Apron Give Away

Check out the following link to enter to win a very cute holiday apron.

http://pennyraine.com/blog/2008/09/another-holiday-apron-give-away-contest/#comment-1638

A Trip to the ER

The results of a "hard" days work....

Zach showing how tough he is...

Today was a nerve wracking day for sure!! I went to a friends house to have my hair cut. I brought the kids because they have a pool. All was fine until it was time to wash my hair .

My friend was just starting the sink water and the screaming started. We made it outside to high pitched squeals and Shay yelling "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH!! ZACH IS BLEEDING!! MOM!!! ZACH IS BLEEDING!!" Well, my heart just stopped. They where coming out of the pool and Zach was COVERED in blood.

I am sorry to say, I jumped on Shaylin for her continued screams. I know she was scared but I needed calm to figure out what happened and what to do next. I ran in the house grabbed paper towels, than listened as Shay told me what happened.

Well, the youngest girl found some billiard balls and decided to throw them in the pool. Well Zach's head got the brunt of the purple # 4 ball. My friend helped me rinse Zach off and brought him to the local fire house to be looked at. By the time we made the 2 minute trip his head had stopped bleeding. They gave me some ice and told me to bring him to the ER. They could take me but it would be a $600.00 bill. (By the way, my sister was at my friends house too. So the kids where not left unattended.)

We got back to my friends house, I collected Shay and zoomed home for Daddy, tissues, and a pair of shoes for Zach. We left his in the rush. In all of this, Zach kept saying, "I wish this was a bad dream and that I would wake up and it would be over." Than when we got to the firehouse he asked, "Mom. can I get a toy after all of this is over. I think I have been a good boy." That made us laugh. It broke the tension.

Well we checked into the ER at 5:05pm. They gave us some fresh ice and and new towel for Zach's head. It was pretty busy in there. It was over an hour before we where called. When we finally got called back, we heard that they had 30 triage beds and they where all full. There was this lady having massive chest pains on a bed in the hall. It was really freaking the kids out. She was crying out and rocking back and forth. It was scary.

They sent us back to Minor care. We watched the sport highlights on the news. The one highlight for all of this is when Zach found out that the Dolphins won today. (Daddy told him on the ride over and he finally cracked a smile. From then on he did better. He just needed a little boost. Shay was really good with him too. She held the ice on his head for the ride over and talked to keep him awake.)

Well, we finally got called back at Minor care. I went back with Zach. Steve and Shay stayed in the waiting room. A nurse came in and cleaned the wound. Than a really nice DR came in to talk to Zach. He dripped litocane in the wound a few times to numb it up a bit. Than when Zach was a little numb he broke out with the needle. Zach was trembling in fear. But he did everything the DR told him to do and didn't cry or move. He got 5 stitches. I think he kept expecting it to hurt more than it did. Once it was over he was good. He kept asking when we could go to Walmart to get that toy. It was 7:30pm.

Well, after we came home and ate dinner, I ran to Walmart. I needed Tylenol for Zach all I had was Motrin. So he got his toy. We ran into one of his friends mom and his friend had cut his leg open with a utility knife shortly before Zach got hurt. We met them in the band-ade isle.

Zach gets the stitched out on Monday the 29th. We are going in for his well check up that day, so they will have a little extra work to do that day.....

All in all it was a good day. For what happened, there is minimal damage. The worst is the stress we all went through. And Zach's pain of course. But he said it was worth it to get the toy........

Oh, I did apologize to Shay for yelling at her when it all happened. I explained that I understood that she was scared but that her screaming was freaking out her brother more and I needed her to tell me what happened. She apologized to me for freaking so bad. Not that I can blame her cause I was freaking out too. She just didn't know it.

So how was your day????

Shay's 13th Birthday Party

Opening Gifts

Friends watching the fun

Pedicure Time!!

More foot soaking.

Boys checking out the gifts.

A Teenager!!!

Today my first baby becomes a teenager. Shay is turning 13 today!! We had a party with her friends yesterday. They played games and then I filled up tubs with warm water and foot soaking crystals for pedicures. They had a blast!! Shay got a few surprise gifts. The biggest being a "Vero" Bradley purse that her grandma made for her. It is so pretty!! The girls just loved it. They all said it was better than the real thing because it was made with love. I agree!!

I will post pictures of the party later. Its a little after midnight and the camera is in my room. I don't want to wake up Steve. He took some medicine before bed. He got stung by a wasp and has tons of little bites all over him. I am not sure what chewed him up but there is a trail up his legs and back. He must have picked something up on his towel when he was in the hot tub last night.

Shay has decided to make dinner tonight for her "real" birthday. Grandma & Poppy didn't come over for the party today. Grandma was very sick. Poppy's birthday was Friday. We are waiting until Grandma feels better and can enjoy the celebration to have dinner with him. But she did say she would try to come tonight for dinner. Shay is making lasagna & garlic bread. (Her favorite.) I'll be on hand to help her out. But she wants to make it all herself. She is growing into a fine young lady.

Well, I need to try and get some sleep. I am fighting a sinus cold and have a hard time sleeping lately. Between the sinus pressure and the back pain I don't sleep much these days... Hopefully my FMS will calm down and my back pain will ease for a spell.

Have a good night all. I will post pictures after church.

Doing better this week

Shay working on Math-U See

Zach working on Math-U-See

Well, this week has been the best week we have had since we started homeschooling. I think I have Steve to thank for that. Last week Zach refused to do his work when I asked him to & it ended up in arguments everyday. So Daddy stepped in and now I ask three times, give a time limit and if it is still not done the work become homework and that is over seen by Daddy.

Well Friday was a Daddy day. Zach was mad because Shay was spending the night at a friends house for her friends birthday. So to punish me, Zach refused to do his work for me. So, I took it away and Daddy took over after work. It wasn't pretty. Zach sat at the table until 8:00pm doing his work. He got a short break for dinner and that was it. He told Daddy it was funner having class with Mommy......

So, this week has been much better. Shaylin is still flying through her work. I rarely have problems getting her to do her work. I have problems keeping her busy after she is done. (No tv or computer from 10am - 6pm) Zach is getting his work done faster than he normally does. We will go to different thrift stores of they are done early. I think he likes bumming. He hopes he will get a new toy to bring home. Usually not the case but it doesn't stop him from asking.... ;-)

Down To One

One last playful swat.

Angle our cat of 12 years.

Buddies.

Angel stretching out waiting for a string to play with.

Shaylin saying goodbye.

Yesterday was a hard day. We turned in Shaylin's cat that she has had for 12 years. This was a hard choice to make and we all felt it. But she had taken up peeing on the bathroom & kitchen rugs. And the bench seat in the kid's bathroom. We gave her a litter box of her own and would keep her in Shay's room when we would leave the house. But as soon as she was let out, she would head to the bathroom and the rug.

So, after church on Sunday Steve came home and picked up Angel. He got Shaylin from late service at the church and they headed to the humane society. We figured it would be easier to do it right away instead of letting Shay get reattached.

While at the society, they walked through the adoption room. Steve said we was tempted to bring home a new cat but didn't. They did realized that Roxie was not there. She has been taken already. I just got a call on Angel. They are verifying her medical records. She will probably be adopted soon by a senior. She just needed a home where she was the only cat. I know she will do better where she is going.

So we now only have Carley. I feel sorry for her. She has lost both of her house mates in a weeks time. She is asking for more attention and is looking for Angel. That is the one reason Steve considered bring home a cat. But we will stay a single cat family for awhile.

Pictures of the Kids during sewing class

Shay is watching Zach use the serger for the first time.

Shay is cutting out pockets for her apron. After all that hard work,
she decided she didn't want them after all.

Grandma Jean is teaching Zach the difference between pressing and ironing.

Shay finally got her turn with the serger.

Preparing for a Hurricane

Well, if you have seen the weather forecasts lately you know it has been busy in the Atlantic. For us it is a waiting game. Do we board up or not? Well, at dinner we were discussing if we should evacuate or not. I am nervous just thinking about a big hurricane hitting us again. The sister hurricanes of 2004 at still a vivid memory for me.

Zach asked if we would go stay at Poppy Andre's work again. That is where we road out Francis. Steve & I in unison said "no!" It was nice to be able to stay there when we did but it sure was scary!! Just watching those huge bay doors breath in and out was freaky!! Than as the eye of the hurricane came ashore, we got the bad side and a tornado stuck the building we were in. It ripped a section of the roof off. The poor people in that office got soaked. We were huddled in a small interior office inside of a warehouse. Thank goodness the kids were sleeping. The four adults wished we were. We were with my in laws. As the eye hit the radio station went out. So we had 10 minutes of radio silence. Talk about nerve wracking. It was our only link to the outside. I was so happy when the winds started dying down.

Zach celebrated his 4th birthday in the aftermath of that storm. Shaylin celebrated her fourth birthday during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Now we may be sitting out Hurricane Ike for her 13th and Josephine for Zach's 8th birthday. The fun we have living in Florida!!

Well, Steve is out securing our new fencing to the porch rails outside and making sure it will withstand the coming storm. I will be taking inventory of our canned goods and possibly running to the store for more. I have to check to see what we have in the deep freezer that will hold us over. We are also filling up our gas tanks. Steve will get propane for the grill tomorrow. I got really good at cooking on the grill with my stoneware after the 2004 hurricanes. We were some of the last ones to get power back. We had trees that needed to trimmed back and lines that had to be restrung. It will be an adventure in homeschooling with no power. The poor kids. They wont be missing class like the rest of the county. hehehehe. At least they will have something to fill the time. When its flooded outside and to hot & humid to play outside you need indoor activities. I think we will get further ahead in our schooling.

OK, that is it for my ramblings about the coming storms. I just needed to express my fears and concerns somewhere. Not to mention the killer headaches that are coming from the lower barometric pressure we are having right now. UGH!!! I hope everyone stays safe. We will keep you updated on what our plans are as the time grows closer to make our final plans.

Our Sewing Projects

This is my apron I made.

Shay made this one.

Zach made this one.

We sure had fun making these. Zach has had his done for weeks. He has made a pillow for Angel to sleep on, case with zipper and all and is now working on a tote bag. Shay started working on Christmas ornaments today. And I started my gifts for my family. Sorry no hints...Other than my back is sore from cutting for 2 hours!! ;-)

I will post more pictures of the kids sewing later.

Sad Day Here

Today Steve brought the youngest of our three cats to the Humane Society. It was a hard choice to make. The oldest one has not been happy since we got her and started peeing all over the house. So we gave Shay the option to keep her in her room to see if the behavior changed. It seemed to have done the trick.

Yesterday I found the bathroom run was stained. It seems that Angel peed again. We thought it was Roxie. So we decided it was time. I have been fighting this for 3 months enough was enough. Zach cried and so did Shay.

Well wouldn't you know, we found out it was Angel who peed not Roxie. After a family meeting and family vote, we decided to turn Roxie in. Just to see if Angel would do better. Roxie never truly fit in with the other cats. Where Carley and Angel got along great. Carley is the coolest cat around.

Well, Steve is at the Humane Society turning in Roxie right now. Its sad. And Zach was a great trooper in all of this. I think we will be down to one cat soon. I am hopeful I am wrong and that Angel changes her ways. If not we will turn her in too. The mess is just too much to deal with. Roxie had her own issues. She would poop next the litter box instead of inside of it. I think Zach was tired of cleaning up after her. He gave her a hug, took a picture with her and went with daddy to turn her in. He didn't want to see his sissy cry anymore because her cat was leaving. He said it would be harder to give up Angel than it would to give up Roxie.

Goodbye Roxie. We love you and will miss you very much!!!!