Tis the season!

November 24...(but it feels like Christmas!)

We are ready for the season around here! Abby and Alivia both have their trees in their rooms. Abby's is the same from last year, but we had to buy Miss Alivia a tree and ornaments since this is her 1st Christmas. She LOVES looking at the lights and her tree looks so cute in her room.

I am loving all the baby Christmas outfits...especially the santa hat! We are singing Christmas carols, watching Christmas movies, decorating, and having a ball. A baby is a wonderful gift-and it is so nice to be reminded in our crazy/busy world. It was this time last year that we found out we were expecting. It's hard to believe a year has gone by. What a blessing she is- God gave us the desire of our heart- a beautiful, healthy, INDEPENDENT-TEMPERMENTAL, precious baby! We are so looking forward to our first Christmas with her and thanking the Lord for his many blessings!

Remembering "TB"

November 21, 2008

Alivia is asleep for her morning nap (on her tummy and on my bed)...I know 2 major "no-no's"-

but if she's happy, I'm happy! Speaking of her happiness and how she is totally in control of everything around here right now, Scott made a troubling - but insightful comment the other day. Years ago we had a toy poodle named TB (not for the disease, but short for his official registered name of Prince Terry B Red- yes it was during the reign of Terry Bowden at Auburn-but that's another story for another day). He was the cutest, tiniest thing you've ever seen...and spoiled rotten. He actually thought he was a human. We decided we would take him to dog obedience classes for dog training. That would straighten him out. So picture this little, tiny dog in the same room with giant pit bulls, dobermans, german shepherds, etc. He would absolutely do NOTHING he was commanded. In fact, he just barked and "yipped" at the other dogs as if to say "this place is for dogs like you-not me". So after many weekly trips to classes and too much money spent....we had a dog who had attended obedience classes- but had not changed one bit. I think we might have been the only people with a dog to ever fail the class. We eventually had to give him away. After Abby was born he would NOT share his space with her. The day she was in her johnny-jump-up seat and he peed on her foot was the day he had to go. (Scott still says he should be lucky we let him live!) Anyway...Scott was looking at Alivia as she was having one of her temper tantrums and he was reminded of TB. He asked me if I thought this was the same kind of situation....something so little being in complete control of everyone else? We had a little laugh...and then got a little scared...Oh dear- we do hope she learns to use the potty! :)

Growing up

October 2, 2008

My little Alivia is 9 weeks old. Where did the time go? Her tummy issues are so much better. We stopped all of her medicine after I questioned if it was really helping or if she just needed to "grow" out of it. She improved quickly and gets better everyday. She is cooing, laughing, holding her head up like a 4 month old (per the doctor's comments!) and starting to sleep at least 5 hours at a time at night..HALLELUJAH! She loves to be held (by her mama) and talked to. She is holding on to her pink lovey and starting to suck on her own fist all the time. She does like a pacifier too. She has already outgrown the newborn 0-3 month outfits. I sadly packed them away for someone else and made room in the closet for bigger sizes. I love that she is healthy and growing...but my heart cries "stay little a little longer!"

I looked at my 9 year old last night and wondered when she got so big. She's changing fast...and I don't like it. I miss my little 3 year old that held my hand on long walks as we talked about God making the sky, flowers, clouds, etc. Now she is more into her friends than me, and it hurts. We already have some of that "girl drama" and I'm NOT ready for it. Lord, teach me to number my days because they are passing by....quickly

From the mouths of babes (or 9 year olds)

October....
Yesterday Abby asked me if I heard about what happened to the "fixing man". (That would be the "maintenance man" at school/church...yes I grinned but inside was LOL!) She informed me his house burned down-and wondered if he was able to "fix" everything at church/school why he couldn't "fix" his house. She thinks very highly of Daniel!

Days of our Lives

September 21, 2008
Days of our Lives used to be my favorite soap in college. Silly uh? I haven't seen it since then- although I'm sure nothing has changed...when I see commercials Marlena, Bo, Hope, etc. are all still around and dealing with the same ole stuff. Seriously? 20 years later and they haven't figured anything out? Oh well.... I digress... these days our life is revolving around the baby, Scott's job, school, family, etc. There is way too much "stuff" going on for paragraphs- so here goes "The Days of our Lives" in list form:

* right now it is almost 11:00 pm- Scott's in Orlando (had to stay overnight and didn't plan too)-the girls are in the bed with me- Alivia is snoring (too cute- she's never snored before!)

*Did I mention we were in a king-size bed? When we bought the house we had a king size bed, sold it ,(Scott said a queen size would fit the room better). There is a HUGE difference between a queen/ and a king. After 2 years and a new baby, the queen is in the basement and a new king is in the bedroom. Full circle...but AH, sweet sleep!

*Scott didn't take his phone charger (because he planned on being home at 5:45) and his phone is dead. He called me from someone else's phone briefly and told me he would call me on "skype"
OK- I just learned what skype is and it was so cool- but I couldn't figure out how to turn the volume up , so Scott was basically doing charades and writing notes until I found the "unmute" button. Abby is much more proficient than me. She tried to skype him earlier and he wasn't there. She left him a message with little pictures. How did she learn to do that? Even Scott was impressed!

*My brother in law shot part of his thumb off on Saturday night. (I know- I just kind of jumped right into that with no warning!) Scott bought a new cross bow (dangerous!) and they were trying it out when the accident happened. Called 9-1-1, went to Brookwood , got his thumb "fixed", came home really late, packed the bow up to return to the store!!!!!

*This morning after I dropped Abby off at school, I decided to vacuum out the car while Alivia was sleeping. (She loves the sound of a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, etc.) The doors were opened to the car and the lights were on. When I was finished vacuuming, I tried to crank the car to roll the windows up. The car wouldn't crank! Battery was DEAD- Scott was out of town-
dilemna??? I needed to run errands, pick Abby up from school, etc. I needed my car! My father-in-law came by, pushed the car out of the garage, jump started the battery, and I drove to Wal-mart to buy a new one!

*My microwave (which is only 2 years old) stopped working last week. Had to pay for a service trip charge, labor, but the parts were free. (Yea, right). A car battery and microwave in less than a week. NOT what I want to spend money on.

*I cleaned out my side of the closet today! (Scott's side is later this week). It only took from 1:45 until 9:00. I used to could complete this project in an hour or 2. Not with a newborn and Abby's homework. It was a stop-go-stop-go activity all day, but it is finally done. I LOVE it when my closet is completely clean and organized. I got rid of all my "teacher" shoes. Nothing but flip-flops for me!

* I can't accomplish anything lately (except holding my sweet Alivia) and I feel like things are piling up all around me. Every inch of my house needs something- either cleaning out, vacuuming, dusting, moving, etc. I just can't get to it, which is why I feel so good about my closet. I actually accomplished a BIG task. In the words of London Tipton...Yay me! I need to clean my attic, my basement, my pantry, my car (the outside), our yard (our landscaping looks terrible)-
the list goes on and on, but it won't happen anytime soon. I've got to let it go and not worry about it. I'm trying to learn a life lesson here, but it's hard when you are a 'control freak'.

*Abby is doing so well in school! She has made 3 100's in a row in spelling, a 100 on her first math test, A+ in Bible, History, etc. I am sooo proud! This girl worked hard last year, but 3rd grade was a struggle. This year is turning out to be so much better and I am soooooo glad!!!!

*Alivia will be 2 months old on Thursday. How can that be? I had my 6 weeks check up last week and I was really sad that the whole experience (from pregnancy test to delivery) was over. It went by so quickly! She is really improving. I stopped giving her medicine (I couldn't really tell a difference) and she is much better in my opinion. She is sleeping between 4-5 hours at a time (at night). She is starting to coo and smile- and it's so much fun. Her cheeks are really filling out! I sing a good morning song (that I made up) to her each day and she smiles every time!
We love her and can't imagine not having her in our family. She "completes" us!

This is just a sample of what's been going on. Life is busy- but we are so blessed. I praise the Lord for His grace and mercy on our family.

And now....I am going to sleep...no wait...Alivia is waking up...oh well...

i will survive!

sept. 5, 2008
i'm holding alivia in my arms, so there will be no capitalization and very little punctuation...
we are in total survival mode...poor livi has severe acid reflux. we knew very early (day 2 in the hospital) she was going to have some digestive issues, but i never knew how bad it would get. for the past 2 days she has gotten progressively worse... severe stomach pains, gas, burping, screaming/crying out in pain- it is terrible! nothing we do seems to help...she usually cries for an hour or 2 and then finally gets a little relief- she's still not resting well at night (poor thing) and so i have called the pediatrician 3 times in 2 days (am i a hypochondriac?) she is now on 2 prescriptions for her stomach pains and i pray they will work! having an unhappy newborn can be VERY stressful...
so scott informs me he has to go to orlando for 8 days in early october (8 days people)..i was not happy- apparently he sensed my "frustration" because he offered for the girls and me to spend the first weekend with him. now the dilema (why can't i spell "duh-lim-uh" it just doesn't look right-sleep deprivation???) anyway....do i travel to orlando with a 2 month old to spend some family time together ? (Disney!!!) how stressful would that be? would it be worth it? (i mean, isn't a bad day at disney better than a good day at home?) should i leave the baby with my mom? :{ should i just stay home? oh decisions, decisions. i need some input especially if you have experience traveling with a baby. let me know your thoughts please. of course, if she is still struggling with her 'stomach issues', traveling will be OUT of the questions. Please pray for her (and me!)...i am so thankful to the Lord for the strength and endurance He gives us on a daily basis. not to mention His endless supply of Grace! "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"...

Too many "titles" for one blog!

August 25, 2008 *WARNING! Some material may not be suitable for all readers!!! :)

August has been a blur! How could the summer be over, my newborn be 3 1/2 weeks old, and my nine year old be at school? I managed to feed Alivia, get dressed, and get Abby to school on time, with camera in hand, and in the rain no less! (Be impressed people, be very impressed!) Especially the part about being dressed. Let me back up a few days. Last weekend Alivia developed thrush (looks like white milk mouth but doesn't go away and can cause major problems...which it did!) She infected me (as the lactation experts so kindly informed me when I called them in excruciating pain while nursing...think razor blades and fire and you'll have some idea what I'm talking about.) Alivia had to have yucky medicine and I had to mix 3 different creams and apply after nursing (very time consuming and painful). The nurses said it could take 48-72 hours to see any improvement. (Really? This is a week later and I'm still hurting on one side!) In addition to the cream, they suggest you "air dry" as often as possible. Not really a problem since the pain doesn't allow you to wear a shirt! So for 3 days all the blinds were closed, I'm in severe pain, SHIRTLESS, and homebound. Let's just say poor Abby saw more than she wanted and needed to. Now let's fast forward to Friday when Scott's big "V" procedure was scheduled. (Fortunately Abby had a spend the night party and missed all this drama). I got to be "in the room" and can I just say it was the most fun I've had in 9 months and 3 weeks! I think every woman who has experienced childbirth should hear a doctor tell their husband "drop your pants and put your feet in the stirrups!" Oh the look on my husband's face! It was almost more than I could take. I thought I might lose a stitch or too. Before you think I'm too cruel, just know I have been in pain....real pain people...and I needed a laugh! It was only a few minutes before he got some really good "I don't care about anything" medicine and didn't care anymore. The doctor was a hoot and the whole procedure literally only took 15 minutes. So imagine us coming home-me "air drying" and Scott applying "frozen peas". What a sight! (No-I take that back...PLEASE don't try to visualize this!)
My neighbor (who was unaware of what we were going through) calls and asks if there is anything we need. I fill her in and tell her we need garbage bags (not something you want to run out of with dirty diapers around). She tells her husband about the garbage bags but NOT about our "health" issues. Chad comes over later to deliver the bags (yes I had a shirt on), and when he walks in the door...my husband...who is still very dopey...says "Hey Chad" while removing the frozen peas! I wish you could have seen the look on Chad's face...he just simply said "Hey, how's it going"...as if people pull frozen peas out of their shorts everyday! It wasn't until the next day that Scott realized what he did and was TOTALLY embarrassed. Chad simply shrugged it off and laughed. What a great neighbor! (When we all first moved in our houses and nobody had blinds yet- we used to tease and say "somebody's gonna see somebody naked". Let's just say we came as close to that line this week as possible!) When you get old and have had 2 children...modesty just goes out the window. Someone asked Scott this week how we were doing. He said "Honestly? We are old and it hurts!" So true! We love precious Alivia more than words can say and wouldnt' trade this experience for the world. But WOW- the physical, emotional, and hormonal issues are almost overwhelming. You forget how much you love SLEEP until you don't sleep through the night. You forget how much "stuff" a baby needs until you go somewhere and it takes 3 people to carry it all (not to mention you have to start getting ready to leave like 3 hours ahead of time). You forget how much laundry a baby goes through (they can't walk, sweat, run, play, work...seriously? How do they get things so dirty?) You forget what 3 meals a day are until it's 1:45 and you haven't had breakfast. You forget so much until that little 8 pound bundle of joy reminds you. One thing I won't forget....all the years we prayed for this blessing and how God finally answered our prayers. I won't forget how quickly time passes (as proved by my niece starting college and my friend dropping off her last child to kindergarten today.) I will cherish EVERY minute of this experience because I know it will pass too quickly. I'm done blogging- I'm going to hold my sweet Alivia while I can!