Geiler Family Blog

My little Valentines

2012-02-15T12:39:00.001-06:00

They actually look like they like each other!! I love these little people to the moon and back!!

Mono

2012-01-27T12:31:00.001-06:00

So a few weeks ago I noticed all the cold medicine was gone--didn't think anything about it. Then I found several wrappers for cough drops in the washer---I questioned the culprit which happened to be John! He claimed his throat had been hurting for about a week but he had no other symptoms and that nothing seemed to be helping it. And of course the thought of going to the Dr is absurd! So fast forward to last week when a noticeably exhausted Mady doesn't feel well and wants to stay home from school. John willingly stayed home with her. No real symptoms other than being very tired. So this week it appeared as though Mady's sinus infection stuff was coming back so I took her to Dr. Mind you this is the girl who does not require sleep EVER! She has been a sleeping fool! DR tests her and she has mono---seriously? Ugh! Then it hit me on the way home as I had my epiphany! John has it too---although he has not been tested he has all the signs of mono that Mady has! Jeez!

So my question is-? If Mono is the kissing disease then who has my husband been kissing to pick this up? Because I don't have it?!! Lol!

Oh and of course my girl is milking it for everything it's worth!!

Addiction

2012-01-23T21:22:00.001-06:00

When you are an addict isn't the first step admitting it first? Here goes---I am addicted to PINTEREST!!!

If you have not been on Pinterest---oh my you are missing out!! You must check it out! I have found so many ideas, crafts for the kids and recipes---we have had a few new dishes for dinner that we have all loved!!

Must go "pin"!!!

Girl Scout Cookies

2012-01-19T21:53:00.001-06:00

Mady (my little Daisy Scout) is selling girl scout cookies starting Saturday! She is super excited and is planning her attack!! Her goal is 200 boxes!! I think she can do it:)

If you would like some cookies--let her know!

Encouraging Words

2012-01-13T15:10:00.000-06:00

Life is hard,
Life is tough,
You need to be strong,
And never give up

There may be days,
That never seem to end,
And you feel like you,
Don't have a friend,

But keep on walking
Down that road,
Your friends will follow
And bear your load,

But face each day,
And what it brings,
And you'll be ready,
To face any thing.

Recipe

2012-01-08T18:25:00.002-06:00

Had to share this recipe---it was so good!!

5lbs baking potatoes
1/2 cup melted butter
4oz Cream cheese (half a block)
8oz sour cream
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 slices bacon
Salt
Pepper
Chives---optional as my hubby does not like these!

Peel, dice potatoes and boil till you can easily pierce with a fork. Drain and return to pan.

In meantime cook 10 slices of bacon and crumble

Take a fork and mash potatoes till fluffy add sour cream, butter, cream cheese, salt, pepper and 2 cups cheese as well as 1/2 bacon crumbled---put in baking dish top with rest of cheese and bake on 350 for 30 minutes. Garnish with rest of bacon and chives!

Omg!! So good! Enjoy!!!

Pictures from Christmas 2011

2012-01-04T13:43:00.005-06:00

MeMaw and Mady--Christmas Day!!

My family on Christmas Eve

Maw Maw Bert and Mady Moo

MiMi, Alex and PaPa Frank

LOL! Mady freaking out and crying because she is scared of Santa and is afraid he is still in the house and she is NOT going down there!!!

My Bentley Baby on Christmas Day

Alex in heaven with his new Build a Bear Rudolph and Clarice

Mady and PaPa Frank

Mandy and her boys--Sage and Kai

Cora, Myself (holding Parker) and Mandy--sister in laws! I call us the outlaws!!

John and his girl--Mady Moo!

John and the kids with the much loved "Xbox 360-Kinect!"

Mady, Alex and myself--I just love these little sweet things to death:) I hope someday they think I am the worlds GREATEST mom!

Anthony, Alex & Mady on Christmas Eve.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T08:48:00.002-06:00

Wishing all our friends and family a Happy New Year! May 2012 be a GREAT year:)

Mady drug dealer

2011-12-31T00:46:00.001-06:00

Thursday Mady was invited to a friends birthday party--she and I went and while there she and the two girls (sisters) asked if Mady could come stay the night---I hesitated because I wasn't sure if Mady would make it b/c she had never been to their house before. The parents are long time friends and John has know the girls dad forever and was recently in his wedding---anyway I reluctantly said yes and told her if she wanted to come home just call.

So 11:30pm last night I get a call she was on her way home. When she arrived she said, "mommy I tried to make it--I even took melatonin to help me fall asleep" (in her overnight bag is a small zipper bag with melatonin, Tylenol for her leg if needed, toothbrush, etc.) I said, "oh did Carol give that to you?" she says, "no I got them myself and I shared with the girls we all had two."

Needless to say we had a nice chat about that and that she better never do that again! During the chat she said, "ok ok I got it--can we talk tomorrow I am tired!" guess so!

I came to bed woke John and told him, all he could do was laugh and shake his head! All day he has referred to her as the drug dealer!

Little things

2011-12-30T23:03:00.002-06:00

It's often the little things that excite kids---this is by far one of their favorite gifts:) they are so cute!!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T22:40:00.001-06:00

I just tucked my babies into bed and Mady told me that "this had been the best Christmas ever!"

Mission Accomplished!

New Lady!

2011-12-22T13:45:00.001-06:00

I had an appointment to get my hair trimmed and my shadow accompanied me to my appointment! While there she decided to get her hair chopped off! This is her 2nd time donating at least 13 inches of hair!! She looks absolutely adorable!!!

Christmas dance recital

2011-12-14T23:05:00.001-06:00

Tonight Mady had her Christmas dance recital---she was "nervous" because part of her dance she had to shimmy and she said that made her embarrassed! As always she did awesome and danced her heart out:)

Skippy

2011-12-11T20:04:00.001-06:00

Our little elf Skippy has been up to no good lately!! Last night he helped himself to the Christmas cookies we baked and the night before last he was zip lining across the living room! The kids have for quite the kick out of it! A few days ago he was holding the fire extinguisher like he was going to spray it---that was really freaking Alex out!

Hippy chic

2011-12-07T21:45:00.001-06:00

I have this new app on my phone and Mady had been having quite a lot of fun with it:)

Tis the season...

2011-12-07T21:42:00.001-06:00

For trees, ornaments, stockings, elves, Santa and Jesus! Every year the kids get more and more into the holiday spirit and I love it:) Their innocence is so precious and I know all to soon that they will grow out of this which is why I try and preserve it the best I can! I go to extremes to make them believe in the magic of Christmas!!!

We have Skippy (our elf) that has been a great asset to our Christmas magic. The kids are loving the elf and now that he is here till Christmas they can't wait to get out of bed in the morning to find him!

I only wish I could bottle these moments:)

Family Pictures

2011-11-30T11:57:00.002-06:00

Sneak Peak at our family pictures that we had taken last Saturday. Below is the the 5 "Kelly" grand kids plus an Anthony--who might as well be a "Kelly grandchild!" Poor Kai fell and busted his nose prior to pictures and was not having much to do with it!! But just the same they all look adorable:)

Mady and Parker---simply adorable!! They are so sweet and cute together!!! I love this picture!!

New phone:)

2011-11-27T06:57:00.001-06:00

I am happy girl this morning as I type this post from my new apple iPhone 4GS! This sucker is fast! Perhaps now I can keep up with my blog a little better. We have dial up at home and it is so slow---last night took me over an hour for the home page to load. I was so mad I called and cancelled out home Internet---that's ridiculous! We have no other options so I will just manage with my phone!!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...

2011-11-18T21:22:00.001-06:00

All 3 of them are missing their front teeth!! Adorable!! Alex has lost a total of 4 (and has no more loose). Mady has lost 8--YES 8! She has 2 more loose! She is going to need dentures! Anthony I do believe has lost 4.

Star Student

2011-11-18T21:16:00.002-06:00

This week Alex was the "star student" in his class. He may be the star student of the week---but he will always be our star! He made a poster to tell all out his life, he took several of his favorite things to school and was able to take a treat to share with the kids in his class. His teacher also asked for his parents and or grandparents to write a special letter to the class or to Alex telling about him. John and I wrote separate letters and all 3 grandmas wrote letters. He did not know about the grandmas letters but kept asking what John and I were gonna write about. He loved the letters and asked if he could keep them---I have found him reading them on his own!

John and I are so proud of him! He is growing like a weed and getting more and more handsome! Love you Alex!

Birthday Girl

2011-11-06T22:24:00.001-06:00

A few pictures from the birthday girls party!! She had a GREAT birthday!! Still can not believe she is 6---holy cow!!

a Pirates Life

2011-11-06T22:18:00.003-06:00

Wanted to share this picture of my two pirates from Halloween!! Are they not the cutest things?

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-11-04T08:13:00.005-05:00

I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that our "baby" is 6! YIKES!!! I was laying in bed with her this morning telling her about the day she was born and it brought tears to my eyes that she is getting so big (and we are getting old!!). When Mady came screaming into this world--John and I had been parents for a little over two years and as we certainly did not know everything about being parents we thought we had a good grasp on it, that is until the little miss had something to say about it!! Of course she is the best gift ever and I only wish she would have come with a instruction manual!! She has taught us a whole new way of parenting!! She for sure keeps us on our toes! Madelyn is beautiful (inside and out), smart, precocious, funny and full of fire!! She pushes EVERYTHING to the limit and always has to have the last word--she gets it honestly (from her dad of course!!!)

Tomorrow we are celebrating with a Hello Kitty themed party and bonfire with family and close friends! Sunday we are taking the kids to Kansas City to Great Wolf Lodge. While there we are taking Mady to American Girl for her birthday! She is so excited!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

a Tale of Two Pirates!!!

2011-10-31T08:52:00.003-05:00

Alex and Mady decided to both be pirates this year!! Alex wanted to be "Captain Jack" and Mady wanted to be the "sexy pirate!" of course we had to have a chat about 5 year olds are not sexy! Ugh--that girl!!! I have to say I know I am partial but they are SUPER CUTE!! Sage and Kai are pirates also this year and we saw a picture of them on facebook and the kids thought that was AWESOME!!! We already made a haul of candy but of course we are trick or treating tonight!! Happy Halloween!!!

Toothless

2011-10-31T08:48:00.003-05:00

At the rate that Mady is going the Tooth Fairy is going to need to take out a loan!! She lost both front teeth within the last month and has four more that are VERY loose! Saturday while at trunk or treat she pulled another tooth out---well actually Shelby pulled it!! So that makes 5 teeth that she has lost with another 3 right behind! I can not help but wonder if she is not helping this process along? hmm!? This picture was taken right after Shelby plucked that snaggle tooth out!!! I told her she is gonna look like an old lady with no teeth!!!

Report Card Time!

2011-10-27T09:30:00.008-05:00

Drum roll please!!!!! John and I went to parent-teacher conferences at the kids school and both are doing GREAT!!

Alex's Teacher Reported: that he is doing well in all areas including reading and that he is raising his hand more and more to read aloud to the class! She also said he is quite the class clown---my Alex? Who would have thought!? This is the kid that does not like to be the center of attention or rather did not like to be the center of attention. I have noticed over the last couple months he has turned over a new leaf and is more outgoing, more sociable and even has been hugging and kissing---(yes my boy the non kisser) he planted one on John and I last week on two different occasions! So I said to the teacher about nipping his clowning around in the bud and she laughed and said she thought it was funny! So its her problem then!!! LOL!

Mady' Teacher Reported: that she is enthusiastic, a GREAT helper, a leader (in a good way! she said all the other kids look up to Mady and want to do what Mady is doing!) and a talker! Our girl the talker---yep pegged her right on the nose!! Mady has ripped right through her sight words and is almost finished. The rest of the class is on list 2 so of course she thinks she is totally cool!! She loves school and is doing awesome! Last night she was at the table doing math problems--by herself! She was writing out problems like 5+5, 6+7 and 4+8 and doing them all alone. John was cracking up because he thinks there is something wrong with our kids when they do "homework" without being told to do so but rather for fun! LOL!!

Mady has also been doing Daisy Girl Scouts and guess who was suckered into being the leader? You guessed it me! I am not sure what I got myself into but I keep thinking--I am doing this for my girl!!

Alex is finishing up soccer, he has 2 more games and then a small break before we play for a select team! He LOVES soccer and would do just about anything to kick the ball around with someone!

Speed Bump

2011-10-20T12:17:00.002-05:00

We all have busy lives and are running from one thing to another--and then we hit a speed bump which stops us in our tracks and makes us take a second look at life and cherish the things around us. Our family is no exception to that. We had an eye opening hit us last Friday when we found out one of our friends little boys got his angel wings and was called home to live with Jesus. As a mother it absolutely breaks my heart and strikes a nerve like no other. I can not imagine the unbelievable amount of pain they are feeling. I think John and I hugged and smothered our kids so much this last weekend that they were tired of us:) Life is too short and precious! Do not take the days for granted...because when we do God gives us these little wake up calls and they are not pleasant.

Rest in Peace Kade! And if you are the praying kind please keep the Bauman Family in your prayers so they may have the strength to cope with this terrible loss.

Soccer Season 2011

2011-10-02T13:43:00.003-05:00

Alex is in his 2nd year of CYC soccer and he LOVES it!! The last several months if you put a ball in that boys hands or kick it around with him he is one HAPPY boy!!! He would do anything for someone to kick the ball around with him!!! He mostly plays defense on the soccer team because he has not got the hang of staying with the ball----he has improved greatly over the last several months!! Here is a few pics of my boy!

Carol and Kelly Wedding

2011-09-21T11:59:00.004-05:00

This last weekend we celebrated John's longtime friend Kelly Rodgers wedding! Would like to send out a huge shout out and congratulations to Kelly and Carol---Hope you have many happy years together!! John was a groomsman in the wedding and I do believe he had a great time doing it! We all had a great time celebrating with them and SHOCKER alert---I was the sober one!!! Cheers!! Shots all around!! The DJ called the grooms men up and next thing we knew John and the rest of the guys were busting a move with props and all to the YMCA--Bert, Buttons and I were shocked that John was actually doing it!! I guess when you are a non-drinker typically a few beers and a couple shots later you will do anything!!!

Ear

2011-09-04T12:16:00.002-05:00

I broke down and went to the ENT Dr. on Friday because I was still having the pulsating in my right ear and it was driving me crazy! I was not nearly as dizzy as I was when this all started on August 8th but I just did not feel right and when you have an annoying noise in your ear all the time is gets on your nerves. So the Dr looks in my ear and says, "well there is a foreign body in there and I am gonna have to go after that." I responded with a panicked "RIGHT NOW?" and he said, "yep! let me go get the room prepared!" I was freaking out a little bit and I text John and was like shit have a foreign body in my ear and they are going in after it! The nurse came and gave me a valium to take the edge off--at that point I was even more scared. After waiting about 20-30 min he brought me back to the room where the procedure was taking place. I have to say I was as tense as could be but the actual procedure itself did not hurt that bad at all. When he pulled the foreign body out he thought at first it was a rock and upon investigation he discovered that it was a bone fragment--not sure what the heck that means but let me tell you I am extremely relieved that it was not a bug because believe you me I would have MAJOR anxiety about that! So I am going to have an MRI done next week just to make sure there is not something more major wrong. The pulsating for the most part has subsided but now my ear just hurts---which it had not before. So I am guessing that its just hurting now because he messed with my ear drum. He put me on prednisone for the swelling and inflammation so needless to say I am not sleeping, I have tons of energy!

Stay tuned!

New Routines

2011-09-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

We are settling into our new routines rather nicely! It has gone MUCH smoother than I thought it was going to go. Mady is loving school and is doing wonderful! I went last week for kindergarten back to school night and her teacher said, she barely knows she is there and that she is very helpful, always does her work and is one of the kids setting the bar in the classroom because she is above what they are doing in class. She also said Mady is quiet---Mady? Quiet? We certainly can not be talking about the same child?!! I have to say I figured she would surprise us but as we all know when she is comfortable she may slip up!! LOL!

Alex is enjoying 2nd grade! He said his teacher is nicer than his teacher last year and that teacher was nice---so I am worried! His teacher this year is new and its her first year teaching and she has a lot to learn. When we went to the open house for Alex she made the comment that she was trying to not give much homework because who wants to do homework? I DO that is who! I expect homework! Call me crazy but she is not doing us any favors because as he gets older the more homework there will be and its better if its a gradual process. Besides how do you get better at something? You have to practice. Well John thinks I have lost my mind and said, whey should he have to suffer because he has to do homework with the kids!! HAHA!! Well on our own both kids write in a journal every night and I have an extra math curriculum that I have Alex doing. In school they are doing EASY math and we are well beyond that so at home we are doing triple digits and carrying. Alex has managed to transition quite well---I was worried after the start of last year but he has done well!!

Things are going well for John and I too! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted this year as far as having to run around all over the place before and after school. So nice to go just one place! Ahh! Work is work as always and is starting off quite like last year--freaking busy! That is ok because at least I have a job and its security! I also took on another project for the summer little did I know it lasted through February so I am working two jobs and that is keeping me quite exhausted! John is going through some changes with his job this month and that will be a big change for us. More to come on that later. Poor guy has a lot on his plate!

A few pictures...

2011-08-29T10:09:00.003-05:00

Our boy on the soccer field!! OLS won the tournament game!! Way to go!!

Alex, Mady and Bentley! We had to celebrate Bentley's 1st Birthday!!

Baby Girl!! Getting ready to ride her 4-wheeler!!

Papa Bear and his two baby girls!!!

1 1/2 days AND...

2011-08-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

he is sick already...ugh:( My poor Alex is miserable with a head cold. Coughing, sneezing, headache, sore throat and low grade fever is how we were woken up this morning. He was congested last night when he went to bed but overnight it got worse. Poor guy was upset because he did not want to miss school today. I had a full day of work planned so John came back home and stayed with the little guy. He seems better this evening so I am hoping he wakes up rested and ready for school!

Mady is still enjoying school! She got a gold award today for being good...I took her picture with it per her request in case it is the only one she gets! (her words!)

1st day of school!

2011-08-18T09:54:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of school and the first day for our baby girl in kindergarten! Where in the world has time gone? I am ready, she is ready however it is bitter sweet! I did not even get dressed before I was a crying mess this morning. She woke up first and came in our room handed me her pink blankie and said, "mom will you wash this and put it up because I do not need this anymore!" I was a crying fool at that point! John was like, "Mady what did you do to mommy!?" She just laughed and said, "well at least she is crying here at home!" Because after all I would not want to do it at school and embarrass her!!! John went to work late so we could both take her to school. She loved all the attention! Alex was great today and did not seem to mind us not walking him to class! I peaked in on him after we walked Mady to class! He was chatting it up with Summer!

They were being super silly this morning!!! Now you all know where the kids gets it from!

Happy 8th Birthday Alex!!!

2011-08-15T20:55:00.004-05:00

8 years ago today was one of the BEST days of my life--it was the day that John and I got to meet our sweet baby boy John Alexander! I can not even believe that it has been 8 years---seems like just yesterday we met the sweetest blue eyed boy in this world! Those first months were so hard for John and I especially those first few days when we did not know if our baby was going to make it or not. I think back to those days and THANK GOD everyday that he heard our prayers and look at him now! He is 8, going in 2nd grade, had a massive growth spurt this summer, missing his two front teeth, swimming like a fish, loves basketball and kickball and doing wonderful!! I had a weak moment this morning after I did my usual "happy birthday!" (This is where I sing and wake him up like that~ I have done this every years since he was born, kinda a joke now but he loves it!) So anyway was on my way out the door and and the garage door opened and Alex wanted a hug, so I obliged! As I picked my 8 year old up he wrapped his arms and legs around me and said, "mommy I do not want to grow up I want to by your baby forever" Flood gates opened---I wish I could make that wish come true!! It is hard to watch them grow up!

Happy Birthday Alex!! We love you!!! You are such a wonderful joy in our lives!!

Pain in the EAR

2011-08-11T12:11:00.002-05:00

Monday I woke up with what I can best describe as a pulsating in my ear. It was off and on all day long and as the day went by I grew extremely dizzy. My ear did not hurt at all--just the noise. So Tuesday when I woke up I was so dizzy and just did not feel right at all. I still had no pain but felt very strange. I called the Dr. they said to go to the ER or the Urgent Care because they could not see me that day. John freaked out and came home and made me go right then and there instead of waiting till he got home. So they said I had a lot of fluid in my ears but they were not infected and so she put me on meclazine (sp?) for the dizziness and an antibiotic as a proactive and told me to take a antihistamine to help alleviate the fluid. So basically long story short I have a case of vertigo--BLAH! When we left the Dr. John and kids were starving and so we went to Applebee's where I am sure they thought I was drunk!

So yesterday (Wednesday) Alex woke us up very early crying that his ear hurt---I drove him, probably not the smartest idea but hey a mom has to do what a mom has to do!! He has an ear infection--in fact a swimmers ear! OUCH! Poor baby boy has been miserable:( He had a rough night last night too---every time the Tylenol started wearing down he would wake me up crying.

Then John woke up this morning and said his ear was draining and it hurt a little---all I have to say is WHAT THE HELL!

Alex's 8th Birthday Party--with friends!!

2011-08-08T12:05:00.002-05:00

Pirates were the theme this year!!! Yesterday we celebrated Alex's (upcoming) 8th Birthday with all his friends (and cousins too!) Alex had a GREAT day filled with swimming, cake, a pinata and lots of crazy boys! John served as the lifeguard and pinata holder! He did a GREAT job! I will write more later in the week about this "8" thing---not sure why but him turning 8 is torture for me I can not hardly stand to say it or type those words....does not seem possible!

School, Shopping & Swimming

2011-07-30T19:40:00.002-05:00

School--is quickly approaching! We have been busy this last week starting to get back into a routine so that when school starts it is not such a huge shock to the system! The kids have been staying up partying like ROCK STARS the last couple months! So we started back to bed at 9 this week and come Sunday we are going to bed at 8---not looking forward to the fight! Alex starts soccer this week with his school team. They are also partaking in a tournament next weekend which may foil the friend birthday party plan! Mady is realizing that she is going to have to go to church soon and is already complaining about it--Ms. LaChance is gonna love her! Yep, she got Ms LaChance (same teacher Alex had)! Hope she knows how to keep precocious kids busy! Alex has a new teacher named Miss Cain, but she is getting married soon and her last name will change.

Shopping--My goodness the amount of school supplies for two kids is ridiculous! I am gonna need a U-haul to get it to school! We have all new uniforms this year. Alex hit a growth spurt (yeah!!!) and needed new pants, shorts and shirts! Can you say MONEY!!! Mady of course needed all new as well. Was hoping the hand me down skorts and jumpers that were given to us would work but they are a bit big on her now, so maybe next year! Today we went shopping for school shoes at Carnival Shoes in Arnold. They moved and had a grand opening sale and it was really busy but we got some great deals. I took Mady and John took Alex and when we met in the middle John let Alex pick his shoes (no guidance--eeek!) and they are BRIGHT YELLOW! Mady picked these VERY weird white shoes with funky straps on them. Of course John had to get a new pair of tennis shoes too. This is the man that still has the tennis shoes he wore in high school because he NEVER wears tennis shoes. Well at least not much. He wears work boots mostly. 5 pair of shoes later we headed to the mall to exchange shorts for Alex where Mady talked me into all sorts of clothes she did not need! She wanted this "fancy dress" and I said, "you do need a fancy dress" and she said, "Well maybe for prom or something!" I told her, "you are going into kindergarten not going to prom!" I got the eye roll! Love that girl!

Swimming--we have been perfecting our tans! Both kids have been sun kissed! I know our days for lounging in the pool are fading fast. I will be sad when they are over because we have had a ton of fun! Kids are swimming everywhere and all over the place! Next weekend we are having a birthday party for Alex with all his school friends over to swim! The theme is pirates this year! He can not wait to show all his friends all his swimming moves!!!

Can you say stitches?

2011-07-30T19:34:00.003-05:00

Thursday this last week John called about the time he should have been home and said he was headed to the ER because he cut his finger. For John to go to the hospital--I knew it must be a deep cut. So I met him over there and all I can say is NASTY! He was removing a panel from an air conditioner and it slipped as he was putting it down. Sliced his middle finger, not quite to the bone and he did not slice any tendons---thank you God! He ended up with 3 stitches and will have a nasty scar! The kids think it is really cool!! He has to keep it dry for a week to 10 days and then he gets the stitches out. The Dr. asked if I wanted the tweezers and the scissors and I could remove the stitches and before he finished John said, "uh no that is ok!" I said, "oh yea, I can do that!" The look on his face was priceless! He doesn't trust me to take out his stitches! I have actually done it before---so he can go back to Dr. and wait and have it done!! LOL!

Motorcycle

2011-07-17T12:09:00.002-05:00

Alex and Mady experienced their first ride on a motorcycle this last week! I know I know---eeek! My niece Shelby came over and her dad brought her over on his motorcycle! When they pulled in the driveway Mady's eyes lit up and she was looking at me begging! I said you go better go ask daddy! I kinda figured that John would frown upon it but he said "sure!"

My brother in law, Mike has been riding motorcycles for 25 plus years---in fact the motorcycle the kids rode on was the first motorcycle I ever rode on! He helmeted them up and took them for a short ride down the road---they LOVED it! Mady said, "One of these days, I am gonna have one of them!!!" I believe it!!

Meramac Caverns

2011-07-13T15:42:00.003-05:00

Today is "Fun Day" and with the weather kinda iffy we decided to do something that was inside more or less. Turned out to be a wonderful day and of course did not go as planned. The girls eneded up going with Dawn to do girl things and Alex and I (along with Shelby and her boyfriend) went to Meramac Caverns. I had not been there since I was a kid. It was fun, not what I expected but Alex had a good time!! I got a work out that is for sure---sheesh! who new!? We are off to see ZooKeeper the movie now---should be fun!! Our "fun days" are running out soon and before I know it summer will be over and back to school we go!!

Parker

2011-07-11T13:01:00.001-05:00

Ok is it me or does it look like she is flipping the her Uncle Jared off in this picture? LOL! I love it!!! She is adorable!!

A New Lady

2011-07-04T11:57:00.001-05:00

There is a new little lady in the family! Parker Renee Kelly arrived on Wednesday June 29th---Cora and Justin are over the moon!! And so is the rest of the family--including Mady! She isn't the baby girl anymore and at first she was mad when she heard they were having a girl but she said, "she is over it and ready to be a big cousin to a girl!!"

We are so excited to have her in our family!!

Patience

2011-06-24T12:56:00.002-05:00

I sure wish it came in pill form! Mady has been in a mood the last 2 days and has managed to push absolutely every button of mine and John too! Of course he spends less time with her because he has worked a ton this week. How many more days till school starts?

Yesterday she acted up for the babysitter---hoping she did not scare her off because Abby is REALLY good with the kids!

Then last night I took both kids to a jewelry party--and she acted up there too! I really needed to go to the grocery store to get some fruit and I more or less set her up to fail. After the day she had I knew the chances of her being good in the store were slim. When I asked her if she could behave she did not respond at first. I then asked again and she said, "its not looking real good, we better not go!" Well she wasn't lying! While in the store she started hitting herself in the head and flailing around yelling, "I am trying to get the bad out of my head." Needless to say people were looking! And then she would look at me and laugh!

So since I can not have more patience I guess I will have to drink wine!

Summer pictures!!!

2011-06-21T18:05:00.007-05:00

Summer time fun!!! Here are a few pictures from some of our few swimming days this summer so far! This weather has been crazy!We took Josh to dinner to celebrate his graduation!!! Way to go!!!

Summer has begun!

2011-06-08T14:32:00.002-05:00

Well now that mother nature has settled down it went from cool spring temps to HOT as H***!!!! The pool has warmed up nicely and my little fish have been in the pool daily since! I am pretty sure they would give up and do just about anything to swim! Yesterday in face they swam for several hours and when I took them over to MaMa and PaPa's last night to spend the night they jumped back in the pool---this time with clothes and then the clothes started to disappear until they were down to their underwear! Mady wanted to swim naked---of course she did! Crazy girl! I am sure they have had PaPa Bear in the pool all day today!

It amazes me how well they are swimming! After a long winter and not much pool time at the indoor pools this winter they still have the swimming bug!! Alex is staying under water longer and longer and does not seem to be bothered by water in the eyes so much. Mady can swim the length of the pool without help and does not even want you to follow her anymore!! They are already so tan after just a few weeks!! I will post some pictures soon!!

I am all SHOOK up!!!

2011-06-06T08:52:00.002-05:00

All I gotta say is HOLY ELVIS!!!! I got a good Elvis fix this weekend. I have always been fascinated by the King of Rock N Roll and his life, legacy and music. This weekend I had the opportunity to go to his birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi!! They host a Elvis Tribute Artist event every year and a festival to go along with it. It is so neat because everyone there LOVES Elvis and that is what people talk about. Everyone has a story in some way or another about Elvis. We visited his birth home and his church and the hardware store he bought his first guitar at. He really wanted a BB gun but his momma talked him into a guitar!

On the way back home we stopped in Memphis and visited Graceland...it was not what I expected. I am not really sure what I expected but it was neat and I would love to take the kids there someday!

I took a ton of pictures and can not wait to go again next year to the festival!! It was awesome!!

Dancing Queen

2011-06-02T11:17:00.004-05:00

Mady had her dance recital last night and did GREAT!! Our little dancer busted her moves! I realize I am partial but she looked absolutely adorable!! Several people stopped us to tell us how cute she was and on the way home last night she said, "I WAS the prettiest girl there tonight!" I have to agree!! Here are a few pictures from the night. I still need to edit in my spare time!Love this picture!!!Absolutely gorgeous!!! Daddy and his girl!Thinking about what moves she wants to do Striking a pose Girl with sass!She found a pole---look out!NO event is complete unless we have a Mady moment!! She wanted to apply her own lipstick and if you have seen the lipstick before when she puts it on you would understand why I said NO! Mady and her friend Claire Goodwin! They looked beautiful!

Storms

2011-05-25T10:26:00.002-05:00

What in the world is going on with this weather? I heard some lady say yesterday that, "its the end of the world--blah blah blah!" Whatever! but seriously Mady has had some serious issues with all this lightening and thundering. Every time it thunders I hear a scream like no other and then running! I feel bad for her and as bad as this sounds I am approaching it like you would a dog--not acknowledging it. I have tried to reassure her and that seemed to make it worse. So we are ignoring the screaming and freaking out.

But anytime now mother nature can cool it! I am ready for swimming weather!

B-U-S-Y

2011-05-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Good Lord we have been busy lately!! This is Alex's last week of school *tear* as a first grader. This is Mady's last week with Mrs. Judy *tear*--its bitter sweet actually. I am excited for her to go onto school because she is excited BUT at the same time she is our baby and she and Mrs. Judy are very close. We could not have asked for a better child care engineer! Judy will be missed!! Mady's last day is Friday and we went shopping at Hallmark Saturday to get her something special to remember Mady by and what I had in mind and what my daughter had in mind were completely different--needless to say I do believe she will love it!!

Next week we have dance recital on Wednesday night June 1st! Mady says she is not dancing anymore after this. She loves it but I think perhaps just burned out--I have all summer to work on her because I know she loves it!

The first weekend in June I am going to Mississippi for the ELVIS FESTIVAL! Wahoo! I am so excited! Have had this planned for a while and was almost afraid I was not going to get to go because some unexpected financial obligation was put on us however I am going to make it work. I have NEVER been anywhere without my kids with me. Last summer I went to a winery overnight with the girls and was gone less than 24 hours but this time it will 3 nights 4 days and shit bitz I am not gonna know what to do with myself! Not to mention I will be surrounded by Elvis everything! I do love me some Elvis! On the way back from Mississippi we are gonna hit Graceland too! I have made arrangements for the kids all that weekend so they will not even know I am gone probably!! John has to work an overnight that weekend and also is helping with the MMA fights with Buttons! He does love those fights, however that has not kept him from giving me guilt trip for leaving him alone for a weekend!

Seems like we have stuff every weekend going on in some capacity or another! I am looking forward to days of sleeping in and going swimming right around the corner!!

Misc. Pictures

2011-05-23T09:18:00.005-05:00

Mady and her fishy!! she caught this fish--ALL BY HERSELF!! hooked it and reeled it in all on her own!!! She was so proud!!!

Alex and his fish!

John and the kids!!

Maw Maw Bert and Paw Paw Bear with Princess Mady!!

Princess Mady

Dance Recital costume--look at all that sass!!!

Montauk

2011-05-17T22:11:00.001-05:00

This last weekend we went to Montauk State Park to take the kids fishing. This year was a whole lot different than other years we have gone. We have always gone with MiMi and PaPa in the past and took the camper. This year PaPa had surgery and they were not sure if they could go or not and were banking on the not part so John and I decided to go ahead and try and get a cabin there and go take the kids anyway. The kids always look forward to going fishing so I assumed they would be over the moon to go---well I was reminded numerous times that it was not the same without MiMi and PaPa there. I would have to agree but we still had a good time. After we booked the cabin we decided to ask some friends of ours to go and their three kids. I thought this would give the kids something to look forward to as well--but again I was reminded that MiMi and PaPa are much quieter!! Hehe! I am beginning to think my kids are not amused by me anymore!!

The weather was a little ugly but overall we had a great time! Every year the kids are more and more into it. This year Mady was casting and reeling all by herself and even caught a couple fish unassisted! She was so proud!! Alex had a hard time catching any fish but did catch one right before we left on Sunday! He too was casting and reeling by the time we left!

**pictures to come soon!!**

Oh and the cabin---did not love it so much! Woke up with a cricket on my arm the first night and needless to say that was it for me! I was paranoid!

First Dip

2011-05-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

In the pool--that is!! I took the kids swimming yesterday at our friends house! They have a heated pool so the water was a WARM 86 degrees...felt like bathwater! Kids had a blast! I was worried that since its been a while since they last swam that they would have lost all their skills they learned last summer! Not the case! Alex has grown and can now walk across the pool. Mady sprouted fins and was swimming like a fish! She is practicing swimming on top of the water since she can swim under water so well. She did nearly give us a heart attack when she ran and did a front flip in the pool and nearly cracked her head open!

I smell summer approaching!! Can't wait! I hate being hot but put a cold bud lite in my hand and put me in the pool and this is one happy girl!!!

almost a 2nd grader--EEEK!

2011-05-10T08:23:00.003-05:00

Alex is on his count down to the last day of school! He is eagerly anticipating summer break! He has been dreaming about swimming pools and sleeping in! My kinda kid! Hard to believe that he is almost completed 1st grade and will be moving on to 2nd grade next year. He has had a rough second half of the year with all the illnesses but has managed to stay caught up! He is reading like crazy and my days of spelling things so he does not know what I am talking about are OVER!! He has gotten quite the athletic streak going on right now where he is happy playing kickball, baseball or basketball! He still has a MAJOR crush on Summer--a little girl in his class! He always says to John and I, "we are both the smallest in the class!" I find it hilarious that the kid who does not like to hug (and heaven forbid kiss his parents) is in love--his words!!!

Classic Mady

2011-05-10T08:19:00.003-05:00

So as I am driving Mady to Bert & Buttons house Saturday morning our conversation went something like this:

Mady: Mom when I get bigger I want to work at the Co-op like you!

Me: Oh that would be very cool!

Mady: How long do you have to go to school to work at the Co-op?

Me: At least 4

Mady: oh (in a disappointed voice!)

Mady: Well how long do you have to go to school to be a vet?

Mom: I think about 8

Mady: oh (again disappointed) what about a nurse?

Me: about 4 or so also

Mady: um well I think I will just be a tattoo designer!!

hehe!!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T13:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!!! What a wonderful beautiful weekend!! I am one lucky lady to have the most wonderful, funny, smart kids in the world!!!

Easter

2011-05-03T14:18:00.005-05:00

Better late than never! I have been swamped at work and yet here I am at work posting a blog update! shhh!!

Easter was different this year not to mention it was a monsoon outside and nasty and cold rainy weather. None the less we had a great time with family as always. Kids made a haul...that darn bunny is trying to keep up with Santa I do believe! Alex told me a few days before Easter that 'he was not buying the whole Easter bunny thing anymore!" He thinks its kinda creepy having a bunny the size of his daddy hopping around!! So I had to take it a few steps further this year and make him believe even more!! Needless to say...he thinks there is a bunny now!!!

Sick again:(

2011-04-11T22:25:00.002-05:00

Our poor Alex is sick again. He woke up Saturday morning with a fever and complaining of a stomach ache. He was really congested and his eyes were all nasty and draining so I thought he just had bad allergies going on along with a fever. Most of yesterday he was in bed. This morning at 3am he woke up in bad pain in his belly and was throwing up and had diarrhea...needless to say he had to stay home from school. He has missed a ton this year. Poor kid can not help it though. I hope he kicks this quickly and that this is it for a long time...we have for sure had our fair share this year!

Smarty Pants

2011-03-30T08:09:00.002-05:00

Madelyn went for her kindergarten testing yesterday afternoon...as we all knew she is one smart cookie!! The teacher said, "Mrs. Geiler I am going to start at the bottom...she got all the questions right...she could skip kindergarten and do just fine!"

Of course we ARE NOT skipping kindergarten...she needs it! However that just assures John and I more that we are screwed!

She came home last night and told John that the teacher said she was so dumb that she had to go back to the babysitter next year....she is all about tricking people!!!

SNOW SNOW GO AWAY

2011-03-26T11:10:00.002-05:00

I am all for snow but seriously it either needs to stay cold and do this crap OR get warm and stay warm. All this change in temps is really messing with my poor kids and their allergies. Poor Alex is like a roller coaster. He now sounds like he swallowed a frog! Poor kid!

Another busy weekend...last night John and I went out with a friend to celebrate her birthday. We had five kids at our house with a babysitter (Shelby and Ali) and the kids kept saying, "Party at the Geilers!" I was a little worried if my house would be destroyed but all was good!

Today we have Anthony's birthday party...Happy 5th Birthday Anthony!! Tonight John has a work function at a place that by far has the BEST martini's ever!! Look out! Tomorrow I hope to rest up and hang with the kids and then of course FAMILY DINNER NIGHT and game night tomorrow night! Woo!

Mady goes Tuesday to kindergarten testing! I know she will do GREAT!

Jinxed myself

2011-03-21T13:08:00.002-05:00

Dang it! Just my luck! I posted a "update" of sorts about Alex and Mady last Thursday and spoke to soon about Alex being healthy...He has been miserable the last few days. Allergies are NOT his friend what so ever. His poor little eyes have been so watery and swollen and he looks just plain pitiful. He woke up last night at 12am complaining of an ear ache and by 3am had a fever. He has the cough going too from all the drainage. We have him on eye drops, antibiotic and over the counter meds to help him get through this rough patch. The crappy part is last year when he was on spring break he had RSV and spent some time in Children's Hospital. Well he is on spring break this week and guess who is sick again? Poor kid:( He had plans all week too and looks like he may not be enjoying his week this year either.

Mady had a small bout of watery eyes but I am convinced hers was allergies too. She was outside most of the day Saturday with John and after a dose of benadryl she was good to go!

So today I am working at home-and dad sitting!!! For all those who have called, texted and emailed that I have not gotten back too....THANK YOU for the thoughts and prayers! He is doing well and every day is just that a DAY that we have him with us! He is lucky to have such wonderful Dr.'s who are on top of things and have caught problems before they have happened! After last Friday and him scaring us half to death...we hope he is done!!! So again I thank you as does the rest of my family for all the thoughts and prayers!!!

We are still alive!

2011-03-17T13:12:00.002-05:00

Been a crazy few weeks but we are still alive!! Quick update on everyone!

Mady--is visiting kindergarten today! Woo! Hope she does not get kicked out on the visit day--that would be BAD! She is dancing and getting ready for her recital in June! She LOVES to dance but is getting burnt out at class! But at home all she wants to do is dance! She is also taking MMA classes at Hahn MMA in Crystal City. Her PaPa trains some of the fighters there and they have a kids class on Wednesday nights and so Mady has been attending those classes and LOVES it! She had been practicing on us at home and poor Daddy nearly lost a kidney! Not sure if this was a good idea or not!

Alex is FINALLY healthy! It was a long 6 weeks of illness with that poor guy! He seems to be back to his old self! Thankfully!! He is in his 3rd quarter of first grade and has started talking about going on to 2nd grade...I am NOT ready for that!! He is a smart cookie! I am anxious to see his report again because last quarter it was all A's!!

Ok must go! Give more updates later!!

Under Construction

2011-02-24T09:37:00.002-06:00

I am attempting to change up the blog...in my spare time of course!!

Pulmonary Doc

2011-02-18T11:49:00.002-06:00

Took Alex to see the pulmonary Dr. today. Of course he had his BEST visit ever! He did awesome on his PFT (pulmonary function test) and the Dr. did not see any reason not to start him on the meds to get the fluid lowered. She did not see the need to change any meds either for his asthma.

While there we were also asked to be part of a study for asthma specifically. Why not!? We already do another study...whats one more!? This one follows us for 4 weeks and then again in 6 months for another 4 weeks...not to bad! Better than 10 years like the other one!

Cardiologist Appointment

2011-02-17T11:03:00.001-06:00

I know everyone has eagerly been waiting to hear what the cardiologist had to say about our little man...I too was stressing about it. So the Dr. said he wants to treat him with diuretics right now because he has increased pulmonary hypertension causing the regurgitation to "flare" up. He will ALWAYS have the regurgitation for the rest of his life...whenever he has a cold, sinuses, cough or whatever we should expect issues with this. He wants him to see the pulmonary Dr. ASAP because he thinks that it all goes back to his damaged lungs...damn lungs! So that is all in a nutshell! I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors as I am in between a meeting and typing this in my phone!

So bottom line right now is he has increased hypertension causing his heart to act up...diuretics will get rid of excess fluid hopefully settling down his heart!

I will post more about it later...gotta go!!

MADY vs. BARBIE

2011-02-15T21:42:00.000-06:00

Mady won! I posted this little story on Facebook and everyone thought it was hilarious and even people who did not comment when I see them they start laughing about it.

Sunday morning I went to take a shower and left Mady (and a friend) playing Barbies in her room. When I went to check on them after the shower they had taken surgical/first aid tape and bound all the Barbies arms behind their backs. They also put tape over all their mouths. Then I noticed Ken was hanging by a ribbon from the balcony of Barbie's Dream House. I asked why Ken was bound, gagged and hung and in a very Mady fashion (attitude and all!) she said, "um because he talked back to me!"

So I was wondering if I should be worried!??

Happy to report as of Tuesday night Ken has been released!!

Alex Update 2

2011-02-15T21:28:00.000-06:00

Alex has been sick now for about a month although it seems much longer. During this illness it was discovered that he has a heart murmur. Each time he went to the Dr. over the last few weeks it was noted that a murmur was heard and that it had gotten more "profound." With that being said Alex also had a passing out spell and has complained that his arm was "tingly." I do not know what tingly to a 7 year old means but I know what that means to me. Dr. Wilson was a bit concerned and ordered and MRI. We had that done last week along with an EKG at Children's Hospital. I could tell by the few things that the tech said that he saw something concerning or wrong. We got the phone call the next day that he had tricuspid regurgitation--moderate to severe and trivial bicuspid regurgitation.

I know WHAT it is but not to much more than that. I do not want to read about it on the internet because at this point I do not want to hear about all the bad things and worse case scenarios. I want to hear it from the Dr. We see the Cardiologist on Thursday. That appointment can not come soon enough.

Alex is aware that something is up but we have not told him a whole lot till we know more. It makes me sick to think about it so I have been trying to keep busy doing other things...I hope it is something that can be treated with medication and that is the end of it but when you are talking about a HEART and your baby...it is scary.

Snow Much Fun!!

2011-02-06T20:05:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the PERFECT play in the snow kinda day!!! It was cold...but a comfortable cold! No wind and the sun was shining! Alex has been sick forever with a cough and is still not kicking it and then Mady started hacking last week and ended up with a sinus infection so I was hesitant to let them go out...but being a kid it was killing them and they wanted to play in the snow! John and the kids were outside for about 2 hours and they did not even want to come in then! We build a big snowman and named it "Lola!" I hate to say Lola fell over to day and is laying in the yard! It is a funny sight to see! Mady said, "looks like she had to much wine!" I think the nice fresh (cold) air was just what they needed because neither of them coughed the entire time they were out there!! Of course my BIG kid had to get the 4-wheeler out and play around a bit!!! Cooper and Bentley had a blast playing in the snow too! Poor Bentley had snow balls matted in his hair and we had to wait for them to melt because they would not come out! We had quite the snowy mess in the house too!!!

Cute Pictures

2011-02-04T09:20:00.002-06:00

Mady was asleep in the chair at MiMi and PaPa's house and Bentley decided to make himself comfortable too and climbed up on her...she slept right through the prancing on her head as well!!

Historic Winter Weather??

2011-02-03T22:54:00.002-06:00

My big toe! I was ready for a blizzard and tons of snow and notta! Oh well! Got pretty much the whole week off work and some nice time with the family!! The kids are getting a bit stir crazy and Alex is returning back to school tomorrow. He has gone 2 days total in the last 3 weeks! He is not gonna know what hit him when he has to go back a full week!

I took a tumble on the ice today...not so fun! I went out after Bentley and fell and landed in a position that is not humanly possible! I laid there a minute to assess the damage and make sure I was not broken. No broken bones BUT lots of bruising. I was afraid to sit still to long because of being so sore, I am sure by morning I will be a hot mess!!

Winter Weather

2011-01-31T09:08:00.003-06:00

Ok seriously why do people run to the store to buy bread, milk and eggs when there is a threat of winter storm?? I run to the store to buy beer and hard liquor because sheesh I will need it if I am iced in my house for days with 2 crazy kids!!!! We have been cooped in the house for the last few weeks because of the illness!! OMG I really hope they are wrong about this ice crap!

Randoms

2011-01-31T09:03:00.002-06:00

Alex had his pinwood derby this last weekend...he did not win but did have a great time!!! Here he is with his car and trophy for participation! My Bentley Baby!!! He is such a little lover!!!
Baby girl with the puppies!!

As you can tell this absolutely was painful for Alex to hug his sister!!

Mady entertaining us!!

2011-01-31T08:53:00.002-06:00

I do not know how to get the video to turn but hope you enjoy this little clip of our little entertainer dancing to All the Single Ladies!!

Back to Reality...Maybe!

2011-01-26T13:41:00.002-06:00

Alex was ready to go back to school today...daddy and I not so much ready for that to happen yet. John stayed home yesterday and "assessed" the situation and said he was not sure it was a good idea.

Alex got up this morning and said, "he wanted to go to school!" I reluctantly sent him and he only made it till about 11 today. MeMaw picked him up and he went to her office to take a nap. Hopefully tomorrow he can make it all day!!

Mady is back to Ms Judy's this week! She made me carry her in the last two days like a baby and hand deliver her into Ms Judy's lap...ridiculous but she is the baby!!!

Alex Update

2011-01-23T20:42:00.002-06:00

Today has been a good day!! I think we are well on our way to being recovered! Seems like this has been dragging on forever!! I took Alex to the Dr Friday...he said he had no explanation for the passing out spells. It has not happened again since, thankfully! The last two nights he has slept really good and seems like he is more rested. The coughing is starting to ease up on him. We are still doing breathing treatments every 4 hours and starting tonight we are spacing them out to every 5 hours. I would like them to be at least every 6 hours before I feel comfortable sending him back to school. I am going to work from home tomorrow and keep him here with me...not sure what the plan for Tuesday is. I think John is gonna try and arrange something to be able to stay home. I am hopeful by Wednesday he will be good to go. I would like him to have one good day at home of feeling good before I send him back and expose him to more junk out there. Poor kid has had a rough go this last week.

Scared me to death

2011-01-20T22:33:00.002-06:00

Had a freaky thing happen this evening that nearly scared me to death...I had given Alex a breathing treatment in his room and left to go wash his mask out in the kitchen. Several minutes passed and he walked into the kitchen and said, "Mom my legs and arms feel shaky" As I turned to look at him he was sipping water out of his thermos and water was coming out the side of his mouth and his face was blank and down he went. As I dropped the orange I was peeling for him on the floor I was able to catch him somewhat and as I did I noticed blood all over my hands. His nose was pouring blood. It was all over him, me, the floor and wall. He was out of it for what seemed like eternity but was more like a minute, he slowly came back around and was confused as to what just happened. We sat on the floor for about 20 minutes till John got home with Mady. His nose bled a lot. After that incident he seemed ok...John slowly got him up and made him drink some juice and washed him up and we made him lay down. I called the Dr. from the hospital and talked to her about the incident and she said it could have been from the albuterol because it increases the blood flow to his heart. I am not sure if this too is related to the "heart murmur" we were informed he had last night. Hopefully this does not happen again!

On a less serious note and on a highly hysterical note when I was sitting on the floor holding Alex in my lap he had his eyes closed and was nearly asleep. So Mady walks in and sees all the blood everywhere and there was quite a bit on the floor and all over him and myself not to mention the paper towels in my hand and laying next to me. She in a very Mady matter of fact says, "well like is he dead or is he alive?" She did not even ask what happened. After the fact all I could do was laugh...that is so her!

Pneumonia has struck

2011-01-20T04:04:00.002-06:00

We were told when we took Alex to the ER last Saturday that children who have asthma and contract the influenza virus that it can sometimes go to secondary infections such as pneumonia. Well we were hopeful that since we caught it to early and were able to start Alex on the tamiflu that we would skate right past that...well think again because after all we can not do anything easy!!

Alex seemed to be doing well (to me) and was eating, playing and acting like he was feeling better. He complained a few times that his chest was hurting him but did not seem to be laboring to breathe and he was not coughing to much either. When John got home this evening he made a comment that Alex seemed to be coughing more. I did not think to much about it but as the evening went on he continued to cough more and more. When he would lay down he would cough so hard he would nearly vomit. So John thought we needed to take him back to the ER and have him looked at. Of course we needed a sleigh to get there because it is snowing like crazy! We made it to the hospital with no problems and boy am I glad we did! His asthma for one was totally flared up and they gave him a mega dose of steroids to hopefully start to settle his lungs down, they did chest x-rays and he had pneumonia and to top it off he has some sort of eye infection. Poor baby is a mess.

So for all those that called me on Wednesday and asked me how Alex was doing and I said, "better!" Well that has changed! Hopefully now we are the road to a quick recovery so I can get this boy back to new!! I feel so bad for him because he is just miserable and so badly wants to go to school. He asked me tonight, "why was he picked to be the sick one?" That indeed is a very good question!

Influenza

2011-01-16T12:47:00.002-06:00

We have been hit! Alex woke up feeling fine yesterday. Complained of a little sore throat which is not abnormal for him, usually has drainage. He went and helped PaPa Frank take down outside Christmas decorations and then went in and fell asleep when we woke 3 hours later he had a fever. I took his temp and it was 102.2 and his chief complaint was his neck hurt. He also stated is "boobs" hurt which was his chest area. Since he was complaining about his neck and the fever seemed to only be climbing we quickly decided to take him to the ER. John stayed with Madelyn at home and MiMi drove Alex and I too the hospital. He was so miserable.

Long story short he was swabbed and diagnosed with influenza...yuck! He is on breathing treatments, tamiflu and motrin/tylenol as needed. We have to keep a good eye on him since he is asthmatic. H also has to stay home from school for 7 days. He thinks that part is awesome! So apparently we are one of the first confirmed cases in St. Louis and the CDC had to be notified. Alex thinks he is gonna make the news! Haha!!

The tamiflu is making his tummy upset which is one of the major side effects. He vomited after he has had it both times so far. Poor baby:( Of course I don't want it but I certainly would take it to make him feel better.

So here is hoping that anyone we have been near lately does not get it!!

Yes it is TRUE!

2011-01-13T12:29:00.001-06:00

Mady really did speak with a 911 operator a few days ago and YES she really did say, "we are having a party and we need snacks!"

Snow day!

2011-01-11T22:09:00.003-06:00

Had a snow day today! I love snow days!! We did absolutely nothing today! Best part is I have another snow day tomorrow and Alex has school, thus Mady will be going to Judy's house and I get a free day!! Yipee!

So today was a great relaxing day till the sheriffs department called because Mady reported that she was having a party and needed snacks! Lovely! They said they were sending someone over to check things out! Nice!

What are we ever gonna do with her? Love her to pieces I do suppose! She is freakin funny!

2011

2011-01-01T08:56:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Wow 2011 already? Crazy I say! Out little people stayed up last night and rang in the New Year...New York time of course because mom and dad were ready for bed! As we were watching the ball drop Alex asked, "so whats gonna happen in 2011?" So I thought to myself and it scared me a bit. Alex will turn 8, Mady will turn 6 and start school (and hopefully remain in school she starts:), we will have a new "Kelly" baby this year, and amongst various other things we have planned. I always laugh at the people who say the year prior was a terrible year and they can not wait to start a new year...and then that year is just as bad.

Resolutions! Alex asked what resolution was last night when people on TV were talking about it. John said he is going to drink "less" soda! Ha he better! Alex said he was going to think about something to give up and let me know! God love him! And Mady replied with, "I am NOT giving anything up!" and she meant it!!!

Happy New Year to our family and friends! Hope 2011 brings you much happiness!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T21:37:00.002-06:00

Every year I think to myself this can not get any better! Every year it does! As the kids have gotten older, each year Christmas becomes more magical! This year was no exception! We had a white Christmas...which was AWESOME! Some of our Christmas Eve festivities were postponed till today (Sunday) but we were with family so that is all that mattered!

CHRISTMAS EVE~We began at Yvonne & Kevin's (John's mom's side of the family) house on Christmas Eve afternoon. It was fun as always! We ate, played with the kids and opened presents! The kids made a haul as usual!! We then went to Kathy & Frank's house (my side) for the evening. We usually venture to the lake house for the extended family get together but with the weather we postponed! So we went and had a light dinner and a laid back evening. We had family game night with the neighbors. While this was occurring "Santa" came and left presents in the family room downstairs!!! EEEEK!!! After the games were over we decided to watch a movie and when the neighbors left they were asked on the sly to "make some noise outside!" Man did they ever, sounded like Santa and his sleigh crashed on the roof! Mady jumped up out of the chair and yelled, "it was a clatter!" and then began rambling on and on with pure excitement! Alex too was going crazy saying, "I think its Santa!" So we decided to wait a minute in case he was downstairs still leaving gifts! That is one of the best ideas we all came up with a few years ago. We always have such a late Christmas eve that we have Santa come that night while we are gone and then we open gifts super late at night and then we can sleep in a bit in the morning! Ahhhh perfect!! We told the kids that when you are extra super good and special Santa comes a little earlier! Of course they made a haul! Santa went crazy!

Christmas Day~Ahhhhh to sleep in! If only! So even though we do Christmas the night before there is always the stockings the next morning and our Santa stuffs them FULL!!! Alex woke first and then woke Mady at 7am. Bob and Terry (John's side) came up and we had Christmas with them. The kids again made a haul...except we were at home and did not have to pack it all up and take it home! HA!! This was our second year that we had a jammy day on Christmas Day. We do not go anywhere and we stay in our pj's all day long! It was great! All the grandparents came over during the day and played with the kids and all their new toys! We had a super easy lunch and just hung out...it was PERFECT!! And of course it was a White Christmas!! and the kids got to play in the snow also!

Now the chore begins...finding a place for all this stuff! Wish I could hire someone!

I am supposed to be working!

2010-12-20T10:33:00.002-06:00

Are you noticing that I just posted a bunch of different entries and pictures!? Don't get used to it! I am supposed to be working but we are all ticked off that we are at work today for a snow make up day and I declared this a holiday too! So I am catching up on things that I have not had time to do since work has been consuming my life lately!! ENJOY!

Puppy Sitting

2010-12-20T10:28:00.003-06:00

We are puppy sitting for our friends the next few days! When I went to get a puppy I went for "Daisy" and then fell in love with Bentley! I was afraid Daisy would not make it in our house with Cooper! She is so dainty and tiny! She is not very good about going potty outside at all. I think she has an aversion to doing her business outside! Daisy and Bentley have had a GREAT time the last couple days playing!!

Happy Birthday John

2010-12-20T10:19:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday John! We celebrated last night with dinner at our house! I made stew and his momma made taco salad. Kids made him cupcakes! It was a nice relaxing evening spent with family!!!

Graduation

2010-12-20T10:09:00.003-06:00

Crazy Kathy graduated from nursing school Saturday. I say Crazy because she took on a major load of work to get her degree on top of her full time teaching job...at times we have thought she lost her mind! A month ago she said to me, " I AM DONE, I am NOT taking anymore classes!" Then what did she go and do a couple weeks ago? She went and signed up for classes! We are oh so very proud of her. The kids enjoyed going to the graduation and seeing her walk on the stage!

Little Dancer

2010-12-20T10:00:00.003-06:00

Mady had her Christmas dance program last Wednesday night. We were not sure if we were gonna make it there because right when the program was starting the weather got nasty and the roads were slick. Mady danced to Jingle Bell Rock and did a fantastic job! She was a little upset because they ran out of bells or did not bring enough and she did not have bells to ring during the dance.

All I want for Christmas is...

2010-12-20T09:54:00.002-06:00

You know the song!!! So we are tied for teeth at this point. They have both lost their two front bottom teeth. Alex's loss was legit. Mady however did not want Alex to be ahead of her so she decided to yank one out at Ms. Judy's house and hide it under the chair and not tell anyone! So needless to say the tooth fairy did not visit her because, she does not come when you pull teeth that are not lose!

Christmas Festivities!!

2010-12-13T11:15:00.004-06:00

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!! This is my favorite time of year...I LOVE it!! Friday night Bert, Terry and I took the kids to Our Lady of Snows to see the Christmas lights! I had not been there in several years, but it was enjoyable non the less! The kids rode a camel, dressed up like angels (to bad there was not devil horns for Mady!) and walked through the gift shop! Alex of course was in heaven surrounded by all that Jesus stuff! His birthday wish list has already begun and it contains items from the gift shop...haha My little Jesus boy!!

Saturday I braved the rain and crowds and went to the dreaded Toys R Us:( I did not want to do it but I had to finish up shopping. As if that was not bad enough I then tortured myself more and went to the mall. I began around 10 and did not get home till after 6. whew, glad that is OVER till next year. Then Saturday night I hired some beautiful elves named Ali and Shelby and put them to work wrapping Christmas presents!! So I hate to say it...but its all done! YES! Time to sit back and enjoy!

Yesterday Alex had a boy scout thing where Santa came! He was not thrilled and was crabby as could be because he wanted a nap. Mady took one look at Santa and was like.."he is a faker" Ha! Truth be told I think they pulled that suit out of a dumpster, it did look pretty bad.

Christmas will be here before we know it! I can not wait for 2 weeks off to enjoy my little people!!

John Update

2010-12-04T17:14:00.002-06:00

So John stayed 2 nights in the hospital and was scheduled to have surgery last Monday morning for them to put a stint in to help him pass the kidney stone that was causing so much pain and a big problem. I am guessing the thought of what they were gonna do to him scared it right out of him because about 10pm Sunday night I got a text from him with a picture of the stone that said, "this is the little bastard that caused me so much pain"

So he went back to the Dr. on Tuesday for tests and scans to see where the stone(s) were at. The scans came back and showed several stones. The Dr. said there was so many he did not even know where to start at. NOT GOOD:( So he scheduled John for surgery to go in and blast them out on December 14th and then again on December 28th...poor guy.

Hopefully this puts an end to it and he does not have to go through this again.

Bentley Baby

2010-12-04T16:43:00.003-06:00

As promised here is some pictures of the new addition to out family!! Bentley is approximately 4 months old now and weighs in at 6lbs! The kids adore him, Cooper thinks he is a chew toy and John is not to crazy about him (yet!) but I do believe he is growing on him!!!

I took Bentley to the vet this morning to get his adult shots and the vet asked me how it (having a puppy was going) and I said, ok I guess! Then we chatted about the going potty in the house right after I take him outside and she said, "you are being played and he is just being a brat!" Her advice was unless we are sitting in the same room where our eyes are focused on him then he needs to be in his crate until he is potty trained. She also said, that it should not take long! He is able to go all day without going potty in his crate! I tried putting puppy pads or newspaper in there but he would shred it within minutes because he was ticked off!I attempted Holiday pictures with the kids and the dogs....did not go so well!!!

Kidney Stones

2010-11-27T21:25:00.002-06:00

My poor husband is in the hospital battling a kidney stone. He woke me about 3am this morning and I though he had the stomach flu that I had the night before. After hearing him moan and groan a few times I went to check on him and he was on the floor in the bathroom and said he had a sharp shooting stabbing pain in his back and side. After about an hour of pacing the floors he demanded I take him to the hospital...NOW! I had asked him several times if he wanted to go and he said he was fine! But then when he wanted to go he wanted to go NOW!

So he was admitted and is staying the night there tonight. The cat scan confirmed a kidney stone that is roughly 5mm big. Probably to big to pass but they are hopeful. He is really swollen up this evening as it has been nearly 24 hours since he was able to pee. I am gonna go talk to the Dr. in the morning and see what the game plan is. He is on heavy narcotics to keep him comfortable and that is not really cutting the pain. I feel so bad for him.

I told him it sure is strange because I have had so many ailments that it is usually me in the hospital gown with IV...and he asked me if I wanted to change places with him and I said...NOPE! He told me it was like giving birth....hmmm!

I will keep you all posted!!!

Bentley

2010-11-22T15:17:00.003-06:00

Well I was waiting to introduce our new little guy until I had a decent picture of him but it does not look like that is happening anytime soon! So we got a new puppy named...Bentley!! I was wanting another dog about 6 months ago because I thought Cooper needed a friend. Cooper is our dog we got a bit over a year ago and was supposed to be 20lbs...haha! He is now a 65lb baby who thinks he is a lap dog! There was much begging to be done on my part as John was against the idea...he caved! So last weekend we drove 3 hours one way to pick out our new little baby! MiMi (Kathy) found him online and so she and I along with the kids went for a long ride to get him for my birthday! We initially went for another puppy but she was way to small for our house! I am confident that we made the right choice with Bentley! He loves me to pieces and follows me everywhere! We are having some issues with the crate training because he had never been in one before but he is getting better! Bentley is a Yorkiepoo and does not shed!! He is only gonna be about 10lbs or less (dad is 6lbs, mom is 10lbs).

The kids of course LOVE him to pieces! He is not so sure about Mady as she "loves him to death" and tends to make him cry! Cooper likes him to...much!

I have attempted to get his picture but he never stops moving around! So I promise one to come soon!!

Pictures

2010-11-16T08:30:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2010-11-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe that she is already 5! WOW! Seems like yesterday I was hearing this girl scream her lungs out for hours and hours and hours! She drives us crazy at times but we would not trade her for the world! We love you baby girl! Happy 5th Birthday!!!!

FYI

2010-11-02T08:49:00.001-05:00

Don't get used to me updating this thing! Its only because I am at home on my death bed with a sinus infection, strep and an ear infection.

Madelyn's 5th Birthday Party

2010-11-02T08:30:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Mady's 5th Birthday on Sunday (Halloween)!! The theme this year was BARBIE!! We had beautiful weather and an overall perfect day! Check out the cake that Dianne made...it surpassed everything I expected! It was truly amazing! She is very talented!!

Cousins! Mady holding Kai, Anthony, Sage and Alex

Papa Frank and Mady

Papa Bob and Mady Moo

Birthday girl!

A new American Girl doll for her birthday!!!

Papa Bear (in pain) and baby girl!

John and Madelyn

Presents!

The cake!!

Our beautiful baby girl with her AWESOME birthday cake!!

Halloween

2010-11-02T08:18:00.003-05:00

So I am a few days late...forgive me! We had a busy Halloween this year with so much to do! Friday night we had Trunk or Treat at Alex's school. The kids loved it! It was cold but fun for the kids!Saturday night we went to a Halloween party at the Capstick's house! Dawn knows how to put on a party and goes all out! There was a story teller there and it was way cool! Of course the kids had a blast!

Sunday night of course we went trick or treating...yippee my favorite (not!)!! We started at Ms. Judy's and walked several blocks. Mady was the first to crash and daddy and MiMi took turns carrying Cinderella back to the car! They did go into someones garage/basement that had it all set up like a haunted house and they both got the crap scared out of them! Now every time we drive past that house they yell!This was a picture of MiMi, PaPa, Alex and Mady striking a pose!! LOVE it!!!!

7 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-27T08:48:00.003-05:00

We do not take pictures very often! But this a good picture of both of us!
John and I will be celebrating our 7 year wedding anniversary on Monday! Hard to believe it is 7 years already! I love him more and more each day! He is the greatest husband in the world!

Life

2010-10-27T08:37:00.002-05:00

Sometimes LIFE is just so busy! Whew! It has been crazy in our house! So much going on and not enough time to get it all done! I will give a quick update on everyone and will attempt to post some more later along with some pictures of our happenings this last month!

I have been doing jury duty this week and then have to go home in the evening and do work for my job. It has been some long days and I am exhausted!

John is gearing up for hunting season! He is like a little kid at Christmas! He got himself into some poison ivy and looks rather pitiful! He wanted me to give him my prednisone that I had left over from one of my freak rashes and I was like...NO WAY! I made him go the Dr. and get his own! He never goes to the Dr. and it was all over his face so I thought he may need a good strong dose of steroids! He seems to already be better!

Alex has been busy learning to read in 1st grade and LOVES it! He had a rough start to 1st grade but seems to have adjusted well! He is playing soccer too! He has games most every Saturday and we are down to the end of the season. He has really improved and I hope he continues to enjoy it! His favorite subject is math...(he did NOT get that from me?)! He does well on most assignments in and out of class but I will be curious to see what the teacher has to say at conferences next week! He is of course sweet as ever!

Mady...oh man! Where do I begin? Her leg is still a problem. We FINALLY had an MRI and it came back for the most part good! She does have some fluid on her knee and also confirmed she has a cyst. She is still in pain and we are about to go crazy! She hardly sleeps at night because she is in so much pain. It is heartbreaking at times because there is nothing I can do to make it better for her. She is still doing dance and LOVES it! I can not say that dancing or not dancing affects her leg any worse. She is about to be 5 next week and I can hardly believe it! I guess maybe because she is the baby and 5 is a milestone. She is so smart and beautiful but man is she a challenge on some days! Good thing she keeps us laughing!

So that is it in a nutshell! This weekend is going to be a crazy whirlwind weekend with all the Halloween festivities on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday...throw in a soccer game and a birthday party for our baby girl and it gonna be one jam packed weekend!