So much to say

Well, it's been so long I don't really know what to say because there is so much that has happened. I want to tell you some of the things I learned being a working Mom but that is for another post entirely.

Spencer turned 1! My baby boy.......the very reason this blog ever started, is ONE! I can't believe it! He started walking at about 11 months so he is really getting around good now! We had a GREAT birthday party for him......I will share some of those pictures soon.

I found out I am pregnant again! Samara turns 3 in September and the baby is due October 18th! That means a 3 yr old girl, a one year old boy and a newborn baby boy! Wow! This blog just might get REAL interesting come October. We are excited it is another boy. Not sure we could have handled the drama another girl would have brought! Samara likes being the Princess and I'm not sure how she would do sharing that title : )

My brother graduated from basic training and now he and his family have moved to Kentucky! We are sad! Sam and Balin loved playing together.

The pregnancy thing means we will be having to make some changes. Well, the first already happened and that was quitting work. We will most likely have to sell our car and get something a little bigger. And we will have to change the kids rooms around (NOT looking forward to this one) I figure it would be more appropriate for the boys to share and right now Samara is in the larger room. Right now Spencer's room is lime green and black......probably not gonna fly with my girlie girl!

Spencer loved staying at Ms. Dawn's. Conner says that Spencer is his best friend! It is SOOO cute! Sam got jealous when she heard Conner say that so now they fight about whose best friend he is. I know we will look forward to our playdates with the Younger's!

Alrighty.......I'm sure I'm forgetting something but that's all I can think of right now. I'm thinking it's going to take me a few posts to get back into the swing of things! Excited to be back!

Here are a few pictures I took the other day while we were playing outside.....

Isn't this so sweet! Sam is really good about playing with Spencer and helping him!

A little better!

Well, the week hasn't seemed to get a whole lot better but my attidude certainly has : )

Tuesday and Wednesday Sam stayed home with me because she wasn't feeling well. Today was her first day back and she seemed excited to be going to school and playing with her new friends. Unprovoked by me, she prayed for and thanked God for her new friends all this week! Hopefully I will find a happy child when I pick her up!

Yesterday, I wasn't able to keep my eyes open, my head was pounding, I kept getting the chills and just felt YUCKY! Ya, I'm pretty sure I've got the flu! Thank goodness for WONDERFUL kids who basically kept themselves entertained all day! Mom came and stayed last night to get the kids a bath and feed Spence in the middle of the night! Thanks Mom!

My grandpa is home from the hospital.....YAY!

I am officially starting work on Monday!

What a crappy day!

Sorry for the verbage but, truth be told, that is stating it lightly!

I'm allowed a bad day! Tell me everyday should be a great one because I know the Lord and I will tell you I don't believe it! He asks us to praise Him always and that I can do because guess what, He is still good.....but the day still stinks!

a) Taking Sam to school today was just hard......that's really all I know to say. She did great for those of you who are wondering.......it wasn't that.

b) I got word today that I likely won't start work until next week. A little frustrating considering I am paying for childcare but not getting paid! On top of that, I am just ready to get the show on the road......I am not a real patient gal.

c) My brother sent my parents a letter and it broke my heart. I don't care that tons of other men have gone through all the military mess; this time it's my brother and I don't like it. I hate more than anything for people to be demeaning......bullies. And that's what the military prides themselves on, at least during basic training! I really dislike it! On top of that, most choose to enter at a young age; before having a family.......what a difference that must make.

Matt has never been one to naturally respect authority (runs in the family, BTW) so I'm pretty sure he has had a bumpier ride than some of the others during his stay. He says he gets yelled at alot and does lots of push-ups. In addition he only gets 4-6 hours of sleep, 30 second showers and 2-5 minutes to eat. I mean, seriously......that's just ridiculous! Grrr.....whatever.....just gets me fired up thinking about it. I don't think I would be a very good candidate for the military, huh?

d) My grandpa has been in the hospital for very painful cellulitis in his leg since Wednesday. The surgeon came today and decided he could lance it bedside (make an incision and drain it). He thought the incision was going to be small but it ended up being about 6 inches. The nurse said he could still feel the procedure, despite the local anesthetic. Didn't go quite as planned. Ugh, that stinks!

e) While the procedure on my Grandpa was being performed, my Grandmother was at the neurologist with my Mother, getting a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Wow.....that is not an easy one to swallow! What a sad, sad disease. My heart is broken.

Yes, I am well aware that those "bad" things pale in comparison to what others are dealing with. In my reality though.......the convergence of these events made for a pretty yucky day!

Sometimes life is like dirty shoes.......stinky but not unbearable.

Finally!

I feel like I have said "I'm sorry" about the lack of posts quite frequently lately! Well here it is again! Sorry ya'll!

The past couple of weeks have just been crazy, not to mention that I haven't had a computer. Going to Mom's to get on the internet leaves me just enough time to check my e-mail and work through my list. It's amazing how much I rely on the internet for information.

For those of you who have not been informed, I am returning to work! The economy stinks and with that comes pay cuts and changes in reimbursement. Therefore, we have been left with no choice but for me to head back into the workforce. Honestly, we have been thinking about this for some time now but I was convinced there was no way I would be able to find anything that would pay for childcare and have anything left over. God literally dropped something in my lap. I am going to be working at a doctor's office across from Baylor Grapevine. I have heard wonderful things from the staff there and I think I will really enjoy it.

The issue at this point is finding affordable, GOOD care for the kiddos. I have a couple of home care options but I am afraid that Sam will be bored. I would really like this to be a positive experience for her. If she is going to have to be taken out of her home I would at least like a little brain stimulation for the girl. I think she would thrive in a preschool setting but it has been very difficult finding a preschool that a) also takes infants or b) has a spot for them both......not to mention the affordable part. I am praying that God has something perfect he will open the door to this week.

So.....what's been up with us??????

For starters, last week Sam and I were sick.....had this mess that has been going around. I had a severe ear infection. I don't think I have had an ear infection since I was a wee one. It was not fun.

I was premature in my excitement about the end to diapers. I actually attribute this to her sickness. I think, being sick, she wasn't sleeping well, which woke her frequently and alerted her to her need to tee tee. After getting well, she just didn't seem to wake when she needed to go and so we are back to diapers at bed time.

There is another HUGELY exciting, momentous occasion to replace the other. The pacis are GONE! Seriously..... 2 1/2, it's about time. I have been DREADING the day that we took those things away! We have been putting it off because we knew the battle that would ensue. I should have known that she would take care of it herself. A few days ago she took a nap at Mom's. When she went to get her pacis, she brought one of them to me and told me it was broken. It looked like she had been chewing on it or something so I told her to throw it in the trash. She went to bed with only one paci for her nap. That night I put her to bed with just the one and told her that it was the only one left, that the other ones were in the trash. About 30 minutes after putting her to bed she came into my room telling me that her paci was broken. She brought it to me in 2 pieces. She had bitten the tip of it off. Clearly, that is a serious choking hazard so there was no chance she was going back to bed with another one. I told her to throw that one away and that was the last one so she had no more. That was it! The end of the pacis! WOO HOO!

My little man is scootin' all over the place! I can't believe he is 7 months old!!!!!! He is funny though......he still won't sit himself up. He can sit up by himself but he can't get there himself. Actually, he probably COULD, but he doesn't. Silly guy!

I am beginning to work out an issue with him as well. Since he was born I have rocked him to sleep. That is not an ideal situation for childcare so I am trying to wean him off the rocking. He is doing pretty good so far but we have a long way to go yet.

OH, and he has this AWFUL squeal! Are boys supposed to squeal? He sounds awfully girly when he does. Mom calls him sissy boy when he does it.....it really is terrible. It's his attitude scream.....when he is really peeved.

Oh, and if you were wondering, NO, he still isn't sleeping through the night. He wakes up and takes a bottle in the middle of the night. UGH! Sam slept like 10 hours at 6 weeks so this is pretty annoying. He is wearing 12 and 18 month clothes so maybe it's just because he's a big boy......though Mom says it's just habit. I tried to let him just cry himself back to sleep the other night. After 45 minutes I decided I couldn't stand it anymore. Really????? 45 minutes????? Who is that stubborn?????

Josh left Sunday morning for his annual National Sales Meeting in Connecticut. He has been super busy all week and we are really missing him. Wednesday night was their big awards banquet and my J-Dub kicked booty! I don't know if I have told you how hard Josh has worked since going into sales but this kid deserved something good, ya'll. He is incredible at his job and apparently others are noticing! God has really blessed him in this position. I truly feel that he is able to use the gifts God has blessed him with in this position and that really has made a HUGE impact on his success. I will let him give you more info on his blog when he gets home and has a chance to write. I don't know all the details yet myself so I am anxiously awaiting his arrival! He should be returning tomorrow afternoon! Can't wait! I sure do love that guy!

Well, I hope I have caught you up......I know I have probably missed a ton but I will try to keep you more up to date now that I have a computer with internet access back at home! (I will also try to get some pics up soon)

First trip to the Fort Worth Zoo!

I realize it has been a few days since I have posted. There is a reason for this. At the beginning of the week Sami was sick (I may have mentioned that ????) I took her to the doctor for what I thought was an ear infection and he said that she had a virus on top of her allergies. Hmmmm. I honestly didn't believe him.

I found out a few days later just how right he was! YUCK! I thought she was getting better and we were in the clear when Spencer started puking his guts out! Poor guy......he couldn't keep anything down! What's crazy is that Sami didn't get so much as an ear infection until she was 8 months old. This is the 2nd time Little Man has been sick and he isn't even 3 months old yet. I guess that's what having an older sibling in the house will do for you (especially one who steals his paci, sticks it in her mouth and then back in his faster than I can even get to her)!

Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the sick drama. Spencer gave it to me and then one of us gave it to Josh. Josh really got a heck of deal.......come home to a house full of sick people and then get the junk worse than anyone else. I felt terrible for him! We are praying that it is over. This stuff is NO fun!

And on to other things......

I kept Levi on Wednesday......I wanted to do something because the weather was beautiful. Sam hadn't been to the zoo yet (I know, I know, we are neglectful parents.....2 yrs old never having been to the zoo......it's a shame) Apparently this wasn't the best idea because Sami wasn't feeling all that great. It was OK but not what I had expected!

As you can see from the pic of Little Man.....he had fun! (he is always smiling.....even when he was sick and pukey he was still smiley......it's fun!)


Sami got to feed the birds.

She was in awe of this elephant!

Mom being a saint by coming and helping out! I wouldn't have even tried it without her.

And here is the mixture of not feeling well and being 2!

haha.....if you think about this pic you would probably ask yourself why I was taking the pic rather than helping her. Sometimes their fits are just amusing and this was one of those times. Oh the drama of a 2 year old!


You like our stroller train?

This is was all of 2 minutes after we got in the car! Guess we wore them out!

And, FYI, if you take a drink into the zoo you have to throw away the lid and straw to protect the animals (uh, OK). Mom and I had bees swarming the strollers......NICE!