Turkey leg

Turkey Day (a day late)

Happy day after Turkey Day!

We are on the plane on the way to maui, Marcus is sleeping and I am bored to death, there's only so much people watching, sudoku puzzles, and reading I can handle. I would be watching a movie however our DVD player failed to charge last night so I can't enjoy that luxury right now. So I thought I would write a quick post (but I can't post it until we land and I get a signal).

Yesterday was quite eventful to say the least. With all the commotion that went on I never even got a chance to text everyone a Happy Thanksgiving text. And here's why......

Marcus had arranged for my brother to come over and help get some stuff done upstairs so that he could get some sleep. About 845 John comes over and we go upstairs so I can show him what to do, when all of a sudden I hear a loud THUD! I go to see what happened and I find that John had fallen through the ceiling. Luckily only the bottom half went through and he was able to pull himself back up. It took me a few seconds to realize that he fell through right above kaylee's room, where she was still sleeping. At that point she obviously was no longer sleeping! I ran down to get her to find the ceiling pieces and insulation all over her room and bed. She was shaking and terrified!!! I am sure she thought the aliens were coming down to get her. It took her a good few minutes to quit shaking and realize that she was safe. I couldnt believe my eyes, I didn't know what do do or say. All I could think about was we were leaving the next day and this was one more thing I would have to deal with when we get back. Needless to say I spent the entire day cleaning up and emptying her room, with the mere HOPE that my dad can arrange someone somehow to fix it before we return.

By 1 PM I was phyiscally and emotionally drained! I was having pains in my belly, and knew I needed to rest but Kaylee was so terrified of going to bed she refused to take a nap in her room. So I decided to pack what I could and head over to my moms house early. We finished the rest of the preping for dinner and waited for everyone else to arrive. We sat down to an awesome dinner. Kaylee loved the turkey leg my dad gave her and thoroughly enjoyed having her plate on her tray so she could eat all by herself like the big girl she "thinks" she is. After dinner it was Kaylee's bedtime and she was clearly exhausted from the days events. Apparently the trauma she had experienced earlier in her bed was still very fresh on her mind and she absolutely refused to be left alone in her bed. It made me so sad because she loves her bed she loves going to sleep and now she is scared something is going to attack her through the ceiling. After about 2 hours of struggling with her Marcus and I decided we HAD to go so that we could pack. My mom decided she would lay with her in the bed that is in her room and she drifted off to sleep. However Kaylee has never been the type to sleep good with people or on people so I knew it wouldn't last long.

Marcus and I reluctantly headed home to pack and we finally climbed in bed somewhere around midnight. We had to be up at 5 to catch our flight. I got a few stretches of sleep in between my bathroom breaks and waking up thinking of things I forgot to pack.
We left the house, a few minutes behind schedule, but made it to the airport in time. Our layover in phoenix was perfect, just long enough to get a good bite to eat and make it too our next flight. I was able to sleep for about 1 1/2 hours, which was a nice break, but when that is only 1/4 of the flight it doesn't seem like that long.
I am so excited to get to see my friend Kristy and her husband Kyle, it has been like 4 years since we saw each other last. I am looking forward to catching up and enjoying the rest of the trip.

Dizzy Kaylee

This afternoon Kaylee, my mom, and I were outside playing. She was playing with Tahoe and Oreo (the neighborhood dog) taking their tennis balls and throwing them. She loves running down the hill. Then mom and I decided to start swinging her around like a helicopter. It was so funny, she loved every minute of it and before she could even see straight she was asking us to do it again. She was laughing the whole time, even when she fell down in the wet grass. Watch the second video, as she is falling over from dizziness, she is saying "go, momma." She wants to go again!

After Turkey Day Blues

One of the biggest things I look forward to about Thanksgiving, besides getting the whole family together and playing games, is definitely the left overs! Anyone who knows us knows that left overs around here are like gold. And what better time to have left overs than at Thanksgiving? But this year we are going to miss out on all of them because we are leaving the next day. So i decided that I am going to make the dishes I am supposed to bring a little early and have left overs BEFORE Thanksgiving. I am going to make my broccoli casserole, GF corn bread, GF gravy, and mashed potatoes today so that I can enjoy them for dinner tonight, tomorrow night, AND Thanksgiving night! I figured that I would wait to make my GF pumpkin cheesecake til Wednesday night, because if i dont it might not make it to Thanksgiving dinner at all.

Is that bad?

4 days and counting til we go and see our new surroundings in Hawaii. It has been hard to get excited about this trip because of all the things we have going on here. I mean who wouldn't be excited about going to Hawaii for 6 days with no kids? I am hopefully going to start packing soon, considering we need to be really conscious of what we bring because of the new baggage policies. We have to pay $15 EACH WAY for 1 piece of checked baggage. That's ridiculous!

Here are a few pictures I took this weekend of the boys (AKA my dad and Marcus) working on the insulation. Oh and the inspector came again today and we passed, so we are cleared to continue working; however we have hit our first 'hiccup' in the road, we probably wont be able to do much more except insulate this week. I am hoping that my mom and dad will be able to hold down the fort while we are gone, and make sure that the worker dudes do their job while we are away.

On a totally different note.......... I was freaking out today when I filled my car up with gas and only paid $35. My tank was almost empty and still that was all it cost. I am so glad we are finally getting some relief at the pump, especially when we drive as far as we do on a daily basis.

Updates on everything

This morning went great! We got to the doctor on time, but they were not ready for us. So we had to wait longer than expected. After all the paperwork was filled out we were ready to go back to our "holding room". That's the place where we were briefed by the anesthesiologist and the nurse, and waited for Kaylee to come back from the procedure. After explaining how everything was going to work, they took Kaylee back to the surgery room. We could hear her crying until she past out from the anesthesia. I was really surprised, and actually felt guilty about not being nervous or scared or upset. They told us it would be about 25 minutes, but about 15 minutes later they came back and said she was in recovery. They keep her in recovery until she opens her eyes, and then they bring her back to us. They said it would be about 10 more minutes, and once again they were wrong, less than 5 minutes later we hear her screaming in the hallway. They had warned us about how she would act when they brought her back and they were right on. She was still a little out of it to say the least. Marcus thought they gave her a few too many martinis. She had trouble with her hand eye coordination and her balance. She looked like a newborn that didn't have control over her body, she was having trouble holding her head up and sitting without falling over. I felt so sorry for her. She didn't know what she wanted, she was crying for no reason and would ask for things and then throw them down when we gave them to her. Surprisingly, they said that she was reacting much better than most. We were able to to leave shortly after speaking with the doctor. When we left we headed straight to get something to eat. I figured she would be hungry, but she proved me wrong once again. She was still not acting herself. Once we got home she was pretty much back to her normal monster self. She was running around the house like a crazy person, seemingly unfazed by the mornings events. I was able to get a little bit of food in her which made me feel better. I was hopeful about getting a little nap in while she napped. I put her down and climbed into bed, only to be rudely awoken about 20 minutes later. I guess she was ready to get up and run around again. Her entire schedule was pretty much shot at this point. I had some errands to run and Marcus was sleeping so we began getting ready to leave, when thankfully my dad called and offered for me to drop her off over there while I ran my errands. I gladly accepted the offer and was able to run all my errands without worrying about her. She had a great time playing with grandma and grandpa. When I picked her up we headed straight home and into the bed.

Upstairs update:
My errands today included getting a truck full of insulation for my dad and Marcus to hang this weekend. I hope I got enough to keep them occupied! We have the plumbing and HVAC inspector coming Monday. And in order to pass inspection we had to have some stairs that lead up to the furnace unit put in. Tonight they installed those stairs, so hopefully we will pass inspection. But it doesn't look like any of the other workers can come next week, I guess cause of the holiday and all. So we have a few days to get the insulation and the rest of the prepping done ourselves. Then the week after thanksgiving we will have the framers and drywall guys out, and hopefully get a few steps closer to finishing. I promise pictures will be coming shortly. I will take some this weekend, before and after insulation (and maybe even some during).

Hawaii update:
We have our tickets booked for our house hunting trip. We are leaving next Friday for 5 nights, I am really excited about the trip. However, it is not getting any easier saying that we are moving to Hawaii, I think i am still in shock by it all. This will be the first time Marcus and I have ever flown together. It is hard to imagine of all the trips we have been on we have never travelled and sat together on the plane, well besides one trip with Kaylee to Boston. So I guess it is the only kid free trip we will have taken together and actually been together the entire trip. Our friends Kyle and Kristy, from Springfield Missouri, have already booked their tickets and they are going to meet us there. We are so excited to get to see them and they are excited to get away from their 4 boys for a few days. I will take lots of pictures and share them with you when we get back. I really hope that we are able to find a house so we can check that off of our list of things to do.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

I PASSED!!!

I passed my glucose test! YEAH!!!

Today the electrician came and did his thing upstairs, finishing much faster than we had thought. He even had enough time to call the inspector and have him come out today as well. WE PASSED the electrical inspection. The plumbers are coming tomorrow morning, so I went and bought the vanity and toilet today. After a few inconveniences at Home Depot I was finally ready to load up and hit the road. Kaylee just went down to bed and Marcus just woke up, so we are about to head outside to the truck so I can show him what I bought.

My sweet little girl

I just had to tell you about 2 things Kaylee did today.

First of all, twice today, she got one of her stuffed animals and put it in her high chair. Then she rambled a few words to the animal and walked into her play room. She grabbed various food items, and other things from her kitchen. She returned with her arms full ready to feed her animal the delicious meal she prepared. She talked to the animal the entire time, and even stopped to take bites herself. She remembered to bring a spoon, fork, and even a cup.

The second thing i just had to share with you happened this evening when I was cooking dinner. I must have said out loud that my head hurt, I didnt even know that I said it. Kaylee came and rambled off some words to me, of which i did not understand. When she realized that I didnt understand her, she showed me what she was saying. She took me by the arm and led me to the couch where she had stacked up the pillows, exactly the way i do and motioned for me to lay down. I nearly cried. She knew that i wasnt feeling good and that i needed to rest. She is so compassionate and sympathetic.

I love my little monkey!!!

Totally wiped out!

I guess yesterdays adventures were a bit too much for Kaylee too. Last night she went to bed at 5:30 (30 minutes before her usual bedtime). I figured that she would wake up at her normal time of between 7:30 and 8:30, however now it is 9:15 and she is still sleeping soundly in her bed. I am about to have to go and wake her up for Kindermusik class.

Let me try and figure this out.... When she goes to bed 30 minutes or more AFTER her bedtime she wakes up EARLY (mommy doesnt like those mornings). When she goes to bed 30 minutes BEFORE her bedtime she sleeps in LATER. Does that make sense to anyone else? I guess it just goes to show that babies and kids thrive when on a schedule.

A Day FULL of Doctors

All I know for sure is that I NEVER want to have another day like today!!!

I saw more doctors today than I cared to see all month long, and spent more time in waiting rooms than I wanted to also!

It all started last week when I had my big glucose test. That's the one where they make you drink that disgusting drink, to check to see if you have gestational diabetes. Well unfortunately my test came back positive. So they scheduled me for a 3 hour glucose test this morning. I had to fast all morning (that in itself nearly killed me!) they wouldnt even let me drink water, then go drink that nasty drink again, and have them draw my blood 4 times. I was in my doctors office for 3 1/2 hours. I felt like I should have gotten a job there, that's how long I was there. I should get my results from that either tomorrow or Wednesday, hopefully I will pass this time.

After leaving there I had to rush to get something to eat and then meet my mom and Kaylee at Dr. Shea's office (Kaylee's Ear Doctor). Last Friday I took her back to her pediatrician, suspecting another ear infection, and found out that she has another one which makes 6 infections in the past 4 months. The pediatrician suggested tubes, so who better to take your child to than the world's best ear clinic? My mom had to bring Kaylee for me because the 2 appointments overlapped. So we sit and wait there for another 2 hours (they had already waited 1 hour before I arrived, so they were there a total of 3 hours). Dr. Shea told us that Kaylee needs tubes in both her ears immediately, so we scheduled the surgery for this Friday morning.

When we were walking out of that office my mom and I were both hungry again (Kaylee skipped lunch and nap, so she was hungry too), we decided to go get a bite to eat at Chick-fil-A. It was there that Kaylee got her "second wind," so to avoid another trip into Memphis this week (you'll read later why another trip into Memphis this week would be impossible!), I decided to go get my allergy shot. That was how we ended up at the 3rd, and final, doctors office. Thank God we were only there for about 45 minutes. So in all I think I spent nearly 6 1/2 hours in 3 different doctors offices today. After all that sitting, I cant figure out why I am so freaking tired. I feel like i could sleep for 24 hours straight.

On top of all those appointments I had to schedule an eye doctor appointment for myself last week and found out that I have an eye infection. COULD ANYTHING ELSE POSSIBLY BE PILED ON MY PLATE???

So while we were out gallivanting around the city, hahaha, Marcus was home with our first worker men (thats what I call them when Kaylee says "was dat?"). The HVAC guys were here to install the 'space ship' looking stuff upstairs, that's my technical term for the air ducts. The best part is we get to return the $50 programmable digital thermostat we bought thinking that we had to supply it (we didnt want one of those regular old kinds), the HVAC guy said that our unit comes with a digital thermostat so Marcus asked if it was programmable. He said that it was not, but that he would switch it to a programmable one for FREE. Cant ask for anything better than that. They did a great job, surprisingly finishing in less time than I spent in doctors offices today. We have the electrician scheduled for this Wednesday. Marcus decided to stop by Home Depot and return the thermostat on his way to work and look for the recessed cans and trim kits for the cans, so the electrician can install them when he comes. He was able to buy all 8 cans and trim kits for $110 which is $10 less than the electrician was going to charge for the cans by themselves, so there's even more money we saved today! I think that the framers and plumbers are going to be starting this week as well. Also tonight, both ceiling fans and hall light fixtures were delivered.

Looks like the rest of this week is kinda busy, it goes something like this:

Tuesday morning- bug man coming to spray
Tuesday later in the morning- Kindermusik (makeup class)
Tuesday early evening- flooring guy coming to measure, give quote, and show us samples
Wednesday morning- regular Kindermusik class (mom is coming with us so she can see what Kindermusik is all about before she has to bring Kaylee by herself while we are in Hawaii)
Wednesday all day- electrician coming Wednesday afternoon- playdate with a friend (hopefully we can fit that in)
Wednesday evening- go pick out vanity/ sink and toilet for upstairs bathroom
Thursday will be filled with either the electricians finishing up, plumbers and/or framers starting
Friday morning- Kaylee's tubes in her ears
Friday afternoon- more framing and/ or plumbing
I am sure I have forgotten some

So if you dont hear from me for awhile that's definitely why. I hope everyone else has a much more relaxing week than we have planned!

Grandpa survived

Today I had my big glucose doctor appointment! Let me just tell you how excited I was to get to drink that FABULOUS drink! JK
Anyways so I had scheduled my dad to keep Kaylee for me since my mom is out of town. I will have to admit I was a little worried about leaving her with him for that long by himself, it ended up being like 6 1/2 hours after i added all my other errands to the list.
I brought Kaylee over to him as soon as she woke up this morning. I fed her breakfast and then left for my appointment. Dad felt the need to give her not 1, but 2 more pieces of fruit after her breakfast. That is how grandpa "bonds" with his grand baby, by feeding her, and she absolutely LOVES him for it!

I realized when i was in the waiting room of the doctors office that i did not tell him what time to put her down for nap. So i decided to call.
I started by saying, "i forgot to tell you what time to put her down"
and before i could get the rest of my sentence out
dad says, "She's already down"
I was like "really? she usually goes down about 10:30, but since she slept in a little this morning i was going to tell you she can stay up until 11."
Dad said, "well i asked her if she was ready for bed and she went back to her room and grabbed her blanket, so i put her down."
"GOOD JOB DAD!" i replied

He has put her down in the past, but i was proud of him, he did it without me even telling him the time or giving any instructions and without mom there either.
So after nap Mary got home from school and played with her. Kaylee adores Mary! Dad decided to pawn off his babysitting responsibilities on her while he went and ran some errands. Then he got back in just enough time for Mary to go to work. When I got there to pick her up she had just finished ANOTHER snack and they were playing in the garage. Kaylee was enjoying running out in the rain and then back into the garage. Dad even got down a little folding lawn chair for Kaylee to sit in. She thought she was such a big girl sitting next to grandpa in her own big girl chair!

These are the days i am going to desperately miss while we are in Hawaii!

100 DAYS

I noticed today that I only have 100 days left until my due date. YIPEE!!! Even though it will probably be less than that, because we will be inducing early to ensure that Marcus will be home for the birth.

I am so excited to meet our new little monster. I know that the next couple of months will go by so fast and before I know it the 4 of us will be soaking up the sun (and sights) in Hawaii as a family.

Successful Weekend

Most of the time when I make lists for "weekend projects" we usually accomplish somewhere between 0-50% of what is on the list. This weekend we were rockin' and rollin'! My vision was to have the attic entirely cleared out so that it would be ready for the workers to start. Once I started working on the enormous amount of CRAP we have accumulated over the past 8 years, I began to realize that this was more than just a weekend project! Especially since we could only work on it when Kaylee was sleeping; unless only one of us worked while the other watched her. Neither one of us was comfortable with her upstairs playing with the mice poo and corpses that are on the floor, not to mention the insulation and other things she could get into up there. Even with those limitations I felt like we got a lot done. There are still a few boxes to move and some I need to go through, but overall we did a great job! Most of all I am glad that I can see the progress we made, and know that we dont have much farther to go (at least with this part).

We also had a chance to get some prices on some of the things that we will be needing to purchase for this project.

mental note: remember to take pictures to post

The process has begun

Like i said before we are working on trying to finish our upstairs and remodel the master bath before marcus leaves for hawaii. We have been busy contacting different subcontractors and figuring out all the specifics. Last night we had 3 different subs come out to look at vairous jobs. Kaylee is just amazed/ confused at all the extra "visitors" we have had the past couple of days. It is really funny to watch her as she studys them. She seems to be more comfortable with some than others. Next week, I will be busy picking out the different materials we will be needing, light fixtures, fans, bathroom vaniety, shower, tile, hardwood, etc. I guess that is the fun part of it all. I will keep you posted on things when they start happening, and even post some pictures of the ongoing project.

This weekends project is to clear out the upstairs. That space has been our "attic" for the past 8 years. And MAN have we accumulated some stuff over the years! We have to get it all out so that the rooms can be finished. Anyone who likes manual labor feel free to come on over! hahaha


i wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the Well Wishes and Encouragement you have sent! It has been really nice reading all the emails and things you have to say.

WE ARE MOVING!!!

Whenever something BIG happens in our life, Marcus feels like we need to make something that is already BIG even BIGGER!!!

for example:
When we got married almost 4 1/2 years ago Marcus took a new job which caused him to work crazy long hours and never see his new wife.
When we found out we were pregnant with Kaylee he took another new job.
A few days before the birth of our 1st child Marcus decides to buy a new truck.
Why should it be any different with the birth of our 2nd child?

As if having a new baby is not enough adventure for us we decided to add a little more "spice" to our lives. Marcus applied for and accepted another job with FedEx. Not only is it a new job, but in a new state, obviously a new job alone wouldn't be 'adventurous' enough for us. So you might be thinking now. Where? Where could they possibly be moving?
Well my last post is a little hint.......HAWAII!
Yes we are moving 4000+ miles away! Away from family and friends and everything we know. We will be living on the island of Maui, hopefully in (or near) Kahului. Marcus and I will be taking a trip to look for houses after Thanksgiving, so hopefully we can find something nice at a reasonable price. But then again that might be asking for too much. Then Marcus will be heading over to start his new job after Christmas. I will not join him with the kids until after the baby is born. We are now in the "get the house ready to sell" stage, which includes finishing our upstairs and remodeling the master bath. Hopefully all that can be finished before Marcus leaves so I don't have to worry about that by myself. Anyone know any good subcontractors?

With all that said, anyone that wants to come visit us.......COME ON! You might have to sleep in a closet but we would love to see some familiar faces every now and then.

State Trivia

This state is the only U.S. state that grows coffee.

More than one-third of the world’s commercial supply of pineapples comes from this state (about 320,000 tons per year).

This state is the widest state in the United States, when measured from east to west.

Only state whos land area is increasing.

The mountain range tops, in this state, are the biggest in the world.

This state has the highest life expectancy in the United States. Life expectancy for males is 75, for females 80 years.

It is the southernmost U.S. state

This state does not observe daylight savings time.

This state has the most isolated population center on earth. (It is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.)

Can you guess what state I am referring to?

(try not to use the internet to get your answer)