Bowling!

We have talked about it for a long time. So today, we did it! The first time we've ever taken the kids bowling. So much fun! And, it only took us two hours to play one game! Yeehaw! We done good! Ü

Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving! ♥

Princess.

Yes, she most certainly is. ♥

Moments.

Pardon me, but they are two of the cutest things I have ever seen! Ü

Every day after school, during after school snack, she insists on sharing a chair with one of the others & sharing their snack, as well. Too stinkin' cute. ♥

Moments.

Pool hair & dinner.

I ♥ her hair after she swims. :)



Excuse the quality. I'm using our old Canon Rebel & well, I don't do manual too good since it's not my camera. But I try. :) I never knew how much I really love my camera until it broke. Sniff.



And to prove I'm not too familiar with the Rebel, below is a photo of my dinner:








Ha! Where the heck did my photo go? I swear I took it! Right after I took Mercedes' & I even viewed it on the camera's monitor! Hmm. Well, let me tell you, my dinner was delish! It consisted of fresh veggies (whatever was left in the frig - squash, zucchini & asparagus tonight) grilled in olive oil, crushed pepper, salt, basil & garlic powder. Hubby grilled the same thing last weekend, but used fresh garlic & it was so yummy. Because we had leftover veggies (except for fresh garlic), he made it for me again today. Below is a photo I snapped with my cell phone of last Sunday's dish:



Plain, simple, easy & yummo! Next time, I'll be getting really creative, tossing in all sorts of fresh veggies & switching from regular salt to kosher. I don't know how to cook on the grill but gosh, I would really love to know how. I would cook on the grill probably almost nightly. Last summer, I think it was, hubby tried to teach me. We went out there & he showed me this & showed me that & you do this & you do that & I was so excited! Five minutes later, I couldn't tell you one cotton pickin' thing he said to me. LOL So, he grills. :)

After a sneezing attack last week, I've been down all weekend due to a serious pulled muscle in my upper back. Pfft. Slowly it's improving. While I was being bossy sitting on the couch yesterday ;o), I had hubby move some things around for me in the family room. I like! A lot! I'll try to take & post photos tomorrow.

Not sure what this week has in store, other than a haircut for moi. But I know this, it's gonna be super! 'Cause I said so. And I'm bossy. Hope you do the same! Ü

Moments.

(Cell phone shot. I'm having to send my camera to Canon for repair. Sniff. And that's her fake smile.)

My sickie.

Fortunately, we don't have many ear infections around here. Even though we've had a few, no child has experienced ear pain like she currently is. She's happy here - the Advil (which is stuck like glue around her mouth 'cause "I do it myself!" did it herself :) must be working. Hoping her antibiotic really kicks in so we can have a super day tomorrow. Isn't it cute how she's removing the 'heart' bling on her shirt? Love her. ♥

The runaway jetski & back to blogging.

This is hubby & Audi on July 4th. Before Audi almost died. Or so he thought. Our little 3 year old daredevil (Mercedes) & hubby were fixing to embark (again) on a jetski ride. They were still located right next to the dock, right next to Audi & his Uncle, when suddenly, our little daredevil decided she would turn the jetski on herself, while holding the throttle wide open! It's a wonder hubby didn't fall off the back, as they weren't ready to take off yet. (Well, obviously she was. ;o) Audi then begins screaming bloody murder. Hubby's brother grabbed him & I went running, panicking, "we've got to get him out of the water, we've got to get him out!!!" Hubby's brother, however, kept him in the water, holding him in a cradle position, calming him down & checking his legs. Come to find out, the jetski did hit him, it actually hit Uncle too, but Audi took the brunt of it. He's fine. More than anything, we think having the strong 'power wash' like water force directly in his face scared the dickens out of him. It wasn't until hubby returned to the dock, dove off the jetski to see if Audi was injured & I was giving him the 3rd degree, did we find out Miss Mercedes was the guilty party. Girl scares me.

Got a good Goodwill run in today! I'll post soon. My plan is to get back to blogging regularly. I really enjoy it & I miss it. Ü

For Mel.

Jaguar. C3. Loose spirals, but very tight, perfect corkscrew baby hair. Thick.




Mercedes (C4). Tighter (but loose) spirals, same tight, perfect corkscrew baby hair. Much thinner & starting to really loosen/wave at the top.





I am thinking BB3 for both?!

Moments.

My 'hot mess' singing.

This is poor quality for some reason & it's not the entire length. Will try to rectify, but in the meantime, here she is. :)

Moments.

Girl got her some new shoes.

My wee ones have had some remaining birthday/Christmas money hanging around, so on spring break I took them to Walmart & let them purchase whatever their little hearts desired. The littlest one chose a Play-Doh set & shoes. :)

The color is a delish, shimmery, watermelon, the heel is just the right height, the design is nice & airy, the bling is the most perfect pink cupcake surrounded by diamonds & the quality is...plastic. ;o) She done good! Ü

Saturday she wanted to put on some of her sister's makeup. So she did. ♥

I noticed a few days ago that she had some unpleasant allergy symptoms brewing. The coughing began @ 3:00 a.m. this morning & coughing resulted in vomiting. Which resulted in me changing all bedding in early hours & making a Kroger run for Robitussin. Which helped. In case you're wondering, it's kind of spooky out @ 3:00 a.m.

Today I'm tired. Dragging, actually. I assumed (silly me) we'd have a nice, long, early nap today. Together. Didn't happen. I'm still up & she's still up. I am not a cappy hamper today & I've used some naughty words. And for some odd reason, sometimes, using naughty words just makes me feel better. Bad thing is little girl heard naughty words. Will be interesting when she repeats them in front of her daddy. I'll once again be prepared to raise my hand when she's asked where she heard naughty words. I raise my hand a lot, a lot. What can I say. I'm honest. Thank goodness I'm too old to be punished. Ü

My disobedient tiny tyke said earlier: "Look mommy! Selena Gomez!" To which I growled: Oh, I see her! I bet Selena Gomez takes naps!" Heehee.

Girl may have some new shoes & look beautimous with makeup, but girl ain't cute today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. Pfft.

Moments.

Mercedes turned 3!

My Dusty. She turned 3 on 1.6.11. My baby is 3.

(Dusty is the name the nurses gave her when she was born. Her birthmother wished her gone & we were yet to know God chose us to be her parents. So Dusty she was & still somewhat is - it's a name we refer to her often because it's part of her. I actually love the name. :)

She is so precious & can fake smile like the rest of 'em. Ü

Below she is kissing her birthday gifts. I have no clue why. And yes, her sleeves are wet, as she decided she needed to wash her hands (& obviously arms) before gift time. She refused to let me fix her hair, so ponytail it was. :)

I am a bit sad she is 3. I just want to freeze time so she'll stay little forever. She is a lip gloss (holding it in the below photo, as well as Dora silly bands) fanatic, carrying it/them around in her Caboodle. So cute.

She loves Dora & she adores her singing Happy Birthday Dora from Grandma B. :)

She even reads her own cards! Love this photo! Ü

Just a tad skeptical when Daddy lit the candles. :) And please excuse her chair - that is her chair & it is always filthy! What can I say. Girl's cute, but she's a pig! Ü

She is dreamy! She is one hot mess (thanks Rebecca! :) - so sweet & adoring one minute, & telling you (or Jaguar, typically ;o) how the cow at the cabbage the next. She is so stinkin' cute, very independent, so smart & just a tremendous joy. Such a big girl. When she wants to be held, she'll say "I hold you" while reaching up with her arms. Be still my beating heart. She is happy happy, in so many ways resembles Audi so much, & is just so precious.

As of 1.25.11, she has been removed from the thyroid medication she has taken for 1,084 days. It's a big adjustment & we'll know soon if her body can function properly without the medication. She has labs done in 2 weeks - sooner if I begin to notice signs that she needs the medicine. I'm watching her very closely & was very reluctant to take her off of the medication she has thrived on since she was 5 weeks old. If her body cannot tolerate not having the medication, she will immediately be put back on it & will take it the remainder of her life. That will be the end of that (in other words, there will be no 'trying again' at a later date). If she continues to function normally & her body responds properly without the medication, she'll never have to take it again. She has had thorough testing done over the last couple of years & she does indeed have a thyroid, & her medication dosage has never, ever needed to be adjusted (which it usually does, as baby grows), so it will be very interesting to see the outcome. After what she suffered in utero & after being resuscitated at birth, if God decides she needs to take a pill for the remainder of her life, I'm so fine with that. She is such a blessing, it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I am just tickled pink she is here, she is healthy & she is simply adored.

To my little big girl - it still hurts me today to think of how your journey began. It hurts my heart. But you ended up right where you needed to be. You are right where you belong. And look at you now! You are a spitfire, full of love & funnies & sassiness & adorablism! You complete our family. You are truly a gift & it is my pleasure to walk with you through life. I love you so much! ♥

Test.

God & my boys saved my baby's life.

Bentley, Audi & Mercedes were playing outside. I am always outside with them, but tonight I came in & began cooking dinner. I had the back door wide open & the curtains open so I could hear/see the children. I checked on them every few minutes.

I had to go to the bathroom, so I went outside to see where they were. The boys were playing & Mercedes was playing with a little tricycle. I came inside, hurried to the bathroom & washed my hands, to resume cooking. This all took like, gosh I don't know, 2 minutes at the most? I was walking back into the kitchen when the boys came running in yelling Mercedes had fallen into the pool.

I was already close the back door, & when they said that, I started running. I had panic & fear I have never, ever, ever experienced. I slipped into a different zone & I ran out the door screaming. While I was trying to exit the door, Jaguar was standing there (I never saw her) & I must have knocked her over - the thunk I heard when she fell was unbelievable. By now I'm crying & screaming trying to reach my baby & I fell out the door because I fell over Jaguar. I was laying on the patio, hysterical & my legs froze. My baby was drowning & I could not move. My legs would not move. By now I was about to pass out because my baby was in the pool. My baby was probably dead in ice cold water. I looked up in hysteria, trying with every ounce of energy I could muster to get my legs moving, & she was standing in front of me, soaking wet. I remember getting up but almost passing out. Everything was blurry & spinning.

Evidently, while I was in the bathroom washing my hands, for whatever reason she entered the pool area & fell into the pool, in the deep end. She started screaming & Bentley & Audi heard her. By the time they reached her, she was holding on to the coping trying to prevent from slipping under. My boys. OMG my boys. They each grabbed an arm of hers & pulled her out which was no easy task, considering she was soaking wet. My boys saved my baby. By the time I had gotten to her it could have been too late.

I was so hysterical, Bentley phoned hubby while I just sat & cried & gasped for air. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even undress Mercedes. Just thinking of what could have happened - sends me back into hysteria. So fast accidents can happen. So fast. I had just checked on all of them. I was literally in the bathroom for a minute or two. Why Mercedes entered the pool gate is beyond me. She never, ever does (& when she does I'm right there to shoo her back out). Thank God, Mercedes is now in dry clothes & fine. Me, not so much. I don't want to live here anymore. I want the pool gone. It's not worth it. It's just not worth one of my children drowning.

Thank you Jesus for saving my baby. She very well could have drowned. And my two precious boys. How I will forever thank them for saving my baby.



*At dinner, Mercedes said "I fall in the water. To get football." We now know she probably attempted to walk across the cover, to retrieve the little green football.

Wordless.