Life Lately

We are getting ready to be in the busy season of life again.  Even though there is snow on the ground, Spring activities are starting up.  We had originally planned for all 4 kiddos to play soccer.  Addi became very adamant that she didn't want to play.  Payton really wanted to be a soccer star, but we couldn't get her on a team that worked with her dance and art schedule.  So, we have Karsyn and Evan signed up to play.  Right after I registered Karsyn, she decided that she wasn't interested anymore. Ugh!  We went to Academy over the weekend and she picked out pink shin guards, pink cleats, pink wrist sweat bands, and a pink water jug.  Now, she can't wait!  She even tried to convince Evan that she needed to wear his sports goggles. Big Brother gave her a no on that one. lol.  Evan got picked up to be on a Rec Plus team.  It's through the same soccer club, but he's on a more competitive league.  Rec Plus teams are hand picked by their coaches and most of the coaches are either licensed or going through the process.  This season is going to be different for Evan, but it's a really good opportunity for him.  The only downside is that we'll have to do a lot more traveling.

Wednesday Night Church

 We have finally, FINALLY found a church home.  After searching what seems like forever, we joined the church that we have been visiting for a few months this Sunday morning.  Honestly, I couldn't be more excited.  It's a smaller church with great children's programs.  A fun club for the kids just started on Wednesday evenings.  The kids will wear vests and earn patches for learning their memory verses and other awards.  They wrap up services by playing games in the gym.  I loved watching the kids play last week.  I was also a little in shock when I saw Karsyn.  She's wearing the pink pants.  She looks like such a big girl!!!

 School has been going really good for all of the kids.  Payton wore this dress to church on Sunday and plans to wear it again tomorrow.  She's giving her big presentation over the Dust Bowl to her Gifted and Talented class.  Last year, she did an outstanding job and I expect her to do no less this year. Evan got hired to be an after school math tutor.  He'll do tutoring sessions once a week.  He's also going to start working on trumpet solo for band contest.  His academic team is working hard to get ready for State.  Big guy is busy!!!  Addi is amazing us with how well she is learning to read.  It blows me away!  Karsyn is doing really good in school too.  I think she is more than ready for preschool next year.  She only has one more school year until she's in full day school.  How did that happen?

We've been trying to visit Grandma Shirley as much as possible.  Can you tell that Addi is her girl?  You can just see the love they have for each other in this picture.  Tests revealed that Grandma's cancer is worse than we originally anticipated.  She started treatment this week.  Grandma and Grandpa have such strong faith and are staying in good spirits.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Doctor Dilemmas

I was recently introduced to Bankers Healthcare Group.  BHG gives physician loans to doctors, dentists, and other healthcare staff, making it possible for providers to connect with their patients as well as making trips easier for us parents.  You can learn more about BHG by clicking here. Having 4 kiddos aged 10 and under has meant that I've spent a lot of time over the years at doctor appointments, dental check-ups, and optometrist exams.  We've been pretty lucky when it comes to trips to the hospital. We've only had two of those. When Payton was around 14 months old, she had Rotavirus.  She got very dehydrated and had to spend the night at the hospital.  I am almost certain that I held her the entire time she was there.  Our one and only trip to the emergency room was about 3 years ago.  Addi got a bead stuck in her nostril.  I couldn't get it out and she couldn't stop screaming.  By the time we made it back to the exam room, the bead had made its way down to her tummy.  For the most part, our health care experiences have been positive.  I feel confident in the professionals that we trust for such an important job. We have great relationships with our doctors, dentist, and staff.  But every now and then, we've had a few hiccups or hang-ups.  

 

Payton and Karsyn at Well Kid/Baby check-ups in 2013.

Certainly, wait times have been an issue. One of the hardest parts of having 4 young kids is getting them all to the doctor's office and then having to wait in an exam room for a long period of time.  I appreciate doctors being thorough and I understand that's not always a quick process.  Sometimes, when waiting in a small exam room with 4 kiddos and a double stroller, the walls close in quite quickly.  Our pediatrician's office is great and provides age-appropriate toys and books.  There have been a lot of times, though, when we've visited other doctors, and that wasn't the case.  There are only so many games of I Spy you can play before the kiddos get bored and start getting restless.  I always try to bring a few things for the kids to play with when we have a scheduled appointment.  A few times, we've had to go directly from school to urgent care and I had nothing on hand. It would be great if there was something to entertain our kids in all exam rooms.  I think my girls are sitting on the answer in the picture above.  Wouldn't it be great if the exam table paper had designs similar to coloring books? I know my kiddos would love to sit and color, play tick-tac-toe, or even practice writing their letters while we wait.

Dental check-ups

My biggest source of frustration is when there is a lack of follow-up or when information reaches a dead end.  I hate waiting for a phone call to schedule an appointment, only to find out that all the paper work wasn't submitted from one clinic to the next, or insurance is waiting on documentation.  That happened when Addi got a referral for speech therapy.  There was such a tangled up mess of paperwork (thanks to the insurance company), that we ended up waiting 3 months from the time she was diagnosed with a speech delay until she started therapy.   We also found out the hard way that not all urgent care clinics communicate with primary care physicians. Addi had multiple ear infections as a baby (which is possibly why she had a speech delay.) There were a few times that I took her to an urgent care clinic over a weekend.  Her diagnoses weren't reported to our pediatrician.  I think, if the information had been relayed, she would have had tubes in her ears much sooner.  It would be great if there was a 'Follow-Up Liaison' at each clinic.   Until that happens, I've found that you have to be your own advocate.  Don't be afraid to make calls and ask questions.

After the eye doctor.

Lastly, when more than one kiddo is sick at a time, getting multiple instructions can be a little overwhelming. Sometimes a lot of information gets thrown at you all at once. I always want to make sure that I am giving whoever is sick exactly what they need when they need it.  A great solution would be if clinics would offer a list of written instructions.  Perhaps that's not really feasible.  I've started bringing a pen and pad of paper with me to make sure that I get everything right.  When Jason takes the kiddos, he likes to make a list of instructions on his phone.  What about you?  What are your best tips and tricks for taking your children to appointments?

SNOKLAHOMA {2015}

For the most part, this winter has been very mild.  In the last week, we've had a bit of a weather roller coaster.  We've went from days nearly reaching 80 degrees to days like today where school is canceled because of snow and ice.

The night before last, we had the very strange phenomenon known as Thunder Snow.  Soft, fluffy snow didn't fall with the storm.  Instead, it was hard and thick.  The kiddos still had a lot of fun with it though.  When Jason got home, we got busy clearing our driveway and sidewalks.

Karsyn is a really hard worker!!!!

Addi

Evan

Then, the kiddos each made snow angels.  Since the snow wasn't really soft, the kids had to really work at it.

Payton

Addi 

Evan

Karsyn laid down to do a snow angel and then quickly got back up.  She said it was too cold.

We may be getting more snow in later this week...or it maybe in the 70's.  Living in Oklahoma, who really knows?  We'll enjoy whatever weather comes our way.

Frozen in February

This Sunday, one of Karsyn's little friends from school celebrated her 4th birthday with a Frozen party.  Addi loves all things Frozen, so she came along for the fun too!  Here are my little Elsas ready to go.

 My little ice queens did not like the idea of wearing shirts and tights under their costumes.  I had to assure them that Elsa does in fact wear tights too.  She has to right?  When I saw this picture, I couldn't help but think about all of the times I took Payton to princess parties.  When she was their age, Disney Princess parties were so much fun!

Payton loved being Snow White for parties and for Halloween.  

We knew by the invitation that this Frozen party was going to be so much fun!  The invite was so, so cute!

 We got to the church where the party was being held, and the girls' mouths dropped open. (Local friends and family - it was at the church where the kiddos have played basketball.) Frozen was being played on a projector screen and every little detail was perfectly thought out.  The girls got busy coloring Elsa and Hans.  Then, they enjoyed all kinds of yummy snacks.  They loved building a marshmallow snow man most of all.

The party guests all played until one of their favorite songs came on the movie.  Then, they would stop what they were doing, run to the projector screen, and belt out the lyrics.  It was adorable.  All of the Elsas, Annas, and one Olaf stopped for a group picture.

They played pin the nose on Olaf, the birthday girls opened presents, and then it was cake time.  My girlies love cake!

After cake, the girls played a little more.  Then, the party fun wrapped up with a pinata. 

Addi and Karsyn loved every second of the party.  I enjoyed getting to talk to many great mom friends.  It was so much fun!

Valentine's Day {2015}

Valentine's Day 2015 was a good one for our little family.  Things didn't go quite how we had planned, but it was a fun day.  We started off by Jason making us a yummy breakfast.  Then, Karsyn and I headed out to her first of two birthday parties for the weekend.  She met her little friend, Hadley, last year at Tot Gym.  This year, they go to school, dance, and gymnastics together.  I love how well they get along.  Karsyn had so much fun at her bowling party!

After we got home, I attempted to take a Valentine's Day picture of my crew. Taking a picture of 4 kiddos is no easy task.  This was the best.  Addi was about to crack up, but I love Evan's smile.  

After our picture session, Jason and I passed out gifts to the kiddos.  We got them all a little candy and a camera. Our intentions for this beautiful Valentine's Day was to go to the zoo, so the kiddos could use their new cameras.  Jason got called into work (yuck!) and I neglected to get batteries and SD cards, so the excitement soon wore off. =(  After giving gifts, I had to run a few errands.  Even on Valentine's Day, there is dry cleaning to be picked up and groceries to be bought.  When I came home, Jason and Karsyn took a nap.  (Jason had to work night shift - double yuck!)  While they were snoozing, we had a very special visitor.  Papa Floyd stopped by dropping off all kind of Love Day goodies.

The kids were so, so excited!  Thank you again Papa and Grandma!  Even though Daddy had to go to work, he wanted to make the special dinner he had planned.  He fired up the grill and put some steaks on.  I always make chocolate covered strawberries on Valentine's Day.  It always proves to be a little tricky, because Karsyn tries to eat all the strawberries and Addi tries to eat all the chocolate.  When I reached in the cabinet to grab the wafers, I found that Addi did in fact gobble down all of our chocolate. So, I ran by Nana and Papa's house.  Nana always has dipping chocolates on hand. =)  As I pulled onto our street on the way home, there were about 3-4 firetrucks. They had most of our street completely blocked off. The biggest truck was directly in front of our house.  I panicked!  I had to park the car at the end of block and ran as fast as I ever have to our house.  As I was running, the firefighters started to give me that concerned look.  And that's when I realized, ummm....they weren't at our house!  I had to run past them.  Hey, at that point, I was committed. LOL!  Since it was such a pretty day, our elderly neighbor had her windows opened.  I think she smelled the smoke from our grill and thought it was her house.  So, all was well, except for the fact that I was really embarrassed for having just sprinted down the street in a panic.  The worst part was having to walk back to the get car.  It was a walk of shame. ha!   After all of that excitement, we had a wonderful dinner and then Jason went to work.  Hopefully, next year's Valentine's Day will go a little more as planned. =)

Payton & Addi's {2015} Valentine's Day Parties

Today was Addi and Payton's turn to celebrate Valentine's Day at school.  They were both so excited to party down.  Here they are ready for school.

Addi ready for her Kindergarten party.

Payton ready for her Fourth Grade Party

The girls and I took Evan to his school and then we had breakfast at their school.  Karsyn LOVED eating with her sisters.

Addi loved that her friend Greggy ate with us.

The big girls ran off to the gym for their morning assembly, while Karsyn and I finished up our breakfast.  Karsyn had her first taste of school cafeteria food and decided that it was delicious.  She ate up her chicken, waffles, and pineapples like it was going out of style.  She gets this from her Daddy.  He loves school cafeteria food too.  Strange?  Um...yeah.  A little. I think we'll try to do a girl breakfast at the school more often....or we might just stick with the donut shop.  We'll see. When Karsyn finally finished up and after I got a job offer to be a lunch lady (for real), we came home.  I did some paperwork.  Karsyn watched TV.  Then, we made a Target run with Nana.  We got back to town in just enough time to pick Evan up from school a little early.  Academic Team practice was cancelled and his school pick up time would have been right in the middle of party time.  We opted for him to leave school a few minutes early so that he could join in on the fun. He was so glad! We went to Addi's class first.  Rather than to be bombarded with tons of junk food, both girls' teachers had a set snack. I think this works out so great! Addi's class enjoyed ice cream sundaes. 

Karsyn enjoyed a bite or two.  Evan ran to his favorite teacher's class to say hi.

After the class finished their ice cream, they opened their valentines together.

When they started watching a movie, Evan, Karsyn, and I headed to Payton's class. Pay and Kars acted like they hadn't seen each other in years. =)

Payton's class had pizza and pop.

Here's Payton with her friend Riley.  They both got each other extra special valentines. =)

Payton's teacher was super sweet and offered Evan and Karsyn pizza too.

When we got home, I attempted to take a Valentine's Day picture.

We will try again tomorrow. It was a great and busy day!  And we are still not done celebrating.  More to come soon!