it's about time!

I keep looking at my blog and thinking, "she needs to update already!  I am tired of seeing that title every time I open this page."  Then I remember that "she" is ME, and not seeing that title anymore means I have to do something about it.  Then it's overwhelming and the urge goes away. (:

So for those of you still out there who occasionally check in on the crazies at my house, here is a synopsis of our February so far {just the noteworthy stuff-UBER LONG post}:

Tuesday the 1st: I was trying to work on the computer while Beckham was taking his longer afternoon nap & Grayson was chillin quietly with some toys in the living room.  He kept coming over and asking me to play with him and I just kept putting him off.  Then it hit me.  I needed to quit what I was doing and do something with him.  He is more important to me than anything on the computer, and he needed to know that.  So I asked him what he wanted to do...if we could do anything, what would it be?  He said, "Hmmm...how about build a house or something?"  Okay...  So I pulled out our arts & craft tote, grabbed the two big cardboard boxes I had just unloaded from the UPS man with my latest TSFL delivery, and we got to work.  Because some days you just need to hang out in your diaper/pj's & build a house, right?  We spent about an hour working on it before Beckham woke up and then he joined in on the fun.  It was great just visiting with Grayson, hearing his point of view {and believe me, he has one.  About everything.}, and seeing his creative side.  He is definitely a kid who needs quality time {as a sidenote I'm reading "The Five Love Languages of Children" right now & I totally called that for him, but time will tell}, and does best attitude wise when he's kept busy.  He is a hard worker & loves to help, and generally needs to be given tasks to stay on task, rather than seeking out his own all the time.  And, he prefers to work alongside someone he wants to spend time with.  The house turned out great.  Honestly it's ugly.  White trash & cheap looking.  But we love it.  Because it's ours.  And we worked hard on it.  And guess what?  He played with that thing for hours!  That day & in the days since, the house has been pulled from room to room, shown to every guest, and involved in lots of imaginative play.  My favorite game: fast food restaurant ordering.  I can get anything from that window & feel totally okay doing it! (:  This was a seriously great day to be a mom of my two boys!

I also talked later in the afternoon to a good friend I haven't talked to in years, Kimberly.  Her father in law is a pediatrician and he told her that kids need 5 minutes of quality time in every 30 minutes.  I thought about it & totally saw the logic.  About that often, Grayson comes up and wants me to mindfully be with him if I'm busy around the house.  How often haven't I just taken that 5 minutes & soaked it up?  I made a goal to be more mindful of this & really make an effort to make even just those 5/30 really count.

Thursday the 3rd: Today was a busy day.  The boys spent the day at Taylor's & Zac was working from home.  I headed to Meridian.  First stop was a visit to our accountant/bookkeeper to make sure things were on par with taxes which went well.  Second was a TSFL lunch with Brenda & Tony at Qdoba's of course.  Yummy food & excellent company & conversation.  Headed to the car wash as a surprise for Zac because my car was FILTHY & of course took many self portraits while there... (:

 Grabbed a drink from Sonic, ran some errands on the way home, and picked up my sweeties at 2:00 from T's house.  They had a lovely time, as usual.  We got home and Zac and I were able to have a long conversation while the boys played with toys & it was good.  One of the traits I love most about him and our relationship is he is not afraid to be frank & honest with me, and I feel like I can do the same with him.   This doesn't mean every conversation goes smoothly & perfectly, but it does mean I know we respect each other & can voice our viewpoints and I like that.  A couple hours later we headed to Pete's place to celebrate Talon's birthday with our family, his family, and the Hartley Fam.  A great time was had by all and I didn't really see Grayson much all night.  He just played with the kids downstairs, Beckham enjoyed being loved on by anyone who would pick him up, and I enjoyed visiting with Julie and everyone else.  We sure love Talon, too!

Friday the 4th: Talon turns 26 today!  Happy birthday Talon!  We love you and are glad you are in our family now.  Something we each love about you: Z- that we are xbox buddies, K- that you are amazing with my kids & fit so effortlessly into our family, G- that you are a super funny uncle & let me play with your micromachines, B- that every time you walk in the room I get the cheesiest grin on my face & you always pick me up & love me!

 Today was full of friends for the whole family.  First I got to talk to Candace for a while which was nice to reconnect with her.  Grayson made homemade apple juice popsicles during our conversation & insisted on checking them about every five minutes.  Then Amber & Ella came over for a morning visit bearing my favorite drink!  We loved visiting and watching Gray and Ella play so sweetly & intently by the fireplace.  They seriously stood like this for a long time!

 An hour or so later, Tasha came all by herself! {this is a feat when you have triplets!} and it was wonderful catching up with her.  We haven't connected in months, so it was a much needed visit.  Grayson was hilarious and kept looking her straight in the eyes and asking deep thought provoking questions or telling her multiple random facts at once.  Totally funny!  He was really good while she was here though-especially because Bex was sleeping and he had to entertain himself while we chatted.  Early that evening, Kylee & Greg came to spend the night!  We were so excited and Grayson had been preparing himself all day to have a sleepover.  He was stoked!  It was great to see them both & visit for a while with them.  The boys played fabulously almost the entire visit and Grayson only had 3 complete meltdowns while they were here. (: But, overall, he did well & I have to remind myself that I tend to expect far too much from him because although he communicates like my peer, he isn't. (:  So when he acts like a toddler, I have to remember he is one!  Anyway, we had a good time visiting and the boys had a great time having a sleepover.  Beckham was a doll baby & enjoyed by all.

 Zac had a fun friend's night too.  He went & had a sleepover with Talon and about 12 other guys at my folks house for Talon's xbox birthday party.  My parents were in McCall with friends & graciously let them use their home for the party.  They had TV's everywhere upstairs & Zac had a great time.  He said they played till about 3:30 and then most everyone went home except the few who slept over.  Fun times with friends!

Saturday the 5th: Happy Anniversary today to my sweet parents!  They have been married 29 years & look about that age. (:  I get choked up even talking about either of them because they are just good people.  The best, really.  I don't think I can ever adequately describe how grateful I am for either of them or the role they play in my life, my husband's life, and the lives of my children.  I sincerely hope to be even a tiny bit as incredible as they are.  So grateful they are married & have each other.  They like each other, they are friends, they are affectionate, they exemplify Christ in their actions & lives, and they make me laugh.  I like to be with them.  When we list our friends, they are at the top.  We love you guys!

This evening we headed over to Rock & Julie's to watch the UFC fights.  We were both tired and thought about not going, but decided to and were glad we did.  The boys loved meeting their new puppies {I think Beckham would have enjoyed mauling or eating one} and being spoiled by R&J's great kids.  There were a few other couples there & no one else brought their kids, so my boys were the novelties of the night.  Madisyn {10} took Grayson under her wing and played school with him and Carson & I peeked in and totally loved it.  Grayson was raising his hand {she had made a desk for them to sit at} and talking about letters & animals with her.  So so cute!  Later, she played house with him in her room & he was totally playing construction worker style & she just played along.  I can totally see babysitter written on her forehead! (:  We really love this family and I really love their mama.  So glad we could be there-totally lame fight in the end, {one kick to the face & the guy was out!}, but good times with great friends.

Sunday the 6th: Superbowl.  Totally didn't care about this game.  Neither did the hubs.  We spent the afternoon napping at home and then got to Cleaver's at halftime.  The boys played & we visited while half watching the game.  Turns out I was pretty happy when the underdogs won.  I'm kinda sappy like that though!

Monday the 7th: So I've got a new nickname for myself:  "Karli the toolgirl Cleaver."  Yeah, I'm becoming quite the handy woman.  Okay, so I'm not building beds/chests/toy boxes, etc., like some of my uber talented friends, but I'll get there someday, I'm sure of it.  Gotta start somewhere.  And I'm starting with shelves & bookcases.  And, the directions said it'd take 1 hour.  It took me 1 hour 45 minutes.  But, during that time I also fed a baby a bottle, changed 3 diapers {I was watching Jaeger this day}, made sure 3 boys didn't destroy each other, talked on the phone to 2 friends, and did it all myself-even the part they said I'd need another person for! (:  That's what I'm talkin about!  Anyway, this one was for our bedroom and I love it.  I love that our books are finally somewhere accessible and that it made our room look more like a bedroom.  I love that slowly but surely, I'm organizing our entire house!

 That evening we celebrated my mama's birthday with the family.  Dinner & visiting, pie & candles.  Sure love this woman.  She is beautiful outside & in and I just really really like her.  Grayson started complaining his eye hurt this night & it was a bit red & really runny.  Jaeger had had pink eye previously and they said it looked the same.  Sadly, Grayson had quite a meltdown here tonight, but settled down in time for the guys to give Grandpa Alan a blessing.  We borrowed L&K's drops & somehow forced a couple into Gray's eyes that night...And, happy birthday to Rock today!  We are glad to have this guy for our friend & love that we laugh every time we're with him. 

Tuesday the 8th: Happy birthday for reals today Mom!  We love you & our boys like you more than they like us!  She's always had selflessness in her corner as one of her great attributes, but took it to a whole nother level this year because my dad had shoulder surgery today!  Poor guy!  She, of course, takes great care of him and he was a tough guy as usual.  It's pretty painful, so we are feeling for him. 
We spent the evening having a late family home evening making/addressing/sealing Valentine's & getting them ready to mail.  Biggest Loser & bedtime rounded our our evening.

Wednesday the 9th: Taylor watched the boys & Ella today and Amber and I went to her 37 week doctor's appointment and then shopped for a few hours.  She's getting closer & that baby will join us anytime now!  Getting pretty excited to see the next little Miss Fischer!  We had a great time browsing, buying, and eating at Olive Garden, and always have fun chatting.  The kids were all good for Taylor which is a relief and it was fun to be with my bestie for an afternoon before life gets a good kind of crazier for a while.

Friday the 11th: Took sweet Beckham to the doctor today after being up with him & his barking seal-like cough all night.  Gray got to hang out with Grandma Linda which he loves and since we were still a little early, we stopped by to see one of my favorite girls at one of my favorite drink stops too.  Dr. D said that Bex had croup & gave him the shot for it.  Poor baby is so miserable and just wants to cuddle & sleep all the time.  He follows me and Zac around with this sad noise & coughing and when we pick him up he just melts into our arms & chest.  He is such a toughie that it takes getting really bad before we notice that anything's wrong with him.  Poor kid!  Hopefully the shot will help!

 That night I left the boys with Zac and went to help with the Blue & Gold scout banquet at the church.  Poor Julie had turned wrong on her knee & totally messed it up, so wasn't able to make it.  It turned out good and I was so pleased with our scout leaders.  They are all great guys with great wives, so that makes it nice!  I headed home and poor Zac had had a screaming Beckham for about an hour!  He almost never cries for over a couple minutes, so this was totally out of the ordinary & Zac tried everything.  Finally he called my mom for help & she sent T&T over to help him.  Bex had cried himself to sleep on the floor at that point and Taylor just rocked him.  Poor baby!  He is obviously really hurting.  I felt so bad for him and for Zac because I know it totally made him sad to see Bex like that.  Got the boys in bed and about an hour later I started feeling feverish and yucky...on to an incredibly long and painful night for me!

Saturday the 12th: So the night was bad.  The morning was worse.  I was feeling awful.  Crying, fever of 103.8, achy, FREEZING, headache, swollen throat & ears throbbing so bad I thought my head would fall off, eyes aching, etc.  Taylor quickly took the kids so Zac could take me into the clinic.  The doc said I had either a sinus infection or the flu, so he treated me with antibiotics & mucinex and we were out of there.  I was freezing and couldn't warm up even though my fever was super high.  Took the super warm blanket Z got me for Christmas to wrap up in and he was so sweet the whole time just trying to get my mind off the pain.  I seriously can't remember feeling this sick ever.  Like "pretty much want to die" sick.  We got home and I crawled into bed vowing not to ever take the simple task of swallowing for granted and trying not to do it at all at this point.  Zac went to get the boys & took them to hang at his folks so as not to get my germs on any of them.  I took a bath, tried sipping water, medicated, slept, cried some more, felt awful, took another bath, & froze all day.  Felt worse than before.  Zac brought the boys home around 7:30 and we got them in bed by 8:30.  It was another long night & he just fielded and did everything.  Love that man.
In better news though, today I also received my first bountiful basket & it was loaded!  This is only a small portion of what we got!  And, baby Beckham turned 11 months old!  He'll get his own post for this. (:

Sunday the 13th: Feeling worse than yesterday if at all possible.  All of us stayed home from stake conference which I was so bummed about.  I always look forward to it especially hearing Dad talk.  Our local family doctor & friend Travis, called to check on me after church.  Zac told him what was going on and he said it was definitely influenza and if we hurried & got me started on Tamiflu, I might get some relief.  He called in a prescription, Zac dropped the boys at my folks, and ran and got it.  I took some & it makes me puke, so that started which was awful because of how swollen & hurt my throat was, but it must have helped because I was able to sleep a bit that night finally.  Beckham seems to be getting worse, which worries me.  Our house felt like a sick house all day & this sight is just some of the products being taken/used right now.

Monday the 14th: Happy Valentine's day!  We took these pictures earlier in the month after getting Denise's darling banner in the mail.  The boys were good sports & after about ten minutes and a very sticky baby, I was happy with the results.  Seriously cute Valentine's, I'd say!

For the first time I can swallow with only minor rather than major discomfort!  Hurray!  Mom came over and wiped down every surface/toy/person in our home with Lysol & cleaner and it smelled much better after she was done. (:  She also accompanied me to the doctor with Beckham to see Dr. Matt.  He looked in his throat & nose and said, "Holy Guacamole!  Is this kid eating?!"  His throat was covered in puss & he had major sinusitis.  Poor baby!  No wonder he hasn't been feeling great or eating great!  Got an antibiotic for him and came home.  I was feeling a bit lightheaded and laid down with the boys for a while when I got home.  We spent Valentine's night all together eating dinner from mom & watching a movie and the boys went to bed at 8:30 and Z and I followed shortly after!  We were all totally wiped out!  I have to say that I am so grateful for HOW Zac loves me.  He showed me all weekend and all day I kept thinking that was the greatest Valentine's gift...to have a husband who adores me enough to take care of me without complaint.  He handled everything & although he had some help from our families {thank you!}, when he was here it was all him.  I completely adore him.  So grateful he's my Valentine this year & every year.  And we are both grateful for these sweet boys who we think are pretty dang cute too!

And, happy birthday Denise & JD-two of my greatest childhood friends!  I am lucky enough to connect with Denise often although she's moved away & I miss her terribly, but we rarely talk to JD unless he's visiting his family.  Then the other night, he called and said to Zac, "Hey, it's J-dawg!"  So cute!  Zac loved catching up with him and we are so blessed to have both these amazing people in our lives.

Tuesday the 15th: Woke up today to Zac peeling up some of the linoleum in our kitchen under the fridge.  He had researched mold the night before & the effects it can have on your health & wondered about in our kitchen.  Sure enough, it was wet under the fridge & tons of black mold.  Totally disgusting!  The smell was pretty gross & he thought it would be best if the boys & I spent the day somewhere else.  Hmm...who would want three kinda getting better people in their home?  Only a mom/grandma, right?  We headed to my parents and hung out there {thankfully no one was there most the day} and visited with Grandpa for just a few minutes at lunchtime.  We just watched 2 Disney movies, cuddled on the couch, and played a few games.  I didn't have my computer & my phone was almost dead, so it was nice to just focus on the kids for a day.  We went home for a couple hours to pack a bag and then headed to Cleaver's to spend the night.  Grayson was so excited to have a sleepover at Grandma's house!  We made up our beds & our room and got the boys bathed & fed before G&G got home from their meeting.  We watched Biggest Loser, got the boys to bed, and followed a while after.  The boys slept great the whole night, so hopefully their antibiotics are working!  I felt better a lot better today too.  Progress, right?

Wednesday the 16th: Chilled at Cleaver's till the worker guys left our house.  Hung out at home {Grayson is terrified of the big fans they have running}, and played in the boys bedroom for a while.  Enjoyed watching our neighbor's llama in the field by our house.  {Don't worry-I called her to come get him!}...Felt even better today & although it started rough for Beckham, he seemed in good spirits all day & feeling better tonight.

Thursday the 17th: The boys went to Taylor's and then to Grami's for a couple hours while Z and I went to Meridian for work stuff.  We met with Tony & another business associate for lunch and then did Cricket stuff till we came home.  Grayson was mean to Grami Tami which we had a LONG conversation about on the way home and at home.  Hopefully it won't happen again.  Argh.  Sometimes parenting is hard, huh?  Okay, every day it is. (:  But, it's totally worth it too.  Because when we got home I wanted to take our February family pic real quick & he was totally agreeable about setting the camera up and seeing what we got.  {by the way-this was the second picture we took out of three-I was impressed!} And, he's been completely pleasant the rest of the day.  Hmm... (:  And, in exciting news, Amber is headed to the hospital so we just may have a new Fischer family member in the next 24 hours!  Yay!  I'll keep you posted!

 Phew...so there's an update for you.  Hope you didn't fall asleep in the meantime!  It's been a great month so far & I know the next half will be just as great.  Lots of exciting things coming up!  Until next time...happy February!