A great weekend!

We were able to make some plans with my cousin, wife and kids for Saturday which was nice for a change as our schedules often conflict. They are only 30 minutes away and the boys absolutely love spending time with their cousin Caroline (and I do too)! So we hooked up on Saturday and went to a water park near their home in Saline. What a ball! They had great stuff for the boys and Janie had a good time too (of course it would have been a better idea to bring a friend along). It was so great that since Mike had the day off today, we went back again for a fun day in the water and sun! Thanks Angie and John for showing us this great spot and for a fantastic dinner!

The even better news is that Owen has started to go on the potty! Only once a day but it has been about 5 days now and he is still trying! Way to go Owen

Happy Belated B-Day Abby!

My favorite niece turned 1 last week! I just have to say that she is the cutest, most edible little girl and I think I may need to steal her!

We love you Abigail and wish you a very happy belate b-day!

Higgins Lake 2008

Beware of a lot of pictures below. We just returned from our annual week at our favorite get-away HIGGINS LAKE! Despite some chilly, very cloudy weather and the flu bug that ran through the house, it was a great time! My family are my favorite people to spend time with (okay girlfriends sometimes) so having a beautiful lake and great people makes it the BEST!

My kids were officially the "old ones" for a change. For the most part, the boys played in the sand and ate any junk they could get their hands on. Kyle overcame his fear of boats and learned how to pee on the beach. Owen decided he wasn't quite ready to water ski but he was going to drive the boat "faster" than his brother. Janie enjoyed trying to water ski for the first time and hanging out with the adults. It is sometimes hard with her being so much older than the others as she want someone to swim and do stuff with her all of the time. Makes me feel guilty!

The funny part was watching my 18mth old nephew. He is out of control! Not in a bad way but in an "I'm-18mths-watch-what-I can-do" way. The child can sprint (and does) faster then any adult in the house. The best part - the water does not slow him down a bit (see picture below). Thank God for the strap on the back of the life jacket!
My sister is 28 weeks pregnant (in desperate need of a glass of wine) so it was fun watching her winded-self chase constantly. I just kept thinking really, she is going to have two under two???

My brothers' daughter is just chubby and sweet. At almost 1 year old, all she does is eat (for like 2 hours straight) and poop. I love to eat her!

Back home now for a couple of days and then I leave for a conference up north for 3 days.

Thanks mom for making our week at Higgins work once again!

Happy 4th a few days late!

We enjoyed the weekend at the family cottage on the Saginaw Bay with my mom, aunt and uncle and cousins. The kids especially enjoyed playing with my cousins' daughter Caroline. It is super fun to see them interact with another child their age. Of course Owen thought he had gotten himself a girlfriend! The kids weren't much for the water but Owen loved the boat. Kyle preferred to stay on shore with the sand and snacks. His latest saying all of the time is "I'm starving!".

Are you ready for the big news????? I water skied and tubed! Of course I haven't been able to move my upper body ever since!

Anyway, great weekend and now a week to plan for our vacation at HIggins Lake!

Summer is finally here!

Most have started their summer but we have just begun! June is an insane month for me at work(I think I have mentioned this one or 100 times) so I am just getting back to a normal schedule with my first weekend off since May. On top of work, Janie has had two softball games a week (three this week), camp two days a week and gymnastics three days a week. Needless to say, when I am not a work I am running Janie and towing the boys along. I look forward to a slowing pace with softball over and work mellowing.

We have done a few fun things lately, not sure when, but we have! We roasted marshmallows with the boys for the first time.


I received free tickets to a Mitchel Musso concert that Janie and I went to last week. If you don't know who Mitchel is, you are crazy! He of course is Hannah Montana's friend on the show. Great time!




Janie has been playing softball since May. This was her first time and she loved it. She made the all-star team and we had her game on Friday night. Lot's of fun watching these girls.





Today we went to the cottage and hooked up with my sis for the day. It was fun to see my 18mth old nephew that does not stop for a second. It is more fun to see my pregnant sister constantly following him around!

Happy Fathers Day!

It was nice to spend my first day off in two weeks with the hubby and kiddos. We went to the park, had a picnic, visited some animals and then got rained out. Fortunately the afternoon cleared for some swimming and BBQ!

Happy Fathers Day to my husband and father of my fabulous kids!

End of 2nd Grade!

Today was Janie's last day of 2nd grade! She ended with flying colors and is ready for 3rd grade. She met some great friends and had an amazing teacher. Here is to summer!

Half way there!

I think I have been pretty consistent with all of my children when it comes to scheduling, sleeping, eating, bottles, etc...They were always on a fairly strict feeding schedule (it worked wonders!), they have always gone to bed on their own (my sanity) and I followed other orders pretty much by the book. Janie stopped the bottle right at a year and Owen and Kyle stopped as soon as they could drink out of a sippy (14 months). I do however certainly have my downfalls and the main one is the binky. Janie did not give hers up at night until 4yrs old.

My goals for the summer are #1 getting rid of binkis (the boys are now 3yrs and two months old) and #2 potty training. I am proud to say each has accomplished one. Owen has been about three weeks without the binky after losing his last and final one at Janie's softball game. Kyle is officially 7 days into potty training and has had 3 accidents, none of which have been in the last 3 days. So, so far so good. Owen continues to show no interest in the potty and Kyle will be dependent on the binky until I take it away or he loses it(we are down to 2).

Now let's see how the other half goes...




This is Kyle showing me tricks on hes skateboard, aka - xylophone

Happy Memorial Day!

We enjoyed a weekend full of relaxation (yes, I slept 9 hours every night), swimming and fun with friends. We also dove big time into the potty training. Kyle is doing excellent and Owen won't have anything to do with it. He still has never gone on the potty! We are giving Kyle bribes (M&M's) everytime he goes. Tonight he was squeezing and saying MMMM&MMMM! Bad mommy or desperate?

Update from the Mitchells!

It has been a bit since I have had time to blog so I thought I would send an update out before I hit my 20 days straight of working 12-20(yes, 20) hour days!

Owen - The cast has now been off almost 3 weeks. Owen is doing wonderful. He improves every day. He really started walking on Monday. He looks like a duck and I sometimes find myself explaining (although I shouldn't) why he is walking with a HUGE limp. I expect this for at least another month or so. Hopefully the foot will turn in again. This is not stopping him from jumping on the trampoline or climbing out of bed(the net is now back up). He is a champ and I am so proud of how we all handled this. The support we received from family and friends is so appreciated!

Kyle - Kyle, Kyle, Kyle...Ya know, he is crazy! He is almost ready to have the training wheels off of his bike, he has mastered a front flip on the tramp and he continues to test me every day. Actually, he is very sweet most of the time.



Janie - Gymnastics competition ended last weekend. She had a great season and has mastered her back handspring on floor, cartwheel on beer, front handspring on vault and kip on bars. This doesn't mean we are done for the year. We now start 4 hour a day, 3 day a week practice for the summer in preparation for next years competition (if we stay with it) which will include out of state travel.

She started softball so we now have two games a week. It is so fun for all of us. Despite the crazy schedule and games not getting over until 9pm, we have a good time and she enjoys it. Soon she will be done with school for the year and officially be a 3rd grader! Crazy!




Mike and I are both good. We feel that we have entered into a new stage of life - running kids! We are looking forward to some good time together this weekend before I depart to work for the next month.

B-day and Mothers Day

My baby girl is officially 8 years old! We celebrated with family this past weekend and she will have a couple of girlfriends over for a sleepover this weekend. I am so proud to be the mommy to such a great girl!

Speaking of moms~did I ever say that I have the best mom in the entire world? Seriously I wonder sometimes how I got so lucky. I can't imagine a day without her to share my happy times and my challenges. I love being a parent with the guidance that she has given me. She is truly amazing I am so blessed to be the daughter of such a wonderful person!

This is what happens when you try to get a picture of Grammy with the three grandkids three and under! Happy Mothers Day to my hero, my mother!

The Cast is off!

The cutting of the cast

Owen did get his cast off Monday and he is now the lightest thing I have ever lifted. He did well and the Dr. was happy with the progress. Of course in the X-ray, I still think the leg looks broken! Here is the outlook - he will start to move around quite a bit in a week or so. He should be walking well and living "typical" in about a month. He will walk with a limp for about 3-4 months. For now, he is pretty slow going. It is kind of similar to when we brought him home with the cast. He is sitting now and actually army crawled about 3 feet today. He is super cautious and has to gain a lot of trust in himself and his leg. No folks, he is not walking, yet! Honestly, if one more person asks me "is he running around yet", I think I may lose it! I know, it is a valid question but since he is soooo far from walking, I guess it frustrates me. I mean he broke the biggest bone in the body. If an adult did this, they would be hospitalized for 1-2 months and down for 6months. I think we are doing really well! Okay, off my soapbox!

Did I mention that he has bathed and is super clean now? His skin looks awesome and almost back to normal. He is not in pain! To top it off, he gave up the pacifier last night after we lost it at Janie's softball game. Life is good!

NO CAST!

Hey, hey, hey GOODBYE!

We can only hope that our Dr.'s apt. goes well tomorrow and the cast comes off as planned. Again, I have to say that this was definitely doable. He is however beginning to stink a tiny bit. Today I actually did one less diaper change than normal because I just did not care. It he leaks a bit (and he did), so be it! If the Dr. says "two more weeks" tomorrow, I will be bummed.

Here is a pic of the small opening in the front that we have to work with. You can see how the diaper is stuffed in. We will not miss the tons of Depend pads that we have gone through (3-4 per diaper change).

I think he is ready. I think we all are!

Tag - 7 Random Facts

My friend Billie, who I met through St. Joe Hospital, and has two amazing girls, tagged me to do the 7 Random Facts thingy. I am not a very interesting person so I will do my best here. The funny part is, I don't have 7 bloggers to link to and I forgot how to link!

Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post THE RULES on your blog.

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Random Facts About Me:

1. In Junior High and High School I was in choir. I think I was in choir because my dad was very musical and my sister was a great singer. I, however was very unsuccessful and should have known to stick to sports.

2. My dad was the smartest, most giving person that I have ever known. I lost him at age 61 of cancer. He has now been gone for 7 1/2 years and I miss him all the time.

3. When I went to college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I think I was just young and not ready to make decisions yet so I got a degree in communication (you can do anything with that degree correct?). My dream now is to go into social work. The challenge is that I will have a bunch of undergrad work to do plus receive my Masters to make a lot less money than I do now.

4. I love gymnastics! I love to watch it, I used to love to do it, and I love that my daughter now does it. I competed several years in my younger days and always dreamed that I could compete in college. Now I see the expense and commitment it takes and I hope I don't pressure my daughter at all.

5. I love to fish. I think it is so relaxing to sit in a boat (sometimes with a cocktail) and fish. The thrill is pretty great when you actually catch one!

6. I loved being pregnant. I loved eating what I wanted, I loved wearing maternity clothes and I even enjoyed my c-sections (I know, crazy). I wish I could do it again but it is just not realistic for me to have another child!

7. I cry very easily. I cry because I am happy more often than sad. I really cry at touching stories. I don't like people to see me cry but truly, I think I love to cry.

That's all folks! Liz, Shannon (because she has not done one yet), Greta and Amanda!

Tricks

Four days and five nights and this beast of a cast in coming off (hopefully)! I honestly don't have any complaints at all about it. It may still be a bit premature to say this but the cast had been perfect. It is not rubbing, itching or hurting. He is in a good position to sit (in the wheelchair), lay and have tummy time. It doesn't even really stink. The Doc warned us that he would absolutely "hate this thing" and after two weeks, it would really stink. Well neither is true. He still thinks his cast is cozy and is not sure he wants it off. He doesn't smell like lilacs but he certainly doesn't stink. Truly, outside of the diapering, a bit of constipation, a few verbal demands and getting up in the night, I think this was a positive experience. I have learned a bit about the life of a child with a physical disability, my arms are stronger and I have known for 5 weeks where one twin is at all times!

Owen spends most of his evenings doing tricks now. He is pretty good and a great show off if you want to stop by! Here are some pics of his latest moves!