2011 Year in Review

Here is my year in review written from Facebook Statuses...

1/1/11 - "Hopefully after the Lego store and Dave & Busters my kids will sleep well tonight. I know I will."

1/2/11 - "Though I dread the driving, I am doing the "Back to School" Happy dance."

1/3/11 - "If you took a look at my house right now, you would think I sit around the house all day eating bon-bons..."

1/5/11 - "Note to self: NEVER take little boys to the mall without a stroller."
 

BFF's Wedding in VA
1/6/11 - "Guess who forgot to write their toast for the wedding? Doh!"

1/7/11 - "I am still in bed at 9:30...bliss. I have a book to read and may not get up until lunch...priceless."

1/8/11 -    "Going to the chapel and @elizabeth pond is going to get married :)"

1/9/11 - "WOW! What a wonderful weekend. Wedding, dancing, lightening, "thunder snow", awesome food, great friends."

1/12/11 - "Sun Sun please shine today, make the snow go away."

1-16-11 -  a child running to his daddy, giving him a hug and then cuddling with him on the couch...priceless"

1/18/11 - "Future/Career day at school: 

Mommy: Logan what do you want to be when you grow up
Logan: I want to be a daddy and take care of kids. But I don't want to wear a tie."

1/20/11 - "Scanning radio stations in the car and came across "You give love a bad name." From the back seat I hear a scream, a small fist shoots into the air, and I hear ROCK & ROLL"

Vacation in hilton head
"puking+vacation=NO FUN"
"‎(outlet shopping + my mom) - kids=Birthday bliss"
"Going bowling with my boys."

2/2/11 - "Today's motto: Don't sweat the small stuff; in light of eternity it is all small stuff."

2/4/11 - "Only Mason (aka John Goble 3) would figure out how to remove the wooden slats under his full size bed. Houdini strikes again."

2/5/11 - "Houdini strikes again: Climbed chair, got Pledge, sprayed all over kitchen and living room floors. I come home from grocery store to a nice lemony scent and slick floors."

2/11/11 - "Get the Tahoe. Someone bumps into us in the parking lot when trying to return the rental. Is God trying to tell us something?"  THEN...."Fire extinguisher works...microwave destroyed...maybe."

2/16/11 -     "Houdini strikes again: Come home to find the vacuum cleaner canister dumped all over my living room!"

2/20/11 - "Catastrophe 101: Stainless steel cup falls out of cabinet and cracks my cook top. I am serious people. I know they say when it rains it pours, but we are drowning here."

2/27/11 - "‎"Can I have a surprise party for my birthday? I will close my eyes," says Logan."

2/28/11 - "HOUDINI ESCAPES!!! Heard a little voice outside by bedroom window. Found Mason has gone outside thru the doggie door. Fun times!"

Can you tell in the month of Feb we replaced our engine, several belts, and the battery...there are a few more item that I can't remember.     

3/5/11 -   "Grammy and I took Logan and Taylor to see Gnomeo and Juliet to celebrate Logan's birthday. They are so cute together. We brought Caden as well so it wouldn't be a "date". David said Logan was too
young to date. :)"

3/9/11 - "Logan comes into our room, one hour passed bedtime. His excuse...I can't sleep because I love you guys too much....LAME"

3/10/11 - "I am thinking of letting Logan audition for horror film voice overs. He fell down the garage steps this morning and I swear you good hear him for miles."

3/22/11 - "why is it that my child does not eat ANYTHING, but will play with Desitin during naptime."
 

"Logan and Caden are testing the concept of centrifugal force by throwing their blankets and stuffed animals into the ceiling fan. Can you say T-R-O-U-B-L-E?"

3/28/11 - "Logan: Can we count the raindrops? Me: Only God knows how many raindrops there are. Caden: "Dear God, how many raindrops are there in the world?" I love the conversations we have in the car."

4/4/11 - "Any suggestions for a "Ruth Chris" experience on a McDonald's budget? 11th Anniversary on Friday..."

4/15/11 - Potty Training Mason

4/17/11 - "Mason is 3 accidents and 3 successes. Fortunately the #2 accident was outside!!!"

4/22/11 - "Mason went poopy in the potty!"

4/26/11 - "As you know Mason struggles with eating issues related to SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). It is not uncommon for kids with this diagnosis to have other issues like food allergies, problems
swallowing and reflux. To rule out theses possibilities Mason is going to have an upper endoscopy tomorrow morning." (mild reflux found)

4/30/11 - Logan lost his 1st tooth.

5/3/11 -     "Mason pooped on my kitchen floor. He hasn't mastered the sit down and poop method...oh my!"

5/16/11 -     "Wonders what God is trying to tell us?"

5/18/11 - "I am blessed with great friends like Janna Sayle Tate, who brought goodies to cheer me up!"

5/24/11 - "Mama Mary's Pizza Kitchen open for business: One pizza: 5 different choices (ham and cheese, mushroom and cheese, plain cheese, cheese-less and cheese- less with onions, peppers and tomatoes)"

5/29/11 - "Am I the only mom that dreads taking her kids to the pool?"

6/1/11 - "Daily we find ourselves in search of Houdini. Tonight he went outside, under the garage door (cracked for ventilation) and began ringing the door bell. This was the 3rd or 4th time he went missing
today. SERENITY NOW!!!"

6/2/11 - "Happy 3rd Birthday to my little Houdini, Mason. What an awesome gift from God you are to me."

6/6/11 - "I accepted a position as the 5th grade teachers assistant at CDS for the 2011/2012 school year. Hooray!" (best decision of 2011)

6/13/11 - "AOD (adventure of the day) Pet Store"

6/18/11 - "Dinner and trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings. Happy Father's Day

6/25/11 - "What an awesome day. We have bounced, played video games, eaten TONS of sugar, attended a western hoedown and partied until we dropped. I see a shower and sleep in our future TTL."

6/27/11 - "Happy 5th Birthday to my son Caden. What a blessing he is to me and everyone he meets. His personality fills a room."

7/3/11 -     "I am a master at wasting time."

7/4/11 - "Listening to a CD in the car,Caden yells "Turn it up dad, blow the speakers.""
"storms and rain go away, I want hot dogs and smores today"
"Logan to David Kerstiens while making smores, "Dad, do you want your chocolate with milk or without? " Meaning...dairy or no dairy."

7/7/11 - "Cars2 and wings at Quaker Steak great family night!"

7/11/11 -    "Plaza Fiesta+3 boys=exhaustion!!! Hoping for a quiet afternoon :)"

7/12/11 - "Happy Birthday to my AWESOME husband. I can't wait to spend the next 40+ birthdays with you."

7/19/11 - "Nothing like almost passing out in Target to ruin a perfectly good shopping trip. Never a dull moment around here. Even got a ride in a wheel chair. Food poisoning or stomach bug...who
knows."

7/23/11 -     "I can't wait to see Logan. He has been at the beach with his grandparents. It wasn't the same without him."

7/29/11 - "My new job (teacher asst) according to Logan "Mom, you will have to cut out things and go to this room and use the laminator""(PRETTY ACCURATE)

7/30/11 - "Date Night!!! Free tickets to Mamma Mia from Joyce Maire Bair"

"Enjoyed a wonderful meal of Salmon at LaVecchia now on to the show."
            

8/8/11 -"praying that caden stays in his bed tonight. I swear he is like sleeping with the tasmanian devil. he punched david in the face, then later kicked me in the head. He is as active at night as he is during the day."

8/13/11 - "I just gave David Kerstiens a hair cut. It was my first attempt so make sure you tell him it looks nice :P"

8/17/11 - "David is having a serious conversation with Logan, when Mason comes up singing "Kill the Rabbit, Kill the Rabbit""

8/18/11 - "Caden: I don't want to eat peas. They make you go tinkle. You know, peas make you go pee-pee."

8/20/11 - "When was the last time you were in awe of God."

8/23/11 - "What earthquake? You mean that wasn't Logan throwing the mother of all fits because he had to get an allergy shot."

WE ACTUALLY HAD AN EARTHQUAKE...I TOTALLY MISSED IT

"‎"First Day of School" "First Day of School"...Nemo"

8/24/11 - "Another beautiful morning and "First Day of TK" for Caden :)"

"end of the first day of school and Caden has convinced a "friend" to bring him money to school tomorrow #unbelievable"

9/1/11 - "Love walking with my man in mornings."

9/9/11 - "Logan and I were talking about what we wanted to do this weekend. I said sleep. He said, "I will get everyone out of the house for you mommy. Daddy can work in the yard and I can play with the
Caden and Mason". Love that kid!"

9/11/11 - Where were you when the world stop turning?

9/13/11 -     "There is nothing sweeter than listening to the prayers of a child."
 

"If I can survive Tuesdays, I can survive anything."


9/16/11 - "My DS (dear son) squeezed through a 4" gap in the fence on the playground and was headed toward the road when his teacher caught up with him. He said a "friend" was trying to climb the fence, but my DS got on the other side first."

9/21/11 - "Mason said this morning. "mommy, you so cool". I like your shoes. I like your dress. I like your necklace" I guess I need to wear dresses more often!"

9/23/11 - "We are trying to get Caden to stop saying he hates Logan. Punishment is a drop of vinegar on his tongue. When Caden told Logan he hated him this morning, Logan reminded him of the vinegar. Caden started crying and screaming, so Logan said he would take the vinegar for him. #HEGETSIT"

9/26/11 - "Your thumb is the same length of your nose."

9/28/11 -  "adding insult to injury, Mason broke my mom's cell phone in half"

"when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade...what do you do when it throws you rocks?"

9/30/11 - "On the way to urgent care with Caden. He needs stitches in his left hand."

10/3/11 - "You know it going to be a great day when your son wakes up covered in puke. Poor Mason! Happy Monday!"

My husband, David Kerstiens, ROCKS! He took care of Mason after he got sick this morning, washed his sheets, made his bed and gave him a bath."

10/5/11 -  "So God told me to stop praying for peace and rest and start praying for hope and strength. Isa. 40: 29-31"

10/10/11 - "After removing Caden's bandage, he ran out the room yelling "I'm a free man.""

10/11/11 - "Not my child. My child didn't just kick me after getting his allergy shot."

"To pursue Christ is to pursue joy."

10/13/11 - "carpool, breakfast, wee school, work - job1, wee school, therapy, carpool, work - job 2, dinner, homework, exhaustion"

10/15/11 - "Logan: I don't want to go back to the girl life. (Meaning he didn't want to go back to playing with the girls )"

10/16/11 - "Great night with the girls. I hated for it to end."
Also learned I am a pessimist and see this in the worst case scenario.,..lot to process after this one.

10/21/11 - "Me: What is your name?
Mason: Mason Kerstiens
Me: What is mommy's name:
Mason: 8
Me: What is daddy's name?
Mason: Clemson"

10/28/11 - "today's to do list: sleep late, wear PJs, carve pumpkins and play legos....LOVE TWD!"

10/29/11 - "Legos are like rabbits, they multiply."

11/2/11 - "Why is my child so stubborn? One bite...he only has to take one bite."

11/5/11 - "Slept late, cleaned house, Samaritan's purse shoe box shopping, steaks for dinner, now Cars 2 and Halloween candy. What an awesome day!"

11/7/11 - "Mason keeps locking doors and leaving the room.

11/12/11 - "I am sitting under my VT snuggy, looking at the mountains and doing nothing else... except maybe eating a cookie and drinking Diet Coke."

11/17/11 - "Consistent discipline is exhausting"

11/19/11 - "Paulaner Oktoberfest,Bratwurst Vorspeise, Schweizer Schnitzel,Spätzle ,and Apfelstrudel...can you say stuffed? Waldhorn Restaurant...pretty awesome. Now I need a LONG nap!"

11/24/11 - "I am thankful for little boys who tinkle in trash cans and stop up toilets with miscellaneous toys!"

11/29/11 - "Having Logan write bible verses concerning his behavior this morning. Let's hope some of it sinks in."

12/2/11 -   "movie night was smurftastic"

12/3/11 - "Headed to the ACC Championship game. LET'S GO HOKIES!!!"

12/4/11 - "I will have nightmares of people spelling C-L-E-M-S-O...wait for it...N. Good game...glad it is over. Glad we don't live in Clemson where there power was out the entire game."

"New phrase in the Kerstiens household: "I smurfed!" or "Ewww! Who smurfed?" LOL"

12/6/11 -  "If Logan has girl trouble at 6...what's it gonna be like at 16?"

12/9/11 -  A great thing about working at a school... no one laughs at my christmas sweaters!"
 

12/19/11 -   "Nothing like finding weeks worth of dirty underwear and socks shoved under a dresser because one little boy was too lazy to walk to the bathroom and put in basket.
 

12/20/11 - "Picture with Santa, Lego Store, shoes for Mason, lunch, babyfood, allergy shots and Dr."

12/22/11 - "Reese's Christmas Trees ROCK!"
 

"Mason was crying when he went down for a nap and said "My eyes are dropping. My eyes are dropping.""

12/23/11 - "Nothing like going outside and finding your children are gone....to visit a neighbor without asking."

"Caden: Mom, that santa wasn't real. He said "Ha, Ha, Ha" when he laughed. The real Santa goes "Ho, Ho, Ho""

"Gotta LOVE a man,David Kerstiens, who wraps Christmas presents!"

12/25/11 -     "This is Jesus' best birthday ever"

12/30/11 - "Mary's bliss....sitting in her PJs, with her new cell phone, reading a book on the ipad and playing words with friends on her laptop....Can you say techie geek? Oh...and don't forget drinking a Diet Coke."

12/31/11 - Lamentations 3:22-24

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new mevery morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Happy New Year!

Mary