1st, 2nd, & 3rd Babies

I've posted this before or at least sent it in an email, but i feel like it is definitely worth mentioning now that #3 is on the way!!

Your Clothes: 1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soonas your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy. 2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible. 3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth: 1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously. 2nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember that last time,breathing didn't do a thing. 3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette: 1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes,color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau. 2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean & discard only the ones with the darkest stains. 3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries: 1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby. 2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn. 3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier: 1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it. 2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle. 3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering: 1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour,whether they need it or not. 2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed. 3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities: 1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics,Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour. 2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics. 3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the drycleaner.

Going Out: 1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times. 2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached. 3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home: 1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby. 2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to besure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby. 3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins (a favorite): 1st child: when first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays. 2nd child: when second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for coin to pass. 3rd child: when third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!

Christmas Abroad...

Well...Christmas in Dothan anyway! I haven't been "home" for Christmas in 3 years and we probably won't go back until our kids are older. Not because they were bad or that we had a bad time, but because I would have to rent a uhaul to get everything there and trade for a bigger one to get everything home. The kids did great traveling and we saw everyone we wanted to see (except for the Griffies, but that was our fault!!) and Sethy came home in complete Pop withdrawal...and i think Pop is having sethy withdrawal. they were glued at the hip from the moment we got there. it really was cute...except for all the junk that they let them eat plus all the sweet tea pop let seth drink. (i'm not a strict mom and i certainly don't win the nutrition award for our family by any means, but to put it mildly, my kiddos are in chocolate detox and were not happy that their "regular" breakfast fare wasn't in our house this morning.

We got there on Saturday afternoon and Scott, Sherri and their boys came over for supper. Pop (my dad) wanted to take all of us to Wicksburg to see the Christmas lights. and for the first time in 2 years, Luke actually whined and said he didn't want to go! Micah and I were in shock! We knew that after a 6 hour trip they would be tired, but we never imagined Luke would turn down looking at christmas lights. Sunday we went to church with Pop and Mimi and that afternoon after naps we loaded up and went to Hartford to Scott and Sherri's for our christmas dinner with (my mom) Nana and Papa. We all ate plenty and had a great time and it was just the first round of the gift opening extravaganza. Monday morning we had more play time and around lunch Scott and Sherri and the boys came over to do their Christmas time with Pop and Mimi. My boys opened one of their gifts from them also. Luke got a guitar which he is IN LOVE with and Sethy got a huge play doh activity center (which they are playing with now while i take a break from cleaning/putting up to write this). Monday night we went out to my uncle's house to do our Christmas with our extended family (on my dad's side). and Tuesday we had our own family time plus the rest of the time with Pop and Mimi. Tuesday night we went back out to Scott and Sherri's for a little bit to visit with my mom's brother whom i haven't seen in probably 8 years. So needless to say...we were insanely busy. We were glad to be home. We let the kids out of the car to play outside as soon as we got home and i've been in cleaning/sorting, etc. mode ever since.

and did i mention we still have micah's family to do? that is saturday, but hopefully i'll be done with all the unpacking/toy sorting by then. sunday will include taking down all the Christmas decor. The following week i will start caulking around the baseboards from where we have done floor work. next friday i have my 16 week appointment and also start doing some part time friday work at the doctor's office...which my sanity greatly looks forward to!! the first week of february we should find out who little bitty is and i'm just counting the days!!

hope everyone else had a great holiday and got to relax!!

13 weeks & 2 days

so for about a week now i have been feeling our newest little bit moving around in there. it is always amazing to me to have those first little flutters. and as what the magazines/books call a "veteran mom" (yeah, right), it really does get earlier every time. with luke it came about 17 weeks. with sethy it was about 14 weeks. and this one is even earlier. and that is a perfect little christmas present for me. also, i'm just starting to get a little baby bump going. hopefully in another 2 weeks i will have a picture to actually show...even though i am not sure anyone cares! i'm not as interesting as some of my friends have been that have just had babies.

tomorrow i will be in super duper packing mode and all but about 3 gifts that are under our tree will be making the 300 mile trip down to dothan...plus our regular stuff. we will have to take out the back seat this time folks!! anyway, i hope you all have a very happy and blessed holiday. please be safe if you are traveling!!

December happenings

it seems like a lot has been going on. i think partly it is just the day to day chaos that keeps me busy also. i had a doctor's appointment earlier this month, we went to the botanical gardens to the "galaxy of lights", we went to the christmas parade and luke had his holiday program/party at school. plus last week we had a small scare with micah's dad. he had a mild heart attack and had 2 stints placed and will go back in about 6 weeks to have 1 more. but he came home today and everything is fine. just new lifestyle and meds to get used to. i've had a couple of marathon shopping days and only have 3 gifts left to buy. fortunately they can wait until after christmas.

luke knew every word to the songs in his program and in usual luke style, he sat there and just looked at people. at least on the second song he decided to at least do hand motions. and i'd like to take a moment to petition prayers on his part. we are having serious issues with back talk/smart mouth/bossiness these days and i have met my absolute limit. he may have to go live in australia. susan and tony, please enjoy your baby days. don't say "my kid will never..." cause they WILL!! kiss your babies tonight and be glad they can't talk yet haha!!

they both have a little virusy cold/cough right now, so i am hoping that they are better before our trip to dothan this weekend. i am very excited to be getting to go "home" this year since i haven't been in 3 years and it will be a while before we go back.

tomorrow night we are going with our neighbor and her little boy that is seth's age to santa's village. it is the coolest thing. they get to see the reindeer, visit santa, get a cookie to decorate from mrs. claus and it even snows while we are there. hopefully i'll remember to take my camera and my kiddos will be good enough to enjoy it!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas kiddies! I WILL be sending out real cards, but this is my first attempt at a decent picture this year. We are either uncooperative or supercheesy so our eyes are closed!! Please scroll down and look at our completed bathrooms also!!

Luke and Seth 2007

Our house all decorated

11 weeks 1 day

**if you are a boy, you may not want to read this as it may include a few medical terms you don't wanna know!!*

i'm not sure what time i finally got called back. my appt was at 10 this a.m. i first went back to ultrasound and we were able to do it on my tummy instead of "the other way." and that baby has grown so much and was waving his/her hands all around and kicking up a storm! the heartbeat was 150 bpm. when she was done i asked her if we still had to do the nuchal translucency test. well she wasn't sure what i was talking about. so i told her what he said he wanted at the last appointment, so she went and got another lady b/c she had done those. well, then came the "do you have a history? did he see something on the last ultrasound? do you have other kids?" questions. i said "no. no. yes." so they weren't sure why he ordered it since i'm not even 30 and i have no history and everything looked perfect. the second time they did the u/s, it had to be the transvaginal way (i hate those). well, she couldn't get a good view b/c the baby was way up in the fundus, which is great. but she measured from a view from my belly and she said "i don't know why he wants this. everything looks perfect." now mind you...this is about an hour after my appointment now and i still haven't peed in the cup! so we went back out to the waiting room and the most horrible thing happened. this lady who was easily a full 7-8 months pregnant came out of an exam room and started crying and the nurses came out and said "is there anything we can do? is there anyone we can call?" and the lady called her husband from decatur to come (probably 30+ minutes from the office i was at) and said "can you come up here and meet me." and the nurses said "we are gonna take you to ultrasound and we'll see what it says." i just started crying for that lady. i have no idea what happened. that was the worst thing ever b/c she was sitting right next to us. anyway, the nurse from the last appointment failed to give me my goody bag and my lab slip. so i have to get up early in the a.m. and go get my blood work done (which is nothing...checking blood type, blood count, Rh factor, HIV) and i will go back in 4 weeks! so it's been a long morning, but everything looks great, measuring right on schedule (11 weeks 1 day) and even lost 2 lbs!! i'll take it!!

my hard worker

my floors are done! and micah did an excellent job putting them down and getting the trim back up. so i thought i'd show off a little!!

In Progress...

Master Bath Completed

Boys Bath Completed

pregnancy dream

10 weeks/3 days...

i didn't sleep very much last night, but when i did, i dreamed that we are having a little girl. for whatever reason, micah wasn't in the room when i found out, but he heard my complete elation when i found out. it was just like i was at my visit for the ultrasound and the sonographer turned the screen to me to see if i could tell and i told her what i thought and she wrote the correct "anatomical" word on the screen.

now i say all that to say about 2-3 days after i took my home pregnancy test, i dreamed i went in for my 8 week ultrasound and they told me it was a boy and i cried.

hormones...

our first trip to the dentist

i have been prepping luke for the dentist for about a month. i told him that they use a toothbrush that spins just like his, but it makes a little noise, that he may get to spit in a vacuum straw that he would look in a mirror and that he would get a toy if he was really good. we have been over it every day, twice a day for a month. he did excellent with getting his teeth cleaned. however, i apparently didn't prepare him for the easy part when the dentist comes and just says open wide and they count his teeth. he didn't want anything to do with that. however, i will admit that his cleaning had been over for about 25 minutes and he had already gotten his toy at this point. so i'm sure he had had his fill...plus, it's not something i really mentioned over the last month, either. i figured he'd be freaked out with the cleaning part. oh well...

my little sethy biscuit was a super champ. he sad in daddy's lap in the chair. he didn't like the spinning toothbrush, but i told them if they wanted to just brush them with the regular, he would be fine...and he was. also, they had blue's clues toothpaste, so all was well. the dentist said their teeth were really clean and their bite was good. so mommy and daddy were very pleased. this is a pediatric dentist (which i highly recommend) and their office is decorated all in space stuff and even has a space ship they can play in in the waiting room. and when we walked in the door, our pediatrician was there with her 2 younger boys. and i was thrilled to see that her 2 were as wild as mine can be. i will never feel bad about how they are at her office again! i trust her completely b/c she is a mom of 4 boys, so i know she gets it!!

so really, we didn't get the wailing and nashing of teeth that i completely expected. i underestimated my kiddos once again, but i figure that makes for better praise! the next appointment they gave us is for june 11th at 740 am. first of all, that won't happen b/c i will likely be in the hospital. but secondly...who on earth thinks i could make it out the door at 7:10 am with 2 kids to get there at 740?

very brief

just wanted to let everyone know that everything is still fine. my next doctor's appointment is next wednesday when i'll have an ultrasound and blood work done. my current children are driving me a little crazy today (and it's only 8:20 in the morning...yeah!) and they have their first trip to the dentist tomorrow. i expect full on screaming and shaking and all out refusal, even though we have been prepping them for this for over a month. that's just how my kids (especially luke) roll.

we DID, however get plenty done over the extended weekend. micah got our bathroom floor done, we got the tree, garland and other Christmas decor up and i even fit in a little shopping and have wrapped gifts under the tree. micah got the gutters cleaned out and got a lot of other stuff put up in the attic. we lack the wreaths on the windows (can't do that when it keeps raining) and the other bathroom floor (so it will match ours.) and hopefully luke will cooperate on friday when he has school pictures b/c i haven't had a 4 year picture made of him yet.

a little scare for thanksgiving

yesterday i got to sleep in a little before getting up to fix the sides i was taking to micah's mom's for thanksgiving. i really needed it b/c i hadn't been sleeping well the last few nights. i got up, cooked my few things, got my shower, helped get the boys all ready, was actually just putting the last spray on my hair...when i felt it. and i knew i wasn't leaking b/c i have c-section babies. so i checked and sure enough i was bleeding. i was startled only b/c i had never had it with a gush feeling before. i felt like everything else was probably normal. but i called the doc anyway and of course it was lay down and put your feet up. and i didn't want to go do that at my in law's house with it being packed to the gills with folks, so i just sent micah and the boys and the food. i told him i'd come later if i felt a little better. so they walk out the door, i absolutely SOB and then got in the recliner for some good ole Top Chef marathon. so for actual lunch, we didn't really have anything here, so i ate some stove top. thankfully there was plenty for micah to bring me home a plate (or a lunch plate and a desert plate) so i could eat REAL thanksgiving about 3pm.

the rest of the day i just sat in the recliner and rested. nothing else happened, just got lighter as the day went on. i was a little worried when i would get up last night to potty, but everything was ok. today i have felt fine and nothing is happening today. just an early pregnancy thing.

we did get out a little tonight and bought a new tree. it's one of those prelit skinny trees. it took a little bit to shape it, but i am actually glad i don't have this ginormous tree taking up a quarter of my living room!! i got it up and decorated and got the little trees that i put in luke and seth's rooms done. micah got our bathroom floor done. we just need to put the molding back down and it will be completely done. tomorrow, as long as i feel well, i will attempt a little light shopping b/c tis the season...

the next couple of weeks will be busy. next week we have our first dentist trip with the boys (say a prayer for that b/c it will NOT go well, i can assure you!), luke has school pictures. the next week i have a doctor's appointment and micah is going to put down the tiles in the other bathroom (b/c i'm OCD and the bathrooms have to match). the following week is luke's last week of school, his holiday program at school and our anniversary. the next week is free before we leave for dothan for a few days for Christmas. but i will definitely need that free week. i will definitely be glad for the new year and a little slowing down...except that i need to start painting my living room and halls...but maybe if i'm sweet, mimi (my stepmom) will come help me.

but to reiterate...EVERYTHING IS OK!!

chuck e cheese

we attended our first "chuch e. cheese" birthday party for our neighbor, sam. he is about 2 months younger than seth. he was the cutest thing. he loved on chuck e. cheese and danced. it was a hoot!! i wasn't sure how my kids would like it, but they had a ball. they are alllllll about getting tickets!! i felt like a kid myself. i wish they would have been better at ski ball b/c that is my favorite. but they had this game that you put a token in, hit a button, and it just spits out tickets. sethy would have stood there all day i am convinced. we went through the tokens we got from the party, along with a roll of $10 that i bought and all we got was 2 water squirters and 2 small toys. now i DON'T miss that!!! but they had a ball so it was completely worth it and now, i can use something as a treat for being good. time to whip out the sticker chart again. i think i'll use the chuck e. cheese method and you have to get 1000 stickers for being good to get to actually go!!

the THIRD Tucker

Well, about a month ago, we found out that little Tucker #3 is on the way!! Today I went for my first Dr.s appointment and the ultrasound measured me to be 8 weeks & 2 days which gives us a due date of June 24, 2008. But, of course it will come 2 weeks earlier b/c i have c-section babies. Luke is really excited and says he is gonna have a brother. Sethy says he is gonna have a sister, so hopefully in February we will see. The heart rate today was 155 and the baby looked good so far. I go back in 3 weeks for an additional ultrasound and bloodwork (something new that they do), so hopefully I'll have a better picture to post then. So I guess I will have to make sure to update more often. I had morning sickness the 3rd-5th weeks of pregnancy, but now I don't have any. Just the tiredness and not much appetite. And for only the 2nd time in my life, I don't want sweets (i was that way with luke, also.)

So that is where we stand for now!!

The Handy Man

so we had some water damage to our bathroom floor that has been there over a year and we finally got around to fixing it. we meaning micah. he is very handy around our house and has saved us thousands of dollars over the years. basically he had to rip out the subflooring, add additional braces to the joists, and add new flooring. now we need to finish it with lanolium...which is what we will probably be doing the day after thanksgiving if not this weekend. just wanted to give my man the credit he deserves (even though i don't think he cared for me being in there to take pictures of him!!)

micah working on our bathroom floor

Around the House

First of all, scroll down and look at a few new posts. I was so behind from not having pictures downloaded. But now i tried to put them in order (thanks Tony!) But here are a few random pics from around the house. It has also been a little crazy because we only had one good week from stomach virus until we got sinus/allergy/borderline bronchitis crud!


all ready for church

luke trying to help bubby put his diaper back on after potty time


bubby in his big boy underwear

halloween

Maddie the Butterfly, Seth the Cow, and Luke-Joe from Blue's Clues

Luke and Seth before "Trunk or Treat" at Plainview

we've had our turn

last week was a doozie. luke and seth had their 4th and 2nd birthday parties, respectively. we had a spiderman-slash-blues clues party. one of my cousin's had died the previous week, so "pop" didn't get to come, but mimi was there. and nana and papa got to come for the first time since seth was born so that was a treat. we had friends and family and plenty of cake and treats and plenty of gifts...at least until christmas!! saturday morning when micah got up, he didn't feel well, so i sent him to bed at the end of the party. luke had not felt well on friday, but was back to normal on friday night after a week of hardly eating. micah, turns out, had a bit of a stomach virus...which by tuesday he had given to sethy in the form of both diarrhea and vomiting. that is sethy's first time. he was a super trooper. he was a little clingy and broke out in a horrid rash, but by saturday, all was back to normal. and let's not forget that friday they both had their annual check ups. they are both in the 90% of weight and luke is in the 93% for height and seth is in the 75% for height. so i have biggo boys!! but i'm just glad they are healthy. seth got 2 shots and luke got all his boosters so he got 4!!! next up...the dentist. at least he has about 6 weeks to recover before completely embarrassing me there. i already know it will not go well. the joys of parenting!! i'm trying to be better at updating more than once a month...but i'm pretty bad at remembering!

oh--our friends the Griffies' had their twins jonah and claire. they are doing well and are healthy. we have faithfully prayed for them for years and it is truly amazing to watch God's perfect plan and timing work out. getting to watch an answer to prayers unfold over 9 months has been truly wonderful! we love you guys and are praying that you all go home and recover soon!! i just wish we could greet them at the door!!

Birthday Party

our Spiderman "thinking chairs" and part of the haul


our 1/2 Spiderman 1/2 Blue's Clues cupcakes

We had a 1/2 Spiderman and 1/2 Blue's Clues birthday party this year. We had really beautiful weather and plenty of folks there, even though we certainly missed Scott, Sherri and the boys and Pop. The boys got a ton of stuff and hopefully it will last them the 2 months until Christmas! I can't believe Sethy is 2! Luke seems like he should be 4, but now Seth is the age Luke was when we brought him home from the hospital!! Time flies when you're up to no good!!

Luke-isms

we started back to preschool a couple of weeks ago. Luke's teacher is the one who first taught him when we started going to Madison last year. so he already knew her and loves her. he just gets out and runs to class. it is NICE!! he loved school last year and this year he is going 2 days a week. so we are driving 200 miles just in back & forth to church (meaning for church and school) every week!!

anyway, these are a few things he has said lately:

i had been telling him something, like what all we were about to be doing i think and at the end i said "ok, Luke?" and he said "whatever you say, mama." (bored sarcastic tone and all!)

today we were leaving the carwash and they love for me to use the big "vacuum hose". well, i didn't need it today and when they had asked me for the 10th time in a row, i just quit answering. the next conversation was this:

Seth: use a 'macuum hose'?
Luke: no, seth...not today.
Seth: not today?
Luke: that's correct...not today. (same tone as above.)

and sunday was the best. we were on our way home from church and seth was whining about who knows what when micah and i had had enough. but before we could say anything we hear Luke say "Sef, I'm ready to put you in the bed!" and before we could even get home, he changed his mind and said "Sef...you are going STRAIGHT to bed!"

mama and daddy laughed alllll the way home!

Gulf Shores in August

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill-Atlanta

whoops!!!

i was checking my blog and i was starting to think nobody loved me because i never had comments. turns out that i forgot to turn on the comment thing. what a jo-jo!!

dana-if you are reading this, when all of our kids get to camp, and when emma hooks up with maddie reed (ellen's little girl--she used to go to college ave but has just moved up here) and then "the wreckers" (which are obviously my boys)...they will just wish a tornado would hit!! i have a feeling the girls will need to start "the little princess" group! poor camp wiregrass. good thing they are slowly updating things because some days, i have a feeling that after all of ours go through, nothing will be standing at the end of the week!!

we have 5 weeks until we go to the beach and we are so excited. luke has been asking for over a month to go to the beach. micah has been counting the days since march! and i need a tan...but i gotta find some time to work on that before i go so i don't fry. work has NOT allowed me to get all toasty brown this year.

i DO have a few cute things that luke has said lately, but that will have to wait for now. it'll give yall...probably all 3 of you...a reason to check back in!

and the next month...

the time is seriously slipping by and i don't even know where it goes. 2 weeks ago, now, was the last of my crazy schedule with work. and i am thanking God for the normalcy. i have about 5 weeks or so left until we go on vacation, and at that time, i will stop working all together. luke will start school 2 days a week after we get back, so that will keep me busy enough. i wish i had some big stories to tell you or a reason why i haven't kept up in the last couple of weeks, at least, but i got nothin. oh well, the saddest thing is that we had a family that we were friends with at our old church who lost their 7 year old last week. that was the most heart wrenching couple of days i've ever had. i think about him and his parents daily. i wonder if i always will. after his funeral, i literally had a migraine so bad i was hovering over the commode praying to throw up if it would make me feel better. thank goodness for aleve and excedrine migraine!! one of my best friends was the little boy's aunt and she is having a hard time. this was an only child and only grandchild on the mom's side of the family. it was a real tragedy for our whole community. i think the parents are starting to come out of shock this week and i am just really praying for them. i could not imagine.

i'm trying to get back into exercising on a regular basis. work really threw a kink in everything since march and i'm just trying to work it back in slowly. the diet portion...i need to just strive for consistency. some days i am sooooo on. others, let's not even talk about it. since my friend ellen moved to town i have kept busy with her and her daughter and pooch, so i guess that is where i have devoted a little extra time and care, these days. we also had VBS which luke loved. now that's it's raining everyday, we are a little cooped up. but i at least took them to the mall to play in the little kiddie area for a little bit. hoping it will clear up and we can cut our jungle grass so we can get back outside. we definitely need some color on us before we go to the beach!! and boys just need fresh air! i also just need to sit down, now that i have more free time, and get a schedule made out. i just get overly busy doing day to day stuff that i don't remember to take time for myself or make special day trips or whatever with the kiddos. sounds like something i could be doing now!! well, that or take advantage of the quiet and get on the treadmill!! hopefully i'll keep up more regularly and start to include the cute day to day stories and pics!!

from may to june

this has been a busy month for the tuckers. luke finished up his first full year of preschool. they had an end of the year program where his class had to sing the ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, Tiny Little Daisy, and If you Plant a Penny. and of course when that happened, Micah had strep throat. Yeah, we were going to sleep on that friday night and he felt warm. we just figured he was getting a sinus infection. so 4 days later he went to the doctor (the same day as luke's program) and found out he had strep. so i took luke and seth by myself to the program and wouldn't you know it? he did great! he went up there and sang every song!! i had to hold my little butter biscuit in one hand and try to take pics with the other! i'll get those posted soon. tonight is just for updating. so anyway, i was on single parent duty for the next 3 days. actually by thursday micah felt good enough to keep the kids at home while i worked. but he was tired when i got back...at 3!!! since when is 7 hours a 1/2 day? that place is always so stinkin' crazy!! anywho, so the strep weekend was mother's day weekend (which sucked because i worked my tail off while micah was sick.) after that we had a few normal weeks, just busy. got to have a short visit with my folks when they came one weekend. that was memorial day weekend. micah got up early that monday and went to town to run the cotton row 10K like he does every year. and we (us and my fam) were all out playing in the sprinklers when seth went up to the porch to sit with "pop". well, no sooner had he gotten up there that he got his first wasp sting on his finger. my poor little man. so pitiful!! but he was fine. i say it was due to mama wiping it good, sucking on his finger a little and then giving him some benedryl and ibuprophen. my daddy will probably tell you it was the snuff. gross!! either way, no reaction. last week i went to work on monday, felt fine. went to my friend ellen's to help her get some unpacking done and we stayed up until like 2 AM i'm sure. when we got up at 530 (sucks to be a nurse) i just felt really tired. but mainly "i've stayed up like a school girl" tired. the day went on and i started feeling run down. then my throat got sore....then i started running fever. yep. i was getting strep. so i waited as long as i could and called micah to come home about 2. i went to our office and did my own strep test. POSITIVE. of course. so i wrote out my own Rx and had the nurse practitioner sign it and home i went. so tuesday night i thought i was gonna cuss micah because my body was cramping from the fever. the next day he stayed home with the kiddos while i was in quarantine. then thursday i was feeling fine, but i still had fever. but he needed to go back to work i guess, so i just had to will myself well. finally around 3 my fever broke and i have been ok. thankfully ellen doesn't have tonsils and she brought us some yummy supper!! having your bff in town rocks!! i looked at micah's throat the next night, and wouldn't you know it...white crud. so i got up early on saturday and went back to the office and brought home the kit. strep tests for everyone. that's right...i even did the boys. micah's was positive, but the rest of us were ok. so we got micah another antibiotic called in. he has 2 days left of it (and i was smart enough to ask for a refill just in case.) oh, and in the mean time, our washer broke. so we had to buy a new one this weekend. so needless to say, if i haven't gotten in touch with people, we have been busy. today we had maddie with us so the boys and her played allllll day. i think it is safe to say we are all pooped! tomorrow i am going to get father's day stuff taken care of. i'll try to download my pics this weekend and get those on here for an update.

little devils

yeah, 3 months later...

well, things are a little crazy in my world these days. i'm so used to the boring "every day is the same", that now it is just a little hard to sit down and figure out what to write. (not to mention the fact that i didn't even get those 2 sentences out without being interrupted by having to referee!!) anyway, i have been working 4 days a week and it adds up to only about 10-12 hours a week, but it has really changed how i get things done during the day. i'm not as good at time management as i used to be!!

the good news is that he is completely intelligent. he can count to 100 and knows the Lord's prayer and the books of the new testament, all his colors, shapes, letters and loves to sing. luke has about 2 weeks left in preschool for the regular year. then they are off for 2 weeks and then he switches from fridays to tuesdays (my only day off of work!) he got his first official time-out last friday. he was kicking over the other kids' blocks and the teacher got on to him several times. the last time, she had no sooner gotten it out of her mouth when he got up, went over there and kicked them over. so he had to sit in the time-out chair and lost his treat for the day. when i got there she said he also wouldn't use the potty all day. (it bothered her, but not me because this is a child that has held it from athens to gulf shores!!) anyway, i marched him to his room, spanked him, made him potty and flush (something else he wouldn't do the week before) and then go hug his teacher and apologize. he lost his video and game priviledges for the weekend. (tough mama!!) he has had an issue with using the potty in public. (it's the industrial flush...woosh!! i think.) he has been potty trained a year now and just hates to do it in public. well, this past february he actually went a couple of places in public without problem. we were super duper pumped. we even made a trip to dothan where he used it at the mall. well, around my birthday we were at red lobster in decatur where he was using the potty and he shifted a little and it was one of those automatic things and the child nearly jumped out of his skin!! so pottying is actually just now getting back to some normalcy. he went a couple of weeks where he was wetting his underwear all the time and peed on my couch 4 times in 1 week. i thought i would kill him!! oh, and let's not even get into the time he peed on the chair...so much so there was a puddle on the floor!! but he is going fine at home again, but the school thing...we may have to work on. he has also developed a fear of bugs. one saturday a bumble bee buzzed by his ear and he went birzerk. i had to lock him out of the house so he wouldn't be inside alone while we were all outside. now, everyone knows if there is even a fly in the room. seriously...i'm surprised i even bathe anymore!! he has also been having allergies for the last week and getting him to take medicine is like water torture. seriously...i must have been the actual devil in my past life to get him!!

sethy...little sethy. well, i had him sleeping in a toddler bed because he no longer fit in a pack n play when we traveled. so it was just getting time. he was doing fine until he realized that he can just get up. so he was getting up at like 5 am or so and just being up for the day, playing in his room. aggrevating. and as soon as we'd lay him down, he was right back up. so back to the crib he went. he is mouthy...and good lord! he can say absolutely anything and can say all the way to "k" in the abcs. he's a smarty for sure. he is all red head. between the 2 of them, i have definitely earned my angel wings.

they are both in their rooms right now crying. the computer room sits right in the middle, so i have it in stereo. and that is a good reason not to post very much!!)

micah is training for the cotton row 10k like he does every year so my sunday afternoons are shot right now because he goes over to run the course. i'm not sure why he cares. he's not in it to win it or anything. so giving up every sunday afternoon has mama a little ill these days. but i just make sure i take the same 3 hours doing something alone on saturdays. (i'm warped like that!)

we are going to the beach at the end of august and that is our only other plans for the rest of the year so far. we're not great travelers so that is probably just fine! hope everyone is doing well and i'm sorry it has taken forever to post. hopefully it won't be another 3 months. i'll work on some new pics later.

drama queens and biting things

i thought seth was gonna be my good baby. my angel baby. apparently with the full moon in his sixteenth month, the devil has completely come out in my little man. he swats at things, he growls in frusteration, he throws himself down in the floor in an all out fit. sometimes, his body goes completely limp, he turns blue and almost passes out. fun times. and as of this weekend, he decided he wants to be a biter. completely unprovoked, he has bitten luke 3 times, and i mean a hunk of a bite. and he had the gaul to bite micah last night. so micah bit him back. and of course the drama queen came back out after that. sethy has a long road ahead of him as he has yet to have to learn that mama is older, smarter, and the clincher....MEANER!! luke...well, he is 3. there are good moments and bad. i like to refer to the 2-3 year old stage as the bi-polar years. parenting is the absolute hardest thing i could have ever wanted to do. i know it will have it's rewards. i'm not really seeing those days any time soon i am quite sure. but i am sure this is my lesson in patience...children. i'm sure within a few days i'll get a few pics of the mean drama queen and his work to post.

milestones and other mishaps

well, things are getting a little crazy in our house. luke, as we all know, is 3 and if you have ever had a 3 year old, you know what all that entails. he is rough and tumble and tantrums and everything is "that's mine!" or "that's luke's!" he's such a JOY to be around these days. He hits and pushes his brother (fortunately he hasn't learned to put any weight behind it yet!) He still loves preschool and i am just waitin on them to call me for another day a week. stinkin waiting lists! He is starting to pretend a little these days. he is playing house with baby tad...putting him to bed, rocking him to sleep, buckling him in the booster chair to eat. it's cute. he loves to sing at the top of his lungs until he thinks you are listening. right now for sunday school he has to learn the Lord's prayer. he has done really well and knows probably about 1/2 of it. so i'm proud. he somehow doesn't get in trouble in school, and always seems to have a great day. (i wonder if they will keep him? lol)

Sethy...my sweet angel baby is turning into a 2 year old. at about 15-16 months both of mine have turned on me. unfortunately seth gets to learn from older brother. but sethy has a temper! gracious! he will surely let you know when he doesn't like something. he will throw and slap at stuff. he and i are in for a long year i imagine. i could kill micah for passing on that red-headed temper. i told him if i have one more red head or one more boy, he would likely find me in Tuscaloosa in Bryce. (no...no baby on the way...i'm talking "if" and "in the future.")

Not much else is going on. I will finally get to start back to work in a week or 2 which will be nice. It's just one day a week. I'm already having some babysitting issues, but it will work out i assume. That's about it for us for now. Not much happening which is a good thing! I've learned in the last week that being boring can be the best thing!

The Month that Was Christmas

Let me just say that I am glad Christmas is over! it seems like it really did last all month long! Luke had preschool stuff for the first 2 weeks of the month and his Christmas program on the 15th. it was too cute. the whole preschool wore matching painted sweatshirts. luke's class was the youngest and last to perform. he had to learn "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". And let me tell you, he knew every word down to the arm motion they do on "WISH". The 4 y.o. class went first and sang 2 songs. Then the 3s joined them for 2 more and then Luke's class (he's technically in the 2 y.o. class, but like in school, he will be the oldest). micah and i were just happy that he went up there and sat and didn't cry. let me tell you, when the 2s came out, all the parents were up there taking pics of their kids. luke sat there smiling for all the cameras and didn't sing until the last 2 lines of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and then he clapped with everyone. I was really hoping he would have sang more, but he was too interested in hamming it up for everyone NOT taking pictures of him. but it was cute none the less. on the 10th we went down to cullman to have christmas lunch with my father-in-law's side of the family. and that is basically all that happened there. let me just say that at this point, my tree had been up for 2 weeks and luke was asking to open presents every day. fortunately he was patient. i never had any problems with seth trying to get into the tree, it was luke this year. but eventually he got the point. the 16th was mine and micah's 6th anniversary and we spent the morning finishing up Christmas shopping (how romantic, right?). the next week was mostly calm except that both boys were just coming off of a 2 week cold. the 21st seth had his 15 month dr. appointment and he is big and healthy and got his chickenpox/mmr shot. NOT HAPPY!!

but he didn't have any reaction to it, so that was good. we all woke up here on Christmas morning (luke slept until 8 and seth and me until 9) and opened presents for forever. then that evening we had a couple over for christmas supper. 2 days later becky's parents (pop and mimi) came bearing gifts from a hundred people it seems, and stayed for 2 days and then that friday we finally all got together with micah's family and opened presents. fortunately micah was santa this year and we all just dug into the gifts instead of going in rounds (thank you Jesus!) we had supper and FINALLY it was over! this last sunday luke didn't want to leave class because he thought he was supposed to get a gift first. but this week he was back to normal.

so, all that and 10 lbs later, i'm glad for the new year!