Enter At Your Own Risk!!

So Tyson had finally rolled into town about 10:00 on Saturday night, yippee!! I was right in the middle of airing all of the dirty laundry that I've had all week, when Marley woke up crying at 10:30. Being the wonderful husband that he is, said that he will go check on her. 10 seconds later he comes back to tell me that it smells like vomit in her room. I rush in there and find her sitting up and whimpering. She is covered from head to toe, blanket, & crib. I start making her a bath while Tyson gets the sheets in the wash. He came in the bathroom to check on her, and I tell ya, as soon as she realized her daddy was home, she practically jumped out of my arms and into his. She snuggled her little sick head under his neck and grinned from ear to ear. She must have forgotten that she was covered in sickness because she did not want to let him go when her bath was ready. It was so sweet! I should have known better than to think that I would begin to get my sleep again so soon. Marley was up all night with the flu. I kept her home from church and was feeling a bit nauseous myself. Tyson took Carson and Josie and all was well.

Or so we thought.

Marley seemed to be completely cured so I thought for sure, I will sleep Sunday night. Silly me, who was I kidding? Of course we couldn't get off that easy! Carson was up by 4:30am with the same flu that lasted him through the afternoon. Josie was happy as a clam most of the morning and kept trying to con me into giving her "medicine juice" (Pedialyte).

Until 3:00 of course. Carson seemed to be doing much better at this point (he asked me if his brain was going to turn to mush from watching so much tv). The bug must have jumped straight from Carson's head to Josie's. I gave her crackers just like him and the next thing I know I am hauling her to the bathroom, but not before she left her mark all the way from the kitchen table through the hallway and into the bathroom. So I transformed from Mother Teresa (doting on my kids' every need) to Cinderella on my hands and knees scrubbing away at the horrid smell in my carpet. Luckily this was an isolated incident. I was fast enough each time I heard Josie start to cry to get her through it "neatly."

And who could forget our happy little clam who started this whole mess? As you can see, she is all better and has to figure out another way to make messes.
All in all, it could have been much worse. Instead of my Cinderella thoughts being on my Prince Charming and the wonderful ball we will go to (that truly is just a dream, never coming true), I was actually thinking it could have been much worse. I am so relieved that Tyson is home. That in and of itself is huge. I am so glad it was more of a 8-12 hour flu than the normal 24 hour thing we usually get. I'm grateful that I didn't get it as bad as the kids did and that I was better and I could take care of them while they were sick. I am also grateful that all day my kids have had my undivided attention, warm towels after baths, homemade chicken noodle soup, and they were all feeling up to par by the time they went to sleep.

Ahhhhhhh, I can finally sleep tonight!!!

(PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!)

7 1/2 Hours to Go

Tyson was out of town all last week, I saw him Sunday, then he was gone again by Monday afternoon. Normally everything is fine and the kids and I have a lot of fun. I don't really know what the deal is with this week. Mabey it's the 2 nights that the kids have had nightmares at 2 am and crawled all over me in my bed all night, mabey it's the constant fighting between Carson & Josie, that my house that doesn't clean itself, or mabey its just that everyone is overly tired. Whatever it is, I only have 7 and 1/2 hours to go until I can share my burden with someone who cares as much as I do, be the cuddlee instead of the cuddler, and carry on an actual grown up conversation (let's hope I still remember how). I am very tempted to drive by myself to New Mexico and back tomorrow after church. I'm allowed a little break, right??!!

A Month of Firsts

We've had a pretty busy and exciting month. I guess the first for me is that I actually have a little bit of time to do some blogging! (Picture my face here)

Carson's First Day of Kindergarten.

He loves it! They do so many fun things and even get to cook once a week. He is a very good student and brings home the best mark for behavior every day. We are really proud of the person he is growing into. He has already stepped in and told some boys to stop making fun of a girl, showed off his CTR ring, and is a great example to his friends.

Carson loves playing Iron Man and Spiderman at recess with his friends. We are just hoping that he develops Tyson's love for school and not mine!

Marley's First (and hopefully last) Piercing.

She did so well yesterday! I was going to take her on her birthday, but Tyson talked me into letting her just have a "happy" day rather than traumatizing her. I guess I couldn't argue with that. Josie insisted on going with me and loved talking her through it like she was an old pro. I brought a sucker to shove in her mouth after the first sting, and luckily, the worst part about the whole experience was the sticky drippage all over her new shirt! Marley hasn't even touched them yet, so I'm hoping she doesn't realize they are even there for a few years at least.

Josie's First Day of Preschool.
Josie has been begging to go to preschool since the day she turned three. I remember she burst into tears the week after her birthday when we were dropping Carson off for preschool and she thought that she was going too because she was now three. I was so proud of Josie on her first day! She was so excited all morning, and even told me that I can't come because I'm not three. I thought she would have a hard time having me leave (like she is in nursery half the time), and she practically pushed me out the door. She loves it when she wakes up and finds out that it's a school day. She is a great helper and made friends quickly. I love that she loves it.

Marley's First Birthday

Our little Mo-Mo turned one on the 17th. It is so weird when you reach that milestone. It always seems like "just yesterday" that they were born and you can't believe they are this old already. I baked her a ladybug cake and I must say I have finally had my payoff when it comes to a one year old digging into their cake. There was no holding back when it came to getting it everywhere and she even shared some with me and Josie. We had Pitchers on Skype so they could witness all the action. She had a great day. Marley is actively walking most of the time and is growing smarter as each day passes.

Tyson's First Mystery Bruise

Okay, how do you explain this one? Tyson was looking in the mirror one day and he yelled for me to come and look at this. We seriously thought he had been bitten by one of the many nasty bugs around here, but we couldn't find any fang marks or an entry of any kind. He said that lately his leg had been a little sore, but nothing that he checked out. We spent about an hour trying to find something similar online to figure it out. He has no idea where he got it.

Josie's First Shampoo at the Hair Salon

Tyson and I take our kids on dates as often as we can. Josie wanted to go get our hair done on our date. So we got down there and I asked her if she wanted to cut her hair like her friend Samara's. (A cute little bob/A-line cut) She wanted to until I told her I would have to blow dry it often and she hates that enough to pass. I'm okay with that because I love that her hair is getting longer and I can do more with it. I tell you, when we walked into that salon, Josie was right up in her element. The highlight of our salon moment, was when the salon owner (Michael Bolton look-a-like) walked by and commented to me how pretty Josie is. I said, "Thank you" and "Josie, what do you say?" Her response? "That guy has girl hair!"

This girl will be one to pamper herself and will be insisting that she needs the monthly visits to the salon/spa by the time she is 13. At least I have a little while to start saving!

Ode to My Mo-Mo

I don't know how many of you know about the story of Marley, but she is our little angel baby. After having a miscarriage in December of 2007, I had to have a D&C procedure done. I started having weird symptoms with my recovery which led me to take a pregnancy test about 3-4 weeks after my surgery. After a positive result, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor because I was worried they hadn't gotten all of the tissue during the surgery. After blood tests and an ultrasound, it was confirmed that I was again pregnant, even though I had a D&C just a few weeks earlier.

The doctors found the same issues threatening this pregnancy as what caused my miscarriage. I was considered high risk and was advised not to climb stairs, sweep, or even hold Josie (who was not even 2 yet) or I could lose the baby. I had to go to weekly ultrasounds up until I was about 13 weeks pregnant (until we could hear her heartbeat) to make sure she was there and growing. Even fearing she was gone when Tyson rushed me to the hospital at 8 weeks, she was still able to pull through and overcame the odds.

It was the hardest pregnancy I've had yet and in the end, we didn't just get a full term baby, Marley was born completely healthy and happy. She is our little angel baby who has done more for our family than she will ever know.

Whether Marley is sitting on a soft blanket,

or soft grass,

Whether she is serious

Or smiling,

Whether Marley is sleeping

Or wide awake,

Whether she is pretending to be Batgirl,

Or Clarky Kent,

Whether Marley is being blessed

Or blessing others,

Whether Marley is playing in the cupboards

Or at the pool,

Whether she is all bundled up

Or wearing nothing at all,

Whether she looks exactly like me,

Or Albert Einstein,

Whether Marley is eating her first foods,

Or black crayons,

Or her first birthday cake,

Whether she was just born,

Or celebrating her first birthday,

Marley is our little sunshine who our family would not be complete without.

Happy Birthday Baby, I love you.

Day at the Children's Museum

Midland has the coolest little Children's Museum! We were trying to decide what to do when I remembered Erica talking about how fun the museum is. So we checked it out for the day. Carson and Josie had a blast as the "News Cast." The museum has of course the news room, a grocery store with everything kid sized, a Burger King room complete with plastic meals and tables, a dress-up room, a construction zone, a dinosaur dig play area with a huge sandbox, a baby discovery room and a little planetarium all inside. We had so much fun, we can't wait to go back!

My Baby Graduates Preschool

We moved the week of Carson's preschool graduation, so sadly, we had to miss it. Since we were down here in Texas with Leah, we had a little preschool graduation with the two of them together. They sang their 20+ songs that they had learned for the year and at the end had a blast throwing their caps in the air. Afterward we had popsicles and pictures.

This week I registered Carson for Kindergarten, and had another bawl-fest as I learned he will be attending all day Kindergarten, instead of the traditional half day. I guess it's better to find that out now, while I have a few months to get used to it, than in August when I have to let him go. They also do not do early days here, so it is all day, everyday. Laugh it up all you brave parents, who are excited to send your children to school this year! I have been dreading this moment from the day Carson was born.

Life in the Office

Tyson's temporary home for 6 weeks aka "the office." It was not too bad actually, like a hotel suite equipped with a full kitchen, washer & dryer, and all the Pinnacle paraphernalia you could ask for!

Our one eating area consisted of Josie's princess table. Notice the Spiderman air mattress under the other table. This is where Josie liked to sleep.

We had to put the kids to sleep in different rooms so they would fall asleep. Tyson and I were moving our sleeping beauty into the living room so we could go to bed!

Marley had her own ideas where she wanted to sleep. Apparently, her portable crib is not that comfortable; she will take sleeping sitting up instead.

Tyson and Mindy. Notice the bins of clothing behind them, and the lovely air mattress next to Mindy. This is what they call "roughing it."

Mindy getting ready to go to the airport. We had a fun visit while she was here. She took the kids swimming and for walks and we even got a little shopping in. One down, now all the rest of y'all need to come out and see us!

Goodbye Utah, Texas Here We Come!!

Monday morning we picked up the moving van and loaded er up. I can't believe I almost got a smaller one. When all was said and done, we had it packed to the very last foot. It never would have gone as smoothly without all the help from our family, friends, and neighbors. We love you guys!!

Together at last!! After a month apart, Tyson flew home on Sunday, and we said goodbye to everyone by Tuesday. He was busy working hard in Texas and I was at home packing up the house and watching the three kids. Lets just say we never want to do that again!
This is our first stop in Green River.

Josie busy at play making the best of her car seat prison. Between her books on tape, DVDs, puzzles, and toys, she was awesome for the 20 hour, 1000 mile journey.

Somewhere in Colorado. You can totally see the difference in the scenery from state to state.

And she still took naps!!

Welcome to the desert and the rest of our trip!! We drove all the way across New Mexico.

Beautiful New Mexico sunset

Mindy and Carson in the moving van. Mindy put together these little map books for the kids with stickers and pictures. It was a great idea and the kids looked forward to stopping just to put stickers in their books. Carson had so much fun riding in the big truck with dad, that he had a hard time coming into the "boring car" with Mindy and I.

We almost got blown away at the Burger Boy
just outside of Albuquerque.
Tyson always on the phone, never stops working.

Roswell, New Mexico. Couldn't miss it if you tried. Aliens everywhere!! This is by far the most interesting thing in New Mexico. I wish we had time to stop at the Area 51 museum.

YAY!! We made it! We finally rolled into Midland around 11:30pm and got some much needed rest after the long drive.

I just realized that this is the equivalent of making all of our friends and family watch our "slideshow of the cool vacation that we took!!" Ha ha ha.