Over 2 months???

How has it been over 2 months since I posted a blog? I guess time got away from me with everything that has been going on. Reece and Maddy had their birthday parties in October. Then we started to keep a close eye on Grandpa. I don't remember if I posted it in my blog or not, but my Grandpa had a very invasive form of bladder cancer. The diagnosis was first made in last June with surgery as our only option for treatment. He was too weak for chemo and not eligible for radiation. So he went in August for his consult with the specialist in Winston Salem. That is when we found out that there was nothing that could be done. They gave him 6 months or less to live. Things were going pretty good with him, until the end of October. He came to Reece's bday party the beginning of October and then went to stay with my aunt for about a month. I am so glad he got to take that trip because that was the last of his really good days. When he came back home, he had started going downhill healthwise. I was staying at my Mom's house 3 days a week helping take care of him. I loved that time with him, because I was able to spend valuable time with him and I knew that it meant a lot to him as well. Then on November 11th, Grandpa went to the hospital with respiratory distress. We thought we were going to lose him that day. He had fluid accumulating in his lungs and pneumonia. They treated him and was able to send him home on that Saturday. He had a wonderful night on Saturday. He was happier than he had been in months. But on Sunday morning, he woke up in respiratory distress once again. So back to the hospital he went. I stayed a few hours on Sunday and went back Monday morning. I never left him until he passed away at 11:50 pm on November 17, 2008.

God, how I miss that man!!!! He was always like a second father to me. It has been over a month since he died and I still have days where I just sit and cry. Thanksgiving was very hard and I know Christmas will be as well.

Speaking of Christmas, I am DONE with my shopping for the kids. I only spent about $100 a piece on them, but they will LOVE what I got them. I still need to get gifts for my parents, inlaws, and sister. Then I will be totally done.

Anyway, that is what has been going on. Now maybe I can get better with my blogging

Diaper Study

Well, I completed my first diaper study ever today. For those of you not familiar with how a diaper study works, the company sends you a certain amount of diapers (in my case, 22) that you use in place of your regular brand of diapers. When you are finished with the diapers, you complete a survey sheet that is enclosed. The company then calls you at a prearranged day and time to get your survey answers. This takes approximately 5 minutes. Once you give them your survey answers, they send you a $10 check (or the company I did my study for does.) So you wind up with about a 4-7 day supply of free diapers (granted they are usually generic brand, but someone has to help make them better...right???) AND you get free money! Not too shabby. I think I got FOOD LION brand diapers, as they look just like the ones I used on Logan when he was a baby. They worked great, and I only had 1 diaper leak. I can't complain!!!

I can't even leave the house

without one of my kids getting hurt anymore! My boys are so rowdy that I expect them to roll around and rough-house. But when Madelynn gets in on it, it is getting to be too much. I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things tonight. And when I came up on the porch, I hear Logan bawling and Maddy saying, "I sorries!" When I opened the door, I am greeted by a bleeding 3 year old. Apparently, Madelynn hit Logan with one of her toys and managed to get him right in the eye. He is okay, but it is probably going to be black tomorrow. I feel so bad for him!! It's his first "black eye" and his BABY SISTER gave it to him! Poor Kid!!



This is about 30 minutes after the hit...


And this is after he went to sleep tonight... (I just noticed how much like his daddy he looks in this picture!)

Sorry for the Break!

I have been so bad about blogging lately. We have been getting ready for school to go back into session, and I have been so busy! Reece started back to school on August 25th. He loves his new teacher and classmates so far. He was worried that 1st grade would be too hard for him. But so far, so good. He starts having homework next week. And he has lost his 2nd tooth.

Logan has decided that he doesn't want to go to preschool next year. He informed me that "They are mean" and he isn't going. Too bad for him that he doesn't have a choice in the decision.

Madelynn is entering her "Terrible Two's" just a little bit early. Her current favorite word is "No, no, no!" and makes she that she says that to Logan most of the day! If it can be climed, she is on top of it. If it can be thrown, it winds up across the room. If it doesn't belong to her, she has to have it. And if I tell her to do it, she does the exact OPPOSITE!! You just HAVE to love this period of a child's life. Oh, and we have decided to forget about potty training for now. She is more interested in playing in the potty than peeing in it!

Oh, I almost forgot.... the kids got a new puppy! Her name is Bella, and she is 1/2 jack russell, 1/2 beagle. She is the sweetest thing.

Finally....A vacation!

We went to the beach this past weekend, and let me say it was well worth the trip down! We stayed in Wilmington Friday & Saturday nights. Friday, we went to Carolina & Kure beaches, and then stopped at Fort Fisher for a couple hours of swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. The kids had a BLAST! This was Maddy's first trip to the beach and the boys' second time. None of them wanted to come out of the ocean.





Then we went over to the point and fed the seagulls before walking out of Fort Fisher's wall. We also walked out on the Kure Beach Pier and watched the people fishing. Early Saturday morning, we had rain an some wind gusts from tropical storm Cristobal. Wilmington got over over 3 inches of rain, but only about 2 hours of our day was actually rained out. We got up that morning and went to tour the Battleship NC ( http://www.battleshipnc.com/ ) The boys loved it! We made it all the way through the first half of the main deck and had just started to go below deck when another squall line of rain came in. When we came back to the main deck, it was beautiful out! We finished the battleship and did some scenic driving past the state ports and to Carolina Beach State Park. About the time I went back to the car to get my camera, it starting pouring rain and blowing sand. So we just went back to the motel.

After our scenic drive, I had Kevin stop at Carolina Beach so I could take a couple pictures of the angry ocean (since Cristobal was right offshore). I was so glad that we didn't try to do the "beachside" thing Saturday because although the waves weren't extremely high, the ocean was very choppy.

That evening, we went to visit my Aunt on the other side of Wilmington for a couple of hours. It was a very good visit (and delicious steak dinner!) As I was loading the kids into the car, it started raining again. It continued to rain until about 8:30. Once it finally stopped, I took the kids swimming in the pool for about an hour while Kevin and his friend Chad (we went down with his family too) went fishing with my Uncle Richard. While they were gone, we found out exactly what type of motel we were staying in. Granted, we knew it wasn't the Hilton, but we didn't expect a "lady of the night" to frequent the room next to Me!! We watched this girl come and go 4 different times, leaving with a different guy each time! Needless to say, they will never get our business there again! It was funny at the time but it is something we never want to go through again.

Finally, Sunday morning arrives and we have to go home. But before we headed back, we drove to Fort Fisher again and rode the ferry to Southport. Maddy wanted to get down and go back to the van (directly below the end of the observation deck! lol) We looked around Southport a little while and then drove to Oak Island. At the west end of the island, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway meets the ocean. You can see Holden Beach from it. We let the kids swim in the waterway since the ocean still had High rip tide warnings. They had a blast! After we were done swimming, we drove to the east side of the island again and went to see the lighthouse. It was very nice.

All in all, it was a very good vacation and was also very much needed. We hope to go back down in a couple of months, but it all depends on some things that we have going on here right now! I am looking forward to our next trip already.

Growing Up ... whether I like it or not!

Well, Reece has hit a major milestone that means he is growing up...and there is nothing I can do about it! He has officially lost his first tooth! After getting $5 for his first lost tooth from the tooth fairy, I have a feeling he won't be as scared to lose the other loose tooth he has. Here he is!

Decided to try Potty Training!

I know she is only 20 months old, but since she can tell me "Go pee" or that she needs a "die-dy" AND can get her pants up and down I have decided it is time to potty train. I would rather spend that $50 a month elsewhere.

So today we went to Wal-Mart to get stuff we needed. At first I decided to just get diapers. I gave her the pack and she rode around in the cart hugging them (well, they WERE Huggies, so I guess that is how they got their name, lol).

After I got the rest of the needed items, I changed my mind. So back to infants we went. I let her pick between the Pull-Ups and the White Cloud brand. She picked the Pull-Ups. As I was looking for a cheap but nice pack of panties for her, she tossed the Pull-Ups out of the cart and said "PUT THEM BACK!!!" I ignored her and put the Pull-Ups and panties I chose back into the cart. She politely took BOTH of them and tossed them BACK out of the cart while screaming "NO! Don't want them! Put them BACK!!!" I put them back in the cart and told her, "Tough! You are gonna start using the potty."

It isn't going too well right now. After she got up from nap, I took her potty and she refused to do anything. 5 minutes later, she had peed her panties. I am trying the M&M bribing now; hopefully it will work!!!