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! =]