There's No Place Like Home: July 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

My Momma always says...

"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get". ~~ Ohh wait, that was Forest Gump's Momma!

What MY Momma says is this:

"You can never be TOO busy"

When my Mom worked at Southern Bell AKA BellSouth, she had someone tell her that you can never be too busy and I am sure she had to tell herself that over the years. I felt that way this week, though, and I kept trying to say to myself that I will not have more than I can handle laid upon me!... aaah who am I kidding?! I had way too much going on this week!! I WAS TOO BUSY! I don't like being so busy that I get that overwhelmed feeling! AND I HAD IT!!

~Here is my friend, the Frazzled Kitty! You will see him from time to time! I think he symbolizes how I feel at times!~

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It started Saturday when I was trying to get behind the mammoth sized desk in my office at the house to work on the fax line and as I was (gently) sliding the shelf above the desk a little foreward, the whole thing toppled on my head! It hurt my noggin but the worst part was the cabinet doors opened and everything came crashing out onto the floor. It was a huge mess! Anyway, Alex came in while I was cleaning it all up and found some Chuck E. Cheese coins on the floor! CRAP! You know what came next..she HAD to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. OMG remember it was Saturday! The WORST day to go there. She had been so sick that you know we took her (reluctantly). It was worse than we imagined it would be. That place was packed, but our two little Princesses did not mind at all. They had the best time. Here are some pics from that glorious event.

It took me forever to get Alex and Avery them to look at me through this window (you know they couldn't hear me)!

We decided to take them horseback riding! ;)

And Avery met a friend while we were there!

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After that splendid visit, we were starving. The kids love the Japanese Steakhouse and SO DO WE! So off we went to the "Fire Place" (that is what they call it because they make fire). On the way there, Alex said she wanted to go to Wendy's instead.. HUH? She wanted nuggets. We talked her back into the Fire Place and off we went! They love to eat with chop sticks. Here is a picture of Alex eating her salad with chop sticks.

That reminds me of the time that one of them wanted pork chops at the fire place and I kept saying they did not serve pork chops there. Finally when they handed us the chop sticks, I realized she what she meant. Which kid was that??... I believe Avery. I might be getting old, but not too busy! ;)

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Austin was invited to participate in a Summer Science Camp provided by the Rockdale County Magnet Program. It was a pretty neat deal. They studied forensics and crime scene investigation and I was so excited about it that I asked Austin if they needed some Chapperones. He never answered me..hmm. Do you thing he is getting to "that age"? Hope not.

Anyhoo, here is where I got BUSY! (but not too busy ;) He had to be there at 9 every morning and get picked up at 12. I would get ready and head out with him as soon as Cindy got there to watch the girls. It was a rush to get there and then I headed to the office every day after that. Then, before I knew it, it was time to go back and get him! I enjoyed the one on one time with him. We ate Chick-fil-a two days because I can eat healthy there and Mom helped me with pick up a couple of days, too! See, I could have been even more busy!

Ok, you're thinking "that was not so bad" right? Well, then every day, Austin and Alex had Vacation Bible School from 6 to 9 PM! I know the kids are out of school, but we work and that was hard EVERY NIGHT! They had fun, though. That's what matters, right? But I was BUSY!

Here are some pictures from the night.

My Wonderful Friend Pattycakes with Avery!

Austin was such a big Brother!!

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Here is my newest Pizza creation! The link to the website is below it. I have a new cooking show I love. Check it out! You really have to put yourself out there with this pizza but we LOVED it!!

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/recipes/goat.html

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I had a nice surprise Thursday! Look who came to visit! It is nice when they will still have something to do with you!! I love him! He is a fine young man!

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Pics from the week...

Morning Alex!

Morning Avery!

Morning Austin!

OHH BB! So sorry we did not know it was raining!!! :(

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Have a Great Week! Til next time...

Thursday, July 16, 2009

It Was Bad, But Could Always Be Worse!

My child should not still be sick! I am extremely frustrated with a certain Doctor at "Children's Medicine of Rockdale" named Kimberly Brown (not to name names)! She did not give my baby the proper follow up care she deserved when we got back from Myrtle Beach and I believe that is the only explanation for why she ended up here yesterday!!!

We ended up at the emergency room a week after a (neglectful) visit to the (stupid) Doctor that was supposed to take care of my child. Alex had spilled some of her medicine and the (dumb) lady said that she had taken enough. The.bottle.says.take.for.10.days! She made us really upset when she did not take blood or order a new chest x-ray. She just said "I am not the one who diagnosed her with pneumonia" and "I never said she had pneumonia"! UGH! How frustrating! Well, do I need to tell you what our next move was?? We walked! I took all four of my children's care to another Pediatrician (closer to my house)! We loved her right from the start! She ordered a chest x-ray without us having to ask and was very kind and caring....Hello? Isn't that how a Pediatrician should be? Well, Alex ended up getting very sick again and off we went to the new Dr. Khalid! She drew blood and tested for flu and various other things and came up with an elevated White Blood Cell Count, twice the normal number! She sent us to Egleston Children's Healthcare of Atlanta ER. We spent the whole day (7.5 hours to be exact) and ended up with pneumonia...again.

I had Aunt Cindy and Derek with me all day while watching Alex deal with so much to find out what was wrong. She had an IV inserted into her arm which the (very nice) nurses said was going to give her arm a drink. A few minutes later, and after she calmed down from fighting all of us, she said "But my arm wasn't even thirsty!" When they started talking about Surgeons possibly having to visit, I really started to worry! It wasn't until Cindy and I took a walk to the gift shop in the hospital that I realized how much worse it could be. We saw little children with no hair pushing IV poles, one was even getting sick in a trash can! That walk with my precious Aunt Cindy really put things into perspective for us! It was so sad! I am always one to say "It could always be worse", but for some reason and in all of my panic, I forgot my own words!!..until then.

After many hours of waiting, x-rays (which included her first ride in a "rolling chair"), blood tests, breathing treatment, fluids and medicine in her IV, we went HOME, which is something some of those children will never do!

My handsome Husband carried his little angel to the car and off we went. I was so glad to have his and Cindy's support all day. I was truly scared! It is the not knowing that was bothering me! I wanted nothing to be wrong in the first place, but wanted them to find something so they could treat it because I knew something was there!

Through all of this, my Mom has not been mentioned because she was at home watching Avery for us and Anna, Madison and Maybree were with her too! It killed her that she couldn't be there, but sometimes you just go where you are needed. That is what she says. We know we had hers and Anna's prayers, though. That meant so much!

So, to all of you who have prayed for our little Alex over the past two weeks, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! We truly appreciate it. While you are praying every night, will you please say a special prayer for all of those children who did not get to go home?

Love and good health to all!

Until next time....

Friday, July 10, 2009

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Pardon my delay!! We have had so much going on! As most of you know, on the way to the beach, Alex got very sick! She ran a very high fever and had to be taken to a clinic two days in a row! The diagnosis.....

Yep, my sweet baby had it! Below is a list of symptoms. She only had fever. Did we catch it early before all the others had time to rear their ugly heads? I like to think so!

She, along with having blood drawn, had to have a chest X-Ray. I was with her when she had it done. She was such a little trooper! Here is what normal lungs should look like..

And this is what hers looked like! I just knew something was wrong when I saw what looked like smoke blown into her lungs.

Well, after the long ordeal, two shots in the behind and a trip to the drug store, she actually went outside for a bit.

I was certainly happy to see the smile!

Avery and Austin were having fun in the pool!

Avery at the beach!

Pa, Alex, Avery, Derek and Autumn

Derek and Avery

Autumn getting some sun.

We went to the Boardwalk for some amusements. Alex and Avery really had a great time!

We went on the teacups and I got some pics of their dizziness!

I thought I would post this picture! Do you think anyone actually wins these big bears?

Alex on the cars.

And Avery.

Avery on the swinging boat.

Autumn and Austin on a dizzy ride. They were going really fast. I had to take a lot of pics to get one.

Here are some pics from the pool.
Alex continued to improve, but developed blisters on her tongue that probably would have put any adult in the bed! She was so tough!

...and the beach.

Me and My NooNoo (Alex)

Me and Shelly Bear (Avery)

Autumn and Avery at the amusement park. What you do not realize in this picture, is that Avery was getting ready to punch Autumn in the face (probably because of the carpet burn Autumn put on her forehead the day before)!!

These girls love Amusement Rides!

We went to the water park and the following pics are from that trip!!

I love this picture of them chatting at the kiddie pool.

My sweet boy posing for his Mommy!

And my sweet girl!

Alex wanted me to take this one!!

Avery: "Don't tell anyone what I am about to do to you"

She is pretty rough with Austin! Must be the wrestling they watch together!

Ganky and Alex

Austin on the slide (left)

And Autumn and Derek on the slide

Pa was so attentive to the girls' every wish! He is the best!!

Whatever Ganky was taking a picture of... you probably saw it on her blog! http://www.blogger.com/www.theycallmeganky.blogspot.com

Avery is fearless! She went bungee jumping two times and never got scared! Here is the video of her and Alex bungee jumping the first time!

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Vv5pNB95M

Alex was a little scared, but still loved it!

They actually surprised me on the teacups! Alex was spinning it really fast!

Ok, Alex was excited to drive her very first go cart! She was tall enough.

....but, Avery was not! As I said before, she is fearless and really wanted to drive too... :(

So, Ganky and Avery went to find something to occupy her while Alex stood in line...forever!!!

She Finally made it and boy did she drive well!! I was surprised. I saw some boys older than her crashing all over the course! There is a new generation of "woman drivers" coming people! You need to worry about the boys I saw!!

The girl she met in line that wanted to drive with her. She let a little boy go in front of her so she could ride with Alex!

The whole week, we knew we would end up here. Our favorite buffet at Myrtle Beach! These people really know how to feed you "buffet style"!

Outside of the restaurant, Alex and Avery had to have their picture made with the dolphin!

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Now, I will go back a little, because before our trip, we played in a four day ball tournament and I believe my girl, and her Daddy who is her coach, deserve some recognition! Our little ball team is TOUGH! They won the Cam-Sports World Series! They never even lost a game! Here is a picture of the team and I have two websites now for them because I am eventually going to bring the one down that is charging me and just have the blogspot site for them. The sites are:http://www.georgiaprowlers.com/ and http://www.georgiaprowlers.blogspot.com/

Autumn hitting (just before she got hit and sported a MAJOR ball-sized bruise for the vacation week).

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Derek's Mom and Dad came over for "belated" Father's Day (since they were on vacation and we did not get to see them), Derek's Birthday and his Mom's Birthday (June 26th and 27th). Here are some pics from that visit.