Good 2010 so far...

It's been a pretty good 2010 so far I believe. Thankful for alot of things still--my family, healthy children, stable job, house over my head & food to eat. I think that's about all the things a person needs myself. Some are not happy unless they have the best in life, best house, car, clothing, etc. I've never been a real materialistic person. I like those things but thankfully I don't find them necessary in my life. Some of the richest people are also the unhappiest. I'll stay poor & blissfully happy:)

Olivia has had a rough week this week. This past Saturday she played outside for about an hour. That evening she had no appetite whatsoever. Whoever knows my kids knows that they are definitely great eaters so I was worried something was up. Of course by the next morning she has a runny nose, still not eating & not playing as good as normal. We visited at my mom & dad's for a little while. Mom, Josh & Danielle took off to Jasper to buy new curtains & bathroom stuff for Josh's place. They had just left when Liv fell asleep on me. She slept good but when she woke up she was hot as fire. She is not a medicine taker either. We've tried everything from clamping her mouth shut, chewables, squirting inside of her cheek, etc. She just won't keep it in her mouth. Finally by that evening she was wanting to drink one of Eric's Diet Rite's. He suggested trying to put a chewable tylenol in about 1/4 cup of his pop. Believe it or not, she drank it down, asked for more & ended up getting the whole 2 pills in! Half hour later she was playing like she was back to normal. No more fever, but everyday since then she's had the diarrhea off & on throughout the day & even had to take a bath at her sitter's one day it was so bad. This morning I hear a funny noise, go in & there she is covered in vomit:( Of course she yelled "poop!" I put her in bed w/ me & she slept about 3 1/2 more hrs & has been fine. She's still not eating great except for requesting "dies" from McD's at lunchtime. I drove to town to go to the dollar store & to get her french "dies"! Gotta love her!

We had a great Christmas. I'll try & take my camera to work to upload the pics on here. I just can't do it from home anymore. We're hoping to have wireless in about 2 months here at home. I can't wait!!!!!!! It won't be as fast as work but I'll take anything! I'm desperate! I think the girls all got everything they wanted and then some! I requested gift cards to buy new clothing for work. The hospital put in mandatory dress codes starting Jan. 1st. All office staff in the hosp & clinics owned by them have to wear dress clothing. I have worn scrubs since 1993! So, Christmas Eve was my first day off til the start of the new year--I loaded all my scrubs up, hauled them to St. Vincent's in Loogootee & prayed for gift cards! I ended up getting approx $210 in cards at Elder Beerman, JCP & WalMart. Ended up finding some really good after-Christmas sales on clothing. Good thing cause I don't do dress-up! I don't mind wearing real clothes though except scrubs did a better job at hiding extra weight!!!! HA.

It's my New Year's resolution to get back to blogging regularly. I am going to make it a point to get on here & do this. My family likes checking in on here & it's good to do for the soul:)

Have a blessed year!

Jamie

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

Well, December is upon us & it's bringing pretty chilly weather, isn't it? Cold outside right now. Tonight we have our church Christmas party after Mass w/ Santa & lots of good food. Kayla has to go up at 2:00 & help decorate. Should be lots of fun--always is. It'll be lots of fun trying to get Olivia to take a pic w/ Santa. She is not too fond of actually sitting on his lap. She likes him, likes pics of him & movies of him, but when it comes to sitting on his lap--no way Jose`! Pretty funny. Guess she's not too fond of big hairy dudes wearing red suits & hats!

We always have had a real tree even when I was growing up. I have never known a fake tree in the house--ever! So we went to Home Depot in Jasper last Sunday & bought a really nice Douglas fir. We put it up & decorated & then this past Thursday on my day off Olivia & I decorated the house. She refused a nap so she had to help! She only broke 1 snowglobe that day!

Tomorrow the girls are in the Loogootee Parade. Hope to post pics of all our fun times soon!

Random Pictures

Okay, so I'm at work w/ the high speed computer & it's lunchtime so I'm uploading some pics to put on here to get updated. Here are some random pics from over the summer--we've had lots of weddings, reunions, swimming, Elnora, etc.

First pic is Papaw Brown & Josh at the Washington Park for the 1st ever Brown-Lingenfelter Reunion. They are both just the best. Josh is doing great & is probably the happiest I've seen him in a very long time. I'm very proud of him as always.
The train was running that day so they all hopped on--Grace L, Matthew H, my 3 girls & Haylie M.
Josh pushing the kids on the merry-go-round!
My cousin Erin Arvin's wedding. Here she's doing the dollar dance w/ the girls. Olivia loved her sequins!
My Dad dancing w/ Erin.
All of us doing the chicken dance. I love dancing at receptions. Of course my Smokey Mtn wine helps too--LOL!


The bridal party did the "Boot Scootin Boogie" as their dance. It was so cute. Yes, she did get married in her white cowgirl boots.
Danielle & her friend Aubrie at her 2nd grade field trip to Elnora. Eric & I were chaperones and had a great time too.
Eric w/ Aubrie & Danielle on the wagon.
Danielle "milking" a cow. It had water that squirted out.

This was at my cousin Landon's 3rd b-day party this past weekend. He had a Handy Manny party. Our cousin Hunter is the same age & they are like best friends especially since they go to the same sitter every day. They were so cute.


Olivia preferred to be outside during the present opening part!This was Landon's big present--a John Deere bike his mom & dad found in Owensboro! He loved it!

He took off riding and asked Hunter to get on the back. Then he rode around for awhile and said okay, get off now!

Haylie (his sis) & Landon w/ his Handy Manny cake made by the notorious Heather Arvin!

Olivia back in July feeding her baby doll her sippy cup while sitting in her Princess chair.

Olivia having a fit because Josh is giving Danielle a ride instead of her. My mom rescued her. She just doesn't understand you have to take turns on the 4 wheeler. She's a 4wheeler hog!

Olivia waking up from a nap! Getting ready to take the pacifier away next month. She only has it to sleep so hope it won't be too bad, but it sure is handy in church, long drives, etc. I think we might miss it more!

Kayla Bug

There's just so much goin on that it's hard for me to keep up on this bloggin thing! Let me start by telling you all about my Kayla & her sickness. She had complained off & on for awhile w/ a bellyache, etc & then after starting school she had "attacks" a couple days. Course, being parents, you first wonder if something is going on at school that's bothering her, someone picking on her, etc. She told us over & over again that she LOVES school, has tons of friends, loves her teacher, etc. The pain started to become more and more severe and not leaving when finally last Monday morning I took her in to see Cathy. She related that sometimes it seemed to bother her more after she ate. We did a KUB (regular xray) of her belly & it only showed moderate poop, not severe constipation or gas. Then I took her to have gallbladder U/S & it was negative. That night the pain was so severe she asked me while taking a bath if she was seriously going to die. I decided to go to the Jasper ER right away. That doc thought it was possibly a kidney stone so he did a CT of her abdomen. It showed mesenteric lymphadenitis, negative for appendicitis. It showed several of them to be exact. This is when she picked up a virus & it settled in her lymph nodes of her rt lower quadrant of her belly to be exact! The next morning we decided to go ahead w/ an upper GI. It showed she had mild gastritis so we started giving her a Zantac morning and night. That night, of course, she had another attack so Dr. Clayton worked her in. He did an excellent exam, went over all reports, poked on her and asked lots of questions and said to be assured that it was only mesenteric lymphadenitis. I think it relieved all of us finally to know exactly what was going on w/ her. I thought for sure she was going to end up in surgery but thank the Lord she is back to school this week and doing well. She has had a bad bellyache 2 nights in a row now but if she takes the Zantac and Ibuprofen she seems to do okay. It really bothers her if she eats something spicy so we try to avoid that. That is a hard thing for a kid to do when they love pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, fried stuff, etc.

Thanks to everyone for the calls, prayers, concern, etc for Kayla. We are so very thankful to you all & so glad she's back to being Kayla. I knew she was back when I heard Danielle & her arguing this past weekend:)))

Tomorrow Eric & I are chaperoning Danielle's 2nd grade field trip to the Elnora Antique & Tractor Show so I'll post pics soon I hope! We also have a wedding & reunion this weekend. I'll get better at this blogging stuff hopefully:))

Jamie

Wedding, B-day party & pics!!!

I finally had time to get the girls down to get their pics taken before school started. I love Summer pics when they still have their sunshiney tans! Of course Kayla & Danielle did great, looked beautiful, smiled nice, etc. NOT Olivia Jean! She did okay w/ the ones of them together, but by herself she refused to smile. She did not want to get out of one of those stupid foam seats they sit newborns in & drape a pretty blanket over it. Well, wait til you check out this pic! The photographer finally grabbed the foam chair, sat it on the furry blanket & snapped one! It's crazy---covered in fur & hair, her diaper is sticking out and her head is thrown back. I had to buy it just because it's her & it's memorable for me!!! What a bullhead:) Click HERE to view those pics.

Kayla & Danielle were in my cousin Mary Rehl's wedding this past Sunday. She married Tyler Stoll. They were program & bubble attendants. Click HERE to view the pics! We all had a great time. The girls danced & danced. I noticed the photographer snapping alot of photos on the dance floor & just laughing. When I went to check it out, she was taking pics of Olivia. She would shake her butt & then throw back her head laughing. I actually got one of those pics too. Spoiled rotten! K&D did a great job and we came home w/ extra bubbles:)

I can't believe the weddings we have this year to attend! We also have 2 reunions, hog roast, 3 showers--it's crazy. Plus, dance class will be starting soon for my girls too. I always dread getting started w/ it but they love it so it's worth it. I just hate paying it:)

Will post more later!
Jamie

1st day of school 2009

Well, the time has come around again for school to start which means the end of summer! I really hate it this year. We've had a fun summer. The girls have bickered a little but for the most part they have not hardly fought any & Olivia is at a good age where if we decided to go somewhere we could just pack up & go. This morning I got Kayla & Danielle up at 6:35 a.m. to start getting ready. With a new bus driver we didn't know what to expect as far as what time he'd arrive. Here's the link to the pics: click here I just can't get pics to upload on here hardly anymore! Check them out--my girls are growin up fast!

My Baby is 18 Months!!!

Olivia Jean is 18 months old! That's a year and a half--that's only 6 months til she's 2 years old!! What the heck?! Where did it go? When you're young people tell you that time flies by so quickly and to cherish every moment & I always thought yeah, yeah, whatever, I just want to be a grownup. Well, now I'm the one telling others that. Truly cherish every moment because it is so very true~ time flies so fast it's undescribable.

I decided to list some things that Olivia has accomplished, her likes/dislikes, funny things, etc.
***loves to play w/ her sisters. They have taught her lots of stuff~~some good, some bad:)
***loves animals--ALL animals & can make every animal sound. By the way, did you know a rabbit makes a sound like a tractor? She has taught us that. She feeds the guinea pig for us every night too by sticking carrots in for him to grab.
***knows her body parts by name & will point at them especially her belly:)
***can make a "strong" face & "scary" eyes which she knows will make us laugh & beg for more!
***yells for her sisters all the time. If she is in the van first she'll yell
"Dalla" which means Kayla or DD which means Danielle. She also makes sure to wake them up if she's the first one awake.
***loves to go 4 wheelin & screams & cries if she has to take turns with others! As soon as she hears keys rattle she's putting her shoes on.
***knows who Santa Claus is already thanks to our Holiday World trip & can say "HoHo"
***she's a big meat eater & prefers meat for breakfast, lunch & supper over anything sweet! Loves pizza (especially Fat Boys), spaghetti, hot dogs, sausage links, cheeseburgers & french fries, corn & potatoes.
***attends church every weekend & is pretty good at behaving & being quiet (but not always)
***loves to be outside & the hotter the better for her!!
***has little "obsessions" with things like the snaps in the carts at Wal-Mart which is the same snap that's in her high chair & swing, etc. She'd sit for an hour working the snaps! Also, closes any drawer, cabinet, door, etc that's left open for even a second. She has closed me in the pantry & refridgerator several times. Also, throws trash in the trash can really well at the right times.
***loves shoes & has been putting them on by herself lately. Her favorite is her black crocs & pink shoes.
***loves going places. Would go with anybody anywhere just to be going somewhere. She's great at traveling & loves crowds it seems. She loves to look at people & scream at babies.
***can say most everyone's names & gets so excited when she sees family members or her babysitter Mindy or the kids at Mindy's. Loves to be at Mindy's playing w/ her friends. It's so sweet to watch her.
***has just recently started telling everyone "no" & "bad" which is nothing good but it's funny. I have to turn my head and laugh!
***LOVES her purple blankie & has only missed a couple of nights sleeping with it since she was born. I don't listen to the "experts" that say no blankets in the crib w/ the baby, yadda, yadda! My babies all slept w/ their special blankie & they love them! She still takes a pacifier every now & then but not as often & not at all hardly during the day. Mainly naptime & bedtime but I've noticed her not wanting it lately as much. I have set a goal for October to throw it to the moo cows to have so that's what we're shooting for.

There's tons more I could list but it would probably fill a book so I think I'll stop with that. I still can't believe she's 18 months & the girls start school next week. Time can slow down now--please!!!