One day away.....

Happy Thursday!

First off, wanted to give you all a Maylin update from her lab results, since some are asking.

Both tests came back clear...so no pin worms...nothing yucky goin' on in her insides.  That's good! 

Her typical late morning post-breakfast place to fall asleep:)

So our next move?  I will feel more at ease once we take a little trip to FW to her surgeon.  He performed her umbilical surgery when she was 2 weeks old in the NICU.  Underneath her cutie belly button is her incision site, and a gathering of cartilage in between.  Part of me thinks it could be pulling at her skin, so maybe that's why she does what she does? And another part of me thinks she just does it for a simple soothing sensation.  But I do not think she is showing us an Autistic trait. As a baby, she is completely different from Isaac and a lot more "with it"...so we aren't leaning towards that.  Which is a great thing!! 

Anybody watch the show Parenthood?  It's become a new favorite show of mine. I'm intrigued with the family with the boy that has Asperger's. The mother of the boy is pregnant with another baby, and they just had an ultrasound on the last show and decided to know the sex.  She was terrified at the thought of having another boy, knowing the chances of having another child with Autism disorder is a lot higher in siblings and boys. When they told her it was a baby girl...the relief on her face was incredible! Pretty sure that hit the spot and watching that moment gave me a piece of mind too.  Hey if it's from a TV show...that's ok with me:)

So that's where we're at with that. Thanks to all those that have prayed about Maylin and what we would find out!

And tomorrow.... is the big day for my Mystery Belated Birthday Date/Getaway! I'm very ready! Still no clue as to where we're going...but I'll keep you all clued in as much as I will be on facebook:) 

The only things I know?  We're taking Kahler and Maylin along...and it's 2 nights instead of 1 night. So I'm clueless! Oh and he said to bring swimsuits....so I'm guessing a hotel room somewhere now. But that's it!  How do I pack for something like this?!:) I know we're not going "out out" with having both kids...so that kinda helps. 

Sooo....make sure you help me make my random decisions as we're going on facebook tomorrow!

Adios people!

1st Wedding Makeup Post!!

Lately, my big passion is doing makeup on women for their special occasions:  weddings, proms, special dates, etc.  I absolutely love it!  I've been an Independent Mary Kay consultant for 6 years.  I used to be really big into doing all of the parties and all that before kids.  Now I just don't have the time to do what I used to.  However, I love meeting with women one on one and getting the chance to personally do a look for them, especially for fun occasions.

So last weekend I had the honor of doing my friend, Leah's makeup for her big day...along with all of her bridesmaids including one of my besties:)  It was a ton of fun "transforming" these girls into a great look for the day.  As they got their hair done I worked on the girls inbetween so we were able to get a couple before and after shots...my favorite!

Here's one of the bridesmaids (and my amazing friend:)), Angie, getting her hair done...and a before picture....

And after!  Minus her lip liner....(I got on her for that!:))  She looks awesome!

Working on bridesmaid, Amanda.....

and Amanda after...she wears dark lipstick really great....loved how it turned out!

And onto the bride!! Before....

And after! 

All of the ladies....I wish I had pics of her sister (far right) but we didn't get them=/  They all looked great! 

And the beautiful bride....you looked amazing, Leah!  Thank you for the opportunity to trust me with your look on your wedding day!

Hopefully we'll see some formal wedding shots of Leah in the near future to show off more of her makeup, and see the bridemaids in their chocolate brown dresses.  I'll be sure to post them when they do:)

And as always, remember me for your next special occasion! (referrals are great!)  I would love to be doing this a lot more often!

Happy Fall??

Yes....that's what my title is...with a question mark.

Even today on facebook my status is:

"HAPPY 1st DAY OF FALL!"

Really...what's my deal?!

I can't seem to make up my mind right now because I really do LOVE fall!  September especially is my favorite month for a few reasons:

1. It's my b-day month:)  Hooray!

2. I love football season....just not all the take-away-my-husband time that comes with it.

3.  Boots...scarves....sweaters....love fall clothes!

4.  Campfires

5.  The colors!  and it gave me a chance to add some of those pretty colors to my site to vamp it up a little bit for the season....you like?:)

5.  The start-up of MOTTT's  (Moms of Tots to Teens).  A group I finally get to attend EVERY Thursday morning and see some amazing mommies each week.  Another plus to being a SAHM too:)

6.  Mums!  so very perdy.

Ok...so what the heck is my problem, you ask?

Well...the fall season thus far has not been very kind to our family lately.  It's officially the first day today and we've already been hit with the sickies.  Just a couple weeks ago I was touched with a 24 hr flu bug, then this entire past week the hubs had a small case of the flu, followed up by a good case of pneumonia. 

 He was home for an entire week.  This never happens. And it's football season!

So into our basement he went, cooped up down there like he was in a dungeon.  The doc gave him a script to help him out so finally today he's been fever-free for 24 hrs. and things are looking much better for him.  Thank the Lord.

Now also today, little Miss Maylin woke up from her nap with a nice little fever goin' on.  Lovely. Pretty sure it's not a teething fever with all the germies running around in our house.  So I hope this girl doesn't get anything too serious. 



My 2 sickies.....



She's so sweet...even when she's not feeling good:(



She does make the cutest little sick person you've ever seen though, right?:)

Due to all the sickness factors, my birthday, which was yesterday, was not a whole lotta fun.  This entire week I've been running my hiney off non-stop taking care of not 3, but 4 kids (Brock!) and literally doing EVERYTHING around the house.  I definitely started feeling a little run down yesterday with all of that. A couple bright sides of the the day was that I was able to go to MOTTT's in the morning and had my short "me-time" there.  Then in the evening one of the football coaches treated us to an humungo pizza for supper. What a life-saver!  Then my mom and dad picked up the kiddos in the evening so that Brock and I could just rest and sleep.  An entire uninterrupted night of sleep was super nice!

 So.... I'm not too bummed out, because I only turned the big 2-9....so not like it was a big milestone. Just the last year in my 20's...so not trying to get too depressed about that fact;) 

What I'm REALLY ready for...is next weekend!  Wanna know why??  I'm going to include all of you in my Mystery Belated Birthday Date/Getaway!  It's gonna be fun...and I have NO idea where we're going! Brock's got something up his sleeve...and even has me making random decisions on this little adventure.  You'll be able to catch me on facebook with my random decisions...and can help me vote!  Fun right?! so stay tuned for that!

And since this post is dedicated to my love/hate relationship for fall right now....here's my next thing on my to-do/birthday to myself item: 

MUMS!

Isn't it so very pretty?  I have a little problem tho....this is my ONLY mum that is this big and bloomin' right now. It's kinda my "special ed" mum because he doesn't know what the heck is going on:)  So either I need to add more to his little family or do something with him....what should I do?  ideas?

Also....need to fill in my bed with some color too.  Thought some little mums would do good in towards the front there....and a couple up top next to another itty bitty one.  Thoughts on colors? We have a light yellow house so didn't know if the orange like above looked best? Do a variety?  Not sure.  Input would be lovely!

I'll leave you with an entertaining pic of the week.  The boys are kinda in a regressing stage with their potty-training of doing #2 here lately....so I'm constantly swapping one boy for another to sit on the john.  It's super fun. Be jealous.  But Kahler manages to keep the potty scene interesting! =)

And welcome blog follower #40!  Was stuck at 39 for a while there....so 40 is a nice round number...thanks:)  let's get this baby up to more round numbers....how bout it?!  Just click the "Join this site" button and you can see the new posts when they roll it...and maybe this can get bumped up to 50...maybe 60 followers soon??!:)

Have a great friday all...and a HAPPY FALL! right???

An amazing gift....from an amazing friend.

Most of you have heard of Scentsy right?  They're pretty amazing.  Non-burning scented warmers with amazing designs and all sizes and yummy scents to smell up your home...in a good way. Love 'em. 

Well this past summer I was looking through a spring/summer catalog and came across this special warmer that was from their Scentsy Family Foundation that contributes to certain causes. 

I wanted this one so bad right when I saw it, and what do you know, my dear friend Andrea bought one for me and gifted it to me as an early birthday present!

Love. it.

 It's from Autism Speaks and the warmer is called "Piece by Piece".  The puzzle piece is used as a universal symbol for Autism.  So I absolutely love this warmer!

Here it is when it's glowing and smelling up my house with a Honey Pear Cider scent for fall.  Yum!

Isn't it pretty??:)

Thank you Andrea, for your friendship and gifting me with something so amazing and thoughtful to our family! Love you!!

What's on the box:

*Scentsy is dedicated to making a difference in every community it serves by broadening our mission to warm the heart, enliven the senses, and inspire the soul.  We created the Scentsy Family Foundation to offer philanthropic support througha combination of scholarships, charitable cause products, and direct donations toward individualefforts and community-based causes.

Twice a year, Scentsy features a special warmer to raise funds for a designated cause or organization. All profits from sales of this warmer will go directly to the beneficiary.

How cool is that?!?

Doctor's orders.....

This morning I took Kahler and  Maylin to their yearly check ups.  It was Kahler's 3 year and Maylin's "1 year"  (technically 14 months).  They had their well-visits where we weighed them and made sure everything's working right...all that good stuff:)

And today my facebook status read:

"Random fact even one year later.....the smell of the foamy hand soap at the doc's/hospitals (since they use the same kind) STILL haunts me to this day. So weird."

And so true.  Every since Maylin was in the hospital I cannot stand that smell to this day.  I have a sensitive "memory nose" too.  I smell something familiar and it takes me back to that time. So I got to endure that lovely scent today when washing my hands to take K-bub potty at the doc's office.  =P 

Anyways, Kahler weighed a whopping 39 lbs.  That boy is my beefcake:)

Miss May weighed 18.8 lbs.  She's 10% on the normal weight charts!  Her height puts her at 58% on the height charts....so she's my tall skinny string bean!

So everything looked great with both of them, however, I had to address an issue going on with Maylin for quite a few months now.  Most of you that have seen her recently know about her "pushing" issues.  Whenever she sits on the ground or gets held she arches her back and does this pushing motion over and over.  That part has been going on for a while.  Then a few weeks ago she broke out down there in what looked like a typical diaper rash.  However it didn't subside in a couple days after treated and she was doing her pushing motion even more.  So I finally took her into the doc to be seen.  Her regular doc was out so she saw the other one in the practice.  He ruled out a UTI and thought it was more an allergic reaction.  This sort of made sense to me considering I had recently switched her to store-brand diapers instead of Huggies.  (Trying to save a buck here!)  So ok...an allergic reaction, we went ahead and treated her with steroids and anti-itch cream.  Got rid of the itching, and rash going on, but she STILL was doing her pushing motion.

So...fast forward to today and I addressed the issue with her doctor that she always sees.  After I told him the ongoing occurrences, he wanted to say two things:

1. "Well, want I almost want it to be are pin-worms." 

(*sidenote:  this will be a little TMI to explain and kinda groddie....if you want to skip this reading material...go ahead;)

Ok...so my quick education session on pin worms is that they come out at night only.  Where do they come out?  Well basically out the tail end.  Lovely, I know.  They are caused by kids that like to play in dirt....sand boxes....mud pits....or just dirty farm kids. 

Ok so really Maylin didn't really do any of the above this summer.  However, they can be transferred as easily as her hand touching the ground and it going in her mouth.  Yuck.  So how do we know it's pin worms?

Doc told me to try a little procedure tonight.  With scotch tape.  Yep.

I am supposed to open up her diaper (it has to be night time when I do this.  Which I'm thinking...it's always dark in a diaper, so does it really matter??)  Anyways....when I open her diaper I'm supposed to take this piece of scotch tape to her rectal area.  Once it's applied I'm to remove it like a bandaid.  She's gonna looove that. =/

THEN...after you do that and calm down your baby from a bloody screaming session from ripping the tape from her behind....I need to examine the tape under a light and check for lint-like particles on the tape.  THOSE, my friends, are supposed to be pin worms. 

Ok, so that's scenario #1.  Honestly I'm hoping for scenario #1 since it can easily be treated and rid of.  Hoping that the scooting/pushing discomfort will go away.

Scenario #2

Doc says, "Well, we have to keep in the back of our heads that since she has an older brother with Autism that this could be a characteristic/habit linked to that."

Um.....ok.  After the hit-with-a-ton-of-bricks feeling, I understood what he was talking about.

Apparently kids with siblings with Autism, also have an increased chance of having it too.  Not a lovely statistic either, but it's something all families face when they have another child, once having one already with the disorder.  What Maylin has going for her is that she's a girl, and luckily it's less-likely to occur in females...so that's a plus. 

However, if it's a habit she's showing us already, I'm praying for pin worms.  Probably the strangest thing I've ever prayed for in my life.  Definitely an abrupt change of mood in this post....but with a realization from having 1 child, to 2 children with Autism, would be a never-ending nightmare.  

So please....pray for pinworms or something else besides the latter! 

3 Years.....

This has seemed to become a tradition for me to do a photo timeline for my kids when they turn, once again, another year older.  I actually love doing these posts.  It's so fun for me to look back on how much they've changed....and how they keep their "look" about them, even as a newborn. 

So here's my middle bebe....in 3 short years. 

Newborn.....

The day we became a family of 4!



1 day old (of course with the Skins gear thanks to Daddy:))



1 Week Old

6 Weeks Old

3 Months Old....that boy had his tongue out ALL the time!

Kahler's 1st Christmas

6 Months Old

9 Months Old (I LOVED these pictures!)

1 Year Old....my handsome blue-eyed boy:)

A family pic....always one of my favorites!

15 Months Old

18 Months Old

2 Years Old....We knew we were in trouble here!;)

another 2 yr.....

And 3 Years Old!  What a handsome little man you've become K-bub!

Happy 3 years to you!!

Kahler's 3rd Birthday!

We had a great day this year for Kahler's big day.  Kept things simple and threw a little party in the back yard with the family.  Even with just the family, our get-togethers are anything BUT small!  But it was a great time and everybody enjoyed the cooled off weather and played with tons of balls!  That was Kahler's favorite part:) 

Everybody came sporting their favorite team too!

Ready to party....gotta play my game of Angry Birds first:)


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"Presents!  I got a football!!!"

The bebes of the fam having a bonding time together...Maylin, Bryce & Whit

I love the next 3 pictures....they sum up the fun the kids and parents had at this party!  Maylin and Grandma havin' a gigglin' good time:) 



We gave the kids bubble wands for their party gift and they went crazy!!

"Haaaappy Birthday to You!!!" Blowin' out his candle....and the bubbles too:)

Happy 3rd Birthday K-bub!  We cannot believe you're 3 already! Love you!

Hello weekend!!......

It's Friday!! It's Friday!!

I think this is the first Friday since football started that I am actually excited for the weekend! 

I get to pack my little monsters up this afternoon, take them to my mom-in-laws for the night, then Brock gets them when he's done with the game tonight.

I, on the other hand, get to head south to my favorite getaway spot with my favorite ladies at Purdue!  Gonna be a fun night!  After this week at home....it's just what I need:)

I wish I would have kept a final tally of how many times I did this throughout the week:

*changed a diaper

*wiped a bottom

*changed underwear

*washed the dirty underwear

*broke up a wrestling match

*hung up clothes on the line (I'm being diligent about this people....trying to save $$ on that dryer not running allll the time!)

*washed the dishes and bottles

*Poured juice or milk into cups (my boys drink juice like a camel does water....A LOT)  It's a good thing we dilute it to half juice/half water or we would be buying 8 jugs of juice instead of 4 every 2 weeks.  I wish I were kidding!!

*refilled a bowl of cheerios

*Said "do you need to go potty?"

*Said "Close the fridge!!"

*Or "Close the door!!"  (Pretty sure my boys were born in the barn)

*Said "May May, get out of my make-up!"  The little stink is startin' early....getting into everything in my bathroom drawers.  Lovely.

OH there's so many more:) 

But I wouldn't trade it for the bazzillion smooches and hugs and giggles I get every day.  That (sort of!) makes me forget about all the rest=)

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

We're celebrating our middle monster turning the BIG 3 tomorrow!!

Stay tuned!

The nitty-gritty of Potty Training....

I'd say this is definitely a continuation of the non-glamour part of staying at home with my kids.

Potty training.

I think I've dreaded these words for at least 4 years now.

When I decided to stay home with the kids this year, we knew there would have to be sacrifices made in our everyday household lifestyle.  Diapering 3 kids is tremendously expensive and I highly do not recommend it!  That was kind of an oops in the family plan;) 

So, when school started and our second source of income slowly faded away, I decided to start nailing the potty training issue hard-core....not just with Isaac, but with Kahler too. 

Potty training not 1, but TWO kids. 

And they're boys.

Not. easy.

Luckily, Isaac caught on really well with needing to go #1.  Summer time helped too, as he was found most of the time streaking all over our house, then training him how to go potty that way. 

He is currently staying dry all the time, through the night and naps, riding to and from places, and going to preschool and Sunday school.  Super happy about that!

Our issue with Isaac is the #2 part.  This is an ongoing problem anyways with Isaac as he struggled with it even when he wasn't potty training.  So now it's extra hard.  He has the problem of clenching and holding it in all the time.  So right now we are catching him in the act and making him sit and do it that way. I think he's starting to get the idea. 

This is now not just the problem for him, but for his brother too. 

How do 2 boys inherit the "I'm going to clench and hold my poop in pose"?? 

The John has recently become the most popluar room in our house lately. You'll find me in there with one of the boys...sometimes Maylin thinks she needs to join in the party too. Most of the time, after I catch on the the clenchers doing their "pose" I'll swipe them up, rush them to the potty, and I'll sit there with them and almost feel like I'm coaching labor! lol! After a minute or so they lose focus and just start making goofy faces at me and or anything else that entertains them while sitting on the john. Such a fun time! ;)

So now, I'm at the point, especially with Kahler,of wiping just little bits of poop here...making him sit.....catching him again....wiping more.....making him sit. 

It's a vicious cycle!...and of course NOT a glamorous job!

And we all know what happens to kids that constantly have to be wiped.  His hiney is now suffering a very painful blistering from the non-stop wiping. 

It's a fight every single time....and I'm so ready to give up!  I'm trying to stay positive and remember he's doing pretty good with going #1, but even that's not very consistent.

Another problem...Kahler is OBSESSED with wearing shorts.  All the time.  Diaper or no diaper he thinks he HAS to wear them.  So not only does he have accidents, but his shorts are constantly being washed with whatever accident he has. 

Any suggestions are welcome....especially how to care for a blistering hiney for my soon-to-be- 3 yr old!=/  The A&D and Balmex are not cutting it!

So there you have it....the non-glamour and nitty gritty of potty training. 

Tell me something. If you were me? Would you take this job seriously??:)

Pray that I have a good update next time this topic up again!:)

"SAHM-isms"

What's a SAHM?  (pronounced "SAM" ....or you'll sound weird if you say "SA-HM", right?)

Welp....it's my new job title: a Stay-At-Home-Mom, of course:)

Thanks to some gal pals, this is a new quickie way I've learned to say what means a total ton of different occupations.

I'm going to touch up on a couple of topics that I've discovered these past couple weeks of being a full time SAHM.  So stay tuned for more topics!  While we're at it...tell me some of yours....would love to hear 'em.

Some of you may be thinking, "Linz...been there, done that!"  But this is an all new "job world" to me so here we go:).....

Topic #1: It is NOT a glamorous job. At all. 

Here's why:

Let's take last Friday for example.  On that day, the last time I had done my hair, or my make-up for that matter had been that previous SUNDAY!  Almost an entire week.
Those of you that know me??  This is NOT heard of! 

Going from a 6 am routine of showering, washing my face, doing my make up, getting dressed in work clothes for the day, drying my hair, straightening my hair, brushing my teeth days are OVER!

My normal, typical look now is my crazy bed-head hair from being washed the night before, pulled up half-way cuz it's not long enough for a ponytail, teeth brushed (thank God!), and comfy shorts/t-shirt is my typical look for the day.  Oh and a bare face (and hopefully a washed face.....my skin is probably mad at me=/)  If you came to visit me during any hour of the day I look like I've just rolled outta bed probably:)

I know...lovely huh? 

And my new showering at night?  NEVER have done that before.  I just get through the day then have been trying to run at night.  So I figure...not going anywhere today?  I'll just wait til after I get nasty n sweaty anyways...then I'll shower. Good theory. 

I'm trying to look at the pro's of this whole new way-of-life by being "all-nat-ur-al" an entire week.  So maybe, just maybe I'll see some benefits like:
*Saving $$ on the make up: If I'm only doing it like 2-3 days a week instead of 7 that's GOTTA help on the wallet right?
*Energy cost of the process of doing my hair everyday (hair dryer....flat iron??) energy savings!!

Maybe I'll have healthier hair from NOT damaging it every day.....maybe it'll grow easier?  Then I can actually wear it up?! Then I wouldn't have to go get my hair cut or touched up every 8ish weeks...whoah.  The possibilities:)  ha! 

Side note:  I can't remember the last time I've had long hair (my wedding?)  And it wasn't even that long.  So I'm debating if it's time I try.  I've had the same short bob-cut for a while, so maybe it is.  We shall see.

*Gonna be talking about more of the non-glamour of a SAHM!  I know...there's plenty!
*And let's talk about some money-saving tips u mommies have.  I only have a couple....but I hope they're working!
*Potty training talk...oh boy oh boy. (another "been there done that" topic...but it's been quite a doozy in our house!)
*And of course, the PRO's of being a SAHM....also....many on my list!



See you soon:)