A little of this and that

The rest of the week went by really fast!

Sweet girl ready for church Wednesday night.

Sweet cheeks.

Saturday. . .

Powdered doughnuts. . yummy and oh, so messy.

I wonder what she’s thinking?? Oh, wait- I probably don’t want to know!

Arden and I went shopping at the Mall Saturday night while the boys were at the ASU basketball game. She threw a fit- then passed out. A sleeping kid makes for an enjoyable shopping experience! I got so much done!

. . . .did you notice the left foot- no sock or shoe? She tossed them during the fit.  I got some funny looks at the mall, but I’m not about to wake the monster just to get a shoe back on!

Sunday morning getting ready for church. Stratton wanted me to take his picture with his new shoes on. Then of course here comes Arden tootling over to get in on the action!

Love them!

Birthday, PTC and the dentist

 

After church we had a little get together for some of our friends from church and had birthday cake for Jarrod. He didn’t have much of a birthday this year, since he was gone Monday and Tuesday to Springfield, MO for something with John Deere. He didn’t get back till late last night.

Arden and Sawyer are so big sitting at the kids table!

Cake time!

Yesterday was super busy. I had to get the kids up and out of the house by myself- which is (honestly) exhausting. Then I went to work and got as much done as I could before 1:30. I went to the school to meet with Stratton’s teacher for “Parent Teacher Conference” (which was great, apparently he’s an angel at school- go figure!) then I went to his classroom and picked him up and we came back to my office for awhile before heading to his consultation at the new dentist!

He did absolutely fantastic! I was shocked! It probably helped that it is a pediatric dentist and the waiting area is packed with toys and games and it looks like a rain forest. Really cool! He let them take xrays, and look in his mouth several times. I was so proud of him! We did find out some discouraging news. One of the cavities in the back is approaching the gum and the doc thinks he will need a cap on it to keep the filing from falling out in the future. It’s on the very back tooth and she said he would more than likely have it till he is 12! She said she’d leave it up to us to decide if we want to do the cap or not. It’s so ugly and more expensive, but I also hate to have to go back in a couple years and have to have it re-done. Ugh. From today on: Less juice and MORE brushing!! But I’m afraid he’s inherited his daddy’s soft teeth, and it won’t matter too much, he’s probably just going to have cavities. The earliest we can get an appointment is June 3rd. Insanity. I know she’s good, but come on!! Hopefully they will have a cancellation and we can get him in earlier! But since he will need to be sedated, they will do it first thing in the morning and I guess those appointments are just limited. I think he will do fine, they said that the medicine they give him will just make him drowsy. . .we will see, I’ve heard that before! I’m sure it will be an adventure! He did tell me that he likes it better than Gigi’s dentist, so I think we may start coming here for his regular check-ups and cleanings. Might as well, it sure is a lot closer and he seems a lot happier!

Really neat waiting room!

Watching TV in the ceiling!

After his appointment I took him to get icecream, Andy’s of course. Then we went to pick up Arden from school. We made a stop by Dillon and Brandye’s on the way home just to visit for a minute, and that turned into an hour. . . Stratton was having too much fun playing with their puppy Abe! We decided to go get some pizza together (So Stratton had a GREAT day- Ice Cream and Pizza both!) then after we ate we came home and took baths and I got them to bed! I was really sleepy! Jarrod got home late, and pretty much came in, dropped his bags and went to bed! Poor guy, not much of a birthday! I am hoping we can do something this weekend maybe? I feel horrible, with everything going on we didn’t even get around to getting him a card. So is life. . when your old and have kids!

Valentine’s Day

Such a busy day!!

I was supposed to go to Harrisburg to help with the Make A Wish bucket brigade, but after Arden got sick I decided it would probably be best for me to sick around town just in case the school called. Plus, I knew I’d be out all afternoon with the kids parties and I had some stuff I needed to get done at the office.

Here is our crew from Armor, in the safety vests I had customized! Never a dull moment!

 

School got out early for teacher inservice, so Stratton’s party was at 12:30. The parking lot was packed. I had to park way over by the football field house and walk-in the rain. The things we do for our kids!

This is Stratton and his friend Jaston. The two blondies and the two tallest. They cracked me up.

After the school party, we left and went to Arden’s party which was at 2pm. I didn’t get any pictures there. She had already ruined her Valentine outfit before we even got out the door that morning, and basically all they did was give them some cookies and cheetos! So there wasn’t much to document.

After we left the daycare we ran home and I changed Stratton’s clothes real fast and got Arden some milk and then we were gone again! We headed over to Amy and Juliet’s house to meet them to leave for South Haven to see the Disney Live, Pirates and Princesses show! Arden got to stay with Amy’s mom, Mrs. Cindy (also her sunday school teacher) until Jarrod got off work. We were a little late since traffic was horrendous. But the kids had a good time and the show was cute. (Note to self: If we ever go back to the Landers Center get seats on the floor, or as close as possible!) Our seats were pretty high, and the way it’s laid out you feel like you are right on top of people in front of you- I almost got sick, it made me so dizzy! There was also a very large group of what Amy thinks was gypsies. They were crazy looking. I don’t even know how to describe them. The women were all young, dark hair and LOADS of makeup and overdone hair. The little girls looked much the same, just smaller versions of the women, high heels and all! The only difference is the little girls had on outfits (scandalous for their age) and the women mostly had on SUPER tight white jeans with airbrushing up the sides- I have never seen anything like it!! The little boys looked like they were from a different era almost with black or white jeans, a short sleeve button up shirt under a tshirt with the sleeves rolled up and their pants were rolled up as well. A lot of the boys shirts and jackets were airbrushed with names on them, that I think might have been the name of a girl? Strange. I saw teeny tiny babies with what little hair they had curled and make up on! They all had on red, black and white, and some of the little girls had on some pink. I should have been less embarrassed and just took some pictures of these weird folks!

Stratton with his “real” sword

Stratton and Juliet (and a few the more normal looking gypsies behind them)

Saturday, I got my fabulous Valentine’s day present- which was a night away with a friend to a B&B in Hardy! Jarrod and our friend Ryan arranged the getaway on Friday and had made Erica and I a room reservation and dinner reservations for Saturday night! Jarrod worked Saturday morning, so we didn’t leave till around 3pm. We got to the B& B around 5, it was nothing too spectacular, but it was nice. We had a really nice dinner there at the B&B that is also a steakhouse on the weekends and then we went back to our room where we read, and relaxed! We didn’t even turn the TV on! Ha! It was so nice and quiet! We got up on Sunday, had breakfast then headed back! It was short lived, but so nice to get away! Our hubbys did GOOD!!

Sick again.

Arden has been sporadically throwing up the last 2 weeks. I stayed home with her on Tuesday because we were afraid she had a virus after throwing up twice in the middle of the night. She was less playful and took several naps but didn’t get sick again and by Wednesday seemed fine. But then on Friday when she threw up again as we were walking out the door to go to school I decided I’d had enough! Time to go to the Doc! My kids are notorious for throwing up with both strep and ear infections, so I thought it best to get her checked out. Jarrod took her to sick call and the doctor said it was likely just congestion and lots of snot backed up. So they put her on an antibiotic and steroids just to help it clear up. Jarrod took her on to school since she wasn’t acting like she felt bad and wasn’t contagious. Plus I had a super busy day and couldn’t really stay home with her. The steroids are keeping her up at night (worse than before) and making her really cranky. She is starting to have more of those “terrible twos” meltdowns. Ugh. Otherwise she seems to be doing ok, she hasn’t been sick again- Knock on wood.

Taking clothes off the baby is so much fun. And doesn’t everyone wear Mardi Gras beads around their house??

This. Child.

She wanted me to put socks on her HANDS and then refused to take them off. And then got very frustrated because she couldn’t do anything because of the socks. But every time I tried to remove them she would scream and pull away!

This is hard to see, but short stuff is having a hard time reaching the play stove, so why not pull the oven door down and use it to stand on??

Moment of sweetness- and some crazy hair!

Resemblance??

Not sure if I should be proud or scared.

“My mommy”

By Stratton Staggs

Get up already!!

As she jumps from my arms into Stratton’s bed to wake him up. . .

{This is my narrative of what I assume she is thinking!}

“Stratton, I know your under there, Get Up!!”

“Fine. Then I will just sit on your head!”

“You’re not fooling anyone. I can see you!”

“Ah-Ha! I got you now!”

“Wait, where’d he go, he was just here!?”

“C’mon! It’s time to go play!! Get up!!”

“It’s about time! Now get out of bed!!”

More Ice and Snow

The kids were out of school Monday and Tuesday. It was mainly just sleet and freezing rain. Monday, I worked from home, and I actually decided to take them in to work with me for a little while on Tuesday. Not the best idea. We only ended up staying a couple of hours. I got very little work done, then it really started sleeting hard so everyone that was in the office decided to head home. At least we have a TV and cable! My kids are so comfortable at the office, they just walk around like they own the place. I am glad everyone seems to like them being around!

The rest of the week it was slightly warmer, but a lot of the area schools were still out most of the week. Jonesboro schools went back on Wednesday even though it was still pretty slick in some spots. The rest of the week wasn’t too bad, weather wise. Jarrod’s Mema (Margie’s mom) had a stroke on Thursday afternoon. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but she’s in the hospital and has a long road to being able to get back to where she was. Please keep her and the family in your prayers as they decide which course of treatment she should have. I’m sure she will have to have some sort of therapy and rehab, and that could take months. We decided to wait till the weekend before heading to Little Rock to see her. Neither of us really needs to miss work (me especially with all these snow days!)

It snowed Friday night. We got about an inch or so. The kids FINALLY got to play in some SNOW! Everything else we’ve had this year has been ice and sleet- nothing to really play in! It was Arden’s real first time to get out in it! I was surprised that she liked it as much as she did! I thought she’d hate it! She just stomped around and had the best time! Stratton wanted to throw snowballs. . .thanks to my mom and dad for teaching him that.

Attempt to take a picture of them together. . .

“Mom! Arden’s getting in the street!!”

It’s all fine, till someone loses a glove. . .

Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to Hickory Ridge and then Jarrod and I headed to Little Rock. Apparently, the kids had a good time. They got quite a bit more snow than we did and Stratton got to play in the snow a couple more times. He and pops played snow football.

The snow didn’t slow us down too much. But it was still on the roads some and the closer we got to LR the worse it was. We grabbed at bite and then spent some time at the hospital with his mom, aunt and mema. It was getting late, so we just decided to stay the night in Little Rock, especially with the snow still on the roads. We had a wonderful night’s rest! With no interruptions! We got up and made our way to our Favorite restaurant, Copeland’s, for brunch. Something I’ve always wanted to try but we’ve never been in Little Rock on a Sunday. Jarrod put a hurt on the brunch buffet and I had the crab cakes benedict (one of my all time favorite brunch foods) and it was all SO good. Borderline amazing. We were so full we couldn’t think about dessert, and they have the best gourmet cheesecakes. We’ve never been there and not had dessert! We have got to go back for brunch sometime again! We ran a couple errands in town and then headed back and picked up the kiddos and got back to Jonesboro in time for evening services. We had dinner with some friends after and then came home and crashed! We’ve got a big week ahead with Valentine’s day on Friday!

Also, my friend Amy and I are taking our kids to see Disney Live, Pirates and Princesses on Friday night! (How’s that for some romantic Valentine’s day plans?!)