Ashlyn's Birthday Party

Ashlyn will be 3 years old on the 19th of June. I can't believe that my little baby has turned into such an amazing little girl! I know that I've said it many times before, but she truly is heaven sent! Her party was a hit. I really didn't know what kind of turn out we would have. Last year I invited the same amount of people and only had about 20 or so come. This year we had nearly 50 people! I didn't take a count, but I know that our back yard was full. We had a petting zoo. The kids absolutely LOVED that. There were goats, sheep, baby chicks, baby ducks, and rabbits. It was definitely a hit with the kids. Britt was busy grilling. I don't know how many hamburgers and hotdogs we threw on the grill. Everything got gone. Thank Goodness! That meant less to put away for me. After eating we put the slip-n-slide out. The kids had a blast on that. After that it was time for Ashlyn to blow out her candles and open her presents. Nana Joyce made her birthday cake. It was a strawberry shortcake cake, and it was DEEEELICIOUS! Ashlyn got SOOO much stuff! I think that we may have to build an extra room on our house just to have some space to put everything! I guess it's time to get rid of some of her old toys that she never plays with anymore to make room for her new things. It turned out to be a spectacular party!
Now for the after party. Ida, Bradley, Hanna, Curtis, Jenna, and Marty stayed and hung out for a while. Jenna has ONE week until her due date. She is anxious to have the baby here as soon as possible. They left a little early. After they left we were all just hanging out outside drinking and laughing about old times. Britt and Bradley get the bright idea of going down the slip-n-slide. It was midnight, but we all went and put our bathing suits on and starting slipping and a sliding. We had the best time! Who would have thought that a $6 slip-n-slide would have brought so many laughs. It was priceless!
Today we spent the day recovering and cleaning up what was left from the party yesterday. We took Dad out for Father's day this evening. I'm winding down now and getting ready for bed. It's been a weekend packed full of fun and excitement.

Beach pics

Another weekend at the beach

Mom, my aunt Annette, Ashlyn and I went to the beach over Memorial Day weekend. We had a great relaxing weekend. Friday night we were all pooped so we went to bed fairly early. We were up bright and early Saturday morning to hit the beach. The weather was awesome! Saturday night we ate at Landry's at Broadway at the Beach. Believe it or not we walked right in and did not have to wait for a table. We were sat immediately. Our food was delicious. I highly recommend trying this resturaunt. They had some great seafood! It had been a while since I had actually walked around Broadway and did some shopping. I found so many cute things in all of the specialty boutiques, and the prices were not bad at all. Saturday morning we woke up and went to the flea market. You can ALWAYS find some good bargains there. I bought a couple of different things - some jewelry, headbands, a wallet, and Ashlyn some junk toys. My mammaw Drum had given Ashlyn $20 to spend on whatever she wanted. She found a few different trinkets for less than $5. I also bought Ashlyn 3 more pair of Crocs for less than nothing. We were back at the house for lunch, and then out to the beach we went. I dug a whole for Ashlyn to play in. What a work out!!! We were on the beach for a couple of hours and then we headed to the pool. Ashlyn loved the "kitty cat pool" (kiddy pool). =) She threw a fit when it was time to leave. Back to the house we went to take a nap. We went to dinner and then went to the Crazy Pelican. Ashlyn was dancing her little booty off! Everyone loved watching her. She was our entertainment. I wish that I would have had my video camera. She was too darn cute! Monday we went to eat breakfast at the Omega breakfast house. Yum Yum! Mom wanted to go to the outlets to do even more shopping. I took Ashlyn to the playground and the pool one last time. By 2:00 we were back at the house to pack up and clean the house. It was time to go home. As we were packing the car our neighbors came out. Rena, a girl from Michigan that I grew up and hung out with every summer at the beach, was down with her husband. Her brother is living at their beach house. It was great to get to see her and her brother. I haven't seen either of them in probably 4 years. On the road again. We thought that we were making great time until we came to a halt for 2 WHOLE HOURS! There was a terrible wreck. We would move a few feet every 10 minutes or so. We were hoping to be home by 8:00, but we didn't get in until 10:00. Today it was back to reality. It was tough getting up and going this morning. We had a great trip. I hope to get to do it more this year.

Beach Weekend

Family Beach Photo

The girls........Jenna was such a trooper! She is due next month. Her belly is too cute!

The beach gang

Marty and Britt

Beach Bum

Bless her heart! This is a 2T, and her teenie bottom just can't hold it up. ;)

Beach Girls

Ashlyn and Carly

Miss Hollywood

Best Buds

Mother's Day 2007

Mother's Day

I hope that all of you had a spectacular Mother's Day! It made my day just to have Ashlyn walk up to me, give me a huge hug, and say in her little girly voice "Happy Mother's Day Mommy. I love you!" It's so cool to have a day devoted to Mother's. I've always enjoyed Mother's Day, even before Ashlyn. I loved giving my mom and mammaw's their special gifts each year, but now that I'm a mother myself, I have a whole new perspective on this special day. Being a mother is truly the best gift ever. There are many days that I have wanted to pull my hair out due to hearing those high pitch squeals from temper tantrums, but everytime that Ashlyn tells me how much she loves me.................when she stretches out on my lap wanting her back scratched...............evertime that I see her little smile, my heart just melts. These moments make motherhood the best experience and the best gifts that life can give you! You never really know how much love you can have for someone until you hold your child for the first time. It's AMAZING! And your love only grows from that point on. Life is good being a mother!

Little Ballerina

Bath time

Na Na nah boo boo


Hello friends!

Birthday weekend

Britt and I decided to go to Asheville Satuday to celebrate my birthday. The day started off kind of rough. As soon as we arrived in Asheville we drove around the downtown area to try to find a hotel for the night. As we were riding we were cracking up at the wide variety of people that we saw. I love to just people watch, and Asheville was a great place to see some different people. That's for sure! We went to the Renaissance first, but after we heard the room rate for the night - almost $200/night - we opted to go across the street to the Best Western. Not my first choice of places to stay, but for one night in downtown Asheville and in walking distance to everything, it would be fine. I'm not what you would call a germ-a-phobe, but I do not like staying at hotels in the first place. I inspect every inch of the bed to make sure that it has been cleaned properly. When I turned down the comforter there were 2 huge brownish/yellow stains on it. YUCK!!!! I literally had a melt-down. I no longer cared to stay in this hotel, but I didn't want to call the front desk and ask for a refund. I do not want people to think that I'm a b****! I mean, overall the room was clean. It was just the comforter that bothered me and set me off. I don't sleep with those nasty comforters anyways. Who knows how often they wash those things! I don't even like thinking about it. YUCK! So I was in a jam.......I didn't want to stay, but I didn't want to call and complain. Britt wouldn't do it. He told me that if I had an issue with the room I needed to call myself. After about an hour I finally pulled myself together and we left the room and headed to the Biltmore house. I knew that if I had a few glasses of wine to calm my nerves I would feel better. LOL! Nothing that a little alcohol can't help. =)
So off we headed to the Biltmore Estate. I absolutely LOVE touring this home. It is simply magnificent! Britt had NEVER been there before!?!?!? Can you believe that? He was in awe over how amazingly large and stunning the home and property appear. We went to the winery there and did some wine tasting. It started out as a beautiful day, but as we finished our tour the rain began to really come down. We headed back to the downtown area for dinner. We went to Cafe on Main. All I can say is YUM!!! It was a little on the pricey side, but it was DELICIOUS! It's ok to splurge every now and then. After dinner we did a little shopping. Ashlyn stayed with Nana Joyce while we were away. We told her that if she was good we would bring her home a surprise. So we went to the Mast General Store in Asheville and picked up a doggie with a very fashionable carrying bag. She loved it! We went back to the hotel a little later and freshened up. I laid on the bed and didn't want to get back up. Britt literally had to drag me out of bed to go out for my birthday. I would have been fine going to bed at 10:00. =) That definitely shows how old I'm becoming. We walked down the street to a bar called Magnolias. They had a cover-band playing. It seemed like a nice bar. We found an available table and took a seat. We were there for at least 15 minutes and no one had came to take our order yet. The waitresses were going to every other table around us, but dodging ours. So Britt finally went over to the bar to order us a drink. He came back to the table and gave me my captain and coke. For a beer and a captain and coke it was $10!?!?!? I took a sip of my drink and I swear I could not even taste a hint of Captain Morgan in the drink. Britt tasted it and he didn't taste anything. If I'm paying $7 for a drink I better be able to taste the alcohol in it! He took it back to the bar and politely told the bartender that the drink did not taste like it had anything in it. She was extremely rude and told him that they put liquor in all of their drinks and she would not put anymore in my drink since it already had some in it! The manager came over to our table and asked what the problem was. I told him and he picked the drink up, stuck his nose in it and smelled it, and said - "well.....I can smell the alcohol in this drink. Our bartenders are great here, and I KNOW that they put the correct amount in every drink that they pour." I NEVER complain about anything! I hate to. I don't enjoy being rude, but when you pay that much, you ought to get what you paid for. He was very adamant that he would not add anymore alcohol to my drink. UGGGHHHHH! Needless to say we were not impressed with this place. We left after Britt finished his beer and went to a Martini bar called Tressa's. It was a quaint little bar with a nice band playing and a great atmosphere. Plus the staff was very friendly. We had the best time there!
Sunday morning we woke up to some sad news. Britt's Grandma Cody had passed away a little after midnight. She had been battling cancer for a couple of years. We knew on Friday that it would probably be sometime during the weekend. We visited her Friday evening. It's definitely a bitter sweet. She was suffering terribly the past month. At least now she is out of pain and in a much better place. She was the most caring lady that you would ever have met. Sunday we stayed over at her house with the family part of the afternoon and evening. This evening is the receiving and tomorrow her funeral will be held. All of the great-grandchildren, I believe there were 14 in all, will release balloons at her grave-site. I know that she's home now, and she's loving it!

Happy Birthday Kellie!

Kellie - my girl.....Happy Birthday! Wishing you the best birthday ever! We definitely need to go out and celebrate (or sulk) our 28th Birthday! I think the spa is calling our names. Love ya much!

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Fun

CRY =(

I'm so sad, yet so happy at the same time. This weekend we switched Ashlyn from a crib to a bed. We are using my old bedroom suit from when I was a little girl. It's such a huge transition! Now it's really beginning to hit me..........My baby isn't really a baby anymore. waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! I can't believe how hard it is to come to this realization. I know that they can't stay little forever, but it's gone by SO fast! I can't believe that she will be starting school in 2 more years! It just doesn't seem right.
Not only did we switch her bed, but we also took away the pappy. YES........we did it, and boy was it tough. We used the idea that Misty suggested. We told her that there were teeny tiny babies that really needed the pappies more than she did, so she should give her's to the babies that need them. It kind of worked. We also told her that since she was moving into a big girl bed she needed to be a big girl and get rid of her pappy. She did pretty good. She cried for about half an hour. Then we calmed her down and I crawled in bed with her. She wouldn't go to sleep unless I laid down with her. She was asleep in 5 minutes. It was almost too easy. She woke up at 5 am screaming. Britt went and laid with her until she went back to sleep, but every time that he tried to get up, she would say "no daddy. don't go." He slept in there from 5-9 am. It's probably going to be tough for the first week. Hopefully everything will get easier after that. I sure hope so. I need my sleep.
Today is Mom's birthday. We went to church and then to Mammaw Sherrill's for Mom's birthday lunch. After eating Ashlyn begged to go home with Mom and Dad. They said that she could. Mom told Ashlyn over lunch that Simba got her pappy at their house, so she had to throw it away and that it was gone. Ashlyn kept saying "No it's not Nana. I'll find it." She's so funny! I called Mom to see how everything was going. She said that as soon as they walked in the door Ashlyn told Mom to go on, and that she needed to look for something. Mom walked on in the kitchen. Ashlyn pulled up the lid on the trash can and was looking in it for her pappy. Mom had to tell her again that it was gone for good. Nap time wasn't very fun for Nana and Pappaw. Ashlyn cried and cried for them to give her a pappy. She wanted them to go buy a new one at the grocery store, but they stuck to their guns. NO PAPPY!
I feel horrible taking it from her, especially while putting her in a new bed. That's a huge adjustment in it's self, but it needed to be done. And Britt wouldn't let me back down. Thanks honey! I'm a sucker when it comes to Ashlyn. I just felt so bad for taking it from her. It's her security blanket. I just feel so bad! Probably because that's another thing that differentiates a baby from a little girl. No pappy, no longer a baby. I think that this whole thing is harder on me than it is on Ashlyn. My baby girl is growing up!

What Are We Gonna Do?

I'm back! It's taken me a while to get settled into work. Plus it seems that since I've started my new job when I get home I have 10 million things to do. I finally feel caught up on everything and I now have time to blog. Yeah!I honestly don't know what Britt and I are going to do. Ashlyn will be 3 in June and she still has her pappy (pacifier). We only give it to her when she sleeps, but the sitter has been giving it to her during the day, especially when she was sick for that long period of time. Now Ashlyn thinks that she should get ALL DAY LONG! It's terrible! She pitches the biggest fit for the dern thing. You would think that the older she gets it would want to let it go, but no no no. It's the complete opposite.Monday night she woke up at 3 am screaming and crying because she couldn't find her pappy. It continued for what felt like eternity, but was actually only about 5 minutes and finally I got up and went in her room to help her find it. I couldn't find it either. I knew that it was there somewhere, but I was going to have to do a some searching to find it. She kept screaming "Mommy! You have to find it! You have to find it! Go get me another one! I need it! I've gotta have it! You have to go to the store and get me another one!" What the heck!?!?! I finally found it. It was hidden underneath the bumper pad on her bed. I am ready to get rid of her pappy for good, but oh I dread it at the same time. We probably won't get any sleep for at least 2-3 nights. And what makes it even worse now is that she knows that you can just go to the store and buy another one. What are we going to do? I'm thinking of having the Easter Bunny take it. Then she'll probably hate the Easter Bunny for the rest of her childhood. Oh well.....It's either hate the Easter Bunny or hate Mommy and Daddy. I think that I'll choose the Easter Bunny on this one. =)

My Easter Bunny

what a slacker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry girls!!! It has been way to long since I have been on here. Things have been CRAZY lately!! I have alot to write about, but no time to do it. Hopefully I'll catch you all up on my crazy life! Are you going out tonight? Let me know what you want to do and where. I'm up for ANYTHING, as long as it's with my girls!!!!!!!!!! Let me know. Love all of ya!

Second week....

Well I'm onto the second week of my new job. It's great! I absolutely love it! There is so much to learn, but I think that I'm getting the hang of it. It's just going to take me a little while until I get my speed up. I'm very careful right now not to screw anyting up. =) All in all it's going really well. The day flies by. I'm always doing something. I love that. I can't stand to be bored. I don't mind it if it's for a short period of time, but all day...........no way! The guys are a hoot. I love just sitting back and listening to their conversations. Hilarious! I think that I'll learn a few things about how guys think from listening to them. =)

Over the weekend we went to Backstreet's and ate with Kellie and Matt. I LOVE that place! It was DELICIOUS! After dinner we came home and hung out for a while and then went to bed. I really wanted to go out for a little while since Britt's mom had Ashlyn for the night, but we couldn't find anyone to go out with us. =( Those party poopers.........Not you Kellie. You're pregnant, so I COMPLETELY understand why you didn't want to go out.

Saturday Britt went to play golf, so I went and picked Ashlyn up from Joyces. Then we headed to Hickory to get a little shopping done. I went to Kohls and got a birthday gift for Britt's dad, and a few other things for Ashlyn and myself. As soon as I got home Britt was feeling pretty good after his golf game. He shot terrible, which means he drank more. =) I packed everything up and we were ready to go to Winston to celebrate Jerry's birthday over at Kerry (Britt's sister) and Ryan's house. Ashlyn was so excited to get to spend some time with Reid and Alaina. Kerry cooked the best dinner! We were all stuffed! We had a wonderful time with everyone. Ashlyn, Reid, and Alaina played all night long! We had planned on staying the night, but around 11 we decide to just go home so that we could crawl in our own beds. We were all tuckered out once we got home. We slept like we hadn't had sleep in 10 years. Then we woke up and went to Cracker Barrell.............my favorite place for breakfast. It too was DELICIOUS!!! I absolutely love Cracker Barrell. Ashlyn does too. Everything that she saw in the store she wanted. It's "mommy look at that. Isn't it cute?", "mommy, can I have this? Look at how precious he is." She wants EVERYTHING! We did get her a ducky that swims in the bathtub. We haven't tried it out yet, but I'm sure that she'll love it. Sunday evening it was time for Ashlyn to go to children's church. She looks forward to going and seeing all of her friends there. She learns so much there. I love it, and I know that she does. It's a GREAT thing for the parents and the children.

That's my weekend. Back to the work week now. Hopefully everything will continue to go well this week at work. I'll keep you posted. Have a great week everyone!

Old and New.......

Today was the last day of my job with Deerwood Fasteners. It was a GREAT place to work. Everyone there were like family. That made it very tough to leave. I even cried. I know...........How Cheezy?

Tomorrow I will start my new job with Metal Roofing Systems. I'm very excited and a little nervous about starting this new job. It's a great opportunity! I just hope that I don't screw anything up too bad. =) It's just going to be alot to learn, but I can do it! I probably won't even be able to sleep tonight due to my nerves. =) I'll keep you posted during the day. WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update on Ashlyn

Since Monday Ashlyn has been getting a little better every day. Up until today she was still running a low grade fever, but finally today her fever has broke. I have been a VERY WORRIED mother. It is SOOOOO scary to see your child sick like this for 10 days straight and not know what's going on. THANK GOODNESS she is finally getting her strength back and beginning to get back to her normal healthy self. I had to go to the doctor Tuesday myself. I had another terrible migraine.........probably from a combination of PMS, stress, and lack of sleep. It was one of the worst headaches that I've ever had. Everyone in the doctor's office was asking me about Ashlyn. The doctor was very concerned about her. He told me that it was a nasty little virus that she had, but if she wasn't better by today he still wanted to do some further testing. We didn't take her back today since she is showing some very strong improvement. I still would like to take her sometime in the future to have some allergy testing. I really think that she may have some nasty allergies, and these allergies may be one of the reasons that her immune system is so weak. That's Dr. Mom's thoughts. =) Thanks for all of the prayers. They have definitely been working! Let's just hope and pray that she gets healthy and stays healthy from here on out!

And the story continues....

Last night Ashlyn was MISERABLE! She didn't want to go to sleep in her bed. She wanted to be right by mommy and daddy. We let her sleep on the couch while we watched our Sunday night shows. I finally picked her up off of the couch at 10:00 and put her in her bed. She whined a little and the fell right off to sleep. I woke her up at midnight to give her another dose of Tylenol for her fever. I figured that she would take the medicine and then fall right back to sleep. Well I was WRONG! She took the medicine and then cried for what seemed to be an eternity. I got her up and calmed her down. She was BURNING UP with fever. Then I put her in the bed with me and Britt slept in the extra bedroom. Neither Ashlyn or myself got any sleep last night. She tossed and turned and moaned and groaned ALL NIGHT LONG! We took her to the doctor this morning. The doctor did another blood count. Her white blood cells were still down which meant that she still has a virus. And as you know there is NOTHING that you can do for a virus except to let it run it's course. The doctor was still a little concerned that she has had it for a week now and she hasn't gotten any better. He checked her ears, throat, lungs, heart, everything. Everything seemed to look ok other than her rash and the fever. He told us to take her home and continue doing what we are already doing. If she's not better by Thursday we are to bring her back to the doctor and he is going to have her admitted to the hospital to run all sorts of tests. Please just continue to pray for her! My nerves are shot! I'm sure that she'll be fine. I just keep having the "what if" questions run through my mind. It's just the worrying of a mother for her sick child. I'll make sure to keep you posted.

Soooo.........

Ashlyn is STILL SICK!!!! Yes, my baby girl has not gotten any better since last Monday, only WORSE! The rash spread even more last week, then she started running a fever and had the rash. The doctor did tell us that she probably would run a little fever with the virus, but that she should be better in a week. It will be a week tomorrow and everyday she has gotten worse. We had to take her back to the doctor at the end of the week. The rash had gotten TERRIBLE on her bottom. The doctor thought that this was a reaction from the virus. He prescribed some cream for us to put on it twice a day. It seems to have helped a little bit, at least in that area. Mom and Dad kept her last night so that we could go out with Ida and Bradley for Bradley's birthday. I was planning on meeting my parents and Ashlyn at church this morning. The phone rang at 9:30 and it was Mom. She said that Ashlyn was burning up with a fever all night long. She only slept maybe 2 hours total. Mom said that she just moaned and cried all night long. It breaks my heart because I can't do anything to make her pain better, or make her fever go away. We've given her Tylenol and Motrin all day long. They may help for an hour and then her fever spikes back up again. We are taking her BACK to the doctor AGAIN tomorrow! If she had a little virus she should be feeling some better now instead of getting worse everyday. My nerves are SHOT! It's no fun when your child is sick, especially when she's been sick ALL WINTER LONG! She can't get better for getting sick again. Just say a prayer for her and us that she gets healthy and stays healthy for a long time. When Ashlyn doesn't feel well, our whole house is miserable! NO KIDDING! She is SOOOOOO demanding, bossy, whiny,............basically if she doesn't get her way, well were basically screwed! She will scream and cry until she does get her way. I just want my sweet, HEALTHY child back. So.......just keep us in your prayers. We NEED all of the prayers that we can get. I'll keep you posted on what the doctor says tomorrow. Hopefully he'll have a better answer for us.

So much to blog about....

Friday night Britt, Ashlyn, and I decide to go eat supper at the Olde Hickory Taproom. We had a coupon for buy one dinner and get one free. We are starting to use coupons more and more. They are really a tremendous help financially! We paid $12 for dinner. That included Britt's beer too! You can't beat that! I got a cheeseburger there. It was DELICIOUS!!!! Then we went by Blockbuster and rented a few movies. We watched The Inside Man. If you've never seen it you ought to check it out. It was a really good movie. We had a great night together as a family. On Saturday my mom was ready to get out of the house for a little while. She hasn't been anywhere in the past week other than to the doctor. So Mom, Ashlyn, and I went to Hobby Lobby. I had a picture that I wanted to have framed there. We spent almost 4 hours in this place........It really isn't that hard to do. I absolutely love this place! I had a 16x20 of Ashlyn framed in a 22x24 frame with double matting and the works. It only costs me $80.00. The people who were in line in front of me got the exact same frame and everything. They had gone to Michaels first and it was going to cost them $225 there. It was less than half of the price at Hobby Lobby. I'm telling you.........check it out! They did an awesome job on it. After shopping all day long we called Dad and Britt to see if they wanted to meet us for supper. We went to Texas Roadhouse. This is another one of my favorite places to eat. And it too was delicious. After eating we finally headed home. We weren't planning on doing much, until we got a phone call from Ida. Her and Bradley wanted to go bowling. So we took Ashlyn and met them at Pin Station. Ashlyn LOVED it! She was too cute! She actually beat Britt the first round. =) She had a few nasty falls while we were there though. First she was trying to climb out of the chair and fell on her face and busted her lip. Then she was playing with a balloon and got tripped on the string and fell right into the corner of a chair. She's so clumsy! Sunday we were all tired. We just laid around for most of the day. I took Ashlyn to Mom and Dad's Sunday afternoon. We had Kellie, Matt, Ida, and Bradley over to watch the Super Bowl. I made spaghetti and Kellie made her famous Mexican dip. We had a grand time! After the Super Bowl we went out to Windy City Sundries and had a few more drinks. Then it was back home and straight to bed.
Monday we went to pick Ashlyn up from Mom and Dad's. When we got there she had a rash all over her body, from head to toe. It looked horrible. We left and went to drop a few bids off for Britt's lawncare business. Then we went and looked at a daycare that's right down the road from our house. We are going to start her in a pre-school when she turns 3, so we wanted to check a few places out and get her on a waiting list. We really like this center. It seems to be a wonderful center. The thought scares me to death to think of her going to pre-school, but she needs to gain socialization skills and start preparing for kindergarten. After taking the tour we checked her rash and it had gotten worse. We took her on to the doctor. The doctor took one look at it and was almost positive that it was Scarlet Fever, which is a form of Strep. He did a Strep test, but it came back negative. Now they had to prick her finger. Oh what fun! She did great though. She didn't even cry! I could't believe my ears. =) They got the results from her blood work and she has some sort of virus. He said that the rash would probably get worse and will last for about a week. The doctor must love us........I mean we have paid him so much money the past few months. I swear that it's our second home. =)
More news...........I will be starting a new job in 2 weeks. I was offered the job at Metal Roofing Systems. YAY! I'm so excited! I put in my notice today. That was really difficult! The people here are great and they have been nothing but good to me! It's for the best though. I think that I'll like it down there. I will be working with a excellent group of people.
So.......that's basically it. Alot has gone on in the past few days. Hopefully this time Ashlyn will get better and not get sick again until next fall/winter.

Miss Whiny Pants

It's been another hectic week around the Cody house. When Ashlyn's sick it always an adventure. She is so whiny and demanding when she doesn't feel well. I swear that she is OBSESSED with having her nose wiped! She wants it wiped every 5 seconds. I don't know what her deal is. Her nose won't even be running and she wants it wiped. I know that her nose and mouth have to be sore. The skin is raw from where she has continuously wiped it.
You can definitely tell that she is my child by her sleeping habits. This child likes to sleep as much as me. I don't know how I got so lucky! I know that my second child probably won't sleep a wink. She has me spoiled! I just wonder if she'll sleep this well once I get her in a big girl bed? She will be 3 in June and is STILL in a crib! Is that bad? She doesn't mind it though, so we've just left it alone until now. We went over to Bibi's house about a week ago. Ashlyn and Halle had a ball together! Halle has a big girl bed, and they crawled up in her bed and played for a while. Ever since that night Ashlyn has been asking us when she's going to get a big girl bed. So.........we decided that we are going to have my old bedroom suit repainted. I figured that it's better to go that route than to buy a whole new bedroom suit. Ashlyn is so finicky though. A few months ago I just rearranged her furniture and she had a cow. She wouldn't go to sleep until we moved everything back to it's original spot, so I don't know how she'll deal with all new furniture and having a new bed. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Update

I just wanted to post an update on Mom's eye.

Thanks for all of the prayers!

She has gone back to the doctor every day to have more medicine put in and have it re-bandaged. Today when she went back the doctor said that her cornea had a 98% improvement. That's great news! We're still hopeful that she will get her vision back. There's always a chance that it may never come back, but the doctor is very positive. Just keep praying for her. They seem to be working! Thanks again!

Bless her heart!

My poor, pitiful, sick, sweet, little Ashlyn.

These are some pictures of her just laying

around being sick.

Frazzled

Where do I begin? Work has been a bitch since last Wednesday. We have had someone out Wed, Thurs, Fri, and today; which means that I get more phone calls and more orders to take care of. It just really bothers me that someone can be out for nearly a week straight from work. We all get sick, that's a given, but to be out for nearly a week at a time.........that is just uncalled for! Even if you don't feel 100% yourself, you should still give an effort to come to work. There are many days when I don't feel good, but I still come to work. If I didn't come in every time that I "don't feel good" I would be out of a job. It just gets under my skin. Sorry........I just had to get that off my chest.
Friday I received a phone call from Mom while I was at work. They weren't supposed to get in from Costa Rica until late Sunday night, so it startled me a bit when I heard her voice. She said that her and Dad were on their way home. I was puzzled........"what's wrong?" I asked. She informed me that she has had a terrible eye infection that started on Wednesday. She had gone to a doctor there, but they do not have nearly the equipment or technology like we do here. Finally by Friday, she couldn't stand the pain anymore and her vision was fading. She told Dad that she needed to come home, so they went to the airport Friday morning and booked a flight home. Britt, Ashlyn, and I went to pick them up from the Airport Friday evening. Her eye looked terrible! We called the Oncologist on call and he met us at 9:45 that night at his office in Lincolnton. The doctor wasn't really sure what was going on. He told mom to use some antibiotic drops and some drops for pain that he had prescribed for her(the doctor in Costa Rica had already given her antibiotic drops and some kind of drops for pain), and that he wanted to see her again on Saturday. She was in severe pain. She went to her appointment on Saturday. The doctor was shocked that her eye had not gotten any better, only worse. Now her cornea had an ulcer on it. He scheduled an appointment with a cornea specialists on Sunday. She went to the specialist on Sunday, and they didn't know what was going on. Every doctor that she's seen all say that they have never seen anything like this. That's just what you want to hear after coming home from a foreign country! She went to another specialist today, and they seem to think that the pain drops that the doctor in Costa Rica had given Mom were toxic. Here in the US, that drug is unheard of. That's the exact word that the doctor used........"toxic". So.........they still really don't know what's going on with her eye. The doctor wants to see her everyday for the next week or two. Just keep her in your prayers. Hopefully it will begin to heal on it's own, and she won't have permanent damage to her vision.
Ashlyn is sick AGAIN!!!!! I swear.........she finally got better from her bout with the flu. It took her nearly a month to completely get over the cough and runny nose. This weekend it started all over again. Her nose is RAW, completely raw, from her wiping it so much. Bless her little heart! I just hope and pray that it's just a little cold and not something worse! Just call us the sickling family. LOL =)

Was it Really Him?

Saturday night I had the strangest dream. My Pappaw Sherrill died when I was 19. He was extraordinary man. He LOVED his grandkids, Kyle and me! We were his life, well other than his dogs. He had dogs for coon hunting, water racing dogs, he had all kinds of dogs that were worth tons of money! I remember him trading dogs all of the time. He would trade a dog for a truck, a gun, a motorcycle.......basically anything depending on how many races the dog had won. My pappaw was the funniest man ever! He didn't have any teeth. My mammaw bought him a set of dentures, but he just threw them away. He would grin that toothless grin. I miss him sooooo much! On Saturday night I had a dream about him. Just out of the blue. It was the wildest thing. I dreamed that we had been living our lives all of these years without him around, and then out of the blue he walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around in total shock........there stood my Pappaw Sherrill right in front of me. All of these years without him and then there he was. He had the biggest grin on his face. The same look that he always had when he got excited. He looked me straight in the eyes and gave me the biggest hug. Then he told me "Min....you've grown up so much. I'm so proud of you! Look at Ashlyn and how beautiful she is!" He looked exactly the same in my dream. Had the same expressions. It was the strangest thing. My question is, was it really him, communicating with me through my dreams? How do we know? Maybe it was or maybe it wasn't, but I know one thing.......I miss that man more than anything! That dream brought him back into my life. I hope that he continues to talk to me and watch over my family. I'm sure that he's up in heaven looking down on me chuckling. That's the kind of man he was. I love you Pappaw and I miss you!

Wacky Weekend

Girls......I had so much fun Friday night! Everytime that I go out with you girls I laugh so hard that I'm sore the next day. I'm not kidding! That says either one of two things......either we have WAY to much fun when we go out, or I am WAY out of shape. LOL!!! It's probably a little of both!
Saturday Ashlyn and I got up and went to Wal-mart. I absolutely hate going there, but they have the best prices on groceries.......so in order to save a little money I go there and always ask myself why I went there as I'm leaving. I have to say that it wasn't nearly as bad as it normally is. I think it's because the new Wal-mart opened in Conover, so I'm sure that everybody's going to check it out. After grocery shopping we went home and basically did NOTHING! I was so bored. Normally I like to have days like that, but Saturday wasn't one of those days. I really didn't even care to take a nap, which is not normal at all for me. I laid Ashlyn down for her nap while I made some chicken salad. I don't know what it is lately, but I have been craving chicken salad. It is the kind that Britt's mom makes. I swear it is the best chicken salad that I've ever eaten. Britt told me that I had finally made it just right this go round. YES!!!!
Mom and Dad are in Costa Rica right now on a mission trip. They left on Friday so we are keeping Symba while they are gone. He's usually no trouble at all, and I figured that it would be good for him and Rudy to have one another to play with. WELL......let me tell you these dogs have been nothing but TROUBLE! Rudy does not care anything for Symba. He just growls any time that Symba gets close to him. Now both of them are house trained. I wake up Sunday morning and while I'm in the bathroom getting ready I get a whiff of the worst smell that I've smelled in a long time. I had just let both of the stupid dogs out, but since it was raining they hurried and ran right back inside. I peek my head in the kitchen to check on them and Symba had pooped in the middle of our dining room floor! The smell was AWFUL!!!!!! I was gagging while cleaning it up. Ashlyn's dirty diapers smell like roses compared to this odor. Then I look around and Rudy had peed in the floor. UGGGHHHH!!!! I was about ready to kill them both! I cleaned up both messes. Then I got Ashlyn up and got her ready. We went to Mammaw Sherrill's for Annette's birthday lunch. We had the best time over there talking and laughing about old times. I just love my family! When we arrived back at the house I walked in and still smelled a foul odor. I looked all around for more doggy doo, but nothing. I let Rudy out of his kennel and low and behold he had pooped all in it. It was all over him, all over his blanket. I was so aggravated!!!!!!!!! What is up with these dogs????? I thought that it was going to be an easy time with Symba, but it looks like it's going to be a VERY LONG WEEK!!!!

Mood and Emotions

Since I've had my IUD removed I have felt so much more like my old self. You wouldn't believe the difference. I can't believe that a device that small could have such side effects. The IUD and I have one of those love/hate relationships. The #1 thing about the IUD was that I did not have a period the entire time that I had it, which was a little over 2 years. That was GREAT, but boy did it make me moody! I am just amazed at the difference in my moods after having it removed! I honestly don't know how I didn't drive Britt completely insane, hell I drove myself insane because I would get so upset over nothing. I would get so frustrated with myself for feeling the way I did. If I would have known that the darn IUD was causing all of that I would have had it removed a long time ago! =)
I feel like my life is taking on a whole new chapter. It's kind of hard to explain right now, but let's just say that I think this year is going to bring a few new changes. And NO......I'm not pregnant. Things are just finally beginning to come together for me. I'll tell you girls all about it when we meet on Friday! I can't wait for that! Just thinking about all of us bowling makes me laugh out loud! LOL!!!!
I've also signed up with a company called Just Ducky. They are based out of Asheville. I'm going to be a sales-rep/hostess for their company. They sell an amazing line of children's clothing. They mail me the trunk show pieces (fabric swatches, styles of clothing, etc.) and I host home/trunk shows and sell their line. Everyone mark your calendars. I will have the show Feb. 15-18. I will be able to take any orders during this time period. If you or anyone you know would be interested in attending or hosting a show in your home please let me know. Britt's sister buys from this line every year. She's the one who told me about the company. I'm telling you......this line is AWESOME! Check it out for yourself. www.justduckyoriginals.com .

Ashlyn's earrings

It was finally time to get Ashlyn's ears pierced. She had been asking about having earrings for a while. She sees all of the little girls at church with their pretty earrings, and was always asking when she could have some earrings too. I finally gave in. I told Britt that I wasn't going to get her ears pierced until she started asking about it......and since she is ALL GIRL I decided that it was finally the perfect time. We went on Saturday afternoon. She did GREAT. She cried for a split second, but once she looked in the mirror and saw her "big girl" earrings those tears stopped in no time. These aren't the best pics, but I wanted to post a few of Ashlyn and her earrings.
Moriah - I really need you to look at my camera sometime. It is starting to take the crappiest pictures. Also, tell me what kind of camera to get for our next one. I think that I'm going to ask for one for Valentine's Day or my birthday.

Favorites

I had heard people talking about this store in Hickory off of Hwy 127 called Hobby Lobby. They carry fabric and craft supplies, plus they carry home accent furniture and decor. Let me tell you......This place is my new favorite store. It is HUGE inside! They carry trunks, accent tables, shelves, candle holders, mirrors, pictures, picture frames, vases, floral arrangements.....I could go on and on. The items look like pieces out of pottery barn and pier one. If you haven't been there before, you DEFINITELY need to check it out. I could not believe the items and the GREAT DEALS that they offered. I was looking at a trunk or a sofa table for our living room. It is REALLY bare right now and we need some new furniture in there to help spunk it up a bit. Anyway......they looked like the exact same thing that you would find in pottery barn, but less than half of the cost that you would pay there. I'm telling you I fell in love with this place. And the best thing......they have sales ALL OF THE TIME. And the items that are on sale aren't cheesy items that no one would want to buy. They are actually great bargains on great items. I just wanted to fill everyone in on my new find.

New Year's and More....

This weekend flew by! Friday evening was the Black's Christmas get together. It's always fun going to see all of that side of the family. They are a hoot! Sherry's always there, and you know there is never a dull moment with her. She was showing us her scars from bowling. LOL! They had all taken Collins, Mitchell's little boy, bowling over Christmas break. Well, Sherry was trying to help Collins roll the ball down the lane and all of a sudden Collins went running down the bowling lane, and Sherry went running after him. Need I say more!?!?! Sherry completely busted her tail. She had bruies all down her arm, a broken tail bone, and a busted lip. I would love to see a video of that. I can see it now. Thank goodness she's ok! She's just really sore.
Friday night we went over to Steven and Rebecca's. They were having people over to play cards and just hang out with friends. It was a fun, but tiring night. Saturday Ashlyn still wasn't feeling back to her normal self, so her and I just laid around all day while Britt went to play golf. We had dinner with some friends at River Crest Country Club. It was the best food I think I've ever had! After dinner the guys came back to the house to watch football and the girls went to watch a movie. We decided on 'The Holidays'. It is going on my favorites list Girls....You've definitely got to check it out! It was GREAT! The only thing that sucked was coming back to reality.....our beer drinking men with no romantic bone in their bodies after we left the movie. =)
For New Years we went to Catawba Country Club for their annual New Year's Party. I really wasn't sure how much fun we would have....I mean how much fun is it to hang out with a bunch of old yuppies? The answer....REALLY FUN!!! There weren't nearly as many older people there as I thought there would have been. You paid in full and got as much food and drinks as you wanted plus a limo ride home. You can't beat that! And the best part is that we didn't get kicked out. I'm kind of surprised that we didn't with all of the craziness that was going on in our group. =)
Monday I took down all of our Christmas decorations. I love the decorating, but I HATE taking all of that crap down! It's such a pain. That's my weekend. Ashlyn is finally beginning to eat again. It's taken her a while to build her strength back up. I hope that we are done with any sicknesses for the next year. We've had enough to deal with the past month to cover for a whole year.

Happy New Year!!!!

Are things ever going to settle down after the Holidays???? =)

Christmas was a blast. I'll start from Saturday. Kathy had a Christmas party at Windy City Sundries in Hickory, and since Britt had to work Ida and I went together. Talk about fun......get Ida and me together and we are trouble, but in a good way! We had the best time that night. I wasn't planning on drinking that much, but by the end of the night I was feeling PRRREETTY good! We ran into, of all people, Candace there. It was kind of awkward at first but once we all had a few drinks in us it was like old times.
I got up Sunday morning and went to church. Then came home and got everything together for Christmas Eve at my Mammaw and Pappaw Drum's house. It's one of our family traditions......spending Christmas Eve at their house. I LOVE IT! We eat, open gifts, and then head to church for the candlelight service. Ashlyn was so excited. She didn't know which present to open next. She liked all of them, but her favorite was a my little pony doll that was bigger than the regular my little ponies are. You could fix her long pink hair. Whitney and Derek got it for her. She kept saying "this is my favorite pony ever!" Cute!!!
After all of the festivities at Mammaw's and Pappaw's we went over to Mom and Dad's to open our gifts over there. They went all out this year. I got a gift certificate to the spa. WHOO HOO! Britt got a gift card for some tools. We both also got clothes and a few odds and in things. Ashlyn got a pop-up playhouse, baby chimp, clothes, and a few other things. By this point I had NO clue where we were going to put all of these toys, and we weren't even halfway over.
Santa brought Ashlyn her gifts for Christmas morning. She was grinning from ear to ear. She got a Fisher Price art Easel that talks and does all kinds of neat things, the tj bearytales bear that tells you stories, a star station (it hooks up to the tv and she can watch herself sing and dance on the television screen with her microphone). She loves seeing herself in pictures, or on video.
Then we were off to the Cody's lunch. It was great seeing Pauline and all of the family. After lunch there we went down to Mammaw Sherrills and opened gifts there. Ashlyn opend a ton of presents over there. She got so many toys! I honestly don't know how all of this is going to fit in our house. =)
Next we went to Britt's Mom's for Christmas dinner. We ate some delicious food, and then opened presents and enjoyed the company of one another. Over there Ashlyn got 2 cabbage patch dolls and alot of nice outfits. She played with her cousins Reid and Alain all evening. She loves them sooooo much! She thinks that she can do anything that they can do.
We all went to bed after our exhausting day.
Tuesay we were supposed to go to the Drum Christmas Get together. I may have missed it once the whole 27 years that I've been going. Ashlyn was exhausted though. She kept telling me that she wanted to go nite nite in her bed. So I laid her down and I took a little nap too. There was just no point to take her when she was going to be miserable at the dinner.
That evening we drove to Britts dad's house in Taylorsville to do our Christmas with them. We grilled steaks. They were sooooo good! Ashlyn and her cousins got to play a little longer before they headed back to Clemmons. She got a few more toys from Pappaw and Treva. She absolutely loves her shopping cart. She strolls it all through the house.
I went back to work Wednesday. It was fairly slow. I'm hoping that most places are shut down this week. Next week will probably be pure hell at work once everyones back to all of the major companies.
I ended up being out of work today because Ashlyn is sick, yes again! UGGGGHHHH! She had been running a fever. I came in from the doctor today and she puked all over me. We cleaned it up. A few minutes later, she puked all over our chair and a half, and so on. So now that we've battled the flu, she now has a freaking stomach virus. And let me tell you, THIS IS NOT FUN!
Hopefully she'll start feeling better very soon! I sure hope so. Having a 2 1/2 year olf vommitting uncontrolably is not my cup of tea!
So that's my Christmas in a nutshell. Hope you aren't pulling your hair out after reading this. =)

Oh - and on top of everything else, I did have my IUD taken out today......we'll see how that goes. FUN FUN!!!! It's nonstop at the Cody house.

Wishing all of you a happy new year!!!!!!