The Lion's Den - My little Leo's

Evie - Indian Princess

2011-02-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

I can't get over this photo of you Evie... you had a mouth full of peanut butter M&M's that I was bribing you with to "SIT STILL". I told you to put your hands on your leg and then my lights wouldn't fire! You were so good though, you sat there until I got the picture - I think you can tell when I get excited about taking a photo of you all dressed up, because you will look at me with such sweet wonder. It's like, you want to see me happy and you will do just what I say to get the picture. The candy is just a bonus for being a good girl. I would get you into modeling if I thought you would like it... I just don't know where to start.

It was taken around the end of May, 2010. You had been in the bathtub, I was watching you play and sing when I got what I like to call a "wild hair". I didn't have anything special for you to wear but I was itching to get in the studio. So you let me blow dry your hair and played dress up until I figured it out. So much fun. My sweet baby doll <3 I love you.

Ethen...

2011-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

I think the following photos were taken around July last year. I had to bribe you with a dumdum :D It's hard these days to get a good photo of you because you are always, ALWAYS running from me or making faces when I grab my camera. My silly, sweet little boy... I love you so much.

Where does the time go?

2011-01-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

The end of last year was difficult... I had too much going on trying to juggle work full time, you two kids, a home, flying lessons, photography and some of the most unrelenting drama that for some reason, seems to fall in MY lap at no fault of my own.

I have so many photos to upload since my last photo post. I'm talking hundreds of photos so it is going to take a lot of time. Time I unfortunately, don't seem to have enough of these days. BUT I'm not giving up. I've stowed away your baby books with the good intention that I will keep up this blog and have SOMETHING for my babies to look at when they are no longer babies. (*Ehem* You will always be MY babies of course... but you understand what I mean).

On a side note ~ I've learned a few things over the past 6 months and I want to tell you about one of them...

I try hard to surround myself with good people (you should too) - but truly good people are hard to find and one day you will realize that no matter how hard you try, unless you become completely satisfied with the fact that YOU are a good person, that YOU don't lie, cheat and steal your way through life and that YOU are happy with who you are inside and out... there will always be people that challenge your spirit. If you aren't content with who you are you will compare yourself constantly and you will let the liars and the cheats break you down.

The hardest part about being around people who are challenging to deal with, is that sometimes you are forced to be around them. I don't know if it was Boss' new found love for life after his cancer diagnosis, hormones getting back to normal after having babies and breast feeding or just being sick of feeling overwhelmed, but a few things finally just clicked inside of me: I'm young. I'm talented. I'm a good person. I don't LIE to my friends and family... and I don't know anyone that I would rather be than me. Once I started reflecting on this... I thought about something that a friend had said and everything - all the stress and all the unimportant things - seemed to disappear. She said " Just remember Fer, YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM THEM, BUT THEY CAN'T WALK AWAY FROM THEMSELVES". It's so true! Think about it... Chances are there will be kids that make fun of you growing up, boyfriends or girlfriends that will break your heart, people you never imagined hurting you WILL. But as long as you are a good person - if you have a good grip on what that means - you will be fine because you can walk away from those people but they can't walk away from themselves. People who are mean and hateful to you are jealous. They can't think outside of the box because they are too busy trying to look inside yours. And why wouldn't they? You are far more interesting ;)

I have no doubt that the two of you will be amazing people. I hope it takes less time for you to realize this than it took me. You have one life and it's so short and sweet. It's too precious to waste immersed in anything other than your own dreams and aspirations. Take a leap of faith when you feel like you can't. Ask for help. Don't conform to an idea that's not yours. BE YOURSELF. Your daddy and I will love you no matter what.

Lately...

2010-06-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Evie you are talking more and more, albeit hard to understand to most people, I understand you perfectly fine :) Your favorite thing to do is sit in mommy's lap and squeeze my arms. You follow me around and cry if I don't carry you on my hip everywhere I go. You love to color. If someone isn't listening to you, you will physically turn their face to meet yours and yell louder - we all just think it's hilarious! You ask me for a sucker every day even though I tell you every day we don't have any suckers. You pitch a full blown fit when anyone tells you "no", throwing yourself to the floor, banging your head or biting yourself. You try and get my attention by yelling "Owe!" as if you hurt yourself so I will come running - then you search your legs and arms for any tiny scratch or scab to show me so I'll kiss it. You've developed a sense of humor. You will make funny faces by raising your eyebrows, pulling your cheeks with your fingers or sticking out your tongue. You like it when someone makes faces back :D You eat more than any kid anyone has ever seen. You are the first to sit down and demand food and the last to leave the table. When you're not at the table you are walking around dancing, singing and snacking on something... OR crying for me to hold you. You don't eat your boogers, you give them to me (gee thanks). You don't let anyone else hold you when I'm around. You have been in my bed for the last 4 months because Ethen showed you how to get our of your crib. You can't sleep without touching me. You like to kick and headbutt in your sleep but most of all you LOVE to cuddle, rub arms, pinch cheeks and be closer than close, face to face, nose to nose. You've been called the most adorable little girl in the world... until you pitch a fit. You grow more beautiful every day. You make it hard to say no, without saying a word. You're favorite song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

Ethen, you are so handsome I find myself staring at you, hugging and squeezing you a lot and you don't always like it but sometimes ask me for it. You are very opinionated and extremely smart. You laugh with your mouth wide open and it's contagious. You love to find things that you can put together and take apart. You are obsessed with taping things - I find tape all over the house - the walls, refrigerator, the dog... You love to follow daddy around and help. You love to dig in the dirt and are not afraid of bugs, frogs or worms... you pick them up and carry them around. You also like to help load the washer and dryer and get mad at me if I don't tell you before I do it. Same goes for the dish washer - you have to put the soap in. The iPhone has become your favorite pastime and you beg me for a new game every day. If we say no, you say YES! You like guns, toy guns, guns on tv, the gun app on iPhone that really does nothing but show you different kinds of guns and what they sound like when they are fired - but you LOVE it. You ask me for candy every day (I think this is where Evie gets it). You pick your nose a LOT. You are a fantastic big brother. You play with Evie and boss her around. You create little skits with her, like:

*deep voice*
You - Evie, where's the apple?
Evie - I don't know!!

*high pitched voice*
You - Evie where's the dog?
Evie - I don't know!!

*silly voice*
You - Evie where's mommy?
Evie - RIGHT THERE!

You guys just giggle and laugh and make stuff up like this all the time. Your favorite is to say "hey!hey! Who said that?" while spinning your head side to side like your looking for someone that whispered in your ear.

I love you both more than life itself. I am really nothing without you and your daddy. You make me who I am. You inspire me and fill me with love.

Easter Bunnies!

2010-03-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Edenfields came over Saturday with Buggs and I couldn't resist, this close to Easter, snapping a few shots with the kids and the little fur-ball. How stinkin' cute is he?!? Plus, I had been meaning to get some pics of Evie in her new Easter dress mommy made from a vintage pillow case and Ethen in his little patchwork shorts and striped tie! Good thing I did because it looks like we're going to DISNEY this weekend and will miss our annual Easter Egg hunt in the neighborhood.

Happy Easter!

Oh Sunny Day!

2010-02-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

The weather has been so extreme the last couple of weeks. One day it's freezing, the next it's a perfect 76 degrees. Last weekend was so beautiful we all ventured out into the back yard for the first time this year for some gardening and play time. The wind was still a tad chilly but back there, all fenced in and between houses, it was PERFECT. Ethen wanted to strip off his clothes and play in the water hose. He is as ready as I am for summer time!

Thanksgiving '09

2009-12-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

After seeing an ispirational photo that Aunt Jessica found, I started dreaming up images of all you kids perfectly placed in a fairytale setting with an old time feel. When Mimi said she would love to have a picture like that I thought, of course! Why couldn't we do something like that with you kids? So I told Mimi my ideas and she went out searching for the perfect outfits and did an amazing job finding what I had in mind.
Nothing was really planned out down to the details. We just had to get everyone to Alpine Groves and I imagined placing everyone in a specific spot, having your own preoccupation to keep you from running a muck... Well lets just put it this way, Aunt Jessica compared you guys to a shaken up soda can that exploded all over the place. I loved every minute of it though. What a great Thanksgiving Day ;D

Happy Birthday Freak Out!

2009-11-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

This is just too funny! During another impromptu photo shoot last weekend with the kids, we tried to get their attention by singing the "Happy Birthday" song. Ethen immediately burst into dance and ripped off his tie - excited much? I laughed so hard while I was editing these because it is SO Ethen. That crooked, clenched teeth smile / laugh thing he does when he's so hyper he doesn't know what else to do... I love it.

Here are the rest from our little photo shoot that night. I love how they turned out given that it was 9pm, Evie had Mac-N-Cheese in her hair, they were all filthy from running around the "Ham Jam" all day and being barefoot in the garage... and they were hopped up on marshmallows that we had to bribe them all with to do what we asked. All I can say is thank goodness for photo editing software. I think more photo shoots should be this fun and crazy ;)

'09 is comming to an end...

2009-11-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

...and I have photos floating around on my computer that need to be posted. What a wonderful year it's been even given the emotional roller coaster with Boss. Only a couple more chemo treatments to go! Woo~Hoo!

Lately...

2009-11-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

The kids have both been ending up in our bed around 5am. I don't mind it one bit although I do think pretty soon we're going to need a bigger bed. I snapped some shots of Evie a couple weeks ago when she woke up in the most adorable mood and looking so cute with her long baby hair.
I was also inspired by the light that was coming through our dining room windows one morning so I set up a rocking chair and took some shots of the kids there before a studio shoot I had later that morning. The studio pics of Evie are just some test shots pre-photo shoot to make sure my lighting was good. It was ;)

Little Angel

2009-10-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted these until now...
This was a little impromptu photo shoot I did with Evie to test out my studio lights. I had to replace some parts because they were not firing. They are working now!
I took these back in June. (Sorry Evie, mommy is TRYING to keep up :D)

"Wooooooooooooooow! Look at this!"

2009-09-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

After a weekend of frog racin', skeet shootin' and bootie shakin' in Tennessee for Interrail's Dove Hunt this year we came home to a large brown box sitting inside our front door. So I threw the kids in the tub for a quick bath then let them tear into the box. Birthday goodies from Uncle Jason and Uncle Justin! Woo hoo! What a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

Ethen has been playing non-stop with the "clay-dough" and the special tool that cranks out strings of the stuff that looks like worms. At first I was scared to give him more than one color but last night we busted into the 24pack... I got a little carried away myself! I was so surprised to see all the variations of colors, especially white! I never remembered there being white when I was a kid. Ethen's new bedtime ritual is coloring in his Diego Wonder Color book while watching one of his bazillion Diego movies. Color Wonder is the bomb diggity. Yes, I said it. BOMB DIGGITY!! Evie toddled around all night with one that had the cap off and I didn't have to yank it from her tiny grasp for fear she would color herself or the walls. That was until... she tried eating it. Oh well.

Evie usually wakes up at 5:50am on the nose... or somewhere in between there and 6:15am anyway. Well last night I put the sock monkey (who she named "kitty kitty" since it the only thing she can say) in the crib with her and I don't know if it was that or the fact that it's my birthday and she decided not to stress me out by dragging everything out of my bathroom cabinets while I tried to get ready this morning - but she slept until I woke her up at 7!! Not a peep out of her all night! I think she felt safer with Kitty Kitty in there with her to snuggle. I just hope it doesn't get ALL of her morning snuggles :D

Double the Giggles Double the Fun...

2009-08-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ethen is turning Three and Evie is turning One!

I can't believe my babies are getting so big. It's so bitter sweet.

When we did the cupcake photo shoot I just DIED laughing the whole time. Evie is so animated. I wanted to get a shot of the cupcake before it was destroyed, which I did, but I was fighting her back the whole time. Then when I FINALLY sat her down in front of it she sat there with her lips puckered, looking at me as if to say "really?!?" Once she realized I was not going to try to remove her from her precious cupcake she dug right in... a little shy at first then finally picked it up and shoved it in her mouth. Classic. Love it. Ethen was beating the door down the whole time screaming "Mommy I can't see you! Mommy I want some cupcake too!" so I couldn't keep him out for long. As you can see he helped feed the cupcake to Evie so she wouldn't get her hands dirty and even helped clean the icing off her face! He wasn't as cooperative for the studio pics. I'm surprised I even got as many as I did. He would much rather help me take the photos or make Evie laugh.

The dress Evie is wearing in the outdoor photos was handmade with love by me. I was hoping to make some matching shoes and the flower / feather thing on the back is actually a hair piece but her hair had been up in those pig tails all day so it wasn't going to do lay down so I could put a barret in it. Still... it was a fun quick shoot and I love the dress - especially the apron!

Playing House

2009-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

2009-06-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Jeff turned 29 on the 24th.
I love how Ethen blew the candle out the second the birthday song ended...

A typical day after work.

2009-06-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Coochie coochie coo!

2009-06-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I just love the sound Evie makes when she laughs hard. Previous to taking this video she was attacked by the tickle bug, which gave me the idea to take video because it was hilarious! She sounds like a baby tiger or something... Listen carefully. I think I wore her out on the first session so she wasn't laughing as hard this time. Next time I'll have the video rolling before the tickle bug attacks :D

My Little Cubs

2009-06-03T09:48:00.001-07:00

Growing Baby Girl.

2009-05-27T12:26:00.001-07:00

Evie is trying SO HARD to walk on her own, unassisted. It's making me crazy. I have these reality checks where I sit and stare at my kids and wonder where in the world the time has gone. Evie was just born. She was just 10lbs. She was just learning how to laugh out loud. She was just sitting up, crawling, chasing her big brother... you catch my drift.

Here's a little video of her scooting the bar stool around in the kitchen, her new favorite thing to do.

Preggers.

2009-05-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a few from Mother's Day last year, "prego" with Evie Pearl. I came across them while cleaning up my home computer. I loved my tummy :D

First Pool Party!

2009-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Pow pow!

2009-04-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

He's shooting birds right out of the sky! And yes, those are The Incredible Hulk Underwear... those make him stronger. His Spider Man pajamas help him climb the walls too!

Nature Boy

2009-04-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

I love this photo of Ethen helping Copper hunt lizards in the buff. As the sun started to go down it got a little chilly but he refused to put his clothes back on, so I wrapped him up in a towel monk style! He loved it :D

Then he did a little sidewalk chalk art by the pool. He called it the jungle and T-Rex lived there. Before I could drag him inside he took one more dip in the pool - but not before dropping his towel and giving the yard a trim in his birthday suit again! He's very good entertainment. We don't miss not having cable at all with him around! Evie and I just watch and laugh.

Finley turnes 3!

2009-04-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 3 years since Finn was born.

Time flies when you're having fun!

I can't believe my own little man will be 3 in just a few short months and Evie will be ONE. Makes me feel anxious to take advantage of their littleness now! I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping up but it just seems hectic sometimes...

Crawling...

2009-04-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Evie is all over the place! She crawled for the first time on April 4th, just a couple of "steps" on her hands and knees. Now she will crawl on carpet like a pro, but the second she gets on smooth floor she scoots, dragging one leg! Her right leg from the knee down is getting calloused so I'll have to find some more baby leggs - the little stockings that cover their precious little knees when they start crawling. Thanks to her buddy Luka and Aunt Jessica she has a couple of pairs already :D

I tried to get some photos of the kids on Friday night - I had my lights all set up for a photo shoot that didn't end up happening and I had the kids Easter outfits all laid out. So I thought, why not make the most of my time? As it turns out it was a big waste of time. Evie HAS to be crawling or in crawling position now so we tried to get Ethen to hold onto her to keep her from going anywhere. That just made her mad. She threw herself over and Ethen, being the sweet big bother he is, laid over onto her and kept smiling for the picture! So, maybe it wasn't a total waste of time. I think this is funny.

Easter Weekend Fun!

2009-04-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend was action packed! Friday night we ate dinner at Mimi & Boss' (Boss makes the best grilled chicken!) then Finn, Chris and Colleen came over to play for a bit. Saturday we had a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt followed by all day fun in the sun and Sunday we went out on the boat to the Outback Crab Shack for an early dinner followed by ANOTHER Egg Hunt at the Becker's, more dinner and dessert!

Eggcellent!

2009-04-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a blast at the "Anderson Ranch". All the kids played so well together and the highlight of the day was the egg hunt! Ethen was a little confused as to what exactly was going on when uncle Steven yelled "GO"!! But he got the hang of it. He started things off by pee-peeing on the tree - Yay!

Now for a few videos...
Mason in the swing! How funny is this...

Ethen, Finn and Ella eating...

The pep talk...

No wonder he was confused! Listen to how many times we yell "Ethen!!"

Alyssa and Ella found a spot in the front yard together where they could sit and eat ALL of their candy because "we're hungry!" Alyssa exclaimed ;)

Ending the night with a little YO GABBA GABBA!!!
(Notice at the very end where Ethen gives Alyssa's hair a little tug and she socks him in the eye... ha ha!)

Puffs!

2009-04-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Evie you are eating Puffs! This makes me giggle. Look how you chew!

Pissed off...

2009-04-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not pissed off but apparently Ethen is worried if anyone else is! Yesterday when I picked him up from school his daily report said "Ethen was very silly today - he repeatedly asked his friends if they were 'pissed off'?"

Yeah, not so funny. And I don't believe it one bit. He tells me everything and when I asked him about it he had no idea what I was saying. His speech isn't all that understandable sometimes (He calls Greg "Doug" and has a hard time with F's sometimes - not a big deal) so I think his teacher may have been mistaken... none the less I am putting that daily report in his baby book for keeps!

While Jeff was gone this past week workin' on the railroad I had to come up with new ways to get Ethen to cooperate when I had my hands full. Skittles and an Easter basket anyone? Yeah... he got his basket early. I didn't know what else to do. All that it had in it was sour skittles that I told him was just a sneak peak. I said that the Easter bunny came by to drop of his basket and wanted me to tell him to get ready for the big egg hunt at aunt Jessica's because he's going to hide LOTS of eggs and candy! He can hardly wait. I plan on taking the kids on Saturday for photos with the Easter bunny at Peterbrooks... we'll see how that pans out.

Besties

2009-03-31T05:50:00.000-07:00

Gracie & Evie!

SHOES!

2009-03-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

Evie's shoes were too big... but, she will grow into them soon I hope :)
As for my shoe making adventure this week - I couldn't be more happy with the way Gracie's shoes turned out(Gracie is Evie's BFF, more on those two later). I am aware of some aesthetic problems but a sewing machine will fix that. My sewing skills are a bit shaky so I didn't realize how obvious the stitching was going to be until I stepped back to look at the shoes. It's all good - they are adorable and I can't wait to jazz Evie's tootsies up with some crazy cute shoes!

dream big.

2009-03-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

I was never a little boy, obviously... and I don't remember my little brother being into G.I. Joe's or any other hero action figures, so last this last night hanging out with Ethen opened my eyes to a whole new world. A little boys world. I've known he was into guns, loud noises, airplanes (or helicopters), bugs and anything electrical - that's always been part of Ethen. But last night we were hanging out on the couch, he in his Handy Manny underwear and me in my pj pants, just talking and reading his "Who's This" book about different trucks. (It's such a funny book actually, there's "Dumptruck Dan" and "Mac the Mac Truck"... then you get to the end and the Garbage truck is "Gabriella the Garbage Truck". So what's up with the only girl in the mix being a garbage truck?!?) Anyway we got on the subject of Spider-man somehow and I told Ethen that Spider Man was really a boy named Peter Parker who got bit by a spider and so now he can shoot spider webs from his wrists! I proceeded to do "the move" that Spider-man does when he shoots his web. "So, bad guys WATCH OUT because here comes Spider-man!" Ooooh boy did I pave a road for Ethen's imagination! He wouldn't stop talking about it for the rest of the night. He even told me the story I had just told him while acting it out! The spider biting Peter was the scariest part... he tickled up my arm with his little fingers then pinched me (the spider bit Peter)!! This morning I didn't have to go wake him up - he came bouncing into the living room acting like Spider-man, shooting his web everywhere and of course HAD to wear his only pair of Spidy underwear and his only Spidy T-shirt. I think I've created a monster. A cute Spidy-loving monster :)

It made me want to remember what sparked my imagination as a kid. All I can remember being obsessed with was certain toys. A baton filled with glitter, with shiny mylar streamers. My purple bike with a banana seat big enough for 3 kids and a basket on the front ready for rescuing kittens! Barbies. Roller Skates.

I guess the closest thing I could come up with in comparison to what Ethen imagines is when I was a lot older than he is now, maybe 6 to 8 years old, I would daydream about being a rock star. I would imagine getting up on stage at school and bustin' out some crazy song and dance that everyone would be in awe of. Ha ha! Or I would pretend I was a Mermaid in the swimming pool. I guess it's the same thing, just not as specific as Spider-man. Maybe my imagination is just not as wild as Ethen's... his teachers compliment on his imagination all the time and say it's a good thing and to feed it. How do you do that?!? Seems like whatever I'm doing is good enough seeing as he can turn a piece of bark into a lizard or a piece of tape into a guitar :) He does this all on his own!!

In The Works...

2009-03-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm going to name these Evie's Tie-Dye Sunrise :)
They still need a strap which I'm going to fasten with one of the button's pictured (click photo to enlarge). I'm thinking the daisy is too nostalgic - but so cute? I like the vintage looking dark yellow too... Mmmmm... I am also going to reinforce the edges with a little loop stitch and put an extra piece of felt in to give the sole a little more support. More photos soon :)

Dabble dabble.

2009-03-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have been toying with the idea of making baby to toddler sized aprons since I had Evie. I haven't had the time or money really to get started with everything else going on between work and the photography business. It's been really bugging me lately though. I have a creative itch that needs scratching so to speak.

Last October I made these little tutu ensembles for Ella and Alyssa. They were a huge hit, although they dropped the tutu's like a hot potato when they saw the bouncy house Jess rented for them. FYI it's much easier to jump in a bouncy house without a tutu on for everyone to step on ;)

Considering my itch to make aprons and the popularity of the tutu outfits, I did a little more research on ideas for baby and toddler sized apparel that I thought would be easy enough for me to make and possibly distribute for a fee. A little extra mullah never hurt anyone! Since posting my blog about the $50 sitting fees and tutu's I have booked two photo shoots and received one tutu ensemble order (in pinks!) This really got my wheels turning... I'm pretty crafty I think. I could come up with something else that might sell and if not, I just have to make sure that either Ethen or Evie can wear whatever it is that I put together and no tears will be shed.

Today on my break I dabbled in felt shoe making - And I feel like this will most likely become an addiction. Funky aprons and felt shoes?!? Crazy big flower headbands?!? Feather earrings?!? Buttons, lace, fabrics, screen printing and sewing machines?!? I'm so excited! Here's a couple of pics of the shoe I made today. I have a bolt (A BOLT) of green felt that was in the attic of this house we just bought... I gotta do something with it. I could make hundreds of pairs of green shoes!

This is how our Garden Grows :)

2009-03-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday couldn't have been more beautiful! We transplanted all of our sprouts into big pots. There were so many that we had no choice but to put some of them in the ground and chance it, because without a fence they will most likely get trampled by the dog or Ethen's little feet. Kayla stayed with us all weekend and we've seriously considered adopting the little do-gooder. She got up Saturday morning and made us pancakes, then helped with the kids, then helped us transplant the sprouts with much enthusiasim... followed by some fun time in the hammock. She made me laugh so hard my face hurt! She convince me that I had to try this and I did. It was scary and WAY fun too :)

Cartersville, GA - Home Sweet Home!

2009-03-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about Cartersville a lot lately... I miss the mountains and my childhood buddies. When Ethen was about 8 months old, Jessica, Steven, their girls, Ethen and I all went to Cartersville for Shawna's wedding and we made the most of our visit! We took the kids to Cooper's Furnace, Lookout Mountian, Dillanger Park and the Etowah Indian Mounds. I miss the Doogwood trees and cows behind our house. I miss swimming it the creek, riding go-carts through the cotton fields and playing in the red clay when it rained. I wish things hadn't changed so much so we could go back and do things like that with our kids now. There are houses on top of the cotton fields and "our spot" at the river now. The arrowheads we found and left there under our special tree are most likely gone or in a museum somewhere, the tree bridge - gone.

Some things remain the same, like the mountains in the distance, Ross' diner under the bridge, the old ballet studio and Grand theater still stand as well as the old train depot. The shops may change but the buildings down Old Main St. still have their nostalgic appeal. I'm homesick :(

I'm looking forward to the Irish Picnic this year in Tennessee and taking Ethen. Although they have a couple of new buildings in town, little has changed in McEwen. They still rent videos out of a moble home or the Quick Stop gas station, there's only one street light and the Dairy Queen is still the "it" place to hang out for high school kids.
Maybe it's time for a road trip!
Here's a little slide show from our visit to Cartersville back in '07. Ethen was just 8 months old. Evie was still just a dream at the time!

Suwanee trip '07

2009-03-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here I go again... posting old stuff :)
This is from April '07 - Suwannee Spring Fest! Ethen's first camping excersion!

The Evie's

2009-03-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I hadn't posted pics of the two Evie's together for the first time. So without further ado, here are a couple of photos of my two Evie's! Taken Thanksgiving 2008. Baby Evie was 3 months old. She couldn't keep her shoes on :)

A night in my shoes...

2009-03-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a little collection of recent videos I took of Ethen messin' around the house & Evie just being cute. My personal favorite is our college interview!

Round two of LATV! I don't know what the name of this song is but whenever it comes on Ethen starts acting crazy. Very entertaining!

Awwww little Evie Bird....

We've gotten a lot of slack about letting Ethen run around with toy guns. Jeff and I were both raised around guns - safety was instilled in us both since we were able to shoot a gun and I believe that accidents we hear about where kids shoot kids while playing with guns is the parents fault 100% for not talking to their kids about it, letting them shoot and most of all for not keeping them safely locked up and out of sight!

Cowboy Happy Feet...

New Love

2009-03-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with juicing!
This all came about because Jeff and I would come home, cook dinner, feed and bathe the kids, then plop down on the couch and just wait for the clock to hit 8:30 so we could tell Ethen to go to bed and then go to sleep ourselves. Nothing would get done during the week. I started to feel awful about Ethen wanting to do nothing else but watch movies when he got home. Granted we do dance around the house quite a bit or play games and color for a while during the time it takes for Jeff to prepare dinner, and he does play outside at daycare all day, but when we get home it's as if we've all ran a marathon! Not so much anymore though!
Although we're still tired in the evenings I realized that we have good reason to be. It makes perfectly good sense that I should feel that way after not sleeping good most nights (Evie is STILL in my bed) and running around trying to get things done with two kids after a day of work is exhausting. Jeff climbs up and down ladders all day, swings a hammer and operates various other tools all day - then comes home every night to cook and clean. Well we're not old enough to feel so worn out though!
So I initially did some research on vitamins. We are taking multivitamins every night now... but something had been lacking for the first week or so. I didn't feel any better and neither did Jeff. We were all on the verge of horrible sinus infecting colds also. So in one sitting I drank a gallon of the fresh orange juice my dad made - just to see if it would help. The next day I felt like a bazillion (that's a lot) bucks! I had a light bulb moment. Juicing. My mom used to juice all the time and I remember looking into it but never having the time or patience for cleaning the machine afterwords. It makes a mess. Not only that but we weren't sure if it was more or less expensive than just buying store bought juice. I know fresh juice is WAY better for you though and after doing research on the subject found that there are people out there that swear juicing has cured them of everything from arthritis to cancer!
Well long story short I have been juicing for about 3 weeks, once or twice a day. I LOVE it. L-O-V-E IT! I feel as if juicing is a total placebo for me or else I have been looking through sepia toned glasses for the past couple of years and juicing has removed those glasses. Everything seems brighter! I feel better!
Ethen isn't a fan of the carrot juice and neither is Jeff (he says his body came equipped with it's own juicer called his stomach and he would much rather eat 10 raw carrots than drink the juice). He doesn't drink much of anything I juice actually. He has however been eating more of a raw diet which goes along with my new "Ereaka" diet. *Special thanks to Justin for motivation material on that subject!
After the very first time juicing I felt horribly guilty for throwing away the pulp that's left behind. I tried to think of different ways to use it and have come up with the following for the fruit pulp: #1 - mix pulp with a little bit of orange or grapefruit juice until it's apple sauce consistancy. Ethen Loves it! I've even given him pulp like this that had carrots in it. #2 - add toher flavors of store bought juice and a little lemon juice to the pulp and pour into the food dehydrator to make fruit leather snacks! It's so delish!! The reason I say store bought is because most store bought juice has added sugar so it sweetens the fruit leather a little - I've also tried honey and that's yummy. Lemon juice keeps the fruit from oxidizing and turning brown. It's more appetizing when it's pink, purple or green... not black. Although with the way Ethen eats I wouldn't be surprised if he ate it anyway. The lemon juice adds nutritional value as well.
Below is a slide of a few photos I took documenting my new diet. The possiblities are endless for what you can juice and dehydrate.

Garden

2009-03-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

We're growing things! Yummy, green, leafy things! Radishes, Okra, pole beans, cucumber... this is just the beginning! Ethen loves to see how big the plants get each day. I can't believe how huge the pole beans are already. We'll have to transplant them soon - if the weather will stop fluctuating so much!

First Day...

2009-03-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

First day of daycare, first day of many many days spent back and forth to the doctor treating everything you can possibly contract from a building full of snotty nosed children, first day without your Mimi taking care of you while mommy is at work. First day with a stranger... with a ROOM full of strangers. How will you do? I miss you already Evie!

This is you in the jumper they have there at Primrose. You liked it. You didn't care that I left. You didn't care that I was trying to document your first day either! No smiles!

"Speek to Me Oh Mystic beings!"

2009-02-27T04:39:00.000-08:00

We must watch Happy Feet 10 times or more a week. This week we've watched it I KNOW at the very least 8 times. There's still two days left! Ethen's favorite character is Lovelace, or as Ethen calls him "Muglace". He convinces everyone that mystic beings speak to him and tell him the future... so funny.
It's not as bad as Diego because it's a full length feature not just the same 30min cartoon over and over. The sound of that kids voice on Diego is starting to make me crazy - he yells constantly! Dora too!If Ethen ever grows out of liking Diego I'll have to send him to his room listening to one of the 5 Deigo movies he has, over and over again as punishment so he knows what Jeff and I have been suffering through! I wish he would go through a Yo Gabba Gabba phase again, that show is hilarious! And the music is so cool and catchy... I can't tell you how many times I wake up in the morning singing "There's a party in my tummy! So yummy, So yummy!" The bass in that song is off da chain! Ha ha...
I like the music in Happy Feet too and most nights I don't feel guilty about not having time to work out because I end up dancing around the house holding Ethen until I get winded anyway. So I'm glad he's all about Happy Feet right now.
Latest news on Evie: she's got her first double ear infection! Nooooooo! And just days before she starts daycare. Poor baby... she's so sick. Ethen has been coughing and had a low grade fever lately but that's the least of my worries right now, because yesterday when I picked him up there was a note at the bottom of his daily report: "There's a stomach flu going around! Watch out for high fever, vomiting and runny bm". Fantastic. Last night Ella and Alyssa came over for a little while - this morning Ella threw up all over the car on the way to school so Jess took her back home. She and Ethen shared cheese last night... pray for my sanity if my kids get the stomach flu too!

Ethen's Air Guitar!

2009-02-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Okay so you know those sticker strips that come on new clothes labeling their size? I peeled one off of a onesie of Evie's that said "3-6 months" and Ethen wanted it. So I handed it over. We were watching the Latin Channel (we don't have cable so sometimes whatever we can pick up on with the antenna is what we're stuck watching - unless it's Happy Feet, Diego, Yo Gabba Gabba or Over the Hedge). Next thing I know Ethen has put the sticker across the top of his tummy and was pretending it was guitar strings! I didn't get it the first couple of times he did it but once I realized what he was doing I ran and grabbed the camera. He's so crazy! My apologies for it being sideways... I forget that I can't flip it around like a photo on the computer.

My First Valentine's Day!

2009-02-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

She was cranky at first but I gave her a flower and daddy came in the room... Daddy always makes her smile!

Be Mine!

2009-02-19T10:13:00.001-08:00

Just a few of many photos taken during Ethen's Valentine's Day party! The little girl with the out-of-control curly hair is his "girlfriend" Evie!

Who's kid is this?!?

2009-02-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

He's mine... for a whole 2.5 years now... but if I didn't know better I would swear aliens have come down and possesed my little boy! For whatever reason he has stopped crying and latching on for dear life when I drop him off at school in the mornings, he doesn't put up a fight to go to bed - he just goes and he's using the potty!! This all happened within days of each other. Apparently this is what they call "when the magic happens".
We've been struggling for almost a year with Ethen during drop-off's. He would start crying the second we pulled into the daycare parking lot. His teacher would have to pry him off of me or I would have to run the second he averted his attention, which was rare. Nothing seemed to make it better for him and I would cry sometimes when it was really bad. My baby was crying for me! He wanted me to hold him and had big tears rolling down his cheeks! But I had to leave... and it totally ruined the first part of my day... until NOW!
Potty training would come and go. We tried ever since he was 15 months old. He got it pretty good at first and would poop every day on his musical potty when he was about 18 months. However, when I got pregnant with Evie my enthusiasim for cleaning a training potty dwindled quick - and so did his enthusiasim for using the it. We would try it again every now and then but he lot interest completely... until NOW!
We moved just before I had Evie, into my parent's. We created a monster there. Previous to the move-in we used to be able to just put him in his crib at bed time and never hear a peep. He had been a really great sleeper since he was about 4 months old. Then we started letting him stay up with us at night. At first we would watch tv in bed until he passed out, then it got to the point where he wouldn't want to sit there and would try to jump off the bed, start kicking his legs really hard or demand our attention some other way. So we tried turning the tv off and just demanding that he go to sleep. That didn't work because I had to pee every 10 minutes - so every time I got up he would want to go with me. Jeff tried for a night or two to do this by himself but then Ethen would just scream for me. I would whisper stories to him about a magical dog named Copper or adventures that he would have with Ella and Alyssa. Jeff was no good at that. So we tried walking him in the stroller. I wanted the baby out anyway and they said walking would help... Pretty soon Ethen was trying to jump out of the stroller or was screaming to get out. Plan "E" was Jeff taking him for a ride around the block in his bike trailor. That worked once or twice but not for long. He would protest even getting near the thing. We would dread the sunset, knowing we had to think of a way to get him to sleep - Until NOW!!!
One morning I dropped him off at school, it was "bring your favorite tool" day and he had his tape measure and saw in tow. He was so proud of his tools. He sat them down and didn't take his eyes off them when he made his way to the sink to wash his hands. I helped him roll up his sleeves and prepared to make a run for it when he looked up and said "mommy, you have to go to work"! Then when I came to pick him up he didn't come running for me! He sat on the ground playing with mulch with his new girlfriend, named Evie ironically (he calls her E.V.O.O - in the cooking world that stands for Extra Vergin Olive Oil and he says it like he's saying Evie Oh Oh! Too funny). I had to drag him away from her. It's been like that for the past two weeks. Photos coming soon of his V-Day party with Evie :)
Also, starting about two weeks ago, he is going on the potty more frequently. One Saturday I kept him in his "big boy" undies all afternoon. He had one little accident but stopped himself when he realized what he had done, went to the potty chair and finished all by himself! The next morning I was getting dressed when I heard his potty chair start singing from across the house. He had been in bed, dead asleep when I started to get dressed so he got up, went across the house and undressed himself to go potty!
When 8:30 rolls around Jeff and I can get him ready for bed, kiss him goodnight and send him to his bed. We don't have to do anything else to prepare him. He doesn't want us laying down with him, sometimes he wants us to tuck him in but other than that - nothing. He is out like a light within 5 minutes!
People told me all the time that "he will do it when he's ready... when the magic happens... when terrible two's are over" and it's true! Thank the lord it's TRUE!

4th of July '08!

2009-02-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... I'm a little LATE posting this one too :)

I will forever remember Ethen's face when he saw fireworks for the first time. I cried! The wonder and amazement on his face was just too much. I imagined what he thought seeing something like that for the first time... and we were so glad that he wasn't scared so he could enjoy it.

Our trip to the St. Augustine Aligator Farm!

2009-02-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

Ethen was hilarious... nervous yet amazed at all the gators and other animals they have here. He is totally obsessed with watching the one Diego movie that involves Pygmy Marmosets because he wants one. Now that he's seen them in person he won't stop talking about them. They were attracted to him like bees to honey! Of course they probably thought he had food... and I didn't get a good photo of the monkey's because they were squirly little suckers - jumping and running around in the cage. The camera had a hard time focusing on anything but the wire cage rather than what was inside. But trust me, these little guys are so unbelievably cute!

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a PLETHORA of photos and video!!

2009-02-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

So... I just received the new USB cord for our Nikon P5000 that has been lost for a while and I immediately uploaded the contents of the card inside. But then I realized there was another card in the camera case FULL of photos! I just downloaded 115 photos and 4 videos from last July. LAST JULY people! And I am pretty sure there are a couple sitting around at the house full as well. Scary. Seems to me that I need to add another resolution to this years growing list. I MUST do a better job of keeping up with my photos and getting them printed. No more waiting until the end of the year! And I MUST figure out how to use our DVD burner that we received 2 years ago for Christmas so these videos are not lost forever.
Here is a video of Ethen from last year... sometime in late June or July. When he still had his curls :(

Details...

2009-02-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd go ahead and post the video while I'm at it... because Evie in action is just too cute not to. The mobile doesn't exactly match but it's bright, fun colors for her to look at and it plays BIRD noises!

Evie's Tree!!

2009-02-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Finally! Here are the pictures of Evie's tree that my mom painted for her. My vision + her artistic abilities = Coolest little girl's room EVER!!

Pearls For Evie Pearl

2009-02-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

I think that in addition to the Mia Joie hair flower, these pearls will likely appear in many of the photo sessions I have with Evie from now on. I love them! Look at her leg rolls!!! She's so tiny and fat!

I find it hard to believe that I am months behind on taking and editing the photos I want of my own kids but find time to please those around me by taking and editing photos of their kids with no problem. Why is that?!? I've had these pictures of Evie on my computer for months now and have yet to do anything with them. Last night I finally (FINALLY) had a little time to sit down and edit some photos from July, yes that's right, July 2008. So I hopped on my computer, opened up my editing program and... "Error"? There's an "error" and the program has to shut down? Huh. So I re-boot and try again... and again I received the error notice.
Okay so you know when things start to happen, bad things and everyone says they come in 3's? Does loosing your mind count? Because I'm fairly sure last night my mind escaped me for a bit. I sat staring at the computer screen completely dumbfounded for an entire half hour. First my USB cord disappears. Followed by a power cord for one of my studio lights. Now this? Of course! I have a photo shoot with another PHOTOGRAPHER in two weeks... of course this would happen to me. Especially at a time when I am being stretched to my financial limits.
As for the other two things that were bad -(horrible would suit these situations more appropriatly)#1 is that a family friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer and that's never good. We don't know the extent of it yet so I am praying for her. She goes in for surgery this week. #2 is that I found out last week that one of my closest girlfriends had a miscarraige. Devistating. She was 7 weeks along but was told there was no heartbeat. I couldn't put into words in a hundred blogs how bad I wanted to try and comfort her but everything that came to mind to say was just not going to make it better. I knew that first hand, having had a "chemical pregnancy" months before finally getting pregnant with Evie. No matter how many people told me it was not my fault and that we would have another baby it just didn't help the hurt. Once a woman sees that little line appear on a test something indescribable happens inside. Especailly if you've already had a baby. I had two positive tests and the new baby was already so real to me I could smell it... that new baby smell... and that feeling that warms your entire body and soul with a new baby. We associate life with the future naturally, so to have that taken away after having days or weeks to contemplate it is so devistating to a woman's spirit. I could not comfort my friend so I just told her I would be here if she needs me. I cried and I prayed for her too.
I hope loosing my mind does count as bad thing #3 because I don't want anymore bad news. Not that everything is bad - I mean Ethen is doing 100 times better now that he's on a controller for his asthma and allergies. He's like a totally different kid these days! I'll post photos and more about Evie and Ethen in another blog... as soon as I get the new USB I ordered!!

Can someone pull this foot out of my mouth?

2009-02-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we invited friends over for game night and most of the people who were coming had not seen the house so I wanted to make sure everything was clean and perfect. I spent all day fretting about little details, running around like a mad woman trying to get rid of any evidence that we had a dog and two kids - any evidence that our house stays looking like a bomb went off throwing clothes, food and toys everywhere.
Jeff had been outside all day replacing fencing that the dog had busted through and adjusting sprinkler heads so that our lawn received more water than our driveway and sidewalk. When he came in for the first time he commented on "how awesome" it looked and I felt so proud and even gloated about how fortunate we are to have such a great new place.
Our friends arrived and made me feel even more big headed about it, saying how grown up it was and how jealous they were... wondering if they could have their summer birthday parties there and if they could commission me to help them decorate their own places. I was thoroughly enjoying myself, showing off my wallpaper sample, talking about all the changes I wanted to make and all the ideas I had for each room.
But as the night went on I started feeling like I should crawl under a rock and hide...
I knew the economy was bad... but I didn't realize just how bad until the subject was brought up. Someone mentioned Target and how they are laying off hundreds of people and might be closing a location or two locally. I felt the sting of worry hit me. My cousin is a manager at a local Target. Then one friend of ours who is a soon-to-be new daddy expressed how concerned he was about the money he was bringing home and needs a new job. The conversation of the lack of new jobs brought up more conversation about loosing jobs and next thing I know, two people in the room were upset because one had just lost his job and has been unemployed for a month, the other didn't know if she would have a job on Monday... and there is NO work in their fields to be found. The air got thick fast. It was hard to listen to but familiar - people all around us were loosing their jobs.
Suddenly everything I had wanted for the past five years, that I finally had, I wished would disappear (all of the material things). Suddenly I wish I would have left some toys scattered, some clothes laying around, the dog food all over the kitchen floor... I wished it didn't look so "awesome" in there anymore. Suddenly I felt like a jack-ass for trying to put on a "perfect" facade for my friends I thought were, in my eyes, above it all - with their years of college and fancy degrees that we don't have. Suddenly I realized just how concerned Jeff really was about his own job. I wanted to tell everyone how desperate we were too, that we're not "sitting pretty" either. That Jeff is worried about work and we're stressed out about what little money we can keep in the bank... that we only got this house because the owner took an insane offer (due to the plummeting housing market) and our parents helped a huge deal. That we have credit card debt that we can't pay off because of the mounting bills and astronomical daycare payments. That we can't afford cable. That we still owe money to the hospital for Evie's birth. That I've been clipping coupons and shopping at the dreaded Wal-Mart I so enthusiastically protested a couple of years ago - for food and diapers. (The Rollbacks got me... and I'm not ashamed to admit anymore!).
If people are not shopping retail why would they spend money on fancy interior trim or home renovations? Are we going to be in the same boat soon? Jeff is the only one out of 6 people who did not get laid off just before Christmas. He is the only employee left... just him. His boss has had no real work so he has Jeff put hours to "maintenance" for these fancy beach vacation homes he's working in, adjusting doors and replacing hardware that didn't really need replacing. (Whoever owns these homes obviously aren't concerned about our economy if they can afford to own a beach home they visit for one month out of the year and pay to maintain it all year... so there's really no guilt involved.)
How long can this keep going though? His boss keeps promising work but the days are slipping by fast. Just last month we spent a small fortune taking Ethen and Evie to the doctor. The dentist has taken a back seat which could end up costing us more in the long run but what else can we do? That makes me wonder how much professions such as dentistry and optometry are suffering too. When will it hit bottom? How many more of our friends will end up unemployed? Will we get another contract with the railroad? Will we be laying people off soon?
I really feel so fortunate that we're in the position we're in even though it's hard, because it could be worse. I had no idea that some of my closest friends and family were living out fears that we've had in the back of our own minds for months now. And all I can do is hope and prey that we'll be fine and that everything works out with our friends as well. The good thing is that everyone seems to be very optimistic. I know I am.
So it happens that game night (although very entertaining during "Ghetto Charades") turned into a night of bantering about our economy, about where things are going with our new president and who's going to take the first job at McDonald's... and nobody was "above it".
I started collecting articles about the times to save for the kids, not knowing if they will care later that we went through an economic depression or not. Or care that when they were still in diapers we elected the first African American President to run our country. By the time they are our age who knows what the world will be like and who's in the white house.

A diddy for daddy

2009-01-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

We all scream for Ice Cream

2009-01-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

This was Ethen's first taste of Ice Cream. He thought it was funny :)

Lost and Found

2009-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

I was going through my computer cleaning out photos that I had already uploaded to Snapfish... careful not to delete anything, when I came across a few videos.
This one is from 2007 - We went High Railing down an abandoned Norfolk Southern Railroad track. For you non-rednecks out there, High Railing means that we were in fancy trucks with wheels like a train on the inside of the tires that come down with the push of a button, allowing us to "high-jack" railroad tracks. The scary part is... if there were a train-a-commin' you cannot just drive off the track, you're stuck.

"I feel like a piece of my heart is missing...

2009-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

...and I think it's you."
That was the card I got in the mail yesterday. My best friend in the world sent me a tear jerker card because she felt bad about not staying in touch better. Well I'm not exactly on top of things here either! I can't stand it. It made me cry and made me angry too, because I hate that she feels bad about it. It's always been understood that no matter how much time passes since we spoke we still think about each other almost every day. So for her to send me something like that calls for an emergency vacation I think.
I call her my best friend, but I always tell Jeff that if there is any way you can have two soul mates she is my other one. It's amazing how much we're connected... I like to use the word cosmic actually. It was love at first site for both of us I think. We met on a tennis team in 7th grade. She is the exact opposite of me. I am tall, fair skinned and blonde, she is a short, dark haired, olive skinned American Indian. People always commented on what a funny pair we were.
We were inseperable from the beginning. I had plenty of friends but they might as well have fell off the face of the earth. We did everything together. I still laugh to myself when I think about all the dumb stuff we did, all the funny things she would do and how comfortable we were acting like complete idiots with each other. I miss her so bad. It's worse now, this ache, now that she sent me such a sad letter. I have to go see her or vice-versa there's just no question about it.
Last time we got together was her wedding but we didn't get to talk much. She was in a whirlwind of people and faces and I understood. I was a little broken hearted that we didn't get to spend more time together but I was just happy to see her on her wedding day anyway. She was radiant!
Before I had Ethen we met in Savannah for a girls weekend and had a blast. It was no surprise that we had packed almost the exact same outfits. Yellow pinstripe pants, white t-shirt, Mia shoes, same color bathing suit... we even had the same body lotion, chapstick and mascara. The more we talked and gabbed about our favorite clothes and music at the time, the more we realized how much we were still alike, in every way. It's cosmic I tell you! We can't even look at eachother without laughing or smiling. I've never had another friend like her.
Not to say I don't have the most amazing girlfriends ever now. I think I am super lucky that I have so many friends, girls and guys, that are the "friends forever" type. Friends that will be there no matter what the case... to listen, to help... It makes it more exciting to have children, to be excited to see what kinds of friendships they make.

Breathing Again.

2009-01-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

I didn't kill anyone, I didn't even flip any tables (even though I was told that could really help me get some answers and was perfectly acceptable... maybe even fun).
Tuesday I found out that Ethen's Echocardiogram results came in and the murmur is normal. Relief. Then Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning he had a coughing fit to the point that he couldn't breathe. Jeff bolted out the door to get him something to drink and I was down on my knees in front of him trying to focus on his face in the dim lit room. He was choaking and gagging... his eyes were bulging... I didn't know what else to do but pat him on the back until it was over. He finally caught his breath and said "ma, ma, mommy... I tha tha threw up!". He spent the rest of the night tucked between Jeff and I.
I marched him in the pediatricians office before they were even officially open that morning. I wasn't going anywhere until he was seen. An hour later the doctors made it in and saw him right away. As soon as he listened to Ethen's chest with the stethascope he eyed me... I was so annoyed for some reason like "What?!? What the heck are you looking at ME like that for?!?" It was like he was confused but had just made some amazing discovery. He said "has he not been coughing?" What I said was "yes... he had an awful coughing fit last night..." but what I wanted to say was "are you kidding me?!? If you would have taken a look at the FAX you wanted me to send over on Friday you would know that he's been coughing...(followed by some obsinities - I'll keep it clean for the kiddies)".
Long story short he has bronchidis and he was having an asthmatic episode That night. He was wheezing, and as if I didn't know the pediatrician had me stand with my ear close to Ethen. I acknowledged that I knew about it because I DO dress my son... I DO hug and kiss him and am close to him all the time... I freakin' know he's wheezing. I told him we had been giving him his breathing treatments but they didn't seem to help. So now he's not only having to do breathing treatments 3 times a day but he's also on a steroid, antibiotic and SingulAir once a day. Aparently when asthmatic children get a cold it goes strait to their respiratory system. That's why he ends up with a respiratory infection every fall or winter.
So the cause for all this drama has been chalked up to asthma and some gnarly allergies to pollen. Two hours after he got medication he was back to my rowdy, spunky, hyper little man. We had a dance party with fish sticks to celebrate... and we're taking him to the Alligator farm on Sunday :)
On another bright note, I started a diet two weeks ago and have lost a total of 4lbs! I have 7 more to go which should be easy if I can continue to control my sweet tooth and then I'm going to step up the work out routine. I've been doing the Power 90 work out with my mom, sister and sister-in-law a couple times a week. I can't believe what a difference it has made in my clothes already. I got back into a pair of jeans I hadn't worn since before I got pregnant with Evie and it feels awesome! I had one minor set back when I broke my toe with my great grandmother's rolling pin - long story... another post maybe... As soon as it warms up I want to crank the solar heaters for the pool so I can swim in the afternoon!!

What mommies do...

2009-01-20T05:10:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying I STILL have not gotten the results back for Ethen's echocardiogram. Almost a week after we had the tests done... and still no word.
Friday I called the pediatricians office for a couple of reasons: To find out the results of his echo and to see if his doctor had gotten the fax he asked me to send over. I had been keeping a record of Ethen's temperatures through the week and he wanted me to fax it over on Friday to see if there was a pattern. So I did.
I could tell right off that his doctor was preocupied with something. He sounded distant and like his "uh huh" and "hummmm" responses were almost misplaced. I asked him if he had gotten the results from the echo back and he said no, but assured me that we would get them soon. Then I asked about the fax - "Fax? No. What fax?" - and then he asked me just to tell him what his fevers have been like. "Over 100 for the past 3 days and now he's getting congested" I said, "he has really pink cheeks and chapped lips now too". I also explained to him that school had just called and was concerned because Ethen was "lathargic". He wasn't getting up after nap time and during circle time he sat in the library and read a book. He hadn't even picked a fight with one of the girls... which was sooooo not like Ethen. The doctor interrupted me - "pink cheeks... Oh haven't you heard of 5th disease or slapped cheek? That's probably it..." I said "NO! You diagnosed him with that back in NOVEMBER just a couple of months ago..." He had to have sensed the acid in my tone. "Oh... well you can't get that twice..." Duh. Were we talking about the same Ethen Becker here? If I were a pediatrician and one of my patients had been running a fever for a month and had been sent to the hospital for tests I think I would be reading up on his history a little damnit. He said to call the school back in an hour and if he was still lathargic bring him in, if he had "perked up" just alternate Tylenol and Motrin. All weekend?!? How long can his liver take this?!?
Sunday he got worse. Fever was 103 and he was asking for his "motor" - his nebulizer. He couldn't breathe comfortably and was coughing pretty hard. So we gave him his breathing treatment. Yesterday he was worse still. I picked him up from school and his teacher talked to me with concern. She suggested we test him for Mono. His eyes looked so tired... but he was so excited to see me that I just imagined it was part of his allergies. His nose was covered in green snot.
I called the doctor's office again, no results. I sat there, not sure how long... feeling my chest tighten and emotion swell up no matter how calm I tried to be. How could they make a mommy wait this long when they said we would know in "two days"? I called the hospital. Worst case scenario would be that they couldn't tell me anything either but I had to try. I felt sorry for the receptionist - it wasn't her fault I had been passed around from person to person before I finally got her, in the correct department. I had felt like I was on a tree branch, inching my way closer to the end - I let go of the trunk and the branch was bowing under my weight. It had snapped.
She remembered Ethen, even remembered what day we were in there and she said "oh sure yeah we faxed the results on Friday Mrs. Becker". Excuse me? Friday? At first I was calm but as soon as I started talking the volume got louder. I said "could you do me a favor and please check the fax number, then call them and MAKE SURE someone has it in their hands because nobody over there is telling me anything and I AM HIS MOTHER!!! WHY CAN'T I KNOW - CAN'T YOU TELL ME?!? WHY...." She stopped me. She double checked the numbers and put me on hold. a few minutes later she came back and said that "Cathy" was the one that had the results and that they should be calling me soon.
STILL NO WORD.
I have a dentist appointment at 9:30... when I get back if I don't have a missed call I just might show up at their office. I'm beyond pissed.

Mornin' Sunshie!

2009-01-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

I love it when I hear Evie stir in the morning and I can get to her in time - before her eyes open to say "good morning sunshine!". She pops her eyes open like she's surprised and searches the room for a second until she finds my face and grins, that sweet toothless grin. Sometimes she grins before she even opens her eyes... and I scoop her up into my arms so I can plant kisses all over her pudgy cheeks.
This morning she looked especially adorable and we played for a while before I proceeded to get ready for work. It actually made me run late I got so caught up in playing with her. She's really starting to giggle now. Tuesday she will be 5 months old!
I snapped a picture of her while I had my camera out documenting Ethen's pink cheeks. Her hair is wild and crazy! It's getting lighter all the time. Ha ha! She looks like a "Who" from Whoville.

Ethen Update...

2009-01-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

I took photos of Ethen this morning because his cheeks were so pink. I don't think the pictures even do it justice. Against his fair skin it looked like he had gotten into some of mommies blush. His lips are super red and chapped also. It's odd how fast they get that way. Wednesday at the hospital his lips looked fine. Thursday after school his upper lip was so chapped it was cracked. This morning both upper and lower lips were chapped, cracked and very red.
I spoke to his teachers this morning and they said that he has been very tired lately. He will lay around for a while after nap time and he's not as agressive as usual. His naps are longer also. Wednesday after we returned from the hospital he took a nap - almost 3hrs. - but he was still tired afterwords. He hasn't complained or put up a fignt at night when it's bedtime either.
His doctor thinks he has 5th disease again but according to the research I've done on the internet you can't get it twice? I'm beginning to go a little insaine - hopefully we get the results of the echocardiogram today - if that comes back normal I will be able to breath again.

Predictably Unpredictable.

2009-01-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

This year has already been full of the unpredictable. I 'm not surprised... the very minute you become impregnated your life takes a turn down Unpredictable Road, thus making anything that happens from then on out somewhat predicable!
We spent about 2hrs on Tuesday at the pediatricians with Ethen. He is still clear... nose, eyes, chest... no strep... he had nothing that they could test for that would cause a prolonged fever. He endured more poking, proding and even a urine bag that he had to wear around until he peed in it. He informed me the second that happened becasue he couldn't wait to get it off... and now he keeps asking for another bag to pee in - wonder if I could somehow use this to potty train?!?
Anyway his urine came back clear so the doctor ordered an Echocardiogram, chest x-ray and blood work to be done at Wolfson's Children's Hospital yesterday. We spent half of our day going from room to room for more poking and proding, poor thing. He was a champ though! I was so impressed at how brave he was I couldn't believe it. I take that back... I can believe it. He's my brave little lion.
After the Echocardiogram he sang the ladies a song in Spanish and they were all taken in by him. Little charmer... The one who ran the test became his "best friend" and took him to a room filled with toys so he could pick one out. He left with two. He also charmed the flabotomist that took his blood. He was so nervous about going into the room for yet another test and she wasn't doing anything to make him feel better about it either. She seemed rushed and in a bad mood. She stated quickly that she would need my help to keep him very still and went to work. As I tried to distract him his face fought against my hand and I couldn't keep his eyes from wondering over to the needle. He whinced a little but she was so fast it was out before he realized what was happening. I said "That's it buddy! What a brave boy you were!" and his response had the flabotomist and I both laughing; he said in a low, shaky voice "yea I WAS brave mommy! Don't do that again!" She took him to the room with toys agian... where he aquired two beenie babies - "Grape Ice" bear and "Goatee" the goat. He slept with them last night.
About 4hrs after we returned from the hospital his pediatrician called. His X-ray and bloodwork were nomal! Relief! I had convinced myslef that he had some sort of immune diffenciency. We're still waiting on the Echocardiogram info and he still has a fever so we're making a "journal" to record what his fevers are in case there is a pattern. I compared the ear thermometer to the rectal (which is near impossible to get with Ethen) and the ear thermometer is two degrees off. That changes some things... we though it was just one degree. So rather than hanging out at about 99 or 100 he's actually been 101 and 102 for about a month and Sunday he was probably more like 104. I'm goign to blog about this somewhere else and see if I can't get some answers from other mommies. He has all of his teeth so he's not teething... and he's not lathargic. He's eating and drinking like normal and playing like a normal 2yr old.

Don't blink!

2009-01-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

I have been sitting here, in the same spot with the same blank expression for about 3hrs now. I can't stop my mind from going places sometimes even when I know it won't do any good for me to fester over it... it just makes things worse.
I blogged last week about Ethen's trip to the doctor - he does NOT have worms thank goodness. Eeew. We never heard another peep from him about his bum so I'm thinking it was just that he sat in a dirty diaper too long at school or something.
Anyway they found a murmur in his heart. They said it was nothing serious and that 80% of healthy kids have murmurs - but they want to see him back, especially if this low grade fever of his did not go away. Well... it's still there. Yesterday it got up to 102. There is nothing physically wrong that we can see and he's not acting any differently at all. His strep test was negative... his ears were fine. The doctor said they might want to run a few tests to make sure it's not a congenital heart disorder. So of course, now that it's been a total of 2.5 weeks that he's kept this fever I'm starting to really worry. I know the worst thing I could do is get on the Internet and start reading about murmurs and heart disorders but I can't help it. I called the doctor this morning and it's been 3hrs... still no returned call. Jeff said he thinks that they must be setting something up at the local children's hospital and that made me even more frivolent.
I logged onto WebMD and searched "children with heart murmers" and the first thing that came up was about congenital heart disease and Kawasaki disease in children. John Travolta's son that just died had Kawasaki Disease - wow - now I feel better. I closed that site immediatly. But what I read is making me itch to talk to the doctor. Two months ago Ethen broke out in this rash on his face. He was diagnosed with 5ths Disease or "slapped cheek". One of the symptoms of Kawasaki is redness or rash and his lips are red - his upper lip chapped and cracked - another symptom. In his photos I took at Christmas I tried to touch up his upper lip but you can still tell how red they are. I just decided to make an appointment to get to the bottom of this... no more waiting around.
Saturday night I woke up to Ethen standing right in my face by the bed. He wanted to get in bed with me and cuddle. He never cuddles! I was elated that he, even if he was dreaming, was laying there content with me laying on his chest with my arms around him. It was short lived - about two minutes later he was asking to get down to get back in his own bed and I reluctantly let him go. It made me think about Evie and how fast she's getting bigger. It didn't help that Sunday while going through all of her clothes i found the outfit we brought her home in. It was so big on her then... and now it's half her size and she is only four months old! I'm afraid to blink. Before I know it Ethen will be going on dates and Evie will be wearing makeup and talking about boys.

The Dancy Dance Bunch!

2009-01-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded some photos and video (over 480 pictures - yikes!). This was one of the videos... what good little dancers they are! Ethen, Ella and Alyssa cuttin' a rug on Thanksgiving!

Dazed and Confused.

2009-01-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ethen went to the doctor today... again. It's the story of our lives these days! He's actually gotten better since we moved out of the town house and I'm thinking it was because of the carpet. There's no carpet in our new place hallelujah!
The reason for today's visit was that I was concerned about his bum. Last night we were just hanging out watching his favorite Diego episode when he started freaking out and sticking his hand down the back of his pants. He kept saying "my boo boo!" Which I immediately mistook for "my poo poo" and prepped a place to change him on the floor. To my surprise there was no poo poo... and he was adimate that he was going to scratch the place from which the poo poo should make it's exit! I fought with him to get some Beaudrox's Butt Paste on it and waited for him to feel relief. He didn't stop squirming and reaching for his crack for at leas the next half hour. When I mentioned it to my mother-in-law and again to some co-workers with kids they all said the same thing. Worms. Excuse me? Worms? Neah neah. I can deal with blood and boo boo's but not worms. *Gag*
So immediatley I got on the phone with the pediatrician, still dizzy with the thought that my little bear had worms crawling around in his bum. I still can't believe what they told me to do. I can't... I won't do it. I must have had a look of disgust or confusion on my face becasue the whole time the nurse practitioner was explaining to me how to find out if in fact he did have worms, she was half laughing about it. What am I paying those people for?!? I don't check for worms! I don't swab throats and listen to little hearts eaither - they do!
So here's my homework for the night: I'm supposed to wrap my finger in tape, and then place the tape over my baby's bum-hole. In the morning when you pull the tape off, if there are little white or flesh colored slivers attached to it (the worms)... we have a winner!
Riiiiight. Why can't I just buy a box of "Pin-X" that they sell at the drugstore to get rid of these things, give him a dose and prey I don't see anything when I change his diaper?!? Could it hurt?
It's been a rough day... and I have a feeling that tonight will be a lot rougher if I have to fight with Jeff over who is wrapping their finger with tape!!

Chocolate, shokora, Chocolat.

2009-01-02T05:20:00.000-08:00

In the previous post I talked about my resolutions for 2009 - I have two of them: to get buff and to save enough money to take Jeff to Yellowstone for his 30th birthday in 2010. I know at least 8 out of 10 people have the same resolution to start working out and "stick to it this time" but I am so anxious I almost started a week early. After last month I am "damned and determined" as they say.
Anyone with a child under one knows how difficult it can be to go shopping for new clothes. Not just because you are taking a chance that they will be on their best behavior but because for the first year after having a baby your body changes constantly. It seems like you are indefinatly between sizes and the flabby pouch that used to be your stomach is the only thing keeping you from buttoning up that one size smaller. It takes about 10 months for your body to grow a baby... and about the same for it to go back to normal - or as close to pre-baby shape as it was. It will never be "normal" again. I will forever bare the scars and stretch marks I encured while being prego - that's a garentee.
Anyway... something one of my friends said on New Years Eve really bothered me and added more fuel to the fire I have started - we'll call it the "Fer's getting her groove back" fire. I was having one of those breakdowns that I imagine everyone has had when they can't find anything that fits and feels comfortable. I was hosting a party in my shiny new house and wanted to look hot. I would have settled for really adorable but HOT would have been nice. I had tried to venture out to find somehting hot to wear with my little Evie in tow - my 4 month old, teething, restless Evie who hates her car seat... enough said. I came home empty handed. So after the 3rd pair of jeans and probably 10th top I tried on between rocking Evie, feeding her, yelling at Ethen to stop smearing lotion on the cabinets or to stop messing with the cord to the iron (that was on it's hottest setting, teetering above his head)... Jeff said "you look fine!"... I can't remember when the last time I had one of these breakdowns was but I'm sure it was probably around the same time after I had Ethen. Even knowing what was happening, there was no controlling what came over me. I stripped. Yanked my pants off without unbottoning them (proving my point to Jeff that everything was either too big or too small) and I yelled "Does THIS look okay?!?!?" and stormed off back into the bedroom slammoing the door. I dialed up a friend who unfortunatly didn't answer (shame on you Justin! I was sure you were cosmicly in tune with my mood swings!) and as I sat there holding my phone, trying to take deep breaths and talk myself out of screaming obscenaties into my pillow I looked over at Evie. She was wide eyed and staring at me. She gave me the most adorable little toothless grin and I started laughing... feeling a little better.
Then, my phone buzzed - alerting me to a new text message. It was a friend of mine writing me to tell me that she and another friend were getting ready together and they were dressing up. She was asking if "that's okay?" after replying that "I was having a mental breakdown" the phone rang and even after explaining to her that there was absolutely nothing in my closet to wear that made me feel good the poor thing told me to "make one of those cute maternity dresses work!" Yeaahhhh.... because I am pregnant?!? Or because they are all big enought that I should be comfortable still looking 5 months pregnant in one? I calmly replied that I would try my best to find somehting "cute" like a black dress and heels to put on. I hung up the phone and faster than you could say "likity-split" I was in the kitchen pouring a stiff drink. I skipped back into the bedroom, threw on the same top and jeans that I wear 3 times a week, pinned my hair back in the same fashion I always do (even though I was told, by the same person who suggested the maternity clothes that I just can't wear my hair pinned back like that all the time... well... watch me sister) I skipped over to Evie, scooped her up and planted a giant kiss on her cheek. I didn't want her to think I resented her for my frustration over my post baby body - it wasn't her fault.
One by one my girlfriends entered my house in their best party dresses, looking more fabulous than I can ever remember and I sulked quietly, sipping harder on my sweet tea flavored vodka drink. After about an hour I felt better and gave up feeling sorry for myself and focused more on thinking about the coming year and what I am going to do to get in shape and stop feeling sorry for myself. I have too much to be happy for to let something like that get to me! Then I focused on what I like to call broke-dancing. Sort of like break-dancing but not. It's where you drink too much sweet tea flavored vodka followed by two "flaming doctor pepper" shots then you turn on some music (nothing specific) and sit on your butt on the floor and just spin yourself round until you get good speed - when you start to slow down lie on your back and continue to turn yourself around with your feet... then your side... all the while yelling things like "woo~hoo!" and "oh snap!". Oh and don't forget the strobe light. You'll look like you really know what you're doing with one of those!
*Back to the getting buff stuff* In order to get buff I have to change my diet. No more late night sugary snacks, no more coffee with my cream and sugar in the morning, no more fried chicken sandwiches from McDonalds. NO MORE! I am going to start with Chocolate. That's right. Chocolate! A girlfriend of mine brought me a bag of this stuff called Tru-Chocolate. You let this piece of chocolate disolve in our mouth and then drink a tall glass of ice water. One piece of this chocolate has 9 servigs of fruits and veggies, loads of antioxidants and the best part is... it makes the water you drink afterwords taste like chocolate milk!!! You are supposed to do this 10min. before you eat a meal. The water fills you up so you don't eat as much and the chocolate keeps you from wanting junk food. It's great! Seriously look it up.
Other than eating lots of chocolate I am going to start eating smater and working out. I just ordered some things from Amazon with my Christmas gift card (thanks mom) to get me started. I'm going to try and hit up the gym twice a week and the rest of the time maybe walk or run while pushing the kids in a stroller? We'll see!!

Out with the old... In with the new!

2008-12-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

I can already tell that next year is going to go by exceedingly fast. 2008 seemed to pass with a blink of an eye! What a HUGE year it was though ~ Just to recap: there were weddings and babies galore! Greg and Whitney tied the knot as well as some other close friends. My brother got himself a son of his own with his fiance Dana (love her) which would have labeled 2008 the best year ever on it's own! One of my closest friends Kelly had , for lack of a better word, a beautiful baby girl (seriously she's breath taking). My sister's sister-in-law and my friend Toni had a baby... and off the top of my head I can think of at least 3 other friends that had babies or found out they are pregnant. And lets not forget little Evie! Although the pregnancy with her was a little less than chaotic I am so smitten with my little princess. I'm no longer opposed to pink... or little onesies that say "Daddy's little Princess" because of course, I'm convinced now that she is nothing short of a princess.
Other than the baby boom of '08 there was a major decline in the housing market but yet we sold our town house just in the nick of time. We got an unbelievable deal on a new house in time for the holiday's and Christmas this year was a dream.
My New Years resolution this year is to try and save enough money to take a vacation with Jeff somewhere significant for his 30th birthday in 2010. Not sure where he would like to go. I would love to go somewhere out of the country of course but he's always in opposition when I talk about traveling outside of the US. *LIGHT-BULB MOMENT* Yellowstone. That's it. I'm going to save enough mulah to fly out to Yellowstone and rent an RV for a week! An airstream!
Other than that my only other resolution is to loose this baby weight and get in shape. I want to be smokin' (for a mom of two anyway) by the time it warms back up around here. I'm already a little weary of my newly acquired stretch marks, cellulite and saggy skin under my belly button... not to mention my saggy breasts... but hopefully I can tighten all that up - at least enough to not feel self concious in a bikini.

Letter to Santa

2008-12-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

This email fell in the "don't waste my time, just delete it" category but somehow it made it back into my inbox via someone else's forwarding so I decided to give it a once over. It's so perfect for mothers... granted my legs are not purple yet I know they are headed in that direction. I'm sending this one to Santa too :)

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my daughter's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years. Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Close the door,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my little girl saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think she wants her crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM
P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

It's electric! Boogie Woogie woogie...

2008-12-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

I keep getting this feeling from my stomach up though my chest, sometimes in the tips of my fingers and the only way I can describe it is that it feels like electricity shooting through me and only for a millisecond. It used to happen a lot about 6years ago and it just started happening pretty regularly again. I wonder if it's anxiety? I don't mind the feeling it's just a little annoying. Especially when it happens over and over again in a day. Today is one of those days already. I'm pretty sure it is anxiety because it happens when I think about all the stuff I have to accomplish in the next week. I still have a couple of X-mas cards to send out, berivement movies I made in memory of my Uncle Larry to mail out, Christmas shopping to do, a yard sale... and I took another photo shoot after I promised myself I wouldn't do that to myself in December!! It's a newborn though... how can I pass up taking pics of a newborn baby? Uuuh... there it goes again. Electricity.
I think coffee makes it worse. I think lack of sleep does too. I haven't slept in a week. Evie actually did pretty good last night but around 4am she squirmed and grunted and cried out every few minutes. I found out why as soon as I got up to change her diaper. She had made a huge mess in her diaper and as I was changing it I saw a look in her face, as if she were holding her breath and for a second I thought "surely not..." and then it happened. A stream of poo shot out across the bed - coming an inch away from my foot! It stretched from her diaper, across the pack of wipes, across her blanket and onto the bed. I thought I was well protected by having her blanket underneith her but boy was I wrong. After that she was a happy camper of course! I'm sure she'll have a nice long comfy nap today and me, well I am wondering when I will ever sleep again. I'm told never. If I would have known this before I got pregnant I would have slept in more. I wouldn't have thought it was so cool to get up at the butt crack of dawn to go fishing with Jeff. I would have told him no... because once we had kids I would never sleep agian.

Home Sweet Home

2008-12-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

So it's officially official! We closed on the house yesterday - we're homeowners again! Only this time we don't share walls and our neighbors do not resemble Gang members or anyone from the ghetto like in our old neighborhood. They don't wear "grills" on their teeth, stockings on their head, bandanna's or 10lbs of gold chains around their neck. They don't have broken down vehicles sitting in their driveway and hopefully they don't think it's cool to break into your vehicle, bend your licensce plate or blare music until 3am. I will no longer be afraid to walk to my mailbox for fear of being gauked at by a team of scary looking men who wear their khakkis' belted around their theighs, wife beaters tucked into their boxers, gold chains, watches, rings and teeth and are tatooed from head to toe. Don't get me wrong - I just described a lot of my friends with the tatoo comment and I have no problem with people expressing themselves with the way they dress... it would be different if that's all they did to express themselves. There were constantly drug busts (biggest one in the history of St. John's county history to date) gunshots and stolen property (Jeff's CD player, cell phone and anything left in the back of his truck at night). The word "PIG" was spray painted on a cop car and the tires were slashed one night and I believe that was the last time we ever saw a cop car in that neighborhood. NOT the most pleasant place to raise a family. I'm so unbelievably happy to be out of that situation.
The best part is that we can let Copper out and not have to worry about him running away, running onto a main road and getting hit or picking up his poo. We have a yard, a pool and we know all the neighbors already - my parents being the closest :)

He knows when you are sleeping...

2008-12-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

Whenever Ethen pitches a fit lately we just tell him that Santa is watching and he calms right down. He won't try to convince us that he IS listening and he IS being a good boy, unlike little Alyssa, but he just stops whatever he's doing and looks concerned. 90% of the time it works to get him to eat whatever is on his plate too. Last night for example: he HAD to have "yummy leaves" for dinner (like the sloth on his new favorite movie "Go Diego Go: A Bug's world") so we made a spinach salad with chicken and although he ate all of his yummy leaves he didn't touch the chicken. So Jeff and I have turned into nothing short of the Mickey Mousekateers when it comes to playing around with Ethen. I put my hand to my ear and said "gee whiz daddy do you hear that!?!" Jeff said "Oh my gosh! I hear it... do you hear that Ethen?!?" He knew exactly what I was doing - I think becasue maybe eveyone's parents do this at some point. I said "it's Santa! Do you hear his sleigh?!? He's right over our house!" Jeff stood up from his chair and said "Ethen, he's watching you right now! You better hurry and eat your chicken so he doesn't think you were being bad!" At first I didn't think it had worked because he sat there with a blank stare on his face, but then I realized that he was trying to listen... he was trying to hear Santa's sleigh. He slowly dunked a piece of chicken into his side of ranch and put it in his mouth. He did this in a zombie like state for the next few minutes until he decided he was full.
I didn't realize how detramental this would be until I realized that we really don't have money to buy him a bunch of stuff this year. We HAVE to do somehting or else he will think he's been bad! I only have one thing to put in his stocking so far and one gift under the tree that's not even from us... I don't know what to do really. CVS and Wallgreens are having pretty spectacular sales... buy 2 get two free on $7.00 toys so I'm thinking we're going to have to hit that up. We're having a yard sale - my first one - "the yard sale of the century" as I like to call it, this Saturday and I am hoping and praying that we make a lot of money and can buy he and Evie both some things.

Ethen Sandwich

2008-12-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Whenever Ethen has a fever we keep him in bed with us to more easily monitor his temperature. Sounds over the top but we check it every two hours when we know he's running one. We do this out of fear because he runs super high fevers.
Last November he ran a fever of 105.8 with the ear thermometer - technically you add one degree when you use one of those, so when I first looked at the read-out I couldn't believe my eyes... I strained to look closer in the glow of the nightlight. Panic. I took the temp again and... Panic. I took mine, it was normal. This all happened in a matter of seconds but it felt like an eternity. I picked him up, he was soaking wet and so hot I couldn't believe what I was feeling - more panic. I ran into the bedroom and yelled at Jeff - "GET UP!" We stripped his clothes off and I went to run a bath. When I put him in the bath, he was half asleep. I noticed he was jolting. The water, although a little warmer than room temp to me was freezing to him. His eyes were glassy and it was as if he couldn't hear me - he was unresponsive and wimpering. Jeff had bolted downstairs to get Motrin and was back in a millisecond. He tossed me the medicine and immediatly started throwing clothes on. I gave Ethen the medicine and I grabbed the first thing I could see that would cover my body - we were on the road to the ER. Me with Ethe in the back seat and Jeff's eyes glued to the road. We barely spoke a word.
We waited in the E.R for what seemed like an eternity before he was seen. What's wrong with our baby?!? They took his temp again and it was lower but not by much. We fed him a bottle. It would be another hour before we could give him anything else... we tried to keep him cool with a washcloth and he actually didn't mind. His little hand held the washcloth on his head - he was still shaking. All I could think was what if I hadn't have woken up? Would he have died? Is he okay now? Nobody was in a panic like we thought they should be.
On top of my horror that my child was dying I was even more horrified when Jeff and I actually took a second to look at eachother and take a deep breath. He had on a dirty work t-shirt that was covered in spackle and had a ginormous hole in the armpit (he usually wore this with a long john shirt underneath). I had on what I normally sleep in - a t-shirt with no bra that was a little too see through to not have one on and a pair of jeans that were too big and had a hole in the back pocket area, showing my butt cheak becasue I was sporting a thong that day. I didn't have time to put in contacts or grab my glasses therefore everyone was a fuzzy blob unless they were a foot away from my face - but my god I saw myself in the mirror when I went to the bathroom. Hair right on top of my head and pimple cream... the thick white stuff... spotted all over my face. I washed that off and to my horror what hid underneath was even worse. Jeff looked like the biggest white trash, meth smoking bum and I looked like a poor hooker that someone threw speghetti sauce at through a screen door.
Long story short, tests were ran and they did a cathether on him (most horrible expireince to date) for a urine sample. Nothing was wrong... but something HAD to be wrong. We left with instructions to alternate giving him Tylenol and Motrin - that's it. They chalked it up to teething.
So he has a fever... so he's been in bed with us the last couple of nights. Last night we had Alyssa too so she joined the "Ethen Sandwich" as I like to call it. Jeff on one edge of the bed, back facing the middle of the bed, where Ethen usually is, and I on the other edge of the bed, back facing the middle. Sometimes I end up with his head on my pillow but 9 times out of 10 it's his feet. How he gets so turned around I don't know. So needless to say I got NO sleep last night. Evie was cranky and ended up with me most of the night also - so it was me, Evie, Alyssa, Ethen and Jeff all piled into a queen sized bed. Hilarious. I woke up this morning and immediatly took a picture of the pile up.

Son of a...

2008-12-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

...picture taker! Ethen is turning into my little photography student. Whenever I am taking pictures in the studio, whether it's of him or someone else he's super interested in the camera and taking the picture himself. For the most part he is extremely cooperative when I'm taking his picture (unless it involves his little sister aparently). He should be used to it by now! About every 3 or 4 months I try to get him into the studio or dress him up for pictures outside. Around Christmas time is my favorite becasue I can dress him up like a little man. Anyway, a couple of nights ago I was sitting at the computer doing some editing and he picked my camera up. Usually I don't mind if I'm sitting right there with him but in this case I was feeding Evie and only had one free hand (yes... a multitasker I am). So he put the strap around his neck, took the lens cap off and held the camera up to his face and told me to say "cheese mommy!" I followed his instruction and smiled... said cheese really enthusiastically and then proceeded to put the lense cap back on for him. Oh no. He knows how to do it himself obviously so he swatted my hand and started to back up saying "no mommy I do it!" I didn't want him to run off with my camera (what I consider to be my 3rd baby) around his neck. So I let him try to put it back on. "Okay Ethen, here... you do it" and he did... for a second. Then off it came again. It was now a game. On went the lens cap... off went the lens cap... and he acted just as excited the tenth time he did it as he did the first time. For fear of my lense getting scratched I calmly sat the baby down (who was not done with her meal mind you so she immediatly got pissed) and told Ethen to let me have the camera now becasue it's not a toy. Oops. He took off running. "Into the studio mommy! With tha flash!" I panicked so bad I started screaming for him to stop. I could just see him tripping over something and smashing not only the camera but his teeth too. I didn't catch up to the little roadrunner until he stopped at the door to the studio. I cringed when I saw (and heard) the camera hit, sandwiched between Ethen and the door. Thank goodness nothing was damaged but I was amazed at how fast everything went from calm to caos in a matter of seconds. I snatched the camera from his neck and he threw himself on the floor in a fit... Evie was still on the floor crying for her boobie to return and I was in a state of panic inspecitng my camera for damages. Immediatly I thougt "where is your daddy?!?!" followed by "is there any more wine?!?" followed by "I'll never get to shave my leggs again will I?" I wouldn't trade my babies in for anything in the world but sometimes I think being a mom has got to be the hardest thing anyone can ever do. It's the best, most rewarding... but the hardest.
Here's a sneak preview of one of Ethen's pictures - not sure which one I'll mail out for Christmas yet.

You Are My Sunshine

2008-12-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

... you make me happy, when sky's are grey...
My favorite song at the moment to sing to Evie. She does this thing now where she has a death grip on my shirt while I'm feeding her and every minute or so she will push away from me with that hand and look up as if she's worried I'm not there anymore and I'll smile then she smiles and goes back to her snack. She does this a hand full of times every time I feed her now and it's so precious to me. Her hair is getting lighter every day - right now it's a really pretty dark brownish auburn color. With her pretty blue eyes (like her Boss') and her pale skin, it's stunning.

It's all in the name.

2008-11-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was about 11yrs old I thought that if I ever had a little girl I would name her after my grandmother. My mom's mom. Better known as "Granny" or "Granny in the mountains". We've always been extremely close and I could never put into words how much I love this woman. She's petite, round, soft and squeezable... yet firm in her beliefs and a little crazy sometimes. She couldn't care less what other people think, therefore sometimes throwing couth out the window but it's just another reason why I love her so much. When we would visit I always slept in her bed and we would stay up and talk for hours about anything and everything. Then in the morning we'd talk even more at the breakfast table or as I watched her draw on her eyebrows (she was burned using a stove and her eyebrows never grew back). She told me once that when she dies I have to draw on her eyebrows for the viewing because I have watched her do it for so many years... it would be totally creepy but out of love I would do it! There's just one problem though - she's going to live forever so how can I commit to something I know will never happen?
So anyway obviously I have succeeded in creating a mini-me and named her Evie. I still think it's the most beautiful name to look at sometimes... Evie... see? Awwww... and I couldn't be more happy and feel more like the luckiest person ever to have carried on the name.
The two Evie's just met Saturday for the first time. Pictures coming soon... I think they favor each other because of the dark hair and hazel eyes although baby Evie's eyes are a little more bluish purple rather than greenish blueish grey. I love when she comes to visit, not just because of her presence but because I know she at some point will make her chicken and dumplings and her cookies!! Or maybe her yellow cake with chocolate frosting? Nobody can make cookies like Granny Evie - nobody. Just a few months ago when we were cleaning out the town house to move we found a bag of granny's cookies in the back of the freezer from two years ago when she mailed them down for Christmas and we actually thought about eating them anyway. I think I would have if I didn't know she was coming for Thanksgiving... actually now that I really think about it I did! I took a bite I know it... I mean I was 8 months pregnant people... and it was Granny's cookies! They ended up in the back of the freezer for protection I'm sure. Jeff would have eaten the whole bag in one sitting.
Aside from her cooking skills Granny is hilarious sometimes. Referring back to the "couth out the window" business... this one time in the grocery store we made it to the check out line and she realized after checking her list that we had forgotten wet wipes. Not for the babies but for general hygienic cleansing after going #2 - my mom likes to keep them on the back of every toilet. Anyway so I ran to grab some wet wipes and just went for the cheapest kind. I ran back and flung the pack of wipes in the cart... she immediately gasped. She grabbed them out of the basket and demanded that I go find unscented ones. "Lavender? Lavender Jennifer? Why do I need my p*ssy to smell like lavender?" Yes. She said it... the "P" word. I can't even type it out it's so vulgar! No joke. And everyone around us heard her too. We both had a good laugh about it on the way home in the car. Then just this morning she came out in her brightly colored turquoise and pink house coat (which she informed me was a K-Mart special) with a spoon and olive oil. I questioned the olive oil... seeing as she came from a bedroom with it and she informed me and everyone else in the room that she was "getting Gene set up to shit". LOL!!!!! Gene is her new hubby. The funniest part about comments she makes like this is that she never cracks a smile until after someone laughs about it. She's is serious when she says it and even after she laughs about it says things like "well, who in the world wants their p*ssy to smell good" or "well, he needs to take a shit". Ahhh... don't you love her now too? She'll be here a whole week so there'll be more stories to come I'm sure. This is a picture of her holding Ethen when he was a little guy... he was crying obviously so she cried right along with him :)

Can I have some turkey please, hold the drama?

2008-11-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Okay so I want to know if everyone feels like the holidays are as stressful as I do?!? At first they are like a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and I think "Yeah, the holiday's are getting closer!" When grocery stores start advertising with big photos of turkey and the smell of cinnamin brooms and pinecones fill the air I get all warm and fuzzy inside... thoughts of bonfires, good times with friends, bundled up babies, chilly weather and long pajamas etc. fill my brain.
Then the drama comes. There's always drama and always something that happens that I can't avoid. Most of the time it's family oriented but this year it's not just family it's friends as well so it's a double whammy so to speak. I try to avoid it at all costs but it finds me no matter what. I've decieded this year that I must try and stay as neutral as possible and put a padlock on this big fat mouth of mine when someone says something I would disagree with. I've gotten pretty good at this... I've been practicing, but to no avail. Drama has found me anyway and so lately I have found myslef in an" inner tug of war". The worst part about this staying neutral deal is that I feel like I can't talk to anyone about the drama... and when I do I just feel guilty, making matters worse.
Anyway I figure I have a lot to be excited about and what I should do is just take it one day at a time and try to surrond myslef with happy-thinking people... my best girlfriends should do the trick! And my babies... they always put me in a better mood. Just this morning driving Ethen to school I heard him whispering something in the back seat so I turned down the volume to try and hear what he was saying. "What's this song mommy?" I guess he was whispering because it was a really pretty, really slow song by Feist. I said "her name is Feist honey, do you like this song?" he said "yes mommy... her name is Feist?" I said "yeah doesn't she sing pretty?" he shook his head really exaggerantly and said "yeah mommy I like Feist". So I turned the volume back up and all of a sudden I realized that I had totally passed the turn to take him to shcool! I wanted to keep driving though... driving along with my little man, listening to his new favorite singer, Feist.

Pia pia!

2008-11-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

Evie looks like a little bird!! I almost named her Evie Bird and even looking at it now it makes me sad that I didn't. She's my little Evie Pearl though. It fits her so well. I look at her some days and can't believe she's mine. She's getting so big and her personality is soooo cute it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. She will be 3 months old already tomorrow!! Yesterday I came home after work to my mom with Evie and Mason both passed out on her in the recliner... so sweet! Then she informs me of the latest groundbreaking news - Evie giggled! Yep! She got her to do it again one more time and ever since I've been trying and trying but can't get her to do it for mommy!! Oh well - it's great that she did it for her Mimi since she's spending the most time with her now anyway!

Zodiac Profile of a Leo

2008-11-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Leo – Cosmic Lion Cubs

What a delight, you have your very own adorable, fun loving Cosmic Cub. You've certainly got a Prince or Princess on your hands and they won't want you to forget that. A little bowing to their higher majesty will keep them happily looking after the peasants in their lives.

These are the Kings and Queens of the Zodiac, with the Sun, the center of the solar system, their ruling planet.

Just as the Sun takes center stage in the solar system and is the giver of all light, so are these little cosmic limelight stealer's. They just love to be the center of attention and to feel that they're the center of your universe.

Your little Cub has earned his or her right, the moment they were born and don't ever try and take it away from them, or try and take them off that pedestal. They belong up there and they were born to shine. Your job, as a parent, is to make sure that all the creativity, color and magic in your little Cosmic Cub, can find its way out.

Your little Cub has so much pride, that the way to hurt them the most, is to hurt that pride. Even when they're taking themselves far too seriously, never laugh at them, just keep them close to you and make sure that they know that they're Daddy's little princess and Mummy's knight in shining armor.

Your little Cub's hero is Hercules, deity behind this sign. Hercules struggled with his own strength and achieved success by harnessing his own talents and skills. Your little Cub belongs to one of the most talented of all the signs and from an early age is likely to display a talent, even if it is to just whirl around the living room, singing out "watch me everybody, watch me dance".

As your Cosmic Cub grows up, let them experience opportunities to find their niche. Let them be the guide, for there will be a talent in there somewhere, trying to come out. Don't hinder that, or decide what it is. It's God given and it will come out naturally, at the right time and at the right stage. All you've got to do, as the parent of a Cosmic Cub, is to keep that confidence strong.

Leo's energy is one of love, laughter and play, yet Leo's can have their dark times, especially when they fail to live up to their own, really high expectations.

You've brought a little ray of sunshine into your home and the light will grow stronger by the years. Everything about your Cosmic Cub is creative and fun.

Love them and watch how they develop and continue to surprise you. Just when you think you know them, they'll grow and develop even more. They're going to grow up to be the Lovers of the Zodiac, the great romancers. Your Cosmic Cub will thrive when there's lots of open love and affection between his or her parents.

Oh say, can you see?

2008-11-17T04:44:00.000-08:00

The car ride to the shuttle launch was way too long... and the drive back, even longer for what seemed like maybe 10 minutes outside of the car. The traffic was horrific through Titusville - I knew it would be. I had suggested we leave a little earlier but I can't mess with a master plan when my dad has one, it always works out. And it did - we just didn't get as close as we wanted to.
Just before take off we dipped into a parking lot and "set up shop" so to speak. All the kids piled out, everyone took turns going to the bathroom and we waited anxiously as we listened to the radio for the countdown. I totally missed the countdown... so did everyone else I think because all of a sudden this bright light lit up the sky and Kayla yelled "is the sun coming up?". Then this ball of light rose over the buildings and slowly crept higher into the sky. A few seconds later the rumble caught up to us. I feel like I missed the whole thing because the video camera kept going in and out of focus! I watched it all through a blurry video screen! I did however get Ethen's facial expression. I was a little perturbed when I told him there were people in there and they were going to the moon, because he was so excited until Jeff said "their not going to the moon Jennifer their going to the space station!" duh. I knew that... but does Ethen know what a space station is?? Doesn't the moon sound much more interesting?? I think so.
Then Alyssa made an obvious observation - the shuttle passed the moon! Ha ha... she was thinking that the shuttle would go strait to the moon and stop, as if drawing a line on paper from the ground up to the moon. I love that... she was just baffled. Ethen and Alyssa both just sat there with their mouths open for as long as they could see the shuttle, until it faded out. It was worth it... even though I spent about 4 hours in the car only to see a blurry ball of fire for a few minutes.
When I played back the video Jeff watched over my shoulder and pointed out that maybe I should have payed more attention to the blurry ball of fire and not so much on Ethen's face and Evie, who just sat there in her carseat unknowing of the momentus event that was taking place. So what... it was momentus for me just to see Ethen react to it and get Evie on video too so she can say she's been to a launch even if she doesn't remember it!

3...2...1... LIFT OFF!

2008-11-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

I was driving over the bridge yesterday, listening to "Traveling River" appropriately enough, when I got this overwhelming feeling. I was enjoying my Led Zeppelin, admiring the day and felt happy that Ethen wasn't stuck inside for another rainy day at school. Thoughts of him playing outside led to thoughts of him in general, which led to thoughts of his face when he saw fireworks for the first time on the 4th of July. It was all I could do not to cry that night... yes it was that intense. His face lit up with the first explosion and I think my heart skipped a beat. My throat tightened up and actually started to hurt because I was trying so hard to fight the tears, I don't know why really. There are so many firsts and I felt like this was a big one. He screamed with fascination, he wasn't scared at all! We were worried that he might freak out because it was so loud but he just sat there in daddy's lap watching the show and he clapped when everyone else clapped. That memory made me think about tonight. We're going to go watch the space shuttle launch tonight and I couldn't be more excited! Not because they are making repairs or adding rooms to the space station... no, no. Because I can't Wait for the countdown... it's going to be so intense for Ethen and I can't wait to see his face. He get's crazy about motorcycles or big trucks, so a space shuttle launch!?! He's going to freak out! Last night laying in bed I thought over and over "don't forget to charge the video camera... don't forget to charge the video camera..." Hopefully I can figure out how to upload video so I can post it. This day is probably going to go by at a snails pace I have a feeling... we're not leaving until 4pm and it's only 9:57am. Before we count down the shuttle launch I'll be counting down the minutes of the day!!
Sidenote: this will be the 3rd time I've seen a shuttle launch and let me tell you, the night time ones are soemthing of amazement... there is nothing like it. Watching it on TV just is not nearly the same as being there to see it light up the world and feel the ground shake beneath your feet... knowing there are people on that thing being blasted into space!!

...Chelsea stay home?

2008-11-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

This may be the most ridiculous question ever, but what the heck is that Gospel Christmas song saying, you know the one... it sounds like "....Chelsea stay home!"? Does anyone have some freshly sharpened pencils I could shove in my ears?!? I have heard every version of this song or songs for the past week, over and over again and it's starting to drive me insane! It's my co-worker... she's hugely involved with the church and is all "God this and God that" which I don't have a problem with... until... she started blaring this gospel Christmas music and like I said there is like 10 different versions of that one song. There's the "boy band" version, the hard core gospel where they hold the notes entirely too long, the regular old-school churchy version, some techno beat version and one that sounds like something from the Mama Mia soundtrack with different people singing different parts. Why do I feel like I just might burst into flames and grow horns?!?

Prego McPreggerson

2008-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

After I gave birth to Evie I had the "baby blues" a little bit. It totally caught me off guard. I actually am still not sure if I would call it the "blues" because I felt so fantastic physically and I was happy to have my little Pearl finally - I don't know how to explain the feelings really. And they only lasted for about a week. I missed Ethen... that was the biggest issue. So I think I resented Evie a little for taking up so much of my time. On top of that I was, for lack of a better word, jelous of the fact that Jeff was getting to do everything for Ethen... so although I was proud of Jeff for being such a good daddy I was also a little envious. I was the one that fed Ethen dinner, gave him his baths, read him a book at night... me! Then all of a sudden I barely had time to wash myslef or eat for myself... it was all about Evie. I also couldn't look at photos of myself pregnant and it was hard to see anyone else with a baby bump... I would get weepy and start to fantisize about another one already... I would secretly dispise the prego lady for being so lucky. The feeling of having someone growing inside you is like nothing in this world and I think I just might be addicted! As bad as the pregnancy was with Evie, the acne, the sickness, the placental abruption... the painful vericose veins (totally gone by the way - woo~hoo!) I still woud do it all over for another baby...
I just came across my pictures Jeff took of me at around 39 weeks prego with Evie. I'm a little sad to think I may never have another one but I can look at them now at least without getting weepy.

Such a Perfect Day!!

2008-11-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

November 7th, 2008 will go down in history as one of my best days EVER!! First of all, I had purchased tickets to go see Coldplay so I knew it was gonna be good... but when I received a phone call from St. Thomas about our house (yes, the one with the pool) I knew it was going to be a fantastic day and a fantastic Christmas too! See, the old lady who owns the house has moved back to her home in St. Thomas and doesn't even have the place on the market - it had been on the market for over a year but it didn't sell so she took it off only to plan on listing it again with another realtor. Thank goodness she didn't! We were able to get a home inspection done and came up with a number that we thought was fair given that she didn't have to pay realtor's fees and there were repairs to be made. We thought it was a stretch but with the market the way it is we gave it a shot... and she took it! Yay!!!
Then, as I'm giving my mom the good news she informed me that a raise would be on my next paycheck also!! No shizzle!?! I had been busting my butt - so it was a nice surprise and a much needed one. I still can't believe we're getting this house. OMG! Here's a link for photos...
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1113-Kalmia-Ct/47781273_zpid
Coldplay was UNBELIEVABLE! It's up there with my 3 top favorite shows. I danced and sang even cried... yes... that's right, cried. When they played the song Strawberry Swing the first person I thought of was Ethen because we listen to that song often on the way to school in the morning and he giggles and shakes his head back and forth. Then I wished Colleen was there with me but I knew she was in the crowd somewhere. So Whitney and I held onto eachother and sang and danced... it was... as the song goes... "such a perfect day!"

Election Day is here!

2008-11-04T04:40:00.000-08:00

I went to bed last night and said a little prayer for my man, McCain. I made sure to express to Jeff how utterly disgusted with him I would be if he didn't get in to vote before work this morning (I went last Tuesday *patting myself on the back*). I can't believe how obsessed some people have become with this race. I realize it's importance... and I realize that some people shouldn't be allowed to vote too. I also realize that people are willing to burn bridges with friends, call each other names and act flat out ridiculous towards each other over politics for what? After all we have the right to our own opinion! No president elect can change that!! Honestly, I will be glad when this whole thing is over, no matter who wins because I don't think that either one of the candidates are going to change much in 4 years. I don't agree with McCain's idea to buy up bad mortgages - how fair is that?!? But for crying out loud people Obama is a newbie and we're at WAR! Something that McCain knows about all too well! Most of all I am sick of hearing about the race issue. Of course some blacks are going to vote for Obama because he's black! Why are people acting so disgusted and surprised by that? I honestly believe that things happen for a reason and if Obama is meant to win he will and we'll have to roll with it.

2008-11-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

November already?!?

2008-11-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

Is it me or did this year fly by? I can't even believe it's November already... before we know it we'll be ringin' in the New Year and Evie will be 5 months old already?!? I have a feeling I'm going to be super busy with photography before Christmas. Everyone wants family photos - including my family. It's going to be hard with 2 kids, working full time also. But I love it. I just need to learn to pace myself and not get overloaded. No jobs after December First!!
I think we have found our new home... and I couldn't be more confused about it. I really like the house, it's beautiful and just under 2,000sf which is not to big, not too small, 4 bedrooms which means one for my studio / office... and it has a pool! But it's right across the street from my parents. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents but who wants to live a stones throw away from their folks? And like I said, it has a POOL! So on one hand that's really awesome but on the other I can just imagine the stress it will cause me to think that one of my babies will end up falling in it at some point. We're going to have to barricade the thing for sure.
My parents are awesome and so are the neighbors. They alternate happy hours and dinner at each other's houses so I'm excited to be able to partake without having to limit myself so I can drive home! It will be nice to have such security too (not to mention a sitter) if something happens and we need help. Did I mention it has a pool?!? I can already imagine relaxing in a floating lounger with a cold drink and my babies splashing around me. I hope it works out... we're working on a deal right now.
Evie is getting a little personality! Mornings are so fun with her right now, she smiles sometimes before her eyes even open. All I have to say is "Good morning sunshine!" and she grins that big toothless grin and pulls her hands to her face as if that is the funniest thing she's ever heard. *MY HEART MELTS*! How did I get so lucky!?! I have the two most beautiful wonderful kids and most amazing hubby ever! I can't wait for Christmas, hopefully we'll be in our own house and we'll make smores in the fireplace, decorate our Christmas tree and spend hours in the bed in our pj's just snuggling with our babies. Mmmmm... I love Christmas!!
Can't wait for Thanksgiving too - all of our family will be here and OMG the food! It will be the first Thanksgiving we've all spent together like this in years. Granny will finally get to meet her name sake too! Our two Evie's... together at last. I will have to take an important photograph of the two of them. Wonder where I should do that?? Studio, outdoors or both?

Ethen James Becker 8/19/06

2008-10-31T11:50:00.001-07:00

Woah nelly, not again...

2008-10-31T04:41:00.000-07:00

So... both babies went to the doctor on Tuesday. Evie for her 2mo shots and Ethen for what we thought was an allergic reaction to an antibiotic prescribed to him the week prior for a sinus infection. Come to find out it was not an allergic reaction at all (thank goodness, because he's already allergic to Penicillin). What he has is called Fifth disease or "slapped cheek". I find it rather amusing that they call it "slapped cheek" and not something like "rosie cheek" considering it's something that you get when you are little. I felt a little accused when the doctor told me he had "slapped cheek" although I know he wasn't implying anything. It's not a big deal, there is no remedy and he will only get those red cheeks for about 3 weeks... his sinus infection however, turned into fulid on his right ear and was causing him some discomfort and a fever. Those of you who know Ethen, know that he is constantly sick in the winter, was in and out of the ER for a frightningly high 106* fever and had tubes put in when he was 16mo old. The tubes are already out and so now... here come the constant ear infections! He also gets Croup about once a month in the winter months and is on the verge of that. He's weezing - and now that he's 2yrs old and has a history of breathing problems they diagnosed him with asthma. Hopefully it's just juvinile asthma and won't get any worse. Jeff and I both have allergies and both had juvinile asthma and grew out of it by the time we were 13yrs old. We can only prey Ethen gets over it by that time or sooner - that would be nice (nice on my pocketbook too!). I was never on this nebulizer thing they prescribed to him... this breathing treatment he has to do 3 times a day. I guess they weren't around back then. Jeff was always in and out of the hospital to hang out in one of those tents - I've only seen them on TV. (Come to think of it I think I only saw it on the movie E.T.)?? Anywho, he's really good about taking medicine and doing his breathing treatment so I consider ourselves lucky with that. Evie did fantastic with her shots. I think it's because she has more fat on her legs than Ethen did so it hurt less. That little fatty... she's getting rolls on top of rolls now (thanks to mommies milk *patting myself on the back*). Oh now I miss her...

2008-10-30T13:30:00.001-07:00

Birth of Evie Pearl - 8/19/08 - 7lbs. 5oz.

2008-10-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Some older videos of Ethen

2008-10-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

Check out this video: ethens first beach day

In Limbo

2008-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

After spending 4 years in a 1,400sf town home (on the market for the last 2) - we've finally sold the place and are on the hunt for a new den cozy enough for us and our little cubs. Fun right? Especially now with the market the way it is... "it's a buyer's market!"... lucky us! There are deals to be made, incentives to take advantage of and a whole ONE PERCENT of the nations housing market is in foreclosure right now! At first I thought "wow, lucky us..." now, after 3 months of driving around picking up fliers and hours upon hours on the internet looking at MLS listings, I'm thinking maybe um, not SO lucky? There are these things called "short-sales" out there and there are a lot of them. Basically what this means is that the home is about to go into foreclosure so the seller has to get rid of the place with a quickness and they have to submit paperwork to the bank proving they can't afford the payments but need a fair amount of time to try and sell before decaliring bankrupsy. So they slap a price about 10 - 15 percent lower than the comparable homes for sale around it on the price tag. BUT not so fast... once you see the home and your mouth starts watering, you imagine your furniture in the place and you get ready to sign papers... the bank says "hey, you must really love this place - how about signing a promisary note saying you will actually pay 10k more?" Um what? That's right, they put the yummy price tag on there just to get you in to see the place and then try to jack it up on you for shits and giggles. If you back out, no big deal, they will just wait for another Joe shmo to come along who will pay 10k more. I (along with my hubby and our realtor) can't imagine how they can get away with this... isn't it false advertisement?!?
Anywho, so we're sick of even entertaining the thought of a "good deal". Can't we just find a nice place within our price range that's ready to move in? NO!! Not in St. Johns county (a.k.a Beaver Cleaver Land) anyway. But we want to stay here for the schools (top priority) and to have our family close. So what about building? Holy crap! Talk about another ballgame. These people are DYING to sell you a house. What makes me crazy is that I knew, I just KNEW that I wanted to build in this specific neighborhood even before we sold the town home but noooooo... we had to "shop around" for the best deal. So now where are we?!? Looking to build in the SAME freakin' neighborhood I've been talking about for the past year, why? Because it's the BEST DEAL right now! And so all this time (3 excruciating moths in my parents house with a newborn and a 2yr old) we could have been half way done and in a brand new house. No worrying about someone else's funk behind the stove, the fridge and around the toilet... no worrying about old appliances or old siding or cracked slabs... NEW! *sigh*
So very long story much much shorter... I'm starting this blog becasue I packed up Ethen's journal when we moved (I was 8months pregnant mind you and not in a sound state of mind) - I tried to write to him at least once a week and now that we have Evie I have had NO TIME to keep one up for her. So while I sit here behind this desk for 8hrs a day, 5 days a week it will be much easier for me to hop on and "blog" about my sweet little monkies. I find it thereputic :)