FIRST GAME AND A PARTY

Kaden had his first game this morning. The league does not keep score but I learned a quick lesson the parents, family, and coaches do. We did not win but I will say I am very very proud of my boy who went out there in the cold weather shaking and played.

I missed most of the game because Karson was so cold. He cried and cried. I finally just took him to the car.

Right after the game we went to a party at ChuckECheese.

Things have changed over the past year I would have never thought that Kaden would be this close to Chuck E Cheese.

This picture made me laugh because if you look up to the screen you will see Kaden. He was showing off his dance moves.

Karson spent most of his time on this ride. I lost count after 5.

When it was time to go Karson walked back to the ride and tried to climb in.

When we got home Karson took a 4 hour nap.

The Park

It was a really nice day outside yesterday and the boys had alot of energy so I took them to the park.

Good Find Friday - redbox

In this hard economy it is nice to find ways to save a buck. About a year ago I found redbox. Check to see if there is a redbox in your area here.

Reason's I use redbox:

- Every movie is only $1.00 a night plus tax.

- You can return movies to any redbox location.

- You can rent online and just pick it up.

My #1 reason is if you register your cell phone number on redbox.com you receive a free rental code good for 1 free rental EVERY MONDAY. I register about 6 months ago and EVERY MONDAY morning I receive my code by text. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY JUST A FREE MOVIE.

Register Here

New Talent

This may not be a big deal but I think its crazy that Karsee can feed himself with a fork.

Wednesday - Preschool Book Review

February is National Children's Dental Health Month we have been reading

Tooth Trouble By Jane Clarke

Read about a walrus named Wilbur who encounters a hurt tusk and does not want to go to the dentist until he see's what will happen if he does not take care of his tusk.

My Heart Is Heavy

Yesterday was a hard day emotionally. It was nice to see the Carter family celebrated the way we did.

I did not get to really enjoy the dinner due to my children not being on their best behavior. Karson is still not feeling well and Kaden well he was tired and hungry two things that do not mix with him. I finally gave up and took them to the back because I had food thrown, spilled, and other comical things that I will be able to laugh about one day. I was happy I finally made the decision to do that because Kaden played with his friends and Karson had some walking room and I was able to enjoy everything from the back.

I do want to say I was proud of Kaden. When we went to the back I told him the rules and even though the other kids were doing things he was told not to do he did not do them. He did not know I was watching him from a distance. He even told another little girl who was playing in the cake that he did not think it was a good idea.

I got home and put the kids to bed as fast as I could. Karson was asleep before I walked out of his room and Kaden was asleep in minutes.

Emotionally I know their are others going through more than me so I don't want to make it about me. I will just say my heart was heavy today.

I just want to say I am so proud of the way we celebrated Pastor Carter.

I think what made the most impact on me last night was when Tim was talking about Pastor Carter and said " How many Pastors would take a chance on a young 24 year old like me". Pastor Carter took a chance and heard from God and changed our lives forever. Ok now I am crying again. GOODNIGHT.


You can find more details about last night on Tims blog.

I Procrastinated.

Our church is making a scrapbook for pastor and the due date was last Sunday. I talked to Andrew and asked for an extension. Thankfully he gave me one. I finished mine last night. So bad I know. While I was working on it I realized I waited so long because for the longest time I have not wanted to think about saying goodbye to the Carter family that has been a big part of my families life for almost 5 years. So while I worked on it after the kids went to bed with a box of tissue I faced some of the emotions of goodbye and change. Like I said "some" I know there will be more to come as I sit in service tomorrow and the weeks to come. Please pray for our church as we start this transition.

GOODNIGHT

A LONG LONG NIGHT

Everything was going well around 8pm when I put the boys to bed. I thought right on track now time to finish some house work and watch my girlie movie. Well about mid way through the movie I hear a startling cry. Not the kind that says hey I'm up, no the kind that says it might be a long night.

I went in to find Karsee burning up with a fever. After a long night of crying and comforting and also putting my four year old back to bed at 3am because his little bro woke him up Karsee finally went back to sleep at 6:30am.

I had to ask myself is this when you take your child to the emergency room. My little guy cried most of the night. I have only asked this to myself one other time when Kaden was running a 103 fever and lethargic at 6 months.

I set my alarm to call the doctor as soon as his office opened and went to sleep. After about an hour of sleep I woke up and called the doctor.

Funny story one of the day.

I am on the phone with the doctors office and I hear can you hold please. Well due to being sleepy I fell asleep while waiting on hold. I woke up to the dial tone when the office hung up on me because there was no answer when they came back. I just hope I was not snoring. I don't think I do.

I called right back and was told my doctor was taking a half day and if I could come right in the doctor could see us. So I wake Kaden up and tell him we have got to get Karson to the doctor right away that he could pick out what he wanted to wear and we would go by the Doughnut place when we were done. He was excited and agreed. He was changed and ready in minutes. I then threw something on and woke my sick baby up changed him and we got in the car.

When we got to the office we went right in and were seen in no time. The diagnosis.....................

EAR INFECTION..... Well the exact word was really bad double ear infection caused by molars coming in. Which means..... ALOT OF PAIN.

The doctor said this is his fourth ear infection on record and second this month and then followed it with dreaded words "about the same as Kaden". I do not want to hear this because Kaden had so many ear infections by age 3 we had lost count ended up having a vey rushed I would call emergency surgery after having one for almost 3 months straight we fought with countless rounds of antibiotics.

The doctor did not say tubes or anything like that just prescribed him a stronger form of antibiotics and Tylenol with codeine (the doctor has never prescribed anything to the boys for pain during there ear infections so it must be bad). Karsee is handling the pain better tonight. He took a long nap this afternoon and was ready for bed around 7:30pm.

A THANK YOU NOTE.

Dear Dr. ________ ,

Thank you so much for fitting us in when you were not planning on seeing any patients today. I am thankful for all the wonderful care you have given my boys almost weekly lately. I hope you had a wonderful day off you deserve it in this busy sick season. Thank you again.

Amy

One more funny story.

I am at the store with the boys picking up perscribtions and I guess I finally woke up and noticed what Kaden was wearing. I guess I did not notice before because he had his jacket on.

Even when I am tired my boys make me laugh. They are worth every minute of the sleepless nights. I LOVE THEM.

Good Find Friday

Better late than never right.

I found this the other day for Kaden at Walmart. It is a great tool to reinforce his writing practice. When Kaden had his half year school review we found he was struggling with number recognition and writing his name. After a few times of using the board he can spell his name now.

The board includes a dry erase marker.

Boards included:

- Letters A-N

- Letters O-Z

- Numbers

- Addition

- Shapes

- Doodle Time

HI / LO THURSDAY

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check it out to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.

Our HIGHS:

My high was starting to feel better after a two week long sickness. I finally went to the doctor on Monday and got some antibiotics. By Wednesday I was feeling much better.

Our LOW:

After almost 3 weeks with Roonie we had to give him away. Many things I would say would probably be excuses and explaining myself but I will give a few anyway.

Reasons he had to go:

- His number one chew toy...... MY BOYS

- After I took him to get his shots last week he became aggressive with us.

- Allergies.

I will admit I was not the best owner and could have tried a little harder but I just did not have it in me. I did talk to Kaden about it and the weird thing is he was excited to do it. I will admit he is getting a replacement A NEW DOG. We have decided to invest (a small investment thanks to Ebay) purchase a hypoallergenic, maintenance free, non chewing dog.

Meet Biscuit - THE ROBOT DOG (AS KADEN WOULD SAY)

Wednesday - Preschool Book Review

Because Presidents' Day was on Monday we read

Presidents' Day By Anne Rockwell

Read about a school program about the Presidents on Mount Rushmore and their history.

First Soccer Practice

It was a wet and dreary practice but I was proud of my boy.

Kaden is the one in red.

Kaden's first huddle.

GO BOBCATS!

Round ____ ???

The Gabbard family is on round ____ ???? I have lost count with sickness. I think I can say since Thanksgiving it started with a stomach virus and then every other week something else. I am so tired because I am sick this time and cannot seem to shake this cold really sore throat cough up my lung stuff. Please pray we can shake this because Tim and the boys have it again as well.

I hate to complain because I follow some blogs with ill children. I check on and pray for these families daily.

BeautifulCanvas.org

riggsfamilyblog.com

Happy Valentines Day!

To celebrate Valentines day I am going to write about the things I love about the guys in my life.



Things I love about Tim:



I love the way he has a passion for the ministry.


I love the way he makes special occasions special.


I love the way he is always brainstorming.


I love the way he plans events and outreaches and the level of excellence he plans them with.


I love the way he comes home from a long day and wrestles and plays with his boys.


I love his fun and exciting since of humor.





Things I love about Kaden:



I love the way he gives me hugs when he wakes up in the morning.


I love the way he says "fricka fricka fresh" as if he is a DJ and then crosses his arms.


I love the way he calls his thumb a "fung" and "Chick-de-fa" for Chick-fil-a.


I love the way he changes his cloths all day to find the right cool guy outfit to wear.


I love the way he still has his baby aquirium and still listens to it as he goes to sleep.


I love the way he carries around his blanket, pillow, and Coco when he is tired or not feeling well.





Things I love about Karson:



I love the way he lays his head on my shoulder and pats me on the back when he wakes up.


I love the way he laughs when he wants you to chase him.


I love the way he puckers his lips when he drinks from a straw.


I love the way he sits in his bed and looks through a book after I put him to bed.


I love the way he holds his blankie when he is sleeping.


I love the way he walks to me and reaches for me to pick him up.


I did steal this from one of my favorite blogs The Preachers Wife but she encouraged others to do it.

A Tissue Mess

The other day when I was in the midst of sickness I did not catch the silence in time. I looked down to find Karsee pulling out what looked like the 100th tissue out of my tissue box.

Wednesday - Preschool Book Review

Since Valentines Day is right around the corner we have been reading

The Best Thing About Valentines
By Eleanor Hudson

Read about making, sending, and giving away Valentines Day card's. But you'll have to read it to find out the best thing.

Tuesday Update

I am feeling closer to 100% today. Kaden had his first Soccer practice scheduled for tonight but it was canceled due to rain.

I did find myself in a 12x12 room with a Pit Bull when I took Roonie to get his shots today. I am extremely scared of big dogs especially Pit Bulls. Poor little Roonie could have been his snack and Roonie was drawing attention to us with his shaky squeaky noises. I do not think I took a full breath till that was done.

The canceled practice did not stop us from putting Kaden's gear on so he could get used to it. Tim worked with him before the bad weather started.

This was before Tim got home and I put all his new stuff on. He was complaining about it being uncomfortable and I told him that because it was new he just had to wear it in. Then Tim came home and I found out I put the whole shin gaurd sock stuff on wrong. When Tim fixed it he loved his soccer gear.

From our trip ----- Spicy Lotion

This made me laugh for a few reasons:

- The Brand name.
- What is spicy lotion?
- If it is liquid how is it lotion?

Random but I still think it is funny a week later.

From our trip ----- Karsee and Pawpaw

Since Karsee was little he has had a special bond with Pawpaw. It is special because my Pawpaw can have a hard shell but Karsee melts it everytime.

While we were visiting Pawpaw and Nanny one of the days on our trip Karson was really tired. Pawpaw offered to take him and put him to sleep and the whole time I was thinking "yea right he will not get him to sleep". After a little bit I went to check on the progress and found this.

One Week With Roonie

We have had Roonie for a whole week. The first few days we had him he slept most of the time. I think around Tuesday is when he started getting his nights and days mixed up and now wakes up at 3am and wants to play. We are working on that.

At first we bought him the necessities collar, leash, food, 1 chew toy, and bowls. Then we found that he loved my Brother and Sister-in-laws dog Daisy's bed so we went ahead and bought him a little bed and he loves it. He prefers to sleep in it than in Kaden's bed. He will go and find it and snuggle up and go to sleep.

Saturday - The rest of the day.

Sickness Update: Kaden did not get sick at all today I have continued the medicine the doctor prescribed to Kaden and limited his diet. He only complained of stomach pains. He was even up to helping his Daddy in the yard.

I was going to blog about this yesterday but I did not get a chance.

Kaden always asks when we take him to the doctor if he will be getting shots. He was so relieved when we left the doctors office that he did not get any shots. Well when I picked up his medicine from the pharmacy it looked like this.


It is just a cream you can put on the inner arm and stomach for nausea but it took alot of convincing before Kaden would let me go near him with it.

After the call this afternoon I went back to Academy to take one more look at there soccer selection. Thankfully I went into the department another way and found a huge stash of soccer gear. I found the size and color he wanted and at the price we wanted. I know it looks like Kaden is sponsored by Nike but Kaden really wanted red equipment.

Karson turned 14 months old yesterday. I think I can officially say he is walking. A few days ago he decided to walk instead of crawl most places and has been crawling less and less each day. I have to watch my little dude closer now days because he has found a new love for climbing too.

Here is our little dude walking.

Soccor Update

I just got a call from Kaden's soccer coach. He is on the Bobcats and practice starts next week. I will have the camera ready for his first game. The problem is we have 3 sports stores in town and have had some trouble finding his shoes. So now we are in a mad dash to get some so he can wear them in before his first practice. Also I had checked a little box to be a team parent when I signed Kaden up. I had no idea what it meant. Today I was informed that I am the Bobcats team manager. This is really comical if you know anything about me. I do not know the first thing about soccer rules my plan was to show up and cheer for my boy and to maybe understand it as the season progressed. I have to wear a team shirt and an official badge to the games. To be honest from the description the coach gave me of the job I am just a glorified water boy and just organize the snacks and drinks and plan a end of season party somewhere. It should be interesting and fun.

Kaden is excited that he got to pick his number Kaden is #1.

Update

We are doing much better tonight.

Kaden has a stomach bug and Karson had his 1 year old check up which meant shots. Karson did well with them and was back to his normal self just tired.

Good Find Friday

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month


Kaden did not like brushing his teeth it was a chore to do until we found this.

Tooth Tunes

A few weeks ago I bought this toothbrush for Kaden. It was on sale so I do not know the regular price. I have to admit going through all the boxes to pick one was fun. The range of characters and songs were more than I can recall. We finally narrowed it down to three:
- Spiderman
- Transformers
- Toby Mac (they had one that played One World and I almost bought it for myself).

Kaden chose Transformers.

I go around singing the theme song after I brush his teeth.

Transformers

More than meets the eye

Transformers

Robots in Disguise

It is fun being a Mom of boys.

A messy morning.

Around 4 something Kaden woke up with a tummy ache and then at 6 something the throwing up and fever started. After 1 load of laundry and 1 more waiting it is cleaned up. Thankfully Karson has his 1 year old check up today and the Doctor could fit Kaden in too when I called.

I am rethinking my reasons for not getting Kaden and Karson the flu shot when it was offered.

Sick birthday song.

Since Sunday I have had a sore throat, chills, and everything else that comes with a cold. Last night Kaden wrote me a song.

Even though my birthday is not for a few more months I think the song made me feel better than the cold medicine has.

Wednesday - Preschool Book Review

This is a book Kaden received for Christmas. Kaden loves looking at all the different breeds of dogs. This book also includes pull tabs, flaps, and textures.

We are home.

It was nice to see everyone on our trip.

The boys and I had so much fun but it is nice to be home. It is true there is no place like home. Thursday when we arrived I had a surprise visit from my youngest brother Nathan and my Dad. The boys love to wrestle and rough house with their Pampa.

On Friday the boys and I spent some time at my Pawpaw and Nannies house and my cousin Christy took Kaden to the park. For dinner the boys and I met Papa and Grannie at Cracker Barrel. Thank you so much for meeting us Papa and Grannie. We enjoyed spending time with you.

Saturday we went to Caleb's Spiderman birthday party. Kaden had so much fun.

On Sunday the boys and I spent the day shopping with my Mom and Sister-in-law.

Kaden met his new friend on Sunday too.

Meet Roonie

Roonie was given to us. He is 6 weeks old and was in a litter of 3. My Moms friend had to get rid of him and his brother and sister and knew through the blog that he is the type of dog and color Kaden wanted. Roonie is doing great with potty training. He stays pretty close to Kaden and sleeps alot.

Where is Kaden .... Where is Kaden

I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday.

IT'S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!!!!!

I am not a big football fan but I am a fan of Super Bowl party food.

Now... Where is Kaden?

When we put Kaden to bed we always hear some shuffling and playing in his room for a little bit but sometimes it also goes on too long. There are times I have to take a double look to find him with everything he puts in his bed to sleep with. I guess it gives him comfort because this is what his bed looks like most nights.