Starting over....

When we decided to come to law school we sold EVERYTHING that had to do with babies. Well, there really isn't anywhere to store the stuff here because our storage is so limited. I think we had this idea (once) that we wouldn't have any more children until Thayne was done with law school. I knew it was a lie though. So, we're starting over!

Well, I found the perfect crib that I wanted and it took me almost a week to convince Thayne that it was worth purchasing. I know most of you are saying.."She just found out she's pregnant, why is she buying that stuff now?"...WELL...that's me! I've already started buying some onsies and will start buying diapers soon. I can't wait until two months (or even closer to the date) to go purchase everything. I would go crazy! Now I just make my husband crazy but I feel great and prepared. I know he is extremely apprehensive about having another baby. He doesn't like to talk about it and when he does, he gets all nervous and emotional. I'm not sure what to do to help him get over that. I know it has a lot to do with his fear of not being able to do well in school and be a good dad and husband at the same time. I'm sure we'll have a HUGE talk about rolls and responsibilities before school starts. I know that I have to be ready to handle the kids and family issues by myself or with very little help from Thayne when he is in school. That is my sacrifice and responsibility while he is in school. I just need to convince him that I can do it even with another addition to our family. This next year will be our most difficult, I think....but I know with lots of prayers and faith we can make it and even succeed in each of our responsibilities. Please remind me of this when I start complaining next year about all that I do and how I feel like a single mom and I don't know if I can handle it anymore!

I've taken the kids to the pool two days in a row now and we've LOVED IT. They love to play in the water and I even have a chance to sit down on a lounger and watch them have fun. Today, Jaed found a squirt gun and was squirting everyone, even the moms that were there with their kids. I was so embarrassed. I finally took it away from him and he sulked for quite a while about that. Every child in the pool is Jaed's friend....at least that's what he says. When we got out to the car Josie said, "Mom, Jaed splashed me and I got mad". Jaed was quick to say, "You didn't get mad, Josie, you're face wasn't mad! Mommy, Josie is telling another lie again!". I tried to explain to him that someones face doesn't have to be mad when they feel mad inside...but I don't think he got it...oh well. I do feel sorry for Jaed sometimes when he gets into trouble. I'll often say, "Jaed, what you did was so naughty.", and then BOTH Josie and Indi pipe up and say, "Jaed, you naughty!". He ignores them for a little bit and if they don't stop then he yells, "I'M NOT NAUGHTY, YOU ARE!"

We picked up Thayne after work today and him and I got into...hmm...a discussion. After it ended, Jaed said, "Daddy, why is mommy mad?". Of course, Thayne didn't respond, so Jaed said, "Daddy, I think mommy is upset because you mess things up and that makes her mad!". I wanted to bust out laughing. Jaed was completely serious when he explained that to us. Thayne did say to him that he was probably right and that was the end of the conversation. You forget how much your kids really listen to you even when you don't want them to. He may see and hear us argue but he also sees us come to an agreement and hug afterwards. Sometimes when we kiss, he'll say "No more love guys!".

Mothers....we're so funny!

I have been thinking about how much I'm like my mother and sister lately...especially when it comes to being a mom. I don't think I could have had better role models than my mom and sister. I thought I'd share some of the funny (not critical) things I've been thinking about:

-- The older I become the more I drive like your mother

-- I pack for a trip just like she does (WAY to much stuff!)

-- When I least expect it, I hear my mother’s words and advice when I speak or discipline my children.

-- I shop like my mother...if it's a good deal, I NEED IT!.

-- Like my mom, I have more clothes then most and a large majority of them don't fit...but they might someday.

--Like my mom, I find myself telling strangers about my family because I"m so proud of them. I'm sure the strangers don't really care.

Things my mom said when I was a child and
things I have and will catch myself saying as a mother!

All I do is follow you around, picking up after you like some maid. As long as you live under my roof, you'll do as I say. Beds are NOT made for jumping on. Close the door! You don't live in a barn. Do as I say, not as I do. Do you think your clothes are going to pick themselves up? Don't eat that, you'll get worms! Don't go out with a wet head, you'll catch cold. Don't pick that scab, it'll get infected. Don't pick your nose that's disgusting. Don't walk away when I'm talking to you! You go to the mall to shop, not to hang out! I didn't ask who put it there, I said "Pick it up!" You're not an everybody, you're a somebody. I hope someday you have children just like you. I will always love you - no matter what. You're my favorite child named....... When you're a parent then you can do that.

Always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident. I'm so proud of you! Don't use that tone with me! Don't you have anything better to do? I hope you don't kiss me with that mouth! If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. If you don't stop crying, I am going to give you something to cry about! I have one nerve left and you're on it. If you're going to do a half done job then don't do it. If you keep doing that your face will freeze like that. This isn't a restuarant! Life isn't fair. Look at me when I'm talking to you. Someone is going to be crying in a minute. Watch your mouth! When you have your own house then you can make the rules! You don't always get what you want. You won't be happy until you break that, will you?

Embarrassing moment #100

I had an extremely embarrassing moment today, and unfortunately I had an audiance. I woke up this morning feeling very dizzy and nauseous but I was determined to go to church anyways. Well, I was leading the kids in a song and in the song you had to twirl....I was already dizzy before I started....and it got worse. I remember thinking "you better stop twirling", but I didn't listen and kept going. All of a sudden I felt myself start to fall, and I couldn't stop it because everything went black and all I could see where stars. As soon as I hit the ground, I knew I was going to throw up. I even announced that I was going to throw up....another lady ran to me with the garbage basket, but there was no way I was going to throw up in front of 50 kids and a dozen adults. So I got up and ran to the bathroom. Thank goodness I made it. I was ssssoooooooooo embarrassed. I didn't even want to leave the bathroom. I wanted to dig a HUGE whole and crawl in it and not get out. I can't decided if I am more embarrassed that I fell or that I announced I was going to throw up and ran to the bathroom...and them knowing what I was doing. I stayed in the bathroom until they all went to class and then I stepped into the hall away hoping that know one would talk to me. Thayne was standing right outside the bathroom, but he had no idea what just had happened. As soon as I saw him tears errupted from my eyes. I'm sure he was scared, and I was so emotional that I couldn't say anything for a minute or two. He just held me and told me I was going to be okay. So here I was, eyes RED and no make-up and still feeling sick. I really just wanted to go home. And we did.

I really hope by next week EVERYONE forgets what happen and doesn't ever bring it up......probably won't happen. Oh Well!! Even now when I think about it I get all embarrassed again...don't you just hate that. AWWWW!

Jaed was so naughty in church today. I heard him say out loud "I don't like my teacher", and his teacher was sitting two seats away from him. I grabbed his arm and gave him the "church dig" and took him to Thayne. Jaed finally went back to class but only for about 5 minutes until his teacher found me in the hall and said that he was kicking and hitting the kids seating next to him. I truly think we have the naughtiest kids sometimes. We have no idea what is going through his mind and why he is like this. We try to talk to him but we don't learn anything new. I finally put my face right infront of his and said, "Jaed when you choose to be naughty then daddy and I have to take things away from you.". I named some things that he could not have for the rest of the day because he was CHOOSING to be naughty. He shed a few tears but who knows if he understood it. We go through this almost every sunday with him, but we've decided that the consequences have to be worse. So today he could have no juice or treats. Now if we said that to Josie, she wouldn't care one bit. BUT...with Jaed, food is it. Taking his juice and treats away is ultimate punishment. He did ask for juice once and I said, "Oh Jaed. I really wish I could give you some but I can't. Do you know why?" and he said, "Oh yeah...but I don't want to talk about it.". I asked him what will he do different next week at church and he said that he would be really good. We'll see!

Weekends are great!

Thank goodness for saturdays. Thayne got up with the kids in the morning and told me to stay in bed and rest. IT WAS GREAT!! I slept another two hours and didn't feel a tad bit guilty. When I finally did go downstairs I told Thayne he could go up to bed for a bit and his said, "Well don't let me sleep too long because I have a lot of cleaning to do." Can you believe that....he's so great. I did decide to help him out and cleaned the kitchen but I was exhausted and extremely nauseous by the time I was done. Thayne and all the kids, even Josie (we were SHOCKED) , picked up toys and cleaned. I was so proud of my little family.

We decided to reward the kids for helping so good in the "clean up party", so we took them for ice cream. Jaed can't have ice cream because it breaks his skin out, so we got each of them a small bowl of sherbert. I was a little worried that they might reject it, but each of them gobbled it right up. Jaed even hugged Thayne and said, "This is the best present I have ever got!". He's our little drama king, but he makes us smile.

Thayne took the kids to the park and as soon as they got there Jaed announced that he had to go pee. Well there were several kids playing at the park, so Thayne told him to go over to the tree and pee. Well, Jaed found the tree, dropped his pants to his ankles and did his business while several girls (around 8 yrs. old) saw him and said, "Ewww....look at him." Thayne rushed over to Jaed and tried to teach him about just pulling his pants down a little in front, but Jaed didn't think that was a good idea because he might pee on his pants. Thayne left it at that and they went back played. The girls were laughing and watching Jaed, but he had no clue about what was going on. He's such a funny boy!

Josie is in to delegating things to Indi now. Josie made a huge water mess on the table, so I gave her a towel and told her she need to clean up the mess. Well, she responded, "No, Indi will do it." and past the towel to Indi. Where do kids learn stuff like that? I took the towel back and handed it to Josie and told her that she made the mess so she'll clean it up, not Indi. Normally, when we announce that we're going to clean, Josie tries to rush up to her room before we say anything. Am I getting a sneak peak of what she'll be like as a teenager?

I had a "who's lying" dilenma the other day. Indi came to me crying and saying someone hit her. Well I just assumed it was Josie, so I called Josie in and told her that she better not hit Indi again or she'll be in big trouble. She said, "Not me mom, it was Jaed!". Well I called Jaed in and told him the same thing and he said, "Mom, it was Josie, not me." I was stunned and wasn't sure what to do. Who do I believe? Indi was too young to tell me who the culprit was. I decided to believe Jaed an started lecturing Josie about hitting and then blaming someone else. She just said, "Not me, Mom, not me. It was Jaed.", and then Jaed spoke up and said, "Josie, you are telling a lie. It was you.". They were actually having a little argument about who did it. By this time, Inid had left to go play and I was in the middle not sure what to do. I finally stopped them and told them to go play.......I had to think about what to do. I'm still thinking!

Where's my MAID!

If we had any money, I would beg Thayne to get me a maid until I get past this sickness phase. I can't stand up for longer than about 10 minutes without looking around for my barf bowl, which is usually on one of the kids heads, or full of toys that they're carrying around. I was using my barf bowl this morning (too much information, I know) and Josie was rubbing my head (getting hair in my face), Indi was asking "what happen mommy, what happen", and Jaed was just starring at me.

I usually have a schedule of certain things I clean everyday, but that's not happening. Thayne does his best to help me out when he gets home, which I appreciate so much.

Pregnancy cravings are starting. I was craving for some cookies, so I got some, brought them home, opened the package and lost ALL interest in them. Just the though of eating one made me more nauseous. But....my family enjoyed them. Thayne hates the cravings part about pregnancy. He's made several runs to the grocery store at midnight when I was pregnant with the other three. He would say, "If I go and get it, are you really going to eat it?" and my answer would always be, "Of course I will, that's why I'm craving it." WELL......at least 50% of the time I wouldn't eat it. The site or smell of it would turn my stomach even though the thought of it before hand was uncontrolable. Hmmm.....interesting, isn't it :).

Jaed has been sneezing TONS lately, and he never covers his mouth no matter how many times we remind him. AND, he seems to be always by me when he sneezes and, of course, he sprays it all over me. Well, I decided to start sneezing on him so he knew how it felt. I felt a sneeze coming on so I hurry and found Jaed and made sure I sneezed on him. He was so mad. He yelled, "MOM, I hate that". I just started laughing so hard. (Even now, while I'm typing this, I"m laughing.) I tried to explain to him that when he sneezes on me, that's how I feel. But, I don't think he was understanding the lesson very well because I couldn't stop laughing. He finally made some grunting noise and stomped off. HAHAHA!! He would be yelling back at me, "MOM, stop laughing!" which made me laugh even harder. I guess I just needed a good laugh and this triggered it and I couldn't stop. I laughed for so long my cheeks hurt. It felt so good, but probably not very mature of me. Oh well, I hate being mature and responsible sometimes, and if my son getting sneezed on is the only consequence of my immaturity...well ....it's worth it.

Who's got the MUNCHIES?

Indi was on a munching craze this morning. I couldn't give her enough food to make her happy so she went searching on her own. I caught her underneath the couch cushion eating away. I have know idea what she was eating or even how old it was but she didn't seem to care. I told her to get out of there, and that it was "icky" and she looked completely surprised. Then a little later I was sweeping the kitchen and had a heaping dirt pile, and she walked right over, bent down, grabbed something and put it in her mouth. YUCK! I just told her to get out and she walked away, chewing on something the whole time.

Josie used her little potty twice today without being prompted. I was so excited...but I have no energy right now to potty train her. I need to get over these nauseous feelings first. Hopefully she'll still be motivated when that time comes.

Thayne only has four more weeks of work left and then he's done until school starts. I'm counting down the days. He is having a great experience with it. There are even a couple of attorneys that only want him to help them, no other intern. I know that makes Thayne feel good. He is good at whatever he does!

My Adorable Kids

I was thinking last night when I couldn't sleep that I have been too negative in my blog about my children. So, I thought I would dedicate today's post to my children and tell you how wonderful they really are. My mom always says that my kids aren't naughty or bad, they just do naughty and bad things sometimes. I NEVER call my kids "bad kids", but I have been known to call them naughty. Whenever I do, my moms words come into my head and I try and correct what I've said and say "what you did was sooo naughty".

Ok, I will start with my oldest son, Jaedon "Jaed". He will be 5 in October and reminds us quite often. He loves to be praised and really tries to please us. He is a great helper around the house. I have given him certain jobs and when it's time to do those jobs he does them without complaints. He loves playing with his sisters, especially when they do what he tells them to do. He will even play dolls and house with Josie. She's the mom and he's the baby :). He loves to cuddle at night when he is trying to go to sleep. He knows that he can stay up longer than his sisters (most nights) and he thinks that's great. It's like the party starts when Josie and Indi go to bed. Jaed LOVES his dad. He wants to be just like him, and his dad knows EVERYTHING. He was trying to explain what movie he wanted to watch last night and I was not getting it. Finally he said, "Mommy, Daddy understands what I say all the time. You don't.". He has told me numerous times that Thayne can fix anything and is the best dad in the world. I use to ask, "What about me, Jaed" and he just says, "Yeah...I guess you too, Mommy". I decided that it was okay if he thought his dad was great and his mom was okay. I stopped asking :). Jaed loves to play with friends and everyone he sees, whether he knows them or not, is his friend. This has made teaching him about strangers a tad bit difficult, but we keep trying. We love our Jaed so much, and are so greatful that we were blessed to have him as ours.

Now there's Josette "Josie". She is a true spit fire but a ball of love as well. She has a very tender heart. I don't think I have ever seen a fake cry from her. When she cries, it's a real, full blown, crocidile tears, cry. I always thought that I would get use to it and be immune to its effects, but everytime she cries it tugs at my heart. She is our little mini - mom. She tries to take care of Indi, which Indi usually hates, and even attempts to mother Jaed. Josie loves to sing and loves to be sung to. When I lay her down at night we at least have to sing three songs, but usually more. She has become quite the princess. She always has some kind of princess dress on during the day and if I ask her if she's a princess she responds, "Yes, I'm a princess!". Sometimes she'll even let Indi be a princess :). She loves to play house or "Guys" with Jaed, but she also loves to play by herself. It's fun to be around the corner from her and listen to her pretend play. She doesn't call her play figures "dolls", she calls them her "guys". That's thanks to her big brother, I think. If she ever sees someone in the family crying she is the first one there wanting to know what happen and why they're crying. She'll often try to hug the person and tell them that it's okay. Her new favorit saying is "Pweez, mom, pweez". That always comes after me or Thayne saying "No" to something. I have even seen her grab onto Thayne's leg and look up at him and say "Pweez, Daddy". I am embarrassed to say that a lot of the times we give in. She is a true angel and loves her family as much as we love her. She doesn't like to be apart from any of us for very long and is so excited to see us when we come back. She is the first to run to Thayne when he comes home from school/work and gives him a HUGE hug. She will always respond to "I love you" with "I WUB YOU, TOO" and she does it immediately.

Little Indiya "Indi" is our precious baby. She loves to be cuddled, hugged and kissed on ALL of the time. She is very polite as well. She learned to say "Please, Thank you, and Your Welcome" at a very young age. We're always shocked that we don't have to remind her to say it. (Actually, all of our kids are good at saying those words.) Indi loves to put as many clothes on as she can. When she comes out of her during they day she'll often have two shirts, a dress, and whatever else she could put on. Of course, none of it is put on right, but she doesn't care. Indi is a great dancer! She'll dance with or without music and she gets it all movin'. She doesn't seem to be shy about it either. Indi loves playing with both Jaed and Josie. A little bit ago, Josie and Jaed wanted to play house and they each wanted to be the parent. Well that left Indi as the baby....and the fight began. Jaed grabbed Indi first but Josie was right there to tug her away. Both were yelling "No, she's my baby". I thought for sure Indi would start crying but she never did. I actually think she liked the attention. I finally told Jaed he could be the Dad and Josie could be the Mom and Indi could be both there babies. Jaed hated that solution at first, but within 2 minutes I heard him say, "Josie you be the mommy and I'll be the daddy, okay", and Josie agreed. Indiya loves her pacifiers too. She calls them her "Piers". When she is upset and doesn't have one, she'll start saying "Where my pier, where my pier" and we're all off to find one for her. She is a great one for giving "Big Hugs". Just out of no where, she'll grab our legs or whatever body part she can grab and yell "big hug" and then let go and run off. I love spending one on one time with Indi. She is so loving and tender. I hug and hold her as much as I can and she always lets me, well....until she's done :).

As you can see, we have the best kids ever. Yes, they do have their naughty sides..and they can be frustrating at times... but each one of them warms my heart constantly. I am greatful that they are so forgiving of me and my faults as a mom. When I'm sad or upset they are the first ones there to hug me and kiss me and tell me "It's okay, mom". I hope that I can help them grow into great moms and dads themselves!

The sickness begins

YES, I'M PREGNANT!!! I have finally come to grips with it and am starting to get a little excited.

When I went to the doctor last week she said that I had to stop taking a medication that I've been taking since Indi was born. I was suppose to take it every other day for one week and then stop. Well I did that...I know I'm so sick. I'm dizzy, extremely nauseous, and very moody. I don't know how much longer I can deal with this....or how much longer my family can handle this :). Thayne ahs been so good. He stayed home from work today and did the dishes, took care of the kids, and made sure I was as comfortable as possible. I think I have a little hint of why drug addicts stay on the drug of their choice. Going through the withdrawals are horrid and very depressing.

Well Father's Day wasn't all that special for Thayne. Since I was so sick, I didn't get to cook him a great dinner or pamper him like I wanted to. The kids kissed and hugged him a lot throughout the day though. And Jaed told him about 50 times that he was his bestest, bestest Dad ever. We got him a shirt and a hat that said "#1 Dad" and I got him a pocket watch that he really liked. So, I think he had an okay day. He didn't complain, but he normally doesn't even if he has the right to do so.

A couple of days ago, Josie and Indi were in there rooming playing.....so we thought. I even said to Thayne "They are playing so well together in there". I went in to check on them and turned right around and walked out feeling completely upset and frustrated. Josie had got a PERMANENT black marker from somewhere and drew all over her walls. I asked Thayne to handle the situation because I couldn't deal with it without crying. So he went in there, gave Josie a HUGE lecture and put her to bed. We both tried to get it off the walls but no such luck. I guess when you have toddlers and you rent you should just know that you will NEVER get your deposit back. I didn't even call my mom to tell her what Josie did because I know exactly what her reponse would have been.... "Just think about what Josie was thinking while she was drawing on her walls. She was probably so happy with herself for the beautiful pictures she was drawing." Only grandparents can think that way. I can't even comprehend that frame of thought.












Now we have to hide our pens and when we need one we can't even find them. AWWWWWWWWWWWW.........I'd take a teenager over this anyday :)......well that's at least how I feel right now. Don't quote me on that!

P.S. If you click on the pictures I have posted you can see a bigger picture. I wouldn't want you to miss any major details!

Beautiful Girls!

My mom always comes with gifts for the kids. This time she brought beautiful nightgowns for the girls and a great shirt and game for Jaed. The girls loved modeling their nightgowns. Even the next morning they didn't want to take them off.








































It was so good to have my mom here. The longer she stayed the more homesick I got. I need my mom! She made me maternity clothes like crazy, we watched movies together, she played nintendo (star wars legos game) with Jaed, and she cuddled and kissed all over the girls. Josie cried so hard when she left. She just kept saying, "No mams, stay here....stay here!". It made me cry seeing her so upset. Even Indi asks where she is almost everyday now.

It's a BIRTHDAY PARTY!

My friend Christy has a daughter, Hailey, that is the same age as Indi, so we decided to have a duel birthday party. Hailey's birthday is the beginning of June and Indi's birthday is at the end so we agreed to have the party on the 10th of June. We invited a few friends from the MOMS Club but only one showed up, but we were okay with that. With both my family, Christy's family and our friend's family we had a great celebration. Indi loved her presents. Each new present was her favorite until she opened another one. Her siblings loved her presents as well. That's one of the hardest parts about having kids so close in age. They don't quite understand that it's not their birthday when it's a siblings birthday and the presents are not theirs even though they look so much fun.
































(Jaed, Josie, Hailey, Indi, Ryan)

(The Birthday Girls, Hailey and Indi)












(Our family with Grams)





























(Josie LOVED the cake! No crumbs left!)

Surgery Day....or was it?

Five-thirty came awfully early this morning. Thayne and I talked about the possibility of me being pregnant and decided that we would leave it in the Dr.'s hands when we got to the hospital. I told the nurse that I might be pregnant and she looked a little shocked and said, "Um...well okay. Let's get a test taken and we'll go from there." TWO HOURS later my cardiologist came in my room and sat down on my bed next to me and started explaining that the surgery would involve some radiation so he wouldn't be able to perform the surgery at this time but he expected to see me in 10 months. Thayne spoke up and asked, "So are you telling us that she's pregnant?". The Dr. laughed and said yes and then congratulated us. I looked over at Thayne and he just rolled his eyes :). The Dr didn't seem too concerned with having to wait. He told me that if I have any rapid heart beats and they're happening consistently, then I should give him a call. SO...we headed for home with the thought of a new baby on his/her way. I asked Thayne how he felt about it and he grinned and said "I'll deal with it." I don't think he's extremely excited but he seems to be content. Me, on the other hand, hmmm......I'm scared but also excited. My baby is turning two this month. She doesn't want me to hold her like a baby anymore and she keeps telling me "NO"...so I guess I have to stop calling her my baby and now I can look forward to having a real one soon.

My mom and I have been shopping for maternity clothes and talking about the baby. She seems to be excited too. I called my dad and told him and he said, "I'm proud of you, Allyson." That made me laugh. Thayne called to tell his dad, and Thayne said he just chuckled the whole time. We're not sure how to react to all these different responses, but at least we're not hearing, "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS THINKING!". Although, my nephew did say, "Aunt Allyson, that's just crazy!".

It will be nice to spend some good time with my mom without being in pain or not feeling well from surgery. I don't know when I'm due for sure. I made an appt to see a Dr. next week for a formal test. It's a little scary to think that our lives will change very soon. Four kids....WOW!

Confused and very anxious

My mom came today. I'm suppose to have my heart surgery in less than twelve hours. I'm staring at a faint positive pregnancy test. And on top of all that....we just found out that a really good friend of Thayne's just past away leaving a wife and three daughters. Hmm....I'm not quite sure how to describe my feelings. I'm so happy that my mom is here. I am anxious and very nervous about my surgery. I don't know whether to believe the pregnancy test, and if I do, I don't know how to respond to it. I am very saddened by the death of Thayne's friend. I think I am more sad for Thayne. He has had two friends from high school pass away now. All I can do is hug him and cry with him. I wish I could say that it's going to be okay....but I don't know that. Life isn't fair....but how can I feel so sad when I might have another life growing inside me. I'm so confused!

School is OUT!

Today was the last day of pre-school for both Jaed and Josie. I got each of their teachers gifts to thank them for their patience and kindness toward my children. I'm pretty sure they will have the exact same teachers next year, which will be a nice transition into a new school year. Josie's class had a "good-bye" party today, so Indi and I went to it. They were going to perform a play but none of the kids would participate because all of the parents were there. So the teachers ended up acting it out. What good sports they were :).

Jaed's teacher cried as she said good-bye to them all. I have to say that she's not my favorite teacher but she is good for Jaed. For the first time as a parent, I had to do what was best for my child even though I didn't want to do it. I put Jaed back in her class next year. They have formed a bond and seem to be working well together. In her final report she put that she has seen so much growth in Jaed and that they had so many more better days then bad after the new year. BUT...she also put that Jaed would be a challenge to all his teachers in the future. How the heck does she know that? I know that because (hehehe) I was a difficult child to my teachers. I really caused some problems in my classes. So I'm sure he's just taking after me. I have no doubt that he will grow up to be a great man with so much potential and success.

Last night, Jaed came into our room and hugged Thayne and said, "you're the best Dad ever". He really loves his dad. I'm so glad to see that relation get stronger as he gets older.

Now Josie....hehehe....is another story. Thayne was trying to talk to her and she said, "DAD...don't talk to me". I was laughing so hard. Thayne was a little shocked, I think. He said, "Did she just tell me not to talk to her?". Of course, I nodded my head. Then Josie said, "Dad, don't talk to me, just Mom, not you." She has become so attached to me lately. She has to make sure that I'm going where ever she is going. I'm sure it's a phase (at least I hope so).

Then there's Indi...well she'll go to either of us without hesitation. She is such a cutie, but a teaser for sure. I think she must take after her Uncle Doug. He use to tease me until I was either crying or so frustrated, when I was younger :). If Indi takes something of Jaed's or Josie's I tell her that she needs to give it back. So she'll get close to them with her hand stretched towards them and as they reach to grab it she pulls it back to her and runs. I have learned that teasing is not a learned behavior (at least in my opinion).

Wow, what a weekend!

Well we're back from our "vacation". I guess I'll start from the beginning. We got up at 5:30 a.m. to get things packed in the car and pulled out of our apartment complex at 6:30 a.m.. We had the portable DVD player on with the kids favorite show (spongebob) and I had my pillow and blanket ready to snooze. We got to the airport about 8:45 a.m.. Jaed was so excited. He was bobbing his head and clapping his hands more and more as we got closer to the airport. I was so happy for him. Josie did well with the departure. She didn't cry or anything. I think she was so focused on Spongebob (THANKS SPONGEBOB) that she didn't even say good bye and we didn't push it. I do have to say, that I teared up when I saw my two boys walking away. Our family was splitting up for three days....I hated it. Thayne and I promised each other years ago that we would never split up like this....well...it happened. I was excited for Thayne to spend time with his family and extremely excited for Jaed to get some one on one attention. BUT...I was sure going to miss them, terribly.

It was pouring down rain in Louisville, Kentucky. There went my plans to check out several parks while we waited to check in. I couldn't check into the hotel until 3 p.m.. I did find the main public library, but it was in a very scary part of town and some guy said "hey baby" to me when we were there, that I got scared and ushered the girls back out to the car. We spent some time at Walmart and then went to lunch. By then I was so exhausted and out of ideas I was on the verge of tears. I finally decided to go to the hotel and wait in the parking lot. I put a movie on for the girls in the car, and I reclined my seat and took a nap. The girls didn't mind being strapped in during the movie, and I got a good nap. Finally three o'clock came around and we were able to check in. Once we got into the room the girls went WILD. They were in the bathroom, playing with the phone, turning on and off the T.V., wrapping themselves in the drapes, turning on and off the air conditioner, ripping the blankets off the bed, opening and closing the drawers, and opening and closing the front door. The whole time I was saying, "No Josie, don't touch that" , "Girls, get out of there" , "Indi, leave the door closed" , "Josie, quit pushing the buttons" , ETC.. Thayne called after a while of being in the hotel room. He asked how the girls were doing and I just fell apart. He wanted to rescue me but couldn't and I knew that. He let me vent and then told me he loved me and that I was a great mom. He reminded me that it was only for two days and then we'd be together again. I did calm down and tried to sound happy so he wouldn't worry about me anymore.

Thayne said that Jaed was "on fire" the whole trip to Virginia. He was so excited and jumping around. I think he wore Thayne out ;). They arrived safe and Jaed was thrilled to see James, Honey (Bonnie), and the baby. I knew Jaed would have a great time.

My friend, Fever (Kathryn LeFevre) showed up Friday night. As soon as she got there, we took the girls swimming. They were in heaven. Josie was fearless. She was jumping off the edge and didn't want anyone to catch her. She had her arm floaties on and kept jumping off the edge over and over. Indi would jump too but she always wanted someone to catch her. They were both so dang cute. The girls fell right asleep after we got back to the hotel room and put them in their pajamas. Fever and I played games, visited and relaxed.

The next day we made it to the Zoo. We had a great time. The girls loved it. Josie was especially excited to see all the animals. I think her favorite was the monkey and the elephant. We went swimming after the zoo which was another highlight for the girls. It was great to see them so happy and laughing most of the day. By the end, though, we were ALL tired. Fever was a great help and distraction for all of us. The girls warmed up to her quickly and she to them. She had a perm-a-grin on her face as she watched the play, and interact.

Thayne called later that night and said that Jaed was playing video games non stop. He said it was getting a little out of control because Jaed didn't want anyone to shoot him but he could shoot everyone else. It made me laugh. Thayne said that he heard Jaed say at one time "James, let's be best friends and not shoot each other". Thayne's parents bought Jaed a dragon castle toy and he loves it. He played that while Thayne got to go golfing with his brothers and dad. It sounded like all was going well for them as it was for us.

We had to check out of the hotel by noon on Sunday but Thayne and Jaed didn't get into Kentucky until 6 p.m.. Fever's mom lives about 40 minutes outside Louisville, so we decided to go hang out at her house until I had to go to the airport. They were great hosts and had great toys to entertain the girls.

Finally the time came to meet my boys at the airport. I was anxious to see them and be reunited again. They were a little late which started to make me nervous. I started to think the worst. What if something happen to them? What would I do? My thoughts were racing over all the different scenerios....then I looked around and saw them coming towards the car. YIPPEEE!!! I was a little embarrassed about my thoughts....oh well! I hugged them both and we were driving towards home. I could tell that Thayne and I were both relieved to be back together. We both let
out a huge sigh and said "I love you".

More Zoo Pics

Here are more Zoo pictures of our great day!

Better Day!

Yesterday was a rough day to be a mom. I was going to post something but I was struggling to find something positive to say so I just decided to pass. Josie was such a stinker yesterday. She gets into everything, but yesterday she really did get into EVERYTHING. Just an example: I went into the kitchen to start dinner and was gone maybe 5 minutes (but probably less than that) and when I returned she had found some A & D ointment and had rubbed it ALL over her arms, legs and face AND all over Indi's arms, legs and face. This was the topper for me. I have to admit that I did shed a few tears of frustration. Thayne came home about 10 minutes later and could feel the tension in the house. He said, "Ally, why don't you go upstairs and take a break and I'll take care of the kids". My first thought was to yell at him and say, "what...you don't think I can take care of them?". BUT...I zipped my lips and went upstairs away from my stinkers. Later, I did thank Thayne for letting me take a break so I could get control of myself. He smiled and said, "anytime". He might be sorry he responded that way :D .

So we got our car back yesterday morning, supposedly fixed. WELL....when I was driving it around it would shake every time I was at a stop. I was soooo mad! Here we just spend $350 to get it fixed and it comes back to us with completely different problems. I called the mechanic and he said that he'd drop by later to take a look. Well FOUR HOURS later he came by. After looking things over he said that he should have replaced the wires to the spark plugs, but didn't think he needed to. So he said if we paid for the parts he would replace them for free. He was lucky. Thayne was ready to let him have it if he was going to charge us more money for labor. When the ybrought our car back, we could tell that the mechanic was not happy that he wasn't getting paid for the labor because it took him longer than he thought. OH WELL!! We didn't feel sorry for him at all. Is that bad? Probably.

So we're packing today to head to Kentucky. Jaed is so excited. He helped me pack his bag. He had more toys to put into the bag than clothes. He just kept saying, "Mom, I need to take this, so me and James can play it". Josie kept talking about going to James's house too, so we told her that she wouldn't be going. She started crying and ran over to Thayne and said, "pweez daddy, pweez". I could tell it was breaking Thayne's heart. I explained to her that we were going to go swimming and to the zoo and do other fun things. She seemed to be okay about it. We'll see how the departure really goes.

Well, I'll have tons of adventures to write when we get back. Have a great weekend!