Must sleep

I promise I'll update tomorrow.
Goodnight all!

Warning!

This post may make no sense. I'm exhausted but unable to sleep. I had a long work day and I need the rest but Mattie has been restless and calling out for me periodically. When I don't hear her for a long stretch, of course I feel compelled to check on her. The batteries are bad in the baby monitor so I'm currently parked on the couch so I can hear if I'm needed. I'm not feeling great and my mind is running in overdrive because I have so much to do tomorrow. Calgon, take me away! Ha ha
All in a day's work, right? :-)
Well, I'm going to go do my bed checks and them try to get some sleep. Goodnight.

Love to all
Andee

Guess what

Mattie Got over her stomach bug but now she and I have Gabriel's funk. Bobby, oddly, remains healthy and apparently immune.
Gabriel and I ventured out to do the grocery shopping. The trip was essentially uneventful with the exception of the part where we entered the store and made a break for it. By the time I caught him he had almost made it to toys and was laughing merrily at the whole situation. As a parent all I kept thinking about was what if he had done that in the parking lot. I get nauseous just thinking about it. Luckily no one was harmed and he was a good boy the rest of the time.
It will be interesting to see how they do at school tomorrow after having sick time with Mom. Mattie usually does better than Gabriel but we'll see.
I've taken my cold medicine now I'm off to try to get some rest.
Goodnight all
ACD

Pictures

A little time outside

Gabriel tagged along with Daddy during most of our time outside today so I was only able to get a few shots of him. Since Mattie still likes to hang out with Mommy, I have quite a few pics of her. Here are some highlights of our time outside. The remaining pictures, if these aren't enough for you, are on our photo share site.

ok...having some tech difficulties uploading other pics. Will keep trying. Full upload to Shutterfly is in progress.

On the mend

We are still dealing will multiple ailments but we didn't get any worse today. I'll take it. :-)
We did have another "Gabriel says" item for today. I tried to get some audio but it didn't come out well. He kept asking me if he could go out on the patio early this morning. I told him we'd have to wait a little while because it was a little too cold outside. He looked at me and said "But Mommy, I want to go see cold!". Um, ok. The kid just loves it outside and you have to appreciate the creativity.
I have to get the G Man to sleep but I do have a couple of pictures to post. As always, if you want to be bored by the insane number of pictures I take, feel free to visit our latest phot site. You can get there from the Links section to the right.

Seriously?

Just woke up Gabriel falling out of bed. I get to him to pick him up and ask if he's OK and he says, "yeah Mommy, I'm ok" I don't even think he was truly awake. Wow, my kids just aren't catching any breaks...and I'm just not getting enough sleep. Ha ha!!

Fever and diapers and snots, OH MY!

Everyone is asleep but all are not well. We are solidly in the sick house category now. It looks like we'll have another sick day tomorrow and possibly carry it into the weekend. I just want my babies to feel better. It hurts my heart when they feel bad.
I'm going to do my last round of bedtime checks, take some temps and hopefully get some much needed rest. Tomorrow may be another long one.
Love to all,
ACD

Gabriel says...

Enough with the germs!

We were unlucky enough to get hit with the stomach bug at about 5 AM. Right now it's just Mattie but I fear Gabriel will successfully kick his virus and end up with stomach junk. UGH!!! This is out of control. I'm disinfecting everything I can possibly disinfect. I'm sure the bug has spread already but keep your fingers crossed.  We had a sick day today but I did take them outside to get a little bit of sunshine. We weren't out very long but I think it made them both feel a little better. I shot a few pics while we were out there. I apologize for the snot that appears in any closeups but it's there...

I tried to soften it up a little to minimize the effect of the boogers...not sure it worked. He makes me think of my grandfather when he ends up with his hat sideways. I even titled this picture "olliehat" when I saved it. Funny what brings back a memory of someone special. It makes me sad at the same time. I think his great grandparents would have enjoyed him so much. I think Granny might have been pleased that she had a great granddaughter named after her. I bet she knows anyway and I hope it makes her smile.



I'm working on editing some audio I took today so say tuned. My kids provide me with endless entertainment!

And to the doctor we will go...

It was family trip day and I didn't even know it. I'll spare you the lead-up but both kids had to take a trip to the doctor today. I'm happy to say the news wasn't as bad as we expected. Gabriel does not have a stomach bug or strep but he is battling a bit of a bug. He did get to spend a few minutes outside in this lovely weather when we got home...with golf club in hand...of course.

 Miss Mattie has had a bothersome rash and today they finally (sorta) diagnosed it as eczema. We're going to try to remedies the doctor suggested and see what happens. I had very sensitive skin as a child so I hope she isn't in the same boat.

Well, I'm going to go have some activity time with the babies before they go off to bed. Hopefully I'll be back later.

Love to all

ACD

More pigtails

This is the way she looked when she left. She did not look this way when she got home. Still cute. Love her!

Our first pigtails!

Family Date Friday Night

We made a trip to the local Mexican restaurant last night. Gabriel really enjoyed the salsa...who would have thought?

New site for photos

Rather than try to pick and choose a couple of photos to post, I've setup a companion site to our blog where pictures and videos related to this site will be posted. Feel free to check in often!

http://andeesworldofphotos.shutterfly.com/

We're ok

I didn't post last night because I fell asleep in Gabriel's room...again. We're ok I'll post a regular update later today. Busy work day ahead.

Funny, when you like your job, Mondays aren't all that bad.

I used to HATE Mondays. That means part of Sunday was spent dreading the fact that I would have to return to work on Monday. That makes for a short weekend. These days, I'm happy to report that I can really enjoy my whole weekend and I really don't mind the work week. If I have to be away from my babies, it's nice to have a job which challenges me each day and allows me to laugh a little. It is not without its moments, all jobs are, but we have a pretty good time.
Bobby and the babies continue to be fabulous! We are still working on the second level of potty training (if you know what I mean) with Gabriel. He's doing much better and we hope to be out of Pull-Ups soon. If we can get him fully potty trained, he may be able to move up to the 4 year old preschool class. That was the plan by day 2 but the potty training is the key. The 4 year olds are all trained so he has to be before he can "skip a grade". I think it will be good for him. He needs to be challenged more and I also think that being around older kids may help him mature even more. When Gabriel started school, he already knew all of his letters, shapes, and numbers up to 20. In the 3 year old class they are just covering things he already knows and I know they have to work to keep him engaged. As an example, the February plan for his class is the letters D-K-Z, the color pink and the shape of the month is the heart. We must potty train!!
Mattie continues to impress us daily. She communicates pretty clearly. Sometimes she looks at me and talks for 2 minutes and I have no idea what she saying. Other times, she tells me what she wants just as plain as day...well, it's plain to me. I often have to translate for others. ha ha  She now consistently says "Thank You" when you give her something. She tells us when she's hungry, when she wants to watch Bubble Guppies, and she also sings the ABC song. Not bad for 16 months.She also counts to 5 and has her own dance. I'm going to work on getting video of it so I can post it here.
Well, everyone is off to bed and I need to head that direction myself. Have a good night all and stay safe out there!
ACD

New additions to "Gabriel says..."

In an effort to keep a record of the interesting, often funny, things our son says, I'm going to have an occasional feature called "Gabriel Says"

Let's start off with a funny little gem we heard over the weekend. Here in Kentucky, we've had our share of snow this winter season. Forecasters said there was a possibility of snow overnight on Friday. When we woke up Saturday morning, Bobby asked Gabriel if it had snowed. Gabriel rushed over to the window, lifted the shade and said, "I don't see it! The grass is in the way."

This morning on the way to school, Gabriel advised me that he did not want to go. I said, "Really? Ok then, where do you want to go?". I was able to catch some audio of his response. I created a little presentation so you could experience "Gabriel Says" for yourself.

Favorite Commercials

Pretty Panda - Snickers Commercial - Looks like me trying to find someone to eat lunch with @ work.

Snickers 2000 Election Commercial - FUNNY STUFF!! If you remember all the crazy stuff that went on during the 2000 Presidential election, you should enjoy this one.

Sesame Street: Will.i.am's Song "What I Am"

One of Mattie & Gabriel's favorite songs. They come running when they hear it playing. Good tune, good message!

Next!

It has been a full day. I fully expected to be in bed a little early but here I am. :-)
Nice drive in this morning, full and seemingly productive work day, Skype time with my family, pressed my clothes for tomorrow and a little more work.
As expected I'm missing my little ones and my hubby. Skype helps a lot. We get to see each other so I can't complain. It's just tough when Gabriel asks if I'm on my way or if I want hold him. WOW!!!
I have so much more I want to bore you with but I must get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day.
Sleep tight!
ACD

It's only a couple of days but...

it seems like an eternity when I'm away from my babies.  I'll be traveling for work until Friday and it just doesn't get any easier to leave them. I'm lucky I have a fabulous husband who is an equally fabulous father. I know they'll be well taken care of but I'll miss my little family so much. 



I guess he's getting  a little big for me to keep referring to him as my "baby". He will always be that but at some point he's going to say "Mommy, I'm not a baby anymore!"

Little Miss Priss isn't a tiny baby anymore either. Here she is with her BlackBerry.

Thank goodness for webcams!!