Grandparent's Day

Last week was a busy week! I feel like I'm settling into a new routine and trying to find the balance between doing the things I would have gotten to do if I was at home and doing the things I can do now that I'm working. It's hard work! 

 I had two days that were just crazy with the juggling! Wednesday, we dropped Anna-Kate off at school, then dropped Derek off at work and then I took Thomas to Amanda. Then I headed back across town to help with a party at Anna-Kate's school. Friday was her student teacher's last day at school, so they threw her a surprise party on Wednesday. I brought made-from-scratch-brownies and then helped set up and stayed for the party. THEN I headed to work! 

I know that it was a little crazy, but I honestly LOVE being able to help out as much as I can at school. I love making fun little treats or just getting to set up the parties. I've always wanted to be really involved in my children's school activities. But I think that I'm just surprised how hard it really is! 

Friday was Grandparent's Day at the Academy and Anna-Kate's class was performing after chapel! I COULDN'T miss that! Despite it being a bit of a crazy morning, I was worn out from the week and slept a tad late! Thankfully, Derek's parents loaned us their truck and so Derek was able to drive Anna-Kate to school while I got ready! So after the morning scramble to get Anna-Kate out the door, I fed Thomas and got us ready. Then we headed to Harding and got to see Anna-Kate perform! I even was early enough to visit with Derek's parent's and his grandmother and then sneak over and say hi to the girls! 

They always make me laugh! 

I got to sneak up to towards the front and see them perform! I have a couple of funny videos but I can't upload them!! 

I had to bolt out of there after her performance to catch the baby sitter, but I left my camera with Derek's parents and they took pictures for me! 

So after Anna-Kate and Kristen sang, Ryne was VERY excited to perform! 

Can't you tell?? ;) ha! 

This is Anna-Kate's new thing, she does this and then says "I'm going to eat you up!" ha! She's really so goofy! 

So I dashed out of Anna-Kate's performance, met the babysitter and then rushed to work! I'm telling you, this scrambling thing is tough work! I know I'm going to get the balance eventually. Until then, I'll have to deal with the craziness!  The fall seems extra busy anyway, with the holidays and parties and all, so I'm sure that's not making things any easier! It really makes me even more grateful for my Grandma- I can't imagine how she managed me and my sisters! ha! 

On a positive note, Derek and I have gotten good Insurance news! Our car was totaled (who would have thought that'd be good news) and since it was, we don't have to pay on our loan anymore. Plus, the value of our car exceeded the loan and we are getting that back! So we are relieved that things have worked out well. Hopefully we'll be able to save up for another car soon. I'm thinking of getting a super cool mini-van! Seriously, all that room seems SO nice after driving my corolla around!

I've been looking forward to this week! I love my job, but I'm excited because I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off! I'm planning on doing a little craft project with my friend Amanda and doing some extra holiday baking! I can smell the pumpkin bread already! ;)

Anna-Kate has a half-day on Wednesday too, so I'll get some extra time in with her! Thursday is MOPs and then we are leaving for a trip to Franklin to spend some time with my family!

I know that God is taking care of us! It's so nice to have a good week and another great week to look forward to! 

Worst Week

Y'all this has been a really tough time for us! Last week was the worst week we've had in a while! I'm trying SO hard not to dwell on the bad things and to know that there is a lesson in all of this. So bear with me please! 

Last weekend, Derek and I had our phones turned off. I feel so embarrassed to admit it but that's what we decided needed to happen in order for us to catch up on other things. I really don't like talking about those things, but there you go! ha!

So it's been a tough week not having much contact with my family and having to really communicate, since we can't call each other as easily. 

I'll admit that I have had a bad attitude at times about it. Every time I kept feeling down, I realized how spoiled I really am! I mean honestly, my life is so horrible because my cell phone is not turned on??!! I feel silly even saying that! We have SO many other wonderful blessings in our life, I know better than to complain. 

Thursday I had another reminder of what's really important in my life. 

I got off work around 5:45 and headed to my house. When I saw that Derek wasn't in the driveway, I felt like I really should go out to Derek's parent's house and see if Derek was still there. I thought I would just pass him on the way and wind up turning around, but I decided that I should go out there. 

I didn't hesitate. I headed straight over. Just a couple of miles away from their house I noticed there were several police cars stopped on the side of the road, but the sun was in my eyes so bad I couldn't really see what was going on. Then I saw a worker out in the middle of the road directing traffic. Seriously, the sun was so bad in my eyes I could barely tell if he was waving me on or telling me to stop! I stopped to be on the safe side and creeped forward until I could tell that he was actually telling me to stop. While I was stopped I tried really hard to see what was going on. 

My first thought was "I hope that wasn't Crystal (a girl I work with)." Then I thought, "Surely that's not Derek." 

Finally they waved me forward and I crept past the wreckage. I didn't see anyone standing on the side of the road, just a family sitting on the other side watching what was going on. 

Then I saw the car. I saw the entire front end of the car was smushed up. I thought, that looks like my car. 

Then I noticed it was black. 

Then my eyes saw that it was a Corolla. 

I swerved into the nearest drive way and jumped out of the car and started to run over to someone who could tell me what happened to my car and my family, when Derek and his dad drove by and told me what had happened. 

Derek was on his way to pick up Thomas, with both girls in the backseat. Kristen was in Anna-Kate's car seat and Anna-Kate was buckled in the middle. Derek couldn't see the road very well because the sun at that time of day is right at the top of the hill he was going up. He could not see the car that had stopped in the road in front of him and by the time he knew it was there he had no chance to stop.

Derek's jaw hit the steering wheel and his body crumpled around it. He tried to turn the car back on and it wouldn't start. Then he got out and went to open the back door to get the girls out and it was locked. He saw his mom drive by and he waved her down. She came over and helped him get the girls out, both of whom were very scared and crying. 

The other woman was driving a Chevy Equinox. Her bumper was banged up pretty bad (Derek said the car went under hers. ) Thankfully she wasn't hurt.

The girls were pretty upset so Derek's mom took them on to her house. Once she got Anna-Kate out of the car, Anna-Kate started crying about her leg and ankle hurting. Both the girls were pretty upset by the whole thing. 

When we got to Derek's parents house it was so hard to see Anna-Kate so upset! She was crying about her leg/ ankle. She wouldn't put any weight on it and just wanted to be held. We decided to wait and take her to our pediatrician in the morning to get her checked out.

At that point I just wanted to maintain some normalcy for Anna-Kate and do something that would take her mind off of the wreck. I told her we could go get ice cream or go home or go to Ryne's football game.

Anna-Kate chose the football game. We went and ended up leaving about 5 or 10 minutes later. We wanted to give her a bath but she threw a fit, so we just read her a book and put her to bed.

She had a horrible night, waking up two or three times. I think Derek ended up sleeping with her for a while. When she woke up, she tried to stand up but her little knees buckled and she lost it.

Our normal pediatrician was off but we were able to get her to the doctor that afternoon. We kind of debated whether or not to take her because we thought it was just a sprain. Most of the swelling had gone away by the morning. Derek took the morning off work but I went to work until her appointment.

The doctor was so nice and seemed to think it was just a sprain too. He sent us for x-rays just to be sure. We were surprised to learn that Anna-Kate had actually broke both the bones in her leg, right above her ankle! They sent us over to have an orthopedic doctor evaluate the break. It's not a real serious break and they think that she will heal pretty quickly. They decided to put a cast on her.

Anna-Kate cried the whole time! We knew she loved pink so she has a nice pink little cast from just below her knee on. I had to hold her foot while he wrapped it. I was really glad to know that they now have water-proof casts, so she can take a bath without having to wrap it up or anything! She will be in the cast for a month!

Poor thing! While we were waiting to get the cast put on I saw where her little arm had bruises up it. It's so hard to think about what could have happened. We have definitely learned our lesson.

We picked Kristen up from school and let Anna-Kate go in and see her teachers and classmates. That really perked her up! We spent the evening with Derek's family, to help keep Anna-Kate's mind off of things. Then we took her for ice cream and let Kristen spend the night. They played really well and it didn't take Anna-Kate long to learn how to get Kristen to fetch what she wanted. At one point she sent Kristen in to tell us that she needed to go potty. Derek said, "has she gone already?" Kristen replied "umm... no her leg is broke, she can't walk!" lol. It was cute.

Anna-Kate woke up several times because she was uncomfortable. Neither girl slept too well so Anna-Kate was still pretty fussy today.

She finally got some rest and has slowly started getting back to her old self. We're just waiting on her to start walking in her cast! Right now she's pretty scared it's going to hurt. I am enjoying keeping her in one spot right now! :)

Derek and I are working hard on getting our attitudes right. I'm sorry for the complaining, it's just been such a tough time for us lately!

I really feel blessed to have my family. I know that things could have been so much worse.

Today we all managed to have a rather peaceful morning, despite a crazy drop-off routine (thanks to just having one car we have a bit of juggling to do for a while!). I had a much better day and I know that this week is going to be great. Plus, we had our phones turned on this morning! Yipee!!

I Hope I Don't Make A Habit Of This...

weekly posting! :( Sorry guys!

So, I've survived a week and a half of work! And guess who else did...

Thomas...

and so did Anna-Kate!

Derek just barely did... ha!

Wednesday of last week my position was turned into a full time thing! So I'm now working from around 9-6 everyday.

That was a little more than I expected but I feel really blessed to have a job! I am really enjoying cooking and actually feel inspired to cook when I get home, which is opposite of how I thought I'd feel. Last week I sold a buttermilk pie that I made. Tuesday I made a chocolate sheet cake and sold all of it! Then I made two for today! ha! They sold really well and someone ordered a whole one for Friday!

I'm sort of funny about cooking. See I really love food and I love cooking but I also really love to make people happy! So, more than anything I cook for other people! I guess that's why I'm enjoying the job so much! That and I really think we make the BEST poppyseed chicken and mexican chicken I've ever had! Seriously- it's SO good! Just about everything I've tried there has been my "favorite." (I have LOTS of favorites! ha!)

Thomas has handled being away from me pretty well. He's obviously cut back on nursing, which makes me sad, but I'm glad that he's doing well. Saturday and Sunday he was super clingy but hopefully he will get used to things soon.

Anna-Kate has done good too, my working doesn't really affect her too much. She has gotten sent home with a few "sad" notes this week!! Monday, she bit a little boy. I think it was because he had a toy she wanted! Tuesday, they were standing in line and the teachers had just told them to be quiet. Well she was struggling with her hair and a little boy tried to help move it out of her face and she bit him! I don't think she bit very hard but still! She has NEVER bit a child before that! Then today, she got another note because she wouldn't stop fiddling with her jacket! She is my strong-willed baby! Sometimes it's really hard to get her to listen! Don't even get me started when it comes to her clothes!!

I'm not sure if she's acting out or just beng herself! ha! Hopefully we will get adjusted to a new routine soon!

Monday, Derek woke up late for work, so I had to get Anna-Kate up and ready for school. Then I had to get Thomas up and nursed and ready for the babysitter. Then I had to take the dogs out and feed them. I ended up being way late for work. Of course Anna-Kate was late too. I pulled up to the school and Anna-Kate was so excited! haha! She said, "okay mom, you can just let me off here." We weren't even close to the entrance! She's so funny!

Derek ended up getting sick Monday poor thing! It seems like there's a stomach bug or something going around! Hopefully the rest of us won't get it! He was pretty miserable. He stayed home yesterday. Today he is finally feeling better!!

Maybe once I get into a better routine I will be back here more and I will have the usual picture updates and all to share! I love the fall and I have so much fun reading what other people are cooking and how they're decorating! I hope to be able to share a few things myself! :) 

Sweet, Busy Summertime

I am really enjoying this summer! I've been keeping Derek's sister Monday- Thursday from about 10-4. Although I might cut it down to just three days a week. Most of our days are spent just around the house or playing outside.

The girls are still figuring out how to share, so I spend most of my time trying to make peace. I've been thinking a lot about how to get them to treat each other nicely. Especially my little rascal. Anna-Kate is really a sweetheart but she gets frustrated easily and usually acts aggressively by hitting or screaming. Whew that's hard to admit! I've begun to realize that she understands the idea of friends so I've been trying to approach things from that angle. Kristen is our friend, we don't hit our friends, we love our friends. We want our friends to be happy, so we share our toys.

It's really neat to see how the girls are growing and developing. They are starting to understand how we treat other people, so I know it will soak in eventually.

Derek has been home on Fridays and boy did I love it! It was so nice to have a break and get an extra day of family time! It really made us feel like we actually got a weekend! Derek and I spent most of those days working in the yard! We just finished the front yard, so look for a post about that soon!

Derek started one night class in Little Rock the first of June. Tuesdays and Thursdays he's able to come home and get dinner to-go then he's gone until about 10:30 or later. On top of that he's got an online class with deadlines on Wednesday nights. He has one more meeting of this class in Little Rock. They got tonight off since they have a paper and presentation due Thursday. Last week he finished one online class on Wednesday (with a paper and final on top of his usual postings) and then he turned right around on Thursday and started yet another online class. Thankfully that one is his LAST ONLINE CLASS!! Yipee!! Poor Derek also had a portfolio due last Friday. That required him to write a paper and turn in an updated resume. Poor thing had a really rough week! He starts another class that meets in Little Rock sometime in July. Then HE'S DONE! Wahoo!! We could not be more proud of him! He will be graduating with his Master's of Business Administration on July 31.

Two weeks ago Derek and his dad and brother got to go on a float trip! They left around 8 or 9 in the morning and did not get back until about 8:00 that evening! That was actually part one of his Father's day gift. They all had so much fun. I was really glad that they got the day to bond. I did not sit at home though! :) Derek's mom and I took Thomas and went to Little Rock! We went to the Container Store (my favorite) and then to Garden Ridge and finally to Sams. It was a lot of fun! The girls stayed at the house and had so much fun playing with the babysitter! Cara and I got in around 4 and unloaded and then I made homemade pizza for us girls!

Last weekend we went on a trip to Saint Louis!! It seemed to hit right when Derek needed it, so I was really excited for him to get a break! Derek LOVES the STL Cardinals... I don't even know if love is a strong enough word!! I think he's counting down to the day that he can have a room in our house to put all of his Cardinals things! He was just so excited to get to share that with the kids. We left on Friday morning and drove to Lepanto, where we stopped for lunch and then drove on to STL.

Derek reserved the room through what is called a blind booking. Basically that means he chose a general location (downtown STL) and the rating (3-4 stars) and then you book the hotel without knowing any other details. We had heard this was a great way to get a nice deal on the hotel. We ended up with the Crown Plaza Hotel, just a few blocks away from the stadium. The room is not actually assigned until check-in. When we went up to the room we opened the door and realized we had been booked in a suite! So we really did get an amazing deal! We spent about 20-30 dollars less than a regular room would cost!

We changed clothes and then went swimming on the roof! That was Thomas' first time to get to swim! At first he just clung on but after a bit he started kicking and splashing. That didn't surprise me though because he LOVES bath time!

After the pool we got cleaned up and then ate dinner and went to the ballgame. Poor Thomas was tired before dinner, so I worried he'd be a challenge! It was a really hot evening and the seats were packed but the kids did really great! Thomas fussed a bit but we held him off with Cheerios and one of Anna-Kate's toy cell phones. He would have gone to sleep but there was just so much to look at! Anna-Kate loved so many aspects of the game. She did really good until about the 8th Inning and then she was asking to go back to the hotel. We stalled and got to see the end of the game. The Cardinals won, so it was pretty awesome!

We walked back to the hotel and gave them a bath and then got their jammies on. Anna-Kate slept on a pull out sofa bed and Thomas got to sleep in a little crib. Both of them went right to sleep around 10 and slept until 8 the next morning.

Saturday we woke up and checked out of the hotel and then made our way to the Zoo! Anna-Kate was so excited to see the animals! We got a Safari Pass so we could see the Sea Lion show, get into the children's zoo and ride the train. We could have gone on a motion simulator ride and rode the carousel but we were all too tired! We also got to see a penguin exhibit! That was my favorite part. We actually got pretty close to them.

Derek took Anna-Kate to see the giraffes while I fed Thomas. When she got there she said "oh no! I forgot to wear my giraffe shirt!" Derek told her that it was okay, that Mr. Giraffe would understand. Anna-Kate then said "Can I talk to him?" Of course Derek said that she could. So she said "Hi Mr. Giraffe! I have a shirt that's just like you but I forgot it." haha! She's so cute! :)

The zoo was tons of fun, but it was SO hot!! We were almost miserable, but thankfully there was plenty of shade and a few indoor exhibits! I'm not a fan of being hot and it seems like I'm increasingly hot natured these days, so I'm not sure how I survived! :)

After the Zoo we ate and then headed back to Lepanto. We stopped in Sikeston and ate at Lambert's, where they throw the rolls and pass around all of the food! There was an hour and 45 minute wait, but it was worth it!! I have a large appetite, so it was my kind of place!

Monday we picked up our newest addition! Her name is Maddie and she is a yorkie/ poodle mix. She was adopted almost a year ago from a puppy mill by a family with four younger children. The husband left the mom and she was a little overwhelmed and needed to get rid of the puppy, so we took her! She is SO sweet and loving! She sleeps all night in our bed. Anna-Kate is so excited to have her! She has followed her around and made sure Maddie is taken care of! Last night at dinner she said, "I'm going to let Maddie watch my beggie tales, hers going to borrow it. Maddie's going to think it's funny when that boy falls on the tb" haha... Derek and I were rolling!

So June is almost over and hopefully things will calm down after the baby shower and wedding shower that I've got this weekend! But who knows, things seem to stay a constant pace of crazy around here!

Well I'm sorry for the long update, but I think that about brings everything up to speed! I'm afraid that this post is too large to upload photos without it being crazy, so stay tuned for another post with just pictures!