"More Drama" as Ashlyn Says

Today was an eventful day to say the least. Ashlyn woke me up this morning a little after the 7. (Ha...that is how we say 7 o'clock in our house.) Anyhow, I got up..made breakfast, packed lunches, got the girls dressed, and got myself dressed all before 8:30. We loaded into the car... to take Sally to the groomers to get a shave prior to me taking her to the farm while we are on our cruise. (Our cruise leaves Sunday!)
After dropping Sal off at the vet, the girls and I headed to the bank to deposit a check. After the bank, I dropped the girls off at school. Ashlyn, on Tuesdays like to pout about school because she doesn't have a job. So, today, I tried the whole reverse psychology thing. She told me she didn't want me to leave, so I sat down on the floor in her hallway, and asked her for a hug. She gave me one...but I wouldn't let go...I told her if she didn't want me to leave, I would gladly sit here and snuggle with her all day. This of course...was not what she wanted to hear! So she went in her classroom.
Courtni arrived as I was leaving. (Her daughter, Maddie goes to the same MDO as Ashlyn.) We had a busy day of shopping. We had about 4 1/2 hours to go to 5 stores. We some how managed to go to about 10, but forgot one! I think I am finished "Cruise Shopping." It's hard to find clothes for a March cruise. The weather is so unpredictable!
At 2:30 I picked up the girls and we headed home. Fortunately, Jadie took a good nap at school so we went outside and played. The girls of course found the MUD! They had a blast making mud pies. It was so muddy...Jadyn's shoe got actually STUCK! Ashlyn had to dig it out with one of her little shovels! We stayed outside for about 2 hours before we came in bathed and headed back out the door to pick up Sally from her appointment.
When I picked her up...I noticed "GREEN OOZE" DRIPPING from her lip! YES...it was disgusting and looked like it hurt soooooooo bad! So I called the doctor, (it was 4:45) hoping they were still open. Fortunately, they said if I could get there by 5, we could see the doctor. So....I broke the law and I flew!
He put her on an antibiotic...again. This is 3 in the past 2 months! And said something must have gotten in the flappy part of her gums and it just rubbed it raw. He cleaned it out...and poor Sally just wimpered and howled in pain.
On our way home from the vet, we stopped at our old neighbor Candace's house. The girls had a good time picking her flowers for her! (Which of course I know Candace wasn't too happy about...but she is so wonderful with Ash and Jadie.) We stayed about an hour. The girls colored with her markers...Ashlyn drew a beautiful picture and left it on her table for her to hang up...while Jadie....gave herself HUNDREDS of beautifully colored tattoos!
We arrived home and I made the girls fish sticks. (Per request from Ashlyn.) About 6:45 Ashlyn started complaining of her legs hurting. This has come a common occurance...as I assume they are growing pains. (I remember having them when I was growing up.)
About 7:30 she said she had a headache and wanted to lay down and watch Happy Feet. At about 8:00 she decided she wanted to watch the inside of a trash can! At about 8:30 she finally threw up. I'm hoping it isn't the flu...with her complaining of the "achiness". (Of course...Jadie is over on the couch while Ashlyn is throwing up...drinking out of Ashlyn's sippy cup!!!) I took her fever at about 8:45 and it was normal...So we are keeping our fingers crossed!

UPDATE:It is now almost 9:45 and no more spells. So I'm hoping she just had something that didn't sit well with her.

My First Wedding

Saturday night, I worked my first wedding! It was insane to say the least. It can simply be described by saying 5 words....46 in the wedding party. That does NOT include the bride or the groom! I have a friend who has kind of mentored me along the way...and she needed help with such a large number. So I filled in the best that I could. I realize that I need some serious flashes to actually do a wedding. The pictures I shot...look okay...but to me...(the critic of my own work that I am), they are grainy because I had to set my ISO at 800 to get the shot!

Here are a few of my favorites. As my business grows, I think I want to specialize in children's portraits. I just love capturing kids!

Agh....I HAVE BANGS

Maybe...a picture will come later. Maybe not!

2 Days of a Healthy Household. It was Nice While it Lasted!

Jadyn fully recovered from her cough. Sally fully recovered from her intestinal issues. It was nice and drama free for two days. Then yesterday came! After a morning of taking pictures of Maddie S. (my best friend, Courtni's daughter,) Jadie woke up from her nap with a 102.2 fever.
To top it off, yesterday evening we were supposed to be having our first soccer team meeting, (John is Ashlyn's coach.). Johnathan wasn't home from work yet and it was time for the girls and me to leave...so I loaded Ashlyn in the car be prepped Jadyn's car seat for her to throw up if she needed too. (so many other times she has caught me off guard...my poor car! Anyhow, I was so glad I was prepared. When we were just a short distance away...and my poor baby lost it! Unfortunately, I didn't bring a change of clothes...but found a jacket of Jadie's (which I used as pants), and a sweater of Ashlyn's (which I used as a shirt.). We managed to make it inside Chick Fil A (our meeting place). And gathered all the girls in a general location until Johnathan arrived. I met him out in the parking lot to give him Ashlyn's car seat and then Jadie a I headed home. By 10 we gave her some phenigren which seemed to help. She hasn't opened her eyes this morning to check her temperature!

Ashlyn is leaving today after mothers day out to go to my friend Stefany's house. Her and Carey are going to have a slumber party. I know she will have a blast...I hear they are going to have some chocolate fondue!!!

Jadie's Recovered...Sally's Sick

Jadie is finally feeling better. However, Sally has become ill again. She has recovered from her severe bladder infection...but has since got a bad case of bacteria that is causing her major bowel problems. It's gone one for 4 days and the doctor put her on another antibiotic. Let's hope it works!

Jadie's Under the Weather....Again

Wednesday morning, I took Jadyn back to the Dr. to listen to her chest. She recovered from her weekend illness and was back to herself Monday and Tuesday...however, Tuesday night she crashed!

She kept Johnathan and I up virtually all night with a persistent cough. I would say she would cough at least once every 2 minutes. Bless her heart...by the time the Dr.'s office opened in the morning she was complaining that her stomach hurt. I can only imagine how sore her little tummy muscles were!

He put her on a strong antibiotic to prevent pneumonia. He also gave her a pretty strong cough suppressant, which has seemed to help. However, when she is on the medication...she seems somewhat lethargic. I can't wait for her to feel better!

Where do Babies Come From?

Alright...Ashlyn asked the question!

Last night, I was laying in bed with Ashlyn tucking her in for the evening. She always likes to ask me lots of questions...because she knows I will stay in there longer to answer them.

Well, last night's conversation started with: "Mama...why does Jay only have one baby, and you have two?"

(Jay has been staying with us and has one little boy named Jackson.)

I said something along the lines of ....well when God thinks Jay is ready to have another one...he will give Jay another one.

Ashlyn then looked at me and said...."Mama, how does Jesus make babies?"

Here was my opportunity to say..."When two people love each other........" BUT I FUMBLED!

I said...."Well, what do you think?"

She said "I think he goes around and picks up skin that falls off and then sews it on to them."

Ihope next time...one of THOSE TYPES of questions come up...I don't blow it!

4 Cavities!

Our Little Angel has 4 cavities. Dr. C. told Ashlyn there was nothing she could have done differently, that she was doing a great job brushing her teeth, and that these "little black spots" were in between her teeth where she couldn't see them. Sure enough...I saw them on the x-ray.
Bummer!
Dr. C. says it's best to gas them at this age since the needle gives them a bad memory about dentists. I agree...noone likes a needle in their mouth!
Anyway, he is going to fill 2 of them on Thursday. He can't do them all at one time because he doesn't want to gas her more than 8 minutes. Then in a week he will see her back to do the other 2.
He said he has to use silver instead of white filling, because the latter takes longer to dry...which means she would have to remain under the gas longer than he wants. So silver it is!
We hate that she is going to have to undergo this...and hope it doesn't hurt too much. Especially, since (according to him) she did an "Awesome Job Brushing"!

AGAIN...No Pictures

I have gotten so bad with not taking pictures. I love my camera...but it's big! My little camera that used to fit so nicely in the diaper bag...has pooped out on us and no longer works. Therefore, I have to lug the giant camera around to get some pictures.

Well, my brother, Brody and his wife, Courtney, brought my neice and nephew over for the afternoon on Saturday. I really had no excuse not to take any pictures, it just never crossed my mind until they left. The kids had a good time playing and running around. I only wish the weather would have been a little nicer to let them play outside.

Jadie's Weekend Illness

I picked Jadyn up from MDO at 2:30 on Friday. She wimperred the entire way home. (I was just thinking they woke her up from her nap, or that she missed it entirely.) Anyhow, when I got her out of the car, she was on fire. About 3 hours later, she threw up. Fortunately, Johnathan was home to help me sit with her. All she wanted to do was lay on us. She didn't even want to watch TV.
She ran a fever of about 102 the entire weekend, regardless of what medication I gave her to try to bring it down.
Sunday night she finally started perking up. She is better now, however, she has "hollow sounding" cough. It's kind of like an asthmatic bark...but she maybe does it twice a day at the most.
Hopefully that will improve too.

Needing Your Opinion

Two posts below are a bunch of pictures of the girls in Aggie attire. I can't decided which one I like best of Jadie. (I am going to be hanging a large print of each in the guest bedroom and can't decide between Jadies.)

If you can leave me a comment or email me with your opinion...I would greatly appreciate it!

President's Day...A Zoo

On President's Day we went to the Zoo with Stefany and her crew. It was a little stressful getting there...(had to leave the house by 7am, Jadie threw up in the car.) However, once there...all was fine. It was Jadie Ann's first Zoo adventure. I know she had a great time. I took a few pictures of her...just staring at the animals. She was so well behaved, as I kept her in the stroller most of the day. (Thank you Stef for the loaner.) When we were leaving each exhibit...Jadie would say...."Bye Fish" or "Bye Bird" (Whatever animal it was we were observing.)

Unfortunately, it was "Free Day", so it was super crowded. We had a picnic type lunch and left afterwards. I miss them sooo much!

Our Little Aggies

Lots of House Guests

Last Sunday we had Johnathan's life-long friend, Jay, come to stay a few nights with us. He is working down here for a while and needed a place to stay. He will be staying with us Sunday evenings till Thursday morning. It was great to catch up with him, and we welcome him in our home.

On Friday evening, our friends Mike and Laura came to visit. Nutty me...forgot to even take the camera out...so I didn't get any pictures of their two kids playing with ours. Connor is almost 4 and Elizabeth turned 11months while they were here. It was great to see them again. Our two oldest might as well be brother and sister. They battled for dominance the entire time. However, after they left...we couldn't get Ashlyn to stop crying because she "missed her friend Connor....SOOOOoooooo much!"

Ashlyn's Adventure...Jadyn's Bronchitis

Ashlyn is leaving today to go with Grandpa W. to the FARM! She is so excited. She has been talking about this since the end of December. She keeps asking when February is...because that is when Grandpa said he was going to take her!

I took Jadyn to the doctor today for a bad cough, congestion, and a low-grade fever. Turns out...its bronchitis. So we are on an antibiotic and cough medicine. I hope she feels better soon!

Jadie 100%

The next morning, Jadie Ann woke up with a limp but by mid day she was "racing" through the house with her big sister! I guess no doctor needed! However, the neighbors trampoline is off limits to Jadyn and Ashlyn for a while!

Jadie Gets Hurt...Brings Me to Tears

Johnathan took the girls outside to play yesterday afternoon. It was gorgeous outside. I stayed in to do some laundry and to clean up the dirt that is continueally being brought in. (Hopefully that will change when we get grass.)

A couple of hours later he brought the girls home. He said the girls were bouncing on a neighbors trampoline and Ashlyn kept "double bouncing" Jadyn. One time it took Jadyn to her knees and she was refusing to walk. He put her on the ground to show me...and she started screaming and trying to walk...with no luck. It was like her knee just wasn't working. I of course...visualize my little one being x-rayed and being put in a full leg cast. So of course...I lost it!

We held her for the entire night and let her watch a movie with me in bed.

Fortunately, this morning, she is better. She still has a limp...but doesn't seem to be in half as much pain as she was last night.

Johnathan Saves Us a Couple of Thousands

As many of you know my washing machine over flowed. I have since refused to use it. To me...it's just not worth the risk again. I have been going to the laundry mat every Tuesday and spending about $25 each time I go. In addition to usually going to my friend Courtni's house to do a few loads in between each Tuesday. It has been a true inconvenience but well worth it.

Johnathan has been looking for a replacement...and me being spoiled like I am ... I of course want a matching one. Silly right?! Anyhow, he happened to call about one he saw online. I too was apprehensive about this one, as it was the same one...what if it was a flaw in the style or something like that. Well, it wound up being a repair shop that was selling it. So, Johnathan asked him about ours. The guy said he knew exactly what was wrong. So Johnathan explained it to me...and fixed the problem. I am slowly building confidence back into it. At a time when finances are tight...I'm glad that he is so handy!!!!

Busy Friday

Friday I took the girls to school and went and had a great lunch with Johnathan. I of course overate! But it was GOOD!

After I picked the girls up from school we headed to Liberty to pick up Carey. (Carey is one of Ashlyn's friends who moved to Houston.) Carey was going to spend the night with us. I took them to Cici's for dinner and then home for popcorn and a movie. They made M&M cookies too...so I really loaded them up with lots of junk food! (Sorry Stef)

They were so good and played so well together...it was a very easy night. I caught some pictures of them while they were playing. However, I have been playing with them alot...so they have lots of editing on them.

Saturday morning, John and I woke up and took the girls to Chick Fil A for breakfast. We stayed until a birthday party came and forced us out! Bummer.

Shortly after noon we jumped in the car and headed back to Liberty to return Carey to her Mama. I let the girls play for a little bit at the Burger King before piling them back in the car for the trip home.

It was a great time, and we all really miss Carey. Ashlyn cried for 20 minutes in the car on the way home...because she misses Carey soooooooooooooo much!

Prayers for My Mama

MD Anderson called my mom today to tell her they found a spot on one of her breasts. They are trying to get her in to have another Mammogram. In addition she is going on Wednesday to MD Anderson to meet with a Thyroid doctor. Her ultrasound showed a calcification on hers, therefore, her doctor wanted her to see a specialist to determine its cause.

Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Jadyn Ann's Vocabulary

Here is a list of words our little Jadie uses these days!
As her teachers put it..."She has LOTS of personality"!

NAMES:
Mama
Die-ee (daddy)
Ah-ee-sh (ashlyn)
Ee-ee (jadie) *we think this is jadie...it comes before many things she says...like "ee-ee milk"
Guh-ma (grandma and grandpa)
Jeh (jenn)
Chah (chad)
Bro-ee (brody)
Cory (courtney)
Br-ee (brenlee)
Rye-ee (ryley)
Sah-ee (sally)
Raw-ee (rocky)
Maw-ee (molly)
Mah-ee (maddie)
Door (dora)
Bay (little bear)
Wow-wow (wow wow wubzy)

COMMON WORDS and PHRASES:
Pee-z (please)
Tay-ew (thank you)
Saw-ee (sorry)
Ee-done (all done)
Reh-ee (ready)
O (open)
Bath
Elp (help)
More-ing (morning)
Eat
Milk
Wah (water)
Gah-ing (gone)
More
Resh (trash)
No or sometimes she will say "nah" but it has a real southern draw to it.
Yah (slang for yes)
Yesh (yes)
Bah (ball)
Stah (star)
Moo (moon)
Cow
Sh-eez (shoes)
Saws (socks)
Gurt (Yogurt)
Nah-ah (banana)
Cheese
Why (wipey)
Paw-ee (potty)
Tee-tee
Woo-we (poop poo)
Toot
Noy-s (noise)
Yeah
Bye
Bye (blanket)
Bah-pah (back pack)
Sk-ew (school)
Spite (sprite)
Dink (drink)
Side (outside)
Up
Up (ketchup)
Up (cover me up)
Dr-ee-s (sweet dreams)
N-eye n-eye (night night)
Ee-you (i love you)
Pay-t (paint)
Raw (draw)
Ump (jump)


SHE IS PUTTING WORDS TOGETHER TOO:
yeah mama
yeah die-ee (yeah daddy)
yeah ah-ee-sh (yeah ashlyn)
ah-ee-sh bah-pah (ashlyn's backpack)
ah-ee-sh spite (ashlyn's sprite)
die-ee spite (daddy's sprite)
mama spite (mama sprite)
no ah-ee-sh (no ashlyn)


I'll keep brainstorming and asking her to stay stuff today and add it to this list.

Recent Pictures

Here are a few pictures I took on my cell. Many of them are while the girls are playing outside. I have been cleaning the windows, so they have been able to go outside and play a lot lately.

I'm Not Ready Yet!!!

Jadie has been asking to go "potty" before bath. The last couple of evenings, Johnathan has put her on there and she is completely content to sit there for 10 minutes (if we would let her.) This morning, when I gave the girls a bath...Jadyn asked to go potty. So I put her on there and of course...she TeeTeed! Way to go girl! Only problem is...Mama's not ready to potty train her!!!

"E You!"

Jadie walked up to Ashlyn this morning, gave her her biggest hug and said "E You!" That of course is Jadyn's "I Love You!" She has been doing this to John and me for a week or so...but this was Ashlyn's first! She lit up like the proud big sister she is!

I haven't found the time to sit down and write lately about all our family adventures lately. Since the "Big Flood", Jadyn went and stayed with my parents for a week, and then it was Ashlyn's turn. (Ashlyn is very much into fairness, and she either needs to have the same amount as Jadie...or MORE!) I also visited my parents during the weekend and took pictures of my brother's company bonfire. It was a neat experience and I made some money off of it....but it was COLD!!!

We have had all 4 of us back under the same roof since Thursday evening. The girls went to school as usual on Friday and I ran a few errands. Johnathan went to his parent's house to build their fence was destroyed during Ike. He came home last night for dinner and left first thing this morning to try to finish up.

It has been fun having them individually. They are both chatter boxes and Jadyn is really putting words together these days. One time I am going to have to sit down and write all the words in her vocabulary like I did with Ashlyn when she was around this age.

I have taken just a few pictures on my cell phone and hope to upload them soon. I still haven't got around to editing or uploading the Christmas pictures...but they will be coming soon....(remember...you will have to scroll back down to the appropriate dates to see those!)

Our Man Made Flood

Sunday was a great day! I finally had my laundry room completed...decorated and everything put away. The old house is 100% empty and all the things inside the new house finally had a home and were all organized and put away. We all went to dinner that night and returned home shortly after 7. I decided to sit down and watch a movie on the couch with the girls. It was perfect...it's been so long since I have had the time to enjoy their snuggles without thinking I should be working on something else. Johnathan was in theguest bedroom trying to connect the printer to thecomputer. The movie the girls and I were watching was the land before time III. Anyhow, there is a Trex that was chasing some baby dinosaurs. Ashlyn was terrified. Finally she got up and ran towards the guest room to find Johnathan. This is when I heard...swish...swish...with every step ashlyn took! I looked down and there was water running towards our master bedroom. Our washing machine was overfilling! We wound up having to rip up the carpet in three rooms and cut out the saturated pad. Two of the rooms...the water ran under the walls to get to. (The guest bedroom and Ashlyns room). We borrowed fans and dehumidifiers from Courtni and my parents.). My momcame and picked Jadie up Monday morning and took her back to her house. All those tack strips are exposed and we didn't want her to step on them. Thank you Mom. We have managed to dry out the carpet and the carpet guys are coming to lay a new pad and relay the carpet this morning. The only xhallengenow is I ha who washing machine. AND we used all but 3 towels to clean up the mess. I'm so thankful we have a big shop vac...otherwise there would have no way to get all that water out of the house, even with all tge towels i used. I also used all the extra blankets in the house to help barracade the water from going into any other rooms. So I have two large mounds of soaked blankets and towels outside. I even used all of theextra baby blankets, hand towels, and wash rags in the house!!! Laundromat...here we come!

Another Plumbing Mistake...John to the Rescue Again

Last night I used my AWESOME air tub. It's absolutely wonderful. I'm Soooo Spoiled! Anyhow as I had the air bubbles on they suddenly stopped and it sounded like an airplane was in the bathroom with me. Johnathan took a look at it and said the plumber failed to put a clamp on two hoses. (Another missing clamp!). I'm so glad I decided to take a bath and turn the bubbles on...because the tile guys are scheduled to come tomorrow to finish the tin surround. This would have been a huge problem if the tub surround was finished and then we realized there was a problem! Another save by Johnathan...he went the next morning and got the clamp and solved the problem!

Grandma and Grandpa W. Visit

Tommy and Patti came over around 5pm. While they were here we went to get Mexican food for dinner. Mexican food is one of Ashlyn's favorites. Today was kind of an Ashlyn Day. Johnathan had taken her with him to run errands. She loved it because, "Mama always make me ride in the cart." She was excited about going to Ace with her Daddy so that she could get some popcorn too. Johnathanwven took her to lunch...her choice. She picked Sam's!!!
We have decided that Jadie Ann doesn't get to gave any more chips for a while...she choked not once but twice on them at dinner when we went with Johnathan's parents. Literally, my heart was in my stomach. I was sweeping her throat while Patti was beating her on the back. No more chips until she is 18...!

Happy New Years!

On New Years Eve we invited two other families over for the evening. Each family brought their own steaks and drinks. Everyone left just before 1am. It was nice to relax and take an evening off from painting and unpacking. We are so thankful for such good friends. We are anxious to be settled in so we can spend many more evenings like that with them.

Still Without

We are still without Internet service. I have been using my cell phone to update this blog. (Please forgive any typos as a result.). We hope to have some sort of service out here by the end of next week.

Water Leak

The other day I mopped. Today I noticed that some of the grout lines inbthe kitchen were still wet looking. This made no sense to me. About an hour later it dawned on me that the sink might be leaking. (The grout lines are about 6 ft away from the sink.). About an hour I figured out that the sink must be leaking! I unloaded the cabinet and found water. The water was in the cabinet and I could see standing water under the cabinet through the little hole they had to cut out to put the pipes through. This was BAD as there is no way to get to that water. I put a little fan in the cabinet, however I don't think it helped much. Johnathan took a look and discovered that the plumber forgot a clamp on the dishwasher. Therefore everytime I ran it, (which was at least once a day!) when it would drain...it would drain into the cabinet and down the hole! Fortunately Johnathan is a jack ofcall trades. He went to the hardware store got the clamp and fixed the leak!

98% Vacant

We took the house off the market so that we could empty the remaining things out and patch and paint the nail holes throughout. We hope to get it back on the market in a week. Our realtor says the peak selling months are February to April...that's only 30 days away.

Christmas Day

This morning we woke up at my parents and quickly packed up to head out the door. We were supposed to leave Mom and Dads at 8 so that we could eat breakfast at 9 with Johnathan's family. We finally loaded up at half past 8. The girls had a great time opening all the gifts. Jadie really got the hang of ripping off the paper. You have to watch her because she will unwrap ANY gift (including other peoples gifts too.). Typically we leave Tommy and Pattis and drive to Deer Park for Christmas at Great Grandma H.'s. However, she wasn't feeling well so we stayed at Johnathan's parents and enjoyed a big lasagna lunch. After lunch we drove to MaMaw and PawPaws to wish them a Merry Christmas. We left around 4:30 and drove back to Beaumont. We had to take down the tree because the pool table was scheduled to arrive first thing in the morning.

We truly are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We wish everyone the best this Christmas Season.