Happy Thanksgiving and all That :)

Well once again we have been up to everything...We had a great visit with the Clayton's when they breezed through town on the way to CHOP. They were allowed in the house to watch football once Chris explained to Noel the the Redskins are from DC LOL, kidding Noel;) Anyway Tatum and I also got to hang downtown and take in a museum with them one day, lots of fun they are a great bunch. The girls really had a great time together.

Emma is rocking and rolling in Kindergarten her first report card was good and she is making some great strides towards reading. Tatum is going to transition to the Child Find program in Feb and also move to the three yr old class at Day care, she is doing awesome. Tate is signing songs finishing sentencing and general making great progression in her learning.

I think our main goal with Tatum is to keep her healthy for her upcoming sedated echo she seems to love to hang on to a cold all winter long and they love to not sedate her...errrr anyway I am about done with Christmas shopping but I have no desire to decorate anyone have a motivators??? I am sure it doesn't help that I have spent the weekend sick, AGAIN.

Fall Fun

I know it has been a while again, but like always we are super busy. I actually have not been feeling very good and last night I ended up in the ER. Nothing to worry about I got tons of antibiotics ( even an IV full) and I am going to make it.
I had to take a ambulance from work to the hospital, since I work in Montgomery County the ambulance would take me to the hospital closest to my work. That hospital was on a code yellow so traffic was being re routed to a hospital on the other side of Bethesda. I was so not thrilled about that since it is way far from my house, we live North in Frederick Co. I somehow managed to talk the ambulance drivers to take me cross county lines to FMH instead of Suburban...not bad for someone in total pain huh... Anyway that has been the excitement for this week so far and it is only Tuesday.

Friday I meet with the lady from Child Find about transitioning Tatum into pre-school in Feb, I can not believe my baby is turning three. She is really progressing well , she knows Mommy and Daddy and uses our names and she is a terrific when it comes to "Old McDonald had a Farm" we are in one of those new things everyday phases...

Two weekends ago we went to a WS hayride on Saturday and On Sunday I took the girls to Baltimore and had lunch with Autumn , Aspen and Logan before Aspen and Logan caught a plane back home. It was great to see them and the hayride was a blast. I love all these WS events the kids are great and Emma always has a blast meeting new friends. There was a little girl at the hayride and no joke she could have been Tatum's twin just a little older...they were super cute...Next week Noel and her family is stopping through on there way to CHOP...so excited!!!

Month at a glance...

This has been another one of my fast moving crazy months, I can not wait until Friday there is nothing better then the end of the month coupled with Halloween...sounds like a recipe for nothing but fun :)

Anyway... This month we have had cast removal....yep Emma's foot has healed and she is moving around just like a normal crazy 5 yr old. We also have resumed gymnastics, I think missing that was one of the worst things for Em...... you can see in the pictures from one of our park visits that the cast really slowed her down a bunch...ha-ha. All her teachers were amazed at how well she did.

Last week I broke my toe, yeah fun I know to bad there is nothing I can do about it, other then that we have all been healthy... darn little toe is painful.....

The past few weekends we've managed to visit the park, a pumpkin festival, the neighborhood Halloween party and High School Musical 3.
Carol and I took Peyton and Emma Sat. after gymnastics during the rain storm. We got lucky because we went to an early showing so it was not crowded...I heard it was pretty crazy by the 3:00 showing. I loved the movie and would totally recommend it...LOL I love all three of the HSM movies you really have no choice in our house. Chris was pretty broken up he did not get to go see it, you know he is a big fan of Sharpay...lol

The pumpkin patch we visited had old tractors, hayrides, face painting and pumpkin picking of coarse. I think the best part about the place we go to now is that it is free to get in and we paid a dollar for the moon bounce and 2 for face paining. Pretty good deal if you ask me and the pumpkins were not to pricey either.

We went to the hood party with Dagan's and Yvonne's family Saturday evening, the girls had a great time together...I think they are gonna be a pretty funny little group, they are all just looked to cute. After the party the kids carved pumpkins with their Dad's while the ladies went to a haunted house...It was fun to do something different and the ghost tour thing was really pretty cool and interesting...We are officially ready for Friday.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Emma wants to wear the same thing Friday night. I am not sure if Tatum is going to be feeling that Tinkerbell costume again she was not really feeling it. I do have this Princess dress that Dagan gave me that seem very comfortable that I have on standby ;)

Other happenings...Emma has read her first book, I think it is more from memory then reading but she is really trying, I can not believe how much she has learned since she started school, it is amazing to watch. Tatum is also doing really well she is talking more everyday...She has about 10 words now and finally two of them are Mommy and Dada, Her favorites are Cow and cool... She is a riot.

hopefully....

the link to Chris racing is fixed :)

Chris' Racing Chronicles...Thanks Kyle :)

Chris' friend Kyle has faithfully helped Chris out with all his racing last year and this. He has actually put all his pictures from the races together with a write up and posted it to a website. So for all you gear heads geeking to see Tinkerbell ( Tes' Husband) or if your just interested in what exactly it is we do at the track here is the link to Kyle's site.

I think I could have gone my entire life without reading in the post how much money (that we do not have) Chris has tied up in Tink...oh well ,I guess all hobbies are overpriced :)

http://www.carandcaboodle.com/trip-planning-travel-tips/go_racing_with_the_family.html

Something to live by...

"Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect – and I don't live to be. But before you start pointing fingers… Make sure your hands are clean. "

What a great quote from Bob Marley…

Lately I have really been examining my own life including those people that I have surrounded myself with. It is funny how the one’s who make the most admitted mistakes seem to be the most real. I guess this is a lesson you learn with age and at the ripe ol' age of 33. It is a lesson I am and have been learning for the last few years.

The second question I have been pondering is “Do as I say, not as I do” now I know we all have been here before but is this really a good saying to live by…Do I really want my girls to see me judging/gossiping about people for thier imperfections when we all have them. I want my kids growing up learning that no one is perfect we all make mistakes and you stand by the people you love through thick and thin no matter what.

If I am at home bashing and judging I am only hurting myself and creating a false sense of truth for my children. As they get older they would ask, or at least think to themselves, “Wow, that adult made an admitted mistake but even worse their “friends” are not being supportive but rather judgmental” this is not a good thing to create. I guess my bottom line is we all need to remember as adults we are the example so ask yourself, are you living in a way where the children and teens in our lives see a good example or just a lame excuse for adults doing what they want and getting away with it?

October Already...

Wow this year is just flying by!!! This is a busy month for us we have Tatum's infant and toddler reviews and we start prepping for her transition into the special pre-school program in February. I guess because November and December are crazy months for the school system we are going to try and get most of her transition meeting squared away early, that is the plan anyway I guess we'll see how it all really pans out.

Emma gets her cast off on the 14 I really can not wait for that day. Actually she has been pretty good about the situation but if she gets an itch look out!!! She is not able to attend gymnastics with her cast so Saturday morning are the hard part right now. Last weekend we went to the library instead of gymnastics and this weekend I think Chris is going to take her to play putt putt. Emma learned to play while we were at the beach a few weeks ago and suddenly it is her new favorite sport...Ahhh kids and putt putt need I say more :)

So as for what we have been up to, well last Sunday Chris raced Tinkerbell he did well, we all went up and watched then went to His Mom's house while Chris cleaned up. It is nice that Terry lives so close to the track it makes it much easier to be there with kids knowing that you can leave. I did get some pictures hopefully I'll be able to post them this evening while watching the great VP debate LOL...

This week has been a nutty one at work, I know it is always a nutty one here but with the elimination of down payment assistance programs as of 10/1 it really put a spin on the loans closing in September using these programs... But now we can look ahead to October and keep our fingers crossed that our economy can pull out of this one... Nothing like market watching all day...:)

I am going to try and get those pictures up tonight, seriously :)

Pretty in Pink

Today was a little nutty I woke up called the Dr.'s office got the numbers to the orthopedic offices and started calling. The first place I called could fit her in at 7:40 this evening...yeah right!!... the second place could take us at 10:30am, sold, we made an apt with them. Turned out they are a pretty good place so I picked a winner. By this time is was 9, I had to drop off Tatum get the GPS from Chris's work ( I get lost with it too) swing by the hospital to get the films of Emma's foot (that i had asked for oh about 90 times before we even left on Sunday) get coffee and to the apt.

I somehow managed to do this including Starbucks and get to the appointment on time. Best of all I was walking out to the parking lot after picking up the x-rays and even got to plug my so mad at the ER bit...that is a long story and typical ER...errrr. Thanks Nikki for the great directions, she was my phone GPS while driving ;)

So we got to the Doctor and we were in and out in under an hour with a terrific hot pink cast and an appointment to have it removed in three weeks...I love them!!! The prognosis is this she fractured the bone on the top of her foot near the big toe not the small one and it is pretty small.

The Dr. told us it was a small crack but so in your face you just have to cast it. She is able to walk so that is a good thing the shoe from the doctors office was just huge an it was the xs so we cut one of my Crocs to fit it and that is how she walks. Gotta run and get Tatum in bed... she wore her glasses long enough for a pic...

If it is not one thing it is another...

This has been the most beautiful weekend you can tell fall is in the air. Much cooler then last weekend. We were at the beach and it was pretty warm especially Sunday. We did make it by the WS picnic on our way home but it was much later. Lucky for us there were still a few families around and I got to give Heather a big hug!
We had perfect weather yesterday for our neighborhood garage sale, I do not think it was a busy as the spring one but I did manage to get rid of a good bit of stuff. Chris also took Tatum to pick up her new glasses yesterday, we had gotten to take the summer off from glasses but I think they are now back for a while. To be honest so far she wants nothing to do with them, this should be pretty fun...
Last night we were hanging out playing games with our neighbors and the kids were playing downstairs, sounds pretty typical except this time I guess the kids were jumping down the stairs why who knows but we all did it at one time or another...anyway Em landed bad and broke her foot. That is about all I can tell you about it, we knew last night that she hurt it but were not sure if it was broken. This morning when she woke up and could not walk we decided to get it checked out. I took her to the ER while Chris stayed home with Tatum. Good thing for us we did not really have to wait long, after 3 x-rays the doctor told us it was fractured and showed us where. The fracture is on the bone before the pinkie toe on the top of her foot right where the bone ends and her toe starts. I hope that make sense... She came home in a soft cast and I'll call her doctor in the morning and try and get in to see a orthopaedic...Should make for a great Monday...

3rd Angel Birthday

As many of you know from reading my Blog my Friend Duffy passed away three years ago today. He was on a transplant list when this happened, it is always hard when you lose someone especially when they are so young.

For the last 3 years Duffy's Mom has been doing all she can to raise awareness for organ donors and to keep Duff's legacy alive. I am so proud of the things that Mary Jo has accomplished and I want to share it with all of you...

This is a email from Mary Jo that was sent out today:

As most of you know I have been working hard since February to accomplish several goals for transplant patients. I wrote a proclamation declaring September 2008 Organ Donation Awareness Month which the Governor signed and I have been busy this month getting the word out. I have spoken to several groups and I will be speaking to the Driver Ed students at high schools in Alamance and Guilford County as well as setting up booths at different locations through the remainder of the year to promote organ donation.

Today, Duffy's 3rd Angel Date, we officially opened the Duffy Collins Organ Transplant Foundation bank account to help defray costs for transplant patients. The Foundation is a non-profit, tax exempt foundation and every penny you give is deductible. We have almost 100,000.00 people on the transplant list and 50% of them will die while waiting for a transplant. My goal has been to bring awareness to the need for organ donors and also to help defray the costs of a transplant. All of you probably have insurance and you know what the insurance company will pay and what you have to pay out of pocket. For transplant patients it is a tremendous amount out of pocket and most families do not have those funds. After a transplant the anti-rejection drugs are as much as $5,000.00 a month and the recipient of the transplant will have to take them for the rest of their life. That is what this foundation is all about. These people need financial help!!

Chris and Jennifer Benkosky, owners of Electrical Technologies, Inc. in Alamance County made the first contribution to this foundation today. Their compassion and caring has officially opened this account with funds. The picture attached is a copy of their check being handed to an employee of MidCarolina Bank for the first deposit to the Foundation. Please give them a hand for their caring and help.

I am asking all of you to tell your friends, neighbors, church, and any other group you might be associated with about this foundation and help us raise money for these patients.

The address for the foundation is as follows:

Duffy Collins Organ Transplant Foundation

P. O. Box 128

Burlington, N. C. 27216

I thank you all for your help and support this year.

In January 2009 my senator will be introducing a bill to make September Organ Donation Awareness Month for North Carolina. A law will keep it on the books and a proclamation has to be renewed every year. Keep on praying that I can get this done.

Way to go MJ, I love you

Welcome Baby Brenan

I got a text message From Tiffany, Whitney's sister, this morning. The message read "Brenan Macey arrived suddenly ( less then 2 hours of labor, labor that Whitney was aware of anyway ) 7lbs 3oz and 18in. All are doing great!" I'll send a picture or update if I hear anything else.

I spoke to Whitney on Friday and she seemed all ready but not looking forward to labor, like anyone does. She is really missing Blake and still blaming herself for taking him to MI, I tired to give her a little pep talk so hopefully it worked I know it must be so hard for her.

What happend to summer??...

Well the first week at school seemed to go well for Emma, she loved it. Thursday afternoon I got a call at work to come pick up Tatum, she has pink eye, by the time I got through traffic to get her I could pick both girls up. Emma had just gotten off the bus and was not ready to leave she got mad at me for coming to early. Oh well I gave in and let her stay, Steve picked her up when he got his kids I still had way to much to do to waste time arguing with her.

Anyway Chris is racing Tinkerbell this weekend and I am not going to make it to any races, Emma went to the track with him this morning. He is racing again at the end of September so I think we'll make a weekend out of it then. Tatum is all eye gross a bit congested and super clingy so I decided it would be easier to keep her here, not to mention I have a ton to do around the house. Tomorrow is my day to do NOTHING but enjoy the last day of the pool day so I have alot to get done today. We are also do the neighborhood triathlon tomorrow... I am only doing the bike part and that alone may kill me. LOL

Softball is also over so no more games on the weekends...Kinda sucks I though the last game was the best, or at least my best haha we won 2 games all season, no worries we were the most fun team ;)

Ok well I guess I better get started on my day so far all I have done is a bike ride.... Oh yeah Whitney is supposed to have her little baby girl this Friday.

Kindergarten...Already?

Well Today was Emma's first day of Kindergarten, wow where did the time go. She was in the kitchen and dressed faster this morning then I had ever seen before, she even brushed that hair. We( Ma. Walt, Dad, Tatum and Me) arrived at day care to see Emma off on the bus...It never stopped so the kids ended up taking the center shuttle over to the school no biggie same thing happened yesterday but it seemed to be fine for the way home... This is a picture of Emma waiting for the bus this morning , and the other is Alex sending her off. The kindergartners here have a staggered start, meaning they all go random day Mon-Wed (IE: Alex went to school yesterday and Em stayed at the new center ) all the kindergartners go together on Thursday.

Emma was so grown up I could to believe it, she did not even want me to come have lunch with her. After following her around all morning with a camera and crying a bit we had to let her go. I am going back when they get out to catch her getting on the bus back to after school care. Other then the bus kinks so far so good the new daycare and school are working well. Until the newness wares off....

So while I wait I am cleaning, working ( brought a little bit home) and trying to put a room together for Tatum. After 2 weeks in her toddler bed she is moving on up to the daybed from the guest room...does that make the guest room a full on computer room/ office now since there is no bed?...

Anyway in order for this to happen I first have to find the daybed under all the clean laundry that needs folded, then take apart the crib and toddler bed that are both currently in Tate's room, at that point...well that is where I am...and I am bloggging instead of finding the vacuum... Anyway I'll have to update more later when I have the after school pictures of Em, and maybe Tatum's room LOL...

We're back....

It took me a while to post since we got home from the beach but it seems I have just hit the ground running.... Our little mini girls vacation was great, the girls LOVE the beach. Tatum was a trip everyone around us must have gotten a kick out of watching her run around and dig in the sand. Both girls love the water also. Wed my Mom and I took the girls to the beach, we meet friends from our neighborhood that were down for the week and hung out with them for the day and on Thursday I took the kids to Bethany for the day. Thursday we meet up with Chris' sister and her family for they day since they were down for the whole week. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins on the beach. thanks to the help of Uncle Joe Joe they dug a great big hole that was great for containing kids. From now on when I go to the beach that is my new first priority... I wonder if Tate would have napped in there if I tried...nahhh who needs a nap at the beach!!!


Friday we hung around in Dover and Saturday morning we headed home, Em was so ready to see her Dad she had been at my Mom's since the previous Sat.

The rest of the weekend we spent just hanging around home Emma had a birthday party on Sat and we hit the pool for a bit on Sunday.
This week has been a bit of a blur, I have had tons to do at work, Emma got her Kindergarten Teacher assignment and Tatum has slept in a bed every night this week ( I do not want to jinx it). I am looking forward to doing nothing but sunning and playing at the pool this week, our softball games were canceled so there is no excuse to not be at the pool....Open invite if anyone wants to join us :)

3 years, always counting

Chris' Dad passed away three years ago today, seems to always be a sad month around my house... It is not easy when Emma says things like I wish Granddad were here so I could give him a hug...I am so disappointed that I'll never have a picture of him with Tatum, at least Emma has things to look back on and try to remember.

I am off to the beach this evening with the kids for a few days, hope the weather is good :)

sing a happy song

I am wondering is singing kids music all day a bad thing??? I guess what makes it worse is I am signing show tunes.....Thanks High School Musical 2 :)

3 More Weeks!!!

This is what Emma informed me last night… “I only have to go to camp for 3 more weeks Mom then I start school” OK I guess someone is keeping track, personally I am still trying to believe my baby starts school!!! Don’t get me wrong I am super excited for it but wow I feel like my life is forever adjusting. Emma is going to be in school for all of 5m before Tatum starts the special ed half-day program at the other elementary school in our neighborhood…I figure by spring I should have a good handle on everything, if I am lucky.

Well we made it through another month at work; next month should be pretty interesting since we have some big upcoming changes. My desk is so centrally located that I have a bird’s eye view for it all I am sure it is all going to work out just fine I am just saying it well be interesting to take it all in.

I am taking the girls to my Mom’s next week for a few days. I figure we can get some school clothes hang at the beach and visit with some of my old friends. It should be a very nice and needed change in scenery and we’ll be back in time for the weekend. We have birthday parties, softball games and pool time that just cannot be missed ha-ha.

Well better get back to work…oh yeah Tatum’s blood screen came back totally normal ( I figured it would) what a relief she is such a trooper you all would not believe how she has matured in the past few months…so not a baby anymore; well she’ll ALWAYS be my baby but you all know what I mean. :)

I Miss Emma

Well this week Emma is visiting her grandparents ( Chris' Mom and Step dad) they came by and got her on Sunday evening and she is coming back on Friday or sooner if need be ;) Anyway I talked to her today and she seems to be having a great time, of coarse who doesn't have a good time at Grandma's...

Although quiet without Emma, Tatum is keeping us on our toes...

We went to the new pediatrician yesterday for her very late 2 yr old check up. Tate got one shot and we drew blood for the lead test and electrolytes while we were at it. I am curious to see her calcium levels as well as the rest, it has been a long time. We never really had any issues there so I have not bothered to have anything checked, I figured it was only a matter of time before she would have to have blood drawn for something, I also knew that the lead test I had been dogging would eventually catch me.

I was pretty impressed with the new doc she seemed knowledgeable and very up on Tatum's records she was even interested in what I knew. I feel very confident with this new practice I think it was a good and much needed change, I can not stay in Montgomery County forever.

Emma is swimming like a fish and has a parade of birthday parties to hit the next few weeks. Tatum is in a developmental growth spurt and keeping everyone busy, the girls at her daycare just love her she cracks them up, Even her 2 yr old tantrums are pretty funny. These girls are just totally gonna keep us busy.

Where did the week go???

Well I was reminded on Tuesday night by my friend Nikki that I had not posted since 7/9 so I guess I better get on the ball. Ahhh Nikki you have not posted in almost a yr!!!

This week has been pretty busy, Emma is at Vacation Bible School and Tate is at her daycare. That is all going well the ladies that take care of Tatum say she is doing great and has come so far in just a few short weeks she has been there. She is at such a good age changing everyday. On Wed. morning after I dropped Emma off she said "I love you" to me out of the blue, it totally made my day.

Tuesday after work I took the kids to the carnival that is in town this week, Tatum was a dream she just hung out in her stroller and greeted people, Emma was also very well behaved so it made it easy for me. Emma has turned into the little dare devil I could not believe all the ride she went on. I think that the fun house was her favorite she would come racing down the exit slide yell again and her and her friend Darcy run back in this went on for a good 15 mins.

Last night was the carnival fireworks so when I got home from work we headed over to the pool swam until it closed then caught the fireworks from the hill next to the tennis courts, seems this has become the annual spot to view the display. Today when I get home we are having dinner with our friends Rick and Kyra it well be great to see them and the girls, well Emma, is psyched to swim in there pool, they have a diving board.

Emma has become a good little swimmer in the past few weeks she was even daring enough to jump off the guard stand one night!! What am I going to go with her. We are all so lucky that the girls have such good friends at the pool, I hardly see them when we are there. I think that lifeguard Emma and Zo EEEEE may just keep Tatum, and my Emma has officially decided that she is old enough to play without me. I guess I am lucky that she lets us play with her some of the time because we really have had a good time with the girls this summer.

Everyday Stuff...

I am really trying to get back into the habit of posting I have decided I just need to make the time for it. There are so many days where the post I want to put up runs through my head and I just do not find the time to get there. So I guess this is my July resolution, LOL.

Today Tatum started with a new OT they were supposed to be at daycare at 8:30, her old OT Ingrid had a baby boy a few weeks ago man well we miss her she was AWESOME!! At this point with Tatum my biggest concern is her speech. I was really noticing acceleration in her speech development but now it seems to have leveled off again. I do not think that is a very good thing it is certainly the area that makes her way behind other kids her age. She pretty much has a 5 word vocabulary she has her staple words “Hi”, “Mama”, “Emma”, “Eat”, and “I Love You” and I am counting I love you because we all know that is what she is trying to say. Lately she has started to blow kisses and if she sneezes and you tell her “God Bless You” she’ll continues to fake sneeze. Oh yes her other big word trick is if you say Zo to her she’ll finish the word with eeeeeeee…this is how she say’s Zoe.

I think the biggest problem with the speech is that I do not feel she clicks with her ST and I am learning that this is an important thing. A friend of mine was working with her privately towards the end of the school year and that was when we noticed a big change but since she has stopped nothing. I am thinking about finding private speech, once a week for 30-40 mins is not cutting it especially when my perfectly normal niece that lives in Baltimore receives more ST then Tatum does, I am not bitter at all, LOL.

News on the Emma front:

I was wondering do 5 year olds every stop being dramatic Emma is driving us nuts! Everything is a argument with that child, the craziest thing is she’ll cry over nothing get all privilege’s and toys taken from her and still have a fit as if we are going to give in. I have never met such a hardheaded child in my life, I guess I can be thankful that she is not disrespectful and when we are not around she is very well behaved. I do need to give her some credit she is getting better but god forbid she is tired…crabbbby…maybe she well finally start going to bed for us.

She did ask for a pet this morning I was preparing myself to tell her no way but she only wants a fish since her old fish died. This is the best part she wants to name her new fish Sneaker…she does make me laugh I have to give that to her.

Day Care Take Two

The last week of June was the kids first time in Daycare for quite a while. I actually think that the bigger shock was to me considering I was the one that had to get them there. We showed up on Monday only to find out that I was supposed to bring them lunch, OK bad me for assuming but back when the kids were in daycare before lunch was included. I had to run next door to the 7-11 and thank goodness they had lunchables. That was day 1 the next day I got there and realized that I had forgotten Tatum's shoe's so back home I went. I swearer by the time I got to work it was like 10am compiled with the end of the month it made for an exhausting week.

The one good thing that came out of all of it was the decision to find a new daycare center for the fall. We actually just came back from checking out the new facility. The girls are going to be attending a brand new center that is being built less then a mile from our house. It is going to be beautiful I can not wait to see the finished product, another plus to all this is alot of the neighborhood kids are going and they have before and after school care for Emma. I have a very good feeling about this place I think it is going to be great for both Tatum and Emma.

27lbs WOW

That is Tatum's current weight, I guess someone likes the food I make LOL...ANYWAY...

Well it has been a while the last week of the month work this was a killer. It is so nutty to me how the market can suck the way it does and work has not slowed down. One major contributor to this is we have the same less people now and with all the program changes it is almost like doing something new everyday, not to mention the new thinking outside the box thing ahhhh thanks goodness I ended the week with vacation.
Friday night after I got home we headed up to some friends I have from college that live outside Charlottesville. We got there pretty late on Friday night and stayed until Sunday morning. On Saturday Kee and I took the kids to the pool and her Husband who I also went to college with, and Chris went fishing. If I had to guess the boys had a great time since Chris mentioned that it was better then Disneyland, LOL .
Sunday we headed up to Massanutten to meet my Dad and Bonnie. We stayed up there with them until late Tuesday afternoon then headed home. Tatum had a sedated echo at Hopkins this morning. Massanutten was a lot of fun the weather was not all that great but that did not bother Emma at all she was purely interested in the water park and lucky for her my Dad is a water park fanatic. I could not believe the slides that she was riding the child is fearless. Tatum and I stuck to the lazy river, but I have to admit she is fearless to and falling in pools does not seem to phase her at all...

OK so news from Hopkins:
Dr. Brenner told me that Tatum’s blood pressure is not nearly as worrisome as it was this time last yr but defiantly not normal, I figure I’ll take that news any day. Her sleeping BP was 119/64 in her arm and 98/53 in her leg....her top numbers are our major concern a typical BP for her age weight should be around 80/50-60...her active BP ( I was actually amazed the nurse got it, she was AWESOME) when we arrived was 129/62. This was a bit more concerning but the Dr. feels that meds are not going to solve the issue so we are still not going to bother with them. Her ventricle walls are becoming a little thick but still functioning normal so again we are leaving well enough alone. Her aortic valve is functioning normal and she has a mild SVSD that is a "none issue but a bit interesting"... This is the first time that the Doc had actually gotten to see her calm an not moving a mile a min so he was attributing that to the pheneral pluses sounding normal for once...Wow nothing like a little versed to knock a kid out. I wonder if they sell that stuff over the counter HAHA....
I was please d in all with the visit but I have to tell you I am exhausted, I think I need a Lisa day soon to bad I do not see that happening :) Oh well tomorrow I am hitting the pool with the kids and I can not wait!!!
Happy Fourth .....I have a ton of pics to downloand soon I promise :)

Life Changes :(

I am happy to be slammed at work but I have to tell you I really miss my kids during the day. I just feel like they are growing up to fast. Tatum has picked about 5 new words in the last few weeks and Emma is just no longer a baby at all.

We stopped by the graveyard to visit Chris’ Dad’s grave with the girls the other night, when we arrived I explained to Em that this is where Granddad is, as innocent as could be she simply asked “ Is this heaven” I thought I was going to cry it amazes me the things she actually pay attention to when we are talking to her.

On a much sadder note, today is Pim’s last day with us. Boy we are going to miss her. I cried the entire way to work. I know well still see her but it just isn’t going to be the same. It is like losing a family member. We certainly wish her the best in all she does. I hope she knows how grateful we are for her dedication and everything she has done for our family over the past year and a half, Tatum and Emma have both come so far. I know you are reading this Pim so I hope you know we love you and you well be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA

WE LOVE YOU EM CHUNK!!!

I can not believe that my baby turns 5 today, I guess she is not my Baby anymore but my big girl, WOW! She has turned into a helpful, wonderful big sister right before our eyes....

Railroad and Farm Pictures/ Cabin John Park pics coming...

HOT ! HOT ! HOT !

I managed to get home from work by 5 on Thursday and it was a good thing. As soon as I pulled up I got a call from Laura that they were like 10 mins away, I was so excited. The girls hit it off so quickly, it was great Emma actually slept with Michaela in her own room without Chris or me. Friday Laura and I got to check out town and have a yummy Mom lunch.

When we got home from our no kid outing we were pool bound. I am sure the girls must have bothered Pim all morning about the pool...when we left the house around 10 they already had their suits on. We did eventually get to the pool and I think we were there for about 4 hours. It was nice because we got to hang out with the older girls for a while and them Pim brought Tatum to the pool after her nap. I just love this picture of Tatum and Michaela they were so cute playing together, Tatum just loved her.

By the time we left the kids were ready for Dinner and bed and that was exactly what we did grabbed a pizza feed kids and put them in bed....Laura and I got to go out for a bit on Friday night but I think we were all beat by the sun and knew we had a big day ahead of us...

Life never slows down...

I am so sorry that I have not had a chance to blog… We went to the WS picnic at Cabin John Park on Sunday and had a blast! I have pictures to Download but have blown all the USB ports on my work computer and trying to get anything done at home these days is a lost cause. I saw a ton of familiar faces and some new one’s. We meet the cutest little boy named Nicholas he is about Tatum’s age and he and is family live very close to us. I am really looking forward to hanging with them this summer.

Monday I had a Doctor apt for me, nothing to worry about just a check up and I had to get up early and register Emma for before and after school care. Good thing I got in line so early it was totally filled up by noon. By the time I got to work I just had to hit the ground running.

Tuesday I took the girls to their new pediatrician, she was great! We were running late so instead of seeing both girls they could only see Emma, they rescheduled Tate for the 24. Any who it was more important for them to see Emma since I have to register her for kindergarten on Friday morning, I can not believe my baby is going to school. Emma was in the 50% for height and weight can hear perfect and somehow managed to get a Hannah Montana Barbie for be good while getting her shots. Glad to see she has not lost her ability to sucker Mom. Tatum is also scheduled for a sedated echo on July 2, lucky for me I am on vacation that day so I do not have to miss any work.

Yesterday was CRAZY we had one of those Crazy storms from CO blow up our way knocking out power and tree’s, some places still do not have power. Our office building lost power around 3pm then at about 4:30 when we were all trying to leave the generator in the parking garage caught fire…That was just great we all had to wait around in order to get our cars. Once I had my car I must have stopped at 3 times looking for a working gas station so I could get home. Finally I found one made it home only to get a call from Autumn, she was stuck apparently the trains had gone haywire with the power outage so she was a little stuck. Autumn caught a bus as far north as she could and I went down and picked her up. Lucky for us there was an open bar right at the bus stop LOL…Anyway I would say by about 9pm everyone was home safe and sound…

Well that brings us to today I have a ton to do to prepare to not be at work tomorrow.
Laura and Michaela are arriving later this evening, we are all pretty excited and I took off tomorrow so we can enjoy a nice Mom only morning/lunch then hit the pool with the kids. Should be a fun packed weekend. I promise to fill everyone in with details and pictures in a realistic time frame… Sorry for the blogging slack but we are alive and well just super busy. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

A great break in the rain...

This was a great weekend we could not have asked for better weather, a great way to kick off the pool season.

Although I managed to stay out of the gated baby pool area I was pretty much confined to the shallow end. Emma is on the verge of being all over the pool, she did great in the water and really had fun playing with other kids. I was impressed with her interaction's with others she is just growing up so fast, she has even learned how to use the snack bar alone, lucky me. Thank goodness all my friends have the greatest kids, They totally keep an extra look out when Em is doing everything "by myself Mom", lol... She even sun bath's I can not believe it!!

Tatum LOVED the water and seeing all her lifeguard friends again. Emma (the LG) played with her in the water during adult swim and Zoe hung with her in the pool too. I think Tatum was in heaven with all the attention she was just hugs and smiles all day, even without a nap. I think that Tatum's favorite thing at the pool is the bucket's...Tatum loved to sit on the edge with her feet in the pool watching the buckets dump water...I am sure I'll have a picture soon enough if I do not have one from last summer...

Anyway.... We are going to a WS picnic on Sunday, I am excited it is only like 25 mins away! oh yeah and Sat. is another Softball game in the evening...I am predicting evening thunder storms, it seems to be the team's luck :( I would actually like to have the game it sounds like a great time so keep your fingers crossed for another awesome weekend...

somehow I lost a week ;)

So I guess my poor blog is becoming weekly for the time being, at least until my life slows down, does that happen before the kids grow up and move out??… Anyway Mother’s Day was nice, we hiked around Sugarloaf MT and got to spend time together as a family. Last weeks appointments went great, well sort of great. Emma does not need glasses and Tatum does not need a doctor that is what she thinks anyway.

Yep you guessed it the apt for Tatum on Thursday did not go well, she blew her last chance at the satellite office. From now on we have to go to Hopkins to get sedated for her echoes she would not let anyone touch her. Since Chris took her to the appointment I am not exactly sure how it went down just the end result. What I do know is that they did not try to do the echo first like I asked because Chris did not remind them so who knows if my plan would work or not. They both have a mind of their own. What a good birthday gift she gave me…future stress, LOVE IT!

On Saturday Yvonne and I took the girls to Deep Creek for the weekend. We arrived in the afternoon had lunch and played at the “Honi Honi” the rest of the afternoon, had a blast hanging out there the rest of the day then went back to our cabin. There were so many kids on the playground tons of 2 year olds it seemed like and although they were climbing better then Tate and talking better then Tate I can honestly say no one had hair or smile as great. I'll take cute hair and a great smile over talking any day LOL.

Sunday turned out to be a total washout so we headed back mid morning. It was nice to get away but a little disappointing because we did not get to do any of the fun stuff we had planned for Sunday.

At least the rain cleared up at home late afternoon so we could enjoy some of the day and the girls did get new Crocs, even Tatum. I love watching the girls play together, it is very sweet. Emma certainly does love her little sister she is awesome with her. Tatum is finally getting to the point where she can actually play.

Now I just have to get through this crazy almost last week of the month…. Holiday’s make it even worse since we miss a day, errrrr. Wow can you believe June is right around the corner…The pool opens this weekend yippee, I wonder if I can swim in my jeans and a long sleeve tee-shirt, it is going to be a scary bathing suit season!!!