What a MESS!!

So this is what happens when mommy tries to multi-task. A BIG HUGE MESS!!

4H Farm

Today Ally's class took a trip to the 4-H Farm in Glastonbury. I attended as a chaperone, although I think all but 4 parents also attended. The kids loved it. Ally was most excited about riding the bus. I thankfully got to ride in a car with one of the other parents, because with both the am and pm classes and all the adult chaperone's, space on the little yellow school bus was tight. At the farm the kids got to go on a tractor ride to pick apples and then go and make apple cider using a press and then do some taste testing. Ally loves this because she loves apple cider. They also got to go in and pet some of the animals. Ally wanted absolutely nothing to do with this as the "animals smelled bad!!" She is totally my child!! Afterwards they had a picnic lunch and then back to the school. It was short and sweet and the classes loved it.

September 28, 2008

This morning at church Ally recited the 10th Article of Faith to her Primary class of about 40 kids and adults. She told me she was a little nervous this morning but when it was time she got right up on the podium and did it. She was so proud of herself. Jerry and I are proud too. She is such a great kid and she loves church and the gospel. We are soooo proud of you Ally, keep up the GOOD WORK!!!

September 26, 2008

So the tissue repair cream ROCKS!! Her face looks GREAT!! We finally let her see herself tonight before bed and she laughed. She thought it was funny. The girl is not quite right. I'm just glad she is healing so well. I don't think she would find her scary face funny as a teenage girl.

September 25, 2008

This morning we all had appointments to had our teeth cleaned. Before Jerry's appointment he took Ansley in to see the dentist. She sat in the chair and let the dentist check all of her teeth. She wasn't scared one bit. I love my girls!! Nothing phases them!!

Septembe 24, 2008

Ansley looks a little worse today. The swelling is better but the shiners give her face a different look of horror. She is constantly asking me to see herself but I think she looks a little too scary for that. I have to say though, she really hasn't seemed to mind the boo boos and it is getting her a ton of attention. She has received several boo boo gifts from friends since her accident. For her this is heaven. I picked up some tissue repair cream that a friend recommended called Mlis. It is supposed to be great for healing wounds and burns. I have been applying it liberally so hopefully it will help her heal.

OOOWWWIIIEEE!!!!!

So this afternoon Ansley was swinging on her belly on the big girl swing under our deck and fell off face first into the concrete patio. With her arms stuck behind her in the swing she hit nose first. I have to say, being a nurse in the ICU I have seen a tremendous amount of blood. I have done things most cannot bear to even hear of, but the sight of my own child's blood about killed me. I was useless. It took me about a minute to even get myself together enough to figure out what I needed to do for her. She was bleeding a lot from a gash between her eyes and her nose was obviously broken. Thank God for awesome neighbors. Ali from next door was here to help me in my crazed state. The child never cries but it took me 45 minutes to calm her down enough to put her in her car seat and trek to Children's Hospital in Hartford. I was pretty sure she needed stitches and I was sure the Dr's and Nurses at Children's would be more patient with my screaming toddler than some generic ER. Thankfully she passed out on the way because as you can imagine traffic into Hartford at 5 pm isn't great. She looked horrible and the swelling had increased a ton just in the 40 minute ride to the ED. On a positive note though the swelling had caused the gash on her face to swell shut and the bleeding stopped. The ED was awesome the triage nurses saw her immediately and we were headed into a room in less than 5 minutes. On the way to the room we ran into my neighbor who happens to be a doctor at Children's. He asked me what I was doing there and when I turned around to show him Ansley's face I lost it. The look on his face was devastating. My poor baby looks terrible. Billy (my neighbor) was great to us and we were in and out in no time. The gash didn't require stitches which was great because they leave a terrible scar and there was really nothing they could do for her nose because of all of the swelling. Ansley was a true trooper. She let everyone examine her and never cried. On the phone with her dad she said, "It's OK daddy, I a big girl." When we got home and Jerry saw her face he said he wished he could take it from her. I do too!! It was a horrible day but I know she will be alright. I think I'll survive too!! Now with everyone tucked into bed and my adrenaline rush gone, it's time for me to go to work!!

Seeing Ansley's face totally scraped up the way it is puts my horror over the freezers cosmetic damage in perspective. Not too important!!

September 23, 2008

So Ansley has a love of yogurt. She asks for it and eats it constantly. She has been eating it since she was about 6 months old. Today however she has decided that she no longer likes the chunks of strawberries and has started picking them out and leaving them on the table. It is completely irrational that she has developed an aversion to something she has been eating for 2 years but who am I to try to reason with a toddler and so we now love yogurt but do not love the chunks of strawberry. You've gotta love toddlers.

Also here are the pics of Ally making her PB&J. She was so proud.

September 22, 2008

So due to the fact that Ally is about to be 5 I have tried to let her do more things independently. Today I taught her how to fold her own pajama's. She did very well and was very proud of herself. At lunch time she made her own peanut butter and fluff sandwich. It was a mess and I totally wanted to do it for her but I restrained myself. I don't know who was prouder, Ally for making the sandwich or me for resisting the urge to take the project over.



On a side note, we finally purchased the desparately needed upright freezer and thanks to the Victorino's we were able to transport it home. It got slightly damaged in transit which I was upset about but it still works. I find that it is moments like these that the Lord is teaching me to worry about the important things. My desire for perfection in all things is unrealistic and I know this. So another lesson learned. BJ's here we come!!

Fried Dough Pizza, Yum!!

Today we went down to my Aunt and Uncle's house and had fried dough pizza. It was heaven. I hadn't had it in forever and the kids and Jerry had never had it. It was soooo good!! We ate like pigs!!


After we ate Uncle Robert let them play a little on his guitar. They thought that was just too cool. Ansley even showed us some of her best dance moves.

Time Out for Women: Joyful Life

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Time Out for Women Conference in Springfield Mass. It was great to get away with some of the women from my ward for the night and feed my spirit. The focus of the conference was on being joyful. In our journey of life we have our Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy and Satan who wants us to be contentious and miserable. Contention kills joy so it is our job to be kind even in the hardest of circumstances. Kindness snowballs, Pass it on!!

The world in which we live is full of despair and hardship. We are not in the Garden of Eden. We need the Lord. Turn to him always. He can and will pull us from despair and bring us back to joy. Remember, we are nothing. We are broken. We need the Lord. We need to learn to rely on Him. Our husbands, children, and friends cannot hold us up. Only the Lord can truly support us. He gives us our weaknesses, and sometimes brings us down so that we can grow and learn to rely on him.

Most importantly thank Him ALWAYS!! Even in the hard times, we have been given so much. The mere act of replacing complaining with thanks and praise can make us joyful. Remember, without Him we are NOTHING!! I pray that we can all take the steps in our lives that will take us from happy to truly Joyful!!

2 major milestones!

So we have two major accomplishments to boast about. Ally is finally buckling herself up in her booster seat, YIPPIE!! And Ansley is finally looking up so I can rinse the shampoo out of her hair. I know it seems ridiculous but she has been deathly afraid of the tub since she was about 9 months and it's always a battle. Thank God for small miracles.

September 18, 2008

So today Ansley thought she would test out the waters of bringing the happy and da beam beyond the limits of her room and came strolling downstairs with it. I immediately caught her and told her she needed to bring it back upstairs. There was a problem though. Ally was in the living room playing with domino's and she just couldn't wait to get over there to get her hands in the pile. So she put the blanket and pacifier on the kitchen table. I again told her that happy and beam needed to go upstairs. Her reply, "no!" (This has become a common response in the last few weeks) I told her that if she didn't put the happy and beam back in her bed I would have to throw it away. She immediately gets up from playing and heads for her beloved things. What happens next could only be the result of Jerry's genetic makeup. The stubborn Ansley proceeds to open the trash can and stuff the happy and da beam inside. "All done, I go play now!" I could barely contain myself. She is is soooo stubborn. Of course they couldn't stay there. At least not the blanket, so I sat her down and explained that if she left it there the trash man would get them and she wouldn't be able to sleep with them anymore. This did the trick and she quickly ran them up to her bed. It reminds me of a very similar situation involving Ally and some blocks at about the same age. Kind of makes me wonder what I have coming for the teen years.

Septmeber 17, 2008

So we have a blueberry bush in a very unsuspecting place. (the side of the condo) It kind of looks like a shrub so I'm sure it got planted there by accident. You won't hear Ally complaining though. She is out there every day to see if there are any left to eat. Our neighbor told her about the bush, against my better advice, and hasn't gotten a blueberry for himself since.

Family Picture Day

Today we went and had family pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. I was so excited when they opened one in Ct and so close to our house too!!

The Monster Mouth

So Jerry got his braces on this morning. The spacers proved painful so he was almost relieved to get the braces on. As soon as he walked in the door the kids went rushing to it to greet him with the usual "Daddy's home!!". (They have done this since they could walk and I have to say when you've been out working or at school all day it is the best greeting in the world. I know I look forward to it on my commute home in the morning.) Ally immediately noticed the additional hardware in his mouth though and hollers, "Dad, there's like a monster in your mouth or something!" At which point Ansley starts chanting, "monster, monster, monster!" It was truly priceless. So now we have a monster mouth living with us! LOL!!

September 16, 2008

So this is Ansley reorganizing the canned goods. (Notice the pyramid or campbell's soups) I guess she wasn't happy with the current arrangement. Just watch those little toes!

Hi Pumpkin

So today I am sitting at our desk and Ansley comes up to me with the phone in hand and says, "Hi Pumpkin" and then "Hi Grandma." It took me a minute but I quickly realized she was having a pretend conversation with her grandmother who calls her Pumpkin. It was really quite cute!!

September 14, 2008

Despite the fact that is has only just started to cool off and my gang is already sick, today was a great day. One of the young girls in the church was baptized and we got to stay after church and be a part of it. It was great for Ally to see because she has always been a little bit nervous about being dunked under the water. But after seeing a baptism in person and finding out that her daddy would be the one to baptize her she is much more excited.

After the baptism Ansley noticed that I had a boo boo on my left hand. (Canning peaches has torn them apart.) As soon as she noticed it she picked up my hand, kissed my palm and then said, "All better Mommy?" It's so cute how they pick up on all of the things we do for them. She pats my back when I am holding her too. Just like I do for her. My girls are both so sweet.

The happy and da beam

So I had to post this picture. This is Ansley in her heaven with the happy (pacifier) and da beam (her blanket). She is totally addicted to both, although she really needs to give the happy up. She knows she is only allowed to have them in her bed so from time to time during the day if she gets upset or mad so will go up to her room and have a moment with the happy and da beam. It's awesome!! She literally gives herself a time out. Now you see my dilemma with getting rid of the happy. :)

Potty Training, the saga............

So today Ansley almost made it to the potty. The picture really tells it all!

Canning the Peaches

So having bought a ton of peaches I was forced to can them. Kandi was awesome enough to come over and show me how to do it. It was super easy but super messy. I actually really liked doing it and the peaches were even sweeter once they were canned. I can already see that one bushel is definitely not going to be enough for the winter at the rate we're eating them.

Ansley's new toy box

This is what I found when I got up from blogging yesterday's entry.


Ansley has decided lately that she should be able to help herself to anything in the fridge at any time. I usually catch her early in the act but this time she managed to destroy and eat part of a stick of butter and just about take a bite out of anything else she could find. Each english muffin in the eight muffin package had one or two bites taken out of it. A block of cheese was missing a few bites. Thankfully she was unable to open the yogurt. You really can't turn your back for even a second. UGGGGG!!!!

Peaches, Yummy!!

So today we went and picked some peaches at Johnny Appleseed. I say some, really a ton!! (2 full boxes) We couldn't help it they were the biggest, best looking peaches ever. The kids loved it (the tractor ride, more than the actual picking) and it kept them busy for awhile. It is already starting to really cool down so we need to enjoy the sun while we have it. Now we get to can them in mason jars. Wish me luck!!

On a side note as I was sitting in the living room Ansley approaches me with an open diaper, obviously the one she had been wearing as her heiny was bare and the diaper was full of poop!! I will save you the horror of a picture. I have really got to spend some consistent time potty training. Now if I could only find a full week without commitments to enslave myself to the bathroom. LOL!!

September 9, 2008

So today Daddy is going to get his spacers in so he can get his braces on next week. As he was headed out the door he made the comment that he only had one more week of eating good foods because then his mouth would be sore. Oh, poor, poor daddy. The spacers hurt too!! I guess he'll have that figured out soon.

Ally's First Day of Pre-K

Ally has started her second year of Pre-K at Trinity Lutheran Pre-School. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Oliphant. She is so excited to be going back to school. I think this will be a great for Ally. Her teacher is very much into preparing the kids for kindergarten and being independent, which Ally thinks is soooo Big! It's also going to help develop her recognition of the numbers and letters in their written form. Something Allyson refuses to let me help her with. She says, "you're not my teacher, mom!" Right now she can write her name (Ally only) and recognizes most numbers 1-10. It will be interesting to see what she'll be doing with a few weeks of school under her belt.

This is the fabulous creation she made on her first day.

The Gum

So the other day I bought Ally a package of gum. She loves and as a treat for helping me in the grocery store I caved. The deal was it had to stay out of reach of Ansley, which it did for several days. Today however, as I was emptying out the car, I could hear the sound of shrills and screams coming from the kitchen. When I got to the commotion I found Ally crying over a ripped package of gum and pieces of gum strewn all over the floor. I quickly picked it all up (or I thought) with the exception of one piece that had already made it into Ansley's mouth. I told Ally that I had to keep the gum now and put it on the fridge. Ansley swallowed the piece she was chewing and all was well in the world. We had a chill day, hanging around the house without too much fussing, which was nice. Several times throughout the day though I could tell Ansley was chewing on something. So I would ask her, "Ansley what's in your mouth?" To which she replied both times, "gum!" Impossible, or so I thought, due to the fact that the gum was now on top of the fridge. Fast forward to the end of the day. I am sitting on the couch, reading a book when I see Ansley reach into the pocket of her dress and pull out a piece of gum. The little rascal had picked up as many pieces of gum as she could and hide them in her pocket and had indeed been chewing gum all day. I know, you can nominate me for mommy of the year later. At least I know she was telling the truth. I figure with all of the gum she has swallowed today, tomorrow she will probably blow a bubble out of her rear!!

September 2, 2008

So Ansley has found a new way to wake me up in the morning. She thinks it is hilarious to pry my eyes open and look right into them. The first time she did it she scared the daylights out of me. Now I guess I am just getting used to it.

Since our trip back to Georgia Ally has been concerned with every ones ages and about getting old. I think seeing her great grandma and grandparents has sparked this new interest. She has been asking a lot of questions and thinks its hysterical that I will get old one day too!! I have yet to find the humor in this! Anyway today we were in the car, (it's where we have all of our serious conversations) and she said, "I will miss you when you die mommy." I tell her not to worry because we will be a family forever and I will be up in heaven waiting for her. We talked about how it's not a time to be sad because heaven is so much better than earth. "It's better mommy?" "Yup it is." "Are there boo boos in heaven?" "Nope!" "Will we have to clean up in heaven?" I swear it's all the child thinks about. "Nope, no cleaning up in heaven." Ally's response, "Are you kidding me?" I wish I could have captured the look on her face because it was truly priceless!