, "Hazel was dancing to the music and then just stopped and bit her friend."  So later that night I was washing dishes after dinner and she came up behind me and was hugging my legs...or so I thought.  She wasn't crying or ANYTHING!  I all of a sudden felt this pain...sharp pain and she had bitten me on my thigh.  SO hard that it immediately left a bruise and puffed up.  I screamed because it hurt and it scared her.  She scampered out of the kitchen and I went to go put her in timeout...she was hiding behind a chair in the dining room (where time out is).  I pulled her out and she pouted and then cried.  I feel sorry for the babies in her class she bites...freaking hurt!

3.  I am going to be an aunt on 10.11.12...don't know what it is but am DYING to know.  They have one of each and this is their last so they decided to keep it a secret.  Names are secret too...

4.  a week before Hagen started school Ryan and I went to the Lake of the Ozarks at my parents lake house and spend a week...WITHOUT.KIDS.  It was fabulous!  Our 10 year wedding anniversary is this year in October.  We didn't want one of the grandma's to have to get him to school at 7:30 so we went before it started.  It was so relaxing!  Even though we helped build a sidewalk for my Uncle...I swear working at the lake in 80 degree weather without the kids is FUN!!  So thankful that Nana took Hagen and my Mom kept Hazel...dividing and conquering is key.  Hazel came home with a new baby.  She got attached to it at a store and Mom quickly got it for her and she held onto it all week.  Hagen is still detoxing from the sugar he had. 

5.  I have been eating like CRAP since we got back from the beach!  I was doing so good and then just went nuts.  My main problem is chocolate...any chocolate. 

6.  Working out...well it has been also hit and miss since the beach.  I'm starting back up and Ryan is starting Crossfit also.  I think it will help us both if we keep each other accountable.

7.  Thank the lord Hagen wakes up to his alarm.  He woke me up at 6:34...and if he didn't I wouldn't have gotten up until I just happened to wake up because mine wasn't set!  We have to leave at 7:30 on.the.dot. in the morning to ensure that my plan goes perfect.  My clock was actually on and set but for 7:30.  THAT would have been disastrous waking up when we are supposed to be walking out the door. 

8.  Cannot wait for the fall.  Hazel's wardrobe is adorable...Hagen's shorts are getting short so jeans will be a nice change...I am dying to put my boots on. 

9.  Hazel went to the doctor last week because she got a spider bit (actually 2) on her cheek!  They were huge!  She is OK though.  She is a mosquito magnet.  The spider bites are clearing up and now she has welts on her whole body from the mosquitoes!!  GRR!!!!

10.  Work is busy and great as always...

Tata,
Carrie

Hagen's first day of Kindergarten

So he's there...at Bennett Elementary...

I'm not sad...I'm just reminiscing alot this morning after dropping him off.  He was 10 weeks old when I started working at Artis...now he is at big school. 

He is most excited to ride the bus to LLC after school!  That is what is going to get him through the day I'm sure! 

His alarm was set for 6:30...he got up and got ready and came bouncing downstairs looking like a grown man.  He looked so much older to me...more mature.  He ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth, and we took the first day of school photos (with little sidekick Hazel right there being a pest with puss pockets on her cheek...she got bit by something).  On the board I made him hold it said, "1st day of Kindergarten!  When I grow up I want to be a Diver!"  He was in awe of the diving team on the olympics...that is his new career aspiration!

Ryan dropped us off in the carpool line and Hagen and I made our way inside.  I had him show me where to go.  Only once having to think about right or left...he peeked down to the right and said, "Yep, it's this way Mom".  We got to his room, put his lunch box on the shelf, his snack in his cubby and hung his backpack on the hook.  I knew it was almost time to leave...but I wanted to stay.  I took pictures of my sweet little man at his desk and with his teacher and then didn't know what to do.  Hagen told me what to do by saying, "Bye Mom!  Have a good day!". 

With that I headed out of his room, gave his teacher a sheepish smile and told her to have a great day, and walked out of Bennett.  Leaving behind one of the sweetest smartest little boys I know.  My Hagen, we are all so proud of you and know that you have great things to come in your future.  Make some new friends, be nice to people that don't have anyone to play with, and have a great time!

Love,
Mama

Hazel has been busy!

I swear, Miss Hazel is a nut!  But she is SUCH a cute little thing!

I will never have to worry about her defending herself.  She is a tough cookie. 

I still regularly get "Naughty notes" from her teachers at school for biting.  I get so irritated at her when she gets them!  I'm over it already!  I never thought I would have a bully...especially after sweet Hagen!!

BUT I think I know why she is that way.  Girlfriend will NOT talk!  She tries...she really does but she hasn't mastered it yet.  She understands pretty much anything I tell her.  She follows my punishing (time outs, have to get off the couch if you can't stay on your bottom, etc.) but it is when she is trying to tell us something that she just gets so frustrated.  Alot of her words come out sounding like "apple".  Instead of Up she will say down...and she will say "down" for down. 

She also wants me to hold her all the time.  She is light, I love holding her, but it is really bad when I am trying to get dinner together! It is lovingly named the witching hour in our house!!

Hazel has a video monitor in her room and I usually have it off at night.  I turn it on to check up on her from time to time but not much.  The other morning I went to go get her and she was balancing on her belly on the rail...like and airplane!!  I have NEVER seen her do that!  I did research about crib tents...decided that I don't want to use them...also NOT ready to put her in her toddler bed (crib converts).  So what we are going to do is take out the chicken wire thing that holds the mattress in place and put the mattress directly on the floor INSIDE her crib.  If needed we will put wood under the mattress to make it higher.

Hazel's hair is getting long! I LOVE it!  She has so much body to it...if I dry it without brushing it it kinda reminds me of Mrs. Brady from the Brady Bunch...it flips up in the back, parts to the side and tucks behind her ears, and at the crown it just has a TON on body but lays down so pretty!!!  Jealous!!!

I love you Hazel...you are a mess but one of a kind!

Love you, (she says "I chew")
Mama

Hagen is growing up!

So in 2 1/2 weeks Hagen will be starting Kindergarten...I'm having a hard time. Shocking because I really didn't have a hard time dropping Hagen and Hazel off for their first day at daycare and they were LITTLE!!! Like 10 weeks and about 8 weeks old!!


I am so excited for him and know that he will love it and we will move on...it's just the logistics. Where is the best "drop off" point? Will his lunch stay cold enough? What if older kids bully in the hallway? Just stupid stuff.

He is trying to be big. The other night he asked if he could start using his alarm clock. Ryan and I looked at each other and were like, "Well, why not?"

Hagen has had his alarm clock in his room for a few years now, but we have never actually used the alarm.

He will have to wake up at least 30 minutes earlier for school. I actually have to get him there at a certain time vs. like I have been for Pre-k...whenever I want.

I have been snoozing BAD lately! Ryan has been leaving early. So, for the past few mornings I get woken up by a sweet bright eyed SO.PROUD.OF.HIMSELF Hagen! When his alarm goes off, he quickly turns it off, turns on his lights, goes potty, puts his PJ's in the hamper and puts his clothes on. Then he comes down to tell me he's up and we go get Hazel!

He LOVES it!

Some other things he is doing are:

1. Holding Hazel's hand and walking her to her class
2. Picking out breakfast for Hazel and himself and bringing it to the table
3. Helping her put her shoes on in the morning (never works)
4. Reads books to her...his favorite to read to her is Brown Bear, Brown Bear (probably because he doesn't actually have to read it...

He is doing something alot lately that is driving us and his teachers CRAZY! "I don't feel good" comes out of his mouth at least once a day. I know that he loves skipping school (who doesn't), but it is just getting to be a "Never Cry Wolf" situation. So we have a plan...what we are doing is if he says it at all during the day he has to go to bed when Hazel does...because he is "sick". That's the rule. Hagen hasn't been "sick" in a couple of days. I think he got the point finally!

Love that big sweet boy!
Carrie

Destin 2012

Destin was AWESOME!  We had such a good time!  You know that feeling before spending a week in the same house with 3 families...that "you know we are going to get sick of each other" feeling?  I'm shocked that I can honestly say that I didn't feel that way. 

The kids got along great.  Hazel was a bit off the first morning and was such a bully so I took her to the doctor...she was sick so they put her on an antibiotic.  Two days later I felt HORRIBLE so I went and I had a sinus infection so I got a shot and meds.  Good to go!

The only way to document this trip (since I can't put pics up...stupid new format) is bullet points:

1.  Mom, thanks for getting the kids their own DVD players...Hagen watched how to train your dragon and Smurfs and Hazel watched Nemo and her Elmo shapes and colors. The DVD players, Cheese-its, and jelly beans were the currency on the plane!

2.  Hagen now LOVES crab legs...he orders them whenever they are on the menu for kids!  He also had his first Strawberry Daquiri and loved it as well!

3.  Hagen body surfed this year and really enjoyed it.  Ryan would take him out and then get him all set up with a wave and push...he was in heaven!

4.  Hazel loved to have a bucket (or 4) of water and put sand in it then dump it...over and over...then saying "Wawa" for more. 

5.  Emily and Hazel had their first official fight. Emily stands completely still and takes a beating which I think pisses Hazel off more and she keeps going after her.  Emily is sweet...hazel is not...at the moment at least!

6.  We only went out to eat 4 times (which is hardly anything to what we are use to) and we really enjoyed it!  This is the first year we have had to go with everyone else because Hagen starts Kindergarten in a few weeks (whaaaa).

7.  We did not buy one thing!  Except for buckets, etc.  But as far as fall clothes, souvenirs, etc.?  NOTHING!  It was fabulous!

8.  Mom and Dad still give us spending money on vacation...since we didn't get anything it went to help for Dog boarding! 

9.  A man died about 1/2 mile from our beach house...he was on a jet ski free diving down 30 feet to get sand dollars...never came up.  For 2 days I was nervous about him washing ashore, but they found him.  There were alot of rescue boats and helicopters around for a few days!

10.  We thought Hagen would get more sleep staying in our room (with Hazel) so Hagen had a pallet on the floor, Hazel was in a pack and play, and Ryan in the bed.  Funny thing is that Noah slept later than Hagen!

11.  I went from trying to get as tan as humanly possible to putting on SPF and sitting under the umbrella only emerging as necessary

12.  I need to SERIOUSLY figure out what to do with my face...acid peel?  Microderm?  I have age spots, sun damage, you name it.

13.  Hazel's hair is growing like CRAZY!!!!

14.  Hagen has the longest torso that I don't notice until he is next to Noah...they are about the same height but their belly buttons are at totally different heights!

15.  We will never be without frozen snickers at the beach...ever...or a new love is frozen milky ways...mmmm

16.  Can't wait for next year!

C