My hour upon the stage

Again...

2011-09-20T16:50:00.000-04:00

....I lag behind on my blog. I hate that because soooo much has been going on that I hope I can remember it all :)

I have been working part-time. I love it, even though the reason that I haven't had a job for 9 years is because we saw no reason for me to work when it'd just go toward a babysitter. Well, that's exactly what's happening. But...

I am in school full-time, so without my working, I wouldn't be able to do that. I am enjoying my classes, although I'm again in a place that I need another babysitter in order to do my internship.

I am taking Adolescent Psychology, Sociology Research, Applied Sociology, and Statistics.

Adolescent Psychology is really interesting. I like it. We've talked about simple things up to now, such as sports, theories, and puberty. Right now, we are discussing the Piaget Theory. It's gonna get interesting.

In Sociology Research, our main project is a research proposal, that when we are done with it, will be about 35 pages long. Uggg. Lol. The first part is a literature review about our research question. Mine is "Can martial arts help reduce ADHD symptoms inelementary school children diagnosed with ADHD?" So I have to look up the 2 different aspects: martial arts and ADHD and discuss what scholarly journals say about them. Then, I have to tell why this is an important research problem. Afterwards, we will have a survey, consent form (as if we were actually going to do it), and then our reference page. One girl who did hers a few semesters ago, did hers in 41 pages!! My whole class's jaws just dropped until she explained what all was going to be in it. LOL.

In my Applied Sociology class, this is the class that we go do an internship. I am actually doing mine at where I work, that way, if Lewis comes home in time, I can go up there and spend an hour. It's near my house, so it doesn't take long to get there :)

The class I was most worried about, Statistics, I am doing GREAT in. We just had our first test and I made a 90 :) It's pretty easy the way the teacher teaches it. Plus, he puts up PowerPoints so we can print them out at home.

Lewis has him a job. While I'm happy, there's problems with it to. I'm glad he's got a job...but....he's worked for almost a month, he's had to go to to a town 1 and 1/2 hours away for a week and to a town that is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away for a week, has had to pay for his own gas, doesn't know if he has a job to work on tomorrow for this week (the customer hasn't confirmed that someone can come out to work), just got paid today for the job he finished last week...and it turns out he only gets 30% until the main company finishes their paperwork (which takes a couple of weeks)

Again...I am glad he's working....but we are paying out more than he's getting paid right now. Just don't like the little quirks about this job.

Ross is doing....ok in middle school. Having some problems with being responsible for his stuff and all. He's gotten used to having to go all over creation on his school's campus..lol.

Mark's doing good in 3rd. He's had a little trouble remembering things, but we know why. This summer, we had him tested to see how he learns. A "normal" point range is 90-110. He scored VERY well on everything....except memory. He forgets things really quickly. His score was a 77. Now I feel bad because I was always getting on to him for forgetting things so quickly. Now we know why and know we have to do things differently so that he has the skills to remember.

Trevor is a VERY hyper child. I am soooo praying that we don't have to deal with ADHD with him. I don't want to put ANOTHER child on meds. I feel as though I'm doing something wrong sometimes. We are trying fish oil with him now. A doc at his pediatrics office believes that that can help with ADHD.

Dean is getting so big. He's a little behind, but I'm not complaining...lol. I want him to do things on his own time and then it just means I keep my baby longer :) He's the laid back child. He hasn't even started to crawl yet, but like I said, that just means I don't have to go after him so far...lol. He will be 7 months in just 5 days! Wow!! Time just keeps going, whether we want it to or not...lol

My mom's not doing well. She has fallen multiple times, has memory problems, such as, the other day she couldn't think of the word "book"...well, she could hear the word in her head, but couldn't get it out of her mouth. Dad is pooped because he is always having to be awake in case mom falls or does something she's not supposed to be doing...like laundry at 2am after only sleeping for an hour or so (that can cause her to fall due to being so tired)

They are trying to short-sell their house so that they can get up here. Hopefully it won't take too much longer. I haven't seen them for a couple of years and would REALLY love for them to see Dean. I have thought of even taking a train to go down and see them, but of course everything in this world takes $$$..lol.

So...I think that has us caught up for now :) I have GOT to get better at posting :)

Life is busy

2011-07-06T20:32:00.003-04:00

Well, summer is a third over and I've not done anything I've wanted to do yet :( Hopefully this month I will get to do the things I've mentioned.

School will be over soon :) and I will have my Associates degree. So excited :)

Dean is teething, so he's not sleeping good. I'm NOT a morning person, but I've kinda turned into a person who can handle the morning now. Dean hasn't liked to sleep in lately, so I'm up early.

I've started working out. I got the Wii Fit from ebay and am serious about doing it. I spent an hour doing it today. I worked up a sweat too.

I've been going to the chiropractor last Fri, yesterday, and today. Two more days and he said he should have my back realigned. I don't know if he will or not. He said I would be feeling better the last few days...hasn't happened. I have headaches and backaches almost every evening...it's driving me nutz! I want to feel better so I can be better. Maybe one day.

Mark

2011-07-06T20:25:00.003-04:00

Mark has been doing great. The doctor has gotten him on a medicine that he was on to begin with, but didn't help before. He has been a joy to be around now.

He has been doing worksheets almost everyday. I bought it from a school supply store and he actually likes doing them. I am also having him do a Map Game on kidsgeo.com for him to learn his states. He likes trying to beat his score from the day before. He actually asks to do these things. He'll be ahead of the curve when he gets into school because he is working in a 3rd grade level workbook.

Sometimes he tries too hard though. Although I know all he's trying to do is trying to help, if I tell Trevor to do something, Mark jumps right in. I'm trying to get it across to Mark that Trevor has to learn things too.

The other day he made my day. I had to fill out the yearly paperwork for his dentist appt. They marked out the area for employment. Mark asks "Why don't we have to fill that part out?" I said "Do you have a job?" He said "No, but YOU do." I said "Where do I work?" He looked at me (like I was crazy) and said "At home with us!" Thank you son for recognizing that being a mom is a job too :)

Adventures

2011-06-19T16:27:00.003-04:00

Whenever we go somewhere special....it's always an adventure. 4 yrs ago~ went to a hunting show....broke down on the way there. Last yr~ Went to SpeedStreet and got a flat on the way back.... was stranded in Charlotte for 4 hours. Today~

We went to Chili’s to eat. Lewis has always wanted to go, so we went for Father’s Day. We’re waiting on our food, the music gets cut off, the restaurant goes quiet. There at the front of the restaurant a man who announces “I am the fire chief. There is a gas leak in the kitchen, but we don’t think it’s a problem. Some of the waitresses have complained of feeling weak and not feeling good. If you want to leave, you are free to, but we don’t believe it to be dangerous. HAZMAT and the fire department are here to check it out.” There were a few tables to leave, but we stayed and ate. They got our name and # as we left. I told Lewis “Can’t we do anything without something happening ?”

Busy Busy

2011-06-18T12:33:00.003-04:00

Things have been busy. This week, I had an appointment with WIC, Mark had an appointment with his psychiatrist, I had a dermatology appointment. Then I had 4 tests to take for school, 2 discussion board posts, and a journal entry. VERY busy.

Mark's psychiatrist is hopeful for the new meds he's on. Me too. He has been a lot easier to get along with. No mood swings, just having some sitting down problems. He has periods of not being able to settle down. We've been able to deal with it because, although he can't stay still, it's a lot less than it has been before. The doctor has upped it to try and make the day smoother, instead of him crashing off the meds.

The dermatologist dug deeper into one of the areas where a mole has already been removed in order to get out all the cancer cells. He then also removed another mole. There are 4-5 on my back (by a quick glance) that he would like to remove. This morning I went to take off my pressure bandage......and the gauze was STUCK to the area. I had taken a shower and it didn't loosen it. I soaked it with water by squeezing a washcloth over it. Still didn't loosen. I VERY slowly pulled on the gauze. It finally came off, but it was VERY painful. A few spots started to bleed, too. I had to let L put a bandage on it because I was so queasy from the pain and actually seeing the wound.

I did very good on my Sociology test. I made a 24 on one, a 25 on another and 21 on the last. I was preoccupied on the last one because I had a friend call me while I was taking it, I had a time limit, but was trying to be there for my friend. I still think I did good on them :) (those scores are on a 25 point maximum) I think I did well on my Literature test too. I've been making 90's on them (I keep missing just 1 question everytime), but I think this time I actually made a 100. Just gotta pass my Literature class and a College Skills class (which I've been acing also) to graduate.

Schools out......

2011-06-10T16:15:00.004-04:00

.....for summer!

I'm actually looking forward to this summer. Although I know it's going to be a challenge, what with Mark being home and always wanting to do something ALL the time.

I'm going to work with Mark and some school stuff. I'm going to make it fun, but there are things I think he needs to work on. Such as~the difference between a continent, country, state, and capital. Right now if you asked him to name a state, he might say France. Or maybe ask him to name a country, he might say Pennsylvania. So I want to work with him on that. Then we are also going to work with math. He's good at math, but he has a time of guessing the answer instead of actually figuring it out. With reading, there is a website that he likes called Book Adventures. It's for K-8 grade where they read books and take quizzes to earn prizes. (I wanted to put all this on here, not only to tell you, but to try and keep myself accountable (:)

Then there are some places I'd like to go. Lake Norman has a Lake Norman Monster Sight Seeing Tour. Kinda a take from the Loch Ness Monster. It's called Normie the Lake Norman Monster. I've wanted to do this for a few years now, so maybe I can do it with the kids this year. Then I thought about going to the Historic Latta Plantation. Ross is big on history, so I think he will enjoy it the most (although Mark has started to show an interest)

There's other places I would like to take the kids, but we'll have to see what we can do. We have only one vehicle and that vehicle has no air conditioning, so we will have to time some things where the kids don't get too hot. Hopefully my plans will work out better than my plans last year. I'm hoping :)

Respect

2011-06-10T16:06:00.002-04:00

Does anybody have any nowadays? It seems as though people's feelings and thoughts don't matter anymore. It's like we all live in our own little bubble with no care about other people, who unfortunately are probably are in their own bubble, too.

I might have hurt someone without knowing, but when I figure it out, I apologize. I definitely never try to step on others toes on purpose. People seem to do it more and more on purpose lately. I feel sorry for these people. They lose connection with friends and family because they don't care for those people, so the friends and family begin to give up. Why even try when they don't care? Probably the wrong way to look at it, but it's hard to feel any other way.

Trevor's b-day party

2011-06-10T15:40:00.005-04:00

It was a blast. We had it at Dan Nicholas like we always do. We walked around and saw all the animals. Trevor got to see a bear in the water. It was so funny. He would try and get the bear to look at him, but it kept moving his head. Trevor then looked at us and said "He won't gook at me!" (That's how he says look (:)

We then went gem mining. Ross was kinda moody this day, so he got upset when he thought he had to share a bucket with Mark. He was afraid that Mark would take the gems he should get. So he ended up sharing with Emily. The lady at the gem mining register asked if all 5 kids were mine. I said "Well, technically, there's another at the picnic table (Dean), so there's actually 6." She was like "Six kids and you're still sane?" LOL.

Then afterwards we went and ate then did the birthday thing~ opening presents and eating cake :) Trevor got: a pool and swimming trunks, a little truck with tools, a playground ball. He was so excited.

Then it was time to go home. We got home and wanted to take his truck to bed :) (He'd rather have went in the pool, but he was told he'd have to wait (:)

We had a good day of good weather, good times, and good friends and family :)

Noise, Crying, and homework

2011-06-03T19:20:00.001-04:00

Well, one thing I can say about our household.....there's never a dull moment here. There's always noise around :) That's not always a bad thing, but other times...yep.

Took 3 tests today for my sociology class. I made a 23, 24, 24. That's out of 25 possible points. Then I've also been working on 2 papers for that class too (due by next Wed.). Uggg. I don't technically need this class, but I hate to fail at anything (as we all hate to do). I do need my Literature class and I'm doing good in there. I've made a 90 on the first test :)

Trevor is getting very active. I worry somedays that he might end up having ADHD. It makes me wonder what I could've done to prevent it. I've read that they think it might be hereditary, but of course they're not sure. I'm just hoping and praying he won't.

Mark's on a new medicine. It seems to be working out good for him so far. He went from getting 60's and 50's on test, to getting nothing lower than a 90! He just wasn't able to focus in school. Now is a different story. Just hate that it took so long to find the right meds. School will be out on the 10th.

Dean hasn't been sleeping well. I'm beginning to wonder if he is starting to teeth. He's always been a restless sleeper (he twitches and makes noises in his sleep), but now he's not sleeping very well when he does nap. Today he slept for maybe 2 hours this afternoon. The good thing is that he sleeps through the night :)

Going to have a birthday party for Trevor tomorrow at Dan Nicholas. We have had his party there every year. Tomorrow is supposed to be 95 (the hottest this weekend) and there's a chance for rain (only one this weekend), so I'm hoping for the best :)

Call from doctor's office

2011-06-02T19:28:00.002-04:00

Well, last week I had 2 suspicious moles removed. The doctor said they would call me this week, no matter the results. Today was a week and a day, so I called them. The results came back. They both had cancerous cells in them. One, they have gotten it all out; the other, they are having me come back in do some more "carving" (my words, not theirs) They need to remove some more of the area to get rid of the caner cells. I'm also going to go ahead and have them check another mole.

I'm glad they found these in time. It just makes me nervous. I have a ton of moles and have never had them all checked. Now in one scoop, they found 2 moles with cancer in them. I'm try to not let it bother me, but in the back of my mind I'm wondering how many more might be worrisome. I have a lot of moles on my back, so it's hard for me to look. Maybe I need to just have them look for me. I just hate it because we don't have insurance right now (although I'm going to check into some) so that last visit, for just 2 moles, was $678. I'm having to make payments, because there isn't any money coming in right now, so there was nooooo way I could pay fully.

So, if you suspect a mole, get it checked out. I've seemed to have caught these fairly early, but no telling how far it could've gotten if I hadn't have noticed them, then showed my doc.

I'm BAACCCKKK!!!!

2011-06-02T12:44:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been away from the blogging for 2 years! But I'm back. I went through my blog last night and this morning, reading all that I had posted before. All I can say is~~~WOW! All the things that happened, the up and downs.....It was nice to read. Now I'm sad that I've been away for 2 years. All the stuff I didn't keep up with. But I'm not going to stop again. I would love to be able to look back years from now and say "Look at how great my life was! Look at all we've been through." Just bear with me as I update my blog and get things new :)

Things that have happened since I last blogged~
*L got laid off
*We had another baby boy (Dean Austin)
*My mom's health has been up and down (more down than up)
*I took a break from school, but am back in (graduate with an Associates degree the end of the summer)

I'm sure a lot more~ which is why I wish I hadn't stopped blogging~ but now is a new journey for.......My Hour upon the Stage :)

Wow

2009-02-03T01:11:00.007-05:00

Didn't realize it had been sooo long. Seems as tho I'm always apologizing, but I'll quit apologizing after this one~ I'm sorry. Just remember that when I'm late again :)

Well, mom's back home. She came home that Sun. She had a UTI that she ignored and it became poisonous to her body.

Me, Trevor, Mark, and my BF went down to see her that week. She's doing ok, but not as good as she wants you to believe. We spent Wed.-Sun. in Ga. She got to see Trevor for the first time. So sweet. I talked to my dad last week, and he said that they(her therapist and in home nurse) want to get mom to get a motorized wheelchair and a "porta-potty" by her bed so that she won't have to go into the bathroom. Gonna be hard to convince her, but we'll see.

We don't know how much longer she's gonna be around. Just pray.

My mom and Trevor when we first got there

Poor baby was so tired

Trev mesmerized by his grandpa

Me and my parents

Nana and Grandpa with two of their boys

On the way down, we stopped at a McDonalds and they had these on the wall. I was so surprised, but happy.

Parking spot at an Ingle's in Ga.

Please Pray Without Ceasing

2009-01-16T16:35:00.001-05:00

Please be in prayer for my parents. My mother is in the hospital right now. They aren't too sure what's wrong. I won't go into too many boring details :), but just a few.

My mom had a seizure this week, then became unresponsive. They took her to the ER and her blood pressure was 190/90 (her normal is 90/70). Her temp. was sky high. I think the doc actually thought she wasn't going to make it. I don't think my dad did either. They have her on very strong antibiotics right now. Yesterday, she was babbling the whole time. Couldn't make out a word. Today, my dad said you can hold a little bit of a conversation. Her blood pressure is now 145/90 and she's running a low grade fever. They want to do a MRI, but she can't handle it....VERY claustrophobic, so they want to try a CAT to get their answers. They took 4-5 vials of blood, but the results won't be back for another day or two.

My dad's request (and of course mine too) is to pray without ceasing. He is in rough shape too (both my parents have had back problems since I was little, so this is taking a toll on his back too). It's tough on me being 300+ miles away, not being able to do anything.
Luv in Christ
Gretchen

Sometimes...

2009-01-12T01:58:00.004-05:00

...I forget why I fell in love you, but something always brings me back:

~to that first glance...and I saw you.

~to that first smile....that melted my heart (you know how I love your dimples)

~to those first words....that captivated my ears.

~to that first staring contest...when I saw into your soul.

~to that first kiss....that sent chills.

~to the songs we heard that made you tear up.....making you wish for a future together.

~to the first I Love You....even tho I said it first :)

~to that time we went to Blowing Rock...and I "proposed" to you

~to that night you proposed to me...tho it was wasn't the day you had in mind.

~to that day going to the courthouse....to become husband and wife.

~to those tears of happiness.....that we both cried.

~to those smiles of glee.....which neither of us could get off our faces.

To the many years to come...as we grow old together.

Happy 6th Anniversary!!
I LOVE YOU LEWIS!!!

Did it backwards

2009-01-08T10:43:00.002-05:00

I did all my posts of pics backwards, so you'll have to scroll down and come back up. Sorry.

2009-01-08T10:39:00.000-05:00

Climbing on daddy

Cheez!!! Well, he started to fuss when I clicked the camera

All smiles

Happy New Year

2009-01-08T10:35:00.001-05:00

Making confetti

Our annual Cheerwine toast.

Happy New Year

7 months

2009-01-08T10:25:00.002-05:00

Seven month smiley

Looking at daddy

Wanting to go to daddy. Didn't want to do pics hehe

Trying to talk to me

Wanting the camera

2009-01-08T10:20:00.001-05:00

After caroling

Saying "Ho, Ho, Ho"

Wasn't interested in opening presents

Right into the mouth hehe

Our mantle

2009-01-08T10:15:00.001-05:00

Keychain Christmas gifts

Waiting on brother to get home from school

Ross' bowling trophy

Mark's bowling trophy

Wow

2009-01-08T10:06:00.002-05:00

Been away a long time. Sorry.

Well, Christmas went well. I had a good time.

Trevor turned 7 months.

Had our annual New Years Uno game.

Made confetti.

Cleaned up confetti :)

Trevor had check-up. Got 2 shots.

Kids started back to school.

I cleaned the fridge.

I went and got my school books.

My school starts next Tuesday (and it's supposed to rain :( )

Been busy!! hehe

Well....

2008-12-24T00:18:00.002-05:00

Here I go again. Waiting so long in between posts. So sorry.

Well, Like I said, Emily is with us now. It's great having her here.

Mark has had his medicine changed. The teacher has been having a real tough time with him. Hopefully this new medicine will help.

Christmas is almost here!! So happy.

I have a ton of pics I need to post. Not gonna happen tonight tho. Just wanted to let ya know I was still here hehe

I'll get better someday at keeping this up to date (I hope hehe)

Whoooo wheee

2008-12-18T07:30:00.002-05:00

Well....things are getting interesting around here. And stressful.

We have gotten Emily. She decided that she wanted to come live with us. Things got heated yesterday, but we knew they would. Please keep us in your prayers. It's gonna be a tough road. Especially on Emily.

Easily amused

2008-12-10T01:55:00.002-05:00

I am very easily amused. I get tickled at the simplest things. Lewis thinks it's funny. Here's a couple of examples:

**A joke I read the other day that cracks me up every time I say it:
A pirate walks into a bar with a paper towel on his head. The bartender asks "Why do you have the paper towel on your head?" The pirate replies "Arggg. I have a Bounty on my head" (I'm even cracking up as I write this hehe)

**We were watching Dirty Jobs the other day. He was at an egg farm. They had so much technology there. It was amazing. They had conveyor belts that ran under the chickens to catch the eggs and another to catch poop. Then they had a conveyor that ran over a light source so they could see if the eggs were good or not. And other things too, but these are the main ones I can think of

Then they had a place in the farm where they bagged up the broken eggs (ones they couldn't sell in a dozen, but were still good) and would send to bakeries and such. After they bagged them, they put them in a box and ran them under a machine that taped the box shut.

I said "Oooo cool" Lewis looks at me...pauses the program and looks back at me. He then says "All this technology that the whole farm has and you think that the machine that tapes the box shut is cool" I started laughing like crazy.

Traffic feed

2008-12-10T01:51:00.002-05:00

So interesting to see where people come from to your blog. At few people have gotten here thru a goggle search. Every goggle search has taken them here. I just wonder what they are searching for hehe

Getting around

2008-12-10T01:43:00.002-05:00

He's learning how to pull up on things now

"See mommy? I can do it!" :) (p.s.....you don't realize how much dust is somewhere until you take a picture hehe)

Push.....

"It opened"

"I'll go in a little"

At his point, I had to go rescue him. He didn't want to go in farther and he couldn't get out (everytime he tried to turn around, his leg hit the door) So mommy put down the camera and got him hehe

6 Months

2008-12-03T21:27:00.004-05:00

My baby's 6 months now

He loves to smile......

.....and laugh

He wears 6 month clothes, tho this outfit was 9 months

He loves to pose

He's in love with music. If he's cranky, put on music. He goes to choir practice with me and even sometimes "sings" with us. When the music stops, he lets the director know that he's ready for it to come back on

He crinkles his nose at ya now

He loves to sit on the vent. It's so funny (he has a little hernia~ that's why his belly button sticks out like that. It looks so wierd, but the doc says it should go away by 18 months)

Crinkle nose while on the vent hehe

He still only has one tooth

He is getting better at crawling

He has started pulling up on things

He hasn't really gotten into baby food~ put that on hold for a bit

He will make you laugh at him "talking" to you

He's my babydoll

Christmas shopping

2008-11-30T00:32:00.002-05:00

I went shopping a little today. I was surprised that I didn't have too much trouble with crowds.

For our Christmas, we do the 3 gift rule. We did it two years ago, but last year I got in the wrong frame of mind and went too over board. I got competitive with the girls mom and wanted to "out do her." I know....bad me. Well, this year we are back to the 3 gifts. The three gifts are to remind us of the wise men's gifts.

I went to WalMart and got a full length mirror for Ashley. That's what she wanted. I also got Trevor some of the cutest shoes. I was planning on getting his pics done, but there was a lot of people there. Maybe later this week.

Then to Hobby Lobby. Another gift Ashley wanted was some masks to paint. She also wanted a bear that you stuffed yourself that had a John Deere outfit, but I didn't get that. It was 35 bucks. Sorry....don't see paying 35 for a bear.

I also got my best friend her present, but just in case she reads this still, I'm not telling what it is :)

I have Trevor's gifts, have 1 more to get for Ross, Mark, and Ashley. So I only have 6 more gifts to get cuz I haven't gotten Emily hers yet.

I don't think we'll get to have a Christmas tree this year. We don't have the room :( Oh well, one less thing to worry about Trevor trying to pull up on hehe

Crafts for Christmas

2008-11-29T00:43:00.002-05:00

The boys are making key chains for Christmas. It's so easy and they love it.

They make a ball of clay. Then smoosh it flat. Then use a stamp to make an impression in it. Add a hole in the top for the ring. Cook for 15 minutes. Add ring and keyring. Walla. Key chain Christmas present.

I'll take some pics of them. They did really good. I haven't finished putting in the rings or key rings, but the clay they did turned out great. I'm so proud of them. I'm actually wanting to make some things with clay. I've seen some cool things that can be done and I'm reading up on it.

Movies

2008-11-29T00:30:00.002-05:00

We have been to the 2 Dollar Theatre twice this month.

First we saw Wall e. It was cute. I think I was expecting too much, cuz it kinda let me down, but it was good.

We saw Dark Knight tonight. It was good. Very action packed. Lewis was expecting to take Mark, but I said no. Halfway thru the movie, I looked at Lewis and said "And you thought we could've brought Mark?" And he laughed. It is defiantly not a kids movie. Heath did a great job being a very bad Joker. He was so talented. So sad.

Oh..and we have also went and saw Kung Fu Panda. I liked it. Mark had a nightmare that night about snakes~ which in the movie, was a good snake. Which is one reason why I said no to Dark Knight.

Jamie photo game

2008-11-28T22:44:00.003-05:00

Jamie posted a photo game. Go to your fourth folder, 4th pic and post it. This is Trevor the first time he sat by himself. I actually forgot to post it :)

2008-11-28T22:15:00.003-05:00

He can actually climb out of his Bumbo

Sitting in a highchair for the first time

Reaching for a glass

"I think I've seen them do something like this" hehe

Gonna get you!

Trevor and his juice

Mark ready for the parade

Notice a resemblance? hehe

"Helping" with the laundry

He crawled!!

2008-11-22T01:06:00.003-05:00

He crawled! I was so happy. I was feeling sorry for him there for a while, since he kept going head first into the carpet. It happened all of a sudden. He wanted to get to my magazine. So he crawled to it. So cool.

I tried to get a video of it. But he's such a ham, when he sees the camera, he sits up straight and smiles. It's funny, but was driving me nutz since I was trying to get him crawling. hehe

2008-11-18T16:41:00.003-05:00

Hasn't learned how to do the arm part of crawling. He'll move his knees, then fall on his face cuz he hasn't gotten the arm part down hehe

My smiley baby

He sometimes has a "doe eye" look and I finally got it on camera. I love it :) Click on the pic to see it better

Tired of teachers

2008-11-18T16:19:00.000-05:00

Had to have another conference with his teacher. And because of that I had a talk with the Asst. Principle....and she's not happy with Ross' teacher. The Asst. Principle is supposed to be having a talk with Ross' teacher and letting us know what happens from it.

Last conference, the main thing we came away from it was that she was to take Ross' agenda the very first of the day..look at it for notes from us....and then write back. Well......she's not doing that.

Then she has 3 things that she doesn't look at for 9 weeks to grade, so if the kids aren't doing it...she doesn't know til then. Well, Ross wasn't doing them, so his report card showed it. We didn't even know about the things, so we couldn't have him do them. It ticked us off. She said "Well, he knew and was supposed to tell you" He's 8 years old!!! It's not his job to tell us...it's hers. And to expect a third grader to keep up with something for 9 weeks by themselves is crazy. The parents have to know!! She said she wrote about it in his agenda. I looked...nothing. So we're fed up with her.

The 3 things were~ a writing notebook~to write 3 stories a week and share one on Fri. Well he wasn't sharing, so shouldn't she have thought something then?; a math folder~doing a test every other week~ he's only done one; and a reading log~ he thought it was just something they did at school (it had places for how much he read in class) But we knew of none of these thing.s We found out about the reading log and he's been doing it since we found out about it. But we can't help him if we don't know. She doesn't seem to get that.

2008-11-10T14:01:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin that Mark carved at school.

Pumpkin Mark painted at our church

Trevor is rolling around all the time. The other night, he rolled and got stuck under the tv cabinet

Mark's first lost tooth. And he actually lost it hehe. He smiled at me when we were talking and I realized there was a dark spot. I thought he might have had something on his tooth. I told him "Smile at me again" He did and I realized he had lost his tooth. I asked him if he realized that he didn't have a tooth there and he was like "Really?!" He was so excited.

The funny thing is~ the tooth that Mark lost is the tooth that Trevor has poking out hehe

Mark did good on his report card. The only thing he got a - on was his talking. He talks a lot in class hehe. He knows all his supposed to know at this point, but if we can get him to calm down, he'd do a lot better.

I've done some reading on ADHD and having the tonsils removed. I saw a program on it, so I looked it up. It has to do with how much sleep they are getting. Unlike adults being tired and grumpy, if kids don't get the right amount of sleep, they get overly hyper. Well, Mark tosses and turns, snores a bit, and wakes up a lot during the night. "In one recent study, at the University of Michigan, 22 children with ADHD and sleep-disordered breathing had adenotonsillectomies. After one year, 11 no longer battled ADHD." I'm going to talk to his doc about maybe having his tonsils out.

2008-11-09T08:59:00.001-05:00

The world’s a better place because Michelangelo did not say, “I don’t do ceilings.”

The world’s a better place because Martin Luther did not say’ “I don’t do doors.”

The world’s a better place because John Wesley didn’t say, “I don’t do preaching in fields.”

The world’s a better place because Moses didn’t say, “I don’t do Pharaohs or mass migrations.”

The world’s a better place because Rahab didn’t say “I don’t do enemy spies.”
The world’s a better place because Ruth didn’t say, “I don’t do mothers-in-law.”
The world’s a better place because Samuel didn’t say, “I don’t do mornings.”
The world’s a better place because David didn’t say, “I don’t do giants.”
The world’s a better place because Peter didn’t say, “I don’t do Gentiles.”
The world’s a better place because John didn’t say, “I don’t do deserts.”
The world’s a better place because Mary didn’t say, “I don’t do virgin births.”
The world’s a better place because Paul didn’t say, “I don’t do correspondence.”
The world’s a better place because Mary Magdalene didn’t say, “I don’t do feet.”
The world’s a better place because Jesus didn’t say, “I don’t do crosses.”

The world exists today as a better place because Noah obeyed God instead of letting common sense and personal convenience prompt him into saying, “I don’t do arks and animals.”

And the world will be a better place only if you and I don’t say, “I don’t do...”

Nuttin new here

2008-11-08T23:11:00.002-05:00

Nuttin much going on here. I have a boring life sometimes hehe.

We are having another conference with Ross' teacher on Wed. The paperwork she sends home is not reflecting on his report card and we don't understand. We'll see what happens.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!!! Wow this year has gone by too fast!

OOOO~~Mark lost his first tooth on Fri. I took a pic...I'll post it another day.

Lewis took Mark and Ross out in his blind to see the deer. Mark got to see 8 deer. One even walked up to the blind. Ross only got to see 2. Lewis was kinda upset. He wanted Ross to see more.

Has anyone read the Yada Yada Prayer Group books? They are so awesome. They really make you look at your prayer life and how you pray. I recommend these books to any and everyone. I want to buy me the set now. So many scripture references that I wish I had right on hand. (I got these from the library)

Guess that's it for now.

Good News from AFA

2008-11-06T07:35:00.001-05:00

From AFA e-mail:
No doubt, it was a disappointing night with overwhelmingly bad news. But there was some good news for those who support traditional marriage. In the states of Arizona, Florida and California voters said no to homosexual “marriage.” In fact, in the Sunshine State, 60% of the vote was needed to keep marriage only between a man and a woman, and our side was able to garner 62% of the vote.

We won in Arizona, too! This is significant because a couple of years ago the marriage amendment was defeated when the pro-homosexual marriage advocates played the fear card with senior citizens.

Finally, in California, our country’s largest and most liberal state, the citizens voted 52% to 48% to overturn the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage. This is BIG news! Radical homosexual groups, Hollywood celebrities and the liberal media came together to try and defeat Proposition 8, yet the pro-family and pro-marriage citizens of California won a huge victory and, if I might add, put the arrogant California Supreme Court in its place.

So despite some discouraging news on the national front, 30 states have adopted a state constitutional amendment preserving traditional marriage since the legalization of same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts.

Election

2008-11-05T01:40:00.002-05:00

I just had to get this off my chest. My spirit is really uneasy. I'm praying and praying for our country and it's coming years. I know that God is still on his throne. I have to keep that in the forefront.

I cried this evening as I watched the votes being recorded. I guess this all scares me. I was hoping McCain would win, tho I knew that is was a long shot. I worry about how our country will change. I know Obama is bringing "change", but I don't think it will be a good change. I see a lot of things going wrong.

I just read Crystal's blog and I agree with her. I will respect Obama, for God has put him in this place of authority. I know God has His reasons (tho I wish we knew why hehe), but I will still be in prayer for this country and the road we are about to go down.

I'm not much of a prayer. In fact, in my list of gifts, it is way down on the list. I struggle everyday with it. But this has kinda opened my eyes to how much prayer is needed. (plus the books Yada Yada Prayer Group~ but that's for another post)

Us Christians need to bond together in prayer like we never have before.

5 months

2008-11-01T19:57:00.002-04:00

He is 5 months now :)

He weighs 15.4 lbs and is 26 1/4 inches long

He loves hamming it up

He loves to smile

*He has his first tooth breaking thru now. You can feel it's edge.

*He has all the youth at the church wrapped around his finger.

*He is rolling all over the place, but if he gets too far, Mark is sure to carry him back hehe

*He is in 3-6 months old clothes. 6 months are a bit big still

*He has fallen off the bed twice and the couch once......we put him on the floor now hehe

*He has a "crinkle book" that we have to take with us all the time (it's a teething book that....well....crinkles hehe)

*He gets aggravated when he can't crawl.

*He likes to be standing up.

*You sit still, he'll rock himself.

*He likes to feel your face (although he sometimes ends up pinching ya)

*Hasn't really gotten into liking baby food. Not rushing it tho.

*Giggles now and then

*Still hasn't figured out what to do when tickled hehe

LUV GOODWILL!!!

2008-10-29T21:23:00.002-04:00

I so needed some pants. I got 4 pairs today. I am so happy. I hate having to try them on first, but I love getting 4 pairs for the price I'd pay for just one :)

Plus, I got to go thru some of the things we are selling at the yard sale Sat., and I got a pair of pants for me and a coat for Trevor. It's a good brand name (so I'm told) so I'm happy I got it for 75 cents. They are kinda surprised that they don't have more kids stuff~ but they have to realize...the youngest kids in our church are in Kindergarten (of course not counting Trevor) so people have probably gotten rid of all their stuff.

Mark went on his first field trip with his Kindergarten class. He went to pick out a pumpkin and have a picnic. It was on the coldest day this week. I was just glad it wasn't me hehe

Also, I might be calling his doc soon. His medicine just isn't working. It's like he isn't taking anything. He's had days where he just can't stop talking. I wanted to wait thru this week, but I might call sooner....he's driving me nuts hehe

Trevor is sticking with a schedule. I love it. I just wish his tooth (or teeth) would come thru. I know he's hurting

Trevor will be 5 months old tomorrow!! He has his check-up and I'll post his info and his 5 month pic.

Just all over the board in this post....sorry. Been in a funk for about 2 weeks and I can't seem to drag myself out of it.

Love this pic

2008-10-27T19:49:00.000-04:00

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-27T10:26:00.004-04:00

We had a Trunk or Treat at our church Sat. Here's some of our interesting youth hehe

The sky looked so pretty

Trevor had a ball. The youth and him get along so well. Well....they argue about who gets to hold him hehe

If you're in my area~ We are having a Hay Day on Nov. 1 from 9-2. There's going to be: a yard sale, bake sale, kids games, cruise in, food, pedal tractor pull, pie contest, hay rides, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. If you'd like to know more, just e-mail me. Would love to see ya there.

"Talking" Trevor

2008-10-23T18:02:00.003-04:00

Here's a video of Trevor "talking" I had to take it from the side, cuz whenever I had the camera in front of him, he'd quit talking hehe

It happened

2008-10-22T10:39:00.002-04:00

Well....Ashley got suspended on Monday. For 5 days. Her mom has her confined to her room for 2 weeks as punishment. I don't know what's going on in her head.

Anyways~ Trevor's been doing good. Starting to get a little bit of a scheduke going. If you sit still with him on your lap, he'll rock himself. It's so funny.

The doc changed Mark's medicine. He's now going to be taking Concerta instead of the patch. We'll see how it goes :)

Ross is doing pretty good. He's getting extra help at school now, so we'll see how that helps him.

Guess that's it for now. Been in a funk lately and don't know how to get out of it. I'll write again soon.

Why....

2008-10-15T00:44:00.003-04:00

....do we feel a need to be liked by everyone? Why does it gets us so down when they don't?

UGGG

2008-10-15T00:34:00.003-04:00

I'll be glad when Trevor's done teething. He's just really started and already it's driving me nutz! And he fights sleep so hard~ he cries with his eyes shut...just let go son! hehe~ so the combination isn't fun. He's getting his personality tho, so it's getting fun. He is scooting everywhere. I don't think he's gonna crawl. I think he'll go straight to walking. He already puts his feet flat to scoot around.

We've had to change Ross' medicine again. Hopefully we've found something (for right now anyways)

I wish we had to $ for the Y. I need to start working out, but with a little one, I haven't been able to. I know if I could go there, I would, cuz I wouldn't want the $ to go to waste hehe.

Keep my mom in your prayers. She has been having some seizures lately. Also, she's been falling more and that is hurting my dad's back (since he has to pick her up) It might come down to my dad having to put her in a nursing home. He don't want to~ it's killing him to even think about it~ but he knows it's getting tougher and tougher for him. So really~ be praying for them both.

Hola

2008-10-11T08:16:00.004-04:00

I've run out of things to use as my title lol

Well, Trevor has become more mobile. He has learned how to roll all over the place. Including off the bed! He was asleep and I went into the living room for a moment and boom~ he had woken up and rolled off the bed. He had a small bruise on his head, but it's gone now.

My boys

Read about a cool camera trick. Take a Post-it and place it over the flash. The pic takes the color of the Post-it. It also said it has cool effects when there's another light source in the pic (they showed a pic with a jack-o-lantern and it looked cool)

Orange

Pink (couldn't get it to work as well)

Green

Purple

Yellow

I thought it was cool :)

My mom's not doing so well. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She has mentioned to my dad that's she's ready to go whenever the Lord wants her home.

Four months

2008-10-07T23:33:00.003-04:00

My baby's four months now

Learning how to pose hehe

Teething like crazy~ something's always in his mouth
His hand.....

His blanket......

Or his foot hehe

Park time

2008-10-07T23:24:00.002-04:00

Just chilling :)

Pushing Trevor

Cheez

Me and my baby

Me and 2 of my boys :)

Teacher Conference

2008-10-07T23:17:00.003-04:00

Well, we'll see how it actually went. I think we might have gotten it thru her head that we absolutely HAVE to have communications with her. She started out making excuses for not writing us. Then she also changed it to where Ross just didn't eat lunch 2 times. Not so bad since she told us of one time. The going out of the room~ she allows him to go out when she sees him starting to get mad. He's only had to do that 2 or 3 times. She knows that Ross can't do his writing on the computer. We finally got that thru her head.

We just can't figure out why she made it sound so bad on the phone. We don't know if she was just toning it down because the VP was in there and wanted to cover her butt. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt. So we'll see.

Wow

2008-09-30T17:33:00.002-04:00

Didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted. So sorry

Well....I'm about fed up with Ross' teacher. Here's the latest:

About 2 weeks ago, she sent home a test that Ross had made a 50 on. It was a diagram of a flower and supposed to be a seed also. He had done the flower part, but not the seed. He was to draw it and label it. We wrote and asked how long he had to do this, since we knew he's so OCD when it comes to doing things exactly right. A week later we still hadn't heard anything. So I wrote and asked her to please see the note on that day (they have agenda books that the teachers and parents are to communicate in). Still no answer a week later.

She one day said that Ross could do his work on the computer. She had problems reading his handwriting. Well, me and Ross' stepmom said no, cuz 1)how will he get better? 2)that is the way we know something needs to be changed in his medicine.

Ross got his progress report and it had all "S" on it. Two things had "S-", but to me that was still good. Even his handwriting got an "S"

Ross' step-mom wrote a letter that told her that Ross would be going to afterschool care everyday now and to also call us about the other matter. Well, obviously, she doesn't read the agenda books. She didn't know what his stepmom was talking about.

She asked if we had requested a conference on his progress report. Well, no. If my child has all "S"s, I think he's doing great, why do I need to speak with you about it?

Well, he hasn't been doing so well in school. He's still grade level, but she's been having problems. She said that Ross has come in moody some days, crying some days. Hasn't eaten lunch. Has been sent into the hall a couple of times.

WELL~~WHY HASN'T SHE TOLD US?!?!?!?!? She hasn't ever informed us about any of this. NONE. One day she wrote about him getting in trouble and that one day not eating (cuz he was really upset about getting in trouble). But NOTHING ELSE! I told her at the very beginning to PLEASE keep us informed of his behavior because we needed to know ASAP so we could do something about it. Not one peep!! And not eating lunch~ wouldn't you think the parents should know? Not only is my child not eating, but we are paying for him to not eat! He gets his food, but she says he pushes it away. This is my child's health!!! And she's messing with it!

She also asked the stepmom about Ross' diagnoses. Does she not read all the paperwork we fill out??? We filled out 2 for the school and 1 for her classroom. Then she had the nerve to become a psychiatrist and ask if Ross started to behave like this when his father and I split. Ross' stepmom said she had to bite her tongue. She told the teacher very calmly "NO. It actually started when his father and I started dating, but it has nothing to do with that. They are sure it's bipolar, but doesn't want to label him as such at his age."

Then she also talked about his handwriting again, about how bad it was. If it's so bad......WHY give him an "S" on his progress report???? Does she not get it? She's hindering anything we can do to help him or get him help!!!! ERRRRRRRRRR.

So anyways, we are to have a conference at the school with her. I asked Ross' stepmom to ask the VP to come and sit in too (she know the VP personally), cuz I'm HOT!!! And I want witnesses (not that I'm going to do physical harm!!!) I just want someone else to hear what is going on and that I want it stopped NOW!

So, that's whats new with Ross. I'm gonna put up new pics soon. Plus Trevor's 4 month pic (he's 4 months today!)

My teething baby

2008-09-18T13:59:00.004-04:00

Drool baby

Chewing on hand....

.....or bumbo......

......or hand hehe

All smiles

Trevor...

2008-09-17T11:41:00.003-04:00

...did good yesterday. Barely any spit up. Took naps. I got to do some cleaning!! :) It took him forever to go to sleep last night tho. Oh well. He's done good so far today. We'll see if it last.

Lewis might be coming down with the flu :( He wasn't feeling good yesterday. He went to work today, but I don't know how good he was feeling. He's rushed on some of the jobs right now. The owner had told some of the companies that they had some work done, in order to go ahead and get paid. But of course it's not done yet. The owner had to do that tho, cuz the stockholders are demanding their money. Uggg.

Going to the fair either tonight or tomorrow. The kids have free tickets. I just don't know which day would be better since it's kinda rainy today, but I don't know if that'll clear up by tomorrow. We'll see.

I was changing Trevor and all of a sudden I see huge legs. There was a spider! I flipped out, got Trevor (sans diaper) and put him in my bed so I could go get a shoe. It moved behind some things so I had to chase it out~ wasn't gonna let it go since it was near Trevor's bed (wouldn't let it go anyways, but gave me more motivation to get it now) I got it out and then couldn't find the shoe I had gotten. I used the only thing that I could find right away~the wipes container. I had to smash it 3 times to kill it. Ugggg I hate spiders.

Mk with Staci

2008-09-14T20:32:00.003-04:00

Tried to get a pic of Jackson holding Trevor's hand. It was so cute

Chrissy after her makeover. Isn't she pertty :)

We laughed so much. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time

The kids playing outside. They were wore out that night

I played peek-a-boo with Trevor while Chrissy did her makeup

My baby :)

2008-09-14T20:28:00.002-04:00

I didn't have the camera positioned right hehe He was on the upswing :)

GAS PRICES!!

2008-09-14T19:55:00.002-04:00

Our town went nutz with gas prices on Friday. (some of these, you'll have to click on to see)

Plus is more than diesel

This station went up $.80 in 5 hours

This one had the cheapest~$3.79, but had lines going down the road. They ended up running out. They went up $.10 a couple of hours later, but since they didn't have any~ what did it matter? hehe

I got mine here 2 hours before this pic~ It was at $3.99 when I got it. (They were $.10 cheaper today)

A man that works where Ross goes for after school said a friend of his in another NC town said it was over $7.00 a gallon (price gouging anyone?) Some places are only allowing you to get 10 gallons at a time.

Ekkkk

2008-09-14T19:41:00.002-04:00

I went outside and saw this thing. I hate snakes, no matter if they won't hurt me or not (I have held a boa, but that's the only one I've touched~ otherwise I like a piece of glass between us)

I didn't get this close....I used the zoom hehe

Tail hanging out of the siding.

No reflux

2008-09-13T08:36:00.003-04:00

Well the radiologist said there wasn't any reflux. He was going to go back over the film to see if he missed anything, but was certain Trevor didn't have reflux. I don't believe it. The way they were testing was to see if it came right back up. Well, he doesn't always spit it right back up. Sometimes it's a while later, like a 1/2 hour to an hour later. BUT~ since having the test done, he hasn't had but one major spit up.

He has been cranky as all get out tho. Yesterday he didn't want to have anything to do with anybody. I can't believe how much crying drains you out. He's happy right now~don't know how long that'll last tho.

I'm going to Staci's today for her MK. I just hope my kids behave hehe

I can't wait til the movie Fireproof comes out. It's done by the same guys who did Facing the Giants. It's about fireproofing your marriage. Our church is offering tickets at $5 A COUPLE. Then doing a Sunday School class for it. (The movie has Kurt Cameron)

Back again

2008-09-09T11:22:00.004-04:00

Well, I had been doing good at keeping up with my updates. Then everything has been happening :)

Trevor did good for about 5 days on the new formula.....then the spitting up started all over again. So we tried another one. He didn't do so well on it. He scared me cuz I only changed 2 wet diapers. So we went back to the other. They were supposed to be calling me about doing a test to see if he has reflux. They still hadn't called by this morning, so I went back to the doc. Trevor's info got "lost" by the hospital about the test, so they said the hospital will call me. I got home (after my first CVS trip~ shown below) and they scheduled him for tomorrow morning. I am so glad they could get him in so quick.

Mark is having his first week of homework. He did good yesterday. I guess since Ross had to do his, too, it didn't bother him as much. I was proud :) We have open house tonight. I'm actually excited hehe

Ross is having problems again. He sees his psychiatrist today. Hopefully we caught it quick enough that it won't be as hard to correct it.

First CVS trip

(there was another Suave product I forgot to put in the pic)

Transaction 1
Renuzit Triscent 7.99
Right Guard 2.99

Coupons
-$1 Right Guard
-$4 Renuzit

OOP 6.72
Earned $5 ECB

Transaction 2
Suave 1.79
Suave 2.69
Suave 2.69
CVS Kids mouthwash 3.99

Used ECB's gained from Transaction 1
OOP $6.58
Earned $4 ECB's

Transaction 3
2 Lifesavers BOGO 2.19
Huggies Wipes 3.49
Reece candy .79
Trident gum 1.19

Coupons
-$1 Huggies
-$2.19 Lifesavers
Used $4 ECBs from Transaction 3
OOP .72

Got a $3/$15 coupon for next time

Total before coupons and ECB's =31.81
After=14.02
Savings of $17.79

It was my first trip and I know there was some things I could've done better. I messed up on my 2nd transaction. On my 1st one, I got a 3/15, but I wasn't paying attention and didn't use it for my second(needed to get a few more things). I also didn't have all my coupons with me. I was proud of my first trip. Not bad :) Plus the cashier was REALLY nice. She knew what I was doing and even congratulated me on how well I did for my first trip. The last transaction I had to add the gum and Reece's cuz I was -$1.40 :) I'll probably go again tomorrow since I have to go past it anyways to take Trevor. I'll have more of my coupons with me :)

I WON!!

2008-09-07T01:35:00.002-04:00

I actually won a giveaway. Over $200 in coupons :) I'm so excited!!!

Three Months

2008-09-01T18:46:00.002-04:00

Trevor is now 3 months old. He is 13 lbs and 25 inches long.

He gets quiet when there is music playing or you singing. Still likes "Head and Shoulders" , but I think his favorite is "The wheels on the bus" (especially since Mommy has learned more verses :) )

Since his formula has been changed~ he smiles more and is a lot happier. His first word will be mama, we think. He's "said" it a couple of times, but it's been during crying so I don't think it counts. He does say "Mmmm" a lot hehe.

Still doesn't care for his car seat. Likes his Bumbo. Likes to have a receiving blanket to chew on, since he's starting to get a tooth. Drools like crazy hehe.

Sleeps around 7-8 hours at night. Wasn't taking naps during the day, until they changed his formula. Has made mommy happy for those naps :) Get to do some work around the house now hehe.

Loves his brothers talking to him. Mark has a "conversation" with him all the time. He makes up Trevors part. So cute. I'll get a video of it one day.

"Talking" with daddy

Trevor is now 3 months old :) 13lbs and 25 inche

Oh well

2008-09-01T13:37:00.003-04:00

We didn't get approved for Medicaid. Although I don't understand it. We did get approved for two days~ 5-30 thru 5-31. It doesn't make sense, but it'll take care of some of the bills (that's 2 of the days that we were in the hospital). I have a call in to find out why just two days and to see if there's something else we might be able to get. I'm also going to call and check about Mark's Medicaid. If we didn't get approved for Trevor and me, I'm just wondering if Mark should be off of it. I don't want him to be, but I'd rather find out now than get in trouble later and have to pay back a ton of money.

Wednesday night, Mark didn't sleep AT ALL. I called his doctor and she said he might have gotten sensitive to his patch (his ADHD patch) so to only use it for school hours. Then told me to have him go without it for the weekend. I was very apprehensive about the weekend, but Mark did very well. He even went to sleep very easily this weekend. I was surprised. Maybe he doesn't need the patch anymore. I would love that. We will see what happens.

I am almost done painting my "hallway" About time hehe. I hope to have it done this week. When I post pics, you'll wonder why it took so long (it's really not a big "hallway"), remember all that I've had to get used to this past week, with getting up so early and not having Mark to help me out around the house :)

2008-08-27T21:06:00.002-04:00

Well, Mark has been home on Tues and Wed. In Kindergarten here, they have integrated class. The first three days, only a few come, so the teacher can have more one-on-one time with kids so they don't get so scared. He goes back tomorrow. I won't have as much of a bad time this time. :)

My brother has still not been heard from. Another of my brothers is getting nervous. Please just keep him in your prayers.

Be praying that I will hear from Medicaid soon. I'm very worried we won't get it and I don't know what we'll do then.

Trevor has a tooth coming in. I guess that's why he's been so cranky. We go to the doc tomorrow, so I will voice all my concerns then.

Re-definitions

2008-08-27T19:17:00.002-04:00

Too funny not to share :)

Arbitrator: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's.

Avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do.

Bernadette: The act of torching a mortgage

Burglarize: What a crook sees with

Control: A short, ugly inmate

Counterfeiters: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets

Eclipse: what an English barber does for a living

Eyedropper: a clumsy ophthalmologist

Heroes: what a guy in a boat does

Left Bank: what the robber did when his bag was full of loot

Misty: How golfers create divots

Paradox: two physicians

Parasites: what you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Pharmacist: a helper on the farm

Polarize: what penguins see with

Primate: removing your spouse from in front of the TV

Relief: what trees do in the spring

Rubberneck: what you do to relax your wife

Seamstress: describes 250 pounds in a size 6

Selfish: what the owner of a seafood store does

Sudafed: brought litigation against a government official

And last but not least:

Subdued ...like a guy, like works on one of those, like, submarines, YO!

Mother's

2008-08-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it. Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox. Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens, and happy kids. Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets. Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up. Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.' Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

First day of school

2008-08-26T16:14:00.003-04:00

First day's breakfast. Way too early in the morning hehe

Standing ready to go to the bus.
'

At the end of our driveway. He thought it was cold.

Getting on the bus (as I start to cry)

I cried all the way back to the house. When we got back to the house, I looked up in the sky and saw this. It was so big, I couldn't get the whole thing in the pic. It was a whole one, too, ~NO breaks in it. It was so pretty. More than these pics could convey. God knew I needed this. Five minutes later, it was completely gone, gray clouds in it's place with drizzle coming down. I think God was saying to me and reminding me~ "He's mine, too. I'll be watching over him. He'll be ok. He's in my care."

So cool

2008-08-23T22:58:00.004-04:00

You'll never know what my blog will look like now :) I found a place with the coolest free backgrounds. I'll end up changing my blog all the time now :)

Labels (long post)

2008-08-22T08:50:00.006-04:00

**Fixed my link. Realized I had it going to the wrong place**

Staci wrote about labels on her blog. Labels on children. Here are some things that I wanted to say and didn't want to take up a lot of room on her comment space to say them (it's longer than I meant it to be). This has nothing to do with Chloe's behavior, just looking at things thru my world and stating things that I have experienced.

I have learned thru our many situations with Ross about how labels work around here. Before Ross was diagnosed with anything, we had the hardest time getting help.

In Daycare, his behavior was going down hill fast. He had gone there since he was about 10 months old and when he was 4 and 1/2 , he started being aggressive with his teachers, other students, and even the owner of the facility (and she's not one that you mess with!!!) He got where he was sullen one day, having a good day the next, off the wall the next, then being violent the next (and sometimes, all those emotions in one day, even in a few hours). We had talked to Ross' doctor about something to do...therapy, medicine, what were we to do? We got looked at with a blank stare pretty much. One week before he was to graduate from daycare, he ended up getting kicked out. We were then blamed by the owner for his behavior and told that we were likely to have DSS come and take him from us because of it. (let me say~ I NEVER recommend this daycare to anyone, in fact I tell people to stay away~ I don't care how good the place was, she liked to intimidate you) She never tried to help or anything. He got kicked out 6 months after it all started. SIX months and no help.

We then went back to his doctor and since Ross got kicked out, he was (all of a sudden) able to help. We were sent to a family counselor. There during a few sessions, he told me he thought Ross was having seizures. A simple test that he did suggested it. Have the child draw a diamond. On the final line coming back up to close it off, if the line goes in a completely different direction, it's an implication of seizures. Now there's normal amount of "going of base" with children, but if that 4th line goes too far off that in makes you actually have to draw a fifth line to close off that diamond, that's not normal. It means the brain isn't "connecting" either.

Anyways, Ross had an EEG and it showed there was seizure activity. Actually, we had been seeing them, but not realizing it. Ross has focal seizures. When he'd play video games, he'd wet himself. Well, we just thought he wasn't wanted to stop and go to the bathroom (in fact he got in trouble many times because of this) He'd say he didn't remember wetting himself, but since we didn't know any different, we didn't believe him. When we started watching for them, you could actually catch little ones that weren't causing him to lose control. So we got him on anti seizure medicine.

After that, his behavior was nuts. You never knew which "child" you would have or how many of "them" you would have. I couldn't go in public for a while cuz I didn't know how he'd react to things. He'd react to the same situation 4 different ways, so you could never prepare yourself for what would come. It was so tough.

Then we finally had him evaluated. With info from us, his teachers and the results of the testing, he was diagnosed with ADHD and a mood disorder. They don't want to claim it was anything than mood because the other things are hard to diagnose in a child his age.

In school, we were blessed his Kindergarten year, because the teacher was actually going thru the exact same thing with her own step-daughter. That woman had the patience of an angel.

We went thru many medicines. One would make him a zombie, one would make him worse, one would make him VERY sensitive. We finally got the right medicine, then the doc wouldn't listen to us that it wasn't working. I don't think she ever heard a word we said. We finally got someone to listen and got his medicine changed.

First grade~ not so great teacher. We had talked to her at the beginning to let her know what was going on. She didn't want us to tell her. She said she wanted to learn the child herself. That's great to an extent, but if I can tell you hints on how to deal with situations, why not listen to me? Ross had learned when he was getting too angry and how he needed to get himself away from the situation. The teacher didn't encourage this. We had also asked that if his behavior started to change in ANY way, tell us. We wouldn't know without her telling us. For all we'd know, he was good at school, and had problems at home. We went in for a conference and come to find out his behavior had changed a MONTH earlier. When she started telling how he was behaving, we realized he was having seizures again. For a MONTH. So we went and again had medicine changed. Then due to the seizure medicine changes, we had to change the others too. Here's one incident that happened that year

Because of behavior changes, we were able to get help thru the school for more one-on-one help. They would come in once a month (and if we ever needed it to be more, it was possible) and he'd talk with someone, get help on schoolwork if he needed it, just to have some one-on-one time

Second grade~ much better. The teacher communicated a lot better with us.

We only had one major problem the whole time. On Christmas Eve Day, Ross was outside playing with all the other kids. He decided that he was going to run into the road. He said he wanted to kill himself. It hasn't been the first time that he's mentioned this, but it's the first time he's tried to act on it. He wasn't harmed, but it scared the wits out of me. He said he got mad at the girls and so that's why he wanted to go see God. He don't like feeling mad and wanting to hit, cuz he knows it's wrong and so he thought God would take that from him if he went and saw Him. We one of his medicines changed and got him in to see a therapist. He got better and the therapist was pleased with his progress.

Now were off to third grade so we will see what this year holds. We've learned how to minimize situations and predict how he will react. We just have to get the teacher to be on the same wavelength. We still have help available to us if the need is there. Plus the docs we have now, listen to us so we are able to make adjustments on meds quicker and easier. We haven't had to change meds in a year~ just had to add one. But we know that sooner or later, we will have to change and it's nice to know that the docs hear us.

I started off this post talking about labels cuz without a "label," we wouldn't have gotten help (and I'd be in a looney bin) Labels are only what we perceive them to be. A lot of times, we parents see them worse than they are. I think they help more nowadays because of the help we can give our children because of them.

2008-08-22T08:41:00.005-04:00

Your Mind is 86% Cluttered

Your mind is incredibly cluttered. You have so much going on in there, it's hard to think straight.

Consider talking to a therapist. It's a good idea to sort through your thoughts, if only to see which ones are worth hanging on to.

How Cluttered is Your Mind?

Pics and video

2008-08-20T13:49:00.004-04:00

Love the outfit :)

Click it to enlarge and see his spikey hair :) I love it

I'm sing the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes song.

Watch to the end and you can hear his coo

Well

2008-08-20T00:46:00.002-04:00

Trevor's still been fussy. I think it's cuz he's going thru a growth spurt. He's eating like crazy.

Pray that we hear from my oldest brother soon. The last anyone has heard from him, he was VERY messed up, either drugs or alcohol (or even both). He's in Ca. and the last day he was heard from was last Thurs. We are starting to get worried.

Pray also that we get approved for Medicaid. We finally got all our info into them today. It would take so much worry off of me and Lewis.

I so miss being in school. I wish I went back this semester. I hope to go back next semester.

Any suggestions on how to start out with CVSing? The only thing I know is the scenarios people post, and a lot of them, I don't have the coupons they have. I haven't exactly figured out how to do my own scenarios.

The 25th is getting closer and closer~ school starts. I get teary eyed everytime I think of it. I'm going to be taking care of my friend's son before and after school, so I think I'll be a little better knowing the he can help out with Mark. I don't know how Mark's gonna do on the bus, but my friend's son has ridden the bus, so I hope that'll make Mark feel better.

I'll post some pics tomorrow. Just wanted to write a little tonight. :)

Home early

2008-08-16T15:38:00.002-04:00

Mark got home last night. Although I missed him, he started arguing almost as soon as he got home. Oh well. Hopefully once he gets back into schedule, things will calm down.

Trevor has been fussy the last two days. I'm at my wits end. Don't know what else to do. Pray that I have patience. He's sleepin ok at night, but I need him to be better during the day.

Anyone been here? She does a $5 CVS challenge each week. It's to help newbies learn the CVS game. You try and get as much as you can in no more than 3 transactions and spend no more the $5 OOP (out of pocket~ I have learned that lingo :) )

One more week until school starts. It starts on the 25th. My brother, who lives in Ga, said my nephew and niece started Aug 4th. That's how early we used to start. Now it gets later and later every year.

Oh well

2008-08-14T15:07:00.003-04:00

I haven't gotten much of the stuff done that I was going to get done this week~ although I do still have until Sunday :)

*Haven't done any painting

*Can't get my hair done. Ran into $ problems. I was so looking forward to it too :(

*Did do some cleaning. Got rid of some things, but still have a lot more I can get rid of.

*I got a new printer, so hopefully now I can figure out how to do the CVS game everyone is doing now. Especially now that we are going to have to crunch our money for a bit. Figured the printer was worth it if overall we can save some money.

Ross didn't know what to do without Mark the other day. I told him he better remember that next time he gets angry at Mark for wanting to play with him.

Getting more nervous everyday about Mark going to school. My best friend is trying to get her son switched to where Mark is going, so maybe he can help Mark out...it will calm me down a little hehe

Trevor is doing good. He smiles a lot. He has learned how to stick his tongue out at ya. So funny.

My mom fell again last week. She didn't have her dog's leash on him yet when she opened her front door, so he went tearing across the yard. Well, she went running after him. And if you know my mom, she hasn't run in 26 years. (except for once when I was little and she wanted to run down a walkway at a rest area with me, just once). She fell flat on her face. Pray for her.

Weird week

2008-08-11T00:20:00.003-04:00

This week will be so weird~ it's gonna be Mark-less. He's went on out of town with his Paw-Paw. He'll come back on Tuesday for his Kindergarten testing, but then back to the campground. I've only had a night away from him, so it's gonna be strange.

He called me tonight. He said he was having fun. I asked him what he did today and he said~

Mark: We played golf (putt-putt)
Me: Is that it?
Mark: (after a small "thinking" pause) Well, we ate.

LOL so funny.

So, I've started a painting project in my house. I'll take pics tomorrow. I have white walls and they just get on my nerves. So I have started painting in the "hallway" by the boys rooms. I'll work on it some while he's gone

I'm gonna go get my hair done. I'm so ready for something different. Probably going with the body wave. I'll do a before and after pic :)

Ross' b-day

2008-08-11T00:04:00.003-04:00

His cake, made by his grandma

Blow, baby, blow

He was smiling a lot at his party :)

He was throwing his toys in the air and wanted me to get and "in-air" photo. Didn't work hehe

This child racked up in gift cards!!

Got a Pokeman carrying case

Learning early~ Just smile and nod hehe

Disgusted

2008-08-09T15:44:00.003-04:00

I went to the flea market today (not as fun by yourself). There was a table that said "Free Junk." On it, was a children's bible and some videos about Jesus. That's fine if they wanted to get rid of it, but do they really have to call it "Junk"??? It's not junk. They could've just said "Stuff"

Doing better

2008-08-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

Trevor is doing better. Don't know if maybe he had a little bit of a stomach bug over the weekend or what. Sunday night he slept for 10 hours!

I'm doing ok. Still have a bruise on my leg and foot, so that's sore, but other than that, I'm doing good (can ya tell I like commas hehe)

Mark is going out of town next week with my FIL and his fiancee. They are taking him with them to a campground. They are thinking of leaving Sunday, he will be back on Tues to go to his Kindergarten testing and then go back to the campground. Yippee

So I gonna get something done to my hair next week. I'm thinking of going with a wave....still undecided.

Have you heard of the 100 thing challenge? There's one person that said (as I do) I don't think I can dwindle my stuff down to 100 things. So she changed it a little. Instead of only owning 100 thing, she's challenging people to get rid of 100 things. I think I'm gonna take that challenge. What do you think and do you think you could do either?

I forgot to tell ya

2008-08-03T22:29:00.002-04:00

I fell down my back stairs the other night. I was going out to my vehicle and it was raining. I hit a slick spot and down I went. I hit a vein or artery on my leg and it immediately started to pop up. I also hit my foot where I had bunion surgery 2 years ago. That place and my big toe was numb for a few hours that night. My leg still hurts and I am sore all over.

BUT~ I thank God that I didn't break anything. When I landed, my right leg was in a weird position. I was afraid I had broke something, cuz I couldn't move it at first. Then I had to get myself up and back into the house, cuz Lewis hadn't heard me and it was raining pretty good.

2008-08-03T21:52:00.003-04:00

Trevor has been doing so well. He had a bit of colic, but I thought it had actually went away. Or at least we seemed to have it under control. We used Gripe Water and it seemed to do the trick. Well, Saturday was a TERRIBLE day. He didn't take a nap all day. He was either spitting up or crying and making his body stiff. I gave him the Gripe Water twice, but didn't give him anymore because it seemed like right after I gave it to him, he ended up spitting it up. He did sleep for 9 hours tho.

Today, he did ok in the morning, but toward afternoon, it was like Saturday. I was afraid to give him 4 ounces at one time, cuz around noon he starting spitting up whatever he ate. So he was eating 2 ounces every hour to hour and 1/2.

I hope he sleeps well tonight and I pray that tomorrow will turn a corner. Mommy is getting frustrated. It's like whenever it seems as tho things are going good and seeming to calm down around here, something else happens. Ugg

Two months

2008-08-03T21:30:00.007-04:00

My smiley boy

So hard to get a smile picture in the chair~ all he wanted to do is coo hehe

"Talking"

Never got a good pic with both of them looking at me. One was always looking at the tv hehe

Trevor~ "Enough pics already!" hehe

His appointmen was on Friday. Well, we have had problems about Medicaid (The explaination~ I applied for myself back in Jan. I don't have my birth certificate, so DSS was contacting Ga to get it. In June, they had to close my case out because they STILL hadn't received it. So I'm having to reapply for me and Trevor. Usually, when the mother has Medicaid, the baby automatically gets it. Since I didn't have it, I have had to pay for his appointments (I get repaid after we get approved for Medicaid)) The appointment was going to cost $248~ which I wasn't prepared for (over double what I was expecting), so he didn't have his appointment. I'm going to call my doc and see how much they charge and see if I can move him there.

I weighed him~ 12 lbs. I haven't measured him tho. I will when I can

He's cooing alot more now. He still loves his Kiddapotomus. Doesn't care for car rides that much. Loves watching people. Watched a race on tv. Loves the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". His arm is doing better. He's moving it above his head a lot more.

I'm hopefully going soon and having pictures made. I still have to have Mark's graduation pics redone and I want to do that before school starts.

Lewis' work

2008-08-03T15:49:00.005-04:00

Before~

Now~ They have cleared out most of the debris. Looks so weird now

VBS crafts

2008-08-03T15:31:00.004-04:00

Crafts the boys made at VBS

Mark's window cling

Mark's fish

Mark's paper mache fish

Mark's drink holder

Ross only went 2 nights~
Ross' paper mache fish

Ross' drink holder

Wow!

2008-07-30T18:21:00.002-04:00

Trevor is now 2 months old today. He doesn't go to the doctor until Friday, so I'll post his 2 month pic up when I post his "stats". Doesn't seem like it's been that long. Although some days, I'd says it's been longer hehe

Talked to my mom last night. She has broken he thumb. She fell and fractured it cuz it was sticking straight out when she landed. She has some balance problems and has fallen a lot. I just don't know how much longer her body can handle her fallen. This is actually the first broken bone she's ever has ever broken (Praise God!)

Can't believe July is almost over! This year is flying. Next month we will have one kid in High School, and one starting Kindergarten. Wow.

Mark goes on the 11th for his Kindergarten testing. That will be interesting. lol

The last two days, I think Trevor and I caught up on a weeks worth of sleep. Me and him barely moved from the bed. You'd think I had a sleeping disorder, cuz I'd wake up after 3-4 hours of sleep and still be so tired, so after Trevors bottle, we'd fall back asleep together hehe. (how's that for a run-on sentence? hehe)

Gonna be busy

2008-07-25T21:46:00.002-04:00

We are keeping the girls this next week. So that'll mean 4 kids and on Tues and Wed, 5 (I have Ross). So this next week will be crazy~again~since we have had them earlier this month for a week.

I'm going to go tomorrow to pick up our Angel Food. If you don't know what it is, go to angelfoodministries.com. It is an awesome outreach and the food is wonderful. Click on this month's menu to see what all you get. Check to see if your town has one. It's worth the time and money. We got it 3 straight months one time and had to skip the next couple, cuz we still had so much food, we couldn't fit anymore in our freezer or shelves.

Ross' b-day is coming up soon. You can always remember his b-day 8-8-00 hehe. Then the last number of the year is his age :) I can't believe he's gonna be 8!! My little boy!

I need a day out! I want to get my hair done. What~ I don't know. I either want a wave put in my hair or highlights. Haven't decided what yet. Oh well. I don't see a day out coming for a while anyways.

Trevor

2008-07-24T12:27:00.002-04:00

Luv this outfit

Such a sweet look

He was "talking" to me

Still "talking"

Lewis' b-day

2008-07-24T11:23:00.004-04:00

His b-day cake.

At NASCAR Speedpark

I finally talked him into rock climbing~ been trying for years

That's my foot on the left. I was beating him hehe

After one of the times he fell down hehe

Looking to see what I could do to get higher, plus seeing that he's starting to pass me

Where to go, where to go

Hey! He passed me. We both got stuck at this point and couldn't get higher

Lewis after rock climbing hehe Poor baby

Then we went to play putt-putt

Cake that Mark made Lewis. (Lewis got into it the night before we did the candles)

Fireworks 4th of July

2008-07-24T11:07:00.002-04:00

Mark's favorite firework hehe. Coulda saved some $ lol

See our firework setup? I call it our redneck firework holder hehe

2008-07-24T11:05:00.001-04:00

Sorry

2008-07-23T00:45:00.002-04:00

I'm doing realllllll bad at keeping up with this, aren't I? Ok. I am going to do better from now on. I need to keep up with this!!! I can do it, I will do it. (Just pumping myself up :) )

Well, things are busy. And Trevor has kept it busier. He hasn't been much of a happy baby the last week. I don't know what else to try. I've added more Karo syrup, done gas drops, doing Gripe water (which has helped a bit), and I'm at my wits end. He doesn't like to be put down and so I end up holding him (which keeps me from my housework.) Since the gripe water, I have gotten a bit of reprieve, but not much. Even tho he's only (almost) 2months old, I would almost think he's teething. He's chewing on his hand and my shoulder, drooling, and irritable. He doesn't sleep much, causing me not to sleep much.

Also, please pray for him. One morning, at three weeks old, I realized he wasn't moving his left arm. I'd pick it up and it's would flop back down. I went to the doc and he was worried about giving him an x-ray and exposing him to radiation for no reason. So we were told to keep an eye on it. At 5 weeks old, he still wasn't moving it that much. It was better, but not back 100%. So he was sent to an orthopedic doctor. The doctor said he had only seen this right after birth, but it might be a special case. At birth, the muscles may pull away from the joint. So he gave us some exercises to do with his arm, so that when the muscles do go back to the joint, they will be ready. Sometimes they won't go all the way back, but I pray they will. He's moving it more since beginning the exercises, but again, not 100%. We go back next week to see the orthopedic doctor again, so we will see what he says then.

We are having VBS this week. Mark has gone all the nights and tonight was Ross' first night. They have loved it. At the end of the week, I will post all of the crafts they have done.

Pray for me. I don't want to go into it, but I need prayer. Thanks.

Can ya tell?

2008-07-03T05:39:00.002-04:00

I went in and woke up Mark the other morning. This is what I found. Can ya tell what's on his head?

Chores~ uggg

2008-07-03T05:00:00.002-04:00

Today I did some major cleaning up. Lewis took the girls and Mark bowling and I stayed home with Trevor~ he had just fallen asleep.

Ever get in the mood to just clean? To just do as much as you can before ya drop? That's how I was today. Here's what I did:

Kitchen~
Cleaned counters
cleaned front of stove and dishwasher
washed pans from breakfast
swept
mopped

Living Room~
dusted
got rid of magazines

Mark's room~
got rid of small shirts
got rid of toys not played with
picked up trash
straightened toy box
made up bed
cleaned out closet of hidden toys

Kid's Bathroom~
cleaned sink of stuck toothpaste
cleaned counter
deep cleaned toilet (so nasty)
swept
mopped

Kid's Living Room~
dusted
straighten books and coloring books
got rid of some more toys
deep cleaned coffee table (kids make it so dirty)

Dining Room~
dusted desk
deep cleaned dining table (had ketchup last night and a couple of people forgot to clean it up)

Was going to vacuum when Trevor woke up (he likes it), but didn't get the chance. I was beat when they got back home. I was proud tho that I did all this in just under 3 hours. When they got home, I took the kids on a "tour" and showed them how I had cleaned up and wanted it kept. We'll see. I still have the fridge to clean. Maybe today.

Update and Photos

2008-07-02T20:47:00.006-04:00

Mark and a friend at his dance demonstration

First dentist visit

He liked the spit sucker

Didn't want to do the fluoride treatment. He told the lady before she put it in his mouth "I'll have to think about this" I tried not to laugh

Trevor wouldn't stop staring at Mark

Big Brother helping

Asleep in his Kiddopotamus. It's a swaddler and a life saver :)

One Month old!!!!

Trevor is now one month old. ~He weighs 9 lbs 9 oz. ~He is 21 inches long. ~Has a big head (doc said that~not just saying it) ~He's not much of a paccy baby unless he's sleepy. (easier for us down the road :) ) ~He's starting to smile and coo. ~Doesn't like Ashley much (he likes to stay in one position when you hold him and she changes positions with him all the time) ~Starting to focus and follow things with his eyes. ~Will fall asleep in my arms as I do chores ~Has a bit of colic (Thank God for Nutramagen!!) ~Slept for 7 hours last night! Wonder if it'll happen again. (anytime he has an easy night and I say something about it, the next night is terrrrrrribbbbble!!)

Questions from Staci

2008-06-23T15:15:00.002-04:00

Do you have a set way you clean your kitchen? Yeah, in a way. I do it in a certain order. I start at the outside counter around to the fridge. I guess so that the counter people see most is at least clean if I don't get around to the rest. (Never really thought about it til now lol)

What is the purpose of the Magic Erasers? Are you supposed to use cleaner too? They are awesome at getting crayon off the wall. Ross and Mark were wonder artists on my walls and Magic Erasers helped me keep my sanity. Just wet and wipe. You do have to use some elbow grease, but no cleaners

Do spend your entire day keeping house? Or just wait and clean it all at one time? I try to keep picked up all the time, but the major cleaning I do one chore a day. (When I get to them :) )

Do you get Hungry at 4 pm and 11 pm??? Depends on when I eat, but I do get hungry a lot of times at 4 no matter whne I have ate.

If you are ONE day late do you take a pregnancy test? No. I wait a bit more.

Do you ask your children if they want a spanking? Have they ever said yes? I have asked before, but haven't in a long time. Ross has said yes before....I complied :)

Do you wash your feet before you go to bed? When I take a shower at night. Otherwise no.

Do you wash your face before bed? Or just in the shower? In the shower.

Do you consider yourself artistic? Not really.

Do you change your clothes more than once to find the right outfit? Depends on where I'm going. If I don't care, then no. If I want to look good for me or my family, then most of the time yes.

Does your husband fold clothes differently than you? So differently that I don't let him fold the laundry. I get frustrated at his folding.

Does it bother you to clean your toilet? Sometimes yes, but then I gag at a lot of things.

2008-06-23T12:37:00.006-04:00

Still don't know what's up with my AOL, but I can get to my e-mail tho. I can get to AOL by searching for it the clicking on that link. Annoying, but hey~gotta do what I gotta do :)

Hope to have some new pics up tomorrow. Tomorrow I take Mark for his Kindergarten check-up and to the dentist for the first time. I know what you're thinking~ "Five years old and it's the first time?" We didn't have the money to take him without insurance and the dental insurance was crazy expensive. Now that he has Medicaid, I'm getting him there. Better late than never!

Some pics I found of duct tape art work. These are made of duct tape. Cool, huh?

Sorry...

2008-06-19T10:40:00.002-04:00

If anyone is e-mailing me, I can't get to my e-mail right now. Every time I go to AOL, it says it's temporarily unavailable, to try again. It's been going on since Saturday. Yet, I can get to it from someone else's computer (I checked my mail on Tuesday), so I don't know what's wrong and why I can't access it from my computer all of a sudden (if you have any suggestions~ let me know)

I will put up new pics of Trevor soon. Had a tough night Tuesday night. He cried for 2 hours straight. Uggg. But last night he slept wonderfully and is sleeping right now.

Mark is doing good. He went for his check-up to check on his meds and the doc is happy with how well he's doing on them. He goes for his kindergarten check-up next week. I got him signed up yesterday and had tears in my eyes as I filled out the paperwork. My little boy isn't so little anymore!!! He was in awe of the school. He was saying "Oooh. I get to go here? I'll have a lot of people in my class like at Kidsports!" Like Lewis said~ it's going to be a shock to him how many people really are there.

Please pray for my mom. She has a problem with her back again. She is to go for 18 sessions of physical therapy and if that doesn't help, she'll have to have surgery~ again~ which she isn't too happy about. She's had about 8 operations and doesn't really want another (well, who WANTS surgery, but you know what I mean :) ) She is also back to having to use a cane. She's gone for about 4 years without it (Thanks to God intervening), but now has to use it again.

Still here :)

2008-06-16T15:17:00.002-04:00

Life has been busy! But I'm still around :)

Ross finished school last Tues. so now I don't have to run everyday to go pick him up. Not to complain , but just a lot easier since Trevor has come along.

Trevor is now 8 lbs. We had some problems with his formula and had a week of not getting much sleep. The doc put him on some new formula and it is a God send! He is a much, much happier baby and it's a lot easier in the wee hours of the morning. He still don't really fit into 0-3 month old clothes, but I know it'll only be time.

I feel sorry for Mark. He doesn't have as much to do now that he's out of school. And with it so hot, it's hard for him to go outside. We don't have the $ for the Y, so I just feel bad that there's not kids for him to play with. I will figure something out.

I'm so aggravated with Georgia. I applied for Medicaid in Jan. I don't have my birth certificate, so they sent off for one. They STILL have not gotten it. And if she doesn't get it by the end of the month, she'll have to close my file and I'll have to reapply. Which might be a prob since Lewis has been doing side work the last few weeks. I don't know. I have to leave it in God's hands.

The Sneeze

2008-06-08T17:27:00.001-04:00

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students
filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns
flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.

The Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away
tears. This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by
choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it .

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed
by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no
one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the
graduates or their families. The speeches were nice, but they were routine until
the final speech received a standing ovation. A solitary student walked
proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and
then it happened:

All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said,

"GOD BLESS YOU". And he walked off stage.
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found
a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the
court's approval. Isn't this a wonderful story?

2008-06-04T23:43:00.002-04:00

When they handed him to me

In his play yard

Waving at everyone :)