Cousin Day!!

Today was our first weekly cousin day.Aunt Erica came up with a wonderful idea to get all the cousins together 1 day a week for home play or outside activities during the summer months.Today we all went to Aunt Ericas and the kids had a blast! They all played nice except for a few little issues.Mostly Kyler and Austin knocking down Alex's Little People Town! Gage was busy from the time we walked in playing with all the new toys.Of course he found cousin Megans 4 wheeler! He loves the ride on toys with a passion.
Megan seemed to really enjoy having all her cousins at her house , especially when they chased her! I'm betting she was passed out within 30 minutes of us leaving.
Papa came over and brought Twinkies for all the kids and boy that was a hit! It was Gages first Twinkies and from the looks probably not his last.
Today was a hit and we are all looking forward till next time.

Grab A Tube And Come On By!!!

As many of you know we have been trying to get our builder to put a drain in behind our house..See why????
Apparently after our neighbor threatened to sue they are to be working on it..As you can see they obviously are not working hard enough.We are actually the lucky ones.Out of the 5 affected houses we are at the highest point.
Shawn went outside in the rain to hold our gate open to relieve some of it.For now it has helped , the swings are not floating anymore and its more than a foot away from our bedroom window now.
Will keep you posted of our upcoming battle!

Craft Class!

Today was our Tiny Tots craft class and they decorated their own buckets.The teacher let them pick out their own color bucket then gave them a ton of stickers. I put the names on but the rest was them.Gage ate probably 10 or so stickers but managed to get some on the bucket too.
After the buckets they put stickers on their very own coozy covers.Gage literally ate his so we only have 2!
Notice the temporary tattoos on their foreheads! They have had those for 2 days now.Papa signed all the grand kids up to be JR. Rangers and they got a ton of neat stuff like the tattoos. I almost didn't let them wear them to class today but then thought what the heck..Why not???

His and Hers!

FINALLY! GOODBYE MINI-VAN!!!
Yesterday Shawn bought me my very own truck.I think he was tired of me always wanting to drive his.I got a 2007 Ford F-150 crew cab.It is so awesome.The mini had a 4 cylinder engine and did not do a very good job cooling down the van in the Texas heat but we should have no problems in my new V-8! It has a 6 disc cd changer which excites me because I am constantly switching toddler cds for my own.
Of course new things come with a price so no more lunching or frivolous spending for me at the time being but it is well worth it.
We spent 3.5 hours at the dealership yesterday.That included the kids and Abby! They were all as good as to be expected, we had our moments for sure.
The kids gave me their approval and really enjoyed the ride home.
Thank you Daddy!!!!

Puppet Show!

Look out Public Library, the Goulding twins now have cards!
Today we went and signed up for the summer reading program and got the kids library cards.Aunt Taryn,Kyler and Mandy came and got cards too. On Wed. afternoons this summer they have different activities and today was a puppet show and the kids really enjoyed it.The pictures were taken before it started and the presenter was really nice engaging the three in conversation.When asked what her name was Alex claimed "Sissy"!
Gage however was just wanting to walk around so he got extremely irritated at me for picking him up so I ran in and out of the room with him.
After the show the kids each picked out 2 books. I went over the rules of library books on the way home and I pray they paid attention! The library may be making money off of this family every time my kids check out a book!!

Crafts!

That's the word the kids were screaming this morning!
We went to our local Michael's this morning for a 30 minute Tiny Tots class for toddlers. Aunt Taryn told us about it so we tagged along with her and Kyler , Mandy and Gran for this mornings class.
The project this morning was tote bags. They each got to decorate their own little tote with paint and stamps.They all had a blast! Gage preferred to eat the paint and brushes though.He gave it his best shot.
The class was a hit and they are already talking about next weeks class where they will be decorating their own flip flops! Look for pictures of them because I am positive they will not be worn in public!!

Fathers Day!

We had a great Fathers Day today! The whole family got together at Grandma and Grandpas for a cook out.Aunt Karen got all the kids bubble guns and coloring books that were a hit.We got lucky and the rain let up so the kids were able to play in the pools that Papa and Gran brought for them.Plenty of activities for the kids and plenty of beer for all the Daddies!
After lunch we were all treated to a surprise wedding! Uncle Rick and Aunt Karen FINALLY made it official today ! They didn't tell anyone and it really was an awesome surprise.Its not everyday that a family gathering turns into such a special event.Had I known earlier I would not have worn my camo capris!Oh well all the kids attended in swim diapers and bathing suits!
It was a truly wonderful day being around all the family and adding some new members too.

It's Always Something!!

What a night! We had to take Austin to the Emergency Room yesterday afternoon.He woke up with a little cough and a low grade fever ,really was not that big of deal but it turned bad around 3pm.After his nap OI noticed he was breathing really fast and very hard and that was while he was laying down.After talking to our nurse at the Dr.s office she said we needed to take him to the E.R..
We went to the one up the street because they are always way fast.Once we
got their they rushed him back because it was apparent he was having a hard time. His breathing was over 60 a minute and his heart rate was 165-170! It was pretty scary! They said he was in respiratory distress.
They did x-rays and Austin loved it! He posed for "the special camera"! Blood work however was not as fun.I had to hold him down and he was screaming for me to help him.Broke my heart!
Within an hour the Dr. was back and said he had spoken with our pediatrician and he needed to be taken to the children's hospital because he had pneumonia and his white blood cell count was in the teens..So off we went!
Thank God for Gran who came and watched the other two so Daddy could come be with us and bring me some much needed dinner.
He had another set of X-rays plus 3 more breathing treatments.Trying to get a 3 year old to do a breathing treatment is pure hell! I kid you not!
The Dr. said that he had a bronchial infection that was inflamed and caused his airways to constrict.He had fluid in his lungs that was the beginning of pneumonia and it was a good thing we had brought him in when we did.He gave him steroids and that helped his heart rate so we were able to go home.They sent us home with a portable nebulizer for breathing treatments.I would have paid more attention to the instructional video we had to watch had I known it was ours for life!
Daddy took Austin home while I went to an all night pharmacy to get steroids , antibiotics and his breathing medicine filled.I crawled into bed about 2:30am this morning! I awoke this morning to a pumped up steroid induced Austin , 2 more sick kids and a sore throat myself! What a day its shaping up to be!

Wow! 3 Weeks!

Yes you read it right! It has been a little over 3 weeks we have been smoke free. It is amazing!
We are no longer on Chantix so it is just our will power at this point.It was so great this weekend to be with my kids at Sea World and not have to worry or think about when I could get my next cigarette.
I am happy to report no weight gain , that is on my part! I have actually lost 6 more pounds since last month. I am sitting very happily in the low 120's now! I love CURVES!
As for Shawn.....I really do not know.I know he is still a fan of eating right before he gets into bed.He did say his pants were a bit tighter too! We will see where he levels off at.
So far so good for now.Thanks to our family for their wonderful support!

Paw Paw's Boy!

While Gage was staying with Nana and Paw Paw this weekend he and Paw Paw really bonded. Nana had a hurt arm on Friday so Paw Paw did everything for Gage.Well after that every time Paw Paw would leave the room Gage would cry! He played with Paw Paw and was fascinated with the rc cars.
When I picked him up today he was crying for his Paw Paw while we drove away! So what started as a weekend to bond with Nana it turned out to be a Paw Paw weekend instead.

Look Out San Antonio!!

This weekend we took the twins to Sea World ,it was their birthday present from us. Gage stayed with Nana and PawPaw so it was just the four of us.We had a blast!
We of course hit traffic on the way down.Right in the middle of Austin rush hour our Austin decides he has to pee! It took about 15 minutes to get to a station so as you can imagine it was 15 minutes of screaming.We finally get Austin settled and we are out of traffic trying to make up for lost time when Alex gets car sick in Kyle,Texas! Strawberry milk curdles! We had to strip her down and pour bottles of water over her to get her clean but she still smelled! Plus I had to dig out chunks from every crevice of her car seat.Not fun..
After that it was smooth sailing until San Antonio rush hour.Yes , traffic AGAIN!
When we finally made it to the hotel we were so relieved.After checking in I had to borrow the hotels cleaner and get to working on the car seat!
We got lucky and their was a Texas Roadhouse and a Bennigans in walking distance.We had a great dinner at T.R. that night and rested up for the big day.
First thing in the morning we went and ate our free continental breakfast then off we went!
Our first activity was the Shamu show.Everyone but Alex had a good time.As soon as he popped up for the first time Alex started crying! She was scared , of Shamu! The rest of the day went better for her.She loved the penguins and alligators.Austins favorite was the dolphins! He was so excited and Daddy got to touch one! Alex of course was scared of them! She did like playing with the dead fish we bought to feed them though.
Everything was going great till it was time to pick out a souvenir. Austin was grabbing stuff that was all $2 or under.Alex though was grabbing $25 dolphin slippers and $15 barbies! So she ended up having a tantrum in the gift shop and was carried out! She got a t shirt and a dolphin and that was it!
Daddy's favorite art was the Budweiser hospitality house! It was air conditioned and they gave you 2 free beers! So Sea World had something for all of us!
After dinner at Bennigans(kids eat free on Sat!), we decided to take a shower and head on home.We thought it would be a much faster trip at night than waiting for the morning.We were right! It took us 3.5hours to get home.I believe it could be a record!
We are all glad to be home but it was great getting to show my kids so many awesome things this weekend.

Sleeping In The Woods..

Well it is done! Nana came over today and we painted the boys room and put up their mural.God bless Nana because without her it would have taken me weeks to do it,plus she is a much better painter and wall paperer than I am!
It looks awesome! Austin told me when he was checking it out that he was in the woods now!
We have a few more items till its 100% complete but it sure does look great.
Thank you Nana and thank you Austin , Alex and Gage for all your help too!

Family Day!

Today Papa and Gran came to Nana and Paw Paws for lunch.It was funny because when the twins saw them there they looked a little confused! They are used to seeing them at Gran and Papas house.
It was a beautiful day , a little hot though. Perfect day for swimming.Austin was such a fish today! Nana bought them little ring floats and to all of our surprise Austin held onto it and jumped in.He floated/swam for the whole afternoon.The only time he ever got out was to go to the bathroom.Alex finally was coaxed in the boat.After a while and after being told her ring was pink she decided to give it a try.She liked it too but was much more cautious in it than Austin.
Gage enjoyed swimming with Daddy.Daddy even put him on the waterfall for a few jumps!
We all ate a wonderful lunch and had a great visit with each other. Its always a fun time to visit each of the Grand Parents but its double fun when we can do it all together..