My birthday and a snow day

I had a wonderful birthday. The girls at work brought me Starbucks, donuts and took me to lunch with a bunch of my friends. They also gave me a cool Starbucks coffee cup, some lotion, flowers, and a cake that said "Welcome to your mid-thirties" (which I thought was awesome). They really spoiled me. Steve sent me flowers at work. Steve was going to make me dinner, but after eating all day at work I really wasn't very hungry. Steve and the kids gave me a nice Adidas workout outfit, some Bath and Body Works stuff and the second season of Grey's Anatomy!!! So, last night I talked to all my friends and family and watched Grey's... that made my evening.

Around 11a.m. yesterday it was almost 70 degrees, by 12 or so the temp had dropped into the 50's and by the time we left work it was 36 degrees. Last night we had rain, snow, sleet and thunder and lightning, which was really strange. So, this morning my boss said we did not have to come in because the roads were so slick. Steve had to go to work and Blake had to go to school. Abby, Jacob, and I stayed home and had lots of fun. We read books, made some pictures, watched Sesame Street (I found the neatest DVD called Sesame Street Old School with episodes from 1969-1974) and had homemade chicken noodle (rice noodles) soup. This afternoon we ventured out into the snow for a bit just so the kids could burn off some steam. Jacob wasn't really crazy about the snow because he did not like how it stuck to him. Abby did not want to come in, but I was cold. I had so much fun just hanging out with them today. We are having chili for dinner tonight... yum!

Yippee... the holidays are here!

I love this time of year. Thanksgiving is the kick-off to the holidays and I just love it. I only wish we lived somewhere that we could have a white Christmas (maybe next time we move???). We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We, along with our second family, the Parker's, went to Steve's folk's up in Arkansas . On Thanksgiving day we went to Aunt Kay's and ate more than anyone could have possibly needed. It was wonderful to spend the day with our family and to give thanks for all of our blessings (and we have so many). The "boys" brought their 4-wheelers and we all took turns riding around. We had such a good time.

Friday, we took Blake to meet his mom and we got to see Dylan. Abby and Jacob were SO excited to see Dylan. Dylan, Jillian (Travis' daughter), Travis and Steve played football while Kara, the kids and I looked on. Later, the guys and Jillian went to see the new James Bond movie. Blake's mom took him to see the Arkansas/LSU game. Unfortunately, the hogs lost, but Blake still had a nice time. The downside to our trip is that the majority of our family caught some sort of stomach flu... not much fun. Luckily, Abby and Jacob managed to stay healthy (so far).

Happy Holidays to everyone! Please keep the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines serving in Iraq and around the world in your thoughts and prayers. -

Just Another Weekend

Right now I am sitting here holding my little man Jacob. He is actually calm; it does not get better than this! We had a nice weekend. We had pizza Friday night. Saturday we went to the Hangar Holiday Bazaar on base. Last night, Abby & Jacob went to "Give Parents a Break." Steve went over to a friend's house to hang out with the guys and play some cards. Blake and I went to the movies. Today, we relaxed at home. Blake took some great pics of the kids outside.

Princess Abby

We had strong winds all day today and princess Abby decided she would wear a dress to school. Isn't she sweet?

Blake Made the Team!

Yesterday Blake found out he made the basketball team. He was so nervous and has been practicing everyday. His dad and I knew he would make the team, but he was on cloud nine last night when we found out. We are all so proud of him!

Happy Veteran's Day

This week was a tough one for me. I have experimented and experimented with various allergen-free recipes for Abby and really most of them have been yucky. Yesterday, I went to the local natural food store and bought $30 of various flours (rice, potato, garbanzo, tapioca) and starches. Last night I made a chocolate cake and let me say it was like chewing on a chocolate sponge. I will keep trying out recipes until I get them right. Abby, Jacob and I made oatmeal-banana cookies tonight. They are not too bad. I think we can get used to them for sure. Abby was sad tonight because we all had Subway for dinner and she had to settle for a baked potato. She kept asking for a sandwich. So, my next adventure will be making some allergen-free bread so she can have a sandwich.

Blake, Steve and Travis went 4-wheeling today at a place called Red River ATV park. It's about an hour and a half from here. They enjoyed themselves and were surprised to see there were lots of nice fall colored trees along the way. Blake said it did not even seem like Texas. I stayed home with the kiddos. We did some puzzles, read books and cleaned.

Tonight, Blake lit the chiminea, had s'mores and watched the Arkansas game. I bought some "safe" logs so he could roast the marshmallows. We are enjoying the cooler weather as we had temps up in the high 80's over the last week.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Jacob and Abby "riding" Daddy and Blake's 4-wheelers.

Jacob giving his teddy bear a haircut!

Abby's 2nd Allergist Appointment

Abby had her 2nd appointment at the allergies on 1 Nov. It turns out she is allergic to peanuts (which we knew), milk, soy, wheat, orange, malt, corn and eggs. She also is allergic to molds, dust mites, dogs and cats. She came up positive for everything that was tested. I am sure if she were to be tested for more foods she would come up positive to those foods as well. However, right now I am dealing with how we are going to avoid all of these foods. I will have to meet with the dietician on base and figure out where she will get all of her nutrients. The biggest challenge will be the daycare and eating out. I have joined an online support group called Kids with Food Allergies kidswithfoodallergies.org/index.php. I have also been reading books to see what I can use to substitute wheat flour, milk (since we can use soy, etc.). I nearly had a nervous breakdown yesterday while trying to grocery shop.

Yesterday Kara and I went to Christmas Magic, a big bazaar held by the Women's Junior League. Steve stayed home with the kids and they went outside and had a great time playing basketball, riding bikes and sitting on the 4-wheelers. Today, Blake and Steve are going to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch football. Abby, Jacob and I will clean the house. Right now, Steve is showing Jacob the hair clippers because he NEEDS a haircut and is scared of the clippers. He is cutting his teddy bear's hair.

Happy Halloween

Tonight, Abby (Cinderella) and I went over to the Parker's to trick or treat. Jacob (who was supposed to be a frog) did not want to wear a costume or go trick or treating. He stayed home with Blake and Dad and passed out candy. The weather was cold and they had a fire burning when we got home. Blake carved a football pumpkin that looked really cool! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!!!!

Our Weekend

Well, we made it through another week. My boss retired after 30 years of civil service, so I was busy most of the week with that. Steve has one more week of classes and he will be done!!!! I started my first week of Accounting II (it has already been challenging).

Friday night Blake went to the hockey game with some friends. Steve and I stayed home and carved pumpkins with Abby and Jacob. We have not put them out on the porch because we have a "gang" of pumpkin smashers running around in the neighborhood. Blake carved his pumpkin yesterday after we did some shopping and had lunch at McAlister's.

The biggest news of the week is Jacob is pretty much potty trained!!! He slept all night with big boy underwear on and he did not have an accident. Steve and I are very excited (and I am a bit sad) to have our little man out of diapers.

Today, Steve and Blake are out 4-wheelin' with some of the guys from work. Abby, Jacob and I have been playing and cleaning. I'll post some more pics on Halloween! (P.S. Blake wanted to make sure I said he was being goofy when I took this picture... I am sure he did not want me to post it at all.)

4-wheelin'

Before and after pictures of Blake on his adventure.

Blake & Steve went 4-wheeling today with Travis, Jillian and Steve (a friend from work). They went out on the Red River. They had a blast until Steve got his 4-wheeler stuck. Luckily, another person came by and helped him get out.

Dylan & Patrick went 4-wheeling today, too. Dylan wasn't paying attention and ran into a tree. He was going slow and was not hurt. His 4-wheeler just has a few scrapes.

Abby's birthday pictures

Master Jacob enjoying his "not my birthday" present.

Here is princess Abby at Chuck E. Cheeses on her 4th birthday!!!

Abby's 4 years old!

It is hard for me to believe my baby girl is four years old. Four years ago today had to be one of the greatest days of my life! To celebrate, we had a party for Abby and her friends at Chuck E. Cheese's. They had lots of fun eating, dancing, and playing. Abby received lots of nice gifts; a tea set from Blake and Dylan, a bunch of Dora stuff, clothes, princess dress-up clothes, art supplies, beads, new Crocs, the list goes on and on. The funniest thing of the day was when I told Abby happy birthday when she woke up and she said "Are you kidding or is it really my birthday?" I said "It's your birthday" and she said "I'm am four right now?" It was so cute. For the rest of the day she has told me I can't tell her what to do because she is four years old.

Jacob did pretty well today. He didn't quite understand it was not his birthday. Steve and I got him a race car and some books to ease his confusion. He really enjoyed playing at Chuck E. Cheeses and screamed when Blake trapped him as he was coming down the slide when it was time to go.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is Dylan's 12th birthday and he is having a spend the night party tonight. He doesn't know it yet, but his mom and step-dad, Patrick, got him a 4-wheeler. Meanwhile, Blake and Steve just got 4-wheelers, too. So all four of them (Steve, Blake, Dylan, and Patrick) now have 4-wheelers. Between golf, football, and 4-wheelers I am not sure when I will see Blake and Steve on the weekends.

Blake and Dylan are both doing very well in school. Both of them just got their report cards and we are happy to say they both have all A's!!! Dylan just earned his yellow belt in karate. Blake has been working on writing a play in his theater arts class. We are so proud of all of them.

Steve and I are doing well. I just finished my Accounting 1 class and begin Accounting 2 Monday. Steve is taking his last classes right now (whoo hoo).

Abby's Allergist Appointment

Finally, we had Abby's allergist appointment. She did such a great job. Usually when we go to the doctor she is very nervous and clingy. Today, she was such a big girl. She spoke to everyone in a very clear voice and answered all of their questions. The doctor gave us five prescriptions for her and ran a blood test. He said her eczema is severe (no kidding) and that we need to "attack" it with everything we've got. We have a follow-up appointment 1 November. I finally feel like we have found a doctor who wants to help Abby. At the appointment on the 1st we should have some answers as to what sort of allergies she has and continue treatment based on the findings.

We had to go to another hospital to get Abby's blood drawn. It was a terrible experience and they were hardly able to draw enough blood (the doctor said they would try to run the tests with what was drawn). Steve held Abby and as soon as she saw the elastic they wrap around your arm she freaked out. She was screaming at the top of her lungs saying "No, it is going to be too tight, please no." It was so sad and I was on the verge of tears. They had a really hard time getting any blood because when you are nervous/tense the blood does not flow very freely. In between screams she would say things like "Guys, please stop" and "Girls, girls I don't like it, are we done yet?" It was cute, but very hard for Steve and I to see her in so much pain.

Other than the blood experience, we had a nice day. Steve and I both took the day off because her appointment was in Oklahoma. We went to the BX at Fort Sill and had lunch at the Atlanta Bread Company. It was nice to spend some time alone with Abby. She is so smart. She uses words like "actually," "of course," and "usually." It is just cute to hear her use such grown up words.

Jacob is doing really well. He has started to identify numbers and finally colors. For the longest time I thought he may be color blind, but thank goodness I was just over reacting. Tonight, Abby was standing on the couch (and not listening to me telling her to get off) and for some reason she fell off and landed on her head. I jumped up and picked her up kissing her and asking her if she was ok. Jacob then climbed on the couch, made sure Blake and I were watching him, and proceeded to fall off and "cry." It was hilarious... Blake picked him up and made a big deal out of him getting hurt, too!

Blake is doing great. He and I spent the entire evening working on a play he had to write for school. We had a good time tossing around ideas and incorporating some ideas he got from his mom. We ordered pizza because we did not have time to cook anything. He is flying to S.C. for the long weekend. I know he will have a good time visiting and taking some time off from the craziness of our lives.

Steve and I are doing ok. Steve is finishing up his last classes and I think he is ready to graduate. I have my accounting final next week. Tomorrow I am going to the spa with my friend who just returned from Iraq. I am looking forward to relaxing and helping my friend unwind.

My camera is still broken and I am hoping to have it fixed before Abby's birthday party. I know you are all anxious for some pictures.

Still no camera to take any pictures and I had some great opportunities this week. We took Abby & Jacob to the fair. They got to see a kangaroo, a monkey, sheep, ponies, and all sorts of other animals. Of course, Abby was a little scared of the animals and the clowns! The one thing Abby was not afraid of was the rides. We rode one of those spinning rides (that make me sick), the carousel with Jacob and Dad, and she rode a car ride all by herself. She rode the car ride about three times... she thought she was something blowing the horn and steering. She ran into a friend from school and they took a spin together.

Blake did not go to the fair with us. He went to a football game with his friend Chris. Yesterday, the five of us went to the Friendship Festival. We took the kids in a wagon and walked around for a little while. It was hot and we really did not like many of the vendors. Blake ended up with a new school t-shirt. We ended up leaving and going to Sonic for some cool drinks!

Jacob has been doing somersault everywhere. When I picked him up from school the other day he did somersault all the way from his room to Abby's room. Before each flip he would say "Look at me Mommy!" It was so cute. He is such a big boy!

Abby FINALLY has her allergist appointment on 4 Oct. I am anxious to hear what the doctor will say. She is constantly scratching and it breaks my heart that I don't know how to make her better. Right now she has a cold, too so that doesn't make it any easier on any of us.

Dylan is doing well. He has all A's in school and we are all very proud of him. I think he is adjusting well to living in SC. Abby still asks about him all the time and always includes him whenever we are talking about family members. She can't wait until Christmas when Dylan, Grandma and Santa come!

Catching Up

It seems like time just gets away from me and before I know it weeks have passed by and I have not written in my blog. I apologize for not having any pictures to post. I dropped my camera and have to get it fixed... along with my iPod that I dropped. Steve said I am not allowed to touch the laptop, ha ha.

We went up to Arkansas over Labor Day weekend to visit Meemaw, Grandpa and Uncle Dustin. We had a very nice visit. Blake, Steve, Grandpa and Dustin went fishing Saturday morning and each caught about 15 fish. Meemaw, Abby, Jacob and I went shopping at Kohl's and Sam's. The kids enjoyed spending time with everyone. Abby and Jacob especially love running around in their backyard. Here in Texas we have stickers ("hurt stickers" as Abby calls them) in our yard so we don't spend too much time out there. Meemaw bought Jacob an Elmo dvd that he loves... it is called "Elmo's Potty Time." We have been working with Jacob on potty training. He is not as enthusiastic as Abby was at his age, but we know we will get there.

Blake is doing great. He has been keeping up his good grades and we are so proud of him. He is such a great help. He always impresses me with his willingness to help. Today, we are having pork tenderloin for dinner that I made in the crockpot. Usually when he gets home he turns it down to "keep warm" but today he was going to a friend's house. Before he went over there he stopped by the house to turn down the crockpot. I just thought that was great of him to remember.

Dylan is doing well in South Carolina. He is keeping his grades up and his mom is working on him with his organizational skills. Abby and Jacob miss him very much. Abby always asks where he is and what he is doing. It is sweet. We have such special kids!