Bacon Wrapped Fillets

Apparently these were missing from the Angel Food boxes. Apparently they were not on the truck. We are getting refunded. So there you go. More food. You really can't beat it!!!

Angel Food Ministries

We recently discovered a thing called Angel Food Ministries. You get a box a food that will feed a family of four for $30!!! You can't beat $30 a week for food. Today we decided to try it out. I called the person in charge and he said they have an extra box and we could buy it. I must say I am pretty excited about what we got. The stuff in the actual box is probably worth $70-80 bucks. So if you are on a budget this is definitely the way to go.

You are probably thinking that we are taking advantage of a service for the poor people but we totally aren't. This is for EVERYONE!!!! It's not a hand out its a help out :) The pastor I spoke with this morning said he just wanted to do something that would be helpful since all of the gas prices and things are going nuts. Also this is nationwide not just an NC thing. Seriously check it out.

The menu changes every month so you don't get sick of the same food over and over again. Go to www.angelfoodministries.com for more information. I took a picture of what we got this time but I forgot to include the onions (five of those) and the dozen eggs. I am sure we will be ordering again next month.

Geting Along

After my rant post yesterday I realized I made my kids look like little tyrants, which they are :), but really they do get along occasionally and when they do its really cute. We were at our friend Lori's house and they were doing quite well together so Lori grabbed a camera to prove that, yes, indeed, my kids can be good :)

39 weeks

So here I am at 39 weeks and one day. I am hoping this kid makes her entrance soon because I feel like the side of a house! I have been feeling minor little contractions at night but nothing substantial. I have no clue if I am dilated or effaced because I won't let the doc's check me. It will just make me mad if I am nowhere. I'd like to think that I am about 4 cm and 75% effaced and that when I go into labor it will be short and sweet. I can dream right?



p.s. Justin, that tree in the background is the one we gave Karel and Lori. It's stinkin' huge!!

Power Struggle

I am not sure I understand why everything has to be a power struggle between Ava and Amanda. We just got back from a walk that ended up being more torture than anything else. I wouldn't have bothered but we need to start taking Gina on short walks to help her leg. So on the way out the door to begin the walk I told Ava she needed to walk and not ride in the stroller. She lost it and started crying. Finally after a couple minutes I was able to get her to push her baby stroller instead. But of course Amanda saw Ava's baby and decided she needed one too. I went back into the house for her baby. We finally get out the door and, no joke, Ava immediately trips on something and scrapes her knee and starts screaming. At this point we are seriously about 6 feet from the front door. After calming her down we get underway only to be stopped at the bottom of the driveway. Ava wants to go one way on the street and Amanda wants to go the other way. Both start walking in opposite directions. I told Amanda we needed to go the other way and she flat out refused. She stood there and kept saying no. After a couple minutes I just took her hand and lead her the way I wanted to go. That is the reason I HATE going on walks. It happens every single time we go. I am pretty sure that they want to go opposite directions just to make each other mad. It works because half the time I get frustrated and we don't end up going for a walk.

Walks aren't the only things that are a struggle. Every meal time Ava says she wants a certain color plate which is fine but Amanda hears what Ava says and then says she wants the same thing. This makes Ava mad and she starts yelling that she called it first and she wants it so then Amanda starts raising her voice just because it gets a rise out of Ava. It is really stupid and annoying especially since Amanda doesn't even know her colors!

I really hate the word "mine" and I wish the kids didn't know what it meant. Maybe I should just tell them that everything is mine and if they don't quite being annoying they won't have any choices and they just have to deal with what I give them. Oh yeah thats the other thing if one of the two girls doesn't get her way we have a melt down. Here is another example, after we watch a movie Amanda likes to turn the tv off. Ava soon discovered this and decided she wants to do it too. So if for some reason Amanda gets to the off button first Ava freaks out and says its her turn even when she did it last time. Same with Amanda she gets mad too if she doesn't get to do it.

What the heck do you do about this? It is really really frustrating and I feel like we are in a downward spiral and I can get control over the situations as well as I should. Sorry for the whine fest but this walk today really got to me. I just want to enjoy a walk without a power struggle everytime.

First pool time of the season

It was 88 degrees today here in NC so we decided to head out to the pool. I also wanted to induce early labor by pushing both kids up the big hill with the double stroller (hasn't worked yet by the way). The pool was a little chilly at first but it felt so good when you got used to it. Ava got right into the pool but Amanda took about 10 or 15 minutes to actually put her feet in. After she realized the pool wasn't scary she was jumping in!! She just loved it! I can't wait to get them both in Swim lessons so they can feel safe in the water.


Here is Amanda laying out, she must take after her Grandma Lois :)


Ava was jumping in as well, I actually dunked her once and she wasn't a huge fan of that.


Here we are all cooled off :)

As we were walking up the driveway Gina came out and greeted us. This was weird because She was inside the house...so I thought. I walked around to the front door and found the screen door totally ripped open! The front door was shut so I am not sure why she thought she could get in.


In the backyard my friend Justice noticed this hole in the screen of one of the living room windows...

Finally, We discovered the screen to one of the windows to our bedroom totally ripped off!!

I feel so bad because I didn't even know she was outside when we left. I don't remember letting her out at all! She hasn't been going out much since her surgery so I just assumed she was inside. It was pretty hot today too and there was no water out there for her to drink. We were only gone for about an hour and half. So lesson learned, ALWAYS make sure BOTH dogs are in the house before leaving. She has never done anything like this before.

9-5 husband

I never thought I would like having a husband with a "normal" job. When Justin was flying I really liked that he would be off for three and four days at a time, all the time. The traveling wasn't very cool but I dealt with it. When we started talking about him not flying anymore I got worried because I thought I wouldn't see him anymore and that I would be alone more than ever. Plus I figured he would get so consumed in his work that he would forget about us.

Happily it is totally not this way at all!! It feels like he is around more often and I don't feel like I get as frustrated with the kids because I actually get a break every day when he comes home. The other thing that is really cool is that we can go to friends houses as a couple which is so much fun. I rarely went over to peoples houses with Justin before this.

The other unexpected thing is that I don't mind usually if Justin needs to work a little late or a little early. I thought I would get really mad if he had to work until 6 or go in super early but it isn't so bad because he deliberately makes time for us to make up for it. A lot of this is Justin really being conscious of the fact that we love him, need him and want him around. He deliberately makes time for us. For that I am grateful. We do enjoy having him around a lot but I do know that he is doing what he loves and I believe in what he does as well.

I am learning very quickly that this has been a really great change for us.

Wii!

Our friends, the Gatlins, came over for dinner tonight and they brought their Wii with them. What a riot! I didn't realize how much fun that thing can really be. Ava and Caleb (Karel and Lori's son) were punching each other playing boxing. Ava knocked Caleb out a couple times :) After dinner we brought out the Wii Fit game. We played a skiing slalom game which was very fun. Justin is a cheater though because he brought out actual ski poles to help him out. It worked he did great but he is still a cheater :) There were tons of other games we played and each were totally fun.

So any of our family members who are reading this, we want a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas. Or for a new mom gift for me when I have Brie.

Below is a picture of Justin with his cheater poles.


Here is Ava and Caleb boxing.

One more thing..

Ava had her first dance recital yesterday and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. As soon as she got on stage I totally lost it and cried my eyes out. I am so proud of her and she did such a great job!! I can't wait to get the DVD and watch it again.

Something I realized about this experience is that I am totally becoming my mom. My mom pointed out to me that I used to hate it when she would get a video of my ice skating performances and then sit there and watch them when I was in the room. How awful right!?:) Now I get it. It is amazing how proud you can be of your kid and you just don't ever want to forget the things they do and accomplish. I am sure Ava will hate it when I pull out the old video when she gets older but oh well. She'll eventually get it too.

Here's Chloe!

Here is my beautiful niece Chloe and her mom Heather. I must say she is the cutest little girl ever (besides my girls of course). We all can't wait to meet her!!

Diapers

This gets me every time. Last night Justin and I bought some newborn diapers and today I opened them. I forgot how tiny and cute they are. Compared to Amanda's diapers they are just so small It's hard to believe that both Ava and Amanda's little booty's once fit into those tiny things. Here is a picture of Brie's diaper and Amanda's diaper. In real life the difference is much more dramatic.

Good News!

Christine and the baby are ok and I'm at the hospital now. Thanks to our good friends Nick & Gwenn for watching the girls this morning.

We should be here another 30 minutes or so. Christine's been on a monitor for about an hour and it's all normal.

On a related front, my sister Heather and brother-in-law Chris have details on their daughter Chole:

Chloe Ashlyn Westerfield was born May 22, 2008 at 913pm. She was one week early and weighed 8lbs9oz and is 22 inches long. She is taking after daddy with her height already:)

Congratulations you guys!

-Justin

OK

Christine just told me they have a heart beat and it appears normal. They're going to monitor her for at least 30 minutes.

I'm dropping the kids with a friend and meeting her there.

Prayers

It's 6am and Christine hasn't felt the baby move since last night. The doctor told her to meet him at the hospital.

When the kids wake and get breakfast we'll meet her there. No other details now.

I'm an Auntie!!!

My sister-in-law just had her baby about 5 minutes ago!!! Her name is Chloe Ashlyn. I don't know any stats because Justin called his mom literally 2 minutes after Chloe came out.

Congratulations Heather and Chris!!!

My sister-in-law is in labor!!!!

Justin got an e-mail this morning that his sister Heather went to the hospital at about 8:45 this morning!!! We haven't heard anything yet but hopefully she will get that baby girl out in a hurry.

p.s. She is a week early too....jerk... :)

About me

I am stealing this from my friend Gwenn's blog because I apparently can't have my own original ideas. Enjoy!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Not so much. Too lumpy in dressing.

2. Have you ever smoked? I tried a cigar during New Years and the next morning my breath smelled like dog doo, gross.

3. Do you own a gun? I used to have Nerf guns and water guns

4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Hawaiian Punch. No Kool-Aid for us

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not really. Only if there is something that may be really wrong with me

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Yummy!! I especially like them dipped in corn meal and are called corn dogs

7. Favorite Christmas movie? I guess the Grinch. i don't really care about those movies too much.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Milk but I usually just have cereal

9. Can you do push ups? Yes I can, but right now my stomach is huge so I can't do them so well.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring and my engagement ring. I know thats two things but they kind of go together

11. Favorite hobby? I like to read and watch movies but I am not sure that counts. I don't have much time for anything in depth right now

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I probably did as a kid but I found a way to channel my energy.

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I am impatient...big time

14. Middle name? Joy

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

A. When is this baby coming out

B. I really need to go to bed

C. I really like the Oceans 11 series of movies (Oceans 13 is playing in the background)

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, milk, juice

17. Current worry? If this kid is ever coming out

18. Current hate right now? I hate that I am uncomfortable and very cranky.

19. Favorite place to be? In la la land sleeping. Its a rare thing for me now days

20. How did you bring in the New Year? I think I slept through it this year.

21. Where would you like to go? To Australia or some other country I have not been to

22. Name three people who will comment on this? I don't think anyone will

23. Do you own slippers? I do but I have not used them this year because I have been too warm

24. What are you wearing? Red shirt and grey shorts

25. Would you like to sleep on satin sheets? Oh yes. I had a satin pillow case and loved it..

26. Can you whistle? I sure can

27. Favorite color? Purple

28. Would you be a pirate? Only if Johnny Depp was my Captain :)

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower. Thats usually when I don't have to talk.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? I have three Ava, Amanda and Brie

31. Favorite boy's name? I don't have a favorite. I always change my mind.

32. What's in your pocket right now? I don't have any pockets in these shorts

33. Last thing that made you laugh? The stories The ladies at my book club were telling. They are awesome.

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Rainbow Bright sheets by far!!!

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Probably surgery related. Specifically the surgery with Amanda

36. Do you love where you live? Yeah it's pretty nice. I am very lucky

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1

38. Who is your loudest friend? ummm...I have a couple loud friends

39. How many dogs do you have? 2, Gina and Lola

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope he does :)

41. What is your favorite book(s)? Anything by Dean Koontz. I don't have an absolute favorite book though.

42. What is your favorite candy? Reeses Peanut Butter Cups...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

43. Favorite Sports Team? San Jose Sharks not that I watch any hockey or anything. In fact, I am not even really sure why they are my favorite

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? Some great New Orleans Jazz stuff. I am going out happy!

Thunder!!

We have a bit of a thunder storm going on right now. Ava has told Amanda that thunder is scary so now its a big deal when a storm rolls through. The first two pictures I took right after a loud thunder. Amanda's face is priceless. SO after the thunder I tell Amanda that the thunder is just saying hello to her so she turns to the door or window and says "Hi thunder!". The third picture is my attempt at getting her waving to the thunder. It's pretty cute actually.

The last picture Ava really wanted me to take so I did and well its was too cute not to share :)

Flower Girl

We went over to my neighbors house to return something and she ended up cutting a little bouquet for Ava. She just loves flowers and looks so dang cute holding them.

Catching Rain Drops

It started pouring before dinner so Justin asked the girls to catch him one rain drop. Just one...



Also, a quick update on Gina, The swelling has gone almost totally down and she is using her leg just like she is supposed to. She has a slight limp still but that can be expected right now. Her incision is healing very nicely we just need to keep her from licking it for a bit longer and it will be perfect. I can't wait to get rid of that stupid e collar she has to wear. I know she hates it. On the down side though, she is wising up to the pill situation. She won't eat her food if she detects the slightest hint of pills. Even disguising the pills in peanut butter or cheese isn't working out too well. So now we just have to shove them down her throat until she swallows them. Oh well at least she is healing right?

Brie's room

We finally hung the pictures on the wall and it looks great!!!!

Crying Wolf

This morning Ava woke up a little bit cranky and was complaining about everything hurting. For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis you know that this is not an abnormal thing for Ava to do. We were out last night until about 10:30 and they did not sleep in this morning at all. Both were up by 6:30. So naturally I figured Ava was just whining and I ignored her.

We had a playdate lined up at my good friend Tamlyn's house and I was very excited to go because I hadn't hung out with her in a while. We got there and Ava decided to sit ans cuddle with me on the couch which is a little weird but again I just figured she was just tired and whiny. As I was holding her she was feeling really hot. I borrowed a thermometer and sure enough Ava had quite a temperature 102.7!! I took one look at Tamlyn and said, "We gotta go." Since then her temp has been a steady 100.6 to 101.5 or so.

So she wasn't kidding and she really was sick. I feel really bad about not seeing it but she complains so much about this and that hurting that I just didn't believe her. I know this doesn't necessarily make me a bad mom for not noticing but how horrible that I didn't even believe my own kid! I guess she has just cried wolf one too many times....

On a side note, Gina's swelling on her leg has gone down quite a bit which is great AND she is using her leg more. To keep the swelling down we have to do a warm compress, then massage and do the physical therapy stuff and finally do a cold compress. We have to do this about 3 to 4 times a day. Sheesh, the things we do for our dogs.

Poor Gina

I noticed a couple days ago that Gina had stopped using her leg which is not normal after the type of surgery she had. I called the surgeon and she said to bring Gina in right away. So I did and they took x-rays and, thankfully, found nothing wrong with the plates and screws in her legs. BUT we left her overnight and they found that some bacteria had gotten into the incision area and was causing some issues. Thankfully we caught it in time and nothing bad happened to her bones. She is now on some pretty hefty antibiotics (I actually recognize one she is on, I think I have been on that one at one point). Her leg is also super swollen and it looks like it really hurts. I feel so bad for her. I wish she would heal and just be Gina again. She looks so sad and pathetic. Hopefully this will pass quickly and she will be back to normal soon. On the plus side though she did get her staples out yesterday.

So cute!

This is why I have dogs. So cute I can't even stand it. Ava is with Gina and Justin is with Lola.



This is why I have dogs. So cute I can't even stand it.

I figured it out...

As it turns out our set back today was because Amanda was sick. She apparently has a fever. I always feel so bad when I get mad and she is sick.

Why?

Why is it that when your kids are learning a new behavior and they have been doing it well for a couple days, then you mention it to someone, and the next day it all goes to pot? I mean really, its like they know we mentioned it and they want to prove us wrong. Is that necessary?

Moo

Ava was passing out stickers to Amanda and I today. She asked which one I wanted and I said I wanted a purple one to match my shirt. The one she gave me was mostly black with a small purple stripe on the side. Whats really funny is that the sticker said "Moo" which is exactly how I feel at the moment. Maybe I look huge like a cow and she was just trying to leave me a subtle message. Either way it was pretty funny.

Tree Climbing

Look closely at the picture of the tree and you will see some pink in there. Yes, thats Ava and she climbed that high all by herself. Justin put her in the tree to get the purple ball that was stuck and she went right after it. Justin climbed after her to make sure she was safe. I really can't believe she went that high!!! She had a little trouble on the way down but Justin told her what to do and she rocked it! I am very impressed. I mean, really, who needs boys when you have girls like mine!!!


If you are wondering she did smack the ball out of the tree. The last picture is her hitting the ball. Thats my girl :)

Backyard entertainment

Justin taught the girls a few new tricks yesterday.

He found a spot on the hill in the backyard that was perfect for riding down on a bike. Ava got the hang of it really quickly and she LOVED it!

Here she is getting some speed!
Here is Amanda's first and last attempt by herself. She did a major face plant shortly after this picture was snapped. It was hilarious! She was full of dirt and mulch.

Our friends, the Gatlins, came over for dinner and Caleb wanted a turn down the hill.

After the fun on the bike Justin and Karel decided it would be fun to throw balls in the tree and get them stuck. Justin then put Ava and Amanda in the tree to climb up and get the balls. Thankfully they didn't go very high!


We had a really hard time getting Amanda to come down. Justin had to tickle her to distract her in order to get her down with out tears.

I love my dogs but...

one of them snores. And she snores ALL the stinkin' time. I probably yell at her at least couple times a night to get her to stop long enough so I can fall back asleep. I am up 15 times a night going to the bathroom or dealing with kids (last night Ava peed through her pull up and I had to change the sheets). After I changed Ava's sheets at about 3:40 I couldn't fall back to sleep until about 5 something. I probably yelled at Gina every ten minutes because she would fall asleep so fast after I disturbed her and she would immediately start the snoring. Justin says I shouldn't let it bother me so much but in the middle of the night when I really want to sleep its not that easy to ignore.

I thought she just started snoring because she gained weight but she has lost a whole bunch since her surgery and she still does it!!! If anyone knows how to get dogs to stop snoring please let me know. I am desperate.

Makeup!

Our friend Lori came over for a visit today. Lori and I were outside talking and realized Ava and Caleb has been inside for a while and it was pretty quiet. Always a recipe for disaster. So as I went searching I found the two of them in the bathroom putting lipstick on. I think Ava was teaching Caleb the ins and outs of lipstick. I guess lipstick belongs everywhere except the lips.

p.s. Karel, at least Ava didn't teach Caleb about the high heals like she did for her friend Cole :) Besides, I think Caleb looks cute in his "war-paint".

Girls and flowers

I just had to post these. They are just too cute.

Doggie Physical Therapy

I thought you would like to see what we have to do with Gina now. We need to move her knee through the full range of motions so it doesn't get stiff and it can heal correctly. Then we have to ice the incision for about 5 minutes afterward. Gina hates it, of course, so she does not make it very easy on us to help her out. I tried doing it by myself this afternoon but she fought me so hard. I told Justin that we have to do it together otherwise it's not going to happen.


Here is Justin Trying to relax Gina enough so she will let me touch her feet. She really hates it when people touch her feet.


Here is me bending and straightening her knee. She actually fell asleep in this position. She was fighting us pretty hard until she figured this position out. I was feeling really bad because I thought I was hurting her but I don't think it hurts her too much if she fell asleep.


After about 8 or so minutes I grabbed the ice pack and began the 5 minutes of icing on the incision. She really did not enjoy that at all.


After the whole ordeal we had to put her radar collar back on again. She looks so silly and runs into so much stuff. I can't wait until she doesn't need it any more. We try to give her a break during the day and take it off but even then she sneaks away and starts licking. Poor Puppy.

The Glory Days

Recently, my good friend Alena (pictured on the left) posted this picture on Facebook and I thought you all might like a little glimpse into my past I was an ice skater on a precision team in high school. If you are unsure what I am talking about, try to imagine about 15 girls doing kick lines and things on the ice at the same time (picture Disney on Ice).

Yes, those hats you are seeing were about 3 feet in diameter and very Pepto Bismol pink. This was probably the weirdest costume we ever had to wear. We were skating to music from the Ziegfeld follies.

I wonder if this is why I never had boyfriends growing up...

Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!

Today marks 31 years for my brother Steve. We decided to take him a cake while he was at work today. Sorry all of these pictures are dark. Taking pictures inside is not that easy...

Here is the birthday boy with his cake. If you look at the dragons mouth you'll noticed that he is a fire breathing dragon!


Here are the girls trying on helmets waiting patiently for a taste of some cake.


This is Juan and Chris. They work with Steve at the bike shop.


As we were finishing up Justin, Ava and Amanda decided to make the bike shop into a race track. They must have made at least 10 laps around the store.

If you are wondering how Amanda was riding around the store well here you go. Justin was pulling her around by the handle bars on her bike while he rode.

So Happy Birthday Uncle Steve we hope the rest of your night rocks!!!