Update of the week and Easter Egg Hunt Fun!

It has been a hectic week! It started with me taking Maddie to the doctor on Monday and letting them look at Turner's hand. Maddie has had tubes in her ears for almost 2 years and we haven't had ear problems since. Well over the weekend I noticed she was picking at her ear a lot and there was some dried blood and gunk coming out. Sure enough, her right ear was infected. She also was breaking out again with that lovely folliculitis and had a viral rash. So she has been on an antibiotic and has used ear drops all week. The nurse thought Turner's hand looked good and she didn't think it was necessary to see a surgeon. We have really been second guessing that decision the past few days. His blisters broke and he was fine at the beginning of the week. We have noticed though, that he is not using two of his fingers very much. He is keeping his second finger open at all times and I am worried about the long term effects of this awful burn. We are assuming that it is just tender and are going to give it a little more time. Pray that my little man's fingers heal and he has full mobility soon!!

Along with dealing with illnesses, football training has gotten under way. Kevin is gone now on Monday and Thursday evenings, which has put Maddie going to bed later. She has been wanting me to lay with her these past few weeks, but of course when daddy isn't home she wants him! She is a smart girl and thinks that she is getting one up on me, but I know she is just prolonging bedtime, and for the meantime-I am letting her win:) Friday, the kids and I had a fun day. We went to the mall to see the Easter bunny, which Maddie loved and Turner hated. I got their picture made and got lemonade and pretzel sticks from Aunt Annie's. Maddie wanted to ride the carousel. It was the first time we had all been without Kevin. Well-I don't like the carousel. Going round and round makes me sick and Turner was with us. So what did this loving mommy do? That's right-Put Maddie on a horse and held Turner next to her and prayed that I didn't get sick!!! I didn't but am not in any hurry to do it again! We left there to stop by my work and then met Mimi for lunch at Milano's. Once Kevin got home, we all went outside and played. Kevin moved Maddie's basketball goal outside and she had a blast!!

Which brings us to today. Busy, Busy day! We left the house at 9:30 to go to an Easter Egg Hunt at Bartlett Park. The kids had so much fun. There were a million kids there so we decided not to let Turner participate. He would have been trampled for sure. But I think he enjoyed watching everyone. Maddie got several eggs and a bunch of candy. Inside one of her eggs was a prize. She won an Easter Basket that had several goodies in it. They also had a moon bounce that she jumped in and saw one of her old friends from Kindermusik. From there we went to the mall to eat lunch. We also went to Children's Place to buy the kids some clothes. Maddie is just like her momma-picking up everything and saying how cute it is and wanted it all!! Shopping with her is going to get harder and harder as she gets older! Turner just munched on his french fries and watched:) Before we left Maddie rode the carousel again-thank goodness Daddy was there. I was able to sit on the sidelines with Turner. From the mall, we picked up a few things from Walmart and then headed home.

As soon as we got home, we put Turner in bed and I went to my Aunt's house to see Emily and sweet baby Ellie. It was so good to see them and I wish they lived here so we could visit more often! Ellie is such a content baby and cute as a button! After I got home and Maddie and Daddy blew more leaves and played outside while I entertained Turner. We put them both to bed at 7 and I am about ready to go myself. It was a fun day with only a few meltdowns:) Here are some pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt.

Mom and Dad need to get it Together!!

Well it seems as though our parenting skills have come into question again today. I will say that Turner's room seems pretty child proof. I normally feel pretty comfortable if he is in there playing by himself for a few moments. After yesterday's fiasco I don't know what would make me think that since he burned his hands with us both in the bathroom with him! This morning as we were running around trying to get ready for church I hear screaming...and screaming....and a little more screaming. I am thinking my word, what has happened now? Let me tell you-Turner was trying to dig out some wipes and in the process his hand got stuck...completely. So stuck we had to cut the wipe box to get his hand out of it. Poor Turner, his parents had better get it together. That boy is a handful that we apparently can't take our hands off of for ONE second! Praying this coming week goes better:)

The Flat Iron has to GO!!

Ok, I said we were ending spring break with a bang by a trip to the zoo-I so lied. We ended it by taking Turner to Urgent Care today with second degree burns on his hand!! My poor baby. We were getting ready to go to Landon's 2nd birthday party and Turner grabbed my flat iron with his right hand. He screamed at the top of his lungs for a solid hour. I called the after hours nurse and she told us that he would probably need a prescribed creme and to take him to Methodist Urgent Care. Well, the party started in 45 minutes and we didn't know what to do with Maddie. Boo Boo and Mimi came to the rescue and picked Maddie up to take her to Little Gym to celebrate Landon's birthday. I so hate that we had to miss it! By the time we got there Turner there we had fallen asleep and wasn't near as fussy. The doctor thought that his hand looked good (all things considering) and put neosporin on it and wrapped his hand. This lasted a good five minutes before Turner took it off. We were told to see a surgeon on Monday to make sure that there would be no mobility damage from the burn. He is using his hand now, but I don't know what will happen when the blisters pop.

Maddie had a great time at the party and I have heard that Landon is enjoying his Thomas the Train that we bought him. Turner was sick last year for Landon's 1st birthday party so our track record isn't looking good. I hope that Landon had a great birthday and I will keep you posted on Turner's hand. Thank you so much Boo and Mimi for rearranging y'alls day to help us out!!

Pics to go with a previous post!

I mentioned a few days ago how much the kids enjoy helping me put groceries up. Well, after we came home from the zoo I took Maddie over to Mimi's to spend the night. I did my grocery shopping before coming back home. Turner was tired from the zoo, had taken a short nap but Kevin woke him up because it was getting late. He was so grumpy, but when I walked in carrying grocery bags he just grinned ear to ear and got to work. I remembered to take some pictures this time and thought I would share!!

Day at the Zoo!

To end Kevin's spring break with a bang, we took the kids to the zoo today. We met our friend Chelsie and Jeremy there with their son Kevin, who is a month older than Turner. It was insane the number of people there-the parking lot was full and people were parking in neighborhoods across the street! It was a beautiful day to go though and the kids really enjoyed it. Turner has only been a handful of times and you could definately tell that today he was taking it all in. He was able to take a ride with Kevin in his wagon and the kids enjoyed dipping dots and of course their favorite snack-Goldfish! Maddie loved seeing the bears, giraffes, and elephants. We went in the house that had bats and the nighttime animals, but she was a little afraid. Our zoo membership expires tomorrow so I am so glad we got in one more trip. Hopefully the next time we go we can buy another one. It is a great way to spend the afternoon and now that Turner is walking and eating regular food, it is so much easier to go. We enjoyed hanging out with the Byrd's and had a great day!

Hello Spring-Park, here we come!!

I am so happy that it is starting to warm up and the kids are able to start playing outside. They enjoy it so much and it almost always assures us a good nights rest. Since it was pretty today, Kevin took the kids to the park while I was at work. Monday, Kevin took the kids to the mall to play and one of Maddie's friends from dance was there for her to play with. Well, today the same little girl was at the park!! So Maddie had someone her age to play with and Daddy was able to put Turner on the slide. Everyone had fun. When I got home we went outside again and Daddy put Maddie to work. She was at the top of our hill in the backyard blowing leaves!! I wish I had taken a picture. I was scared to death she was going to go tumbling down the hill. With my help Turner made it to the top of the hill to check out what was going on. Turner kept picking up leaves and giving them to Megs and I. I can't wait till its time for us to open the pool! Last summer Turner only got in it a handful of times so someone always had to stay inside with him. This year I plan on all of us just splashing around as we watch daddy mow the yard:) (unless he expects Maddie to do that as well:)

We did have one small injury today-Maddie is learning how to do a cartwheel and somehow managed to jam her pinkie finger while attempting to do one today. It is quite bruised and swollen, but it hasn't slowed her down any so we know it isn't broken. My kids are accidents waiting to happen these days. We have a trip to the zoo planned for tomorrow and a birthday party Saturday so I will have a lot to post from our weekend! I think the kids and Kevin have had a good Spring Break and I am so glad he was able to stay home with them this week. Football training starts next week so he needed this good quality time. Mommy is about to be busy:)

Lunch Date with Boo Boo

Today Kevin took the kids to see Boo Boo at work. Kevin has taken Maddie before but I think it was Turner's first time. Everyone had a good time. Boo Boo said Maddie wanted to go up the stairs, down the elevator, go outside and see the fish, and again, again. When I am home with the kids I would much rather get out of the house and do something rather than be stuck at home. Kevin is the opposite-I think today's lunch wore both him and Boo Boo out!! Iwill say carrying around an almost 24 lb baby does get tiring. I usually stick with the stroller or the shopping cart:) But the kids enjoyed seeing Boo Boo's office and spending some quality time with him. They ate lunch together and Boo Boo was able to show them off a little bit. Thanks Boo Boo for taking time out of your busy day and letting them visit!!

"Daddy, Turner didn't want to be in his bed anymore!"

I hate that I don't have a picture to go with this story, but if I did it most definately wouldn't have happened:) Kevin is at home with the kids this week while on Spring Break. Turner was fussing so he thought he would lay him down for a nap. After he laid him down, he told Maddie he was taking the trash out real quick. Well....as Kevin was walking back towards the house Maddie opened the door and told him Turner wanted out of his bed. As Kevin looks in....around the corner comes Turner!!!! What happened? Who the heck knows? Maddie has kept pretty true to her story and says that she picked him up and put him on the floor. She did say that he was heavy...No one was hurt....How in the world my 3 year old 30 lb girl could pick up my almost 24 lb boy out of his bed is beyond me, but we kind of believe her. That is kind of scary!! She would have had to climb up on the rails and I have no idea how it ended without someone crying. But however it happened, I think I am in for a treat. My Friday routine consists of taking a shower while Turner is taking his morning nap. Do you really think I will EVER try that again? Nope-looks like I won't be getting clean on Friday's till after Kevin comes home. Sorry Mimi-I might be looking a little rough on our Friday lunch dates:)
This also means that if by some chance Maddie wasn't the little culprit, then Turner accomplished this on his own and we are entering new territory. Maddie never once climbed out of her crib. If Turner learns how to break free, then we are in TROUBLE!! We have gotten about 3 good weeks of sleep since he has been born and I am not ready for that to end. So please...pray with us....let's hope he stays in his bed, safe and sound. Goodnight y'all!

Chore Time

Tonight after dinner we spent some time cleaning up. While Kevin was feeding the kids I ran to the grocery store. When I got home I had two little helpers in putting the groceries up. They love it. I put all the bags on the floor and they go through them all, handing me the groceries to put up. It has made the process so much more enjoyable:) I didn't think to take a picture until we were done, so I did stage one to post-but next time I go I will definately get them in action. At one point we had an assembly line going-Turner would hand it to Maddie and she would run it to me. After groceries we got out the vacuum and let Maddie help in the den. She has always been a big helper in the cleaning department. Turner just runs after the vacuum and we just pray Maddie doesn't run over his toes:) Maddie is also a big duster. She has to have her own rag and helps me every time!

We are still doing pretty well in the cleaning department, but our plans to sale our house have been put on hold-at least for a little while. The realtor came out and thought we could ask what we were wanting to for the house, but we need to do a few things. When we bought it, we didn't pay attention to the windows-the seals are broken on every single one and unfortunately they will all need to be replaced before we can sale. We are guessing that will cost us several thousand dollars. The realtor also gave us a few suggestions on updating the house, while those shouldn't cost very much, will be quite time consuming. So....for the time being we shall remain here. We will save some money and see what happens. Kevin is supposed to get some estimates on the windows this week and we will call the realtor back later this week. But our money right now is going towards a beach vacation this summer that Maddie is super excited about. I was disappointed at first but know that in time everything will fall into place.

A funny Maddie story real quick--Since they have been back from Savannah I have been making our bed and Maddie's every morning before going to work. This is something I hadn't been doing and am trying to get into the habit. We have been preaching to Maddie about keeping the house clean and picking up after ourselves. Well the other night, my poor child didn't want to mess up her bed and wouldn't get under the covers!! She kept saying-"it's ok mommy, I'll just sleep like this so I don't make a mess"!!!!! It took me 10 minutes to get that child under the covers and tell her it was fine, we would fix it in the morning. I will say it again-I LOVE these children! I am posting some pics of our clean up and hope everyone has a good night. Say a prayer for Kevin this week-he is on Spring Break and has the kids:)

Oh Happy Day!!!

Get ready y'all-I have got a lot to say! First off, I want to thank Nonna and Da for keeping our children this past weekend. We got so much done and know that they were well taken care of and had a blast! That's right-I met Nonna Friday morning to get the kids and they didn't come back till this afternoon. Were we excited to see them!! Maddie was the sweetest thing and Turner sure was glad to see his momma:) I don't know if Nonna and Da saw this, but Turner has 2 more top teeth about to break through!!!! He was chewing on everything tonight and I risked my fingers by putting them in his mouth and sure enough I could feel one on each side. Let's hope he sleeps through the night because we definately were spoiled this weekend.

Why did we send we the kids to Savannah this weekend? Well....after much prayer and decision making, we have decided to put our house up for sale. We are meeting with a realtor Wednesday and I am very anxious to speak with him. We spent the whole weekend cleaning out closets, straightening up bathrooms and getting everything ready. I will say, after the kids only being home for a few hours it is easy to see how quickly things can spiral out of control. We are going to have to stay on top of it and I tried explaining to Maddie what we were going to do and how we had to put everything up when we were done playing with it. Really though-the 3 year old isn't the problem, it's the 1 year old that picks up things and throws them as he goes:) I am hoping that even if this doesn't work out, it will at least put us in better habits and our house will stay this way. I have taken to heart something I learned in a Jean Stockdale bible study a few years ago. I can't tell you word for word what she said, but I took it as love and play with your babies all you can, the house can come later. For me, the house has always come much much later. My mom says she can't believe I am such a lousy housekeeper (maybe not those exact words but close:) But I am and I need to work on it. If it weren't for poor Kevin, our house would stay in disaster form. So, I'll make that a goal for this 2010!

Why are we wanting to move? Space-we are out of it. The kids bedrooms are so small, we have converted our dining room into a playroom and I would LOVE to have a bigger kitchen. We aren't positive that we want another baby, but in this house it just isn't going to happen. We decided we will put the house on the market and if it is God's will, then it will sale. If not, we will be content with the family and house that we have and stay put. Another reason-carpet. The kids allergies and asthma and would be so much easier to control the less carpet that we have. I'm not even picky-hardwood, laminate floors, tile, stained concrete....anything would be better than all this carpet. If we could upgrade to a slightly bigger home with different floors, I want to try that first. If we stay here...then the carpet has to go. I just hate to sink a ton of money if we were going to turn around and move in a few years anyway. So we have been busy little thinkers and doers over the past several days. We will stay in Bartlett to be close to family and Jene's. So all prayers would be appreciated as we meet with the realtor and go forward with this. We have talked about doing it for a long time and now just seems right. We shall see...

Onto the kids. I had bought some Easter window art last year and never showed it to Maddie. Well in our cleaning spree this weekend we came across it and decided to let her dress our front door when she came home. She loves stickers and except for when Turner tore them off the door, she enjoyed doing it. I took some pictures that I will post. Turner officially learned how to climb up the couch tonight and I can tell you-absolutely no good will come of it. He throws himself all over the place, and was really just wanting to fly off it. If there is ever a time when one of us doesn't catch him, it is going to hurt! Mimi and Boo Boo stopped by to say hello and the kids were glad to see them. Mimi and Maddie colored, while Boo Boo and Daddy tickled Turner silly. Mimi and Boo Boo made several drop ins over the weekend to check on our progress and I think they will agree that we got a lot done. There is no way it would have happened if the kids had been home. So thanks again Da and Nonna!

I am also posting a picture of our kitchen table. For anyone that ever comes over, they will agree that our table is always covered with stuff. It is the catch all when we get home. We it is looking pretty good at the moment and I would like to think the rest of the house is as well. So, I will keep everyone posted on any progress we make and sorry for such a long post. Daddy's spring break is next week so he will be home with the kiddo's and I am sure there will be lots to share. Other than meeting with the realtor, we are having a pretty low key week. But if anything interesting happens, I'll put it here first:) Goodnight y'all!

Quick Funny

I have been laughing all afternoon about what I learned when I picked up the kids from Ney Ney's today. When I got there, Turner was all snuggled up with Ney Ney in the chair without a care in the world. He was so still and content, I was amazed. He is NEVER that way at home. Ney Ney told me this was the second time she has done this today. Then I noticed a 4 month old baby in his bouncy with a bottle propped up so he could take it. Turner has been the baby at Ney Ney's for the past year with 2 other close to his age. Well, now there is another baby (I can't remember his name), and Turner doesn't like it. Ney Ney said everytime she started trying to feed the baby, Turner threw a fit and wanted in her lap. So the baby is content to feed himself and my one year old crawls up in her lap. I think we are having bottle withdrawals and one very spoiled little boy:) I am so lucky to have found Ney Ney and know she loves my kids like her own!!

I Love Cheese Puff's!!!

Cheese Puffs are a big time favorite in our house-Big Time!! Maddie has always LIKED Cheeto's, but I think she LOVES her some Cheese Puffs. I can guarantee you Turner does-he just couldn't get enough. They are so easily satisfied-gosh I love these kids:)