Ode to Aunt Kendra

Caution: HONESTY HERE...not to offend anybody or anyone in any situation.

when I found out that we were pregnant w/ Ike, it was hard to swallow. God put so many different people in my life to assist w/ the transistion of two independent children to 2 independent children and one baby. The person who was at my side the entire way was my Aunt Kendra. She is much more than just an Aunt, but a big sister, best friend, counselor. I know have seen the MANY reasons why God allowed us to have somewhat of a miracle child. W/ Ike I am able to share raising a baby w/ SO many of our family members, including my Aunt Kendra. Although Ike and Kenna are 6 months apart, it has been so helpful to have her around. You wouldn't have guessed that I already raised two other babies...crazy how 4 years changes things. I just want to personally thank Kendra and Trevor for all their support, guidance, and love you have given me and my family! Love you two!

Kenna and Ike...only about 4 pounds apart but 6 months age difference.

Happy Valentine's Day

not sure what happened w/ Valentine's day creaping up on us, so sorry if you were forgotten this valentine's day. The only ones receiving valentine's were our best friends at daycare. We handmade them Sunday night before Vday. The boys enjoyed writing all the kids' names, as they have learned how to write so well (thanks to sARAH!)
Look at that concentration! Look at that handwriting!

Our work area

Someone wasn't a fan of Valentine's day this year...as he had to sit in his own seat while mommy helped the big brothers.

One Month Old (a little late)

This posting is about a month late...but look who is one month old.
Weighs about 11 pounds. Growing out of newborn diapers. Growing out of 0-3 month clothing. Eating every 3 hours unless he rides in the car...then he waits to wake up until the car stops, then is hungry. He can go 5 hours at his longest to eat. He "goes" to bed around 11 and wakes up at 4:30. He also can a great nap from 5:30 to 8:00 am:)
gotta love the wrinkle on his forehead. When snuggling w/ him, you can tell if he is awake, because he wrinkles his head to let you know he is still up. LOVe it!

stranded pics

I was able to pick up my camera because we went back to our house...so these are some pics of my reflection of the day.
first THE rest areaOur rescuers after rescue and towing was complete

Trip to Aurora

Oh boy do I wish that I didn't leave my camera at home for our momentous trip to Aurora last week. So unfortunately you will have to create your own picture of this story.

Thursday
10:00 am - Ring, ring - "Hey Kelly, just thought I would let you know that the boys and I are on our way. We need to go to Target to get a few things, take Casey a sleeping bag and then we will be there."

Weather: 70 degree day...record breaking weather in Mid February.

10:30 am - Entering Target w/ three boys, two of which are mobile; one is not. Dollar section gets me everytime especially when it is 50% off. I told the boys they could get 2, yes 2 things from that section...but it had to have a purple dot. So they found their two things, but continued to search the entire store for more purple dots. It was great to keep their attention and to keep it w/ me as we went throughout the store. Mission done at Target.

11:00 am - Arby's run to bring Daddy lunch. Our orignal plan was to wait to eat at Kelly and Dennis'...but I thought it would be nice to eat w/ Daddy. good thing we did...
Not sure why I allowed the boys to get kids meals...but answered below. Mission lunch finished

11:30 am - Eat lunch w/ Daddy. Ike gets fed. Boys play w/ their kids meal toys (airplanes).

12:35 pm - Depart from Lincoln Airport for Aurora in our newly purchased van. Although it was newly purchased doesn't mean it didn't have 185,000 miles on it:). I was on the phone (yes I know I shouldn't) w/ my mom and I noticed my cruise control go off. I casually said, "Mom something is wrong w/ my van. I better go." I looked in my rearview mirror only to see a Semi, I glanced ahead and there was the exit ramp for a rest area. w/out time to think, I took the exit and coasted into a parking spot right in front of the brick building w/out power steering or power.

1:00 pm - We stopped and I quickly called Casey. I tried to talk him through the problems, as he is quite good with hearing a sound and knowing what it was. No luck and the van was not running very well. It sounded very sick (this was my description to Casey...hmm I wonder why he couldn't figure it out:)) I am not a mechanic. So w/out telling the boys the details, I told them we were going to get to play at the park by the interstate (yes 50 feet away from many vehicles going 75 or over).

Initially I took Ike out (in his car seat) so we could travel the different paths and do a sight word search on all the nice signs around the rest area. Did I mention that this was a rest area only for semi's...so my abduction alert was the only paranoia I had at this point. We learned that they Pawnee Indians lived around this area. The boys then proceeded to play Indian at the playground that really looked like a giant cat play ground. It had three cement cylinders w/ holes all around them. I really did have to go over to it to make sure there wasn't kitty do do all over it...but there was sand and the boys were all excited in their fort. It was too windy for Ike, even in his little car seat. So I took Ike (who was sleeping this entire time AMEN!) back to the van. I could see the boys from my van, so I got out my office in a bag (from fly lady...all magazines I have, so that when I have some down time I can actually read them and not have them collect dust at home). I was able to get through all the magazines in my bag, while waiting for our rescue crew (Kelly and Dennis) to come get us. I now know why we ate lunch and I allowed the boys to get kids meals w/ toys. It would have been a long wait, but actually the wait went quickly. At one point, Patton climbed in to the van and said, "Uh Mom, Can't we go to Gwamma's house YET?" This was when I realized they didn't know that the van was broken.

I had a HUGE box of fruit snacks that were to go to Aunt Kendra's house, but hadn't been delivered yet to help snack on. I allowed the boys to get a pop from the vending machine for a fun activity as well. There were so many events that transpired this day to know that God is always in our lives...really he was there and is there every step of the way. I was reminded how good he is too!

You may be asking...why can't Casey come to get you? Well he was leaving for a ski trip w/ a group of men from our Church. He did politely honk on his way by after Dennis slaved to get the van on his trailer w/ the help of friendly truck drivers, Kelly and I.

After loading up the van, the roadside assistance van rolled up. good timing, I thought. Where were you 5 hours before. They were really nice and helped us get turned around in the one way truck stop. Did you know that they have a person staffed at the rest areas? This gentleman was very nice but didn't speak much English. when I asked him if he could move his van so that Dennis could get in front of it, he replied, "Yes babies watch out." He was very concerned for my two boys and all the big semi's. Again, can I tell you how calm and relaxed I was. Now if this scenerio had played out about 1 mile before or after this glorious rest area it would have been a COMPLETELY different story. I am worried traveling on the interstate when someone zooms by me...I would not even begin to tell you how crazied I had been if I would have been stranded ON the interstate w/ the 3 boys. God is good:)
We traveled back to Sprague to unload the van w/ the help of our good friend, Bob.

5:30 pm I fed Ike, then headed back to Aurora.

7:30/8ish: We arrived at our orignal destination. I really really wish I had my camera as it was a beautiful day and we were really playing in the middle of a corn field w/ natural colors. It would have been a great photo shoot day...but you will have to take my word for it.

It was a day for all the baby books. I like what one person said as I got of the van initially. "Hi Sir...do you know anything about cars?" He replied, "I don't, but I do know enough to tell you that you can't go anywhere."

Meal Plan

So as much as I would like to believe I am a stay at home mom of one...my life will drastically change in 4 hours and in 2 weeks. I do LOVE working and being a mom, so I just need to help my mentality by gradually getting back into the swing of things. The boys will be returning home from a week at Grandma's house, so I need to be prepared for hungry mouths:)

We are going to have an other short week here at home, as the boys and I get to travel to Aurora for a few days. Casey is going on a ski trip w/ a group of men, which will be a blast for him. So we are traveling to Aurora to have a blast ourselves:)

Sunday:
L: Crockpot Pork Loin w/ mashed potatoes
D: Chicken Pot Pie *

Monday:
D: Lasagna w/ corn and Garlic Bread

Tuesday:
D: Taco Soup w/ fritos

Wednesday:
D: Hearty Ham Casserole (Anyone watch the Food Network show "Chopped"? I am doing my own version of a mystery basket w/ cleaning out my freezer...we will see how this recipe works w/ the mystery ingredients being cubed ham and potatoes.)

Thursday to Monday
Off to Aurora and/or Colorado

Last year I participated in the Eat from your Pantry Challenge in January. I didn't see any challenges out there this year in the blogosphere...but I am making my own challenge for the month of March. For the exception of freezer cooking, I will be attempting to make meals out of what I have here at home versus buying new ingredients for food here. W/ my sister and her husband having a new baby and me going back to work, I am sure my freezer will be emptied quickly (which is the entire goal).

have a great week!
Rhi

note from Grandma Carlece's house

I told the boys to go upstairs and pick out their clothes for the day and to be sure to pick out a shirt w/ long sleeves. Kenner came down stairs w/ a long sleeved shirt and said, "Gwamma, is this a long tree shirt?"

They are having fun at Grandma's house and I am having fun at home w/ Ike. I have cleaned all prego clothes out of my closet to never be put in there again (ALLELUIA!), cleaned the boys' closets and shoes out, completing laundry, and making a list of errands to run after Mr. Ike eats.

I don't remember the last time I had not left our house for 4 days and didn't desire to RUN like a mad women to get out. I do think I may be mature enough this time around w/ ike...that I want to be home. I worked like a mad woman to get our house in order so that I could just stay home for the short time I am home w/ Ike. If only the kitchen walls painted themselves and I had a web cam...I wouldn't be going out.

Have a great Thursday...I know I am:)

Ike and our crazy Friend Kenna

For those of you who haven't gotten to see the little guy for a while...here are some pics of our growing little boy. (I am attempting to not have a forgotten child. Many times the younger siblings are forgotten in single pictures because everyone is so busy w/ the older ones, which I can attest to, but here is our little guy). Ike w/ his new friend, the seahorse that glows and sings.

Look how big and serious I am

Here is our friend and cousin Kenna. Look how entralled she is w/ her mommy's cell phone. Watch out...she is a social one!

Ike in Great Grandma's Cradle

Go HERE to see Patton in the same cradle at the same age...crazy how much they look alike asleep.

Craziness in our house - documented here!

This is an odd picture, but one I had to take to actually document the story to follow so that you don't think that I come up w/ these stories on my own in the middle of the night feeding IKE:)
Setting the stage: Note chairs in the dining room blocking anyone from entering the "Movie theater" which was showing a Football movie. I found out later the movie was starring Kenner as the football player and Patton the band. Patton was in charge of the movie theater. You will also note the SMATCH game in Kenner's hand which prompted this creative movement of a movie theater.

Story starts here: The boys and I (yes all of us...as we were snowed in for the 2nd day in a row) were playing a game of follow Mommy's direction and get a coin for your money jar if they listened the first time. It was going SMOOTHLY and believe it or not BOTH boys (Annie Jr... I a mean Patton) were joining in. The last item was to be put away, SMATCH game. Kenner proceeded to take it into the other room when he dropped it and it spilled all over. No big deal, Patton and I went over to help Kenner. Then Patton says, "Hey Kenner ARE THOSE MOVIE TICKETS?" "What?" I was thinking...where did that come from. I quickly said, "No they aren't movie tickets, but game pieces. If you play w/ them outside of the game you will lose the pieces therefore losing the purpose of the game. No you may not use them as game pieces, but you can have a movie theater.

Patton had the biggest smile on his face. Note: no talk of movies or movie theathers had come up this day...just an example of creativity at it's finest. "That's okay mom, I will use this." holding up a marker. "Uhm, what are you going to do w/ it Patton?" I will just mark everyone's hand w/ an F that pays for the movie. (This is where the picture came into play). Patton is marking Kenner's hand w/ an F (a pretty good F, if I might say). Genius, I thought :)

Well Kenner entered the movie theater and started to play football (remember he was starring in the movie). Patton proceeded to stay at the gate for anyother movie goers. Well the movie was not well attended, so Patton decided to use his marker and write all over my brown chairs.

End of story and movie theater. this is just one example of how nice and creative Patton can be one minute and the next he is being the biggest pistol of all.

Cooking w/ Daddy

Casey has been into making caramels lately and the boys and I have been into eating them. Patton is always up to something and this something was helping Dad make caramels. Patton and Kenner are also into playing Restarnot. Patton suggested to dad that they needed the Chef hats when making things. I knew Patton was helping Dad, but when I looked into the kitchen I found this. SO FUNNY!

Hanging w/ Ike

Adding another addition to the family has been such a blessing. As you can see the boys LOVE their new brother. They LOVE feeding him a bottle, burping him, holding him and giving him lots of toys that they think he needs. Big Brother Kenner feeding Ike.

Big Brother burping him. I wish this wasn't in still time as this was really cute to see him attempt to burp him.

Ike hanging out w/ Daddy

not the best picture of me nor Ike, but I had to be in the post about all of us hanging w/ Ike.

Cheese ball Patton w/ Ike. Most of the pictures I have of Patton and Ike are of him kissing or talking w/ him...so it is nice to get a smiling pic of Patton. If this smile doesn't scream...CRAZY child I am not sure what does. He is definitely testing his boundaries since Ike has moved in on his baby spot. Patton is into dancing to nursery rhymes and singing them. I am amazed at his tone and how he knows all the songs. he LOVES music!

"Snow" Smart

These pictures a supposed to be at the bottom...this is the boys fetching their snow for snow ice cream. Um, yes the boys chose their own clothes this day...and it wasn't as cold as it looks outside.

Look how good my two boys can write their name. Note: Patton could not even write a P before starting at Sarah's house in August. I love to see his progression. Some times it is written perfectly backwards, but he is still learning. Does Kenner's name look like a Kindergartener's...he is getting so old!

Our little Ike loving nap time.

SNOW ICE CREAM! It was delicious!!! I just googled Snow Ice Cream. I used the recipe from Food Network from Paula Dean. It needed sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and 8 + cups snow. YUMMO

It tasted just like homemade ice cream. We did make this on the first day after it snowed and I helped collect it

Pics for Birth Announcements

Thanks to Grandma Kelly and Daddy for assistance in staging...I LOVE love love these pictures! Serious about guarding their new brother. Watch out bullies!

Our new addition 1 1/2 week old! Love you bugaboo!

Saluting the newest General Eisenhower

Two BIGS on standby for their LITTLE

Lovin on their little brother

Weeks one and two

Pardon the randomness of my blog. It was once organized, but in attempt to document all the funny stories w/ my lack of sleep mind I am resorting to unorganized documentation:)
The boys went back to daycare for one day until a little boy got sick...so they are home w/ me. Wouldn't it be convienent for Ike to do well sleeping through the night on the day the boys weren't here, but has NOT slept at all at night the last two nights that I have needed energy and sleep during the day but impossible when the boys are here. In attempt to resort to food instead of sleep, I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls w/ my bread maker. My friend Chris posted about making homemade bread on facebook, my uncle Kevin is on a huge kick of using his bread maker...so in honor of both of them I decided to try my hand at homemade bread. I didn't feel like failing...so I left it up to the bread machine to do the failing. The first batch of whole wheat bread didn't rise. Lesson learned: don't use expired yeast! The second batch of sticky buns w/ the boys' help was delish. I think it might be the closest recipe to the famous Sticky rolls from Smitty's!! YUMMO! STICKY BUNS RECIPE for bread maker:
Large Loaf - put all ingredients in the bread maker in this order
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups white bread flour (I used regular flour and they turned out)
2 TBSP Dry Milk *note to self...just go out and buy a canister of dry milk. Never know when you need milk for a recipe or have a craving for homemade bread in the bread machine
3 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP butter (I softened it to almost melting)
2 tsp Fast Rise Yeast (which i used) or 3 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Remove dough from machine after the dough or manual cycle is completed, then follow the process steps.

Sticky Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup pecans (didn't put in mind)

Filling
1/3 cup soft butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Prepare sticky sauce and purt into 13x9 pan. Sprinkle w/ broken nuts. Turn dough out on floured surface (it will be sticky) and punch down (boys favorite part!). Roll down into 16 x 10 rectangle. Dot w/ soft butter and sprinkle cinnamon. Roll jelly roll style and pinch seams together. Slice 1 1/2 inch thick and place into pan on top of sticky sauce, and let double in size (about one hour). bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Cool for no more than 3 minutes then invert into pan so sauce and nuts are on top. YUMMO

SNOW PANTS: $4.00 on clearance last year
35 degrees outside
HUGE snow pile on OUR yard
= 35 minutes of quiet time inside w/ Ike and Mommy.

Some cute quotes and memories from the snow pile: (note: all these quotes came through the glass as our front door doesn't work)
*As the Crete bus pulls up: "MOM IS THIS THE NORRIS BUS?" an excited Kenner realizes that that might be his bus when he goes to Kindergarten. We have been talking alot about Norris lately as we will find out on March 13th if they accept option students in Kindergarten. Pray pray pray!
* Kenner and Patton team up to throw snow balls at a boy walking home from his Norris bus. The boy takes post on the other side of the street and they have a snowball fight. All just fun and games though. I did have to open a window to tell the boys not to be mean as they were really getting him!

Just Dad and his boys. Daddy had been working hard insulating the attic...so don't mind the new hair style. Kenner and Dad now have had a haircut:)

Ike on his first outing (other than the first doctor's appt) to church. I couldn't help but take a pic of Ike in the cutest hat I ever had on Patton. Ike has Patton's hair and Kenner's face.

Ike watching his first NU basketball game w/ dad via internet! Yes Casey is that intense as they lost to Tech...not a good night for daddy!

Grateful - day 1

Words can't express how grateful I am for so many things. I guess that is what a person gets when they complain for 9 months about having another baby in the family. God does not give us things we can not handle nor need. I just wish that I would be better in being content and allowing God do the work and trust in Him.

I am so grateful for so many things, but need to write them down to assist me in remembering:)
- A long hospital stay: W/out the long stay, I would have been home w/ Ike when a varicose vein decided to make its way into my milk. This caused Ike to spit up a lot of blood and after putting tube down his throat caused the nurses to pull another 20 cc's out of his tummy. I was calm throughout the enitre event, because there were nurses, his doctor, a neonatal doctor, and lactation consultant working w/ me. Had this happened the first day at home...we would have started on a different note.
- A long hospital stay: Allowed me time to establish Ike and I time, before diving into a household of boys waiting for us to come home and give them the same attention pre-Ike.
- Ike's ability to nurse. What was previously tagged as "the most painful, horrible" experience of my life aka nursing w/ Kenner and Patton is now known as "a good nursing baby." AMEN!
- Family: My mom has super cleaned my entire house and was around the first day and 1/2 of us being home. It was so nice to have her here and have her added touch of cleanliness to our house.
- Family: Never ending love and support of all family whether in person or away. The phone calls, visits, and love is much appreciated.
- Boys: Laughter of two boys and the love for their little brother is undeniable. I was able to give them the ability to share in a FIRST for me (as a mother of three)...Ike pooped on me while changing his diaper. The boys were both there: one handing me wipes and the other the diaper. I have never heard them laugh so hard. This experience brought out the need to tell them about how they have peed on me, on the wall, etc...BUT never POOPED! I hope this isn't a prediction of what he is going to give me in the future.
- Farm rocker: The rocker that also rests level to put a sleeping baby in IS A LIFESAVER. I don't know what I would do w/out it.

Last but not least...my husband! He was able to experience his first two days alone w/ the older boys by himself. I have never heard so many stories of fun coming from them.

There are many other things to be grateful for...but now that Ike is sleeping, I am going to take time to be grateful for a nap:)

Who is who?

Both these pictures were taken at the same age for Patton and Ike. Can you tell who is who?

Welcome Ike

Ready to take our little brother home Metting my little brother for the first time. I was more concermed to get nurses for my mom to get better.

Kenner meeting Ike for the first time. He crawled up in my bed and said, "Hey there best buddy"

Eisenhower "Ike" Ryman Svitak born on 1/11/11 at 7:56 (5+6=11) am. 8 pounds 7 ounces 20 inches long. We stayed in room 434 (again adding up to 11). Eisenhower as the 3rd World War II General in our family, Ryman after my Grandma Jan's maiden name.

Last time as a family of 4. Thanks to my parents, we were able to stay in the AmeriInn the night before the c-section because of the weather. Aunt Lucy and Grandma Kelly stayed w/ us, because Lucy was suppose to video tape or shadow the c-section/surgery for experience...but they didn't let her in. Sorry Aunt Lucy for getting up so early and not being able to see it. Everything went so well and Ike is a great baby.

Meal plan for this week

Don't fall over...yes I have a meal plan and had a BLAST grocery shopping this last week w/ all my boys at Walmart. I have mainly shopped sales and ad matching at Super Saver, but for a family activity and for getting a much bigger list of things not on sale (d/t getting ready for baby) I was able to go shopping w/ the boys and Casey. It is fun to get to go shopping w/ them once in a while, because they let you know what they really want to eat instead of me just deciding what we are eating all the time. I do realize it is Wednesday, but I wanted to get back into the swing of things getting my meal plans back up on my blog (and so that Annie can stop asking me what we are having for supper...ha ha ha)

Wed: Chicken Stir Fry
Thurs: Tacos w/ beans (adding Chimichanga meat from freezer cooking and adding taco seasoning)
Fri: Turkey Burgers and tater tots (yes crazy to grill...but it will be a nice change)
Sat: L) Ham and Poppy Seed Sandwiches
D) Chili
Sun: L) Out to eat (casey has guard drill so we will go to our fav restaurant to burn time...Runza Rex)
D) Salsbury Steaks (Freezer cooking)

Mon: Still debating to go out to eat as a family the night before we add another...what is your opinion?

I have plenty of ready to go meals or easy meals to make for Casey to make while I am in the hospital. CRAZY to think that less than a week we will be a family of 5. I think I am ready, but does anyone really know they are ready? YIKES!

Christmas and DDP finished

New solution for fum sucking...gloves! We will see if it works. Svitak family at Elge's. Why can't I get pictures of anyone else at Grandma and Grandpa Elge's...too busy having fun, doing Nancy Drew, and hanging out.

I was attempting to take photos of the beautiful frost on Dec 26th on the Elge farm. I love these!

Deep thoughts w/ Great Grandma Jim...should I eat ANOTHER piece of cheesecake? Yep he sure did! Kenner w/ the boys' new toy - Robot Buzzlight Year. It even gives you a high five.

Patton could have played w/ this mini tree at Great Grandma Jan's house forever!

Schure stylin' - Uncle Mike and Kenner

Yikes...

Kenner was too tired to help out w/ Santa's cookies, so I wrote the note and Patton told me what to write and he got the cookies ready. Can you tell how proud he was? Written by mom. Created by Patton

My boys at Christmas Eve at Uncle Kevin's house.

Now...I could have not gotten a single gift this Christmas when Grandma Jackie told me she made us this Apricot Pie. Seriously...I could eat the screen. YUMMO! This was suppose to be DDP 25.

DDP 24: View from the outside. Two boys asking for a loan (of crayons) at Grandpa Pat's bank.