Alyssa is 2!

Let's eat some cake!

She had a Mickey Mouse theme party so it was only appropriate that she got a Mickey Mouse DVD from Mimi. She was so excited!

Papaw got her this cool fire truck!

We got Alyssa a big girl table. She ate breakfast on it this morning.

Mallory loves the fire truck too!

We had a great day! Alyssa had lots of friends and family come and play. Uncle Andy & Aunt Kelly even got to watch it on the computer! The only disappointment was the cake. Chris was out of own this weekend so we had to buy a cake from Super 1. It tasted okay but looked HORRIBLE! I was so embarassed! Oh well, it will soon be forgotten. We got to debut our new house. We were working on it up until last minute. I will post pictures sometime this week. My baby is 2! I can't believe it. She is getting soooo big! So that was our weekend. Today will be a day of rest and relaxation. This will be the first day we have been able to do that.

Menu Plan Monday

So my friend Elaine has started doing this Menu Plan Monday on her blog so I decided to give it a try. I actually have a full kitchen now so I can cook for the first time in weeks. I promise I will post pictures of the house soon. There are still boxes everywhere. I know I should be unpacking instead of blogging but I am doing it anyway! Here is my menu:

Monday - We ate Cane's because Trey didn't get a chance to hook up the cook top but he is doing it right now!

Tuesday - Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells (see below)

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Packets (see below), Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Thursday - Fabulous Fajita Pizza (Pampered Chef)

Friday & Saturday- I don't cook on the weekends (that is a house rule!)

Sunday - Spaghetti w/meat sauce, Strawberry Spinach Salad & Garlic Bread

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

16 dried jumbo pasta shells, prepared according to package rinsed & drained

1 lb ground beef

1 16oz can refried beans

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 T taco seasoning

1 1/2 C salsa

Heat oven to 350. Cook beef & drain. Add beans, 3/4 C cheese & taco seasoning; mix well. Spread 1/4 C salsa over bottom of 13x9 baking dish. Fill pasta shells w/ beef mixture; place shells filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells. Cover baking dish w/ foil. Bake 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle w/ remaining cheese.

BBQ chicken packets

foil

chicken breasts

BBQ sauce

Tony's

Tear off a piece of foil big enough to wrap the chicken. Place raw (I use frozen) chicken breast on foil and sprinkle with Tony's then cover with BBQ sauce. Wrap chicken up in foil and place on baking sheet. Wrap as many pieces of chicken as you want. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until done.

To view additional MPM's go to I'm am Organizing Junkie.

Where am I?

It's a blizzard here! Well, the closest thing to a blizzard I have ever seen! It is really snowing. I don't mean ice - snow! It is very hard to unpack boxes when all I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch the snow fall in the backyard! Our counter tops were installed yesterday and look FABULOUS! The plumber will be here today to connect my sink and dishwasher. Our backsplash is being installed Monday & Tuesday so hopefully by the end of next week I can post before and after pictures. Alyssa's birthday party is next Saturday so we are determined to have everything completely finished by then. Well, inside anyway. The yard is another story!!!

A Day in the Park

Moved

Well, we are mostly moved. We are tired. Every time I look around I want to cry because there is SO much to do! I will not have kitchen counters, a kitchen sink, or a dishwasher until the end of next week or beginning of the next. I have about 10 different people in my house right now. Oh well, it will be great when it is finished! Our camera accidentally went to DeRidder with Mr. Bubba so I will post pictures when we get it back.

Ashley tagged me

Ashley tagged me. Check out her quirks at www.ashleytsears.blogspot.com

6 Quirks about you Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the fun begin!

1. I was a pageant girl in high school. I was in a pageant at least 1 weekend a month my entire junior year in high school.

2. I love chocolate candy but hate chocolate cake.

3. I wear the same pajama's every night to bed and have almost the entire time I have been married. I just can't find another pair that are as comfortable as those!

4. I am an accountant and can't add numbers in my head. I am totally dependent on my calculator!

5. I can't go to sleep at night without reading. I can be completely tired and not be able to go to sleep if I haven't read.

6. I LOVE to play games. I love board games, card games, domino games - anything! I am extremely competitive but love to play!

I am tagging these people:

Jenifer: www.ladybelize.blogspot.com
Megan: www.alittlelagniappe.blogspot.com
Kelly: www.xanga.com/kelbelle810

Busy

If you look closely you can see her bottom eye teeth coming in!

Just chillin'!

We have had a very busy week. Last week we closed on our house and immediately started working on it. We have carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians....you name it we have them working on our house. It looks like we might be able to pull everything together to move in next weekend. We are very pleased with the progress. Trey is working on it every night and we have gotten a sitter a few nights after the girls go to bed so I can help out a little.

Last Thursday I took Mallory in for her 12 month check up and discovered she had a double ear infection. She is also cutting about 5 or 6 teeth! Needless to say she has not been too happy over the last week. She has her moments but is REALLY fussy! I feel so bad because there is not much I can do for her. Going to sleep is the worst! She just wants me to hold her. I am reminded of when she was born. I could get her to sleep with no problem but the minute I put her in her bed she started screaming. She has been sleeping until 8:30 the last couple of days which is WONDERFUL!!!!! We took Alyssa in yesterday for her follow up visit with the ENT and the doctor said she looked the best she has ever seen her. We were thrilled to hear that!

We are starting to settle in here. Last weekend was our last weekend to go back to Shreveport and stay in our house. We packed everything up and will be moving it all to our new house in Ruston next weekend. I have been going to a women's bible study here and even joined a bunco group! My Broadmoor girls know how much I LOVE bunco! Now if we could only sell our house so Trey wouldn't have to work a weekend a month in Shreveport!!!

Mallory's 1st Birthday

We had a great time at Mallory's birthday party. She had so much fun! She loved all of her presents (liked the paper more)! She enjoyed the birthday song and blowing out her candle. Her favorite part was the cake. She started out not knowing what to think but after a little taste she LOVED it! She ate just about the whole cake we had for her. She partied hard and sleep all afternoon.

In other news, we officially own 2 homes! Wow - that is scary! Our contractor started today and got a lot done! Our painter starts tomorrow.

There she blows!

MALLORY CAN BLOW HER NOSE!!!!

Those of you without kids are going to read this blog and think I can't believe she is blogging about this. For those of you with kids know how wonderful it is not to have to pull out the nose sucker on your child. The minute she sees the thing she starts screaming so loud her lips turn blue because she is not breathing! We have been trying to teach the kids to do this (since everyone has had a runny nose for months). We were eating dinner last night and without even asking her she blew! Now when we put the tissue to her nose she blows. She will only do it once each time but I will take that!!!

Supporter of her political party

I could not resist these pj's when I saw them. The pants have the elephants all over them. They are too cute!

Trey took this picture of Mallory. I thought it was too cute!

We are set to close next Monday on our house in Ruston. We can't wait! There is a lot of work to be done but it will be worth it. We have ordered counter tops, hired a contractor and are looking for a painter (for the cabinets and sheet rocking). Trey is the primary painter! We have a busy month ahead of us. We are taking a Smith & Schieffer family vacation to Destin this summer. It will be the girls first trip to the beach. I am SO Excited! I haven't been to the beach since Hawaii! A whole week with Trey! The girls and I can't wait!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the girls playing. We got this amazing camera for Christmas. I actually feel kinda silly using it because it has this HUGE lens on it! It takes wonderful pictures! Mallory's 1st birthday is next weekend. I can't believe my baby is going to be ONE!!!! Where has the year gone? Alyssa will be 2 next month! We are staying busy trying to find good deals on materials for the new house. We are set to close on the 4th. Well, I better go get Mallory before she climbs up the fireplace. That girl can climb up anything!!!!

We found a house!

We finally found a house in Ruston! We have not sold our house in Shreveport yet. We did just switch realtors so maybe that will help! We found an older house in a great neighboorhood. It needs some updating but we are excited to make it our own! It has plenty of room. I can't wait for the girls to have a playroom. My living room will actually be a living room. We are set to close on February 4th. We are going to try to get all of the work done before we move in. We can stay in our rent house until the end of February. Pray for Alyssa. We have some health issues going on but I am not going in detail here. I have a ton of pictures of the girls to post but we got a new camera and I am not sure how to get the pictures on here. I will post them when I figure it out!

Christmas 2007

Nap Time???

How can you get upset when this is what is looking at you when you walk in the room?

If you can't tell she has crawled under her bumper.

My child is a chipmunk!

I went in to check on Mallory this morning because I could hear she was not asleep and she was under her bumper. Normally if she is awake she is standing up give me the biggest grin when I walk in the room which is what she did after I took her picture under the bumper. She is so funny! Well, we are going to the doctor AGAIN today with Alyssa. She got a runny nose Tuesday so I started giving her breathing treatments but she is still wheezing really bad. She was up all night crying because she couldn't breathe. On a better note our house is showing today. After 2 months of not showing we are excited! Please pray that it will sell!!!! While you are praying please pray for my sanity with sick kids. I am not sure how much more I can take!!!

Merry Christmas!

Here are the pictures from our Christmas card. I couldn't get a descent one of them together. I love the expression on Mallory's face! I am so ready for everyone to be well. Alyssa still can't get rid of her ear infection. It goes from one ear to the next. Mallory finally got over her ear infection but caught a stomach bug this weekend. Alyssa had it last week. The problem with Mallory is that she will not drink pedialyte so we have to give it to her through a syringe. Poor Trey got up every hour last night to give it to her.

We are looking forward to Christmas. Bryan graduates from LSU Friday so Trey and I will be heading to Baton Rouge for the day. My mom is keeping the girls (that would be a pretty miserable trip to make in a day). Andy and Kelly will be coming in from Indiana so we are so excited to get to see them! Trey took a few days off of work next week. He has been working the past 20 days straight so we will be glad to have him home all day for several days in a row! Trey bought me a king size bed for Christmas. It is WONDERFUL! I have been begging for one for several years and he had a few sleepless nights so he decided we needed one. I have to say it is the best present I have had so far!!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Is this normal?

Alyssa REALLY enjoys the TV. I only let her watch a few shows but she really likes them. This was her watching the Baby Einsteins sign language video. She is in her high chair because she had just finished lunch. Do any of your kids get this excited over TV? Sorry it is sideways - it took WAY too long to download to fix it!!!!

The good, the bad and the ugly

Well, the good news is the girls are getting better. We have been to the doctor 4 times so far with Mallory and 2 times with Alyssa. The bad news is they both have ear infections. The doctor prescribed Alyssa an antibiotic and she is doing much better. Mallory on the other hand is not cooperating too well. The doctor prescribed her an antibiotic last Thursday and she did okay the first day but starting Friday she vomited every time we gave her medicine. We tried every way possible to hide it but she is no dummy! She was also running fever so we were trying to give her motrin too. The ugly was by Sunday she was vomiting ALL day! She couldn't keep anything down. The uglier is she is having to have three shots of antibiotic. Maybe they will get to go back to MDO before it ends at the end of this month! I will leave you with a picture of Mallory at 10 months.

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for but today I am especially thankful for Alyssa. We have all been sick with a really nasty cold all week. I had it then passed it to the girls then Trey got it. We took Mallory to the doctor in Shreveport while we were there last week because she got pink eye with hers. I am the only one who avoided fever. Maybe I had it but I was just too busy to notice? Mallory and Trey had fever Friday and Saturday and Alyssa had it Sunday. I was worried because Alyssa was around 102 and she looked so sick. We got back to Ruston around 6:30 Sunday night and at about 7:00 Alyssa had a seizure. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. She was in her high chair taking a breathing treatment and I noticed something wasn't right with her eyes. She will sometimes just stare off into space which is what it looked like she was doing. She didn't have convulsions she just went limp. Trey grabbed her to put her in the car to take to the ER. I was putting Mallory in the car when I looked over and saw Alyssa foaming at the mouth and turning blue. I FREAKED out!!!!! Trey told me to call 911. He took her back inside to start CPR while I called 911. I then remembered my neighbor was a nurse so I ran over and asked her to come over. I couldn't go inside. All I could do was fall to my knees and pray that God heal her! I honestly thought she was going to die! I have never seen anything like that in my entire life and hope to NEVER see it again. She started breathing right as Trey was about to to CPR. Trey had just taken a CPR course last week and had to do CPR on a baby! The ambulance got there and she was fine! We took her to the ER so she could have some tests run to make sure it wasn't anything serious. It was a febrial seizure. Which is common in children when they have a fever that spikes. The crazy thing is her fever was only 101.9. She has had much higher before. Everything is okay she is running around playing like normal. The doctors said she has a 5-10% chance of it happening again. It is going to be very difficult for me not to freak out next time she has fever! We are all doing better. I am well. Mallory is still coughing and has a runny nose but the pink eye is gone. Trey is feeling better.

9 months old, Birthday and the Children's Museum

Mallory is actually 9 1/2 months old. I just got around to taking her picture this weekend. She is growing like a weed. Her front two teeth are finally coming in. The two beside the front two have already come in and it looks pretty funny. She is pulling up in her crib and on toys. She has taken a few steps holding onto the couch. She has bite marks all around her crib.

Saturday was my 29th birthday. My friend Chris made me this beautiful cake. It was wonderful! I woke up to 4 GREY HAIRS!!!!! I promise they were not there the day before!


The girls and I went to Monroe last week to have a play date at the Children's museum with Megan and her kids and Jolie and her kids. We had so much fun. We were the only people there so the kids were able to run around and do whatever they wanted. There was a baby area for Mallory and Gavin and Jolie, Kathryn, and Alyssa played all over the rest of the museum.

Mallory and Gavin played well together until Mallory just wanted to give him kisses!!

Yep - that is Mallory standing up playing.

Here is Kathryn and Alyssa playing together.

Sisters think alike

Apparently it is more fun to play under the exersaucer than in it!

Mallory at 9 months

Alyssa at 10 months

Pigtails, Tubes & Standing Up

Alyssa finally has enough hair to have pigtails!!! YEAH!!!

Mallory decided to crawl in her clothes hamper while I was folding her clothes!

Mallory is standing up by herself when she has something to hold onto!!!!

Well, Alyssa had her surgery yesterday. Everything went great! The worst part was waiting on her to tinkle before we left. They finally just let us leave without her doing it because we knew she would go as soon as we got in the car - and she did! She had an ear infection going into the surgery so she still isn't 100% well but it shouldn't be long. Trey started trying to get her to talk last night! I told him it would probably take a few days!

Mallory had her 9 month checkup Tuesday. We really like the doctor. Everything was great! She is growing like a weed! When we were finished with our checkup the doctor asked about Alyssa and we explained the situation and she said she would see her since she was a sibling. We were THRILLED! We do like the clinic in Monroe but 1) it is in Monroe and 2) we have yet to see the same doctor twice. So, that was another answered prayer. I have to change everything with the medicaid office but according to the doctor it shouldn't be a problem.

Our house is still a work in progress. We went to Shreveport last weekend but stayed with some friends because we didn't want to risk Alyssa getting sick. Trey went by there and checked everything out and the mold is gone however the ceiling was still not fixed to our approval. They came back and painted the entire ceiling Tuesday and we had our carpets cleaned so this weekend we will clean up the dust and put it back on the market.

My Little Ladybugs

We went to the fall festival at Temple last night. It was fun! We put Alyssa in a jumpy thing for the first time but she really didn't know what to do. I had to wake her up from a nap to go so she wasn't in a very good mood! I am sure she was also burning up since it was 76 when we got there and they had on fleece from head to toe!

In other news Alyssa is getting tubes put in her ears next week. She has had a constant double ear infection for the last month. She just can't get rid of them. Finally we went to an ENT and with one look in her ears we were told she needed tubes and part of her adenoids out. She has a split uvula so they can't take all of them out. The ENT was also certain that this is the reason she is not talking. Hopefully we can get her well and talking!

Mallory is doing great! She will be 9 months tomorrow. I will post a 9 month picture when we are in Shreveport. If you haven't noticed I am taking her picture each month for a year in the same chair so I can see how much she has grown. She is talking and pulling up. I don't think it will be long before she is walking.

We still haven't sold our house in Shreveport. We are having major issues! A couple of weekends ago we were there and noticed some black stuff around the vent. Trey took it off and discovered mold in our air ducts. Obviously, the heating element had a short in it so the fan on the heater was staying on and blowing hot air in in the attic against the cold air from the air conditioner. We called someone to clean it out and they fell through our ceiling in the living room. When we went home last weekend Trey checked it all out and was NOT happy. They didn't even come close to matching the paint on the ceiling and there were about 5 or 6 air ducts that still had mold in them. So they were supposed to fix it this week and we will check it out this weekend. In the meantime our house is on hold. So please pray that this will be fixed and it will sell!!!! I am about to go crazy in our tiny house in Ruston. We are surrounded by partying college kids! Last night our neighbors had a party (in their YARD) until about 1am! They did come over yesterday and warn me so I wouldn't call the police - wasn't that nice???? We have found a house we like but are scared to go ahead and buy something with the issues with our house in Shreveport. Anyway, I will let ya'll know how the surgery goes next week.

Pumpkin Patch

Eating

Since nothing else is going on I thought I would write about eating. I occasionally look at a friend of my sister-in-law's blog. She has a little girl about a month younger than Mallory so I like to see what she is doing compared to Mallory. Well, I was looking at it last week and noticed she has started posting quick and easy recipes. I thought this would be a great idea to share recipes. We get in a rut of eating the same things over and over. So, I am going to try to post a recipe weekly. Since I am posting about eating I thought I would put a picture up of the girls eating.

Alyssa is eating the same thing she eats for dinner every night. She is SO picky! Oh, we found a clinic we LOVE in Monroe. We had to take Alyssa back last week for a follow up visit but the day of her appointment she woke up crying and continued to cry the ENTIRE day! She NEVER does this so I knew something was wrong. Her other ear was infected so she was given a shot and more antibiotics and is like a different child. We have an appointment with an ENT in December (apparently these doctors are VERY busy) to decide if she needs tubes in her ears. The doctor thinks she does and so do we.

This is Mallory's first time trying Cheerios at home. I noticed on her MDO sheet they put she ate a snack of cheerios. I figured since they are giving them to her I would try. They must put them on the tray and then look away because every time I have given them to her she plays with them then throws them on the floor. She has yet to eat one!

Okay, so here is my recipe of the week:

Crock Pot beef tips

1 package of Stew Meat
2 Packages of Brown Gravy mix
Salt, Pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 beef bouillion cube
water

Put the stew meat in the crock pot. Pour the gravy mix over the meat and cover with water. Put in beef bouillion, salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Monday was Trey's birthday. The big 29! We just have one more year of being in our 20's! We had a birthday dinner at Chili's. Our friends Chris and Richie came over from Shreveport. Chris made this awesome cake. The best part about it is that it not only looks great it tastes great too! Chris is an unbelievable cake decorator. She can make anything you want! Daniel, Kristen, Cody & Tanya met us too. We had a great time. Alyssa made her first drawing for Trey for his birthday. I don't know why I haven't let her draw before. She really enjoyed it. Mallory wanted to take part but I told her she had to wait a few more months!

Chris' masterpiece!

Alyssa's Masterpiece!

Mallory is 8 months old! She is getting so big. Crawling all over the place and talking all of the time. She said Dada for the first time on Trey's birthday. I thought that was neat! She has 4 teeth and about to have 6. She has finally graduated to 6 months clothes. Alyssa is 18 1/2 months. She is sick. Yesterday we took her in for her 18 month check up but it ended up being a sick visit. I was worried. She was almost as sick as when she was hospitalized on her birthday. Thankfully we had some of the resources at home to help her get better. The doctor gave us several medicines and we are continuing to give her breathing treatments. She is back to herself today (after waking up every 4 hours last night to give her treatments and medicine)! This is her 5th ear infection in less than a year. We are SERIOUSLY considering tubes. Trey was doing some research on the internet and really thinks that is what we need to do. He really thinks it is why she is not really talking yet. Hopefully we can get this done before she gets sick again! The doctor is another issue. Alyssa is on Medicaid and because we don't have permanent custody we can't add her to our insurance. Their are only 2 doctors in Ruston that accept medicaid and neither of them are pediatricians. The are both general practitioners. We haven't heard great things about either one of them. I told Trey let's give this doctor a chance. So we get there and most of the patients in the waiting room are children. I think this looks good. We get in the room and he is pretty stoic - which is not really what you want in a pediatrician. Then he starts asking questions about the mother, etc. He asked what the mother died from and I told him a drug overdose and then he said "so she is a crack baby"! I about came UNGLUED!!!! NO - she is NOT a CRACKBABY I said! Even if you think she is isn't there a better way to say it???? Needless to say I am not happy with that doctor and will be trying to figure out some other way for her to see a doctor. If I have to pay for everything out of my own pocket I will!!!! Well, I will leave with Mallory's 8 month picture.

Life Lately

Nothing exciting is going on here. We still haven't sold our house. We lowered the price this week so hopefully we will get some action. It hasn't shown in over a month! I think we have pretty much decided to build here in Ruston. We found a neighborhood we really like (and a bonus is it is across from the peach orchard). There are only about 10 houses there right now. We have contacted a builder now we are just trying to find the perfect house plan. Our lease on our rent house is up in March so we figured if we started building next month it would be finished around March. We like Ruston I am just ready for us to be here and get involved in a church. Trey is still playing at Broadmoor until we sell our house so we all just go back to Shreveport every weekend. I am ready to make some mommy friends here. I did get good news today. When I dropped the girls off at MDO they told me they had an opening on Tuesday so now the girls can go two days a week.

The girls are doing well. Mallory is crawling all over the place. I can hardly keep up with her! She has 4 teeth and working on a few more. She talks (babbles) ALL of the time! She will be 8 months next week! Alyssa is starting to talk more - she is FINALLY calling me Mama! She has been calling me Dada forever because that was the one word she would say. She is now 18 1/2 months. Well, I better go and get some work done while I am childless!

Mallory Crawling (or leaping like a frog)

Story Time

I love this picture! Trey was reading to the girls and I snuck a picture. I cut Trey's head off but I still love the picture. Life is busy here. We are living in a rent house in Ruston during the week and at our house in Shreveport on the weekends. I will be SO glad when we sell our house and find one in Ruston. Although the house we are renting is new and nice it is TINY!!!! Trey loves his new job. He is doing several different types of therapy and is really enjoying it. The girls will start Mother's Day Out one day a week this week. I am really looking forward to the couple of hours of alone time. I LOVE my girls but still need some me time! We have never done MDO so we are going to try it out. Well, I have loads of laundry to get done so I better get busy.

Our First Tech Game!

7 Months Old

Mallory is 7 months old! She is sitting up by herself and eating just about anything we give her. She is so much fun. She is not crawling yet but she is trying. Alyssa is 17 1/2 months. She just gets to be more and more fun. Her big thing right now is for us to sing to her. She gets us to start and when we stop she cries her eyes out!

We had a busy weekend. We moved to Ruston on Saturday morning. We found a house to rent and will be living there during the week and in Shreveport on the weekends until our house sells. We moved all of the big stuff on Saturday but have a trailer full of small stuff to unload today. We will not have internet until Thursday so I decided to post real quick while Trey was mowing. Trey's dad, Bryan and Christine (Bryan's girlfriend) all came in for the weekend. We had so much fun!!! We decided Christine was a keeper because she picked up on Settlers quickly and liked playing it. Settlers of Catan is a board game we LOVE to play! She also likes to play spades. Hopefully she will play with us again after Trey & I whooped her and Bryan!!! Trey starts his new job tomorrow. Well, I heard the lawnmower stop so I better get ready to head to Ruston.