Butler Family

I'm not ever getting married and I'm not changing my name!

2011-11-14T10:53:00.002-05:00

Those were the words from Callie, age 6. I'm not sure I believe her about getting married, but I totally believe that she will never change her name. LOL Do we already have a woman's libber on our hands?

Emma says she's never getting married either, but she's not quite as convincing. Emma wants babies! :)

Where do these 6 year old get this kind of stuff? LOL

School has started!

2011-08-18T10:16:00.002-04:00

This is a new time for us...the girls are in 1st grade this year, so they will be staying the full day (not the 1/2 day like they did in kindergarten). Because of this, they're riding the school bus home now! Since Phil works at home, this is a good solution for us (beats paying for aftercare for 1 hour).

It makes my day shorter, because for the first time in 10 years, I don't have to pick anyone up in the afternoons!

Callie was excited about the bus. She asked me, "Can I get off anywhere I want to?" Um, no!! :) I told her to stick with Josh and she'll be okay. Emma never even questioned where she got off! LOL Josh has been very protective of the girls and really wants to make sure the bus ride goes smoothly for them. He wrote each one of them a note on the first day reminding them which bus to get on. :)

He told them he would sit with them, too. Callie was concerned someone would make fun of him for sitting with 2 girls.

The first week is almost over and it looks like they're all settling in nicely. They all like their teachers (and I do too, so far).

This is Josh's last year at the Elementary school...next year, he'll be in middle school!! When did that happen?!! :)

Best Vacation Ever!

2011-06-20T14:57:00.005-04:00

We just got back from Pensacola Beach, FL and I have to say that this has been one of our most enjoyable vacations. We're already looking forward to going back!

Callie would get up each morning and say, "This is the best day ever!! And tomorrow is going to be even better!!"

The kids loved the beach, the pool, the condo - everything. Emma was more interested in collecting seashells (we have 3 large bags to prove it). Josh and Callie loved the water...we had to buy an extra boogie board so both of them could have one.

Callie has no fear of the water - she's like a little fish! Josh is too, but at least he knows his limitations! :) Emma loved the pool, but only if she had her noodle. :)

PB has some of the best restaurants that we've been to (they rival what we have found in Myrtle Beach - which have been fantastic).

Our favorites were: Peg Leg Pete's, Flounders, New York Deli & Pizza, Joe Patti's seafood market and Halls Seafood. Oh yeah - The Shrimp Basket was really good, too.

We stayed at Portofino Resort, which was out of this world. We had a wonderful view of both the gulf and the sound.

We saw the Blue Angels practice. If you've never seen them, you need to! These are some of the most amazing pilots ever trained (http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/).

We enjoyed the Naval Aviation Museum and the Pensacola Lighthouse - both are on the naval base.

We saw dolphins from the beach and a shark from the Pier.

This could very easily become one of our favorite vacation spots!!

Spring is here!

2011-05-03T12:44:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the kids only have a little over 3 weeks of school left. Where has the year gone?

The girls just finished another round of swim lessons. I think Emma is perfectly content with a couple of noodles just so she can float around and relax. Callie is all about learning to swim, jumping in and doing everything she can to have fun.

Josh is taking private lessons (whenever we can fit a lesson in). We hope to have him prepared to take the swim test at Webelos Camp this summer. He can do it if he just will. He's a pretty decent swimmer, but he gets nervous. :)

The girls are both reading pretty well for Kindergarteners. :) They should have no problem going into 1st grade. We'll just make sure they keep reading this summer.

Josh is really enjoying learning anything and everything he can about history. He got 10 extra credit points the other day because he knew where to find the books on Presidents in the school library (he's been checking those out for fun). He's getting ready to start a report on Andrew Jackson.

The girls will be going to summer camp at the Y this summer (just like last summer). Josh will be going to several different camps...he's going to Camp Invention (science camp), Scout Day Camp, Basketball Camp and Webelos Resident Camp (which is an overnight camp). Oh, and he'll be going to camp with Wendy at the end of June (her church camp). So, he's in for a busy summer. He'll have a few weeks off here and there to just do nothing, too. Maybe he can go spend a day or 2 at Grandmother & Granddaddy's and help them out some.

Josh will be 10 in another month! Wow! We're going to have a party at Laser Quest this year...that's in a couple of weeks. His birthday week is too busy to have a party!

Why are you looking at me??

2011-03-22T15:50:00.002-04:00

On our way to the Y the other day, Emma looked at Callie and said, "Why are you looking at me? Is it because my hair is beautiful?". LOL Emma had her hair in pigtails and she thought Callie would be upset because she had them and Callie didn't. :) Sometimes, Emma likes to out do Callie.

It's been too long!

2011-02-14T08:01:00.002-05:00

Looks like Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed since last updating. Both were good. :)

Today is Valentine's Day. The girls and I had a very interesting conversation about Cupid last week (you know, the one that rhymes w/ the bad word "stupid"). :)

Callie said if Cupid tried to shoot her, she was going to duck or jump over the arrow because she was NOT getting married. I told her Cupid only shot grown ups. Emma's only concern was if it was going to hurt or not when she got shot by Cupid. :)

Later, they were talking about a friend of theirs (these are 5/6 year old kids). One of them was talking about how their friend had a boyfriend. Callie piped up and said, "M&N broke up!! Every time M needed N, he wouldn't come to her, so now she's sad!". Oy!

Where do they get this stuff?!!

Josh had his Pinewood Derby at Scouts on Saturday. He placed 8th in his den. He was disappointed because he has always place 1st or 2nd in his den. Oh well!

The girls had a big birthday party at Build A Bear on Sunday. They had 7 friends come. They all had a great time and got to go home w/ a stuffed bear or puppy.

Callie and the bras

2010-10-09T14:09:00.002-04:00

We were in Target and Callie saw a very colorful display of bras. She started pointing at them and giggling. She asked what they were...I just told her they were for big girls and she didn't have to worry about that right now.

She said, "Nope, I don't need one now because I'm not sticking out!" (as she rubbed her chest).

School Days and more

2010-08-17T08:33:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of school (for Josh). He's in the 4th grade now! I think he's going to have an excellent teacher, but this may be a whole new "thing" for Josh...it looks like it's time to get really serious about school...no more coddling and warm/fuzzy feelings. :) His teacher has taught 5th grade before, so she's really good at getting them prepared. A friend of ours (who teaches 5th grade) says Josh has one of the best 4th grade teachers...she's tough, but really good!

The girls start school on Thursday. It sounds like they each have excellent teachers. From the few minutes we've spent with them, I think they both teachers are a good match for the girls...I believe each one has the teacher she will relate to the most.

Callie lost 2 more teeth this weekend...for a total of 6 missing now! :) Emma has no loose ones yet. She's going to be more like Josh and lose them later. He didn't lose his first tooth until the end of 1st grade. :)

Updates - Finally

2010-07-12T14:15:00.002-04:00

I'm not even sure where to begin...

Since I've last updated, lots has happened. School let out! :) Josh is now officially a 4th grader and the girls are kindergarteners!

Callie had an EEG which came back w/ the same results as last year...still abnormal/very active. Her doctor upped her medication a little bit. Of course, she's grown a ton since last year, too.

Josh is at Webelos Residence Camp this week. This is his first overnight camp (3 nights). I can't wait to hear how things went.

Phil's grandmother died on June 30. She was 101 years old. We went to Gallatin for the funeral on Friday, July 2.

After we got back that evening, we went to the Allen's birthday party. Laura, Jacob and Philip all have birthdays this summer, so they did a combined pool party. It was lots of fun, but we were pretty wiped out afterwards.

Josh had his 9 year well check up on the 5th - he's tall and healthy. :) He's 4'8" and the doctor said he could officially be out of his booster seat now (well, he's been out of it for about a month anyway).

Mom went into the hospital on the 7th...her heart rate and BP went sky high. Her heart was in A-Fib (not synching properly). Anyway, she's doing better now.

The girls went to get their ears pierced Friday night. Callie got them done, Emma decided she wasn't ready (she screamed bloody murder for about 5 minutes).

Callie lost her front tooth yesterday and has 2 more teeth loose.

Emma's teeth are still in there tight!

Emma had a nose job done on June 16. She recovered quite well from that. She was in very little pain. She had more pain from her ear than her nose (they took cartilage out of her ear). She's still a little swollen, but not bad. The doctor said that could last for 6 months (the inside of her nose is swollen more than the outside).

I'm sure there's more to update, but I can't think of it right now. It's been extremely busy this summer, but fun!

Haircuts

2010-04-19T09:12:00.001-04:00

The girls are getting their hair cut today. So, I asked them how short they wanted it?

Callie said she wanted hers shorter than Cinderellas. Emma said she wanted hers shorter than Sleeping Beauty. Hmm...wonder how they REALLY want it cut? :)

Kids

2010-04-13T13:15:00.004-04:00

Once again, I've fallen down on keeping up w/ our blog. :)

Last week, all of the 3rd graders had to take a multiplication test to be in the Mighty Math Club. Well, Josh was the ONLY one in his class to make a 100 on it!! He got a t-shirt and some other goodies. He was thrilled!! We were thrilled! WTG, Josh!!

Last night, Josh had scouts and I needed to take the girls with me because Phil had someone over working on computers. So, I asked the girls if they wanted to stay w/ Daddy & Mark or come with me. Callie looks at me and says, "Mommy, I'd better come with you so I don't get into a mood!". LOL She HATES it when I leave the house or drop her off anywhere...usually pitches a fit. So, the girls came to scouts w/ us. We just played out on the playground.

I had another horrible headache yesterday. I took something as soon as I got home, thinking it would be better by the time scouts started...WRONG. Well, on the way over, I just said, "I wish this headache would go away!". So, Josh asks me, "Did you pray?". :) Umm..no I hadn't up to that point.

Josh is taking TCAPS this week. He's much more excited about all of the free time they're getting after the tests are over. :) Hope he does well!

Pinewood Derby

2010-02-22T09:40:00.002-05:00

Josh's Pinewood Derby was this weekend.

He and Phil made an awesome orange car. Josh drew out the design.

Josh placed 1st in the Bears and 11th over all in his Pack (out of about 40 boys, I think). He did an awesome job!!

Conversation with the girls...

2010-02-02T07:44:00.002-05:00

Phil was putting the girls to bed last night (I was at scouts w/ Josh) and he had an interesting conversation with the girls (this may not be exactly right, but close).

Somehow they were talking about God and Jesus. Phil told them that God was everywhere. Callie said that He was NOT in her room right then. Phil told her that He was. She said, "But I can't see Him!". Phil said that He's in our hearts. One of them said something about how God wasn't in their tummies. I think it was Emma that said something about Him being under their food. (Where did that come from?).

Next, Callie said God died on a cross. Phil told her that Jesus was the one that died on the cross. She was quiet for a few minutes and said, "I'm NOT going to do that, because that hurts!". Phil said, "Exactly...that's why HE died on the cross - so YOU don't have to!" :)

End of January

2010-01-25T10:06:00.003-05:00

Not a lot to post, but thought I'd try to do more than 1 entry a month. :)

The girls went to a birthday party this weekend at Chuck E Cheese. It was at 9:30 in the morning and I believe that's the best time to go. It wasn't crowded at all! The girls had a blast. They won about 400 tickets between them and wound up w/ several little trinkets (bracelet, comb, candy and tattoos). They were happy and they want to go again.

Josh and Phil went to a movie Saturday morning. Josh won 2 tickets for selling popcorn. The theater was reserved just for the scouts (well, not sure it was even open at the time for the public anyway). Josh won a DVD about a funny story about the Pinewood Derby. I think he watched it 2-3 times this weekend.

It rained all day yesterday...not sure the last time it rained the whole entire day - not sure there was a break at all.

The girls have a cough right now - they don't feel bad and no fevers are involved. But, after the party, we kept them in the rest of the weekend.

Happy New Year

2010-01-11T08:40:00.002-05:00

Well, it's now 2010! When did that happen?

Everyone is doing well. The girls have started the Governor's Pre-K program at Cedar Bluff. They're having a blast! They really feel like big girls now. They have their backpacks and lunchboxes and are loving it!

Funnies from the girls:

Last night, the girls were saying their prayers. First of all, we didn't go to church yesterday morning (it was just plain too cold and we also woke up late - someone forgot to set the alarm). So, Callie starts her prayers and says, "Thank you for letting us go to church.". She looks up at me and asks, "Did we go to church today?" I told her we didn't. She asked me if everyone else went to church? I said yes. So, she starts her prayer again..."Thank you for letting everyone else go to church!".

I believe this one was Callie, too...she came downstairs last night, after she was suppose to be in bed asleep. Well, she caught me having a little snack. She asked me what I was eating...I told her that I was having a snack. She looked at me and said, "Well, you just had supper!". The girls always want a "snack" 2 seconds after they've eaten supper. I always tell them, "You've just had supper! You don't need a snack already."

We were getting ready to watch a movie yesterday afternoon and I told the girls that it might be a little scary. Emma just looks at me and says, "Mommy, it's just on tv, it's not scary!".

Josh is doing great in the 3rd grade! I'm glad he likes school! He starts Scouts back again tonight. I think he's missed it. He and Phil are getting ready to make their Pinewood Derby for the big race in February.

I can't believe it's November

2009-11-20T08:53:00.002-05:00

How did it get to be the end of November? Where has the time gone? :)

Josh is wrapping up basketball this weekend. He had his last practice last night and his last game is tomorrow. His team has won all but 1 game. The beat the team that they're playing tomorrow by 1 point, so hopefully, they can beat them again. :) Josh has had a really good time!

Callie is fully recovered from her surgery. She seems much happier now, too. She is still moody, but not as bad!

Emma is as cheery as ever. Every once in awhile, she tries to have a Callie-style attitude and just can't pull it off.

The girls are going to be in the Fantasy of Trees Parade next Wednesday. Their preschool class is participating in that.

The scouts are going to be in the Christmas parade next Sunday. That should be fun!

My office is closed next week, so I guess I'm on vacation next week. Phil and I are going to switch the kids' rooms around. We'll paint Josh's new room, too. They're all excited about getting "new" rooms.

Callie's Surgery

2009-10-22T19:14:00.002-04:00

Callie had her tonsils and adenoids taken out today. She has done a great job all day.

They gave her "happy juice" (like valium) about 30 minutes before her surgery. You could tell when it kicked in...she just looked at Phil and said, "Daddy, you have 2 faces and lots of teeth!". I guess that was some good stuff!

Callie's friend from daycare was in the bed right next to her having tubes put in and adenoids taken out, too. They've both had several bouts of strep - guess they kept giving it to each other, huh? Hopefully, both will do well after this surgery.

Callie has been very hungry today! It's been hard finding enough for her to eat - considering she wasn't suppose to eat much of anything! She's had cups and cups of apple juice, sprite, slushie, popsicle, applesauce, jello, can of soup and scrambled eggs...and she's still hungry!

She's still in some pain, but it's manageable w/ the medication. Hopefully, she'll do well tomorrow.

*******************

Josh got his 1st report card yesterday...he had all A's and 1 B (Language/Writing). We are very proud of him!!! We were kind of surprised at these grades, because at the mid-term, he had 4 B's and 1 A...he turned that around quite nicely (still can't complain w/ the B's)!

*******************

Emma came home from daycare sad today because she forgot a present for Callie. She loves taking care of her sister. I told her to bring it home tomorrow and she could surprise Callie tomorrow night. :)

Our week...

2009-10-02T09:16:00.001-04:00

Callie was diagnosed w/ strep again Monday night (she had just finished her last round of antibiotics on Saturday). This is the 3rd time in 2 months.

Long story short, she woke up Tuesday morning throwing up...her arms, legs and face were very red and hot to the touch (looked like a bad sunburn).

So, I called her pediatrician Tuesday morning thinking it was an allergic reaction to the medicine (even though it was the same stuff she had just finished and taken before). I also wanted to get a referral to our ENT. Well, the nurse said they couldn't do anything about her medicine since they didn't prescribe it (ER did). At first, she said to call them and see what they thought...then, the more we talked, she said, "Hang on, let me talk to one of the doctor's). She comes back and says, the dr wants to see her now. This was at 9:40...she said, "Be here by 10:00".

Her pediatrician (I had never met this Dr in the group before - I think she's fairly new to this office) at first thought it was Scarlet Fever and wanted to give her a shot of antibiotic. But, you could tell she was a little unsure of that diagnoses. She left the room and came back w/ 2 more doctors.

Every doctor that saw her throat that day had this to say about it: Nasty! Disgusting! Nice medical terms, huh?

Well, the next thing I know, we're in the back of an ambulance on the way to Children's Hospital. They were afraid she either had a staph infection or the strep had spread (which could be BAD). She was running a fever of about 100...her BP was very low and heart rate was high...that alone scared the doctors.

After a few hours in the ER, she finally stabilized (fever had gone up to 103). They admitted her so they could start IV antibiotics. By Tues evening, she was feeling MUCH better.

We wound up staying 2 nights so she could get the antibiotics.

We saw her ENT yesterday and she has surgery scheduled for Oct 22 to take out her tonsils and adenoids.

I just hope we can keep her well until then. Phil was diagnosed w/ Swine Flu yesterday (seems to be a fairly mild case). I am working hard to get things sanitized and keep the kids away from him (easier said than done).

Callie is w/ Mom today...I am finally back at work.

If Callie gets the flu, we have to postpone the surgery 6 weeks!

So, we have tons of Lysol spray, hand sanitizer, and Lysol wipes around the house right now. Phil is wearing a mask and gloves when we're there.

Things to Remember...

2009-09-16T08:18:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd better write these things down before I forget... :)

We were in Walmart the other day (the girls and I) and we passed by the underwear department...well, Callie sees the bras and points to them and asks why SHE doesn't have one of those! Oy! She's always asking me why I have "big" ones and she has little ones (using the word "ones"). This girl needs to stop growing up...she is only 4!!

Callie also told me that she wants "high" heels. She found a pair of shoes the other day that had a little heel on it (kind of strappy dressy shoes). I told her we would look for some "high" heels to wear with her dresses.

Last night, the girls had a cute conversation.

We were very casual for supper last night (Wendy's)...so the kids did more grazing than actually sitting at the table and eating. Well, after awhile, they had all pretty much eaten each other's food.

Well, Callie had a few of her fries left and we were sitting on the couch watching Dora (yes, she had food in the living room last night). Emma looked at her and this conversation happened:

Emma: Can I have a french fry?
Callie: Well, you ate my hamburger.
Emma: I'm sorry
Callie: Are you going to do that again?
Emma: No! I sorry!
Callie (handing Emma a fry): Well, I don't have any more big fries left, so you'll have to have a small one.
Emma: Thank you!

What's been going on?

2009-09-09T13:11:00.002-04:00

I'm not even sure where to start...

Callie & Emma are in their new Pre-K class at Daycare and seem to be loving it...they're the "big" kids now. :)

Emma just started speech this week. She has a new speech teacher who seems fantastic (and I really liked last year's teacher). Her old teacher now has a classroom so she's not doing individual speech sessions right now. Emma is still a little shy with her, but I think she will really open up to her.

I found out yesterday that Knox County offers a Governor's Pre-K class. Now, kids that are low income will qualify first, but now that school has started, we're hoping there are a couple of spots left. So, I filled out applications for Callie & Emma. It would be great to get them into the school system's Pre-K class. I think it will benefit both of them greatly - not to mention the huge daycare savings for us.

Josh has started scouts for the year. He and Phil are going on an overnight campout in a couple of weeks. I'm sure they'll have a blast! HA!

Josh is also going to play Upward Basketball this fall. He's suppose to start next week, but we haven't heard anything yet. Hopefully, we'll hear something soon! I need to find the contact information and email someone.

I know I came on here to post a funny from the kids, but I can't remember what it was! Oh well! Maybe I'll remember later.

Older and Wiser??

2009-09-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

Last night, Josh asked if he could watch TV before he went to bed. Even before I had a chance to answer, he said, "Just 1 show since it's 8:00". I told him he could watch 1 show and then he had to be in bed at 8:30.

He said, "I'm going to listen more now that I'm in the 3rd grade because I'm happier!". Huh?! I didn't realize he wasn't happy. :)

We'll see how long this "listening" spree goes on. HA!!

Summer Updates!

2009-08-12T18:02:00.002-04:00

Boy, what a summer!!

Josh had scout camp and basketball camp - what fun! He really enjoyed both.

Emma had her "big" surgery in July. Dr. Lucas did her bone graft and closed up the rest of her palate. She's doing great. She still has some sutures in her mouth, but those will eventually dissolve. The surgery only slowed her down for about a week. She lived on a lot of ice cream!

Callie has had a very eventful few weeks, too. On July 15, she had a mild, localized seizure. The dr went ahead and put her on anti-seizure medicine. A week and a half later, she was diagnosed w/ strep. A week after that, she was diagnosed w/ Fifth Disease (viral). For all we know, these 2 illnesses could have triggered the seizure. She has been having some shaking episodes since then. She has an EEG scheduled in a couple of weeks. We'll see what that shows and then discuss the viral infection w/ the doctor. We didn't know about that when we were there last (it showed up later that afternoon).

Josh starts school on Monday. I don't think he's looking forward to it too much yet. He's had a good summer. :)

He went to Memphis for a few days after Emma's surgery and had a blast with Wendy.

He's spent a few days here and there with Grandmother and Granddaddy, too. He and Callie went to a Magic Show the day of Emma's surgery. He just went to a Chinese acrobat show, too.

Hopefully, our fall and winter are more calm than our summer. At least we didn't have any broken bones this summer! Yay!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

2009-06-10T09:31:00.004-04:00

You are 8 years old today!! You are growing up into such a fine young man. Daddy and I are very proud of you!!

This year, you had a Mad Scientist party and had a blast!!

Today, we are going to Red Robin for lunch and you have chosen to go to Burger King for supper. :) I guess today is a day of hamburgers.

Updates

2009-06-02T09:01:00.003-04:00

Once again, it's been forever since I've updated.

We just got back from Orlando and we had a great time! We were there for 7 nights. We stayed in the Sheraton Vistana Resort and it was great! This place had 7 pools. We found our favorite one and played there most of the time.

We went to Seaworld for 2 days. The kids loved the whales and dolphins. They enjoyed the rides (even Emma rode the roller coaster). Callie didn't enjoy the walking around, but she did enjoy the "events" (shows, rides, etc.).

Scott came and joined us for a few days, too. The kids loved having him there!! :)

Scout camp starts today. Josh was very excited about it. He even told me to just drop him off...I didn't need to get out and walk him over to his group. So, I did! They have it set up so you drive right up to your den...several of his friends were already there when we got there.

The girls will be going to VBS starting tomorrow.

Josh's birthday party is this Saturday. We're doing a Mad Scientist theme! I think the kids will have a lot of fun! I hope I can make this cake! I'm making a flask cake that I found in a magazine.

We should have about 10 kids there (counting our own).

Fun sayings from the kids

2009-03-16T08:49:00.002-04:00

It's been too long since I've updated!

Here are a few cute things the girls have said this past weekend.

Emma: "Mommy, you're my best friend in the whole world!". :)

We were walking down the sidewalk in a shopping center. Every 50 feet or so, there were a few stairs and a ramp. Well, we first walked down the stairs and the next time, we walked down the ramp...kept repeating this. Callie said, "Mommy, we're making a pattern". :) Smart girl!

Callie & Emma were sitting on mom's lap and Callie was saying, "Arf! Arf! Arf!". She finally said, "I'm barking!". Mom told her she must be a dog. So, she looked at Emma and asked her if she was a kitty cat? Emma's response? "No, I'm a people".

We took the kids to Pigeon Forge this weekend for a little spring break get away. We stayed at the Governor's Crossing Resort. It had a really nice pool area with water slides and everything. I bet Josh went down those slides 100 times Friday night. He LOVED them! He's become quite the water bug. :)

A potato is coming to our class!!

2009-02-11T16:25:00.003-05:00

This is what Callie told me when she got home from school today. :) I had no idea what she was talking about!

Phil finally said they were talking about tornadoes!! Oh!!!

We're in the middle of some pretty bad storms and have had a tornado warning a good part of the day for this area.

So, Callie's potato is really a tornado! :)

I don't want Slushie Joes!

2009-01-22T17:11:00.001-05:00

This is what Callie said when she found out we were having Sloppy Joes for supper tonight. I asked her if Sloppy Joes would be okay then...she said, "Yes". :) Oh, the mind of an almost 4 year old! LOL

I don't want a spanking!

2009-01-14T14:05:00.003-05:00

I went upstairs the other night to find the girls with a pencil. I'm still not quite sure where they got it, but they had it. They had also created some nice artwork on the wall (well, mostly scribbles).

Callie immediately said Emma had done it. I asked Emma who had written on the wall and she said, "Callie and me". :)

I said, "Callie, did you write on the wall?"
Callie: "I don't want a spanking!"
Me: "Callie, did you write on the wall?"
Callie: "I don't want a spanking!"

This went back and forth for a minute or 2 (did I say I was going to give them a spanking?).

Well, I did give them each a small spanking (they didn't even cry). The wall they wrote on is in bad shape - no excuse for writing on the wall, but not worth getting too upset about.

Well, later, Phil went back upstairs to check on them (they were still up). He asked about the writing on the wall.

Callie's response? "Mommy already spanked me!". :)

Hopefully, they'll remember the next time NOT to write on the wall!

Brag on Callie

2009-01-13T08:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Callie's teacher said that she worked on patterns/sequences (they're doing 1 on 1 w/ the kids and it was Callie's turn). Her teacher said Callie got everything right! She said she started making the patterns harder, but Callie was always able to tell her what the next item in the sequence was.

I have to say this, Callie & Emma are the youngest ones in the class (they're not yet 4 and they're in the 4 year old class). I am so proud of Callie!

Maybe Emma will have her turn today, but I think she will do just as well.

Their other teacher told me this morning that they've been having trouble w/ some of the older kids in the class not being able to get the pattern/sequence thing down, so I'm very proud of my girls for being able to get it (I'm assuming Emma will be able to do it, too). :)

After Christmas...

2009-01-07T10:00:00.004-05:00

I have been bad at keeping up w/ this blog. Let's see, what all has happened since Christmas? :)

Josh went back to school yesterday. He really enjoyed the time off, but I think he was excited about getting back to it, too. He came home and talked non-stop of things going on. I'm not even sure what all he was saying because he didn't take a breath between stories.

Two nights ago, I wasn't feeling very good (just coughing stuff). Anyway, I was sitting on the bed after the girls got out of the tub. I was helping Emma get her pj's on and she asked why I was sitting on the bed (usually, I stand and she's on the bed). Anyway, I just said that I didn't feel very good. So, she gives me this huge hug and then reaches up and gives me a kiss. She looks at me for a second and then laughs. She said, "I got snooter nose on your face!". (Snooter nose = runny nose). Yes, she had a runny nose when she kissed me and left some on my cheek. We both got a good laugh out of that one.

Callie was excited to get back to school, too. However, she keeps having these unexpected accidents. She seems to forget to go to the bathroom. I'm not sure if she's uncomfortable about pooping at school, so she just does it in her pants!? She hasn't had an accident at home in weeks. I'm not sure what's up w/ that. So, I bribed her today. I told her if she could go all day without an accident (Emma, too), we'd go get a special treat (probably a Slushie from Sonic). :) I'm tired of doing all of the laundry she's generating! I hope today is a better day!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T20:06:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. I think the kids were very happy with what Santa brought them. Later, Callie was a tad upset that we didn't have a birthday cake for Jesus, though.

We went to Scott's on Christmas Eve and had lots of fun. We went to Kingsport on Christmas Day and spent the night. Junior & Beverly fixed us a wonderful breakfast the day after Christmas.

It's good to get back to normal, I think.

This past weekend, we celebrated Nannie's 100th birthday. There was a big Butler birthday party for her and I think she really enjoyed herself.

The girls have just gotten over ear infections and seem to be doing fine w/ that. Unfortunately, they gave me their cough. Phil's been loading me up with Vitamin C...not sure if it's doing any good, but I guess it can't hurt. :)

I want little hair!

2008-11-24T13:17:00.001-05:00

On the way to school this morning, Callie kept complaining about her hair being in her face when she turned her head. She finally said, "I want little hair like you and daddy!". Poor thing! She has such gorgeous hair that I can't bring myself to get it cut. It's just so dry right now, that she has "fly away" hair and it's driving her nuts. I guess I need to start pulling it back more.

I'd trade hair w/ her in a heartbeat! :)

Halloween and stuff...

2008-11-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

This was a fun Halloween (yeah, right). I had an upper respiratory infection and felt like poo. Emma went to be Thursday night w/ an obvious ear infection. So, the 2 of us spent Friday morning at the doctor's office. :) Luckily, Emma didn't act like she felt bad until she laid down. At any rate, both of us are better now (I'm still slightly stopped up).

We took the kids to the mall on Halloween night. That actually worked out nicely. We weren't outside in the cold (not that it was that cold) and the kids got more candy than they would have in the neighborhood. We spent about 30-45 minutes walking around getting candy and then the kids were ready to go home! HA!

This year, Josh was a race car driver; Callie was a witch; Emma was a ladybug (same as last year). They were all excited about going trick or treating this year. It was a lot of fun, even if we didn't all feel well.

Josh has a busy 2 weeks ahead of him (well, now about 1 1/2 weeks). He has a project due at school. He has to do a report and a diorama on the hammerhead shark. That should be fun!

He also has a Gingerbread house to decorate for Scouts. They take them to the Fantasy of Trees to sell. It was a lot of fun last year. Hopefully, we can do something pretty this year.

Josh also has to do a book report on a Thanksgiving book. I guess we'd better find that book soon! I don't think that one is due for another 2 weeks.

On top of that, the next 2 weekends are booked. Phil's parents are coming down this weekend and I'll write more about next weekend later. :)

I think I'm going to have a nightdare!

2008-10-29T08:52:00.003-04:00

Just before going to bed last night, Callie said, "I think I'm going to have a nightdare tonight and it's going to wake me up. It might be loud!". The night before, she woke up and came into our room saying 2 spiders were in her bed trying to get her. Oh, the imagination this girl has!

That being said, Callie didn't have a "nightdare" last night...Emma did...or maybe she fell out of bed - we're not sure. All we know is she screamed for 20 minutes - a "mean" scream, not a scream like she was in pain. We're not sure if she was awake or not, but it was getting rather old at 2:00 in the morning. She finally calmed down and climbed into bed with us. She said she fell out of bed and hit her head and that's why she was crying/screaming. I'm not sure if that was it or not, but I was glad when she calmed down. :) She cuddled w/ us for a little while and then disappeared back to her bed.

This is the 3rd night there has been a child in our bed...we're starting to feel the lack of sleep (at least I am).

I hope tonight is much quieter and everyone stays in their own bed!!

Nice Evening at Home

2008-10-09T16:00:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I think someone comes in an possesses my children. Last night was one of those nights. First of all, our kids really do get along well with each other - most of the time. :)

Yesterday afternoon, the girls and I drove in. Josh immediately comes down to greet us (like he usually does). Well, when we went upstairs, he took the girls into the living room to play. I then heard, "Hey Callie! Come here! Do you want to watch Dora?" Josh usually gets a little cranky if we turn his shows off to watch what the girls want to watch. So, this surprised me a little that he was offering to let them watch Dora! Way to go, Josh!

Then, at supper, I ran out of Doritos (w/ my soup) and I just said, "Oh look! I ran out of Doritos!". Josh said, "Here, you can have the rest of mine!". Doritos are his favorites!

Before that, I told the kids were were having left over soup (again). Callie isn't a soup eater, so she told me she didn't want any. I told her I would make her a cheese sandwich. She told me she wanted a sandwich with just jelly on it. I told her that I had to put some peanut butter on it because she wasn't just having a jelly sandwich. Well, instead of throwing a fit, she said, "Okay, Mommy! Thank you!" in the sweetest voice!

I wish every evening was like that! Everyone was so polite! :)

Playing Catch up again!

2008-09-24T13:54:00.002-04:00

We found out on Monday that Josh needs glasses. We knew he was possibly having some problems seeing in the distance, but we didn't realize how bad it was! He never showed any signs of not being able to see. His teacher did tell us he was having trouble seeing the board, which is what prompted us to go ahead and make him an appointment. He's blind as a bat (20/200). He should be getting his new glasses tomorrow or Friday.

Callie has a neurologist appointment on Friday - this is just a follow up to make sure she's doing okay. She's actually been doing just fine. Her temper isn't even quite as bad as it used to be - not perfect, but not horrible either. :)

Emma is getting ready to have a new "friend" join her in speech next week. It's another 3 year old child and both will be taught at the same time. It will be interesting to see how she does with someone else in there. I think she'll do just fine. Emma's a little social butterfly when she wants to be. :)

We bought another new dishwasher today (3rd dishwasher we've had since we got married 11 years ago). We got a Frigidaire this time. Let's see if this one lasts any longer than the others - HA!

September 9

2008-09-09T11:02:00.003-04:00

How did it get to be Sept 9? Wow!

The kids are all doing great. Josh was released by his doctor yesterday. He said Josh could do whatever he wanted to on his leg - it had healed beautifully. Josh wasn't so sure he wanted to go back to gym, though. He still can't run and walk normally yet. The dr said it could be a good month before he's back to normal.

The girls are next in line to go into the 4 year old room. The problem? They won't consistently use the bathroom. They're never going to be 100% potty trained!

Funnies from the girls:

The other night, they were getting ready for bed. Emma discovered that she had several shadows of her arms. She thought it was pretty funny. Phil told her she was an octopus. She said, "No, I'm not! I can talk!". :) The next night, she and Callie both wanted to see if they could be an octopus.

Phil chanced the toilet handles the other night. Callie asked me, "Why did daddy get 2 new potty flushers?". I love the new term...that's all I'm ever going to think about now...they'll always be potty flushers!

Josh is loving 2nd grade. He has the most awesome teacher in the world. Ms. Hullander is great - she's a science teacher (probably have said that before) and she really gets the kids interested in all kinds of things!! They're working on a project right now to discover the origin of their name. :) I guess we'll start working on that one tonight. These kids are starting to really write...not just little sentences - learning paragraph structure and grammar. :)

I guess we need to take Josh to the eye doctor. He had a vision test at school and for the 2nd time, they said he might be having trouble seeing at a distance...it wasn't anything obvious, but it's happened twice now. The first time they just said to wait and see what happens...he doesn't show any signs of not being able to see at home. He does like to sit close to our bedroom tv, but he's right, you really can't see it from the bed (I can't anyway).

More Updates

2008-08-26T10:36:00.004-04:00

I'm getting really bad at updating.

Let's see...school started on August 11. Josh is in the 2nd grade. He had to go to school w/ his cast on for the first 2 days. He got it off on the 12th and then went back to walking w/ the walker for about a week. He's walking pretty good now - still limping some, but getting there.

Emma started speech this morning. She'll be going twice a week during the school year.

I was taking Callie to school this morning (without Emma - Phil took her to speech) and she said, "Where's my sister? I want to see my sister, Emma!". I told her where Emma was and that she would be at daycare soon. She was really cute. :)

Emma burned her fingers over the weekend. The kids were at mom & dad's while Phil & I went out to eat for our anniversary (YUM). She touched a hot pot. She had 2 little blisters on her fingers. Luckily, she's okay and the blisters are practically gone.

Phil & I went to Calhoun's for our anniversary. Some good friends of ours gave us a $50 gift card for there (in appreciation for all the work Phil has done at church lately - church database stuff). So, we had an excellent meal of prime rib. It was nice to get out alone.

Updates

2008-08-05T10:17:00.003-04:00

I'm not very good at updating this!

The girls were funny this morning.

Callie said, "I want to be a mommy! I want to be you!" (talking to me).
Emma said, "I want to be a daddy!".

I told her she couldn't be a daddy because daddy's are boys. She repeated that bit of information.

Then Emma said, "Well, I'll be a mommy, too!". :)

********************
School starts Monday. I can't believe it's already time! We're going to send Josh to daycare tomorrow in hopes that he'll start walking on his cast. He's pretty excited about going since Nick will be there. :) He hasn't seen him all summer.

His friend Grant came by a couple of weeks ago and played. They had the best time!!! We really need to get the 3 boys together more often.

*******************
Phil & Chuck have most of the house painted now (in 2 1/2 days). They're going to start painting the front tonight and in the morning. I imagine they'll have it done by tomorrow afternoon. They're going to do the trim after Chuck gets back from a business trip.

It's amazing how quickly a house can be painted when you just do it!!

Updates

2008-07-27T16:29:00.002-04:00

Josh is now in a walking cast...he got that Thursday. He's just now starting to walk on it a little, though. He's a little afraid to walk too much. :)

We're in the middle of getting our house painted. We hired the guy (from church) back in May...less than 1/3 of the house is painted right now. We've really had a time getting this guy to show up and really put in a full day. He doesn't seem to be worried that it's taking him so long and doesn't understand why we're frustrated. We've had several friends say that they'll organize a painting party and have it done in no time. I believe them when they say that, too! I'll just be glad to get it done. We've had to put our lives on complete hold during this painting project. Never again!

Update on Josh's leg

2008-07-11T21:13:00.002-04:00

He is doing so much better. He's no longer in pain. :)

We bought a small wheelchair and walker for him and this is the first week that he's been able to use them successfully.

He's been able to get around so much better this week. He definitely has an improved attitude!! He's able to get off of the couch now and play in the floor without having to be picked up. :)

Wendy took him to see a movie today (in the wheelchair). They let him in free because he was in a wheelchair! LOL

How to eat cheesecake

2008-07-11T21:11:00.002-04:00

Josh - takes a nibble and decided that the strawberries and syrup were better than the cheesecake.

Callie - "I don't like that"

Emma - Bring it on and let me eat it all! :)

Our kids are so predictable! They're at Mom & Dad's right now (w/ Wendy, too) and mom made cheesecake today.

I think Emma was the only one that was impressed with it. :)

Josh broke his leg!

2008-06-19T18:04:00.002-04:00

Josh was at a summer day camp on Tuesday and was on this platform teeter/totter thing. He got pushed off and the board fell on his leg. It broke his tibia.

We went straight to the pediatrician who was able to x-ray it. Unfortunately, they couldn't cast it. They put a brace on it and sent us home w/ pain medicine. I really wish we had gone straight on to the ER instead.

Around 9:00 that night, Josh was in extreme pain - screaming out in a major way. We finally took him to the ER and they put a half cast on it (the cast is up the back of his leg and wrapped in the front). It's up to his thigh.

He'll be in this for 2 weeks and then have a regular cast put on then. For now, we have to carry him everywhere he goes. :(

Happy Birthday, Josh!!

2008-06-12T09:29:00.003-04:00

I'm a couple days late posting this, but wanted to wish Josh a very Happy 7th Birthday on June 10.

We went to Kingsport last weekend. Josh got lots of clothes from Grandmother and Granddaddy. He got a Lego RC car from Beverly & Junior (very cool).

We got him an Ipod Nano (Phil's idea). He LOVES it!

This Saturday, he's having a birthday party at the bowling alley. He's invited his 2 best friends, Nick and Grant (and Nick's brother, Mitch). He's going to have a ball!!

After that, we're going back home to have a family party. We're going to have a baked potato bar (Josh has a new love for baked potatoes). I'll make a big pot of chili and we'll also have salad stuff, so we can do potatoes, salads or "Petros".

I have to go potty!!!!

2008-06-12T09:27:00.002-04:00

We were in the middle of church last night, sitting on the far side of the room (we usually sit near the door, but got there too late to get our normal seat).

Anyway, Emma yells out, "I have to go potty!!!" several times. :)

I take her and Callie and climb over everyone in our row...we finally got outside and on our way to the bathroom.

We meet at the YMCA in Farragut right now and the only bathroom is in another part of the building. :)

Both girls actually went (yay). After that, we just hung out outside until the kids were dismissed to their classes. I wasn't about to climb all over everyone again (and yet again to take them back out to class).

Scout Camp - Day 1

2008-06-03T14:43:00.002-04:00

Today was the first day of Scout Camp. Josh was a little nervous since he really didn't know what to expect. He was especially nervous about shooting a BB gun. He's never had any exposure to guns and he was afraid it would be too loud.

Well, they shot off the guns today and he LOVED it. He said it wasn't too loud at all. :) I just hope he doesn't want one for Christmas. :)

I'm not sure what all he did (yet), but he did say they brought in zoo animals for them to see.

I'm anxious to get home to find out more. He can't wait to go back tomorrow!

Potty Training

2008-06-02T11:43:00.001-04:00

Yes, the girls are pushing 3 1/2 and are just now starting to really get interested in the potty. Oy!!

Saturday was a good day. I think the only accident Emma had was when she was napping (oh, and she pooped in her pullup). Callie had a couple of accidents, but did pretty well, too!

Sunday, they sat on the potty several times, but did nothing. I hope today is a better day!

I'll be glad when they're out of diapers!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T13:49:00.002-04:00

The weekend started nice...we took the kids to the zoo and they had a blast. While we were there, my mom called to say my aunt had passed away. She had lung cancer and had only found out 3 weeks before. She didn't want to call the family and worry them.

Mom & I went to the funeral in Fredericksburg, VA. We stopped in WVa and picked up my other aunt, so the 3 of us could ride together.

The service was nice...they did a military service at the graveside since she had been in the Navy (flag and taps).

We got home late Tuesday afternoon.

I think Emma missed me the most. :) That night, she didn't want me to leave the room when it was time for bed. I held her for awhile and then put her down. I had to go back upstairs later because she was crying. I rubbed her head and she said, "Can I just sit in your lap?". I held her for awhile longer and then she went to sleep. The next morning, she came running into our bedroom yelling, "There's mommy! There's mommy!!".

I got big hugs from the other 2, but they were okay. As a matter of fact, Josh went over to Mom & Dad's last night to stay for a night or 2. They were going to plant flowers, but it's been a little rainy today.

Wendy's coming in tomorrow for Josh's birthday. It so happens that it's Scott's birthday, too. Josh's birthday isn't for another couple of weeks, but she can't come in then. I think we're going to try to get together Friday night and have a cookout. I just hope Scott can get off of work in time to join us - since it IS his birthday! :)

Update on Callie

2008-05-15T08:59:00.003-04:00

We saw the neurologist yesterday regarding Callie's seizure.

We didn't really get the news we wanted to, but it's not all bad.

Basically, Callie is probably going to have more seizures - conditions are there for them to happen again. The lesion on her brain isn't going away.

We can treat with medicine if we want. The doctor said they don't typically give medicine after only 1 seizure, but since her condition is slightly different, we might want to consider it - just to prevent any future problems. It also might help with her behavior. It is possible that the lesion is causing the sporadic and very bad behavior.

Callie often "wakes up" at night screaming. You can't console her when this is happening. She won't let you touch her or talk to her. It usually takes about 10 minutes before she's "reasonable" again. I personally don't think she's aware of what is going on during this time. The dr said this could very well be an electrical problem in her brain that is causing this (not quite a seizure, but behavior caused by the lesion).

He gave us Diazepam to keep with us at all times in case another seizure happens. If it lasts more than 3 minutes, then we have to give this to her (it's a suppository). Hopefully, we'll never have to use it.

We will go back for a follow up visit with him in about 3-4 months.

Until then, we'll monitor her behavior and see if anything changes, document her mood each morning to see if there's any pattern to her moodiness/behavior, etc.

She will have to have an MRI about once a year to make sure the lesion is not changing.

So, right now, we're just in a wait and see mode.

More Updates

2008-05-08T10:02:00.002-04:00

I'm not doing a very good job at keeping up with this!

Emma just got over a viral thing (throat) - ran high fever for a couple of days, no appetite, etc. She finally got over that and is feeling good!!

On Monday, Callie started running a high fever and complaining that her tummy hurt. Well, Monday night, I couldn't get her fever down so we called the doctor. They said to take her into the ER since she was still complaining about her tummy hurting (possibly her appendix?).

Anyway, I took her in at 11:00 Monday night. They did a throat culture, negative for strep. They did a urine test - negative...not sure about her tummy, but nothing serious. So, to make a long story short, she had the same thing Emma did. We didn't get home until 4:00 in the morning and neither of us napped during that time.

Callie went to daycare today...she's feeling better! I just hope she makes it all day. She was sad when she found out she missed Gym Bus. :(

Josh had field day at school yesterday. He had a great time! He came home w/ lots of ribbons. We went and watched him in the morning. He loved having us there! :)

School will be out in the next few weeks. We're trying to figure out what to do with Josh this summer. Daycare has really gone up in price and we're just not going to pay that much. Luckily, they're working with us and we can pay when he's there.

He has scout camp in June. He's also going to go to Art Camp and a Day camp at a local church. I think we're going to wear him out, but I hope he has fun! :)

Updates

2008-04-24T09:32:00.003-04:00

Geez - it's been awhile since I've posted!

Let's see if I can remember everything I wanted to post. :)

Funnies from Callie:

We were in the car going home from daycare...

Callie: Kim?
Me: Yes?
Callie: Where's Philip?
Me: At home!

(Philip's daddy). She has learned our names now. HA!

Emma's daycare teacher said she was walking around the classroom today singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of her lungs. :) She was totally oblivious to anyone else around. The girl loves to sing!

Josh's scouts had Rocket Day at the last meeting. It was really neat. They made rockets out of 2 liter coke bottles and decorated them w/ construction paper. They looked very cool! They also had stations set up...there were nerf rockets (the ones you jump on to make fly), there was a balloon station - blew up long balloons and let them fly. This was neat because the wind was blowing some and many of the balloons went clear across the field. The boys shot off their coke bottle rockets w/ water and compressed air - it was amazing how far the rockets went! There were also some model rockets they launched. Josh didn't care for those because they released some smoke (he has this great fear of fires right now).

We think Emma has an ear infection. She has an appointment this afternoon w/ our ENT. Hopefully, he can get her some relief!

I'm sure lots more has happened over the last few weeks - just can't remember!! :)

I want Emma back!!

2008-04-09T13:45:00.002-04:00

Those were the 1st words I heard out of Callie's mouth when I picked them up from daycare yesterday.

It seems that Emma didn't wake up earlier enough from her nap to go outside w/ the 1st group that goes out. So, the girls got "separated". :)

Well, Emma was outside when I picked them up and I don't guess Callie liked that! It was so cute! "I want Emma back!!"

There are 16 3 year olds in this class, so they do split them up to take them outside - 1 teacher inside and 1 outside.

So proud of Josh!!

2008-04-02T07:48:00.004-04:00

Josh brought home a project they've been working on at school and there was a note on it from his teacher. It said that Josh had done the BEST job in the WHOLE class!! :) He really did do a great job! It's nice to hear that from time to time!

Last week, he brought home a paper that had been laminated. He said that only the best from each class got chosen to display on the wall. His was chosen! :)

He loves to color and draw and does a fabulous job!

Yay Josh!!!

Stuff

2008-04-01T14:41:00.003-04:00

Josh had his Raingutter Regatta last night at scouts...they had to "build" a boat from a kit and race them in a gutter last night by blowing on them. :) Josh won one of his races, so he was happy.

While they were gone, Callie fell and hit her lip on a wooden box. It bled and bled. I finally got it stop bleeding - we went to the living room to sit down and keep some ice on it. Emma never left Callie's side. She was trying to give her hugs (while Callie was still screaming and crying). Emma rubbed Callie's back and tried to make it all better. I'm not sure if Callie even noticed.

Callie was fine - her lip was a little swollen and looked like she bit it (which she may have).

This morning, Callie got up and said she was going to show Maddie that she hurt her "wip". And then she was going to show Miss Anna (teacher at daycare). :) She was proud of her hurt wip.

Callie - EEG

2008-03-26T13:16:00.002-04:00

Callie had an EEG this morning - still testing from the seizure she had a couple of weeks ago.

We got a call from the hospital yesterday that said we needed to keep her up until midnight and then get her up at 4:00. HA! They don't know Callie...she ASKS to go to bed if she's up past 7:30.

She actually did quite well. We stayed up until 11:00. Phil got her up at 5:00 (close enough, huh?). She couldn't eat or drink anything after 7:00, so Phil gave her something to drink, but she didn't take much.

By the time we got to daycare, she was sleepy, but did okay.

I picked her up at 9:00 and headed to the hospital. She got back there a few minutes after 10:00.

She did perfectly! She never fussed, cried, moved, etc. during the whole thing. She fell asleep on my lap for the sleep part of the test. It took her about 10 minutes to fall asleep and another 10 minutes or so to do the test. She was the perfect patient!!

Afterwards, we went to the cafeteria and got her some mac n cheese (her request).

Since she did so well, she got to pick a toy out of the treasure chest. She picked out a penguin beanie baby (they had good toys in there). :)

They said it will be 3-5 business days before we get the results. Hopefully, we'll have them by the end of the week.

I took her back to daycare just in time for a nap.

Emma was on her cot. When she saw me, she popped her head up, smiled and waved at me. Then she went back down.

Update on Callie

2008-03-17T13:51:00.002-04:00

We took Callie to the pediatrician this morning to get more tests scheduled because of her seizure. The dr was a little concerned that the seizure seemed to be localized rather than just a general seizure. It seems that it was just her face that was twitching, not her whole body.

Anyway, we have an EEG scheduled for next Wednesday. We are also waiting on a call from the hospital to schedule an MRI. Hopefully, everything will turn out okay. It's better to be safe than sorry!

Callie has been perfectly normal since Thursday - no signs of anything to come.

Scary Morning

2008-03-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

We were almost at daycare and Callie had a seizure. She's NEVER done this before. She was cranky this morning (but is quite often in the morning). I heard a noise that I thought was a funny giggle at first, but then it didn't sound right. I looked in the back seat and her face was twitching really bad.

Luckily, I was literally pulling into daycare. By the time I got the girls out of the car, only her mouth was twitching. I took her (and Emma) inside and wanted one of the teachers to look at her. She knew what to do - had her walk across the room, try to squeeze our hand, etc.

She could walk, but you could tell she was a little spacey.

I left Emma and took Callie...called Phil and he said to get to Children's Hospital immediately. After a few seconds, we decided I would just pick him up (Callie was acting better)...he had to call my back dr and cancel my appt this morning.

Her blood tests and CT scan test came back normal (thank goodness). The dr said he has seen this happen in many children and it's a one time thing.

I do have to call my pediatrician and set up an MRI and an EEG (?) for her just to rule out anything the other tests didn't catch...those tests were just for the "biggies".

Please keep her in your prayers. She's acting normal now, but it's taken almost 3 hours to get to that stage. She was very quiet and lethargic up until then.

Needless to say, she took a few years off of my life this morning!!

Another one is gone...

2008-03-12T09:28:00.002-04:00

Josh lost another tooth yesterday. He lost one of his top, front teeth. He's looking pretty snaggly up there. He has 1 lone tooth in the front (the one he chipped and is now brown). He's really wishing that brown tooth would fall out. :) It's not loose yet, though.

The tooth fairy came last night and left him $2. I think he was too sleepy this morning to really care. :)

Callie has decided that she wants to start losing teeth, too. Then she and Emma both told me that they had a Dora pink and purple tooth. :)

I took a picture last night, but haven't posted it yet - it's still sitting on the camera. We'll eventually take it off and then I'll post one (if I remember).

Busy Weekend

2008-03-10T09:09:00.002-04:00

This has been a very busy weekend for us!

Friday, I had joint injections done in my back to see if it would relieve some of the pain. It's worked a little, but not 100%. I guess I can live with this, though. The doctor did say there was another procedure if this didn't work. It would involve burning the nerves around the painful area. I'm not sure if that sounds good or not, but he said he's had some great success out of this. We'll see.

Josh and I went to see Peter Pan on Saturday at the Cumberland County Playhouse. We went with my Mom & Dad. We had a great time. Josh was so excited about seeing Peter Pan that we had to go to the video store that very evening to see if we could check out the movie. Unfortunately, we could only find a cartoon and he wasn't interested in that. He wanted to see the "real" Peter Pan. After much research, I don't think it really exists. :) There is a "movie" w/ Cathy Rigby, but it doesn't seem to really be available anywhere. From what I understand, if you order it, what you really get is a remake of the movie that is more "modern like".

Phil took the girls to Kingsport to see his family. His mom hasn't seen them since Christmas (she's had shingles). They had a great time!

Sunday afternoon, Josh's best friend had his birthday party at the zoo. It was pretty fascinating. The zoo was closed during his party. We got a private tour around the zoo and really learned a lot of different facts about the animals that are there. The girls got to go to this party, too. They love the zoo!!

Smart Girls

2008-03-06T08:55:00.002-05:00

Last night, Phil was telling the girls how pretty their outfits were. He then asked him if HE could wear their outfits.

Emma looks at him with a serious look in her eyes and says, "It won't fit you, Daddy". Callie looks at him and says, "You need a bigger outfit, Daddy". :)

I'm kind of surprised at their logic and figuring that out instead of just saying, "No, it's mine" or "Yes, you can have it, Daddy".

MRI Results

2008-03-01T08:53:00.001-05:00

Well, big surprise, the MRI results showed nothing. There was some bulging and degeneration of the discs, but no herniation. That's the way it always goes with me - never any "normal" results for the pain I'm having. The same thing happened with my gall bladder. The tests never showed anything conclusive - so, I spent a year having test after test done before they finally took it out (no problems since).

Anyway, I am going in next Friday to have joint injections done to see if that relieves any of the pain.

I've been in PT for the last couple of weeks. I usually feel okay when I leave there, but by the next day, the pain's back again. Ugh!

Scout Banquet

2008-02-26T10:33:00.003-05:00

We had a scout banquet Saturday night for the boys to "advance" to the next level. Josh received his Tiger Badge and is now ready to start working on his Wolves badge. :) We're so proud of him!!

I think Phil and I have agreed to be co-den parents next year (there's one more dad going to be involved, too). Hopefully, it won't be too much to handle! :)

Check out the pictures (in the link in the title) to Josh's banquet - he looks so handsome in his uniform!

The girls had a good time, too. Callie said she liked the dragons and Emma said she liked the Indians.

Nice Callie & Josh moments

2008-02-22T12:07:00.003-05:00

This morning, Callie brought a bottle of lotion downstairs so she could have some (I guess she couldn't get it by herself).

Well, we were literally on our way out the door. Phil took Josh & Emma on downstairs. The next thing I knew, Callie was going upstairs. I asked her where she was going and she said, "I taking the wotion back upstairs and putting it away." This is something Emma would do without thinking about it...this is a little unexpected for Callie. :)

Emma took poptarts w/ her this morning. She had one and there was one left over. I asked Callie if she wanted it. She said No. So, I gave it to Josh. Just as he was about to take a bit, Callie decided she wanted some of it. Josh said he would split it in half. Well, it didn't quite split in half - one piece was much bigger. He said Callie could have the bigger piece. :) He was so sweet!

Conversations

2008-02-22T07:55:00.003-05:00

Callie: Here you go, Mommy
Me: What is it?
Callie: It's a booger from my nose!
Me: Gee, thanks!

...and she was so proud of herself!!

Emma was rather cranky last night at supper (not unusual). Well, things weren't "perfect" for her. I made chicken noodle soup (which Emma was excited about). I gave her a bowl. She looked in it and started whining about the specks of veggies in it (I took the "boat motor" to the soup to really chop up the veggies). I told her I was not picking specks of carrots out of there. She got mad. Well, then, she wanted her yellow bowl (she had used it earlier for a snack). I said that was okay and dumped her soup in the yellow bowl. Well, that wasn't good enough either. She then decided she wanted my bowl (fairly big bowl - especially for her). Well, I gave it to her and she ate more than half of it. :)

During this time, Phil was trying to talk to Emma to calm her down.

Emma looks at him and says, "Don't talk to me!!" When did my little non-talking girl get so verbal and mean?

Josh looked at Emma and she fussed at him, too! "Go away, Josh!".

Towards the end of the meal, Josh decided he couldn't get his noodles up on his spoon, so he just took on in his fingers and ate it. Emma gave him the what for again!

Emma: Josh! Use your spoon!!! Use your spoon just like Emma is!! (She was happier at this point).

Another Emma conversation:

Phil was laying in bed w/ all of the kids while I was taking a bath.

Emma: Daddy! Get up!!
Phil: No, not yet
Emma: Yes, Ma'am!! Get up! (Okay, do we yes, ma'am her too much?)
Phil: No, not yet
Emma: Yes, Ma'am!!!

She's gotten quite bossy over the last couple of days!! :)

MRI

2008-02-21T12:44:00.003-05:00

I had an MRI done this morning on my back. I was in there for about 40 minutes. It was kind of interesting...you're in a very tight tube...close your eyes! LOL It was a little noisy, but not uncomfortable.

Anyway, I get the results back on Monday.

They gave me some exercises to do this week to see if that would help my back...I think things are getting worse. I've basically stopped doing them. Who knows what's going on w/ this back!! I just hope they can figure out what it is and fix it!

I've been on muscle relaxers/anti-inflammatory off and on since before Christmas. I've gone through PT once and now on to a 2nd round of it. Nothing is working!

3 year Update

2008-02-20T20:05:00.004-05:00

The girls had their 3 year check up today.

Callie grew 4 inches this past year!! Emma grew 2 inches.

Callie is now 39 1/4" and 36 lbs (90-92 percentile).
Emma is 35 1/4" and 28 1/2 lbs (13-27 percentile).

Both girls are doing fine. Callie has some enlarged tonsils, but he said that's fairly normal at this age. He said if they begin to bother her, then we'll look at taking them out. Otherwise, we'll leave them own and they should shrink as she gets older.

Emma will still suffer from sinus stuff (due to her cleft).

Over all, they're both very healthy and growing just fine.

I do worry about Callie growing so much, though - I hope she doesn't get too tall!! :)

Happy Birthday Girls!!

2008-02-17T19:22:00.004-05:00

Callie & Emma turned 3 on Saturday! It's almost hard to believe they're 3!

My family came over Friday night. Wendy came in from Memphis on Friday and went back Saturday. Scott was able to come over for a little while Friday night. We all had a good time.

Wendy brought in some BBQ from a little place near her house. It was yummy! We also got some chicken nuggets from Chick Fil-a. I made some cole slaw and baked beans.

The girls got their Dora cakes and were happy! :)

We had pictures made Saturday morning and a trip to the park in the afternoon. Pictures are posted on our site (link is in the title).

Happy Birthday Callie & Emma!!

Cupcakes

2008-02-14T10:10:00.003-05:00

Now I know why I like to buy cakes from the bakery. I am NOT a good cake decorator. :) I can't even ice cupcakes and make them look good. HA

Anyway, I did make cupcakes for the girls last night to take to daycare today. Hopefully, nobody will laugh at them too much. :) I know the kids won't care.

I know the girls will be thrilled that they have Dora on them. The cupcake papers had Dora on them, too. :) The girls helped me line the cupcake pans and lick the bowl.

I'm going to attempt making their cakes tonight/tomorrow. I'll take more time w/ them, so hopefully, they'll come out okay.

Speech Therapy

2008-02-13T14:49:00.003-05:00

Since Emma is about to turn 3, she will no longer be able to go to her speech therapist...she is "graduating" into the school system. We went through the evaluation that said she was qualified. :)

We met w/ the therapist this morning. I am really excited about what's going to happen. We're going to meet twice a week for 30 minutes each. We won't be in the room with Emma. That will be interesting. Who knows? That may actually work better.

I just hope Emma will talk. Emma's not known for talking on demand. Hopefully, once she gets to know this therapist, she'll feel comfortable enough to talk to her. She was just starting to get that way w/ the other therapist. Emma really liked her and was excited to go to therapy. But, when she got there, she clammed up.

We're going to play up the fact that she gets to go to Josh's "big school" for therapy. :) I think she'll really get a kick out of that!

Depending on everyone's schedule, she'll probably get to start next week. Although, I wouldn't mind if it was the week after. We have 3 other appointments next week to deal with. Oy!!

Stomach bug hit our house

2008-02-11T10:38:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Emma had some diarrhea...didn't think too much about it since she acted like she felt well.

Well, on Wednesday afternoon, I got a headache and my stomach was cramping. I went home early and had diarrhea all afternoon/evening.

At 1:00 in the morning, Josh wakes up and says his tummy is hurting. The next thing we know, he's throwing up all over the place. He threw up for about 3 hours (mostly dry heaves).

I started throwing up at 4:00 in the morning...for about 3 hours.

Josh and I spent all day on the couch (Thursday). I think Emma threw up a couple of times on Thursday, too. But again, never acted like she felt bad.

Josh went back to school on Friday (I'm surprised he was up to it, because I sure wasn't). He did fine...didn't eat much, but made it through the day. Emma threw up at school on Friday.

On Saturday, Emma spent all day on the couch. She didn't feel well, but didn't have any other symptoms.

Sunday - everyone seemed fine...still not eating much.

Sunday night/Monday morning, Emma threw up again. :( After that, she acted fine. So far, she's been good today.

Callie has been okay through most of this - she's had a few really messy diapers, but nothing more.

I hope Emma gets over this soon! I don't know whether to send her back to school or not. Ugh!!

I'm going to make some cakes!

2008-02-05T14:47:00.001-05:00

What am I thinking? I do NOT decorate cakes...don't like it, not good at it, etc. However, the girls want Dora cupcakes (for daycare) and Dora cakes for their birthdays. I am not inclined to buy 2 dozen cupcakes PLUS 2 cakes. So, I'm going to make them.

I went to Michaels today and bought a bunch of Dora stuff...I also found some cool spray on color. Now I can just get some white icing and spray it pink and purple. :) I think I can do that. HA!

I'll be doing this next week. I'll post pictures later.

Pinewood Derby

2008-02-02T18:45:00.000-05:00

Today was Josh's Pinewood Derby race. We kept telling Josh that whether he won or lost, it was all about doing his best and having fun.

Josh won 1st place for the Tigers. I think he came in 5th overall (11.3 was 1st...Josh was 11.5). He got a certificate and a blue ribbon. He was so excited!!

I don't know what Phil and Josh did to make a winning car, but it was the right thing! :)

Emma Funny

2008-02-01T14:38:00.001-05:00

A day or 2 ago, Callie was doing something she wasn't suppose to (don't even remember what it was). Anyway, I told Callie to stop whatever it was she was doing.

Well, Emma was standing right there and kind of sternly says, "One...Two...Three!" Yes, Callie was in trouble. :) The girls know when I get to 3, it means a time out or a spanking (depending on the offense). HA!!

Whatever Callie was doing was not that bad...she finally quit whatever it was. :) She didn't have to go to timeout, even though Emma counted to 3!

Peter Pan

2008-02-01T13:32:00.000-05:00

It looks like Mom, Josh and I may get to go see a stage presentation of Peter Pan. This will be Josh's first stage play and I'm so excited for him. I hope he likes it!!

We're trying to decide on a definite date, but it looks like sometime in March, we'll be able to go (it's been hard finding a free weekend - when did we get so busy??).

I haven't told Josh that we're going yet. I want to wait until we actually have ordered the tickets. We'll go to a matinee. There's a Community Theater about an hour away from us. We go there from time to time (yes, we have tons of local places, but this place is just awesome). It will be a fun day out w/ just Josh and my mom. I'm really looking forward to it!!

Just Stuff

2008-01-28T15:36:00.000-05:00

Mom and I went shopping for bedding for the girls this weekend. Is there nothing cute out there anymore?? I have this "idea" of what I want, but can't find it. I did find some really nice quilt sets, but they were quite pricey.

Anyway, I ended up ordering this:

I guess this is their birthday present. :) We'll come up with something else just so they'll have something to open.

Josh and Phil worked all weekend on his Pinewood Derby. The big race is next Saturday. I hope he does well!

Josh has also decided he wants to play soccer again this year. The program starts right after spring break in March. We may give him another try. He "played" when he was 4, but I think he'll enjoy it more now.

Josh is going to spend a few days w/ Wendy in Memphis over spring break. Phil and I are thinking about just hanging out around Nashville for the long weekend (we'll meet Wendy in Nashville for drop offs). That will be a fun time...if we stay in Nashville, I guess we can do the zoo. Beyond that, I'm not sure what to do! The girls will be perfectly happy with a park with lots of swings and a slide. :)

This will be Josh's first trip away from home. He's spent the night w/ Grandmother and Granddaddy, but we were always within driving distance from him. This time, he's stuck there. LOL He'll do fine. He loves Wendy!

Callie & Emma are getting excited about their birthday. It's funny to hear them talk about it. I don't think they really have any idea what will be going on. I guess as long as we have cake and presents, they'll be happy.

Emma has a speech evaluation with the school system next Monday. She is getting "ousted" from the speech therapy place now - once they turn 3, they can go into the school system for free. I hope she qualifies! My biggest concern is her actually talking to the evaluator. She rarely speaks in speech therapy now (even though she gets excited about going). It's kind of hard to evaluate her if she won't talk!! I know she would excel greatly if she would cooperate with them. :)

Birthdays

2008-01-25T12:13:00.000-05:00

The girls have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks (2/16). Callie has it in her mind that she's going to have a pink and purple birthday party. :)

She has told me several times that she wants a Dora and Boots cake and Emma wants a Princess cake (nevermind Emma never told me that). She said her cake is going to be purple and Emma's is going to be pink.

Well, last night, Emma said she wanted Dora and Boots, too...and she wants it purple. Callie gets upset with her and says, "No Emma!! I'm having purple and you're having pink!" Emma was actually fine with that, but I told her she could have anything she wanted to.

Callie has finally agreed to let Emma share her birthday with her. Isn't that nice of her? Poor Emma!

Josh wants to have a Bowling party for his next birthday. I've started looking into it and it should be pretty reasonable to do. He's only going to have just a few friends at this one. I do not want to do another party for 12-20 kids! It's crazy!! This way, he can have his best friends w/ him. I think he'll actually enjoy this more. I guess I'll go ahead and make arrangements this next week for his.

I can't believe I'm thinking of birthday parties for all 3 kids right now! I'd better get on the ball for the girls! I've decided that I'm just going to make their cakes (and cupcakes for daycare) if I can find some Dora and Boots decorations for it.

I guess we'll combine their Valentine's Day party and Birthday party into 1 party at daycare...this will happen every year, I guess. Oh well, it's a good think they like pink (red's okay, too). :)

Josh lost another tooth!

2008-01-22T14:14:00.001-05:00

After 3-4 weeks, Josh finally lost his tooth! Yay!! His "big" tooth was already starting to grow in, too.

He's so excited! His top tooth is loose, too. Hopefully, it won't take 3-4 weeks for it to fall out!

Oops - almost slipped up!

2008-01-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Josh has been concerned lately over how much Gameboy's and DS's cost. We've talked about how expensive they are and such.

Well, tonight, he just looked at me and said, "Mom, I got this DS for Christmas. How could it cost anything?" Oy! I just told him that if he ever lost it or broke it, we would have to pay to have it fixed or replaced and that would cost a lot of money. :)

This kid is too smart for his own good.

Treasure Box

2008-01-18T08:49:00.000-05:00

Phil picked Josh and Callie up from daycare yesterday (Emma was still at home sick). Anyway, Callie comes in w/ this bracelet type thing she was calling her "watch". She said Miss Kristi gave it to her (the preschool teacher).

I saw Miss Kristi this morning and she said the 3 year olds are really giving their teacher a hard time right now (there are a lot of boys in the class). The teacher is super sweet, but doesn't seem to be able to keep control all the time. There's another teacher that was just moved in there, so things should improve.

Anyway, Kristi went in there and told the kids that if they were good for a time, then they could choose something from the treasure box. Well, when she came back, they said there were only 2 kids that deserved anything...that was Callie and another girl. Yay Callie!!

Callie is good at school - not always so much so at home. I am very proud of her for being so good at school and being chosen by her teachers as the one to get a treat. :) I'm not sure if Callie understands why she got a treat, but some of the other kids did (especially the older 3's).

Updates

2008-01-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

We got good news back on Phil's dad last night. He has small cell lymphomic lymphoma (or something like that). Basically, it's a VERY slow growing cancer that he's probably had for years. At this point, they're not going to do any treatment. He will be going through some more tests just to make sure they're right about their diagnosis. There may be some medicine later, but no chemo in his future. I guess if you're going to get cancer, this is the one to have.

I took Emma back to the doctor yesterday. Her cough was getting worse. It's a good thing I did...her "crud" has moved down into her chest. She had alot of wheezing going on in her lungs yesterday. They gave her a breathing treatment and that broke up most of it pretty quickly. The dr changed her antibiotic to one that will clear up her chest (the other was good for the nose/head area). She also has thrush in her mouth and on her bottom. We have medicine for that, too.

She sounded alot better when she got up this morning. She was still coughing some, but it didn't sound as bad as it did yesterday.

The bad part is that she's contagious and can't go anywhere over the next few days. She acts like she's feeling fine...she felt kind of puny a couple of days ago, but seems to be feeling more like herself now.

She's not eating much, but that could be because of the thrush - her mouth hurts. We're doing alot of soft foods right now.

Callie seems to be just about better...not much of a cough left, no more diarrhea, good appetite, etc. She also did great at daycare without her sidekick. It was funny because Callie asked where Emma was yesterday (on our way to daycare). When I got back home, Emma asked where Callie was. :) Both did fine being separated - they just needed to know where the other one was.

I think Josh needs some more sleep. :) He was out late 2 nights this week, so we tried to get him bed earlier last night. He wasn't happy about that...he's been quite cranky. He was still awake at 9:00 last night. Hopefully, he'll go to sleep earlier tonight. He's not happy when he doesn't get enough sleep! He cried when he found out it was raining and not snowing this morning - I mean, pitch a fit kind of cry, not a sad cry. Oy! At least he was happy by the time we left for school. He realy does like school (even if he doesn't always admit it).

Will it ever fall out?

2008-01-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

Josh has another loose tooth...it's been loose for almost 2 weeks and no signs of falling out. I've given up on it. :) I don't know if he's still trying to wiggle it or not. I do wish it would fall out soon! I know he does, too! :)

His first tooth fell out the day after we noticed it was loose!

I guess they're not all alike, huh? :)

Lots going on...

2008-01-08T09:57:00.000-05:00

We took the girls to the doctor yesterday. Both have really bad coughs and really loose, stinky stools.

They both basically have a sinus infection and Callie has an ear infection. They tested Emma for strep (had some sores on her throat), but it came back negative.

We're just giving the OTC cough medicine (for now). If the cough worsens, we'll call back and get something stronger. After last night, we may have to do that. Callie sounds like a barking dog. Emma's cough is more wet sounding.

Neither one act like they're feeling bad, so that's good. Plus, they LOVE taking medicine (I have strange children). Callie almost cried yesterday when she found out she wasn't getting a shot...what child WANTS a shot??

Phil's mom and dad are not in good health right now. His mom has shingles in her eye and is moving down to her ear. She's on medication to help speed things along, but it's still very uncomfortable. The pain medicine makes her sick.

We found out that Phil's dad has a non-aggressive form of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He sees an oncologist next week, so we'll know more details then. His doctor admits that he really doesn't know much about cancer and really didn't offer alot of advice. However, it does seem that they caught it early and his treatment will hopefully be easier than some.

Josh went back to school today. I think he was glad to get back into the swing of things. :) Christmas break is fun, but being w/ friends is more fun. :) At least for a 6 year old!

Christmas!

2007-12-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

Christmas was great, but way too busy. :)

We had some friends over Saturday for a light lunch. Just as we were finishing, we saw a Sheriff's car pull into our cul-de-sac. To make a long story short, our neighbor hit a gas line w/ a rented ditch witch and caught the thing on fire. We had to evacuate for about 30 minutes. DH and I were interviewed by the local news and made the headlines. HA!

Sunday, I baked...with a bad back. Backing up a little, I went to the dr on Wednesday because my back was really hurting. After a week of muscle relaxers, I still have no relief...going back again in the morning.

Monday, we went to my parents for the day. The kids got a boatload of stuff. They had a blast!!

Santa came Tuesday morning. The kids were beyond excited. The girls were really into opening presents! After it was all over, Josh said this was the best Christmas ever. He got a Nintendo DS - it's the only thing he asked for. :) He got a few other things - baseball lamp (he needed a new lamp for his room), skate shoes (not Heeleys), watch, and a few other small things. The girls got some baby doll stuff and blocks.

We went to DH's parents Tuesday afternoon. Again, the kids had a blast - got lots of stuff from grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.

Today, we went to Dollywood...I think we're all worn out!

Tomorrow, we're taking the kids to daycare and running errands all day.

I hope Friday is a nice quiet day...we're taking the kids to daycare and then coming home and crashing! I'm looking forward to a day to myself (even if DH is at home). :)

Pictures should be up soon. I've posted them- just waiting for everything to synch up so they actually are viewable. HA

http://butler.globeserver.com

Callie - not so politcally correct

2007-12-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

We were watching a video this morning of kids singing - we watch this same video all the time.

Well, there's a little black boy in it. This morning, Callie seemed to notice him, because she calls out, "Look Mommy! It's a chocolate boy!!". Oh boy! I tried not to laugh - didn't want to make a big deal out of it one way or the other (we never have - we've never even mentioned the color of a person - we're all alike).

I have no idea where that came from!

Ornaments (for Janice)

2007-12-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

Janice - here's a link to the ornaments the kids made. :)

Christmas Ornaments

2007-12-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

Last night, the kids sat down to make Christmas Ornaments out of pipe cleaners and plastic beads. I wasn't sure if the girls could do it or not - the holes in the beads weren't big. But, I thought they could give it a try.

Well, Josh and Emma basically made ornaments for 2 hours (w/ a small supper break - not wanted by either one of them). Emma made 9 ornaments - by herself! Josh made about 7 or 8 (some of his were a little more complicated). Callie made 2. :) She wasn't quite into it as much as the others. She enjoyed making her 2 and then she was done.

We're going to put these w/ the teachers gifts and give them to family members from the kids.

I was really impressed that Emma was able to string the beads on the pipe cleaners so quickly. I really shouldn't be surprised, though. Her fine motor skills have always been incredible.

We're going to sit down and make some more tomorrow night. Maybe Callie can get 1-2 more ornaments made.

Christmas Lights

2007-12-10T13:20:00.000-05:00

We went to the Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night to see the lights. I'll have to say that I was impressed. We had no idea what to really expect. We thought the lights were around the track and that we'd be finished in 15 minutes. Wrong! They had the whole campus decorated...with a driving trail that lasted about 1 1/2 hours. It was spectacular.

Josh's favorite part was the dinosaur area...they had several different dinosaurs and a volcano that was shooting out flames. He thought that was "awesome!". :)

Christmas music was playing throughout the whole ride (there was a special radio station for it).

It was definitely worth going to. Mom and I had a blast - I think the girls were overwhelmed. Josh enjoyed it!! I think he enjoyed getting to actually ride on the track. :) That was pretty neat!

Christmas Program

2007-12-04T13:10:00.001-05:00

The kids had their daycare Christmas Program on Saturday. The girls were so excited about singing...until we got there. Once we got there, they were a little more subdued.

At first, Josh didn't want to sing, but his teacher talked him into it. I'm glad he did, because Josh seemed to have the most fun with it. It didn't hurt that his best friend was right beside him the whole time. :)

Callie didn't want to take her antlers off or wash her red nose! She wanted to be a reindeer all day. Emma couldn't get hers off fast enough. :)

Chatty Cathy (Chatty Charlie?)

2007-11-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

Josh got his interim report card yesterday. He got a "C" in conduct because he can't seem to stop talking!

For those of you who know Josh, you probably are thinking this is so not like him. HA!! I guess after being so shy for so many years, he now has to make up for lost time.

He's not shy around his friends...We just need to convince him to not be so chatty during work time at school. Oy!

Christmas Shopping

2007-11-27T11:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm almost officially done...I just need to get a few more stocking stuffers and I should be set.

Josh has asked for a Nintendo DS this year. He told Santa that's what he wanted - nothing else on his list.

Well, we were talking about it this morning. I told him that Santa doesn't always bring what's on our list, but he tries (he is getting a DS). He said, "I know, that's ok". Then, he thought another minute and asked, "Will I get more than 1 gift?" He was getting a little worried since he only had 1 thing on his list. :) I told him a DS was a really big gift, but Santa would probably bring him a couple of other things. Poor kid - now he's worried about what he's getting. :) I don't think he'll be disappointed. It's true that he's not getting a lot of things, but he is getting the one thing he asked for. :)

I did pick up some stocking stuffers I think he'll like. I got him a Cars calendar, hot wheels and a baseball piggy bank...Oh yeah, I picked up a journal for him. He's been wanting a diary w/ a lock and key (only girly ones out there). So, I found a journal book (blue stripes) that has a rubber band type thing that goes around it. It's not exactly the same, but close. I did pick up some more markers for him, too.

So far, for the girls (stocking stuffers), I've gotten some crayons, journal type book with just blank paper (Dora), pink/purple gloves and a nightlight...Yes, I got 2 nightlights even though they're in the same room. :) I hope I can put one on one side and one on the other side. :) Hopefully, it won't be too much light for them. They're Cinderella and Tinkerbell nightlights.

Other than some candy, I guess I'm finished with their stockings.

I'll admit that I did most of my Christmas Shopping online this year. I'm just not into getting out into the crowds. I even bought the DS online, but took it back to Toys R Us to get their "special" which included a game and the starter kit (which includes a case, earphones, more stylus pens, etc.).

Ramblings from Us...

2007-11-19T13:10:00.001-05:00

Things have been nice and quiet the last couple of weeks. Even though the kids have runny noses, nobody is seriously sick! Woo hoo!

Emma has pretty much recovered from her surgery. I'll hae to say that she did amazing. She never really complained about anything! :)

Josh has a "stalker". He was in class with a girl in kindergarten that used to call him from time to time. I was never very impressed with the fact she was calling...she was never a very good influence either.

Anyway, they're not in the same class anymore. However, she has started calling again. She called last week when they were off for an inservice day. Josh talked to her for about 5 minutes. She called a few more times that day, but nobody answered the phone (I know, we're bad).

Well, she called again last night...at 10:00!!! Phil just told her Josh was in bed and he wasn't waking him up (why wasn't she in bed?).

She called again this morning!! Yes, this is a school day! Phil asked her why she wasn't at school?? Her answer?? "I didn't get up in time". Where in the world are her parents??

If I knew her last name, I'd call the truant officer on her. We ran into this girl at Walmart last year (still in kindergarten) and she said she skipped school that day just because she wanted to!! Again, where are the parents???

I feel sorry for the girl, but something needs to be done. Phil wants to put a block on her number so she can't call.

I told Josh this morning that if he saw her, tell her not to call so late at night. He couldn't believe she called that late. He just said, "Oh my! This is a problem!". Okay, my 6 year old sees a problem with this...why doesn't she (she's a much older woman of 7).

Funnies and stuff...

2007-11-13T08:53:00.001-05:00

Poor kids - they're going to wonder why I never updated their baby books...thank goodness for this blog!!

Callie is so verbal - always has been. She's also become quite bossy. If Emma is doing something Callie knows she shouldn't be, she takes it upon herself to make Emma quit..."No, Emma!! Don't jump on the couch" Nevermind that Callie has just gotten in trouble for jumping on the couch. :)

Last night, I was putting the girls to bed. Callie looks over at me and says, "Mommy, Baby Bop is watching me!!" Baby Bop happens to actually be a Dopey doll (roughly 3 ft in height). I just told her to close her eyes and then she couldn't see him.

Emma is still quite the sneaky one. She likes to get out of bed at night (before falling asleep, obviously) and getting in Callie's bed and stealing her paci (yes, I know she should be rid of it - she only uses it at night). Anyway, Callie starts crying/screaming. I go up to see what's wrong. Emma's in the floor just giggling. Callie's crying, "Mommy, Emma took my paci!!" and then, "Emma! Don't take my paci!!!". Will Callie ever survive Emma?

When one of the girls does something to the other, I tell them to tell the other one they're sorry. Well, they won't say "I'm sorry"...they just go up and give each other a hug. :) Okay, that will work.

Josh is beginning to learn about winning and losing, per se. He and I decorated a gingerbread house for scouts (to be auctioned off at the Fantasy of Trees next week). Well, the kids all voted on the one they thought was best. Josh's didn't win. However, his looked as good as most of the others. Anyway, during his prayers last night, he told God that he really wanted to win and that he was sad he didn't. :( He wasn't devastated, but he just really wanted to win. :)

No more tooth!

2007-11-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

Josh lost his tooth at school today! He was so excited!! He said he was just wiggling and just wiggled too hard and it fell out! :)

His teacher put it in an envelope w/ a little note on it about him losing his tooth. :)

I just hope the tooth fairy remembers to make a visit!

We finally have a loose tooth!

2007-11-06T13:46:00.001-05:00

Josh is almost 6 1/2 and he FINALLY has his first loose tooth. What's funny is it's not one of the typical first teeth to go. It's the tooth on the top next to his front teeth...who loses that tooth first?? LOL

He's so excited he can't stand it!! He's so ready to get some money from the tooth fairy! :)

He didn't have school today (inservice day), so he had to go to the dentist with Phil (he had to get up early). I told him his task for the day was to clean his room. He whined and said he needed help, etc. I told him he had all day to do it and he would be fine. He finally perked up and asked if he could clean it "right now". I told him as long as he was dressed and ready to go, he sure could. He had it cleaned up in about 10 minutes (including making his bed). He was so proud...go figure. This is one of his only chores - I don't know why he was so excited about cleaning it up this morning. LOL

He then admits that he's been bad in school and now he knows why - it was because his room was messy! Oy!! What logic! Needless to say, we had a quick talk about his behavior in school and told him to keep his room clean so he would always be good in school. :)

Updates and Halloween

2007-11-01T10:18:00.001-04:00

Emma had surgery on Monday. She had a 2nd set of tubes put in, tonsilectomy and partial adenoidectomy.

She has done awesome! She doesn't seem to be in any pain, although, we are giving her Tylenol (at the request of the dr) because it seems like day 3-4 is worse than the 1st couple of days (scabbing starts to take place).

She is eating and drinking just fine!! She's in a happy mood and talking up a storm! :)

We took the kids to West Park Baptist Church last night for their Trunk or Treat. I guess that's the place to be. There were hundreds of people there! We only stayed about 20 minutes - long enough for the kids to get their candy. :) The Chick Fil-a cow was there. Callie wasn't impressed. She kept saying, "I do not like that cow!".

When we got home, we told them they could each eat a piece of candy. Callie immediately went for the pink tootsie roll she got at our neighbors. She was so excited to have a piece of pink candy! :)

Emma didn't want to eat her candy, only carry it around. :) We were going to let her have some Reese's Cup since it's pretty soft. She didn't want it - she just wanted to carry her pumpkin around. However, when it was time for bed, she cried and cried because she couldn't take her candy upstairs. She kept saying, "My candy! My candy!".

Josh had a great time, too. I think he wanted to stay longer, but I could tell he was getting tired, too.

Since we weren't home, we didn't get any trick or treaters (well, we got 2), so we have 5 bags of candy. I guess it will all go into the freezer. :)

I'll post pictures later. We just took a few before we left.

We debated about whether to take Emma or not. We went ahead and took her since we knew we wouldn't be out too long. We bundled her up in a sweater and carried her the whole time. I don't know if she really had fun or not, but I think she was glad to get out of the house.

We've created a monster!!

2007-10-25T08:21:00.000-04:00

We've treated the kids to cookies this week while we're on vacation. It's not like they haven't had cookies before, so I'm not sure why this is different. The only thing Emma wants now are cookies!

She cried going to bed because she wanted a cookie. She was up at 6:00 this morning crying for a cookie!! It's not stopping! :)

That being said, she's feeling a lot better now!!

We're having a good time at the beach. Yesterday was cold, though. It didn't get out of the 60's all day. It was cold and rainy. We went to the mall for a little while and then came back and took a nap. We just ate in last night.

The sun is out this morning! It's still a little cool, but should warm up by this afternoon. Our plan is to put in a movie this morning and fix popcorn. After that, we'll see if it's warm enough to go out. Tomorrow is suppose to be even warmer.

Even though we've had some rain and cooler temps, we have had a few good days, too. The kids love playing on the beach!! They love the sand!!

Where are we going, Mommy?

2007-10-21T16:39:00.000-04:00

This is the question Callie asked over and over again on our way to Panama City Beach, Fl. It wasn't because she didn't know where we were going, it was to test us to make sure WE knew where we were going. If I answered, "We're going to the beach!", she would say, "Yep! We're going to the beach!". If I answered with anything else, she would say, "No! We're going to the beach!". :)

Well, we're at the beach!!

We're staying at Landmark Beach Resort. It's really very nice. It's an older resort, but they've kept the condos up (at least the one we're in). There are only 2 (slightly) negatives...one, there's no King bed (ha) and the pool is a little deep for the kids. However, after sleeping as well as we did last night, we're not complaining about the bed anymore (we have a queen). The bed is very comfortable.

After spending all morning on the beach, the kids sure aren't complaining about the pool. :)

Josh and Callie have found a new love for the water. Callie barely got her feet wet, but she had a blast!!

All 3 kids loved playing in the sand. Even as puny as Emma has been feeling, she enjoyed playing the sand, too. She's not too thrilled with the water, though. She doesn't want to go near it.

We rented some beach chairs for the week. I think that will be great...we can sit in the chairs and kids can sit right in front of us playing. We're close enough to the water, too. Josh can run to the water and get his bucket full without us having to go with him.

Phil went to this little place called Thomas Donuts to grab us lunch today. They are very well known for their donuts all over PCB. What we didn't know is how good their fish and shrimp were! This may be the best place to get seafood around here.

We ate at a place called Sharky's last night. It was so-so. The kids had fun because there was a playground in the sand (we ate outside).

The weather has been nice today. It does look like it could rain later. I think it's suppose to rain a little tomorrow morning. We may wait until tomorrow afternoon to go out to the beach.

Stuff

2007-10-17T10:13:00.000-04:00

The girls had their flu shots on Monday! Callie didn't even flinch or cry. She was too focused on the sucker and bandaid she knew she was going to get. :) Emma wasn't quite as brave. She cried a little, but got over it pretty quickly.

Emma is sick again. :( She has a bad cough and a touch of diarrhea. It's not bacterial, so no antibiotics this time. We basically have to wait it out. :( She seems to feel okay most of the day. Mornings are the worst. She just coughs and coughs (to the point of throwing up). We have cut our quite a bit of dairy, including milk, until she's over this. While we were at the doctor, they did take blood to see if her white blood count was okay (it was). She was fascinated w/ the finger prick and putting the blood in the little straw. :) The nurse was very impressed by how well Emma did!

Josh is on a field trip today. They're going to see Junie B. Jones (on ice???) at the coliseum today. He was a little worried that there would be fireworks. He HATES loud noises and he was afraid the fireworks would be too loud. I have no idea if there will be fireworks or not - hope not, for his sake.

We're leaving on Friday to go to Panama City Beach, Fl. We're excited! I just hope Emma is feeling better. Maybe that sea air will help clear her up!

After we get back, Emma has her surgery (tubes, removing of tonsils and adenoids).

Popcorn and more popcorn!!

2007-10-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

We sold popcorn all weekend! Josh and 3 more scouts sold popcorn at Kroger Saturday morning. We were there at 8:30 in the morning to set up (somehow, I was in charge of setting up and taking care of the money). Anyway, we had 3 1st graders and 1 4th grader selling. We were all pretty new to it and the boys were pretty shy. However, they all did a great job!! All 4 of them talked to people (which really surprised me).

Sunday, we set up a table at church (there were 5 scouts that participated). This way, the boys didn't have to go around to all of the members and try to sell popcorn...they could sell it all at one time and then split the money. That worked out so much better!

I think we're all tired of popcorn right now. :) We'll be glad when it's over!

By the way, did I tell you that you could order popcorn online?! I'll get the information and post it soon! Josh still gets credit for it (I just need to get his code). :)

Surgery for Emma

2007-09-28T10:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's trip to the ENT proved to be fruitful, I think.

Emma is going to have surgery on October 29...she'll have her tonsils and part of her adenoids removed. She'll also have another set of tubes put in.

I know this is for the best. I just hate seeing her go through another surgery.

For now, this is outpatient surgery. He's going to do the surgery at the hospital, so if he does have to admit her, he can.

I guess we need to get lots of ice cream stocked up! :) Luckily, Emma likes soup, so hopefully, she'll be able to eat something afterwards!