Time to Hang up the Blog

If you have been reading my blog you may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. I found it too hard to find something interesting to write and to find the time, so I decided to join facebook instead where I could still keep in touch with people but didn't have to write. So this will be my last post but I will post pictures on my facebook so you can stay updated that way.

NO MORE DHL

Well, today is Ronny's last day at his old job . Praise the Lord, no more 45 minute drives and no more no lunches, no more 300 dollar a month gas bill. Hooray! He starts his new job this Friday. He is so happy he doesn't even know what to do with himself. Oh and one of the best parts, he will be home for dinner every night! I am so happy. Another added bonus is that he will get a raise too, that is always nice.

We are finally getting our cat fixed tomorrow, NO MORE KITTENS! Then we just have to get our 2 kittens fixed and give them away and everything will be fine and dandy.

Preschool Excitement

Today was Alan's first day of preschool. He was so excited. The first thing he did when he woke up was get dressed. He never does that. He asked me about every 5 minutes, Is it time to go yet? He walked right in and started playing, he didn't even care that I was leaving. It was kind of sad but it is a good thing for everyone. When we got home Trevor didn't know what to do with himself, he was kind of walking around the house like he was lost, he didn't have Alan there to bug and aggravate. It was a very exciting morning.

Preschool days

This morning was Alan's open house for preschool, he was so excited. His first day is this Friday. I can't wait, he can't wait either. It is going to be so good for him and for me and Trevor to have some one on one time. I will let you know how his first day goes.

On another topic, Ronny and I have been praying for a while for a better job for him and a church for us. Well, this week both of those prayers were answered. Praise the Lord!

Self Portraits

I actually got in a crafty mood yesterday and cut big pieces of paper and had the kids lay down and traced their bodies on the paper then let them decorate themselves. Alan had a lot of fun, Trev had fun just putting paint everywhere, we kind of modified his a little so you could tell what it was.

DownEaster Update

Well we are back from Maine. We had a good time, they had a rock wall that everyone enjoyed whether they were climbing or cheering. Alan tried it and made it a little ways up then decided he didn't want to do it anymore. They had a softball game, volleyball games, a scavenger hunt and some other things. It was a really fun time, the kids had a blast. I know I said I would take pictures and I am sorry, can you believe I didn't take any pictures, I am so bad about remembering my camera, I'm sure some other people will post some pictures.

On another note, our kittens are 5 weeks old now and walking and running all over they place, they really are cute. There are pictures on Flickr.

Downeaster

We are off to Maine today for the Downeaster. Alan is really looking forward to it, the whole camping thing and seeing Chance and Raliegh again. I got alan and Trev little camping cahirs and they are excited about those. I will try and take lots of pictures even though my camera doesn't take great pics and post them when I get back. TATA

Maine Trip/Update

We took a little trip up to Maine this past weekend. We stayed with Tim and Carrie Fulton. What a beautiful house they have. Friday Ronny, Tim and my brother Vaughn went on the white water rafting trip that Dave Randall planned. They had a blast. A couple of people fell out of the raft but it was still a good time. Rick and Kathy Fulton invited us over to their place on the lake. The kids had a lot of fun in the water and Rick took some of us for a ride in his boat. It was nice catching up with them again. We had a good weekend.

I was told by my mother in law that I have been neglecting my blog and I have. I really haven't had much desire to write anything. The Maine trip was probably about a month ago now. Everyone here is doing well, Trevor's speech is coming along slowly but surely. I think he can say alot more than what he is really saying and he never says anything when the speech teacher is here, she just goes by what I say. He is getting more comfortable with her so maybe he will start talking a little more around her.

Well, our cat had kittens! We really didn't want her to but she escaped. They really are cute. She originally had 3 but 1 died so we have 2 now, a black striped one kind of like her and a white one. They are now walking around and climbing out of their box. We haven't decided if we are going to keep any of them yet. Of course Alan wants the white one and Elise wants the striped one. I don't know if I want 3 cats in my house.

I have a job interview this Tuesday at a store here called Kohl's. I am hoping to get it and work 3 days a week about 4 or 5 hours a day. I need to regain my sanity some how. I will let you know how it truns out.

Mumms Not The Word

Trevor has seen his speech therapist about 4 weeks now. He is slowly progressing. This past week his new words are Ouch, because of my surgery, Truck, he loves cars and trucks, Elise, he saw a picture and actually said her name! Do you think he says my name yet? Oh no, I only gave birth to him but that's ok. The therapist has been trying to use some signs with words, she has been using more and all done for now. Trev used the sign for more twice while she was here on Wednesday. He is getting there. I think he is going to be the strong silent type. Oh he also said Lollipop for the first time yesterday.

On another note, Alan is going to be going to preschool this coming fall. Aaaahhhh. It is only going to be Mon, Wed, Fri for about 2 1/2 hours but that's enough. It will give him a chance to play with other kids his age and get out of the house for a little while, it will also give me a break for a little while. He is so excited! He keeps asking me, is it time for preschool yet? He doesn't understand the concept of time yet so it is really hard to tell him he has to wait until the Fall to go. It is neat because where he is going to preschool is the same building he will be going to kindergarten the following year.

May Madness

This month has been so crazy and hectic between sicknesses, Elises softball games and my appointments I haven't had time to breath.

Well, for anybody wondering, the walk is over! We are done! What a weekend that was, I don't think me and Jen will forget that for awhile. She might want to forget it. All in all it was a good weekend. It rained the whole weekend so that kind of put a damper on things a little. One of the highlights of the weekend was Friday night. We stayed at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel which was directly across the street from a restaurant called "Maggianoes? Little Italy". Jen had been to one in Philly so we decided to go and check it out. On the menu they have a choice of choosing the family style menu which is you get a choice of 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 pastas, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. We decided on the family style menu since we were going to be walking the next 2 days we needed to load up on our crabs. Oh my goodness! There was so much food, I couldn't believe it. I think I weighed 10 pounds heavier after that, but it was so good. While we were eating Jen was getting up to use the restroom and as she put her hand down on the seat a piece of glass poked into her finger. She told our waitress and she let the manager know, so in the end Jen ended up getting her meal comped. Way to take one for the team Jen!

I think if it was nice and sunny we would have had a little more fun but oh well, we tried to make the most of it. Let me tell you, we will never wear another poncho for a really long time. Thank you again to everyone who supported us. Zarah has said that she wants to do it but she has to be 18, so that gives us 4 years to recover and get ready and for Jen to forget that I made her get blisters on her toes. I am so glad that she did it with me, otherwise I would not have had such a good time. What a great friend to sacrifice her toes for me. Thank you Jen!

Softball Pro?

Elise had her first softball game last night. They didn't win but it was a good learning game for most of them. Who knows maybe she will be a real good softball player.

I was practicing with her the other day and I was pitching the ball to her, boy did I have flashbacks from when I was a kid. Not good memories but if Elise wants to play softball then I will have to get over my childhood flashbacks,which by the way, is all my brothers fault. I am scarred for life now.

New Word

Trevor said a new word today!!

SHIRT

This is only his 3rd word, I think, he is getting there. He can't say Mama or Dada, but he says Shirt. Oh well. I should be happy he is starting to say something.

Goal Achieved!

Well, we did it! Jen and I reached our goals for the Avon Walk!In the beginning I never thought I would be able to raise that much money but everyone chipped in and we did it. I even heard from some people that I hadn't heard from in a while so that was nice.

Our next step is to concentrate on our training. Mine isn't going as well as I wanted it to but this weekend I am going to try and do one good long walk before the walk actually comes.

To update on Trevor's evaluation: They came up with that he needed help in his expressive language so they are going to start out coming once a week then if they see improvements they will cut back on the visits. As far as his foot turning in is concerned, the therapist didn't see a real need to do anything right now. She said give it about 4-6 weeks and if it still hasn't improved or has gotten worse then they would see about an orthopedic. Hopefully we won't have to go that route but we will see, he doesn't have ANY problems getting around that's for sure.

Tongue Tied

Sorry I haven't updated lately, our computer hasn't been working very well.

Trevor got his tongue clipped last week because he was tongue tied. The dr. said that it was very short so he clipped it right then and there. He is doing really well, he was pretty much better that night. Hopefully it will help him talk more now. He does finally say "Hot" and "Touch" he tried to say "Please" and "Horse". I guess he will talk in his own time and probably then he won't stop talking.

This Thursday he is going to be evaluated mainly for his left foot that is turned in but they said that they are going to evaluate everything, speech, development etc. We will see how that goes.

It is finally going to be in the high 60's here this weekend, HOORAY! Maybe I will actually be able to plant my seeds outside so they don't overtake my house.

Well, there is only 1 month left until my walk, I am amazed at how much I have raised so far, I am at 1,412.00. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me get that far. Now hopefully I can get the rest and be able to walk, I'm sure I will. I am hoping to be able to train more now that it will be getting warmer, I need it. Well, I think I have updated everyone on what has been going on here.

Trevors First Haircut

Well, I gave Trevor his first haircut the other day, don't look too close at his bangs, It is a little crooked, whoops. Hey for the price it's not bad. He didn't want to sit still, think of that, a 1 year old not wanting to sit still. Anyway, it looks better than it did.

This post is for Vontoria.

Pizza Guy

This is Alan's drawing of a pizza guy holding a pizza in each hand.

Update

Just an update on the Pepe Le Pew post, we have now caught 5 skunks! yes, you read right 5!

WE will keep you updated.

Pepe Le Pew

We have been invaded with skunks! I started writing a long story about our skunk experience then the computer crashed and I didn't have it saved so I will tell you the short version. Skunks have decided to make their home under our trailer and spray whenever they feel like making us smell just like them. I called animal control and they were going to charge way too much but they said that we could buy our own trap and do it ourselves so that is what we did.

I went to Lowes and got a trap and bought some oatmeal pies, because they said that they like those the best. Little to our surprise, we caught a skunk! To this day we have caught 4 skunks! Who knows how many more there are. Hopefully not too many.

Just call us "The Skunk Trapping Family". Maybe we should start our own business.

Battle Wound

This really isn't as bad as it looks, well to me it's bad. Here is what happened. I was minding my own business sitting on the couch reading my mail and of course since I wasn't giving Trevor any attention he decided to get my attention. He picked up the mail that was trash and tried to give it to me, well, instead of giving it to me in my hand he put it in my eye. Boy did that hurt. I thought it was just something little and it was going to go away after a little while. It didn't go away. This happened Saturday and it was still hurting so I went to the Dr. today. They looked in my eye and said that there were 2 scratches on the color part of my eye so they gave me and ointment to put in my eye for 3-5 days. Thank goodness it wasn't worse.

Alan said that I look like a pirate. I do look pretty ridiculous but it makes my eye feel better since I can't blink with it on. It could be a new fashion trend you think? Ok, maybe not.

By the way Liane if you are reading this this is all your fault. Everytime I read your blog about something bad happening something seems to happen to me to. I have to blame it on somebody and I can't blame Trevor.

This picture is for you Jen.

Training Time

It is time to start training. I have been trying to wait until the weather was nicer but I fear I am going to have to grin and bear it. Tuesday was actually a pretty nice day so we packed up the family and went on what seemed like a hike. We walked 4 miles. You know you are out of shape when you walk a mile or 2 and you are tired. I walked 4 miles again today but by myself, it was just too much with the kids and the stroller. It did feel really good to get outside and do something again after being cooped up for so long.

Next week I have to walk a total of 10-12 miles. This isn't going to be easy but I think I can do it, hey it will get me in shape too.

I just wanted to say Thank you to everyone that is supporting me through this.

Difference Between Boys and Girls

This past weekend Tim and Carrie and their 2 little girls came to visit. Their little girls are so cute and sweet. They are so quiet and just sit and play with their toys, unlike my boys who are running and jumping around 24/7.I had forgotten what it was like to have a girl, it is so much more quiet and peaceful.

While the girls were here Becca picked up one of Alan's swords and asked her mom, "what is this mom?" She said, go ask your dad. They had no idea what most of his toys were. They had a good time even though there were mainly only swords and guns to [play with.

I think Carrie was thankful that she had girls and not boys. Boys are very tiring sometimes but they are alot of fun too. It was nice to have friends visit.

Kids

I finally finished making Alan's baby clothes quilt. Once I actually sat down and worked on it it didn't take me very long. The pictures aren't real good quality so I hope you can see what it looks like. Now I have to start working on Trevor's, I just have to be in the right mood to do it.

I took Elise to the orthodontist today to get her retainer. I tried to take a picture to show you what it looks like. Can you believe that you can choose what color you want your retainer to be? Craziness. She has to go back every month for them to check it and make sure it is tight enough. Once she loses all of her baby teeth she will probably be getting braces. She was really excited to get her retainer. Isn't she beautiful?

Heat Wave

It is supposed to be in the 30's this week! Wow, 30 degrees. It is going to feel like spring after being below zero for so long. Isn't that sad that it gets into the 30's and we are like, wow it's warm today. I am so over the cold weather.
Alan said yesterday, "I want to go outside and play with my sand shovels." He goes outside for 2 seconds and wants to come back inside, we are whimps. Hopefully this warmer weather is a sign that spring and summer are coming.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Maxwell

This past Saturday we went to a Birthday party for Grandpa Maxwell. 95 years old! A good time was had by all especially when grandpa told his story about a little boy eating prunes 2 times. Happy Birthday Grandpa Maxwell.
Sorry the pictures aren't real clear, our camera isn't the best camera, but at least it takes pictures.

Success!

We went up to Dartmouth Hitchcock Thursday February 15 for Trevor's circumcision. Of course the night before we had a huge snowstorm so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it but we braved the weather and made the drive. It is normally an hour and 15 minute drive but that day it took us about 2 hours to get there. There was a bad accident when we first got on the highway and we sat for about 30-45 minutes. After we got through that the roads weren't very good so we had to go pretty slow. We finally got there but we were an hour late. It was ok because we didn't have to wait very long before they called us back. After that we had to wait quite a while but the kids were surprisingly great.

The doctors finally came to the room we were waiting in and talked to us about the procedure and what was going to happen. They told us that they would let one of us go back with Trevor while they were putting him to sleep so of course I went back. It was so hard to see him like that and then have to leave him. The doctor came out about an hour later and told us that everything went fine and there wasn't any bleeding which was good. Now we just had to wait for him to wake up. Of course he decided to take a little nap, which was well deserved.

He woke up about an hour after the doctor came out so I was able to go back with him and sit with him until he was fully awake. Anyway, to make a long story short, they said that he did wonderfully and we could take him home. When we got home he did so good, it didn't even look like he was in pain. They told us that we were supposed to give him Tylenol with codine and Motrin but he was playing happily so we didn't give it to him. We had to give him the Tylenol once before he went to bed and that was it. Since then he has done so well and has been in such good spirits. We are so thankful that everything went well and he seems to be healing well also. And if anybody is wondering the doctor did a good job as far as we can tell. I am so glad it is over.

While we were there we were able to visit with Kerri and Paige. She is such a sweet little girl. At first she didn't want us there because she didn't know us but Alan quickly got her playing and out of her shell. Her and Alan had a good time playing. We are praying for her.

What goes around comes around

One night for dinner we had something that had broccoli in it and I knew that Alan didn't like vegetables so I only gave him 2 tiny pieces and one piece of cauliflower. He ate everything else that was on his plate but didn't touch any of the veggies so I told him that he could either eat the one piece of cauliflower or the 2 little pieces of broccoli. Well, I thought he ate the cauliflower then I see him spitting it back out again so I told him that he had to eat the 2 pieces of broccoli. Do you think he ate them? Of course not, that would be too easy. He said, I don't like it. I told him he had to eat it and he couldn't play or get up until he ate them. Well, for the next hour or so he kept telling me that it wasn't fair that he had to stay in his seat and eat all the while crying. Finally he fell asleep in the chair but never ate his broccoli. I know, I am such a mean mom.

I was telling my sister about what happened and she laughed and said, "He is just like you." She said I would sit at the kitchen table, when I was little, for hours because I wouldn't want to eat my food and my brothers and sisters would walk by and say, Katina, just eat and you can get up. I guess what goes around comes around.

Back to Old Self

Alan is back to himself again after 5 days of laying on the couch doing nothing. He is back to shooting guns and running and jumping around. He has been on the antibiotics for two days now so they must be working. Now he thinks that he can wake up in the middle of the night and have gatorade because we would give him gatorade when his fever was real high. It is good to have him feeling better though.

Trevor isn't feeling so hot, he hasn't been eating and for him that isn't normal. He is getting 2 bottom teeth in so I think that is part of the problem. Hopefully his cold clears up before his surgery next week. We are so looking forward to it.

Alan

We just got back from the dr.s office because Alan was still running a fever and his ear was still hurting. The Dr. said that his ear looked the same it did when she first looked at him so the ear drops weren't doing anything. She said that his ear was filled with puss and stuff so she tried to get some of it out and she was able to but she still prescribed an oral antibiotic to clear up the infection. Hopefully this will work.

Alan Update

Well, our bed was soaked early this morning so I am guessing that his fever broke last night. His temp this morning is only one hundred so that is better than one hundred and three. My numbers aren't working on my keyboard so I have to spell everything out. He is still complaining that his ear is hurting but we still have more days of drops.

Trevor's cold really hasn't gotten any worse so that is a good thing. It will be so nice to be able to go outside and get fresh air again without turning into an icicle as soon as you walk outside.

Keep them in your prayers please.

Winter Sickness

I thought I was going to make it through this winter without the kids getting sick. Well, I was wrong. Two days ago Alan woke up in the night crying so we went to him to find out what was wrong and of course he was half awake so we couldn't get a straight answer out of him. He was up about every hour crying because something hurt. Morning finally came and we were able to find out that his ear was hurting and of course he had a fever to go with it so we gave tylenol every 4 hours and waited to see how he would do. Last night his fever broke a little but he was still warm so I called the dr. this morning to make an appointment.

The prognosis is that he has some goopy stuff in his left ear which is weird because he still has tubes in his ears. Anyway, he has to have drops twice a day. Let me tell you, you would think I was torturing him or something, we had to hold him down to put them in. The tylenol isn't any better. He has to take it for a week and if it isn't better they have to give him an oral antibiotic. Oh Lord I hope not.

Trevor has a stuffy nose and cough too, but thank goodness he actually enjoys taking his medicine.

I won't be able to post any pictures for a while because for some reason our usb cables aren't working, It's always something.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Well, it is official. I am registered for the Avon walk for Breast Cancer. It is scheduled for May 19-20. Jen is going to be walking it with me. I am doing this in honor of my sister Anita. If anybody wants more information about it they can go to my web page. Also if you want t donate something towards my fundraising it would be greatly appreciated.

Worst Day!

According to Alan, this is "The Worst Day"! This morning he was playing a computer game with Ronny and they kept dying, so he was getting upset. Then he was playing something and Trevor took the thing he was playing with and he said, Mommy this is the worst day. I said Why? He said "Cause everything goes wrong". The life of kids, if only the worst thing that went wrong in our days was that somebody took a toy from us.

Craving Attention

Have you ever noticed that your kids don't want your attention until you are doing something? If you are sitting there doing nothing, they are off doing their own thing quietly, the minute you start to do something they get into all kinds of trouble. That is the kind of mood Trevor is in this morning. He is doing everything imaginable to get my attention,from ramming his toy ride on car into the cabinets over and over to picking up Alan's cup up from the kitchen table and pouring it all over the table and floor. Yes, he climbs up chairs and everything else he can climb. Oh, the joys of child rearing.

You see the crackers in his hand?

You know how some kids have security blankets or something that they have to have with them? Well, Trevor's is crackers. Yes, crackers. It seems like he isn't happy unless he is walking around with some crackers in his hand. It would be one thing if he ate them but 9 times out of 10 he just walks around with them. I guess if it makes him happy then that is ok, just kind of weird. Just one of the things that makes him special.

Well, this is my first post on my blog, I'm not quite sure what I am going to talk about and if it will be interesting. Well, this is really i guess for my family so they can stay updated with their family. Not much new is going on with us. Ronny is still looking for a better job so keep him in your prayers. Elise is doing good in school. Alan is getting more and more into video games, just like his dad, he even tells me what I'm supposed to do. Trevor is running around getting into everything. He still hasn't decided to talk yet. Maybe that is a good thing. He goes to see the urologist for his circumcision on the 17th, then they will set up an appointment for the actual surgery which they will have to put him to sleep for so pray that everything will go well with that whole situation. That is pretty much what is going on right now.