A Long Weekend.

Ryan was on call this last weekend which definitely makes for a long weekend for everyone!  I shouldn't be complaining since he rarely works weekends and is definitely compensated for it, but I still dread it!  I was unsuccessful in recruiting someone to come visit us for the weekend, so it was a lot of quality time; just me and the kiddos.  Christina even left for the weekend and Holly was busy all weekend-big bummer! At any rate, we found things to do and survived.

Trying to keep this munchkin entertained can be a challenge, but we managed.  She would have crawled up on the counter had I let her.

 

We rented a couple movies and ate some yummy popcorn on the couch.  Kadence picked out Mars Needs Moms for Landon.  He was a little reluctant going to bed that night asking in his most concerned little voice, "Mama, you aren't gonna go to to to to Mars are you?"  Sometimes I forget how much kids think about the things they see.  With a lot of reassurance and a few extra kisses I had convinced him I was not going anywhere while he went to sleep. :)

Pretty Girl.  Saturday Ryan was 2nd call, he was home around 1030 and we decided to head to the mall and have lunch and walk around just to get out.  Of course we just walked thru the mall doors and he was called back to the hospital.  So, the kids and I had a lovely lunch and spent almost 2 hours there walking around and checking out all the animals.  I'm not going to lie I get some strange looks.  I can imagine what people are thinking, "Why would she take 3 kids out alone? How is that even fun? Is that the nanny, she can't possibly have 3 kids already, I mean she has braces?"  Although I sometimes feel those things, stay at home mom's truly have to get out of the house, too.  I have done this alone long enough that it actually goes pretty well, thanks to some very well behaved children!

 

When Sunday rolled around (Ryan ended up working 19 of the 24 hours) I was ready to get out again. What better way to get up and moving in the morning than head to church.  So, I ventured to church alone with my 3 little ones and asked for a little help from God for them to sit through church with just me.  As it turns out, they were angels in church and we all felt better afterwards. I have been trying to make it to church as often as I can, it seems to be helping with my anxiety-YAY!

It was a long Sunday with Ryan working hard all day/night.  When I had all 3 bathed and tucked into bed I was thankful of 2 things: 1.) It was not any of my friends or family that needed the emergent surgeries Ryan was at work for 2.) It was almost Monday and Ryan had the day off!

Snow Fun.

We finally were blessed with 5.5 inches of snow last weekend.  I can't believe how happy a little snow has made me.  I know that at some point I am going to regret my excitement and be so tired of snow that I want to move south.  But, for now I am going to enjoy it!  It is so nice to finally have all the brown dead grass covered up and the snow makes the day a bit brighter.  We have had some decent temperatures so Landon and Kadence have spent an abundance of time playing outside while Kenzie watches inside and dreams of next winter when she gets to chase big brother and sister around.

 Amazingly, this little girl has to be forced to come in the house.  Her cheeks turn bright red and she just looks so adorable.  She is so funny because she gets outside and just starts running.  My little hippy child loves to be free...

 Landon's favorite outside activity....wrestling dad in the snow!  Too Funny!  He also loves to help shovel and cruising around in the sled. 

Love this!

So far, this has been a great winter!  It's amazing how a little more space in our home has also made the days inside much easier.  My days are kept busy practicing the alphabet with Landon and Kadence and playing games, and chasing after Kenzie and picking up her many messes.  Kenzie is like a little tornado and is not afraid of anything.  She loves playing "horsey" and riding around on Ryan and my backs as well as big brother and sister's.  

I'd like to write a day in the life of me story someday.  Being at home with a 1, 3,  and 5 year old sure has its challenges and excitement all at the same time.  Just this morning when I was trying to get Landon and Kadence ready for school and entertaining Kenzie as well I somehow avoided a major catastrophe.  Kenzie loves playing with phones and since Ryan lets her play with his iPhone, she always wants to play with mine.  I just got my iPhone a couple weeks ago and feel as it is my outlet to the outside world some days, so I am not willing to let her play with it.  Not to mention I don't think I could afford another one at full price if she ruined it.  This does not stop her from playing with it if I happen to leave it somewhere in her reach.  I realized she had it (and was hiding) and took it away from her and gave her one of our old phones.  It was literally not 30 seconds later I heard her in the bathroom and went in to find her trying to fish the phone out of a pee filled toilet.  Really?!!  Now I was angry as one can imagine (really, fishing things out of a toilet is not fun) but at the same time, I was thanking God that she only tossed an old phone in the toilet and that it was just a pee filled toilet.  I guess it could always be worse.  

This one keeps me on my toes.  Or somedays on my knees with my hands on my head. 

At least I have the weekend with Ryan on call all weekend to look forward to...

BRRR...

I knew it was inevitable, but it does not make the subzero temperatures more tolerable now that they are here.  Today and tomorrow are going to be the chilliest days we've had yet and I'm dreaming of the beautiful weather we had less than two weeks ago.  The kids played outside and I even ran outside with minimal outerwear 3 days in a row.  Gone are those beautiful winter days in the 40's-50's.  I really should not be complaining as this is an unusually warm winter for Fargo, but I guess you get kind of used to the spoiling.

 Perhaps with these nasty cold temperatures we could at least get some snow so we didn't have to look at brown everything anymore.  In honor of our chilly weather, the kids made a little video for Grandma Sue and Papa Gary who are in Texas...in much warmer weather.  By the way, Landon already asked me yesterday when it will be Spring...

Busy Body Baby.

Who would have thought this baby could get any busier?  Well, she has.  Now that she is full on walking, she never stops going.  She seems to be happier now that she's cruising around on her feet instead of her knees, but she is getting into everything.  When I get frustrated after picking up her gajillionth mess of the day, I just remind myself her little brain is just blossoming and figuring this crazy world out.  I was sitting right next to her today and she stood up in her high chair, turned around, and had a seat on the tray.  In like .5 seconds, no lie.  Since I was just inches away I let her sit long enough to get a picture.

She just loves snacking.  Can't say I blame her.  When she's hungry she comes over and goes, "uh, uh, uh" and then starts smacking her lips.  It's adorable and at least we know what she wants!

Classic Kenzie look.  "What? I'm not doing anything!"

Love her!

5.

 This little guy had his 5 year well check last week.  It is a couple months late I know, but let's not forget life with a 1, 3, and 5 year old gets a bit hectic.  At any rate, he had a great check up and is progressing just as he should be both physically and psychologically.  Unfortunately, he had to get his immunizations for Kindergarten (Yikes-that's difficult for me already) which consisted of 2 pokes and a mist (5 different vaccinations).  He was a pretty tough guy.

His Stats:

Height: 44 inches- 59th percentile

Weight: 39 pounds 10 ounces- 37th percentile

BP: 93/54  HR: 91

Landon remains the most tender hearted, sweet little boy in the world.  He knows just how to melt my heart every day.  He and Kadence have been talking about "getting married" a lot (I'm assuming from one of their movies) and one day he grabs my hand and kisses it and says, "Mama, can you marry me?"  This little boy is going to make one great husband some day (far far away, like in 25 years.)  We then explained to him that Daddy and Mommy are married and that you can't marry your mom.  I'm not going to lie, I think he was a little disappointed.  Such a sweetheart.

Landon is doing well learning his letters and numbers and writes his name very well.  He can spell his first name and we are working on his last.  I'm not going to lie, Strasburg is not the easiest name in the world.  He loves going to school and is starting to get bored at home with us on days off.  He has so much energy it amazes me.  He still loves anything rough and tumble, playing football, and wrestling daddy.  He loves watching football on TV with Ryan and it amazes me how much of the game he understands.  He even recognizes the different NFL teams and their mascots.  Yikes-I'm in trouble.  We spend many hours of the day playing: CandyLand, Chutes and Ladders, Spongebob Yahtzee, Zingo, Crazy 8's, Uno Moo, and 1-2-3 Dominoes.  Landon loves games and is very good at them.  He also plays his leap pad quite a bit and the iPad when we let him.

Love this little boy and we are so proud of him every day.

Just Like Daddy

The kiddos are always fascinated with Ryan's work "outfit" as Kadence calls it.  Whenever we have stopped by the hospital for a quick visit they are just amazed by his "green outfit" and "blue hat."  Since Ryan's scrubs stay at the hospital to be laundered (thank goodness-I have plenty of laundry) the kids don't usually see him with them on. The other day Ryan brought scrub caps home for the kids and they thought they were pretty cool.  It was definitely some cheap entertainment, that is for sure.

Such little loves.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We had a very relaxing New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  It was a much needed low key couple of days with our sweet family of 5.  Ryan took the older two kids to a movie this afternoon while Kenzie and I made a trip to Gordman's with Christina.  

Just wanted to share a video of our New Year's gift.  Kenzie girl is finally officially walking.  I really thought this would have happened 3 months ago; however, Miss Kenzie had different plans.  Love her to pieces.  So proud of our little munchkin! ***The stairs you will see towards the end of the video are actually pet steps.  Now, some may think this is silly and ridiculous; however, those thinking those thoughts have never been woken up 2-3 times a night to their growling princess puppy for a lift on the bed.  Judge all you want, I call it sanity.  These pet steps have also created hours of entertainment for Kenzie who actually thinks they are for her.