Night at the ER

Who would have thought that I would be taking Tate to the ER for breathing problems? Smitty had RSV at 10 weeks and spent a week in the hospital. Ever since, he is our wheezy, respiratory guy. Luckily, it hasn't been nearly as bad as we thought it might be and he has no signs of asthma at this points, so we are very grateful. However, it was Tate that was having breathing issues last night. I had a feeling that she might not be feeling too hot, but didn't at all think we'd end up in the hospital! Jeff and I were fortunate to go to the OU game with Michael and Keysha, so our babysitter, Susi, watched Tate, Smith, Kennedy & Corbin for us while we were gone. When we got home, she told us that Tate hadn't felt too great and that she would cough a lot after she was running around. But I had never heard her cough yet. Then Tate came into our room at about 2:30am. She literally was gasping for air. Each breath was very loud and it seemed as though she would hold her breath between inhaling and exhaling. Jeff and I were quite concerned, so we finally decided to take Tate to the ER. I get more nervous when it comes to breathing issues since our scare with Smith. So, I got dressed, put Tate in the car and headed for Integris. Of course, once we got there she was much better! Isn't that always how it works! The doctor came in and diagnosed her with croup. He said it's very common for kids with croup to seem better once they go outside in the cold air. I guess it helps to shrink their swollen airways. So, some steroids, a breathing treatment and 3 1/2 hours later, we were back in bed at 6:30am!! What's weird is that she never really had the barky, seal-sounding cough of croup before we went to the ER. It was just her breathing issues that sent us to the hospital. Today, she's had more of the cough, but at least she can breathe!

Fun Time with Friends

Today, the Curtis Crew came over to play. Tate and Smith were so excited because it's been awhile since we've had a playdate at our house with Kennedy and Corbin. The kids had tons of fun. It's funny that Tate and Kennedy have played together for over 4 years now and Smith and Corbin have basically known each other their entire lives! We are finally at the point that they can play by themselves and we barely even see them. This has been a work in progress! Keysha and I were used to playing referee, but now we can sit back and relax and enjoy our own little grown-up 'playdate'!! The girls enjoy playing dress up and kitchen and store. The boys play great together too...they're just boys and somewhat out of control. The problem usually comes when the boys want to play with the girls. It depends on the girls' moods as to how well that goes over!! However, these days are lots of fun and enjoyable. My how time flies! I can actually still remember the day I met Keysha when Smith was just born and she was still pregnant with Corbin! I love that we'll have these memories to share with the kids as they grow up together!

What do her teachers think?

So, today Tate brings home her bag of papers from school and is so excited to show me something she did at school today. She pulls out a piece of purple construction paper with magazine clippings all over it. I ask her what this paper was all about and she just giggled. I then start to look at all of the different pieces of paper that are glued all over the construction paper and that's when I find the title of the page...Things I Like. Then I begin to take a closer look at each of the pictures. There is a large picture of a woman sitting in a yoga pose. There is an ad for a Temper-Pedic bed. And then I see it...an ad as well as 2 coupons for Monistat! At this point, I am laughing so hard there are tears in my eyes. Then I notice that one of the coupons is for the Monistat, but the other coupon is for any K-Y brand item! Tate is totally cracking up and I ask her if she knows what this is and why she put it on her paper. She said she liked it because all of the colors were so pretty. I can just imagine her teacher's thinking "Well, she must see that in her mommy's bathroom and her mommy must really need those coupons!" Needless to say, that purple piece of construction paper will go in Tate's "Treasure Box" which is where I put special art work, projects, papers etc. that I want to keep. 15 years from now I will pull that out and I'm sure we'll have quite a big laugh over it.

Smitty Turns 3!!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Well, I can't believe it...my baby is 3!! I told Jeff that for some reason this birthday is sad for me because I really no longer have a baby. I could still consider Smith a baby when he was 2 and in diapers, but now that he's 3 and potty trained he is definitely a toddler and this mommy knows that the baby years are officially gone. (sniff, sniff)
Smith was so excited about his "Super Man" birthday party, or as he called it...his "Super Smith" birthday party. We decorated with Super Man, Smith wore his Super Man shirt and I even made a cake with the Super Man symbol on it (just call me Martha Stewart!)

We all ate a fabulous lunch thanks to Jeffrey. Smith opened his birthday presents in .5 seconds! And we ate cake...most people had blue teeth afterwards from the blue icing (okay, so I guess I'm no Martha Stewart. I'm sure her blue icing wouldn't have turned everyone's teeth blue!) Smith's favorite part of the day was playing with all of his new toys once everyone left. He loves his new pirate ship, remote controlled dump truck, and his play shotgun and cowboy hat.

Tate was very reflective at the end of the day and said, "Mommy, I just can't believe Smitty is 3. He's just so big." in her sweetest little mommy voice! Melt my heart.

Smith's 1st Day of "School"

Since Tate started Pre-K, Smith has been quite confused! He wakes up every morning and asks "Where's Tate?" Then when I tell him that she's at school, he gets very sad and says "I want to go to school too." So, this morning He was quite excited when I told him that he was going to go to school today. He thought I meant that he was going with Tate and he was way pumped about going to "big kid school", but he was still excited when I explained that he was going to St. Mark's (his mother's day out program). I made a big deal about him getting to move up to a new class since he was potty trained now and that his teacher was going to be Miss Laura. I packed his lunch bag and he carried it around the house for 15 minutes before we left. Then he even reminded me that we needed to take a picture of him for his first day of school! Good thing he's on the ball!

Splash Park

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

It was Labor Day today and we woke up with zero plans. In a way, it was very nice to not have a schedule of events, but we also wanted to spend a fun day with the kiddos. So after their naps, we decided to go to the Splash Park. The Splash Park is great for 2 reasons...Mom and Dad don't have to get wet and the kids wear themselves out! Bonus! The kids were so excited and had a ton of fun. Jeff did get involved with the spray gun so he did end up getting a little wet, but Mom was able to sit back, relax, take pics and watch the kiddos have a great time.

Kids Say & Do the Darndest Things!

Smith and I were driving out to my mom's house today to go play and pick up Tate. As we turned off the highway and were about 5 miles from Grandma Jacki's house, Smith starts yelling that he has to go potty. I asked him if he could hold it, but he says "it's starting in my underwear", so I knew the answer was "No!" I pulled down a road and parked off to the side. We got out of the car and Smith peed in the grass for the first time! As he's standing there, he looks up at me and says, "Mommy, I'm like God. I'm watering the grass!" He really got a kick out of standing on the side of the road and "watering" in the grass. Then he said that he needed to go poo-poo. Of course, I snatched him up, buckled him back in his carseat and told him he couldn't go poo-poo right there and that he'd have to hold it until we got to Grandma Jacki's. At this point, I'm a little panic stricken, but we were only a few miles away so I thought we could make it. At about the one mile mark, Smith starts yelling, "I can't hold it!" I encourage him, "Yes you can buddy we're almost there!" Then he says it again, "I cant' hold it mommy!" So, I said, "Come on Smith, just squeeze your cheeks...we're almost there!" To that comment, Smith puts his hands on his cheeks (the ones on his face!), does the Chubby Bunny look and says, "Like this mommy!" Apparently that worked! I laughed the rest of the way to Grandma Jacki's but Smith was able to hold it until we got there! Praise the Lord!

And So It Begins!

Yes, many of you received my e-mail yesterday about Tate's first day of school at pre-K. Because of that (and a lot of pressure from my blogger friends!!) I've decided to start my own blog. Not because any of you really want to read all about my family all of the time, but because I've always wished I was someone who journals about their kids and writes down all of the funny things they say...so, four and a half years after my first child was born, I'm going to become one of those moms! Not on paper, but on-line! I will not promise anything, but I will try to post only the things that I think are fitting of holding onto and saving for posterity. Who knows? Maybe one day my kids will want to read all about their shenanigans as toddlers and my reactions to them as their mom. Feel free to add this website to your favorites list or even subscribe to our blog which will automatically send you a message every time I've added a new post. Also, feel free to delete this and go on your merry way...either way is fine with me!! If any of you are bloggers and I don't know it, please send me your blog site and we can be blogger friends!! I look forward to sharing our lives with you through cyberspace;)

Potty Training - Gotta Love It!

So, I started this blog to share all of the funny things my kids do and say so of course there will be lots of things about Smith since he is the resident "funny man". I don't know how many of you have ever potty-trained a 2 1/2 year old boy, but here's how our adventure went with Smitty. Basically, we had talked about it some, sat on the potty several times and even went a few times as well. I wasn't too concerned that he would rather wear his diapers since he hadn't turned 3 yet, so we didn't push it. But Smith is just a smidge strong-willed (I guess if he can't look like me, he will act like me!!) and decided that he'd be a big boy whenever he decided he wanted to be one. So, one day at a restaurant he told me he needed to go potty...we went to the restroom and he did! Then a little later, he needed to go again. I wasn't quite sure if it was just a fluke, but the next morning I asked him if he wanted to wear his big boy underwear. He said, "yes mommy" and he's been potty trained ever since. I think he's had a total of 3 or 4 accidents in the 4 weeks since it all began. When my son sets his mind to something, he certainly does it full force (that includes throwing tantrums too!).
The funny part of this story is that now when he has to go poo-poo (I don't know if that word should be hyphenated or not...it think it's the first time in my life I've ever actually written it out!) he says, "Mom, you have to go out...I need my privacy." Seriously, my two and a half year old needs his privacy! And he won't go until I've left the bathroom and shut the door. Whatever it takes to not have to change diapers any more...I'm all for it!

Tate's First Day - UPDATE!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Tate's first day of Pre-K was a big success! The first thing she said to me when I walked in the room to pick her up was, "Mommy, can I come back here tomorrow!" Of course, I said "yes" but I didn't have the heart to tell her she'd be going to school every day for the next 20 or so years!!!! I know the novelty will wear off, but no need to hamper her excitement just yet!
She got to do "stations" which included playdoh, kitchen, craft and books. Oh what fun for a 4 year old!Let's just hope we don't have anymore 11:3O nights. She was just a tad cranky this afternoon but still so hyped up about her day that she didn't take a nap!