On Thanksgiving my niece announced her pregnancy! How exciting! I had to laugh when she announced it because my sister (not the mom) said "I am excited on multiple levels...one because it's not mine!" Ditto to that!
Here are some ultra sound photos.
I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday. We ate A LOT. Friday I had a stomach virus all day. That was fabulous because we were supposed to go to NC to visit relatives. Needless to say, that did not happen. We did get to go Saturday. I still don't feel 100%. I did get some great pictures of the kids on Thursday. I would love to show them to you BUT I deleted them all on accident. What a dumb thing to do. I was running my mouth with my sister in law while I was trying to delete just ONE and discovered I clicked the button to delete all. Sheesh. Cut me a break already. Anyway, here are a couple taken after the fact. :)
What an eventful dinner preparation tonight. It started off with my son not being able to wait for dinner. He had to have a hot dog right then. He loves a cut up hot dog with mustard and ketchup for dipping. So I got him settled with that.
I decided to make a broccoli casserole from a recipe I had not used before. I was in the kitchen concentrating on getting it right. Grayson comes in the kitchen asking to wash his hands. I turned to look at him and he was COVERED in mustard and ketchup. I mean he had mixed it and smeared it all over his arms (all the way around)and face. If that were not enough, he had smeared it all over the top of his head too. It is amazing to me how far a little squirt of condiments will go. So, I had to have Olivia get him in the tub which he did not want. While that drama was going on I was back to my recipe in the kitchen.
I got to the part where I added the cheese and it needed to be stirred constantly while the cheese was melting. Of course right at that time the screams from the bathroom came. I needed to take over there. So, I had Olivia come in and stir the sauce while I washed Grayson's hair. He had a complete melt down on that because I had to lay him down in the tub to get all the stuff out of it. I finally got him out and calmed down enough to return to the kitchen.
So, the casserole was in the oven with the chicken. The rice was cooking, all was right. Olivia and I were planning the meals for the week. The timer went off and I decided five minutes on broil would make a fabulously crunchy top to the casserole. Well about ten minutes later smoke billows out of the oven. Yes, you guessed it. The casserole was burned on top.
Thank goodness I was able to scrape off the cracker top and the rest was okay. It was actually delicious!
I hope tomorrows dinner prep is less eventful!
Yesterday was an experience as a mother. I picked Olivia up from school and after our normal exchange this conversation takes place.
Olivia: "Can I have a boyfriend?". (Let me remind you she is only 10.)
Me: "Uh, Nooooo, why?"
Olivia: "because "S" likes me and he asked me to go out this weekend and I told him I would have to let him know."
I think I just sat and blinked for a minute.
Me: "You're 10, ten year olds don't "go out".
Olivia: "Well, "C" (girl) is dating "T" (boy)".
Me: "I bet if I called her mom she would tell a different story".
Olivia: "no she wouldn't".
I'm sorry but since when did 10 years old date??????? I don't think I was aware there was such a thing when I was that age. What is a mom to do?
Well, fast forward to later at home. I had bought Olivia some new pants and a couple shirts. So she proceeds to try them on. She said the pants were too tight. She had a complete melt down. She started crying and saying she wished she was skinny, etc. I told her she had nothing to worry about. I told her she was growing and couldn't possibly stay the same size forever. So for the rest of the evening she was afraid to eat and was obsessed with what size shirts I bought her etc. Where do they learn this??? How do you make it go away?
It breaks my heart that she is already going through worrying about her weight at such a young age. Again, I don't think I was aware of those things at 10.
I guess all in all it ended on a good note for her. She talked to "C" before bed and they were laughing and giggling. I heard her say once "so, did you give "T" a hug?". Yikes!
I am SO not ready for this. :)
It's been a while! I have been very busy this summer. We have had a bit of family illness etc. And most recently, a family vacation! I will post more later but here is where we just returned from! Ahhhh.....wish I were still there. :)
Well, Justin, my nephew, came home on Monday night. He ended up having dialysis 4 times. Long story short, he had every test known to man to find out what caused his kidneys to fail, including three pieces of kidney to biopsy. In the end, nothing was found. They said he was one of the healthiest people they had seen. The doctor thinks it could have been a virus, or food poisoning, or something like that. Since he puked violently for 36 hours before getting to the hospital anything of that nature would have rid itself from his body already. He did eat a sub sandwich the afternoon he got sick and it had TOMATO on it! He asked the doctor if it could have been that given the recent scare about those. He said it was possible but since they could not trace it they would never know. SCARY! I mean another day not going to the hospital and he might not have recovered.
So anyway, this weekend no one is getting married, in the hospital, or sick so it's all good. And I am refusing to do house work this weekend.
So let's all thank God for our blessings and have a fabulous weekend!
My 26 year old nephew was hospitalized Sunday with kidney failure. This was out of the blue. He had not been ill until Friday. Please pray for his complete and immediate recovery.
Just thought I would share a few pictures from my niece's wedding. She was married on 5/16. I feel really old. There are two of her (obviously) and one of my Olivia with her favorite uncle!
I love being a mother. Most of the time it is wonderful. Sometimes...not so much.
I am guilty of thinking I have so much to do that I don't have time to lay down with the kids at night before they go to sleep. Most nights they don't ask, it's put them in bed and your done. But occasionally they do want me to lay with them for a minute. More often than not I get out of it because of all those other more important things that need to get done. I was reminded a couple of nights ago of just what I was "getting out of". I was putting my two year old to bed and he looked at me and patted his pillow for me to lie down with him. Well, I couldn't resist. So I laid down with him. A moment later he turns to me and snuggles in as close as he could possibly get to me. Then, another moment later he rolls over a little and rubs the side of my face with his little hand. I closed my eyes just savoring the moments. Then I feel this tiny little finger brushing back and forth over my eyelashes. What a sweet heart he is. In that one instance I was reminded just how wonderful it is being a mother. Words can not describe a mother's love. 
In the wee hours of the morning this morning, my 9 year old comes in and says "mommy, can I lay with you?". So I told her to climb on in. She gets in and tries to go back to sleep. She holds my arm and plants tiny little kisses on it I could barely feel. Then a few minutes later I hear this barely audible voice saying "I love you mommy". Need I say more????
Those are such precious moments in life. Along with those there are the moments that are heart breaking for a mom. Olivia, the 9 year old, was crying last night when I went in to tuck her in. Apparently a girl at school has been telling her how fat she is. I spent time consoling her and trying to assure her she is not fat. So, this morning as I was dropping her off at school I noticed how self conscious she was acting about how her clothes fit and looked. My heart is broken for her. She should not have to feel this way at 9 years old. This is when it stinks to be a mother. I can't do a thing to take those feelings away from my poor little baby. 
This is not a good picture but it should show you how "fat" she is (NOT!). :(
Last night the kids dyed Easter eggs. Olivia will be gone to her dad's all weekend so I wanted her and Grayson to dye eggs together. What a hoot! Grayson is two. Need I say more? He so did not understand "keep your hands out of the dye" and "don't break the eggs!". I think I have about five hard boiled eggs to eat that got cracked when he threw them on the floor! He must have said "egg" about 80 times during the whole process. But it was such fun. I didn't get any pictures because hubby wasn't home and I had to be on top of Grayson the whole time! Maybe I can get a picture of their baskets and the eggs tonight. I hope everyone is enjoying this Easter time with family!
Whew. You are not going to believe this. Our nephew doesn't have cancer. He has MONO!! Praise the Lord! I mean, I hate he is sick but...... After many doctor visits and a battery of tests and blood work the oncologist diagnosed him with mono. I did not know it but apparently a lot of the symptoms of lymphoma and leukemia are exactly the same as mono symptoms! The family of course has been rejoicing over the diagnosis.
Thank you so much for your prayers!
My husband's nephew just found out today that he has cancer. It is either lymphoma or leukemia. He goes Friday for testing to determine the exact type and stage. He is only 25 years old. Please pray for him and the family.
Well, after almost a month of the "crud" at our house, I think we are all just about over it. We still have some sniffles hanging on but not too bad. Thank goodness! This has been the worst sinus episodes we have ever had.
We have been sick so long I can't even remember what has been going on worth blogging about! Whew!
Olivia is wanting to start dance class so we are looking into that. Work is about the same. Apparently we have passed the cold onto my mother which is not good. I think she is starting to get over it. Other than that I can't think of a thing!
I should be back regularly now that the fog is clearing! LOL!
Yes, the crud still lives at our house. The kids are miserable. I don't feel the greatest today. Could be because I have literally been bathed in snot for the last few days! Nice. It is true!
I hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day!
We had such a great weekend.
Friday night hubby and I got to go out for Mexican. You just can't go wrong with that! The kids stayed with my mom so it was a date night. :)
Saturday we drove up to see my friend Jenny and her family. It was such great fun! We met through our time at Children's Hospital. Her son Gus was in PICU while my son Grayson was in NICU. It is a bonding experience! We so enjoyed our time with them. We went out for lunch and then went back to her house to visit for the afternoon. It was so great to see them!
On Sunday I took Olivia to a birthday party. That was fun too. After the party a few of us took our kids to the local pizza place for dinner. It was great to catch up with the ladies while the kids played.
Not so much fun this weekend has been the hacking cough Olivia and Grayson both have. They both felt pretty yucky last night. Olivia said this morning that her stomach was sore from coughing so hard. Hopefully that will get better soon!
Hope you had a great weekend too!
LOL! I bet that got some people's attention! I have been debating for a long time about whether or not to start using my name as well as my children's names on this blog. It is so complicated to be anonymous! Those of you who know me and know the reason behind the anonymous "thing" understand. However, I feel like I have been in hiding long enough now! So, welcome me (Judi), Olivia (bi-bi) and Grayson (bro-bro)!
I don't know if you remember or not but in September our family lost a very dear friend. Patti was my sister's best friend for a lot of years. We lost her to Colorectal Cancer. Please stop and visit my sister's blog she is doing in memory of Patti. It is called Patti's Place.
Well I am back (I think) from my little blogging break. There has been a LOT going on around here. Too much for me to even recount all of it. Just to sum it up....in the last month the dryer died, the vacuum died, the tires had to be replaced, and we have had out of town guests. In addition to that, hubby needs two tires and brakes on his truck. Not to mention the cost of Christmas gifts! Need I explain more why I have been away? It seems like there has been just one thing after another. My sister in law has still been having health issues as well. I have been working two days per week to make extra money. And my son has entered the screaming tantrum phase of toddlerhood. If you have any suggestions on how to nip this problem PLEASE cough it up!
We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Of course it was filled with travel here and there which absolutely wears me out. Especially when it involves the screaming toddler. But the family time was good. Now I need to get some shopping done which I have not even started!
On a lighter note.....just a few funnies from my daughter. One day we were riding in the car, pretty much in silence, and out of the blue she says "why DO we have ear wax anyway?". And then yesterday, in the car again, she said "mommy, when you sing you sound like Beyonce". LOL! Let me assure you that is so NOT true! But it was cute anyway!
I will be posting more later! I hope you guys are still around!
Thank the good Lord it is finally Fall weather here! We have literally been having 80 and 90 degree weather until this week. Now it is in the 60's. WOO HOO! I love it. Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons. My two kids have been jumping in a massive pile of leaves at my mom and dad's house for the last three days. They have really enjoyed themselves. I have been enjoying watching them. Or should I say watching them without sweating like a pig? Do pigs really sweat? Anyway....
In other news....my sister's birthday was yesterday. So this past Saturday my niece had a surprise party for her. It was her 50th so she went all out. There were black balloons, lots of gag gifts, the works. It was too funny, one of the gag gifts was a walker that had a sign on it that said "Carol's new ride!". She also got a "power lift bra", a hot flash fan, a tray of replacement body parts (nose,brain,ear,heart,etc), a huge set of glasses, and some other things. It was a hoot. She took it really well too. She got a big kick out of it.
Today is my wonderful hubby's birthday. He is 48 today. We gave him gifts and cards last night because I think he is working late today. It stinks to have to work crappy hours on your birthday!
That's all from here for right now~!
