1/5/13

Thanksmas 2012

On Friday, December 14, we headed to my Dad's for our annual Thanksmas weekend. We were all excited about visiting for the weekend and the kids were extra excited because they knew presents would be involved! It was pretty late when we arrived so we let the kids play for a short while and then we all headed to bed. 
On Saturday, we got up and dressed and then took some pictures (of course!).


 
 

 
After playing outside a bit, coming in for lunch, and getting a couple of naps out of the way, it was time for dinner, and after dinner was........present time!!!
 
Family shot minus Patrick.......he had to work. :(
Callie Grace


Playing with Isaac's new lego table
He loved his MTSU jersey!
 
The girls got little puppy dog purses with nail polish and lipstick inside so they spend the rest of the evening fixing everyone up!

The next morning, we got up and breakfast, then visited a bit before it was time to go. Nana had a special surprise planned......making cookies! The kids enjoyed this too!
Isaac feeding Layla her breakfast


Thanksmas weekend was another success. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if it included Patrick.....but I guess there's always hope for next year!

Illness/Accident Report

The month of December started out pretty rough for this house. Layla and Isaac had both been a bit snotty since Thanksgiving weekend, but we really thought it was just allergies and would eventually clear up on their own. We continued our daily dose of Zyrtek and hoped for the best! On Saturday, December 1, Darren and I took the kids to Mimi and PawPaw's house for the night so we could go to Jackson to get our Christmas shopping done. Layla was a bit warm when we left, but we really didn't think much about it. Mimi checked her temp around 2:00 and it was 102.5, so she then dosed her with ibuprofen. Then, a little after 5:00, she called to let us know she had just checked her temp again and it was now 105.5. That's when this Mama went into panic mode! I called Dr. Hall and explained the situation to her and she told my mother-in-law to meet her at the clinic with Layla. After checking her out and running a couple of tests, it was determined that Layla had the flu. By that time, the pharmacies in town were closed, but thankfully Dr. Hall was able to her the meds she needed from the hospital. We headed back to Savannah to get our little ones and head back to our house for the night. Thankfully, Layla's fever broke sometime during the night and as the week went on, she recuperated pretty quickly. We sent Isaac on to school on Monday and that day went completely normal. On Tuesday, the school called me a little after 9:00 saying Isaac was complaining and saying he didn't feel good and was running a low-grade fever. I knew immediately he probably had the flu too so I called the office to see if Dr. Hall could get him in and thankfully, she said bring him on. Of course, he too had the flu so there I panicked. I needed to work this week to finish paperwork from open enrollment at work. After chatting a bit with my boss, she assured me all was fine and not to worry, that the kids came first. I knew this already, but her reassurance made me feel so much better. Me and the kids tried to make the best of our week together. We played, read books, and watched movies and even though they both seemed to bounce back super fast, they weren't allowed to return to school or daycare until Monday of the following week. Also, thankful to many prayers, Darren and I both were able to avoid being sick ourselves.
Also during this flu-filled week, Layla had an accident. I was in our bedroom folding clothes and she was coming into our room from the living room with the Ipad in tow. As she was coming through the door, she dropped the Ipad on her toe. The Ipad has an otterbox cover on it that makes it a bit heavier so I knew she was definitely in pain. 
About 30 minutes later, this is what her toe looked like.
Talk about feeling bad! I felt like the worst Mommy EVER, but thankfully she's one tough cookie and only cried about 5 minutes before she was back running around the house. Isaac had a similar incident when he was a bit younger than her when he dropped a can of spaghetti o's on his foot. His toe was so bad that eventually, his entire nail came off. Hers wasn't hit that hard though and just seems to be bruised a bit. Thank heavens for tough little girls!
The next Monday, I was so excited about going back to work! I have complete respect and admiration for full-time stay at home Moms. I love my kids dearly and would do anything in the world for them, but I need my space and grown up time too. Plus, it was nice for the kids to get back to their normal routines too. I'm just grateful the sickness hit before Christmas got here!

Thanksgiving Weekend

On Thanksgiving Day, me and the kiddos headed out to Carthage for the weekend. Darren always hunts on that weekend so we usually spend it with my Mom. This year was extra special as my Aunt Carol and cousins Haley and Casey were able to come in for a visit. What a treat! They came in on Wednesday night and left out Friday morning so they weren't here long, but I'm always grateful for any time we get to spend with them.
Once we arrived at my Grandmother's house, the kids were extremely wound up after being in the car for 3 hours. They made me tired just watching them play!







The next couple of days were just lazy days. We hung around Grandma's house and visited with her and Moms. On Sunday, we went to church as usual and came back to Moms' house for Sunday lunch. Before we ate, we were able to snap a few photos though.









Just like always, it was hard to pack up and leave the ones we love but it felt good when we finally got home. We'll be back soon as Christmas is just around the corner!

Isaac's First

Well, I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but on Friday, November 2, Isaac had an accident at school that resulted in his first experience with stitches. Apparently as they were going outside, he ran into another little boy. The force of that collision threw him off balance and into a metal post, which he hit with the corner of his eye. He was brought to my office where after much debate, Dr. Hall decided to give him 1 stitch. He did really good with the whole ordeal, his Mommy, however, not so well. It just killed me to see my baby hurt like that! Here is a picture of him the next morning.


I was a nervous wreck the entire time because I was so afraid he would bump into something else and pop his wound back open. Thankfully though after a couple of weeks, we went back to get the stitch out. He didn't move that time and never made a peep! 
Very proud of my big boy!
(and also grateful he's all healed up now!)

Halloween

Halloween this year was a bit different. We have typically gone "trunk or treating" at several of the larger churches here in town, which is nice because it eliminates getting in and out of the car so much. However, many churches didn't participate this year since Halloween fell on a Wednesday so we had to make a plan B. We decided to set out in one of the town neighborhoods where Darren happened to know several folks. It worked out great and the kids had a ball gathering goodies. Needless to say, they have been on a sugar high for several days now, but they had a big time.
Check out our black spiderman and sweet strawberry!





Stats Update

On October 24, the kids went to Dr. Amy's office for their annual check-ups. Isaac was 43 3/4 inches tall and 48 pounds and Layla was 35 3/4 inches tall and almost 31 pounds. All checked out well and they are doing just fine. So grateful for healthy kids!

Later that evening, Layla decided to powder herself before bed!

Jakob's Birthday

On Saturday, October 13, we drove up to Murfreesboro for our nephew, Jakob's birthday party. It was a small gathering, mostly family, but the kids still had fun. 








 
After the party, we headed back home. It made for a long day, but it was nice to be able to be back in our own beds for the night. 
Happy Birthday Jakob!