Another Shot at Blogging

Here I go again..promising to Blog...

Today, we got to go to Children's hospital for Gibson to be tested for an inability to digest fructose. We had to be at Children's hospital at 8:15. Fortunately, I convinced my cousin to go with me. So Lauren showed up at my house at 7:25....just as my alarm clock was going off. Evidently, I forgot to move it back... So, I quickly jumped in the shower while she put on Gibson's clothes. It has turned cold so we had to find something warmer for him to wear (other than shorts).

We arrived at children's about 8:30 and signed in to the outpatient registration...waited until 9:00 for us to be called back. We go right back to the GI lab where Gibson quickly breathed into the mask for an initial register. He then gulped down the fructose mixture. We then started the waiting game...we first waited for 15 minutes and then he had to repeat the breathing into the mask. He did a great job the first time. He immediately started acting funny after we left the lab...he was whiny, falling, acting hyper, etc. I knew that this was not good...we continued the process every 30 minutes for the next 3 hours.

We found out that the hydrogen levels in his blood did change while the tests were run. While the nurse could not tell me the outcome...she did mention that the levels started out with the baseline of 1, then jumped to 2, then to 52. Evidently when he was doing the lactose test, it jumped from 1, 2 and then to 14. Evidently, the doctors look for a 10 point differential so I am not sure what this means for the lactose....however, clearly, he has a problem with fructose...it doesn't take a nurse or a doctor to tell me that!

Afterwards, we met aunt Tammie for lunch at my new favorite restaurant, Chuy's and then went directly to mom's to pick up LeLe. She had fallen asleep in mom's car on the way home from Tuscaloosa. She went with Mother today to Anne Reaves school. Evidently, she had a great time...and hugged on Anne Reaves the entire lunch.

Visit from Friends

Amy Estes came over in the morning to pick out some items for her sweet Merritt. LeLe went to school today and Gibson stayed home with me. This is the first time that I took LeLe to school without Gibson staying. I am not sure if I am going to like it or not but it does give me a little time with Gibson by himself.

When I got home, I did a bunch of laundry and some orders and then around 12:00 Lauren came over and played with Gibson. Amy Estes then brought her little girl Merritt over and we picked out some stuff for Merritt this fall. I then left around 2:30 to pick up LeLe.

When I got home, I did some more sewing and then around 5:30, I called mom to see if she wanted LeLe to spend the night with her. Angela, Holli and Leigh brought dinner for the family. We had a bunch of laughs and a great time with them!

My Sweet Daddy made it Home...

My Sweet Daddy went to live in heaven this morning. I love you daddy...

You have taught me many things that will carry me through the rest of my life. I love you my buddy...you will ALWAYS be my hunting buddy!

Not such a good day...

I had plans to sew all day until Mom called saying that I needed to come over to help them. In a rush, I loaded up the kids, and jumped in the car....to find that it wouldn't crank. Luckily, my sweet neighbor, came over to help...we got it cranked and I headed to mom/dad's. The kids stayed there while I went to have the car fixed. Unfortunately, i have some kind of special battery that requires a special order. So, I ended up waiting for a couple hours for nothing. Okay, well...I shopped during that time.

I left there to go get the kids at mom's. I then headed to City Paper to pick up some more bags for my business. When I got home, my embroidery machine was beeping at me with error messages....after calling the technician, I got back up and running...luckily...and the day started shaping up from there.

Happy Birthday Anne Reaves

My little Anne Reaves turned 6 today! Man how time flies!! I can remember celebrating inside the Atlanta airport 6 years ago when we landed in the US from Africa. I called the house and no one answered. I then called Laura's cell and she was in the delivery room about to have Anne Reaves. By the time we made it to Birmingham, Anne Reaves had been born.

We went to Laura's on Sunday to help celebrate Anne Reaves turning 6. We enjoyed swimming in this terribly hot weather. Gibson successfully says Anne Reaves now.

Starting a New School

okay, well, it has been a couple of months...and I cannot sleep...so I decided it was time to update you guys.

The kids have completed going to Mother's Day Out at Hunter Street Baptist Church and they started last week going to Riverchase Methodist Mother's Day out. It was a wake up call in more ways than one for us to get up and get moving and get to Riverchase Methodist by 9:00...but we did it!!

It is a little different in that they do car pool for both the kids. Unfortunately, it is 2 different car pool lines (one for the day school and one for the mom's day out). But, I think I can handle it. :)

Kim Meadows went with me to drop the kids off on the first day and then we headed to Weight Watchers. I lost 2.6 pounds!! We then went the Chuy's (my new favorite restaurant) to celebrate before returning to pick up the kids.

Happy Father's Day!!

We had my family over for Father's Day. The original plan was for us to go to Tuscaloosa but it is just easier for dad to come over here. So, the Skinner's came over and the girls played on the blow up slide thing while the adults cooked, sewed, and talked.

Gibson showed his spinning skills. He has this thing now where he spins and spins until he makes himself dizzy. At the point that he gets dizzy and falls down, he busts out laughing. It makes me smile just thinking about it!

Gibson walks everywhere these days so much so, his toes bleed where he continues to stump them. He takes his shoes off....faster than I can get them on him.

Thank you

Gibson says "Thank you" everytime that you hand him something.
He also has learned to dance...okay, well, twirl. Why? Cause when you ask LeLe to dance, she automatically starts twirling in circles. Unfortately, Gibson only makes it around about 3/4 of the way before losing his balance.

We have been to the doctor again this week regarding Gibson's belly. He seems to have kept an upset tummy ever since we started him on milk about 6 weeks ago. They seem to think that he possibly could be lactose intolerant. Right now, I have put him back on formula. Once it runs out, we will be trying out Lactaid which is Lactose Free milk. It is either a milk allergy or lactose intolerance...stay tuned.

Today, Matt worked in the yard and I chased kids. I actually did about 10 loads of laundry, folded, and put them up while sewing shirts for Mark's Outdoors. I have a few orders that I need to complete but the logos for Marks allow me to walk away from the machine.

I hope to do a better job updating the blog...but didn't I say that a couple of weeks ago??

Seeding the Yard

After much discussion, Matt and I decided to seed the natural area in our yard. I don't think that we anticipated the amount of work involved though. I took the kids to Wal-Mart for a couple of hours today while Matt worked in the yard. The weather was actually kind of chilly and since the kids LOVE to be outside while we are at home, it is just easier to leave with them instead.

They did a great job at Wal-Mart...thanks to Goldfish, suckers, juice boxes and bribery.

Gibson wants out of the buggy and wants to push it. If LeLe ever gets out of the buggy, things go down hill fast!!

Day at the Zoo

I got to keep Alex for a little while today, so we headed to the zoo. As you can tell by LeLe, she was thrilled!

Here I go again...

I am going to attempt again to begin to blog. I hope to make a few days by going backwards.

As most of you know, I am now sewing for the public. OKay, well doing monograms and appliques. This has kept me EXTREMELY busy!! While I am not complaining, I have had to move my sewing room to a different location due to it's ever growing needs.

Today I took the kids to school and did several errands trying to finish up the loose ends in my new sewing room. I hope to post some pics in a few days!

Both kids are growing up so quickly. Gibson runs everywhere, really enjoys mini-muffins and likes finding LeLe's chocolate milk laying around as it is much better than his plain milk. He isn't such a great eater in the evening but makes up for it the rest of the day. He still eats baby food for the folks at school but will cover his mouth when I try to give it to him in protest of it. I cannot say that I blame him.

Happy Birthday Jason and Sam

We went to the Trussville Elementary school on Saturday to celebrate Jason's and Sam's birthdays. The Trussville fire department was there with Sparky the dog and some magic show dude. Lele was scared of Sparky at first but then quickly warmed up to him. They had a bounce house that she really enjoyed along with a dude that was doing a magic show. It was great to see everyone. Happy Birthday Jason and Sam!!

Dr Visit and Madagascar

Today, G woke up with another fever. I decided to keep him out of school and let him visit the doctor again... I went ahead and took LeLe to school (only half of her class was in attendance due to sickness). I then ran into a few stores in Homewood before seeing Dr. McCain at Mayfair. I have to say...this was the longest doctors appointment that we have had in the past 3 years. Luckily, I only had G. It took us an hour and a half to be seen and then they ended up calling us to tell us that he has STREP! I am glad that I went ahead and took him considering his birthday party is on Sunday!

We came home and G took a nap. LeLe played outside in the beautiful weather. Around 6:15, we loaded up and went to see Madagascar Live at the BJCC. While it wasn't what I expected, it was a great show. We got home around 10:00 and everyone crashed!

Visit with an Old Friend & Happy Birthday MOM

I met my friend Leah for lunch today at Chuys. Leah and I have been good friends since college. While I don't get to see her much, it always seems that we catch right back up to the last time that we talked. Leah is one of those friends that I may not talk to much but I know that if I ever was in a bind, that I could call her. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her.

While I was out on 280, I went ahead and picked up Gibson's pictures from Barbara Harbin. They are absolutely beautiful. Even she commented on how good all of them were. i am so thankful to have such healthy and beautiful babies (I am not prejudice at all. :). After picking up the pictures, I ran to Hunter Street to pick up the kids. Unfortunately, there wasn't a good attendance today. Evidently, everyone is sick with some kind of flu like bug....or the flu itself.

When we got home, G was really whiny. When he woke up, he had 102.7 fever....not good. Matt had to work until 10:00 and LeLe convinced me to let her stay up until he got home. She is such a little Daddy's girl.

Just an update on Gibson's accomplishments this week. He now can say "This" and "DaDa" and point to the light on command. I also think that he can say some form of Sissy but I am not exactly sure that it sounds completely right. He loves playing with balls, dogs and his sister. He is a cuddly little fella.

Today was my mother's 60th birthday. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful supportive, loving mother. Thank you mom for ALL that you do for me and I hope you have a FANTASTIC birthday!

Lunch with Kim

The kids and I set out to get out of the house. Before we left, I tried to snap a few more pictures in an effort to get enough to finish our Valentine's cards. However, I didn't get much cooperation. LeLe's fever finally broke early this morning and I HAD to get out of the house! I convinced my sweet neighbor Kim to go with me to pick up Gibson's birthday invitations and then us grab some lunch at Chuys at the Summit. Chuy's is my new favorite restaurant. When we got there, I ran in to get the printed invitations and realized that I had left my wallet at home. Luckily, Kim let me borrow some money, bought our lunch and then let me borrow some more money when I ran into the fabric store. It is wonderful having such a great neighbor.

When we got home, I put the kids down for a nap and took one myself.

Valentines Party and SNOW!!

We woke up this morning and we were greeted by SNOW! Regretfully, my camera battery was dead first thing this morning so it had to charge while LeLe played in the snow. While she played, Gibson slept and I made Valentines Rice Krispies, addressed class Valentines and made Gibson lunch. I was also put in charge of the party favors so of course, I had to get them all ready too! Luckily, my wonderful neighbor had a stapler...for some reason, I couldn't find ours. I am sure it is because this house is such in wonderful order now that I stay at home all of the time.

LeLe came in screaming asking for a bandaid for her fingers as they were hurting. I explained that they were just cold and that she needed to stay inside to warm them. She didn't understand.

When Gibson awoke, we all hurried into the shower (where G screamed the whole time). I rushed and got them all ready for school. It was delayed this morning until 10:30 and we STILL didn't make it on time! I rushed in with all of the teacher gifts, backpacks, lunches, goodies, and kids. I had 45 minutes to spare before I headed back to the Valentine's party. (I missed the Christmas one because I had no clue that I was suppose to go...I am just now getting knowledgeable on this stuff thanks to LeLe's wonderful teacher). I quickly ran into Walgreens to pick up our Valentine's cards, then to JoAnns and then to Hancock (all in 45 minutes) then to the party.

LeLe was very surprised to see me. I love that kid! She was so happy! She ran into the room and quickly sat down just like the teacher asked. They said their blessing and then all dug into their Chikfila.

We swapped Valentines and I picked up Gibson. LeLe went to gymnastics. G and I left there, we ran to a friend's house to help her get her monogramming machine up and running. We then rushed back to pick up LeLe. We then went to Publix to pick up a new sippy cup (recommended by G's teacher) since he is suppose to officially be off the bottle and well, he doesn't like that idea one bit!! While we were there, LeLe asked everyone we passed if they liked her Valentines dress. She is such a hoot. Gibson didn't make a sounds and downed 2 sprinkle cookies. We did order some cupcakes for his birthday tomorrow.

When we got home, G crashed and LeLe went outside to play in the melted snow. Lauren and Matt came home, we went to eat dinner, and now...everyone is asleep...but me.

OH! I started new medicine today and I think I like it! We will see how it goes. I have to go back to the doctor next week!

Going Backwards...

Okay, going to try to continue to catch up by going backwards this time...

Happy February!

This morning before school, I attempted to get some more pictures of the kids. It is always a battle to try to get them both to smile. Since the fell asleep yesterday at 4:00 and didn't wake up until 9:00 this morning, I thought that it maybe a good time to catch them in a good mood. Yes, folks, they slept over 17 hours! What does that mean for me.....no sleep!

I stayed up all night (okay until 2:30) working on different things. I did get the teachers Valentine's aprons monogrammed, wrapped all of them, worked on some taxes, watched the snow, folded clothes, washed clothes, unloaded the dishwasher, and I am not sure what else...but, I didn't get it all done and crashed around 2:30.

I went to the doctor today and got some medicine. I hope that it will help me start feeling better! I dropped the kids off late to school so that I wouldn't have to kill time before my appointment at 10:30. Unfortunately, I didn't get out of there until 12:15, so I ran through Taco Casa, dropped some items off at a friend's house and then picked up my little munchkins.

We got a visit from my sweet cousin Lauren. We then went to visit my sweet neighbor Kim and Matt finally got home around 7:00. My sweet neighbor fed us dinner. I put the kids to bed and started my work. :)

Sometimes being OCD is good...sometimes...not so much!

Give me 3 steps...

Gibson is very close to walking. I cannot believe that my little man is growing up so fast! I refuse to believe that he is about to turn ONE!! The past few days he has been becoming more confident in walking. Today, he stood up from the floor and took about 3 steps before getting scared. He is so proud of himself!!