BOYS......

Prom Night and Let's Go to the Zoo

I just happen to think that my son and his friend look lovely. Don't you? Prom night and his first time to drive in the city by himself......SCARY.....

Field trip to the zoo today with Emma's class. Little did we know that everyone within a 100 mile radius also thought it was a good day for a field trip. Being the good mom that I am, I also let Brady blow off school today and go on a field trip with us. I think he had fun.

Look at that face. RASCAL she is!

Checking out the giraffes.

Easter Weekend

Well, despite the fact that he had to travel through the monsoons that have decided to hit our area, the Easter Bunny made his way to our house yesterday. I will say that the Easter Bunny spent less time on his basket preparation this year and aside from gummies and gum, very little candy was to be had. Apparently he spent more time on basket prep at Giggee's house.




We made it to church with umbrellas and raincoats and unfortunately there was no egg hunt due to the weather. The kids didn't mind because they were handed bags of eggs and it really cut out the middle man.



Following church, it was off to Giggee's and Pop's house to have lunch and spend some time together. Emma managed to con Pop into a ride on the Gator (or whatever those things are) and she was thrilled. That would probably be the highlight of her Easter.



Emma and Giggee.

A girl has to have a drink.

I love this picture. I think this could be the best picture of Emma ever!

I also love the look on Brady's face.

This was a big hit from Giggee and Pop. Emma had to fan everyone.

Finally, some chocolate!

Emma's favorite flavor of all.

How in the world did my little boys suddenly get hair on their faces?

Attempting to get a picture of Emma in her Easter dress! This child will not cooperate!

Taking a picture of me while I attempt to take a picture of her. Why yes, she is in her Christmas pajamas.

Emma continues to love this monkey blanket that Aunt Jamie gave her for Christmas.

Heavily armed. Emma has been watching a lot of Peter Pan and The Black Cauldron. She has decided to keep her sword handy. You never know when you might need it.

Bo is back at work this week. The kids are out of school today and our plans include working around the house. Well, that is my plan. Their plans probably include watching their movies that the Easter bunny brought them.

Our week is ahead is considerably busy (imagine that). Emma has a postponed egg hunt, a field trip to the zoo, speech and school. Brady is going to the prom on Friday night! Oh my. Ashton has tennis tournaments and I am working tomorrow night. I'm tired already.

Happy Monday!

Friday -Catchy Title

While at my aunt's house Emma rode the 33 year old horse and LOVED it. I realize she is topless, but this girl has decided she doesn't like a shirt on right now.
My 80 year old aunt rode the horse as well.

Emma had an Easter egg hunt at school yesterday and although she was a bit clingy at first, she finally decided to get involved.

Emma and Mrs. Jackie.

The other huge news from this week is that Emma has finally moved into a BIG GIRL bed. Yes, I realize that she is 4 and has been in a crib way too long. She was so excited when she went into her room and saw her bed. She immediately looked at me and said "cheese". Of course I didn't have my camera handy and if I would have she wouldn't have cooperated with me.

She has slept in it for 2 nights now and has gotten up at 4 both nights. She has not napped in it because this new found freedom is just too much for her and she has been found playing instead of napping. There was a reason that I let her stay in a crib this long!

Our Wild and Crazy Life

This week has been incredibly crazy. I have worked 2 extra night shifts and anytime that I do, things get just wild around here. It's like our home loses all control. Adding to the stress was an unplanned doctor's appointment because Emma was complaining about her ear hurting. Dr. H saw her yesterday and since there was no sign of infection, he thinks it all stems from the different procedures she has been through the last 2 weeks. The poor kid acted like a we were killing her when he examined her ears and it took all the strength that I could muster to hold her down. Luckily (not for him), Bo was with me and was able to help with the torture. He likes to be the good guy so it was a great opportunity for him to witness what I have been going through during all of our ear appointments.

















While I am on the subject of my sweet, precious daughter.......we are entering into a phase that is not fun. She has suddenly become very difficult. This child is under the impression that she rules the world. We have had some major battles over the last few days. It's time to bring out the time out chair and get down to some serious discipline. I have to say that girls are more difficult than boys. My friends told me this, but it is so true. It's constant DRAMA with her. Everything is a meltdown! Oh how I look forward to the teen years with her:) So say a prayer that we can maintain our sanity while teaching her that the world really doesn't revolve around her.




















The rest of our week consists of dinner tonight with my aunt (yummy), soccer practice, Easter egg hunts, an IEP meeting with Emma's teachers and therapists, working another shift, attempting to gain control of my laundry, more tennis for Ashton, and so on and so on and so on!

You Are Putting WHAT in My EARS

Several years ago there was a little old lady who wrote about all the "social gatherings" in our area. Granted, it's a small town so she made do with what she had. I always recall that she ended a lot of those social reviews with "A Good Time Was Had By All." Let me just say that today, a good time WAS NOT had by all. That includes Emma, 2 Audiologists, and me. NONE of us had a good time. Honestly, it might be a toss up deciding who had the worst time. Emma has been fitted for her hearing aids and now we are waiting the money game. Luckily our insurance actually pays some on the hearing aids which is unusual. The Audiology Department recommended that we attempt to apply for a grant and see if it might cover some of the expense. I decided that might not be a bad idea and if it's available we can take advantage of it. If not, at least we tried. After leaving the hospital, Emma and I made a dash through the McDonald's drive thru and got her some fries to snack on while I attempted to make a quick Publix run. She was extremely tired and I wasn't so sure it was a good idea. Luckily the Mac Truck shopping carts were available and she was able to drive and yell a lot. They were happy yells, but yells nonetheless. Everything was going fine until we checked out and headed to the car. A sweet little man was returning the carts and he waited patiently for mine. Emma did not want to give it up. She had the meltdown of all meltdowns and I finally got her in the car seat without her hurting herself and got the heck out of Dodge. Oh Dear Lord, the drama is killing me! She slept all the way home and is now relaxing while watching a movie. She has decided that she likes laying on the couch with several blankets on her, tucked in tight. She even called for me this morning to come to her and when I did all she wanted was for me to hand her her drink that was RIGHT BESIDE HER on the table. A Diva you might say......

Can You Hear Me NOW

Let me start off with the cute pictures from Saturday's soccer game. Unfortunately the Purple Crush lost. We had 2 goals and one of those was scored by the opposing team. We are not a proud people so it was okay to accept their gift. There was a whole lot of this type of activity. I totally love the look on Lily's face. It just cracks me up.

These two were talking strategy I'm sure. Kyle was so sure of our chances of winning I heard him talking smack to the other team. I believe he told them "You can't beat us." Little did he know we were already down by at least 8 goals. I guess it's good that he doesn't really understand math yet.

The coach had just asked which way are we kicking. Notice that 2 out of the 3 got it right.

An honest goal was made!

There was also a whole lot of this going on.

And quite a bit of this.

Boo (also named Lily) had made a friend and she was distracted by his charm for the entire game.

I'm not sure but I think that Emma was giving Kyle some advice.

This look says it all.

After only 2 games Emma has figured out that there is a tunnel at the end and she is all about it. Notice she is leading off the parade. Poor thing, she just about got run over.

Another happy day.

So last week was just like most weeks at our house.....a blurr. I have been working a lot of extra which always makes life more complicated but unfortunately my last name isn't Trump and I have to do what I have to do.

Emma had her sedative ABR on Friday. Let's just say this girl doesn't handle her liquor well. She was drunk for quite a while after her procedure. The good news is that she is not as severely hearing impaired as we had feared. The bad news is that she is hearing impaired enough to require hearing aids. So the next round of fun activity for our girl is to be fitted for those and see how it goes. We are also going to reevaluate her speech therapy and see if there needs to be some changes.

She did very well with the process. She was not too sure about leaving us but they had cleverly let her drive "The Big Red Car" and she was going to the garage to have it worked on. That's when we made our getaway and I suspect there was a lot of screaming after that but that is part of it. When she woke up we were right by her side and she didn't have any problems other than just being dopey. I will say that I have a lot of respect for those nurses and doctors that work with pediatrics all the time. It is not a field that I would want to be in on a daily basis.

So this week starts out with no air conditioning in our downstairs. Why is it when it turns 90 degrees outside you find out that your air conditioning doesn't want to be a team player.......I am hoping it is nothing major. I'm also concerned about our refrigerator that doesn't seem to be as cool as is should. After working for several hours yesterday I came home and decided that it was a good time to clean the refrigerator out. Why yes, it was 90 degrees in the house, but for some reason it just seemed like the right thing to do. I tore that thing apart and cleaned it like never before. I think that may have sent it into a state of confusion and now it doesn't seem as cool inside. I guess had I left the sticky, yucky stuff inside it things would have been okay. What is the saying - Leave well enough alone......

Today's activities include, but are not limited to, school, gymnastics, housecleaning, dental appointment for Bo (who is off today), working outside, going to work tonight, and praying for a miracle for our appliances.

Soccer Star

Emma was a vital part of the team:) See how she is watching the action. It's cold and that girl looks like she is having fun kicking the ball.

The wind blown look.

Okay, she is just so darn cute.

Emma is praying before the game.

Touchdown!

I didn't sign up to play with these dirty balls.

No Kyle, seriously, I only wear a size 8.

A much needed water break.

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play....

No seriously coach, put me in.

Strategy.

Well, that was a bust.

It's okay buddy, we'll get them the next time.

Where is everybody?

In the end, it's all about being friends.