Little Pop culture break...

So I have to admit that I love gossip about the stars and love reality tv - but I try not to make it too obvious. I just have to say that I am very saddened about Heath Ledger - I just read an article about how he just bought a toddler bed for his little girl and it broke my heart. I loved him in "10 things I hate about you". I can't even imagine having to tell his little girl that she won't see her daddy anymore. I guess maybe because she is around Ashley's age and I see how excited Ashley gets when Larry gets home. It really makes you grateful for what you have.

And on the trainwreck side - Can you believe what a mess Brittany Spears has turned into....it's like a Lifetime movie gone bad!!

Night Monster!!

Now that I know Hailey is healthy I have had to face the facts - I created a night monster!! This girl knows how to work me and her favorite time is during the night. Here is how our schedule would go:

7:30 - She is tired - feed her a bottle - rock her to sleep and then lay her down

9:00 - She is craying - wants to finish her bottle and be held

9:30 - Tried to lay her down - she woke up and wants to be held

10:00 - Tried to lay her down - she woke up and wants to be held

Contines for several hours

1:00am - Wakes up again to eat - wants to be held

3:00 - Wakes up again - for no reason - just wants to be held

So I came to the realazation that I have to start letting her cry it out - which I HATE!!! Ashley never had an issue going to sleep - so I never had to do any of this. The first night was HORRIBLE - she cried - I cried (but I wasn't holding her) It took about 1 1/2 hours for her to get to sleep. Last night was a little better she is actually going to sleep and I let her cry at 9 and she sleeps til 11 - I feed her then just because I can't make her go all night without eating (yes, we already established that I am a huge sucker!) Then she slept til 3am - let her cry for about an hour - but it wasn't a big cry. So we have gone 2 nights and I already see an improvement - and I am actually looking forward to getting some real sleep....soon.

Fun Pictures

We had to have some fun while the kids were sick:

Ashley wanted Hailey to sit in her jeep with her - just had to make sure she didn't try to drive off with her.

Ashley is VERY in to make up - since I won't give her any then she decided to make her own lipstick - with a green marker!

Ashley dressed Larry up with some of her earing - and he had to pretend he was grandma!! (He will be so happy I shared this picture with everyone!)

Long 2 weeks

So for the past couple of weeks we have had two very sick kids! It all started on a Friday night - nothing crazy - Hailey had a runny nose and a cough but she was in good spirits. By Monday the cough was pretty bad so I thought I would take her in to the dr. - Double ear infection! Again she never rubbed her ears - no fever - so here this poor girl is in so much pain and she is still smiling! Well then on Tuesday I noticed she was wheezing and I just happen to see a news story about RSV - am I over reacting - maybe? Call the dr. and tell the nurse and she has us come in right away. Larry left work and met us and it was a good thing. Sure enough our little Hailey had RSV - which is a respatory infection that happens in babies and can be VERY serious. Our dr. office is really great. We were there for hours - they gave her some breathing treatments and we watched her oxygen. It actually dipped down to 88 while we were watching it - it should be close to 100. So the next couple of nights Larry and I took turns sitting in our overstuffed chair at night to make sure she kept breathing thru the night - that is the scariest thing of all!! She was a little trouper though and made it thru great. Luckily she didn't have a bad case - couple more trips to the dr. to monitor her oxygen level but thank gooodness we never had to take her into the hospital!
It's over right....oh no!
The very next day Ashley comes down with a fever - WHAT - yes a fever. My kids don't get fevers - which is frustrating because half the time I can't tell how sick they really are - yes for the most part I have happy sick kids! Finally a fever though - make a dr. appointment - oh she just has a cold - her oxygen levels are great so we don't have to worry about RSV. Well on day 4 the fever still has not gone away - back to the dr.. - Double ear infection and prescription cough medicine!! Again she never once rubbed her ears of complained. The dr. even asked her before she checked her ears "Ashley do your ears hurt?" - "No". Happy to say Ashley is doing a lot better - she still has coughing fits when she runs around but she is getting better.
Not to whine myself - but more to say what a great husband I have. In the middle of the girls getting sick - I got sick. Larry was really great about trying to take on two girls who haven't left the house and were climbing the walls. Amazingly enough he is the only one who didn't get sick....hopefully!

M-I-C-K-E-Y

I love the fact that Ashley has become a big Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fan. She gets so excited when it comes on and sings along and answers all the questions they ask. So of course when I heard Disney playhouse was coming to town I got all of us tickets to go. Larry's first question was "can I drink first" - but it turned out we were all pretty excited to get there. Unfortunately Ashley was too excited to take a nap and fell asleep on the way - so when we got there she was not too happy. She kept her sunglasses on like she was "too cool to be here!" - scary future glimpse of the teenage years! But she eventually warmed up. They had Little Einstein's, Handy Manny, Tigger and Pooh and then Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. By far Mickey stole the show for Ashley!! Hailey did great - slept thru most of it.

What a Year

So it is that time where everyone has sent out the "updates" with the Christmas cards and making their New Year's Resolutions. I for the first time have really had to sit back and reflect on this past year. So very much has happened, some really great, and some really sucky (yes I can use that word!).

I am so extremely grateful for the birth of Hailey. She is so wonderful and I can't remember her not being a part of our little family. I will fully admit that when I found out I was pregnant I wondered "can I love another child as much as I love Ashley?" The answer I am happy to say is YES!! My girls are my world - along with Larry even though I am sure he feels as though he has been pushed down the totem pole quite a bit. I have been truly blessed with my two girls and my husband and I really want to take more time in the upcoming year to cherish all the little moments we have.

We have really made our new house into a home. It took a long time to adjust to a new house and a new neighborhood and although I still am not crazy about the street we live on - too much traffic - I am really happy we live here. It makes me feel good when we are out and Ashley just wants to go home.

Some of the bad parts of the year - total and complete blowout with Larry's sister when we came home from the hospital with Hailey. It turned into a bigger fight with his parents. They made me question myself a lot and really tore down my self esteem. It took a very long time and several people to confirm for me that they were wrong. It was sad to realize the relationship I thought we had was never there to begin with.
It must have been a year to really examine relationships. We also lost contact with our previous neighbors/friends. That has been sad. Yet with this change it has really brought Larry and I closer and made us both realize that our little family unit is what is most important!
OK - enough of the heave stuff - let's move on to more great stuff!!
Ashley has grown into her own little person - she is so witty! My favorite saying that she does right now is from the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the new one with Johnny Depp. He tells Mike TV that he is a Mumbler all the time and Ashley will be off playing and all of a sudden while Larry and I are talking she will say "MUMBLER!!" It sounds worse then it is - it is actually pretty funny and all in good fun. We all have to stop and laugh and stop taking everything we are talking about so seriously! Ashley still loves clothes, shoes, and cars. She is a great big sister which I am so very thankful for.
With so many changes this year I really can't wait for this upcoming year, except for the fact of my girls growing more. I want them to stay my little babies, yet I love seeing all the new things they discover and what great people they already are becoming!

The Best Christmas Yet

Larry and I have really started to enjoy the "Spirit" of Christmas. If you know me at all you know that Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. This year however Ashley has figured out who Santa is and that he "brings me presents" - which is great fun. She had no desire to sit on Santa's lap - which I didn't push because if you think about it sitting on a strange man's lap in a mall is kind of strange! But she sure enjoyed the lights and the anticipation of it all. On Christmas eve we had my family over to do presents and of course eat goodies. Ashley was already overwhelmed at this point. That morning she had decorated cookies for Santa - she was occupied for a good hour with this. We set out the cookies and a glass of milk - and then the great fun was spreading the reindeer food that Grandma brought over. It had oats and sparkle stuff so the reindeer could find it in our front yard - because reindeer get hungry too! Then off to bed! Larry and I were so excited to "play" Santa!! Larry even woke up extra early because he was so excited. Hailey had no idea - and that's OK. I brought Ashley down the stairs when she woke up and she couldn't believe what she saw. She was a little nervous at first but then started making food in her new kitchen Santa brought. She even got on the 2 wheeler bike that Santa left too! To make things even more perfect - it snowed a nice fluffy snow all day!! Ashley opened her very last gift around 4pm - not because she had that many presents but because she stopped to enjoy each of them - or try on the clothes.
Now we have had the sad task of telling Ashley Christmas is over... She is very sad! I had to put away the decorations a little at a time. We can't wait til next year.....