Tribute: To all that is good and bad about a little sass. My Syd is growng up!

Okay since i'm sure a procrastinator, i must start by saying that some of this blog was written and saved at different times. I'll try not to confuse too bad...


Monday, July 30
Sydney is well...Syd. I guess I should preface any explanations of her lately by first saying that she finally got her first hair cut, just 6 weeks shy of her fifth birthday. And I can’t believe her birthday is that soon either, but that's another rambling I suppose. Back to her hair... its adorable. She looks so grown up and the color seems to have changed from that beautiful baby blonde it was to this big kid-ish dirty blonde, almost totally brown. I guess what we cut off was that baby hair she had, considering it had never even been trimmed at all. It makes me sad to even think that she's grown up so much and that she's a real, independent kid these days with attitudes, opinions and thoughts of her own...some of which I’m not that into, might I add?

Her haircut:







And there are better pics in the bottom of this post, we didnt take that many at the salon. Her hair is too cute though!!!

Her attitude has totally changed, and not necessarily for the good either, lol. She's had something "Mrs. prissy" to say every time we speak to her since we got it done. And I get it...to an extent, getting such a drastic difference in your looks definitely changes your attitude-especially when you love it-but my word. It’s like with one chop of the scissors that child learned everything there is to know about life. I told her yesterday to take a good look at her daddy's hair (its shaved) and that if she didn’t stop the attitude that we'd go back to the salon and I’d make her look like him....and we'd see how much her ‘tude’ changed then...LOL. She just rolls her eyes at me and continues about the shenanigans. I think I’ve created a monster, but oh my god, what a beautiful little monster she is. Her eyes are so piercing and green. I think she has the eyes to overpower the most sad, destitute, angry person…oh my lord she's growing up and changing so fast right now.

And then tomorrow we will be going to orientation at her school...yes, she starts on Wednesday...just two days from now. Her clothes are ready, the backpack is filled and she's looking more grown up than ever...i guess all we have left to do is to take her on that first day. I know I’m going to cry like a little baby...even though she probably will not. The fact that she probably wont makes it even harder to stomach for me, but much better for her if she can uphold that promise she made to me last week and be a big girl and not be scared. I know she's going to love it...i really do. She loves other kids...and she will be fine. I just pray that the adjustment for her doesn’t really become an issue...for us all.



Tuesday July 31, 2007

The orientation went pretty well, all things considering that we were totally late. We did get there without killing each other though, so that was a plus. We just did the basic things and listened to lots of people talk but i feel very confident that i've put her in the right place for who she is. I am a firm believer that the first year of school is vital for children. They lack so much focus and drive for anything that doesnt involve play and imagination. I always thought she'd need a solid foundation for her education with out all the distractions that come in the public shcool we're districted to and i know she will get it at WCL. I did, so another 20+ years later, surely they've gotten the formula down to an exact science by now. If anything, its gotten better over the years. Funny though that the place looks exactly the same really, has the same smell [although i cant really put my finger on what that is], and it looks as much like a happy place for kids to gather, as always. Sydney's teachers are Mrs. Penny & Mrs. Kim, whom i've heard wonders about from other parents who've experienced their love and kindness over the last few years. So far from everyone i've talked with they've gotten rave reviews...

I'm feeling pretty good about it all in general. I think sydney still has those 'first day jitters,'
but after we left today she told me she was excited and she was ready to go to school. Hopefully neither she or i will fall apart tomorrow.

We went shopping for shoes, new hairbows, her new tinkerbelle disney watch, undies, socks, etc....little small stuff we still needed. Sydney was excited-but not excited at the same time. She kept saying, "Mama, I really dont want to go to school, but i know i have to," and things like that.

August 1, 2007
I'm just gonna call this day survival of the fittest. It was a difficult day, but all in all i have to give it the big thumbs up. At least we all made it home in one piece now that the day is done.

We found out at orientation yesterday that they were not going to allow any parents inside the building to walk them to class. While i dont like the practice, i do understand the thinking behind it. The director said that they wanted to avoid the upset parents upsetting the kids who are mostly okay until they see their parents crying... and remarkably while we were waiting in line to get to the door i didnt see a signle crying kid being pulled away from their cars, so maybe they are on to something here...?? So we had to drop her off at the front door where she was met by a school employee/teacher and escorted to class. She can be dropped off anytime after 7:45 and stays until 2:30.

She had trouble going to sleep last night and was up until after 10 in her bed trying to get there. Remarkably, she woke up at 6:45 with no problems. I only had to go in there once and she got right up. I guess she wanted to surprise me because she came out completely dressed with her backpack on. She came out and i surprised her with homemade strawberry muffins, which got her in a real good mood. We curled her hair and she went to eat. I could not get her to eat much though and she mostly picked at it. We took a few quick pictures and headed out.

We were about 4 cars from the door when she said, "Mommy my tummy hurts,"...who taught her that one?..lol but we assured her it was sheer excitement and 'butterflies' and she said okay. Then we got to the door. I let her out and she put on her backpack, gave us kisses and waved goodbye. I, of course, jump out of the truck and try to take pics with about 50 cars behind us, but oh well. Surely i wasnt the only parent doing so... I took only one quick pic and she turned away and went inside. She was sort of teary eyed, but i think she was trying to be so strong and big. I'm very proud of her. I was also terribly proud of eric and I who also never let the stress get us down. I never cried at all myself. Yay for us all!!!

So now i'm a basket case (no surprise, surely). I think if i could have taken her into her class i'd atleast know whether she was upset or happy and i'd not worry all day... but here i am pacing my office. I'm trying not to stress but oh my... In all honesty, i'm truly glad that its over with.

Here are some of our pics we took this morning. Our day started off with a little car trouble...hehee.

Good thing Mrs. Grace was up for the challenge.... She pushed us all the way to syd's school


Picking at her food.... which is soooo typical of her


Two of my favorite pics, me with her and syd with her daddy




Time to leave-she looks scared


"My Tummy Hurts"


Bye Ya'll...I love you. See you this afternoon.


August 1, 2007 3PM
Eric decided to go into work late just so he could pick her up this afternoon. She got into the car, smiles beaming non stop. Sydney called me a bit ago and told me a number of good things in the short time we had to talk before my cell phone took a poop and died on me. She told me of some new little girl friends she'd made already, one named Grace that she was particularly excited about. She also said that she loved her teachers, Mrs. Penny & Mrs. Kim and that she was ready to go back tomorrow after having such a good day. And the most shocking of all, she said that she slept at naptime... [and that kid has not napped since she was 18 months old...but its good. Really good, maybe she'll be more happy in the evenings, but i fear she will not be able to get into bed at night. Hopefully not though.] Then my phone died...so there is much more conversation to come this evening when i pick her up. I cant wait to see her.

I really think that she is in the perfect place for her... and i know she will learn so much.

August 3, 2007
We made it to friday...and its offically almost the weekend. Sydney is supposed to have a folder sent home today with all her work from the week in it today. I am anxious to see what they've been doing and how she's done with it all. I try, every afternoon in the car on the way home, to talk with her about her day. I always wanna know the following:
*What did you learn?
*What was for snack & lunch? And did you eat it?
*Tell me about your activies?
*Did you meet or play with any new friends today?
Seems like she gets tired of me asking all the time and 95% of the time i only get who she played with at recess...that is obviously her favorite part of school.

Getting up the last two mornings have been quite the difficult task for syd. She's so not into 6:30 every morning, so i've promised her that tomorrow when daddy and grace wake up that she can come get into my bed and we'll sleep the day away together if she wants to. She's talking about sleeping all day long, which i know she wont, but its a nice lazy saturday thought, huh? So we'll be getting our beauty rest in the morning and i'll be posting the giant "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door... although the only one who needs to read it, cant. Surely grace will have something to say about me sleeping all day... but i'm gonna give it a shot.

Baby Logan Pierce Devinny: Sent Straight From Heaven

Too funny how these things happen...a little over a year ago, our little girl was born. And apparently she had the ability right from birth to make others want for babies as well. She was the inspiration and the twinkle in the eye of one woman who is so near and dear to my heart. Maddeline DeVinny, Eric's cousin-and mine too-mother of one, wife of almost 3 years yearned for another little person to fill her heart and her house as soon as she laid eyes on Ashlyn Grace. Richard, however wasn't so sure. After all, he had no experience with infants. He met Lydia as a bouncing 6 month old. He loved her from minute one though, and Maddy too, it was obvious watching them. Many moons later, they were married and became a family of their own. He, without question, adopted Lydi soon after and the rest was history. In time Maddy convinced him that they did need a baby of their own to complete their family.

So 9 long months later, baby Logan arrived:
August 1, 2007 at 1:12 PM weighing a whopping 8 lbs. 13oz and measuring 21.5 inches long. He is the most adorable little thing. Quiet, restful [for now] and as innocent as Mondays are long. And boy...he is just like his daddy! I was too late arriving at the hospital to stay with Maddy during birth...just by a few minutes, but just as i had to leave, a nurse came out to let us know that we had an arrival but it would be a while before any one else could go in.

When i returned, i met the most precious little boy on the planet. Here is Logan, making his grand debut! Enjoy







I cant wait to spoil his little butt rotten and watch him grow up with his sister and my kids. I can only imagine all the happy times I'll get to see him enjoy and how he will brighten the lives of all who love him, particularly those of his parents and Lydia. His daddy is the happiest man on the planet today, lack of sleep and all. Tomorrow night Lydi will come and spend the night with us right after we get to take Sydney and introduce her to her new cousin. She is thrilled as well!



And on a OT side note: My blog about 'all things Syd' is still to come. It was my intention to do it today, and yesterday; but who knew I'd also have such happy news as this to share. My post is written and saved at work. Hopefully i will be able to get it finished and up in the morning if work is not a madhouse... ugh.

Since my last post...

Lets just say that things have more than improved for me. I'm feeling better-much better. I made the decision to stop taking my birth control pills, which in my opinion, were causing the severe highs and lows in mood, and making me a total emotional wreck about 75% of the time. So i tossed them, after months of thinking about it and talking about it..i just did it. I am a good week into no bcp's and I'm a much happier person, more laid back, and definitely more energetic with my girls, which is so nice right now. We are in no way TTC or even willing to chance an accident right now (well, Eric isn't), but i have to respect his choices as my husband and also that our finances are simply not in order for a third...nor our home or mental capacities with more than the two we have. I'd love more children, but i just don't see how I'd be a 'fit' mother with more right now. Simple as that...

So not too much has been happening in our lives really. We still never go anywhere much or do anything except play house all the time and try to keep our heads above water, literally...lol. Our rental house is finally fixed. All the plumbing issues that seemed would never end have finally come to a close after 2 months of constant calls saying somethings broken. We have gone a full two weeks without a call from the tenant and boy does that feel good. So that's a load off big time.

Eric's store was burglarized this Saturday night/Sunday morning. I'd love to get my hands on the creeps who thought I'd be okay if they just came in and did what ever they pleased with the place. I will not elaborate too much on the actual facts of the case for the fact that the piece of shit who did it are still running around spending money that is not rightfully theirs (and more). Hopefully the boys in blue will handle this one properly, but in this town, the magic 8-ball says, "No Way. Try Again Later." Can you tell how much faith I have in them...again though, another vocal spewage all together.

Oh and i am now a designer in training (DIT) on pure pixels.com. Everyone should go check it out and request some graphics/siggies. I'm loving it there and wanted to post the website. All the girls there are marvelous...!
WWW.PUREPIXELS.PROBOARDS76.COM

Grace is growing quickly as well in the time that's passed since my last posting. She's getting her 4th tooth these days-finally some progress. it only took 14 months to get that far. She's really battling the teething lately and i know it will only get worse before better. She is also talking a lot more lately. She is lovingly calling Sydney "Ne-Ne" and loves to discipline the animals, telling them "bad, bad," and swatting her hand like she's gonna spank them at the same time. Also, she's been doing this thing for a while where she just starts spouting off commands (and probably some insults) where its just total gibberish. Like she's trying to speak a whole paragraph in some foreign language. I think its maybe in Korean or something cause its so fast i cant even catch one phrase of what she's getting at most times. Its totally hilarious for sure...

Keep watch for my next post. It should be a goody...get your Kleenex out girls, I'm sure gonna need mine...there should be lots of sentimental mumbo jumbo and such included as I'm sitting here contemplating the next few days of my life. It will entail Sydney...everything Sydney, my tribute to my first born daughter who tugs my heartstrings each time she smiles at me...and manages to create mayhem everywhere she goes. I love that kid more than words can say. She stirs a frenzy of emotion in me just thinking about posting on all things SYD.

So for now, this is where it ends...i will be back after i ponder things just a bit more and lay out everything i do, and have ever felt for that kid... my next blog will be BYOB (as in, bring your own box of Kleenex). I will not be responsible for runny mascara or extreme emotional love for your own children that may develop as a result, I swear.

Not enough hours in a day...

I cant seem to find the time to update my blogs anymore...my apoligies.

I just wanted to say quickly that i havent stopped blogging, just have had a lot of things on my plate. I am feeling sort of down these last few days... my kiddo is sick, my money is short, my patience are even shorter, my other kiddo is acting like a madman (or woman, as it applies here), and i'm so sick and tired of the daily grind...the list goes on and on. I'm so bored with 'things' lately. It seems like i just do the same things day in and day out, which i guess is all the same for most. Normally, i'm okay with the everyday, but today i feel different for some reason.

I look to how i could change things...but when i toil over such things i ususally only end up feeling worse about the situation. I feel so powerless in the big scheme of things. I guess my life is what i've made it, but in all the happiness i've found with my husband and my kids, I still find that empty spot in 'me' and have no idea how i am to fill or close it.

My design work is a lot of what's bogging me down too, i think. I love doing it...but i'm slow right now and when i do get new work i feel so discouraged when starting anything. Sort of straddling the fence in between burnt out and bored with lack of exciting things to do. I originally started this venture in the hopes of being able to stay at home with the kids and do design at night or while they are napping, but i guess the reality of it is what really gets me. There is no realisitic way i would ever be comfortable quitting my job to do this. These last few weeks have been total proof of the fact that the volume of my work is unpredictable. And i've noticed that the more people i know learn what exactly what it is i do, that they start to do their own invites, etc and then there's no need for what i do. Basically i feel kinda like it wasnt that well thought out and i should have kept at just doing it for fun and not trying to profit from my skills. Maybe then i'd atleast still enjoy what i do...I'm considering taking a break and taking down my myspace page...but i havent decided yet.

In efforts to try and renew my spirit, i've applied myself as a designer in training at a signature site that some girls i know run. That too has been totally discouraging. I've gotten no responses as to whether they would like my help (heck, it is volunteer work) or whether they'd rather me go f-off, nothing. Atleast a person deserves a response.

I guess maybe i dont have what it takes to be a designer in general...when it relates to my company or to other things. I'm just so over that inadequate feeling in every area of my life.

Flashback: Gracie's Birthday and Party, May 27 to 6-2

The first thing that comes to mind when i even say the words that encompass the title of this blog entry: "Whew, Glad that's Over..." Among other things... Here's her one year montage i made and showed at the party too...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Her birthday itself was a fairly laid back day around the house with us all. We had Robby & Ashley come over and gave her a little cake to celebrate the day! She made quite the mess!








Plus, her papaw got to come home for a few days and see her since he'd not been here for her actual birthday and would miss her party too. We cooked out over there when he got home to celebrate the success of his first run on the road as a trucker... Funny, that's a word i'd never have associated with my dad...but he's doing it and well...for the most part. Grace was really fun out there that day, we got on the tire swing together and she loved it!



Then came the party...a world wind of mess to say the least. I'll spare you all the details, but agian, i'm glad its over.























So it was a good time. Hard to believe that she's this old already. My girls are growing up, so fast. I still cant quite understand how it happens...but it does. And i feel old....

Also, Kristy and I saw the Starfest Concert. Really, we saw Daughtry and didnt pay much attention to the rest of it. He is as sexy as always and put on a great show. We had fun, to say the least. I would post pics of that too, but the pics didnt come out too good in such a big arena.

Flashback: May 24th - May 26th

Yep, Eric is another year oldner now in the time that's passed since my last post... His birthday was May 24th, which if i remember correctly was a Thursday. I had made plans for a day out for he and I that saturday, however, complete with a baby sitter (yay!), a trip to Atlanta to Turner Field and two tickets to sit inside the lexus level and watch the game. Its only been about 3 weeks since then, yet i still can not remember which team it was we even saw them play...but anyhow, the braves lost.





Eric's mother watched the kiddos and we took in the game alone. We had a great time, which happend to include a few margaritas for me and some crown royal for him...although it was really too hot that day to enjoy them. When we got home the kiddos followed shortly behind... and much to our surprise, so did 6 kittens :0 .

Apparently, the 'outside kitties' that we sorta adopted a few years back (sisters, they were orphans) have both had a litter of kitties a few prior. Well, when we got home from the ball game we heard some weird whining noise and searched everywhere until we found a baby kitten under our lawn mower. It was stuck under there. We brought it in and slowly over the evening we've had 6 kittens (obviously from two different litters, we can tell by size and development levels) drug up onto our front porch and left by the kitties. We had to bottle feed them every 4 hours for the next 3 weeks...all i needed was more babies to feed, for real...

5 of 6, the sixth one didnt show up until a few days later


We brought the mama in, and clearly she's not interested in feeding them...


Introducing them to the girls the next morning, which was also grace's first birthday!

They were truly adorable-All tabby cats (striped) one orange and white, five black and brownish/grey striped. They each weighed less than a pound. I surely didnt want any of them to die, but they really werent drinking enough at first. I had them on a hot water bottle thing and some old baby towels in a smaller plastic tote and they snuggled peacefully each night.

We decided to keep the orange one; Eric fell in love with it immediately! From the first minute that next monday rolled around, I began trying to find an animal resuce organization to take them or help us find people who could. If there were none available we'd decided we'd have to take them to the shelter (which i do not want to do after losing our 6 wk old puppy we'd raised since birth a while back). The last thing i wanted to do was take them to an overwhelmed humane society shelter who didnt have the staff or will to feed them around the clock. I knew they'd more than likely die there. So at least there was a plan of action of some sort in place....

Tuesday rolled around (it was memorial day weekend) and i immediately started searching for groups to take them off our hands. Unfortunately most of my emails went either unanswered or came back with the same sort of replies. They all read about like this..."Sadly we are unable to take in more kittens at this time. There is an over grown cat population at this time of the year and we are at capacity in both our shelters and our foster homes. We are truly sorry, but are very thankful that you are doing all that you can to give the animals a fair chance at life." Many offered free spaying for them though, which was nice.

So after coming up basically empty handed, we turned to family and friends to help bare the load of sleep deprivation and exhaustion that i was feeling after a while. Luckily we have great people in our lives who stepped in and took some of them. Robby and ashley took two of them...two of the ones out of the 'funny' litter. They couldnt walk real well, sort of in circles. It would get better then they'd get worse...we were always afraid they'd die... Those three kitties had something wrong with them. I dont know if they were ill, or what...but we lovingly referred to them as the "Short Bus Kitties." Eric's sister Holli took the other one out of that litter back to her cousin in NC. Sadly all three of those kitties have since died. The rescue group i spoke with told me that they were likely infected with feline AIDS or FIV...since they were from outside kitties. That is apparently pretty common. Up to 50% of cats in the US have it.

Shelly and Angel took two, to keep as barn cats...right....but after having nursed them for a while they've still not let them go outside. They probably never will, hehe. We kept the one we found under our mower and he's thriving well in my living room right now. He's a lot of fun...and he's sydney's baby. She thinks she's his mama. LOL. I will be having him spayed in a few more weeks for free by the rescue group, whcich is nice. His name is "Lucky Punkin Schwebel," because Eric said he was lucky to get to stay with us...typical man comment. Syd picked out punkin...cause he's the orange one. He's now eating canned food and today we started mixing in some hard food in it too, since his teeth are mostly in by now.

Since all this happend, we've found out that there were stray litters of kittens all over our subdivision, at least four that we know of right now. There was one horny little boy cat running around here...all of the kittens are about the same age and spread out in the woods, neighbors' back yards, storm drains... they are literally everywhere. Our friends down the street own and build racecars and they found one stuck up into the motor of one the other day. They have since kept him too... ;P He and his litter are white with orange and black spots... We had another three kittens start hanging out with Dingo in the back yard, all three black with white sox. This week we've managed to catch all three of them. Two we've managed to get rid of already, one still hanging out in the crate in the garage. He will most likely have to go to the shelter tomorrow morning...sadly. But we're doing all we can here. Syd and i will be going out tomorrow evening to search for more and set the traps that our neighborh brought us. I found out the other day that our next door neighbor works at rescue group, so she's helping us out with all this now. That's nice to have.

I'm still not sure why i've developed such a heart for these animals since Rock died. I'm soft i guess...but someone has to do it, right.....?

Its been a teency bit too long, eh?

So...my last ramblings were from the mother's day weekend, about 5 weeks ago.

Shame on me, shame on me, shame on me!

I think the last month has been one of the busiest of my adult life...and while looking back on it all now, i can not even remember what most of these uber important things were. I guess that's my mommy brain functioning.

Just from those i can remember, here is a small list of the things that have happend between now and then...
*We nursed and adopted out all 8 cats
(and have still continually played cat napper and)
caught and sheltered a three more this week from other litters
*Grace turned 1 and had a big party
*My dad came home from the road for the first time...after 9 weeks away
*Sydney has learned to ride her bike without training wheels
*Eric & I were both sick with the stomach bug for a bit
*And then i got caught up in the story of Kaleb Schwade. If you dont know who he is, stay tuned, my one of my next blogs will contain his story and info about him and his family. Long story short, Kaleb is battling Shaken Baby Syndrome, and the whole world is praying that he'll win.

My job has also become more increasingly hectic lately...i find that i have little to no time to update my blogs or post on bbc or myspace at all anymore there. We've really gotten busy. Then you add on the stuff i'm doing with my design company, Creative Expressions, and you talk about being a crazy woman....i've totally lost control of my life it seems, hehe.

On a happier note, happy dad's day to all those out there! We had a great father's day. Eric loved the things we got him. He got a nice polo and shorts and a 'dad' tee. Plus a card from each of us, so he was happy. I also cooked him his favorite meal of cubed steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and pasta. So...whew, looking back...i think i'm tired. I've done a lot today.

Missing My Syd

After almost three weeks of begging to go stay with my mom and Ron down at the lake and not being able to go...Sydney departed yesterday for a 3 night/4 day mini vacation at Lake Hartwell with her grandparents. We were all just so afraid that the 'unknown' problems with her stomach would get bad and she'd be hours away from her doctors and her dad and I. Eric and I, nor my mom and Ron, we're ballsy enough to take that chance.

So as i packed her bags yesterday at lunch, I thought to myself just how quiet things would be around here. Sure she's gone off for overnight visits, even a weekend a time or two, but 4 days seems so much like forever to me. There's one thing i kept telling myself though, that she's growing up, and that there will eventually come a day where she will be a grown woman with a life of her own and no need to run to me for kisses and hugs every time she skins a knee or stumps her toe. Yes, she's only five and still a child, but i can not wrap my brain around the fact that these last five years have gone by us so fast.

I've been noticing a lot of changes in her lately...she's speaking so eloquently, a far reach from the slight lisp that she's carried her entire life. Just maturity in general is occurring right before my eyes. She has hair on her legs...and is asking so many questions about 'grown-up life'. She tells me she likes my hot pink VS bra and my panties and she has her own little boy shorts underwear. You can believe Eric nearly shit himself when my grandma and i brought those home. I guess its inevitable that she is growing up...and will continue to do so until she has a life of her own, so to speak.

And then there's Gracie. So angry and vocal all the time. So full of her own opinions, just like me. But at the same time, so cute and sweet, and innocent most of the time. I cant believe her first birthday will be in about 3 weeks. She's starting to talk a lot also, i mean really talk. She says duck, nana, mama, dada, bye bye, gone gone, hey, no no and bite bite, among other things.

I swear, these children are my reason for waking up every day. If they'd never come into my life i can not imagine where i would be. And while life is hard and presents new challenges every day, i suppose this is the nature of the beast. And at the end of the day, its all worth it to have them. I'd go through it all again, day after day...if only to feel the love they have for me just once. So as i reflect on this mother's day that's approaching, I'm thankful for my kids and their love, their health, their own personalities, all of it.... They are my everything, my every day, my all.

To any who also have children, I'd say to treasure every moment with them. You never know when god will decide that your world needs a little (or a lot of) shaking up. He can rearrange your life at the drop of a dime, as mine was for the last few weeks, or worse. Squeeze your children just a bit stronger this mother's day and know that they've made you exactly who and what you are. You're a mom, a cook, a maid, a pharmacist, a therapist, a taxi driver, a maid...I could go on and on, and these are some of the most honorable jobs out there. Enjoy it and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

Normal Daze...AGAIN!

So life is slowly going back to normal around our house, for the most part anyway...

We got Sydney's CT results back on Tuesday afternoon. What a relief to hear the doctor's voice saying that they had found nothing in the area of her tummy where she had previously felt the lump in the right side of her tummy. Firstly, to our father in heaven: I feel deep down that you put your hands on my daughter and healed what ever was paining her. I thank you for that. There were so many people from here to each other coast praying for her; I know that you answer prayer, and i thank you for that. So the doctor is putting her on a stool softener laxative powder just to ensure that she's not lapsing backing into the chronic constipation of her infancy, but other than that all appears well...thanks again, to everyone. You all have made me feel that your support can move mountains. Its so much weight off my shoulders, that's for sure.

In other areas of my life things seem to be looking up as well. I'm back to work on my design stuff now that i have all this pressure off me. I've already done quite a few things this week and i'm on track with the planning for gracie's birthday party. I finally re-designed her invitation and it exceeded my every aspiration. Its absolutely adorable. The style of it has already been picked up by a few of my customers, which makes my excitement about it so much more. I've also got the guest list (...almost...) complete. I'm just waiting on a few more addresses to roll in and i should have them in the mail by the weekend. I cant wait to see what everyone says about them at the party. June 2nd here we come.



I had some pictures made of her on sunday, in hopes of using them on her invitation. Me & Nana went to sears only to be told to come back at 5:30, which was three and a half hours later...are you kidding? So while i havent had any pictures taken at walmart since sydney was an infant (and hated them), we went there in the hopes of getting lucky and getting some good shots. Turns out, they werent terrible. Check her out, she's getting so BIG!!











So i buy the copyright usage and a picture cd from them and when i go to have them printed with the black bkgrd. #1 picture my printer calls and says they cant print my invites without a written release-which i dont have and will take 60 days to get. Grrrrrrrrrrrr great.. so i took the kids to the 'duck park' and took some there in the same dress. It came out great.

Okay, well not that much of an interesting blog, but that's it for now.

Finally Something Happy to Show

In all the chaos of Sydney's medical problems I've not had the time to post the details of our soccer team party. I must say that it turned out so much better than i could have ever expected. Everyone had a blast, me included, which was much needed since the party was the day after we had the initial doctors appointment for Sydney's tummy issues.

We had the party at the Jumpzone in Loganville. All five of the kids got to come and they had quite a time on the inflatables, that's for sure. We got an hour playtime and an hour in the party room, which was decorated and painted with awesome murals of a jungle. We had pizza, chips, donut holes, fresh fruit, juice, cake & ice cream.

Here are some of our pictures:

Me with all the kiddos on the titanic slide


Edward Hanging Out



Syd & Annalee finding some trouble to get into



All i can say i OUCH...i still have burns on my tummy
from Annalee convincing me to go down with her
on my tummy!


Syd


Syd picking at her food and Annalee actually eating


The boys eating, Jacob, Blake, Edward (L to R)


MY CREW! Aren't they all so cute?


Me & the kiddos after they all got their
trophies & goody bags! Time to go home :(


I'm gonna miss these kids-each of them for different reasons. Annalee for the way she loved me all the time-there were days when I'd have to peel the little sweetie off my legs to go home after games, Edward for his constant willingness to give his best, Blake for always running right to the goal to be the 'goalie that we weren't allowed to have, lol, and Jacob for that big smile and those blue eyes. Not to mention the fun resulting from Jacob & Blake's mischief when they are together. They are a total hoot! You can tell those boys are the best of friend and will be for life.

I'm registering Syd for soccer again on may 5th and signing up to coach, but i let the league director know that if our medical issues turned out to be a big deal and Syd wasn't healthy enough to play that i would definitely not be coaching...season doesn't start till august though, so i hope we can do it again!