The End of the Year!

Wow, I can't believe this is the last week of 2010! I am looking forward to 2011 but I wanted to post some milestones/accomplishments that happened this year.

I also need to find time to recap Christmas, which may need to happen "next year" because I got a new Ipad and uploaded all the pics onto it, then erased them off my computer...then realized that I can't upload pics from my iPad to Blogger! grrrrr! any hints on that??

Anyways, back to 2010...here are some things that happened this year:

*Gavin turned 1 in April
*I ran a 1/2 marathon in May
*Mark and I ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run in June.
*Mark kept working hard at work, trying to keep a business up and running with this horrible economy, so proud of him by the way...he inspires me every day with his drive and imagination.
*Talan started Preschool in June.
*We took a few trips to the desert and the boys had a blast, we need to make it a point to do that more often.
*I turned 30, Mark turned 40.
*Mark and I celebrated our 5th anniversary.
*Talan turned 3!!!!

I am sure I forgot a lot of little things but those are some of the major things that happened this year! I am so proud of my family! I heard this song the other day and it made me smile...and think about how much I love my husband and kids.




If I don't blog before the end of the year (not looking too good on that one) then Happy New Year to all! Here's to an amazing 2011!

Barstow Toys for Tots 250

Two weekends ago we headed out to Barstow for the Toys for Tots 250 Race. Martin Brother's Racing took 1st in the 5 Class! They were so excited. AJ drove the first half, Mark drove the second half. We had a blast and so did the boys. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Gavin pretending to drive 

The racecar

Brodie and Gavin playing in the rhino.

Cade and Talan with Great Grandma Charlotte

Mark, Talan, Cade, Charlotte and AJ

Walking to the starting line.

Getting ready to start

Papa JC with Gavin, Talan and Brodie

Gavin learned to ride his strider this weekend! He was so proud of himself.

He can finally play with the big boys.

Talan being his usually crazy self.

Playing playing playing...

These boys can play!

Mark talking with Tom and Steve before he got in the car.

Who Would've Thought??

 That This....

Would cause my baby to be admitted to the hospital overnight and give his parents a huge scare!

On Sunday afternoon we had just gotten home from camping in Barstow for the race (which will be the next post). We had the motorhome parked out front and Mark and I were just bringing stuff back and forth to the house. The boys were playing in the front yard, or so we thought. Talan had snuck in the house and found a pack of Bubble Tape (that Mark had bought for who knows why). Mark saw Talan in the front yard acting kind of funny so he asked him what he was doing. Talan showed Mark an empty container of gum. We weren't sure if he had eaten it or what he had done with it but he seemed fine. 

So on Monday around 2pm Talan tells me, "Mommy, my tummy hurts" I had totally forgot about the gum incident the day before and just thought he might be getting a bit of the stomach flu. I tried to get him to go to the bathroom but he couldn't even sit up, he was curled up in a ball and in a ton of pain. Then all of a sudden he was fine. I thought it was really weird but then I just brushed it off because he started playing again like normal. So later, my mom came over to watch the boys so I could run to the store. I get to the store and my phone rings, it's my mom telling me that I need to get home, that Talan is in a ton of pain. I rush home to find Talan curled up in a little ball again. I knew I had to take him to Urgent Care because something was not right. 

When we got to Urgent Care, Talan was once again acting normal, no pain. I explained the symptoms to the doctor and then also told the doctor about the gum. The doctor started to examine Talan and once he started pushing on his tummy, the pains started again. My poor boy was in so much pain. He kept saying "I wanna go home mommy!" It was breaking my heart. I just felt so helpless. So all of the symptoms that Talan had were also very similar to a condition in which the intestine folds over on top of itself. Even though I had told him about the gum they still wanted to rule out the other because the other can be fatal!! So in order to test him they had to put him under and then they would put a small camera up his bottom and see. Well, the Kaiser in Riverside didn't have a pediatric surgeon on call so they had to transfer us via ambulance to the Kaiser in Anaheim!!! Talan was excited to ride in the ambulance despite the situation. It was so hard to stay calm for him when all these crazy ideas where going through my head and so fast!!!

Well we got to Anaheim and Talan started saying he had to throw up! We took him into the bathroom where he did throw up, a bunch of pink globs...of GUM!!! We let the doctor know and then the doctor didn't want to do the test anymore just in case it was the gum causing the problems, but wanted him to stay overnight for monitoring. He got an IV for dehydration and then they Xrayed his tummy. The Xray's showed 3 huge globs that the doctor figured was gum. Well, for gum, they can't do much because it will eventually pass. They gave him some stool softener and told us to get some rest. Talan slept good despite being hooked to an IV. I slept in a cot beside his bed, something that I hope will NEVER happen again. 

In the morning Talan was full of energy and just wanted to go home. The doctor wanted him to eat some food and then go to the bathroom before he would discharge him...let me tell you, I have never seen him eat so much. He knew he would get to go home if he ate so boy did he eat!! About an hour later he went to the bathroom so we were good to go home! What a pain that pack of gum caused us!!!

No more gum in this household!!

Talan is 3!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet boy. I love you with all my heart. Everyday you find ways to make me smile and laugh. You have taught me so much in your short time here...patience, understanding, appreciation for the small things and most of all how it is possible to love someone more than life. You have made my life complete and I thank you for that! I love you Talan!

His Birthday was on the 26th and we had a party for him the day after at the park. It was Handy Manny themed because right now he is obsessed with Handy Manny...kind of like he was obsessed with Barney last year. I am SO glad he is over Barney. Anyways...here are some pictures from the party.

Long Time, No Blog

Yes, we are still here! It has been a busy few weeks! I haven't blogged about Halloween, our desert camping trip and lots of other stuff. Hopefully I can catch up with all that in the next couple weeks. Anyways, Thanksgiving was a blast. We had all the kids together for the first time in almost a year, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a family shot for our Christmas card. I included the "setting up" pics and the outtakes just so you would see what goes into getting that perfect family shot!

                                    

Trying to get together...

We have an extra kid (Brodie) in the shot...

                                    

Gavin's hand is in his mouth, Talan isn't looking...

Mark,Gavin and Talan aren't looking and what is that face I am making??

                                           

Gavin says "I give up" Talan says "Are we done yet?"

                                      

Finally!!!!!

Here are a couple extra just because my boys are sooo cute!

CHOC Walk in the Park

 On October 17th we joined our good friends at the CHOC Walk in the Park at Disneyland. We were walking with Team "Tiny Dancer", which was was so named because of a precious little princess, Everlee Ann. Everlee is our friend Karlee and Scott's youngest daughter. She was born with Spina Bifida. After undergoing multiple brain and spine surgeries in just the first months of her life, doctors had no idea whether or not she would walk. Now, at 21 months, she is walking, talking, smiling, laughing and most of all, beating the odds! She is truly a walking miracle. I am sure it has a lot to do with how much she is loved by her family and friends. That little girl is AMAZING and has definitely touched so many lives in her short time here on earth.

 Lining up before the start.

Auntie Kendee and Everlee

My boys were super tired, we got up at 4:45! 

 Everlee Ann aka Tiny Dancer

 CHOC has helped so many families, it was an emotional day.

 Go Everlee Go!

 She was all smiles!!!

 Crossing the finish line, walking towards her amazing momma, Karlee

Trying to get a picture of all the kiddos...

He's Got Moves!

Here is my cutie patootie son showing off his dancing skills. I am really thinking about putting him in dance..haha, not ballet but maybe hip-hop? Hey, maybe he can be the next Justin Timberlake or Bieber? Talan Timberlake? Tally Bieber?

Stressed to the Max

The last few weeks it seems that it is always something and I feel like I have NO time and I am just GO GO GO all the time. Do this, go here, be here, plan this, pay this, clean this, now now now! There is never enough time in the day. 

I have been helping Mark at work as much as I can since his secretary quit in July and it is a bit overwhelming. I wish that I could go in more often and then it wouldn't be so much work when I am there. We have been having to have our babysitter come whenever she has time, which changes weekly. So 1 week I can come in 2 days, the next week none, the next week only 1 day. This makes it very difficult when trying to stay on top of invoicing, banking, bill paying, payroll, etc. Especially when I am the only one in the office that knows how to use Quickbooks. Then, on top of that, I have my ebay store that has been doing good so I have about an hour's worth of shipping a day plus answering emails/questions to fit into my schedule. Then, add to the mix 2 toddlers who rarely nap at the same time and you have a recipe for STRESS.

 I am normally not one to complain because I am very fortunate with what I do have and it is kind of petty to complain about stuff when there could be a lot worse things to complain about. But doesn't it seem like when it rains, it pours? Last week our toilet got clogged, I mean completely clogged where no amount of plunging will unclog it. I think Gavin flushed a diaper down it...so we have to have the rooter guy come out and fix it. We also have a huge infestation of ANTS, um EWWWW! They are swarming in my dishwasher of all places! How disgusting is that? So I have to wait for the bug guy to come. Also, our TV went out and it is just out of warranty so we have to pay to have someone come out and fix it, and last but surely not least our gas was shut off yesterday because they said we didn't pay our bill. Well I KNOW I scheduled the payment to come out, but it wasn't paid in time because BofA takes 2 business days to process. We had to be on a payment plan for our gas bill because we had a really high bill a couple months back where someone I may have left the BBQ on for a week few days. Anyways, at least I have my computer and I can catch up on some blogging. I am sitting home today (in the rain, how fitting!) and waiting for the gas man to come turn it back on so I can take a shower and do some laundry. No gas=no laundry, no cooking and no showers! 

On a lighter note, we went to Tom's Farm last Saturday. The boys had a blast. We rode the train, the carousel, ate some pizza and just enjoyed the day. My mom came with us. Here are some pictures.

Stroller Strides Family Picnic

Yesterday was the 1st Annual Stroller Strides Family Picnic for Corona/Norco. Unfortunately we planned it on a day that was extremely HOT! Who would have thought the end of September would have a major heat wave, oh wait, who am I kidding? we DO live in Southern California and this Summer has been extremely mild to say the least...I guess we are due for some heat...YUCK! I am so ready for Fall! 

It was 107 at 3 o'clock when the picnic started. Luckily, we brought a bunch of shade and squirt bottles for the kids. Man, when it is that hot, all you can think about is how hot it is...it just isn't right! Anyways, besides the heat we had a blast! There was a 3 legged race, tug o war, sack races, and a hula hoop game where you all stood in a circle holding hands and had to pass it without letting go. So much fun! Talan even helped his team win the tug a war! They really enjoyed the picnic. 

 Here are some of the EZ ups, no we didn't set them up lopsided...we had to lower one side since the sun was just blazing from that direction.

 Here is me and Talan getting ready to play the hula hoop game.

  My friend Natalie and Baby Gage...he is such a cutie pie...definitely diaper only weather!

 Sack Races

 Look how flushed Talan's cheeks are!

 Gavin's cheeks are bright red...everyone kept asking me if he was getting burnt. I had 50 sunblock on him! He just gets so red in the heat! Poor guy.

 Talan getting ready for tug a war.

 Pull, pull, pull!!

 He had to pose for a picture.

After the Picnic, we headed on over to my dad's house to celebrate Alexis' birthday, which was actually last Thursday. It was nice just hanging out. The boys always love going over to Grandpa John's. There is just so much to do there! 

 They colored with Alexis and Ashley

 Grandpa John let Talan drive the tractor. Talan absolutely loves it. Look how focused he is! 

 Grandpa taught him how to use the controls.

 Dig baby dig! 

Gavin just hung out and watch his big brother while enjoying some fruit!

We had a wonderful Sunday!!