Annual Family Letter 2013

Wow! What do I say? First I should say I am slack for not sending out a Christmas card nor letter last year! But I will try to catch you up! This year has been an interesting, fun and challenging year! In December 2012, we took another trip to Disney World and weren't looking to take any more vacations in the future, but this year turned out to be full of trips! We went to Oklahoma City, the mountains, Litchfield and Myrtle Beach numerous times, and Great Wolf Lodge. And when we were at home, we were often spending time in our pool. But don't get me wrong, life was also full of work,school, baseball and soccer. Brice just started Coaches' Pitch baseball and Chris has been helping to coach his team. Kinnon has been playing soccer and will start t-ball again in the spring. Chris and I are pretty much the same as always, but I do believe I haven't informed you of our new garage to house his 1968 Camaro SS. It took a long time to build and makes our property look more like a compound but it is a nice addition to our setup here. Our house is forever a work in progress with our pool deck and pond being the next projects to be tackled when we can find the time and money! I have a new project of my own now: After much research and thought, we decided that I would homeschool Brice this year. I don't even remember how Chris and I first began this conversation about homeschooling our children, all I remember is we both realized it was something we wanted to consider for our children but never discussed it with one another. Then these unexplained moments would come up where I just felt it was the right choice for us. It has been scary, challenging, and fun being a 2nd grade teacher to Brice! Kinnon is still at Hebron Day School in Kindergarten and he loves it there. My plan as of now is to incorporate Kinnon into the mix next year which will be a whole other challenge! But I will at least be more prepared for it than I was this year! Well, Brice and Kinnon are definitely keeping us busy and as they get older they definitely are becoming more and more like true boys. But they also keep us laughing and I love that! I guess I will call this letter done for now but will try my best to update the blog more now. I should, considering I am now pretty much around them 24/7. Who knows? They might just keep you laughing too! Love to all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Best Family Pic of the year!

The sick and hurt week!

So, last Friday Brice, Kinnon, and I and our playgroup all met at Fox Tree Farm for a fun time at the petting zoo, on a hayride, playing on their playground, and finding pumpkins in the hay. The day was going really well. Brice was having fun, but poor Kinnon as usual spent a lot of time in the stroller. Funny thing happened, well funny now, embarrassing during! We were all standing around talking while the kids played on the playground and then someone says "Is someone missing a child?" and then I look up and they are pointing to Brice who has his pants down and is peeing on the ground in front of the swings! With a bathroom just a few feet away! I knew I should have knixed the whole peeing outside in our yard!! Oh well!
So, anyway we all decide to go eat at San Jose for lunch. We all get there and I get Kinnon situated and then move on to Brice. As I get Brice completed, I look up and Kinnon has thrown up all over himself and the floor! Wow! What a day! And then begins the week to come of sickness!

So, Kinnon was feeling much better and showed no signs of being sick, with exception of one loose diaper and a couple of spit ups. I say spit ups because they were small in comparison and happened when he squeezed his tummy. Other than that,we had a pretty good weekend. Sunday, I went over to Mom and David's to clean thier house for her since my aunt and uncle were coming to visit from England and her birtday was the next day. Monday, every one was supposed to come over to our house to have a birthday dinner for Mom. But, I wake up at 5:30 in the morning feeling queazy. While getting Kinnon ready for school, he has a really bad dirty diaper and spits up again! I thought he was better judging from the weekend, but so much for him going to school today!
As the day went on, I was feeling worse and worse so Chris came home around noon to help out and I went to bed. Kinnon was acting quite normal and fine and so was Brice, until..... he threw up! and threw up and threw up! Poor guy! I know they don't understand what is going on, so I feel so sorry for them when that happens. Needless to say, my Mom's birthday dinner was held elsewhere without the Lawrimore family! By Tuesday, all was well and we were feeling much better. Whatever it was it went by fast at least!
Tuesday, while on the phone, Kinnon apparently lost his balance and busted his mouth on the playtable! He tore his frenulum and his mouth was bleeding so much! It was quite scary! After stopping the bleeding, I tried to inspect it but wasn't having much luck. Because of this incident and an ongoing runny nose, I decided to take Kin to the doctor to get checked. Turns out he has an ear infection, which would explain alot! The rest of the week with exception of today was spent pretty much in the house.
Today, Friday, we went to Kohl's and Monkey Joes' with some friends of ours. Once again, poor Kinnon spent the time in the stroller and Brice had fun playing with his buddy. When we got home, I am excited to tell you Brice took a nap!! Yippee!!
After nap, we played until Daddy got home. I started cooking when Daddy said why don't we go out to eat tonight with some friends. So, we ended the night with going out to eat with some other friends of ours. Good ending to a hard week!

Awesome Thursday!!

So today was a good day for the most part! After Brice went to school, Kinnon and I spent time together and did some things around the house! We picked up Brice and I was told by one of Brice's teachers that they would be calling me to discuss his behavior the past two days! Seems he has forgotten his listening skills and thinks he doesn't need to clean up when the teacher tells him too among other things. I am hoping that since tonight is a special Brice, Mommy and Daddy night, he will be a better listener going forward. There are usually two reasons why Brice does not listen well, he is tired or he wants more attention and is jealous of Kinnon. Either way, we will definitely have to work on it so we don't get another call from the teacher!
Well, I took Kinnon and Brice to get their flu shots today and then dropped Kinnon off at Grandma's for the night. I miss him but I know he is having a great time there! Brice, Daddy and I went to the Walking with the Dinosaurs show which was awesome! The dinosaurs were so lifelike and huge! And even though they were loud and some scary to me, Brice had his eyes wide open and a smile on his face the whole time. I am so glad we took him, I think Kinnon may have even enjoyed it too with exception of sitting still for a good while!
I called Grandma to check on Kinnon and she said he ate and ate and ate and was fine (I was worried about how he might react to the flu shot) and is now asleep.

It was a good night and I think I should end it now by going to bed. Night Night!

Wednesday - Mommy Day!

Well today was Wednesday and that means, unless otherwise planned, Grandma picks up my boys after school and plays with them for the afternoon! They absolutely love it and I must say Mommy likes a little break too! I miss them when they are gone, but appreciate the time so much. Today, after taking them to school I came back home and tried to make some sense of all the coupons I have. It was a good thing because with the help of the lovely lady that created and manages www.southernsavers.com, I was able to save a lot of money when I went CVs'ing today! I bought $85 worth of stuff and only paid $25 by using my coupons and Extra Care Bucks! It was quite addictive too!
I also went through my winter clothes and had lunch with my honey. It was a good productive day. I picked up my boys from Grandma's and Grandpa's and headed home. Brice did not get a nap which made it an exciting night of wines and tantrums. As usual, after the normal dinner and bathing, we played soccer in our living room till it was time for bed. Night Night!!

Pork Chop Bone Tuesday!

So, today Brice went to school and that made it Kinnon and Mommy day! Kinnon and I attended the key parents meeting to talk about their Harvest Party at school. Then Kinnon and I just ran a few errands and played at our house before picking Brice up. At school, Kinnon and Brice got to walk/run around the pumpkin patch where we bought a good many pumpkins...a Daddy pumpkin, a Mommy pumpkin, and a Brice and Kinnon pumpkin too! Then a few smaller ones for painting and carving. Like I said a lot of pumpkins! Brice bought $4 worth from his own money!

After the pumpkin patch, we went to Pets Inc. where we donated some toys and Brice drew them a picture and gave the kitties and doggies $4 of his savings too! He was very good about giving up his money. Next stop is the bank to deposit the rest! Hope that goes well too. Kinnon absolutely loved seeing the kitties and petting the kittens and puppies!

We grilled pork chops tonight and had my banana pudding for dessert. The kids loved it. Brice had 2 helpings and still wanted more, he hardly looked up from eating the whole time! I would expect this from Kinnon, the bottomless pit, not from Brice! He really enjoyed it though! Wish I had some pics for you of everything but only got a pic of Brice knawing on a pork chop bone. Hope you all have a good night!

Harmon's Tree Farm

This past Saturday we took the boys to Harmon's Tree Farm for some good ole Fall FUN! It was Kinnon's first hayride and I think he loved it. Brice, on the other hand, loved being off of the hayride and playing with everything else!

Monday's happenings!

Today was Kinnon's day at preschool! The plan originally was to have him go once a week, but he was having some difficulty adjusting, separation anxiety, so we decided to try him out two days a week. As before, he cried from the moment he set foot in the door! Poor guy, I feel so bad leaving him but I know it will be good for him in the long run and for me. Since Kinnon was at school, it was a Brice and Mommy day today!

Our chosen activity was to count his money from his change jar. He was pretty good sorting thru the quarters, dimes, etc. But when we were done sorting, he just wanted to play with it while Mommy counted. This made for a real fun time! We counted $33, wow! I think the kid has more money on him than I do! He decided, with my help:), that he would deposit $25 in savings, spend $4 on a pumpkin from his school, and donate $4 to Pets' Inc. The sad thing is we spent so much time doing this, before we knew it it was Little Gym time and no time to go to the bank and Pets' Inc! There is always tomorrow!



Well, we picked up Kinnon and surprise! He was having a grand ole time in class! He was excited to see us though! No wonder he had fun today, there was a birthday celebration with cupcakes for a classmate of his. According to his teachers, he had two cupcakes himself!

On our way out, Grandma was passing by and stopped to say hello. She ended up whisking Brice away for a few hours to go have fun with her and Aunt Sharon. Seems like he did have fun b/c when he got home he took a nap! Those are becoming few and far between these days!



Well, the boys are incredibly blessed b/c they were able to see both Grandmas today! Grandma Connie and Grandpa Cham surprised us on their way back from Asheville and they had dinner out with us! Good deal, Mommy did not have to cook tonight. However, I did manage to make some Mac n Cheese that I was already making for a friend and some Banana Pudding. So I guess I was still a homemaker for the day!



A little rough patches, but all in all I'd say it was a pretty good day!