Resolutions Are Made To Be Broken...

....Right?

I know one of my goals for this year was to be more persistent with keeping up on our family blog. It's been a little rough over the last six months, but some changes are being made and things are starting to look up for us. We have had a few exciting things happen over the last few months so I'm going to try and get you all up to date.

February 18th - Jim was laid off from his job working for a neurologist. He was really unhappy there so it was kind of a blessing, but in this job market, it was also a curse. I ended up picking up some extra work, doing transcription from home in the evenings to help pay the bills. It was a little stressful and exhausting, but it got us through.

June to July - Kayla played softball for the first time this summer! She LOVED it and did pretty good. She wants to do it again next year - so we'll definitely be signing her up.

July 22nd - We had a positive home pregnancy test! For the longest time, we were pretty set on not having any more kids. I mean - we already have three between the two of us. But we ultimately decided we wanted to be able to experience parenthood together from the beginning. So we started trying and - well - you know how it goes.

August 15th - Jim and I took off for a few days to Long Beach, CA. Jim was going for work (he did some consulting work that required him to travel while looking for permanent work). So Jim's airfare, the hotel and car were paid for - I just had to pay for my own airfare. It was a great deal! Jim had to work - but I got to spend 3 days relaxing by the pool and enjoying the sunshine!

August 22nd - Jim started his new job working for Pacific Vascular. The awesome part about this job is that he is working out of Auburn Regional Hospital which is about 10 minutes from our house. Talk about a nice commute. Meanwhile, I continue to take the bus to Bellevue. Yes - I'm jealous.

August 23rd - First ultrasound of our little peanut:

We also went on a few camping trips this summer, Kayla turned 9 and Katlynne turned 15 - but I'll blog about those another day. It's bedtime for this mama! Thanks for reading!

Finally - Some Spring Weather!

We got to spend some time today with my niece and nephews. Once we noticed blue skies, took them outside to the park in our neighborhood. It was the perfect day for some outside play time!

Tonsil & Adenoids - Who Needs 'Em?

Whenever Kayla gets any kind of bug or virus - it goes straight to her ears and occasionally will go to her throat. Ear infections are something we have been fighting against since she was a baby (it doesn't help that she comes from two parents who ALSO suffered from chronic ear infections). I have brought up the issue with her pediatrician before and she told me her ear infections weren't frequent enough to warrant additional treatment (apparently 4 to 8 ear infections a year isn't considered bad enough). Well - after the last ear infection, I finally got tired of it and took matters into my own hands. I started discussing it with one of the doctors I work with and she instantly mentioned that Kayla might have enlarged adenoids and recommended I take Kayla to see Dr. Zundel, an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. So - I got on the phone and made an appointment for the following week.

We were told that Kayla's tonsils were moderately enlarged and at the time, looked mildly inflamed. Since the adenoids are behind the tonsils, you can't actually see them, but based on Kayla's symptoms and the fact that her tonsils were already enlarged, Dr. Zundel (or Dr. Zoodle as Kayla calls him) recommended we have her tonsils and adenoids removed. After the procedure, Dr. Zundel told us that her adenoids were in fact enlarged and thinks removing them will help eliminate (if not entirely eliminate) the occurrence of ear infections.

So - my poor bug is spending her Spring Break recovering from this awful procedure! She actually handled it pretty well and wasn't really nervous at all. I think the fact that she didn't know what the procedure entailed helped her stay calm. Had she known - she probably would have freaked out. But even after the procedure when she was in recovery, the nurse said she wasn't crying and was quite calm.

Morning of Surgery: In The Waiting Area

In Her Surgery Attire: Loony Tunes Gown

Sporting The Surgical Cap

The Nurse Took A Picture Of Us All (Her Finger Got In The Way)

The Walk To The Dungeon / Surgery Suite

In Recovery - Doing Awesome!

We made a temporary bed on the floor in our room so it's easy for us to get to her and help her in the middle of the night. Miley is loving these sleeping arrangements.

During the day - she spends most of the time on our bed watching iCarly or playing her Nintendo DS.

Kayla's recovery is going a little slower than we had anticipated. She is still in a lot of pain - mostly in the mornings and as the day goes on, she seems to get a little better. She was finally able to eat solid foods last night at dinner - she had some mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. But this morning - she has not been able to eat or drink anything. I'm hoping she will be well enough to go to school next week - but I'm not so sure right now. Only time will tell...

The Ten Grands

So - apparently my life isn't very exciting because I haven't really had anything to blog about lately. I'm even having a hard time keeping up with my cooking blog because - well - not even my cooking has been exciting! I'm thinking things need to change. I'm not sure how - but I'll figure something out to make life with the Browns more exciting in the weeks to come. Stay tuned!

Kayla has been taking piano lessons for the last few months from yours truly. Let me rephrase that - she has been taking lessons when we actually have time to sit down for a lesson. There is no consistency with either the lessons or practicing - but I promise - I'm going to try and get better at it. However - there was a time in January where Kayla was really pushing through her piano books and was really enjoying the progress she was making. So when Jim came

across this:

The Ten Grands

...he bought tickets so we could surprise Kayla with a nice night out in Seattle. This concert is put on by a group of pretty incredible pianists who are part of the Snowman Foundation. The proceeds from the concert are used to help support music programs in our schools and community centers - which is EXTREMELY important considering the budget cuts our schools are facing these days. My favorite pianist of all time - David Lanz - was one of the pianists (he's a Seattle native). We also got to see a 9 year old little boy and an 11 year old boy perform who were absolutely AMAZING! It was so fun to watch and Kayla LOVED it!

I wanted to turn the evening into something really special for Kayla - so - Jim and I took her to Nordstrom Rack and she got to spend the entire morning trying on dress after dress after dress so she had something nice to wear to the concert. Jim ended up letting her get three dresses PLUS a sweater and new shoes! After dress shopping, I had one more surprise for Kayla - so we dropped Jim off at the house and headed up the hill. Kayla has been wanting to have this done for at least the last two years - but I have always said no. For tonight - I figured it was the perfect occasion to say yes:

Yup - She Got Her Nails Did:

I don't have a picture of the final product - heck - I don't even have a picture of us all dressed up for the night. The plan was to get all fancied up and head to Seattle for a nice dinner before the concert - but of course - things never go as planned and we ended up not even eating dinner that night. But there's a perfectly logical explanation which follows:

The Original Plan: Day of Shopping, Nails and Lunch; Nails and Hair Done Looking Awesome, Dinner In Seattle, Concert - AWESOME night.

How It Actually Happened:

Monday: Jim's brother had surgery.

Wednesday: Mom emails me and asks if we want to go to Spokane with them for the weekend so we can visit with Jim's brother - they want to leave Friday night. I said YES.

Thursday: Made arrangements for Miley at a kennel in Puyallup for the weekend - they have limited drop-off hours (from 4:30 to 6:00 pm).

Friday: Shopping, Nails, Lunch, Spent 2.5 Hours in the car trying to get to the kennel to drop Miley off because stupid Washingtonians DO NOT know how to drive in the rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the time we made it to the kennel, it was 5:35 pm and by then, we knew our dinner plans were a wash. We also knew that we HAD to leave the house by 6:00 pm to make it to the concert in time. We got home from the kennel at 5:57 - we literally THREW our clothes on our bodies and were out the door by 6:03 pm. We didn't have time to do our hair (I had to do my makeup in the car), we didn't have time to go to dinner, we didn't have time for pictures - all of which were part of the original plan. I was kind of disappointed - but when it was all said and done - those things we missed out on didn't ruin the night at all. We still ended up having a good time!

Right after the concert - we headed straight to my parent's house and my dad drove through the night so we could make it to Spokane before sunrise on Saturday morning. My parents are pretty great!

Looking Back -

Wasn't Jim a Cute Kid???

Personal Commitments For 2011...

I don't do New Year's Resolutions....They have never worked in the past and I'm not very optimistic that they will work in the future. However, I do need motivation for self improvement over the next twelve months, so here is my list of Personal Commitments For The Year 2011:

1. Clean Up My Mouth....When I Get Mad Or Frustrated - I Can Sometimes Lose It.

2. Stay Organized - The Mail Is My Worst Enemy, It's All Over My House (Mostly Unopened).

3. Prepare Next Day's Lunches The Night Before So I Can Sleep An Extra 20 Minutes In The Morning.

4. Get At Least Seven Hours Of Sleep.

5. Train And Be Ready For The Five Mile Lake Women's Triathlon Sprint Distance In June.

6. Blog At Least Once Every Two Weeks.

7. Read For 30 Minutes Every Day.

8. Cook Dinner Every Night - No More Going Out.

9. Do More Nice Things For Jim.

10. Date Nights With Kayla.

The biggest commitment is going to be #8. As of right now, we probably eat out at least 3 or 4 nights a weeks, because who wants to cook after working all day??? Not me. But that's going to change!!! I have created a second blog to help keep me on track where I will post recipes as well as nutrition information (when available). You should check it out:

Made With Love For Those I Love

Looking Back At 2010

I don't know what it is about January 1st - but every year on this day, I can't help but think back to the previous year, and contemplate what I could have changed to make the year better. I do have to say that 2010 was a VERY good year and my family has been more than lucky this year. Here is a quick picture summary of the Browns in the year 2010:

January 2010

We Added Miley To Our Family (Whippet / Bull Terrier Mix)

One Of the Best Decisions We Have Made As A Family

February 2010

An Uneventful Month - But Still Fun Nonetheless

The Girls All Got Into Webkinz

March 2010

Pretty Uneventful Again

There Is Always Some Sisterly Love Going On

April 2010

Dying Easter Eggs With G'ma & G'pa Startin

Easter Piñata

Miley Became A Rock Star!

May 2010

Kelsey Turned 12 (In December 2009)

We Celebrated A Few Months AFTER Since Her Birthday Is So Close To Christmas

Mother's Day - Salt Creek Recreational Park (Port Angeles, WA)

We Go Camping Every Year For Mother's Day (My Choice)

Our Beautiful Girls - Salt Creek

Auburn's Annual Pet Palooza and Dog Trot

Running Our First 5K Together With The Dog

June 2010

Jim Turned The Big 4-1!

Katlynne Graduated From Middle School

The Upper Campus Of Her Private School Closed - She Got To Start High School At The Public School - She Was More Than Thrilled And LOVES It!

July 2010

Lilly (Rottweiler/German Shepherd)

We Tried Rescuing A Second Dog - Turns Out I Was Very Allergic To Her And We Had To Give Her Back After Just Two Weeks

Family Camping Trip - Mt. Saint Helens

Making The Drive Up To The Volcano

Awesome Experience For Our Family

Kayla Got To Go On An Alaskan Cruise With Her Dad And His Family

Kayla And Her Cousin Got To Dress Up On The Cruise

August 2010

Katlynne Turned 14!!!

She Got Her Very Own New Bedroom

September 2010

Overlake Hospital Annual Company Picnic - Remlinger Farms

Remlinger Farms

Kayla Turned 8 And Started 3rd Grade!

October 2010

We Visited Roloff Farms In Oregon And Got To Meet The Roloff Family

November 2010

I Exited The 20's And Entered The 30's - A Huge Deal For Me!

It Snowed!!!

December 2010

Our House Ready For Christmas

We Got A Real Tree - A First For All Of Our Girls

Startin Family Christmas Party In Ellensburg

Katlynne & Emma - Caviness Family Christmas Party

Great G'pa Caviness & Our Girls

Ryan - Home On Leave For Christmas From Afghanistan

We Got My Parents A Wii - My Dad Is Now Deaf In His Left Ear!

The Aftermath!

Santa Brought Kayla Her Most Wanted Gift On Christmas Morning - A Skateboard!

That pretty much sums up the last twelve months for the Brown family. We have been very fortunate and very blessed. We have wonderful friends and wonderful family who we love so much and can't thank them enough for the love and support that have given to us throughout the year. You are all amazing! I hope 2011 brings you all happiness and success in all that you do!