Things that I would rather not do again.....

• Watch them take a swab of Kendall's nose.
  
• Make Kendall stay still for a chest x-ray


• Hold Kendall still for lab work


• Hold Kendall down to give her medicine.......
  

So yeah it was a long day! Let me start this on a positive note and say that Kendall seems to be doing better right now. Sunday, they paged me out of Sunday school because Kendall had fallen asleep in her classroom (of about 20 2.5 year olds screaming and playing....just like daddy can fall asleep anywhere.) & they thought that she had a fever. She did feel a little warm so I got Isaac and we went home. She has been irritable then on Sunday and Monday plus not eating a whole lot. Anyway, I pushed fluids & rest on her. This morning when she woke up just the look of her terrified me. She was super lethargic, falling asleep many times in a short span, had hand tremors, glassy look in the eyes, etc. Toss in a few diarrhea stools & telling me that her head hurt her.....we were on our way to the doctor's office. We were there for no joke less than a minute when she threw up all over herself, me, the diaper bag, Isaac, & the waiting room. There were fortunately some nice people there who brought Isaac and my stuff to me in the restroom while I tended to Kendall.

They took a swab of her nose & determined that she didn't have the flu. The doctor (who did his under grad at IUP by the way) wanted to rule out pnuemonia & see what her labs looked like. I cannot begin to tell you what a torture device I think the chest xray holder for kids is! I managed not to cry after the initial check-in until I talked to Ben after her labs. Good golly. We went back to the doctor's office to find out the results. No pneumonia, labs looked good (thank-goodness because if her white count would have been elevated they were going to do a cath to get a urine specimen) He is pretty sure that it is viral but we are waiting on the blood cultures to confirm it. Right now she is on amoxicillian & rest.

Please pray that our little bug is on the mend as I cannot stand to see her like this. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day where she asks me to go shopping to get daddy a shirt. (her newest obsession!)

Isaac says, "What's all the fuss about? It's time to play!" Thanks Kelly for keeping an eye on him today!

Not Me Monday!

I didn't let my child pick up jelly beans off of the floor & eat them in the ready room of my husband's squadron just because it made her be quiet for an instant while we were putting Easter baskets together for the foster children of Craven county. (They only fell in plastic bags so they weren't techincally on the floor!)
I ABSOLUTELY didn't consider leaving Isaac in his crib after I found him (& the crib) covered in diarrhea & vomit at 12:15 a.m. I also Absolutely didn't go into my bedroom to wake my husband up to help me only to realize that he was not there & still in California. After bathing poor Isaac, I didn't bring him water, tub, & all into his room so that I could strip the crib in silence. (He likes to be nursed after his bath and screams until he gets his way.) I also didn't just lay a clean towel on the crib mattress because I just couldn't face making up the crib at almost 1 a.m. I didn't go through 2 bottles of Spot Shot this week cleaning up various other poopy messes on the couch & floor. I also didn't go through a bottle of Spray N Wash on kids clothes this week that were covered in poop & puke.

There you have it.....it's been kind of a poopy week.

Words instead of pictures

Back is you blog slacker Jamie. I have some quiet time and decided that I should update y'all on our activities in more than just pictures. (Even though a picture is worth a thousand words.)

Let's see....the past week I have been dealing with poop & throw up. From the human children to the 4 legged children.



After those graphics, we have been hanging steady. We are keeping up with our normal schedule......Sunday is church & Sunday school then relaxing/cleaning the house. I have had nursery desk duty and been to a nursery committee meeting also some of these past Sundays. Our fearless leader has decided after 7 years to step down from the nursery ministry so we are looking for someone else to lead us over the next 2 months.



Monday entails my friend, Kelly, and her son coming over so that we can do our prayer group. We are reading "Shepherding a child's heart." which is good so far.



Tuesday, Kendall goes to PMO & I have had several different activities go on while she is there. I completed the family readiness advisor training for the volunteer spot that I have for Ben's squadron & I also completed some online training that I needed to do for that. I attended the morale support coffee for Ben's squadron as well.



Wednesday is errand day. It has been going well as Kendall has discovered a passion for shopping. She asks to do it nearly every day. Man I wish the checking account could keep up with that! We have been also going to Wednesday night dinner and service at the church. I cannot explain to you how phenomenal our new pastor has turned out to be!



Thursdays are Kendall to PMO & my ladies Bible study. We just completed Beth Moore's "It's tough being a woman." We start a new one next week. I met some great ladies that I otherwise probably wouldn't have had the chance to see with the growth of our church.



Fridays are a hodge podge of things going on. The only steady one is our small group which I immensely enjoy.



Let's see some of the other blanks....we have been patronizing several fast food joints. We have been enjoying getting together with friends that also have spouses out of town to let the kids play & us to eat!



Yesterday, we went to Ben's squadron to fill up Easter baskets. His squadron is doing an outreach program to the foster children of Craven county. It was super fun and really neat to teach Kendall (Or try to teach her) about giving to those less fortunate than what we are.



Ben continues to do well in California but is way busy flying lots of hours. We are looking forward to having him home hopefully for Easter.



Sorry I have been neglecting email & posting on here but seriously I really haven't had much time to really enjoy typing our comings and goings. I know that this stage shall pass and I am sure that when Ben gets home it will be hunky dory (nothing ever goes wrong when he is here to help!) again.

One of the many reasons I love my sweet husband

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I have such a wonderful husband who is one of the many that serve, protect, and defend this nation even if it means time apart from us.

I am thankful that I have such wonderful family & friends that are their for trials and tribulations but also for our joy.

I am thankful that we have two such healthy & awesome children. (We are still praying for Stellan....son of the creator of Not Me Monday. It is so easy to forget how precious life is!)

I am thankful that our church is having such a large impact on the Jacksonville community. (We had 1,525 at service last week!)

Last but not least, I am thankful for the power that God has over my life.

Self-portraits

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!

We wanted to wish Happy belated birthdays to Daniel, our sweet niece Gabrielle, and my cousin Gina! We hope that your day was great! Sorry I am such a blog slacker on remembering birthdays this year!

A picture review of the past week with the kids

Geronimo is tired of everyone else getting a binky but him! He will be celebrating his 5th birthday next month.

My little Jordan....sweet as ever! She is celebrating her 8th birthday this month.
Hanging out together is always fun....until your little brother starts crying then you yell, "mom isaac crying again...get him!"

Ol' blue eyes

Show me your muscles

I believe we were playing patty cake again in this photo...poor Isaac just can't get away from his big sister at this point!

Who's cute? Me of course!

Grrrr.....don't take my cereal!!

Letting it all hang out today!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I ABSOLUTELY Did Not find the most awesome babysitter ever this past week. Thanks Virgina! So I have a few friends that I trust here in J'ville to watch my crazy munchkins but what happens when all of them are busy or Ben and I just really need a night out? Enter our new found babysitter Virgina. She filled in for me in a pinch yesterday.
I ABSOLUTELY did not breathe a sigh of relief when the above mentioned babysitter told me that I had missed a blow out of massive proportions from Kendall while I was gone. (It required a bath, rinsing out several articles of clothes & shoes!) Did I mention how wonderful she is???
I did not lie to my firstborn telling her that popcorn shrimp are "shrimp chicken" so that she would not be upset that we weren't having the real thing.
I didn't think about giving my camera to Kendall so that it might break on accident & then we would have a reason to get a new one. (Thanks to Lindsay for voicing her thoughts on wanting a new camera! It inspired this random thought!)
I wouldn't think about turning Isaac forward facing to see the tv in the car so he would stop crying on road trips. (He is after all bigger than some 1 year olds!! I would never do this mind you so don't go thinking that I am a crazy loon!)
And last but not least, I didn't fall in the tub with my 2.5 year old & 6 month old while trying to hold the 6 month old up. NOT ME!

life on the road.

Well, Jamie has convinced me that I should add something to her blog while I was on my trip to California. so her it goes. It has been good so far with lots of flying, but long hours. This picture is of the crew that I flew with on Tuesday after we landed at a desert fueling point. We are all doing well for the most part and definately don't mind the sunny weather. We haven't had a lot of time off, but I have had some opportunity to get together with friends and family along the way. I should be heading back home on a cross country flight on April 6th. I look forward to seeing everyone, especially my family, in a couple weeks. Well that's it for now from my room at the Holiday Inn Express. ~ Goulet Out

Isaac's 6 month portraits

Comparison

Isaac 6 months old

Kendall at 9 months old

I thought it might be kind of fun to see the two kiddos in the "same" photo. It is amazing to me how much they look like each other!

Looking back.....

Ok so I don't know if it is just because I am feeling extremely sentimental tonight but I found the first picture of Ben and I together & decided to post it. When Ben is gone, I seem to find a lot more alone time on my hands so I was cruising through memory lane once again. It is so hard to believe how much time has passed since this picture & how many things have happened to us! So give you spouse a hug and a kiss & remember way back when.......

Video city

Kendall on the slide at Pump it up


Kendall playing patty cake



Kendall singing her baby Jesus song

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I have missed the last few Mondays....not because I have been being the perfect parent but just because I am the only parent and finding time to blog has become precious! Anyway here goes....

I didn't run out and buy pull-ups that turn cold because another mother sang praises on how they worked on her daughter in a few days.....only to be disappointed that they don't seem to bother Kendall.
I didn't consider taking out a small personal loan for the 6.5 tubs of food Isaac is eating a day now!
I didn't linger extra long at church and Sunday school just to get a few more minutes to myself.

I absolutely did not let Kendall eat hard boiled eggs, pickles, bite size shrimp, & an ice cream sandwich for supper last night. (Gotta love when daddy isn't here & we don't have to cook!)

Kendall's Korner and Isaac's inch by inch

Before church on Sunday, where Kendall informed me...."we no need nap on Sundays MOM."

Ready to cheese it up as usual!
Ummmm...this was after Kendall told me "hold still mom, don't move. I paint you." I am not sure that I see the resemblence but she was very proud of herself!

He loves his tubby!

The weather has been beautiful the past few days so we enjoyed a day at the park with a few friends. Thanks Amy & Kelly!

6 months old....

In typing the title, I find myself extremely grateful but sad. How did our little boy get to be 6 months old already? Jeepers creepers! Isaac is doing great. He had his well check up yesterday where he weighed in at 21 lbs 1 oz. (still off the charts) and he was 27.5 inches tall. (98%) He is able to sit up with only someone standing by to assist if he wobbles over, he has mastered rolling over to his tummy but not yet able to get back to his back, he has his first tooth, he has been really good about trying to push up onto his knees & hands but not crawling yet! I have put a few pictures on of his 6th month so far.

He loves his walker but so far only goes backwards in it.
chubby knees in the bumbo seat

tummy time

chunky little toes to nibble on!

Before daddy left.......

Yes, I have finally gotten around to downloading some of the pictures we took before Ben left for California. Kendall (& me too) has really been missing her daddy. I thought that while she was napping that I would put a surprise for her on the blog. She loves watching videos of herself so bear with us!

Friday fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. Carrying a few bags of groceries out of Walmart for an elderly lady yesterday was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place with my husband is where I want to be.

3. Be gentle in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or water.

5. There are many separate paths.

6. Our Family reminds me that there is God.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to small group (even though Benny isn't here), tomorrow my plans include relaxing with the kids & going to Chick Fil A to burn energy off of Kendall and Sunday, I want to work on sanding & painting the bookshelf for the kids play room!

Your Life in 6 words

Several months ago I came across a fascinating blog post. The author briefly discussed a trend (back-in-the-day) among writers/authors to sum up their lives, or in other words to succinctly write their memoir, using only six words.
Here are a few examples he cited or I came across:
"For Sale: baby shoes, never worn”
-Ernest Hemingway
“Bumpy road, kissed toad, recovery mode!”
-anonymous blogger comment
“My flame flickers but never fails”
-anonymous blogger comment
Now I didn’t come up with this idea, but I thought this would be so fun and insightful to do on our blog.

*Lost my mind.....reward for return!
*Baby for rent.....likes to cry
*Laundry done...not put away yet.

Picture from the field day

Last month at the field meet for Ben's squadron. Thanks Ashley!

"Single" Parenting

Yep, it's that time again. Benny had to go to California to do some training. So with all of the deployments, cross countries, training exercises, etc. you would think that I was an old pro at this right? Not so much.....poor Ben I ended up crying when I dropped him off on Monday even though I promised myself that I was not going to. They flew into Nashville yesterday and will be in Texas tonight. Not sure where they are stopping tomorrow but they should be to CA by the end of the week. Thanks for all the love. We are ok....minus some tears on Kendall's part & a very sad "I miss my dad." after we got off the phone with him last night. NOT looking forward to the time that he will really have to deploy!
Anyway, I thought that I would add some pictures on here from the past week of the kiddos.

My diva in training

Wearing daddy's hats already!
I am hopeful this is not a hint of any behaviors to come.

Just chillin' mom!