Our family

Sensitive, cuddly, perceptive, curious, loves Jesus, and has the sweetest heart I know.

Spirited, daring, loves her sister, pleasing, intelligent, challenging but I wouldn't trade her for anything!



Passionate, protective, works hard, pleasing, and loves me when I don't deserve to be loved.




...and me...

Thankful, nurturing, worrisome, and blessed beyond belief!

Just a link

I like her perspective. Haven't we all been here???

http://devotions.proverbs31.org/2010/12/unwrapping-his-christmas-presence-2.html

I'm baaaccckk!

Well, the good news is I have a brand new fancy-scmancy computer so I am so excited to figure out how to use it! The bad news is, right now I have nothing to say. Just found out Kaitlyn has step. I think this is the first major illness she has ever had. Hopefully this is just random and isolated. Its too close to Christmas for her to get sick again! We spent Thanksgiving in Florida and got to also visit my dad. I took lots of pictures but somehow they disappeared on my computer already! The kids got to swim one day when we were there which was so fun for them! We are in to the full swing of the Christmas season. The girls are going to the big parade downtown with my mom Saturday. We have plans every day next week, the following week we are headed to Orlando and then we'll be home to make final preparations for Christmas. It looks like Christmas dinner will be at my house this year, which should be interesting since I don't like or know how to make a turkey, dressing, gravy, pumpkin pie... I can make mashed potatoes and brownies from a box. Wanna come over??? I know it will work out just fine. The important part of Christmas is honoring the true reason: the birth of Jesus.

A couple other things I want to mention: Kylie is so stinkin' cute right now. If she sees anything at all that prompts the thought of football (helmet, ball, TV, the letters UCF-seriously she can read) she cheers, "Go Knights!" John is so proud. The also enjoys looking for Lulu our elf on the shelf and pulling the chair all over the kitchen so she can climb on the counters!

Stay tuned for a video of Kaitlyn singing, "Happy Birthday Jesus" it is the sweetest thing she has ever done. I mean ever, and she is a sweet kid!

Okay so I skipped around a lot so shoot me. I'll try to have some better thought out posts soon!

Taking a break

I guess I am taking a break from my blog. Our computer has died. RIP short time friend. Anyway, my awesome uncle let me borrow an old computer of thiers but it too has seen better days. Its not fast enough to upload any pictures. So I guess I will wait for Christmas but keep my fingers crossed that Santa delivers my present a little early. Halloween was fun. The girls did trunk or treat at school on Thursday at school. It didn't take Kylie very long to figure out that people were giving her candy or to learn the new word, candy. She must have eaten 12 pieces of candy and I didn't unwrap any of them. She ate wrappers and all!!! Kaitlyn was pumped for trick or treating. She was so excited I couldn't even get her to come home (after the party) first. She was very good and didn't eat too much candy!!! I can't say the same for her sister. Today is a new day though. We are hoping for an uneventful November so we can have a Merry Christmas spirit in December!

Missing Dora

When Kaitlyn was first watching tv, I NEVER put on Dora. I had a sour taste in my mouth from living in Orlando and I decided Kaitlyn would not speak Spanish. Real cool, Sara. Anyway, fast forward three years and I am over the trauma that I suffered in Orlando. Kaitlyn watched one episode of Dora and she started picking up all of these Spanish words. She won't say witch, she says bruja (sp?). Anyway, I have decided that it is cool that she knows Spanish words but now she wants NOTHING to do with watching Dora. I think I'm going to have to start insisting that it is the only show on so she will get in to it! She only wants to watch Phineas and Ferb which is cool because its funny but that now requires me to teach her stuff, not just depend on the TV. I just hope that this is the worst parenting mistake that I ever make- not letting my toddler watch Dora.

It's the Journey

As I'm sure you are well aware, this weekend I walked in the Atlanta 2 Day walk for breast cancer. The organization is called, "Its the Journey." And that was definitely true. I cheated by walking this weekend. I didn't have to raise any money because the team already did all of the work. I signed up for a weekend away from the kids. I thought I was walking to raise awareness for the issue of breast cancer but really, it raised my awareness of a truly horrible disease. I thought this was a disease that affected middle-aged women butI was astounded at all of the young women who were there as either survivors or in the middle of their battle. I learned that 1 out of 200 women who are thirty will develop breast cancer by the time they are 40 and 8 out of 200 by the time they are 60. Our team was established for someone I never met, Sara Papp, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26. Let me let you think about that a minute, 26! Unfortunately, she lost her battle in 2009.
As I was walking, the walk seemed like no big deal. We had lunch at mile 10. No sweat. By around mile 12, my feet were starting to feel the stress but I kept going. By mile 18, I was truly thinking, "this is dumb, why am I here." By mile 19, I realized that it was only a walk. I was in good shape and I could finish this last mile of the day. It was a "walk in the park" compared with someone who has just found out this life changing news. The next day, tired and sore, we journeyed a little farther; 10 more miles. No one had the stride or the energy of the morning before. We were tired, sore, and blistered but it was almost easier because the ceremonies of the night before and that morning. The night before I saw the pride in a husband who's wife finally acknowledged that she was a survivor. I watched a woman who was in the middle of her battle remove her wig in front of 1000 people and that morning I saw a 20 year old girl who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 16. 16! I have two girls, that shot right to my core.
There was a rabbi who spoke Sunday morning who said we were praying with our feet. Every painful step of those last 10 miles I tried to remember that I was praying for all those survivors including Kris (my teammate) and Aunt Sharon, the families of those like Sara who lost their battle and for a cure so that women will not have to worry about this terrible disease.

Cousins and Shoes

We had a nice long visit with our South Dakota cousins last week. Taylir and Cadence came to visit and the girls spent LOTS of time together. They all warmed up and played like they just saw each other yesterday. The girls spent lots of time in Grandma's new house playing with Barbie's and watching Phineas and Ferb and we also took a trip to the aquarium. Fun visit!

On another note, Kylie has become a shoe-aholic! Both love to play in my heels, but Kylie has taken a particular interest in everyone else's shoes. Kylie fell down the steps trying to take a stroll in my highest and sparklyest on Sunday. Glad she was okay but definetly a sassy injury! She also ADORE's the shoe section at Target. She will jump out of the cart so she can try them on and she knows which are the cutest. She also loves Kaitlyn's flip-flops so she got her own!

So Kaitlyn loves jewelry, and Kylie loves shoes. This might be a sign that we can't afford any more kids!

Potty Mouth

So, I just said a bad word in front of Kaitlyn she had to chant it over and over. "Mommy why did you say, $***? " "Mommy, why did you say, $***" "Mommy, speak to me! Why did you just say $***?" In case you were wondering, I did get a tetanus shot recently so I guess I'm probably okay.

I'll try to update on last week with our long lost cousins Taylir and Cadence tomorrow. Right now my foot hurts.

Atlanta 2 day

I recently learned I have actual readers to my blog. Yay! Anyway I am excited to have been asked to join Team Breasta Fiesta for the Atlanta 2 Day walk for breast cancer. I am fortunate enough that my team members have already raised the money needed for me to walk but we still have one last fundraiser. We will be raffling a beautiful handmade dollhouse on October 1st. Tickets for the raffle are $10 each. It would be an awesome gift for any little girl in your life! You can send me the money if you would like to buy a ticket. Click here to see some pictures.

You can also donate on my donation page which is here.

I will be walking in honor of my Aunt Sharon. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2003 and finished her treatment in time to attend my wedding in April 2004. She was labeled a survivor in November 2008. I was definitely old enough to understand what was going on when she was going through this but I truly don't know if I ever appreciated all that she did to help make my day perfect while undergoing treatment. So in case I didn't say it then, thank you and I love you Aunt Sharon!

Thank you for your support of a wonderful cause!

HUGS!

Kylie has learned something that doesn't drive me absolutely nuts. Well, she learned this yesterday, today she learned something else that will soon drive me nuts but I digress. Kylie learned to give hugs and she gives the BEST hugs. Two arms around the neck and squeeze! There are few things that are better when your little one learns to show you (and say) that they love you!

First day of School and Sleepwalking

So here is my obligatory first day of school post. I am really excited about this year. So far I am really impressed with her lead teacher, Ms. Lisa, and the assistant, Ms. Elizabeth, is really sweet as well. She will be learning lots of things, including "language arts," "science," "fine arts," and "social development." Seriously. Her teacher is also really interested in birds and animals. In science they will be studying a bird each month and have a bird feeder attached to the window. One person each week is the "bird spotter" who is supposed to be looking for the bird. This month's bird is the American Goldfinch (WTF?) and Kaitlyn has already told me that they didn't see any yellow birds today. I think its neat that she will be learning something outside the box like this.

While we are on the subject of Kaitlyn, I want to tell you about her sleeping habits. She has always been a good sleeper but ever since she got into a big girl bed I realized that she is WEIRD. I have found her napping in the strangest spots: feet on the bed, head on the floor, head on the floor feet on the bed, in a tent with her feet hanging out like the wicked witch of the east, in the closet, in my bed, in costume, naked, in a swimsuit, food in her hand, food in her mouth. You name it, she's slept like that. One time, early into the big girl bed, I went to wake her up from a nap. I opened the door and said its time to get up. She wasn't there. I looked in the closet. Nope. I walked around all upstairs getting more hysterical by the second. Where was she? Kidnapped. I'm yelling at her and she is not coming out of her hiding place. Finally, (with phone in hand, ready to call 911) somehow I walked to the far corner of her room and I saw her sitting straight up, hugging her knees behind her little pink chair dead asleep.

She also sleep walks. She has been for months now but usually I am also "sleep putting her back to bed" so its a nuisance but a few weeks ago, I caught her walking around upstairs, eyes open, crying. She is always crying. I wish I would have blogged about this a while back because I already forgot what happened. Rest assured it was weird and funny and she was dead asleep walking around. I also found that she had walked to a basket in her room and was crying in there. Last night about 10, I heard her crying and she was bawling hanging off her bed. I put her back on the bed and put her blanket on. She took her blanket off and slid off the bed again. We did that about four times. Finally she was awake enough to fall back asleep. There have been probably 50 instances where she has done something weird but that's all I can remember right now.

But she comes by this honestly because many of you know the strange conversations my husband and I have in the middle of the night. Remember the weight lifting incident?

Ken and Barbie's Wedding

We spent the last week in St. Augustine for Billy and Jessica's wedding. It was such a fun and personalized wedding with every detail planned. Billy and Jess are a couple from another world. I truly have never met two people that belong together more. Congrats you guys!!! Jessica totally spoiled my girls with fun gifts and outfits. I found yet another way that Kaitlyn is just like me, she is still obsessing about not throwing all of her flower petals on the ground. If you ask her about being a flower girl, that is all that she can tell you! Kylie didn't make it down the aisle, but I didn't expect her to. About a week before the wedding Billy went to his oncologist for his one year check up. I hear he was a nervous wreck! The good news is he is cancer free! I saw his scar. All I can say is WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN! Cheers to a long, healthy, happy marriage!

I'll post some pictures later. I'm feeling lazy right now. Check facebook if you really want to see!

Dinner on the ground

I wanted to blog about the unusual way Kaitlyn sleeps but Kylie upstaged that. Maybe I'll do that later. I have to tell you how Kylie defied death again. Last night I was cooking two bags of Chicken Voila in my HUGE electric skillet on the island. I took two, I mean two steps away from it and Kylie grabbed the cord and pulled causing the HUGE hot skillet to fall to the ground! She was around the corner on the ground. I never actually saw the pan hit her but I really don't understand how it didn't. She was covered in food and the pan and all of its contents were spread all over the kitchen. I screamed and Kaitlyn ran in from the back yard. I didn't know what to do but I thought I needed help so I told Kaitlyn run across the street and get Lauren. I washed Kylie off and walked outside so I could watch Kaitlyn cross the street. She was hanging out by the mailbox and Will had pulled up with the kids in the car. Oops. Hate to get caught doing bad by the dad! Anyway, so Kylie is totally burn free. She's fine. I'm fine. The floor is fine. Another shout out to the angel that lives with us.


PS. Would you like to go ahead and call DFACS?

Picture post

I really need to update but I don't have anything to say so here are some pictures. Let's face it, isn't that why you really read my rambling! (I just learned that I have actual readers so I'll try to do better for you!)

Kaitlyn and her best friend


Kylie Floating
Which if I may brag, is the CUTEST thing ever!
Kaitlyn and Jake picking blueberries
We went twice for a total of 3 hours and spent less than $3. I feel bad because Kylie ate just as many as we picked and payed for.

Throwing rocks at "the river"
This is cute if you could see it bigger
Does she almost look like me here?

Now for Stuff I Love

We had a fun and eventful Forth of July filled with all of the things I truly love. Friday night we went to my mom's and had dinner and watched fire works in her yard. Saturday we went to the pool and went on a date to Kayson's. They were playing trivia so we thought we'd join in. We got the first six questions right but then it all went down hill. Sunday we got up early and went to run the Peachtree. We ran the whole thing and finished in an hour. Sunday night we went to a carnival at our church with our friends, the Lyon's and their friends the Burgamy's. We had lots of low key fun and watched the Roswell fireworks. Monday we took the family to see Toy Story 3 which is the best ending to a movie ever. I cried at least 3 times. I'm glad Kaitlyn didn't see me! I also drank some wine and ate some good food. That pretty well sums up everything I love!

Stuff I love

Kaitlyn just gave me a list of stuff she loved. In this order she said, "Tinkerbell, carousels, hot pink and bugs. I like petapellers, wowy powys, weedy bugs and butterflies."


In case you were wondering, we didn't go to the ENT. Kylie is still grunting but her lungs sound clear and we are now dealing with something else. This is day three of a fever. She had a strep test and they tried to do a urine culture but they couldn't get it. I think she might have roseola, if she does, I'll know tomorrow when the rash appears. If she doesn't have a rash tomorrow then I'll call the doctor back. I KNOW that they are going to want me to go to the ER and have a urine culture which is not fun for any of us so that's why I'm just waiting it out.

Magic Button

I wish I had a magic button that would automatically tell me if my child is sick. Since the birth of Kaitlyn, I have always struggled with if my child was actually sick, too sick to be around other kids or was sick enough to go to the doctor. I really try to follow my maternal instinct but I have been to the doctor one too many times with nothing actually wrong. And my previous pediatrician was really mean to me a couple of those times. Which brings me to my current problem: Should I take Kylie to the ENT on Friday? And do I seriously need another medical bill when I'm pretty sure I'm about to get a bill for $2000 on top of the $140 in doctors visits and $117 in prescriptions.
I still don't feel like she is breathing normal. She still grunts and breaths loudly. I haven't given her her nebulizer in a while because I'm lazy and I'm not sure it was really helping the problem that they now think she has. Ugh. So, she had some xrays last week and it showed that her lungs were clear but her adenoids were abnormally large. So I made this appointment and I'm wondering if they are going to be able to see anything and if they do, do I really want to have them removed? So we shall see on Friday. If I go.

Swimming

We have been spending lots of time at the pool in the last couple of weeks. Kaitlyn has had two swim lessons and is doing great. She really doesn't need her backpack at all and will put her face in the water with no problem. She even swam half way across our pool. Once. By force. I am really proud of her. Her only issue is that she must have her mother's coordination. She can't seem to move her arms left and right. She can move the right arm or the left arm or both together but not in sequence. Her swim instructor thinks that she just isn't doing it but I can tell by watching her, she just doesn't have the arm/mind coordination!
I'll take some pictures this weekend of the girls in the pool to post.
Kylie pretty well sticks to my side in the pool but today she started playing with Kaitlyn's ring and I have a feeling life as I've known it is over.

Prayer

I wanted to tell you two stories about God's perfect timing.
You might need to read the previous post first.
First, when Kylie was in Dr. Tabb's office, he told us she would need to go to the hospital. He left the room for a minute. John and I were immediately thinking about what we were going to do and details regarding Kaitlyn. Our minds were racing. We were scared and worried about her but we were fine. We just needed to work out the details. When Dr. Tabb came back into the room he gave us some information and he said to us, "Now before you go, let's pray." Let's pray. Of course we needed to pray and I know that we would have but we hadn't yet. That little gesture brought peace and clarity to hearts and minds. I am so thankful for his gesture. Dr. Tabb's timing was perfect because as soon as we left that room, I'm sure we would have been frantically thinking of other things. John and I were both floored at the statement because that would never happen in Atlanta. Honestly, I wish that every doctor had the courage to pray with the parents for their sick child. I think that most parents, regardless of their spiritual beliefs, would appreciate the genuine concern of the doctor and the few moments of peace.

The second story is a little more unfortunate. In case you don't know, I am very close with my grandpa in Missouri. I am so thankful that the girls and I got to visit him because I miss him. We left Missouri on Monday morning and he seemed perfectly fine. Wednesday afternoon, he had a heart attack and two stints put in. He is recuperating but if this had happened a week earlier, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy our visit. I am very sad that this happened and I am worried about his health going forward but thank you Lord for giving us that visit.

Hospital and Vacation

Okay, so it's been a month since I've updated... at first I didn't have anything to say. Then I got lazy. Then I found something to say but the internet broke. So here I am and I have something to say. Let's start at the beginning. Including the time previously recorded, Kylie had pink eye three times in three weeks. Between the second and third time she developed a not scary but not normal cough. It wasn't a big deal but after the third bout of pink eye I knew something was going on. (Actually, I knew something was going on this whole time but I couldn't find a medical professional to confirm it.) So, Saturday before our trip to Missouri, after the third bout of pink eye, I pack up and go wait at the doctor. "Bad luck." was the what was wrong with her. So we leave for Missouri on Tuesday (arrive Wednesday) the cough has gotten much more frequent but John's allergies were haywire so I thought that might be the cause. By Thursday night I called John's mom to find out what wheezing sounded like. I decided that Friday morning I would take her in. John went off fishing early in the morning and I woke up with a baby as pale as a sheet that could barely breath. Then she threw up. My step-mother Chris, called in a favor with her doctor. He looked at her for five minutes and said, "I can call you an ambulance but you can probably drive to Springfield faster." What? She stayed all night at the hospital and had a chest x-ray. The chest x-ray showed light pneumonia but the official diagnosis from the hospital (don't get me started) was reactive airway. We have been out of the hospital for almost two weeks and poor baby Ky is still on breathing treatments. We went to the doctor last Saturday and found out that while she still has inflammation in her airway, she also developed another ear infection. Are we ever going to get over this??? All this from a kid who hasn't been sick in her 13 months! Its annoying but it's easy to keep a little asthma in perspective when my niece has had brain surgery twice in two months. If you read this, please say a little prayer for her development and her parents.

Pictures

Vacation

Laura and her kids, Nana and Sir came up for Kylie's birthday. It was a beautiful day and she got lots of fun presents. She didn't have much time to play with them because on Sunday we left for an adventure to South Carolina. (Pictures in another post). We stopped in Sumter to visit Grandmother and Granddaddy. The girls had a blast and were caked in dirt and strawberries. They played on their swingset, tire swing, and fish pond. I was very nostalgic because it reminded me of growing up in the Ozarks. To see how happy and tired they were was worth the whole trip! We left about 9:00 and headed to Myrtle Beach. We were supposed to stay in a condo but the owners gave us the wrong code to the lockbox. At midnight, Laura and I were beating on the door trying to get it to magically open. After about 30 minutes, we gave up and drove around for 45 minutes looking for a hotel. We checked in about 1:15 am. We managed to lug four toddlers, two pack and plays and luggage up to the third floor and basically rest our eyes. The next morning we were packing up the car which was parked in the side parking lot. We noticed that we seemed to have an audience; a redneck with no shirt and a gross farmers tan and his wife. Mind you, it took us a good 15 minutes to pack up the car and they watched the entire time!!! Laura had to back out so that I had room to put Kylie's baby carrier in the car and as she was backing out I noticed that Redneck was TAKING PICTURES OF US! WTF really? I have no idea why but I'm still quite upset by it.

Soooo... we finally get to the condo, rest, take the kids to the pool and then decide to have dinner. To Appleby's we go. They cram the 6 of us into a booth. Me and 3 kids on one side, Laura on the other and Leah, a perfect angel in the highchair. It was total mayhem. The kids couldn't decide what to eat, then they wanted to each of each other's plates, etc. At one point, Nate was smashing crayons into the table with the ketchup bottle. Kaitlyn climbed across the table and knocked over my tea and Kylie was CLIMBING the back of the booth. We have a video of this. If Laura will text it to me, I'll post it! All we could do was laugh...
The next day we decided to take the kids to Ripley's Aquarium (which was cooler than GA) it was pretty chaotic because Kylie wanted to walk around but the only thing really notable was that we are pretty sure that Nate and Kaitlyn stopped the moving walkway.
We left on Wednesday and had a pretty easy drive but Kylie woke up with pink eye. About half way home Laura realized that she had it too. But overall, it was easy. Easy until we got to the Taco Bell 5 minutes from my house. Kaitlyn cries from the third row. "I spit up and I need a bath." We turn around and sure enough, puke in the carseat. Anyway, we are back home and alive. I still don't have things unpacked but maybe John will do it for me for Mother's Day. Yeah right!

Happy birthday Kylie

One year ago today I was in a medically induced labor with three other women. My doctor said that the second time labor moves quickly and I should be done by noon. At this exact moment one year ago, all of them had delivered their angels- except me. I managed to hang around for another six hours. I said recently that God gave me Kaitlyn to teach me that I can't control everything. I just realized he gave me Kylie to teach me that life isn't always going to be what I am expecting. I expected a boy. I got a girl. I expected to struggle through three months of nursing. I (more or less) breezed through a year. I expected a more calm child that observed the world around her. I got a child that crawled at 4 months, walked by nine and could FLY up the stairs somewhere in between.

My favorite things about Kylie are her personality, intelligence and her awareness. She always is aware of what is going on and knows what she wants. She can identify cake, cookies and candy even if she has never actually tried it. I mostly love that she is so short and compact!

Here's how you know that Kylie is a second child: she has had more sweet tea and coffee in one year than Kaitlyn has had in three. She eats junk cereal for breakfast. She has had a donut, two cupcakes and ice cream. Last night she ate a biscuit and three green beans for dinner. (yes, that was it)

I love you Kylie Elizabeth!!!

I will post some pictures of her and her birthday in a couple of days.

Innocence

My favorite part of having children is when I can see their innocence. A mind with enough knowledge to know how to solve problems without understanding the full spectrum of the problem. My favorite example of this is when anything is broken, from a flashlight to the computer, Kaitlyn will bring me a battery and a screwdriver. We are going to Missouri to see my family in a couple of weeks. I have been trying to talk about it so Kaitlyn is excited and there aren't surprises for her (we don't like surprises). So I was talking on the phone to my grandpa. When I got off I was telling her about them and how Grandpa Mark is my dad and Poppo is my grandpa. Then I don't know why but I told her Poppo only has one arm. Now in my life I have to say it might have been the first time I ever said that out loud. I have always been very close to him. There are lots of words I would use to describe him but I don't think I have ever even actually consciously noticed that he has one arm. Well, to that she responded something about soap and we can find it and tape it back on. What a hoot! But now I'm wishing I never brought it up. If I am 29 years old and never "noticed" it, I'm sure a 3 year old would have done the same. So I'm thinking about sweeping it under the rug. I just hope she doesn't go "looking" for it.

Boys vs Girls

Here's why girls are different: Kaitlyn got two happy meal dragons today and instead of make them fight and blow fire, they hugged and said I love you.

Catch up on Kylie

I can't remember what I've blogged about Kylie because its been a while but here's the latest- she runs not walks. Her favorite food is true spaghetti. Not just noodles, she likes real spaghetti with red sauce.
She is really sweet and almost always happy but poor Ky is not photogenic. So when I look back on these pictures I hope that I remember that she is much cuter in real life. Sorry if I sound mean. I think she is really cute but cuter in life than pictures!
Yesterday she had two milestones. She walked (holding my hand) up stairs, like an adult. It was quite a site to watch because her legs are only about six inches long but she managed! She also pointed at dog. She LOVES dogs. When I can remember to feed our fish on a regular basis maybe I'll get her one. But it can't be a barker because Kaitlyn doesn't luuuub when dogs bark.

Catch up on Kaitlyn

Many things have happened that I need to catch up on. First, was Kaitlyn's 3 day birthday celebration. She got a party at school, one for family and one for friends. She loves all of her presents and is sort of having a hard time deciding what to play with! Potty training is progressing but far from complete. She is pooping most of the time but now she pees occasionally- mostly when she's having too much fun.
Kaitlyn LOVES everything. Not like. Love. And you have to say it right, "luuuub" So here are some things that she luuubs right now: Santa Claus, Jake, pink, noodles, Chic Fila, staying all night with Jamma, art projects, lip gloss, and heels. Where did this child come from?

And now that she's 3, I guess I'll teach her how to eat an apple. In case you were wondering, she spits out the seeds but eats pretty much everything else.

Making progress

Well... potty training is coming along... I know that I didn't "do it the right way" but it took me a couple months to figure it out and I was stuck trying to do it the right way. Anyway, after four months of trying, Kaitlyn has pooped four out of the last five days on the potty. Can I get an Amen? She did have an accident but she was getting ready for school and wearing a pull up. I strongly feel that if she wasn't wearing it, she would have gone in the potty. I'm not confident we are done but I am proud of our progress!
In other news, she drives me insane every other day. The off days, she is so sweet I can't stand it. Today is a sweet day. She told me, "I sorry, I won't do that again." Our friend Lauren has a cold and she was very concerned and kept saying, "Warwen has swine flu?" It took me a while to figure out what she was saying and I still don't know where she picked it up! Then we were going to meet Lauren and Kaitlyn got a kleenex to take her for her boogers! See, how can you get mad at something so sweet.
Kylie is going to wear me out... she not only walks but runs. Especially when she is going somewhere bad. I'm going to have to re-child-proof my house. She gets into things Kaitlyn never did. My crystal wine glasses, the plant dirt, the toilet, the trash... I know that God gave me Kaitlyn to teach me that I can't control everything. I can see already He has a different lesson from Kylie!

I must really love her

Oh Kylie....This week has been a long one. To start, we have entered separation anxiety. I didn't experience it with Kaitlyn so I don't quite understand how to deal with it. I never leave my kids so if I drop them off somewhere I must really want the time away, ie gym, mops, date night. If I so much as hand her to a relative she doesn't remember, she wails. How do I explain to my grandma that Kylie doesn't want her to hold her? Heck, my grandma just finally remembered her name!(sort of... Kaylie is close enough! Its only been 10 months) So while we have been dealing with that, I have been deathly ill all week, thanks to Kylie. On Tuesday night I tried to nurse her 15 minutes early so I could go to bible study on time. Well, it was not on her schedule so she didn't really eat but I decided too bad and went on. The next morning I woke up with a really bad clogged duct. (Stop reading now if you don't want to hear about breastfeeding.) I nursed, pumped, took motrin and a heat compress and it still hurt. I figured that I would just go to the gym and forget about it. Uh oh! So I got home and just felt whipped. By noon, I was on the couch with a pounding headache. I put the kids down early and spent the day on the couch. By three, I had chills and couldn't open my eyes. I finally pried myself off the couch to go to Aaron's birthday party. Made it home and went straight to bed with a blinding headache, chills, and that stupid clogged duct still hadn't cleared up. The next morning I woke groggy but manage to make it until about 3:00. On the couch, two layers of clothes and a huge, heavy blanket! I had the chills so bad I didn't even want to go to the bathroom. I called my mom to take care of the kids because there was just no way I could. I had a fever of over 102 and the same blinding headache and clogged duct. At one point Thursday night I was afraid I may have to go to the emergency room. I don't think my words can describe how sick I was. Thank God for the internet and my library of parenting book- Mastitis. I really don't wish it on anyone. So for you Kylie- I have endured spasms and mastitis. At least you are cute!

I couldn't make this up

On the way to school today Kaitlyn was in the backseat praying over and over, "Dear Jesus, Please help me doodoo on the potty. AAAAAmen." "Dear Jesus, Please help me doodoo on the potty. AAAAAmen." "Dear Jesus, Please help me doodoo on the potty. AAAAAmen."
Seriously, if you are old enough to pray about it, aren't you old enough not to crap your pants?!?

I went to Kaitlyn's Valentine's Day party today. It was interesting but I did learn I'm not the only mom who has some concerns with her teacher. But, I don't want to teacher bash!

I'll have some new pictures coming soon!

My Treasure

Over the last seven days I have come across this bible verse on three different occasions:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

It has made me wonder if God is trying to speak to me. One context that I came across it, there was a financial connotation. The other two were more about relationships. I'm praying the lord is trying to point out the latter! Anyway, since it has come up, I have really been praying for my relationships. I am so blessed to have so many close friends at this time in my life! Each one adds a new dynamic. But truly, my treasure is in my neighborhood. I don't think I ever pass the sign without thanking Him for giving me this house, this street, and these friends. When John came in to my life, I began to strive to be a better person because I felt accountable to him. I think my friends here have the same effect. I appreciate that they are all strong Christians, active parents, and good partners. I think that if I ever slacked in any area they would be here to help me to get back on track. I am truly blessed to have that kind of support system.

And just in case that God was trying to point out that I need to be more generous, I have that covered. I'm a secret couponer. I don't necessarily deserve my own tv show or anything but I have decided that during Lent I will give all the money I save couponing to St. Vincent de Paul which is a national charity that our church supports. They provide food and clothing to the poor but on a local level (Roswell, Ga).

Wasting Time

Okay, my house is a disaster so what better to do than update my blog! Let's see... Kylie took her first steps and then proceeded not to walk again. She went to the doctor. She is in the 10th percentile overall. And her height was a stretch since her head wasn't at the top of the measuring thing. Who would have guessed my kids would be short. Kylie gets in to stuff Kaitlyn never did. She likes to unplug things and attempt to plug them back in. She likes to play in dirt and climb stairs... that is just this week!
Kaitlyn is not napping, not pooping in the toilet, and changes clothes twelve times a day. We are definitely on good terms these days. The other day I took her for a walk in her pajamas. Mr. Harp (the dad not John Harp) was outside and was admiring her outfit so I got stuck in a conversation with him. The whole time he was talking I was like, ugh where is Kaitlyn, but I couldn't get out of the conversation. I figured she was running around in the cul-de-sac. Nope, Mr. Harp said, "Look, that one over there is getting away." He saw her as she ran 6 houses down from where I was in the cul-de-sac heading to her house. Thank God he saw her. She was at the point where the street turns and one more house and I would have NEVER found her. I NEVER would have guessed that she would fun home.
I went to Kaitlyn's parent/teacher conference. That was interesting, especially if you know how I indifferent I am towards her teacher. The first thing she told me was that Kaitlyn couldn't put together a 4 piece puzzle. Um. She can put together a 60 piece puzzle. Then she said that she doesn't sing songs, obey when asked to do something, or ask questions. Yes, she can. She's 3. How can I get her to start asking you and stop asking me.

Kaitlyn not napping
Kylie

First accident

I got another 5:00 wake up call yesterday. Woohoo! Then Kaitlyn made it downstairs before I finished my coffee so I knew that I wasn't going to be prepared for the events of the day. So yesterday morning I was busy checking my facebook and when I got done I went looking for Kaitlyn. She was hiding under the table and had swallowed an ENTIRE pack of gum. So we dealt with it and moved on. I got the bright idea that I was going to go to Target before school. So I got Kaitlyn out of the car and went to the other side to get Ky. As I was shutting the door, I noticed her fingers in it but it was too late, my body couldn't react to what my eyes were seeing- they were stuck. I had to open the door to get them out! I dropped Kylie's carrier, in what might has well have been, the middle of the road and tried to comfort Kaitlyn (actually it was the next parking space but a car could have pulled in at any second!) . I really didn't know what to do. Kaitlyn kept screaming for a band-aid so I thought, well, we're at Target! She calmed down for a minute and then started screaming again. I called the doctor and made an appointment for 45 minutes from then. So I text my lovely husband, "K hurt, 911, call me." He texts back, "in a meeting". IN A MEETING? HAVE I EVER TEXTED YOU 911??? But I digress... So we get to the doctor, she says yes its broken. You need to have an x-ray and then we'll refer you to a pediatric orthopedist. I'm balling. An orthopedist? For a finger??? Anyway, we went to have it x-rayed and it wasn't broken. When the doctor say it, it was really swollen and nasty but they gave her some Motrin and I think it helped the swelling. Luckily, it looked worse than it was. Today, its not even bruised!
Being a a Children's hospital sure puts things in perspective. There was one boy that looked seriously ill. He checked in and a nurse immediately came to get him like she knew him, and told him they have a big room for he and the family to relax... I got the feeling he had something serious. There were two separate families there will special needs children and a father that appeared to also be special needs. It made my finger not look so bad... I felt kind of silly for how upset and nervous I was for her. Thank God it was only a finger.
Here is a video of Kaitlyn telling you about her finger.

I am this desperate

I'm sure one day I'll forget all of this... but right now potty training is the hardest thing I have EVER done. EVER. I feel so bad for the poor kid. She has always had a nervous colon. She always poops at parties. Or the pool. Or the bathtub. And now that I have nagged her every single day (minus 10 days) for the last three months I swear she is never going to go in the toilet! I have tried to put her in panties but she'll just poop in them. I have spent hours in the bathroom and she'll go as soon as I put her pull up on. I have bribed her with sticker charts, candy, pop-pops, gum, puzzles, ice cream and trips to the playground. Today I knew without a doubt she had to go. Out of desperation, I put the potty in the den in front of the TV. Forty five minutes later, no poop. So we went outside for 20 minutes and she came in and pooped. In her pull-up. I changed her and put her for a nap and she pooped again. In a pull-up.

Kylie

I am currently savoring the last bit of baby I have. She is probably days/weeks away from walking-which to me is equivalent to going off to college. As much as I want her to accomplish the goal that she has in mind I also want to just hold her forever so she can stay just exactly as she is right this moment. She has one tooth on the bottom and when she shows it off it melts my heart. I wish I could capture it on film. It will be my prized picture for sure! She is so short but flies across the floor. She loves her big sister and "talks" whenever Kaitlyn comes around, literally climbing out of my arms to sit by her or be near her.

She is still nursing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would last this long! It really is easy. Such a blessing really, it is the only calm moments that I have during the day. I really feel particularly bonded to her because of this experience.

Since having Kylie, I realize that I hardly remember little moments about Kaitlyn when she was a little baby. I was quite crazy (because of moving etc) and focused on myself and getting back to life. With Kylie, I realized within a few weeks that I wasn't getting my act together anytime soon so I have really tried to just let it ride. I hope I can always remember little moments in the details that they happened in...

2009

2009 was an awesome year. So many exciting things happened. Here is are the highlights.

January- John and I traveled to Cannes and Rome. I was about 7 months pregnant!

March- John celebrated his 30th birthday by doing the chicken dance and Kaitlyn turned two. She looks like such a baby.

April- John and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary and Kylie was born. Nothing says I love you and I'm sorry you are huge like a diamond necklace! :)

June- John competed in his first adventure race. A day that I might regret for eternity! Just kidding.

September- Kaitlyn started school.


November- We got a new niece, Lucy. And of course our huge Disney trip!

December- Lots of fun parties and Christmas preparations. I celebrated my final birthday as I will no longer be aging.

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2010 to us all!!

Catch up

Okay, so I've been lazy and neglected my blog/memory keeping. Here is what I've missed. We went to Disney and had an amazing time with all of the Jensen's.

Kaitlyn loved meeting Tinkerbell and seeing all of the characters but she was exhausted every day! We can't wait to do it again!!!

On December 19 Kylie was baptized. We had lots of people in to witness it. Nana, Sir, Leslie, Grandma, Grandpa, Matt, Magy, and Lucy, and the Lyons family were all there. Billy and Jessica were the Godparents and were also there.

We were home for Christmas. Santa brought the girls a playhouse and many other fun toys. We opened presents and had breakfast with all of the Kramer's and dinner with all of the local relatives at my mom's house.


On Monday we went to Florida until Saturday. It was eventful as usual. When we arrived, Billy called and had to go in the next day for surgery to have a lymph node removed. Everyone was pretty scared but we found out the next day that everything seems to be okay. He had some lymph fluid build up. Billy's amazing fiance Jessica told us that she has seen a man watching over Billy at night. We all assumed it was Uncle Tony who died of colon cancer in 2005. Over the last couple of days I have been reminiscing over the short time that I knew him. I hope that he is watching over us too.

Today we are trying to get back to live. It is FREEZING here! We are hoping for snow but its not looking good!