Monday, April 25, 2011

All about Easter...in an eggshell!

My Silly Kota man


Just dropping in to share a quick update.
Life is about to get busy....well, not really that busy. But other things will come before the blog. Like family.
We have 2 more sleeps (including tonight) til my sister, Tammie, arrives. The kids are excited...Mommy is excited. I just need to get some cleaning done before she arrives. And that is what I plan to do tomorrow...pending the kids' cooperation.

Easter weekend was fun. The kids dyed eggs at Aunt Samantha's house. We celebrated April birthdays...Aunt Samantha, Andy, Myself, and Grandma...all have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. It was fun!

Dakota dyeing his egg

Lilyann...showing off her dyed egg

Dakota and Lilyann all ready for Sunday school...Easter 2011

The kids and their cousin getting eggs from the Pastor

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Do it right the first time!

Let me just tell you....DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!

Doing little quick fixes do nothing but reek havoc later. In our attempts to maybe sell our house soon, we are fixing things slowly (as the money come available)...and our pipes have been off and on trouble recently. With my 6th sense of super smell power (thanks to being pregnant!) and fluid leaking from under the house, we had the plumber come look at the pipes under the house...Well, they were rotted away. I don't know for how long..but under the house was flooded...we live on pier and beam...every time I used the washer or the kitchen sink, the water was just pouring out under the house.

After a few hours of trying to unclog our sewer line...thanks to Lily putting stuff down the potty, and old pipes, and we are thinking roots growing into the pipes....then it was a little over an hour of working under the house...and all is fixed!!
Hearing about the extent of the damage under there was fairly easy to take...but then finding out that the previous plumber from 6 years ago, replaced part of a pipe and then covered with duct tape (yes!! you heard that right, a plumber used duct tape...arggh!), and then getting the bill....OUCH!

So, I can't stress it enough....DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!! Duct tape may be a fix all item, but not for plumbing. If only I could find the paperwork on the guy that did the work 6 years ago...if only.

now, it's fixed and we shouldn't see plumbers for a while...as long as Lily doesn't flush anything else.

Another thought....Duct tape isn't a fix all!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Someone's watching ME!

You might realize this over the next year...or at least til next winter..but I LOVE my new hammock!!

I almost thought of starting another blog and calling it "From the Hammock!"

Anyway....
I was lying in the hammock yesterday evening and what did I see in the tree above me...staring right down at me...but a squirrel!!! And he was gnawing on our pecan tree. We have lived here for almost 6 years and have never received the pleasure of a pecan. Either the squirrels partake of all the goodness or hurricanes/ tropical storms come through and blow them all off before they are ripe.


So...here's a picture from the hammock!


And another...my view from the hammock of the kids jumping.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Makes My Monday: from the hammock!



It was a fun weekend here....a little shopping, fishing (by Jed), backyard fun, and allergies!


Saturday was spent doing a little shopping and then later putting together a hammock in the backyard....and it rounded out with Jed going fishing with his friend that evening.


Sunday was a relaxing day...church, lunch with friends, and then cleaning fish, mowing grass and fun in the backyard.




Today, I am paying for the backyard fun...My allergies have hit full force! But relaxing in the hammock almost makes it worthwhile. Dakota loves lying in the hammock with me...Lily on the other hand doesn't have her "hammock legs" yet...so she is up and down and all around.

We are 15 weeks now...and the baby is equivalent to an apple! My belly is getting bigger. Dakota seems more conscious about it. If Lily leans on my belly or sits in my lap, Dakota cautions her that the baby is going to kick her. :) No kicking that I feel yet...but soon.

Fun with family makes my Monday!

Linking up with Cheryl from Twinfatuation for Makes My Monday!

Friday, April 15, 2011

3 years ago today

Sweet Lilyann....This is the face of a child with a Congenital Heart Defect




It was this time 3 years ago that the night nurse was sending us to our hotel room. She ensured us over and over that Lily would be just fine and that we (Myself, Jed, and his mom) needed our rest. Cathy was her name...and she spoiled Lily every night shift she worked for those 7 long days.
You see, today-3 years ago-Lily had open heart surgery to repair her Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). Most VSD's close on their own over time, but Lily's wasn't closing...now it wasn't getting any bigger either. But it was causing her to not gain weight, dehydrate her, her bald little head looked like a road map...you could see all the veins. If her condition worsened, we were looking at Congestive Heart Failure. It was such a scary time...but it was all in God's hands.
I swear, that was the longest 5 hours of my life...sitting in the waiting room, watching the screen (they had a TV that showed who (by initials) was in prep area, in surgery, when they were stitching up, etc. It helped to keep us nervous parents informed since we couldn't be in there with our little ones.
Seeing Lily being wheeled through the Operating room doors, there was a security guard there holding the elevator that would take Lily and the anesthesiologist, nurses, and doctors straight up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Lily was covered in tubes, wires, and plastic. They were trying to keep her warm...she was doing great. It just broke my heart to see her like that..but I knew again...It's was all in God's hands. This is where I broke down. Very few times did I break down going through the heart diagnosis, visits, hospitalization, echos, EKG's, feeding tubes, etc. But this time, It was so heart breaking...seeing my baby girl there...with all that stuff all over her. I just wanted to pick her up and cuddle her in my arms.
It took an hour for the Intensive Care nurses and doctors to get Lilyann situated and then we got to see our baby girl. I was so happy that she was okay. Everyone there working that unit at Medical City Children's Hospital was so caring and just right there for you. The nurse working with Lily went over everything that she was doing, she kept us fully informed.

Lilyann...a few hours after surgery

Lily's 1st smile...a few days after surgery...this is how we knew our sweet little girl was back!

It takes alot to let someone else have the reigns of control with your child. And this time, I am glad I let go. Lily has come so far....she was born weighing 7 lbs 1 oz. When she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, she weighed 8 lbs (this was at 7 weeks old). She climbed to 10 lbs the day of her surgery, thanks a continual NG feeding tube. (at 4 1/2 months old)...and Now, Sweet Lily...is teetering at 30 lbs at almost 3 1/2 years old. It is truly amazing....God is so Good!


"And we know that all things work together for good...." Romans 8:28

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Tooth Fairy



We had a visit from the tooth fairy at our house....and surprisingly enough, both kids got to be recipients.

As you know from the last post, Lily lost her 2 front teeth due to falling and knocking them loose. Dakota lost his 1st tooth yesterday. He was so excited. He came running inside the house to show me and lost his tooth in the process. It's somewhere in the backyard. I looked and looked but no success.

Grandma helped Dakota write the note to the tooth fairy explaining he had lost a tooth (Dakota drew a picture of his lost tooth) and she could find it in the backyard. :)

The kids were super excited when they looked under their pillows this morning.

Lily was excited, too....though, this picture looks more like a mugshot!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Family fun and Introducing....Toothless!

Stop and smile for the camera


Whew! can I just breathe for a second?

yes! it's been one of those kinds of weekends that spilled over into Monday. Let's see...where do I start?

Okay, Friday evening:
My brother and his family were driving through town from Florida on their way to see his wife's brother. He is being deployed next month to Iraq. Phil, Alicia, and the kids (Evan and Hallie) stopped off and we treated them to dinner and then they headed out to my sister's house to get some rest before heading further west. Let me just tell you, I LOVE spending time with family...especially those you don't get to see very often. It was fun catching up over dinner and meeting my new niece, Hallie (she is 7 months now) for the first time in person. Pictures just don't let you experience little ones at their fullest.

Saturday:
This was an eventful day...we headed out to run some errands as a family. We hit up the Academy store, Target, and Sam's Club. I love seeing all the fresh fruits and veggies at Sam's...and usually they taste delicious! After our errand running, we headed home and let the kids play in the water outside. Fun in the sun is the BEST! We rounded out our day with a trip to Jed's grandmother's house for dinner and to spend some time with Aunt Gloria.

Dakota mid flip

Lu Bell loves to be in charge of the water hose

Sunday:
This day started early...My kids were both up by 6am...eek!! My brother and his family joined us for church. Fun times. Then we headed back to my house to grill and let the kids play outside. More fun in the sun! During all this, Lily would come inside dripping wet...I sent her out with a towel and she takes off for the door and wipes out when she hits a puddle. She fell and hit her lip and her 2 front teeth (which I found out later)...I got her Popsicle and tried to wipe up her lip to survey the damage, but Lily wasn't very cooperative. I let her enjoy the Popsicle and then I checked out her lip later...Much to my dismay, I noticed she had knocked loose one of her front teeth. She could move it all around with her tongue. I knew that was the end of that tooth.

My cute little nephew, Evan

My little brother, Phil...he's still a kid at heart

So, the weekend rolls into Monday:
Storms roll through super early Monday morning...and by 5:45am, the power was out. A few transformers blew. Waking up Dakota for school with my cell phone wasn't quite different. And searching around for candles to light so we could have some light...fun times!! and only I would have such a diverse mixture of scented candles! So, we had lavender in one room, apple peppermint in another room, and crisp red apple in the living room. Just before it was time to leave for school, I found Jed's flashlight! So now power meant that I had to search for the dentist's number the old fashioned way...with a phone book. I am so used to having the Internet at my beck and call...It was almost foreign to be using a phone book.
Well, I got the number and we headed out to the dentist in hopes of salvaging Lily's front teeth. After an exam and x-ray, the verdict was both teeth must come out. Lily had fallen at just the right spot where she knocked both front teeth loose by the roots. They would end up falling out in the next week on their own. So, we opted to just get it all over and done with at once. Within a few minutes (after pain relieving jelly and 2 shots), Lily was the next key actress for "All I want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth". The dentist reassured me this was the best for Lily. We can have pedi dentures put in later if we want...we just need to give her gums time to heal, and then Lily will have to cooperate through having an impression made and then having it put in. We might just wait and see...she has at least 2 years before adult teeth would even start coming in. But for now, I am getting used to my toothless grinning little Lu Bell!!

Lily...giving me a thumbs up on the way home from the dentist

Oh! and the power came back on yesterday after lunch. So, yesterday wasn't a total bust! The whole weekend and Monday were memories made.

Lily with Daddy...she was such a happy girl last night after all the trauma she endured..and you can see where she lost her teeth.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Slacking on the blog


Please forgive me! I try so hard to keep up with the blog...but it tends to get pushed to the side when life happens. Life meaning--> Lily is doing great on her potty training...no accidents in a week at least. She is even pooping on the BIG potty!! I am so happy for her...but another thing we are working on with Lily is her stubborn attitude. Yes, I know, we all have it....but hers is going to be the reason I start coloring my hair...to cover up the grays!! It is a never ending battle with her that I am will to fight so I don't have to deal with this when she is a teenager. My cute sweet Little Lu can really be a little stinker!

Dakota is doing good. In 2 months time, he will be on Summer Break and all finished with Pre-K. He has learned so much. He can count to 30 without help, say his ABC's, identify his ABC's, and sound out words. He gets confused with words that are more than one syllable..but the sounding out is making me proud...he is on the right track to start reading soon.

Jed is working long hours since we got back from Arizona. There are changes going on in the company...they are trying to make each branch work more as a team..meaning those who don't pull their slack will get help from other team members. Team work is good...but Jed is so tired lately.

I am doing good...pregnancy going good. I am still available to work out a few times a week. This baby doesn't like anything considered "not good for you" and even some things that are good. Cookies, ice cream, coffee...you get the idea...all seem to make me sick. :( In turn, I haven't gained any weight with this pregnancy, but I've lost 5 lbs.

The house improvements are going well. We still haven't listed it on the market yet. But we are closer to having it looking sell worthy. Jed and his mom are doing all the work.

On another note, the seasons have changed nicely here. We are finally experiencing some consistent spring weather. Monday, we experienced our 1st Spring Storm...it was a super stormy. Lightning, high winds, heavy rains, thunder and some hail. thankfully, it moved through quickly....sadly, as it moved east, it left a path of destruction.

Well, that's about all I have about us for now.

Oh! we are also on a countdown again....Aunt Tammie (my sister) is coming in a little over 3 weeks! The kids are so excited. Aunt Tammie has been sending them postcards each week to remind them...It's marked on the calendar. We are ready. I think Kota is more excited about her arrival because 2 days after we are going to the Legoland Discovery Center in Dallas/Ft Worth area. Woot!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

moving right along...






We are almost to 13 weeks and morning sickness has reared it's ugly head. It's definitely not as bad as it was when pregnant with Kota and Lily; but it's extremely fatiguing.

We took it easy this week...only made it to the gym once. My prenatal yoga class was postponed til next week...I'm excited to attend. First class starts April 8th!