Girls Day!

Reese is doing really well recovering from surgery. She has no limitations, and her activity level and all is back to normal. She is still having some blood in her nose, which we think is normal and should clear up soon! We are really sticking close to her and appreciate all the moments we have with our kids!

Yesterday Ryan and his Dad took Turner to see Monster Jam at the Baltimore Arena. They had the best time, and when I get photos I will post them! While they were out doing Boy stuff, us girls (Reese, Grammy, Marge and I) and baby Ryan went shopping at the outlets in Lancaster. My kids needed clothes for this spring and summer, since I had nothing yet for them. We got a complete wardrobe for Reese for the warm weather and most of Turner's for less than 250 dollars! I got a ton of stuff. I can't even believe how amazing the Carter's outlet is up there and there is no tax!! I am really happy with everything and I really enjoyed having a girls day! I look forward to doing it again in the near future! Now all I need to get is Turner some more shorts for the summer and a couple more tee shirts. We figured out when I got home that Turner will be potty training and we are going to need some more shorts because of that! After a fun filled day together shopping we met up with the boys and had dinner and cake for my birthday. It was all yummy and we had a great day! Today we are spending a fun day together as a family! We hope everyone is having a good weekend too.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who was worried with us and so supportive through Reese's surgery today. She came through with flying colors. She was such a brave girl and did not cry at all! I think it was harder on Daddy and I. I have to say it was that hardest thing I ever had to do holding my baby as she was put under anesthesia and her body completely going limp and then laying her on the operating table. I kept it together, but I will always remember the feeling of leaving her in the very good hands of the doctor and feeling so awful. I know that we did the best thing for her and she did so well and less than an hour later she was in our arms again. She impresses me so much. After recovery and she was released we were able to get her meds and we got her a happy meal from McDonald's (which she completely scarfed down!). When we got home, and after she ate lunch, she just played for a couple hours and now our very tired, brave girl is taking a nap! Thank you to Mom and Dad who are taking such good care of our little man today! It has been nice to not have to worry about him and knowing he is being completely spoiled and loved! Thank you again for all of the support we got for Reese!

Prayers

So tomorrow Reese is going in for surgery to have her clogged tear ducts probed and irrigated. The doctor is great and I know that she is going to be fine. The one down side is that they are going to put Reese under anesthesia to do this. Please keep our little baby girl in your prayers tomorrow! Even though we know that she is going to be very well watched over by God tomorrow, as she is everyday, we are still just human parents who are worried! I will update when it is all over! Thank you in advance, to everyone who loves and cares for our family so much!

Cute

This morning Ryan brought all the kiddos into wake me up for my birthday! They all came up and wished me a happy birthday and then Sadie nuzzled up to me with a big bow on her back and a letter saying I am going to get a little bag for her (yup I am one of those people... hehe)! It was the cutest thing ever! I love my little family, and our new puppy is sooo cute! I love them all!

A little while later, while I was watching all the kiddos my Mom surprises me and stops by with balloons and German chocolate cupcakes and a card for me! She also brought all the kiddos a cupcake of their very own! It was really sweet of her and I love the surprise! (she also got to see out little Sadie for the first time!)

I am also very excited about the new season of Dancing with the Stars! Ryan can't wait to see Adam Carolla and Penn in those dancing shoes! It should be a lot of fun!

Here are some photos I took the other day of the kids and Sadie!

Reese being cute and smiley!

Hi Mom!

My little Sadie!!

Our attempt at getting all 3 to sit together

Sadie and Ridgley

Turner being himself!

Preschool

We decided that we are going to put Turner in preschool next year. He was wait listed for several schools and got into Ashland for the 2 day a week program. We are very happy with that and loved the school when we visited. There are programs all the way up to Kindergarten, and a lot of options as he grows. We thought that we had it all planned out, until today when another one of our top choices (St. Paul's Lutheran) called and he got into one of the 3 day programs there. So now we need to decide what is going to be the best for Turner. He loves Sunday school and absolutely loves to show us what he learned. As I pass the classroom on Sunday mornings, he is sitting on the rug listening and contributing sooo well. I know that he is going to love school! Am I not jumping on the 3 day a week program because I want him with me, or is it because I think the 2 day a week is better for him? I really want to do what he is going to love and thrive from. I know in the grand scheme of things this decision is not that big of a deal, but being a parent really makes you evaluate all the time what is best for your children and family. How much I have changed in the past 3 years since I have had Turner!

Minor Rant and Fun night!

I am going to start by saying I had a great night tonight with the girls from book club! We read the book Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. We had book club last week to talk about it and then I found the movie on TV one day and tivoed it so that everyone could come and have dinner and watch the movie. Well the movie was pretty awful. I think that we all really liked the book, and when you try to put a page turning mystery/suspense type book into a 2 hour movie with commercial you are asking for trouble. The characters were lacking in some physical ways. They are not what we had pictured in our minds. The lead, Ellie was well casted, but other than that it kind of went down hill. Anyway, we had a great time chatting hanging out until 10:40! Becky and I were roommates in college and I adore her anyway, so it is always nice to catch up. Haley, Wendy and Chrissy were a year ahead of us at Gettysburg, but we were all in the same sorority and knew one another. Now I am becoming pretty close with Haley, and it is nice to be able to get to know Chrissy and Wendy even better! I look forward to many fun nights of wine and chatting in the future (with or without the book!) Thanks for coming over girls! I had a blast!

Now for my rant! I am really put out by all the positive attention that Amy Winehouse has been getting. She is somewhat talented I guess, but I hate that people in the entertainment business are held at a different standard than most others. It is no surprise that she is a drug addict, everyone knows it.... and yet she is honored several times at the Grammy's this past weekend. I am not sure if it is because my father was a drug addict and I grew up knowing that it is not what the celebrities make it out to be... spa retreats to get well and such. It is a really ugly and crippling disease that people choose to get into to begin with. It is not like a terminal illness that would surprise someone, but it is something that these people choose to experiment with and then get hooked. I guess the other reason I am really put off by celebrities with problems being in the lime light all of the time is because I have two young and impressionable children who I do not want looking up to a celebrity who is abusing drugs. This includes athletes too! I am going to tell my kids about their grandfather one day and why he is not part of our lives, and I don't want them thinking that drugs are accepted in any way, shape or form! When is the entertainment industry going to see that we should not be rewarding people for things they may not be ready for or deserve. I was pleasantly surprised to come across this article tonight though:

"Natalie Cole: Amy's Wins Send a Bad Message"

It is basically saying that Natalie Cole does not believe that Amy deserves what she received yet. She said that she does have talent, but that this girl needs help. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I know I have blogged about some similar things in the past. I just would really like my kids to be able to look at celebrities as people, and not idolize ones that have such horrible issues. I guess that is Ryan and my job to teach them the difference between right and wrong and show them there are people in this world to look up to.

Weekend!

I am sooo excited it is the weekend! I always get like this when we have long weeks. We have nothing really planned other than going to church on Sunday. I think we are going to go to dinner at Ryan parents house tonight because Ryan's dad does not have to work this weekend, which has become somewhat of a rarity. I know the kids are going to enjoy spending time with them. Our main goal for the weekend is some quality family time. I love my little family! My son is a handful that we adore, and Reese just lights up my life (even though she is drama central)!

In a couple weeks Ryan and Pop are going to take Turner to see Monster Truck Jam at the Baltimore arena. I know that Turner is going to love it. He is absolutely obsessed with monster trucks! He loves to watch them bam and crash and all the things that little boys love! I am not such a fan when he is doing it around our home, but the same rules apply to monster trucks that apply to all the other things in the house, so they end up in time out quite a bit! Our neighbor took his son to the Monster Jam and he said the noise was not an issue, but it smelled pretty bad... which is why I will not be going! I think that Grammy and I are going to do something fun and girly with Reese! Maybe we will go shopping or something. This is part of what is so much fun about having one of each! We get to enjoy what each of them enjoys!

I will post new pics later on this weekend of the puppy and kiddos! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Whirlwind

This week has been a complete whirlwind. I have found out that my grandmother died and then went to the funeral. My emotions have been up and down because even though I was not close to her, she was my mom mom and I do have several good memories of her too. I will forever miss her ice tea and Christmas cookies. The way she taped her stick straight hair so that it would curl on the side of her face. Sticking to the red couch in the summer when I would wear shorts. Her taking care of us when my father was to drunk or stoned to remember that it was his weekend to have us. I imagine her so full of turmoil when it came down to the choices my father made her make. In the end she has chosen to see him through and to a better place and I know that with out her my father would have no shot at a life. I always thought that as they started to leave, I would feel a sense of relief because I was truly affected by them in my youth. However, I feel a sense of loss which is unexpected. I guess as they say, Blood is thicker than Water. She was my blood and with out her I would not be here today. Thank you Mom Mom Annis. I know you are truly in a better place now.

Strange

I just found out that my grandmother died on Saturday. It was my father's mother, who I used to spend time with as I was growing up. We never had a great relationship, but that is due to the fact that my Dad was always messing up big time and they were always taking his side and bailing him out. She did get to meet Turner several times in his first year of life. She never met Reese. No one called to tell us the news, until Ryan's grandparents all read the obituaries (why do old people do that?!?) and then Ryan's mom called to tell us tonight. I am in shock. I don't know how to feel and I am sure this blog is not making much sense. I guess I am just processing things and it is going to hit me. I guess I always felt we had more time... isn't that what everyone says though?

Busy Week

We have had a crazy busy week and I am sooo looking forward to having some time with my family this weekend! I can't wait to lay around with my hubby and cute kids and play games and enjoy being a family.

We have been so busy that I forgot to post pictures of the newest addition to our family. Her name is Sadie and as of Wednesday she weighed 1.6lbs! We are absolutely in love with her! She is so sweet and lovable. One of the reasons we have been busy is because she had a cough that started last weekend, that continued into this week so we took her back to the vet and she has stress induced bronchitis. The vet thinks it was because she was flown in and the stress from the flight caused it. She in now on antibiotics and robitussin and will be fine!

The kids love her! We don't let them pick her up, but Turner loves having her sit in his lap and cuddle with him. Reese loves to pet her! She loves to chase the dogs and she hangs on the the cats tail and he drags her across the floor. She is soooo outgoing and friendly and becoming everyday more and more of a mommy's girl. She is with me all the time and I adore her!
I absolutely love our little Sadie!

Turner the first time he met her (he was asleep when I brought her home the previous night)

He loves when she sits in his lap!

She's sooo little!

Reese the first time she met Sadie!

Reese petting Sadie! (Sadie went right up beside Reese and waited to be pet!)