So it's been a while since I posted last.  So I will try and make this post as painless as possible.  First was Brandon's 2 year check up.  He is weighing in at 27lbs, 33 3/4 inches.  Meeting all his milestones and is doing great.

Then it was Brandon's 2nd birthday.  We just had some family and close friends over to celebrate with us.  He had a great time and it was Thomas the Train themed.

The Monday after his birthday he started preschool.  He is going to the same place that Allyson goes and is loving it.  He is in the Caterpillars class and did great on his firtst day.  I can't believe what a big boy he is.

Unfortunatley Mike's grandma passed away a few weeks ago from complications of cancer.  She was in her mid 80's and had a great life, but was unable to fight the fight anymore.  We are happy that our children got to know their great grandmother, and also are at peace knowing that she is with God and whole again without pain.  The hardest thing I have done in my life is to tell Allyson that her great grandmother died.  She was crying and when her other great grandmother died last year right after she turned 3, I think she still didn't understand well.  Like now Brandon still doesn't understand well, but Ally knows exactly what is going on.

I took Brandon for his 2 year old photos and man was that a challenge.  I was happy though that we walked away with some good shots.

Then it was father's day.  We did breakfast with my step dad on Sat, dinner with Mike's dad on Sat. night so we had all of Sunday to do whatever Mike wanted to do.  He pretty much cleaned up the old car (Honda), and we relaxed and hung out here at the house playing with the kids.  It was a great day.

Father's Day 2009

Then we finally found our car.  Well not exactly the one we wanted, but close enough and the deals were right.  It has been so nice.  I forgot what air conditioning feels like.   Then we sold the Honda. We sold it on our own since the dealership only wanted to give us $500. for it.  It needed a few things, but the condition of the car was amazing.  So it was a little sad, since that was the first joint purchase Mike and I made together, but this car is amazing.  The kids love it and I love driving it.  One downfall.  I've already filled it up with gas, and YIKES!!!

With all this business, the kids just needed to play.  We took them to the park the other day.  We have been swimming with them daily and they are loving the summer.

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So last year, in Feb. I joined KG, Summer and a couple others to loose weight.  Well I came in last and only lost a few pounds, and I chalked it up to being in Nursing school and having almost a 1 year old, along with a toddler.  So since finishing school and starting my carrer, I still have a good 5 lbs I couldn't get off from when Ally was born, that still wouldn't come off after Brandon.

Either way, I knew Brandon would be going to school this year and I decided that this year was going to be all about getting myself back in order.  I had stopped exercising, was eating whatever I wanted and couldnt' remember the last time I had washed my face at night, exfoliated, moisturized, etc.

So, I am proud to say that since starting to work on the day shift, (the end of Jan.) I have lost 25 lbs.  I am now down to 148, where I haven't been since I got married 6 years ago.  I am looking forward to starting an exercise plan, next week with Brandon's first day at school.  I have good out and bought all new rejuvenating products for my face and have already begun, doing the daily regimen of that as well.  I feel so much better!  I am wearing pants I haven't worn in years and am getting new clothes too.

This comes at a great time since I am saddened that Brandon is going to school now too, and that leaves me at home alone for 4 days a week.  I love being a mom and can't imagine being at home without them around, but am going to use this time to try and focus on myself.  I think we all need that too and I have left myself neglected for a little while.

Along with this, I am going to volunteer at the kids school and maybe even go back to do a little research at CHOC for about 4 hours of the week.  I am looking forward to summer so I can get out and use our pool too.

Otherwise, the kids are great, Mike has stayed SUPER busy, (thank God for every job he gives us) and we will see what the future holds.

Happy June to all!

Here's a fun picture from the week.  Allyson loves to dress Brandon up in the princess atire.  He wasn't too into this time as he only put on the shirt, but it was still cute.

DSCN1929

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A couple weekends ago it was like 90 degrees outside and they are re-doing our pool before summer so we decided to get the little pool out and fill it with water.  The "KIDS" had fun hehe.

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So it was yesterday at Rutabegorz in Fullerton.  Jen and Aubree had my shower there, and I loved it so I decided to Jen's shower there too.  It was really hot, but great fun and awesome food.  Jen loves Frogs.  So I decided that would be the theme.  I kept the theme a surprise and she loved it. 

It was a good time with famliy and friends and a nice way to bring baby Liam presents and well wishes for a safe delivery.

Look at the next post for updates from Easter.

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We again went to Mike's famlies house in Needles on the Colorado river for our Easter fun this year.  There are always lots of kids.  We left Sat. and when we got there decorated eggs, made confetti eggs and decorated cupcakes.  Then Sunday was the big Easter egg hunt.  The 4-5 little kids up to age 5, got to search on the patio down by the water, the little bit bigger kids got to search in the dirt area just above the patio and the bigger kids got the farthest from the water, where every nook and crany was exceptable for hiding eggs.

Then the kids couldn't wait to get into the water.  It was only about 65% outside, but they wanted in anyways.  So before I could get their bathing suits on, they were soaking.  Having fun, no matter what, that's what kids do. While the girls stayed and played in the water, the boys went out on the first boat ride.

They do such really cool things for the kids.  There are at any given time about 10 families with kids their.  We all eat our meals together.  So we did the bunny hop into eat breakfast.  Then after our delicious breakfast, the kids had lots to do.  We played musical chairs, we did relays, water balloon toss, limbo and even the men played musical chairs.(a little differently then usual)

  It was a great time.  The kids absolutley love it and it was so nice to see everyone.  They are so gracious to let us stay there and they are so good to the kids. That afternoon, Mike and I went on the aquaglide.  Its a huge raft type thing that they pull behind the boat.  We didnt' get any photos, but it was great fun. 

The morning we left, Mike got out on the water for some skiing.  It was great fun and we can't wait until we go back.

  Then Tues. was Mike's birthday.  He had to work, but the kids and I wanted it to be special, so I made dinner and the kids made him a cake.

Daddy's birthday cake

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So we took the kids to the mountains a few weeks ago and I never posted any photos, so here they are.  They had a great time.  It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast.  We went to Lake Arrowhead, where we played in the snow, walked the village, ate lunch, had desert, then went back down the hill and found another little area of snow to play in.  It was a great famliy day.

That was actually the end of Feb.  Then I was suppose to meet the Orange High Girls for brunch.  I was sick as a dog.  Come to find out, I had walking pneumonia.   That put me out of work for a week.  They sent me for testing and found a granuloma on my chest xray so are comparing my old chest x-rays to see if it was there before and if it's gotten any bigger.  I will find out later this week, what the plan is.

THen we did a little remodel of Allyson's room.  She had one whole wall of closets. (A girls dream), but wasted space for her, so Mike decided to take down one closet door, build a little wall and make a desk.  Mike used an old piece of granite from a job he had and put up some cabinets and it's great.  She loves it and now can do all her homework there.

  Then was our 6 year wedding anniversary on March 16th.  I can't believe how quickly time flys.  We celebrated by taking a family trip to Disneyland.  We have been trying to do this since December, but it was either raining, or someone was sick so we couldn't go.  We had a blast.   Allyson has been 1 time before with my parents right before she turned 2, but this was the first time going as a famliy.  The last time I had been was in high school, so a lot has changed.  It was a lot of fun and the kids were great.

St Patrick's Day 2009

Then it was St. Patricks day.  The kids wore green and we had another classroom party at Allyson's school although I didn't take any pictures this time.  All the food the kids ate was green.  Grapes, broccoli, celery, green milk, green macarroni and cheese, oh and hot dogs. (they were the only things that weren't green.  Then they ate Lime popsicles for dessert.  IT was a lot of fun.  I got there early and helped the kids in Allyson's class do their pot of gold art project and make rainbow toast.  It was very cool they let the kids use food coloring with paint brushes and paint on pieces of bread then they toast them and eat them.  Very cool idea.

 Other then that, we took Allyson to her first big girl birthday party for one of the girls in her class.  It was at Hullabaloos.  It's an indoor place where they have a toddler area, karaoke, rock wall, some video games for the older kids, blow up bouncy, slide with an obstacle course and a play area tree house type of thing.  Then they have a seperate area where we went in and it was set up for lunch, cake and presents.  She had a great time and it's a pretty good idea, but a little expensive.  Then Mike and I had a 30th birthday party to attend last Sat. night.  We had a great time and were out late, but I still made it to work the next day.

Nothing else new going on.  Allyson got new shoes from Grandpa.  Brandon loves to brush his teeth (all the time) and all else is well.  Upcoming events in the next month include.  2 Baby showers this weekend, Trip to the river for Easter.  Mike's birthday, Jen's baby shower and then another party.  Busy times, but it's always so much fun.

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And our lives still haven't slowed down much.  Mike is still busy as ever with work (Thank God) and I have been working extra hours and days also because we have been short at work.  Good money, but tiring.  The hospital is full with patients and some kids are having to wait a whole day in the ER becuase we don't have any beds. SCARY! 

So time for a little catch up.  Allyson had her Valentines party a couple weeks ago.  Brandon came with me to help in the class room and we had a lot of fun.  So they gave us a list of the kids names in her class to make sure we got enough valentines for everyone.  Alllyson and I decided that we would make rice crispy treats in the shape of hearts for he valentines.  So she stayed home that morning to help me.  She loves to help in the kitchen and now really is a big helper.

That following weekend was a big storm and boy did we get hail.  I couldn't believe it and Allyson had never seen it before.  It was hiting the windows so hard I was convinced that it was going to break one of them.  It didn't and it only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was loud.

Allyson had school pictures today so hopefully they will turn out good and I can post them soon and we are planning a day trip to the mountains tomorrow so will hopefully have pictures to post soon.

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So January is now past, and February will prove to be a busy month too.  I started day shift last week and it's so much better for my internal clock.  Mike has stayed super busy despite what the economy is doing so we thank God every day for that.

So onto old news, the bathrooms are officially done.  Our master bath is all completed and we are enjoying it to no end.  It's like I'm at the spa.

The kids love their Monkey bathroom too. We finally found a mirror for them and now they are enjoying their bathroom as well.

We have a new addition to the Crook home.  Our old washer broke so we splurged and bought the nice new ones.  I am so saddened by the fact that I am so excited to do the laundry now.  But unfortunatley still feel the same about folding it all and putting it all away.  Either way, they was in 18 mins and dry in 18 mins.  That's 36 minutes total.  VERY COOL for a busy family with lots of laundry.

New Washer and Dryer

The other BIG news I have to share is my best friend (Jen) decided to find out what the sex of her baby is going to be and its a BOY!!!!  Yeah, little Paige will have a brother, they will name him Liam.  I am so excited for them.  So that's 4 showers so far in the next few months I will be attending.  I just love baby shopping.

We went to Vegas last week and had a great time.  We got to spend some time with my brother and his girlfriend and then saw the show Zumanity.  It was a nice time away with my husband

Allyson is doing well and growing big.  She is learning so much in school everyday and is already acting like she is 16!  Lord only knows what's in store when she IS 16!

Brandon is growing big as well and is talking up a storm.  He too in a few short months will be joining Allyson at her school and is so excited about it.  He loves going to drop her off every morning and wants to stay now! 

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It has flown by.  We had family photos, Friends kids birthday parties, Allyson's birthday party, Holiday parties, classroom parties, Christmas programs, and all the other business going on. 

First things first.  Both the kids had their check ups this month.  Allyson's 4 year old and Brandon's 18 month old.  Both the kids are growing and thriving and here are the stats:

Allyson weighs 37 lbs and is 40 1/2 inches tall.

Brandon weighs 23.3 lbs and is 32 1/2 inches tall.

They are growing like weeds and it has come to my attention that I no longer have babies anymore.  Sad, but yet so exciting.  They are so much fun together and I learn something new everyday from having them.  The amaze me and my life would be incomplete without them.

Then we had Allyson's birthday party.  It was Tinkerbell themed and she once again made out like a bandit.  She turned 4 on the 17th and I had to take a step back to take it all in.  She wants to wear makeup.  She writes her own name.  She can count to 40 and knows her ABC's and is teaching all of this to Brandon. 

THen we had Allyson's Christmas party at school.  Allyson actually sang this year instead of standing there like a deer in headlights.  We practiced both songs everynight after school and she knew all the words and sang them loud.  I was so proud of her.  She sang the Chipmunks song, Christmas, Christmas time is here and another song that is escaping me right now.  Then at the end of the program they have Santa come and the kids get to take pictures with them.

Then was Christmas.  It was great.  We always do Christmas eve at my grandma's house and then Christmas morning I make breakfast for the famliy and they all come to our house.  We started this tradition after having Allyson.  The holidays were always hard for Mike and I since both our parents were divorced so we decided that we weren't going to do that to our kids (make them drive around all day in the car to visit everyone) so I started invitiing them for Breakfast.  That way the kids can stay in their jammies, at their own house and play with their toys all day.  It has worked out great!

Then it was back to the grind.  I had to work on New Years Eve to New Years day, so missed that with the husband, but made a boat load of cash for working the holiday so that was nice too.

Then we had issues with our toilet in the master bathroom a few months ago and Mike was so busy that he just turned the water off to the toilet and we have been using the kids toilet. Finally he had some time to look at it and it was leaking so he needed to pull out all of the flooring to fix it. Since he had to do that we decided that now was as good as time as any to remodel the master bath so we have finally finished that too.  It took Mike about a week and it's amazing.  What a wonderful gift God has given him!  He really does amazing work.

I will take some final finish photos tomorrow to upload.  It's like I'm at the spa. I love it.

Oh yeah forgot to mention that my sister flew in on Christmas day and I got to spend a couple days with her and take her shopping for Christmas.  She was great to have here and I only wish she was living back here so I could spend more time with her.  She is so good with the kids and they love her here. She flew back home yesterday and I may not see her again until June.  (Too long)

Work is going good.  Having a really hard time adjusting to nights though.  I had a life changing moment this weekend.  I worked Saturday night and when Driving home on Sunday am I fell asleep.  Although only for a brief moment, I found myself swerving onto the off ramp almost running into some trees.  I lost it.  I was distraught all day.  I thought about all the possible things that could have happened and thanked God many times over for keeping me safe and keeping others on the road safe too.  Today I was going to call my manager and tell her there is no way I can contiue working on nights anymore.  It is not safe and it is taking a toll on my body.  I come home in the am to climb in bed and find myself wide awake before noon.  If I get 4 hours of sleep, that's a great day.    I have lost 12 lbs this past month.  I can't eat, I can't sleep.  I don't know when to brush my teeth or shower.  I do't even know what day it is.  It is to the point now where, I am not safe driving, not safe being alone with the kids and definatley not safe haveing to take care of patients.  I tried to do it and just have come to the realization that I cannot. 

I opened my email this am to find a note from my supervisor telling me that I was moved to days starting Jan. 25th.  YEAH!  I can't believe my prayers were answered.  God watched out for me and made this opportunity arrise just at the time when I really needed. it.  Thank goodness.  That means I only have 7 more night shifts.  When there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it makes it that much more easier.  Hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year. 

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So I seriously can't believe it's been 2 long months since posting.  So very quickly lets catch everyone up.  After our nice family get away in sept. it was work, work, work.  Mike has continued to stay busy (thank God) and I have been setteling into my nursing career. 

We hit up the pumpkin patch at Irvine park.  The kids loved it and Brandon was actually able to participate this year, so we had lots of fun.

 Then was Halloween.  Ally was tinkerbell, and Brandon was Thomas the train.  The day before Halloween, we went to treats in the streets at the Orange Circle.  THey close down the circle and the shop owners stand outside and pass our candy.  Then on Halloween, we tricker treated at the Brea mall.  Its close, and safe and indoors.  We met our friends there.  Then we all had a nice dinner and were home by 8pm.  Great!

Then was the big 30th birthday.  Crazy fun and 30 really isn't that bad!

Then was my actual birthday.  It was a famliy day, hung out with the kids and then Mike took me to dinner at Northwoods inn.  It is one of my favorite places, but low and behold the next day was Thanksgiving and we missed it!  I had the flu so bad!  It was the worst flu ever.  It literally took abou 4 days to fully recover.

That brings us to last week, when I started working night shift.  I have to say It's not as bad as I expected, but know it will take a while for my body to finally get into the groove.  Along with the night shift came my first experience with the death of my patient.  I am still trying to recover from that.  Her death was expected, but it saddened my heart to the core.  I knew this is something that I had to expect with the job I picked, but emotionally it is the most draining expericence to date.  God bless her soul and her and her famliy will be in my heart and memories forever!

Along with famliy photos last week, it has been a draining first week of December.  Here are some photos to recap. 

I am officially done with my nursing residency Dec. 27th and will be on my own. No more working other peoples schedule, no more classes, just finally my 3 nights a week.  I have already turned in my paper work to be put on days, so as soon as it comes up, I am hoping soon, I will transfer.  One positive about nights is that you make $6 more an hour.  So until the day shift comes up, I just keep telling myself that the extra money is going for the kids college fund, so that's a positive as well.

Hope all is going well and you are getting ready for the holiday season.  Let the decorating begin.

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