Long Overdue

I've been slacking horribly with this blog. It really is just a way for me to keep up with all of our memories though. If other people read and are entertained then great, but it's not the point of me doing this. The longer I can keep up with this the better, just so I can someday show my children. Time passes so quickly, especially when you have children. I wish everything would just go into slow motion. I would be happy with slow motion. My children are the biggest blessings and every single second of the day I want to breathe it all in, soak it up, and hit pause.

So, let's see what we've missed. We left off in March. The end of March was my birthday. Then we had Mother's Day, Father's Day, our summer vacation to the mountains, Garrett's 2nd birthday, our anniversary trip, our beach vacation, and Todd's birthday just a couple weeks ago. We missed a lot! It's been a very busy summer.

I will see if I can hit some of the highlights in a few posts here and there maybe.

I'm going to go ahead and tell everyone about our day today though! We had a day at the mall window shopping. This is a new term my children are still learning about haha. They're pretty spoiled. I'm not going to lie. Izzie's birthday is coming up so I wanted to get some ideas and try some clothes on her. This little girl is getting so big! She's a size 5/6 and not even 4 yet. She wears a size 11 shoe. That's about two sizes in clothes and shoes that she has grown in a complete year.

Aunt Tori came along with us. She is lots of fun and lots of help. I definitely needed the help since Garrett's only been potty trained 8 days. He did great though! I'm always happy to have adult conversation,company, and the extra hands.

Well, we ate in the food court. When we were done we passed by Claire's. I randomly asked Izzie if she wanted to get her ears pierced. She said yes! I couldn't believe it. I asked her again and she still said yes. I told her it would hurt a little and she still agreed! I was shocked. I thought for sure that she wouldn't go through with it. If she did go with it then we would probably only get one ear, because she would get too upset to do the second. We went in. I let her pick the earrings. She picked her birthstone, which of course they were out of. She picked a second and they finally found the right pair. She picked Hello Kitty earrings. This lady saw us in the store and asked if she could hold Izzie's other hand. Aunt Tori wouldn't come in the store. She was too scared to watch. I told the older lady that she could. It was cute. She told us she was a grandmother. It was sort of like Izzie had an adopted grandma for the thirty minutes we were in there. I will admit that I thought she was a little weird at first just walking up to us and wanting to hold Izzie's hand. She ended up being a help. We also had quite an interesting lady piercing Izzie's ears as well. Izzie got her first ear pierced and only said "ouch." They did the second ear and Izzie didn't say anything! She was such a big girl!!! She gave me a big kiss afterwards and Aunt Tori did end up watching, but she stood outside the store.

I am still shocked that she did it. She's so brave. I am so proud of her. I will also add that I'm so proud of my big boy Garrett. This was his first big outing, since being potty trained last week. He's been doing great, but it was still scary leaving the house. It's only been 8 days. I use this great 3 day potty training method though. We use no pull-ups or diapers! He didn't have any accidents. We did take him to the bathroom a lot to make sure though. The automatic flusher on the mall toilets scared him to death though.

Ok it's time for bed! We will see what kind of catching up I can do.

Big Helpers

I've been doing a lot of work outside in our yard lately, mainly pulling weeds! It's really a good time, because it makes me take the kids outside to get some fresh air and playtime on their swingset. They love being outside. It also gives me lots of laughs. My babies always are good at making me laugh. A couple things that might make you laugh or cringe. Good moments I would like to remember for in the future to share with their boyfriends or girlfriends. ;)

1) Izzie was really good at pointing out all of Barkley's poo. "Mama!!! There's doggie poopoo here!" Well, I just shrugged and said, "okay!" Next thing I know, I look up from pulling a weed out of the ground and Garrett comes at me with both hands out pointed in my direction with two heaping handfuls of doggie poo. I screamed at first then busted out laughing. I'm pretty sure he was just trying to help pick up the yard.

2) I found an earth worm under a weed I had pulled. It was quickly burying itself back in the ground. I called the kids over to show them. I grabbed a little plastic play shovel and proceeded to dig it out for a better look. Izzie stood right over my shoulder as I accidentally cut it in half. :( Well, I'm pretty sure she called me a murderer. Ok not murderer, but she definitely let me know I killed it.

3) Izzie and Garrett both ran around the yard trying to ride our poor 15lb dog like a horse. May I remind you that both of my children are pushing 40lbs each. Poor pup haha. I'm glad he took all the harassing well. He didn't get upset once.

4) Izzie is a really big helper when it comes to picking weeds. Really she is! I was a little worried she was going to get upset I was throwing away all her flowers aka dandelions. She didn't though. I did have issues when I had to chase her around the yard to get my garbage bag back.

We had a couple picnics in the yard and have had so much fun playing outside. We even found the skin of a snake. That was not so much fun. However, we are so excited it's warming up!

Independence

You know what stinks? When your children finally figure they can do something by themselves. Ok. It's not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's a really great thing. However, one thing I have not been excited about is how both of my children (yes even Garrett at 20 months old) can get into the fridge and pantry without any help. They even are smart enough to get chairs to stand on to reach the items they want. Yikes! You can't leave them for a split second or else you have major problems.

Prime example happened just a couple minutes ago. I left Izzie alone for maybe two minutes. I go to find her in the kitchen with a package of refrigerated cookie dough. It was a pack of the cute little Easter Pillsbury cookies that have the bunnies on them. Not only was she holding the little box of the unbaked cookies in one hand, she had a mouthful of dough, and an unbaked cookie in the other hand. I immediately lunged for the box and her hand (might be a little exaggerating with the lunging bit). She got upset, but there's a big ole' warning on the side of the box that says,"Do NOT eat raw cookie dough." Ok, I know we have all eaten raw cookie dough, but the last thing I want is for her to think it's ok to open the fridge and grab the cookie dough. These kids are fast. You better watch out. I've caught Garrett with frozen waffles from the freezer before. We do have a French door fridge though, so the freezer is a bit more easy to access. It still takes some muscle to yank it open though. These babies keep you running at 100mph and forget taking a peaceful potty break if you are alone with them.

Enjoy this picture of them in the pantry with a box of baking soda on the floor. This is what I'm talking about.

A Circus Full of Dragons Means a Happy Izzie!

Izzie finally got to see her dragon! She was so excited. I won't be the one to tell her they are fire breathing, potentially people eating, make believe animals, and that the one she saw was fake. It amazes me how she was not scared. Dragons aren't really friendly looking things. Now that I think about it, there isn't much that scares her really. The dark and being alone in it sometimes does. I showed her a lizard in the yard today. The first thing she said was that it ran away from the zoo. It made me laugh. Then she tried to get as close as possible, even though it was out of her reach. She's pretty fearless.

We dropped Garrett off on Saturday at Nina and Grandaddy's. We did not think he would be able to sit through the two hour plus show. Don't feel bad for him. He got his first golfing lesson from his Grandaddy. Then, they took him to get ice cream. He was spoiled!

The rest of us headed off to the circus. It was really great this year. It was good last year as well, but this year really held our attention. Izzie really liked it. She had lots of fun.

By the way, if your family is thinking about going to the circus just plan a trip to Disney instead. It is so expensive. $8 popcorn, $22 light up toy, $10 cotton candy. I kid you not! I did not make those prices up. It was well worth it, just to spend quality time together as a family but geesh! Oh speaking of Disney... We have officially booked our Disney trip for this Fall!!! We will be there for about a week over Halloween. We are so excited to be going back again. This will be Izzie's second time and Garrett's first! Woo hoo!

Raining Elephants

So last week, on Tuesday, the kids were fighting some runny noses and a little cough here and there. I decided to let Izzie stay home from preschool. Then, being the awesome mom I am, we decided to go to the elephant walk at the Colonial Center.

We all bundled up. Aunt Tori and Poppy joined us. We did this last year, so I knew what to expect. However, the train was late and it started to rain. This was not expected. It put a little damper on the mood, but both the kiddos could have cared less! They wanted to play in the rain. Finally, about thirty minutes late, we got to see the elephants and horses. It got a little exciting when one of the horses decided to get a little upset and one of the workers had to try and calm him. The horse about kicked the guy a couple times. Circus life seems so interesting to me! Someone should make a documentary of their lives.

Izzie was so upset when the walk, that lasts literally two minutes, was over. You will never guess why she was so upset. She was screaming, crying because she didn't get to see the dragon! If any of you have seen the local commercials this month then you know what she is talking about. The whole theme is about dragons this year. It took a few minutes to calm her down. We got everyone into the car, picked up some yummy Chick-fil-A, and it was home for a nap. Woo hoo! I love nap time :).

Someone from preschool told us that the kids made their television debut. I guess on one of the television stations that were out there filming, but I didn't get to see it. Good thing we can't get in trouble from playing hooky from preschool!

Remember the Blessing?

Here's a picture of a banner Izzie's preschool class made. They were discussing friends that week and what a friend is. They went around their class and asked each child what they thought a friend was then put it on the banner next to their handprint. Do you remember the post about Izzie and being a blessing. The little girl Izzie befriended that was having problems gave the teachers an answer. Then, Izzie gave her answer haha. Don't even ask. I guess the teachers must have talked about this or something. Who knows!

Play Date Fun

We don't have many play dates. Life is crazy and time seems so limited. Whenever I can, I really try to give my kiddos outings, just good fun times. Todd is really good at taking them to do fun things, too. I am so impressed at things he has done alone with them, like Monkey Joes. I am not even that brave! It took us a whole year in our new house, we have been here since 2010, to find out we had such a cool playground close by. It is only a few miles down the road. Another great thing about this park is that there is hardly ever anyone there!

So this past month, February, we made a date with some friends and met them at the park with doughnuts and Chick-fil-a. I don't know what made me decide those two "food groups," but I figured it was the best of both breakfast worlds.

We had lots of fun. Garrett is a handful, but he did really well climbing on everything, running around, and going down every slide by himself he could find. They love playgrounds. We have a nice playlet in our backyard that they constantly ask to go out on. I know soon they will be old enough to go play outside by themselves, but not yet! I'm not ready for that anyways.

Squeaky Clean

My babies are probably the cleanest kids in Lexington. They love the bath! They love bubble baths even more. I'm pretty sure they got the bubble bath gene from me. If it's not a gene then it's at least contagious, because Todd didn't really like the bath till me. He was a shower guy. It's ok for a guy to like a bath haha. Garrett probably loves the bath more than Izzie, too. As soon as he hears water, at 19 months old, he can strip down in about thirty seconds. He loves running around with his big ole hiney hanging out, yelling "nakey baby!!" He thinks it is a game of run away from the parents. It's also a game to see if we can catch him before he hoses something down.

Anyways, my babies prefer bubbles and lots of them. They prefer the water high and running the whole entire time, which drives me bonkers. They also prefer everything to be wet. The tile around the bath, shampoo bottles, the floor, the towels, even the door to the bathroom. Trying to fish them out of the tub is a challenge. Neither of them want to get out. It doesn't matter how long they have been in there. Once someone decides they do, then of course the other is quick to jump out as well. Then it's another game of "nakey baby." Did I mention my son is BIG!? I swear he is already stronger than us. Wrestling him to get a diaper on or put his clothes on is a thirty minute ordeal. Oh, and you better put a sleeper that zips up on him, with the snap at the top. If you do not, then he will strip down as quickly as you blink. Izzie on the other hand is a bit easier. Her bath time ordeal is washing her hair, but she is actually trying to do it by herself now. I don't think I mentioned these babies take usually two baths a day, sometimes more if they hear our bathtub running. :)

Professional Patient

I believe I've mentioned before of how Izzie acts when we are at the doctor's office. It has taken the first two to two and a half years of her life to get used to the doctor, but now she is a professional patient. I think Doc McStuffins, a Disney Junior cartoon, may be to thank.

Whenever we are called back, she immediately knows that she has to be weighed and goes right to the scale without help. When we get to the room, she goes straight to the table, climbs up, and lays completely still while the nurse asks questions and takes her temperature. She is even taking her temperature orally. She never lets us at home do that. Anyways, Todd took a picture with his phone the other day. Here it is.

Sick Update!

I took Izzie and Garrett both to the doctor Friday morning first thing. My mom helped me, since Todd was at work and taking two kids alone is not fun. Garrett loves to get into any trouble he can, while Izzie plays his accomplice.

Izzie is a professional. She walks in the room, climbs up on the table, and lays completely flat and still until someone looks at her. It's pretty funny. My mom got a kick out of it. Garrett, on the other hand, loves to open any drawer or cabinet he can find, tries to take off his clothes and play "nakey baby" (his favorite pastime right now), and occasionally yells as loud as he can letting the whole office know he is there. Have I mentioned that if Garrett was born first that he would have been the only child we had? Good thing Izzie was first.

The nurse practitioner saw us. Izzie had double ear infections that she said looked pretty bad. Garrett only had one. I believe the left ear. She asked us about what antibiotic tends to work for us, since we have been having issues with ear infections. I told her the last one seemed to be the best. It was easy to hide in Izzie's juice. It's the only way we can get any medicine in her. Remember me telling you about the puker? Garrett isn't a problem at all when it comes to medicine. However, I forgot this antibiotic had some not so nice side effects for him that we are now dealing with. Oh well!

Snow, Sleet, and Freezing Rain. Oh My!

Yesterday, we had some excitement here. The weatherman was calling for freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Of course, he had to be a buzzkill and say it would not stick. It was okay though, we were still excited. We went and picked up some dinner together as a family. We often all hop in the car to go get food, even if it only requires one person. The kids love getting out of the house for a ride especially since it was a dark, gloomy afternoon. I think cabin fever was setting in. Izzie also loves telling whoever is driving that there is a red sign and that means "STOP!" She makes sure we do not miss any haha.

When we got back from our ride. We all set up dinner on the kitchen table. We have some great windows in our kitchen that overlook the backyard and swingset. As we were eating, we heard some loud claps of thunder. Then, the sleet came down pretty heavy for about twenty minutes. The kids were so excited watching it. After it passed, we let them go out on the deck (yes, in their pajamas). Garrett chose to eat the sleet, while Izzie grabbed handfuls to bring inside and show us. I had lots of little puddles on the floor and table. It was great.

I hope next winter brings a lot more of this type of excitement. It was about two years ago when we had our big snow storm. Big meaning we got like six inches. I definitely don't want to move, but our winters here could get a little colder.

Excuse the possibly blurry, bad pictures. My kids are really fast, so I snap as quick as I can and hope for the best.

Sick, Sick, Sick!

I think something all first time parents need to be warned about is the amount a child can be sick in their first few years of life. They need to make a brochure and hand it out to expecting parents. Brochures for sickness, lack of sleep, and lack of hygiene maybe? Not that we don't bathe! My kids get baths everyday, sometimes twice. However, things just don't stay as clean and tidy as they should. I have yet to give up on the hygiene, cleanliness, but maybe someday. Of course, there are good warning labels that should be applied as well like overflowing love, giggles, lots of hugs and kisses, and a growth in the appreciation for your own parents.

My poor babies. This has been the worst Winter for them. I don't know if it is because Izzie started two days at a preschool or maybe it is the first season the two of them are sharing too many things (along with the cooties). If one of them gets sick it is inevitable the other will be shortly following. I feel so bad for them. I just want to click my heels or snap my fingers and make them all better.

Izzie has been up on and off all night and early morning with horrible congestion, a runny nose, cough, and she just threw up. She is a puker. It doesn't matter if she has a stomach bug or a respiratory bug, she will puke. I just checked her temperature, under her arm, because that is the only place she will let me touch her with a thermometer. It was 101! (I just checked it again before finishing and it's 101.9 now) That is without adding a degree. Garrett is asleep in his crib, so I'm not sure what his status is. I know he had a horribly runny nose and was drooling a storm probably from mouth breathing before he went to bed.

I think a trip to the doctor is in store for our morning. Did I mention Todd has been up with a toothache? I think he will be going to the dentist, too. Did I mention that I have to work tonight? I hate leaving my sick children. I'm ready for Spring with slightly more stable weather than our Winter has had hopefully. A Spring with lots less germs involved.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, Happy Valentine's Day from Izzie and Garrett. The day has definitely not gone as planned. Honestly, does any Valentine's Day go as planned?

Izzie had a stuffy nose this morning, but it wasn't too bad. She decided she still wanted to try and go to preschool, especially when I mentioned a party. Izzie and I left the house early, so we could make a quick stop to get cupcakes and lollipops. I stopped and got some chickfila for us. I felt like we needed a cute heart shaped biscuit. She liked that.

When we got to preschool, I took her in. I told her teachers that if she wasn't feeling okay to call me and I would come pick her up. They reassured me that they were positive she would be fine. I got home and gave Todd and Garrett their heart shaped biscuits. Then, Todd left for work. I had the pleasure of wiping Garrett's nose and doing a huge sink full of dishes. I then got a call from.... Yep, you guessed it... Preschool! They said Izzie hit her head on a cubby and was crying or screaming rather for me. I immediately got in the car to pick her up.

When I got there she was playing on the playground like nothing happened. She still didn't mind going home, so I took her. We ran to Target to get a surprise for them, since it was Valentine's Day and we were all feeling pretty crummy with this sinus stuff. I could tell both my kids were just feeling lousy. I was, too. As we were leaving, Izzie begged with a "pretty pleaseeee" to get a Rush's milkshake, so we did!

The rest of the day was spent at home in and out of bed, napping, eating, taking bubble baths. Todd got home a little early to help out.

Yep, that pretty much sums up our Valentine's Day. Fun, huh? I at least got to kiss and hug on the sweetest valentines ever, Izzie and Garrett. They make the day special and that's all this mama needs.

By the way, there are some different, unique, items in Izzie's valentine box. For instance, a doughnut, goldfish crackers, and a pen. Interesting stuff.

A Pint Sized Blessing

Tuesday, this week, Todd dropped Izzie off at preschool. I spent time with Garrett running errands and grocery shopping. I love our little time together alone. I know it's good for Garrett. We got everything we needed done, including stopping by "the shop." The shop is what we call Nina's and Grandaddy's frame store. It's actually called The Custom Framer. I got to drop off our family pictures, so the professionals could take care of them for me. I have some wonderful in-laws, who are very talented. I'm excited to finally have some pictures that I want to hang in our master bedroom. They do wonderful work. I'm lucky to have them in all aspects of my life, even when I need a frame for my picture. Not to mention, while we were there Garrett got spoiled rotten with a handful of mini Milky Ways.

When we were done, I took Garrett to go pick Izzie up from school. I always arrive about fifteen minutes early. I just can't wait to get her, talk to her about her day, and hug her. Someday she will be embarrassed and I won't be allowed to hug her at school. Anyways, I won't get upset about that now.

As I pulled in the parking lot, I saw that they had just come outside to play on their playground. I decided to not ruin the fun and I just watched her for a little while instead of getting her. I finally got out with Garrett and walked up to the fence surrounding the playground. The teachers, Mrs. Sherron and Mrs. Hannah, both came up to me handing me various flyers and her backpack. They both seemed so happy to see me and immediately said they had to tell me something. I started to worry that Izzie had been in timeout, because I know she's not always an angel. They said that a little girl had just started the program and was having a hard time adjusting. She is foreign and would talk to the teachers only in her language. From the story they told, it seemed that she would get very upset, frustrated, and cry throughout the day. She had been with them almost a month and it was not getting better. Mrs. Hannah seemed to be the one the little girl would constantly speak to in a foreign language. Well, they told me that somehow the little girl had become very attached to Izzie, to the point where she would constantly ask for her and the teachers would take her to find Izzie so she would calm down. I noticed this little girl following Izzie around on the playground. She is about half Izzie's size. It was so sweet. Mrs. Hannah told me that Izzie was such a blessing and an answer to her prayers for this little girl.

You can't imagine the happiness that filled my heart when I heard this. Even at such a young age, God could work through Izzie to be a blessing to her teachers. She's such a blessing to me, too.

18 Months for Garrett

Garrett is actually almost 19 months old now, but we had his well check at the pediatrician's office this past week. He was a whopping 30.5lbs and 34.5". Yah, he's a big one! Of course everything, including head circumference, was in the 98th-99th percentile. He is slowing down a little bit. He was off the chart at some point.

He is talking a good bit. Todd and I can understand almost everything that comes out of his mouth. The words I know he says are: granola bar, cookies (coo coo), all gone, want more, juice, no, sissy, nana, mama, dada, poo poo (our favorite, you better run because he most likely has his hand down his pants too), night night, bear, dog, balloon, spoon, shoe, bath, phone, Barney (which he says bah bah), go, and there's probably a couple more.

He's getting to be a bit picky. He hates cheese anything (besides cheezitz). He doesn't eat grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, or quesadillas. He loves bananas, granola bars, sausage of any kind, pepperoni, chicken nuggets, and French fries (of course).

He runs all over the place. He climbs on furniture that he shouldn't climb on. He is always going 100mph. He wears us out! He is a bit of a bully when it comes to his sister and his toys at times. Melissa and Doug wooden toys are dangerous in our house, especially the little wooden hammers that come with some of them. He is a lover, too. He gives out the kisses freely. He is still an open mouth kisser. I love those baby kisses.

The one thing I am so proud of is that he sleeps in his crib, even for his naps. He is normally in bed at 7:30pm and sleeps till 7am. Now, I wish his sister could just follow his steps in that direction.

Rocking a Baby

Last night, I really couldn't sleep. It's probably a mixture of many things causing my insomnia like working nights and the enormous amount of time I was laying in bed this weekend due to the virus we had. I heard Garrett whispering little groans and noises through our monitor. I decided, since he was awake to go up and rock him in his chair for a little bit. He's getting so big that he almost doesn't fit across my lap in my arms while in his chair.

I walked up the stairs to his room. As soon as he heard my footsteps and before I even opened the door I heard him say "mama" with a loud rustle of his covers from pulling himself up. My heart melted. I closed the door behind me quietly and hit the button on his crib soother (which he actually turns on in the night by himself when he is awakened). I picked him up with his blanket and went to his rocker. He has such a nice rocker/recliner. I hate to admit, but I wish I had used it a lot more. It makes me a little sad that I did not. Not because it's a nice chair, but because I will only be able to rock my youngest baby so much longer.

I started rocking him, both of us just silent, staring into each others eyes literally. The weight of his little, warm body in my arms wrapped up in a blanket. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was thinking about how much he loves me, like I was thinking about him. He might have been thinking I was a little crazy with the tears in my eyes. They were bittersweet tears, happy and sad for so many reasons. Mainly happy though. Happy that I'm blessed with two beautiful, sweet children, who have changed my life.

He eventually giggled after a few minutes. It was hard not to laugh with him even at 2am or so in the morning. He's always laughing at something. It might have been my funny hair or just a smile that came across my face that I couldn't hide. He put his little hand on my face and then to my ear. He found a little spot of bare skin on my arm against his cheek and started blowing raspberries. I knew that the rocking wasn't working this time as it had in the past. I put him back to bed with his favorite bear and his sippy of water. Then kissed him and said good night.

I'm still learning as a mom. I'm sure I will the rest of my life. Slow down. Spend time with them. Read a book, play a game, go outside. The other things can wait. I just hope when they grow up that they look at me with love and are happy with the mom I was to them. Life... Please slow down.

Friday's Zoo Trip

Fridays are a bit crazy for us. I have to work that night, so I usually make sure it's a day of rest at home. Every once in a while I'm feeling rested and decide that I really don't need any extra rest before working all night. It's rare, but it happens. Try staying up 24 hours, while exerting tons of energy running down hallways and taking care of six patients. It can be rough without extra rest. Anyways, I also have this thing calmed mama guilt. I'm home with my kids basically all week. I really try to take them out of the house to get fresh air, especially as they get older. Staying home gets boring.

Friday, Todd was going to let me sleep in a little. He was going to take the kids to the zoo. Our annual membership just expired, so I knew I needed to renew . I then remembered that I heard about free Fridays at the zoo for Lexington residents. I told him about it and thought it would be a great idea. It was bit cold and breezy, but nothing a coat and a hat couldn't fix. Not to mention, I knew there are plenty of indoor areas at the zoo with heat.

He got the kids ready, the best a dad can do haha. He then asked me if I wanted to come. I knew Garrett had not been to the zoo in a long time. I was thinking about how much he was going to love experiencing it now. I wanted to see his little face run around and look at everything. I also wanted to see Izzie show him, just like I knew her big sister self would. I mustered up the energy and went.

It was actually very pretty outside, even if it was cold. The sun was out with only a couple clouds in the sky. I thought the zoo would be packed. I'm not sure why. I guess it being free and all, but it was not.

We went into the aquarium part first. The kids got to run around and there was only maybe five other people in there. The new Komodo Dragon exhibit was pretty cool. They were so active and coming up to the glass. Poor things could have used a little more space to roam though. Garrett was experimenting with the glass windows trying to figure it out. I am pretty sure at first he thought the animals were going to come out somehow. He quickly realized that they were not. Izzie led us all, running from window to window, telling us where we needed to go. She would grab her brother's hand to lead him. I loved it. She is finally tall enough that we don't have to pick her up to see every single thing and she spots almost every animal immediately.

Even though we ate a good breakfast, Izzie decided she was starving. In normal Izzie fashion, she let the whole zoo know, "Mommy! My tummy wants food. My tummy is hungry!" Garrett was not going to argue with a quick pit stop to eat a french fry. Have you seen him lately? The boy eats everything!

After, we made our way around the rest of the zoo. Izzie wanted to feed the goats and giraffes. Garrett pretty much had a seizure when I picked him up to do the same. I was the bad mom who laughed. When we fed the giraffes, he warmed up a little to them. He got within a foot of their heads and would throw the piece of greens at them. Izzie was a professional giraffe feeder. I swear the goats and giraffes both stuck her whole hand in their mouths. She loves it. One of the giraffes, who appeared to be the biggest, was our favorite. He had an attitude. Todd tried to pet him without giving him food. I swear he about knocked Todd in the face with his head. He was not happy. His head was the size of Izzie. He was huge! She fed him the most. We could have stayed there feeding them all day.

It was a great day. I'm so glad that instead of getting some extra sleep I decided to go. Spending time with my children will always come first. There won't be a day that it won't. One of the most important things to me is them realizing how much Todd and I love them. It is not about the "things." It is about the time. I hope we all remember that.

Sterilization

No, not the kind you're thinking of. Okay. Maybe. It doesn't involve a scalpel. It involves bleach, lots of it. It's all over my house killing this bug.

We all succumbed to this super virus. That's what I'm calling it. Let's recap. Izzie fell ill Wednesday night, to the point of me talking about trips to the emergency room. Scary stuff. Todd, of course.. Sorry hun, fell ill next. That was Friday morning. Garrett, we sent with my mom Friday to get out of our germ infested house. Little did my mom and dad know, it was our secret weapon to attack their fortress. Literally. He vomited in their living room. I called off from work. I had a couple people literally almost tell me that if I didn't that I would probably be reported to someone. I don't know who, but it sounded serious. Not that I needed talked into it. I knew Todd was in no form to do the "job." That was wiping bare hineys and catching throw up. And what do you know... I started getting sick about midnight (glad I called off).

I experienced this first hand. I seriously felt like I was going to die. Worse than child birth type pains. Worse than 9lb 8oz child birth type pains. That's bad. What makes it worse is that you have two toddlers depending on you. "Mommy, carry me!" I could barely lift my body off the bed, let alone carry an almost 40lb 3 year old. I felt so bad for her .. And him ... And me. Thankfully, miraculously, Todd watched the children Saturday until almost 5pm! I slept almost the entire time. I basically knocked myself out with whatever I could find (phenergan) in order to hopefully sleep away my crazy gut wrenching pains.

Izzie was still throwing up Saturday. She actually threw up Monday as I was sterilizing the house, but I think it was more motion sickness due to a car ride to pick up dinner. She had been doing well, until we sat at the dinner table. She didn't even eat. This reminds me of the IHOP story. When she was about one, she puked at IHOP at the table. Yes, she did. It's ones of things that was absolutely horrifying for us at the time, but now we can laugh at. Izzie is a little "puke happy." She's always had a wonderful gag reflex. Actually, both my kids do. Yay for us!

Did I mention our little secret weapon did the trick for my parents? Both were getting sick Sunday.

I'm declaring this that crazy stomach virus, super bug in the news, the Norovirus. Haven't heard of it? Please, look it up. Then, don't leave your house. Lastly, pray for my babies that they get better. I can't stand them being sick. It's so sad. Thanks.

Another One Bites the Dust

Oh gosh. I wrote about this horrible stomach virus Izzie has last night. She is on the back end of it now. She only vomited two or three times Friday. I didn't think I would ever be happy about my child only vomiting two or three times, but I am! Compared to twenty times the first night, we will take two or three any day!

I cleaned the house like a crazy lady Thursday afternoon, especially the main living areas of our house: the kitchen, the living room, our bathroom and some of the bedroom, and guest bathroom (which was used as the vomit cleaning station). I had already changed our sheets plenty of times already. I need to do it again today though, if I have the energy.

Well, Fridays I usually sleep in a little or take an afternoon nap because I work nights as a nurse on Friday and Sunday. That didn't go so well. Todd had been up most of the night in the bathroom then started vomiting later that morning. Instead of coming to get me, he called my mom to come pick up the only child still well, Garrett. Izzie was in bed with me napping. She has slept so much, since becoming sick! I woke up right after she came, because I heard all sorts of commotion (the dog, doors opening and closing, Garrett screaming). She had already left. I sent Todd to the spare room, where I had been making him stay anyways. I put on my nurse's cap (just kidding I really don't have one haha) and found some zofran/phenergan and started giving him medicine, etc. I called my mom to check on Garrett. She said she would be home in a little bit.

Well, she came back sooner than expected, because Garrett started projectile vomiting. My poor baby. He vomited two more times after she left. If you haven't ever seen an 18 month old vomit, it's the saddest thing. They don't even know what to do or what's going on with their poor little bodies. With the Ped's permission, I got some zofran in him.

I had to call out tonight. There was no way I was abandoning this sinking ship, although I did think about it. I'm the only one left standing. I'm in bed with Izzie and our lovely "puke bowl" (every parent should invest in one of these). I have the monitor on the loudest I can get it. I was going to let Garrett sleep with us, but it wasn't working out. I am just waiting for the sound to come from the monitor and I'll be running. Todd is all alone in the spare bedroom, which I believe he is very thankful for.

Please, say a prayer for my kids and Todd to get better quickly! I'm talking like tomorrow! Also, I've been feeling nauseous since this whole thing started. Cleaning poo and vomit doesn't help. Did I mention that I got poo'ed on by Izzie the first night?? Oh yes, it's true. Anyways, I'm starting to feel worse. I'm trying to breathe deep and get through it. I'm fighting it as I write. Telling myself that I am NOT sick! I have to take care of everyone else, I don't have time. There is no one else to help. Think about it, who wants to come into this germ infested house to help wipe little hinies and clean puke that is highly contagious? I can tell you right now, no one.

So, say a prayer. Thanks :)

The Stomach Virus

It all started 10pm Wednesday night for Izzie. She went to sleep saying her tummy hurt and then woke up 30 minutes later, in our bed, throwing up all her dinner. Poor baby. I've never seen someone throw up so much in 8 hours. She threw up 20 times!!! I debated taking her to the emergency room, but everyone I asked said to wait it out. So we did. Yes, I'm a nurse, but I work with a lot of older people, who have had strokes. It's so different when it is your own child, too. I called our Ped's on call nurse two times talking through the situation. I sent Todd to the spare bedroom, because someone needed to get some sort of sleep. We changed the sheets on our bed about 4x. We had our designated "puke bowl" and were using towels the best we could under her. I eventually had to put a diaper on her, poor thing. She hated it! She kept telling me how she was a big girl. She's been potty trained for a year and hasn't worn a pull-up or diaper since. It was a must though! Her daddy made the mistake of taking it off later that afternoon.

I took her to the doctor that morning as soon as they would let us come in. Of course, they told us it was just a stomach virus. Ugh. I hate that word, "virus." That means going to the doctor was a waste of time basically. They gave us some Zofran, but Izzie really refuses any and all medicine unless we hide it very well in some juice.

Last night and this morning (Friday), she's only thrown up twice which is soooo much better than what she had been doing. We actually got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Woo hoo!

I've been cleaning like crazy. Lysoling every little surface I can, over and over again. I just hope everyone else stays healthy. Todd and I have been feeling a little nauseous, but you tend to feel that way after cleaning up throw up for 24 hours plus.

Pray for my little girl. I've never been so worried as I was that first night. I wish I could've taken her place.

Shopping

One of Izzie's favorite things to do is go shopping! She loves just getting out of the house and having a little girl time, too. Although, shopping is sometimes required to include baby brother. She is okay with that. She just likes to have a little one on one time. I like it, too. I like having alone time with both of my babies. I have that time with Garrett when Izzie goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays right now.

I had some Christmas money that I was given to go shopping with. It is hard to find time in our busy lives to just be able to go shopping. I finally found time yesterday. It was just going to be me and my sister Tori, but I kept thinking all day that Izzie would really love to go as well. So, I decided to bring her with us. She was so excited. I kept whispering to her all afternoon that we had to keep it a secret.

We didn't go by her favorite store, Target, but we did go to the mall. She was happy to get a milkshake, ride the carousel, sit in one of the little car buggies, ride a few of the quarter rides, and build-a-bear. Do you think she is spoiled much? She loved build-a-bear. She had done it once before, but she was much younger. She really got into it this time. She answered all the lady's questions, who was helping her fluff the rabbit she picked out. She wanted to pick out a little outfit. We picked a tutu. She even named her rabbit. Aunt Tori was surprised when she answered "Peter Cottontail!" We shortened it to just Cottontail, since he was really a she wearing a tutu.

We ate at her favorite place. "Welcome to MOE's!!!" She ordered her "cheese sandwhich" (aka a cheese quesadilla) and then she reminded the lady making it that she had to put a paper in the plastic basket, with chips, a cookie, and Sprite. She's such an oldest sibling, making sure everyone knows how things are supposed to be and keeping everyone straight haha. Sounds a little familiar to me. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Izzie is a shopper. She is always window shopping. She will show me something and say "Mommy, I want this for my birthday!" I don't have the heart to tell her that it is ten months away. Don't worry, she gets plenty before her birthday anyways. :)

She can talk anyone into taking her shopping. Her favorite victims are her Mimi and Nina. They normally take her without hesitation. She's got them wrapped around her pretty little finger.

I think this shopping thing is going I cost Todd and me later :).

Happy New Year!

We spent the night safe at home with our babies. I wouldn't have wanted to spend it doing anything else. We ordered take out and did absolutely nothing. Garrett went to bed around 8pm, despite our neighbors firing fireworks off literally a few feet from our front door. Izzie went to bed around 10pm, but woke up around midnight for a kiss. She wasn't very happy about the new year at that time, since her mom and dad accidentally woke her.

We had a great 2012. I hope and pray God blesses us with an even better 2013 for us and our family and friends. Lots of memories to be made this year.

A Christmas Toy

This is what I was talking about in my previous post. When only one version of something is given, it can cause trouble. This a version of the cozy coupe, Garrett received from his Nina and Grandaddy. Izzie was a bit jealous. So, they adapt to the situation and figure out how to work it out so both of them can ride. This cozy coupe has a trunk area. I guess technically it's the truck's bed. Garrett opens it and stands in the back while holding on to the top. Izzie then drives the car around. This is a broken arm waiting to happen or something. Garrett is trouble. Good thing he never really gets "hurt." He always bounces right back up from a fall. Not that I want him to test this theory with the truck!!!

Christmas

Ok, I'm skipping Thanksgiving. I know. It's Todd's favorite holiday. I can't decide if it's mine. I like Christmas just as much. We had both of our families at our house again this year. It was great and uneventful. We had some wonderful family time and that's what it is all about.

Christmas! Wow. Ok. Every year that goes by as a parent this holiday gets better and better. Izzie is remembering things from the past year and asking questions about the new year. Garrett was excited and curious, too, mainly about the lights and the Christmas tree.

We had our elf from the North Pole, Buddy, come visit the whole month. He would go back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa in what he saw the kids doing, good and bad. He would then come back to the house and hide in a different spot to watch the kids again. Izzie and Garrett, both, woke up every morning yelling "buddy!" around the house, looking for him. Garrett even found him first a couple times. Buddy was lots of fun. I liked to remind them during the day that Buddy and Jesus were watching them and their behavior. It didn't really help, in fact some days I swore they acted even worse. Oh well. It is the stage we are at. The kids are trying to figure out how to play nicely together. It's also hard to reason with a one year old and why he shouldn't grab his sister's toys from her hands.

Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws first to celebrate Christmas. We then went over to my parents just for a little bit for our traditions. Christmas morning is the first time, since Izzie has been born that we stayed home in the morning. We are setting our own traditions as a family now. That afternoon, my family came over so we could exchange gifts and have Jesus' birthday cake. Aunt Brooke and Kurt came down from Asheville. It was great being with them even if it was only a couple days. Izzie really misses them.

The kids were spoiled rotten by all. Izzie would say "oh my goshhhhhhh" with every gift she opened. I don't normally like her saying that, but she was so excited that all I could do was giggle. It's really not bad, but I just don't like it coming out of her. Garrett loved all the presents, too. Santa brought Izzie a big Melissa and Doug princess castle. He brought Garrett a rocking horse. I thought that the horse would be a bigger hit than the castle, I was wrong. We did learn that they need to get very similar things, even though they are a boy and girl. If they don't, then they fight over the one thing that they both don't have a version of. It wasn't too bad. They both did well and tried to share. It's all a learning process as a parent and child.

We were all spoiled. It was a great holiday season in this house. We packed all the Christmas stuff up before the new year. I told Izzie that we had to say goodbye to Christmas for now, but it would be back soon.

Having Great Grandparents is Awesome!

We have had two visits this fall and winter so far from Izzie and Garrett's great grandparents. They are my mom's parents. They are in their 70's, but you would never know. They get around like a young newlywed 20 year old couple. They take a million trips a year all over the country to see family. We should be the ones going to see them haha! Maybe we should take a vacation up to Loudon, TN, to see them soon. We love them and the mountains. Match made in heaven.

They spoil the kids rotten with love and affection and presents. Each time they have brought balloons with them, because they are one of Garrett's favorite things. They also were secretly hoping he would warm up fast. He walked right up to them like he sees them everyday. Grandma bought Izzie a memory game and started teaching her how to play. Reminds me, I need to get it out and work with her on it.

It's also nice that I get to spend time with them, too. They love Todd, which makes me happy. I'm glad they approve of my decisions. My grandpa actually married us, some of you might remember. I just knew my dad would cry too much during the ceremony haha! It helps having a couple pastors in the family. My grandpa did wonderful.

This past visit in mid-December was just as great. They came for lessons on how to use their new iPhones. Yes, you heard right. They are using iPhones. I'm a little upset they haven't facetimed me as much, just kidding. They brought Izzie and Garrett, yes you guessed right, a bunch of balloons and a HUGE stuffed animal dog. I mean this dog is the biggest stuffed animal I have ever seen. My kids have some pretty large stuffed animals, too. They played on him the whole weekend.

Izzie often asks about where her Grandma and Grandpa are. I always tell her they will be back soon, because I know they will. We are blessed to have them.