Our Wonderful Life

The Blog has MOVED!!

2010-10-17T22:48:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog for those who like to know what's going on. Something happened in the last 4 months since my last post. Blogger does not recognize either of my email addresses that were associated with the blog. Not sure why. So I'm starting up a new one. The new address is hurlbuthappenings.blogspot.com. I'm still looking for the right name, so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them! Hope to see you at the new blog!

Struggling

2010-05-30T16:12:00.002-05:00

This past month or so has been really hard for me. Michael's weeks on just totally wear me out and then we keep busy on his weeks off so I haven't really had a chance to rejuvenate at all. I've also been dealing with insomnia. I'm going to mention it to my OB at my next appointment, but I'm really hesitant to take anything. Especially during Michael's weeks on. I'm afraid I won't wake up soon enough if the girls need me. I've missed a lot of church, which is not like me. Doing so has made things even more challenging for me. Today, I had my alarm set AND I woke up to it and was ready to get up and get me and the girls ready. Then I was greeted with and Allibug who was running a 101 fever and feeling all out miserable. Michael offered to stay up instead of going straight to bed, but I knew that would be way too hard for him. Now she is running around like she feels great! What is up with that?

Today I also have the wonderful joy of an extremely itchy face and neck. I have no idea why. I haven't tried any new products. I've washed my face several times, I've tried Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. I'm miserable. It's driving me crazy.

Our second new dog, Penny is sneaky and not fully house trained. It's driving me nuts. (We still only have 2 dogs, not 3. The first one was just way too much puppy for the girls.) Penny is a small dog and 3 out 4 of our cats outweigh her. She is definitely not a dog Michael or I would have picked out. The girls love her though. Forrest as also transitioned back inside. He does great. He loves the girls and lets them love roughly.

Our trouble cat who poops outside the litter box was in her crate last night because she wouldn't stop bugging everyone and when Michael came home there was a present by someone else left in the laundry room. What's up with that!? Seriously, it's bad enough having one cat who is doing it, now there are 2?

Alli is in a stage of constant chatter and constant questions. I love how she wants to process and reason everything because I know it's good for her, but to be honest it wears me out! We discuss things OVER and OVER and OVER. They start their summer session at MDO on Tuesday and I'm so glad.

Piper is my mess. She's a sweet and loving mess, but she is a mess. She pushes the limits just to see how far she can go. She doesn't do it out of meanness at all. She always has the beautiful mischievous little smile that makes it incredibly hard to reprimand her appropriately. Yet none the less, it keeps me incredibly busy trying to keep up with her and keep her out of trouble.

Sorry this has been a poor me post. I just needed a place to let it out without making Michael feel bad. I know it could be worse.

Hello blogland

2010-05-16T12:38:00.001-05:00

I haven't forgotten I have a blog. I'm just thinking about changing it up a little and while I'm thinking about it I haven't wanted to do much with it.

I'm still cleaning and nesting like crazy. I think I have gone through and purged every room except one closet. I'm kind of avoiding that one.

We have gone off our rockers and added a puppy to our family. He was a rescue puppy at PetsMart we found while at Forrest's training classes. His name is Archie and he starts classes tomorrow.

Katy has moved back to Edmond!! It's nice having her here to help watch the girls some and to just have her company.

I'm officially in the third trimester of pregnancy! I have that wonderful glucose test tomorrow. Joy of joys.

The girls are both growing up way to fast. In less than 2 months Allisyn will be 4! In less than 3 months Piper will be 2! Soon after that we will be joined by Gabriella. It's gonna go by fast and slow at the same time!

We have a name!!

2010-03-27T23:28:00.001-05:00

We have decided on a name for Princess 3!! She will be named Gabriella Paige! Her nickname will be Gabbie. Allisyn says Gabbie just fine, but she says "Grabiella" when trying to say her full name! It's cute!

Anyway, just wanted to share!!

Three girls....

2010-03-21T15:13:00.001-05:00

So there has been a little bit of time to process the fact that we are going to have THREE daugters! I'm still really happy and excited. We know what we are doing with girls. My OB was very excited for us too. Then she started laughing and said, "Poor dad." Then a few minutes later she brought up that we are going to have 17, 15, and 13 going on all at once! Thougts like that are a wee but overwhelming, but God thinks we can handle it.

Alli is still pretty happy about another sister. She brings it up several times a day that we are going to have 3 daughters. She is still wanting a name and we still haven't a clue. I have a few ideas, but it's Michael's week to work so we haven't had much time to discuss any.

Alli did ask if she could have 2 baby Piper's. I told her no. We only need one Piper.

I do know that there is going to be a whole lot of love in our house. The way Alli and Piper and love and adore each other will only grow by leaps and bounds with another little sister to share it with!

Then there will be moments like these when we have drama and attitudes and I will wonder what we were thinking! Since we are in the middle if such moments, I must wrap this up. More pondering later I'm sure.

Another princess!!

2010-03-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

Today we found out that God is blessing us with another little girl! I think deep down I knew, but I was trying to hold on hope for Allisyn's wish for a baby brother. When we found out she's a girl, Alli's response was, "Oh, what's her name?" We don't know yet so she's going to have to wait a bit!

I told Michael our next house will have a man room or cave or whatever you want to call it. We do know that we will have to have at least one more bathroom before the girls reach the age of bathrooms being the place to be to get ready!

I really thought I might feel a little a disappointed with another girl, but I haven't. I'm actually pretty happy and a little relieved. I was kind of scared of the thought of a little penis and all that comes along with it! So now we will be thinking up girl names and get prepared for another little princess to steal my shoes and play with my make up and talk nonstop about princes and such!!

Our weekend

2010-03-15T15:43:00.001-05:00

So this past weekend we took a family trip to Arlington. The in-laws thougt they were going to be able to give us a fairly cheap trip with free tickets to Six Flags. It didn't quite work out that way. We ended up getting season passes because it was cheaper than paying for tickets for 2 days.

I will be very hesitant to take a weekend away with meeting up with the in-laws again. Especially when they say they can make it cheap!

Overall it was a good weekend. The girls did great. We didn't take a stroller and at time we wished we had. We went down Friday morning and got caught up in construction which made us hit Dallas rush hour. Not good.

We were hoping to make it to the zoo for a bit on Friday. That didn't work out. Probabaly for the better. It was a pretty exhausting weekend.

Saturday our hotel shuttle dropped us off at Six Flags and then there was major issues with them picking us up. We waited for over an hour and half. We were not happy.

We drove on Sunday so we could be sure to leave when we wanted. The trip back was much better. We only got caught up in construction twice. The worst being in Norman. We were very glad to be back home in our own beds.

I'll try to put up some pictures soon. Didn't I say that last time?Here's one until then.

Oh yeah! Tune in Wednesday to find out who our little bug is going to be!!

Hey, it's letting me upload more than one!

These are off my phone so quality isn't the best, but still cute!

Oh yeah, I have a blog

2010-02-25T13:44:00.000-06:00

Sorry to those who keep up with us primarily through the blog. I've been slacking lately.

The girls are doing great. Growing up way too fast. Allisyn is very much into princesses. Right now she has 3 princes. They change daily who is going go be first, second, and third. It gets kind of exhausting at times. I know it's a phase and it will pass. I'm ready for it to pass now! She's very excited about getting to be a big sister again and is still determined it's a brother. We find out for sure on March 17.

Piper is becoming her own little person more and more everyday. She still isn't saying too much, but she chatters nonstop! She knows no fear and that scares her momma quite a bit sometimes! She absolutely adores her big sister and Alli returns the love! I get moved to near tears (ok, sometimes streaming tears) by how much they love each other everyday. I'm not saying it's always sunshine and daisies, but there are way more ups than downs.

I'm am now 16 weeks pregnant with this little bug. I got to see the baby on a quick scan with my OB on Friday. Everything is looking good. Like I said before the big reveal is March 17. We are praying for complete cooperation! I've still been pretty tired, but other than that things are going pretty well.

Michael is still enjoying his new position. It gets a little hard on Alli sometimes when she wants her daddy at bedtime or in the middle of the night, but we get through it.

Other than that, not too much is going on. I'll try to get some updated pictures up soon!

Randomness

2010-01-15T11:15:00.001-06:00

So Michael is now working nights full time. He works 7 days on and 7 days off. Everyone has been asking how it's going. I won't lie, the weeks he works can be rough. He goes in between 7 and 8 and gets home around 8 am. Then he goes upstairs and sleeps. Depending on the day he gets woke up anywhere from 230-4. Then he gets up and spends some time with us, we eat and it starts all over. He works Wed to Wed. By the time he gets off, I'm running on fumes. I'm sure it's just because I have a little bug sucking some of the life out of me as it grows! Overall, it's really nice. The extra $ on the paycheck, the week off. It also gives him the opportunity, like today, to pick up an extra shift here and there for some OT.

We have really fallen off the FPU road so that will help us get back on track. Something about us adding another member to our family puts in place to get back on track!

Yesterday I had to go in and get my OB blodwork and UA done. I was suppose to sit through the new orientation class again, but my OB nurse totally rocks and got me out of it. They wouldn't have told me anything I didn't already know. So they gave the paperwork to have my bloodwork done I got to go. The bloodwork sucked.

I HATE needles. That is a big reason I don't get epidurals. That and the minority horror stories and the research about how babies and moms do better with out them. (NOT judging anyone who gets them, I feel like I'm the chicken!) Anyway, so she first stuck me and it went well, she got 4 vials and took the tourniquet off and the flow stopped. Nothing. She fished, nothing. Tried the other arm, nothing. I get really hot and have to take a break and drink some water. Enter new guy. Sticks first arm again, nothing. Fishes, nothing. Takes
It out and sticks again. Finally! They take the last 4 vials of blood and I get to go home. Surprisingly enough, my arm is not bruised. So hopefully everything is all ready for my first appointment next
Friday.

Tomorrow I get a girls day with my sister and SIL! I'm super excited! The three of us have been plannig on going to the Melting Pot together for awhile, tomorrow is the day, along with pedicures and a movie!! Good times will be had!

Finally!

2010-01-10T20:35:00.000-06:00

Piper is getting some more teeth! The one thing that kept her looking like a baby is coming to a close! My sweet girl is growing up! Teeth 5 and 6 on top are through and teeth 7 and 8 on bottom will be within a day or so! Thankfully they haven't bothered her too much.

2010-01-10T08:53:00.001-06:00

I just want to sleep

2010-01-08T20:12:00.001-06:00

Seriously, that's all I seem to want to do. The weeks Michael works nights (like this week) I am in a constant state of worn out. It seems like the girls need more from when he's not here. I also sleep lighter. I feel bad for the girls because somedays, I have no energy to do anything "extra." I'm praying it's just a first trimester thing, because it could get ugly if it lasts the whole pregnancy.

In other news, my brother left today for the first part of his Chaplain training for the Army Guard. He will be gone for 3 months this time. He left this morning for the 2-day-drive to SC. Please pray that he stays safe and that the time goes by quickly for him and my wonderful SIL, Rachel.

Well Miss Piper is trying to tell me it's time to snuggle, so I'm wrapping it up! Night!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T12:33:00.001-06:00

So here in the NE corner of OK we have some snow! Not near as bad as we would have got if we had stayed home. Michael had to stay home from work last night, but made it in today in an hour. He's planning on staying there tonight.

Santa visted the girls at Mamaw's. He ate cookies and left a note saying thank you. He also snagged his coat on the fireplace screen! We have to mail it back to Mrs. Clause so she can mend it.

We really miss Michael. We did have a great time telling everyone that we are expecting baby number 3! We've been able to announce all 3 pregnancies at Christmas!! Good times!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

So it begins

2009-12-22T10:07:00.001-06:00

Our week away from Michael. The girls and I made it to my mom's last night. The night was a little smoother than the previous however many. I'm still pretty tired. Piper seems to be feeling a lot better. She still has her moments of flat out whiny and irritable, which is totally out of character for her, but they are getting fewer and farther in between. Now we are having to watch for antibiotic induced diarrhea.

Michael went ahead and went back home last night. He starts a week of nights Wednesday night. Well, on Christmas day he gets off from the nights and then has to go back in to work the evening shift because he is "still in the rotation".

Hopefully the girls will be ok with being away from him for a week. Last night they were both expressing their dislike of him not being here.

Now both girls are in my lap making this hard to do!

Merry Christmas!!!

The verdict is...

2009-12-19T19:30:00.001-06:00

Pneumonia.

Michael took Piper in this afternoon and they said she had begining stages of pneumonia. So it's antibiotics for our sweet girl.

Not meant to happen

2009-12-19T09:05:00.000-06:00

I guess Christmas pictures weren't meant to happen this year. Sick babies mean everyone stay home.

Poor Piper has been just miserable. I'm thinking we may be taking her to urgent care this afternoon if she isn't better. We start our Christmasing tomorrow and she shouldn't have to be miserable for that.

Well I pray that everyone has a wonderful week with whatever festivities you all have planned! Merry Christmas to all!!!

A first

2009-12-14T23:47:00.001-06:00

Today was a first for us. We went to get family pictures and we didn't purchase any. We've had bad sessions before, but they've always been more fruitful than 6 photos. It started out bad when Alli said first off she didn't want to get pictures taken.

When we got there, we of course had to wait. Then Alli was in a bad mood. Once Alli got warmed up, Piper wasn't having anymore of it. So we have another appointment Friday afternoon to see if we can't get at least one good family, sister, and individual child shot.

Budgeting...

2009-12-07T15:56:00.001-06:00

It is that time of year again when we start looking at our budget for the next year. We have NOT been doing very well this past year. At all. There has been no financial peace. I need Dave Ramsey to come give me a swift kick in the bum. I should probably set through the class again.

Our credit card is out of control. Our savings is in tears. Our bank account, is in survival mode. I take full responsibility for our financial state. Michael does not do much in our finances and probably needs to do a lot more.

There is some sunshine on our horizon, Michael will be getting some nice OT and holiday pay. Him going to nights also helps a bit. We are also giving up the gym membership that we don't use enough to keep paying for. Especially since Piper has to stay with the baby section until she is 2 and is NOT happy about it.

I'm also going to really start couponing. How many times have I said this? But I mean it! I'm trying to figure out what else we can cut out and cut back on. Like we will be starting to cook at home more.

We will have some big expenses in the upcoming year that will make our budget even tighter, but we will get through it and I pray that this time next year, it will be better!

Oh, and if anyone knows of any part time job that will let you work about 4 days a week every other week, let me know!! Haha!

A Cheerful Post

2009-12-01T10:55:00.001-06:00

Sorry, this is long overdue. Life here is moving on. Alli and Piper keep us busy and full of love and laughter! They are both growing up way too fast for my liking. I know all kids do, but I'm really feeling it! Allisyn is so tall that some brands of clothing, I'm having to buy her girls clothes!! I'm NOT ready for this! She is a little girl! She should be able to dress like she is 3, not like a little hoochie momma!

Piper is averaging about 2-3 sucessful potty tries a day!! I'm kind of excited about this one. I'm not putting her in pull-ups or anything until after the holidays, but if she is ready, we will go with it!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We got to spend some time with everyone, which is always nice!

Michael is for sure going to nights, now it's back to being the possibility of Presby. Which is what he would really prefer.

I've almost got my Christmas shopping done! We cut back this year, so it's been easier! I just have to do for great grandparents. I'm going to work on getting those put together and ordered.

Because of Michael's schedule around Christmas the girls and I will be staying with my mom for a week! We are all pretty excited about it!! We will miss Michael terribly, but at least he will get to sleep without all the excitement going on from Christmas.

Below is a pic from Thanksgiving! The girls love their Uncle Dustin!

When it rains...

2009-11-16T10:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we found out that my cousin was killed in a hunting accident. I'm terribly sad that it happened, but my biggest heart ache in this lies with his dad. My uncle James is the one that survived the head injury and has used it as a wake-up call to turn his life around and serve God again.

Right now he is going through so much. He can't get a job until his workman's comp lawsuit is settled. He just lost his brother and now he learns of his son's death. They were nor close by any means. His boys live in Montana and haven't given much of an effort to stay close. Still, this has to be a huge blow. So please lift up a prayer for my uncle James that he may be able to find some peace in all of this.

Sent from my iPhone

Saying Good-bye

2009-11-10T13:33:00.002-06:00

Last week was a hard one. My family had to say our good-byes to a wonderful man. My Uncle Bobby came home on Oct 30, from his tour as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. He was only home a few hours when he passed away from a heart attack. He had just turn 45. He was my grandma's baby. The baby brother of my mom, my aunt Sandy, and my uncle James. He was the totally devoted husband to my aunt Kim. I still can't even fathom how she is coping with this. He had 2 sons and 2 step-kids.

He retired from the Army after 20 years of service. We all knew how dedicated he was to the Army, but to be able to hear about it from a good friend and someone he served with was just awesome. If he would have stayed in, he could have made the highest enlisted rank possible. He chose to retire and dedicate his life to his family. He chose to do the 2 years in Afghanistan to help put back money so they could live comfortably while he set up his goat farm.

He was a huge Sooner fan. The last time I got to see him, was the weekend that Michael took him to his first football game at OU. He was on top of the world. We were planning a few weeks ago on getting him to another game. He had a certain shirt he wore for each game. He had a blanket he had to have in a certain place. His dog had to wear her bandanna. I remember when he was oversees and on his way back home when he found out my brother was going to OSU. I was staying with my grandma and he called in the middle of the night. I got to talk to him and he was telling me about he would be home his yesterday and my tomorrow. He asked about everyone and I told him Dustin was going to OSU. He was shocked. When he got off the phone he called my mom. She woke up to, "What do you mean he is going to OSU!?!" There were a few calls over the years with a little bit of trash talking!

He was pretty excited when I started dating Michael. Another OU fan. He was so happy for me and Michael that he came to Michael's graduation from Pharmacy school. They even played Boomer Sooner at the cemetery. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

My Uncle Bobby was a big reason that I joined the Guard. I've always respected him and was hoping that I would make him proud to serve as well. I can't say for sure, but I think he had some influence on my brother joining as well. It was pretty touching that my brother, who is now a Chaplain with Army Guard, got to participate in Bobby's service.

His joining the army came from getting into some trouble when he was younger. He stayed out in the country with us before he left. At that time I was 5 and I weighed about the same as ruck sack. So he would run up and down the road with me on his back. I loved it.

I remember when he was in Desert Storm. I remember we had a candlelight vigil thing in the park. I was so proud to wear my shirt that let everyone know that my Uncle Bobby was over there serving our country.

I remember when he met Kim and thinking that she was perfect for him. I remember their wedding. The love that they had for each other. It's never faded.

My heart breaks that my girls won't get to know what a great man he was. My heart breaks that such a wonderful woman has lost her love and her best friend. My heart breaks for his two boys who obviously looked up to him and respected him even though they might not have been as close as they would have liked to have been. It was a bit of a shock for those of us who hadn't seen Wesley in a while. He looks just like his daddy. Both boys followed their dad and are serving in the Army.

I'm glad we got to go to his service. It was beautiful. If you've ever been to a military service then, you know that it is amazing.

So for those of you who made it to the end...go make sure those you love the most know it. Life is not guaranteed and they could be gone a lot sooner than you think.

Hard time

2009-11-03T00:08:00.001-06:00

For those of you who don't know, my uncle Bobby passed away on Friday. He had just turned 45. He retired from the army, then spent 2 years working as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. He got home for good on Friday afternoon. He wasn't feeling good and in a matter of a few short hours he was gone. They are pretty sure it was a heart attack, but I have not heard the autopsy results. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Right now, it still seems a little surreal. This weekend has been extremely hard, but I know it's going to get even harder when we go up for the funeral on Wednesday.

Sent from my iPhone

What went wrong?

2009-10-20T23:37:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had a close friend or family member that has done or is doing something so incredibly stupid that you just want to beat some sense into them?

I have a few of those right now. Some offenses aren't as bad as others, but some are so bad they could land themselves in jail. Please pray for these individuals eyes to be opened and for God to keep me in check the next time I'm face to face with one person in particular.

More Alli Conversations

2009-10-17T00:27:00.001-05:00

Setting: Watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Alli is singing Someday My Prince Will Come with Snow White.

Me: Alli, do you know who my prince is?
Alli: No. Who.
Me: Your daddy is my prince.
Alli: Oh. Whose Rachel's prince?
Me: Uncle Dustin is her prince.
Alli: Who is Natashia's prince?
Me: Jeremy is her prince.
Alli: Oh. Whose my prince?
Me: (why didn't I forsee this coming?) We don't know yet.
Alli: Is my friend Cason going to be my prince. (Sorry Cason!)
Me: I honestly don't know.
Alli: hmmm. Well, I need to tell Daddy that he is your prince.

Sent from my iPhone

DSAT--Buddy Walk

2009-10-14T23:23:00.002-05:00

My nephew Jordon has his first Buddy Walk with the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa this Sunday! The girls and I are going up to do the walk with his team! We are pretty excited to be able to support them in this. My aunt has a page set up (linked above) to help raise money for the cause. They are not doing as well as they would like, so I'm shamelessly plugging the effort. If you have a few minutes and you want to help out a great cause, your support would be greatly appreciated!

Long days

2009-10-12T16:48:00.001-05:00

Michael has been working some doubles lately. Last Friday, today, this coming Friday. It sucks now, but the extra $ will be nice. We've strayed away from our FPU teaching and with Christmas coming up the extra will help. A double means he works from 7a to 9p. When you have 2 little daddy's girls, it makes for a long day!

Today I'm pretty sure Piper was trying to tell me something along the lines of, "you can't make me, you're not my dad." I was sweeping the floors and running the steamer and she was trying to run in between me and the steamer handle. Not exactly safe when steam blowing out. So I got on to her and told her she had to stop. She proceeded to shake her hand at me and chatter something about her daddy while shaking her head at me. It was very hard not to laugh.

Alli starts asking about 2 if her daddy is on his way home. Usually she does ok when I tell her Michael will be working a long day. Other times she informs me, "that really stinks, mom."

Tomorrow they have MDO!!! I'm excited since the last 2 weeks they have only gone 1 day. Since this is fall break, they will only be going one day as well. Which means I must enjoy tomorrow to it's fullest!

Sent from my iPhone

Really?

2009-10-10T11:15:00.001-05:00

Note to self: Do not get distracted before putting a diaper on Piper after a bath. She WILL poop in your floor. If you try sitting her on the little potty while you clean it up, she will probably get up and pee in your floor. Twice.

Lesson learned: No more "free" time for Piper.

Sent from my iPhone

Conversations

2009-09-19T23:57:00.002-05:00

This was a conversation I overheard the other day between Michael and Allisyn.

Michael: Oww! Alli don't do that, that hurts.
Alli: What is it?
Michael: it's hair.
Alli: Why do you have hair on your toes?
Michael: I just do.
Alli: I don't have hair on my toes.
Michael: Well that doesn't mean you can pull the hair on my toes.
Alli: Daddy, your silly!

Testing

2009-09-19T22:50:00.001-05:00

This is a tester post from my iPhone! Thank you, Jill for the tip! Hope it works!

Still here

2009-09-09T13:17:00.002-05:00

So, I thought that once I got my iPhone, I would be able to blog more often. For some reason though I can't get it to work. I can put in a title, but I can't put anything into the body of the blog, Not real sure what that's about...

Things are good! Michael and I celebrated our 5th anniversary last month! The girls stayed with my mom and sister while we got away for a couple of days to Branson. We had a great time! We probably did too much shopping, but that's ok!

The girls started MDO yesterday! They both did really well. Piper was not to big on stopping play time for nap time, but hopefully that will get better.

Michael's has been working some nights. He worked them two weeks ago and will work them this week with the exception of Friday. Bunco is at my house and I need him to take the girls away from the house!

Well, that's my short update. Just wanted to let the 3 people who read my blog (ok 2, because I just saw one of them on Saturday!) that I'm still here and we are doing well!

I have a climber

2009-08-14T21:15:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when she gets upon the table and get down. Actually she was still smiling when I first went over there, but when I decided to turn back to get my phone, that was when she got upset.

She climbs on the table (as shown!) into the window sills (the high ones and the low ones), she can make it upon to Alli's bed without any assistance now! She can climb upon the couch in the playroom. She can almost make it into the rocking chair. Alli likes to help her out. I caught her halfway onto the kitchen counter one day. We used to leave a chair there for Alli, now we have to move it away from the counters. If she gets too quiet I get up and start looking around for her on things.

She definitely keeps me busy!!

Happy (late) Birthday to Piper!!

2009-08-08T16:20:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Piper's first birthday! Since we had her party last weekend, we didn't do anything too special. We were all up the night before at about 3 a.m. for what turned into family movie time. We were all kind of tired. We did get pictures made! I'm not on the PC so I can't upload the photos, but you can see them here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137761&id=825875743&l=33799dd60c

Thursday, she really started taking some steps! Thankfully I caught it on the phone for everyone to see, because she hasn't done it too much since then.

She is now completely weaned. It is really bittersweet. I miss the bonding that takes place while breastfeeding. So far she has not taken to drinking milk. I've tried all the tricks we had to use with Allisyn and so far, nothing is working. I'm not too worried about it yet, I'm sure she will get there!

She is a climber. She loves climbing the stairs. She loves climbing the steps onto Allisyn's bed. She likes climbing onto the dinning room chairs and then onto the dinning room table.

She absolutely adores her big sister! She is very much a daddy's girl too. She is very sweet and loving. She is an animal lover just like her sister! She gets very mad if someone goes out in the backyard and doesn't take her with them to see the dogs. She loves petting the cats and all put one of them let her! Puck lets her get closer than he did Alli at that age.

She loves music! Any music will catch her attention. She will bounce and clap if it she really likes it!

I can't believe she is already 1! It went by way too fast!!

Lesson learned

2009-08-05T19:46:00.002-05:00

So, I tried to blog this from my iPhone and I couldn't get it to work.

Lesson learned today if crying it out did not work out for your first child, chances are high that it won't work for your second. If only for the first getting upset that the second is upset.

We are working on weaning. It isn't going very well. Piper was awake from 3 to 8ish this morning. Michael was up with her the whole time. I went back to sleep about 6. Michael and Piper went back to sleep a little after 8 and slept until 10. Needless to say we had a tired and cranky Piper. She fell asleep during a drive just to wake up when we got home.

I tried letting her cry it out a little, but she just screams and gets overly worked up. Add that to Alli crying because her baby sister is so upset, and I broke. She ended up falling asleep in my arms.

Maybe someday my children will fall asleep on their own....

Some more Randomness

2009-08-02T21:16:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Piper's first birthday this past weekend. Her actual birthday is this Friday, but Michael has to work next weekend. It actually went pretty well.

Allisyn can finally say all her alphabet without mixing up letters or leaving out HIJK!!

Piper is still almost walking! I'm giving up on trying to guess when it is going to happen because she seems to like to prove me wrong.

My mother is huge dork. Not only did she get a tattoo at the age of 52, she got it impulsively and picked something out AT the tattoo parlor. If your are going to get ink done put some thought into it and come up with something unique. Don't go in because your friend is doing it and get some random butterfly tattoo when you've never shown any special interest in butterflies. Also, she has yet to tell her mother. Ummm, hello? What is she? Like 12? Backing off the subject before I go on rant about her mom that will make people think I am a horrible person.

I ordered my iPhone! I will probably be wishing I would have waited it out and gone it and got in store, but I was too excited when it let me do it a day early! Maybe I will be able to blog more since I'm on my phone way more than I am on the laptop.

I love...

2009-07-20T13:56:00.005-05:00

being the mom of 2 girls! I love the way they love each other and the way to play together.

Sure we have our moments that aren't so bright and happy, but the majority of the time, they get along really well!

When I started this post, they were playing really well together with a clear tub. They were pushing it around like it was a train. Sitting in it together. Alli pushing Piper around, Piper walking with it.

Then I had to intervene in a tiff over a jelly bracelet. That led to a break in play. Then Alli jumped down off to the couch to go the bathroom and knocked Piper down. She got a swat for not paying attention to her sister and knocking her down. Tears were had...then Piper comes into the bathroom. Tears stop immediately and "Piper came to see me!" It's really cute how Piper can be the cause of her tears and then the reason they stop!

Well, now we are in the midst of some meltdowns!! I love being a mom!!

Pictures!!

2009-07-18T18:53:00.003-05:00

I was planning on putting up some of our 4th weekend and Allisyn's party....but my computer won't let me edit them and I don't like posting too many pictures of my babies with red eyes. Maybe if I get it figured out I'll put them up...but here are some for now!

Happy (Late) Birthday to Allisyn!!

2009-07-08T00:45:00.002-05:00

It has been a busy week and a half! On top of our usual routines with Allisyn's birthday and the 4th we have been really busy!!

The 2nd was Allisyn's 3rd birthday!! It is so hard for me to believe that she is 3!! That day Mam-maw and Aunt Katy came up for the weekend. Me, mom and Piper went and had lunch with her at MDO! We brought cupcakes to celebrate! She came home with us early and was surprised to see her Aunt Katy when we got home!! Then we had a joint party with her friend M who turned 3 on the 1st. It was a lot of fun! There were 16 kids who got to do the craft plus Piper and M's little brother A who were too little. Piper did a lot of playing though so she didn't miss out on too much!

Friday was really hot so we just went out to eat for lunch. Then we headed to our friends from church celebration. It was a good time! Food, fun, Christian fellowship, and an up close display of fireworks! Allisyn even got to help her daddy set a few off! I'll post pics soon!

The 4th, Allisyn, me, my mom, and Katy went to lunch at POPS! It was crazy busy and a bit overwhelming, but we enjoyed it! Then we went to Libertyfest. It wasn't all to great, so we went to dinner. It stormed while we were eating. Then we went and walked around Target and on our way out decided we would follow the few others who were camping out in the parking lot to watch the display. It was a pretty good spot! It was a little crazy getting out, but not too terribly bad. The girls did pretty well with the show. Allisyn said it was a little too loud, but she didn't get too upset. Piper just clapped and got excited!

Sunday was a beautiful day with glorious weather so we headed to the zoo. On the train ride the conductor said it was unusually slow for a Sunday afternoon in the summer. We didn't mind! The bad part of the weekend is that we didn't make it to church because both girls were in desperate need of sleep. Allisyn probably would have slept through in the evening, but Piper is like her momma in that she wakes up whenever you get anywhere and is just crabby.

Yesterday we took it easy and just stayed around home. We took a nice walk in the evening to continue to enjoy the weather.

Today it was back to MDO for Alli. Then on to her well-child checkup. She is 41lb and 40 inches. They didn't tell us where that puts her on the chart. It was a new nurse. Alli had to get one shot, and she was not happy. The whole office heard about how she doesn't like shots on our way out. Luckily and ice cream cone provided a much needed distraction for her.

Monday night also began our first night and getting her to sleep in her own bed. It was an on and off battle that ended up with her in our bed because she leaked out of her night time pull up. Tonight she went on to bed on her own! For 5 minutes! Then she wanted us. She came in with us until she fell asleep and was moved into her bed and she is still there at 1 am!!

Well that is a little update. I will try to get pictures up soon. I would do it now, but I don't have my glasses on and I need them to see which pictures are what!!

Conversation

2009-06-30T19:34:00.004-05:00

Alli: Momma, I can't find my green glasses.

Me: I don't know where they are. I don't keep up with all your stuff.

Alli: Why?

Me: It's not my job.

Alli: Will you help me find them?

Me: Nope. I didn't loose them.

Alli: I really, really, really need you to help me find them.

Me: I'm not helping you find them because I have no idea where to start.

Alli (with my sunglasses): Can I use these because I need them to be silly!

Me: You need my glasses to be silly?

Alli: I really think so. I really need them to be silly!

Me: Yes, because I can't be the reason that you have to stop being silly.

Our conversations are full of "really, really, reallys" and "I really think so's" lately.

Conversations

2009-06-30T19:34:00.003-05:00

Alli: Momma, I can't find my green glasses.

Me: I don't know where they are. I don't keep up with all your stuff.

Alli: Why?

Me: It's not my job.

Alli: Will you help me find them?

Me: Nope. I didn't loose them.

Alli: I really, really, really need you to help me find them.

Me: I'm not helping you find them because I have no idea where to start.

Alli (with my sunglasses): Can I use these because I need them to be silly!

Me: Yes, because I can't be the reason that you have to stop being silly.

Our conversations are full of "really, really, reallys" and "I really think so's" lately.

A run down...

2009-06-30T19:34:00.002-05:00

Had my 10-year reunion. It was fun! I'm glad I went. It was good to reconnect with some old friends. The girls got some Mam-maw and Aunt Katy bonding time.

We had Allisyn's family birthday party. It was thrown together in less than a week. It went pretty well. She loved getting to see everyone.

I've been doing pretty good with keeping up with Pilates class. Though I will say that if today's class had been my first class, I probably would not go back! We had a substitute teacher and she really kicked our bums!

Allisyn is loving MDO! I think she will really miss it when they take a break in August! She takes a nap for them too!

Piper is just about to start walking! She can stand up on her own totally unassisted longer and longer every day!

Allisyn turns 3 on Thursday. THREE!! Who said that could happen!?! We are having a joint birthday party with a friend from my Mom's group. Miss M turns 3 tomorrow! It should be a good party!

We are watching Oscar for my brother and SIL while they are on a trip to see her grandma and then to DC! Alli keeps asking if we can keep Oscar...we are working on explaining that 2 dogs are more than enough right now and that Oscar would miss Dustin and Rachel and Felix too much.

A few quotes and convos from Allisyn to leave you with:

Throughout the day we get, "I love you so much mom (dad)."

Me to Piper: I'm gonna throw you away if you don't quit being so clingy.
(No, I would never throw my daughter away.)

Allisyn: Momma, you can't put her in the trash can, she not yucky!

There are many others, but they always escape me when I'm trying to remember them.

Quick Catch Up

2009-06-09T11:51:00.004-05:00

My trip with the girls was wonderful!! A lot of shopping, a lot of chatting, and a nice break from the daily routine! I might have spent a little too much money, but that's ok! I of course did what I usually do....spent more on the girls than on me. I bought myself 4 pieces of clothing. One being a $3 Old Navy T-shirt. The girls got lots of clothes, some toys, some bags...that I am still waiting to be delivered....Michael got a couple of shirts. In other words....I still need clothes!! Heehee!

Michael and the girls had a great trip to his parents! They had some rough nights, but we kind of thought they might. They were very happy to see momma when they got home! Momma was also VERY happy to see them!!

Allisyn is now a pro at MDO. She lets them get her out of the car at drop off without any problems. She eats her lunch really well AND she naps for them!! She really enjoys it, like we knew she would!! Piper gets upset when Allisyn leaves the car, but gets excited when we go pick her up! It will be nice when Piper can go too!

Yesterday was my BIRTHDAY!!! Michael had a 3 day weekend so we had a great family fun filled time. Saturday we went to Frontier City!! It was great fun. We got to see the Bob the Builder Show. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that! Allisyn likes it so that is what is important!

Sunday was church which is always a great day! The girls love Bible Class! Piper has started crying when we drop her off, but she cheers up really quickly!! Sunday afternoon Allisyn and I got to spend some time together just the 2 of us. We don't get to do that very often. We both really enjoyed it! We went to B&N and got some books and then we went to Unpluggits and painted some pictures and made a necklace, and played on the toys and made some glitter pictures! It was a great time!

Yesterday I got birthday cake in bed for breakfast! It was baked, iced and sprinkled by Michael and Alli! The first thing Alli said to me when she woke up was, "I want some of your birthday cake!" Then we went to White Water Bay. It was a great time! Even though someone stole my flip flops, we had a blast! Alli really enjoyed the little whale slide. She went down over and over again. Then we had a fun family dinner! It was indeed a great birthday!!

Some Pictures

2009-05-23T17:50:00.003-05:00

I'm ready...

2009-05-22T10:55:00.002-05:00

for next Friday!! A weekend away with 12 other awesome women with lots of shopping should provide a much needed break away from life!

My uncle James may get to go home next week! He is starting to do more and more!

Another blow life handled is my cousin Jacob, who is serving in the Air Force in Alaska, had his wife of 7 months leave him. No warning. He came home one night and she and her kids (from a previous marriage) were gone. Last update I had he still hadn't heard anything from her and she still had his truck. It was one of those things some of us thought would not work out, but you are really bummed when it turns out you are right. Jacob is one of those people that just gives and gives and gives and she just took and took and took.

Our first week of Mother's Day Out has come and gone. Alli had some rough starts to her days, but I think it is good for her. She is actually napping for them! I wish she would nap for me!

Piper is becoming a little person! She is a tough little booger and very persistent! We went to Chick-Fil-A the other day with some friends and I spend a large amount of time trying to prevent her from climbing up the slides. She always wants to be down and a part of what is going on. I'm ready for her to walk because she tries to get down so much it's hard to hold her sometimes!

Well that's our update for now. I'll try to get pictures up soon!

Life

2009-05-15T16:49:00.002-05:00

has been delivering so blows lately. Tuesday, my uncle James was about to head out on trip (he's a truck driver) and stopped close to home to grab some breakfast. He was checking his load and got knocked in the head with a boom. (It's something they use to tighten down their load.) He called his wife and she came and picked him up an took him to the ER. By the time they got there he was bleeding out of his ears, eyes, and nose. Diagnosis was a subdural hematoma. He was life-lighted (sp?) to Tulsa and they did surgery. After a few scares he avoided having to go in again for surgery on his brain. This morning, they went in and repaired his shattered collar bone. Last I heard he was doing well and they were hoping to let him wake-up soon.

Michael's grandma Bea also passed away yesterday morning. She was 98-years-young and was ready to go home.

Little curve balls that life has dished out, Michael taking out the garage door with....the van door. It is hard to explain, but it didn't do as much damage as it looked like it did. Our fence along the back of our yard got blown over. Our neighbors didn't even notice until Michael went and talked to them about it! Alli broke a tiny bottle of red nail polish on the kitchen tile. I'm still working on getting it out of the grout. We have yet to fix the radio in the van, but Michael is calling around to try to get it fixed before we take our trip this weekend. --Just found out, a minimum of $90 just to have it looked at. Ouch!

On the brighter side of things!! We made it to 9 months without walking and no teeth. Her first tooth did break through on Wednesday! She really doesn't like to show it off, but when she gets to laughing she can't hide it! Allisyn starts her Mother's Day Out on Tuesday! Michael now has the day off so we can all participate in her first day! I'm trying to prepare myself so I don't cry, but I'm sure there will be tears shed on my part!

We also got the sandbox "open" and both girls absolutely love it! I can tell we will be spending lots of time there this summer!!

Well that's our update! Hopefully, life will get back on track soon.

Sickness

2009-05-06T18:13:00.002-05:00

We have had some yuckies at out house.

Sunday morning about 230 Piper woke me up when I felt she had a fever. Gave her Tylenol....no church for mom and Piper. I tried to go Sunday night, but Piper wasn't having it. Monday, she still had a fever so we made a trip to the ped. We were told it is just a cold.

Monday night I started getting sick, at first we thought it might have been the flu, but looking at everything, especially the shortness of it all, we are pretty sure it was just mastitis.

Piper's highest temp was this morning at 103.3. Today she is acting a lot happier. To play it safe, I called the ped to see what temp we should take her in. They said 105. I'm thinking at 103.8-104...I'm taking her in. Thankfully, we haven't gotten there.

Sooo, hopefully miss Piper will feeling better soon and we can get back to our regularly scheduled lives. Hopefully, all you will avoid the yuckies!

Lets talk about your closet.

2009-04-29T18:04:00.002-05:00

Ok, well you don't have to really talk about yours, but I am going to talk about ours. It is a nice size closet. Michael and I have the same amount of space for our clothes.

When I did this rough tally yesterday, there were still two loads of laundry out adding about 7 hangers to Michael's side and 4 to mine.

One side had 127 occupied hangers: rough breakdown
42 T-shirts
10 sweaters
8 sweatshirts
20 pants (jeans and dress)
10-polo type shirts
30 button-up shirts

This does NOT count the 8-12 pairs of shorts, 6+ athletic pants,and pj pants.

The other side had 63 occupied hangers.
13% are bottoms that cannot be worn until more weight is lost.
19% are undershirts that are not worn alone in public.
10% are kept purely for sentimental purposes (think soccer jerseys from mission trip to Brazil, and Eeyore sweatshirts from high school)
So that is approximately 58% left for actual wear, and that selection isn't the best.

So whose is whose? Michael has way more clothes than I do. In his defense, he doesn't get rid of much. Though when he learned I was going to blog about this he did do a small amount of purging. I have had to get rid of many clothes due to the gaining and loosing weight from pregnancies and the NOT loosing the weight from Piper. My MAIN reason in doing this is so I have hard core numbers to put Michael in his place when he tries to join in me in my whining about not having enough clothes. It's not my fault if you wear the same things over and over...you have options. The other reason is to say that I am REALLY excited about our upcoming shopping trip to Canton!!!

Randomness

2009-04-27T20:29:00.002-05:00

I'm still here, I just use my phone a lot. I need to get the new keyboard on my laptop, it would make me want to use it more. I also have a few keys on backwards. It doesn't bother me at all, but Michael doesn't like it. You wouldn't think having the M and N switched wouldn't bother someone whose name starts with M, but it does. I don't look to type....apparently he does. What is really funny, he could switch them pretty easy!

I finally have Allisyn enrolled in a MDO!! She start this summer and Piper will join her in the fall! I'm really excited for Allisyn! She wasn't to excited about not getting to stay we enrolled. I have mixed emotions about Piper starting....

Anyone know where to take your vehicle when you have a BOOM! while driving and then your speakers stop working? It was kind of scary at the time....now it's really annoying.

Piper is saying mom! She says "da" too, but we aren't convinced she is meaning dad. We know she means mom, because it's always when she wants me!

I've been really bad about getting to the gym, but I'm really trying to remedy that. I went swimsuit shopping today. Well, this is like the third or fourth time, but I found one today! It covers my bum!! I'm extremely self-conscious so I was pretty happy! Now I have to work up the mind to actually where it in public.

We have been working on Alli sleeping in her own bed. She usually gets put in her bed asleep, and then wakes up about 2 hours later. Our question for everyone out there, HOW do you get them to stay asleep? She very rarely takes a nap and she plays hard so you would think she would crash out and stay asleep, but no.

Piper is growing up way to fast. I really feel like I got jilted out of her babyhood. So far she is keeping it at minimal cruising. She likes the speed of crawling. She is always on the go. A small part of me wishes she would hurry up and learn to walk so I wouldn't have to worry about her falling and hitting her head as much. She loves her big sister and loves when Allisyn plays with her. Allisyn also dotes on Piper and loves to tell everyone she is her baby sister.

Overall, things are pretty good here!

Hello!

2009-04-17T18:35:00.002-05:00

Sooo again, I have gotten behind. Shock, shock. In my defense though, my modem kicked the bucket last week and I had to have it replaced. So I just got caught up on a lot the blogs I read. So what's going on the the land of us?

Piper is seriously growing up way too fast. I cannot leave a room without the fear that she is going to climb up on something and fall. Today...we had four falls, luckily no shiners or bumps have appeared. Just a very upset baby and worn out momma. I almost wish she would just hurry up and start walking so I don't have to worry so much. It is a lot of work trying to laundry with her right there because there is a litter box in the laundry room, and what do you think calls her attention? I already have one child who has trouble resisting the box of poo, I don't need two!

Allisyn's favorite thing to do right now is to disagree with us. Sometimes it leads to arguments. Not fun. She doesn't like being told no, and thinks she has the right to tell us not to tell her no! HaHaHa, when do they learn we really know what we are talking about and that we tell them no for good reasons? Ooooh, right....never.

Not sure if I have posted this here or not, but Allisyn is officially in big girl panties all the time during the day!! Now if her daddy could just hold his ground and not give into late milk requests we could work on giving up the night time pull-ups.

The sleeping in her bed thing has not been going very well either. She has ONE more sticker until she gets her prize, but come bed time...she doesn't want it anymore. Convenient.

We went home for Easter last weekend. We got to see a lot of my family and swung by Michael's grandma's birthday party. The girl's got a load of junk..ummm, I mean stuff. Like they really need more stuff, but they had fun which is what really matters.

And now, I must get off my duff and put to good use this time I have alone! Michael has the girls at the mall, and I need to do some cleaning. Though I do have a Starbucks gift card burning a whole in my pocket.....

Pictures!!

2009-04-03T00:37:00.004-05:00

Happy Girls!

Piper liked the bows!

A lot!!
I want to hold her!!

NOOOOO!!!!

Thankfully, this doesn't happen too often. They are heavy!

Allisyn wanted to read my book...and loose my place.

We could not convince her it was upside down. Made for a funnier picture anyway.

I know I often complain about our fur babies...especially when they insist on hacking up in the girls' rooms, but we really do very tolerant animals.

Lily seems to be convinced that she and Piper are best buddies most days!

Evidence that dual napping does occasionally happen. Yes, Piper does have a handful of Allisyn's hair.

We have the crib at the lowest setting, and her head still comes up over the side!

It is not common practice that Allisyn be in Piper's crib, but we thought for picture's sake it would be fun.

This how I often spend my mornings. Except usually Piper is nursing. We couldn't really share that though.

Our family really likes Incredible Pizza. Not because of the food, but it does fun times of play. The seat belt is broken on this ride so Miss Piper is standing up. Good thing Daddy can be right there

Sickness has left us!

2009-03-29T21:54:00.002-05:00

YAY!! To answer a question from Megan, Alli has had gastroenteritis twice now. There have been a few times we were afraid she was getting it, but thankfully, she has only had it twice. One thing we were afraid of, was how this would affect potty training. It has had no affect at all! Allisyn even wore big girl panties to church tonight!

A tip for those who ever encounter the type of diaper rash that leaves your baby's bum raw, try Maalox. Do NOT try to go cheap and get a generic brand because it is watered down. The real stuff is thicker and covers better. Top it off with some aquaphor, generic is fine, and it does wonders. Even if it does take two adults practically sitting on the child to get it applied, but we don't know about that part first hand. I wish.

We were actually able to get out for a much needed play date on Friday and a birthday party on Saturday. I even made to church with both girls by myself this morning! Somedays, I wonder why I bother. Especially when Allisyn has to go potty 3 times during worship. I got lucky that both girls were asleep when we got home that I actually had some time to myself! Not too much, but it was nice.

Miss Piper is continuing to grow up way too fast. She has let go a few times after pulling up. Thankfully, it always been on soft-landing areas. She thinks she can eat whatever anyone else is eating and lets you know she is mad if you don't share! She has such a precious laugh and it is great to see her and Alli laugh at some inside joke! Right now I'm letting her shred a napkin because it is keeping her off my laptop. As I was typing that last sentence she started trying to eat said napkin. Since I took it away, she is now trying to get the laptop...which means this blog is done!!

Sickness

2009-03-26T18:11:00.002-05:00

has taken over. Well, we are praying that today is not another fluke and it is on its way out. Allisyn got a stomach bug that turned into gastroenteritis. This included extreme stomach cramping followed by poop explosions. No really, explosions. Do you have any idea what it does to the spirit of a little girl who just conquered potty training to have a blowout? It's horrible. Add that to a horribly raw bum and we have had a horrible time.

So what does mom do when ordered out of the house by dad? She goes shopping for things to make a little girl feel better. We have done a lot of painting and gluing and building of blocks last night and today to try to take away from the the horribleness of it all. So now we are hoping it is really gone and that Piper isn't getting it. Her last few diapers have not given us hope.

Well this was going to be longer but mommyhood call via the whining of a miss Piper.

Hey Chandra.....

2009-03-07T15:48:00.002-06:00

Yes, I'm still here. It's just hard for me to get on to blog because both laptops are down. Mine still has the jacked up keyboard, thanks to Alli and the Michael's power cord fritzed out us. It was actually smoking and burned me before we stopped using it. We tried to get a universal power cord, but it didn't work so we took it back. Then Michael got the bright idea to try to solder it back together....it didn't work either. So now, I have to come all the way upstairs and use the desktop if I want to blog....terrible I know.

Sooo, what's been going on here? Potty training is going GREAT!! We had a really bad day last Thursday...actually everything about that day was terrible, and since then we've had only had a few accidents. Most of those on the day and the day after Alli got sick. I'm very proud of her.

That horrible Thursday was also the day that I knocked over almost an entire can of paint on our hardwood floors. Thankfully, most of it came up. The exception being the stuff in the cracks. It was bad, I was covered in paint, the 2 girl cats got their tails in it and got in on the couch....that hasn't came out.

Piper is still growing leaps and bounds. She is in the beginning stages of pulling herself up. I think she might start walking earlier than Allisyn did, I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Allisyn is a WONDERFUL big sister and helps Piper get things and watches her for me when I need to get stuff done. Piper is under the impression that she can eat anything so you have to be very careful while eating around her or she will do such things like steal french fries off your plate.

Today the first of 9 days off for Michael! He is taking some vacation time. Today and tomorrow his dad and brother Steve are here helping start the assembly of the girls' new play set. The SKY FORT is it's name. The ran into a big snafu right off when they were missing one of the biggest base boards. They are improvising with a piece from Home Depot until we can get it replaced.

Yesterday we got a wonderful visit from Katy. She was here from Spring Sing at OC and spent a good part of the day with us! The girls absolutely adore her and were happy to get to spend some time with her.

Other random tidbits.... I joined a Bunco group! We had our first official Bunco night last night, it was sooo much fun!! I will definitely be looking forward to it every month!

***BREAKING NEWS**** Piper just pulled her self all the way up on my computer chair!! Now she is in my lap to grab Puck who is sitting on the desk.

I'm sure there is other stuff but it is really hard to type with a squirmy baby in my lap.....

Again...

2009-02-25T17:05:00.002-06:00

The blog has gotten away from me.

The weekend of Valentines, Michael and I got away for the weekend away! We got to go the annual marriage retreat that our church puts on! The girls got to stay with Mam-maw and Katy. It was a much needed break for Michael and I. We needed to take some time to get to know each other again. It was nice. The theme was Fireproof, off of the movie. If you haven't seen it, you should. Yes...the acting isn't the best, but if you keep in mind they had a $500,000 budget and most of the cast was volunteer...it was really good!

The girls did pretty well with Mam-maw and Katy. The nights were rough, but we thought they would be. Alli is a cuddler and was out of her element. She has actually had issues the past couple of times we have travelled anywhere. She likes to be at home at night. But all was well in the end. I think it did everyone well!

We've been doing pretty decent with going to the gym. Well, I should be there now for a class, but I took a few days off and my stamina dropped so I'm taking it easy to ease back into it. This is really random, but it's an update!

6-Month Check Up

2009-02-09T15:50:00.005-06:00

Piper had her 6-month appointment today. It was kind of weird because I called to make the appointment today and got in today! If I had been calling because one of them were sick, do you think I would have gotten in so quickly?? Anyway, we did get in and it went well. Michael arrived just in time for shots, but I still got to hold her during poke time. It wasn't too bad. She only fussed for a few seconds afterwards, then she wanted dad.

She is weighing in at 17 pounds and 6 ounces. This actually drops her into the 50th percentile for weight. Not a cause for concern or anything.

Height....she is above the 97th percentile at 28 inches!!

Her head circumference is 44cm (17.32 inches)- I'm not sure what the percentile is, our Dr just said she still has a big head!

She has been rightfully cranky since waking up after getting home, but hey she got poked 3 times!

Here are a few more pictures that my BIL, Steve, took a few weekends ago!

Some funny Alli stories...

She loves to make things for us, pictures, "breakfast" and "dinner", buckets of dirt. The conversation usually goes...

Alli: "I made for you!"

Me or Michael: "Thank you!"

Alli: "Do you lub it?"

Us: "Yes, I love it! It is beautiful!"

Alli: "Thank you! Want some more?"

She loves to help in the kitchen, any time we show signs of doing anything, she pulls up her chair. "I want to help you! I want to help you!"

She continues to be a wonderful big sister! This morning I was picking up the house and Alli had a mirror up to Piper's face saying, "Who's so pretty? Piper's so pretty!"

She always has to give Piper kisses good night and good morning. Good nights are whenever she goes to sleep and good mornings are whenever she wakes up!

Well Piper is wanting to play pass the baby, and it is my turn!

Pictures by Steve

2009-02-08T18:57:00.002-06:00

IMG_6638
Originally uploaded by stevehurl88

I couldn't figure out how to send more than one picture to a blog, so until I get that figured out.... here is one to hold you over!

Have I mentioned

2009-02-04T14:27:00.002-06:00

that Piper is mobile? I'm pretty sure that I have, but JEEZ! This baby can move! She is all over the place! We are trying to come up with ways to keep her pinned in, but still give her room to move. We haven't been very successful. We just keep popping are head in the living room when we are making dinner or cleaning in another room to make sure we don't have to put her back on her mats. She is also starting to sit up a little on her own. It's cute watching her try!

Another first, Piper went to Bible class for the first time on Sunday! They have pagers that they give the parents if your baby needs you! Piper did fine for the most part. She got a little fussy towards the end, and got to go for a walk with one of the teachers.

Allisyn seems to be regressing in her potty training. She hasn't really been trying at all the past couple of days. I'm not real sure what to do about it. I'm hoping we can just work through it and it will only be a small set back.

On the bright side, Allisyn is FINALLY getting over her separation anxiety she had going on! She will go to class, the child care at the gym and Wednesday morning Bible study child care without fussing. She will say. "I can tell mom and dad good-bye?" That is a huge relief!

Well, I get to cut this short because the duties of being a mom are being required!

As requested...

2009-01-29T13:04:00.002-06:00

What has been going on here....other than getting iced in for 3 days. Lets back up.

Monday night, I was cleaning out the DVR in the bedroom and I managed to delete EVERYTHING on it. Yes, EVERYTHING. All 36 episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, most of which Allisyn could request by name. All 15 Caillous that we let rotate around. The 5 Handy Mannys, Tigger and Poohs, and JoJo's Circus. Not to mention the couple of weeks on my shows that I was behind on. Trying to explain to a 2 1/2 year old that you accidentally wiped out everything on the DVR... not fun. ESPECIALLY, when you get snowed in the next couple of days and you need the aide of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to get you through it. We did survive.

The potty training is still hit and miss. Most misses occur when I am busy with Piper and really can't do anything about right then. She still has times where she says she wants to be a baby and wants to wear a baby diaper. My new plan of action is when she says she wants to be a baby, she will loose all her big girl privileges. We'll see how that goes.

Piper is doing great! She is scooting about and is really good at getting to where she wants to be. Especially when she is after something of Allisyn's! This morning while I was taking my shower, Piper was in her bouncy chair like always. Right where I can see her, and the little monkey almost crawled out of her seat! She was strapped in! I had to jump out of the shower and put her back in! I will definitely be rethinking my shower routine.

I'll try to update more often! (Lea!)

Hit and miss

2009-01-18T16:48:00.002-06:00

That is how we are doing with the potty training. It is hit and miss. There are times when Allisyn will throw a fit and ask for a "baby diaper" and then there are time she will where her big girl panties with no problem. Today she wore a pull-up to church and made it all through church with a dry pull-up! Then we met some friends for lunch and we had to wait on a stall so she didn't make it all the way.

I stocked up on big girl panties, I think I have over 30 now. I KNOW it is excessive, but I like to be very prepared and I like being able to let her pick which ones she wants to wear. Though occasionally, that comes back to bite me when she won't make up her mind.

Piper is doing much better. She is back to her happy-go-lucky self. I'm afraid it won't be long until she is mobile. We did some rearranging of our living room and put some of our play mats down on the hardwood so she could play on the floor. She is all over the place. She will roll, scoot, push off of, and pull herself to get where she wants to be. She hasn't gotten up on all 4s yet, but I think she gonna start by being a low-crawler. It would be my luck that she would be mobile before she could sit up! How will I get anything done!?!

The best kind of day

2009-01-12T19:14:00.003-06:00

Start out with a sick baby who kept mom up most of the night. I decide to go ahead and head to the gym. Michael is working evenings this week so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about the girls in child care. Plus Piper couldn't go anyway being sick. I make it to step class in time, but it wasn't pretty.

Note to self, eat before going to work out.
Next note to self, Step class with Kate is NOT what you should start out with!

I left the class at break and realized I forgot my flipflops at home so a shower at the gym was out of the question.

Get home, Allisyn is still asleep. I took my shower and got ready for my day. Michael got ready and left for work. Piper tries so hard to be her cheerful self, and does well for spurts of time, then crashes and needs mommy. During the times of Piper needing mommy the most, are the times that Allisyn starts getting in to trouble. What else is new, right?

Well, today there was the screaming for me like she was in pain. I go running in the room with a very startled Piper who was almost asleep. She just wanted her milk. She got in trouble for yelling like that for no reason.

Then there was going potty in the potty. YAY! No so yay when she doesn't put a pull up back on and comes in with something on her hand....she was playing with her bottom. I didn't know that she had sat back on the potty after I cleaned her up. Again I disrupt an almost asleep Piper to get her cleaned up again.

THEN she comes in AGAIN, with mysterious stinking brown stuff on her hand. Apparently, she dropped a shoe string for beading in the litter box and went and got in on her own. Again, interrupt an almost asleep Piper to go wash her hands and clean her up.

Is the day over yet??

Potty Training Day??

2009-01-09T17:11:00.002-06:00

Well, we have lost count because we have had a few days that really can't be called "training" days. But today has been a decent day. Well, the afternoon has. Alli calls her number 1 business "water." Could explain the incident on day one of trying to put it in Lily's water bowl. Now she knows that her "water" goes into the potty and gets flushed. She is actually wearing some big girl panties at the moment!

Last night was a "fun" night. Michael had to work the night shift 8p to 7a. I'm sure I mentioned it before, but both my girls are cuddlers. Therefore 2 babies trying to cuddle with one mommy makes for a rough night for mom. Not to mention the little fur ball flying up with the covers and scratching me. Lily is so light I hardly even notice when she is sleeping on me. To top off flying solo last night, I also had to keep the girls quiet so Michael could sleep. We couldn't really go anywhere because Allisyn and Piper may or may not be sick. Both have coughs, Alli's is accompanied by a runny nose. Good times!

We have finally joined the gym! I have been once in the week we have had it because I had some sort of crud. What is one thing that you want when you go to the gym if you are going to do cardio? Music, right? Well, I have music on my phone, BUT my phone does not accept a standard stereo plug for headphones. What is up with that??? So I'm trying to locate the adapter or whatever it needs. I'm sure I'll probably have to go Radio Shack or an AT&T store and pay an absurd amount for them. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Potty Trainig Day1

2008-12-31T19:53:00.002-06:00

Start off the day trying to convince the toddler she wants to wear a pull-up. Not easy. Finally the dad has a GREAT idea about just letting her run around with anything on. Not even 5 minutes after he leaves for work, the toddler reports that she has peed in her sisters floor. Nice. Score one for the toddler.

Put on a diaper, go to Target. Come home and she wants some marshmallows that I bought. I tell her, they are treats for big girls who use the potty. Excitement! She goes and produces one tiny poop ball. YAY!! It's something. She does this about 5 or 6 times, insisting that we empty out the potty chair EVERY time. She gets distracted. Give me 2 points.

Piper takes a nap, we make Piper's first food. Pears, if you were curious. Decides she wants another treat. We go to the potty. She proceeds to pull down her pull up. Warning to those who are about to start this journey. Check the pull up first. It was not pretty. The funny thing...she tries to convince me it deserves a treat. Wipe away all of mom's points give them to toddler plus one. Score is now toddler 4, Mom 0.

Fast forward to me being on the phone with my aunt telling her about our day. Alli decides again to try to use the potty. YAY!! All on her own! She actually tinkles! WooHoo! Bad part is, she pulled out the dump thingy and tried to empty it into Lilly's (our kitten's) water bowl. NOT sure what she was thinking, but I'm pretty sure she understands we don't do that.

All the while a teething Piper is fussing and thinking she needs mom to jump at every squall.

So the end of Potty Training Day 1--the Toddler is winning and the mom is wishing she could pay somebody to do it for her.

Hello and Merry CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-24T21:28:00.003-06:00

I know, I have not been my usual blogging self lately. I'll try to put up some pictures soon!

The girls and I got back today from Christmasing with my family. We came home with about 12 or so new outfits a piece for them. I totally could not take a stab at toys....at least 15 each. Numerous hugs, kisses, some new pajamas for mom and dad, few new movies, new set of pots and pans. (THANK YOU, Dustin and Rachel!!!) Some $$ to do whatever with. It was a good time, but as usual travelling without my husband makes me appreciate him even more.

I totally could NOT do the single parenting thing. I am very glad that we will be staying home for Christmas. No family on Christmas day, just us!! WooHoo!! Michael's family will be coming up on the 26th and 27th and we will do our Christmasing with them. I'm glad our travelling is finished. I was blessed with a good trip there and back. Piper slept the whole of both trips. Today I MIGHT have made the 3 hour drive in exactly 2 1/2. There was only 1 "oh poo" moments with a Hi-Po on the turnpike.

So now, all our goods that Allisyn has not packed out is all camping out in the dinning room until I get around to trying to find new homes for everything. Good times!!

I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. I wish you all lots of peace as you open those horrendous packages and possibly have to deal with those who do not always bring out the best in you!! Can't wait to hear all the wonderful stories and see the pictures!!

4 month stats

2008-12-08T20:38:00.002-06:00

Miss Piper had her 4-month checkup today. This was the first appointment with shots that I have had to go to without Michael. I know, I have been very spoiled. Thankfully, it went very well. Allisyn was NOT easy to get up and get going, but we did make it in plenty of time. In fact, we were in the exam room 17 minutes before our appointment time!!

Piper is weighing it at 15 lbs and 6 oz, which puts her into the 75-90 percentile. She is measuring in at 26 and 1/4 inches, placing her in the 97-100 percentile. Long and skinny! Alli was always long and chunky!

The shots actually went well. She got more upset at being held down and stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. She fell asleep quickly after, and we had a pretty good day.

The Holidays

2008-12-06T20:23:00.002-06:00

Haa Haa, I just posted a blog with nothing but a title. I'm editing to fix it right now. Then I deleted part of my blog with one click. I'm so computer savvy sometimes, I scare me.

It's that time of year again....the HOLIDAYS. I have love/hate feeling for the holidays. I love what the season is suppose to be. Celebrating Christ and spending time with family. I love the grandparents getting excited over grandkids excitement. Though I'm not huge fan of all the stuff we have to take home because of it. I love Mississippi Mud and lasagna, and other family traditions. I love seeing Allisyn get excited about the little things. I love Piper stare at the tree when we walk by. I love that we are going to be making our own traditions.

On the flip side,I hate the consumerism of the holiday. I hate seeing Christmas stuff up in July. I hate the stress of finding the perfect gift for people who really don't care. I hate having to act like I REALLY like the old lady sweatshirt. I hate how mean people get when they are shopping. So when your out and about doing your holiday shopping this season, be sure to be nice to the cashiers out there who have to take all the abuse from the the people who forget what the season is really about.

Pictures

2008-11-25T12:27:00.004-06:00

I had to clear out my card before we left so I decided to go ahead and put up some pictures before I left!

I'm still here

2008-11-25T12:13:00.002-06:00

I know I haven't blogged much lately. Not really sure why. Everytime I go to blog, I decide that I really don't have anything important to say....

My last blog was about how I was glad to be home and this on is about how I don't want to leave home! HAHA! The girls and I are heading out this afternoon to my families. Michael will be joining us Friday night. Good times!

Allisyn has been telling me all morning about how she wants to see Pap-paw. I keep telling her we will see him tomorrow, but she still wants to see him RIGHT now.

Piper has found her toes. It is really cute. I will have to post pictures. When Allisyn found her toes she would bend over to them. Piper brings hers up to her mouth while she is laying down.

I went to see Twilight. The evening was good because I got to go out with some wonderful people. The movie...let's just say it left a LOT to be desired. I have been told it is better the second time around and I get to find out.... Why, you ask? Because that is what my little sister wants for her 21st birthday present. For me to go see it with her again. I'm not sure who said that my sister could turn 21, but we need to have a serious conversation.

Anyway I will be gone for just under a week. I hope everyone out there has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!!

Glad to be home!

2008-11-08T21:14:00.002-06:00

So the girls and I went to stay with my family for a few days. Michael thought he was going to be working a couple of days of doubles. He ended up just working one, but we decided to go ahead and go stay with my family. It was good and bad.

The good was getting to see family. On Thursday we spent the day at the farm. My grandpa and step-grandma had a full house. My daddy, aunt Kathy, aunt Lea and her two boys, me and my 2 girls got to enjoy some wonderful food and great times! We got to pick some pecans, go for tractor rides. Allisyn got to see cows and Pap-paw's new horse. It was good times.

Wed, Thurs, and Friday afternoon we hung out with Katy and Mam-maw. Thursday we got to see my grandma. We missed out on getting to spend time with just her on our last trip, so it was really nice.

We always stay with my Aunt Sandy. She is really great about helping me out. Like at 145 in the morning when both girls are crying and needing attention. Luckily that only happened once. Piper was a great sleeper like always for the rest of the time. Allisyn, on the other hand....let's just say we could use some divine intervention.

I got to hang out with my sister some. We went in search of an Entertainment Weekly. The podunk towns of OK do not seem to carry them. It is featuring Twilight this week. She is an BIG fan of all things Twilight. It was good to spend time with her. We left the girls with my mom and Aunt Sandy. They did the unspeakable and went and got my grandmother. I do everything I can to not submit my daughters to the torture that comes along with being around her. Yes, I know that sounds horrible, but I promise you, it is for the well-being of my children.

So we had a pretty good trip for the most part. After a rough drive back, we are very glad to be back home with Michael, and he is glad to have us back. I wish he would have cleaned up a bit, but he is a guy right?

A quick catch up

2008-11-04T16:46:00.003-06:00

Yes, I know I just posted 5 posts of pictures. Did you look at them at all? I'm catching up for slacking off with posting pictures. I have actually posted the last 3 picture posts with a sleeping Piper in my arms. Not an easy task.

Halloween went well. Allisyn did where her costume! As you can see in the pictures. Piper of course wore hers. She isn't at an age where she fights on too much. Just the car seat. She has started arching her back when we put her in. She will arch even more when she wants you to get her out of it. It is really cute.

Yesterday Allisyn had a pretty rough day. She decided it would be fun to go roar at a sleeping Paju. Hopefully she will remember the pain of getting scratched by Paju's back claws and won't do it again. Then she decided she was coordinated enough to carry some of her dishes down the stairs from her kitchen. She was about 4 steps down when she lost her balance and tumbled down. I walked in as she was falling. She got her first goose egg. It actually went down pretty quickly.

We are going to be going up to stay with my family for a few days. Michael is picking up some doubles and he works evenings until Sunday. I can honestly say that I don't really want to go. I'm not looking forward to the travelling alone, but I know it will be easier on Michael and Alli. Michael so he can sleep. Alli so she can have interaction with other people instead of just mom. That and if there was a day when Michael was gone for over 14 hours. She would NOT want to go to bed any time soon after he got home.

Anyway, I may not blog while I'm gone, but I should have more pictures when I get back. If I get around to posting them. Now I gotta go, my arm is screaming because it is asleep from holding Piper in the same position for so long!

Pictures 5--Piper

2008-11-04T16:30:00.003-06:00

These were taken about an hour ago. Allisyn was napping so she had Daddy's attention all to herself. She was just a laughing and smiling at us! She is now 12 weeks old! Where did the time go?

First time in the jumparoo!

Of course Allisyn thought she had to help!

Pictures4--Halloween

2008-11-04T16:17:00.003-06:00

Again, the pictures our not in the order I want, but oh well. This was at Haunt the Zoo.

Piper got tired and passed out on us!

One of the pictures with the head piece up.

In the long line.

Who wants to look at dad when there is so much other stuff to look at?

Did I mention how thrilled I was that she wore the costume? I was elated!

Not on my head!!

Pictures 3 - Alli

2008-11-04T16:10:00.003-06:00

Hanging with Dad!

My new teeth!

Cheese!

Their favorite state of dress. I'm in trouble!

Pictures 2!!

2008-11-04T15:51:00.004-06:00

I can't get the pictures to move where I want them so they are out of order. This is at the Children's Museum. Michael took them there by himself and I met them there.

This was at home. She was sitting in the chair talking to me!

A trip to the zoo with a bunch a friends from church. I think someone said there were 20 kids total. It was a good time!

We were trying to get a picture of them all, but it really didn't work out!

At the Children's Museum! She had a lot of fun!

They were in jail. Allisyn thinks whenever Michael kneels down to be on her leve, she has to get on her knees too.

Taken on a family zoo trip. It seemed like she would have been really uncomfortable in the position she was in, but she slept in the sling for a while that way.

Riding the little train with Daddy.

Napping on the couch.

Napping on mom's pillow.

Pictures!!

2008-11-04T15:41:00.003-06:00

So 213 pictures later, I am finally uploading the pictures from my camera to the computer. HeeHee. Sorry it has taken so long. There will probably be a few posts of pictures so be sure to look at them all!
I don't know how many times a day I have to tell Allisyn to get off her sister! Usually Piper doesn't seem to mind.

Pretty girl!

I'm not looking at the camera, mom!

They absolutely adore each other!

Piper really isn't wanting kisses right now, but you can't ever convince Alli of that.

Why?

2008-10-29T08:58:00.002-05:00

Thankfully Michael was off on Monday. Why was Monday the best day for him to be off this week? Because Forrest ripped out his stitches to his surgical incision and had to be knocked back out and sewn back up. Good times. We now have an E-collar. Why they thought he would leave it alone, I don't know.

If you have never seen an clumsy dog in an E-collar, your missing out. Except when your 2-year-old stands in between him and the door on his way out. She had to go all the way out before she could come back in. She wasn't too happy about it, but it was kind of funny.

You can see Allisyn's teeth when she smiles! I'm still getting used to it. So far she has yet to put on her Halloween costume. I don't think she quite gets it. We took her to the Disney store to see if she wanted to pick out a princess, and she didn't. So we went to Toys R Us and Michael decided she could be a flower. I wouldn't be surprised if we never get her into it....but whatever. At our fall carnival at church, she wasn't into it at all. She didn't take any candy. Which is kind of nice to see after her surgery.

Oh well, if she doesn't wear the costume, it won't be the first article of clothing bought and never worn.

It is over!

2008-10-23T13:59:00.002-05:00

This morning little miss Sunshine decided she was going to wake up at 515. She went back to sleep after an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but we were not thrilled. Waking her up to get her ready to go the hospital was far from pleasant. We got there and got her signed in. She did NOT want the ID bracelet put on. They ended up putting it on her leg. They gave her a bear and one for Piper. It was cute because she said "I want 2 bears." Then she tried to grab all 5 colors. She got mad when we told her she had to put some back.

She was ok in the waiting room looking for birds out the window. When they called us back to pre-op she was less than thrilled. She again did NOT want to put the gown on. She cried and again wanted her ID bracelet off. They got her 02 levels by letting Michael put in on her finger. When Dr. Doan came in, Allisyn didn't want much to do with her, or her tech, or the nurse. The anesthesiologist chooses not to give them a sedative before taking them back. It makes it easier for them to come around but harder for them and mom's when they have to say good-bye. Yes, I cried.

Then Michael ran to get us some food because we didn't want to eat in front of her since she couldn't have anything. As soon as he got back the nurse called us and told us that she had went under fine without any complications. Then we waited.

Finally the tech came out and went over the to dos and not to dos. Then they came and got us. As soon as we got into the hall, I could hear her saying, "I want my daddy." She was really wanting the IV out of her hand. As soon as I picked her up and held her she said "I want this off." Of course we couldn't take it off. I didn't get to hold her very long before she noticed Daddy had Piper and she wanted her daddy back.

We tried to get her to drink some juice or water, and she would not. Part of it was her still waking up, part of it was her being her little stubborn self. So after an hour 1/2 they called the anesthesiologist and Dr. Doan. The anesthesiologist came by and said he was fine with her going home. Dr. Doan finally called back and said she was ok with it too.

So they took the IV out. She was saying that it hurt. As soon as it was out and she was dressed and ready to go, she started to drink the juice! The nurses got a kick out of that. So now we are home and she is sleeping. She was in a pretty good mood on the way and when we got home, so that was good to see.

Miss Piper did absolutely wonderful! Thanks for all the prayers this week!

2 blogs in 1 day?

2008-10-21T18:08:00.002-05:00

Shocking, I know. Just updating that Forrest's surgery went well. He is now home and resting in his crate. Vet said he did very well and it seems like this should work! Now for the task of keeping him quiet for 6 weeks....

My Brother Rocks!

2008-10-21T10:31:00.002-05:00

I would link to their blog, but they don't keep up with it. I think they tried to claim that there life was very interesting or something. This was around the time when they got to take care of Allisyn for 2 days! Anyway this is NOT about picking on him for not keeping up with his blog. This is to say THANK YOU for helping me out this morning.

I had to take Forrest in to drop him off for his knee surgery and knew there was no way I could get a 98 lb gimpy lab in with a baby and a toddler. So he came over and watched them for me. Granted it was only for about 15-20 minutes, BUT this is the first time they had been left with anyone alone together other Michael or myself. I was really afraid Allisyn might be whiny or have a meltdown since she has been up since 530, but she did great! Her Dustin was there to play with her.

Yesterday we had a good day. The girls and I went to the zoo with a whole bunch of friends from church. We had quite a group. Allisyn actually took a normal timed nap! Which was nice because I needed to get some cleaning done before our adopted girls came over for dinner. Michael had to run and get insurance stuff for Alli's surgery taken care of. All should be ready for Thursday in that area.

Then there was miscommunication with the girls (meaning I screwed up) and we got a late start to our evening, but it turned out really well. Both of our girls are really sweet. They seemed to get along with each other really well. Allisyn warmed up to them pretty well too! That is always a plus.

Off to get some housework done....maybe.

One Isn't Enough?

2008-10-15T21:53:00.003-05:00

So as if I don't have enough to worry about with Allisyn's surgery next week, I now have to worry about my oldest fur baby. He is going under the knife on Tuesday. His knee cap isn't where is it is supposed to be. This is fairly common in small dogs, not so much for big dogs. He is an overweight 98lb black lab. Our vet is going to do a procedure that gives him a 70-75% chance of working. Of course there is the possibility that when she gets in there, she will find more wrong, but we are seriously praying that doesn't happen. If this surgery doesn't take we are looking at a $1600 procedure. When it rains it pours right?

We had a first for Alli the other day. We had to cut some of her hair. She got a marshmallow stuck in it. I couldn't even save the first curl cut. Thankfully, I didn't have to cut too much.

Gotta run, our two angels are giving their daddy a hard time.

2 month and pre-surgery check-ups

2008-10-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

Well last weekend we had our class retreat. The trip down went pretty well. A friend and I drove down early with two 2-year-olds and 2 babies under 6 months. Not sure what we were thinking, but we prayed before we left and it went a lot better than we had anticipated. As for the actual retreat...we only stayed 1 night because Allisyn did not have a good night Friday night. She kept wanting to be rocked and wanting to go home. So we went home Saturday evening. We did not have a good trip back. We had to stop twice to try to soothe Piper.

Allisyn seems to be going through another phase of separation anxiety or something. She throws a fit when we try to leave her anywhere. Even Sunday and Wednesday night Bible class. We can forget Toddle Time. I don't know what to do. I still have her on the waiting list for a Mom's Day Out program, but now I'm wondering if she is ready for one.

Today was Piper's 2-month-checkup. She is doing GREAT! She is 23 3/4 inches. She has grown 2 inches since her last appointment. She was just over 12 lbs. That puts her in the 90-95% for her height and about 75% for her weight. Not as big as Allisyn, but not too far behind. I got lucky and Michael was able to go with me. Six evening shifts straight sucks, but I wasn't complaining too much this morning when he was there. Piper SCREAMS with shots. Allisyn cries and takes forever to console. Piper screams something terrible and calms down pretty quickly. She was asleep on her daddy's shoulder before we left the doctor's office.

We had to get Allisyn a physical before she has her dental procedure next Thursday. She is 38.6 lbs and 3 ft and 1 1/4 inches. Weight wise this means we have to invest in another carseat. Why? Because hers only goes to 40lbs and she is not ready for a booster seat. Luckily they have some that have the 5-point-harness that supports them until 65 lbs and then can be used as a booster seat after that. We also got her a prescription for Prevacid because she is still have stomach issues. Hopefully this will help.

Other exciting news, well it's exciting to me, I am attempting to learn how to make hair bows!! I have already found a pattern for a crocheted some really cute headbands! Now I have to take the plunge and attempt some bows to go with them!

Update on a few randoms

2008-09-30T15:58:00.005-05:00

We got our garage door fixed Tues morning. It was cheaper than we were thinking! YAY!

We finally got our memory foam sleep number bed installed on Tuesday as well! I'm in love with it so far. I actually wake up feeling like I have slept! It is really nice.

Allisyn had her check-up on her teeth before her surgery. Michael got to take her on his own because I had to wait on the bed people. Hopefully they will stay in the condition they are because if they wear down any more, they may not be able to do the procedure on all 4 teeth.

This weekend we are going on our class retreat with our class from church! I'm excited about it all except for the travelling part. I'm praying that miss Piper's naps will coincide with the trip. We shall see.

Allisyn is starting to "write" she has made some pretty good A's and T's and D's. She also makes a pretty good heart for being 2. She still doesn't enjoy sharing dad, but the fits are getting less extreme.

Piper is 8 weeks today! It does NOT seem like it has been that long since she made her arrival. She holds her head really well and really focuses in on things. She has been doing this for a while and I keep telling her to slow down since she is my last baby! She doesn't seem to care! She is finally starting to fit into 0 to 3 month clothing a little better. They aren't falling off anyway, they are just baggy looking.

The past two days Allisyn took a nap on her own, but it isn't looking too promising today. I can still hope!

Sucess!

2008-09-28T13:55:00.002-05:00

I did it! I got myself and both girls ready and we got to church on time. Actually we made it a little early! WooHoo! I've only missed one Sunday because Michael had to work. All his other Sundays that he had to work he worked the later shift and made it to church in the morning. But we did it! Allisyn did really great. I was really heartbroken to hear that she cried during the play time in Toddle Time. She would have been just fine if she would have stayed with me, but I thought she would want to play. Next time, I'll check on her before I go back to worship.

Other news, Murphy has visiting us. With Allisyn's surgery approaching and the costs of that coming up and the hospital bills coming in....our garage door breaks! Thankfully, it let me out on Friday, but it would not let me back in. It is so broken, it won't even go up manually. We have to get it fixed soon, because it so much easier for me to let Allisyn loose in the garage to get in the car. She can't go anywhere! She has been doing good so far, but I don't want to press our luck.

We did get really luck last night. Allisyn has taken to picking up Tiger, one of our cats. He usually does really well with just putting up with it and not responding to it too much. Well, last night I guess she just had him in position he did not feel comfortable in and he scratched her with his back claw. Right over her eye. You can tell she closed her eye because one of the scratches goes across her eyelid and near the corner of her eye. Thankfully it missed her eye and thankfully Michael was home to help calm her down.

Sweet Big Sister

2008-09-25T21:25:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged much lately because I would just be complaining about Allisyn's horrible sleeping habits. Like waking up at or before 3 am and staying awake until after having a meltdown about how dad had to go to work.

But last night, even though we all ended up in bed a little on the late side, we all slept through the night! YAY!! Michael also had the day off. Double YAY!!

So this morning we got the house picked up and then Michael took Alli to Incredible Pizza. Thursdays they have double your money on your play. So they went and played for a couple of hours and Alli of course got tickets. With her tickets she got Piper a little stuffed bear. It is really cute because she thinks Piper needs to have it with her at all ti mes.

Allisyn still has major meltdowns at times when it comes to sharing dad. Right now, she is actually okay with Michael holding Piper. But usually it is "I want my dadda back." or "Dadda hold her, Alli. Momma hold Piper." This often times accompanied by throwing herself on the floor and crying hysterically.

We have Allisyn on a waiting list for a Mother's Day Out. She is the first on the list, so hopefully we will get her in soon. I think it would really be good for her.

Well Piper is giving her Dad a rough time....gotta go rescue him!!

3 am

2008-09-17T17:42:00.003-05:00

That is what time my wonderful little Allisyn woke up this morning. Despite the best efforts of rocking and cuddling between me and Michael, she did NOT go back to sleep. That's right. She was awake for 7 hours before we got to church for our Mom's Bible Study. Thankfully she didn't cry too much when I left. I felt really bad for the baby-sitters, but they didn't say she was horrible.

Thankfully she came home and took a 4 hour nap. I seriously would have lost all grasps on sanity if she hadn't.

Pictures

2008-09-16T18:55:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures as promised. I will try to do better about posting them more often. The last 3 were taken Sunday and yesterday. I was a great mom and left my camera at home today when we went to the fair. I've been kicking myself for it ever since Allisyn's priceless expression about the children's zoo.

Wonderful!

2008-09-13T19:23:00.002-05:00

Allisyn can now open the refrigerator by herself. She has been trying for a while now, but today is the first day I have noticed her being able to do it. This is fine when she has a cup of milk waiting on her. Not so fine for just about every other reason she opens the door. I lost count of the number of times I had to get up in the middle of a nursing session to remove her from the fridge. Good times.

Another wonderful point in our day....the mail. Normally not so bad, but today it was awful. I'm getting sued by some guy who I hit in a car accident two years ago. Actually I didn't technically hit him, I pushed the car I hit into him. The damage to his car was very minimal. I was told my insurance agent the only reason he is suing is because his lawyer didn't get everything taken care of within the 2 years allowed by the law. So now I have to try to remember all the details from the accident for the law firm who is representing me through the insurance. Did I mention that I was in my mother-in-law's car? So really it is their insurance. It didn't even total out her car. Anyway I got the forms from the law office today.

We also got the packet from Allisyn's pediadontist for preparation for her oral surgery. We got our medical insurance to cover 80% of the anesthesia (Praise the Lord), but somewhere between our last visit and when these papers were sent out, our responsibility for the procedure jumped form $600 something to $1600 something. Ummmm, HOW???? Needless to say there will be phone calls made to discuss this.

I'll put up some new pictures this week. Sorry I've been slacking on that!

We are HOME!!

2008-09-09T21:44:00.003-05:00

There's nothing like coming home after being away for a few days. We survived our trip home. Our trip there, Piper slept the whole way and Allisyn cried most of the way. She was mad about having to be in her seat. We had to stop along the road to change her diaper. A highway patrol stopped to make sure things were ok. She waited until we were just past the midway McD's to say she needed changed. When we got to my aunts she was so wired she didn't go to sleep until after 2am. It was great.

Saturday was a day spent with Pap-paw at Great Grandpa's. Alli had my dad crawling around and playing "where's pap-paw" with newspapers. Allisyn definitely has her Pap-paw wrapped around her little finger. Of course pap-paw and great grandpa were enamored with Piper. They have this endearing quality of just sitting and staring at their grand daughters when they are infants.

Sunday we had a small shower with family and friends. We got our double stroller!! We put it to use at the Tulsa Zoo yesterday before we went to Michael's parents. It is nice to have! We survived dinner at Michael's parents. They have really cleaned up their house. The changes are like they had been visited by Clean Sweep. Seriously, it was a shocking. I no loner have the excuse of their house is too messy as a reason for us not going over there.

Our trip home started out as unpleasant. Piper screamed until we stopped just before getting on the turnpike. Then screamed all the way to the first stop on the turnpike. She finally fell asleep at that stop and they both slept the rest of the way. Today was spent recuperating. Michael goes back to work tomorrow and I'm sure Allisyn will be upset, but we will get through it.

We are off!

2008-09-05T20:33:00.002-05:00

For the weekend. To see our families. YAY!! Right? We are praying the travelling goes well. Piper does not like the car so we are leaving at night hoping she will sleep.

I should be helping Michael get the car ready.... I'm doing that now.

What was it like?

2008-09-01T10:38:00.002-05:00

To have somewhat normal sleeping habits? I'm not even sure I remember when the last time we had normal sleeping habits. Here lately Allisyn has been waking up every morning with Michael at 5 or so. This morning she was up before him at about 430. Then she will stay up for a while and then go back to sleep. Sometimes sleeping in until 11! Of course naps are just about unheard of and if they do happen, they usually happen later than we want and on our way to somewhere. I'm not the kind of mom who will try to keep her exhausted child awake, and yes we have tried using Benadryl to help her sleep better at night. It doesn't seem to help her much.

Piper, on the other hand, sleeps GREAT! We might have periods of night that she wants to be awake and needs company, but she sleeps in nicely in the mornings.

I know I need to try to get us on a better schedule. But right now Allisyn's sleep patterns are so off and it leaves me so tired it just hasn't happened.

We made it out alive!!

2008-08-29T13:44:00.002-05:00

We did really great at the Omniplex! We started off the morning to a less than wonderful start. Allisyn got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep. She woke up when Michael got up when Michael did and did not get back to sleep. I was working really hard to keep her awake. I went with knowing that we may not last long because she did NOT get much sleep. I almost lost her about the time when we got off the highway, but I pulled her out of her sleepy state by telling her we were going to go play. Piper screamed the whole way there.

Thankfully we got there and Allisyn was wide awake and ready to go play! It was really nice with 3 moms. We had 3 sets of eyes on our three 2-year-olds, and everyone could relate when we had to nurse! It was a good time. Allisyn passed out soon after we left and headed for home. Piper even slept on the way home. It was the most peaceful car ride I've had in a few weeks!

This morning Michael was getting Allisyn dressed so they could go spend the day together. He brings her in some pink capris and needed help trying to find a shirt to go with it. I told him, it wasn't that hard to find a shirt to go with them, but if he brought a few I would help him out. What did he bring? A bright orange shirt with red lettering. A dark brown shirt with blue glitter lettering and a yellow shirt with pink lettering. I gave him a look that must have told him what I was thinking, because his response was "I really don't get it." No Michael, you REALLY don't get it! At least he tries though. He did do her hair on his own! After 2 botched attempts, he got her hair up in a pony tail. I don't think it will last all day since she wouldn't let him put clips in it, but I was impressed!

I'm braving it tomorrow!

2008-08-26T19:34:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow will be my first time out with the girls by myself! Not counting running to the post office to drop my phone off today. Tomorrow we are meeting some friends who also have 2 girls. Their oldest are a few months older than Allisyn and their younger are a few weeks and 2 months older than Piper. We are going to the Omniplex! I'm excited and nervous and flat out scared. Luckily the moms I am meeting can totally relate!

Other news, I got out on my own for the first time tonight. I was gone about 2 hours. Michael and the girls survived. Allisyn had a meltdown and Michael got to experience both girls upset in his arms in the chair. Allisyn ended up falling asleep. She is still asleep at 15 til 8. I just pray that she either stays asleep or if she does wake up, she goes back to sleep when we go to bed. Not holding my breath on it though.

4 years, 2 weeks, and being a big girl

2008-08-22T10:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Michael and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Piper also turned 2 weeks old. We celebrated the day by going to the zoo as a family. Piper slept in the sling the whole time. We still need to get a better one. The one we have offers absolutely no back support, but the good news is she did really well with it!

Allisyn is growing up way to fast. Yesterday she put her sandals on by herself. On the right feet. She didn't have any coaching at all. She put them on then brought Michael his shoes because she wanted to go play outside. Another thing she is doing that momma is just not ready for...riding the carousel at the zoo by herself. Michael said she did it the last time they went together, but I got to see it for the first time yesterday. She does really well. I was surprised the people let her since she doesn't quite make the height requirement, but they encourage her. It really is a precious sight as she tells me every time she comes around that she is on a tiger and dad is on a monkey!

Last night Michael and I got to do something we haven't done in over a year! We got to go see a movie! Allisyn stayed with some friends that we swap baby-sitting with. We took Piper with us. She slept through most of it. For some reason we never tried to see movies when Allisyn was tiny, so we weren't too sure what to expect. We didn't have to leave with her at all! It might be something we try to do more often!

Today is Michael's first day back at work. We had a rough night last night so I hope he has a good day. Luckily for me, it meant we slept in. Michael of course doesn't get that option. His alarm goes off at 515 regardless. So far our day has started out well! Allisyn has had a few moments of wanting dad and not wanting mom to help Piper, but she got over them quickly. Hopefully the rest of the day goes as well!

We survived

2008-08-20T22:39:00.004-05:00

We had pictures done today. It was a great time. Allisyn decided she didn't want anything to do with her sister. We got one picture of them together.

Allisyn was trying to get away and Piper was through with pictures

Our other family shot is in my profile.
Isn't she precious?
Allisyn got to help put the flowers in the basket. It was sweet.
Pretty girl! The poor lady really had to work to get Allisyn to smile.
Beautiful eyes!!

Sweet Allisyn

2008-08-19T18:17:00.002-05:00

Last night Allisyn had me the maddest I have ever been at her. The worst thing about it, I could have prevented it. What did my sweet 2-year-old do? She ruined my laptop. How, you ask. She pulled off over half the keys. A an IT friend said you can get them re-keyed, but it isn't cheap. Which means it will be a while before we get it done because the hospital bills will be rolling in soon. From now on, the laptops get closed if we aren't by them and Allisyn is running around. To top it all off, Michael made her sit on the couch until she apologized to me, and she fell asleep before she apologized. Though it does remind me of some stories about me that my aunt likes to tell me about whenever I mention Allisyn's stubbornness.

Allisyn really is doing great with Piper though! She loves to hold her and kiss her and hug her. She loves getting things for us and to help pick out her clothes for Piper. Allisyn is also really listening to what we say. Today Piper was upset and crying and Alli tells her "I know, Baby. I know." That is what we usually say to Piper when she is in the car seat and fussing about it.

I did find out that I will NOT be going very many places on my own until we go back to Vinita next month. We went to the mall without a double stroller. We are getting one at our shower, and it will be greatly appreciated. Allisyn decided she wanted to ride today, so we carried Piper. She doesn't weigh much of course, but she still gets heavy.

We have an appointment to get pictures made tomorrow. Hopefully it will go well. I will put pictures up tomorrow or the next day if we survive it!

Pictures!

2008-08-15T19:18:00.003-05:00

My brother and SIL getting wrapped around Piper's little finger!
Allisyn loves sharing kisses.
Can we say Proud Big Sister?
Pointing out facial features! Piper really enjoys talking to her big sister.

Life is wonderful

2008-08-13T12:59:00.002-05:00

I'll try to get more pictures up soon, but I'm not sure where my transfer cable is. I could go up and use the card reader on the desktop, but that probably isn't going to happen.

Life really is wonderful. Michael was able to take 2 weeks off which has been great. Allisyn absolutely loves Piper. We hear "Baby's cute," about 20 times an hour. She loves helping out. She gets diapers and wipes, even when we don't need them! She loves sharing kisses with and holding Piper.

Our biggest jealousy issue is.....Daddy. She thinks momma is supposed to take care of the baby and Daddy is here for Allisyn. She has a few meltdowns daily, but she gets over them quickly. Thankfully she does not get upset with Piper, she gets upset with us.

Piper is doing great! She had her first check up Monday and is already putting her weight back on. Her pediatrician said they are usually bottoming out at that time. She thought Piper would be back to birth weight by the end of the week. We also learned that the hospital mismeasured Piper. They told us 19 1/2 inches. Her nurse got 20 1/2 and when we questioned it she measured her 2 more times and got 20 3/4 inches! We think an 1 1/4 inches is a bit impossible in 4 days!! I was pretty sure by comparing movements that she would be at least as long as Allisyn, and I was right. Now, her favorite position is bunched up in a little ball. She isn't a big fan of being laid down or the car seat, just like her sister!! Sooo I really need to find a good sling carrier...if anyone has any recommendations they would be appreciated.

My biggest concern is when I will have to take them out somewhere by myself, but I have a while before I have to tackle that task. I just want to say thank you again to my wonderful brother and sister-in-law for helping us out with Allisyn.

Well, my littlest cuddle bug is requesting my full attention. More pictures to come soon.

Pictures of Piper!!!

2008-08-08T19:40:00.003-05:00

Just a note that I am usually the picture taker, so there are some family pictures on Rachel's camera. Hopefully I can get them and share them soon!

So I guess all I needed to do is blog! Thursday morning at 2 am I woke to a horrible contraction, got up went to the bathroom, and my water broke. I woke up Michael, called my wonderful brother and sister-in-law. Took a quick shower and BAM! The contractions really started coming quickly. We quickly realized that Dustin and Rachel were not going to make it time. So we tried calling our backup person. Thankfully, she didn't answer and we just took off with Allisyn. I was really thinking we might deliver Piper in the car!

We got to the hospital they got me a wheelchair and took me straight to the trauma room. As soon as I was on the table, the nurse checked me and was yelling for help and wheeling me to the delivery room! Thankfully my OB was on call and at the hospital and made it in time. Allisyn was there for the whole thing. She was in her daddy's arms up by my head and got to watch her sister come into the world. The look on her face was priceless. From water break to delivery was about 100 minutes! It was very intense and scary at times, but everything when smoothly considering!

She arrived at 341 am. She was 7 lbs 11 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. She looks a lot like Allisyn, but she has more hair and it is darker. She is absolutely precious! Allisyn is doing pretty well with her. She is more than ok with Piper being with mom, but she is not thrilled when she has to share daddy. We should get to go home tomorrow morning. Staying in the hospital for 48 hours has been less than fun.

Still nothing...

2008-08-06T21:02:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess I shouldn't say nothing. I guess nothing productive would be the right thing to say. I have been having contractions, very painful contractions for the past 4-5 days. Usually at night. Right when they start getting regular and I start counting them...they stop. Today has by far been the worst and I have been kicking myself for declining my OB's offer for an induction today. I have been irritable and cranky and haven't wanted to spill all that fun over into my blog, so I will leave you with the update of still nothing.....

Still here...

2008-08-02T15:03:00.002-05:00

and waiting. As of my appointment yesterday, there was no progress. Nothing. All the walking, and pressure points, and other things we tried brought no change. My OB wouldn't even give me a 3. She still said 2 1/2. I know that it doesn't really mean anything that things will happen when they happen, but I'm getting very impatient. I am so uncomfortable and just want to be able to sit normally again!!

Anyway, moving on. Allisyn has been wonderful. She is doing really well about not needing to be held all the time. I think having the furniture in Piper's room is helping her understand that we are going to have a baby here soon. She can say Piper pretty well! When she wants to! She is learning so much everyday. Michael taught her to say "Silly Daddy," the other day. So now she says "Silly Momma," or whatever pet she is talking to. It is cute, but can get annoying after the 15th or 20th time.

Well, right now she is having a meltdown because she wants to "go," but we don't have a place or a reason to "go." Hopefully I can distract her with something else!!

How??

2008-07-30T12:59:00.003-05:00

How do you keep a 96 pound black lab "quiet" for a month? No, seriously. I need to know. Our big boy is supposed to be taking it easy to help what we think is cruciate injury. The vet couldn't be for sure because he was not letting her check real easily. So right now we are supposed to be keeping him off of it for a month to see if it starts to get better on its own. If not, he gets sedated and he gets x-rays and then depending on the results, possibly surgery. Unfortunately, he does not like to cooperate with the taking it easy part of this deal. They spend most of their time inside, but as soon as he goes out he runs around like the nut that he is. And yes, we know he is over weight. I have known this for awhile, but Michael hates to hear it. We are working on that...kind of.

Nothing....

2008-07-26T11:49:00.002-05:00

so far no more activity. I'm extremely disappointed, but my OB said I could go any time!! But she also said I could hold out the next 2 weeks. I think the not knowing after the false alarm is what is driving me nuts. I was sure I was in labor last time. False labor should not be allowed to hurt that bad.

On a brighter note.... We FINALLY got Piper's furniture today!! Well, we actually took the stuff on the floor and got a 10% discount! We put that towards ordering the rails for when the bed gets made into full size! Right now the furniture is sitting in the back of the truck waiting for someone to call us back about helping Michael move it in. I offered to help in hopes that it might jump start something, but I was shot down. Can't figure out why...

Anyway, I'll take some pictures later when we get the furniture in and set up in the room! I am so relieved to finally have it here! Well, I'm off to find some sort of nesting to do!