UPDATE

Children.....what a Blessing, a miracle, a heartfelt joy. Not a right, a privilege.
A privilege so many take for granted.
I try, on a daily basis, to do something fun with my babies and really appreciate the blessings I have in my life. During the day to day monotony it is so hard to do so unless we make conscience effort to.

I started to potty train Ally Monday, November 3rd. Today, Monday November 10th she has not had a single accident and I consider her completely potty trained! =] (except for at night...that will be a work in progress I am sure)

Blake went to the ENT today and is starting her 6th ear infection in three months. He started a 6th round of antibiotics and will be having surgery to get tubes Wednesday November 19th. Please keep him in your prayers. I Pray the tubes help him and he does not have another ear infection for a very long time and doe snot require another antibiotic for a few months.

A Whirlwind

Last weekend we had all kinds of Halloween activities planned for the kids to take part in. But alas, all but Ally became sick with food poisoning. Thankfully before we became ill though we did get to enjoy Boo in the Zoo. The girls had a lot of fun playing the carnival games, riding the pony and getting TONS of candy.This weekend was Halloween.
Friday was packed full of fun to make up for last weekend. A costume parade Toys R Us, dinner with family, trick or treating in a friends neighborhood. The girls got so much candy we will still be loaded down with it this time next year I am sure! LOL
This week Katie was awarded the Responsibility Character trait award at her school, in addition to a Tiny Tiger award for good behavior and a Perfect Attendance award.
Saturday was the last soccer game and she was presented with a Fall 2008 Rug Rats Team award for participation.Isnt fall so much fun, piles of leaves to jump in, nice cool weather to play in, colors all around.What a beautiful time of year!

PUMPKINS

Can you believe that last fall/halloween I forgot to get pumpkins with my girls?!
I was prego is the only excuse I have. I can not believe I forgot such a fun Halloween tradition.
Well, this year I was determined NOT to forget. And since the closest pumpkin farms are hour or more away from us, we went to our local farmer's market and the kids all picked their favorite pumpkin to take home to carve for Halloween.
We also picked out two smaller ones to place on the porch for a little fall decorating.
WHen we were done we went inside and picked out some fruit and veggies and the cashier gave each of the kids a piece of fruit to snack on . It was a nice afternoon.

Halloween

We are all ready for Halloween! We have the next two weekends jam pack planned with Halloween fun! Trick or Treating at RiverPark, Rivermont Fall carnival, Boo in the Zoo, Trunk or Treating, carving our pumpkins and more!
My little girls are Disney Princesses this year. I have avoided this in years past since the Disney Princesses are so popular, I wanted my girls to be something more unique. But this year a Snow White costume was loaned to us so I figured why not, it is free! So Ally will be Snow White with little red sparkle shoes(the shoes are a big deal!) and Katie Cinderella. She begged to be Cinderella and I found a dress on Ebay for cheap that came with a wand so, Cinderella it is!
Blake growels. It is one of his favorite things to do it seems, so my dad suggested he dress up as a bear for Halloween. So, a Bear is what he will be. Although he is not to fond of his costume.

Vacation

Aw, the sweet smell of the ocean air, the sound of the waves hitting the sand. The laughter of my children as they chase after them and then the cry's that follow as the waves come back in as if they are chasing my girls. Sea shells and handfuls of sand were the best souvienour they came back with and pictures of my babies on the beach were mine.
We spent the weekend at Myrtle Beach. A short, jam packed weekend that was bitter sweet in length. Just long enough to get to ejnoy it and just short enough to be ready to get home but once home wishing for more beach time. Dont many things in life happen this way?!
Blake stood on the beach for the first time at 9 months old. I sat him in the sand at one point and he put his hand down and immediatly picked it back up starring in surprise. Then started touching the sand on his hand trying to figure out what it was....it was too adorable.
We enjoyed listening to the waves as we drifted to sleep, drifting down the lazy river pool, splashing in the 'hot' tub, walking the shoreline, playing minature golf, exploring the hotel and visiting the nearby Hershey Ice Cream Parlor in addition to gift shops. We had a blast. What a great mini vacation to kick off this beautiful fall season!

Fall activities

So this blog is suppose to be an update on what my kiddos are doing....and I have slacked in the posting department lately. So here is a run down on what we have done the last few weeks.
Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. The wonderful weather makes it so nice to do outdoor activities. Thankfully my kids like to be outside too!
We went to the county fair a few weekend ago and the girl enjoyed pony rides and Nana's frozen yogurt. A nice picnic and a tractor ride may have been the highlight of the day.
The following weekend we went to the Hixson community carvinal where they got to pet and feed goats, ride another pony, get their face painted, play games and win prizes, do a craft get a sno cone...ALL for free!!!
We enjoyed the Enchanted Miaze this past weekend. The corn maize, pizza lunch, hay ride, tractor ride and stealing a corn cob!
This coming weekend we are blessed to have been asked to go to Myrtle Beach. We are SO very excited. We have not been on a vacation in so very long!
Next week I plan to let the girls pick out a pumpkin and carve it next weekend. Can you believe I forgot to get pumpkins last year?! I think I had prego memory. So this year I am determined to let the girls pick one out!

Weekend Fun

Weekends are generally packed full of family togetherness. Last weekend we had Katie's soccer game and a special lunch out. A birthday party and a very realxing picnic at the park. This weekend we ended up doing the same thing! Except had our picnic at the County Fair at Chester Frost Park. It is so nice to be able to spend some time together since Joe works so much during the week. The weekend is kind of like our wind down time, getting us ready for another jam packed busy week.
Mondays for the kids and I consist of: 6:30am getting 5 people up, ready and out of the house before 8am. Taking the katie to school. Going to the gym for an hour or so. Mom and Tots play date. picnic lunch. Naptime. Pick Katie up from school. Art/Craft or TV time. Play time. Dinner time. Bath time. Bed time.
Then...to start all over again with few variations each day.
Tuesdays I take an aerobics class.
Wednesdays Ally and I go to Lapsit at the Library. And Katie has cubbies that evening while I attend a moms book club.
Thursdays and Fridays I work.
Hence, why the weekends are so nice to one, have joe there and two have the help joe brings. It is so exhausting to have all three babies. But nothing I would ever take for granted!
Looking forward to this fall weather! We love to go to parks and the nice weather will make that so much more enjoyable!

A great Mama?!

I am fighting a battle, a battle that I feel I have lost too many times during the short time I have been a mother.

Tha Battle?
What makes a great Mama?

Is it the smell of something yummy baking as you enter their home? Is it a clean home or chores that are always complete? Is it a manicured yard or even just the yard trimmed? An upkept mother and ironed clothes for every family member? Is it a homemade dinner on the table every night? Each child participating in everyextracirricuuler activity? A solid routine for which the children follow strictly day in and day out?

Is it the sound of happy children at any hour of the day? Is it a little bit of chaos while an art or craft is being so happily completed by little hands even though the dishes need to be done? Is it playing in the floor with your little ones even though laundry is undone. Is it playing Candy Land one more time instead of vacuuming? Is it cuddling as you read a book for the millionth time instead of mopping?

I feel it is letting the laundry sit while I play with my little ones. Not worrying about the dishes in the sink while I cuddle on the cough with my babies. Forgetting about the mess while I read them a story or paint with them.

Time flies by, the laundry will be there later, the dishes can wait and the vacuuming can be done another time. My little ones will only be a little for a short amount of time. They will not be 4yrs 4 months and 2 weeks old, 2 yrs, 3 months and 1 day old, and 8 months 2 weeks and 2 days old tomorrow.
And as much as I struggle with the battle of what makes a great mama....deep down I know that my children come first. I should be proud of the 'art work' all over the house, the mess in the girls room, the stains on the rugs and the sticky spots on the kitchen floor and chaos that is my life and home.
For Today is a gift, tomorrow a mystery and yesterday a memory to be cherished forever.
Make every moment count and a memory that you can rely on to get you through the tough times.
It is so hard for me to let the dishes go, the cleaning slide and the laundry pile up. I feel I need to 'impress' others. But what I need to remember is my kids are little treasures that need me more then the house needs cleaning. That need to be held before the things are straightened up. As long as the house is livable and lived in.....nothing else should matter over my babies.
I know this....now that battle of making sure I do this.

Kids

I cut Katie's hair Monday night. I probably chopped a good 3-4 inches or more off. I am a poor judge of length. But it is now at her shoulders when dry. Of course I cut it when it was wet and she was looking at the ceiling! I was so frustrated that she was looking up...i did not relize she had moved her head till after I snipped. It looks good though. It was almost a year since the first 'real' haircut I gave her. Then I cut it shorter then I had wanted as well.
But she gets hot easily so this will help her stay a little cooler and it will grow out by winter.

Blake started crawling this weekend. He is doing very well now. Gets most everywhere he wants to go in the room in which he is in. I am going to be putting the play pen to more use now! lol
He is teething again, wont let me sit him down for even a minute. Wearing on my nerves for sure. Porr little guy must be in some pain but when I pick him up when he is screming he immediatly stops, smiles and laughs. Joe thinks it is funny and says he has me wrapped around his finger....I do not think it to be so amusing. =/

Time Flies

I sit here thinking of yesterday....or what can seem like yesterday. The days when i was young. Our childhood is gone in a blink of an eye. It feels like just the other day Katie bug was a tiny baby in my arms. My first born little bundle of joy.
And now my 3rd, and last, little baby, in a matter of a month, has sat up, started scooting, is trying to crawl and is pulling up on everything. My baby girl is talking up a storm, sentences and phrases I never knew she knew. And my sweet princess is going to school. Oh my, where does that time go?!
Just last week I was playing on the trampoline in out backyard with a water hose and my sis and bro. Or a couple months ago I was watching Annie water our TV with the same water hose. lol Or last year I was celebrating my very first Christmas(although I do not remember it).
I can not believe that so much can happen in such a short amount of time. In what seems like a lifetime when you are in the moment goes by faster then we can even imagine.
I am 28 yrs old, but feel like I am still 18. I am scared to grow old, mainly because it happens so fast and also because it is an unkown. Unkown because I have never been there, felt it, experienced it. So much unknown. So many years that will fly by faster then a speeding bullet. So much to do and see....so little time.
Life is short. Live it, Love it and never regret what made you smile!

Family and Birthday

My mother's birthday was yesterday(September 8th) The kids and I went over to my parents house and made them a spaghetti dinner and cake to celebrate.
Then tonight, the kids, joe and I met my sister, brother and Addison at my parents house for a surprise 'party' for my mom. We had another cake, the girls decorated it, drinks and ice cream for all. I think we really surprised her and she enjoyed having us all together for her. =]

In May for Dad's birthday we did a similar thing. We went to Chester Frost Park and got a pavalion. Every day when dad got off work he would go visit my brother who was a ranger there(he is a cop with Red Bank now). Well, that day when he went to talk Mom had decorated the pavilion, grilled hot dogs and had a cake with much much more to surprise him. He was so not expecting that! =]

We love family get togethers. It allows us to spend that time together that we rarely get to spend together due to hectic lives. I wish Joe's family was closer to us so that we could do the same with them. But at least occasional visits take place to make up for it.

I ask Katie and Ally every night what their favorite part of the day was and they always say spending time with their family, or a certain activity they did with family that day or spending time with a certain family member that day. I am so glad that at such a young age they realize the importance of family.

Gym

Aerobics....I am not coordinated enough for anything. Although I attempted an aerobics class today. To my surprise it was actually fun...exhausting...hard...and helped me realize just how horribly OUT of shape I am! I am so sore now....... I plan to attend the class once a week! =] At least that way I will work through the soreness. hehe

I also have 3 personal trainer appointments. One I had last week and my next one tomorrow. I enjoyed getting to learn how to correctly use the gym equipment and then feel confident and comfortable enough to go back and try it by myself.

I really need to do this for myself, to get myself back in shape and back in the shape I want to be in after having three kids. It is some great me time too!

Ally loves playing in the nursery and Blake gets lots of attention in the infant room due to his charming smile, handsome laugh and head full of hair.

Sunday afternoons

Oh, How I love lazy sunday afternoons.
We go to mass almost every sunday morning, then try and do something fun with the girls. Like go to lunch, have a picnic, go to a park, go to the mall play area....ect
Well, today we went to Riverpark and had a nice picnic lunch next to the river. It was a perfect breezy day to do so. Then we walked a bit and treated the girls to ice cream for behaving so well. They played on the playground for a bit and then we headed home for naps and relaxing.
Sundays are our family time. I cherich it so very much. With the amount of work Joe does during the week the kids and I have little to no time like that with him during the week. But it is a sacrifice we are willing to take for a better future.

I forgot to mention that I took Blake to have his ears checked Friday afternoon. He had been waking in the night the weekend before last, I took him to the doc cause after the 3rd night of this he woke with congestion that was a little green and a low grade temp. He ended up having a double ear infection that was caused by a cold he showed no signs of having other then a very slight clear runny nose. They put him on amoxicillian and at the end of the ten days(friday) I took him back for a re-check cause hs started to wake in the night again and his runny nose came back. So, he still(or again) has ear infections and they put him on another form of Amoxicillian....I did not know that existed. They want to check him again in 3-5 wks.
While we were there I wanted Ally's ears checked as well cause she and Katie had apparantly caught the cold and had runny noses earlier in the week. Although Ally;s was worse and she was very congested and had a cough on top of it. Ally's ears checked our ok but Katie's (she didnt want to be left out of the ear checking!) were not so good. She also had double ear infections and never once said her ears hurt! So, she is also on an antibiotic and since we just finished 3 rounds of antibiotics jsut 2-3 weeks ago trying to rid her of an ear infection....she has to see an ENT specialist in a couple of weeks. She may have to get tubes like Ally did last fall.
My poor babies and their ear troubles.....

Soccer

Katie had her first soccer game yesterday. She and her daddy ran around the field practicing and then playing a short scrimmage. I, Ally, Blake and Mom and Teresa sat on the sidelines watching and cheering. It was great to see her participating in a sport Joe enjoyed so much in his younger years. The jersey, shorts and socks were huge on her and it looked like she had short stuby legs. hehe
She loved it though and can not wait until next week!
She has games every saturday(except 10/11) at 10am until the last week in october or so.

In addition to Soccer Katie is in Awanas Cubbies program again this year.
They meet every wednesday night and have a little book they do a chapter in each week. They learn a verse to recit to their teacher each week and learn various games and songs.
Last year Katie was only in Cubbies for about 6 wks and learned all 30 or so versuses that all the other kids learned that whole yr in thos few weeks. The teacher was so impressed with her they want her to do a book in addition to the book that everyone does this year! She is so excited! =]

Katie

My little photographer.....Katie loves to take pictures. Whether it be with our camera, her camera or my phone. She is little miss creativity. She loves to draw, "do her homework"(she does not have homework), color, paint, play on my laptop, memorize her versus for cubbies(which she did so well last year the teacher wants her to do an additional book from the rest of the class, where she would memorize extra versuses each week) and much more. i posted pics that she took herself with my camera phone. =]

Point Park and the weekend

When I was a little baby my parents took me up on Signal Mountain to Point Park and took some pictures of me. When Katie was a baby we decided to do the same with her. Of course then I wanted to do it with Ally and last week we took Blake up there and took some of him as well.
We had fun walking down the little path with my parents and then looking over to see the beautiful river, river banks, mountains, trees, open sky and more from where we were. Katie and Ally thought it was great to be so high and get to see so much.
After that we went to coolidge park and the kids and I rode the caresoul and played in the fountains. Then took a LONG walk around the paths in the park. Finally we ate dinner at Mud Pie for an end to a nice afternoon and a start to a great weekend.
Saturday Joe and I took the kids to the pool. Spent a few good hours there, brought a picnic lunch and then ran errands while 2 of the kids napped in the car. Finally grabbed a bite to eat with some free dinner passes we had and let the kids play at the mall.
Sunday we went to some friends apartment for a cookout. They have 4 cats and 2 dogs in their tiny 1 bedroom apartment. I believe Blake had a same allergic reaction cause he woke that night with a stuffy nose, that went into a green snotty nose and a low grade fever the next day. I took him to the doc Tuesday morning to learn he had a double ear infection. Poor little man. Although I want to blame it on the animals, I think it must have been a cold that went into his ears(although he did not show any signs till sunday night) cause Ally went to bed last night with the sniffles and now has a runny nose and is sneezing. I hate it when my babies get sick. And it runs through all three of them and takes forever for everyone to get well again. And it is so hard to take care of three kids when you aren't feeling well.

Park Days

The kids love to go to the park, although this summer has been so hot we have not been much at all. This morning I got us all up ealy and out of the house for a doc appt. Which, when we got there was next week. Not my fault, the nurses. She gave me the wrong date which I had immediatly wrote in my planner. Oh well, we went to the park instead.
As babies, Katie's and Ally's favorite thing to do was swing, now it is Blake's turn. It is hard to find a park with a baby swing though, and then when you do they are normally in use by someone else searching for one....but this morning was quiet and has one baby swing, unoccupied when we got there. So Blake got to laugh and giggle and have a good time while the girls played.
Then we went to Partville where we had a scheduled playgroups outing. Blake slept in my baby backpack while Katie ran around having a good time and ALly clung to my leg crying! lol Ally did eventually warm up to the place and ran around with the other kids, she never got on the inflatables but she did have fun!

Blake is Eating!

Blake has been eating baby food for two months or more now. We started off giving him breakfast, rice or oatmeal baby cereal. Started to add fruit. Then a month later introduced veggies for dinner. Gradually moved him to the meat and veggie dinners, then recently started to add a fruit in adition to that. A couple days ago he started getting a fruit or a veggie at lunch. A few weeks ago we introduced juice, his fav being banana strawberry. =]
Sometimes at dinner I do not have time to hand feed him both jars of baby food so sometimes after his meat and veggie dinner I have started cutting up banana or apples and putting them in this netting feeder thing I have. He LOVES it! Then yesterday i just cut up the banana very finely and he ate it off the tray. I also have given him the gerber puffs, strawberry/apple or sweet potatoe. Now anytime I feed the girls something or get out something small(ie: raisins) he thinks he has to have some too and starts fussing for his share. Pretty cute....and annoying when it is not for him and you have nothing for him!
Well, tonight while I was making dinner he was fussing to eat so I gave him his first biter biscuit. Joe has wanted to give him one for some time and I 1)was worried he could not handle it 2) didnt want to clean up the mess. But he did quite well and I threw him in the tub when he was done with that, 1/4 of a banana, greber puffs and 1 jar of baby food! =]
My little man sure does like to eat!

First day of Pre-K

Katie's First day of Pre-K was today. Last night she excitedly helped me pack her lunch. This morning I had to wake her up bright and early to get dressed and out the door in time. We actually had a few minutes to spare before we had to leave after we all got ready and she talked about what she hoped she would do today....make new friends, play, read, ect.
When I dropped her off I thought I would be emotional....I wasn't but I have two reasons I feel that helped with that 1) Ally was upset we were leaving Katie and I had to carry both her and Blake out of the classroom 2) Katie has been going to PDO since she was 18 months so it was just like dropping her off there. Maybe Kindergarten of 1st grade will be harder for me to grasp?!
Well, Ally, Blake and I went tennis shoe shopping for me and the whole time ally whined, said she missed her sis and didnt even want to play in the mall play area. Then when we picked Katie up from school they bickered the rest of the day! shew....I hope this transition does not take long. I do not think I can cope with it for too long!
Katie said she went to the school library, painted, took a walk, had nap time, ate lunch, played, made 2 new best friends, talked to Sam(one of joe's friends that works there--one of Blake's God fathers) She said she had a lot of fun and can not wait to go back next week.
Today was her first phase in day. Next tuesday is her next one and the following week she will begin full time. 8am-2:45 Monday-Friday. She is so excited. =]

Zoo

Today we went to the Warner Park Zoo, our little zoo here in Chattanooga. It is quite small and quaint but the girls love it. We have a membership so this spring we were going regularly and now that the weather has cooled off for a bit we will start going more again.
It was a beautiful breezy day, high in the low 80's. We ate our lunch at the picnic area and took our time walking around and seeing every animal. We rode the carousel and got a Popsicle before we left. We took MomMom with us. The girls had a blast. Before we went her had to make a stop at the $ store. Ally went potty 2 times yesterday and Daddy promised her a treat for doing so well. She went again today when we got home, while we were at the zoo and her pull up was dry all day till she took her nap. She is watching Arthur and eating a Dora popsicle for going potty today. I try and be creative and get or do different things as a treat for her going potty. As long as I make a big deal and show her how proud I am of her when she goes she is happy =] Seems like we are well on our way to being potty trained.

Breast Feeding

Breast Feeding...what a wonderful way to give your baby the best that you can. God given ability to feed your child and bond at the same time. I have nursed all three of my children and am still nursing Blake. My plan is to nurse him for a year like I did my girls. When Katie was born my milk had not come in yet. So from day one I started pumping to help my milk. When Katie was taken to the nursery after she was born the nurses gave her a bottle, despite the fact I had asked them not to since I planned to nurse. When she was 2 days old she was admitted to the NICU and they continued to feed her from a bottle. I still pumped and still attempted to get her to latch, she still refused to latch and my milk was slow to come in. It was heartbreaking to see her attached to all those wires and monitors and to not be able to breastfeed her like I had wanted added insult to injury. She came home 5 days later, I was still pumping 2-5 times a day in attempts to get my milk to come in. The day after she came home my milk finally cooperated! Although my nipples hurt so bad from trying to nurse her and pumping I could not bear to breastfeed. So we tried cup feeding, tube feeding, finger feeding...anything we could that would help with her nipple confusion and let my nipples take a break from the poor latch she had at first. I went to a lactation consultant, breast feeding support group and read anything online and in book and pamphlets I could on the subject. Finally we got her latch corrected, my nipples we not as tender(but it still hurt!) and we were good to go =] It was just a few weeks later that I started back to work. Thankfully my office was close to my parents house and my mom was watching her for me. I was able to go there once a day to nurse her and pumped her a bottle the other feeding I missed. I weaned her with ease at 13 months(I figured I owed her an extra month for all the trouble we went through in the beginning.) Ally did not latch well in the beginning either. My milk did not come in until she was 5-6 days old, similar to when I had Katie. Although this time there was no pumping, no NICU, she was able to get the Colostrum...the liquid gold....I had felt so badly about Katie not getting. Although due to my milk not coming in for several days she ended up getting a fairly bad case of Jaundice. We had to take her to TC Thompson’s once a day for a few days to get her heel pricked so they could test her billirubin(sp?) levels. We took her out in the sun for a few minutes a day here and there, supplemented formula with a tube(finger fed her) and nursed her more often. Thankfully she got better in a matter of days. I weaned her at 12 months. I had eye surgery when she was 11 months and planned to wean her then, but could not bear to do it yet. I felt I owed her one more month at least! So after her 1st birthday she was nursing only in the mornings and one morning I just forgot to nurse her after breakfast...she didn’t care, so she was weaned at that point on =] Blake latched from the moment he was born. No trouble there. No jaundice, no supplementing, my milk came in in just a couple days and we have been good to go since! He was gone a 1 or 2 very short nursing strikes(or at least that’s what i call them) and some days he will go hours without nursing now but the next day nurse normally and when we are out in public he gets distracted and is hard to nurse so I pump him bottles sometimes now....but other then that....he has been a wonderful nurser! =] I never pumped a bottle and let Katie feed Ally...I pumped so much with Katie I did not want to have to pump unless i HAD to with Ally. But with Blake like I said above, I pump him bottles now and have a nice stock pile in the freezer....so the other night Joe let Katie feed Blake =] Ally did not care too much about it. I may try and see if they would like to feed him again sometime just so I can get a picture.

Day Off

Joe took yesterday off to go help register Katie for school. It was nice having him with us the whole day. Sometimes during the week the kids and I get to see him just an hour or two a day. So to have an extra day of time with him was wonderful. We went to a birthday party at the zoo after registration. Had lunch at McDonalds. Went to Katie's doc appt for her ears(she needs to see a specialist cause she still has fluid in her ears and she just started a 3rd round of antibiotics). We went out to Hamilton Place and the kids played in the play area awhile. Picked up Bear from the Vet where he had his vaccines and a bath. Ate dinner, made applesauce bread and then it was bath and bedtime. Joe cut the grass afterwards which was WAY over due. The grass at the bottom of our yard was almost to Katie's stomach! I tried to cut the grass a few weeks ago and could not get the darn mower to start; besides it is so hard to get all the kids occupied or napping for me to go out and do it. I have been begging him to hire someone to do it for cheap. At least he got it done....on his off day too...but it didnt take him long at all to do it.

School Registration

Like most, I have plenty that I could be doing right now instead of 'blogging' but figured I had not posted an a few days so I should. Yesterday was school registration. Joe took off from work to go with us so he could see Katie's new school, meet the teacher and what not. He went bright and early to drop Bear off at the vet and then we all went on to Rivermont Elem. We met her teacher(which I can not remember her name for the life of me) filled out MORE paperwork and peeked inside her classroom. I had many questions answered(IE: school dress code, book bags, supply list drop off/pick up times ect) Katie is very excited about school starting, as am I. Only down fall is not having her here all day with me. Something I will have to get use to but I plan to take advantage of all at the same time. She starts next Wednesday, August 13th. Her dress code is khaki or navy pants, Capri’s, skirts, shorts or jumpers. Any color polo shirt(except red and black). Dress code for Pre-K is not enforced but recommended. She gets to take her LL Bean Book bag to school with her instead of the clear ones and she got a matching lunch box too =] She will be going from 8:15am-2:45pm. What a long day for a little one....at least they get an hour of quiet time in there. Once she starts I will write more.

10 Year Reunion

I graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1998. I can not believe it has been 10 years! Last night was our 10 year reunion. It was at the MudPie on Frazier Ave in North Chattanooga. It was more fun then I had thought it would be and I chatted with people I have not seen in 10 years and some I have never talked to in my whole life. When I got home I looked at my senior yearbook and realized there were only a small handful of people that attended the reunion. I am not surprised, I think that is the case with most reunions. But it was a good time and many friends took pics so I will try and post some soon.
Joe's is coming up end of the summer. Will write about that one sometime also....

Library Party

Saturday we woke nice and early to go to the Library's summer reading program party. You had to sign up a the beginning of the summer, read x amount of books and turn in your log before July 26th. So, we did all of that and figured we needed to go to the party to get all our free stuff! =] All 3 kids got a free book, TONS of coupons for attractions and restaurants around town, Popsicle, drinks, candy, crafts and more! It was crowded and hot so we did not stay long, just long enough for hte girls to have a little fun. While there I heard this startling screech, turned around to find a frantic mother in tears who had thought she lost her child. She was with 3-4 security guys and when she screeched she ran over to her hubby who had both of her children. I am not sure what happened or if the kid was really lost, but regardless of how long the kid was lost or if it was lost....that is scary. Made me hold tighter to the hands of my little girls...that’s for sure! I can not even fathom the feelings I would have if that happened to me! One time at Target Joe and Katie ran in to get something while I stayed in the car with the other two. He called me and said he lost Katie. I was in disbelief. I thought he was just mad at her and she had ran off in front of him. I went to the front of the store in the car to make sure she didn’t get out. Then he called me and said that an employee and a customer had found her. She went down the next aisle and by the time Joe got there she was down another and so on....she had got scared and found the employee and customer(an older lady) and said she lost her daddy and needed help. He was 2 aisles over looking for her with another employee. He called me back VERY upset and said she was found and he was heading back to the car. She was playing with him and didnt mean to 'get lost'. But it upset Joe and scared him I think too. That has never personally happened to me and I am sure I would have been frantic if I had been in the moment with him.

Hixson Paper

Katie and Ally have been in the Hixson Paper twice now. The links are below. A newspaper reporter has come to storytime at the library and took a picture of the group. The first one is from Easter and was published May 7th, they are wearing bunny ears they made and holding bunny books they read during storytime. Page 11:
http://community.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/HXepaper.aspx?articleid=4958&zoneid=71

The second time was July 16th. They talk about the summer reading program and storytime throughout the summer. I am not sure how the reporter found out their last names cause I did not tell her...guess Katie speaks more clearly then I thought she did! =] Page 7: http://community.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/HXepaper.aspx?articleid=5747&zoneid=71

Mall Play Area

The kids LOVE the mall play area. Some weeks we will venture there 3-4 times. The girls love to bring our lunch(only on occasions do they get treated to chic fil a while there!) and eat in the food court. They get to 'eat out' but it saves us money too! Then we play in the play area until they get tired of running off all their energy. Take a couple laps around the mall.....to burn off my energy(or fat...whatever you want to call it lol) and sometimes a cookie if they were good. They get to throw a penny in the fountains to make a wish(Katie once told me that her Daddy works to make money for her to throw in the fountains! hehe He said at least he was working for something!) and if I have some change on me ride the quarter operated cars at the entrance.
It is a great way to burn a few hours before I drag them all home and put them all 3 down for a nap so I can do things like write these posts! =] Or laundry, dishes, sweep, mop, ect ect. Which I should be doing now, but who really likes to do those things when they have time to do them?! =/

Bath Time

Bath Time in my house is chaotic and stressful at times. After a long, tiresome day this is the last thing I want to attempt to conquer on my own. Usually 5-6 out of 7 nights a week Joe is not home yet from work at this time. Many times i will Let the girls bathe themselves while I bathe Blake and dress him for bed. Then I go back behind them and make sure they did a good job. They really enjoy this. Makes them feel like BIG Girls =] I have a picture of each of the girls in their bathrobes at about 6-8 months. So tonight I took some of Blake. He loves to smile and coo at the camera. Ally on the other hand absolutely hates stopping for a picture most of the time now. So funny how they change as they grow. They are constantly changing their likes, preferences, even personality to some degree. Life with 3 children is exciting watching them grow. I love my babies with all my heart and would be lost without them. I am so blessed to have them in my life.

PDO

Katie has been going to Parent's Day Out since she was 18 months old. Ally to the same one since she was 9 months old and now Blake goes when I sub there. They love to go to 'school' as they call it. They play, make little arts and crafts, nap, eat lunch, learn various things. I have been sudding there from time to time for over a year now. I subbed today and will tomrrow(monday and tuesday) as well. It seems that I will have a job there starting in September. One of the teachers there is pregnant and wants to work less so I will be working half of her days(Thursday and fridays). Ally and Blake will come with me and Katie will be in Pre-K at Rivermont Elem. Right now the plan is for me to work until she has the baby(December) then maybe pick up her other days too? or stay with just Thursday and Friday while she is on leave? I think the rest is up in the air....we will see how it pans out. I think making a little extra money and 'having a break' from my kids may be good for me. Although I think I will be 'teaching; Ally's class! =]
Will post more about it once I start.

Knoxville......

We had plans this past weekend to go to a birthday party, then to Shaun's party in Sweetwater, stay in a hotel in knoxville, let the kids go swimming(they LOVE to swim), go to the knoxville zoo and stop somewhere and eat dinner on the way home. I was so excited about our 'mini' vacation! But, Friday night I could barely sleep from the Horrible sinus pressure and sinus headache I had. The worst headache I have ever had(no, I never get migranes so it does not compare I am sure). But my while ead throbbed and my jaw and teeth even hurt! I got up saturday morning and went to Physicians Care at 9am. Of course they were not open. I went back at 10 and there were 8-10 people waiting out front for them to open their doors! I was there for 2 hours, the first party started at 11 and I left there after noon. We then went to that party VERY late. Then to target to fill my prescriptions....which of course the doc prescribed me a Sulfa drug which I am allergic to. Thanfully they were able to call and get it switched to the Z-pack. So then we were off to Sweetwater. Stayed there a few hours(which Blake slept through!) then around 9pm we headed to our hotel near knoxville. We got settled in and went to sleep looking forward to swimming and the zoo. 4:30 am Ally woke up coughing and sounded congested. I turned on a light to find she had thrown up all over the bed. Joe and I cleaned her up to then find Blake had done the same thing. So much for swimming. We went back to sleep, Ally got up 2 more times to throw up. Ate some breakfast, packed up the car and debated if we should head home or if ally was feeling better(had been a couple hours since she was last sick) then she threw up in the car....so home we headed. At home she was fine. took a long nap. ate a little bread and a banana. Then Blake nursed again that evening and threw it up all over me. By bedtime they were both doing better, felt a littlw warm but keeping some food and liquids down. katie, Joe nor I have come down with the bug and I hope we do not. It is awefully hard to take care of 3 kids by yourself while being sick!
So, maybe we will go to the Knoxville Zoo another weekend =/

Blake and Ally

Blake had his 6 month check up today. Doc said he was doing well. Was impressed he was sitting up so well and said he should be crawling in 1-3 months. He suggested starting him on juice now....Blake will LOVE that! I will share water with him from my water bottle sometimes and he gets SO excited! =] He is 18 pounds and 27 inches long. Above the 75% for both.
He got three shots today =[ poor little boy. But did surprisingly well with them and did not cry much at all. Then came home took a long nap, ate some green peas and then got a haricut! I trimmed behind his ears(with the help of katie who distracted him for me) and his bangs.

Ally got her thumb pinched pretty good in cabinet at the docs office and either got her foot smashed under the kiddie pool or stung by a yellow jacket yesterday. So she is being a little accident prone lately. She is whiney due to her booboo's but doing well otherwise.
We went to storytime time today and Ally actually went up front with her Sis and did the little dances! I was so proud...she normally sits in my lap and refuses to do them.

Busy weekends.....

As I sit here and type this update, I am watching my two little girls play in the bathtub. I do this many nights a week....let them play while I wind down from a busy and normally somewhat stressful day. They enjoy the water and it keeps them occupied for a moment or two.
Since Friday we have been very busy. Friday EARLY morning Joe left us for DC. He was gone all weekend so Friday night the kids and I spent the night at my parents house. The girls lOVE sleep overs! =] We went to Dalton the following day to visit my Grandmother's gravesite. Then did a little shopping at the strip mall there. I got Blake some onsies and shorts since he is outgrowing his clothes so quickly! He is already wearing 9 month sleepers and is barely 7 months old! Then Sunday I cleaned the house and we went to a little friends birthday party at Play World Down Under. Sunday night we had dinner at a friends house. Today(monday) Joe got home around 3am and we had a play group come over for swimming in the kiddie pool. Buck got a clean bill of health from the vet, the kids and I went to my book club meeting, went to the grocery store since there was practically no food in the house and then got home to cook dinner all before 7pm! lol Many people say I am crazy for going to the grocery store with three kids by myself....I am not sure why or what their kids do in the stores...but mine are usually quite good. Just sit in the carts(I push 2!) and I get in and out with little or no arguments in less then an hour.
Shew....I am almost more tired from typing that then from doing it all! lol
It is 8pm and Blake is already down for the night(well will prolly get up to nurse once before I go to bed). and the girls are well on their way. Joe is out contacting and getting diapers. ANd I am very much ready for either a soak in a warm bath or cookies and milk.....a bath is probably better for me huh?!
Blake started sitting up on his own this weekend! He has his 6 month check up tomorrow. I can not believe he is already almost 7 months old!! Time sure flies!
We have another BUSY weekend planned this coming weekend so I will be posting again then with updates and hopefully pics. So check back =]

Aquarium and Play World Down Under

We went to the aquarium today. Play world Down Under ysterday. Had picnic lunch both days. Girls love PB&J and picnics! They got to play in the water infront of the aquarium....I think that may have been the highlite of their day! =] They had so much fun looking at all the fish, trying to touch a sting ray and watching the butterflies. Ally actually played well at Play World, she even attempted to go up in the big kid play area by herself!
Both girls are actually taking naps after their busy day. Katie hardly ever naps anymore so it is quite exciting for me when she does!
Both girls have outgrown their shoes at the same time! Must have been a growth spurt. And surprisingly Ally now practically fits in the size Katie just out grew! and they are 2 yrs apart! Go figure!? So, after the aquarium it was off to buy some new Dollar General brand Clogs...the way they outgrow shoes there is no reason to spend more then $3.99! =]
Ally is doing so well with her potty training. I am so proud of her. She was dry ALL day today. Went potty when we all took a bathroom break and when we got home before naptime told me she was ewey(what she calls her wet or dirty diaper). I kept feeling her diaper and it was not wet, then when I laid her down, she was wet. she was not telling me she had a dirty diaper but that she needed to go potty! My mistake....we need to teach her to say potty now I guess! lol
Blake is doing well scooting. He pulls himself with his arms and scoots for wahtever it is he wants in front of him. Ally started crawling when she saw my cell phone near her but out of arms length, she craweled for it....I feel Balke will do the same thing very soon!

The Kids-2

Katie woke up Friday(July 11th) complaining of an earache. Joe took her to the doc for me before he went to work...if you have ever tried to take 3 kids to the doc alone before you understand why he was so sweet to go into work a little late and do this for me! She had en ear infection which was cause by a cold. But it was not till that night and the next day that she showed any symptoms of even having a cold(other then a cough). She is taking an Rx for her ear infection for 10 days and other then a slight runny nose and cough(hacking cough!) she is doing better. She is very excited about Pre-K; registration is August 6th. At which time we will get more details and I will update everyone.
Ally is talking more and more lately. You can ask her a question, like 'What happened?" and she will reply “Sis ‘pussed’ me!” It is so great to hear her sweet little voice tattling on her sister. =]
She is trying to potty train still. She goes peepee in the potty chair almost once a day. Usually will go sit on it in evenings before bed when 'sis' is going potty too. Of course that is always at the insisting of Katie that she goes. But when she pees in the potty and I clap and make a big to do of it, she gets such a huge grin and look of pride on her face. She knows she is doing something good and exciting. She is going to really miss having Katie around 24/7 starting this fall! And so am I!Blake woke up yesterday(monday)with a stuffy nose. I am hoping it is allergies but I am sure I am not that lucky...it is probably the cold that Katie is getting over. But to look at the bright side, it is strengthening his immune system! Other then the stuffy nose, he is doing great! Yesterday he was laying on his tummy in the living room floor. He had several toys lying around him. He was attempting to play with each one. I walked by him at one point and he was reaching for one impeticular. I walked back by and he had inched himself forward and had it! He is starting to scoot on his belly, pulling himself with his arms....too cute! Won't be long before he is crawling! He rolls back and forth now to get toys that he wants. If a toy he wants is on a blanket in front of him he will pull the blanket towards himself to get it! How smart....only 6 months old and already using problem solving skills! =]

The Kids

I am not good at updating....i take for granted that I am here with my little ones day in and day out. There are so many things in life I take for granted.....Being a stay at home mother(which I LOVE!), my 3 beautiful children, my wonderful, hardworking husband, my home, basic daily necessities, my health, a car to get me places, clothes on my back, food that I eat daily, internet, TV, beautiful weather, I could go on forever....

I try and stop every night with my girls and pray to God in Thanksgiving for all of these. It is the least one can do for all of the wondrous things we are given in life.

So, since I am the only one blessed with the opportunity to be with my babies almost 24/7....I figure the least I can do is try harder in keeping loved ones updated on what they are doing 24/7.

Today we plan to go to the Library for story time. We do this most every Tuesday morning. Then we will go to the mall and have lunch(normally PB&J) and play in the play area before heading home for naps! Too bad thats just for the kids! lol

Tomorrow we are having a play group at the Aquarium. It has been so long since we have gone there, I am really excited cause I know the girls will love it!

Thursday the girls are going to go to PDO since they missed last weeks due to the Air conditioner being broke. Fridays they always go to PDO. I may start sending Ally 2 times a week when school starts...she LOVES to go and play and learn new things! It is hard to teach her anything here because her big sis always answers everything and wants to do everything for her.


Last week the girls and I dressed up as Cows to get a free Chic Fil A combm meal. Everyone stared at us in the mall caus eno one else was dressed up. we met our friends, the Groves who were also dresses up though. They also gave us ice cream for being in full cow attire! =] We had a good day!

Update

Life with 3 youngsters at best is hard. But I love it. Love everyday of it. Blake is starting to scoot, rocks back and forth on his hands and knees and tries to move. he rolls back and forth. Spins in circles on his tummy. Loves to play with his toes. He Can almost sit up on his own. He started eating Gerber baby cereal a couple weeks ago. A few days ago I started adding carrots...he LOVES them. Yesterday it was applesauce. Again....loves it! He is such a happy baby. laughs all the time. coos and talks non stop. So sweet and loving. Ally is talking more. She communicates well. She has a very limited vocabulary right now but I know that will change soon. She has not reason to talk since she has an older sis that does it for her. Although she knows many of her letters, numbers, colors and more. She has 2-3 word sentences and is trying to potty train. She will sit on the potty a couple times a day. tell me when her diaper is wet. takes it off when I am too busy to change it right away. This fall I am going to potty train her. =] Katie is going to start Pre-K in the fall. She will be going 5 days a week from 8:45-2:45. She is very excited and I know she is going to excel in it. She is so smart and catches onto things so quickly. she is my little helper too. She loves being a big sister and helping mommy and daddy. she will also be playing soccer this fall....she has been begging to for a long time. She also want to take ballet but I think we will hold off on that one till next year. She will be attending cubbies again this school year as well. she really did well enjoyed it last year. She started at the end of the year this past year, they only had 6 wks left in the school yr and she had to catch up on memorizing the verses. She memorized 6-8 Bible verses EVERY week and still remembers some. The other kids only memorized 1-2 a week. And she finished the book with the class and was awarded at the end of the year with a completion award. Katie attended 3 Vacation Bible Schools this summer. Ally attended 1. They both greatly enjoyed it and loved getting to do the crafts and learn the songs and dances. They are both so creative, fun and full of life!

Blaketon Joseph Pricer

Blake was conceived with no trial and error similarly to Katie. Since we had had some trouble with conception of Ally our OB suggested to us to start trying in April of 2007 to hopefully be successful by August of 2007. Thus making Ally and the new baby(Blake) 2 yrs apart just like Katie and Ally. So, I stopped taking my Birth Control and the trial and error process begins...so we thought. Then, May 2007 we found out we were pregnant! Quicker then we hoped or expected. A little scary and slightly unplanned...we began our journey to have our 3rd miracle from God. Blake was born January 8th 2008 and Due January 11th. My pregnancy with Blake was very easy and uneventful. well, maybe not so uneventful. I was hospitalized twice(just like I was with Ally, once for dehydration and another time for unknown pains). Shortly after we found out we were going to be blessed with a 3rd child, i had debilitating pains in my lower abdomen and back. I thought I was miscarrying or had an ectopic pregnancy. finally went to the ER, after enduring this all day, to find out they 1)could not find the pregnancy and 2)did not know what was causing the pains. At this point Joe was getting slightly frustrated. Considering I was hospitalized with all 3 pregnancies with 'unknown' pains....I can see where that would be a little unminding at best for a loved one. So I stay over night, was given pain killers and passed a kidney stone the next morning(which is what they think may have caused the pains with katie that led me to the hosp that led to induction) Now this day that I was in the hospital passing a stone was my eldest daughter's, Katie, 3rd Birthday. I felt horrible having to be away from her on such a special day. and to be in the hospital again exactly 3 yrs later...a little strange. The next week I went to my OB and he found the pregnancy sac, apparently it was just too early in to see it before. Then later in the pregnancy I became dehydrated from a stomach bug and thought I was going into early labor. Thankfully for my son's sake I was not. Similarly to my pregnancy with Ally I was in severe pain at the end. Thankfully it was not as bad and I was miserably able to hold on till a few days before my due date. I was scheduled to be induced on January 8th, my doc called the hospital just as the IV had been inserted into my arm to start the drip, he was informing me his mother had passed and he could not make it. As much as I wanted my doc to deliver him since he had delivered me and my 2 girls, I went ahead and had another doc do it. Which I am now grateful for because I not only found a new doc when mine retires, but I did not have an episiotomy. This time I was induced at 2a. water was broke at 6am and I had a healthy little baby boy at 8:20am January 8th 2008. Very quick labor and delivery, only 30 minutes of severe pain before they gave me my epidural. He was 9lbs 14ozs. We were both discharged 1 day later. He is now 6 months old and is so smart, handsome and learning so fast. I am so excited to watch him grow and become a little man.

Allyson Elana Pricer

Ally was conceived with more trial and error then Katie. With 10+ months of trying, a miscarriage and then one more month of trial we conceived Ally and found out in August of 2005. She was born June 2nd 2006, due June 14th. My pregnancy with Ally was a little more difficult then my previous one. Due to this everyone was sure that she would be a boy. Joe and I thought it would be fun to have her sex a surprise. So when she was born and the doc said 'It's a Girl!" I said: "Are you sure?!" I was sick most of the first trimester. Again, not as sick as some are in their pregnancies so I was grateful for that. but sick enough where taking care of Katie became a challenge at times. The sickness subsided quite a bit with the coming of the 2nd trimester. Yet with the 3rd trimester I was so miserable and in so much pain I was begging my OB at every appointment to induce me. May sound selfish and looking back at it I agree...but while in the moment and the pain....I needed some relief. I had some tests ran to see if she was mature enough to be born without complications, because of course I nor the doc wanted that to happen. The tests were ran a week before she was born, My doc was certain everything would be fine after those tests were ran, he just wanted to give her a little more time to 'cook'. then I was induced On June 2nd with out little bundle of Joy. I went into the hospital at midnight for induction, which started around 2am. They broke my water around 8am and we had her at 11:20am. I only had 30 minutes of severe pain of contractions before they were able to give me my epidural. I should not have waited till the pain started to ask for it, so it was my fault. But after a pain free labor and delivery with Katie, I didn’t know what was in store for me. She was a healthy 8lbs 3 ozs. Her and I both were discharged from the hospital 2 days later. Ally is such a strong willed, beautiful, caring, cuddly, creative, heart-filled, joyful, dramatic, smart, encouraging, precious little girl.

Katelynn Marie Pricer

Katie was born May 10th 2004. She was due June 1st. We found out in August of 2003 that we were going to be parents. We had been trying to conceive for about 3 months and were ecstatic to find out we had been successful with little trial and no error. My pregnancy with Katie was very easy. Mild to no sickness, heartburn mainly at night, minimal weight gain, no stretch marks…..I could go on and on. I was so blessed to have such a wonderful and healthy pregnancy. Of course I took that for granted because I was unaware of just how wonderful and healthy it was. On May 7th, 2004 I woke with some mild cramps in my lower back. I called the doctor after I went to work to ask what else I could do to try and ease the discomfort. They had me come in to check me. The pains became increasingly worse from the time I made that call to when I had got myself to the doctor. My doctor was unsure why I was having pains and since I had been dilated 3 cm for several days he wanted me to go to the hospital for a couple hours of observation. Thos couple hours turned into a couple of days. my mild discomfort turned into severe pain that Demerol and morphine was not helping. They ran many tests and could not figure out what was causing the pain. So, Monday morning when Dr Shull decided to induce me since the meds were not helping, the pain was not subsiding and the stress on my body and baby were increasing. I was only barely 36 weeks pregnant, so he was hesitant. They started the pitocin drip around 8am, broke my water around 4pm and we had Katelynn Marie at 8:20pm May 10th 2004. She was 6lbs and 11ozs. Labor and delivery was very easy compared to some. I had an epidural. Labor was only 12 hrs from when they started the pitocin. The day after she was born she was placed in NICU for slight fluid on her lungs. Going into the NICU to see her for the first time after she was admitted was very emotional. To see my first born little bundle of joy with an IV stuck in her head, wires and monitors coming from her little body and me not being able to hold her as I wanted was heartbreaking. What’s more heartbreaking was I was discharged from the hospital without getting to take home my baby. She was in the NICU for 4 more days, for a total of 5. As time passed I realized just how blessed I am to even be able to bring home a healthy baby, regardless of when it was I brought her home. Her first couple years of life flew by so quickly. We took hundreds of pictures and noted every milestone in her baby book. We had a huge 1st Birthday bash for her with all our friends and family. She is a very loved little girl. She is smart, caring, kind, loving, beautiful, sweet, ambitious, adventurous, creative, obedient, enthusiastic, determined, above average intelligence for her age. I could go on and on. She is a true blessing and miracle in our lives.

First timer

Oh my....yet another thing for me to keep myself busier then I need to be! lol
I intend to post pics and updates about the kids and our lives right here...for those near and far. friends and family. so check back often to get the scoop! =]