Happy Memorial Day!

WOW! What a great weekend!!! After all our activities on Saturday, we knew we had a busy Sunday and Monday headed our way...and we were not disappointed!!

Sunday we got up and went to church. One thing I have to say about my kids and church, is that they are awesome. Bradlee mostly just talks, but on Sunday I held him and we looked at books and colored and he was great. Emma usually just sits there and colors! I showed her the words and music for the last song, and she even sang along to a part of it!!

We got home from mass, put Bradlee (and Tony) down for a nap, then Emma and I had "rest time" in the basement. This usually consists of Emma playing quietly while we watch a movie...just so there's some quiet time in her day. This time, she wanted her "project stuff" out so she could make a birthday card for Uncle Garrett (Kat's fiance). She ended up making a card out of orange paper...because "carrots are orange and Garrett rhymes with carrot"!! LOL What a great kid. After the movie, Bradlee (and Tony) woke up and we packed up the car and headed over to my parents' house. What a great time we had!! Dad grilled while Karyn and Emma played...Bradlee ran around the house and outside and we were able to just sit and talk to my parents and some friends of theirs (who I've known since I was born!)...it was a nice time. After dinner, we got the water balloons out! The kids had a ball! I was the designated "dry" person...and Karyn had stated that she didn't want to participate and get wet...well....she took the hose and got Tony, so it all went downhill from there! Tony came up behind her and squeezed a balloon all over her back, so she chased him with the hose...then Emma went up to Karyn and squeezed a balloon on her back, too! We were laughing so hard outside...and Mom, Dad, Aunt Sue and Uncle Larry were laughing so hard inside the Florida Room! :) Bradlee LOVED the balloons, although I think he broke more all over himself from squeezing them than anything!



We had the power washer to return to Tony's parents, so we took that out to their house once the big water balloon fight ended. Emma was asleep after 10 minutes in the car!!

Today (Monday), we hung around home in the morning and until Bradlee had his nap and Emma had her quiet time. Tony had to go to the funeral home for a former classmate of his and once he was home and Bradlee woke up, we packed up the car again and headed down to Fenton. Two of my former classmates (Jen and I went to school from about 4th grade through 12th, Scott and I went to school in high school) recently moved to the area and were having a BBQ! They live on a lake and have 3 kids. Brendan is 6, Megan is 4 and Erin is 1. What a great time, there, too!! Some other classmates came by also...we figured it had been about 12 years since we had seen each other! The kids played so well together and we had a TON of laughs watching them, and each other! Emma had never swam in a lake before and was really looking forward to it...you can almost see her thinking "Okay....pool? or lake? pool? or lake?"

She got used to it real quick and soon was jumping around and playing with Brendan and Megan like she's done it all her life. At one point, she yelled up to me, "Mama! LOOK!!! I don't even have my floaties on!!!" She was quite proud of herself...the water only went up to about her waist at the highest point, which was good. It was a good confidence booster!

I wouldn't let Bradlee go in the lake, since I didn't have a change of clothes for me, but he had a great time just running around on the grass. Scott and Jen had their iPod going, and I caught Bradlee standing by it dancing away....to "Alone" by Heart! :) Gotta say, kid's got taste!

We stayed until about 5:45pm and then headed home so we could get the kids baths and into bed...only 9 more days of school! Then I will officially have a Kindergartner!!! AMAZING! Happy 4-Day Work Week!! :)

100 Posts!?

When I signed on to make this post, I noticed that my official count of posts I have made on my blog is 100 (as of the last one, this one is actually #101)!! Amazing! I hope SOMEONE is reading it! If not, then I guess it's just for me! LOL

It's Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and things are good. Last night (Friday), when I got home from work, after stopping at Walmart, I headed straight out to the garage to do some work. I was going to mow the lawn, but Tony said he would do it, so I let him! LOL I hung some shelves in the garage that used to be in Emma's room before my great friend, Lauren, repainted it for Emma! They are those shelves that have the two metal brackets that you slide the shelving brackets on, then the shelves sit on those. Anyway, I hung those shelves and then took some of our extra LONG screws that we've accrued over the years and made some "utensil holders". Basically, just took two of the same screws and installed them about 4 inches apart so the rakes, brooms, etc. could hang from them. Wow, what a difference! I wish I had some "before" pictures, but that may have broken the camera...instead, I'll make sure I get some "after" pictures....but maybe not until after Thursday. This is because the City of Flint has been on a different trash schedule since the beginning of April...our trash is picked up every other week. Totally sucks. That means that all lawn refuse and trash sits in our garage for two weeks until trash day. The smell doesn't seem to be bad, but all the dang bags is a pain in the butt!! UGH. Someday this will all get better...

So after I hung the shelves and got all the garden tools off the ground, I started moving some things around to try to make the best out of the space in there. What a difference! I can't wait to see it when the trash and lawn refuse is gone!! This was all done before Tony and the kids got home! When they got home, I played outside with the kids while Tony changed. Then I "bribed" them to go inside so Tony could mow the lawn but offering a snack...the three of us enjoyed some Kool-Ade and an apple (or "bapple", as Bradlee would say!)!! Tony mowed the front lawn, then I had to go, so the backyard had to wait.

I left and went to my friend, Mary's, house. I work with Mary at the bank. Her oldest daughter is graduating from high school in a week or so...which means Mary is getting her house ready for an Open House! I took my in-law's power washer over with me with the intention to clean off the siding of her house and then get the majority of paint off the other parts (half her house is wood-sided, the other half is actually siding!)...the power washer SUCKED. Her own hose with a nozzle on it was more powerful...and we even went to get a detergent to use with it! Oh well. So after we decided it wasn't going to work, I headed home. I felt, and still feel, really bad. I just wanted to help, you know!? So I got home about 8pm and stayed outside to put together our new outdoor porch swing that my in-laws got for Tony and me for our anniversary (coming up on June 21st)! It's so nice...they have one, so I know...even though I haven't used ours, yet!! Then it was PAST bedtime! I was so proud of myself last night, though...I got so much work done! There are a few other things I would like to get done this weekend, but most of them require someone other than myself doing them (read: "My Dad needs to help me!"). LOL

This morning, Tony finished the backyard, dug up some of the bricks in the way backyard, and sprayed the lawn (front and back) with some "bug stuff" (we told the kids it was "grass medicine"). We used this stuff last year and it really cut down on the amount of mosquitoes we had around the house...which is awesome for me. I've already got about 5-6 of those stupid bites! Two of them on my upper chest! Yikes! This was a good excuse to keep the kids inside today. Emma's been outside a lot this week and yesterday she was just so hot - almost to the point of heat exhaustion...so I wanted to make sure she took it easy today. She drank a lot of water today and was doing much better by the time the afternoon rolled around...but then we couldn't go out anyway 'cause of the bug spray. Worked like a charm! :)

I was able to get some laundry done while he was doing all that, and also get the kids breakfast, put dishes away and get both kids dressed. When he came back in, he got showered and dressed, I got Bradlee down for a nap and then got showered and dressed. Tony had to leave to DJ around 2pm, which left Emma and I having our "Mommy/Emma Rest Time"... basically, she did a "project" (birthday card for Gramma!), I did

laundry and cleaning, all while a movie was on! Bradlee slept until 4:15pm! A THREE HOUR nap!!! What a boy! He got up, we got in the car, and we went to pick up Karyn and then went to Red Robin for dinner, just the 4 of us. We ran a few other errands (got Gramma's birthday present and some other things), dropped Karyn off at home, and then came home. It was well past bedtime, but I let the kids stay up a little later to watch a movie. That's my favorite time...when we just lay in my bed and watch a movie. Bradlee cuddles right up and hands me his blanket. Then he looks at me, points to his feet and says, "Toes!" In other words, he wants his toes covered! So I cover him up and he just snuggles in! Once he's in bed, Emma does basically the same thing...just wants to cuddle! I love it, and I'm taking it while it's being offered!! :)

Tomorrow should be another fun and busy day: church and a birthday BBQ at my mom and dad's!! Will post more pictures then!! :)

Must be summer

Summer is officially here! The kids have had a great time playing outside at school and at home! Last Saturday, my friends, Julie and Scott, brought their baby, Scarlett, over for a visit. I was the only one home, so I got some quality time with Scarlett...well, until my mom and sister stopped by to meet her! I've known Julie since I was 5, so she's basically another daughter of my mom's!!! Here's me with Scarlett...and the outfit she has on is one that Emma picked out for her when she was born!!

Sunday we celebrated my sister-in-law's (Lynne) 40th birthday. We grilled out and the kids were able to get into their little swimming pool that Tony's parents have for them at their house...this is Bradlee saying, "I have a hot dog, and you do not!"

We've been applying the steroid ointment in Emma's eye for the last, almost 2, weeks now...this is what her "bad" eye looked like after 6 days of the ointment!! AMAZING! Looks even better now!!

Of course, the pool's going to get its use this summer...with BOTH kids! Bradlee just LOVES it as much as Emma does!!!

I have not been feeling well...was diagnosed with tonsillitis (hit me like a BRICK Sunday morning!) and have been on antibiotic since then. Also had a fever and aches all week. Stayed home from work yesterday (Wednesday), but was able to make it today. It's a 3-day weekend! I just want to have a good time with my family!

Races and blue eyes...

What a week! It started on Saturday with the Kid's Crim Classic. It's a day of races sponsored by the Crim Foundation. The Crim is a huge road race held in August and it really puts Flint on the map, so it's a full weekend of activities, months of "training groups", etc. So, to get the kids excited, they do this "kid's classic" each May. Emma's done this in the past (about 2 years ago)...she was all geared up to run run run....then got "stage fright" and ended up walking the 20 feet to the finish line. LOL Bradlee, on the other hand, was MUCH better this year!!! He was even on the local news!!! ABC 12 has a sports show on their weekend evening news shows called, "Highlight Zone Jr"...they feature little kids' sporting events...the "athletes of the future"! This weekend, it was the Kid's Crim Classic!! Here's the link to go to:

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/video?id=7444243

You have to watch the "commercial" first, then go forward to about the 4:30 mark (the start of the Kid's Crim Classic coverage)...Bradlee's in his stroller around 5:06 and then his "race" is at 5:35...he's #98!!! Look at him go!!! Tony put him down at the starting line, and my dad (Boppa) was waiting for him at the finish line (I had the stroller, Emma and the camera!)...Tony said he put Bradlee down, and pointed to my dad and said, "Bradlee, do you see Boppa?" "Yes!" <<"On your mark, get set, go!>> "Okay, Bradlee!! Run to Boppa!" And he took off!! Emma LOVED watching him and said, "Wow, Mama! He did GOOD!" Here's Bradlee with his medal and Boppa at the end of the race!

Emma's race was a little bit later. She had asked Boppa to run with her in her race, so my dad, the funny guy he is, showed up in his warm-up suit! LOL They took off to the starting line when the race was announced, and then ran a quarter of a mile to the finish line! She did SO awesome! The news didn't cover the older kids, but let me tell you, Emma ran the WHOLE way with Boppa (and he didn't even need oxygen at the finish line!)!! Tony and I are SO proud of our kids!!! Here's Emma with her medal from her race!!

Emma's eyes are still healing beautifully. On Sunday, my mom and I were talking with her and we've noticed that her right eye is awesome...only a little bloodshot-looking. Here's her right eye!

Her left eye, however, was healing well, but when she turns her eye, there is a little blister-like "thing" on her eye. So Monday morning I called Dr. Chris and they wanted to see her. I took her in and they checked her vision and muscle balance and both are AWESOME still!! Dr. Chris looked at the "blister" and said that it was the eye rejecting one of the sutures he put in. It didn't like the foreign substance in there, so it built a protective covering over it. Pretty cool, in a way, but still not good for the healing. So he put her on a steroid ointment for us to apply. That's easier said than done...Here's what the left eye looked like on Monday...

Bradlee, of course, not to be outdone by his sister, requested I take a picture of his eyes, too! :)

Tony and I are SO happy with the results of Emma's surgery...Dr. Chris is our hero! :)

Bradlee Update!

Well, we have an update on Mr. Bradlee. He does not have an ear infection as previously thought. Took him to see the ENT doctor on Wednesday who, while examining his ears, proclaimed, "These are some BEAUTIFUL ears!" No infection, no sign of infection. He only had 2 doses of antibiotic, so it's not like it would have cleared up that fast.

I am now going to write about why Bradlee should not get bacterial ear infections, so be prepared...

Normal ears (i.e., without tubes) have a "closed" eardrum, which means nothing drains out, nothing gets in. When there is drainage behind the ear drum, there is the chance and probability of it becoming infected, since there is no where for the drainage to go. This is what most kids get when they are little and is very painful, can cause bulging and burst eardrums, etc. This also requires an antibiotic to clear up, since ear drops wouldn't get to the infection (because, as I said before, the ear drum is solid).

Now, when tubes are inserted, a small incision is made in the ear drum and a plastic tub is placed in that incision. Therefore, there is an escape route for any drainage to the outside. This is why Bradlee sometimes has a lot of orange-ish/yellow wax "dripping" from his ears (it's more of build up, not actual dripping!). This is also why he sometimes pulls at his ears, since it's draining (like it's supposed to), it tickles (like when your nose drips and you can't get a tissue fast enough!!).

The time to be concerned is when he:
1. Has a fever
2. Has a greenish drainage in his ears

This is when I am to call the ENT doctor and tell them, and they will prescribe an ear drop to use for 3-4 days to clear up the build-up that is in his ears and around the tubes.

It is entirely possible that he could have an ear infection without drainage being present, but that would mean it is viral, and can't be cured with antibiotics...we just have to wait it out.

So, Bradlee's "ear infection" is not an ear infection, so no more antibiotics...

He's got 4 teeth coming in, so it's most likely that or the darn allergies/cold that everyone seems to be suffering from with this wonderful Michigan weather!!

So there's your medical lesson for today...hope you learned something! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Emma has been doing awesome with her eyes! She's had no problems, except for a little "sleep" in them in the mornings. The right eye is almost completely back to "white", while the left is still a little red. She's doing so well! I was talking to her teacher, Mrs. Walters, today about it and she (Mrs. Walters) said she has noticed a huge difference in watching Emma look at the board, books, and basically everything in general! Mrs. Walters said that she had asked Emma if she wanted to tell the class about her surgery. Of course, Emma jumped at that! I guess she was able to sit in the "Story Chair" (a big rocking chair that the reader-of-books/story-teller sits in!) and told her class about the mask she had to put on to help her sleep, her cool night gown from the hospital, how they cut the muscles on the side of her eyes, and especially how she got 2 Popsicles when she was done! I think this is something she will remember for a long time, and will hopefully make any future surgeries that may come up that much easier!!

Saturday morning, I heard Emma get out of bed and come into our room, a common occurrence on the weekend! She came over to my side of the bed and then stopped, turned around and went over to Tony's side. I heard her whisper, "Daddy, wake up." Tony responded. Then Emma said, "We have to get up and go make breakfast for Mommy in bed!" Tony said, "Oh, Sweetie, Mother's Day is tomorrow!" Emma said, after a pause, "Oh." Back to my side of the bed, "Mama, can I watch a movie?!" LOL What a funny kid!


Sunday, Mother's Day, was a great day! The kids and Tony made breakfast for me (cinnamon rolls) and then, of course, the kids had to enjoy it with me! Notice how they get the tray! :) We got ready and went to church for a nice surprise of Uncle Paul saying mass! We drove up to Frankenmuth for brunch with my parents, Kat & Garrett, Snookie & Papa (my grandparents) and Tony's parents and sister. We had a wonderful time, and good food!

Bradlee's got about 4 teeth (all incisors) coming in, so he's had a pretty good stuffy nose this week, which has kept him out of school all week. Yesterday (Tuesday), he really started producing a "bark-type" cough and green snot and watery eyes...great. So to the doctor he went, and was diagnosed with one and a half ear infections! One ear was definitely infected, the other was close...so he's now on an antibiotic. We go see Dr. Ahmad (the ENT) tomorrow for his check-up, so it will be a good way to see what's going on!! I was under the impression that the tubes he had put in back in October were supposed to prevent the ear infections (not that he's had a lot, but still!)...we will see what he says.

I don't remember if I've mentioned it, but I took a coupon class back in April...and WOW, I've saved a ton of money! Today was one of the better days, even though I didn't buy that much! At one Kroger, I purchased a bag of Cheetos and 3 bags of Werther's Originals and paid a total of $0.57!! Then I went to another Kroger (I don't usually go to multiples, but I was over by another one when I stopped at another store!) and got 2 cans of shaving cream, an Oral B toothbrush, and a Cover Girl nail polish and the store OWED me $0.57!! They are not allowed to give change when coupons are used, so I had to forfeit the $0.57, but still! What a deal! I also went to VG's (a Spartan Store) and purchased 3 bottles of Resolve Spray & Wash, 4 6-packs of Dannon's Dann-o-nino's yogurt for the kids, a Cover Girl eyeliner and 3 boxes of Tornados (frozen tostadas) and only paid $11.07!! We are so excited about all these savings! Our pantry is PACKED (especially with Mac & Cheese...if you want to know about that deal, just let me know!) and our freezer is getting there! :) Our goal is to have the freezer packed by the end of the summer! I'll keep you posted on how we're doing!

Only 4 weeks of school left and those weeks are packed with all kinds of activities! This Saturday, Emma and Bradlee both will be participating in the Crim Kids Classic...it's a small festival held in the Cultural Center (by our house, actually....over by the Flint Institute of Music and Whiting). There are free activities, discounted activities at the area buildings (Sloan Museum and Planetarium) and there are also races! Bradlee will be participating in the "Diaper Dash", which is about 20 yards, and Emma will be in the 1/4 mile run! She's asked her Boppa (my dad) to run with her, so I'll get to watch her and take pictures! Stay tuned for both of my littler runners! :)

Exciting week!!

Some exciting things have happened this week! First, on Saturday, May 1st, Michigan became SMOKE FREE! HOORAY! Words cannot express how excited I am about this. Not only as an asthmatic, but just a human being! LOL Knowing that my kids will not have to walk through a smoking section in a restaurant to go to the bathroom makes it that much better!!! At our Relay for Life meeting on Tuesday, we had the opportunity to get some of these very awesome stickers:

Yesterday, Wednesday, I took Emma to see Dr. Chris for her post-op appointment. She was quite entertaining at the office, just talking up a storm and being Emma. Here she is coloring some "Hello Kitty" pictures one of the nurses gave her...she ended up coloring one for Dr. Chris!

When Dr. Chris came in, I filled him in on how awesome Emma's been doing. How I haven't noticed either of her eyes crossing, how she hasn't been wearing her glasses since Saturday, and how she seems to close her right eye when she's concentrating on looking at something, but (in my opinion), it's more out of habit than anything... He listened and agreed on everything. After doing a quick exam on her, he confirmed what we had been hoping and praying for...it looks like the surgery was successful! He couldn't get her eyes to cross and her vision is still excellent in both eyes! HOORAY!!! We asked about going to ganaxis, and that was okayed (I was concerned about the chalk and dust irritating the healing of the eyes, he said it's no problem!)...so she just can't swim for another week (at least) and then she's good to go! I also found out exactly what he did in the surgery: there's the eye ball, and over the eye ball is a protective sheath. He cut a slit in the sheath on the inside of the iris (colored part of the eye) and pulled the sheath back, which revealed the medial (middle) rectus muscle. He sutured the muscle, cut it to loosen it, then sutured it in place. Finally, he replaced the sheath, which is self-healing. He did this to both eyes, which is why the insides of her eyes are still pretty red. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I am in awe.

Here's Emma giving her "two thumbs up" from Dr. Chris!!!

We went straight to ganaxis from the appointment, and Emma did great (of course!)!! I'm sure she's just happy to be getting back to normal. Mr. Tim (her coach) said, "Emma! Where are your glasses?!" Emma replied, "I don't have to wear them anymore. Dr. Chris said so!" What a great kid!

Emma Update!

So it's been 4 days since Emma's eye surgery and she is doing FANTASTIC! She's been able to keep her eyes open consistently yesterday and today. The inside corners are really red still, which was to be expected. Knock on wood, I haven't seen her eyes cross once! And she's said she only sees "one Mama" when she looks at me (as opposed to two of me that she saw when her eyes would be crossed)! AWESOME!

Keep praying that she continues to heal well and we get even more good news when we see Dr. Chris on Wednesday!!!