Web Cam

This morning I had my first web cam chat with my brother Paul that lives in Florida and then a little later one with Elliott. Thanks to Paul he helped me figure it out. I was able to get a live tour of his town house and even got to see some of the palm trees outside his place. I just love technology. Now the girls can chat and see Elliott while he is away for 3 more weeks and Bryant and Nikki can chat with Paul when they are out staying with me.

Vulva

Coco

We have been debating on breeding our dog Coco. We have decided not too but just recently she has gone into heat. Yesterday Ryann told me that Coco needed a bandaid on her (being Coco) vulva because she hurt it on the bean bag. Yes we teach our children correct terms because we never want them to feel embarrassed about their body and we don't rename other parts so why pick and choose which parts to rename. I don't understand why people feel that vulva or vagina is a bad word...actually I do because somewhere down the road we are made to feel that it is a bad word. If they are bad words or inappropriate to say then lets all rename our arm, leg, knee, etc... it is all the same. It still caught me off guard that she would say that and why she thought the bean bag hurt Coco?? I decided to let it be and not go into what it means for a dog to be "in-heat" with a three year old.

Coco is a Shih Tzu and weighs about 8 pounds. She is the cutest dog. The downside to her being small is that Ryann likes to carry her around. Coco is not the biggest fan of Ryann.

Snacks

Addison has found a new snack that she likes. One of her favorite things to do is climb up onto the counter or stove and get Coco's snacks and throw them all over the floor. Despite my best efforts to hide this container of treats it never get put back up high and out of reach. I think she enjoys seeing her mom come into the kitchen to have to clean up the big mess and get her down. Today when I went in to the kitchen I could see that she was eating one. I can't imagine those chalky mini bones tasting good but she didn't spit it out. I gave her some water to drink and then 2 hours later.....what do you know she was eating another one. I hide this stupid container and she manages to find it. This second time seeing her mouth full of a doggy biscuit literally almost made me throw-up. It grossed me out to say the least. I did manage to get her to spit most of it out. Knowing how busy she is and the consistent messes really makes me feel for Mothers of multiples. One is hard enough and then you add one more, two, three, four, five, six, seven more all the same age...all making messes. They would get nothing done for the first 4 years.

Water Mess Take Two

I think it is quite clear how much I dislike water messes. And yet here I am again with another water mess to clean up. Our computer sits in the corner of the playroom. This helps because I can be on the computer and the girls can play in the same room. Last night I sat down and was going through emails and handling ebay stuff (can't wait to be done with ebay). I was searching online through our inventory and putting stuff on sale because we are weaning it out for good. I started hearing a weird water noise coming from our laundry room. It sounded like gushing water. Our laundry room is in the basement next to the playroom and that area is unfinished. We have a water softener that flushes every so often and I thought maybe at first that was the noise but it was much louder. I got up to check on it and water was pouring down from the ceiling and going EVERYWHERE! I couldn't tell if it was coming out of the pipes or just the ceiling. All I knew was this was no good and I needed to do something fast. Alyssa had just recently finished taking a bath. I ran upstairs and what do I find????? Addy standing on the toilet with the sink turned on full blast splashing her hand in the sink. The sink is VERY VERY SLOW to drain so with the water turned on it can fill the sink up fast. We haven't spent money to have it fixed because we plan to completely gut the entire bathroom down to the studs and have the plumbing and everything else replaced. This is another reason why we have the rule to always keep the bathroom door closed.

So back to the mess, water was over flowing over the pedestal sink and water covered the entire bathroom floor. Addison was in the playroom with me playing and next thing I know water mess! This happened Very fast. We keep all of our cycling clothes that we sell on racks just below where the water was coming down. Like I said I dislike water messes. Good news the most affected was a box that had jerseys but luckily each jersey is wrapped in plastic and the floor in the laundry room is cement and their is a drain. Needless to say Addy and Ryann went to bed 10 minutes earlier that night. Bedtime is always a beautiful thing! Can't wait to see what tonight brings!

Who's Prettier?

Later in the afternoon yesterday I was changing my clothes into something "cuter" for public so we could go run some errands and then head to a friends house for dinner and FHE. Alyssa comes in when I was putting my boots on. She told me that moms are prettier than kids. I asked her why she thought that. She said that we smell better, get to wear pretty jewelry, and we know how to fix our hair so it looks good. She will often hug me and tell me that I smell like a mom. I never knew if that was a good smell. I guess smelling like a mom is a good thing....unless your breastfeeding and it is morning time. That is never a good thing and I am glad that I no longer have to breastfeed. Although I did come across a cute t-shirt that said,"I Make Milk What's Your Superpower?" but is wasn't cute enough to make me want to breastfeed again. Don't get me wrong I think breastfeeding is the best thing you can give your baby and I did breastfeed all of my girls but I had so much milk and got sick of smelling like sour milk ALL THE TIME!

Mutitasking

For the most part I consider myself a great multitasker but after last night I may need to rethink my techniques. Ryann and Addy go to bed every night at 7. We have the same routine that we do and it works great. Last night I attempted something not part of the routine. While helping them get on their jammies I decided I was going to fill up the humidifier so it could run all night since Ryann has a little cold. I grabbed the water tank and set it on the counter next to the sink. Our water filter has it own spout next to the regular faucet. I turned it on and walked away. It is not the fastest and thought I can get their teeth brushed and come back....oh that was soooo not a good idea. It would have been fine IF I remembered after I brushed their teeth. But to go into the kitchen after brushing teeth is not part of the normal routine. I took them into their room, said our prayer, played the hug game, put them in bed and oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh no the humidifier!!!!!! When I ran back into the kitchen not only was it filled up but now I had a pond the size of my kitchen floor to go with it. I'm brilliant I tell you! I guess the positive thing is that I now have a clean kitchen floor. I really don't like water messes. Especially when you don't realize it is there and you step in water while wearing socks. Sometimes I feel like the mouse in "If you give a mouse a cookie" book. You get side track so many times before you remember where it all started or what you need to do. The snowball effect...love it!

Opening Doors

Addy's newly acquired super power is being able to open doors. This is HUGE for a toddler to learn. Just think they can get behind any closed door all by themselves. Moms keep doors closed for a reason. This morning I was laying in bed reading (this is the best time for me because the girls are either asleep or they think I am asleep and less likely going to bother me) and all of a sudden I could hear my door knob turning back and forth. The door would then barely crack opened and then shut. I would hear the pitter-patter of feet run off (we have wood floors) and then 30 seconds later run back and start with the door knob again. It was actually pretty cute. I knew once she figures out that she can open up Mom's door all by herself life would be good (not so much for mom).

Last week I left to go get some milk. Shortly after I left Elliott went looking for her. He couldn't find her anywhere. He heard something in the garage and opened the door. She was standing out there with Coco and started saying, "Cold, Cold, Cold." A warm day for us is in the forties. It was somewhere in the thirties (Cold..Cold...Cold). Good thing we have a latch up high that we can lock so she will not be to get out in the garage.

I will never forget when Kylee had just turned two and I was sick pregnant with Alyssa. We lived in a two-story townhouse. It was time for Elliott to get home and I decided to go and take a shower knowing he would walk in the door any minute. Kylee just played in the bathroom and then moved into our bedroom to play. Next thing I knew she was gone. I immediately thought Elliott must have come home. A minute later I had this feeling come over me that I needed to check on her. Dripping wet I grabbed a towel and peeked my head down our stairs. I noticed that the door was cracked opened. I went down a few more steps and didn't see Kylee and Elliott's bike was not in the house. This means he was not home and at that point neither was Kylee. I ran to the door to see if she was just outside it and couldn't see her anywhere. I ran up stairs and put the first pants and shirt I could find, nothing else, and ran next door to see if she had gone there. They hadn't seen her and panic started to set in. They immediately started to help look for her. I ran back through our house just to make sure......no Kylee. I ran over and looked by the mailboxes and the play park in the complex......no Kylee. It then had dawned on me that Elliott would take her on walks to a park a few blocks away outside of our complex and to get to the park you have to cross a 5 lane road with the speed limit of 45 mph. I immediately ran to the corner through the field, barefoot, praying I didn't step in a fire ant file (wouldn't that have been a fun twist) and couldn't see her anywhere. I knew she couldn't be far, we just couldn't find her. I ran back to the front of our place and could see a couple walking over our way who were holding her hand. She had wondered over to the complexes play park (which we had check but somehow missed her). There she was standing there safe and sound holding a huge teddy bear that I guess she wanted to take on a walk. I really feel their are guardian angels out there helping us look over our children when we are not there.

So now you know why I really am not a big fan of toddlers being able to open up doors (no matter how cute it can be)......because they may make a run for it and it is the sickess feeling you get as a parent when you misplace your children.

AIMS

Elliott left today to finish his training program with American Institute of Medical Sales. He is so excited and loves learning about the Orthopedic Medical Device field. He is going to be in Memphis, TN for the next four weeks, uhh. That is a long time and hopefully it will go by fast (for me). He will not be coming home on weekends because it is to far and they have weekend projects. We figure all this time he has spent in the hospital over these last two months is to prepare his women to be without him.

One nice factor is that I can watch the Bachelor on Monday nights without hearing him gripe that it is a dumb show. I really stopped watching that show but got into it while he has been gone every Monday night in the hospital and now I am hooked. He is a really nice guy with a cute little boy (he actually seems to care about the girls feelings vs the previous Bachelors). I know Blah blah blah...

Thanks to modern technology we both have web cams and hope that we can figure them out so we can chat with him. I think this will help the girls being able to see him, especially Ryann and Addy. Yesterday when he was packing Ryann knew something was up and asked where he was going and why. A month is a long time for a three year old, let alone a 20 month old, and a mother with a 3 year old and 20th month old. I will only have 2 weeks on my own and then Paul's wife Nikki will join me with her two little ones. I figure we could keep each other company or pull out our hair together. I am so excited to see them and especially being able to meet my niece Briley for the first time.

Principle's Office

Yesterday I had the opportunity of spending over an hour in the principle's office. Luckily it wasn't because I have a naughty disruptive child but sadly, it was because I am fed up with Kylee's teacher. It has been an on going problem that I was trying other solutions and hoping things would get better. I have been so fortunate so far that my girls have had wonderful teachers. It is bad enough that she yells at the kids and makes them feel bad and it is another problem when your child isn't learning and your have to spend each night reteaching her something her teacher couldn't do. Oooh ooh, and my most favorite is when she send home graded assignments with answers mark wrong that are really right, regularly. So you may be asking yourself the same question I ask myself.....and why is she a teacher and why are they letting her be a teacher? Being a teacher that can't teach isn't reason enough to fire a teacher. It is sad because soooooo many teachers out there that are great would love the opportunity to work in this elementary school since it is on of the top in the city. At least the Principle has my feedback and so when other parents complain they will actually take her position into consideration. She is an older lady that retired from another school district and is now working in ours, YEAH lucky us! Some people should really learn enough is enough. If anything I will keep Alyssa out of her classroom when the time comes.

Lung all Better

Yesterday Elliott had his post-op check-up. Everything looked GREAT!! We are so happy! He has to take it easy for a few more weeks. Then he can slowly start being active. Luckily for him he will have a HUGE distraction (this is highly needed because his whole life he has a very HARD taking it easy). He leaves on Sunday to finish up the last four weeks of his training. He will be gone the whole four weeks. We are so grateful for this opportunity he has to be apart of this training program. Here are some of the pictures of his nasty holes left over from surgery.

The large one is one his side in the chest area. In the far left lower corner of the picture is his left nipple.

This is a close up of the larger of the two from above. This is the hole from where the chest tube went in. It has to heal from the inside out and is why they didn't stitch it up. It is quite nasty.

This is on his upper left side of his back (another nasty one).

They are all pretty close together and if you connect the wounds they would form a triangle.

Love Day

I personally find Valentine's Day a very un-needed holiday. I think that people should express love to our loved ones all the time. But for some, maybe it is on this day and this day only that their significant other will go out of their way to do something nice. I hate the idea that someone is going to get me something or give me something because some holiday tells them they should verses any random day they show up with flowers or a gift or hmmmm chocolate for no other reason then the simple fact they were thinking of you and WANTED to do something nice for you. This year it was very low key. I helped Kylee and Alyssa make valentines for school and we made Red Velvet mini cupcakes and heart shaped cupcakes that they got to decorate to give away to all the kind people that have helped me out over these last few weeks with Elliott in the hospital. Lucky for the girls I have an amazing Mom that sends care packages for every holiday or just because. She bought shirts for all of the girls. This picture I know is not the greatest but you have to understand that it was early in the morning before school and I am sooooo not a morning person. It isn't that I want to sleep until noon because I don't mind waking up early. It is that I don't like to be social early in the morning and especially dislike (really dislike) dealing with children that are whining and crying. Why would anyone want to wake up to that to start their day? Anyways, back to the picture taking session....I attempted 3 times and that was enough for me. I did get off a little easy Friday morning because Kylee had fixed the girls hair. Now that you know how I feel about mornings you should also know that I woke up V-day morning and made whole-wheat-buttermilk-heart-shaped-pink (somewhat pink) pancakes. How sweet, we had a "love" breakfast...ahhhh (gag, gag, gag).

Miss Grouchy-Pants

Kylee had made some cute Valentines at Activity Days. She made one for everyone in the family. They were all different and I just loved the one she made for Alyssa. It was an "iPod" Valentine. The pink paper is covering a box of conversation hearts and the ear phones are peanut butter cups and of course cute songs are listed on the iPod.

Endless Snot

What is the deal with the never ending snot that kids get when they are sick. Addison has a cold and I think I have gone through a large roll of Charmin's TP (which is hands down the softest). She is actually really good to lay their when you suck the snot out with a burger ball (great invention and a must have for all moms with babies/toddlers) because this was a daily morning ritual for her first 8 months of life and maybe she realizes that it is a huge benefit if I suck the snot out. BUT THEN...about five minutes later she has a huge clump of nasty snot hanging out of her nose and this process continues ALL DAY LONG. It is truly amazing what gross things we do as mothers! I am just glad that as we grow up we grow out of these normal baby/toddler habits. Can you imagine if adults would randomly trip and fall down on a regular basis like toddlers. I know their are clumsy people out there and this can happen every once in a far in between while...but all the time. And as adults we still wore diapers and would go #2 while staring at the people around us or in the middle of a conversation, with facial expression of slight strains and red faces like toddlers. Or when we got sick we would let the snot run down into our mouths or smear it away with the top of our hands all over our face. This brings me to the conclusion that growing up and progressing is not a bad thing!

Cereal Bowls

At Last my long search for this cereal bowl is over.

This past Thanksgiving we went to CA. My Mom has these cereal bowls. They are plastic (which is great for kids), are not too small, and have a straw built in so it makes it easy for the kids to drink up their milk.

Ryann LOVES cereal (she gets it from her Grandma I guess because I am not so much a big fan unless I have morning sickness and it is Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, and Apple Jacks all the way but I am thinking no more morning sickness is needed in my future). Ryann will easily eat three bowls of cereal in one sitting. She will have it for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and even for snacks. She is a picky eater and this makes life easy minus the fact that cereal is so expensive and the boxes they put on sale are smaller. We will easily go through a box in one day. Elliott thought it was just the cutest thing watching her eat a few bites and then stop and take a sip from the straw.


Since our trip I have been keeping my eyes open for these bowls. I wasn't trying the hardest by searching the Internet just checking out different stores as I was shopping. I went to Smith's Market Place and sure enough they had some. Ryann was all excited at first until she saw some princess bowls right above them. But once we got home the first thing she wanted to do was eat... CEREAL. For me personally drinking the milk at the end of your bowl of cereal grosses me out. I drank milk all the time growing up but now....not a huge fan. The idea of having floaties from the now soggy cereal and....no... it is just no good. But their Father insists upon them drinking their milk because "it is where all the vitamins go" and they can't miss out on that, now can they. When I eat cookies, brownies, PB&Js, and Spaghetti then milk is my choice of drink (I know the first two make sense but the later two???). All of the items listed are not regulars in my diet so plain milk drinking is just not happening especially if it has been tainted by some cereal. I do make protein drinks with milk, and eat other foods rich in calcium so no worries here.

This brings me to another point....the worst cereal ever, hands down are LUCKY CHARMS!!! I don't care how old the child is they will always pick out the dumb hard marshmallows and refuse to eat the nasty other part. ALWAYS! It for the most part is forbidden in our house. Every once in a far in between blue blue moon I will give in and buy it under the condition that all of it gets eaten. It is a guarantee if any of the girls are with me while shopping they will ask for it. And I give them the same answer no matter how many times they promise they won't just eat the marshmallows....hmmmmmm N-O!

In the end the girls are excited to have new bowls, Father is happy that girls will have an easy-no-excuse way to drink the milk, and Mother gets more bowls to wash. Everyone is a winner...(clap three times and smile)

25 Things About Addison Marquis

Addison Marquis

1. Is the only one of the girls that has a family name. Marquis is a family last name on Elliott’s side and he made the final decision on her name.If she would have been born 2 days sooner, Elliott would have named her Samantha (Sam for short). She also goes by Addy, Addy-Patty, Patty, Pat, and Buddy.

2. Loves to take baths (baffs).

3. Hates being ditched in the Nursery at Church.

4. Loves to get my toothbrush and suck on it (or anyone’s for that matter).

5. Has the highest pitch scream that can leave your ears ringing or deaf.

6. Will go to bed without crying or throwing a fit (this is a beautiful thing!).

7. Has to always be in the same room as Mom (reason for #3).

(Not leaving Mom's side at Kylee's B-day Party)

8. Her second word was Coco (1st Mom) and thinks all dogs are called Coco.

9. Has her mother’s toes and that is about it when it comes to looking like me.

10. Can fart and burp louder than any adult and does this often. She thinks it is funny and will laugh (yes she is sooo Elliott’s child). In the middle of her baby blessing she felt the need to pass gas loud enough for everyone to hear and made it difficult for all the men to keep from laughing.

11. Gets more ear wax than any of the other girls.

12. Loves to get Coco to chase her around the house. She LOVES Coco!

13. Likes to dance to music and is the cutest thing when she does.

14. Started walking on her 1 year birthday.

15. Favorite word to say is “NO” but cries when you tell her “NO”.

16. Dislikes milk but loves water (waader).

17. Has the cutest giggle you will ever hear and laughs all the time!

18. When she is tired she likes to take her blanket and put the silky ruffle in her eye so she can blink her eyelashes on it.

19. Spent a week at Primary Children's hospital from Rota-virus.

(One of the better days)

20. Will pull her pants off and then her diaper if she is not wearing a onesise.

21. When you catch her holding something she shouldn’t have she will run away from you and throw it, all while laughing.

22. She would throw her bottles as a baby when she was finished (again, another trait from her father).

23. Loves to put anything small in her mouth and then runs away and laughs as you try to get it out. (refer to #17)

24. Is only down to one nap a day and is a very light sleeper (this makes mom very sad).

25. Does not like strangers and will give them dirty looks if they try to talk to her or look at her.

Cleaning to Re-Clean

Okay seriously why is it just when you finally finish cleaning something, anything, your kids are on radar and know just what to mess up. As I tried to do a little cleaning this morning I found myself putting Addy and Ryann at the kitchen table with some playdough. 10 minutes later I am wondering how this was a good idea? Sure they are preoccupied for 20 minutes BUT then you have a HUGE playdough mess to add to your cleaning list. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother cleaning because I clean the same things over and over again. You spend your morning cleaning only to look at what you cleaned 10 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours later wondering, "What did I accomplish today again?" because it is already a mess again. Today not even 5 minutes after I had finished cleaning the wood floors Addy threw her sippy cup because she got mad. When it landed on the floor the lid popped off and the drink inside came out and made a huge mess. The floor just barely dried and yet there I was recleaning those dang floors. SERIOUSLY.....talk about an AHHHHHHH moment!!!

I think my most favorite is when you just get finished folding laundry that is always never ending and so it is a good day that you are actually doing it, to have your little ones unfold it before you get it put away! :) LOVE IT!

25 Things About Ryann Elizabeth

Ryann Elizabeth -3 Years-Old

1. Her name is pronounced “Ryan”

(and we did not give her a boy name because we wanted a boy).

2. When she is told she will have to go to time-out she always asks, “Forever and ever?” I always reply , “Yes, forever and ever”.

3. Only likes wearing dresses or skirts and changes her clothes anywhere from 3 to 15 times a day, no exaggeration.

4. Is a VERY picky eater. She wouldn’t even eat baby food when she was a baby.

5. LOVES going to church and asks everyday if tomorrow we get to go to church.

6. Started walking at 10 months.

(10 months-old, note Alyssa in right upper corner "tickling the carpet")

7. Loves to play with Dolls, Barbies, Polly Pockets, Pet shops, anything with a princess on it, and My Little Ponies.

8. Will do WHATEVER it takes to get what she wants! Pushing, kicking, hitting, biting on kids and continual whining on adults (thus the need for time-out, forever and ever).

9. Is the most considerate when you are sleeping. When she comes in to our room when we are trying to sleep she will whisper “Excuse me Dad (or Mom)” then whisper her question. (verses running in and yelling their problem or question)

10. Can beat you at the game of memory. It is her favorite game and likes playing it

over and over and over...

11. Loved watching, “The Wizard of Oz” when she was 18 months-25 months old. Over and over if we would let her. (How those monkeys didn’t scare her I will never understand)

12. Has a huge gap between her front teeth, large enough for a whole other tooth.

13. Obsessed with princesses and wants to be a princess when she grows up.

14. Favorite food is “Ronies” (Mac n’ cheese), quesadillas, spaghetti,

and frozen cookie dough balls.

15. Loves to get into her Mother’s makeup, lotions, shoes, etc.

16. Loved going to Lagoon this summer and going on all the kiddie rides

(except the Ladybug Drop...scary!).

17. Had the nickname as “Peanut” that Alyssa changed to “Peani” when she was a baby.

18. Loves to sneak into her big sister’s rooms and steal their stuff and play with it. She thinks everything is HERS! This does not make her sisters happy which then doesn’t make her mom happy!

19. Has a hard time keeping her eyes open when she is smiling.

20. Loves to watch movies!

21. Was frank breech and born via C-section.

22. Says the cutest prayers and is the first to remind her mom if she forgets..

23. Loves to wear headbands.

24. Is very opinionated about what she wears but still insists that I pick her outfit out! Only to come down to her wearing what she wants to wear. (What she “thinks” matches doesn’t and tells me what I pick out for her doesn’t match and in the end will never wear what I pick out so I get annoyed when she asks me every morning to pick out her outfit and what is worse I know it is only a matter of minutes or hours until she will change her clothes...ahhhhhh)

25. Hasn’t realized that her farts can sink and will blame the smell on everyone else...

including the dog.

Playing Nurse

SO happy to say Elliott got to come home yesterday! This morning he was finally able to take a shower for the first in 10 days. After his shower I had the privilege of helping him change out or put new bandages on him. I am soooooo not cut out to do things like that! YUCK! I took one bandage off and wanted to throw up! But I didn't complain and did it! You would think that the Dr would have put a stitch or two in those nasty holes. Yes HOLES in his body! Besides having holes in his body to heal he is doing great on his pain meds. He is still my gimpy hubby but with time he will be fine.

Elliott's Surprise!

Yesterday we were surprised with a flower delivery for Elliott from his sister Celeste's Family. These flowers were different from the normal flowers because they were all made of fruit. I decided to surprise Elliott and took the girls up to see him after dinner so we could all enjoy the beautiful yummy fruit. We didn't stay long because he was experiencing more pain than usual and Kylee and I didn't want to miss American Idol. :)

Yesterday was a good day for him. His x-ray came back good and they removed his epidural and his catheter. No more bag of urine to follow him around. His x-ray this morning came back good as well and they removed his chest tube (this did NOT feel good) and it looks like he will be able to come home today! We are all so excited. Now I am off to go search for a diaper since I am all out and Addy just went number 2. Please let there be one in the car!

Mr. Elliott and his DUMB Chest Tube Update

Yesterday morning his x-ray showed more air in his chest than he has had since surgery. At this point his chest tube had suction shut off and tube pinched shut. The Doctor had him cough a few times and felt that was good. They un-pinched his tube and wanted to do another x-ray that night to see if coughing helped. Last night he had an x-ray but by 9 o'clock he had no word on his status. In order for him to come home he has to get the chest tube taken out. In order to get the chest tube out his x-rays need to show no air in his chest. Then they will shut off the suction on the tube and wait 24 hours for another chest x-ray to reveal still no more air. Then they pinch the tube and have to wait another 24 hours for yet another x-ray to show no air in the chest. At this point (if it ever happens) they take the tube out and he can come home. It took two go around the last time he was in the hospital. Each day he fails it takes him back a step and he has to start this annoying process all over again. You can see this can be VERY frustrating! Last night when he told me that no one had taken the time to check it....you can say I wasn't very happy. I called up the hospital and spoke to the head nurse. (Me speaking up when people don't do there jobs is a quality I am sure Elliott wished I didn't have). Shortly after I got off the phone with her. Elliott called again. While I was talking to him his nurse came in and busted me for tattling. BUT someone finally LOOKED at his x-ray and they turned the suction back on to his chest tube because air was still there. If I didn't speak up it wouldn't have happened until this morning.

This morning all of the air was out of his chest and they shut off the suction. So we are in phase 2 again. Tomorrow if all looks good it will be pinched again and then if it continues to look good THURSDAY should be the day it can come out and can return home.

Hope for the best expect the worst. And they said this would be a 5 days in the hospital venture.....HA HA HA.

In the mean time he is busy busy studying. I took Addy and Ryann up there this morning. Ryann found a bunch of silk flowers that I had in my craft drawer for hair bows and wanted to bring them to her Dad. So now he has some yellow fake flowers to keep him happy. He enjoyed hearing Addy giggle (I am telling you it is the cutest thing). One downside is that he can't shower with all of the tubes that are attached to his body and his hair is looking a little......greasy to say the least. I guess 8 days without a shower will do that to anyone.

25 Things About Alyssa Christine

Christmas 2005

Alyssa Christine turns 8 next month

1. Was our only girl born with a head full of hair.

2. Loves collecting really small things, big things, and anything and everything else.

3. While at Seven Peaks Waterslide Park she wasn’t paying attention and ran into a pole that gave her a black eye.

4. When she gets excited she likes to “tickle the carpet”.

5. She is one of the sweetest most thoughtful (most sensitive) kids you will ever meet!!!!

6. She is very possessive of her coloring books. She colors every page and saves them. She was able to color in a coloring book by the age of three and stay in the lines (this is not normal).

7. Loves most bugs, especially digging for worms.

8. Found a somewhat dead bee and decided to play house with it, leaving her stung and now afraid of bees. (like I said “most” bugs)

9. Loves all kinds of fruit but has a huge sweet tooth for candy.

10. We call her “burger farm” or “Queen of the Buggs” because she always has a burger/snot in her nose (we are working on this gross factor so she won’t be remembered by her peers as the girl with the burgery nose).

Might be hard to see but evidence in her Rt nostril

11. Loves her kindergarten teacher from WY and still keeps in contact with her, Miss Latka.

12. When she was a baby we would put her in the baby swing and did not have to turn it on. We would just give it a little push and she would keep it going all by herself. Sometimes getting off the ground. To this day she loves to swing.

13. LOVES listening to music, especially if she can rock in a rocking chair to it.

14. Didn’t walk until she was 13 months and is the only one of the girls that wasn’t a climber as a toddler, she was cautious.

15. She always seems to be in her own world but she really for the most part knows what is going on and is VERY smart. Learning new things, math, and reading all comes natural for her and she has beautiful handwriting!

16. Mastered looking crossed-eyed and being able to blow bubbles with gum by age 4.

17. Is always making up funny sayings and words, like “Water Proof Stew” or she will say with her teeth closed, “I’m a gutsy girl that farts” while squeezing Addy’s hand or “My name is Gutsies and I carry diseases.” (Don’t ask)

18. Has over 100 Littlest Pet shops, can tell you all of their names and when/where she got each one.

19. Is not much of a TV or movie watcher.

20. Loves to play in snow, dirt, sand, mud, or anything similar.

21. When asked by her preschool teacher what she wanted to be when she grows up she replied, “A Banana Maker”.

22. Sings in the shower.

23. Dropped Kylee’s Hamster so she could hear it squeal…it died as a result (this broke her heart).

24. Likes green beans from a can but not fresh green beans.

25. Sleeps with her “yellow blanket” and twirls the bows (she calls them twirlies) every night since she was a baby.

25 Things About Kylee Payton

6 months

Kylee Payton (10 years-old)

1. When she was four she told me she wanted to be a Dr that delivers babies when she grows up and has not yet changed her mind about being an OB/GYN.

2. It is very common that I will wake up in the morning to find that Kylee has all the other girls dress, fed, and even fixed their hair!

3. Can cook simple dinners all by herself and owns 3 cookbooks.

4. When she was a toddler, she would throw the WORST tantrums but now is the best kid.

5. Loves to organize stuff. It is very common that she goes to other people’s homes and organizes their toys because she wants too.

6. Dislikes Math but loves to read and write.

7. Has to be the FASTEST at everything she does! This is why ballet didn’t work out for her so well.

8. LOVES to dance! Hip Hop is her favorite!

9. Favorite meal is Hawaiian Haystacks.

10. Loves salmon but dislikes fish sticks, likes peas but dislikes green beans.

11. When she was 2 years old she loved watching “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

12. At 6, she donated 14 inches of her hair to Locks of Love.


13. Likes watching Info Commercials.

14. Took her first steps at 9 months.

15. Likes to make clothes for her American Girl doll.

16. Does a very good job at picking out her own outfits and fixing her own hair.

17. Doesn’t like to lose.

18. Wishes we had cable so she could watch Hannah Montana, The Duggar Family, Baby Story, and Jon and Kate plus 8 on TLC, HGTV with Mom, and other Nick Jr shows (reason for #13).

19. Has her very own Email address.

20. Her first time wearing underwear in public she pooped and all the poop balls fell out of her big girl underwear by the time we got to the restroom. (The video store didn't have a dog, it was Kylee)

21. Likes to take pictures and has her own digital camera.

22. Calls home often during the day from school to chat with me. How she convinces her teacher to let her do this????

23. LOVES LOVES LOVES DOGS!

24. Has had more teeth pulled out of her mouth by a dentist then that fell out naturally.

25. Knows all about Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy, and the "birds and the bees".

Elliott's Update

Elliott is doing much better. Saturday afternoon he wanted me to bring the girls up to see him. I was pleasantly surprised when we got there to see him looking good. He had a sponge bath and had shaved. He also not only looked stronger but seemed not so groggy. He said he woke up that morning and felt stronger and could move easier than the past few days. His chest tube is completely shut off and if his xray tomorrow looks good they will remove his chest tube. Once the chest tube comes out so can all the other fun tubes and wires connected to him. Hopefully he can come home tomorrow. We can't wait for him to come home!