They grow up so fast ...

Can you believe how much our kids have grown? We tell people all the time, we have a small (Parker doesn't like it when we say small, so now we say 'petite') 5 year old and a HUGE 2 year old. There is only about 4 pounds difference in their weight, although Parker is quite a bit taller, you can not really see it in this picture.

Grant's personality as really started to shine, he is fairly laid back unless he is hungry. He can have a conversation with us when he wants to. He loves to debate "My ...." with us, my Parter, my Mommy, my Daddy and he will even say my Grant. It's quite entertaining to him. He is learning to use his manners quite nicely: peas, than-too, I sorwee and he says 'ahhh' when he hugs his sister.

Parker continues to amaze us as well. She is such a bright girl, learning to read at school and practicing at home. She loves to sing and dance as well. Just today, she was singing with the music in the store, just having the best time.

I hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly enjoyed ours. I am looking forward to be off work for the next week and spending time with the kids as well as doing some much needed house keeping.

Have a very happy and safe New Year in case I do not blog before then. If you know me personally, you can usually find me on FaceBook. Yes, I am addicted like many of you.

Someone is missing ...

Merry Christmas everyone (for those of you still following my sporadic blogging)!

We have been very busy at our house getting ready for the holidays. I was sick for 6 weeks (all of November and part of December) with bronchitis and ultimately pneumonia again. I am feeling good as new now.

These are the first everything without my Dad. As happy as I am, I feel this huge hole in my heart for him. No one to argue politics with, no holiday phone calls and the stark realization he will never ever call me again for these days and our birthdays. His birthday is 12/14 and mine is 12/19. We had a running joke that I was supposed to be his present the year I was born but true to me, I was late.

As I was driving this morning I heard a song on the radio, Someone is Missing at Christmas by Anne Cochran. Of course, I cried as I drove to work. I found the lyrics to the song and wanted to share them with you.

Someone Is Missing at Christmas ~ lyrics

Someone is missing at Christmas
Someone I loved all my life
Someone I played with and laughed all night long
Someone I think of when I hear that song

Someone is missing at Christmas
Someone has left me alone
Someone so close even though we’re apart
Someone who’d finished the sentence I’d start

Someone whose love is my favorite gift
Someone whose presence is my Christmas wish
Someone who always was here
Someone is missing this year

Candlelit snapshots of Christmases gone by
You in your favorite chair
Memories like snowflakes melt in my eyes
I look and you’re not sitting there

Someone whose love is my favorite gift
Someone whose presence is my Christmas wish
Someone is missing at Christmas
Wait… someone is touching my heart…

Someone has heard me and answered my call
Someone I love is not missing at all
Someone is with me at Christmas
Someone’s right here in my heart
Someone I love is with me this Christmas
And will be each Christmas to come!

Something I usually don't talk about

My whole life, I have been told not to talk about politics or religion in a public forum. I am still not prepared to offer my opinion on this election for all to see. Whether or not we agree on who won the election, Jen Lancaster posted her opinion yesterday and I was impressed. Mainly because I have heard the term "your President" so many times in my life and really, no matter who I voted for, doesn't the office deserve respect?

Food for thought today.

Rhodes Scholar anyone?

Late yesterday afternoon I wonder into my boss' office and notice she has a fact sheet for Rhodes College on her desk. Being the nosey rosey that I am, I asked why?

Boss: I want to know what makes them so special they can charge $32,000/year, our neighbor got a scholarship there for $55,000
Me: and that is not enough?
Boss: No and what's the difference between a Rhodes scholar and a Memphis scholar?
Me: (Laughing hysterically) .. there is no such thing as a Memphis scholar and a Rhodes Scholar has nothing to do with Rhodes college. I believe it's a scholarship for Oxford University in England. Remember Rhodes used to be Southwestern years ago.
Boss: See I didn't know that and neither did our fearless leader (director)

What did I do first thing this morning .. wikipedia! Guess what I knew something that my manager and director did not! I happen to be friends with my boss so I of course, copied and pasted wikipedia's definition and emailed her immediately. I have yet to start any real work so I better get to it. What did we do before the Internet at work? Oh yeah, I used to read the paper.

Happy 2nd Birthday Grant!

Exactly two years ago today at 10:04 am, we welcomed into the world Grant Avery. He weighed 9 lbs and 13 oz, he was 21 inches long. He's always looked like a baby line backer and that's part of who he is. At the ripe ole age of two, we have seen his personality evolve and learned very quickly, no two kids are alike even if they have the same parents. Grant and Parker are as different as night and day, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Our baby boy approx 3 months old

Our baby boy at one...

This would be the spot where I would put his current picture except I don't have one saved on my work computer and the ones from facebook will not post on blogger. Oh well. I will post birthday pictures soon enough. Happy Birthday Grant, we love you.

A conversation with Grant

As always I am in a rush to get me and 2 kids ready for school. Most days, we are able to get ready in shifts. Parker has to be at school at 8 am so Brandon takes her, they try to leave by 7:30 but no later than 7:40 to drop off in car line. Once I get Parker ready, I work on me, then I wake up Grant and get him ready.

Yesterday morning, Grant woke up earlier than usual and he was fussing at me from his crib. I walk in his room and remind him, there's no need to fuss at Mommy, if you want me, just say my name. I tell him to 'call me' and I will come, he thinks this is hilarious. I remember a similar conversation with Parker at that age. Anyway, Grant is usually soaking wet in the mornings because even the night time diapers are not enough for him. So I take off his PJ's and diaper before getting him out of the bed and let him run to our room sans clothes. Sometimes he even sits on the potty, we have had a few accidental successes! After I put a new diaper and his clothes on for the day. He holds my finger and pulls me into the den:

GH: Down! (as in sit down)
Me: Mommy doesn't have time right now, we have to get ready for school, we are going to miss breakfast (as I walk away to put a load of clothes in the dryer-always the multi-tasker)
GH: All-white (translation alright)

I thought I would die laughing. He was so serious about it and used it in context. Enjoy the laugh.

My 1st Baby

I have been tagged by Lisa with an interesting tag post she got off the blog from Mymommyology. It asks questions about your "1st baby".

Enjoy.

1. Were you married at the time? Yes for almost 4 years

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Ecstatic!

3. How old were you? 31, 32 when Parker was born..

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I dreamed I was pregnant twice in three days. I rarely remember my dreams so the 2nd time, I thought I better take a test. Luckily, I had one under the counter. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I wasn't even late. I 'took' the test and before I could lay on the counter, there was a plus sign. Brandon was still asleep so I woke him up and told him I needed to show him something. He said what does that mean? I said it means we are having a baby!

5. Who did you tell first? We decided to wait until Christmas to tell our families and everyone else. I did tell my boss because I didn't know if I would be sick or not

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Absolutely, both times. I never considered not finding out

8. Did you deliver early or late? Parker was 2 weeks OVERDUE

9. Did you have morning sickness? Nope but I did get a headache if I skipped eating red meat.

10. What did you crave? Nothing

11. Who irritated you the most? The fact my office was over 80 degrees and I brought a thermometer and my director said "it doesn't feel 80" Being pregnant, I said "I guess the thermometer is lying?"
12. What was your first child's sex? Baby Girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25 lbs

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Gestational Diabetes and High Blood Pressure toward the end

15. Where did you give birth? Methodist-Germantown, in Germantown, TN.

16. How many hours were you in labor? 30, yes you read that right, 30 long hours! She didn't want to come out, everyone was forced - contractions, water breaking, forceps. I was so a candidate for c-section!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Brandon

18. Who watched? Brandon and everyone (Dr, nurses, techs, etc) working that night, it was 2:14 am and they had nothing else to do

19. Was it vaginal or c-section? Old fashion

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Absolutely, see next question and you would have too

21. How much did your child weigh? 9lbs, 11 oz.

22. What did you name him/her? Parker Elizabeth

23. How old is your first born today? 5 years, 2 months

I am supposed to tag people now but I don't think I have that many readers and Lisa tagged me. So I guess, you can just enjoy my story.

The answer is ..

So in case there are actually people reading ... I will tell you that Ch'up is Grant's way of asking for Ketchup. He says it over and over until you give him some even if he has a truckload already, he thinks it's time for a refill if a) he can see the bottle and b) anyone else gets more. He will eat ketchup on anything if its on his plate much like Parker will eat anything if it can be dipped in Ranch dressing.

Now you know. You will never think of Ketchup the same way again. Just remember our sweet Grant saying Ch'up over and over the next time you require ketchup.

Enjoy your Thursday.

Ch'up

Anyone have any idea what this means in Grant speak? I'll leave it out there for you debate and post later what it actually means. Yes, I actually know what he's talking about!

Ready, set, go!

Grant-ese

I was thinking about all the funny things Grant says and thought I would share a few with you.

opie=open
bow-bow=mashed potatoes
crack-co=pretzel

It's quite a challenge speaking Great-ese at times. He clearly knows what he wants, sometimes stating it clearly is another story entirely.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Now you may resume your normal activities already in progress.

Anyone wondering where I've been?

It's been a long road 'accepting' my Dad's fate and I am not sure I'm there, yet. It's something keeping me awake at night, wondering what was he thinking? Knowing I was the last person to talk to him, we know this for certain now. I talked to him at 7:34 pm (EDT) for 8 minutes and was disconnected. They estimate the fire began at 7:49 pm, the 911 call came shortly after 8 pm. My brother says he was having phone issues all day so being disconnected was most likely not related to the onset but it was pretty dang close. Please bear with me, I have regained the ability to go about my daily life but remembering to blog in the meantime has been more challenging.

One the upside of life, Parker is making her mark in Kindergarten! We are so proud of her accomplishments over the last year. Last year, when we moved her to Catholic school for 4K, she could not write her name -- within 2 weeks, she could do it legibly, it was huge but readable (is that a word?). This year after only 3 weeks in Kindergarten, she is writing in proper case.

How great is that? And she is so excited about homework, it started last night and she couldn't wait to get home. We are so glad she loves school!

More soon on the rest of the clan. Thanks for sticking with me.

Our Kindergarten girl

Here's our first morning in Kindergarten.

In the car, on the way to Kindergarten!

Walking into the building

In the class room

Parker's first few days of Kindergarten have been a blast. These pictures were all taken the first morning. Isn't she adorable in her uniform? The first morning she told me to "stop taking pictures" and after settling in which took her all of 5 minutes, I was told "Mommy, you can go now!" I managed to drop her off without tears for either of us. She was so happy to be there. School is dismissed on noon the first day, I picked her up in car line and we had a girls day. She and I ate at Chili's, while we were waiting I asked her about the first day to which she replied "Mommy, what happens in kindergarten, stays in kindergarten." Thankfully, we attended a parent meeting last Spring where her teacher used this exact phrase. As you can see she is going to do just fine.

Grant is not transitioning as easy. He had gotten used to Parker going to school with him. Yesterday, when Brandon and Parker left for school, Grant cried for 15-20 minutes. If you know my Grant, you know he does not usually cry for more than a few minutes. This morning was a little smoother for him but he still cried. We are hoping the 3rd day is a charm as we get back into our school year routine.

My PSA

So I am back in full swing of my regular life. Home with the kids who I missed so much, doing laundry and back to the office. If I could wish one thing for all of you it would be that you have the courage to talk to your parents NOW about their wishes and find out where all important financial documents are located. After spending 7 days in FL looking though countless boxes for all of our Dad's important info, we managed to find almost everything we needed. Lucky for us, my mom still had a will (my parents divorced in 1976) of my Dad's signed in March 1972. I have learned, a will is a legal binding document no matter how old it is. Who knew?

I have been telling all my friends to talk to their parents (and parents tell your adult children) about where to find everything because you never know. There are no guarantees in life, including life itself. It's a conversation no one wants to have but it is worth having, trust me. I do take comfort knowing a few things about what my Dad would have wanted. Over the last few years, he and I had many conversations about that, just none about his affairs. Needless to say, I have had this conversation with my mom in the last 2 weeks!

Coming home

Greetings All,

I will be back home on Thursday, I have not decided whether or not to go to work Friday or wait until Monday. I never knew how much "business" there is to dying then you add in how it happened and the fact we have to have his house restored even though he never gets to go back there.

Thanks again for all the prayers. I will post more when I return home.

Kelly

Guest book for my Dad's obit

http://www.legacy.com/TimesUnion/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=114692157

Please feel free to stop by and sign it. Thanks for all the prayers.

Arrangements

My father's memorial service will be Monday at 4:00 pm.

Hardage Giddens Town & Country Funeral Home
7242 Normandy Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32205
904-781-9262

He will be cremated per his wishes. There is a National Cemetery under construction in Jacksonville, we will be having a burial after it opens early next year with full military honors

Thanks to all who have remembered us during this time.

So unexpected

Last night around 10 pm, we got a phone call no ever wants to recieve.

caller: We got this number from David Krout
me: That's my father
caller: Mam, this is Detective Sullivan from the Duvall County Sherriff's department, your father was injured in a house fire tonight
me: Oh my GOD
Det Sullivan: Yes ma'am, is there anyone here who can come to the house to secure it and go to the hospital
me: Yes, my brother lives in Palm Coast, I will find a way to get him awake and there, where is my Dad?
Det Sullivan: He's been flown to Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville, I don't have a number there. He is in critical condition.

Brandon and I had every phone in this house working to get my brother, sister, mother or anyone on the phone. We finally got everyone and I started using the internet to get the phone number to the hospital. I found him in the ER, they had him listed as 'unidentified male.' Now the police knew his name, but somehow between Jacksonville and Gainesville it was lost. I spoke to the Dr. who was treating him and said it was really bad.

My brother and sister arrived at the hospital after midnight. We all agreed no life support, we let him go this morning. Here's a link to the 11:00 pm news in Jacksonville.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=115025&catid=15

Please remember us in your prayers. I am headed to FL tomorrow to help make the arrangements and get his estate in order as best I can in a week.

All about Parker...

After 30 hours and 14 minutes of labor, we met our princess 5 years ago today. Parker Elizabeth was born to very exhausted parents at 2:14 am on July 29, 2003. She weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz and 21.5 inches long, with head full of black hair and a cleft lip. I have blogged about her cleft lip being a surprise to us many times so we won't revisit. Just know, we love just the way she is. I looked through all of our digital pictures, there are only a handful of her 1st year as we did not have a digital camera yet.

First trip to the beach, 10 months old.

Halloween 2004- first year to dress up.

2nd birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday-family dinner

Parker's 5th birthday party

We celebrated on Sunday at Sweet & Sassy. Parker had a blast dressing up as a princess with all her friends. Happy Birthday sweet Lizzy Lou. We love you.

Wrecked cars - 1
Sick children - 1
Birthday parties - 1 (so far)
Return calls from chickie's insurance company - NONE!

For those of you who don't know, Grant has been sick since last Thursday. I will spare you all the details but he had a virus that caused an ear infection. Off to the sick clinic we went, he got a shot of rocephin for the ear infection and the dreaded you wasted a copay for a virus diagnosis. We've all been there, you know everyone hates that. Later that day, he took a 5 hour nap and when we woke up, he had a 103.8 fever! I called the ped's office back one minute before the phones switched to the after hours message. The nurse called me right back and said if motrin does not turn it around within 45 minutes, go to the ER. One hour later, 101.7 so we are going in the right direction. Basically he had a raging fever all weekend long, we never totally broke the fever but it would go down to 101 or so then back up to 103.6 or 103.8. Saturday I called the nurse on call, she said go to the LeBonheur after hours clinc, so we off we go. The ped there said it's still the virus (much more expensive copay for urgent/ER visits), be more aggressive with the motrin or advil so that is what we did. He also prescribed an oral antibiotic to prevent the fluid behind his ears from getting re-infected. ARGH! Luckily for us, this morning he was fever free and apparently stayed that way all day since daycare did not call us.

During the mist of all of this, I still needed to shop for Parker's birthday prior to picking her up for a Dr's appointment Friday. Grant was a trooper all morning as we went from place to place, all the while with a 103 fever. You would have never known he was sick unless you touched him, he was laughing and playing the whole time. Crazy, huh? Anyway, on the way home Friday, a teenager turned her Volvo into my car. Brandon was on his way home when I called, he picked up the kids from the 'scene' while I waited for the police to finish the report and issue HER ticket. Both of her parents came and were very nice about the whole ordeal, assuring me they would take care of everything. As soon as I arrived home, I called their insurance company, I was told it would be Monday before I heard anything ... well Monday's business day is over and I still have not heard anything. I should mention, I left our assigned adjuster 3 messages this afternoon, how crazy is that?

On the bright side, Parker's 5th birthday is tomorrow. We had her party yesterday, I hope to have pictures uploaded tonight (hint-hint honey do) for a birthday post tomorrow.

Grant-a-cakes

Not too long ago, Grant woke up from a nap and needed his clothes changed so I undressed him, changed his diaper and let him free so to speak. When I came out of our bedroom, I found him like this on our couch enjoying Spicy Nacho Doritos which he helped himself too. I cracked up, grabbed the camera to capture my future blackmail picture. He is all set up, remote by his side.

I hope every one is enjoying their weekend. Ours has been a bit crazy, more on that in another post.

Praying for a dear friend

I would like to ask my blog friends to join me in prayer for a very dear friend of mine. We have been friends since we were little girls. Last year, she accepted she had a problem with alcohol after receiving 2 DUI's in 6 months. After her first DUI and the classes required to keep her license, she met someone who introduced her to Xanax leading to her 2nd DUI charge. After 11 months of sobriety and trying to rebuild her life, she re-lapsed this weekend.

I can't say I really understand alcholism but I have more compassion for people who struggle with it now. One of my aunts was an alcoholic and I never cut her any slack but now I see no one chooses to live their life this way. I have come to understand it is a disease and no one asks for it, much like I didn't ask to have Asthma, I just do.

Please keep her in your prayers, I know she can fight this demon and win. She's done it before. She called me this morning to let me know she had re-lapsed and ask for my prayers. So I am asking you, my dear blog friends, to remember my friend in your prayers.

Swimming lessons-round 2!

Parker went under water! This a huge deal for her, we have really been making a big deal out of it. We tried swimming lessons last month, she did okay but was terrified of getting her face/head wet. This week she seems more comfortable in the water and is doing some things on her own like jumping off the diving board into a coach's arms, as opposed to being lowered by another coach, where she never gets her head wet. Last night, she jumped, went under for a few seconds and came up, then she used the dumbbell to swim over to the later unassisted by a coach. The best part? She wanted to do it again! Way to go Parker Liz!

Bang, crackle, crash!

That's what it sounds like when a rock (and I hope not a bullet) hits your window and breaks it while going 70 mph on the interstate. I bet you would never believe this is the 2nd time it's happened, would you? About 3 years ago, I was on my way to work when I heard what sounded like a gun shot, then my rear driver's window crackled and fell into car. I was shaking by the time I got to work. I remember there was glass in Parker's car seat which was in the middle back then and being so thankful she was not in the car. Brandon happened to be off that day so he came to get my car and wait while the window was replaced then to vacuum in out. A few months ago, he was working on my seat and found glass embedded in the carpet under the seat.

Today, at about the same spot on the interstate, it happened again except it was the passenger front window this time. Same sounds, bang! crackle! crash! glass everywhere even inside my purse which was closed at the time. What are the chances it could happen twice? So I immediately called Brandon who told me I have to stop driving the interstate which is not realistic. I already work in a rough neighborhood, going through the city to get here is really asking to get shot. No thanks, I will take my chances on the interstate. Then I called a very dear friend whose mom is in the glass business. She hooked me up so now I wait for the installer to come to my office to put in my shiny new window.

It's ironic because Brandon and I cleaned my car out last night after the kids went to bed. He told me today, he was not going to vacuum it again for me. Of course, kids can't ride in my car again until he does (see glass everywhere reference above). I hope you are having a better Wednesday than me!

Missed me?

I just realized it's been 14 days since I posted anything (thanks Lisa!) so I will try to update everyone on things going on.

Grant is growing like a weed and communicating more every day. When he wants you to know something, he finds a way to make you understand. Some of my favorite Grant-ese words:
Opie -- Open
Zizzy -- Lizzy, not sissy for Parker. Her full name is Parker Elizabeth, we call her Lizzy at home.
Wri-back -- Right back, this is a new term when someone leaves the room.

Parker is in her annual summer growth spurt. She always seems to get a taller around her birthday which is July 29th. Her latest trick, if you will, is pinkie swearing and the movie Hairspray, she loves all the music and dancing, she asks to watch it every week. This morning, I said your shirt is twisted, she said "twist, twist, twist, mashed potato, mambo" then reminded me it was from the movie. Too cute! I told ya'll she loves to dance. Tonight begins round two of swimming lessons, wish us luck!

Brandon is healing well from his bout with cellulitis. His ankle still swells every single day but he is not in pain.

Not much going on for me these days. Just working alot and getting Parker ready for Kindergarten. We bought her first uniforms this weekend. They need to be altered so we can get at least 2 years out of them. A friend from work sews on the side, I am going to ask her to help us.

So that's the update with us, what's happening in your world?

Parker's proposal!

Let me give you a little back story, Parker has been asking to go to 'Chick-a-lay' for breakfast for over a week now. Yesterday, I told her we would have to leave after Sesame Street went off in order for me to get to work on time and go to Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Although we did not leave when we needed to, we didn't leave late so I told her we could go. This made her late getting to summer camp, when we walked in a little boy hugged her. Connor also goes to our church and school, he then turned to the little boy next to him and said 'that is how you get the girls to marry ya!'. Ms. Courtney said Connor you have a long time until you need to worry about that, he insisted he didn't. I asked Connor if he wanted to marry 'my Parker' and he said 'yes ma'am, I do!' He was very matter of fact about it. I have been cracking up about it all morning. She is only 4 and she has been proposed to. How funny is that?

**UPDATE** Connor told Brandon he was going to marry Parker one day when he picked her up this afternoon. At least he is consistent!

Flashback

So most of you know our precious Parker was born with a cleft lip. You might remember a post from a few months ago: http://kellyskidadventures.blogspot.com/2008/03/smile-says-it-all.html, when I met someone blogging who is fostering a baby who has a bi-lateral cleft lip. Baby A had surgery yesterday and is doing great, please read Kim's blog for more info: http://www.fosteringbabya.blogspot.com/ I remember Parker's first surgery like it was yesterday, she was only 10 weeks old and she will be 5 years old next month. It's an amazing journey to see what modern medicine can do to repair these so called birth defects. I have said many times that I don't consider her lip a defect because her smile is the very thing that draws you in. I won't tell you that we were not scared when she was born, it was definitely a surprise but we know it was God's plan for her to be with us. Parker knows she was born 'special', we told her for a long time she was kissed by an Angel, she now knows she was born with a cleft lip and tells people when they ask (and yes, adults randomly ask her what happened), "I just got born like this!" It is funny to see their reaction. It has also helped us teach Parker tolerance of people who might look different or be in a wheel chair.





Now our baby girl is ready for Kindergarten, where does the time go?

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Today is Brandon's birthday. He thinks it's the best birthday because it is strategically placed 6 months from Christmas so he gets presents every 6 months.

For those of you who don't know my husband, he totally rocks! We might not be rich but we have each other and two amazing kids. We are certainly not perfect but at the end of the day, there is always love. Brandon is the most amazing father I have ever seen. He picks our kids up every single day and always has. He cooks dinner most nights, even tonight on his birthday, he will be the chef de cuisine. It is such an awesome feeling to know you are loved everyday. I have never doubted his love for me and the kids.

Our children absolutely adore their "Daddy." Parker gets upset if he leaves for work before she gets up. She asks to call him so she can say good morning, I love you and have a good day! You can see the love in Grant's eyes. When Brandon is out of town for work (or say, in the hospital for 4 days), Grant will not let Brandon put him down for long periods of time. We do not have any lap babies at our house, they are both very independent.

Happy Birthday B! The kids and I think you hung the moon! See-ya-bye!

Almost back to normal

Thanks to everyone who kept us in your prayers. Brandon was released from the hospital Saturday in time to be home for lunch. Grant was so happy to see him after not seeing him since Tuesday. He is still home from work but getting around much better than this time last week.

On another note, Parker started swimming lessons last night. She has never been afraid of the water but 2 weeks ago when we went swimming, she was completely freaked out. On Memorial Day weekend she is floating all over the place and we were not even in the water. We wondered if she was ready or if we were wasting time and money. I am happy to report she did great, even went off the diving board at the end of class. She can't wait until tonight when she gets to practice again. She is not swimming yet but is floating and more comfortable in the water. Yeah!

Happy Hospital Father's Day, at least for us.

Brandon was hospitalized on Tuesday night with a funky infection in his skin called cellulitis. His right calf looks like it is sunburned and at one point, twice its normal size. He had been to his regular Dr on Tuesday morning but was steadily getting worse as the day went on even after starting anti-biotics. Lucky for us, we have a relative who is an ER doctor. We called him and he said to go to the hospital and plan to stay a while. Cellulitis is a bacteria infection that can get your bloodstream if not treated aggressively. That was Tuesday night, he is still there. I am trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for our kids and me. My bosses have been very generous by allowing me to come in late and use OT from last week to cover the shortage so I don't have to use all my vacation time to go to the hospital. The kids are going to school/camp every day. My in-laws are picking the kids up for me so I can go to the hospital. Parker knows her Daddy is sick and in the hospital, she gets to go see him every afternoon before she and Nanny pick up Grant. Grant is too young to understand so he thinks Daddy is out of town.

The doctors said this morning, at least one more day of IV antibiotics and possibly released over the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed. Happy Friday.

Makes you wonder...

Just for fun, the above picture is Grant after enjoying some delicious spaghetti! He prefers to use his hands to eat most of the time. Is he happy or what?

Someone please explain to me how a child who is terrified of dogs and cats of any size is willing to ride a horse 5 times her size?

Zizzy! Zizzy!

For those of you don't know, Parker's full name is Parker Elizabeth. She is Parker everywhere but at home, we have many nick names for her. The one we use most often is Lizzy Lu, we have called her this since she was a baby, along with P Liz, Parker Liz, you get the idea.

When we go to Mass, Parker goes to 'Little Church' as she calls it, actually it's children's liturgy. Grant stays with us in the cry room (for any non-Catholics, this is a separate room with windows and a speaker so your kids do not distrub the rest of the parish. Toddler squeels and screams echo in the big church. On Sunday, Parker left as always and after about 5 minutes, Grant started calling for her "Zizzy! Zizzy!" We got so tickled at him, he has never missed her before. Of course, everyone thinks he is calling her Sissy but that is not the case. We call her Parker, sister or Lizzy, never sissy.

That's my cute story for today while I avoid doing real work.

A new attitude

Happy Monday to all!

In an effort to keep all 3 of you reading entertained, I thought I would share my Parker story with you. We went swimming Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, after a long day both kids were working my nerves. I told my Mother they don't make enough Xanax for me as my kids were worn out and hungry, not a good combination. Anyway, I had gotten on to Parker several times in a very short period of time. As I walk into the den, I see Parker with her 'Prayer hands" and she was moving her mouth as though she was talking but no sound.

Me: Are you praying?
P: Yes Mommy
Me: What are you asking for?
P: I asked God to give you (as in me) a new attitude
Me: Why do I need a new attitude?
P: Because you hurt my feelings and almost made me cry
Me: Mommy's sorry, I hope you get what you ask for
P: Me too!

Our night did get better. Both kids went to bed early. Well, Grant actually went to bed, Parker laid down on the couch and went to sleep almost immediately! And because I am the ultimate Mommy -- I made her a super lunch for camp today and forgot to take it in. I saw her little pink lunchbox on the floorboard of my car when I got to work. ARGH! I called the school to see what time her class eats lunch so we could send something else for her and Mrs. Barbara told me not to worry, she could have pizza or a hot dog. Have I ever mentioned I work 25 miles away from my kids' schools? I was thrilled they have a back up plan for scatterbrained Mommies!

Finally, a new post with pictures no less!

Our little ballerina...

Our tap dancing girl ..

As you can see, she really enjoys dance. These pictures are from dress rehearsal Thursday and Friday, we were not allowed to take pictures during the real show on Saturday. Her dance recital was 4 hours long, yes longer than a Broadway show. Brandon had to leave with Grant in the first hour, he was not going to sit still for that long. Her Daddy did get to see her dance her tap piece to "Happy Birthday Princess". He missed Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo ballet and the finale.

It was a busy weekend for us. My mother is here from Florida for the recital. Parker had 2 birthday parties on Saturday in addition to the recital. Yesterday, we spent the day in Earle, AR (my Grandma lives there) and it was the first time I had scene the tornado damage from May 2nd. It was amazing no one was killed, there are blocks of houses GONE. The Baptist church is missing the sanctuary and the gym. Luckily my Grandma's house only sustained minor damage, everyone was not as lucky.

I hope everyone has a good week!

Sleep, I don't need no stinkin' sleep!

Grant developed a cough over the weekend, we were a little concerned but know you have to wait a few days to by-pass the waste of a good co-pay for a 'virus' diagnosis. When our kids have fever, we don't hesitate to take them in but he didn't and he was playing well. His cough sounded horrible so we talked about taking him in and by we I mean me taking him in. After Monday night, he was in obvious pain, still no fever but crying in his sleep and flip flopping all over the place, I decided around 3 am, he needed to see a Dr after I had only slept intermittently. Lucky for me the it's the last week of school so sick clinic was not packed. We got in fairly quick and wouldn't you know it, he has an ear infection! He had one in April as well. I have been trying to recount them all to determine if it's time for tubes yet. The Ped wants to see him back in 2 weeks to make sure it's gone. Poor little guy. I will leave you with Grant's latest phrase "I see you" as he waves and says bye-bye. It is so darn cute!

Why we love Dance!

So I came to the realization this weekend that all dance studio owners are scatter-brained. We were warned by a friend the studio we go to would be this way but it is the best around and the little girls actually learn what 'arabesque' is and how to do it. Here are my observations:

• Last summer, I called several times a week every week before someone called me back. We ultimately dropped in while eating at a nearby restaurant
• School was starting and we still didn't know if the Saturday class was going to make or not
• We get the holiday schedule 1 week in advance-max
• We have known all year, the recital is 5/31 but not which show we were in (there are two day/night)
• On 5/6, we found out we are in the night show
• We have to buy tickets for the recital, everything is donated but don't we pay enough? Tickets go on sale 5/18 between 5-7.
• At 5:40, I realized I forgot to go, Parker and I raced up there. Our number in line '54', the number they were on '29' Are you kidding? Seriously, we waiting 45 minutes to buy tickets to her recital.
• As of this minute, we still do not have the dress rehersal schedule for next week

You might wonder why do we bother? Parker absolutley loves dance. I am assured the recital goes off beautifully. After attending the dress rehersal of a recital of a friend's daughter in West Memphis, I am convinced all studio owners are completely scatterbrained. I will say this, Parker's recital has a theme, everyone is dancing Cinderella. Parker is fairy dust in one and I forget what the pink tap is but it is something from Cinderella. The recital in WM had everything from Elvis to High School Musical and started 1 hour late! And yes, we will do dance again next year despite all the hoop-la because Parker loves it.

Now back to work before I get fired for blogging.

Angels on earth

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?'

God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.'

The children further inquired, ‘but tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.'

God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.'

Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?'

God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.'

'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?'

God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.

''Who will protect me?'

God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.

''But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.'

God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.'

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.'

God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mom.'

A few thoughts

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day! I had hoped to start a new tradition of taking pictures of me with the kids but that didn't happen. Maybe next year, who knows? I guess it depends on my mood when Mother's Day rolls around again. My poor mother didn't even get her present because I never got around to shipping it. For once, I actually bought it in advance. Hopefully, she will get it this week if I get it packed up.

Since this seems to be a post about nothing, I will comment on gas prices. I bought gas last Monday for $3.34/gal, yesterday at the same station, $3.64. Some one please explain to me how gas goes up 30 cents in one week? I will need to fill up tomorrow morning before I can get to work. I don't know how people driving those huge SUV's are making it, everyone has a budget. Some much bigger than ours but a budget none the less.

Well back to work, I am supposed to be working from home tonight but my remote access is frozen so I thought I would distract myself for a few minutes.

Where little girls come from

This weekend on a routine trip to Target, Parker randomly asked me what is "Aunt" Kristy to me.

K: Aunt Kristy is Mommy's friend and we have been friends since we were little girls.

P: and me too!

K:when Kristy and I were little girls, we didn't know we would grow up and have little girls

P: oh I get it ...

K: okay what?

P: you asked Jesus for a little girl and with His special powers, He put me in your tummy!

Now tell me that Catholic education isn't worth every penny. She is getting such a connection to our faith, more than I can ever imagine! Remember she is just 4 years old.

Brandon and I decided she can believe this for a very long time as far as we are concerned.


Parker this weekend at a Sweet and Sassy Birthday party. She is a dressed up and having a ball with her girlfriends. I see a party for her there in our future.

We're not in ArKANSAS anymore ..

Since I have only just 'met' some of you, let me give you a little history. If you know me in real life, disregard this next statement. I was born in Maryland but we moved back to my Mother's home state of Arkansas when my parents split up, I was 4 at the time. I consider Arkansas to be my home state after 20 years of living there. I lived in West Memphis, just 7 miles and the Mississippi River from Memphis. My grandparents lived in Earle, a thriving little town of 3000 people. I spent a great deal of my childhood with them, every summer and most weekends. My Grandpa would pick us up from school and call my Mom at work after he got to his house, well, he would tell my Grandma 'to call Shelia and tell her I got the kids today,' he was not a phone person.

This afternoon, one of my very good friends from High School called me to see if I had talked to my Grandma today (Grandpa passed away 2 years ago). I said no I don't usually talk to her during the day. She then tells me there was a tornado in Earle and the grocery store across the street has damage. I hang up the phone, try my Grandma, line busy .. then call my Mother in FL, not that she can do anything but I want her to call her sister who also lives in Earle. Maybe her phones are working? Luckily they were, she left to check on my Grandma. In the meantime, I call one of my other childhood friends whose family still lives in Earle. She said she didn't know anything, her Dad had taken her daughter and niece down to the basement, her Grandmother has a hole in her roof and she can't get her Dad on the phone. Her Grandmother lives 3 houses away from mine.

For the next hour, I am glued to the Internet watching the live weather feed. Anything about Earle. Finally my Aunt calls my mom back to tell her Grandma is fine, she saw the tornado about the same time the weather man said "if you are in Earle, take cover immediately!" She ran to her hallway (the safest place in her house) to ride it out. The church right next door has heavy damage, the grocery store across the street is damaged, the factory across the street from the store is destroyed. My friend did find out her daughter, niece and father were okay but the phone lines are down and his cell phone does not work in the basement.

My point to all of this .. count your blessings. Everyone in my family and my good friends' families are okay except for minor roof damage and debris but not everyone is so lucky. When you think about such a small town, everyone knows everyone. We know exactly where some of these houses used to be, we know the people who were hurt. I am so very grateful, no one died. It is very scary to think what kind of damage a tornado can do and how random it's path is.

On another note entirely .. Baby Sully's cancer is back. Please check out the updates on their site www.sullivanfarrar.com and keep them in your prayers. Yesterday was his 1st birthday. Words can not describe what they must be feeling now.

I will do my best to post something happier later this weekend.

New layout

I am going to give this whirl, I think I like it but I lost my links, counter and the picture of my kids. I can add all of these things back later when I have more time. In the meantime, enjoy the change. Have a wonderful Tuesday.

More tears-some happy, some sad

I read this blog in my blog hopping today and it moved me to tears. The faith of this family is unbelievable. Please take a few minutes to read about Audrey Caroline and her family's amazing journey at http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/.

Also, for those of you who follow my blog regularly. Another baby blog I have been reading for months has great news to share. Baby Sully is off the vent as of Friday and is doing great! Please read more about him http://sullivanfarrar.com/updates.htm. He is one special little boy, his 1st birthday is on Thursday. Happy Birthday Sully! Please continue praying for him and all the children at St. Jude.

Happy Monday. I will post more later this week about our crazy weekend and hope to get pictures up as well. (As long as Brandon uploads me, I'm completely inept at this)

My friend, Trish

Here is the picture I promised of my friend Trish. She was a promising free lance photographer. Her husband took this picture of her with our kids. She also took the picture of Parker kissing Grant that we used for our Christmas cards last year. Here is a link to her photography website, you can see some of her other work http://www.tlolsonphotography.com/-/tlolsonphotography/.

It still seems surreal to me thinking about it. When I came to work today, I had to tell several people about it, everyone had the same reaction -- "Are you serious?" There are no words to express the loss of 38 year old in the prime of her life. I hope everyone reading this counts their blessings today.

Click here to see what an impact she had on others and more about her health struggles although she had been doing well recently. http://www.helpmyhurt.com/2008/04/21/help-my-hurt-lost-one-of-its-own-today-rip-tricia

Life is too short

I have just found out my friend Tricia Olson-Giles passed away last night. She was only 38, just one year older than me. Her husband called me a short time ago to give me the news, I think I am still numb trying to grasp how someone my age could die of an aneurysm? It just doesn't make sense. I feel terrible because when he called, I asked him if he was serious, like anyone would joke about his wife dying. I have only met him a few times but they did come to our house in December to take pictures of our kids. I have these pictures on my drive at work, I will post one tomorrow of Trish and my kids. She didn't have any children of her own but she loved all her OPK's (other people's kids). Trish thoroughly enjoyed watching my ever expanding waistline when I was pregnant with Parker, I think that was the first time she had seen someone every day who was expecting. At the time we worked together. I am through rambling tonight, I will do my best to post more tomorrow but work is insane right now.

Monday potpourri

A couple of pictures from San Antonio

Brandon at the Pep RallyBrandon and Blake

Grown men acting like teenagers

My funny Grant story... he does not like putting on shoes, he is okay once they are on but getting them on is challenging. One day in my morning struggle to put his shoes on, I made up the following for entertainment value. I tell him we need to put his 'pigs' (toes) in a blanket (sock) and then get the pigs in the barn (shoe) and tie them up tight! This seems to work, he thinks its hilarious and it allows me to get both shoes on without breaking a sweat or trying to hold him down. This morning, he picked up his shoe and said "barn," I hope he doesn't think his shoes are really barns? Also he now says "yashe" which is yes in Grant-ese. It is so darn cute!

Now for my funny story. I fell yesterday over Grant's ride-on toy and broke not one but two of my toes! I was holding Grant when I tripped, we both crashed to the floor. He bumped his head but I think I broke most of his fall. Yes, he is okay, he barely cried over it .. I however am in a great deal of pain.

I hope everyone has a great Monday!

Prayer requests

I made back to the office today. So far, so good.

A friend of mine from work sent me a link to this website http://sullivanfarrar.com/. This little boy is very sick and at St. Jude. I have been following this for a few months now and thought this would would an excellent way to share his journey with you. Like all the children of St. Jude, he needs extra prayers. Please stop by to read about Sully and his amazing journey. I just noticed he is on our Church prayer list as well.

Happy Monday!

Back to work tomorrow

I intend to go back to the office tomorrow. I am feeling much better today after not doing so hot yesterday. Tomorrow will be a long day with Brandon still out of town, I will have to get Parker to school by 8 am. Sounds easy, right? Not for me, I don't have to be in the office until 9:30 most days so it turns our mornings upside to leave an entire hour earlier. The good news is I will be in the office really early because Parker's school is next door to Grant's daycare. I will be all done dropping kids off by 8:15, Grant and I usually leave around then. My plan is to get to bed earlier tonight than normal for me so I can beat the kids up in the morning. Wish me luck, I am not exactly a morning person.

Of course, I have to say something about the Memphis Tigers! What a great game last night, I am looking forward to being National Champions and proving all the naysayers WRONG!

I wish everyone a great week!

Dr. Mommy just knows...

Yesterday we only waited 2 hours at the Ped's office. I guess it improved. I am up to about 7 hours in Doctor's offices this week between me and the kids. Grant does indeed have an ear infection, one in each ear. The ped. gave him a shot and a round of antibiotics. I am starting to feel more like my self every day but still have little energy. I am hoping to go back to work on Monday. It is very hard for me to stay home and be idle. I have so much to do around the house but can't and it is driving me crazy. My plan is to catch up on some on-demand movies and maybe a pay-per-view movie while I do nothing and rest. I will say I have enjoyed being able to read the paper everyday again and do the crossword. I love crossword puzzles but don't usually have time to do them.

My hat's off to single moms in blog world. Brandon left this morning with his brother to go to San Antonio to watch the Final Four games and hopefully the championship on Monday night if all goes well for the Tigers. I know my mom raised us alone and many of you do this everyday as a way of life but I am used to the help.

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend!

T-I-G-E-R-S! Tigers!
GO TIGERS GO!

What a week!

We have had a fun filled week of Doctor's in our house. First I had to take Parker to walk in Monday morning feeling pretty awful myself. She was not sick but had a personal problem we needed to see about. She is good as new after 3 hours there, we spent most of it in the waiting room. I took her on to school and headed to work myself. I had the bright idea to stop and get soup and a Coke to take with me to work. I think I managed to eat 4-5 spoons of soup and nurse the coke for hours. Usually I can down a coke just like water. I was freezing too, which is very unlike me. I told my Mother I don't ever remember being that sick. After a fretful night of up and down, I called my Asthma/Allergy Doctor for a work in appointment. They got me in at 9 am. I was called back within 5 minutes and they did every test you can imagine. After a couple of peak flow tests, a breathing treatment, CBC to check my white count, a chest x-ray confirmed, I have pneumonia.

Today, Grant got sent home from daycare with a fever. We are pretty sure he has an ear infection because I most likely have bacterial pneumonia and not viral. We are headed back to walk-in tomorrow at the pediatrician's office. Please send good thoughts, the wait will not be as bad as Monday.

Tonight we had a catastrophe -- we couldn't find Bunny. You might be wondering who is Bunny? Bunny is Parker's lovey, she has had since she was 3 months old. We have infant pictures of her holding Bunny, always slept with her. I spent 45 minutes looking every where for her, I turned this house upside down looking. Our bedroom looks like someone ran-sacked it. Brandon had class tonight so I sent him a frantic text message for assistance and immediate call. As you can imagine, Parker was hysterical but she trying so hard to be a big girl. We have many impostor bunnies but only one real one. Parker took one of the others but with her sad blue eyes said "that is not my Bunny" I told her I know and I would do everything I could to find the real bunny. I looked everywhere, I started thinking maybe she got thrown away. It was not until I literally threw everything in the floor that I found her. I was never so happy to find a stuffed animal in my life! By then Parker had cried herself to sleep, I woke her up so she would know Bunny had been found. She said "Thank you Mommy" her eyes still wet with tears. I have tear filled eyes just typing about this. It was an awful, terrible thing to her. It tells us she is not ready to give up Bunny. Thankfully, Grant is not attached to anything. Bunny is thread bear and we pray every time she goes for a swim in the washing machine, she comes out okay. I put her in a lingerie bag inside a pillow case on the delicate cycle and air dry her. Oh and why this happening poor little Grant was screaming in his bed because he just wanted his Mommy to hold him because he is sick too. When Brandon called, I had already located Bunny.

And before you all ask why we don't have a back up Bunny. My mom bought Bunny in Florida at the Carter's outlet, we have searched eBay many times and come up empty. The company who manufactured her is no longer in business. This is the reason for our collection of impostor bunnies, many similar but none the same.

Please forgive any spelling and/or grammatical errors. I am on many meds and now recovering from this catastrophic event that happened in the middle of this post. Now I am off to try and repair some of the madness in our bedroom. I will update on Grant tomorrow.

A smile says it all.

Parker's first smile

Parker's smile today

I am a relatively new blogger but have been looking at blogs for quite a while. I sometimes hop from blog to blog from friend's blogs. Today, I landed on a blog from an incredible family who will be fostering a child from Guatemala while he receives surgery for a Cleft Lip. I started thinking if I blog hop then others do as well. I was so touched by this, I left a comment on a complete stranger's blog then thought about sharing our story because you never know who might be reading it and needing inspiration. Parker Elizabeth was born July 29, 2003. I had a very good pregnancy for the most part, she was stubborn and did not want to be born but the Doctor's made her when she approached 2 weeks overdue. She was born at 2:14 am after a very long labor, we did not know she had a cleft until we saw her for the first time. Baby's are supposed to be perfect and we had no idea what a cleft lip was or what we could do about it. My OB was awesome in giving us as much info as possible about clefts and assuring us it was only her lip, no palate issues. When the pediatrician came in around 7 am, he too assured us hers was very minor, a 2 on a 10 scale. He gave us the names of a few plastic surgeons in the area who did cleft repairs.

Parker was a trooper from the beginning, she never had any feeding problems. I was able to nurse her and she could also take a bottle. This can be incredibly difficult in cleft babies. We took her to see the plastic surgeon at 4 weeks old, he recommended her first surgery at 10 weeks. We are so fortunate to have a great children's hospital in Memphis, LeBonheur. At 10 weeks old, we arrived at 6 am for surgery. She was gone from us for 4 hours before the doctor called to tell us all went well. When they brought her to her room, she was restrained and the nurses taught us how to feed her with a syringe. Even through all the pain she must have been in, swollen and all, she managed to smile when she saw us.

She had a revision surgery in November 2006. This one was an outpatient surgery, she was up playing the same afternoon. She will most likely have more dental surgeries as she gets older, right now, all is well.

It is so amazing to us to see her smile, her so-called birth defect is the very thing that draws you in. For some reason, I thought I needed to share this today. As you can see from her snow picture a few weeks ago, Parker loves life and knows she was born special.

Henderson Easter Tradition

In true Henderson fashion one of our kids is sick for the Holiday! Actually, now that I think about it, I think we have sick kid for every other holiday. Parker's class has had this nasty stomach virus go around 3 times, lucky for us, this is her first experience with it. Last year, Grant had something and we stayed home while Parker and Brandon went to his parents. I remember one Easter, Parker's ear drums ruptured (yes, both of them) and we spent the night at the LeBonheur After Hours clinic. She was miserable, here's a picture and you can see her little flushed cheeks but she was a trooper as always.

I wish everyone a Happy Easter. Keep your fingers crossed Parker gets better and can enjoy the fun filled weekend.

Misunderstanding

As many of you know, we are doing our best to teach Parker our faith. She goes to Catholic school and we try to attend Mass every Sunday. She even goes to "little church" to get her very own version of the readings/Gospel and Homily. You can imagine my surprise when she said on Sunday afternoon: "It's pom Sunday, I have to go to cheer class!" Maybe she doesn't get it after all!

Last night when I got home from work, Brandon tells me Grant's teachers are working on his "social problems," i.e. sharing. I said yes, that's our social deviant 16 month old. Later when I read the daily recap from his school, it said, we are working on "problem solving and social skills" -- Oops!

Parker rode a pony!

We had a busy weekend of birthday parties. Parker had 2 on Saturday, the first at Jumpin' Jax in Collierville and the 2nd in Southaven at a petting zoo. As many of you know, Parker is terrified of animals so we were thinking this was not going to be a fun party for her. You can imagine my surprise when she got on a pony for a ride. I didn't have my camera but my friend had one so I did take some pictures, as soon as she sends it to me, I will upload it here. Parker loved it! She fed goats and rabbits, she did not like the 1000 lb pig though, she said he was stinky.

Grant got his first pair of actual tennis shoes on Friday night. They are so cute, baby New Balance shoes. He has a very thick foot so we do not have many shoe choices and have to go to speciality stores. Parker finally outgrew her wide shoe phase and now we can buy shoes anywhere. Hopefully, Grant will do the same.

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone! I hope you are wearing green!

Finally a few snow pictures...

Snow angel-her very first

The biggest snow ball ever!

Hey, this is not so bad after all.

I liked it until I feel down!

Enjoy the pictures of the kids, it might be 4 more years before we get good snow again. We had plenty to build a snowman but we did not because Brandon left for the Memphis game and by the time he got home, most of it was melted. Parker played outside several times Saturday morning. Her snow suit was Christmas gift 2 years ago and was a size 2T-can you believe it still fit her? Okay so it was too short but it kept her warm and dry. Her boots did not, her socks were soaking wet. Next time we are getting her rain boots to play in instead of cute ugg knock-offs!

So you want pictures?

Okay, I actually have pictures but I keep getting an error message when I try to post them here. We got snow on Friday, the best snow we have had in years! At our house we got around 4" but there were drifts much deeper. Parker loved every minute of it and Grant liked it until he fell, then he was done! I really wanted to show you guys pictures of my kids in the snow. It's so frustrating. I will get tech-support (Brandon) to help me tonight with the pictures. Happy Monday!

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall..

Humpty Dumpty shouldn't stand up in the bath tub!
You guessed it, Grant fell in the bathtub on Sunday night and bit through his tongue. I have never seen that much blood come out of one our kids, ever! We learned last year when Parker bit through her lip, the mouth is very forgiving and heals quickly. We were not sure what, if anything, could be done about his tongue. Lucky for us we have friends/cousins in the medical profession so we started calling in favors to determine if we needed to go to the ER or not. Our nurse friend said yes, to definitely take him so we called Brandon's cousin who is a Doctor. He said to bring him in right away and determined the cut was borderline on whether it needed stitches and it was our choice. Once he explained to us how they stitch the tongue up, we opted not to put Grant through anymore trauma. Tim said he could make a case either way but he would not sew up his son. Grant is on an antibiotic and soft diet for the next few days. You would never know he had this traumatic experience if you didn't see his tongue. It looks better every time he lets us see it. Tonight is bath night, it will be his first since his fall, let's hope he remembers the pain and sits down.

Daycare woes

Yesterday, I received a call from Grant's daycare saying they 'think' he has pink eye because after nap he had crusties in his eyes and they were a little pink, they wanted us to take him to the Dr. this morning to get him checked out. Brandon picked him up at 4 pm, called to say his eyes were fine but he has a runny nose like he has had for the last 2 weeks. This morning, Grant wakes up: eyes bright and clear, a few crusties in the corner but definitely not pink. If you or your children have ever had pink eye, you know it manifests over night and the next day it is nasty: swollen, matted shut, oozing junk, glazed over and matter of fact pink. No Doctor necessary to diagnose but needed for the million dollar eye drop prescription. So I take him to school because I refuse to spend 2 hours at the Dr.'s office for walk-in and co-pay for a runny nose! I get there and basically have to state my point over and over, first to the assistant director then to the director via phone. As if we would send him to daycare with pink eye, it is very painful. It is just so frustrating some times to deal with the politics of it all! I don't mind using a vacation day when my kids are actually sick but to use one because someone at daycare thinks a runny nose is a problem really chaps me! I left him there and so far, so good. I will keep you posted.

An update on another child issue. The kid that is mean to Parker continues to deliberately try to hurt her feelings. She said yesterday "John (not his real name) thinks he is cool, but Mommy he is not!" I have once again spoken to the teacher and we determined a lot of this comes at snack and lunch when they are seated. Parker has no where to go when he picks at her. Our biggest concern is he is going to say something about her lip or teeth that hurts her more than he already has. She is very well aware she was born with a cleft lip and it is okay for kids to ask age appropriate questions about it. It is NOT okay for kids to be mean about it or intentionally try to hurt our baby girl. Parker told me last night she was a nice girl and I tried to explain the Golden Rule in 4 year old terms, I think she gets it. She said John is not nice, he is mean so I told her she still needs to be nice to him and she agreed. The momma bear in me just wants to tell her how to get rid of this trouble making kid with a quick zinger but then she will not learn anything from all of this. Stay tuned for more.

Happy Monday!

Well, the Tigers got their first lost. It was a really good game if you didn't get a chance to watch. Brandon got to the FedEx Forum at 5 am for a 8 pm tip-off. They did go to ESPN College Game Day as well during that time but most of it was standing outside in the shade freezing. As you can imagine, he has a very sore throat now and his voice is gone. Parker keeps reminding him to whisper since he is hoarse.

Here is a picture of Grant taken at Chandler's birthday party last month. Swing Batter! Okay so it isn't one of my pictures but at least it is a recent picture. As you can see Grant is getting quite tall and he looks like a little boy in his vest and cords. Can't you see the resemblance to me? NOT! He is Brandon with blonde-ish hair (my only contribution to this kid!)

Parker had a dentist appointment today, she was such a big girl, finally letting them use the buzzy brush (as we call it) on her teeth. She has been going to the dentist since she was 10 months old because of her cleft lip and this was the first time she ever let them use anything other than a toothbrush. Good thing Santa thought to bring her an electric toothbrush to get used to! She has no cavities and her teeth are very healthy. We still don't know what if any dental issues she will have as a result of her cleft lip.

Happy Monday to everyone, let's hope for a better week this week!

The big game

So my hubby is going to the UT/Memphis game tomorrow. He is a student, for those of you who don't know, he finally is going back to finish his degree. Anyway, he has a student ticket, the UM is allowing students to line up beginning at 6 am for an 8 pm tip-off. They can go to ESPN game day at 10 am then back outside for more hurry up and waiting. I really don't mind him going to the game but the way the school has chosen to allow student attendance is crazy in my option. He and his brother intend to be there at 6 to line up for this insanity meanwhile I get to play single mom for the day. It is always fun to take Grant to dance for an hour, we go to Sonic on the way and get him a wacky pack, it keeps him busy in his stroller for a while. Wish us all luck!

A little funny about Parker, you all remember the kid who she says is mean to her? Well, he is sick this week along with many other of her friends. When Brandon asked her yesterday, she named them all and said "Yeah" after his name. I have no idea how Brandon kept his composure to tell her we do not laugh when our friends are sick. When he told me last night, I cracked up!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Go TIGERS! We're number one!

A few tidbits

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Parker tried on her dance costumes on Saturday. It was such a blast to see her in the costumes, her ballet is purple, they are supposed to be fairy dust. She will have a tiarra and wand! She loved every minute of it. The tap costumes are pink polka-dot, I forget what they are going to be in those. Parker loves loves loves going to dance, music is a big part of her life. She will sing just about anything and can learn the lyrics after one or two times. Brandon once taught her Jingle Bells on the way home from daycare -- it was an 8 minute car ride and she was only 2 at the time. Impressed? She never ceases to amaze us.

Grant is talking more every day. His favorite word is uh-oh and he loves to say "hi-doo" which means hello in Grant-ese. He will hold anything up to his ear and say hi-doo, it cracks us up. At his daycare, they have a picture of him holding a toy phone and you almost see him saying hi-doo to the camera.

Speaking of cameras, I have got to get some pictures up here.

A Mommy's work..

Today beginning at 6:10 am, I was changing sheets on beds. Both kids needed new sheets, got the laundry going and just for fun cleaned up the carpet where Grant expressed his freedom. This all took place before 6:30 am, then we got on with our normal mornings.

It is very cold here this morning, a balmy 24 degrees. We actually had SNOW this morning, it was like God was shaking salt down from Heaven. Grant did not seem to notice it, he loves the cold! At Grant's school they had Glamor Shots pictures today, I know you are thinking what baby needs a Glamor Shot? It was really cute, it was in his diaper, an apron and a chef's toque with his bowl of plastic fruit. They also had a man's tie with hat but he was not feeling this one as much as the chef outfit. I can't wait until we get them back.

Keep your fingers crossed the schools do not close today. We have no back up plan for kid pick-up. I have to be at work regardless of the weather.

Hi Da-Da!

That is Grant's first sentence! Last night when Brandon returned from the store, Grant looked up from his high chair and said "Hi Da-Da" as he was waving hello. Grant knows 10-15 words now and his favorite is definitely "Uh-oh."

Happy Monday to everyone!

It was a 3 Skittle day!

I thought I would try adding a picture, this one is from the zoo last summer. Some of you made have seen it already. Both kids look the same today.

Will someone please explain to me how this child can get all her Skittles on Mon, Tues and Thurs but lose them all on Wednesday? Clearly she was having a bad day! Today is Grandparent day at school, Parker is looking forward to Nanny visiting her classroom and having snacks together. Parker says it will be lots of fun.

Grant was so funny this morning, he was all ready to go bye-bye. He walked to the back door and when I tried to put his jacket on, he would walk away. He did this over and over until finally I said just forget it. It was only 35 degrees outside, he seemed to be fine with it. Guess he is like us, both Brandon and I rarely wear coats.

Happy Friday to everyone! We have almost made it to the weekend!

Parenting 101

Thanks for chekcing out my blog. I hope you enjoy it, I promise I will get better with the pictures, in the meantime, enjoy the quick read.

We had an issue with Parker at school. She receives 3 Skittles or M & M's at the end of each day. Yesterday, she did not get any so we got a note home from her teacher giving the reasons. She pushed another child which concerned us becasue Parker by nature is not an aggressive child so we asked her who she pushed and way. She told us who and he was being mean to her, we asked her why didn't she tell the teacher, she said because she says I am tattle telling. Houston, we have a problem! I sent a note to the teacher this morning, I wanted to know what was going on here and if Parker was doing anything to aggravate the other child. She said he and Parker play together as much as they fight and the child does tend to yell at everyone including the teachers. She and I agreed to work with Parker on understanding when it is appropriate to tell the teacher and when it is not. In this case, Parker's feelings were hurt and she tried to solve this herself but still got in trouble. We certainly don't condone pushing but you see our issue here. Her teacher is going to talk to both of the kids because Parker has complained about this kid being mean to her since the first day of school but we blew it off to a love/hate relationship until now. Keep her in your prayers and hope for a 3 Skittle day today!

Also, thanks to everyone who has checked on us after the storms made national news. We are fine, our house got lots of rain and wind but no damage. Lots of other people are not as lucky. I was at work and Brandon was home with Grant in a closet, Parker had gone to the Hannah Montana movie with her Nanny.