Happy Birthday Sam!!

This Sunday was the big party.... We had such a good party. I think we had about 14 kids over to celebrate. Wow!! All of them Maggies age and younger. That makes for a majorly crazy and chaotic party but just as fun still. Sam didn't know what was going on but loved watching all the big kids playing!! This was Sam's John Deere cake!!

Here he is thinking about taking his little cake down!!

Getting messier all the time!!

What a mess!!! At this point he was trying to breathe through the icing in his nose!! Haha!!

At this point he went and took a bath!! What a mess!!

This was one of his favorite toys!! Look at Connor trying to knock him off so he could play on it!! Good thing Sam got all these new toys that Connor has been playing with all the time. I guess it is a good thing he is little enough not to know any better!!

Playing with his cousin Emily!

Playing with Erika and Emily!! I wonder if he is trying to figure out why there is two of them or if he even notices. Wouldn't you love to know what they are thinking.

Anyways that is the highlights of our party. Sam and Keith's birthday (they are on the same day) is not actually until Thursday but we had to celebrate early b/c mag and I are going out of town this weekend. So we still have more partying to go. Tonight we are having my family and Keith's mom over to celebrate Keith's b-day b/c we are planning on taking the kids trick-or-treating tomorrow and Friday. Such a busy week.. Why does it seem like everything always happens in the same week. Oh well at least we have something exciting to do this week. Can't wait to post my pics of my trick or treaters later this week. Have a good rest of the week everyone!

Where has the time gone??

I am this week planning Sam's first birthday party. It is this Sunday. Connor has picked out for him to have a John Deer tractor party. I am pretty sure he will enjoy it more than Sam so for this year we let Connor be the final decision maker. Anyways I am just wondering where 1 year has gone. It seems like I was hugely pregnant just yesterday. It seems like a day ago I went to the hospital and was induced and had my quickest delivery. From start to end it only took 3 hours before I gave birth to my 9lb 21in baby boy. By far my biggest baby so far. How cool is it he has the same b-day as his daddy? Keith says his birthday is definetly over now. Haha. Anyways it is just crazy to think this little baby in these pictures is the big boy running all over my house, getting into the toilet and trash can constantly, making his brother and sister laugh, being a show off everywhere we go, and saying all kinds of words. I miss having a little baby but I love watching each and every stage they go through. I had to post this pic to show how big he was. It looks like he take up his whole bed.

Maggie got to leave school at noon so she could be one of the 1st people to see her brother. She is such a proud big sister. When Sam got a little bigger I had to take her in to her class so she could show him off to all of her friends. Connor was ok with the baby but wasn't all that impressed and I don't think he ever sat still long enough at the hospital for us to get a good pic of him with Sam. Kind of sad looking back.

What a proud Daddy and big sis!!

I kind of look like I am on drugs here but cut me some slack I had a baby like 20 minutes before this was taken. LOL!

Anyways my boys are sooo much better!! Praise the lord. Now if I can just get them back on the same sleep schedule we were on pre-sickness that would be great. I am not used to having to get up with them during the night and it is wearing me out. Yuck.. I am sure it will pass. I had a chance to take our new wheels (our golf cart) out for a ride today and it was so nice. I hope this nice weather last for a while. I don't know what is going on out here but we have a lady bug infestation the whole time we were outside they were everywhere. Yuck. I hate a bug. I am going to have to wait on Keith to get home to go out again so he can protect me. Haha. Anyways wish me luck with my party. I can't wait to see him dig in to his little cake. I will definetly be posting some pics of that. Hope all is well for all of you. Take care.

Camp Fire!!

This lovely evening we decided to go out to my sisters and have a campfire. As you all know my boys have been sick so the campfire part of it was pretty short lived. We made it about 20 min and it was just to cold. Me and the boys ended up sitting in my sisters living room playing with all her kids toys. That to them was equally as fun. Mag and my nephews Luke and Jack

My niece and Connor taking a wagon ride.

Connor and his grandma Karen

How cute is that Sam.. That was actually Connors hat last winter. I always thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Isn't she beautiful??

Sammy and Mommy

Sammy and Daddy

So that was our evening. I am exhausted. My shopping day last night lasted until 11 last night. We left at 9am and got to Edinburgh so easy no problems at all. Shopped there until we had been through all the stores. Then we thought we would go to Bloomington and hit up the Target to check out the toy section. We made it to Bloomington no prob-did our shopping-decided to head home. We tried to leave Bloomington for 2hours. We ended up at IU at some dorms , the Elletsville police department, and just about everywhere except for home. We also came pretty close to hitting a deer and running out of gas. What a trip home (it was an adventure). Needless to say it really felt great to get home. If you see Lindsay's husband or mine they really don't need to know all the details. They already think we can't be trusted to go out of town and if they heard the whole story they would probably never let us live it down. LOL!! At least a small dent was made into my christmas shopping and we as always had a great time. Have a good week everyone!!

Taking a Step Back!!

Today I am going to take a step back and look at how lucky I am!!

This afternoon I had a friend over I hadn't seen in a really long time.. How do you really try to talk and catch up with 3 crazy kids running around? Well I was just reminded that it isn't really all that easy. Within the 2 hours she was over I probably had to say hold that thought about 30x. Someone needs a drink..someone is hurt..someone wants a snack..sam is getting into the toilet..Mag wants me to watch her do something..Sam even had a cough attack so bad it was starting to scare me for a minute. (My boys are getting better but are still pretty sick:() I find myself on days like these feeling like a crazy woman. Please tell me I am not the only one out there that feels like this. Anyways come 7pm I lit 2 candles in remembrance of babies that had been lost. One to a good friend of mine from high school and one of my own. Not a full term baby but a miscarriage. To me it was still devastating. My story goes something like this. I am sure you all know Mag wasn't exactly planned. I mean who at the age of 19 plans on having a baby (when you are just starting college and engaged not married yet). Anyways she has been of course one of the best and happiest things to ever happen to me. When she was 2 or so we decided since we were married and had our lives in order and already in parenting mode why not now. We tried for a year unsuccessful went to the dr and I started taking fertility drugs and 6 months or so later got pregnant. What a relief I really thought the day would never come. I had been disappointed for so long it was such a relief to finally think I was pregnant. To make it even more of an exciting day my sister found out she was pregnant the same day as me. Wow. Well of course the happiness of my story comes to a screeching halt. I think I was only 7 or 8 weeks when I miscarried. Talk about devastating. It may sound silly to you because I guess I really didn't lose a baby it was more the loss of a dream and not knowing if it would happen for me again. We waited 6 more months and tried again. It was miserable. After the max amount of time on the fertility meds again we were going to try artificial insemination next. Turns out the one month I didn't use any medication or try to get pregnant it just happened. Then along came Mr. Connor and 9 months later (and with one ovary I had to have one removed while 7 weeks pregnant with Connor) I got pregnant with Sam. Without even trying. (Talk about a shocker) But I still to this day sometimes when I see my nephew Jack wonder what my baby he or she would have been like. Sometimes I think maybe god was trying to put me in my place and show me that you can't always just have everything you want when you want it. Everything in my life had always been so easy. Anyways my point to this whole long saga is that I really need to be taking a step back and seeing just how lucky I am and what a great life I really have. Sure there are crazy times but my kids have made me the person that I am now and being a mommy is who I am. The whole situation of wanting a baby so bad and not knowing if I was going to get one and then losing one has made me really appreciate the way a mother feels with the loss of a child and my heart goes out to all those parents tonight. I am counting my blessings.

So... I am thinking that this weekend was not my most successful one so far. Come Monday morning I had a really mess house and very little sleep. This has been such a bad season for my kids already and what has it been going on for 2 weeks now. I had to make a run to the quick care on Sunday when they opened after Connor had been up all night with 103 degree fever and a cough like nothing I had ever heard. Turns out he has croup and bronchitis and a bad ear infection. After only a day on his meds he is feeling so much better though. To make it even worse Sam is getting something to so I am pretty sure it is only a matter of time until his escalates and he will have to go to the dr again as well. It irritates me sometimes that you have to wait until your kids are completely miserable before you can take them to the doctor and they will do anything for them but I understand the fear of becoming resistant to antibiotics. So here I wait knowing it is coming and watching his snotty nose get nastier by the day until he has a high enough fever that it merits a dr visit. Please god do not let this be a preview of what is to come for the next couple months. I am tired of giving the drs offices and pharmacies so much money.

I am supposed to be giving Connor nebulizer treatments and that is not going well at all. I think his Curious George doll has had more medicine than Connor has. He is scared of everything. I have to check in his closet for monsters and snakes every night before he goes to bed. Heres to hoping he out grows this before to long!!

Besides that I haven't had much time for anything else to go on. I think I have something going on everyday this week. I am not really used to that either. Friday I am going to Edinburgh to the outlet malls christmas shopping with my friend Lindsay. We have had this planned for ever and I have been looking forward to it so much I just know one of my kids is going to get sick and I am going to have to cancel. I really need a day out so let's cross our fingers everyone is better by then. Have a good week everyone and when I can get some pics of my kids where they aren't all crying or have something hanging from their noses I will post some new pics.

Mac-N-Cheese Friday

So I know it is supposed to be souper-friday but I only know how to make a couple soups and they have pretty much already been covered so here is one of the Lynch fam favorites...

Macaroni and Cheese Bake
1 1/2 c elbow macaroni
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
2 1/2 c milk
Bread crumbs
Shredded cheddar cheese

Cook mac and drain. Melt butter add flour (slowly), mustard, salt, and pepper and mix till smooth . Gradually add milk and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in 1 1/2 c shredded cheese into mixture. Add mac and pour in 2 qt dish. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake for 15-20min @350.

This is so easy and a kid pleaser. My kids love mac n cheese and I got tired of the kraft box. This is soo much better. Have a good weekend everyone!

Our crazy life!!

So... We have had a crazy week this week. Nothing terribly exciting or monumental but just the usual craziness. This weather has really done a number on my kids. None of them are terribly sick but all of them just feeling under the weather. I took all 3 of them to the dr. on Monday (which is a serious chore) and they all just have nasty drainage which in turn has given them all a sore throat. How fun is it when all your kids are cranky at one time... That is the joy of multiple children it seems like when one gets it it goes through them all. They seem to be feeling better and acting like themselves more all the time.
Some reallly good new is that Keiths grandma (Let me give you a little background.. She was having a really bad week acting terribly confused and having trouble walking for about a week. So Keith and I took her to the hospital and they said she had had a small stroke and has been on the 4th floor for rehab) is back to her old self again and should be coming home next friday. Yeah!! I have been so lonely without her. She has been such a good friend and companion to me and we kill alot of time together while Keith is working. I hope her transition getting back home will go smoothly even though she is better she is 90 and is going to start requiring more care than I can give her so I am looking into finding her some help for when she comes home. So many things to think about and decide. I don't mind the busy work at all though just ready to have things back to the way things were before. It has been a real wake up call to us though that something could happen to her anyday and we are trying to prepare Mags that grandma won't be around forever and that we should savor every minute with her like it is our last but how do you really get that through to a 7 year old who has really never experienced anything like this. It is a terrible thought but it is life. ( I dont really care for this part of life :( Who does?)
My crazy husbands car looks like he drove it in the demo now bc he drove it to the gas station to get me a drink the other day (trying to do something nice and thoughtful bc I love a fountain drink) and some lady hit his car when he was backing out. Oh my. Now his drivers door doesn't open right and the back door has a big dent in it. If you guys know my husband he is a nervous nelly. I am afraid he is going to stroke out by the age of 30. Any extra event like that for him is to much. LOL!! So the lady is fixing it but I am sure he will be out of a car for a while. He is gonna have to drive the family wagon to the coal mine for a while. I bet the guys he works with are gonna love that.
Other than that things have been fairly mellow around here. Just picking up toys and chasing Sam who has went from walking to running this week. I am starting to plan Sams first birthday party. He is a big eater and I can't wait to see him dig in to his cake. Their first birthdays are always so fun. Connors obsession has changed from Wiggles to Curious George. He even has a George he sleeps with every night (which is incredibly cute except for when George is missing and then he can't sleep). Mags is just getting so grown up and my little buddy. I couldn't make it without her. Shs is such a great help with the boys and a good side kick. She is my partner in crime. She is all pumped to go and see Miley Cyrus on Oct 31 in Louisville. We are going with her best friend Madi and her mom and have had this planned for ever. She has been asking how much longer till October 31st for an eternity now. Anyways that is a little catch up on us. Hope you are all doing well. Here are a few pics of my crazy kids. Connor played till he could play no more and then fell asleep in my bed watching George. It was monumental to us bc I don't think he has ever taken a nap anyhwere but in his bed. He is a boy who needs his bed to sleep!

I think this was the one moment sam stood still that day!!

My boys are getting musical!! Its all fun until one of them is trying to sleep and the other one is pounding on the piano.

Isn't she just getting so big!!

I did it!!

Ok... These are my masterpiece sticky pumpkin buns. I just wanted to tell everyone I did it. I am so proud of myself right now. I keep telling Keith to just call me Betty Crocker. Jennifer thank you for the recipe. It has gotten the thumbs up from the fam. You definetly deserve the mom of the year award. What a woman. You potty trained all your kids by 2 and you bake things like this (and you called this easy. Uhh.... I am definetly at beginner level here and this was way more involved than anything I had ever made). We are also going to have to talk about my presentation. LOL!! How did you make yours look so good in your pic? Anyways I have busted out my apron and keep the recipes coming bc I am ready to bake. I promise to not post a pic of every recipe I get from you guys but this one I had to share. I was so excited I made my neighbor (thank you Shelley) come over and get some to try!! Anyways enough about that!! Another exciting thing is that I am loving this cool weather. It is my favorite time of year. Iam busting out my hoodie collection (which most of them I have had a decade and are looking pretty ratty and very replaceable) and loving it!! My kids seem to be in a funk this week. Cranky kids= Cranky momma. No fun. I think Sam is getting some more teeth and I haven't exactly pin-pointed the issue with Connor but something is going on. Hoping they both start feeling better really soon. Anyways everyone have a good one and thanks again Jennifer for the recipe.