Almost an Angel

Sure, she gets into things, bothers her brother and makes lots of messes, but Abby really is a good, sweet little girl, and that's why she's an angel for Halloween. Well, that, and it was the only idea I could come up with at the last minute.

You know when you start something and halfway through you begin to feel like you're in an I Love Lucy episode? The shell of her costume was a sleeveless fairy princess costume, size 4-6x. So I cut off the bottom to make sleeves, except I was working with ravelly silky material, and my sewing skills are pretty lame. So I got the sleeves made (after having a knock-down drag-out with the bobbin,) and tried to sew them on to the costume but realized the sleeves were too small to manuver into the sewing machine. So I hand sewed one sleeve on but it was getting super late so I went to bed. The next morning was a play group halloween party and the costume only had one sleeve so I got out the heat and bond tape and patched the sleeve on ten minutes before we left. Hey, it works! The wings were from the One Spot at Target, the fuzzy boots were $3 at Walmart, and our neighbor gave us that awesome halo after taking pity on our makeshift foil one. I think it turned out pretty cute.

This was Abby's first time trick-or-treating, and I think she liked it!

Especially the candy part.

Aaagh!

Is what you say when you discover your daughter has bitten off the top of every one of her Disney Princess markers, which aren't, by the way, very washable.


She's getting in her top eye teeth and so she's chewing on everything, and she's as grouchy as all get out. Heaven help me.

Random Pictures

For posterity's sake.

Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. It was mad crazy, but we still had a good time. We tried to take pictures of Abby and Ben, but they didn't seem too interested in the camera.

Whatever it was must have been awfully interesting.

Abby didn't care to pose for me on the pumpkins either. Instead, she went flitting about going from pumpkin to pumpkin.
And testing each one for structural integrity.This is me and my sis, Missy.
Took a picture of Abby and Brian walking around. I thought the people and objects in the background were distracting, so I removed them. Neato!


Our happy family.

Brian and Abby playing a little peek-a-boo.
And Carter hung out with cool Uncle Mark. He's always good for a laugh.

The Creature

I spied a creature crouched behind the foliage and approached with caution. This particular specimin is known to strike without warning. "Krikey!" I'm discovered, so I back away quickly to avoid the smattering of mud that is sure to ruin the outfit of anyone who crosses its path.

The creature, distracted by a patch of mud, loses interest in the camera and goes about its business, but not before shooting a look of warning at the photographer.
Success! After several attempts and close calls with the mud, I make peace with the creature and even manage to capture a smile.
And even got an amazing freak of nature shot. No editing! Weird!

At last, the creature's mom makes her clean up and come in. Ah, to be a creature again...

We Have Photoshop!

So we bought Photoshop last week and I'm just getting around to trying it out. There is a huge learning curve so it will be a while before I get the hang of it, but I'm SO excited! This is a picture I took recently of Abby and so I did a little experimenting with it.

Here's the original. Great face, but the pic is washed out and there's not a lot of natural contrast to work with.

So I cropped it, converted it to b&w and increased the shadows to give it sort of a vintage or "newspapery" look.
Still got a lot to learn, but it's fun!

Decorating Help

There used to be a HUGE stereo and speakers on top of our entertainment center, but it was pretty ghetto so we finally took it down yesterday. But now it feels empty up there, and because our entertainment center is smaller than the fireplace, it looks so tiny! So should I put something above the ET center? Should I move some things around? Help, please!

Hairless Chimp

So Carter is sitting up now. He doesn't care to roll or do the tummy time thing, he would rather sit up with the big people. He's still a little unsteady so he supports himself with his arms, which makes him look like a monkey...with no hair... and pointy ears.

I think it's adorable!

No Dead People Shows For Me

So I know that TV isn't the most productive thing I could do with my time, but I have to admit that there are a group of shows I HAVE to watch!

*How I Met Your Mother - Fun show, not as good as friends, but it makes me laugh.
*Biggest Loser - This season is going to be good!
*Dancing with the Stars - Not so much into it this year as in past seasons, but I still have to watch it.
*America's Next Top Model - I know. But I love it.
*Ugly Betty - I think it is a creative and brilliant show and the season premiere was AWESOME!

I think most of the things I watch are brainless happy shows, but I can't handle serious dead people shows like CSI or stuffy dramas. Of course, I don't watch the news for that same reason. So my brain is going to deteriorate and I will be completely out of touch with the real world, but at least I'll be happy.

What are your favorite shows?

Gerbera Daisies

I took these pictures to hang up in Abby's room. I think they fit her personality really well. Big, bright and happy. There are times when my camera frustrates me, but this time it did exactly what I wanted. :) I'll post the finished project once I get them on the wall.

Goldilocks

I love Abby's hair, although she still doesn't have much of it!

Reality Check

We went to Children's Hospital again today for another hearing test for Carter. This one was to see if his hearing had stayed the same or gotten worse. My mommy instincts told me everything was the same, and I was right. phew! The audiologist thinks his hearing is not degenerative, but we need a MRI to confirm that, which Carter will get in November.

We've spent a lot of time with doctors the past two weeks. Carter has had the croup, a bacterial infection, a 4 month checkup, another hearing test, and now a junky cold along with lingering diahrea and diaper rash from his antibiotics. It's been a very challenging time for us.

But as I walked down the halls of the hospital I passed a waiting room full of children with autism. In the elevator I chatted with the mother of a down syndrome baby. I passed the common area and saw a mother patiently trying to feed her child, who was crippled with cerebral palsy. And with tears welling up in my eyes I looked down at my healthy gurgling baby and said a prayer of thanks. Suddenly everything that I have gone through with my children seemed so minutely insignificant compared to these parents' struggles. My heart went out to them and my heart aches for them and the trials they go through on a daily basis. I am so grateful for healthy children, and will never take that for granted.

Abby's Walls

We've still got a lot of touch ups to do on the walls but this is the somewhat finished product. As far as the decor, that's gonna take some time (and $$$) to achieve the vision I have for it.

And I know I need to show you pics of Carter's room, but I still have pictures to put in the frames and a dresser to paint. But I'll post something soon.

Painting Abby's Room

Mandie and I have been trying to finish Abby's room for the last month, now and It continues to be delayed because either I don't have the tools or I'm heading out of town. Well, this weekend we were determined to get the wanescoating and chair rail painted. This after three attempts to buy the right paint because oil-based paint cannot be matched until it is dry. Anyhow, Mandie tracked down the paint the builder used, so we were sure to match the floor molding.

So I garnished a few lessons learned from painting with an oil-based paint.

Tip #1 - Open all windows, turn on all fans, and vacate the house for the next 4 hours. Even after doing all this, you're house will immediately be permeated with the most noxious fumes and you will inevitably become loopy. Poor Carter wouldn't eat with the fumes in the air. In fact, at 4 am he woke up this morning and he wouldn't eat until I resorted to the passenger seat of the car in the garage (Mandie's suggestion). Not exactly my idea of an ideal midnight feeding (but then again, does an ideal midnight feeding exist?).

Tip #2 - Use rubber gloves at all times. Of course, you'll end up with paint everywhere. I have paint in places I can't figure out how. All that being said, it was a beast to get my hands clean. Paint Thinner does wonders, but it irritates your skin so bad, it makes you question whether it was worth it.

Tip #3 - When you start, commit to finishing. Interruptions are inevitable, but when you stop, the brushes and rollers dry and you have to clean up to start over. That was a nightmare! So, don't stop until you're finished.

After all that, we were looking at it today and we may have to put a second coat. AAARRGH! Maybe I'll hire it out next time. Any volunteers?

The Travelling Husband/Dad

I know I don't put very many entries in this blog and if you haven't checked, this is Brian posting. I also understand most of the readers of this blog are Mandie's friends and family, so you'll have to forgive me if this entry seems way out from what you're used to.

I usually don't mind travelling and Mandie seems to have gotten used to it (or so she tells me). This week was a little difficult and I'll try to explain without getting too personal.

While Mandie may be used to me being out of town, I know she doesn't like it. I hate saying goodbye because I know how much I'm going to miss being home, seeing the children, and giving Mandie hugs everyday.

I left for the office Monday morning a little later than usual because I wanted to say goodbye to the kids after they woke up. Abby is still trying to figure how to let people leave the house without getting offended, so when I left, I could hear her cry after I closed the door. I know it's only temporary, but it still breaks my heart a little. So that's one reason I don't like travel.

Then I left the office in the afternoon to get to the airport a little early because I was planning on grabbing a very late lunch on the way and doing some additional work in the airport terminal. Instead of an hour of waiting for departure, I ended up waiting for three hours (!) because our pilot was delayed in another town due to weather. So instead of getting into town at a decent time so I could call Mandie before she went to bed, I didn't get in until almost eleven. My flight home was very similar. We boarded the plane on time, but ended up getting stuck in the rain on the runway for 2 hours! If I could count on my flights being on time, I really wouldn't mind the travel.

Lately my projects have been pretty demanding of my time because of tight deadlines and additional administrative work. As I gain more experience, my responsibilities increase, but I still have to deliver. So, even when I'm local, I don't get home until late. At least when I travel, I'm more predictable. This allows Mandie to not worry about when I'll be home for dinner or if I can help put the kids to bed. When I travel, she actually manages quite well on her own. So, when my time demands are crunched, I can put as many hours in as I need to, without putting any extra burden on Mandie. Although, I know Mandie appreciates the help at home. I get full-diaper and late-night duty on the weekends, though.

Every night after the kids are in bed and I've finished my work, I call Mandie and we discuss our day. We probably talk more than we do when I'm home. I can't count how many times our talks extend over an hour. We always have nightly family prayer and cover very important topics. I really enjoy our talks because it helps me release any stress from the day and forget that I'm in a hotel room alone. Maybe Mandie and I could have these kinds of conversations at home, and we've tried, but the travel forces the habit. I've been thinking of getting webcams so we can see each other, and so I can see the kids. We'll see.

Of course, there are the known perks to travel. My airline miles and hotel points are through the roof. Hopefully I can save enough to take Mandie to New York or Hawaii for little to nothing. I get to drive some pretty cool rental cars (sometimes) and I get to see all parts of the country (some pretty, some not so).

Probably the overarching reason why I tolerate travel is because the projects are really cool. I get to do work I really enjoy, meet new people almost every day, and my company really likes my work, so I can't complain too much.

I know Mandie hasn't been posting that I've been out of town because of security concerns and I appreciate that. I'd ask her to make a similar posting, but I'm afraid it would require a 5 post series and many more cons than pros.

Anyways, if your husband travels, consider my lessons learned.

104

Have you ever had a baby with a temperature of 104? I never have until now. Carter peaked at 103.9 last night and although I know a baby can't die from a fever, it was still a little scary.

I took Carter to the doctor yesterday afternoon (and Abby too. She had a fever of 102) and they did everything under the sun to the both of them. Bloodwork, strep tests, a urine sample from Carter and came up with two different diagnoses. Abby has a virus and Carter has a bacterial infection. So they gave Carter an antibiotic shot and a sucker for Abby and we went home to wait out the fever.

It was a long night, especially since Brian was out of town, but finally around 4am his fever went down a little and he slept until 8:30. Because of his high fever they wanted to see Carter again this morning so I hauled both kids to the doc again. Doctor says Carter is doing much better and once he has a couple of days of antibiotics he should be back to normal. Carter seems happier and he's eating and sleeping good. Best thing is that Brian is back in town and we're all so glad, and relieved!

What do you do...

when the diaper won't stay on?

She's starting to take it off ALL the time. Right now she's walking around the house with no bottoms on and lovin' every minute of it.

Do I go to pullups? (expensive) Do I try to potty train her? (she's not even two yet!) Do I glue the diapers on?

Advice, mothers!

Ten Things

1. Carter has a fever and the poor thing is miserable. I'm taking him to the doctor this afternoon.
2. He had the croup last week. Ugh.
3. It seems like the healthy kid is never cooperative when the other kid is sick.
4. It's past noon and I haven't even taken a shower yet.
5. I'm going to start teaching voice lessons at Wylie HS next week. Yay!
6. I'm super excited about wearing teacher clothes again. Mommy clothes are boring.
7. I'm not excited about is leaving my kids 4 hrs a day 2 days a week. I mean it's only 8 hours a week, but I still have the guilty working mom syndrome right now.
8. Abby hid my camera memory card somewhere and I can't find it. I hate missing out on photo opportunities.
9. BIG changes to our blog coming soon. More on that later.
10. I've sat here for five minutes trying to think of a number ten and my mind is mush.

Evidence

I was dusting the dining table the other day and discovered a set of footprints smack dab in the middle of the table. Abby's climbing drives me crazy and it's quite a challenge to keep her on the ground, but I couldn't help but smile this time.

Quick Frames of Carter

Yeah, so I know I probably take too many pictures of my kids, but I can't help it! My camera has a setting where I can take up to like 10 frames in 5 seconds, so I did a little experimenting with Carter. These were all taken within seconds of eachother. I love this feature cause I can capture every priceless expression.

So Kissable!

His cheeks are irresistable.
Those eyes are irresistable.
That lip is irresistable.

And don't get me started on those ears!

What a Child

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just a Sweet Picture

I love my little round boy.

GiGi

GiGi is Abby's lovey. I bought him at Walmart on clearance for $2 after Valentines Day last year. He was just a cheap little puppy that I thought would look cute in Abby's room, but Abby saw something more in him. She took to him immediately and he has since become her favorite friend.














She isn't totally dependent on him thankfully, and he generally stays at home so we don't have to fight that battle. Yet. But he gets attacked by stickers, gets his diaper changed, pushed around in a stroller, and yes, even thrown in the toilet. But his most important job is to be her sleeping buddy.

I took this picture of her today and for some reason it touched me. I know it's silly, but it was almost like GiGi was telling me, "Hey Mom, I got this." If she's sick, needs comfort, or even a pillow, I know he's there. And that's a comforting feeling.