Cousin Pumpkin Picking Time

Alyssa called and invited us to go to the pumpkin patch with them yesterday afternoon. It turned out to be quite a warm day, but it was lots of fun. We picked a big pumpkin (18.7 pounds) and the kids each got a little pumpkin of their own. We ate a yummy apple slushie and played in the big play area. Wilson and Luke spent a lot of time in the sand, while the girls played on the slides. Trey even went down the pipe slide by himself! Trey also enjoyed eating the straw! Luke and Trey also went on their very first train ride and saw some horses too! Everyone was worn out (and a bit dirty) by the end of our time there! This is my favorite time of year. It is so nice to be outside without being miserable, the air smells crisp, and it is a great time of change with all the colors of the leaves (although with the drought going on, I doubt we get much of a color bang this year). Thanks for inviting us to come along guys!

Weaponcraft Assistant Instructor

Fancy title, huh? That is Daniel's official title now that he has completed the ten day course at a regional training center for the National Guard. He left the day Lily woke up sick....so now you know why I had such a horrible week! Luckily Meg and I made it thru healthy. Daniel is now certified to help units that are mobilizing to go to Iraq/Afghanistan to brush up on their combat arms skills. I am just glad to have him home! However, I did have some friends help take good care of us while he was gone. We ate supper at Alyssa and Andy's one night and were supposed to eat at Heather's another night, but with all the sickness going on at our house at the time, I had forgotten (sorry again, Heather!) and one of my coworkers (Heather) came over to hang out and eat with us. So all in all, the kids and I survived and Daniel enjoyed his course (minus all the weapons needing to be cleaned). I am very proud of my soldier!

Way Up High In An Apple Tree.....

Lily's class went to the Orchard today to pick apples! It was lots of fun and we got to eat yummy apple doughnuts and apple cider. However, it was like a heat record today (as it has been for the past two days) here, so the heat was on! We all needed a bath tonight! Oh, and I added the pic of Trey just for his daddy!

FINALLY!!

I have 5 words for you: THANK. GOD. IT'S. THE. WEEKEND! This has been the most exhausting week I have had in a long time. I had to take Trey to the doctor on Thursday b/c he had still been running a fever as of Wednesday evening, but it downgraded to 99 degrees on Thursday, but I didn't want to take the chance I was missing an ear infection or something like that. Dr. S listened to him for quite some time with the stethoscope and asked if he had had a breathing treatment before and I said no, but his sisters had asthma. He wanted a blood count done to rule out who knows what (he likes to throw out a lot of "what ifs" to me and I find it overwhelming). I don't usually see this dr, but when you make a sick visit, I take who I can get. Anyway, he said if the white blood cell count was low, then he would do a chest xray. That was not the case, so it was determined that Trey had a lot of gunk in his left lung (infection!!) and needs albuterol treatments twice a day for a few days and then I percuss his back to loosen up all the yucky stuff so he coughs it up. He is also on Zithromax. His appetite is not back to norm yet either. He ate two oyster crackers for supper tonight. Very filling. He went to bed at 6:15 too. I am pretty sure Meg is in the clear, b/c she has had no symptoms and I assume she would have had them by now. As long as I stay healthy, I will be a happy camper. That and get a few more hours of sleep!

*Happy to see Katie has a blog now!!!! Welcome to the blogging world, Katie!

What a Kick Off.....

Okay, I was a bit premature....the weather has now resurfaced to a lovely (but warm) upper 80's for the week. A little warm by the afternoon, but at least we are not talking about the 100's anymore. I was hoping our fall like weather would stick around. Oh well...it will happen soon enough. The start of this week has kicked off with a bang. Lily woke up late Sunday with a fever of 101. I gave her Motrin and then she slept until 5am. She got up to throw up and still had a temp of 100. So naturally, she had to miss school (which by the way, she threw a fit over...I am so glad she loves school so much). I stayed home with her and took her to the doctor...no strep and no pneumonia or bronchitis, just a virus. I really like those kind of illnesses that require meds...just b/c you know after one dose, they are not contagious...virus' are harder to tell. The doctor gave her a chest x-ray when the strep test came back negative, just b/c she had been coughing for a couple of weeks and with her asthma, she wanted to check to make sure the lungs were clear. Lily was a trooper and got a Lil' Webkinz (don't know what they are? Check here. They are all the rage with Meg and Lily). She was very upset when she found out she had to go to the doctor...so a reward was necessary, plus it was a nice pick-me-up for feeling so miserable. She felt great today, but school policy is to wait a full 24 hours before returning to school and she went to bed with a low fever, so no school today either. She is so excited to go back tomorrow, not to mention it is picture day and Nana got them both some new outfits, so look out for some pretty pictures coming soon! The worst thing was Trey had to leave daycare today b/c he developed a fever of a 101. Poor little guy. My mom picked him up for me and I came home 1/2 a day. He went to bed fever-free, so we will see how he is tomorrow. He will stay home with Nana. Keep your fingers crossed that Meg stays healthy....so far, so good.

Fall is here!

Fall in Kentucky seems to officially be here....I love FALL! We have had beautiful weather the past few days. It has been so nice to get outside and not sweat when you take a walk or have you wishing to be back in the AC again. Today I think our high is 71 degrees....and sunny! I love the smell of the air this time of year, too. My favorite time of year. Happy birthday shouts to Heather and Erin!!! Alyssa and I had a "mom-free" evening last night hanging out at Starbucks (which was practically deserted due to the big game). It was nice to just hang out and talk about whatever we wanted without having to keep one eye on a child. (I had a great time, Alyssa! Let's do it again soon!) We both discovered we never go out with our husbands on dates (Dates?? What are dates??) due to the fact that by the time you pay a babysitter, there is nothing left to eat on. So we are going to babysit for each other once a month so that we can get some spouse time in with no kids.....plus the cousins love to play together, so I think they will be game for it as well! I also miss just being with friends. My days consist of working and taking care of the kids (with some sleep sprinkled in there somewhere). I miss having girl talk/time. Any suggestions, ladies??? In the next two weeks, we will be busy (ones that I am NOT looking forward to)...so keep us in your prayers (most of you know what I am talking about, but I can't say here: TMI). I will post later...we have a church picnic tonight, so hopefully I can get some cute photos to post!

My Hero.....

On a day such as this, I am sure we are all remembering where we were when "IT" happened. I remember feeling terrified, staring in disbelief at the TV thinking how could something so catastrophic happen here. I can remember thinking that I just wanted to grab Meg, who had just turned 4 years old a few days before and never let her go. September 11, 2001 changed a lot of lives...including those not connected to anyone who died on that terrible day. My life changed, just in the fact that my husband had to leave our lives for 13 long months to stand up for our country. For that reason, he is my hero. I don't know that I could have sacrificed so much to do something for the greater good. His unselfishness is something to be honored and celebrated. I believe that what we are doing overseas is for the greater good and all those men and women who are fighting for our CONTINUED freedoms deserve a chance to complete the job they started. Okay...I am off my soapbox....now I have to brag a bit about my wonderful husband (hey..it is a wife's prerogative!). This past summer, he joined the National Guard rifle team and competed in his first state competition.....where he finished in FIRST PLACE in the pistol division!!!! Way to go, baby!!! He also received Soldier of the Month with his unit for the month of May! I am so proud of him and I know he has enjoyed this aspect of the National Guard. He will compete again this fall at another competition and I really wish we could go watch him....but school **sigh** calls for both the girls and me. Maybe I can get someone to take pics for me. This picture is of Daniel's trophy he got (can you believe he got a trophy!!). We did not include the bottom of the trophy (too much info for cyber readers). It says in a nutshell...first place...pistol division...so on and so on. Daniel says he thinks it will come in handy as future boy deterrent for when Meg starts dating....ha ha ha!

Mommy's Little Helper

Trey loves our new kitchen. Helping Mommy get the pots and pans out is his new favorite game. He loves to get out all the pots and bang the lids on them. He has now gotten a little more brazen and is trying to carry them out of the kitchen and into the living room. I have tried to block the cabinet door, but he moves the stool out of his way (he is very persistent) and gets that door open!

Too Cute!

Okay...this occurred a couple of weeks ago, but it made me feel so good, that I just had to post about it. It was a typical Wednesday evening...we were at church....well everyone, but Meg. She was at Annie practice and I had to go pick her up at 7:45pm. I left Lily at church and went to the studio to get Meg. Trey fell asleep on the way back, so I had Meg run in to get Lily. Well, as it happened, Trey woke up and he was mad! I had Meg run back in to see if Daniel was done with his small group so that we could get home and get our kiddos into bed. Daniel came out and we left. After we get home, I got this phone call. This sweet, tiny little (very upset, mind you) voice came over the line saying, "I didn't get to see your face!!" It was my nephew, Wilson!! (I am so glad that he can't read this, I know he would be embarrassed!). If it weren't for the fact that I had to get the girls to bed, I would have gone over to his house right then to see him! He was very upset about not seeing us (and not having a nap added to his dismay). He was so sweet! I promised him that I would come see him after supper the next day. He was excited to see us that next day and told me all about everything in his room....and how he could climb the tree in his front yard! All I can say is....Aunt Stephie loves you, Wilson!!!!

My Baby is 10!

Yep....you heard right. Meg is 10! Hard. to. believe. I do not feel old enough to have a ten year old. Aren't I still 25????? Her birthday was this past weekend and she wanted to have a few friends over to our house (what was I thinking...half unpacked!!). She called it "Meg's 10th Birthday Talent Show". Each guest was asked to come with any talent they wanted to perform for the others. Four of her friends could not make it, but the ones that did had a great time! They "practiced" their talents in front of each other and then performed them for Daniel, Alyssa, Andy, the boys, and me. It was funny.....and, no, they weren't shy a bit! Meg is glad to be in the double digits and a "tween". I am still coping with the fact that she is almost in middle school and youth group!!! YIKES!!! Look out Uncle Roo....I hope you know what you are in for! LOL! Here are a few pics of the festivities........
Meg wanted everyone to decorate their own cupcakes....boy can they use lots of sprinkles!!
Meg needed two cupcakes for all her candles!
Meg's nickname...."drama queen"!

Happy birthday, Meg!!

The joys of childhood....

Trey is adjusting to being in daycare. He really seems to be attached to one of the workers, unfortunately for me, she is not there when I drop him off. He understands me when I say "Mommy has to go"...then he clings to my arm and starts to cry. Everyday I have to force myself to smile and say "Mommy will be back soon" and walk away. I HATE DOING THAT! I feel like such a mean mommy. I start questioning my life...if I am doing what God wants...etc. Then to make matters worse, there is a little boy in his class the likes to bite. Yep, you heard me and guess who got bit during his second week at daycare??? It was not a bad bite, but a bite none the less. It was a good thing Daniel picked him up that day.....I would have said something. It turns out that Trey was not the worst one bitten by this little boy and I have been told he is out of the center due to the biting. So that incident did nothing to alleviate my guilt at putting my child in daycare. I calculated how many hours a day I am away from my kids and at times it adds up to almost 10 hours (for the girls) and 8 1/2 for Trey. Then when we get home it only leaves me a couple of hours with Trey b/c he goes to bed so early and one more hour longer with the girls, but that includes making supper and doing homework. Okay....I am done having my pity party. I just didn't expect it to be so hard this year since last year was good. Part to blame are my hours at work. They start later and end later, therefore I don't get to see the girls as long. I go into work later in the AM, so Trey and I hang out, but the girls get on the bus an hour before Trey and I even leave for daycare. Things hopefully will change next year......now to just make it thru this one...............

WE'RE BAAACK!

Did you miss us??? Things have been so chaotic, I don't even know where to begin. We just got a landline and internet service late this past week and haven't had to time to set up the actual internet service until today. That is the reason for the loooonnnngggg delay in posts. So to begin....First off, the girls are adjusting to a new school. They have each made friends and are seeming to enjoy another school year. Lily does take issue that she goes all day now. She is the one that says she misses her other school, but I know that is just b/c she isn't going half a day anymore. The kids in my class just started this week, but I have been busy doing home visits and trainings, not to mention, setting my room up. I am glad the first week is over, especially b/c I had one of the worst days on Wednesday. It is only my assistant and myself in the afternoon and we took my class outside for awhile. It was really hot that day, so we took them into the gym for the last 10 minutes of recess to cool off and still have some play time. Two of my students ran into each other and one started to cry. She came over to me and I gave her a hug. She lifted her head and blood was gushing from her nose. I don't mean dripping....GUSHING. I yelled for my assistant and we tilted her head back. Of course she is fighting this b/c her mouth/throat is filled with blood as well. So she keeps wiping her nose with her arm....I am trying to keep blood off of her, the other students, and myself, b/c naturally, there are no gloves in the gym. My assistant goes to get help, leaving me with the class (we had no choice), but no one heard the buzzer to let her in and I didn't think to give her my key (last thing on my mind). So it was chaos trying to keep everyone from coming in contact with blood. We somehow managed to get everyone back into the classroom w/o anymore incidents. By the time the day was over, I was ready for the weekend that minute! I have never felt so helpless or overwhelmed with my students before. I did point out to my principal what had happened and that I hoped something could be done to prevent it from happening again. We shall see.......I have many more posts to come as I have a lot to catch everyone up on. Be back later :)