Early Thumb Victory

Thumb sucking has been in this house since Abby was just a few months old. That's a whole lotta thumb sucking, to be honest. Evie came out of me just as eager to suck her thumb as her sister was. Abby didn't stop sucking her thumb until this past Fall. It came down to an ultimatum. She had stopped temporarily back in Pre-K, but the moment her last day of school was over she plopped that bad boy back in her mouth uttering, "Good. Now I can suck my thumb again." I told her it was either stop sucking it on her own, or she'd be using the nasty stuff you paint on their nails to stop them. We had to use the stuff. She reverted a few times but is now thumb free.

Evie, only being half of Abby's age, was still sucking hers. And honestly? I was okay with it. I knew she'd be going to pre-K earlier than the other two, but she needed it to get to sleep at night. After long days of school, she needed the comfort. I expected she'd be sucking that thumb well into Kindergarten or first grade.

Until...

One evening, she thought it would be a good idea to jump head-first into the couch. I'm not even sure how she did it, really. All I know is that I was walking into the kitchen when I heard her jump. Then I heard blood-curdling screams and she came at me with a mouth full of blood and a gash in her tongue that was quite frightening. The blood wouldn't stop and the nurse on the phone said if it didn't stop to get an ambulance out here. I called and they were here lickety-split. She was very brave as the nice firemen helped her out (who have been here more times than I'd like to admit). When the took a closer look at the gaping wound, it was called a through and through. She bit clear through her entire tongue. The paramedics came and we made the choice to go ahead and go with them in fear she'd puke up and aspirate on her blood on the drive there or (even worse) bite off her tongue completely.

Luckily, they said it would heal in no time and it required no further attention. Unluckily, it didn't heal like they promised. It took almost two weeks before it was fully closed. Poor Evie couldn't suck her thumb. It was extremely painful for her. She couldn't eat anything salty or crunchy for a week and I had to cut her food very small. It was horrible. But by the end of two weeks (still having some pain that lingered for a couple weeks after that), she hadn't sucked her thumb. It was hard and heart-breaking at first. But she got used to sleeping without it after a week. A month later and no thumb. She did try it once and cried telling me how much she missed her thumb. But then I convinced her that she was a big girl and didn't need it anymore.

Truth be told, as much as I complained about the germs and other lovely things that thumb sucking brings, having her suck her thumb was a reminder of her being my last baby. No thumb, no more baby. It tugged on my heartstrings way more than I ever thought possible. But she's a big girl now and I'm proud of her. Even if it was a mere side effect of a very bad night.

Our local heroes...again. We love our firefighters and take them cookies often. They know Evie very well now and always ask her how her tongue is when they see her. She loves it!

First ambulance ride at not quite four years old. On another note, those pajamas still have blood stains on them.

Her paramedics. It may have not been a life-threatening emergency, but for this scared mama...they sure helped.

It was way worse than it appears on camera. You could see straight through her tongue.

My brave little turkey with her blanket, baby kitty, and the bear the paramedics gave her that she named "Stacy" after one of them.

Christmas 2016

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. Not only did we have Christmas at home with all the fun and excited air that the holidays bring, but we also had the joy of having almost all my brothers home to celebrate with us. Which, of course, means that we had a surplus of cousins running around. It was tons of fun and reminded me of the days growing up. We got to play games, eat lots of food (which I now regret horribly), and share some good times and laughs. The kids got tons of new stuff (which they didn't really need) and it was a great time for all. We even got a huge family picture taken by yours truly. I love the magic of Christmas. As always, I missed dad. But that goes without saying. I wish that I could say that it gets easier every year, but I'd be lying. What a way to end the year though! Fun with family and my mom got all her kids under one roof.

The Christmas Eve traditional new jammies. With slippers this year!

Look at all those people! And dad even made it into the picture. (Picture on the wall on the right.)

My favorite picture. Evie loves Grandma so much! (new year's eve.)

Margie adores Evie.

We went to a live show that encompasses the entire Christmas story outside. Beautiful!

Me and the dorky kids.

Lexi loves Alex! She tagged along with him a lot.

Aaron and Michelle flew in to surprise mom for Christmas. She was beside herself with joy!

Uncle Jeremy teaching Alex how to shoot for the first time.

 

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving seems to get lower key every year, but I'm kind of okay with that. Growing up with giant Thanksgivings weren't horrible, they were just crazy. Seeing as how I prefer not to have to leave my oldest child out of the fun of eating everything he wants, I just make it all myself now. This year we had the pleasure of a partially broken oven. The stove top was only half working (which is why we got a new stove shortly after this). And my mom's oven broke at the same time, sooo....yeah. It was fun making food. It was a nice day altogether though. The temperature outside was spectacular and even though Josh was on call, he managed to make it through dinner before getting called out to work.

On a more personal note, after ten years of dealing with food allergies, I officially made a full Thanksgiving dinner with desserts 100% milk, peanut, and tree nut free. It may not seem like much, but it is very gratifying. Everything, from the turkey to the pumpkin pie with whipped topping was safe for the kid to eat. I even found a recipe for a "pecan" pie that is made with toasted rice crispies rather than pecans. We call it the un-pecan pie. It was delicious and Alex was grateful for it.  See my impressive allergen friendly food? It was tasty. What a great day! Happy Thanksgiving 2016!

Oh, and the weather was so nice, we got to spend it outside...jumping into leaves. Naturally.

 

And also lots of reading on the school break. Alex with Jasmine. 

 

Evie's 4th Birthday

Evie is officially four years old! Nearly five years ago when I found out I was pregnant with a third child, I remember thinking how crazy it was going to be to start over. Abby was in preschool and turning four years old and I had leapt over and dodged all of those crazy hurdles that having a very young one held. I kept thinking that starting over with a baby was going to be crazy and that getting back to that point in my life was going to be another very long and winding road. As it turns out, it wasn't all that long at all. I feel like I blinked and my baby became a preschooler with a huge personality.

For her fourth birthday, we kept it extremely low key. Only Mandy and her brood came with Grandma because we were all sick with the same germs. I didn't want to spread that around to anyone else. (It's been a crazy cold season already.) It was fine because she had a ball. She got lots of fun gifts and I made her the cake she wanted. She is into the Shopkins stuff and wanted Cheeky Chocolate on her cake. Done and done. A fun time was had, which is the most important thing.

So far, at four years old, this girl is like neither of the other kids. She marches to the beat of a different drum, for certain. She started Pre-K early and is in love with it. In fact, she loves it more than Alex or Abby ever did. Socially, she is a butterfly and has soaked up the friend life at school like no other. No tears and only joy when I drop her off every morning. She is my pickiest eater. By far. Fruit is a minimum palette - apples and bananas for the most part. Veggies are just as bad. And breakfast? Not a chance. She hates everything and is very vocal about it. It drives me nuts but I know it won't last forever. She loves to dance, sing, draw, play outside, and can't get enough of the cats. Her best animal friend is Luke. Unless she is at Grandma's house, and then it's Milo and Margie. She loves big and tells everyone she knows this. She finds friends in the strangest places. If you break through her shell, she will tell you that you are her best friend. And it's adorable. She still sleeps in our bed at night, but only after I've gone to sleep. She loves Warm snuggles in the morning and adores her brother and sister.

Evie is a blessing and I love her to pieces. She drives me nuts, but I love her all the more for it. Happy Birthday Evie! We are so blessed to be your mom and dad!

Getting the Cheeky chocolate stuffed animal she wanted.

Cheeky Chocolate Cake (Shopkins)

Evie with Grandma.

Halloween 2016

We had a great Halloween this year. Mostly in part because the temperature was fantastic. I remember growing up and being frozen solid midway through trick-or-treating. This year Alex decided to go as Steve from Minecraft. I made his costume from scratch and it cost me a whopping $5.00. Abby wanted to go as a cowgirl which as easy as her horse riding coach loaned us some chaps and a lasso to make it work. Then Evie wanted to be a witch. She had her heart set on it for months before Halloween. Thanks to Goodwill and the Dollar Tree, her costume was super cheap as well.

And then there was me. I found a neon green wig on clearance for a whole dollar the year before and decided I must use it the next Halloween. I went with a forest fairy. I made the costume from stuff I found at Goodwill and lots of makeup and pantyhose. It was a long job, but I enjoyed doing it. I always say I'd enjoy cosplay if given the right amount of money and time.

The kids got tons of candy and we went out trick-or-treating with Mandy and her kiddos. It was a great night with fun had by all. I sure love this holiday and this year I went a bit overboard with the house decor as well. I even got compliments from people at the school who drive by every day. Fun fun!

Happy 10th Birthday Alex!

 

 

Well...there's no lookin' back now! Alex has officially entered the double digits. I can't believe I have a ten year old. We just officially celebrated his birthday about a week late due to Josh's busy on-call schedule. The plan was to go low key as my days of big parties were at a temporary hiatus. But Kemosabe (that is the name I frequently call Alex) decided to take it upon himself to make his own party. I found out less than twelve hours before his party, that he had invited some of his friends to join us for the party the next day. I got a phone call from a boy in his class and he was asking for our address so he could come. Naturally, I was a bit surprised. I told Alex that this was the ten year old equivalent of throwing a party when your parents are out of town. He got to clean my whole house (including scrubbing the toilet) the next morning as punishment for his crime. Needless to say, I allowed the boys to come because I would have felt horrible turning them away after they went to all the trouble to call. But should he do such a thing in the future, he is going to deal with a much stricter punishment. It was a new one for me. Ha! Oh, and did I mention he wanted the poop emoji for his cake? Yeah...that was also a new one for me. I felt a bit odd decorating a cake with poop. Rolling brown frosting turds out was an experience I won't soon forget.

As for the kid, he's sure coming into his own. Each year I see him grow, I see a bigger and more unique personality. He's got so much zest for school right now. He loves it and raves about it daily. He's into video games, sharks, outdoor life, fishing, football, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and art. He can talk until the cows come home and the teacher agrees. He's got mega-creativity in school and is a straight A student. He reads so much that it was the only "complaint" his teacher had. He wants to read every moment possible in school. She even said it wasn't a bad thing, but just the one thing she has to deal with...if that is the word to use.

This year he had his friends Wesley, Chase, and Koy to celebrate with. Jake and Stephanie came with their herd and of course Grandma. He got lots of toy guns (which he is obsessed with), a cool swimming shark, an electronic pet spider (that Abby found - after much searching on Amazon - and bought for him with her own money), a Halo toy, and a refurbished Xbox 360 (which was super cheap). He was so shocked when he got it that I don't think it fully registered until he opened the box.

I'm so excited to see him grow up and become the fun little dude that he is. He walked up to me the night before his party and asked to go get his hair cut so he could look good for his birthday celebration. The next day, he woke up, dressed really nice, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth and gelled his hair then proceeded to ask me, "Do I look grown up now?" I laughed and gave him a hug. Yep, buddy...you sure do. Happy Birthday to my awesome little man!!!

Because he wanted to do a funny picture and he thought this was fitting. *sigh*

Five Minus One Equals Seven

After the untimely passing of our dear Penny, there was a promise that had to be kept. Abby, being the one that Penny chose as her very own human, wasn't coping with the loss of her baby. She was struggling...badly. Each night, Penny would follow Abby to bed, jump up on her pillow and curl up to sleep with her. That was just how it was. Abby wasn't coping. Tears never stopped, sleep was evaded for hours into the night, and the pain was just getting progressively worse. A promise was made to her that I would get her a kitten to help with the pain she felt. My mom always got me another animal within a few days of losing a pet. It seemed to help.

One day, Josh went a customers house who happened to be fostering three baby kittens. He'd mentioned to her that we were in the market, as it were. Bing, bang, boom...one week later...we chose a kitten. Or...maybe three. Turns out that ol' softie Josh can't bring himself to separate siblings and we adopted the whole litter. So we went from five cats, to four and then up to seven. It's been hectic and a bit stressful as they brought a few things with them to share (in the form of upper respiratory infections). Now I'm in a constant state of drugging our four elderly cats to get them adjusted. But we love the little buggers, so it's all worth it in the end.

Abby? Well, it's not great, but she's better(ish). She still struggles, but the kittens have helped. For some reason, all three of them follow her to bed at night and snuggle with her until she falls asleep. It's a God thing. That's the only explanation I have for it. Healing takes time, and our new kittens are helping. Without further ado, I introduce to you Fiona, Jack, and Dixie. Two girls and a boy. Ain't they just adorable?

Jack

Dixie (left) and Fiona...who (other than the one eye thing) looks just like Penny.

God works in mysterious ways, I tell ya.