Baby It's Cold Outside!

We've had a great weekend so far!

Ella finally started feeling better by Friday, as far as the pneumonia goes. She slept until 11:15 on Friday morning! (And 10:15 on Saturday!) I guess all the lack of sleep really caught up with her. When she got up from her nap (yes, she still took a nap) on Friday, she had fever, again. I was not happy (she had been on the antibiotic for 5 days now). But then she started complaining of her mouth. I took a look and 3 of the 4 eye teeth are coming in - at the same time. Poor girl can't catch a break! So, the recent fever and runny nose are now explained. With a little Orajel and Tylenol, she feels great. Her cough is still very present, and will be for a while, but it's now productive so at least the junk is moving OUT of her lungs instead of staying put. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the sun comes out tomorrow and dries the ice up and she will be able to go to school on Monday.

Joey got a snow day on Friday, so we enjoyed a quiet day inside. We enjoyed watching the kids sled down our street past the house and laughed at cars trying to drive up and down the street. Ella was so good. We played, took quick trips outside (to stand on the front porch and watch the kids sled), and had good old fashioned family time. Last night we had movie night. I had heard that UP was a great movie, so Joey found it and we watched it all together. Ella did really good for the first hour. She sat on the couch with us, eating her popcorn, and watching the movie. After the first hour, she began to get restless and would play for 15 min, then watch the movie for 5. In her defense, as wonderful as the movie was, it wasn't really toddler-friendly. I'm sure it didn't make any sense to her. When it was over, we put on Dora and she was as happy as can be.

Today the cabin fever really started to set in. I hadn't been out of the house since Wednesday afternoon, and I needed some air. We bundled up after breakfast to go and 'play' in the snow. Even though we got about a half inch of ice on Friday, we received another quarter inch of snow Friday night. It made the ice much prettier and easier to walk on. Joey had pulled out a pool float to use as a sled, but there was no way that I was going to allow Ella on that. Luckily, the kids behind us had found something much more 'suitable', and Ella got to experience her first sledding adventure. She loved it!! After sledding for a while in the ally behind the house, we went to the front yard to watch the 'big' kids do it (on real wooden/metal sleds). Our street is one giant hill, it's gradual at first then gets really steep near the top. Our house is near the top. The entire hill is probably 1/4 mile long. These kids had it figured out! They would sled down to the bottom, where a waiting 4-wheeler would bring them back to the top to do it all over again. They did this all day on Friday and Saturday. The 4-wheelers were pulling sledders until after 11pm last night, and I think I hear them out right now as well (it's 11:45pm). That's dedication. After playing outside for a while, we came inside, rested for a bit, and then decided we wanted 'real' food. Senor Tequila here we come! Joey and I both have 4WD vehichles, but I don't trust other people, and my car is worth a lot more than his, so his is what we drive in bad weather. As we were packing up, our neighbor had his shovel out, shoveling the hill in the ally so that he could get his car out. Joey, being the good Samaritan that he is, helped for 20 min or so, then helped push him up the hill. Once we were at the top, he got out for another 20 min to help a (really really dumb) girl get her car unstuck. I told him he did his good deed for the day and I was hungry. So Kroger (for diapers - can't run out of those!), then yummy mexican food! Afterwards, Mimi agreed to watch EK so that we could go to a movie. I gave Joey the choice between two, and surprisingly he chose 'When In Rome'. We both thought it was good! I'm a sucker for a good chic flick, and I think secretly, Joey is too! Coming home (at 9:30pm), the roads had definitely began to refreeze, but we made it home and I think we are skipping church tomorrow to let the roads thaw (and hopefully dry) before we venture out again. So, all in all, we have had a great weekend so far. Tomorrow I have some school stuff to do and lots of laundry. I've enjoyed my 4 day weekend, but I guess it's time to return to reality...

Ella's first 'real' snow (at least the first one that was enough snow to play in and she was old enough to enjoy it)!

Joey on his ghetto/free/improvising sled

The neighborhood kids going down our street Ella sledding!!

It's Been A Long Week

It's been a very long week...and it's only Thursday. As I posted before, Ella got sick last weekend with a cough and fever. I took her to the doctor on Monday, and we saw a doctor we had not seen before, Dr. Herbert. I really liked him. He said she was wheezing pretty bad (which I already knew), and ordered a chest x-ray. (Her ears were clear). She was so good during the x-ray, didn't even cry. I actually was very sad that she didn't cry...it's a terrible contraption that they put her in to get the x-ray...and she is so used to it that it didn't even phase her. The result came back...pneumonia...again. (If you are counting, this is the 2nd in 6 weeks, and 3rd time in 9 months...not including all of the other episodes of wheezing and ear infections). Dr. Herbert sensed my frustration and took a very close look at her medical record as well as previous x-rays. He said that she has Right Middle Lobe Syndrome. You can go here or here if you'd like to learn more. Anyway, it explained a lot and it was a little reassuring to know that there is a cause to all of our illness. He showed me an exercise to do with her and told me to keep up with her inhalers and come back in 3 weeks to re-x-ray. After that, I don't know what will happen. I am going to request/demand that she get allergy tested. If there is an allergy that is her trigger, then we can fix/avoid that and hopefully be a little more healthy in the future.

As for this episode of pneumonia, it definitely got worse before it got better. We (Ella and I) didn't get much (or any) sleep from Sunday to Tuesday. Last night we were up until 4:30am, but she then slept until 8:30. I stayed home with her today, and she's seemed much happier this morning. She woke up without any fever this morning and she's been fever-free all morning. Still has a horrible cough, but I think we are slowly getting better. I can tell you that the 4 hours of consecutive sleep last night made me feel like a new person. I'm about to do a little cleaning while she's napping and then get in a quick nap myself. I'm glad for the 4 day weekend (totally worth not getting paid today to catch up on a little sleep). My mom and David/Ashley/Layla were all supposed to come down tomorrow, but I doubt they will be able to with the weather in NWA being forecasted to get nasty. I wouldn't mind a little wintry precipitation down here too! We will enjoy a nice (lazy) weekend and hopefully all be healthy for a new week on Monday!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!

Well it started out as a great weekend...

But the ending wasn't so great...at least not for EK. She's had fever since Saturday afternoon, so it's back to the doctor we go tomorrow. Yippee. However, we started out the weekend great!

On Friday, Ella and I went to the zoo. When I told her on Thursday that we were going, she wouldn't stop talking about the "no-no's". She has always called flamingo's, no-no's. I don't know why, but at least I know what she's talking about. The forecast for Friday (early in the week), was 60's and sunny. Not so much...it was cloudy, low 50's, windy, and down right cold. But, we bundled up and went anyway. As soon as we walked in, she started begging for monkey's. Then once we saw the first group of monkey's, she put "mo monkey" on repeat. We started and ended with them, so she was satisfied...at least until we left. She loves the zoo. We don't have the greatest zoo, but it's small, Ella loves it, and we can get in and out in a few hours (including a lunch break), so we will keep going. Meagan-Marie said the penguins will be there in the fall, so that will be exciting. However, because it was so cold, I think we were given extra opportunity to see some of the animals that we normally don't see. The bald eagles, bush dogs, and big gorilla were all out, and I'm not sure I had ever seen any of those three. Three of the bear (types) were out as well and it's been years since I've seen any of the bears out. So, the day wasn't a complete bust...and Ella never noticed how cold it was, which is another plus.

This is a bush dog...I don't think I had ever heard of one, much less see one.

I loved the way his foot was propped up on the wall, leg crossed over, and arm crossed. He would look over every time a new person walked over, then look back up as if to roll his eyes.

Look at mom, look at monkey...big decision.

Joey got home from work shortly after EK and I did. It was nice getting to spend an hour or two together when we had nothing to do. Even after she goes to bed at night, we are both still busy and don't really spend time together just hanging out watching TV. He also surprised me with a pregnancy massage!!! I was very excited. I love 'just cause' gifts. They mean so much more than the 'have to' gifts. He even called my mom to ask her about a few different ideas he had see get her opinion. He put a lot of thought into it and I am very appreciative. The card he got me was wonderful (and oh so true): Being pregnant is the happiest reason ever to feel like crap. Isn't that the truth?!?

On Friday night, Brandy had a clothes swap at her house. It was a neat idea: you bring all your old clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc and let everyone go through it and take what they want. Whatever is left gets donated to Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity. I didn't take anything because I didn't think they would want the 'crap' I didn't want...but I've since found a few things I could have taken. I did get a few maternity things for myself and a few things for Kyla too (YES! She's pregnant!!! We are about 7 weeks apart!!!). It was so nice to visit and catch up with all the girls! I really think I could do it weekly...although I don't think Joey or the other dads would agree.

We all slept in Saturday morning (Ella and I until 10, Joey until 11!). Joey had been wanting to go fishing for a while, so I agreed that Ella and I could go with him. Again, it was really cold. But, Ella had a good time, Joey caught a fish (yes, just one...and only after EK and I went to the car to watch Tinkerbell...guess the fish aren't responsive when she's throwing rocks in the water), and I got a few cute pics of Ella and a few more for a project I'm working on.

Once we got home, EK took a nap and Joey and I started working on the house. This was the first Saturday we had been home since Christmas (and I am too exhausted during the week to do anything), so we still had our tree up as well as all the other decorations. I had taken off the ornaments earlier in the week, but still had everything else to put up. I felt so much better once all that was done. I even did some reorganizing of the 'everyday' decor. Basically just put it in a new place, but it helps get me past my 'moving-fever' for now. When she got up, she didn't look good and that's when I first noticed her fever. Poor thing is a trooper, but you can tell she doesn't feel 100%. We laid low Saturday night, ordered pasta from Pizza Hut (which, by the way, was surprisingly really good!), and had a wonderful lazy night.

We had planned to go to Sunday school and 'big' church this morning, but stayed home since EK was still running a fever. We did still go to Mimi's for lunch (YUM), and visit with everybody. Joey went to Conway to watch football, while EK and I stayed at Mimi's for her nap. I had a lot of school work to do, and knew that I would procrastinate if we came home, so I just let her nap over there and was able to get it all done while everyone (Mimi and Quinn included) slept. Such a relief! When she got up from her nap, her fever was up to 103.1. Ugh. But with Tylenol, she acts completely normal and her fever breaks. Tonight, Joey and I put all the boxes into the attic (which wore this pregnant girl out!). I love my Christmas decorations, but I love having my house back too.

Nothing too big planned for the week. Ella gets a Mimi-day tomorrow (which she loves), since she is sick. Mom, David, Ashley, and Layla are coming down next weekend, which I'm looking forward to. Other than that, I'm hoping for an uneventful week. Hope all of you had a good weekend and have a good week!

Oh, here's a Baby S update! This kiddo is getting big!! I feel like I'm about 16 weeks and not 13. I felt him/her kick for the first time last night...and the kicking didn't stop for 2 hours! Tonight was more of the same. If he/she is this active now, I think I'm going to be in trouble (and sleep deprived) in another month or two. We will find out if we have a HE or SHE towards the end of February. Our boy name is set (just have to decide on what we will call him...he will be a III), but we are still in major discussions over a girl name. I have a few that I like (very few), but of course Joey doesn't agree...yet. :)

Miracles DO Happen!!!

12/8/09: I received some very shocking, exciting, miraculous news yesterday....WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!!!! I was told when I was undergoing fertility treatment before Ella that there was basically a one in a million chance that we would ever get pregnant on our own. So, after EK was born, I never went back on the pill or 'prevented' anything from happening. We left it up to God. We knew that if by some miraculous chance that it happened, we would graciously accept that baby with open arms because he or she was obviously meant to be. So when I complained to Joey last week that I wasn't hungry because I didn't feel good, he asked if I was pregnant...completely joking. I said that I doubted it, but that I really had no idea. (Looking back, the fact that I got so nauseated while browning hamburger should have been a sign). I took a bath after dinner and felt much better. On Sunday, after Ella's party, we sat down to eat and the nausea hit again. I ate anyway and it went away shortly there after. Then, on Monday (12/7/09)...the nausea hit again mid-morning. It wasn't overwhelming, and I didn't have to run to the bathroom. But I hate being nauseated. So I gave my class an assignment and sat down. I decided to look at my calendar. I keep track of my cycle start dates (mainly so that when we started treatments again, we would have a baseline). My cycles are usually 38-43 days. Yesterday was day 48. Once I saw that, I decided to take a test. I found an OLD test from well over a year ago in the back of a bathroom drawer. It was positive within 30 seconds. Disbelief is the only thing I can say. Complete and total shock. How could this be? I panicked a little too for other reasons...that I'm still a little panicked over, but God will provide for the miracle baby he gave us. So I went to Ella's school for her cupcake party. We went straight to Drug Emporium when we left. I bought 3 more tests, and took two of them. One was positive in 10 seconds, the other in 20 seconds. WOW. Joey came home about 20 minutes later. I had Ella give him two of the tests. He had no clue what she was holding...or why I was filming him. When he took the tests from him, he got a big smile on his face. All he could say was, "REALLY?!?". I have no idea how far along I am. Based on my last cycle date, I would be almost 8 weeks, but since those are not a 'normal' length, I could be as little as 4-6 weeks. I have an appointment with my OB on Monday for an ultrasound. I'm still in shock...not in a bad way, but in a, WOW, did this just really happen, kind of way. Now that I know that I am pregnant, I'm starting to feel pregnant, but that could be my head playing tricks on me too. Who knows. I knew within days when I was pregnant with Ella...this is so much different. We are very anxious about the appointment on Monday, and I'm sure I will update this 'yet-to-be-published' blog after that appointment. I am not sure when I'll officially 'post' this, but it will definitely be after Christmas (which is when we are telling our families). In the meantime, I am trying to keep this news to myself...which is SO hard. :) 12/12/09: So I'm really starting to 'feel' pregnant. Nausea, tired, extreme emotions. I cry over the littlest things. For example, when I was singing to EK tonight, I started getting all teary when I sang 'Jesus Loves Me'. Why? Who knows. Probably because every time I think about her not being my 'baby' for much longer. She's going to be such a good big sister (judging by the way she treats her babies), but she won't be the baby. Makes me a little sad...but in a good way. Does that make sense? I also realized tonight that we will have a 4-5 month old next Christmas...crazy! :) I'm still in shock/awe over the fact that we are even pregnant. This just wasn't supposed to be possible. God is so miraculous. I wrote this post a little over a month ago. I was feeling so down and gloomy. We all have those moments, and it didn't last long. Then there was last Friday when Joey and I were discussing the spring when we were going to begin fertility treatments again (yes, because that was the plan). It really makes me laugh out loud at how funny God is. When I was pregnant with Ella, I had everything planned. Everything. Right down to her induction date and time...3 months ahead of schedule. I had my work schedule all worked out, I had a training schedule for work for my temporary replacement. And wouldn't you know it, God had other plans and I went into labor at 32 weeks. So much for planning! :) Same situation here. And I think it's just as funny. Such a wonderful God we serve. OK, enough rambling for one day. I'll leave you with one lovely thing about pregnancy I was so rudely reminded of today: Pregnancy and grocery stores don't mesh well. As soon as I walked in, I remembered...ugh. Something about all the different smells gets me every time. Ugh. 12/14/09: We saw Baby S today!!!! His/Her due date is August 1st, and I am 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Dr. Taylor was surprised when he saw me...when I saw him in October, we planned to meet up again in March to discuss the fertility treatments. I was so happy to see him early! Baby S appeared easily with an abdominal ultrasound, then we saw the (very visible) heartbeat with 'the other' ultrasound. He said that everything looks great so far and that to keep 'doing what I'm doing' until 20 weeks. After that point he may change my activity level or put me on more medication. Since I dilated to a 4 (and my water almost broke) at 32 weeks, he's going to start monitoring me much more closely earlier in my pregnancy. We discussed the different ways he may do this but said not to worry about anything now and we would worry about it when we get there. Joey and I felt so much relief after being there. It's very 'real' now. We've started planning out how we are going to tell everyone. So exciting because our families have NO clue this is coming! Hehehe! :) I'm also looking forward to telling my group of girlfriends at MM's post-Christmas party on January 3rd. After that party, we will probably make the 'BIG' announcement...and I can't wait! I'm terrible with these kind of secrets.... 1/1/2010: Happy New Year! We had a wonderful Christmas and it is such a relief that all of our family knows now. I have to say, it was easier keeping the secret since we didn't see many people since we found out (prior to Christmas), but it was such a weight off my shoulders revealing our big news. We gave everyone the framed picture. My parents were first and my moms reaction was EXACTLY what I thought it would be! I was so nervous because they weren't coming to LR until Christmas morning and NWA got snow/ice on Christmas Eve, but they made it anyway! Next was my Nonnie and Papa. Nonnie's reaction was, well, memorable. They really are happy for us, just the first words out of Nonnie's mouth wasn't what we thought they would be...but we all laughed about it a few minutes later. :) Mimi was next on the list. By this point I was exhausted and feeling horrible, but I faked it the best I could. Mimi did ask me at one point during the 3 hour marathon of present opening (you have to know our family to understand why it takes so long...and there were 20 of us there too) if I was ok (which I wasn't....felt horrible), but I lied. :) The picture was the last one and she caught on within 5-10 seconds and also had a fantastic reaction...which, if you know my Mimi, she always has expressive reactions anyway. On Sunday, we drove to Winthrop for Christmas with Joey's family. Joey's parents each stared at the picture for at least a minute each (Joey actually timed them), before we made them give it to Renae who had a great reaction as well and spread the news. I'm looking forward to Sunday when we tell my 'Mommy' friends, then on Wednesday when I'll tell my 'Girls Night Out' friends. My belly isn't going to allow me to keep the secret much longer. I'm definitely starting to show. I did go out and buy a few things, and the bulk of my maternity clothes should be here on Sunday from NWA. I'm in major need of my Bella Band since I can't button any of my pants. However, I have never minded wearing maternity pants (love those elastic waist bands!), but I do love my favorite jeans too! 1/7/2010: Well I have told most everyone that I wanted to 'in person'. A few people got skipped, but I've told them via phone/email/text. We are just waiting for our appointment on Monday so we can 'tell the world'! Can't wait! :) Last night I finally uploaded all the Christmas pics off my camera and I'm starting to sort through them. Here are our 'announcement' pics!! Everyone that was told on Christmas day, received this picture in a frame

Yaya and Deebo were the first to get 'the picture'!

Chris only got moms eyes, but it's the best part!

Think we surprised them?! :)

Now for Nonnie and Papa!

Not exactly the first reaction I expected, but at least we can say she was surprised!

Now she's happy...still not sure that Papa figured it out yet.

He's a happy Papa!

Mimi was next! Now, some of you know how close Mimi and I are. I absolutely LOVE her reactions in the pictures. They truly show how surprised and excited she was. I love my Mimi!

Mimi: Oh look, what a cute picture of Ella I love my Auntie Lisa's hand in this one...it's saying...I wanna see, I wanna see! (Nobody knew why she was so excited at this point)

A few days later, we went to Winthrop to share the news with Granny and Poppi and Renae

Olga has no clue...she stared at the picture for a solid minute... Leon didn't either...another minute goes by...although Renae said it's because he couldn't see it without his glasses ...and I make them give it to Renae...

Instantly got it!

She made this same face when we told her we were pregnant with Ella. :)

So there you have it...our big reveal!! We are SO excited and can't wait for our new little bundle to arrive!

Build-A-Bear!!

I will post about Christmas soon...but to be honest, the million pictures that I took are still on my camera. We were so busy, that I am still trying to recover....

But...

One of Ella's Christmas gifts was a gift card to the Build-A-Bear Workshop! I knew she would love it so we 'cashed' it in today! She had a great time and I can't wait to take her back again...although we really don't need to add to the 357 stuffed animals that she already has. :)

She picked out a Bunny...which was no big surprise.

Adding the stuffing Getting her heart all ready and full of love Giving her Bunny a heart and lots of love! Bunny needs a good brushing after her bath All dry!

Getting Bunny dressed!

No outfit is complete without the perfect pair of shoes!

After two new bows for Bunny we are ready to go!!

Go Fins!!

This weekend, Joey and I went to Nashville, TN with Phillip and Brandi to see the Titans take on the Dolphins. Sadly, the Dolphins lost in overtime by 3 points, but Joey was still happy with the game. I, on the other hand, was frozen solid the entire time. It was a quick, but very long trip. We were in the car 11 out of 36 hours...way too much driving for me. Next time, we need to plan to spend a little longer in Nashville...and not go when it's so dang cold!!!

Getting ready to go to dinner at Big River! (great food!!)

This picture doesn't even begin to describe how cold I was...and I sat with a blanket covering everything by my eyes for most of the game...

Phillip was cold too! :)

Darius Rucker sang the National Anthem

Ella's 2nd Birthday Bash!!!

Ella had a great party! We had a Christmas-themed party complete with Santa, Ms. Clause, and cookie decorating. I think all the kids really had a good time and I definitely think the day was a success!! EK still didn't want anything to do with Santa (even though she watched him (my Uncle, Eric) get dressed...all was good until the wig and beard went on and it was downhill from there). We did manage to 'sneak' him into a few photos though!! If you recognize Ms. Clause, that is my Grandmother, Mimi. Thank you to everybody who helped make this a wonderful birthday!!

There are SO many more pictures than this, and if you have any desire to take a look, go here.