Today is the day.

If I had to write her a letter this is what I would write.

Dear J.

Yes, that is all I can come up with. I have started to write and deleted it many times.

Are you asking me who J is?

Jade and Abby's birth mom.

It was 2 years ago today that she trusted her girls to me.

Do you think they remember what today is?

What do you think their birth mom is doing today?

I am thankful for every day with Jade and Abby. I love them as they are my own.

My Everything!

A few weeks ago Hubby and I took the girls and Mason to Applebee's. I had an older lady ask me if Mason was a boy. Of course I said "Yes". She then told me she loves seeing large families. She had 3 boys and 3 girls of her own. She also commented how well my children were being. We've actually been told before how well the children behave in a restaurant!

Anyways, if you read the previous post you read that we went to the Mall on Saturday and also to Red Lobster. Now we had 5 children with us. We had my hubby's son, Logan, Jade, Abbygail, Maddison and Mason. I didn't think anything of it. They are my family and I enjoy going places with them.

Once we were all seated and had our drinks and salads a lady came over to our table. I am almost positive by the way she was dressed she was the manager. She asked if everything was going ok so far and if our waitress was meeting our needs. Now when I eat out I really like to just enjoy my family and not be bothered by management but I just nicely answered her questions and figured she would be on her way. I was wrong.

This lady looked at me and said "Wow you have a crew. I have 3 children and it was very hard for me to go from having one child to two but when I had my third it was just like throwing anther plate on the table". This comment just kind of rubbed me the wrong way but I just smiled and went about enjoying my salad.

Once at the mall we were walking around and all of a sudden I hear "three, four, oh wow five". I turned to see 2 women maybe in their late 40's early 50's counting how many children we had with us. Then the one lady says to the other "I did a party at a ladies house last week and she had seven".

Now the last time I checked there was no rule book on how many children I can or can not have. This comment really irritated me. I could not picture my life right now with out any of my children. They are my life. The reason I do the things I do. The reason I get up in the morning. They make me smile. They bring so much joy to my life. They are the most important thing to me. They are my everything!

Of course I never said anything to those women but I sure would have liked to. I didn't know that having many children meant that you got stared at or talked about.

And seriously who makes it right or wrong to have one child or 5 or maybe even 10! Maybe I should have a few more.

Long Weekend

It has been a crazy long weekend! We've been keeping busy.

Thanksgiving was a great day spent with family. We went to my aunts house and the cooking was great. Of course they forgot about my diet and had those yummy pickles with cream cheese and ham. Ok, maybe it was me that forgot about dieting. They didn't make me eat them. I did that just fine on my own! Abby ended up taking a nap in the afternoon and seemed a bit under the weather. She also slept an hour on the way home. Once we got home she seemed fine. She slept good that night and has been running around playing and making a mess ever since. My dad had to carry Maddison out to the van on Thanksgiving. She got super crabby when it was time to leave. She fell asleep on the way home within minutes. It was also my dad's birthday on Thanksgiving. He is now 52 years old!

I had my alarm set to get up for Black Friday. I wanted to get some clothes for the kids at Wally World (Wal-Mart). Then I decided that getting up early to my alarm did not sound exciting. So I turned it off. Mason ended up waking me instead! I did decide to go. I just got dress and brushed my teeth. I am sure my hair looked good. I got to Wal-Mart at 4:30 and scoped out some clothes. Had all my stuff I wanted and was in line paying by 5:13am! Talk about crazy though. I got hit in the butt about 4 times with someone else's cart and also in the heal. People are rude on Black Friday.

Black Friday shopping is not for everyone but I think its one of those things you just need to experience at least one time.

Anyways, I was back home and in bed by 5:45!

Then at 9am hubby went to Wal-Mart and got some clothes for $1 each! What a steal. He got a Jonas Brothers sweatshirt for Jade for $1 and a pair of jeans for $1. He also found an outfit for Abby that is black pants and a sweatshirt to match for $1. Its very cute. He got a pair of jeans for Maddison and one pair for Faith. He was so proud that he remembered Faith when he was shopping. He only spent $6. He said women would grab handfulls of clothes and toss them into their cart without even looking at them.

Then my mom and sister decided to come to town. I met them at about 10:30! We went to a few places and out to lunch! It was a great day.

Somehow on Saturday we ended up going to a Mall about 1 hour from our place. I also wanted to take Hubby to Red Lobster to thank him for my new dishwasher! We had a great day and had ALL the kiddos with us. Even Hubby's son was able to come along. We don't get to see him very often so the girls were excited he could come along.

I AM THANKFUL...

...for my 25 pound little Maddison. She is a joy everyday. Even during one of her temper tantrums! She is learning so many new things. I am thankful for her even if she calls me Amy more than Mom. She runs this household proud!

...for my little guy, Mason! He brings some blue into the house. He has the biggest smiles in the morning and fusses in the evening. He'll forever be my little boy and probably forever my youngest.

...for my Jade and Abbygail. My tv watching and uniform wearing girls.

Jade is a helper and a noisy little thing. She loves school and loves being busy.

Abbygail is a stubborn little thing who can't keep her room clean but we love her anyways. She loves cooking, bugs and stuffed animals.

Jade is thankful for everyone this year and for God.

Abbygail is thankful for butterfly nets.

... for stain remover! Who wouldn't be? We use alot of this.

...for my little niece, Faith. She has grown so much already and is a joy to have in the family. Her chubby checks are the cutest! She brings joy to my sister and for that I am thankful.

...for my goofy Husband, Danny. Who bought me my dishwasher. Danny loves fish tanks and his family. He hates anything to do with dishes.

2nd opinion

As I wrote in a post last week Maddison has had some issues with throwing up. They have not stopped. It actually happen again the other night and I didn't know it until the following afternoon. Rather scary that I didn't hear her in the night. Neither did Hubby. He usually hears everything.

Anyways, I pondered for awhile what to do. Of course I consulted with my Mother. Mothers know best, right?

I called and made her an appointment for today with a different Doctor. This time with the Doctor that we take Mason to.

Alleluia! I got answers! It wasn't about wanting something to be wrong with my little girl. It was I just didn't feel like Dr. W gave me the correct diagnosis.

So you ask what is wrong, She needs to POOP. Yes, that's right. She is backed up and needs to POOP.

She poops every day. However she doesn't seem to be going enough.

They took an x-ray of her tummy to find this out.

So you are asking why this makes her vomit. Well, I will tell you in english not doctor language.

Dr. S said that when she eats the food goes to her tummy. Then its supposed to go to her colon and so on. However she is full. The food then has to stay in her tummy. Once that tummy gets to full it has to go somewhere so she vomits. Sound gross? Yes, it does.

To fix the problem we give her a powered medicine at night mixed with juice. He said to do this for a few months and then slowly take her off of it.

Thank you Dr. S... oh and Dr. S just got a new patient! Maddison just got a new doctor.

So all you mommas out there. If you are unhappy with what you are told about your child please do not hesitate to get a second opinion!

Now bring on the poopin!

never assume

I love this picture! If you don't know the story, Mason was supposed to be born first, so he would have been older than his cousin Faith. However, things didn't go as planned and Faith arrived before Mason. I think she is thinking,

GET OVER IT BOY, I WILL ALWAYS BE OLDER!

Last weekend hubby and I went Christmas shopping. We left the kids with grandma and auntie. Well they made Christmas cookies, which taste yummy by the way. I was rather impressed that they wanted to go through all that work for about a dozen or two cookies. Flour, rolling pin, lots of sugar, cookie cutters, sprinkles, frosting. Sounds like a mess to me.

Well guess what they have been busted!!!

There never was any flour out. Never any rolling pins out. Never any cookie cutters out.

They bought the cookies and just baked them and decorated them. The truth always comes out!

Then again maybe I shouldn't have assumed they did all the work.

Shhhh.....

Please be quiet, the baby is sleeping!

In his big boy crib!

Christmas Party

Well I had something I was going to post about today but now I am going to post this post instead!

Lastnight we had our Daycare Association Christmas Party! In the past we rented a banquet room in the middle of December and invited 181 providers to attend and have a meal. The meal usually cost people about $12.00 and that included a dessert. NOBODY CAME. It was aways just the board members and a few husbands who got alittle rowdy. We always had fun but to rent a room for $50-$100 and get 8 people there didn't make sense.

Last year we did a potluck instead at our meeting. It was fantastic. We had about 25 providers show up! Still not the 1oo some providers we invite but its a start. Well this year one of the board members was totally against potluck because of flu season. Germs galore. I had to laugh because doing daycare you let tons of germs into your home everyday. How bad can a potluck be.

So instead I was in charge of food. We had subs brought in from Quiznos. They have done this for a training we hosted in the past. They make little trays up with a variety of sandwiches. They put fixing on the side so we can top our subs how we like (subway wouldn't do that). Another board member picked up some pop and chips from the grocery store and another board member picked up a cake over the weekend at Costco (so yummy, I had to put the diet on hold)!

We enjoyed our food and also learned about a few new Christmas craft idea we can do in our daycare. Maybe not mine this year with my kids being so young but they had good ideas.

Then we played a game. It was the left right game. Ever heard of it. Well you have a story that uses the words left and right alot. Guess who wrote the story. Yes, I DID! I know I am shocked myself. It was about area daycares and Santa came to town to deliver presents. It was great. I was able to use some of the providers who usually attend the meetings in the story. We had a few laughs and I even had them confused a bit with all the lefts and rights in the story.

Oh for those who don't know the game.... Everyone had a present and they all stood in a circle. I read the story. If I said left they had to pass their present to the left. If I said right they passed it to the right. So they didn't end up with the present they started with! It was alot of fun. Everyone loved my story.

The best part about the evening is not only was my present a cute holiday candy dish from the local dollar store but I also won a co0l door prize!

One of the board members sells Authentic Scentsy Products. They are warmers that have fragrances you can melt. I first saw these at her open house a few weeks ago with my mom and sister. My mom actually allowed my sister and I to pick one out for Christmas! (so cool they are at my house now but I have orders not to open them because they are for Christmas and mom wants to wrap them). Anyways, I won a small one yesterday as a door prize. Now my mother thinks I should give her the small one. They are warmed by a light bulb. They fragrances melt but do not get hot. So its safer than a candle if you have kids running around. If you want to see some go to www. tpraught.scentsy.us They would make a great gift. I was very excited to win one.

I have to say too the fist time I went to an association meeting I was scared. I had butterflies in my tummy. I couldn't figure out why I was invited to sit in a room with all my competition. But here's the thing these other ladies and gentlemen (he helps his wife) are not competition. They are actually great people to network with. And who would have known I would end up as the secretary for two years and now Vice President! I would have never thought. I have met some great ladies/providers!

got to get it off my chest

So my hubby calls me almost every morning on his break. Break is at 9am. He calls to see what I am doing.... I AM WORKING.

Today he says "how is your day going"?

My reply was "It's Monday. Its going as well as it can for a Monday".

Mondays can be tough in the morning as I am trying to get myself motivated to get things done and keep myself from thinking, why isn't it still Sunday. It can also be tough for the kids who have to gear themselves back into daycare mode and not I am at home mode. So it can just be tough.

I already have the 1 year old laying down because she already had a melt-down. She is transitioning from 2 naps a day to 1. Boy today is going to be a 2 napper day for her. The 2 year old is refusing to eat her breakfast. She is usually the best eater who eats anything. I am also assiting her in learning to use the potty so it can be very time consuming.

So after telling Hubby all that he says "At least you are at home and not at work like me".

"Hello Mr. I am at work. This is my work. Yes, I might be at home but this is MY WORK. This is what I do to help provide for my family".

Friday evening I had a parent pick up her child. I was supposed to get paid for 2 weeks at a time per our agreement when she started in my care. This was her request and I agreed to it. She would be paying one week on time and week ahead of schedule. So just like most people who leave their home and go to an office or someplace to work you collect a paycheck. You want your paycheck on time. You want it be correct. Well, this mother came and told me she wasn't paying me for 2 weeks. Just one. Well, excuse me but that is my paycheck. I count on that money. Don't get me wrong I love what I do but even if you work outside the home and love what you do you still want your paycheck too!

I guess maybe tomorrow when Hubby calls I might not answer. He kind of got me fired up today. Maybe I should complain to him that he gets holiday pay and I don't.

I best get back to work. Its potty time for the 2 year old.

Oh and just an FYI- I currently have 4 kids in my house during the day who need diapers! One of those kids poops 2 times a day and the other usually at least once. So if you do the math that is 5 poopy diapers a day. Yeah, I might be at home but it smells like poop!

Meatballs

Early last week for supper one night I wanted to make meatballs. I was standing in the kitchen trying to decide if I wanted them to be made with beef gravy, BBQ sauce, or something different. I had no gravy and wasn't in the mood for BBQ sauce so I came up with this.

2.5 pounds hamburger

salt, pepper and onion to season

minced garlic about 1-2 tablespoons (I don't measure)

Parmesan cheese from the can (could use as much as you want probably. I did about 3/4 cup)

crushes soda crackers 5-7

2 eggs

I mixed all the ingredients together. Made them into round balls using a scooper so they were the same size. Then I baked them in the oven at 350* for about 20 minutes. Them I put them into the crockpot. I put them in the crock pot one at a time to eliminate some grease that was on the pan. If I would have dumped or scraped them into the crockpot I would have had alot of that unneeded grease. Then I topped them with a can of spaghetti sauce.

I served the meatballs with spaghetti noodles, salad and some bread. The bread was plain so I top it with alittle butter, sprinkle of garlic salt and parsley for color. It was a very yummy supper.

This made alot of meatballs. I was able to use the leftovers the next day to serve lunch to my daycare and Hubby also had lunch to take to work! I will for sure make these meatballs again. I think it would have been good even just with the bread and no noodles (if you are on a diet).

I'm going to keep this rather short and sweet. Later this weekend I will try and add some pictures.

Hubby and I went on a date for lunch today! Wow, was it rather odd not to have to share my food with Maddison. It was also very quiet. We took the time to also get some Christmas shopping done. I still hope to go in a few weeks to get Hubby something. We also just have one thing to get Abby. I was getting tired and didn't want to stop at Fleet Farm. She saw something there she wants. So Hubby will go get it another time. We went to 5 places today! Ok 6 if you count Country Kitchen. We have only eaten at CK one time sine we've been together but somehow they new it was Hubby's birthday November 1st. They send him a coupon for a free meal. So we saved $8 at lunch today! I could have boughten so much more for kids. Not that they need anything though. Mason was bit harder to shop for being he is so little but we did end up finding some things he will love when he can actually start playing!

Grandma Robin and Aunt Molly came and watched the kids for us! They are great babysitters. I think they forgot to leave me a bill though. They even made some Christmas cookies while were gone and the girls helped frost them.

I got an exercise ball today! I am actually sitting on it as I type. I use one at physical therapy and hopefully I can get myself into a routine to use it alot. However the girls or I should say Abby and Maddison have already been fighting over it.

Tomorrow my Hubby has some of his fish tank buddies come over to help him. He has to take water out of the tank and put it big tubs and also take the fish and things out. Then they need to drill 3 new holes in the back of the tank for the plumbing. It sounds like a mess doesn't it? I am leaving. The kids and I are going to go visiting tomorrow. Probably Grandma Robin and Grandpa Roger.

Well just so you know I am a bit jealous at the moment of my little brother. He is going to visit my brother Ted in Wyoming. He is actually probably there already! My brother Matt who is the youngest in our family had a job interview between home (mom and dad's house) and Wyoming. So he figured it was a good time to go visit Ted and see where he lives. I will make it there some day.

So I am getting something new. Its not often I buy myself things. However my hubby did buy me something this week. He bought me a dishwasher! He hates doing dishes and rarely ever does. He said I work too hard and deserved something. I tried to tell him a maid would do but he came home with a dishwasher. Its almost in and ready to use. Its been a long process since we had to take and cut out one of our cupboards. Man, these cupboards we have are strong and well built. They will hopefully be replaced along with new counter tops someday (not this Spring but hoping next Spring) because the dishwasher sticks out about 2 inches.

So that was maybe longer than I thought it was going to be. Hmm, maybe I can use this exercise ball longer than I thought!

Picture Frames

So awhile back I purchased 3 silver picture frames and hung them in my living room to display pictures of Jade, Maddison and Abbygail.

Now we have Mason. I would like another silver frame to match. I started looking for a frame while I was pregnant. I have looked at all the places I shop at. The frame I purchased must have been discontinued. I am alittle bumbed out.

Now the issue is do I replace all three frames and buy 4 new ones? Do I hang 2 different frames up so I only need to purchase 2 frames? Maybe I should have 4 different ones?

I looked last night at Target and wow I wasn't liking their frames. Maybe Santa will bring me new frames.

healthy or not??

Life in the Wynn house has been crazy this week.

I always thought over all we were a pretty healthy family. Now I am starting to wonder what's going to go wrong next.

We had been dealing with Jade coughing alot for almost 2 years now. We come to find out its Asthma. So she is on a bedtime medication and an inhaler. I spoke with the doctor yesterday and she suggested we slowly take her off the inhaler and she how she does. If she doesn't do well its possible she will need another medication or a different type of inhaler.

My diet is not going well. I hear someone say diet and I eat more. I have done some changes in my food but I feel I am still eating as much as I was. I have added more veggies to my meal (always make for the kids but eat more now myself). I have cut back on dressings and cheese I use on my salads. I have tried cutting out the pop. Was down to one can a day. Thankfully the Mt. Dew is gone now! That should help. My legs have been hurting more than they ever did before. I was doing physical therapy twice a week but this week I canceled the second day since I was still hurting from the first day. The physical therapist did comment that I am walking better with my new shoes! We've done some exercises that I have also been able to do at home. So I will continue to try getting this diet thing down. I was telling myself last night as I fought my cravings that I need to do this for my kids. If I am not healthy and somethings happen to me I can't be here to take care of my kids. So for my kids I need to do this!

For about 8 months or so Maddison has periodically thrown up a few times. Its nothing consistent and I haven't pinpointed it being from a certain food at all. She is a very picky eater. She seems to more of a snacker than a meal eater. The first time this happen we were in the van driving home and she was eating some crackers and out of the blue she threw up. Oh it was not fun to clean up. I was so sad for her thinking she had the flu bug. Then later that week she was eating in her highchair and again she threw up. So long story short she has done this a few times. Even when we have been eating out! Luckily those 2 times were at Grandma Robin's Cafe so it was easy to ask for help cleaning it up. A few months ago at the doctors they told me to watch what she was eating and see if it continues. Well it has. She threw up this week in the kitchen and surprisingly this time she had NO tears. My little girl did not cry because this must now feel normal to her. I have also with the help of my sister discovered that she burps alot. After that and remembering she did it 2 weeks ago in the bathtub I made her another appt. I was told yesterday that she probably just has a more sensitive tummy. The doctor said to give her small amounts of food at a time. Ok but this it my child who doesn't eat well. She hardly eats what I give her and you want me to give her less? She has gained a pound in the last month. That is a good thing. I guess I was happy when I left that I wasn't told there was something seriously wrong with my little girl but at the same time I feel like I got no answers. Well last night got me more worried than I was before. We put her to bed at 9pm. We heard her talking and playing in her crib. Well all of a sudden Hubby got up and went to her room. Here he heard her make a noise and went to check on her. She had thrown up in her crib. She has never done this at night. Thankfully he heard and we were able to clean her up and put her back to bed. How do I know if this doctor is to trust? How do I know if my child just has a sensitive tummy and nothing more serious?

Then there is little Mason. He tilts his head to one side. Not sure why. We have an exercise to work on that will hopefully correct this.

To top it all off we've had great health insurance through Hubby's work. However at the 1st of the year its going from good coverage to BAD. Very bad.

My Neighborhood

The neighborhood I live in has a group of people who work together as a Neighborhood Association. I have never gone to a monthly meeting but I am on their email list. I got an email to let me know that a neighborhood church was broken into and many things were taken. Some of the things were later found in the neighborhood park. Thankfully nobody was hurt.

This makes me even wonder more now my I found my front door wide open at 4:30am one day last week. This has freaked me out. I have a hard time going into the kitchen each morning. Maybe I am just a worry wart.

pictures

Pictures from our weekend!SwimmingMaddison turning down the heat.

Maddison loves using pens and drawing on paper. Of course she found one as soon as we got in our room. She loved sitting on the big bed!
Mason was glad Mommy brought her pillow so he could use it.

The hotel pillows were too fluffy.

Mason was such a good baby while we were gone. He just went with the flow.

A word to the wise.

Don't go past the cookie place when on a diet.

We did splurge and got something called a alittle trouble.

(Two small chocolate chip cookies with frosting in the middle)

Lego Land!

The girls had the most fun here at Lego Land and it was free!

This was the only meltdown Maddison had all weekend!

What can I say, she takes after me.

Not sure what this is all about.

Hubby took it on one of the bathroom stops.

I would love this cute little Hello Kitty play house.

However the Hello Kitty Store was super high priced.
I'm not sure if the play house was for sale or not.

If it was I didn't want to even see the price.
It was $18.50 for a lunch box!

It was $9.50 for Hello Kitty colored Pencils

(yes the same darn collors I paid $1 for in August).

The girls swimming with their daddy!

Abby wouldn't talk to me while I was recording her.

She can be a stinker!

So I mastered this with 4 kids and a husband. You think I can master a trip to Wyoming? Maybe a stop or two on the way? Yeah, good idea, maybe I should leave the husband home! Oh wait who would drive while I sleep?

I am really hoping to take a trip this Spring to see where my brother lives. He is working when I really wanted to go (girl's Spring break) so the girls would need to miss a couple days of school. Still trying to figure it all out. Hubby wants to go to Virginia to see his mom. But from where I am sitting Wyoming is many hours closer!

A little get away!

Its Monday! I am almost glad to be back into the start of another week. We had a very busy weekend.

My mother called on Saturday to tell me she would get to my house in 20 minutes. I wasn't dressed yet much less showered. So I jumped in the shower and get ready for the day in a hurry. Hubby stayed home to watch the 4 kids and I enjoyed a few hours with my mom, sister and my niece! We went to the local craft fair. We found alot of cute things. Couldn't buy them all but did get a few little things. We also enjoyed some lunch out!

When I got home from the craft show Hubby had the cooler out and some snacks. He had decided we needed to take a mini vacation and he got us a hotel room. No not hubby and I but the whole family. I did not really want to do this. Its alot of work to get 4 kids and myself packed up for a night away from home. I also wasn't excited about leaving when the house was a bit messy. But I got ready and we went.

We didn't arrive to our hotel until almost 8pm. It took me awhile to get everyone ready and we also stopped on the way to eat supper.

We stayed at a hotel we stayed at 2 times before. We've always felt it was a nice hotel and its location is great for us. However this time we felt our room was a bit dirty. We also wanted to porta cribs but could only have one because having more than one in a room is a fire hazard.

So got to the hotel and had time to go swimming. They girls all love the water! Mason and I watched. Then we enjoyed a snack and got ready for bed. Now like I said I wanted two porta cribs (pack-n-plays) but could only get one. Maddison flops around alot so I didn't really want to put her on a bed. Abby is a kicker so I wasn't going to volunteer to sleep next to her. I ended up in a bed with Mason, Abby slept on the floor, Jade and Hubby shared a bed, and Maddison got the crib! It worked. I did hear hubby say after one of the girls started snoring "What was I thinking". I think he finally realized how much work it is to take 4 kids to a hotel. Everything was at Maddison's level. She used almost all the kleenex to decorate the floor. She flushed the toilet several times for fun. She tried setting the alarm clock. She tried playing with the telephone so we had to find that in the drawer of the nightstand. Didn't want her calling 911 or anything. She also played with the heat/ air controller. There was a safe in the room and I heard her pushing buttons on that as well too. I guess the few toys I brought with for her where nothing as exciting!

On Sunday we got up and enjoyed a light breakfast at the hotel and headed to Babys R Us. I love going to this store. I found a few outfits on clearance for Mason that he should fit into this spring. We also got one for Maddison (I didn't really care for it but Hubby liked it and he was paying so I had no choice). Then we headed to the big Mall of America!

I have to say if you want to shop never go with my Hubby. If you want to save money take my hubby with you. He is so good for looking at a store and saying "Oh that will be too expensive. We won't go in there". So what, don't hurt to look. We passed alot of stores. The girls did enjoy playing at lego land and we ate in the food court at the Mall.

It was a busy day. I think I was constantly making sure Abby and Jade were close by and not touching everything. I was able to find new tennis shoes like the doc ordered. Jade got a new barbie from the barbie store (they had some reasonable prices unlike the Hello Kitty Store). Abby was happy with her bracelet and the bag the lady put it in.

Oh and of course what is a trip to the cities if you don't stop at the darn fish store. I stayed in the van with Mason who was sleeping and Maddison. We ate pretzels while we waited.

Then we headed for home. It was sure nice to get home!

I did forget to mention. When we left the hotel Hubby went and told them we had stayed there before and came back because we liked their hotel and enjoyed our stay. He told them this time though we felt it was dirty (mainly the bathroom). He got 25% off the room! So he only paid $66 for it! I was shocked he actually said something. I figured he would come back and say he forgot to mention it.

I will try and post pictures this afternoon.

The longest minute ever

So lastnight I went to bed a bit early. I had another not so wonderful headache. Maddison was a bit cranky so I put her to bed about 20 minutes early. She has a cold so I figured extra sleep would be good. I cuddled on the bed with Mason and we both fell asleep. I remember getting up at 1:30 and moving to the living room because Mason had woken up. Hubby had already moved him to the crib around 10pm and was in bed himself.

At 1:30 Hubby also got up and made a bottle for Mason. He didn't seem to want it. He and I cuddled and both fell asleep in the living room.

At 4:30am I woke up to Mason crying. I got up went to the bathroom and went into the kitchen. Now we have a door in our kitchen that locks and leads to the porch. Our porch is nothing to get excited about. It however does not lock. We also have a front door which is in the living room but we don't use it at this time (the steps are not very safe as they need to be replaced).

So anyways, I walked into the kitchen to find the door WIDE OPEN. Yes, it was open. I had an instant chill go down my back as I ran to the hallway and yelled for Danny. It only took one minute to check on all the girls. I already knew Mason was ok because I was just with him. But it was the longest minute ever.

All I could think of as Hubby ran upstairs to check on Jade and Abby is what if Jade walked out the door in the dark. There was a time at her mom's apartment she got the door opened and went outside because she thought she was late for school.

Thankfully all my children were safe and the girls were all asleep. We have no idea what happen or how the door ended up being left open. It couldn't have been very long because it wasn't that cold in the house.

New shoes and diet

So I don't usually buy things for myself. At least not until I can't do with out or the old just isn't working any more. I would rather spend the money on my children. I am feeling guilty already that I need to buy new shoes this weekend. It wasn't planned, I wasn't thinking I wanted new shoes, mine are not unwearable. However my doctor Harvey told me I walk funny. Something about my arch. Didn't get the all the information absorbed because all I remember is him saying I needed to buy new shoes. The dollar signs went flashing in my head and the guilt began. I started to think about my kids and what I could buy them instead. Do my kids need anything, NO not at all. As a mother though I of course feel guilty.

So yes, this weekend I have to go buy new shoes.

Today is also the start of my new limited calories diet. Are you laughing? I am. Does Dr. Harvey realize its almost the Holiday Season? He told me I can eat whatever I want but need to limit my calories to 2,000 a day. So today I did learn as I was cleaning the frig. that mini crunch pickles only have 5 calories in a serving. Three pickles is a serving. How awesome is that. I can have pickles for snack. He did tell me the best thing to start with is pop. So no more pop for me.

I had such a bad headache lastnight that I felt sick to my stomach. I think I was so worked up about the whole shoe thing and diet. It could be worse, right? Dr. Harvey said if I loose just 5 pounds even that is like taking 30 pounds off my knees!

He agrees that I have some form of the Patellofemoral Syndrome but he said it could also just be a few others things causing the pain my legs. He was a great doctor and explained things very well. My knee cap should bend in the middle. Mine doesn't. It bends to the side. That causes rubbing where it should be. That rubbing causes the pain in my knees and legs. At this point there is no need to even think or worry about surgery. That is not for my situation he said. I am to work on the diet thing, get new shoes, and continue physical therapy. Oh and yes, I should exercise.

Are you laughing with me? I don't exercise. I have tried. So we will see how well things go. I won't tell you my weight because I can't type a number that big but I will let you know in a few years when I loose a pound or two!

I will go back for a follow up appt. in about 6 weeks. Today I go to physical therapy!

Sometimes we get all worked up about the small stuff. Like the fact my doctor told me I needed to buy new shoes. We forget that someone else is worried about the big stuff. The big stuff that really matters. If you have a minute or even a second please go to www.mycharmingkids.net

Some time ago I came across this blog. I have never met this women, mother, friend to others but I know from reading her blog that she is one tough cookie. Her little guy is very sick and instead if me sitting here worrying about buying new shoes I'm going to be thankful I don't have bigger things to worry about.

I am going to pray for this little guy. I am going to pray that there is a day he rides his bike down his drive way with his big brothers and his sister. So if you have just one minute please do the same.

Reading that this little guy is sick brings tears to my eyes. Its not because I know her but because I know what a blessing it is to have children and I am and will be forever greatful for mine. I can not imagine what she is going through.

The good, the bad and the blah

Today is of course Monday again. I feel blah. I slept ok lastnight but of course I slept on the couch again. This couch stuff is getting old. My plan is to make Mason sleep in his crib very soon. During the week of Thanksgiving I should have a few days I can get a nap in (yeah maybe) so I am planning to make him sleep in his crib even if he is up alot in the night or cries alot. I won't have to worry about being up early for daycare kids. That is the plan. I want to sleep in my bed again. I do not feel comfortable having him sleep in his baby seat in the living room while I sleep in the bedroom. Yes, we have tried the baby seat in the bedroom and it did not work. He loves the living room!

The bad thing going on today is that I was so worked up about Maddison getting her ear's done. Well she did and now one earring fell out in the night. Jade tried holding her hands this morning while I tried putting the earring back in. No luck. It wouldn't just go in and then it started bleeding. She of course was screaming at me the whole time. I feel so bad. Its all because I wanted her to have earrings.

I am supposed to go to the doctor today at 3pm about my legs. A follow up I guess. Then at 4pm I am supposed to go to physical therapy. Then at 7pm I have a meeting. I might try to reschedule PT so I am not gone as much today.

I finally have a 3rd daycare child. Another girl. Not sure where all the boys are. She is 2 years old but thankfully she is potty trained. So now I have the following- 2 yr old, 2 yr. old, 19 month old (Maddison), 13 month old, and also 2 month old (Mason). Oh and every other week for a whopping 3 hours I have a 2 year old boy here. The child who started today will only be roughly 3 days a week. Hours are nothing to really get excited about. Today it is 6:30-3:30 and then Thursday its 9:30-7pm. Don't really like going past 5:30 but I badly need some income so I am going to tough it out for awhile.

Oh but the best yet- we went to the mall yesterday (well not in our town but another town). I got the best Christmas gifts ever. I do apologize that I can't tell you want it is but the wonderful women who they are for read my blog! I was so excited to find such a hot deal! But how do I make sure I give them as gifts now and don't keep them for myself? I love finding great deals. So we got Jade and Abby's teachers gifts done and part of 2 other gifts! I also snuck something in the cart for Maddison at Toys R Us! Also when you draw names and are supposed to stick to a $10 gift how do you not want to splurg? I found the greatest thing that someone would have loved but it was $20. We are supposed to spend $10. I love buying things for other people. I could have also boughten 20 things for my sister but some how my siblings decided we are just buying for the kids. So I am not supposed to buy my sister a gift. Her birthday is in Decemeber but I was told along time ago we needed to cut that out too. WHAT FOR? I don't like this. Maybe I will just buy her something anyways!

Yippie its Friday! Not alot to talk about though.

Mason went in yesterday for his 2 month check up. Before we left Grandma Robin predicted his weight to be 12 pounds 4 ounces. She was right on! I was guessing 13 pounds. Grandma was right! Mason is growing great. He was 23 inches long. It was noticed that he tilts his head to one side. Nothing serious at this point but the doctor did show me an exercise to do with him. We had an exercise we were doing with his foot and that worked great. His foot is fine now! He did get his first set of shots and wow did he get mad. He cried more than Maddison did when she got her first set. Lastnight he fell asleep about an hour and half earlier than normal so I figured I would lay on the couch and sleep there because he'd wake up as soon as I got to sleep in my bed. Well the little stinker slept and slept and slept. I however woke up twice. I think I was so worried about him waking up right as I fell asleep that I had it set in my head I had to wake up in the night. So he slept from 9:15-4:30am! I fed him a bottle when he woke up and we went back to bed for another hour before we had to get up for the day.

Yesterday late afternoon we were supposed to have a conference with the girls' teachers. Abby's was first and it went really well. The teacher comment how great it is to have Abby in her classroom and said she definitely has a personality. The teacher agreed with me to that when Abby is done with something she is done. There's no talking her into things. Over all she is doing great. She tells the teacher all about my daycare and the things we do!

Then we went to meet with Jade's teacher. NOBODY was there but another couple waiting for her. Finally someone came around the corner from another room and said she went home sick. So we did not get to meet with Jade's teacher. I got an email this morning (yes alittle late if ya ask me) that she would be there for just a few hours today IF she was feeling better. However it did not work for me to go meet with her.

We have some busy weekends ahead of us! Tomorrow I am taking the kids to get their picture taken. I always thought it was hard to pick what the girls were going to wear but now I have to also have them match with Mason. I don't think Mason will be wearing pink anytime soon. Let's hope they all smile and do a good job!

Next Saturday my mom is coming to town so her and I can go to a craft fair at the local High School. We will also go to an open house that will have Avon, pampered chef and a few other things displayed.

The following Saturday after that which is I think the 21st my mom is watching the 4 kids while Hubby and I do some Christmas shopping! Well, that's if I still let her. She got Jade and Abby something for Christmas we really didn't think we wanted them to have.

Well, looks like nap time is about over so I best get back to work!

Sunday

Sunday was my Hubby's birthday.

It was also my grandmother's birthday as well.

We started our afternoon by taking a trip to Wal-Mart.
Here is Maddison before her big moment. Notice how she is smiling.

Maddison sitting on dad's lap getting ready for her moment!

Maddison after getting her ears periced!

Notice she is not smiling.

After the trip to Wal-Mart we met some family for supper.

There was about 17 of us and 2 babies!
Grandpa is teaching Maddison to do pull tabs.

She is covered in chocolate!

Grandma Robin cuddling with sleeping baby Mason.


Oh and yes Teddy was there too! He has been home from Wyoming for a few days because he had to use some vacation days by the end of the year or he would loose them. He gets alot of vacation for just starting this job! I think he came home to show off his new ford truck!

Oh and one of the best things about Sunday is I got to see one of my favorite Aunts

I haven't seen in a long time.

Christmas season

So in years past during the Christmas season my hubby would take 3 days off. With Christmas day and New Years day falling into place and other days the company would pay him for he was able to have about 2 weeks off paid! Yes, two full weeks at home. Now that things are changing and the company is trying to save money they are closing for some time around the Christmas season. There was no plan for hubby to use 3 days vacation this year. With 4 children in the house its nice for him to save the vacation for when the kids are sick and he needs to come home early to take them to the doctor or for when he is sick. Awhile back the company actually took vacation from everyone. They accumulate so many hours of vacation a pay period. That was shortened a few months ago so the company could add more money to their pocket. The company is also closed the day after Thanksgiving. In years past the company always paid for this day. Now they are not.

Now some of you may be thinking this isn't a big deal. It could be worse, yes. However he will have to use what is left of his vacation now as we can not afford for his paycheck to be short 3 days. Also do you know what it is like to do daycare and have your hubby home all day for 2 weeks? It can be painful. He complains he is bored. He complains he has no money to go do something. He just sits around and it drives me batty! Oh and he takes naps. I never get to take naps.

The other thing about this that sucks is I really want to take a long weekend this Spring to go see my brother in Wyoming. I know taking 4 kids in a van for 12 hours will be an interesting experience but I want to see where my brother lives. If hubby uses all his vacation up now he won't have vacation to take between now and Spring if he gets sick or one of the kids needs him to take time off.

Ok I think I am done complaining for now...

Therapy and no batteries

I was going to update the blog with a couple pictures but can't seem to find one of the batteries for my camera. I haven't been having much luck lately with this camera business.

Instead I will tell you that Physical Therapy is not my cup of tea. Its not bad so far but its not enjoyable either. Did you know they are going to make me exercise? What the heck? I so did not ask for this. Oh and twice a week. Lets hope that it doesn't end up being very many weeks.

I also have to say that you have to feel comfortable with your physical therapist. He's no Ben Affleck but he will do! I think if he would have been scary I would have left. He did ask me if I ride bike... hmm, do I look like I ride bike? I nicely answered and said there's one in the garage but I haven't rode it a few years!

Back to therapy on Wednesday at 4pm. We'll see how it goes as I will be in the "gym" most of the appt. Then the last 15 minutes they hook my knees up to a machine that shoots a slight electric shock down my leg.

Pray for me that I get through this! The therapist told me he would work with me in the gym area but next time when they do the electric shock he will just let me relax. I told him that was probably a good idea because I don't like to exercise and I probably wouldn't do it on my own. He just laughed!

Halloween

Jade and Abby's Grandpa from out of state sent the girls a big box of candy!

Daddy helping carve a pumpkin!

Mason- He didn't get to wear his Halloween shirt real long because he spit up on it. It was from Grandma Robin. She gave Mason's cousin, Faith one too but she also spit up on hers.

My little Ladybug!

Abby was a vampire cheerleader.

Jade was a rock star.

Somehow I forgot to take good pictures.

Maddison Halloween morning playing with her Halloween bucket.

She loves candy! Way too much.

We went trick or treating during the day to Grandma Robin's, Aunt Molly's, my grandparents house and also to my aunts house. Then after supper we went to a few places. After about the 3rd place Maddison was laughing. I think she was getting the hang of it. And like I said she loves candy!