The Johnson 5

Keeping it Real

2012-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Some friends of mine were discussing other people and their annoying habit of pretending life is always sunshine rainbows, and good stuff. But as my friend said, we're real moms and we know its not always perfect. This is keeping it real. I went downstairs to work on laundry, leaving the three girls in the playroom playing with blocks. DH was in our bedroom working from home on his laptop. I come upstairs (after about 30 mins) and this is what I found. Chocolate ice cream (melted) and used as finger paint all over my fridge. All 3 of them were in on it too.

Yes they also got into condiment packages and pasta noodles. And amazingly enough Daddy didn't hear a peep.

Crazy Ramblings...

2012-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

One of my friends and I were talking the other night and she says to me. "What doesn't kill me will make me stronger, right?"

To which I responded "That's what they tell me." But then I had to add the following "But sometimes I feel like I am the walking dead and I'm just too stubborn to give it up and lie down."

It's true. Some days its hard to face the uncertainty of things. But in the end you have to pull up your big girl panties, slap a smile on your face and get on with the day, because you can't just STOP.

When we discovered last year, just how bad things had gotten with Caitlyn's kidney I felt my world crashing. Being told that your child has almost lost their kidney, and will be catheterized multiple times daily for the rest of her life is not sunshine and lollipops and its not something you expect to hear about your 6 year old child.

To later discover that things have gotten so bad because of a doctors neglect? Well it broke this mama's heart. But it also spurned me in the direction of OTHER options. Second opinions. I contacted I don't know how many hospitals, doctors, clinics, foundations, looking for help. Looking for answers. But I couldn't tell you about much of it because I did it all in a blur. I met roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. But you know what? I found a different route. And that brought us to Boston. Which led us to Dr. Retik.

In May, On Mother's Day, I left my baby girls behind and boarded a plane with my husband and oldest daughter. I was gone almost a week. I headed to Boston full of uncertainty, worry, fear and a sadness at leaving my babies on Mother's day. I came home with peace, hope, and the knowledge that even if things did not get better, I was doing everything in my power.

In July, I headed back to Boston with new worries, fears, and sadness at leaving my babies this time for two weeks. When they took Caity back for surgery and I went with and held her hand and watched her fight the gas mask because of her fears, I wanted to break down then and there, but I didn't. I stroked her hand, I kissed her cheek, I spoke soothing words to her and I watched her eventually lose the fight and fall asleep. Then I went out into the hallway, pulled myself together and walked to the surgical waiting room. Where othere parents awaited news of their childs surgery. None of us spoke, but we still all knew. We had something in common, the fear of the unknown. The fear of something going wrong. The fear of losing our babies. But I couldn't let that fear take me down.

After her surgery while in the ICU, we waited. Waited. Waited. Watched all the familys around us, also waiting. Then we got admitted to a private room on the transplant floor. OOH Yippy Skippy! Then DH went back to the home we stayed in (mandatory that someone stay there every night or we lost our room) and I got the pleasure of staying with grouchypants. Grouchypants who wouldn't sleep. EVEN DRUGGED. It was a miserable experience for us both, I think. If you are a facebook friend you'll remember these posts

Rough night , she needs to sleep and try to eat, but right now she won't attempt either.

Having a rough go of it, pray for sleep for her (and me)

But we go through it and she healed and we came home. We have noticed definite changes in her, but do not yet know how well the surgery was.

Am I stronger, I don't know about that. But I do know one thing. I'm not dead yet. I'm too stubborn to give up fighting for better. Better for my girls.

2012 --

2012-01-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am hopeful that 2012 will be full of GREAT things!

3 things I've requested of 2012

2 Kidney Miracles (One for each of my kidney girls)
Another seizure free year (For Bella)
Weight gain for Calleigh -- I'd LOVE to hit 20lbs soon!

See, I'm not asking for much.

This year I look forward to bringing more organization into my life. I'm planning to accomplish this through many means.

First and foremost somethign I've been meaning to make for a long while is a household binder. This will be important in case anything medical comes up, its handy for other people to know all involved if I am unable to be home long term.

The girls are going to get fancy schmancy new chore charts and a new chore system in place. With rewards and consequences. Mostly for the bigger girls, but Calleigh will be included.

I'm instituting Mommy's Ransom box. From now on when I find toys/books/other items in my kitchen/living room/dining room/anywhere else they do not belong, i will be taking them ransom until a task is completed to earn them back. I'm hoping this will help with the reminding every 2 seconds that toys do not belong all over my house.

Decluttering BIG TIME in every area of home.

Jay will be finishing the shed OR he will find a second job to pay for paying someone to finish the shed.

We will get the downstairs finished and move caity down there. At that point. Each child's toys will be in their own room and they will each be responsible for their own rooms therefore, they better not let their sisters make huge messes in their rooms, since currently they like to blame their sisters for every mess and don't own up to any themselves.

Closing out the year...........

2011-12-31T21:29:00.000-08:00

2011 was a year of serious ups and downs for us. But we muddled through as a family and in some things it made us stronger.
It defintely showed me what my family is made of. And how dear our friends are to us.

So many of you, people I only know from online, people I'll likely never meet in the real world prayed for my babies. Continue to pray for my babies. I'll never be able to express my complete heartfelt gratitude.

We had SO many things sent/given to us by local friends/family and even local strangers. Because of all of you, we were able to take Caity to Boston for her surgery. You gave us help spirtially, financially, emotionally, and you helped Caity with her boredom. Board games, coloring books, video games, books, toys, money. All of it meant SO much to us.

It is my goal in 2012 to offer to another family the same assistance as much as I possibly can. It is so rough having children with medical problems, especially when they appear healthy outwardly and most people do not understand what you go through.

And to all the other Kidney Mamas -- a big pat on the back. I know how hard you work and how little appreciation you get at times.

Been so very busy

2011-11-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Can't really go into all the details at this time, but We have been SO very very busy lately.

We've gotten to spend an extra lot of time with this lil fella.

He's getting so big and the girls have LOVED having in our house. I, however, haven't really adjusted to having a baby in the house again. But hey -- He sleeps better than mine ever did at this age.

I'd like to introduce you all to.....

2011-10-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

My Little Cheerleader!

Caity and Gabby (her cheer group "leader" LOL)

So amazing to know that if we had opted to not do surgery, cheerleading wouldn't be a possibility for her. She's also doing SO well in the structure of school.

Wordless Wednesday -- Missing Summer

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Zhu Zhu Baby Giveaway

2011-09-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

As I stated before in my post on the Zhu Zhu party HERE

We have a Zhu Zhu baby to giveaway.

I'm going to make it easy for you. To enter for your chance to win, you just have to go to the zhuniverse site and tell me what your favorite Zhu item is.

This giveaway will close Saturday Sept. 24, 2011.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

ZhuBabies

2011-09-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

We got the awesome opportunity from MomSelect and Zhu Babies to try out some new products. We celebrated Calleigh's birthday and then later got together with a few friends and enjoyed our new products! All of the kids had a blast.

We were sent the following
* 5 Zhu babies (each different)
* 2 Zhu babies outfits
* Zhu Zhu Babies activity playset
* Mrs. Lullaby Zhu Zhu pet

The girls -- LOVED it. From age 2 - 7 it was a complete hit.

The nursery center with Mrs Lullaby

They loved the way the zhu zhu powered the nursery center

She would not even let me clear the table off before jumping in

could not wait to play

The babies, I let each girl pick their fave

The outfits are so cute. The kids fought over dressing their baby. Will have to get more

The nursery center was easily put together and took maybe 10 minutes to do.

All 5 girls enjoyed the Zhu Zhu party. They thought it was so cool how the zhu zhu powered the nursery center and moved the beds and rocked the dog. Giggles galore filled my house as they enjoyed their new toys.

The zhu babies are so cute. We also loved the clothes and had fun changing their looks with the outfits.

Be sure to check out all the products the Zhuniverse has to offer here

Look next week for a giveaway post. Thanks!

MomSelect/Zhu Zhu Pets provided us with the items. The opinions expressed are mine and the fun had was my chidlren's.

2011-08-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Cucumbers, JT Bananas, cashews, applesauce and PB&J on a whole wheat sanwich thin, 2 colby jack cheese cutouts.

New School year, new lunches...

2011-08-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Yes. My favorite part of Back to school (besides the quiet with big girls gone all day!) is lunches.

Here's a today's.

The big girls lunches.

This is Bella's. PB sandwich, afew strawberry koala cookies, cheddar cheese cubes, cucumber spears and Jello.

Caity has the same, except she wanted colby jack cheese instead.

Callleigh has cucumber, cheddar cubes, and a kolache

Dried strawberries and bananas on top

Bella's lunch all packed up with her milk and banana

Caity's lunch all packed up with her milk and banana

3 lunches closed up with milks.

Today you are TWO!

2011-08-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Miss Calleigh Nicole.

You are TWO!

You

Say lots of things.
Weigh 18lbs 7oz and are 31 inches tall
wear 12-18 month clothing
size 4 shoes
still have very little hair but what you do have is curly
LOVE your milk
are a total BLANKIE girl. You are not picky about it, but you have to have a blankie. Though you do have favorites.
get annoyed by your sisters often
are very independant
love to "cook" in your kitchen

First week of school lunches.

2011-08-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Finally getting this post up. Here are some of the girls lunches from their first week of school

This year....We sent TWO girls off to school

2011-08-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

I still didn't cry.

But I do sort of miss my babies.

Miss Big 2nd Grader

Pre-K Here comes trouble.

PRE-K door with Bella's name! She's SO happy

Look forward to lots of Bento lunch posts to come! I'm packing lunch for TWO this year!

Today is Open House

2011-08-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Which means we are one step closer to School!

Tonight we will find out who Caitlyn has for a teacher this year and also Mrs. Reimers will get to meet what will most likely be her most infamous student, That would be Isabella.

All of Caitlyn's supplies are bought. Isabella, we still have to pick up a few, because they just posted Pre-K's list.

Here's to a fun fun year! (For all of us!)

Bento's!

2011-08-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

School starts next week, so I'm pulling out the bento gear again!

This year we got a few new boxes. Here's two of them. Isabella's is the Pink Minnie, Caitlyn's is the purple sleeping beauty.

These were just some snack bentos.

Isabella has on the left side, half of a white peach and part of a Pluot, Right side: Babybel white chedder, a few cashews, half a hot dog, and some wheat thins stix.

Caitlyn has on the left, half a white peach, part of a Pluot, Right side: half a hot dog, chedder cubes on pics and some cashews and wheat thin stix.

The Fabric Paper Dolls.... A How too.. Sort of.

2011-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

I promised Rachel that I'd post this, so here ya go.

As I posted while we were in Boston, I was using some of my time wisely and working on Christmas gifts. These were one of them.

I'm not anywhere near done with all that I have but I am taking the time to post this here now before I forget and before school starts and I'm crazy hectic again.

What you need to make these fabric Paper Dolls:

The Paper Doll fabric. It is available Here or here or several other fabric stores and even Ebay.
Fleece or flannel
Heat N Bond
Velcro

Using the heat and bond you want to bond the Paper doll fabric to the fleece/flannel. This will make the dolls sturdier. I used a combo of scraps of fleece an flannel I had. On the fleece sets, I added a little bit of the "hook" velcro to the tabs of the clothes to help them stay on. The flannel didn't have a problem sticking for me.

After the fabrics are together, cut out closely and have fun.

How Boston Went.

2011-08-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the daily breakdown of our Boston Trip and Caity's surgery/recovery.

So we loaded up bright and early Monday July 18th to head to the airport in LR. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:40 a.m. We arrived in Chicago, to find that our plane had been given away and we were not only delayed but they didn't know when we'd be leaving OR from what gate. After a couple hours we finally got boarding info and got onto the plane. We arrived in Boston, just about an hour later than we wer supposed to. Popped on the subway and headed to the house we were staying in (It's owned by Boston Children's hospital). Got all checked in there and then went exploring a bit.

Family Inn we stayed in while we were there.

Tuesday, the 19th, we had our Pre-Op appointment. It was mostly just a bunch of talking and going over what would happen and making sure she was healthy enough for surgery. We were told to call between 3 and 5 to get our scheduled surgery time. We were told to be at hospital at Noon for a 1:30 p.m. surgery.

Wednesday, the 20th, we arrive at hospital at Noon. Hang out in Pre-Op for quite a while, Caity is nervous, upset about not having eaten or being allowed too and surgery is delayed for a while. Finally Heading to OR triage area, where they are prepping her for surgery. Anestesiaologist pops in to discuss things with us and her and asks what she wants her mask to smell like. After thinking about it for a while, she picks Cherry.

Uro intern comes by and autographs her belly. Talks to her and us about surgery and tells us he'll be back soon to take us back.

Nurse brings her goodies, a Webkinz elephant, a coloring book and crayons, and a balloon. The child live advocate woman brings her a DS to play while we hang out waiting to go back.

Finally it is time. ONly one of us can go back with her while they put her under, she picks me. So I leave Dh with all of our stuff and go back with her.

She panics and freaks out, fighting the anesthesia. Pinches her nose shut with one hand and covers her mouth withthe other. It takes a while, but finally she calms down enough to let hte gas seep in and she's gone in 60 seconds. I leave my baby and go back in the pre-op triage area. The nurse takes DH and I to the surgery waiting room where they will update us througout the surgery. We've been told it should take around two and ahalf hours. By now it is almost 2 hours after we were scheduled for surgery. Dh and I have not eaten all day as we couldn't in front of her. The nurse tells us to go eat and be back at 5 and they'll have an OR update for us.

But before we can eat we have to run to Best Buy because DH's cell phone has died completely and we can't go without it for two weeks. We get back to the surgery waiting area at 5 and the nurse tells us things are going well and tehy will be done shortly. She tells us we can leave but to be back by a quarter to 6. WE go down to the cafeteria (because we still hadn't eaten) So we gobble up some food and make it back up to the waiting area just 15 minutes before Dr. Retik comes out of the OR to talk to us.

He tells us that surgery went very well. They reimplanted the ureter on teh left side as planned and found nothing to worry about on the right side. WHEW! He says that he was very happy with the procedure and when she was all finished in the OR they'd have us come back to the PACU (like CCU).

About an hour later, we finally get to go back to the PACU. Caity's coming out of it, but she's very agitated and trying to remove her IV, so the nurse gives her some morphine and she goes back to sleep. When she wakes up the second time, she's much better and requesting Food. She gets a popsicle. We spend about 3 hours in teh PACU. We had been told in PRE-OP to expect to be there the first night, but after the 3 hours, we move to the transplant floor. A private room.

She recovered in the hospital wonderfully, aside from her being irritated by the IV and catheter (I don't blame her) all went well. We were released Friday the 22nd, to go back to the house until our POST op appt. We left with lots of new meds, and a No- Bath order.

Plus one more that was in the Fridge

No bath for now. But our incision isn't too bad.

Post op went very well, her kidney and Ureter were both still swollen, but that was normal for a week post op and the severity of her reflux. Repeat kidney u/s in 4-6 weeks here in AR and a follow up in Boston in 6 months or so to see how the bladder is coming along.

Thanks to all for the prayers.

We are Home!

2011-08-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Most of you know this already. But its been a crazy week and I haven't had much down time really. I still owe a huge post regarding Boston, and I'll get it up soon.

In the meantime, we are home. The littles did wonderfully for my mom and grandma while we were away.

Caitlyn's recovery has been awesome! You'd never know she just had surgery 2 weeks ago.

it's been a crazy hectic week, getting adjusted to being back home (time zone difference, HEAT difference, being with all 3 girls)

But we are Home! We are Safe! And Surgery was quite successful for this trip!

Cloth Paper dolls

2011-07-22T13:44:00.001-07:00

Using some of my time in Boston to work on christmas gifts.

These are for the girls.

Cloth paper dolls

Cutting them out now!

Surgery is over! We are doing great

2011-07-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Boston Monday. Surgery Wednesday and we are back at the house today! She's doing well

Boston Bound.....

2011-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

In a few days we'll be headed backto Boston for Caity's surgery.

I'm busy this week finishing packing up everyone. The littles are going to Nana's for a week, then great grandma's for the second week.

Pets are going to friends and family to take care of.

Wish us luck please. Surgery will be Wednesday the 20th. I'll try to update ASAP

How does your garden grow.....

2011-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Very well these days! We are getting tons of things out of most of our plants, very very happy about that.

Currently growing: Tomatoes (4 varieties), squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, watermelons, and we still have a few blackberries.

This is our biggest watermelon growing -- it is bigger than my palm

Second largest. Still fits in the palm, but almost too big.

3rd largest (we have a bunch of smaller ones than this too)

crooked neck squash

more squash

Tomatoes

More Tomatoes

One huge Roma tomato

More Romas

We are thoroughly enjoying our harvest and can't wait to plant more next year now that we know our garden spot is going to do well.

Starting the Boston Countdown

2011-07-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

We are officially down to less than 2 weeks.

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks to surgery. Yesterday was 2 weeks until arrival.

SO much to do before we leave.

Keep us in your thoughts please?

If you are local and want to help with the fundraisers, email me for details. If you are an online/out of state friend and want to help you can do so in many ways including buying from Mandy @ Blue Bonnet Boutique, she's donating a portion of her sales profits this month to Caity's Kidney Fund.

What a weekend!

2011-07-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th of July with the clan on Mama's side at Nana's house. Our get together was Saturday the 2nd, and there were 22 people in attendance! Including all 6 of my mom's grandkids. YES we got Emily for the first time that day.

We had a BBQ, burgers and hot dogs of course, plus all kinds of extras to go with it.

The kids had a slip n slide, pools, and water guns. Plus we made the awesome firework shirts!

We made "FIREWORKS" shirts

2011-07-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

At the 4th of July fun BBQ at Nana's (my mom) all the kids and a few adults made these shirts. SUPER easy and super cute.

These pictures were taking as they were doing the shirts, I have not taken pics since they were dried and heat set, I'll add those later.

Bella working on hers.

I made this one for Calleigh

Calleigh made this one for herself :D

Alexa's (Alicia helped)

This is Caity's.

Onesie for baby Ethan

Bella's

Calleigh, Alexa, and Bella's drying

The one Calleigh made drying

Alexa's

Caity's

Emily's

Thank you for all the prayers

2011-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

and positive thoughts for the Emily situation.

WE GOT HER!

Her first visitation will be this weekend.

Praise him for bringing her back to us.

Update on the Little Miss....

2011-06-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

Itty Bittie is doing well.

We had an all day long funfest at Children's yesterday.

First for our repeat VCUG. Which showed a grade 2 reflux on teh right side. Not good news, but certainly not as bad as Caity's, so I'll take it in stride (as if I have a choice)

Then all day at the Growth and Development office.

We did Bloodwork to check a few things and also see if she has celiacs.

Met with our nutritionist who put her on a polycrose powder supplement to increase calories. Along with other instructions.

I sort of feel like we were told to fatten her up like a spring pig-- No lie.

Sewing again.

2011-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I've been working this week on sewing again.

I made this for my new nephew. His daddy LOVES pirates. I have a third pirate fabric that I'm using to also make cloth balls/cubes for Baby E!

Front

Back

Folded over to show coordination.

Sorry for the not great pics, took with cell phone in low lighting. Better pics to come when I finish the balls/cubes.

Things we are loving at 21 months old

2011-06-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Baby Organic squeezy fruits/veggies

Our new Sunbaby diapers

I'm not even planning on trying to start potty learning with her until after Caity's surgery. The squeezy foods are very helpful in getting the extra calories in her and I know its healthy/good for her and easily identified as allergen free for her. Which is very important.

Flaunting the bump

2011-06-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's funny to me, how each pregnancy changed me. With Caitlyn, I think we took like 5 total belly pics, and 2 of those were during holidays, so not planned.

with Isabella, I tried to take one every month.

And with Calleigh -- every two weeks.

So, in no particular order, Here's my bump progression. From Baby #1 to Baby #3.

And a few of my faves because it was the big girls loving the little

And don't you LOVE my PUPPPs belly? Yeah. It was atrocious. Worst part of pregnancy ever

Bella --

And With Caitlyn!

18 weeks

27 weeks

38 weeks

Girls in their new duds

2011-06-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma T bought the girls some dresses with matching bows and flip flops (for the older girls)

Caitlyn with her ladybug outfit

Calleigh pretty in bright flowers

And Miss Bella in Zebra print!

Kiddo Updates

2011-06-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn -- She passed 1st grade with 5 A's and 2 B's. She had one of the highest reading levels in her class! She's doing SO well. Especially for having missed so many days due to dr appts/visits. I'm so proud of her.

We are still doing the cath'ing right now. 5X a day. And will continue to do so until after surgery in July when we find out what Dr. Retik wants us to do.

Speaking of, we will be in Boston from July 18th through the 30th. Her surgery is scheduled for the 20th, which is a wednesday. Please keep us all in your prayers then. It's a bit scary for us all to see her go in for surgery. Even with all this these past 4 years, she's never had surgery. Also pray for the little girls as they will be left behind with their Nana the whole time we are there.

Isabella -- Miss Bella (as she has deemed herself) is doing wonderfully. she's doing well health wise. No seizure in over a year! She is getting so big.

She cannot wait to be spoiled by Nana this summer.

Calleigh -- We're still doing tests on the little miss. So far we have ruled out Cystic Fibrosis and thyroid problems. We will be doing another repeat VCUG to ensure she does not have the same Kidney issues as big sister.

All in all the girls are doing wonderfully. We are really looking forward to all kinds of fun this summer with our three blessings. also happy to report that Dom will be here to help out again this summer. The girls LOVE her so.

Why I am fighting for 13%

2011-06-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

I've been asked, multiple times in the last few weeks, why we are going to take Caity back to Boston for this kidney surgery to save a measly 13% of kidney. After all, you can live with just one kidney.

13% may seem like nothing to most people. But to us, it is worth saving. It means our daughter can play sports if she so chooses.

It means that if we are ever in a car accident or other medical emergency, we don't have to worry about her being completely without kidneys. It means we don't have to worry about high blood pressure or other complications from one overworked kidney.

That 13% means everything to me. The least of which is that my baby could someday lead a normal life. A life without daily antibiotics, multiple pills, and catheterization multiple times a day.

13% is worth it. It's worth taking her across the country. It is worth the $1500 in plane tickets, the lodging costs, food, subway and any other expenses this trip brings. It is worth it because SHE is worth it. She deserves this. She deserves so much more than this.

Sweet Baby Boy Fix

2011-06-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

was requested and who am I to deny family.

Isn't he adorable! He's going to be 2 weeks old tomorrow. I couldn't be a prouder Aunt.

What are you looking at Daddy?

Napping with Daddy. Isn't this the sweetest picture ever?

I have to admit. I only like this picture for the shoes!

Jared is SUCH a good daddy.

And Uncle Jordan does a good job too. Probably why he's the favorite.

Brithday Party Plans

2011-06-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Why Yes, I am crazy! Miss Calleigh turns 2 in August. TWO!

But with Caity's surgery in July, and knowing we'll be gone a minimum of 2 weeks, I've got to get this thing planned before we leave.

So..... Onward my crafty brain goes.

Our theme -- Garden Bugs (butterflys, ladybugs, bees, caterpillars, and who knows what else I come up with) Getting Buggy!

The invitations -- will be homemade. I'm trying to decide just how I want to do them.

The Cake -- I think I might attempt fondant! *shock* Right now, I'm planning a rectangular cake with bugs on it. We'll see for sure as we get closer to time.

The Food -- All bug themed of course! Ants on a log, ladybug pretzels, "worm"-dogs, fruit kabob caterpillars,

The Goodie Bags -- Bug houses, mini magnifying glasses, Butterfly trail mix goodies, stickers, and anything else bug related I run across that I have to get.

I'll link up to tutorials as I post each thing. If you have any more "Buggy" Ideas let me know! I can't wait to incorporate all my ideas into a special party for such a special girl.

Wordless Wednesday -- Hopeful that its only temporary

2011-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

*That is most of our 1 month supply*

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Because I can't get over just how sweet and cute and fun it is with a newborn in the bunch again.

And its a BOY! so a bit different. :D

Monday we took

2011-06-08T08:16:00.001-07:00

The little Miss to ACH again.

This time for her repeat VCUG. She did okay for the test. Except for when she wouldn't pee for them. We waited her out for over an hour (they'd filled her bladder) and she WOULD. NOT. GO.

So we'll probably be repeating that. SIGH

We have fallen in love....

2011-06-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

How could we not?

He is here

2011-06-02T12:59:00.001-07:00

Our family finally has a bit of extra testosterone help!

Baby Ethan arrived this afternoon.

smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.

2011-06-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

smiley360.com—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

It's Garden Time

2011-05-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

Do you garden? Do you love it?! I do.

We're finishing up all our planting and I can't wait to reap the benefits of our garden this year. Last year we didn't plant much, unsure how well it would do. This year we are/have branched out.

We've planted:

Tomatoes (several varieties, including cherry ones) The girls LOVE cherry tomatoes
Cucumbers (Hoping to make pickles with excess!)
Zucchini
Squash (Yellow)
Bell Peppers
Okra
Broccoli
Caulifleeuer
Watermelon
Cantelope
Chives
Grapes
Strawberries

Tomato Plants growing Tall.

Broccoli, chives, and peppers

Broccoli (or Cauliflower)

The girl's FLOWER bed. Petunias, Marigolds, and the other end has strawberries.

cucumbers, squash, zuchhini

Playing the waiting game....

2011-05-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

My SIL was due yesterday with my very first (spoiled) nephew. But as a typical Humphry boy, he's being TROUBLE already and has decided to make us all wait it out.

She has been dilated to 3, and 75% effaced for a while now. Having contractions too. But NO baby. No real labor.

She has her 40 week appt. today and we are hoping for some good news that he's coming soon. Her dr. won't let her go over a week overdue, so they'll be scheduling an induction date today as well.

If you feel like it, say a prayer that Ethan arrives (on his own) soon.

So yesterday.....

2011-05-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

We took Little Miss Calleigh to Children's for her Pulmo Lab tests. Anyone who knows Calleigh, knows our Respiratory issues with her. And also knows her weight gain issues.

So our Pediatrician, whom I love, wanted to have a few tests done, just to rule out some problems.

Yesterday was the first part of those tests. The Sweat Chloride test is done to diagnose Cystic Fibrosis.

They use a machine to coax the glands to produce sweat. Then they tape a plastic cover over some gauze to collect the sweat and leavae it all bandaged up for 30 minutes. After that the sweat is analyzed.

Miss Calleigh did not appreciate the bandage at all, but did fine with the rest.

We also had some bloodwork done to check Thyroid functions.

Miss Calleigh in the Ergo while we awaited sweat collection

Wordless Wednesday -- new 'Do

2011-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Check out Isabella's new do -- she started the job, we finished it. Not too bad (Thankfully)

It wasn't all Dr visits and Hospitals

2011-05-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

while in Boston, we also took her out for a good time. And New experiences!

For the first time ever, she got to

Ride a Train (SUBWAY)
Ride a Ferry
Fly (well okay, she did that before, but she was 10 months old and doesn't remember)
Try Lobster (she didn't like it)
Ride a Public Transportation Bus (and get lost doing so, Thanks Daddy!)

She also got to

Cross over the bridge to get to the Navy Shipyard

See the USS Constitution

Look out at the water from the USS Constitiution

See the Harbor Seals Playing outside the Aquarium

Ferry Ride -- She loved it!

Touch a starfish

Watch sea turtles pushing eachother around

Touch Rays

And Sharks

And Climb Super Duper High

We visited USS Constituion Museum & the real Ship , New England Aquarium, Boston Children's Museum and Boston Museum of Science

I'll be posting more pictures of our adventures in the days to come.

Boston news!!!

2011-05-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

As you all know, we flew to Boston last week to get a 2nd opinion on Caity's condition. Boston Children's is ranked #1 in the country for Uro and Kidney issues.

Heads up, there is some TMI going on her regarding UROLOGY issues. If pee-talk makes you squeamish, you might not want to read the entire thing.

Let's start with the facts. Caitlyn has the following:

A genetic anomaly known as
Mega Ureter

Grade 5 (the worst)
VUR

AND a non-nuerologically caused
Neurogenic Bladder

None of this is really new news to us. But it lines out the facts of her conditions.

while in Boston we had further Urodynamics testing which did reveal some amazing news to us!

1. There is no sphincter dysfunction. This means great things!

2. Her bladder, though abnormally shaped, stretched to capacity, lack of elasticity, is functioning NORMALLY!

3. She does have weak bladder contractions when urinating. This means that her bladder is doing what it needs to be doing, but it is weak. (This will be come important later in the report)

Some very awesome, and interesting news was that upon our first meeting with Dr. Retik, he told us that he has seen MANY children with Caity's issues. EXACTLY the same types of problems. We knew before that VUR is not rare, and neurogenic bladders generally are not either(except in Caity's case), BUT The whole combo of these issues and how drastically they have affected Caity we were told by Arkansas Children's was rare and something they'd never seen before. Dr. Retik told us that he has seen it often and coincidentally it was all in girls. He has also HELPED many of those children. *PRAISE*

After discussing things with Dr. Retik for about 30-45 minutes, we were led downstairs to a different section of the hospital to do the Urodynamics testing. To say that they do things differently in boston, would be an understatement. Urodynamics included what we are used to, a technician and a nurse But ALSO a neuro specialist and a uro specialist. This was great because while the test was being performed they were evaluating BOTH neurological and Urological responses. They asked us questions and told us thigns as the test progressed. Afterwards we met in an exam room, where they did a physical exam AND showed us the printed results of the urodynamics. AWESOME! As I stated above we got good news from the test.

After that, we got to leave the hospital for the rest of the afternoon. (Here's where I'll sneak in the mention that Hubby got us lost in Boston. he got us on the wrong bus!)

Then on Tuesday morning we met with Dr. Retik again. He was full of cheer, hope, and good news.

#1 -- He agreed taht the urodynamics went excellent with great news. He had been worried that there was a) sphincter dysfunction, and b) that her bladder was not functioning properly.

#2 -- He said her 13% of kidney function was salvageable and WORTH saving! And we discussed surgery to reimplant her ureter!!!! (Surgery is scheduled for July, more on that in a bit)

#3 -- The most fantastic to hear. He thinks that after the surgery to repair the reflux, given time to heal and retrain herself, that her bladder will be able to empty itself AND we will be able to quit catheterization.

SO, we left feeling very very relieved. We will go back for her surgery in late July, and be in boston for two weeks. After that, we'll just kinda let her heal and work on retraining her bladder.

I am working

2011-05-18T09:29:00.001-07:00

Very hard to catch up here. Lots of posts coming, including the BIG BOSTON UPDATE post. So if you are waiting for that info, I'll have it up later today.

If you would continue to pray for our girl, we would appreciate it muchly. She still has a long road ahead of her, even with our good news.

Wordless Wednesday! -- Dresses I made the girls!

2011-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Finished these over the weekend. Can you guess who's is whose?

"Mom, I love this girl"

2011-05-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Caitlyn was playing with her sisters last night and had sat down, and Calleigh climbed in to her lap to give her a hug. She looked up at me and said "Mom, I love this girl"

Yeah. I love that girl too.

And this girl.

A little Easter egg hunting lesson from Calleigh

2011-04-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Calleigh enjoyed egg hunting a lot!

This was our first round. She'd found 5 eggs in comparison to her sisters 20. Then she discovered something......

Hey Look, Caitlyn has a whole lot of eggs in her basket.

And she's not even paying attention to me, or them.

So I guess I'll grab me a few and go show off how many eggs I found

it was SO funny. But I tell you, the real egg hunt the next day at church! She was the EGG Queen and she didn't even cheat!

BOSTON!

2011-04-27T10:45:00.001-07:00

We fly out to Boston May 8th (less than two weeks away!)

Our appt is the 9th at 9 am to meet with Dr. Redik (Chief URO!). His assistant called yesterady and she was also scheduling some tests while we were there. We're planning to be home the 10th, but that all hinges on tests and what the doctor says.

I am so very thankful right now for all of our friends and family who have been generous with not only financial help, but offers to babysit, cards, texts, emails, little gifts in the mail. We are SO blessed.

Caitlyn is adjusting to the catheterizations well. I have her a prize bucket and she gets to pick a prize a day. That really makes her happy, and I think it lessens the trauma.

Lots of stuff done this weekend.

2011-04-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

I got to turn on the sewing machine this weekend!

I worked on a few things, nothing major.

This dress for Calleigh

I still need to hem it (and I've since added straps) but she loves it :D

I started a blanket last night for a special little boy who's new to the world, but I haven't finished it yet or taken pics.

I also did some rearranging in the living room. Moving furniture by myself probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done! But its done and I love how it looks (for now!)

More crafts coming soon.

The girls are doing wonderfully this week. Calleigh is over her UTI, Caitlyn is adjusting to the Cath'ing, and Isabella, well she's just Bella!

A LOT of Changes, and some good news.

2011-04-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

We started the Cath'ing process with Caitlyn. A week today. It is going okay, you'd be amazed how well she is adapting to it. I think the "prizes" help.

In a touch of good luck/happiness/answered prayers, however you wish to call it, we got her in to Boston Children's hospital for a second opinion. We fly out May 8th for her appt. the following monday. She has been scheduled to see the Chief or URO there.

Please keep sending the prayers/positive thoughts/whatever you've got that things go well in Boston and maybe we'll get some better news.

My heart is so full these days and I am feeling most blessed. Each day brings a new bit of relief. I have received many wonderful things from friends and family, not limited to physical gifts, but just calls/notes/emails etc as well.

Craftacular!

2011-04-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

So I've been drowning my sorrows in crafting!

Here's a few recent projects I have finished. I have about 25 more in the works/planned. Yeah I'm keeping busy.

Isabella's PINK hairbow holder. The lighting is off, its not really that dark.

I bought this fabric to make Ethan a Memory board for his nursery

Here's the diaper wreath my aunt and I made for baby Ethan. We'll hang it on the hospital door when he is born.

And I got some great deals of fabric this weekend for future projects. Sneak Peeks.

These are going to be dresses for each of the girls. Pink stripes for Bella, Green stripes for Caity, and Dots for Calleigh. I got all of the above for $3.47 -- It's about 8 yards total

Misc Fabrics I got really really cheap. I have not decided what all it will be.

Got this for Bella! I'm thinking it'll be a dress.

Lots of fleece for No sew blankets. Can you say Christmas gifts!!! I'm going to teach my aunt how to make them too, some of this is hers.

Caitlyn's Status

2011-04-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

As I posted last time, we had a busy few days last week.

Monday started with a renogram.

She had to lay REALLY still (without meds) for about 30 minutes for the scan.

This was the view on one of the machines during the scan.

This was the view on the computer monitor.

Another view from the machine.

As you can see (or I hope you can), we are down to One kidney. The good kidney is functioning at 87%.

Then we moved on for the MRI. Poor girly was SO hungry by the time we got to the MRI, but she was a super trooper through it all!

Still out of it after MRI

When she got out, she was easily awakened and very hungry and thirsty. She drank down a whole sprite very fast, and ate some graham crackers.

Then we got to leave in style


ACH Wagon ride!

After the tests were over, she wanted to go to Chick Fil A, where she ate A LOT. Then she got some ice cream.

Tuesday, we headed back up to ACH, and met with her URO and the URO nurse Practicioner. It was not good news. We were told that the kidney was in fact gone. But on top of that she has some other serious issues and surgery is not an option right now. Instead, we will be having to Cath her 5x a day, every day.

We were productive this weekend

2011-04-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

Dh did most of the manual labor. It was a horrible week (details on that in another post) I had my SIL's baby shower saturday. While I was gone for that DH and Isabella did some work on the front yard. We haven't done much landscaping since we moved in, too busy on other projects.

First up was the old flower bed. DH took out my rose bush (its still alive, we'll replant it) to extend the garden area. Last year we grew our tomatoes here and it worked out great!

Then he made around the big tree up front look good. We won't be planting anything around it, but it certainly looks better tahn it did.

And Last, we made another flower bed, around the old well house. The girls helped me plant some wild flowers there. We'll see if they grow or not.

Kidney Update!

2011-03-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Next Monday (the 28th)we have a full day of tests at Children's. We have another MRI and a renogram (to test her kidney function)

Based on the results of the renogram, we will decide which surgery we will be doing, basically either leaving the kidney in or taking it out. It all depends on the results of the renogram.

Then tuesday we will be meeting with our Urologist to go over the results of the tests and also schedule surgery. It might be a quick surgery (as in next week) OR it might be a little off (summer time), we won't know until we meet with the URO and staff.

We are on the road to being done with this! I will be SO happy when surgery is scheduled and over.

My First baby is 7!!!

2011-03-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

My Caitlyn turned 7 last saturday! It is so bittersweet when your babies grow up.

Here's a few pics from the girls joint bday party.

We had a Purple (white) cake for the big girl and a pink (strawberry) cake for the younger big girl. They had such a great time!

Today You are 4

2011-03-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, My sweet little Izzie Bee. You are 4 years old!

You are

Learning a lot! Big sis is helping
getting big!
very imaginative. The stories you tell!

So....

2011-02-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on my baby shower gifts for the newphew!

Mr. Turtle is coming along nicely, only a few more things to do.

it is ALL made out of useable baby items.

Sharing on
http://todayscreativeblog.net

Finally getting somewhere!

2011-02-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

Next Monday, the 21st, we FINALLY are meeting with the one who I hope will kick off things to start Caity's surgery! I am so hopeful that the new URO NP will sign off on surgery and we will get the ball rolling. I'm ready for my daughter to have a semi-normal URO system. And I'm ready for the UTIs to stop and for her to not take so many medications.

If you are the praying type, I would love and appreciate your positive thoughts, prayers and anything else you can muster that all goes as planned and we get a surgery spot!

Now that that is done

2011-02-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

I filed our taxes yesterday. SO glad its out of the way. Now we can sit back and not have to worry about it.

Lots of planning going on right now.

Emily turned 3 last month. So we have her bday party coming up.

Isabella turns 4 in march and Caitlyn turns 7 two weeks later.

We have a baby shower for Misty and Jared and Baby Ethan to finish planning.

Melissa has a baby shower coming up too!

SO excited to celebrate all these little kidlets.

Wordless Wednesday -- She likes to Drive

2011-01-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

17 MONTHS

2011-01-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

today you are 17 Months old, Calleigh

AT 17 Months you:

Walk, Run, climb (like a monkey)
Eat pretty much anything you can get your hands on.
weigh still 14 pounds
But you are very tall in comparison.
You have very little hair, but what you do have looks like it will curl.
you have 10 teeth (including 4 molars!)
You have a distinct attitude (much like Caity's was)
You love to play by yourself most of the time and get aggravated with sisters who don't know when to leave you alone.
LOVE vanilla milk.
Say about 25 words including Mama, Dada, Sissy, cat, dog, frog, bee, toy, up, milk, moo, and woof But you don't talk often.
You LOVE to hum/sing all the time. You are always making some kind of noise

Keeping it real, peeps, that's Calleigh screaming her head off after busting her lip after a fight with the floor.

Quick post.

2011-01-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy time since Christmas. :)

Recent news: Kinsley was born Sunday at 3:30 a.m. Congrats JC and family! I'm super excited for you! And Congrats to Riley on being a big sister!

Jared and Misty's baby is a BOY! That's right, folks, I get a nephew! Finally after 5 girls, we get a boy.

Caity did not get good news at her kidney checkup yesterday, but we didn't get worse news either, so we're thankful for that.

I've been getting some good reading in lately. Thanks to late nights and Molars coming in!

Craftiness.

Calleigh loves this lil lovey blanket.

here's a changing pad (shhh, its for baby Ethan)

And I'm making plans for Misty's diaper cake. Going to make it match their bedding which is this

Going to do a layer one, and a turtle one! :D

Wordless Wednesday --- Gratuitius Pics

2010-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted many pics lately. So here ya go.

So... Miss Calleigh

2010-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

We had her 15 month checkup on Nov. 30 (my bday).

It did not go real well.

She had gained no weight, and lost some of what she'd gained. Very disconcerting. Pede labeled her FTT early childhood and we'll be speaking to a nutritionist and having some tests run to rule out any problems.

IN the meantime, I'm keeping a food journal of what she eats, when she eats it, etc.

We've already added in Pediasure. Hoping to try benacalorie soon.

Pray for weight gain. And if you have any good suggestions, throw them at me. (Just remember gluten free, corn free)

Christmas Countdown

2010-12-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

As of today there are 18 days left.

What do I have to get done in those 18 days?

Well lets see.

I have to finish:

Fabric Paper dolls
2 felt play mats (1 car track, 1 stove top)
1 quiet book
3 fleece blankets
8 cloth blocks
10 lemon sugar hand scrubs
10 bath salts
5 fish in a bag soaps

And that's it, I think. Crafting has been slow this week, because Calleigh is teething again. Poor bug.

A little Christmas Craftiness....

2010-12-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure the people these are for, won't ever find my blog, so its safe to share!

Last weekend we worked on some christmas crafts and goodies. We met up with Jessica and Andrew, baby Hannah stayed with her grandma, and we worked on a couple gifts.

First up were these beauties.

Caity's are the multi colored ones, while Izzie and Calleigh's were smaller silver balls. I love how they turned out.

I've printed off this poem to attach to them before we give them out as gifts!

Caitlyn's Snowmen

These aren't just 5 snowmen

as anyone can see...

I made them with my hand

which is a part of me.

Now every year at Christmastime

when you deck your halls,

you can look back and remember

Christmas 2010

when my hand was just this small!

Merry Christmas!

Love, Caitlyn (Of course Isabella and Calleigh's will have their names instead!)

While the handprints were drying, we made some salt dough ornaments. We let the kids use cookie cutters to make the shapes they wanted. Some of them, we mixed glitter into the dough before cutting out.

They all turned out super cute!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

2010-12-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

Just that we all stay healthy and have a good time as a family.

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?
Christmas morning starts whenever the kids wake. They are allowed to collect their stockings when they wake up, but have to wait on gifts for everyone else to wake. Once everyone is awake, we sit down to open gifts. We take turns round robin, with all the kids. Once gifts are all open, DH puts stuff together/puts in batteries, while I make a huge brunch.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?
I'd love a Kindle or Nook! And a small gift card to buy books for it!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
We do a lot of crafting/baking. Mostly using things we already have in the house.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
We played a lot of card games. And of course monopoly. We do a "dirty santa" game every year, even now!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
Cookie baking/decorating. We read the christmas story on christmas eve. PJs opened chirstmas eve.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?
If we were to leave, I'd go someplace tropical. OR some place with lots of snow.

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

Wheel of Fortune for Nintendo DS
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for Playstation 3
Kinect Dance Party Bundle

5 minutes for Mom's Christmas giveaways

2010-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

5 Minutes for mom does this yearly. They offer up giveaways for everyone and also provide for families in need (nominated by the general populace)

Be sure to check out the giveaways here But do it quick!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

5 generations on my Daddy's side. How lucky are my girls that they get to know their great great grandmother?

As a sidenote -- She turned 93 the day after that picture was taken!

Bento snack

2010-10-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Just a small snack for the girls we had today.

Left Side: cherry tomatoes, carrots, cheese stick

Right Side: goldfish crackers, hard boiled egg, kiwi berries

Wordless Wednesday -- Fun at the Museum

2010-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough few weeks.

2010-10-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

So much going on.

We got Calleigh's allergy RAST results in. We are now Corn Free (for her) and she was also borderline dairy, but so far dairy is not affecting her.

That meant quite a change in her snacks for the day (She used to love snacking on corn kernals)

We go back next week to check her weight and see if anythings changed, if not, we'll probably be looking at some more tests to find out what is going on there. She hasn't really gained anything since 6 months and she's flatlined on the growth chart.

I'm a little concerned, but trying not to be super worried. I've had small girls before.

3 little Bento's

2010-10-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Been a super busy week. Lots to update on, so little time.

Here's 3 lunches from this past week.

1st up is a school lunch for Caity.

She has on the left, orange container of Ranch dressing, Carrots, Grape tomatoes, half a cheese stick.
Right side: Dino chicken nuggets, a Colby Jack dino cheese cutout, and a mini fruit roll up.

That same day Izzie had this lunch (She wasn't feeling well, so it wasn't as full)

Top: Chicken nuggets, half a cheese stick, baby carrots, Hand cheese cutout.
Bottom: Cheeze Its, min fruit roll up, and she had a deviled egg too, but she ate it before I got a picture.

Yesterday's lunch for Caity.

Left Side: PB & strawberry fig jelly sandwich (heart shaped), Ausome fruit Apple Stick, some orange fruit nuggets
Right side: Baby carrots, added in ranch after the picture, Various crackers and cheese cutouts. Her initials C, E, and J, and some mini stars.

*She ate it all*

For more fun lunches check out Shannon's What's for lunch

As a bestie.....

2010-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was my duty to answer the phone

at 3 am, while she was at Walmart trying to decide the best brand of pregnancy test.

And when it was 5 mins to midnite and she called me because she couldn't wait til morning and had POAS and it was positive. And then I stayed on the phone with her while she peed on two more.

And we ooohed and aaahed and squeeeeeeeeeee'd and then again at 4 am when she was freaking out thinking they couldn't possibly be right.

And when I dropped off another pack of pregnancy tests just to prove she wasn't hallucinating the night before.

Yes, The past three days I've had the distinct honor to be there for my Bestie as we celebrate her pregnancy after 3 years of trying!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEee

Oh and I also found out this week that I'm going to be an aunt again!

Pecko the Elephant (AKA Our Webkinz Jr. Party)

2010-09-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to be given the opportunity to hos a Webkinz Jr. sponsored MommyParty. Thanks to MomSelect and Webkinz Jr. (Ganz)

If you've never heard of Webkinz Jr. you are in for a treat. Webkinz Jr. is an interactive game. With every Webkinz Jr. stuffed animal is a Pet Code to interact with that pet online in a fun game setting. The interactive stuff includes feeding, bathing, and putting the pet to bed as needed. But also playing games with your pet, which in turn teaches your child while they play.

Isabella LOVES the game where you collect acorns as they are falling. It tells you to collect a certain number of acorns and then you are done! It's a great fun way to learn counting.

Webkinz Jr. is designed for ages 3-6.

We hosted our party over Labor day weekend, the same weekend we hosted Calleigh's 1st birthday party! The older kids were thrilled to be included in something as fun as Webkinz Jr. while the baby got to play with her new gifts.

Each child who came recieved the following A Webkinz Jr bag, a Webkinz Jr (5 different varieties), a coloring book, a CD, sticker sheet, info sheet, and 5 trial code cards to hand out to friends.

We also received two craft items. One was beads and string to make bracelets/necklaces. The other was paper bags and construction paper to make paper bag puppets.

We divided the day up into the different parts of the event. Crafts, intro to Webkinz jr, snacks, and then the dispursement of the "goody" bags. Then we let the kids take turns playing the game on the computers. We had two laptops and one desktop computer set up for the kids.

We were sent a short DVD to introduce the kids and parents to the Webkinz Jr. World!

We served fruit and veggies and a fun punch for snacks. And of course offered up some birthday cake! What kind of party exists without CAKE of some kind!

The kids LOVED the crafts a lot. Each one did something different and enjoyed having the opportunity to create to their whims. We had bracelets and necklaces. Some kids used the beads to glue to their paper bag puppets.

The kids enjoyed watching the games being played and they enjoyed playing their turn. We had a little technical difficulties when our internet went down during the party due to storms, but all of the parents report that they were able to set up their accounts/child accounts once home without problems.

Webkinz Jr. is a wonderful online world and it was easily maneuvered by both my 3 and 6 year old and the other kids. I think that it makes a lovely addition to other educational activities online.

We have one full set leftover that I'll be giving away on the blog so someone else can also enjoy the wonderful world of Webkinz Jr. I also have several of the trial code cards left as well since my girls didn't need them and most of our friends came to the party! Stay tuned for that blog post next week.

*I am waiting on more pictures from some of the other parents. As host it was hard to catch all the activities and keep things going and answer any/all questions.

*Disclosure. We were sent 10 gift sets for the party, plus the Intro DVD, and craft items by Ganz. All words here are my own and I was not paid anything for them.

Quotes from the girls

2010-09-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

The big girls were talking in the backseat the other day. We were coming close to a stop light and I hear the following.

I says "Red light means stop mama"

Cait replies "What does Yellow mean Bella?"

I says "slow down. and Green means go. What do blue lights mean, Caity?"

Cait says, without skipping a beat "That means you are in BIG trouble"

YAY! More food posts.

2010-09-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

I finally found my camera cord! YAY.

So Here's a few lunches to share

This one was from last week, It's Miss Caity's in her favorite Little Mermaid container

Inside the box. Top teir, PB crackers, 4 Chicken nugggets, Chese Butterfly

Bottome tier: Pickle, tomato (garden fresh), Cheese stick, cheerios.

In her LPS funtainer she had strawberry milk.

She ate it all.

Yesterday's Bentos

All three closed up.

Caity's Bento

Left side:
Chedder whales, pickles (cut to fit) and applesauce in orange container.

Right Side:
Italian Chicken and potatoes

She also decided to take a hard boiled egg.

Izzie's Bento

Right side Rice, little butter,
Left side Italian chicken and taters.

She insisted on the rice and I don't argue with her

Calleigh's Bento!

Top of turtle -- Italian Chicken and taters, chopped smaller.
Bottom -- rice with butter, green beans

Green side dish Banana yogurt

Two full funtainers of milk today.

Hello Kitty was used by Izzie, and LPS by Caity. We love funtainers. WE have 3 total, and I want at least 3 more!

The baby got a small cup of coconut milk and she still nurses of course.

Sharing this post with Shannon for What's for lunch, Wednesday!

So much to blog about

2010-09-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

But alas I'm quite busy this week with visiting family.

And my camera cord is missing and I need to upload pics from Calleigh's bday party, our Webkinz Jr. party and our memphis trip.

Sigh. It feels neverending lately.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-08T07:24:00.001-07:00

A sneak peek at our bday celebration. MORE TO COME in another post.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Lunch Today

2010-09-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

I've made a deal with myself to post their lunches at least once a week, but I think I"m going to put them on a food blog (along with menu plans, etc) to keep it all the same. We'll see how that goes.

Today's lunches are:

Sassy Container -- Caity's lunch. Turkey sandwich on a WW mini bagel. Mini pasta (Italian dressing tomato and cucumbers added after pic) and a cheese stick. She took some crackers in a small container too.

Tinkerbell -- Izzie's lunch -- Carrots, sweet pickle, Ham/Cheese croissant. (The ham/cheese is baked into the croissant.

Princess container: Calleigh's -- Carrots, black eyed peas, and mashed tater smiley faces, and cut up chicken bites, and cheese circles.

The two littles also have applesauce to go with theirs.

Sharing with What's for lunch Wednesday at Shannons. Click to see more lunches here

Tackle It Tuesday

2010-08-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today's tackle was Birthday prep

Miss Calleigh's 1st bday party is this weekend along with cousin Lexi's 3rd bday party. Yep one big ol combined party for both girls, hey we like to make it easy.

Alicia bought/ordered Lexi's cake, but I'm making Calleigh's smash cake myself.

So today was just about organization and getting everything ready.

I wrapped two gifts (The others are already at the party house -- aka Nana's (my mom)) I set out the things I needed to remember to take with me.

I'll bake the cake friday night and decorate saturday morning. SO excited!

Another Lunch!

2010-08-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Miss Caity ate lunch at school 3 days this week. So I only made her lunch two days. I forgot to snap a pic of yesterdays lunch. So today's will have to suffice.

She has Homemade strawberry fig jelly on a tortilla, almonds, cinnamon pickles, corn nuggets, and hot dog (octo dogs as she requested) and a Yummy earth organic sucker for dessert.

Packed in a Sassy container

Isabella has lunch (snack really) packed in my box.

Pink tier -- Strawberry fig jelly on a tortilla, cut up into smaller pieces. Sucker for dessert.
White tier -- Pickle, almonds (and I added some cheerios this morning)

Linking up to Shannon's What's for Lunch

ETA: Both girls took watermlon as a sidecar.

I'm trying to take pics of lunches every day, but sometimes I forget when mornings get too busy.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sorry. I can't be wordless today.

This is my baby's first picture as a TODDLER!

She still looks like a baby to me though. She'll always be my baby.

ETA:

Calleigh VS Cupcake

How do you measure a YEAR...

2010-08-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Moments So Dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife

In - Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure
A Year In The Life

How About Love?
How About Love?
How About Love?
Measure In Love

And Oh how we have loved sweet little YOU.

One year ago today at precisely 12:04 P.M. you arrived

Our sweet baby girl. Number 3. The last. What a joy you have been. What marvelous memories you have brought to each and every one of us.

As you turn one, I wish many many things. I wish you a lifetime full of happy times, I wish you multitudes of laughter. Enumerous moments of joy. And everything your little heart can dream.

But most of all Dear Calleigh, I want you to enjoy life. Enjoy it always. Life to the fullest. Laugh in the face of difficulty, Cry when you have too and always know you have your Mama to turn to.

I love you, sweet girl. You completed our family and I couldn't imagine life without you in it.

We did an experiment a couple weeks ago.

2010-08-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

When it was in triple digit temps we set out some trays of broken crayons in the sun.

They melted (of course) and we got new crayons.

The girls thought it was SO fun!

We also did teddy bears, but I apparently didn't upload that picture yet!

Tackle It tuesday -- SCHOOL

2010-08-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

This weeks tackle is school related!

I filled out all of the paperwork for Big C's school. And I also have been getting things ready for our homeschool preschool for Miss Isabella.

We are using many things as our "curriculum" including starfall, letter of the week, and a few non-internet sources.

Here's some of our stuff for the first 2 weeks. I won't start our actual work until after Labor day. And I plan to have at least the first 4 weeks worth of stuff printed out/organized and ready to go by then.

Schools Back in session

2010-08-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Miss Caity started back yesterday. Big Day for her! First day in First grade. She was super duper happy.

Back to school means something else to me, Lunches! Yes, I have to pack her lunch (she occasionally eats at the cafeteria).

So here are the lunches in our new awesome bento-ish containers from the Disney store! (3 for $12, can't beat that anywhere else local)This week is just leftovers and random stuff we had at home. We just returned from vacation Wednesday night and I haven't been grocery shopping yet.

First Up is Caity's lunch in her Ariel container.

In the Top tier, we have an egg, a tomato (fresh from our vines) and some leftover chicken (baked, not fried)

and In the lower tier, Broccoli and Rice.

She also took a sidecar of teddy grahams.

Miss Isabella has a lovely Tinkerbell container.

In it, On the top is rice and an egg. Bottom is broccoli, fried okra, and a corn nugget.

and last is Miss Calleigh's. Princess container (of Course)

It contains rice, broccoli and a few small pieces of fried okra (she loves okra)

P.S. Don't mind the rice on the babies highchair, it was actually a small spill when a certain 3 year old was helping me pack her lunch.

A Tardy Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

One Week (6 days) until My baby is the big ONE!

Sorry we had a slight delay, we made it in from our trip a few hours later than I had expected and I barely touched my PC last night.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from month 1 through 11

11 months and 2 weeks ago (wordless Wednesday --sorta)

2010-08-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I was staring at this

Counting down the last few weeks until my baby is ONE!!!

A Continuation of this WW stream

Busy Week

2010-08-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

This week is a busy one. Lots of last minute stuff for summer's end.

Jay has a last minute work trip he has to take. So I'm packing for that.

School starts next week for Lil Miss so I'm getting the last minute needs for that.

We leave Sunday afternoon for a quick trip to Memphis for some fun before school starts, so I'm packing for that.

ANd finally Birthday party plans are heavily underway and I need to practice my cake making skills! I want to do this for Miss Calleigh (well something similar)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

Ok so not really wordless. Sue me! (please don't)

My baby turns one in 3 weeks and its super hard to believe. So for the next few weeks, WW will be devoted to remembering the last year.

Of course the obvious place to start is....

THE BELLY!

*pardon the messy mirror in the kids bathroom*

My favorites.

2010-08-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

I seem to take a ton of pictures in the summer. I haven't shared any in a while and I'm still seriously behind on the 365 challenge. But Here are my current favorite shots from this summer.

Yes, as you can see, the big 6 year old, rarely stays still for any pictures.