Halloween..not just for the scarey people!!!!

Well, truth be told...I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I tried to be a good Christian and see the evil in it all:) But that didn't work. So, instead of being a failure at that, I have decided to just love it! We don't do "Scarey" Halloween...but just fun! The kids all got to pick out their own costumes(well except for Savannah..her Ninny said she MUST go as a fairy!).
So we had a Rock Star, Ariel, Glenda the Good Witch, Spiderman and of course a Fairy(we called Tinkerbell). It was so fun.
We got all ready and ran over to see Mr. Greg, my mom's neighbor. The kids love him. Isn't it interesting how 2 generations can experience someone COMPLETELY different! As my cousin reminded me..I use to tell him he had an older brother that once went into Mr. Greg's yard and never returned!:)



Well, after that we came back to start our first trick or treat event in Castle Hills! It was nuts! It was so fun! I was amazed at how EVERYONE gets so into it all. So from some.. you might think some people are scarey and so on and so forth. Well, my old neighborhood only had a handful of people get into Halloween. So we see it as neighbors wanting to just share in the fun and say hi to each other! And it was. I LOVED hearing kids giggling from down the street! And families just rocking on their front porches visiting while trick or treaters come and go.
We put a double pot of Chili on and were thrilled to have friends in and out while eating and collecting candy! My house filled with family, new and old friends is just how I always pictured it! So the night was just perfect for us! And all but 1 bowl of chili was eaten! I am saving that one for me:) shhhhhh!



The last thing we did was go to see Chloe's Kinder teacher! And we would have stayed all night if Spiderman was not melting:) It was late!
So, even at Halloween, I am blessed by Him with my friends and family!
BABY GLENN MAKES ONE CUTE SLEEPING MONKEY!

Another Birthday has passed!

I cannot believe it was 3 years ago I started this blog(which I have been bad about updating lately). I started just a few weeks before Corbin's arrival in this world. The original reason I started the blog was because I thought it would be the easiest and fastest way to post pictures of our new baby and growing family. Now, 3 years later there are some great memories on this blog.
To add to the bag of memories will be my little boy Turing 3. I entered this day with mixed emotions. I wonder if the pain I feel of him turning 3 is because he is my only little boy. I only got and get to do this little boy thing once. The girls, although each year was hard to see pass by me..I knew I had another little girl to have her first ballet class, first princess party, first tea party, first first first...
But with Corbin I get to do it all one time. Getting to see him kick a ball for the first time. Getting to see him playing in the mud for the first time. There are some firsts I am ok with not doing again. I am thankful for the fact that this is the last first time I have to potty train a boy!
He is doing ok, but if we are not paying attention...wow...we can get a spray!
Well, for Corbin his 3rd birthday was perfect. On his actual birthday he started the day with an annual tradition of a birthday muffin. Then he got to have a birthday donut post breakfast, pre lunch! Then he got to go to a pep rally. Then he got to have a birthday McDonald's lunch! Then he got a birthday cake, dinner, presents and football game! What a busy day!
I loved making his Spider man cake...only because he was so happy to have it sitting in front of him! We gave him a big boy bed the next day that he loved and started wearing underwear! He is so big now! And I cannot get enough of watching him run by in his Buzz Lite Year underwear! This past Sunday we had his birthday party. It was "Corbin's Circus"! I think everyone really enjoyed it. I know he did!
Wow, another year past! In 6.5 years we have celebrated 18(yes 18) kiddie birthdays! Some of them the kids will remember. Some they will not. But I will. I remember the details. Even if no one else does. It may seem like show to some...but at 1 in the morning, when I peek in on my babies...and then I go back to decorating their cake, or make a cd for a party favor that we listen to for the next 4 years...it is something I take joy in. Things I hope my kiddos treasure...even if they only remember it because they see a picture.
So here is to the last kiddie birthday party for our family, this year. We will have birthday 19...That is Chloe's 7th Birthday in December. Then a little rest...Then we start it all up again! I love celebrating the "birth" day of my kiddos. I love telling them about that day they were born on their birthday's...and they love hearing it!

CORBIN IS 3 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a quick post. I need to add Savannah's bday..but here is Corbin's..so far!

Love that boy!

NEW HOUSE

Keep our new information! We want to hear from you:) We are pretty settled. We took the kids on a hunt to find our statue Lydia. She left a note that after spending the spring in my mom's back yard, she was afraid for her life because of incoming golf balls. She had us look for her at a friend's house. The "Sugars" said she had come by to play but left to see a real Dragon. So we headed to a park with a Dragon. We played and looked for her there. No sign of her! Finally Chloe found a note in the Dragon's nose! It was from Lydia and she said, "Dudley the Dragon was so fun, but she heard there were Pirates to play with down the street!" So we went to the pirate park and looked. No Lydia. We managed to play for a while and Chloe found another note at the Pirate Ship. It said she had fun but was tired and found a garden to rest in, at the end of the street. So we went on a walk, and found her there! Chloe found another note! This one said that she loved this garden and wanted to stay. She also said there was a surprise inside. We walked in the house and the kids took a while to figure it out! They had NO idea we were finally moving into a new home! They saw pictures of themselves and figured it all out! I added some pictures of the day! It was so much fun!

http://jtsparks.zenfolio.com/p263545436

If you have a pair, you need your match!

So, this is something that has perplexed me since high school. The first time I saw this, I was riding in the car with Christina and Emily. I believe we were headed to Shane McFarland's house because his mother had gone over seas to visit his father for a while. Hmmm. I think to this day Mrs. McFarland is one of the smartest mom's I know. Always had a hand on her boys...but looking back...not so sure trusting her sweet innocent boys with her house while she was out of the country was the smartest idea! Boy that was a fun summer! Can I get a whoop whoop from the crowd!

Anyway, I'll get back on to the subject at hand. I remember riding home from, most likely, Denim and Diamonds, and seeing a shoe laying in an intersection. We all looked at it and contemplated why this shoe would be out in the middle of no where, and on top of it, without a match!

Throughout my life I have seen things that are clearly needed in pairs, but have been separated! Just recently I was driving home from dropping Chloe off at school. Once again, I saw a sneaker by itself in the middle of the road. So what I have to wonder is this, how exactly did it occur?

1. Did someone just get annoyed with the smell of their friends sneaker and throw it out the window? Maybe one food smelled worse then the other?

2. Did some angry person decide to throw there shoe at another car in a fit of road rage. I thought that kind of thing only happened to the president?

3. Do you think some yahoo had their foot hanging out the window and their shoe just flew off? Wouldn't you go back and get it? Otherwise you are 1 shoe on, 1 shoe off all day!

I am not sure why that shoe was there...I find it really interesting and odd at the same time! But I do know this. Things that are suppose to be in pairs, need to have their match. When they get separated, it just throws off the axis of the course!!!!!

Caterpillar Caterpillar...where have you been?

Well,I finally told the kids that the caterpillar was dead. No one believed me. I explained to them what they looked like in Chloe's class room at school and it was very different. I explained to them how the one's at school, that seemed to be the same age as ours, were already butterflies that had been let go. I began to turn our container upside down to show them that the "coffin" was not doing anything. I expected it to fall.
Well to my surprise, when I began to turn it over I saw this small brown thing. It shocked me! Low and behold there was a small moth hanging upside down, fluttering its wings away! We all got a good look. And I might have been more excited then the kids! We took some pictures and let him go. He took a while to get going, but he is officially gone.
So, i can't help but think a little deeper about this. 1st, I thought he was dead... the reason I was sure the caterpillar was dead to begin with was because it wasn't moving. Well, I found out that was because he was about to enter a new amazing process. Isn't that just like us? Have you ever thought, wow...I am in a routine day to day rut. But then you turn the corner for some new adventure. Some welcomed, some not. 2nd, I saw him in the chrysalis and had hope. But when I saw the other chrysalis at school, it was nothing like ours. How superficial. When someone doesn't appear just as the majority, we often assume something is wrong with them. Could it just be, they are exactly how God intended? Unique and designed in a way to teach us something the majority can't? 3rd, when all that time went by and I didn't see anything, my assumption was, it failed. He never became anything. Everything takes time. Each bag of popcorn takes a different amount of seconds. Every baby takes a different amount of days to be ready to enter the world. Every person takes a different amount of time to become what they were intended to be! Time doesn't = failure... I think it usually = wisdom. And last, for all my mother's out there on mother's day. Mother's intuition. From the minute that my kids brought that crazy caterpillar to me, I told them I was pretty sure it looked like a moth caterpillar, not a butterfly. They didn't care and said it would still have wings and be pretty. Sure enough it was a moth. And sure enough they thought it was pretty. The eye of a child is something to be in awe of!

Cod Fish Ball

With all that we went through in the NICU with Savannah, I am crazy about her hitting her "mile stones." She had not rolled over so I made a deal with her...Watch the video to see....

Efficient caterpillar

Efficient is something I admire in anything! So, the caterpillar made his chrysalis. Well, it has been sometime and I see nothing different. I saw the ones at Chloe's school and they seem to look more advanced by now. I am going to call it, "time of death...11:33pm April 30th." Poor little guy. But I have to assume he knew he was not going to be a butterfly. I predicted moth. This entry could go one of 2 ways. It could go into something deep and meaningful about our life in death. Or it could go...well more practical at this moment.. the fact that he knew he was not going to go any further in his growth as a caterpillar. So in making a chrysalis, he really made his own coffin. As sad as that is, I have to give that little bug props for being efficient! Talk about planning ahead. Ok..I promise the next post will be full of fun and laughter!

back from the dead

I was wrong! We have a chrysalis and hope to see a butterfly soon!

No butterfly to show around here!

The fuzzy caterpillar... he died! Hey, I can only keep so many things alive! Try try again!

The Hungry Spider

This was a big day for Chloe! She started piano lessons in January from my piano teacher...back when I was a little girl! Ms. Riddle lives near my mother, and we talked her into taking her youngest student. Usually she makes them wait until 1st grade. But she said we would see. Well, Chloe loves it and really is doing well. She had her first piano recital today. She did fantastic. We all were so proud of her. My video is not great. I think I am wanting a new video camera for Mother's Day!!!!! Enjoy!

Caterpillar....what do you eat?

Just when I might think life is "normal" or uneventful, something happens...life happens! This time...cute and funny.
Chloe has been learning about insects in Kindergarten. It just happened that Laurel and Anabelle were learning about butterflies on the same day. They all came home from school and were discussing insects vs butterflies. Now, I am no expert, but I assumed a butterfly was an insect. Chloe told the girls that was not correct. They all came in screaming to me to tell the other one "they were right". I told them Chloe must be right! I mean, she is in Kindergarten. Ok, this is one sign that you need to slow down when you have differed to the education level of Kindergarten as the end all be all! But she is the only other one that can read(well till daddy comes home). So, finally I get them to all go play. I hear screaming....kind of like if you got your leg cut off....but also like winning the lottery. All 3 girls come running in. They are surrounding Chloe and smiling ear to ear. Clearly no one got a leg cut off...however, this could mean they all tied Corbin up and left him to be licked to death by the dog. Thankfully, that was not the case. Chloe had her hand in the stiffest blade hand pose I have ever seen. And there standing tall, is if he was saying..."Here I am!" was a Caterpillar! Long and fuzzy, and crawling around Chloe's hand. I think I said take it outside 10 times before I let them show me how excited they really were. They wanted to show him to Corbin, but he could care less. He couldn't stay still long enough to see what was going on...that is Corbin, not the Caterpillar. So I told the girls they needed to make a home for him. They found one of the bug houses they got for St Patrick's day(yes they got a gift!). They made a home for him and were so thrilled. Ninny was very insistent that he remind outside. The girls all checked on him a number of times before bed. He was crawling everywhere!
We all went to bed. I think a few prayers were said for the Caterpillar. Then 1 hour later, it was time to get up and ready for school(ok, not really but that is what it felt like to me. Usually when I go in to get Chloe, everyone is asleep. However, this morning everyone was awake and faking sleeping. But once I got Chloe I could tell they were all full of energy. It was so cute to see all 3 girls run outside in jammies at 7am to check on the Caterpillar. And then I saw the saddest 3 faces I have ever seen. Mr. Caterpillar was not moving. He was dead. They were all so sad. I said maybe he was cold and just needed to come in for a while. Chloe cut a piece of fabric for him and covered him up. Then we accept the fact that he was gone. His home was put back outside. They were all sad about the dreary morning.
The girls and Corbin went on to school and I went to work. Then, I read a facebook "update" on my mom's facebook. This is after I have picked the girls and Corbin up from their classes and sent them on with mom for the rest of my work day. The update read...

"Kids found a caterpillar last night. They put it in a bug container. Very sad this morning when they said he was dead and they cried. But - it turned in to a great day. This afternoon he was alive!!!! Lots of big smiles around this house."

Now, can you believe this dumb Caterpillar played dead all morning so we could morn his loss all day. I think he might be a little "drama" for me...
So now all the talk is about him becoming a butterfly. I went online to see what all we needed to do....did you know how finicky caterpillars are? They will starve themselves before they eat the "wrong" food. How am I suppose to know what this guy likes? I looked it up and tried to compare his picture with some on the internet. I am officially going to have nightmares. There are some creepy caterpillars out there! Finally I had Chloe show me exactly where she found him. So then we took some of the grass right there. I mean, if someone found you...it isn't likely to be eating at a restaurant you hate, right? It was also recommend to put a stick in the container. The list went on and on... I really think the Caterpillar is going to have to just make it on his own. I already have a fish named swimmie that I think should have died almost a year ago...he just waits for me to remember to feed him. The dog only gets fed when Fred comes home. She doesn't in try to get me to feed her. Poor thing. I have 5 other mouths to try and feed. So the Caterpillar and the fish are on their own.
So, now we wait for the shedding and the pupa stage....I also read I needed to make sure the stick was long enough that when the butterfly opens his wings for the first time, they don't touch the ground. This will cause a defect and he will never fly. Within 4 to 6 days they go off and mate. Hmmmm....maybe we should make sure he can't fly...I think that is a little young!

Oh..and they are insects!

Co Pay Co Pay Co Pay

It has been a while since I blogged… Lots going on in our house. 1^st thing is first…

Savannah Jane has to be the MOST precious baby there is! She is so cute and cuddly! She is so smiley (is that a word). I just love kissing her and laughing with her. But what is even sweeter is watching her siblings kiss and hug on her. I just love see it all! She is trying to roll over and grabs at everything! She holds her toys and loves grabbing her knees and works her way to her feet! She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth! Gross! The dr thinks she is a little "stiff", I agree some but don't think it seems to be an issue. However, we see an OT for it. Making the best of it all, I look at it as one on one time I don't usually get with my baby! I am usually divided by at least 5!

She is a healthy cute baby! I think she is going to have a soft demeanor like Chloe, with a little fire like Anabelle! Yikes!

Ok, now on to the real stuff….the crazy house!

So, it all started on Saturday(a week ago). Savannah looked whiter than normal. So I took her temp and it was around 101.9. I called the nurse line and they said she should be seen by a dr at 102. We did Tylenol and she seemed fine. The next morning it was 99.6. I went ahead and did Tylenol again. About 2 hours later she tried to spit up her bottle. She rarely does that(a far cry from Chloe and Anabelle). Then she turned so pale. She couldn't keep her eyes open. She had spiked to 103. It was around noon on Sunday, so we decided to just take her to the ER. I knew that she would need blood work (beauty of having 5 kids). So, we get there…well, they can't get an IV in her because she is dehydrated and has a layer of great baby fat on her! So, they asked if they could use the great vein in her forehead! I about died! I couldn't believe they were serious. Fred and I just looked at each other. We said, well if you have to. So there laid my sweet little unicorn! It was so traumatic……………..for me!

They did some blood work, gave her some fluids and determined a UTI. We were not surprised, this happened to Anabelle at the same age.. Thank goodness she didn't have to be a unicorn though! So, we finally go home around 6 or so that evening. The girls are all running around playing and Corbin chasing them. I noticed Chloe and Laurel had on some large stick on earrings. They looked funny! So, that evening various people woke up with various problems. I knew I would need to take Savannah in to see the doctor as a follow up on Monday. I went ahead and made 3, yes 3 sick appts. I had 4 kids with me, but decided that whatever they gave Anabelle for her cold I would share with Laurel since I think they shared the cold with each other.

So first he sees Savannah. She looks great. The drugs were working. He decided to see her again Friday for a follow up. In the mean time I had to schedule an appt to do a VCUG(for those with kids who have renal reflux). So then Corbin was next. He was so excited to have "Borbin's turn!" He had some crazy rash on his chest and as my sister put it so eloquently, "His butt smells like throw up!" Nice…just repeating her!

So probably nothing in regards to the diaper issue….too much chili and beans I guess! Got a topical for his chest!

Anabelle was complaining about her ear hurting. So he looked in there...guess what he found?

BLING! She had red stick on jewels in there! He got 2 out, but 1 is stuck(bc they are adhesive) to something in there!!! Holy cow...seriously, he has to think, "Why did I accept these new patients?" I didn't know if I wanted to strangle Anabelle or die laughing! I did ask her if Mommy's diamond ring that she lost was also in there. She looked very seriously at me and said, "No mommy, I told you I don't know where that is!"

 

Laurel…she was just playing with her lollipop.

So, then that moves us on to the week.

Tuesday Savannah and I went to her OT appt. It went well, she did great. More stretches!!! Yippie! So Wednesday we had a somewhat mellow day! I loved it! Nothing crazy happened, or I can't remember if it did. Then Thursday I was home with Savannah working because my mom was out of town. It was nice to just have her and get some work done! Then Friday….we head back to the doctor.

He follows up on Savannah and she looks good. Then Anabelle's turn. He has to look in her ear again. We did ear drops all week to help move that last jewel. She freaks out before he comes in because she REALLY does not want to be there! He can't get it. The jewel has not moved. Great! He calls an ENT we know and he agrees to fit us in on Monday. Poor Anabelle….

So, Friday night we have 2 sitters coming. The first, my cousin Garrett to watch the kids until my sitter Brooke gets there. Chloe was so excited she ran outside with Garrett to show him her cartwheel. I don't know what happened but she hurt her arm pretty bad. We debated on staying home but I got her calmed down enough for us to leave. Great parents, I know! So after our evening, we get home. Around 3:30 am she is crying so hard because her arm hurts! Finally we get up in the morning and we are off to urgent care for an xray. We are there for 3 hours. It was insane! Her arm looks fine, just a sprain. But she is in pain. We get a sling from a friend and mend her arm. We get home and she goes outside to show Fred the sling. She fell off the porch on her arm! She gets this from his side of the family for sure!!! Poor kid!

So, everyone is doing fine. Anabelle goes to the ENT on Monday morning. He tried to get the Jewel out but it was so deep and on her ear drum he was afraid he would hurt it. She was freaking out again! So, we leave there with an appointment to go "under" on Friday and get it out! Great!

Then, Tuesday comes; Savannah goes in for her VCUG and has level 2 renal reflux. Great! Oh well…should have guessed!

So…what is left for this week? The OT on Thursday and ENT on Friday.

Ahhhhh….I am tired… is it summer break yet?

 

I love my kids and family….if I have to be this worn out by all the craziness….then bring it on.. that is why God created caffeine!

OK. OK.

So I realize I started this blog about 2.5 years ago..
I did really well..then lots of changes..and facebook!!!!
I like facebook, but I found that i throw out little factoids vs. what I am thinking about and refelecting on the day!!! So, I am going to blog once again!!!!! Here I come!!!