Quality Time

Just like every other family, it is hard to find time to spend quality time as a family. It has been so nice to have four days together as a family. The kids have had a blast playing with mommy and daddy and we have had fun playing with them without thinking about the millions of things that we need to do. On Friday night, Eric went out with Rob so I took the kids to look at some houses that were already decorated for Christmas and then we came home put Kyler to bed and Kayla and I enjoyed movie night. Does this break really have to end????

The Final Party

Even though Kayla had a wonderful birthday party with all of her friends, we had a family birthday party over the weekend. This party was a little (actually a lot)easier to plan, a little more relaxing and we were able to actually sit down and enjoy the company. Kayla choose to go to Playtopia park and Hello Kitty for her theme. We kept it simple and ordered pizza and had fun playing with the kids at the park. It was a great way to wrap up the birthday celebrations! Eric and I were able to go out for a few hours after the party with Darren, Matt and Brooke for some much needed "adult time"- thanks grandma and grandpa! We don't see Matt and Brooke as often as we would like so it was nice to have a chance to hang out with them for a while.

Thanksgiving Day

We enjoyed Thanksgiving Day over at my parents house. This year, my parents invited our longtime family friends, Elaine and Dohren. We enjoyed spending time together relaxing, playing Thanksgiving trivia (boys won-booooo) and of course, eating! It was nice to spend the day with those we are so thankful for.

The Big Day

Last Wednesday was Kayla's actual birthday. The night before, we filled Kayla's room was balloons that we had left over from her birthday party and Eric got her 5 pink roses that we put in her room as well. Kayla had school that day so we made cupcakes that she could take to school and then delivered two of them to her friends, Lexi and Hailey, after school. When we got home, Lexi called and sang happy birthday to Kayla, it was so cute! Of course, Kyler could not wait to get in to Kayla's room and play with the balloons-they had fun!

Thanksgiving Feast

Last Tuesday, Kayla had a Thanksgiving feast at school. Kayla does not usually go to school on Tuesday's but we did not want Kayla to miss out so her teacher allowed Kayla to come and join her friends. While Kayla was at school, I enjoyed some needed one-on-one time with Kyler. We went to a nearby park and enjoyed the weather and playing together. When I went to pick Kayla up from school she was of course sitting next to one of her many crushes that she has at school and if you look closely in one of the pictures, she has her mouth open and is telling me, "Nooo, I don't want to go home". lol!

Project HELP

Last month my preschool kids collected cans and other items that we were going to donate to Project HELP. We discussed about how we should be thankful for all that we have and how important it is to give to others in need. I put a laundry basket by the front door that the kids could put their items in throughout the month and then I was going to take it to Project Help at the end of the month. The families contributed so many items that our basket was overflowing and the kids felt so good about donating to families in need, it was awesome! So, I thought it would be a great experience for Kayla to help me load up the car and take the basket to Project HELP. She was excited to help and when she saw the many families that were waiting outside for donations had many questions and it was a great opportunity to discuss the situations many families face and how lucky we are that we can help them.

Thankful Tree

We had fun making our Thankful tree together this year. We cut out leaf shapes, talked about what we were thankful for and then Kayla told me what she wanted to write on her leaves. We also guessed what Kyler would tell us he was thankful for and wrote a few ideas down on his leaves. Then we decorated a few extra leaves with glitter glue to make our tree extra "fancy". The finished result was hung in the kitchen as a reminder to be thankful for all that we have.

A Day to Remember

I cannot believe that Kayla is 5! I can remember the day she was born and the events leading up to her birth like it was yesterday. Throughout my pregnancy, I had normal blood pressure and absolutely no symptoms of the problems that were about to take place. On Monday, I was at school(work) and felt just fine. I remember going into classrooms and talking with other teachers about their Thanksgiving Day plans. I had some time before school was to start so I headed over to the library to get some books for my class. Out of absolutely no where, I had the most excruciating pain in my abdomen and immediately doubled over and thought I was going to collapse. I was not far from the library and made my way into the door and then held on to the bookshelf, looked for Kim and started crying (hard). I was in SO much pain and I was SO scared. She ran over to me and I started getting sick. Kim ran to get the school nurse which immediately made the decision to call 911. I was 33 weeks pregnant and she was not sure what was wrong. When the paramedics came, they determined that I was experiencing severe preeclampsia (extremely high blood pressure) and I needed to get to the hospital quick to avoid seizures. I will never forget all of the teachers surrounding me and the concern on their faces still brings tears to my eyes, it was scary. I was taken to the hospital and told that I would need to be induced as delivery was the only way to lower my blood pressure. However, the doctor decided that it would be too early to deliver and Kayla's lungs were not fully developed. I was administered one dose of steroids to help speed the development of Kayla's lungs. I was also hooked up to an iv of magnesium to help regulate my blood pressure. Since my blood pressure was so high and I would not be induced for a few days, the dosage of magnesium, was high. The magnesium was the worst thing I have ever experienced. I literally could not do anything for myself. I could not see, I had no strength, Eric had to feed me, I relied on the nurses for help to the bathroom, I slept most of the day and basically had no idea what was going on. Needless to say, Eric and my family were extremely concerned as to how I would be able to deliver a baby when I could not even feed myself. The doctor reassured them that the body will kick in when it needs to. Well, 4 days, another steroid shot and plenty of magnesium later, I was induced at 9:30 a.m.-on Thanksgiving Day. I remember virtually nothing of the delivery, even hearing Kayla cry for the first time. The room was packed with nurses, doctors, NICU nurses and doctors to ensure that Kayla could be evaluated and taken to the NICU promptly. Kayla was born at 2:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and weighed 4 pounds 5 ounces. I do not remember holding her or even seeing her before they took her away to the NICU. Kayla was doing great with the exception of low birth weight, jaundice and the possibility of complications from the amount of magnesium that I was administered. Kayla had to stay in the NICU for 8 days under the blue light to help her jaundice, and was fed through a feeding tube. After Kayla was able to eat on her own and weigh in at 5 pounds she was able to come home to us. Kayla's entrance into the world was one that I will never forget and we will always be so thankful for our beautiful and healthy little girl or "Turkey Baby" as we like to call her. Happy 5th Birthday, Kayla! We love you so much!

Kayla's Pinkalicious 5th Birthday Party

After Kayla was introduced to the book, Pinkalicious (last May) I knew that this would be the theme for her 5th birthday party. You see, I have an obsession with party planning and as soon as one birthday party is over, I'm already thinking about what the next theme will be. Kayla loves to dress up and loves the color pink so I was extra excited to plan this year's party. The Internet is a good and evil thing. I found a ton of websites of other party obsessed mother's like myself that have also thrown obnoxiously pink Pinkalicious parties. Eric and my mom thought I needed to be committed and I even got remarks from the teenage boy cashier at Hobby Lobby, "Whoa, this is a lot of pink". Lol! I don't care, it was Kayla's 5th birthday and I wanted to go all out and make it as girly as possible for my Pinkalicious! The decorations were all pink and inspired from pictures from the book, the food was pink, the drinks were pink, the clothes were pink, and we had stations that the girls could get their nails painted pink and make fancy crowns and of course played the game, Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake. The girls had a blast and I loved watching my big girl laugh and have fun with all of her friends. It was a special day for us both. Also-a special thanks to all of my wonderful friends and family that helped at the party.

***DISCLAIMER***
You do not need to adjust the color on your monitor, the pictures you are about to see are actually all PINK!