A princess and two small kings

Happy birthday Blake!

2009-08-04T21:54:00.003-05:00

Of course it was actually yesterday and I'll have pics soon!

Gonna give it another go....

2009-06-24T13:42:00.003-05:00

blogging that is! lol I'm hoping that Blogger won't be a pain now and I can keep this updated more frequently.

Things have been hot around here! Like 101 during the day hot! So, the kids and I have been indoors quite a bit. We got back from NC last week and I still haven't unpacked. Guess I should do that at some point. Haley and I went to Ikea yesterday and got Blake a big boy bed to match Eli's. We are trying to put them in the same room. We'll see how that goes!

Other than that, not too much going on. If you want to see some of the NC pics, go to my Flickr page. Haley's birthday's this weekend, so keep an eye out for more pictures soon! :)

One day this will be updated

2009-04-05T13:35:00.003-05:00

or moved to another site. I've tried over the past month to update it and it messes up my pictures EVERYTIME. I'm working on getting a website set up that's just might make it easier. Until then, I'll try to update my Flickr page. BUT my laptop crashed on Thursday, so I have no access to pictures until we figure out what's going on with it. Hopefully we'll know something soon!

Cancun Pictures

2009-01-24T13:15:00.001-06:00

Here's the link to our pictures. It was a wonderful vacation and we can't wait to go back with the kids one day!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amathews99/sets/72157612893510159/

We're in Cancun!! ;)

2009-01-20T08:35:00.003-06:00

Well, I thought since we were in Cancun, that it would be easiest to post from here instead of waiting until we are home. I thinking I shouldn’t post after drinking a huge margarita though. Probably not a good idea, right? LOL

Anyway, we got here Saturday and fell in love with the place! OMG, it’s AWESOME!!! Our suite is on the first floor which we didn’t think we wanted, but really it’s the best. We can walk right to the pool from the patio if we want. If not, we have about a 45 second walk to the pool! We can see the ocean from our patio. Not the most awesome view, but hey, WE CAN SEE THE OCEAN!!! ;)

The first day, Saturday/Sunday we spent by the pool. They have happy hour from 3-6 with ½ price drinks and the most awesome salsa and chips! Really good chicken quesadillas too. It’s the bar by the pool and ocean. So sweet!

Today, Monday, we went to Chichen-Itza, a Mayan ruin. It was really, really neat. Our guide had a PH.D in Pre-Columbian history, so he wanted it to be an academic tour. Lots of history and information. He won me over by first referring to me as "the young one" when asking me to read something. (Of course, there was only one person younger, a kid ;) ) and gesturing towards me when he referred to college kids! LOL Of course, he gestured towards James when he talked about the guns and hunting he (the guide) did. That is really funny! :)

Tomorrow is a day of our favorite pleasures. James is playing golf at a local golf course and I’m getting a massage! LOL Wednesday we are going snorkeling where I get to use my underwater camera! Yeah! We are actually going to try to get a earlier flight home on Thursday, because even in the midst of all this fun, we really miss our babies.

I will say, that I think my favorite part of this the ocean itself. I can’t explain it, I just love, love, love it. I mean, I feel home when I’m in the ocean. I love the waves crashing over me, the salt on my lips. It’s just amazing. Plus the ocean here is AMAZINGLY beautiful, so that helps! ;)

Anyway, I’ll try to post again soon.

Ok, well I'm sitting in the lobby, the only place that has Wifi, but can not get my pictures to upload for some reason. So, I guess those will have to wait. Hopefully I can get them up soon.

Dancing Blakey!

2009-01-10T11:42:00.001-06:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

I'll blog about Christmas later

2008-12-28T21:55:00.005-06:00

but for now, here's a couple of pics for you! :)

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-23T12:46:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Light The Night 10-19-08

2008-11-09T20:19:00.005-06:00

Still playing catch up here. First, a big thank you to those who donated to Haley and her Pep Squad for their Light The Night walk. Haley had a great time cheering before the walk started and then walking the 2 miles! She wanted to walk the whole way and did! :) Here's a few pictures from that night!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T10:39:00.004-05:00

For some reason, I'm having a really hard time getting pics to upload correctly on Blogger. So, you'll just have to click the link to see the pics from Halloween last night! :) I have more to add soon of the rest of our lives!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amathews99/sets/72157608558881484/

Playing Catch Up!

2008-10-31T21:44:00.001-05:00

I've fallen behind, so I'll be playing catch up this weekend. Keep checking back! :)

Haley saying her Alphabet Bible verses

2008-10-12T14:15:00.004-05:00

Haley has to learn a Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet for school. He's up to letter G! :)

Haley's first Pep Squad performance

2008-10-12T13:31:00.004-05:00

Haley had her first pep squad performance yesterday at the Fallfest. She had a great time, although I've learned I must invest in a fake hair piece for her hair! She's suppose to wear her hair in a ponytail with tight curls. Yea, Haley's hair does NOT hold curl at all. So, we had a stressful moring of trying to get her hair done. But all in all, it worked out and she had a great time. They only did three cheers. My video camera stopped working for some reason, so I don't know what I got recorded. I'll check it later. Until then, here's some pics I snapped.

Warming up before she goes on.

I think she looks just like Blake here! :)

Haley's first report card!!

2008-10-09T22:45:00.001-05:00

We are quite proud. On top of her good grades, she has had to memorize Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet every week. She's up to letter H next week. I'll get it on video this weekend. ;)

Art - 100
Behavior - E (Excellent)
Bible - 100 (A+)
Computer - A+
Library - 97 (A+)
Math - E
Music - A+
P.E. - A+
Penmanship - E
Phonics/Reading - E
Spanich - 99 (A+)

More cuteness!!

2008-10-02T20:14:00.005-05:00

Blake loves to say "Thank you!" He randomly hands you whatever he can, just so he can say, "Thank you!" It's cute! Well, I was at the computer and the boys were bringing me the bottles of Gatorade. Apparently I was not suppose to get up during this game, as I found out the hard way! :D

Some Blakey cuteness!

2008-10-02T20:01:00.003-05:00

This is a couple of weeks ago. He's quite the little dancer! :D

Eli and Blake are so cute together

2008-10-02T13:05:00.003-05:00

I have to say that I think Haley being at school all day has really done wonders for Eli and Blake's relationship. They both miss her and Eli asks about her all the time. But it's so fun to see how they interact with each other without big sister around. Eli's become a real big brother. He's always telling me when Blake's crying (because, of course, I can't actually hear it myself! ;) or when Blake's doing something he shouldn't. Blake lights up when he sees Eli. He loves it when he wakes up from his nap and it's time to go get Eli. He runs down to his door.

This past week has not been fun here. Everyone's had a tummy bug. Blake's still not well. Today, they were eating lunch and I was on the computer (it's on the other side of the kitchen, so I can see them). Suddenly, Eli comes running over and says, "Mommy! Blake make mess!" I go look, yep, Blake had thrown up all over his tray. :( Eli was very concerned and tried to help his brother.

Right now, they are both sleeping peacefully. Hopefully they will be feeling better soon!

Museum funny

2008-09-24T21:12:00.004-05:00

These are from the museum today. Watch Blake in each picture! I put them together so they are like a movie. I guess he was hot and the floor felt really good because he laid there until I picked him up! :D

Airplane Museum

2008-09-24T20:55:00.004-05:00

Today, while Haley was slaving away at school, I took the boys and met some friends at a war plane museum. It was fun, hot, but fun. Eli enjoyed looking at the planes. It's so funny because there were 7 kids total (4 moms), ALL boys! Eli is one of the big boys now, since Nicolas, Blake and Dylan have come along! :) He's hanging with the 4 year olds!

Anyway, here's some pics!

This picture cracks me up! Eli's not use to saying "cheese" for the camera, but he was trying so hard to be a "big boy" and did everything the older boys did. So, here's his "cheese" face!

New pics

2008-08-29T08:46:00.002-05:00

But I didn't take them! ;) We met a wonderful photographer, Chera, for family pics. When I say family pics, I mean, what we can get with Eli sort of looking before he whines and runs off to chase a cat.

Anyway, here's the link! Enjoy! ;)

http://www.chera25.com/galleries/81708Amy/

And so, school's over for today...

2008-08-25T16:00:00.005-05:00

I woke up Eli at 2:20 to get ready to head up to pick up Haley. He was so excited. I think he missed her a lot. We get there and wait about 15 minutes in the carpool lane. Eli wanted to go play with the big kids on the playground! :D

Finally, she came out, looking nothing like she did when she went in! :D Not that I'm surprised. I asked her how it was and she said great. I asked if she loved it and she said, "I like it, I don't love it." "Why, don't you love it?" "No, Mom, did YOU LOVE school?" Touche, Haley, touche. I asked her favorite part, "Eating!" Then recess and her least favorite was having to take a rest (they put their heads on their desks.)

So, she's home now and seems pretty happy. Hopefully we will get to bed early and do it all over again tomorrow! (With Blake and Eli heading to school as well!)

Here's some pics!

Heading to school

Totally memorized....

By older kids! :D

Here's Blake!

Joe Cool showed up! ;)

Here she comes!! Notice the ponytail is gone and the socks are pushed down! ;)

Back home, lecturing Eli!

Big first day!!

2008-08-25T09:01:00.002-05:00

Kindergarten is here!! Haley is at school right now. It's hard to believe that my first baby is in kindergarten. I'm a little sad, but no tears shed, actually. I'm so proud of her and she's so excited. I can't wait to pick her up and hear about her day! :D

Eating breakfast! Mommy made yummy whole wheat waffles and fruit salad with a yogurt smoothie to drink!

Ready for her day!! She looks so big!

Her super cool backpack that I love! ;)

Waiting in the gym. They have us drop them off there, then their teacher comes to pick them up. I'll have to get pictures of her at her desk another time.

Checking out the other kids

Ok, you can go now Mom, that's enough pictures! :D

Week of changes for us

2008-08-20T20:50:00.002-05:00

I posted about all the changes that Blake's going through right now in my previous post. But this next week will be a week of changes, adventures and first in the our house, starting tomrrow night.

Haley has meet the teacher tomorrow night for Kindergarten. I can't believe it. It seems like this summer has flown by! Most likely it'll just be me taking her up there since Eli will not be the most compliant child in this situation.

Then Friday, James is heading to San Antonio and taking Eli with him! While it's not Eli's first time on a plane, he hasn't been since he was 9 months old. But it's Papa Perry's birthday party and James wanted to be there. We would all go, but with Haley starting school on Monday, I didn't want her to be tired, having just traveled. So, James decided to take Eli down for the weekend. I think it'll be good for them to spend some time together.

Then on Monday, it's the big day, Kindergarten!!!!! She has to be there at 8:20. We've already picked out her outfit and she's very excited. I am too, I know she will love it. It will be odd though only having Blake and Eli during the day.

Which brings me to another first/change. Tuesday is the boys (yes both boys!) first day of MDO!! Eli went to MDO last year, but he and Blake are both going to be at the school where Haley's in kinder. It's going to be an adjustment, especially for Blake. I am still breastfeeding him and he's never been with anyone else really. But I think it'll be good for him and for me.

The last new thing to round out our week will be next Thursday. Haley starts cheerleading. She's so excited about it and I know she will love it. I can't wait to see her learning her routines and in her cute outfit.

Oh, and the week after will be our last adjustment for a while (I hope). Ms. Katie, Eli's speech theropist for the past year, is taking her maternity leave at the end of August. So, we'll be assigned a new theropist. I'm quite sad about it because we LOVE Ms. Katie, but I'm so happy for her and can't wait to hear about her baby!!

Hmm... I think that's all that's going on! :D I'll post pictures after the meet the teacher tomorrow night! :)

Big day for Blake

2008-08-20T20:43:00.002-05:00

Today was a big day for Blake. Not because of anything we did, but because of all the things he did! First, he started his day by saying, "Dank doo!" when I handed him his sippy cup this morning. I thought, "I must not have heard him right." Well, about 25 "Dank doo's" later, and I'm sure he's actually saying "Thank you!!" :D He actually says it when he gives you something too. So, we spent about 20 minutes earlier going back and forth with a toy, "Dank doo! Dank doo!!" It's really cute! <3

In addition to "Dank doo", he also said, "Edy, et, DOU!!" (Ready, set, go!) several times today! I was floored. I called my friend Shannon to verify that I was hearing correctly. I would say, "Ready" and pause and he'd say "Edy!" "Set!" Sometimes he'd say "Et" and sometimes he'd just say "Dou!"

And his favorite word he's been saying for a few weeks, "NO!!" He said it to Haley this morning when she tried to take a toy from him. He kicked his feet at her and yelled, "NO!!!!" :D

But I guess talking in sentences in one day wasn't enough for my little over-acheiver because tonight, as James and I sat about 6 feet apart, he spent 30 minutes walking back and forth between us!! Yep, he's almost a full-fledged toddler now! :( I tried to get some video, but he was getting tired, so it didn't work out. I'll have to try again tomorrow!!

I went out last night

2008-08-16T10:51:00.002-05:00

with some friends for dinner. I did try to put Blake to bed before I left, but he didn't want to go. So I called on the way home to see how James did. He said Blake was asleep. I asked if he cried much and he said, "You'll see when you get home." Well, when I got home, I saw this:

James said that he, Richard, Haley and Blake were in the living room and Blake was playing one minute, then really quiet. He just laid down and went to sleep!! :D

A few from this morning

2008-08-16T10:48:00.003-05:00

Today is a lazy day here. We are all still in PJ's (except Blake because he got them dirty, so he's in a diaper!). Haley put a Barbie movie on and she and Eli were watching it on the ottoman together! I decided to stick Blake up there and they were so cute watching TV together that I had to snap some pics. Just ignore the blank TV stares! And the fact that Blake is filthy. He ate a fruit leather for breakfast and got it all over him and all in his hair!

Eli sharing his bear with Blake! :)

Bathtime fun

2008-08-13T23:04:00.002-05:00

Here's some pics of the kids in the bath tonight! Enjoy! :)

Haley and Eli

2008-08-02T22:06:00.002-05:00

Here's a couple of cute pics of Haley and Eli too. I got brave and cut Haley's bangs today myself. Don't think it looks too bad. She has a cowlick on her right side, so it looks a little shorter. ;) And Eli, well, he decided that his orange shirt, and red boxer briefs needed a little something, his Thomas slippers and Batman hat, of course! Ha!

Blake's almost 1!

2008-08-02T21:48:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it! It didn't really affect me when Haley or Eli turned 1, because I knew they weren't my last babies. But now, the age of the "zeros" as Haley refers to his age now, is almost over. Tomorrow, he will be a 1 year old. This is sad enough, but to top it off, he's sick. He started running a fever on Thursday afternoon of 102.8. I took him to the doctor on Friday and they think he has a virus. We were suppose to have his party tonight, but had to cancel it. We were also suppose to take pictures tomorrow, but had to postpone that as well. I'm hoping he wakes up happy and ready to go tomorrow and we can have a fun day!

Here's a few pics of his last day as "zero". :)

Just because....

2008-07-25T23:08:00.001-05:00

Arrr Matey...

2008-07-24T12:55:00.002-05:00

Today was "dress like a pirate" day at VBS!! Jared and Alayna didn't want to dress up, but Haley was all over it! :)

Hmmm... I think it's time to get the bangs trimmed! :D

And this is why...

2008-07-23T20:51:00.003-05:00

we don't have much video of Eli to post on here!! (or even pictures for that matter! :) )

VBS - Wacky Wednesday

2008-07-23T20:35:00.002-05:00

Haley is going to VBS this week at the church where she'll be going to school. I'm excited that she's going and is getting use to the place. Plus, she's going with Alayna, her BFF, so that makes it extra fun.

I've been picking up Alayna and her big brother Jared in the morning to take them to VBS and their mom, Anj brings Haley home for me in the afternoon. Today was Wacky Wednesday. They got to dress totally wacky! Here's the crew in all their wackiness! :)

Don't they look thrilled! ;)

BFF's :) We also found out this week that Haley and Alayna are going to be in the same class for kindergarten!! Yay!

And Jared, not because he's wacky, but because he's cute! :)

Haley and Blake

2008-07-21T22:13:00.004-05:00

This is from this afternoon. Eli was napping, so I'll have to catch him later. It's a little long, but too cute not to share! :)

More pool fun!

2008-07-21T21:23:00.003-05:00

Here's a few more pool pictures from this weekend. The water was a little cloudy, so it was harder to get underwater pics. For those who don't know, the other kids are my niece and nephew.

Here's the kids swimming! Eli looks like he's about to drown, but he actually does really well.

Here's Grace underwater:

Haley and Gracie:

Haley jumping in. She won't do it without holding her nose. Just like her Mama! ;)

Haley and Gracie taking a "dive".

Haley underwater:

Blake must have seen something really interesting on the other side of the pool! :)

Here's Daniel and a scary Richard in the background

Eli practicing his swimming.

Eli loves to jump in too! He has no fear.

Grace and Eli were playing this game where Grace would ask for a hug and Eli would say no and try to get away. It's a game Eli plays with everyone, both in and out of the pool! :D

Pool day!!

2008-07-12T20:57:00.006-05:00

I got another new toy!! :) A lot of moms I *know* from a mom's board got a super new camera. It's an Olympus point and shoot, small, fits in my pocket and purse very easily. I know what you're thinking, "So what?" Well, this camera is WATERPROOF!!! :D It looks like a regular camera and takes great pictures outside of the water too. But I can fully submerge it and take pictures of the kids. Plus it's shock proof up to 5 feet, so it's great to have around the kids. I still love my dSLR, but this is a lot of fun!!

So, we loaded up the kids this afternoon and here's the pics! They are pretty Blake heavy because Haley and Eli were too busy swimming! :)

Haley singing

2008-07-11T22:29:00.002-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This turns sideways half way through, sorry! But this is just too cute! :)

Haley's Dance Recital 2008

2008-07-09T21:25:00.002-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Yay! I'm so excited that I got this actually edited out of the original full video and I'm able to post her part on here!!! The copyright for this video belongs to Leak Productions. They didn't let us video the recital ourselves, but here's Haley's part of the professional video! :)

Happy 4th!!

2008-07-04T23:05:00.003-05:00

We didn't do anything exciting here. Haley did go with Richard and Deline and the kids to the Sachse parade. She, Daniel and Gracie rode their bikes in it. I'll have to post pictures when I get them from Deline. After the boys had their naps, we went to Toys R Us so Haley could use her gift card from Granddaddy and Grammie for her birthday. She picked out a Wii game. We picked up Pei Wei on the way home for dinner, then kept the kids up so we could go watch the fireworks. It worked out great. We parked in the middle median of a road overlooking the mall basically. We had a perfect view of about 6 different cities fireworks! And it only took us about 5 minutes to get home! Big plus! ;)

Anyway, here's some pics!! :D

Here's what Blake thought of the fireworks! :)

Baby-wearing contest

2008-07-02T19:19:00.001-05:00

I entered this contest and if I put the link on my blog, I got an extra entry! ;) So, here ya go! :)

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Random pictures from the past few weeks

2008-07-02T13:37:00.003-05:00

I keep taking pictures and thinking, "I can't wait to put these on the blog!" But, alas, life gets in the way and they never seem to make it. So here's a couple of pictures from the past few weeks. We took the kids to the Children's Museum in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, so most are from that. Eli also helped Daddy mow the front yard the other day! ;) And, you will get a glimpse into Haley's future! :)

Here's Haley's future: She'll be doing homework, while Eli's gets to play! :D

Happy Birthday Haley!!

2008-06-29T10:12:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Haley's 5th Birthday!! She said that she's never been so excited for a birthday before. All day, she just couldn't believe it was her birthday!! After breakfast, Nanny took her and Gracie to the mall to do some shopping. Then we met up at Libby Lu, where Haley, Grace, Alayna, Alyssa, and Ashlyn all got made over. The girls had a blast and Haley totally felt like a princess.

After the makeovers, we headed over to "The Cookie Store" (aka, The Nestle Tollhouse Cafe) and picked up the cookie cake. Haley opened her presents, which she loved all of them very much. We headed home, where Nanny and Papa Perry took Haley and Eli swimming. After that, Haley went down to Grace and Daniel's for dinner (James and I stayed at home with the boys. We are having our shower retiled, so one of us needed to be home all day), where she spent the night. I stil haven't seen her today! ;)

All in all, it was a wonderful day. James and I can't believe she's 5 already. The time has flown by. We love what a wonderful, caring, sweet, independent, fiesty young lady she's becoming. We continue to pray that God blesses her and she follows His will for her life. We love you, Haley!!!

The "before" pic

Picking out her hair style

Ashlyn watching what they were doing to Haley, very closely! :)

Alyssa waiting her turn

Ashlyn patiently waiting her turn.

Alyssa getting pretty!

Alayna

Haley's "after"!

Ashlyn still waiting! (Bless her heart, they did her last!)

Checking out her nails!

Alayna looking pretty!

Gracie

Ashlyn finally is finished. ;)

Blake's way of winding down for a nap!

2008-06-14T21:58:00.002-05:00

Blake is a horrible napper. He isn't on any sort of schedule, no matter how hard I try! I tried to get him down for a nap earlier this morning, but it was a no go. So, around 11:15, I put him in his highchair for lunch. It got quiet after a few minutes and this is what I found! :D

Visit from Grandma and Granddaddy

2008-06-14T21:11:00.003-05:00

My mom and dad were able to come for a quick visit this past week. They drove in on Sunday around noon and left Thursday morning. It was nice to have them here. Of course, Haley was in heaven, but Eli is starting to realize that people are fun too!

Haley got her early birthday present, a new bike. Eli got a couple of new Thomas trains and a bubble mower and Blake got some neat books and toys and a baby pool just for him. James and I even got to go out for a date! We went to see Iron Man. (Totally AWESOME movie!! Of course, I came home in love with Robert Downey Jr., but who can blame me! ;) )

Then Thursday came and it was time for them to leave. That's always a sad day. As the kids get older, they realize that none of their grandparents live close by. But, they adjust pretty well. It makes the time we spend together more precious.

Here's a few pictures from that week.

Busy week part II

2008-06-08T21:01:00.003-05:00

As I said a couple of post ago (before Blake got sick!), the past few weeks were crazy! Haley graduated pre-K on the 27th, then had her ballet recital rehersal on the 28th. Thankfully it went pretty quickly, so we were out of there in about an hour. Here's a few pics from that! Sorry they aren't the best quality, I didn't want to use the flash and distract the girls!

Then Friday night, the 30th was her recital. She had to be there at 5:00pm for a 6:30 recital. I thought that was a little crazy, personally. I had to have her eat something, dress her, do her hair and make-up all at 4:00pm (after having a root canal that moring, I might add!) Then take her, with the boys, up there and drop her off. I came home and my friend Sabrina came over to watch Eli and Blake for us. We got to the recital around 6:50 and were still about 6 or 7 acts before Haley.

But it was worth the wait. She knew only the first line to the song, but they were the only group that SANG as loud as they could! It was all over the place craziness that makes dance recitals so adorable!! :) We weren't allowed to take pictures or video, but there is a video coming that I'll have to see about uploading. Here's a couple of pictures from afterwards though.

With her flowers from Daddy! ;)

Hand, Foot and Mouth

2008-06-07T13:03:00.004-05:00

Poor Blake! He was totally fine yesterday, although I did notice he didn't each much dinner (for him, he loves to eat!). He woke up around 4:30 this morning and I fed him. He went back to sleep, he seemed fine. A little congested, but seemed ok. He woke back up at 8 this morning and as soon as I picked him up, I knew. I took his temp and he was 103.5. So I called the doctor and got him in this morning. I had given him Motrin, but his fever was still 102.9
at the doctors. She checked him out and he has a few blisters in the back of his throat! Nothing on his hands or feet yet. They gave him a little Tylenol and it's kicked in now and he seems to be doing better. Poor guy though! He can't seem to catch a break!

Busy time of the year

2008-06-04T13:09:00.005-05:00

School's over and Summer is here! Yeah? Some days I'm happy that we can move at a slower pace and not have everything so scheduled. Then there are days the kids are driving me nuts and I'm counting down until Fall!!

Haley had her Pre-K graduation on May 27th. She's officially a kindergartener now!! :D

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance:

This is Haley's future husband, Mason! ;)

My big kindergartener!!! :D

Haley's new toys!

2008-05-26T19:18:00.003-05:00

After much promising and practice, the time finally came this weekend for Haley to get what she's been asking for.... her own set of golf clubs! :)

We all loaded up and went to the PGA Superstore where she picked out a pink and blue set. James wanted her to go for the red/blue, gree/blue or yellow/blue combos so Eli could use them one day too, but she wouldn't hear of it! (Plus Eli swings the clubs we have now left-handed, so he might golf that way anyway)

She's in heaven and was out today practicing by herself! :D

Here's what Eli thought! ;)

Day at the lake

2008-05-25T21:00:00.010-05:00

We went to the lake yesterday with James' family. They rent a cabin at least once a summer and we go up and spend the day with them. I'm sure when the kids are older we will spend the night once, but for now, a day is about all I can take.

But the kids have fun, especially Haley. We got there and I got everyone in their swimsuits and went to change into mine. When I came back from the bathroom, James and Haley, my bil, niece and nephew, and Nanny and Papa Perry were all in the lake. I looked around and asked, "Where's Eli?" Then I hear, "Hi Mom-mom!" and see Eli standing in the door of the cabin. I asked, "Don't you want to go into the water?" "NO!!!" "Come on, Eli, it'll be fun!! Daddy's in there and Haley!" "NO!!!! I DON'T WANT IT!!!!" So, here's how Eli spent the first few hours at the lake!

We spent the next few hours eating hot dogs, hamburgers, brownies and smores, watching the kids run and play, catching up with each other and loving the kids. It was a nice time. Blake did really well. Thankfully I had the bright idea while at Target to pick up a cheap $30 3 man tent. We pitched it under a huge tree and put his toys in there. We took off the "hood" but it still had netting. We zipped him in, but were able to keep an eye on him. Eventually, Nanny stripped him down and he LOVED that! I guess he liked to feel the "cool breeze". ;) Then I layed down in the tent and nursed him and he took a little nap. Sweet boy!

Eventually, I actually got hot enough to venture out into the lake. Oddly enough, I can swim in the ocean all day, but I really don't like to go into lakes. Something about it oogs me out. So, when I say I went in, I mean up to my knees! ;) It was at this point that Eli decided it was safe enough to come in. Maybe he is just like me! Once he was in, of course, he loved it.

All in all it was a great day. We were there for about 5 hours and would have stayed longer but the boys were loosing it quickly. Here's a few pictures from our day!

Haley and Daddy

Haley and Daniel

Gracie and Nanny

Eli and Daddy, finally happy in the water!

Blake

Getting tired now!! (little nature boy!)

Sweet, sleepy boy!

Why did you leave me in a tent!!

Ok, I'll pick you up!!!

Eli chasing after Haley and Gracie and the kite

And for my friend Shannon! :D

Sorry, the pictures are small! I uploaded them as "small" thinking they wouldn't be so huge when you click on them. But I think they just made them small in the blog.

Wii Fit!!!

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

We pre-ordered this new Wii exercise "game" and it came yesterday. I was so excited. So was Haley! ;) She loves the W.I.I. as she calls it. We got it set up last night and soon we were exercising away! James really likes the ski jump and Haley loves the running. I did a little of everything today. The hula hoops are fun and man, they work your legs and abs. Considering I hate all forms of exercise, I'm pretty happy with this so far! Now, if I start dropping the pounds, I'll be really pleased.

But, doing the Wii for 30 minutes and following it with a handful of M&M's might not be the best idea, eh?

I hate the dentist!!!

2008-05-21T17:55:00.003-05:00

I know and have known for a while I needed work done. But I kept getting pregnant! Then, I had little babies to take care of. Eventually, of course, I couldn't stand the pain any longer and gave in. I went to the dentist.

I'll leave out the details of the amount of work that needs to be done. The biggest is I need 2 root canals for sure, possibly 3. :(
I came home and found a dental discount plan that the dentist was on. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a discount, but better than it was.

I headed there today. I had to talk myself into it. I had my iPod loaded with songs and a book (which is a great is idea by the way). I spend 2 hours on my back being drilled and poked and prodded with my eyes closed. Everytime I opened my eyes, I saw one of the tools, freaked me out. At the end, I was told, "Oh, we weren't able to finish. One of your root canals is an S shape, so you'll have to go to an endodontist!" :( So, I have to go and sit through it all again!!! I want to cry!!!

Sick, sick, sick!

2008-05-18T21:07:00.004-05:00

Uggh!!! We feel terrible here! James came home from golf Saturday morning saying his back hurt. We didn't think too much about it, since his back has been bothering him for a couple of weeks. We loaded up the kids and went to a friends house for a barbeque that afternoon. Once we left there, James started feeling really bad. That night, he had a fever of 101. I got the boys to bed and took Haley out for a Mommy/Daughter time. (we went and got pedicures :) ) When we got home, James was still feeling bad.

This morning, he woke up with his throat hurting and I had a terrible headache. It lasted all day and tonight, James' fever is back up. My headache is a little better, but my throat is starting to hurt! Great! So far, the kids seem fine. Haley's already on antibiotics for a sinus infection, so maybe she'll be spared. If my throat hurts in the morning, I'm headed in for a strep test. Poor us! It's bad when your kids are sick, but worse when you are! :(

Blake's surgery

2008-05-13T15:44:00.003-05:00

Blake went in this morning to have his tubes put in his ears and his tongue clipped (the little piece under his tongue was too far forward). He did great. His only issue was the fact that I couldn't nurse him. I woke up at 3:30am to feed him because the latest he could eat was 4:00am. We got there at 7:00am and they took him back at 8:10. The doctor came to tell me they were done at 8:23!

After a few minutes of listening to another little boy crying, I heard Blake's cry. Then they came in to get me. They said he came out of the OR already waking up and MAD!!! :D Actually, he was really hungry. As soon as I sat down, he started eating and ate for 20 minutes straight! He was still cranky and groggy, but we got the ok to go home. The doctor said she got a lot of fluid and infection out of both ears. Poor baby!

When we got home, he sat up with me and James for a bit, then went down for a 2 1/2 hour nap. He's almost back to his old self now, just still a bit clingy. He's napping now and hopefully we will start to see a "new" baby soon!

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes!

First water play time of the summer!

2008-05-10T20:44:00.008-05:00

It was hot today. I don't know exactly how hot. I think like 90 something. So we decided to let the kids play in their pool outside. Of course, we live in a neighborhood with 6 pools, but we were too lazy to take them to one of those. Plus, they honestly don't care! Haley declared this her "best day EVER!!!" after playing. So, we'll stick with the cheap Wal-Mart pool for now. James did put it at the end of the slide, so they were having a blast sliding down into the water. Blake didn't get to go in though. He's not feeling well as it is and the kids were going crazy playing, so he watched from afar!

Here's a few pictures! :D

Then tonight we were in the back part of the lot, where we actually have trees and I snapped a couple of pictures. This was the best of that bunch. (Eli would not sit still and Blake was asleep already)

What's this.........an update?

2008-05-09T20:46:00.007-05:00

I know! It can't be, right?

Don't rush off to the eye doctor just yet, I am posting a new blog entry!!! Sorry I've been so off lately. Things have been a little crazy in Casa de Mathews. But here's a brief update on the kids and how life is treating us!

Haley is doing great. She's growing like crazy. I swear she shot up a foot in the last month alone. She's getting very excited for summer. Because we all know that summer not only means her birthday (the big number 5!!)and trips to the pool. But, more importantly, it's her last summer before KINDERGARTEN!!!! I don't think I've seen a child more excited about going to school. She's already quite good at math and sounding out words.

She loves her little brothers. She says she loves them equally, but I think she's partical to Blake. Of course, she thought Eli was the best thing since sliced bread until he turned 1! So, I guess Blake's got a good 3 months left to stay on the "good boy" list! She is a big helper for mommy, most of the time. Her new favorite phrase to say is "I have to do EVERYTHING in this house!!!" I don't know where she got that one from! ;)

Eli is doing wonderfully. His speech has improved so much these last few months. He had his second set of tubes put in at the end of November. We are still working with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) on a weekly basis. We love our teacher, Ms. Katie! His newest phrase is "I luuu you, Mom-Mom!!" :D He'll add whose ever name at the end he needs to.

His favorite pass time is to follow Haley around and do whatever she's doing. He LOVES her so much. He gets upset if she goes to play at a friend's house. When she gets up in the morning or comes home, a big hug awaits her! It's really sweet! He's crazy about Blake too. He love to hug "Baby" and you can see that the two of them are really starting to bond.

Blake is 9 months now! He's been out as long as he was in! :D He's finally sleeping through the night. We bought a crib for him a few weeks ago. Up until now, he was sleeping with me. Eli is still using his crib, so we bought one for Blake. I have it in the guest room. Our plan is to eventually move the boys in a room together, but we didn't want to do that until Blake was sleeping better at night. After much trial and error, we finally decided that it was time to just let him cry. We did for a weekend at naps and night time. By Tuesday night, he was going to bed at 7:30pm and sleeping until 7:30-8:00am the next morning! He will wake up a couple of times, fuss a few minutes, then put himself back to sleep. His nap times aren't as good yet, but he's still doing great!!

The only problem Blake has right now are his ears. He, like Eli, is having multiple ear infections. We've been in and out of the dr.'s office several times the last few months and finally decided to see the ENT. We went yesterday and decided to go ahead and do tubes in his ears on Tuesday. They are also going to clip his tongue while he's under. (He's slightly tongue-tied) Unlike Eli, Blake's speech seems to be right on target for his age. He's already saying Mama and Dada and Hi. So, hopefully once the tubes are in, we won't have the same speech delay that we have had with Eli.

That's our life in a nutshell! There's never a dull moment, but we're pretty happy!!

Here's a recent pictures! :)

SNOW!!! and a new pettiskirt!

2008-03-04T22:28:00.006-06:00

Amazingly enough, we actually had a snow day this winter! It really was only one day, probably just 12 hours really. It started snowing last night and it was still on the ground this morning. I didn't tell Haley there was even a chance, since the weathermen are often not correct. So, she was very pleased to see a blanket of white outside this morning.

I got the kids bundled up and headed out to take a few pictures. Haley loved it and was happy to stay out and play. Blake was indifferent. He was ok until he got too cold. Eli, though, HATED it! It could be because he had just gotten up and instead of having his milk and breakfast, he was dressed and whisked outside with a camera in his face. At any rate, he did NOT like it at all!!!

Last night as the snow started falling:

The backyard this morning:

Blake in the snow:

Here's what Eli thought!

Haley and Blake:

An area mom's board that I'm a part of did a group buy for the adorable pettiskirts. I didn't take part in the first one, but have in the second one. The three, yes three, that I ordered won't be in until the end of the summer, probably. But one of the mom's decided to sell a couple of hers! Yay! So, I got Haley a green one today!

Here she is "posing":

And spinning!

New Pictures

2008-03-02T22:29:00.005-06:00

I know, I've been slacking on the blog. We've had a crazy couple months. ALL of us were sick. We ended up having to take Blake to the ER on night because he had run a fever for 3 days. Turned out that he had strep (along with James, Haley, Eli and I).

Anyway, we are all mended now. Blake is cutting teeth, so he's cranky. Haley is doing well. Counting down the days until Kindergarden. We got her enrolled in a private Christian school in town. Eli's turning two on Friday, where did those years go? He's been in the terrible two's for, oh, 6 months now. He's talking more and more though, so his speech theropy seems to be working well.

So here's some recent pictures. I'll try to keep this up better, but make no promises! :)

And more pictures!

2008-01-03T14:17:00.000-06:00

At Aunt Edna's for brunch and more playing!

Back home, opening all the presents from NC!

Thanks for sharing Christmas with us! ;)

More pictures!

2008-01-02T11:44:00.000-06:00

Here's Haley waiting for Nanny to go shopping on Christmas Eve

My sweet boy on his first Christmas Eve!

Here's Blake and James' Uncle Robert!

Nanny and the grandkids (except Blake, I was feeding him at the time!)

Eli and his big truck from Nanny

Presents!

My nephew because he's so cute! ;)

and MORE presents!

My crazy niece! :D

Milk and cookies for Santa!

Look, Santa came!!

Christmas Morning!

I'll update again soon! The sites having problems again, so I got another error message! As soon as I can, I'll post more pictures!

Christmas Time!

2008-01-02T09:46:00.000-06:00

Well, we survived another Christmas. Of course, now the kids have way too much stuff again (well, they already had too much stuff, now they just have more). Haley's already asking when it's going to be Christmas again. I still have to take down my tree and the things outside. It's just too cold!

The Christmas weekend started with Nanny, Papa Perry, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Lorriane, Uncle Robert and Aunt Cheryl driving up from San Antonio. They went to Uncle Bill and Aunt Edna's for dinner, then Nanny and Papa Perry stayed here. Haley was still awake (even though she had been in bed for an hour or so!) when they got here, so she got to say hello.

The next morning, Nanny and Papa Perry took Haley to church with them in the morning and then to lunch at Aunt Edna's. James and I took the boys to do some last minute Christmas shopping. We went to the mall where they had a little train that the kids could ride. We figured Eli would love it since he loves all things trains. Well, he did, until we went around the first pass and saw Daddy standing there and us "chugging" away! He cried the whole time!

That night, we went over to Uncle Richard and Aunt Deline's for dinner. The kids had fun playing and watching the "real" Grinch, as Haley called it.

That night was also a big change for Eli. When he woke up from his nap that afternoon, he had bit the tip off of his last paci!!! I really didn't want to go out and buy a new one. So we decided to try him and see how he did. We didn't end up putting him to bed until around 9, so he went straight to sleep! The next nap time, he did go to bed, but had to have two of his trains with him. (he had gotten a present from Granddaddy and Grammie of a train set when they came to visit right after Thanksgiving) From then on, he has slept without his paci, but with any number of trains! Since Blake won't take one, we are now a paci free house! :)

Christmas Eve, Nanny and Papa Perry took Haley and Gracie shopping and we just hung around the house with the boys. I got our presents wrapped and everything ready for dinner at the house that night. When they got back from shopping, we started getting everything cooked. We decided to open presents first, then eat. So, there was the usual chaos that comes with 4 kids opening presents at the same time! But it was a lot of fun.

Christmas morning, Haley beat us up, unfortunately! James actually had gotten up to go wake her and bring her and Eli down, but she and Nanny were already up. Nanny tried to keep her from the Santa stuff, but Haley's too nosey! So, once we got Eli's diaper changed, we started showing off all the presents! The first thing Eli saw was the train table and I don't think he noticed anything else for a good hour! He played with it and the trains forever! Haley was super excited about the REAL camera she got and her princess books. Blake was just happy with a clean diaper and something to eat!

After presents, we headed to Aunt Edna's for brunch. The kids had fun playing with Haley's camera and Eli's dress up trunk (with a fireman, policeman, pirate and cowboy dress up clothes). We had a nice time with the family, then everyone headed back home (be that Sachse or San Antonio).

After cleaning up toys and having a nap, we opened the packages that Grandma and Granddaddy in NC had sent. There was more craziness and lots of great presents. They had a blast playing for a few more hours, then it was bedtime!

Finally, a week or so later, we had things *somewhat* organized. There are still things to put away, but I guess we are trying to hold on to Christmas a little longer! It was a wonderful time and we thank everyone for the gifts. We look forward to a blessed new year and hope that you all have a safe and wonderful 2008!!

Here's some pictures from Christmas.

Here's Grace, Daniel and Haley. We didn't plan on them wearing the same color! Daniel looked cute because he had just lost his other front tooth that morning! So, yes, all he wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth!

Eli and Daddy chillin' by the fire!

The kids playing with Eli

Sweet Blake!

Eli was happy once he found Daniel's trains!

I'll have to post more pictures later. The website is acting up!! Uggh!!!

Nutcracker In A Nutshell

2007-12-17T12:10:00.001-06:00

This year, since Haley's in ballet again, I wanted to take her to see The Nutcracker. I asked around one of my mom's boards and found out that there's a production called 'Nutcracker in a Nutshell' done here in Richardson. It's basically a scaled down version of the real thing, but perfect for kids Haley's age. I checked it out and tickets were pretty reasonable. Plus for an extra $5.00 a piece, you could go to the Sugar Plum Tea afterwards.

So yesterday was our "Mommy/Daughter" day. We went to the ballet, which was beautiful. The dancers were amazing. Haley was so cute sitting on the edge of her seat, watching. When everyone would applaud, she would too, so enthusiastically. Then at the tea, the dancers came out so we could meet them. I couldn't take pictures of the actual performance, but here's a couple from the party. Haley would not take a picture with the Nutcracker though! She was very shy around him!

Here's Haley and the Spanish Chocolate and Russian Trepak dancers from the Kingdom of the Sweets!

Haley and the Arabian Coffee dancer. She was so sweet! She danced as the Snow Queen as well. This was her first performance dancing with her new fiancee. He was her partner as Arabian Coffee and Snow Cavalier. He was also the Nutcracker, so therefore, no pictures!

And Haley's favorite, The Sugar Plum Fairy!

Here's Haley refusing to have her picture made anymore and heading for the car!

Gingerbread House

2007-12-16T10:26:00.001-06:00

I decided this year that Haley was old enough to make a Gingerbread House with me. Thankfully they sale these wonderful kits, so you don't actually have to bake anything! I picked one up at Sam's before Thanksgiving and decided, while Eli was napping yeterday, to break it out.

We got it all set up first and then had to let it dry (the kit provided everything, even the icing!). While letting dry, we watched Muppet Christmas Carol. Then, about an hour later, we started decorating. Haley had lots of fun. She's very particular about where each decoration goes and so am I, so it was interesting. In the end, it turned out great, we finished just in time (Eli woke up right at the end) and she had fun. Where was Blake you ask? Well, on the table, in his bouncy seat, asleep! ;)

Here's the beginning!

The finished product! Just ignore the crack in the front!

Haley was so excited, can't you tell?

Haley and Eli going after the left over candy!

A close up of the "icecicles"

Blake was exhausted from all the excitment!

It's final place in the house!

Here's a close up of Haley's "Mickey Mouse" decorating!

He finally found it!!

2007-12-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

I really need to update this blog, but I don't have time right now. But I did want to put this out there! Blake is officially a thumb sucker! Unlike his older sister and brother, he hates pacifiers!! He gags on them, spits them out and has since we brought him home from the hospital. He's had to endure more than his fair share of crying fits in the car, or out and about when he couldn't nurse. But now he's found his thumb!! YAY!

More pictures!

2007-11-27T21:18:00.000-06:00

Here's a few more I've taken with my new camera! I love how fast it takes the pictures. I feel like a professional! ;) I'm driving the kids crazy!

Santa came early!

2007-11-25T21:26:00.000-06:00

at least for me anyway! We went to Costco this weekend and bought me a new Nikon dSLR digital camera!!! I'm so excited. I really want to learn more about photography and I'm so happy to finally have a good camera to learn on. So, big rave for James for buying it for me! :) I've got a lot to learn (but thankfully I have a great new friend who takes amazingly beautiful pictures whose brain I plan on picking! Thanks Christine!) Here's the only picture I can get uploaded right now. Blogger is having some kind of problem, so there will be more to come later!! ;)

Our "visitor" today

2007-11-20T12:53:00.000-06:00

I was changing Eli's diaper today on the couch and looked up and out the window to this!

Thankfully he was on the other side of the wrought iron fence and at the back of the property! I grabbed my camera, opened a window (I was afraid that the kids would follow me if I went out the door), and pushed out the screen. I did climb out the window to try to get closer, but Haley was calling after me to be careful! The coyote got scared and ran away! It was still pretty cool!

Just for fun!

2007-11-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

Fall at last?

2007-11-16T20:28:00.000-06:00

Well, a cold front finally came through! Yay! Hopefully it is here to stay. Earlier in the week it was in the mid-80's! Hopefully it will be cool for Thanksgiving. We are staying home this year. With all the sickness we've had, James and I both need time to just rest. So, I'll be cooking a turkey breast and a couple of other things here.

The kids seem to be on the mend now. Haley is doing better, she hasn't complained of her ear hurting anymore. She doesn't seem as congested either, so hopefully it'll stay that way. Eli is doing well too. No signs that his ear infection has come back. We do have an appointment with his ENT on the 29th. Our peditrician thinks that the tube is just lying in wax in his ear. I want his hearing tested again anyway, so I just went ahead and made the appointment.

Little Blake seems to be better soon. He still sounds slightly congested when he breathes, though. I take him in for his 4 month check up in December, so I'll have him checked out then.

All in all, we are just enjoying the weather and looking forward to decorating for Christmas!! We are staying home for that too this year, so we plan on putting up more decorations. I'm still torn about a tree though. I'm thinking not. I'll probably just do a table top again this year. I know if I put up a tree, Eli will just pull it over on himself!

Anyway, here's some pictures of the kids playing outside today!

They just look like trouble!!

Haley brought a snack up there for them!

Eli was telling her all about something!

He looks like he should be singing some song in a musical all about his long lost love (or something like that! ;) )

Cute Eli

2007-11-07T13:09:00.000-06:00

We were outside looking for the shuttle to pass overhead (we didn't see it! :( ) and I snapped a few cute pictures of Eli. I turned them into black and white as well. Just thought they were too cute not to share! (Haley's at a friends house playing today, so no pics of her!)

And because he's a sweetie!

Rough few weeks!

2007-11-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

It started a few weeks ago. Both Haley and Eli were a little congested and about 3 weeks ago, I took Eli to the doctor. He had a double ear infection at that point. Then 6 days later, Haley was complaining and not feeling well and Blake was starting to get congested. So we took all three of them in (I wanted them to recheck Eli's ears because he was still congested as well). Haley had a sinus infection, Eli's ears were looking better and he just needed to finish his antibiotics and Blake just had a cold. That was on a Wednesday.

So, we go through the weekend and I notice on Sunday night (October 28Th) that Blake is sneezing a bit and coughing more that normal. This was also the day that Eli finished his antibiotics. Monday morning comes and Eli is still really congested. I call and have him seen and they said his ears looked OK. One ear was a little red still, but no infection. Tuesday and Wednesday come and Blake's cough is getting worse.

Wednesday morning, during Eli's ECI visit, I decided that I need to take Blake in. His breathing sounds bad and I can feel it in his chest now. (I mentioned this briefly on my Halloween post) We head in and he has some congestion and they start him on breathing treatments every 4 - 6 hours. I also have them peek at Eli's ears, just to be safe and again, one is red, but no infection.

Thursday and Friday come and go. They are a blur of breathing treatments and no sleep. Poor Blake is coughing like crazy. He's wheezing all the time and you can hear his chest rattling. Friday morning, my sil comes and keeps the kids and I take Blake back to the doctor. He told me he thinks he has RSV, but that he looks great. Blake is smiling and happy. His chest still sounds bad, but the doctor thinks we are through the worse.

Saturday morning comes.

4am, Blake wakes up and his coughing like crazy! I give him a breathing treatment and nurse him. Then he has a coughing fit and throws up all over the place! (Which is good because he needs to get all the mucus he's been swallowing out of him). I strip him down and get up to find him some new PJ's. When I go to pick him up, he feels really warm. I take his temp. and he's 102.7. He had not run a fever at all before now. So this concerns me because one of the things about RSV is it can turn into pneumonia. We go back to sleep and James leaves to play golf an hour or so later.

Haley comes down around 6:15 and tells me that she doesn't feel well. I feel her head and she's warm. I take her temp. and she's 101.6. I get her on the couch and watching TV and head upstairs because Eli's waking up. I get him out of his crib and kiss his head good morning. Not good, he's hot too!!! Take his temp., 102.5. Thankfully, at least at this point, Blake's temp. had gone down to 100.4.

I then start trying to call James (his phone was dead and Richard didn't have his with him. I finally managed to track him down through a friends phone! He came home right away, thankfully!). I call the doctor's office at 9 when they open and tell them that I want to bring all three kids in to be seen. They pass me around a few times, then finally one nurse asks "What's wrong with Blake?" I tell her that he ran fever at 4am and even though we were just there the day before, I want him seen again. She then asks what his temp. is right then and I tell her 100.4. Then she said that they just saw Blake the day before and that 100.4 was not a temp. to be concerned with, that they didn't need to see them. I told her that I didn't care if they wanted to see him or not. 100.4 might not be a temp. to be concerned with, but 102.7 certainly is and that I wasn't going to risk my 3 month old getting pneumonia because some nurse didn't feel like pulling a chart. And if they didn't want to schedule him into the appointment, that was fine, that I had every intention of asking the doctor to check him anyway once I was back in the room. She then transferred me to another nurse who made the appointment for all three.

James came home and we went to the doctor. By the time we got back there, Blake was a completely different child. He was screaming and obviously in a lot of pain. He tried to eat and threw up everywhere. There was nothing we could do to console him. They listened to his chest again and told me to do the treatments every 3 hours. And bring him back on Monday. They also checked his ears and he had an ear infection.

The other kids got checked out too, Haley was tested for strep, but that was negative (not surprising, she was still on antibiotics for her sinus infection). Eli's ears were checked and, yep, another ear infection!! They think the tube in his right ear may have fallen out. They won't know until the infection clears up. If so and he gets a couple more infections, we are looking at another tube going into that ear. His left tube was looking good though.

Sunday was a rough day. Everyone (James and I as well) was feeling just bad enough to make everyone else miserable! Sunday night, I give Haley her last dose of antibiotic. She goes to bed and a few minutes later, calls for her daddy. He comes down about 5 minutes later and says that she has a couple of blisters or ulcers in her mouth. My heart stops. Some of you might not know, but my best friend, Shannon's, little boy Ben was diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome in August. That's an allergic reaction to different medicines or bacteria. One of the main medications that causes the reaction is penicillin. Haley had just finished amoxicillion. The way Ben's SJS started was with blisters in his mouth. (If you have never heard of this before, please see the paragraph at the end!) I ran upstairs and looked all in her mouth. Thank GOD there was nothing else there. We continued to check her through out the night, even though we knew that with SJS, the blisters form rapidly with in the first few hours and if she was having a reaction, we would have known right away. It was one of the scariest things I've ever felt. SJS is suppose to be incredibly rare, but when Ben was in the hospital, he was the 7Th case the dermatologist had seen that MONTH! So even though my brain was telling me that she was fine and I was overreacting, my heart wouldn't stop freaking out!!! Of course, she woke up the next morning and was totally fine!

Monday, we went back to the doctor for a follow up with Blake (and yes, I did tell the doctor that Haley had a couple of ulcers and I thought she was having an SJS reaction. They do officially think I'm crazy there). He was sounding better and his ear was looking better. He still has congestion in his chest, so we are still doing breathing treatments and trying to get that junk out of there. We go back on Thursday for a recheck. Eli's last dose of antibiotics is a week from today. Hopefully this will knock out the infection and that tube is still in place.

Sorry this has been so long. It's been a crazy few weeks here. Here's a couple of pictures though!

Here's Eli leaving for school this morning. It's been our first real cold day!

and here's Haley this morning. She was in a cranky mood and her shoes are on the wrong feet!

My sweet, sick boy!!! He's still a cutie!

Daddy and Blake out for a walk!

Here's my precious boy getting a breathing treatment. He tolerates it for the most part!

Concerning SJS:

First, Ben is totally fine now!!!! His case was mild in comparison, although he was in the hospital for 11 days! He has healed 100%!! SJS is something that every parent and person should know about. Another medicine that has a high risk is ibuprofen. This is a reaction that can happen any time. You could have given your child or taken Motrin yourself 100 times and on that 101 time, they could react with SJS. As I said earlier, it is "rare" but I think it's more prevalent than what the manufactures of these medications would have you believe. And also, if you choose to google it, do yourself a favor and don't look at the images. SJS attacks the mucus membranes and then spreads to the skin. The skin blisters and then sloths off. This did not happen to Ben. He only got a few blisters on his body and eyes. They were mostly in his mouth and throat. But they did sloth off once the healing process began. Like I said, he's wonderful now, but his experience has served as an eye opener for all of us who know him and his family. We have made it our mission to let as many people as possible know about this.

Trick or Treating, Lots of Candy and Breathing Treatments... oh my!

2007-11-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

So, our Halloween started off pretty eventful. Blake has had a cold for a few days. I decided to take him in to the doctor to get checked out. My friends Shannon and Anjie took and brought home Haley from a playdate, so I only had the boys. First, let me say that I have never actually taken the kids in thinking that they had a chest cold and them actually have one. Usually it's just drainage I hear and their lungs are fine.

When we get there and the nurse listens to him. Then she goes out to get a monitor to put on his finger to measure his oxygen saturation levels. His oxygen levels were fine, but he does have bronchiolitis. They went ahead and gave him a breathing treatment right there, then sent me home with a machine, sample medicine and a prescription. I have to take him back on Friday to see how he's doing. He sounds worse to me today, so hopefully we won't end up in the hospital. I'll keep you posted. The nurse just called and said that it was normal to sound worse before he sounds better, so let's hope that is the case with him.

We got home and after naps and dinner, got dressed up to go Trick or Treating. I suprised Haley by dressing up as Snow White. Before we could go out, I had to give Blake another breathing treatment, so I got James to snap a picture! ;)

The kids had a great time. We only hit a few houses before heading back to get the boys inside. Haley got to go with her friend, Alayna for a bit. Once we were home, I was going to send James and Haley back out, but she was quite happy passing out candy. So we spent the next hour doing that.

Finally, at 8:30, it was bed time! But we did have another trick or treater ring our bell at 9:45! Of course, we were out of candy!

The rest of the night was up and down with Blake. He slept with me, but was coughing quite a bit. I hope he's better soon.

Here's our pictures from last night!

Blake getting his breathing treatment from Snow White!

Haley and Blake

Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian

Sweet little lobster!

Us before heading out!

My little Flounder trick or treating!

Haley and her best friend, Alayna

Haley, Eli, Alayna and Jared trick or treating!

Back home ready to pass out candy!

Looking up the street to see who's coming!

Here ya go!!

Daddy brought Blake out for a bit (Eli was already in bed!)

Cute little pumpkin butt!!

Mommy and Blake!

PJ Party at School

2007-10-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

The kid's MDO has a pajama party instead of doing a Halloween Party. I bought cupcakes for Eli's class but didn't go in to help with the party. He would think it was time to go home and I didn't want to upset him. He's been doing great when he goes to school. Walks right in and wave bye-bye to me!

In Haley's class, they decorated pumpkin sugar cookies (yes, more cookie decorating!!) I did go in and help with her party. She loves school and her friends so much and it was nice to see her having a great time. Here's a few pics I got and some of Eli and Blake outside this afternoon!

I had to have my friend sneak a picture of Eli! His teachers got some great pictures and a really funny video of him falling asleep in his highchair. I'll have to see if I can get it from them!

Here's Haley at her party!

Looking out the fence, longing for freedom! ;)

Hello little face!

His favorite thing, sliding!!!

And sweet Blake in his new Baby Legs! (They are like socks that go all the way up to his thighs!)

Carving Pumpkins

2007-10-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

I decided that today was the day to carve our pumpkins. Now, we did this last year for the first time. I had forgotten, until I started to do it again today, how much I hate carving pumpkins!! I mean, the thought is nice. You and your child(ren) spending time together, carving out cute little faces in cute little pumpkins. But, first, Haley is still to young to really help. I'm not handing her a knife to go for it and she's too weak to really be able to scrape out the insides. She spent most of the day planting pumpkin seeds in the back yard. (I'll keep you posted if anything grows!) And second, I'm way too anal. I want to have really cool, perfect pumpkins. I want to have beautiful designs in them (without using the "cheat sheets" out now). I would normally not consider myself a perfectionist. But when it comes to pumpkin carving, I am.

But all in all, they turned out pretty well. I still have one more to go and then we will have our nice pumpkin family! Just remind me next year how much of a pain this was, because I know, I'll forget and be counting down the days until I can do it again!

Getting ready to start!

Deep in concentration!

Eli was trying to get in on the action.

A few of the finished products.

With the scarecrows...

Happy Halloween!!!

Decorating Cookies!

2007-10-27T22:50:00.001-05:00

Friday we had a playdate at our house to decorate Halloween cookies! Haley had been looking forward to this since, like, forever! We were suppose to do it the week before but everyone got sick in my house. So Friday finally came. Almost all of our regular playgroup friends were there and some new friends too. Haley took dance with a little girl this summer who lives a couple of miles away. She and her mom came to the cookie playdate as well. The girls had a blast! Haley only has a couple of girl friends, so she was in heaven. And since it was Student Appreciation at the dance studio they go to, we got to see them again about an hour after they left! Here are some pictures from the day!

Baking Cookies!

Haley and Ashlyn concentrating really hard! Those cookies have to be right! ;)

Haley waiting for the cake walk again!

Haley and Ashlyn looking very cool!

Ashlyn waiting patiently for the cake walk! She didn't want to lose her number!

Trying to sweet talk one of the teachers into starting the cake walk! These girls were obsessed with cake! (Well, who could blame them. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...)

Ashlyn bobbing for apples

Haley's turn!!

Yea, we had to leave right after this! In case you can't tell, she is SOAKED!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-21T21:06:00.001-05:00

We took the kids out the the pumpkin patch yesterday. We go to "a" pumpkin patch every year, but this is the one I like the best. I have a hard time convincing James to go though because it's about 45 minutes from us. But it's worth it. Haley loved it, of course. But this was Eli's first time feeding the animals. He wasn't quite sure what to do at first and tried to eat the food himself! Once he saw what you were really suppose to do with it, he was all for it!

Here's a few pics!

All in all it was a great day. Beautiful weather and lots of fun. Until Haley's meltdown on the way home and James "just having" to stop by the PGA Superstore and leaving me in the car for 20 minutes with 3 screaming kids! But that's a story for another blog! ;)

Getting started

2007-10-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

I always enjoy reading other people's blogs, so I thought I'd start my own. I'm not sure it will go anywhere, but hopefully it will be a great way to remember all the amazing things my kids do as they grow!