Neglect....

Yes its true…I just do not have time to keep up with this blog. I had/have good intentions, but I just can’t seem to manage it all and commit to posting.
I told myself, once a month…not too much to do, right?! Once a month comes and goes.
I feel bad because if I don’t post pictures here, then I should make the effort to mail them to my mother, as well as others, but that doesn’t seem to happen either. Not only have I not posted Kamden’s first day of kindergarten, his birthday came and went, and his school pictures are still sitting on the table. I should really get them mailed!
This week I was home with Kahne, and still didn’t make the time to sit and post pictures as I had hoped…
I was home all week because Kahne had both his tonsils and his adenoids removed last Wednesday the 14th. For over a year now we have dealt with sleep apnea, crazy upper respiratory infections, asthma, and just watched him struggle for air. Finally we referred ourselves to the ENT doctor to see if he might possible benefit from getting his adenoids and tonsils out. Not only did the doctor think he would benefit, he was pretty optimistic that it would take care of most of the issues with him. He came through surgery like a champ; and seemed so well on day 2, 3, and 4…..then is kinda hit him…..Monday and Tuesday were pretty rough on him….he was refusing to drink, refusing to take his medicine, but was in a lot of pain….he was crying so much he started to spit up blood, which is normal, but scary and painful. Today was better…..he is now talking through his nose and sounds like a chipmunk, but was in a little better mood this afternoon. I think the few days of misery will be well worth it though!

Kamden turned 6 this year! I know…..crazy!
He had his first ever friend’s birthday party….we had 9 little 6 year olds over for the afternoon….. I know…..even crazier!
It was surprisingly not as chaotic as you would think. We kept it simple with a monster truck party with pizza and a few games. It was rainy and cold out at first, so we were forced to hang out inside and in the garage, but warmed up in time to burn energy by running and playing. He got to invite his favorite girl friend Taryn…..they were quite inseparable for the day.

Kamden also started soccer this fall, which just ended. It starts back up in the spring and I think he will be glad, he seemed to like going.
This past Saturday was his first basketball. He really likes basketball. The kid is so clumsy though, he can’t seem to stay on his feet. He must get that from Jason; I just don’t think I fall down randomly.
He also started swimming lessons again. He is repeating Level 1, which is normal, well I think. I have been told they are sometimes in Level 1 for a few times as they expect them to do quite a bit to get to Level 2. I am sure the splashing the swimming teacher in the face is not going to earn him any brownie points! That too, he must get from Jason.

My fall classes started back up as well. Only two days a week, but with rearranging my schedule to fit 40 hours of work in, drop Kamden off at school, which I can’t do till 830, and still just fit in life, it seems there is not much spare time!

Halloween is next week and at the very least, I will post pictures.
Kahne is going to be Scooby doo (a tough costume to get!)
And Kamden is going to be a vampire (although he is still just a little unsure of being a scary thing!)
Ending with a few photos!

The boys, waiting for the parade.

Karley just had to make the post!

A very loud table of kids! :)

Monster Truck tattoos!!

Gift time!

Kamden and Taryn

The girls were both writing Kamden love notes.

Right before surgery!

And right after....

Poor baby...

What are the odds......

When we picked out both the boys names, we tried to pick something a little unique.
Slightly different than the average James, Henry…ya know. With the common last name of Johnson, we just wanted a little more of an uncommon first name.

What are the odds that Kamden will be starting kindergarten this fall with another Camden in kindergarten with him?! Not only is there is another Camden in there, but they both share the same last name as well.
They were in the same class for summer school.
They become known as Kamden with a K and Camden with a C.
I hope the teachers are a bit smarter for the school year and at least put them in separate classrooms. It could get quite confusing!

The school supplies are bought, the clothes we didn’t really need for him are bought, we bought 5 too many new pair of shoes (hey I have issues), he is ready, dad is ready, daycare knows he is done there…..but me….I still hate exposing him to the things he could learn at school…..Urg….I wish he could just stay little and innocent forever!

Only 2 more weeks…..not so cool…

Kitchen Facelift.....

So where the heck have I been for the last few weeks?!? Redoing a kitchen is ALOT of work....just ask Jason.....but where is my excuse?! Moral support, I guess.

Our kitchen was outdated...over 20 years. We have talked about redoing it on more than one occasion, but just never taken the plunge. Our kitchen is not huge, so we knew it should be a simpler project; we just aren't sure how many more years we are going to be here, so we just weren't sure it would be worth it......but now that its done, it was oh so worth it!

You would really have had to see the before to appreciate the after....(I had before pictures, its just the time I am lacking)........We took out the L-shaped counter top to open up the kitchen more. We were not sure we were going to love that, as we were kinda afraid we were going to miss it. But so far, we haven't really missed it at all! We did extend the counters on each side to compensate for the loss of counter space from removing the L-shape........I am loving the new updated look!! Really makes me want to bake!!

Accessorized!!

So does he look smarter?! According to studies that’s what other kids would say….”kids with glasses look smarter”
I just think he looks cute….maybe I am a bit biased.
Regardless, I am glad he has them as according to the eye doctor, he will see so much better that he won’t want to take them off.

Kamden's Paradise

Ask Kamden about his favorite things on vacation and I am sure playing in the mud will be one of his top picks.

The driveway of my friend Bobbie’s house is about a mile long. Half gravel, half hay field, but mostly dirt! Add 12 kids, diggers, buckets, bikes, a kiddy pool, and most importantly a water hose and you are sure to have a muddy time!
Kamden could not believe we were allowing him to strip to his undies (she didn’t warn me to bring old clothes) and just get dirty. (I don’t think Jason could believe it either)

We were cleaning dirt from his ears for 3 days but it was oh so worth it. He had a absolute blast!

A long week.....

Urg…one of the longest weeks of my year… Jason just left for Canada. We don’t like it not one little bit. We miss him and need him.

I am no single parent, figured that out some time ago. I gained so much respect for single parents the first year that I was a mom and Jason went to Canada. It’s tough doing absolutely everything, especially when I rely on him for so much. He is the most helpful husband I could have asked for, therefore his presence is missed that much more. Hunting and being gone a night or two is much easier than an entire week….its quite exhausting! We will survive. We try to keep ourselves quite busy while he is gone so we don’t miss him as much.

We have lots of little things planned, a play date or two, a trip to chuck e cheese, a trip to the zoo, and hopefully a friend or two sleeping over. Between that and work, we won’t have too many spare moments.

And he will have a great time, and come back all “refreshed”…..he needs his little week away too.

SO…I have so many little blog stories but just no time to sit and write them….still would like to add some of our TN adventures, I just need more hours in a day.

Last weekend we took the boat out fishing and had a couple firsts….both boys conveniently had to use the bathroom #2, not long after we got out there. Kamden thought it was great leaning his butt over the side and pooping in the water….biggest problem with him was he was trying his best to stretch his neck to watch the poop fall and almost went in with it more than once. If you know Kamden, you know he takes 20 minutes to poop……so holding him in that position for that long was quite challenging for me.

Kahne wanted no part of pooping in the water so he said never mind he didn’t have to go. He can normally hold it for awhile so we didn’t think a lot of it. A few hours later, all of a sudden he is crying “oh no, I had a accident”…..unfortunately it was runny and pretty much everywhere……fortunately (for me) I had helped Kamden with his and it was Jasons turn to help Kahne….by the end they both were pretty stinky! We had to promptly head home for showers….

We had Kahnes birthday party last weekend too….I will hopefully post pictures and blog about that soon. After our big search for wiggles stuff for a wiggly party, I think his wiggles fascination is slowly coming to an end…..Scooby Doo is top on his list these days!!

Kamden graduated from 4K on Thursday….they had quite the ceremony in gowns and everything! I wasn’t as sad as I thought I was going to be…..I think kindergarten is going to be the hard one! Could not decide which photo to share, so adding a few….the two are quite similarly, but I like one much better and Jason likes the other one best, so I thought I would share both…..

Look how dark my little man has already gotten this spring.

The one Jason liked the best

and the one I liked. ( I actually like them both for different reasons!)

Kahne is learning to dress himself....he was struggling with his pajamas!!!

It's a GIRL........

Finally I am not so outnumbered in the house.
We got home from vacation on Saturday and our new addition arrived that afternoon….Karlee is an energetic petite feline that so far has fit right in.
(Although being woke up to her curiosity at 4 am isn’t too cool with me)

The boys love her and so far Kahne hasn’t really reacted to her. We were afraid he was allergic to cats as each time we went to the humane society he would break out with hives and itch. I think it was just from the cat overload as there are 150+ cats there and lots of hair everywhere.

She is too curious to snuggle but I think that will change as she adapts to her new home.

Three......

Can you believe it?!
Kahne is 3 today!
He thinks it’s great….he says he is closer to 5 now to be as old as Kamden (doesn’t realize Kamden ages as well and he won’t catch him in years).

When we asked if he wanted donuts or cupcakes to take to his friends at school today, he chose donuts….but then this morning he wasn’t so sure about sharing all his donuts, as he was afraid Henry at school might eat them all gone. (this child loves his junkfood)

Happy Birthday Kahner! Each and every day you amaze us. Your compassion, your intelligence, and your silliness make it impossible to not smile in your presence. You are truly one of a kind.

Parent Teacher Conferences (again)

We had parent teacher conferences at school/daycare yesterday afternoon. (yes they do these things twice a year just as school would) Kamden is still attending Miss Laura’s 4K and Kahne is in Miss Chelsey’s three year old room.

A few of the teachers thoughts………..

*Kamden is aggressive; he shows his emotions through outbursts and anger. (this happens mostly at school as we don’t see as much of this behavior)
*Kamden loves the color yellow. (yep we have had to replace markers 3 times this year, all for that color yellow….can’t they make a pack of all yellows?!?)
*Kahne likes to sing, makes up songs to the things he is doing. (cleaning up, building blocks) (Yep that’s our Kahne, likes his movies and his music)
*Kamden likes free play so he can play with the slightly older group. (his teacher realizes he is getting a little bored with class these days as he is the oldest in the room)
*Kahne is one of few that can follow 2-3 step tasks without having to be reminded.
*Kamden can identify all his letters and numbers.
*Kahne likes to read to the other kids. (making up the stories by the pictures)
*Kahne will not be the baby when playing house, he is always the dad. (he says he is too big to be the baby)
*Kamden loves to be outside. (seriously he would stay outside from the moment he gets up to the moment he goes to bed)
*Kahne can identify all the letters in the alphabet. (he is currently the only one in the class that can do this)
*Kahne likes to throw things. (and then if a toy hits a friend, he is always very compassionate and feels bad about what he did)
*Kahne likes to be silly, making his friends laugh.


The conferences were short and sweet. Kamden’s was short primarily because he is just ready for a change. Summer school starts when we get back from vacation and I am so glad for that, I think he needs the change in routine, he needs something new. Kahne’s was short, well because he is just that good. She said she would have one heck of an easy class if she could have all 9 Kahne’s in the class. (and she said she doesn’t just tell every parent that)

A Post.....!!!

A couple requests of “hey where you been, no blogging,”….I am glad I was missed.....actually I know it’s only because you want pictures of my cute boys. J

Been silly busy actually. So busy that once a month on this blog is almost more than I can do…..But it’s a little easier than printing and mailing out so many pictures to extended family, so I best get to it.

This week is my final week of school….yah!! I am so glad the semester is over as spring fever starts to set in and learning is the last thing I want to be doing. (Although I am trying to get into a summer class that is currently full, a part of me hopes it just stays that way)

Also just had a garage sale, which was thrown together last minute and we did great! Got rid of tons of stuff and made good money too!

We just had kindergarten registration/orientation for Kamden. Won’t get into that as it’s a process I am not sure I like too well….I never really got how parents could be sad when their kids headed off to kindergarten, I mean heck less daycare costs, more strict schedule, just what happens next, right?......not so much, I don’t like it not one little bit!
Neither does Kamden, which doesn’t make it any easier.

Leaving for vacation this week….First Mothers Day in 10 years I will be home to spend with my mom…kinda excited for that. We also plan to head back and spend the weekend in Gurnee, IL at Six Flags Great America. They have a wiggles themed play/ride area that Kahne is going to love!

Get back from vacation to Kahne turning 3! They can’t stay small forever, can they?!
We have a wiggles birthday party planned for the weekend after we return.

Then Jason leaves us and heads off to Canada for the week. He is, of course, more excited for that than any thing else.
The summer brings us T-ball (which Kamden is excited for this year) and summer school. I thought easing him into kindergarten by starting with the pre K summer school would be a beneficial thing for him. Its half days and they get them all prepared with how the lunch room process goes and sitting in their chairs for the day and such.

Actually no pictures this time as I just haven’t put forth the effort into editing them lately….I am sure I will have some vacation ones to share!!

Cupcake Pops

So I saw these on another blog and just had to try to make them. Not really a little boy friendly project so my mother-in –law, Nancy, was over to give the boys haircuts and I roped her into helping out with these cute little cake bites.

They are super cute and would be perfect for bridal showers, baby showers, etc. And they are pretty yummy too!!

Bakerella has great tutorials on her site of all kinds of baking fun. Just browsing her site I could gain 10 pounds!

Taking pictures was a last minute decision, so the pictures aren't the best and they looked much cuter in person.....

Do you have a baby gun?

Driving home the other night….

Kahne: I’m looking out the window, I’m watching for deers. (yes I know it should be just deer)

Dad: You are, are you seeing any?

Kahne: Nope, I think them are hiding in the woods or something. (lots of his sentences end with “or something”)

Dad: Whatcha going to do if you see one?

Kahne: I think I will shot him or something.

Dad: Oh really what you going to shot him with?

Kahne: Kamdens baby gun.

It’s a BB gun….I think he just might be picking up some of his brothers language.

A weekend project.....

The unfinished room in the basement that is suppose to be my stamp/scrapbooking room, that normally just gets piled with junk, is now finished! Yah....
I have been bugging Jason to add walls, a floor, insulation, lights, the whole works for quite some time....and he keeps saying "later". Well when he gets ready, he is ready. So Friday after work he tells me to get cleaning the junk out of there so he can do it. So little by little I moved the TONS of stuff in the room to Kamdens room and to the garage.

And now.......I have a mostly complete, much more functional room to have fun in!!!!

Before....

Before....

The 2 x 4's are up.....

and then the insulation...

and finally the walls.....then the texture....

and a mostly complete room....

He still is working on the little things....brace that tall cabinet to the wall...a couple of outlets, and a couple of paint touchups. Then the drop ceiling has to be put in.

He also is in the process of building a rack for my totes that are stacked to the ceiling on the other side of this room......that way when I want a tote that is at the bottom, I don't have to move all of them to get to it!!

Now I get to move all my fun stuff back in......I am sure it won't stay this clutter free looking for long!!!

Favorite Foto Friday

Loving this picture of Kahne!
And can't wait for the weather to be nice enough to take more pictures like this!!!

New Look

No time lately to write a thing....have you noticed? I don't think many have noticed as I have talked to so many of you.
Like the new look?

Things going on
**Trying to teach a 5 year old how to listen? Is that possible? Do they ever learn? He can't seem to remember that little rule. In addition to his horrible listening, his mouth has been getting him in much trouble lately too.
**School started back up again....only two days a week this time around. Kinda nice as I get a 4 hour lecture which means a little less outside of classroom work. (well for now anyways)
**Kahne moved to the 3 year old room at daycare! Sure he is over 4 months away from being 3 but they needed the space......the fact that he is indeed almost 3 is pretty sad!
**Had company for New Years--my sister and neice flew up for the week. It was an extremely cold and snowy week for them to be here. My sister thought it was a nice treat and she enjoyed every minute of it. My neice couldn't wait to get back home, but the feelings were mutual. Teenage drama queens and I don't mix too well.
**We still have new toys in their boxes in my living room from Christmas, this is a sure sign that they got too much for Christmas! I would put these away to the closets but its a nice reminder to scale down on what we buy!
**Counting down the days of January....loving the fact that its almost over....hopefully only a few more weeks of these crazy cold temps......its it bad that we are wishing our life away?!? I just can't wait for spring!

Hopefully pictures soon!