A New Addition to the family

We have welcomed a new member to our family. Her name is allie (short for allergies). Here is the story behind her. Last Wednesday I heard a cry out back and saw allie sitting on our fence by the bay window. She was so cute and looked like the cat that had been missing in our neighborhood. I called the number on the missing cat sign and the owner wasnt there. She did call the next morning at 6:15AM (YIKES!!). She came and saw the cat and it was not her kitty. I let allie go and she decided to stay on our back porch. When Chris came home he was really interested in the kitty. She was showing her good side to us. Cuddling, showing her belly and just being plain cute. Chris decided to take her to the vet and she got a clean bill of health. She goes back on Thursday to get fixed and declawed. She has been super sweet and great with the kids, especially Emily. She did have a problem with finding the litter box but I think we are on the way to correcting that problem. Little does Allie know but she is in for a surprise because she will now be my scrapbooking subject for a while. LOL!

Sickness strikes again (UGH!!)

It is a sick household that I am living in right now. Emily had a friend spend the night last night. I was expecting to be up late with those two but I wasnt expecting to be up late with Casey. The little guy woke up at 1:30am with a fever of 103 and he was hallucinating. He saw monsters everywhere even with me holding him and the lights all on. I got some motrin in him and he finally got back to sleep at 3:00am. When we woke up this morning his fever was 99.9 but one of my friends suggested that I check his throat. I saw some red spots and decided to call the doc. It was confirmed this evening that the poor guy has strep. Believe it or not, I have never had strep and neither has Emily so I dont know what I am dealing with. Chris told me he has had it and that Casey will be fine once we get past the first day or so. He is sleeping soundly now without a fever. Now we must keep the rest of us well so we dont get it too.

First Dentist Appointment for my baby

Casey and Emily had dentist appointments yesterday. This would be the first time Casey has been to the dentist. We have been talking about it lately and practicing opening our mouth really big (he doesnt have a problem with that LOL). When we were driving there yesterday he told me that his tummy hurt. I think he was a little nervous about the visit. Once we got there he was his normal self until they called his name. I was lucky enough to get to go back with him and comfort him. I even got to take pictures. He had a little problem getting in the chair but he did great! Dr. Baldy told us he has an overjet which is like an overbite. She doesnt seem too concerned. She feels that with age, his lower jaw will begin to move forward and correct the problem. The bad news...Blankie must leave since it is a little problem with the teeth. So wish me luck with that because it is not going to be pleasant around this house.

Happy Birthday to my SIL!

Some of you may not know what SIL is but to me it is what my sister in-law and I call each other. We really got to bond when we were both living in the greater Portland Maine area. She is the youngest of Chris's two sisters but is still older than him. I miss seeing her and hanging out with her. We used to go to Target and THe Christmas Tree shop together. THen me, Emily and her would hang out at Applebee's for lunch. My Emily is the spitting image of her Auntie and Jen would call her "mini me".
I hope you have a good one Jen and that we get to see each other sometime soon.
PS your gift is REALLY in the mail : )

It's COUSIN IT!!!

Emily has been trying to grow out her bangs now for almost a year. For some reason those darn hairs wont grow. We seem to be stuck at a certain point and cant get past it. She told me that she wanted her hair cut the other day when I brought Casey to get his. So I said "why not!". Much to my surprise, when we were done she wanted it even shorter. So right before school starts, we will be chopping off some length but not the bangs.

Spa Treatment

Since Emily spent her Birthday in Mississippi with her Grandma, she really didnt get a Birthday party. I promised her a sleep over with her BFF Abbie. They got to go to Smilz and Stylz to get pedicures. It was so cute to see them in there little spa robes relaxing. They got to watch Hannah Montana while they soaked their feet and got the toes polished. They even asked to keep the robes LOL! THat didnt fly with the owner. We then went to Justice. For those of you that are not framilar with the store Justice, it is much like Limited Too but a little cheaper. Lots of girly stuff to choose from. The girls got matching "best friends" shirts and necklaces. Abbie had given EMily a gift card there so she got to spend some money too. We then proceeded to TGI Fridays for dinner. Emily had told me earlier in the day that she did not want to be sung to at the restaurant. Do you think I listened?! NO! They came and sang to her and she was not mad one bit. She even told me minutes before that she wished that they would sing to her. Then it was off to our house for popcorn, crafts and tv. I think she had a great belated birthday!

A Bunch of Animals (no its not my family)!!

If you read my blog you would know that we recently visited my mother and took the kids to the Memphis Zoo when we were there. All I can say is...WHAT A ZOO!!! I think the Memphis Zoo has to be the best Zoo in America, if not then it is right up there. We knew it was going to be hot and thought that the animals would be hiding. When we took the first corner of the Zoo and the Lion was less than 10 feet away from us, we knew we were in for a good experience. The animals were all so close to the public that you could just reach out and touch them (of course we did not encourage that nor did the zoo). When it was lunch time we actually got to eat with the monkeys. There were windows right next to the tables and the monkeys would sit on the ledge and watch you eat. It was the coolest thing. I was also pleased to see Panda bears and polar bears. My favorite were the polar bears. We got to go inside and building that had windows so you could see the bears underwater. One bear continually did laps around the tank and the kids thought it was cool to watch him. The pandas were cool to because they were chewing away on their bamboo like they were back in China. By the time we were leaving, we were extremely hot and tired. We made it just in time because the sky opened up and thunder roared when we were getting in the car. I would definately visit again and tell anyone that is visiting Memphis to not just go see Graceland but go see the animals too.

Rocket Man

Chris has gotten a new hobby for himself. I can actually bring him to Hobby Lobby with me which is good and bad since he can see how much I spend on scrapping stuff. LOL
He likes to build little rockets and launch them. He thought it would be a good idea to take his rockets on vacation with us since my mother has a huge back yard to launch them in. He was so proud of himself. He made us all come outside to launch his masterpiece (big Bertha). The launch only lasted seconds and Bertha landed on mom's house. It did manage to roll off and we recovered it.

Another Birthday and safe travels

Well I havent been blogging this week because we visited my Mother in Mississippi. It was our first time there. It took exactly 4.5 hours to get there which is going to be hard to do on a regular weekend so I guess we wont be traveling up there as much as we used to. Her little town is quite a step up from where she used to live in Alabama. Her house is beautiful and coming together quite nicely. She has alot of decorating still to do.
We decided to go so she could celebrate the kiddos birthdays with them. Emily had her 9th Birthday while we were there. We celebrated by going to the Memphis Zoo (another post with pics to come). Casey got celebrate again too.
We are back safe and sound and are trying to get back to our little life here.

Here's the Birthday Boy!

I promised yall pictures of Casey driving his new truck so here they are. Chris made a big puddle in the backyard with the hose so Casey could go "muddin". He loved watching his wheels go through the water. What a boy!

Bye Bye 2...Hello 3!

My baby is turning three today and I cant believe it. It seems just like yesterday that Chris and I were on our way to the hospital to have him. I remember when he arrived and had that full head of dark hair. Ever since that day he has had me wrapped around his little finger. So when I woke up this morning I went into the room and sang Happy Birthday to him. He sat there with a blank stare and when I was finished he said "thank you momma!". We are going to celebrate his birthday tomorrow at my mother's house. She is getting a cake (chocolate with a digger on it)just like Casey asked for. He did get his gift from us and his grandparents, a power wheels F150 truck. Chris put it together yesterday and Casey drove around the back yard. He loves it. I will post a picture later today if he will get on it and drive for me. We are going to the Peanut restaurant for lunch. He is excited about that. So a pretty low key birthday celebration but I know that come a few years from now I will be having the big parties like Emily has.

Happy Independence Day!

It seems that the older I get the more things mean to me. The fourth of July was just another fun filled day of swimming and picnicing when I was a teen. Now that I am a military wife the day takes on more meaning. I am truly blessed to live in this land of the free and home of the brave. I could be living in another country that doesnt allow their women much freedom. Or I could be someplace that food, clothing and transportation is hard to come by. I heard stories of these countries and it just makes me love my United States of America even more. So during the festivities today, take a minute and say a prayer for those who remain to keep us free for they are truly the brave.

Lets go to the Park!

Yesterday was such a lovely day here. It wasnt too hot and there was a little breeze so I decided to pack the kiddos in the grocery getta (my car's nickname) and go to the park. I love watching Emily and Casey running and smiling with other kids. It was nice to just kick back and relax while they had a blast. We ended our day at Crackerbarrel for pancakes and french toast. Emily didnt want breakfast for dinner so she had her usual chicken. Casey wanted pancakes but ate most of my french toast instead. I must remember to order him that next time because this isnt the first time he has eaten my meal instead of his own.

My little Van Gough

Emily has been taking painting lessons this summer. She really seems to like painting, drawing and anything to do with art. I didnt know where she was getting that but after emailing with Chris's aunt Carolyn, we have decided that she gets it from her paternal great grandmother. Grammie K used to paint and I never knew this. I knew that Chris's dad painted but not his grandmother. I guess she gets this love of painting from her Dad.
She started with classes last summer at the local craft store(those are the smaller pictures)and she continues with the same teacher this year. I think she has done a lovely job.