What a good daddy!

Jamie was playing with Jenna earlier. 4:50 pm to be exact. Well he did something and hurt his back. He's not sure what; just turned wrong or whatever. He screamed and laid on the floor and couldn't move. He could hardly talk as it hurt to breathe at this point. He couldn't get up. He couldn't do anything. I told him I was going to call 911 and he said no, just get him to the clinic by our house. So I yelled for Jordan who was upstairs playing video games to round up the other kids and start getting them in the van for me while I got my purse, cell phone, diaper bag, etc and helped Jamie up. Jordan had them all buckled and Jamie finally made it out to the van. We got to the clinic at 5:10 and they were already closed. Dang. So off to the ER we went.

Well they just opened up this new facility that is the same thing as the ER at the hospital but just around the corner from our house. It's Shady Grove Hospital ER; just a smaller unit. It's where I took Jacob when I thought he broke his wrist and we were there an hour including x-rays so I didn't think we'd be gone long. So we check him in and see the waiting room is PACKED. great. Jamie is not one to stick around. We got there are 5:20. The kids are being goofy and keeping the people around us entertained. Jamie keeps begging to leave.

So around 7:30, they take him back. My SIL calls to find out how Jamie is doing and says she is coming to get the kids for me!!!! WOW! So she came and got them and fed them dinner and all that for me. I go back with Jamie and he still hasn't been seen by the doctor yet. It's like 8:30. He says "Where are our kids? You left them out there ALONE?!" I said No your sister came and got them.

Finally the doc came and checked him out. She said she was going to send someone in with meds to see if they relaxed the muscles. Well 30 minutes later she comes and says "How ar eyou feeling?" He said "Um, in pain because no one came to give me the meds yet." So she goes off in search of his meds. They gave him Valium and Percocet and said she'll be back in 20 minutes to see how he is doing. 30 minutes later she comes and he is still in pain and the meds aren't doing anything for him. She said she is ordering a shot of Daulidad and an x-ray to rule out a blood clot near his lungs. They come right in to do that and get the x-ray. It's around 10 now and he is straight drunk from the Daulidad and being super goofy. Way more goofy then he normally is. Then he pukes everywhere because he hasn't eaten anything except like 20 Slim Jims all day (you know, the little ones in the ecomony box from Costco). The doc comes in and said he tore a muscle and prescribes his Mortin 800, Daulidad and a muscle relaxer that I forgot the name too and ordered him to rest.

We got out of there around 11. I dropped him off at home and went and got the kids from Becky and picked up his meds from the 24 hour CVS.

We got home a little after midnight after doing those errands and now I'm just sitting down for a few and settling down before trying to go to bed.

So my poor husband who lets his daughter paint his nails, tore a muscle being a good daddy and playing with Jenna.

Halloween 2007

What another great Halloween! All the kids picked out great costumes this year. Jenna was SuperGirl. Jacob was Buzz Lightyear. Jasmine was Princess Jasmine (hard to believe that this was her first year doing that!). James was Venom (or the evil Spiderman). Jordan was Blade.

Early in the afternoon, we went up to the school for the kids' parties. They were a lot of fun.

Jenna really enjoyed it up there.



Jasmine and Mrs. Howington



James in the parade



Jordan in the parade



Jamie took the kids around. Becky and Chady came along this year as well. Chad was a cow. Sooo cute!! They all got tons of candy.

As usual, I made up the little baggies of candy to pass out. The kids really enjoyed helping to hand them out when they got back.

My new toy

Since Daddy got a new toy, it was definitely Mommy's turn. Jamie knew I wanted a new sewing machine and took it upon himself with Becky's help to get me one. He got one much better than what I had been looking at. I haven't be able to use it much because I have a pinched nerve in my back and using the computer and other creative things like sewing, put a hurting on my back. It's a super nice machine though and I can't wait to really get into making some fun things.

This is my new baby....

Jamie's new toy

Well I guess it goes without saying that if you get a new deck, you get a new grill, right? Jamie was looking online and found the Weber (is there any other kind of grill? I think not!) he wanted. Silly me told him about a store near us called Barbeques Galore who just happens to carry this grill. I went to the fabric store and came home to find Jamie and Jacob putting this monster together.



Boys and their toys. Hey, don't get me wrong. A little part of me wanted him to get it. It means less cooking for me and lots of yummy grill eating for all of us!

Cool Crayons

I stumbled upon (literally...check out www.StumbleUpon.com) and found this really cool site to make these crayons. Check out Crayon Nibbles!

Here's a pic of creation. The kids love using them and we look forward to making more for the kids and gifts.

Who knew the deck would save on the water bill?

Who knew that this wonderful investment would also save on our water bill and in turn help the environment saving on the water.....



Yes. Busted.

Our deck is done!

The great crew that came out to build our deck worked feverishly today to get it done. It's almost there. We can walk on it and everything. The temporary supporting posts are still there while the concrete completely dries and one of the guys will be here tomorrow to do a little finishing work around the french doors. Oh and the french doors! Jamie is awesome and picked out the kind that has the blinds INSIDE the glass. That man ~ always thinking! Love love love the doors.

The kids just loved it. It was bittersweet for Jamie. He totally loves it but like so many things lately, wanted to call his Dad and tell him about it. Richard sure would have loved that deck.

We will be getting some new patio furniture and of course a grill for it! We can't wait to be able to just sit and enjoy!

Here are some pictures of our new "room"!



Here are the kids getting ready to enjoy dinner, picnic style!

Cleaning, decluttering and decorating

We so many changes this year, Jamie and I are trying to get our house to be more like a home. We recently got new windows on the house, which we love. Not only are they nice looking, they keep the cold or heat out and don't have mold. They are super nice.

We are getting a deck soon. We are just awaiting the approval of the Homeowners Association....so honestly, who knows how long it will be! It's just a basic deck and it's going to be so nice to have it.

I just cleaned out the girls' room today. I'm hoping to paint it this weekend. I have some really nice fabrics to make them cute decorative pillows that match their curtains I made. I'm also hoping to get the crib/toddler bed out and the bunk beds up. I'll post pictures when we are done.

The boys want their room painted as well but can't decide the color. Once they do that, we will go full force with getting it done.

Last night Jamie and I talked about redoing our room as well. I think it's time to go to Home Depot to get paint samples to see what we like best.

I'm also on a hunt for a new kitchen table ~ it's a corner nook breakfast table. Just trying to find the best price since so many people have this set. Once we get the french doors for the deck, we will need something that is closer to the wall.

I love our house. I just want to make it more of a home.

My next project is finding five matching frames to put each of the kids' pictures in. We just got back the older ones' school pictures which turned out great. I'm going to attempt to take some of Jacob and Jenna because I just don't think they will cooperate at a portrait studio and that stuff isn't cheap!

The kids are gearing up for Halloween. We got their costumes last weekend. Jenna is going to be Supergirl. Jacob is Buzz Lightyear. Jasmine is Princess Jasmine. James is the evil Spiderman, also known as Venom. Jordan is going to be Blade. You will have to wait for pictures on Halloween.

I really need to get to the store and get the candy and bags. Sandy always made up bags with lots of candy for each child. This is very dear to Jamie's heart so I like to keep it going.

Lots of fun changes going on around here and I'll be sure to post pictures when each project is complete.

September 2007

Life is moving along. We have been going to the mountains most weekends. Most weekends, we come back home and say we want to live there. I just love the quietness, the slowness, the nature of it all. It's beautiful.



School is going well. The kids are enjoying it. They have a new program this year called the Star Program. Anytime a child is "caught" being kind, nice, helpful, etc, they receive a Star ticket. They can earn prizes or become the Star of the Week. They are all earning them, with Jasmine earning the most of course.

I made curtains in the girls' room. We bought paint awhile ago and just haven't done it yet. Hopefully soon I will be doing it. I have big plans for their room. These are the curtains though....



We also got new windows on the house. They are fabulous. I'm such a home maker when I talk about my windows and get excited about them.

We will be putting a deck on the house soon as well. Can't wait for that!

Congratulations David & Michelle!

Jamie's cousin, David, got married today to the wonderful Michelle. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. It was a really nice ceremony.

Congratulations David and Michelle!

The reception was a lot of fun. We sat near Jamie's cousins and joked and laughed most of the night. We met Jeremy's (Jamie's cousin) new baby girl, Gabriella, that they just adopted. She is so sweet. Gabby and Chad had a lot of fun getting to known one another. I don't think Chad knew that there were people his size in this world. He's so used to my kiddos.

Jordan was at his dad's. James was at his mom's. The rest of the gang spent the night at Oma and Opa's house. They had a lot of fun there. Of course.

On the way back home from dropping the kids off, the driver side window shattered while I was driving. Completely scary! I have no idea what happened and how I did NOT wreck. Luckily the kids were already at Oma and Opa's and I didn't get cut by the glass. Just really scared.

I don't have any pictures from the wedding. Yet. I hope to have some soon from the ones Becky took and hoping Jeremy sends us some of the ones he took.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jenna!

Jenna turned the big 2 today! Our baby girl is 2! Where has the time gone? She is such a fun child. A real firecracker. Some would say she has an attitude problem and compare it to the one I supposedly had as a child so I don't think much about it. Here's some pics from her big day!


Happy Birthday pretty girl! **This girl never wakes up this happy! She must have known it was her big day!**




Enjoying some cuddle time with her buddy Bear.



Jenna is obsessed with Little People playsests and dinosaurs AKA dinos. Well Fisher Price has Little People Dino sets. Her best friend, Jacob, helped her open them. She totally loved them and couldn't wait for Daddy and I to rip the boxes open.



I made Jenna's cake. I did another butterfly. I was going to do a dinosaur but never got around to finding a dino cake pan.



Here is Jenna telling everyone to SHH!!! while we were singing. She really does not like people to sing to her. Ever.



Jenna picked out her dino at Build-A-Bear. Oma and Opa always take the kids there on their 2nd birthday to pick out a special friend. Her name is Jenna-saurus.




Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Curtains for the Girls' Room

Jasmine picked out some really pretty paint colors for the walls and I found some really great fabric to match. Hopefully I will paint it soon but at least they have curtains! Even better was that I got these in the clearance section at JoAnns! I love when that happens.