in IL

we arrived in IL monday afternoon around 4pm. we were really tired and the girls were so glad to finally be out of the car. papa got us our favorite chicken lil's from KFC. the scaggs came over to visit and then papa took nicole and i to bobby's for ice cream after the girls went to bed. i wasn't feeling well so i went to bed pretty early.

tuesday nicole, me, haylee, nana, aunt tammy, aunt terrisa and [cousin] ashleigh had lunch at the House of Plenty. their food is so yummy and i got a 2 story snickers pie and nicole got a cookies n' creme pie that we shared. YUM! it was pouring while we were at lunch then stopped when it was time to leave but continued as we drove home. we just hung out the rest of the day/evening. after the girls went to bed, papa took us to the grocery store so we could get food for the girls.

today [wendesday] aunt terri & grandma got here around 9:30am and we followed them to Grant's Farm in St Louis. it's kinda like a zoo but not as many animals and it's pretty small. it's owned by Busch, who also owns Busch Gardens in Williamsburg in VA. it was a nice day and i think kylie really enjoyed it. as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, kylie was asleep! and even finished a nice, long nap once we got back to nana's. we were glad that there was no rain while at grant's farm and just a little bit ago, it started pouring and thundering.

tomorrow we are going to the st louis zoo and hoping for good weather. the girls are doing well. kylie has plenty of new toys that nana has that she enjoys. and haylee is getting used to nana & papa and is getting lots of attention.

quick update

today is a busy day. we have a birthday party at 1pm and then another one at 3pm. then we are going over to nicole's to celebrate dave's birthday. it's going to be a long day. once we get home, i have to finish packing. BUSY!

we leave for IL tomorrow! driving almost 8 hours to west virginia and staying overnight in a hotel. then getting up the next day and driving about 7 more hours and arriving in Collinsville, IL late afternoon. i'm pretty nervous on how well the girls will do being confined to their car seats the whole day.

probably won't be able to update much while in IL. we have lots planned: lunch at house of plenty, grant's farm, st louis zoo, splash city, shopping! can't wait!

good times

yesterday afternoon, a friend offerred me her lawn tickets to coldplay! i really love their music and was stoked! and i really wanted to get tickets when they went on sale but may is SO extremely busy that we just couldn't afford it so i was very grateful i was going afterall! i asked a couple people if they could babysit so both jacob and i could go but it didn't work out. so he had to stay home with kylie and nicole went with me. she's not a big coldplay fan but we still had fun. it was a chilly night and we were trying to stay warm in our beach chairs in the lawn. my friend, angie texted me and said her sister got her into the orchestra and she was super close. then a few minutes later, she texted me again and said she had 1 wristband and could get me in but i didn't want to leave my sister so i told her i couldn't go. =[ then.... about 5mins. later she texted me again and said she had 2 wristbands and could get us both in! yay!!!! so we ran around, holding our chairs, trying to get in the orchestra. we were so close to the stage and it was really cool. we got home around 11:30pm and i was so tired this morning when i had to wake up at 6:50am.

this morning, i had to hurry around and get all of us ready and get to nicole's by 8:30am. i dropped off marty and kylie and i went to the picture place to get her 2 year old pictures done. i was a little nervous on how they would turn out because she doesn't like to stay still or cooperate for anything but... she did SOOOO good!!!!! she smiled real big and sat where she was suppose to. overall, i am VERY pleased and i can't wait to share them. i'll put my favs up later. we got back home and the girls went down for their nap. i'm watching the American Idol finale, even though somebody already told me who won [grrrr] then i'm going to clean out my car. i need to organize kylie's toys in the car, vacuum and remove all the trash. tonight i gotta start packing.

3 more days til we leave for IL!!!!

jacob took his dad to his doctors appointment with the cancer doctor yesterday and the outcome was not good, at all. the cancer is stage 4 in his lungs and possibly in his brain. the prognosis is 6 months to 2 years but he's going to try to fight it with chemo. his dad also has 14 year old twins, a boy and a girl who live with him in suffolk [the mom is not in the picture]. jacob's older sister plans on coming down here for the summer since she's a teacher living in Maryland to help out so that's good. she's looked into teaching postitions in virginia beach but right now they are laying off teachers and not hiring any, which means the other surrounding cities are flooded with applicants, which sucks! hopefully something will work out, at least she's able to make it down for the summer and help jacob out with his dad's doctors appointments. jacob can't afford to miss more work. no work= no pay.

yesterday, i got work done on my car- all new brake pads, which costs us almost $400. but you gotta have working brakes, especially when you are driving through the mountains, which we'll be doing this weekend! today, we are meeting my mom for lunch at the mall. it'll be nice to get out of the house. i'd like to go to old navy and see if they have some bermuda shorts i want, hopefully in the color and size i need. and they're on sale for $15. we'll see.

i can't believe tomorrow is thursday and even closer to the weekend. we have 4 days before we leave for IL and i need to start packing. saturday we are going to be so busy that we won't have hardly any time to do any packing but will have to finish it up that night. i'm so excited!

Kylie's 2nd Birthday!

Kylie is 2!!!!!!!

unfortunately, kylie woke up with her arm [still] hurting from an incident that happened the day before. i didn't think it was broken but still wanted to get it checked out. so we took her to Patient 1st to have it looked at. first, we stopped at Panera to get her favorite- a bluberry muffin! at the doctors, she got x-rays done, which was not too much fun and then did a lot of waiting to see the DR, which just examed kylie's arm with no problems [no crying or whining from kylie] and the DR said she probably just sprained it and to give her some motrin for comfort and possibly try ice packs. but by the time we left, she started moving her arm more and by the end of the day was using her arm & hand just fine. shortly after we got home, kylie went down for her nap and i was grateful she actually fell asleep fairly quick and took about a 2 1/2 hour nap!

nicole came over around 11am and picked up the cupcakes for me and started helping me get things ready for the party. she made the cheese ball and some dip to go with some pretzels. she helped me decorate too. mom & dad picked up the balloons and got here around 12:30. mom brought a fruit bowl. we had to set up the party in the house because it was raining and did not let up the whole day. i was really sad that we couldn't have her party outside because kylie LOVES to be outside and jacob built her the swing set before the party and we got a bounce house from jacob's cousin so the kids could play in that. i was super bummed. i think overall the party went well, though.

kylie's party was a '2nd birthday cupcake' theme!

she got a lot of great gifts: money, pink tricycle, dresses, sand toys, outdoor sprinkler, playdoh, puzzles, books, ball, pink bean bag, baby doll with bottles & bowls, baby doll cradle, cupcake play set, and probably some stuff i forgot.

her pink tricycle from Grandpa & Grandma and Auntie Nic Nic, Dave & Haylee

we sang Happy Birthday to her and she got her very own special cupcake, that she wanted nothing to do with! she's so used to eating muffins that i don't think she's a fan of the icing so didn't eat any of it! and i think she'd rather play with all her new toys.

kylie sitting with her friends while they eat their cupcake!

rylee, kailyn, kylie and coleton

after all her friends had gone home, kylie was pretty strung out on sugar and was running around like a crazy little girl! the most hyper i've ever seen her but i guess that's ok since she was the birthday girl! she was in bed by 7pm and was passed out right away.

me and my birthday girl after the party....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE SARAH!!!!!

this week

this week has been super busy, stressful and just crazy.

wednesday night, jacob's dad got into a car accident and [probably] totalled his car. he went to the ER and jacob picked him up a couple hours later to take him home. he had some scratches on his body and hurt his leg but overall, he was OK. jacob didn't get back home til after 10pm.

friday night, we all went to dinner for nicole's 25th birthday. she chose fredrico's, a small italain restuarant for dinner, which was really nice and the food was yummy. mom surprised nicole with a cookie cake she made. after dinner, mom & dad took the girls with them to spend the night. and we went out with friends, and we had a really good time. once we got to our car, i noticed the back door wasn't shut all the way and when i went to start the car, it was dead. so we had to call nicole & dave to give us a jump. it was a late night.

saturday, i got up around 9am and jacob got us breakfast. then i got ready to leave to run some errands and my car wouldn't start again! but jacob was on his way to pick up his boat so i had to stay home til he got back. so i started doing some cleaning while i waited. then nicole came over to help me jump the car and jacob got back at the same time. so he jumped it for me and nicole & i drove to auto zone to have it looked at and they said i needed a new battery so they took care of that for me. then we went to walmart so i could get groceries for kylie's party.

i was suppose to be getting kylie's 2 year old pictures done today at 2pm but decided to cancel the appt b/c somebody wouldn't take a nap, plus jacob was suppose to go with me but had to go get his dad & the twins and i need help with kylie when i get them done. i'll just get them done sometime this week. so instead, we met mom, dad & the girls for lunch at jason's deli. after lunch, we all went to carter's and mom bought the girls some clothes! as we were leaving the store and walking towards our cars, kylie started heading to the parking lot so dad went to hold her hand and started walking with her to the car. as she was walking, she was trying to get away from dad's hand and kinda threw herself to the side as dad was holding her arm and then dad picked her up instead of holding her hand and she started crying. when we got to the car, i changed kylie's diaper and put her in her car seat. the whole time, she was still crying and i wasn't sure if it was b/c she was tired from not taking a nap all day or what. someone said maybe she hurt her hand or arm so we looked at her arm and it was a little red but that was it. and she whined when we would move it so i put it on her arm rest and she left it there until we got home. she fell asleep in the car but would wake up here and there and start crying.

when we got home, jacob and his little brother were on the boat, getting ready to go fishing. and carolanne was laying down on the couch watching tv. kylie & i hung out on the couch til it was bath time, watching some movies. she cried and whined about her arm hurting so i gave her some tylenol and she kept her arm close to her and didn't use her hand to do anything. shortly after her bath, i got her ready for bed and laid her down around 6:45pm. she was asleep by 7. i put her to bed earlier than usual so she'll get up earlier and take a nap tomorrow before her birthday party at 2pm. she hasn't been wanting to take a nap at 10-10:30, like she's suppose to. ha ha

i'm hoping her arm will be feeling better in the morning, if not, i'll probably have to take her to the doctors to get checked out. jacob is taking the twins home in the morning. i need to finish cleaning the house, pick up the balloons, take a shower and get ready, decorate, get the food ready and set up. oh, AND the weather is going to suck tomorrow! there's a cold front that came through and it's going to be in the low 60's and rain! we were planning on having the party outside. the kids were gonna play on kylie's swing set and i also borrowed a small bouncer that the kids could jump in. now we're all stuck in the house, boooooo! i'm really depressed about that but what can i do about it, right?!

jacob took the twins to red robin for dinner tonight. i stayed here since kylie was already in bed. he brought me home some clam chowder. we got them a cake and gift cards to walmart for their birthday, it was the 15th.

i can't believe I have a 2 year old. the last 2 years have flown by, it's so sad. i'm so excited about the new things kylie will learn and experience but i know i won't get those moments back with her and pretty soon she won't want anything to do with her mama. i do try to treasure each day i have with her and not take anything for granted. i'm looking forward to this summer and all the things we have planned. she's mommy's pride & joy and i love that crazy little girl so much!

monday 5.11.09

yesterday, we didn't do much as it was raining off and on and pretty chilly outside. marty's dad picked her up close to 5 [which is becoming a habit with her parents]. and it's a pretty stressful time of the day for me because i'm trying to figure out dinner and start cooking and kylie is real cranky but it's too late for a nap but she wants my attention. i think if marty got picked up when she's suppose to, we would have a chance to wind down before starting dinner. i probably should talk to shay about it but it's kinda an uncomfortable situation.

anywho.... i started making spaghetti for dinner. by the time dinner was ready, jacob was home and we were able to eat dinner together. i gave kylie some and she pretty much played with it and didn't try one bite. but from now on, she's going to start eating our dinner, instead of me making her own stuff in addition to our dinner. so she's gotta learn to like what i make or she doesn't eat. i know, i should have started this a long time ago but she's so picky it was hard. so wish me luck!

around 7pm, i left and went to trader joe's, a new all organic grocery store that just opened last week. i was pretty excited about it but was sadly disappointed when i got there and discovered it was a LOT smaller than i was expecting. i was expecting a full size, normal grocery store but it's about half of that. their wine & beer selection took up almost half of the store! and i really needed bananas and as soon as i walked in, heard someone say they were all out- of course! i got a couple of items then went to target to get diapers. i got home and started cleaning up and getting ready for bed.

we got some really bad news yesterday about jacob's dad. he found out he has cancer in his lungs, throat and lymph nodes. he is meeting the doctor today to find out what's next.

weekend

saturday afternoon, nicole and i took mom to lunch for mother's day. then we went to party city so i could order kylie's balloons for her party and get some decorations. then we went to target and kohls. i got back home around 6, fed kylie dinner and got her ready for bed. once she laid down, jacob asked me to mow the grass. i was pretty worn out after that but still had to shower and pack kylie's bag for Busch Gardens.



sunday, we went to panera for breakfast then headed to nicole's so we could all drive together to Busch Gardens. we got there at 10am and went straight to Elmo's World area. kylie rode a ride and took pictures with Elmo & Cookie Monster. we rode a roller coaster then ate lunch. then took kylie to the other kid area where she rode some more rides and had a good time. we got some ice cream and walked to the other side of the park, kylie fell asleep in the stroller and took about a 45 minute nap. we got to ride some roller coasters and other rides. then we went back to Elmo's world again and kylie played in the water and we saw an Elmo show. after that it was about 5 and time to go home. it took kylie a little while to fall asleep on the way back but she finally did. poor thing was suffering from allergies: runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. but she did sleep well.








so cute!






she LOVED the water! [next time i'll remember her bathing suit & a towel]






today, the weather has cooled down and it's cloudy and raining off and on. i've been working on kylie's favor bags, trying to get ready for her party on sunday. i need to make sure i have everything i need. i also need to go to the grocery store later this week and get food for the party. so much to do.....

friday

i had a rough friday morning. the girls were at each other's throats and running around screaming like hyenas and getting into trouble and not listening so i was pretty crabby. naptime was peaceful and i got to catch up on shows and relax. once the girls got up from their long naps and ate their lunch, nicole and i took them to the beach! we went down to 60th street and got good parking. it was a nice day and kylie LOVED it! i took some pictures of her in her pink tutu. they didn't come out as well as i would have liked but she had fun. she loved playing in the water and in the sand. i can't wait to give her the beach toys i bought her for her birthday. she's gonna be a true beach baby!






marty, on the other hand, who i would have thought to love the beach b/c her parents are both surfers and are always at the beach but she cried and screamed the WHOLE time we were there and would not walk without me having to pull her by her arm. so that kinda ruined our fun day. she needs to get used to it, that's for sure!


once we got home, we enjoyed some popsicles and played outside in the water table and on the swing set. once shay got here, she stayed for a little bit so marty could play and left here close to 5. kylie & i stayed outside til jacob got home then we all got ready to get some dinner at Boardwok. after dinner, we drove down to Sandbridge. we drove around and looked at houses then parked and stood on the beach for a little bit. it was starting to cool down and it was quite breezy so we couldn't stay long. of course, kylie was not happy when it was time to go. when we got home, we put her to bed then hung out. my friend, christina came over for a couple hours. we caught up on a lot, i hadn't talked to her in months, that was nice.

this morning, i got to sleep in while jacob got up with kylie. we've just been hanging out. jacob just left to go get a motor for a new jon boat he wants. supposedly it was a good deal. kylie will go down for her nap shortly then when jacob gets home, i'm gonna mow the grass, take a shower then get ready for the day. mom and nicole are going with me to party city to order kylie's birthday party balloons and to get some decorations. then nicole and i are taking mom out to lunch for mother's day. not sure what else is going on today.

hello!

i'd like to start a blog so i can keep my family updated, daily, on things going on in our lives.

jacob has been busy with work, which is good but he doesn't get home til after 7pm most nights and sometimes he doesn't even get to see kylie. last night, he was busy spraying his cousin's house who was having issues with termites. then he went to a friend's house to spray his house for pest. then he finally came home and sprayed our house. he didn't get done til after 8pm and was beat. jacob has also been busy fixing up the yard. last weekend, he planted some new summer flowers and laid down new mulch. also he finished the new gate and did a great job. and jacob build kylie's new swing set! he bought a kit from home depot and then just got the wood to build it. kylie loves it!

i've been super busy getting things ready for kylie's 2nd birthday. her theme is a 2nd birthday cupcake party! i'm very excited but ready to get it over and done with. i still have some more stuff to do that hopefully i can get done this weekend.

kylie is getting funnier by the day! she dances all the time and says the cutest things. we are going on week 1 1/2 with no paci and kylie is doing really good. she cries here and there before she falls asleep but she did that sometimes before when she had her paci, she likes to fight sleep. she's getting her 2nd year molars so she's been lots of fun lately, ha ha! kylie loves being outside, playing on her swing set and splashing around in her water table. she could stay out there all day!

looking forward to the weekend, it's gonna be a busy one!