Happy Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day!

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day!

It is hard to believe that three years ago this week, our little Christopher was born. The next day we were told of some news that would forever change our life and the way we look at it...

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect in America. Nearly 1 out of every 85 babies are born with a Congenital Heart Defect in the United States. More than 50% of all children born with a congenital heart defect will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime. Our son was one of them, Christopher Patrick was born as what we thought to be a healthy baby boy on February 16, 2006. Later that evening, I decided to send him to the nursery so I could get some much needed rest. While he was in the nursery, a nurse heard what sounded like a heart murmur. As a precaution, our pediatrician asked that a pediatric cardiologist listen to Christopher to determine if the sound was anything serious. We were informed that many babies are born with these abnormalities and that most of the time the heart continues to perform adequately, allowing the child to live a normal, active life. This was not the case for Christopher. After Dr. Brumund, the pediatric cardiologist, examined Christopher we learned that he had four defects in his heart that were not allowing his body to receive adequate oxygen. He was diagnosed as having Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the 35 different types of congenital heart defects. Little is known about the cause of Congenital Heart Defects and there is not a cure for any of them. Many of them can be managed and monitored and some innocent murmors can dissolve on their own, but unfortunately, no cure for CHDs. We were blind sighted by this because, throughout the pregnancy, we thought we had a healthy baby. Instead, we were informed that Christopher would have to have open heart surgery soon and the best pediatric cardiac surgeon for Christopher's case was located in Boston. The thought of our newborn son going to have such an extensive procedure brought many questions of logistics, the future, and of course, probability. We began to wonder...."Would our son make it through this surgery and if he does, will he be able to live a 'normal' life?" We had worried how David, Christopher's three year old big brother, would react to his "new" brother. We now had the added fear and guilt of having to leave David behind with his Grandparents to help care for Christopher in Boston.

Christopher's open heart surgery lasted over seven hours in Boston. Our time was spent praying and waiting, only to be interrupted by a brief update of the procedure and the comfort of the arrival of David and his Grandparents. A big sigh of relief was breathed as the surgeon approached us with the greeting, "He is OK!!" Although Christopher's stay in Boston had a few unforeseen delays, our baby's heart would end up functioning on its own and relatively normal!

This week, Christopher will be celebrating his third birthday with his six year old brother David and his two year old little brother, Jacob. He enjoys running, climbing, rough-housing and any other typical active little boy activity.

I am so thankful that we sent Christopher to the nursery and we are forever grateful for the wonderful and thorough nurses at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge for detecting Christopher's heart defects. 1 in 10 babies who die from CHDs in the first year are not diagnosed until death. This could have easily been the case with Christopher. Some of these babies could be saved by a simple non-invasive pulse oximetry test or echo cardiogram, but for some reason they are not routinely performed. We were also blessed to have Dr. Brumund, the pediatric cardiologist on call that weekend of his birth. Early detection is one of the keys to survival with Congenital Heart Defects. Although I wouldn't wish a Congenital Heart Defect on anyone- it has truly enriched and made us re-prioritize our life...and for that, I am thankful.

...That was a written up for a local publication...Here is where we need your help! Congenital Heart Defects are a very serious problem, far more common and killing more children than ALL of the childhood cancers combined. I know that three years ago this very day, I did not know anything about children having heart disease. I had never met anyone that had a CHD child and I never in a million years would have thought that I would have a child born with a heart defect (much less four!!). Christopher ended up being the one of 25,000 that were born that year alone.

Many of you remember the many e-mails and pleas about us organizing the first fundraiser for the Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation. On March 26-29, we will be hosting the third annual LPCF Tennis Tournament at the Country Club of Louisiana. If you play tennis, the players have had a great time the past two years. If you don't play tennis, you are welcome to attend our Gala at CCLA on Saturday, March 28. Tickets will be available soon. If you have a business and would like to help sponsor this major event - we need your help to help the local CHD families!!

Your financial support is so very important, but if you can't give financially, please consider helping by keeping us in your prayers or another important way - GIVE BLOOD! All of our children that have open heart surgeries are given blood transfusions. The cheesy gifts and t-shirts they give don't compare to the fact that you could have been the one that helped save my son's life!

For more information on LPCF, click on our website below. If you click on my name you'll be rerouted to another CHD website (not local) that has a lot of great info too!

Happy Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day!
Julie

http://www.lpcf.com/

WHY? For every dollar provided by the national medical funding arm of the American government, the National Institute of Health (NIH), only one penny is provided for pediatric research, and only a portion of that penny goes to support research on heart defects, the most common birth defect. (Children's Heart Foundation)

Christopher's Surgery Went Well

This morning Christopher had another set of tubes put in and his adenoids taken out. He did great. The pediatric cardiologist had warned us that he would have arrhythmia's during the anesthesia, so as any Mom would be, I was filled with a bit of anxiety. My neighbor is an anesthesiologist and had comforted me quite a bit about the location of the surgery not making that much of a difference, since it is near the hospital. As soon as we arrived in the parking lot, Christopher was upset. "No Man, No Man". The surgery center is at the same location where he had some throat scopes done a few months ago. He did not forget! :) Once we got into the big surgery waiting room he was fine and even better when got to the back in a pre-op room. He was clowning around and playing with the nurses.

This morning I let him choose what comfort item he wanted to bring. We usually bring Mickey Mouse to the doctor with us but this morning he wanted to bring his Diego card. It is actually a birthday invitation, but I let him bring it anyway. Whatever made him happy. When the nurse came to get him, he went straight to her to show her his invitation. They went together to show the doctor. I had warned him ahead of time that only big kids could go back there to see the cool Doctor tools. They don't even let Mommys! According to his surgeon, he never got upset or cried until he was coming out of the anesthesia. His surgeon said he did hold on to his Diego invitation the entire time! They watched him closely and the anesthesiologist said he did great. No dip in his O2 levels and no fluctuations in his rhythm either! We were back at home by lunch time and he was jumping on the bed with David and Jacob by 2:00! That is my tough man... until it came time for a nap, then he put on his pouty face and showed me his bobo. The bandage on his arm from the IV. I fell for it and he and David are resting in my bed watching a movie instead of "sleeping" in their rooms.

While I was waiting at the Surgery Clinic, David's principal called. Yesterday morning he was sent home from school because he had fever. I went to pick him up and he had a temperature of 99.3. I personally don't consider that a fever- possibly an elevated temperature, but not fever! I picked him up anyway, just in case he was coming down with something. Nope, instead I ended up staying home from Bible Study and missing a baby shower for him to stay home and run around like a normal wild child. Since he was fine yesterday and last night, I brought him to school before Christopher and I headed to the Surgery Center. Twenty minutes later she called. Brad stayed at home with Jacob, so after I received the call, he ran and picked David up too. The principal said he "looks like he is getting sick". I am sorry, but "looking" like you are getting sick does not sound like a good enough reason to keep a child home from school and I'd suggest any adults that may be reading this...Don't use that excuse to try and get off of work!!!He does not have a fever (or even an elevated temperature) no signs or symptoms of ANY illness, but now he has missed two days of school! Now, in their defense, on Monday he had nine children in his class that were out sick with either the flu or strep throat. So in some ways I don't mind him staying home to avoid exposure to those illnesses. I can appreciate them being so pro-active at the first signs of illness. But today, why? Today was his 100th day of school and they were suppose to have some fun games and a party. He is upset that he missed it!

BOYS! Instead of using a basketball, he dunks himself!

I have a problem...

Thanks to my friend for posting that she just made cookies...I ran to my kitchen to bake some cookie dough. When I went to open the tub, there wasn't even enough to make two cookies. I have a problem of grabbing a spoonful here and there throughout the day...or so I thought. You see, tonight is when I realized that I have hit rock bottom. I wasn't mad because my sons were unable to help bake cookies with me. I was upset, because every night after everyone goes to bed I grab a huge serving spoon and start dipping it out...and spooning it straight into my mouth. Hey - at least I use a spoon!! I DO live in a house full of boys that wouldn't care if I didn't!

As I was starting to have an anxiety attack, worrying about not being able to have my raw cookie dough tonight - I went to shut the refrigerator door and noticed out of the corner of my eye...in the extreme, WAAAAY far back...a tube of sugar cookie dough. No, it is not my first choice (that would be Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough). But it suddenly calmed my nerves. In honor of my findings, I decided to celebrate. So I sat down in front of the TV with a teaspoon (they work best with the tubes) and my tube of sugar cookie dough...

Here I am two hours later with an empty tube of sugar cookie dough. Well, at least it wasn't a tub!! I have finally hit rock bottom. I can no longer blame my constant weight fluctuation on the Hashimoto's Disease that I was diagnosed with a few years ago. It is really the RCDD (Raw Cookie Dough Disease) Yes, my dear friends...it is because I am addicted to raw cookie dough! Just when I think I have finally overcome my addiction, I relapse. I realize that I have a problem and need help...I need a chaperone to accompany me to Sam's Club, from now on.

I don't have a clever title this time....

What a busy week. Last week when I posted, it was our anniversary. I had to go to a continuing education class on our anniversary, so Brad stayed home with the boys. Christopher had a fever and was feeling puny so we decided not to leave him with a sitter that night. David insisted since it our wedding birthday that we should go out. When we asked him where we should go, he said what any typical man thinks...but doesn't suggest on their own anniversary....Yep, we went to Cabela's hunting store. The boys love going and looking at the animals and fish. When we got in there David wanted to be in charge and so we let him lead. He led us straight to the shooting arcade. He will make an excellent husband one day! :) After Cabela's we all went out for family dinner at Outback. The nicest restaurant we can bring the boys too and not disturb others.

Brad brought Christopher to the pediatrician on Tuesday. She said he has another ear infection. It is probably the same one that he has had since November (possibly earlier). He is fine while he is on the antibiotics and then a few days after the prescription - it returns! She sent us to the ENT for him to get another set of tubes. I brought him to the ENT and he will have his tubes put in next Wed. She suggested that we get his adenoids removed too. The tubes are noninvasive, but the adenoids will cause it to be a little more dangerous for him. Brad and I were reminiscing just the day before about his open heart surgery (we were doing a story for the BR Parents Magazine for CHD Awareness Day). Brad mentioned how Christopher bled profusely and caused some problems during his surgery. So now, I have that in the back of my mind. Hopefully we won't have any bleeding problems. All three of the boys have had tubes put in and it is a very quick procedure. David had his adenoids taken out at the same time and he was outside playing the same afternoon. I know that we have been through far more complicated surgeries than this...but it still causes some anxiety! We'll go to the cardiologist tomorrow to get him "cleared" for anesthesia.

On Friday, we were invited to a play date at the Governor's Manson. Bobby and Supriya's four year old son was born with one of the heart defects Christopher has. Supriya is the spokesperson for our LA Pediatric Cardiology Foundation. We are gearing up for our annual fundraiser and preparing for National CHD Awareness Week next month. We were able to film a lot for the 30 minute special that will air next month (6:30 PM, February 26 on WAFB). Christopher had a great time playing on their huge tree house. Bobby (Gov. Jindal!) helped us out before he was governor and since he is kind of busy these days...she has picked up where he isn't able to anymore. She is such a super sweet lady and has does so much for our foundation...I hope she becomes our new first lady for the country in 2012!

Saturday morning David had his second basketball game. He is really good this year and enjoys it. They lower the goal down to a reachable height and practice right before the game. That way the kids can actually use the skills that they learn in practice immediately! He is still taking tennis lessons too; so it seems as though we are NEVER home. This week I have Board meetings tonight and Thursday night, LPCF meetings tomorrow, David has tennis on Tuesday, Basketball on Thursday, Brad and I are going to the Hornet's game on Wednesday....UGGGG!!! The last week of the month is extremely hectic here!!!

With the little boys birthdays coming up, we decided to give them a big boy room for their birthday. Their beds came in a few weeks ago and so they are now sharing a room. They adjusted quickly and although they just play and hangout at nap time instead of sleeping, I don't mind since we are now using the fourth bedroom to hide all of their toys. I am excited about finishing their new room. Their dresser has been on back order and should be in next week! Then I'll have a place for all of their laundry!!! I am hoping that when Cathy comes to stay with us next month - she can show me her excellent painting skills...I am such a slow learner, I may have to have her show me a few times! :) Since the little boys got "Big Boy" beds, we got rid of the guest bed and Jacob's toddler bed. I had asked Brad one evening if he knew of anyone that needed the toddler bed. David overheard and said we should save it for our next baby. I told him we weren't having anymore babies and he threw a fit! I asked him what was wrong and he was mad because he "doesn't have his sister yet". So...if anyone has a sister that David can borrow every once a while, we need one. I have a feeling, he'd be glad to pass her back quickly. Just the other night we went to watch the Harlem Globetrotters and we bought a souvenir basketball. On the way home, Jacob wanted to hold and David was upset because he assumed that it was "HIS". I pointed out that they could ALL share it and play with it together and he yelled, why did you have to give me brothers!?!

Brad stealing the Harlem Globetrotters' Fans...

No need to buy seats for everyone...they just sit in MY seat!?! Unfortunately, everyone over 2 had to have a ticket - even if they don't use the seat.

Seven Years Ago Today...I turned into a Wife!

That's right folks, seven years ago today we got hitched. I remember the first time I saw Brad like it was yesterday. It was back in 1998. I worked in the Mall Management Office at Prien Lake Mall (Lake Charles) and he came in to inquire about leasing space. After he left, my boss and I were discussing how excited we were about Chick-fil-A coming in to the mall...I mentioned that I was pretty excited about the guy that was coming in along with it!! :) I'm still a big fan!! A mutual friend of ours (Lionel, the maintenance man) ended up playing match maker for us. Lionel called me one day to say that he hoped I didn't mind, but he passed my phone number to Brad....of course I didn't mind. I had already made plans for that night and ended up staying home to wait for Brad to call me....yeah, that's pretty lame!! He didn't even call either!!! A few days later, he was in my office and asked me out...finally!!!

A few months later my home office found out that we were dating. It was against their policy for salaried marketing or management employees to date tenants. ...conflict of interest...according to them I could have given Brad some confidential info about others leases and things that would have been beneficial to him! I wouldn't have done that though :) We were only dating and I HAD to have a job! Once I figured out that he was worth keeping around, I ended up switching jobs to manage an apartment compex.

....Here is where the good part starts...so on September 11, 2001 (THE 9/11), my home office came into town to announce that the entire apartment complex staff was being "laid off"!! Ummm, when you loose your job as a Property Manager, you also loose free rent, health insurance and a paycheck!! I was pretty stressed and upset about loosing my job and scared about the 9/11 events!!! I went to Brad's house to try and figure out what I was going to do. I mentioned that I should be more carefree like my twin sis that had just moved to Maine on a whim...hmmm maybe I could go stay with her!! He and I were going to head to my parents house to annouce that I would be moving back in with them...only option I could think of... until Brad reached into his duffle bag and pulled out an engagement ring. "wanna get married and stay here"? Yep, that is MY romantic man!! :) According to him, he had the ring for about six months and was just waiting for the perfect time to get engaged....I never imagined myself getting engaged sitting in the driveway of his house...but it was "perfect".

....Fast forward four months later and we had a very small (family only - so don't get upset if you weren't invited!!) ceremony where he and I committed ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives! Today begins year seven of it...

Sure, our marriage has been through a lot of rollar coaster moements and lots and lots of stress, but there is no one else that I would rather run home too, cry with, tell my deepest secrets too, laugh and be silly with or have sitting by my side for the rest of my life than Brad...He is the most generous, caring, attractive, good hearted family man and I am super lucky to be able to call him my husband!

Not only do I get to call him husband, but he is also my baby daddy and boy is he a great daddy! I could not have picked a better leader for the frat house!

6 years ago today....I turned into a Mother!!

Well it's official...David is now two hands! He can no longer describe his age by holding up one hand. We had his birthday party Sunday at Jump and Jive, he was (and still is) confused about having two birthdays. He doesn't understand that we couldn't do his party on his birthday because of school. Actually, he is still confused about what a birthday is. I tried explaining to him that this is the day that I had to go to the hospital and get him out. His response was, why didn't you wait until summer so I could have a swimming party.
This morning, before school, we allowed him to open his gift. As he was opening it he said, "I know what it is...a BB gun". Nope!!! Golf Clubs. Yep, he has his own set of golf clubs and a cute case thingy to carry them in. He and Brad are going to a club this Sunday to try them out. I am not sure who is more excited, David or Brad!! I'm not too upset either, once the younger two are old enough for them-they can ALL go hang out on a golf course and I'll be home alone....Something I only dream about now! :) ....Anyway, back to David's birthday, he has planned out the entire day for us. First, he had to open his present before school. Then, we all had to meet him at school for lunch. The little boys and I do that often, but today Daddy joined us to eat lunch with him too. As soon as we pick him up from school he wants to practice his golf swing "for about 20 minutes", change clothes and then go to the movies and see Bolt. I am not a movie person and I am not too excited about bringing Christopher and Jacob to the theater either!! They are not fans of TV, so I can only imagine how the theater is going to be!! After dinner, we will be eating a nice home cooked meal...at Cracker Barrel. One of his favorite restaurants (other one being Piccadilly).

Thanks to everyone that sent him cards and gifts. I am working on Thank You notes today!!Sister, when he was opening yours he wanted to know if it was from Sierra (her dog) too! He loves to get mail. KK, I brought yours with me when I went to pick him up from school yesterday, he was sooooooo excited. "She remembers me?!?!...did you know that KK doesn't like milk?" We are going to use the gift cards Friday after school! For those of you newbies, KK was the Super Nanny!! When people would see her out with the boys they would always tell us how good she was with them! We had the BESTEST babysitter in the world! When I wanted to go back to work, she watched Jacob (he was too young for Mom's Day Out) and would pick up the others from school. They LOVED her and so did/do we!!! We were very lucky to have her; I really...no REALLY needed a break in those times...didn't realize how bad until I look back! She was a lifesaver!!!

What is you Wii Fit Age????

Santa brought me a Wii Fit. It is a "game" that includes yoga, aerobics, snowboarding, etc. to get you in shape. It has a calendar and will keep all of your data in the system for you (your age, weight, goals, target weight, etc). It will calculate your "age" based on your BMI (that it calculates for you!), balance skills, posture, etc. Anyway, the freakin' thing said I was 45!!! That is 14 years older than I am. Brad just happened to be sitting on the couch as I was doing it and saw the 45. He laughed so hard, until it was his turn. It calculated him as obese and 55!! We hadn't used it since Christmas and so when Brad and I came back from Atlanta and eating junk all during the holidays it pointed out that I had gained a pound. It then asked me why, giving me a few excuses..eating too much, lazy, not exercising, etc... It then told me that according to my goal - I should be decreasing my weight instead of increasing! Even though it tells me things that I'd rather not hear and shows numbers that I'd rather not affiliate with myself...it is a pretty cool "game".



Sunday night, Christopher wasn't his usual self and since Brad and I were leaving town for a few days, I wanted to make sure that he was OK. I feel bad enough leaving the boys behind, but would hate to leave a sick one behind too! Last month when he went to the ENT to get the vocal scopes and we were told on two different occasions that he also had an ear infection. The ENT mentioned that he had a bunch of junk in his ears and he couldn't really see the tube that well. I told my pediatrician and she agreed that she couldn't even tell if the tube was still in. She cleaned out his ear really good and noticed that the tube actually had a bunch of gunk (sorry, I don't know the technical term for ear boogers) still attached to it. She literally pulled the tube out of his ear (it was coming out anyway) and then cleaned the ears out really good with a solution thing. Christopher did not enjoy it but it made him feel better almost immediately!! She gave him a shot and sent us home with some antibiotics for him. We are going to wait until the end of next month to decide if we want to do another set of tubes. She'd rather not do it unless it is really necessary because of the risk associated with the anesthesia and his heart. I agree- but since he did fine last time and we saw how much of a difference it made, I am for him getting another set if he continues to have ear infections. They'll do it at Our Lady of the Lake and his cardiologist would be on "stand-by". It is a very minor procedure last all of about 10 minutes. Last time he stayed at the hospital for four or five hours after and was fine.




Brad and I went to Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Bowl game this past week. Since it would take just as long for us to fly (checking in, layover, car rental booth and of course the delays at the Atlanta airport!!) we just drove the seven hours to get there. I'd rather drive with him anyway, we have fun on roadtrips. Brad has become a real pro at the horn honking game. He honks a song and I have to guess what it is. He kept with the holiday tunes so I won every time!! Sometimes he'd try to slip in a rock song by Aerosmith, but he was laughing so hard he messed it up.

Since LSU played in the Chick-fil-A bowl and Brad has the LSU store, Truett Cathy (founder of Chick-fil-A) invited us to attend his Tailgate Party and watch the game in his suite. We got up to his suite and Brad knew most of the people in there - I on the other hand didn't know anyone other than Truett and his grandkids. We sat right next to the guy that started Camp Winshape, a summer camp that Brad went to as a kid. I tried my best to represent Brad (and LSU) well, but once the LSU band started it was football time and it was obvious my cheers were for their opposing team! Brad and I were the only ones wearing purple! Chick-fil-A is based out of Atlanta and so is Georgia Tech. The game was still super fun and even though we were the only ones cheering most of the time (38 LSU -3 GA Tech). We sat next to Truett's grandson and his friend kept mentioning how embarrassed they were...yep, my boys at LSU can do that!! Geaux LSU!!



Well it is a new year, 2008 was much better than 2007 and I am hoping they continue that way! The fears of the economy and still the uncertainty of the mall bankruptcy start it off a little stressful - but we have much more to be thankful for! Brad's store did GREAT in 2008 - the best year so far with huge sales and profit increases! The boys are all doing well heath wise...I think! Sure we all have colds and earaches but after visiting the kids at the hospital with the Cow at Christmas, I realized how much we truly have to be thankful for. We had a few friends over last night, one is a doctor and one is a PICU nurse at Our Lady of the Lake. They pointed out that a few of the kids that we saw had been there for over 300 days...That is almost a Year!!! It really puts things into perspective. There is always someone out there that has things a lot worse than we do!



School starts back up on Monday and after two weeks of the boys going to bed at 11PM and waking up at 9, it will probably be a tough week. David starts the spring league of tennis this week and basketball starts next week. Christopher will start going to tennis lessons next month-maybe, we are going to see how he does. If he is too much of a distraction to the others, we'll wait and try again in the fall. He will be in the same pee-wee group that David used to be in. I'm thinking since he has been so many times to watch David he'll be OK. We'll see though!! I can't believe my middle man is old enough to start tennis lessons!! :(



This year will probably be the first of many more hectic ones to come. How does it work with three children on three different sports or teams? Sure Brad and I can split up with two, but who will be watching the third child's game??? I guess I have a few months to try and figure it out or think of ways to convince the coach that Christopher and Jacob should be on the same team...and convince Christopher and Jacob that they want to participate in the same sport! :)


Happy New Year!!!

Finally A Christmas Update...

I haven't posted in a while. I am enjoying the Holidays too much to take a moment to update. Christmas was GREAT! I guess now that it has past I can give you the real story of my birthday gift (the three stone necklace). I kinda knew about my gifts before hand...You see a little birdie told me! :) I couldn't post it though because then Brad would know about his gift! David and I went to Lee Michael's to pick out a watch for Brad (for Christmas). While we were in there I looked around at other stuff too. David pointed at a necklace and asked if I liked it. He always does that so I didn't think anything of it. After I told him yes I like it, he said well that is kind of like the one we got you except it has three diamonds on it. One for each kid. I just laughed and told him NOT to tell Dad about the watch. Later that SAME day, after checking the mail we were looking at a catalog, David asked if I liked a robe. I said yes, he said that it was like the one that he got me except a different color I though it was funny especially since it happened twice in one day!! Those were the only two I knew about.




A picture of the Sistas taken by David!

My sisters came in for Christmas. One lives in Alaska (well she just moved to Indiana a couple of months ago) and my twin sis lives in Maine. We also have a brother, but he is stationed in Korea and was unable to come home for Christmas. We are rarely all together. Hopefully next Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we opened our gifts....I just can't wait until Christmas morning and I thought it would be kind of mean to have the kids open their gifts, see what Santa brought them and then have to leave fifteen minutes later to head over to the west side of the state to see my family. ...OK...so we open our gifts EVERY year on Christmas Eve because I can't wait twelve more hours!!! I was handed the first gift and before I could open it David said push play, push play!! Brad got upset and I had no clue what he was talking about until I opened it. It is a flip camera. When I pushed play it was a movie of the boys saying Merry Christmas! I had never heard or saw such a thing but it is a very small portable movie camera that I can throw in my purse and then easily download the movie onto the computer for e-mail, you-tube, the blog, etc.

David leaving out the reindeer food...the next morning they had created a huge mess!

Cathy (my twin sis) stayed with us that night and we waited up for Santa Claus. Santa Claus had left a school bus in Brad's truck earlier that day and of course David found it and told Christopher. We put it out with Santa stuff anyway and David didn't make the connection...if you catch my drift! :) Christmas morning was a lot of fun. I slept on the couch so I would hear them get up and get some pictures. David ended up going in our room in the middle of the night and asking Brad if Santa came yet...Brad said David stayed in our bed and was up all night listening for Santa. David got a Wii but was more excited about the stuff penguin!??? Christopher got a new bike, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the school bus that he wanted and Santa brought Jacob a workbench with some tools, movie and a night night CD. Ohh....Santa also brought Christopher some new underwear and left a note asking him not to tee tee in them. He is doing all right, but some meds that he is on is causing a few accidents...Ok - maybe it is not all the meds and partly mommy!!

Christopher exhausted on Christmas morning!!



David and his penguin!






Jacob and his workbench

On Christmas morning we headed over to my parents house to meet my big sis and the rest of the family for a yummy Christmas dinner. My aunt was there too. The kids love her and her dogs. Her dogs are named Harley and Davidson. She just bought a new Harley Davidson so she is even cooler now. The boys love motorcycles. We went to her house after dinner to see her new bike and Brad got on her bike. He sold his Harley after Christopher was born and I'm afraid he is going to get the fever again! He has been a biker dude since long before we met and since car seats don't really fit well on Harleys, he has given it up for a while.

the best picture of the Gill cousins

Last weekend we went to Brad's parents and celebrated Christmas over there with his brother and the boys cousins. They have two little boys too, one a year younger than David and one in between Christopher and Jacob. While we were cleaning up after dinner, the guys left to run an errand. I realized that with five young children it was awfully quiet. I began looking around for Jacob and couldn't find him (along with his youngest cousin). Jamie found them in my MIL huge, nicely organized pantry. Nope, they weren't sneaking snacks...They were working as a team to empty out the five gallon bottle of water on the cooler. The floor was covered in water!!

Before the water incident, G'ami brought us all to Christmas lighting at the Lafayette zoo. It was really neat. Then we headed back to their house and opened presents. The past few years she has bought us all (kids and adults) matching Christmas PJs. As soon as I download the pictures from last weekend, I'll attach a picture! Brad looked extra cute in his! :)

We still have snow!!

Wow, so last week it was snowing and now we are back to 80 degrees!! When it snowed David went and grabbed the box of ziploc bags to "save" the snow. I only allowed him to keep one bag (instead of letting him fill all of the ziplocs we had left! Before his snow, we were cramped for freezer space and now with family coming in for Christmas and some Chick-fil-A cheesecakes added to the freezer - we are literally having to open the freezer with our hands ready to catch something! When it is time to close the freezer you have to use your hands to push the stuff in and use your hinney (with a lot of force) to push the door shut. Anyway, I'm at work today and have been trying to think of a way that we can get rid of the snow without hurting David's feelings. Did I mention this is not sandwich size bag of snow. This is a super humongous BIG Ziploc bag of snow. He was proud of the snow and wants to keep it. If anyone has any ideas, please e-mail me! SOON!!! The only thing I can come up with is to leave it outside with the reindeer food on Christmas Eve. But that would mean I'll have too keep the snow in the freezer for another week!! I need it out NOW!! :) We have already moved the frozen waffles and many other Keep Frozen items to the frige!

So last weekend was my birthday! Last year Brad bought me a gift certificate to the Ritz Carlton and I had never used it so he and I went out last weekend in New Orleans. We had SOOOOO much fun. This was the first time I had left all three of the boys overnight without Annette (my mother-in-law). My friend Stephanie (Nana) watched them...all three of them! Before we left, Brad put out some nice clothes for the boys to wear. She was going to bring them to church and then to Piccadilly....YES, I said Piccadilly. The buffet place where you have to hold a child's hand, push another child in a high chair, TRUST a five year old with a tray of his own while pushing three trays full of food down a line ignoring the fact that there are a dozen hungry people behind you as your child takes five minutes to decide if he wants green or orange jello. And that is not even the difficult part - THEN you have to get all of that to a booth without spilling or loosing anything (including patience and sanity!). She did it!! Even though it was only two days, it was a good test for me to know that "non-mom's" will be able to handle all three of my boys! In February, my twin sister (who does not have children) is going to fly down to watch the kids while Brad and I are in California for a week. I am a bit nervous (well, a LOT) but I am sure she'll be able to handle it...She is coming in town for Christmas and I have already warned the boys that they must put up a front and act like they are well behaved children while she is here. I am going to try and keep her from Stephanie too. I don't want her hearing any horror stories of how exhausting it was! I want her to come back to stay with them! :)

Not too much going on around here...oops - I forgot to finish telling you about my birthday. David changed my birthday (it was really Sunday) because he wanted to give me my present early. He (along with someone that has a job!) bought me a three stone diamond necklace. It is beautiful! David told told me the big diamond on the top is from him, the smaller one is from Christopher and the smallest one is from Jacob. I love it!!! David grabbed my box and bag and then came back with the same Micheal's box and bag. He gave me a gift that was just from him. I opened it up and it was a diamond. He was sooo super proud that he got me a diamond. ...I am not a big jewelry person and don't know much about stones - but the diamond that David gave me resembled the same shiny sticker that was on his SnowMan art project from school, including the adhesive on the back. :) I had a great birthday. Probably the best one since the WWF ring side tickets Brad gave me ten years ago!! I know what you are thinking, but I really did want them and we had a blast! :)

MAAAOOOMMM....IT'S SNOWING...REALLY!!!

So yesterday morning, I was tired (as always!) and just laying in bed trying to get motivated to get out - David was up and getting reading for school as Brad was making breakfast. I heard Brad say it was snowing and then I hear David catch his breath and scream, "IT'S SNOWING!!" I guess that was just the motivation I needed! :) I got up and it was beautiful. It was the most snow I had ever seen in Louisiana! It was actually white and sticking to the ground. It was time for David to leave for school, but I said he could be late to play in the snow for a little bit. I was going to make it a somewhat educational experience. As we saw several of his friends pass by on their way to school, I was wondering if I did the right thing. Hopefully a truancy officer would not be scoping the neighborhood! :) For those of you keeping track of David's school absences he has only missed three days (vacation and Grandparents Day)...the automated system for the school later called and said that school was open, but children would not be marked as absent. We had a fun and cold day of playing in the snow. David and Brad made a huge snowman that is still up today!! Jacob was not too crazy about the snow and Christopher loved just standing outside with his mouth open.

This week, we kept on with our Christmas activities. We went to the Acadian Village in Lafayette. I have been wanting to do this for probably the past ten or so years (ever since Brad told me about it when we were dating) and it just never worked out. The kids had a good time. They had all of the village houses decorated with lights and they also had bumper cars, train rides and other carnival type rides.

Last weekend was also the Breakfast with Santa event at David's school. Siblings were invited so the little boys tagged along too. Christopher even warmed up enough to sit on Santa's lap. He told him he wanted a school bus. Santa asked if he wanted a "real" school bus and Christopher said, No - a baby school bus. Santa asked David what he wanted and David told him a penguin...yeah, not sure where that came from. He had been pretty consistent with the Wii request! Hopefully, he'll get back onto that request. I am hoping that Santa does not bring him a penguin!!!!

Brad and I are hoping to finish our Christmas shopping tonight. The kids are going to "Nana's Party". Stephanie's church has Parents Night Out tonight and we are bringing them. It is a great program where they watch the kids, feed them and have fun inflatables for $5!! The boys love it! We have never finished Christmas shopping this early - we usually don't finish until the trip to Walgreens (or RiteAid) on Christmas morning!! For those other procrastinators out there...they have a great "As Seen On TV" section. Sometimes the selections are not as good on Christmas afternoon - try early Christmas morning or even better...Christmas Eve! :)

WAHOOOOO....It is Christmastime!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!...We watched A Christmas Story the other night. Each Wednesday is our family movie night and it happened to be on. I LOVE A Christmas Story. The boys (even the daddy one) and I popped corn and watched it. David kept asking, how can he shoot his eye out? There were a few scenes that after they aired I realized were not quite appropriate for my five year old. He wanted to know why the mommy put that red stuff in his mouth (the soap). It ended up being a good lesson for David. I told him if he said anything mean or ugly I'd try that next time! The part when they go and sit on Santa's lap got Christopher's attention. Not a good thing, since he doesn't like Santa. Christopher does not want Santa to come to his house. Every time he mentions that it stresses David out. David says, YES you do!!!

Last night we drove over to New Orleans to go and order Christopher and Jacob's big boy beds. As soon as we arrived in the Pottery Barn Kids, the sales lady was super excited. I thought she must have worked on commission and was excited to see the three little boys....not the case. Renee Zealwigger (who ever that is) was in there too. After playing with everything in PBK we headed over to ride the train at the Santa Land. I love the Santa set up at Lakeside Mall. Brad mentioned last night that it reminded him of the one on A Christmas Story. All three of the boys really enjoyed riding the train around their village and then David went and sat on Santa's lap. Christopher and Jacob didn't want to. Christopher did tell me he wants Santa to bring him a school bus though. I tried taking a few pictures to post on here but wouldn't you know they didn't come out! Last night, since we were already in New Orleans we went over to look at the lights in City Park too.

I guess I should update you on how our Thanksgiving was. Never a dull moment. It began at 5AM when Brad went to the Mall to open his store up. He had several employees that wanted (yes THEY wanted to!!) go and prepare for Friday's super busy day. As soon as he shut the door the little boys woke up. They NEVER wake up that early and I didn't want too! I did though...I figured since I was up I should go ahead and begin preparing for Thanksgiving meal. I put the turkey in....A few hours later I opened the oven and notice that juice is dripping ALL over my floor. The glass pan that I was cooking the ham in had shattered everywhere! Brad rescued the Ham without getting cut and I worked on cleaning up the floor. Then the carrots I cooked, didn't cook. We finally had everything ready and we all sat down for dinner. The kids argued over who was going to say the prayer first and then a debate began between David and his cousin. David prayed to God and Bailey said, No Jesus. It was really cute. We all beagn eating and I thought about how thankful I was that I was actually getting to sit down and eat such a yummy meal. And then, David choked...no, I mean CHOKED...creating him to gag himself and make EVERYTHING else come up too (at the dinner table!!). After we clean that up (and lost our appetite) we went to relax. Brad made some coffee that somehow or another ended up brewing all over the counter and floor instead of into the pot. As the ladies were inside, the boys (including dads and granddads) were outside. Brad comes in for me to come and see what Jacob is doing. I go out there and the adults that are suppose to be supervising are laughing at Jacob as he is standing under the truck!! It was horrible! I actually had a nightmare that night about Jacob being under the truck. After that the boys came in to view Brad's sports collections. Brad's new hobby is purchasing overpriced used shoes and shirts (aka sports memorabilia) on online auctions. Nope, not e-bay...it has to be a fancy auction that has everything certified and authenticated! That is a picture of Jacob wearing autographed Shaq shoes. According to Brad, this is all being purchased for the Game Room in our new house. (No, we don't have the location of a new house or the plans yet!!) Oops - off subject again...back to Thanksgiving... I am so thankful that I have a husband that loves sports! :) So that is how our Thanksgiving went. It seemed like we were in a Thanksgiving Comedy show. Actually, I really enjoyed all of the chaos and was very thankful that we were able to share the day with our family. After everyone left, I packed up the kids and we headed to my parents for the long weekend. I was informed over there that they would not be returning next year for Thanksgiving. They'll go to my Grandparents house instead! :) After that crazy Thanksgiving, I don't blame them!! Brad was super busy at work, so he stayed behind to manage the mall mayhem. He ended up having a record day on Black Friday! Even with all of the talk of the recession, his sales have been up tremendously!

Rookie Tooth Fairy...Fired!!

I am STILL covering for that Rookie Tooth Fairy that visited this Summer!!
Remember the fairy dust? How she woke up my kids? ...Well there's more!

I am....well let me rephrase that...I have a girl that has been coming to help me organize the house and make the most of what little storage space we have. A few weeks ago she cleaned and organized my closet. One night last week, I came home from hanging out with some of my girlfriends and Brad warned me that David found a tooth in a box that looked exactly like his first tooth. It was in a box of "junk" that the storage girl had left for me to go through (and I still haven't). I asked Brad what story we were going with. Thankfully, David had come to the conclusion that it must have been my tooth from when I was little and I forgot to put it out for the tooth fairy. Since this happened last week, I certainly wasn't going to bring it up again...I thought he forgot about it. Yesterday evening, David told me I was going to have to go to bed early. Ummm, OK...I certainly don't mind...but why? He told me about the tooth he had found in a little BLUE box from when I was a kid. :) I needed to put it under my pillow so the tooth fairy would leave some money for me! Soooooo, last night I went to bed early (he and Brad stayed up to watch the Saints game - since he doesn't have school today!). This morning David woke up early to make sure "my" tooth was gone and it was!!!! I got a quarter from the tooth fairy!!! WAAAHOOO. This time, the tooth fairy took the tooth and disposed of it properly...if you catch my drift! :) Funny how I got the same amount that I received 25 years ago - but David's tooth fairy adjusted for inflation!




For those of you that were aware of Christopher's Developmental Test last week. He didn't do too well. Understandably so!! I went to pick him up from Mom's Day Out to bring him to the School Board Office. He threw a fit because I "forgot" Jacob. It took me about ten minutes to explain that Daddy was coming to get Jacob when school was over. So we were late and running up the stairs at the very old, outdated, cold yucky LeBlanc Services building (a very OLD school that they tried to spruce up on a Trading Spaces budget!). It was not one of those places where you get a warm and fuzzy feeling. In fact, as soon as we walked in it reminded me of a hospital! When we arrived in the testing room there were six adults sitting around a kiddie table staring at us. They wanted Christopher to go and sit in the empty seat. Of course, Christopher froze. I ended up sitting in the chair and he was on my lap. They took turns asking him to do and say things and before he could even respond, the next person was asking him something. Christopher didn't say a word or do anything that they requested. I tried to hold back, but all of a sudden my maternal protecting instincts kicked in. I started tearing up and someone had noticed and asked if I was OK...I explained to them that Christopher CAN speak and he can do many of the things they requested. I agree that he has speech problems but it was not to the degree that they were witnessing for those 10 minutes that they were with him. They decided he will start attending Dutchtown Primary School the week of his third birthday to assist in his speech development. He'll attend a few hours each week. They have requested that he is fully potty trained. ...Here is where I think the tears may have helped me...One lady piped up, because of his medical issues if he is not potty trained, we understand and will work with him! :) Ummm, obviously she doesn't understand...but I'm going with it!! :) His heart defects have NOTHING to do with his mother's lack of commitment and consistency on the potty training!! :) Since he doesn't have Mom's Day Out this week, I thought I'd make another attempt at the potty training. Christopher wore underwear ALL day yesterday and NO accidents. I attached a picture of his living sticker chart next to his sticker chart on the wall.

I'm "working" (or at my office!) and Brad's lovely Mom is watching the boys today, so I'm not sure how today is going...Poor Annette! So sorry!!! Yesterday, I was on bathroom duty with him all day and during the process Jacob took advantage of the distraction. The same gal that organized my closet, organized the pantry last week. She doesn't have children and it was obvious. She put the cake, pancake seasoning mixes, etc on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Jacob decided to take advantage of their new location and opened the box of "pancakes" and poured Bisquick mix all over the floor. I didn't complain too much, because the Bisquick mess could easily be Dustbustered up and was nothing compared to the day before.

On Sunday morning, all three of the boys got together and created a "lotion potion" in my mop bucket. I was in the shower assuming their father was watching them and he was unaware that he was "on duty". Anyway, they opened every bottle of the hotel shampoo, lotion, conditioners (yep, I'm one of the people that takes them home!!) and poured it into the mop bucket. Yesterday, when I went to mop it took me an additional ten minutes to get all of the soap out of the bucket. And then last night, when I went to wash my hands, bubbles came up from the sink. I must admit, it brought a smile to my face when the bubbles came up...I guess this is just the beginning of what it is going to be like with three boys!!!




Sunday we spent the day looking for a Christmas tree. I know, it is not Thanksgiving yet, but I like a big full tree and they are always picked over on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Brad is way to busy at work on Black Friday and Saturday, so it is usually the Sunday before we are able to get out and get a tree. It will stay outside until after Thanksgiving. I guess that shows my true greed. :(


David wants to "be charged" (that is how he says "in charge") of watering it. He is getting to be so big and responsible. I am super proud of him. Yesterday he helped me go through the little boys rooms and purge their outgrown clothes and toys. We are bringing them to some friends that have younger kids and the rest to Goodwill. David ran to his room to look for things that he could give away. He grabbed some old Vacation Bible School t-shirts that he doesn't wear anymore and some shirts that are saturated in stains to add to the give away pile! My sister, Cathy sends him the Highlights Kids magazine. He went and grabbed one and a pen. He wanted to know what her address was so he could send it to her dog (she doesn't have any children). I guess he thought the dog would read it?!? He was serious and so I told her the address. Sis, Sierra should be receiving her book soon! :) 'Tis the season for giving!

Not too much going on around here. We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year. The kids are excited, I am too. I hope the food turns out OK!!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Santa's Elf Has Arrived at Our House...

NaugtyNize (sitting on cross)

and the book Santa sent with him

Yesterday, when we came back from picking David up from school we had a new book on the coffee table. It was about an elf that watches kids for Santa. David soon noticed that an elf was on the fireplace mantle! The book said we had to name him. Christopher wanted to name him "Santa Claus". Since that may be too confusing, David came up with "Whitie Red" (he is red with a white collar). About two hours later, when everyone else was outside and had forgotten about "Whitie Red", David out of the blue says his name is going to be "NaughtyNize". So he is officially "NaughtyNize" (no, not naughty nice). According to the book and the tradition. Every night he goes to the North Pole to give Santa a behavior report. The next morning, he'll be in a different location. When Brad came home, David told him all about NaughtyNize and how we have to be on our best behavior because he will tell Santa everything...even how we act at school and work!! When he got to the part about him being in a new spot every morning Brad looked at me like, "How the heck are we going to remember to do that!" So last night Brad and I came up with our story just in case he doesn't move one night! :)

I figured since NaughtyNize is watching everything that the boys do, Brad and I will take the night off tonight! :) Just joking...we have a sitter. We are going to the Hornet's game tonight. We have season tickets and I haven't been to the last four games. I am pretty excited. I LOVE LOVE LOVE going to the Hornets games. They are so much fun. David loves going to the games, but it is finally my turn! We told him last night that a sitter was coming to stay with them tonight and his first response was, "Oh you have a meeting?". Before Christopher was born when I was selling real estate I would work a lot and a sitter would come stay with him. Since I am only working while they are in school, we don't use a sitter as often. He still associates a sitter with me working or having a Board meeting. I thought yesterday was a good day to start telling him the truth! :) I told him that Brad and I are going to the Hornet's game, expecting him to get upset and he just asked why he couldn't go too. It is a school night so I am going to go instead of him! He was totally fine with it!!! Thanks NaughtyNize. I know that I would not have had the same response if you were not watching!! :)

UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG - Christopher just came in here and said uhoh. I look down and his underwear are soaked. ...Let me take a break and go find out where the pee is!!

OK, I'm back. Thankfully it was a small puddle on the ceramic floor. This potty training stuff is not fun. The thing that makes it even worse, I know that I'll be doing this again in six or eight months with Jacob. Part of me wants to give up on Christopher and just let them do it together after Christmas. I've heard it is even harder though the longer I wait.

Monday afternoon Jacob's teacher called me and said he had a fever. I went to pick him up and he did feel a little warm. I brought him back to my office with me until it was time for Brad to pick Christopher up. Monday's are "Brad days" (he is in charge of picking the boys up from school and keeping them entertained so I can work a full day). Once Jacob and I got back to my office I could tell he was not feeling well at all. Any other day, he would be bothering the receptionist for candy and running around my office like a mad man. This time he just sat and colored and then fell asleep in my chair. He had an ear infection. Since he has tubes, I can easily tell when he has an infection - it oozes out of his ear! Kind of yucky, but since he is not able to tell me too much, it helps so much when I can see the problem! Yesterday morning was Christopher's appointment with the ENT. Brad went with me to help hold him still since I did not want Christopher to be sedated (too risky for his heart). The ENT put a numbing cream up his nose and down his throat. While we were waiting for the numbing meds to soak in he took a look at Jacob. Jacob has a bad ear infection and a bad case of tonsillitis (possible strep). He gave him a shot of an antibiotic and loaded him up on some prescriptions (see previous post about him winning pharmaceutical trips courtesy of the Arton's!) Christopher did not want "that man" to come back. He was scared (and rightfully so!) "That Man" put a camera down his throat and we watched it on the screen. It IS obvious that he was intubated, but he doesn't think it is damaged enough to affect his voice. In fact, he didn't even notice anything wrong with his voice. He asked if Christopher ever had any problems with reflux. UMMMM YEP!! Remember when he would throw up 17 times an hour! No, unfortunately that is not an exaggeration!! Anyway, it appears as though he is still having some problems with reflux and that could irritate his throat and make him hoarse sounding. His pediatrician never wanted to do anything, her comment was if it is not bothering him- we have more important things to worry about. The ENT did agree that if it is not bothering him, the meds are probably not the best for him. They can have a lot of side effects that aren't worth risking in Christopher's case. Since it doesn't bother him and his voice is only "bothering" the therapist, we are not going to do anything about it! So, my motherly instincts were right again! ...No surgery and no big deal!

Murals by Christopher...Full Size - Any Location!

What a week! This past week we were gone every night. We were in Lafayette on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for Chick-fil-A Grand Opening Events. Christopher does not like the cow. Well, it is actually more than him not liking the cow. He is terrified and traumatized of the Chick-fil-A cow mascot. He literally shakes in fear. Sunday night after the first event of the week, he kept saying even after we were home, "Mommy, no cows!". Before he went to bed, I had to do a cow check of the house. By the Grand Opening on Thursday, he was too scared to even go into Chick-fil-A. We would get to the exit on the interstate and he would start crying, "Mommy, no cows!!"

One afternoon when Christopher was suppose to be taking a nap, he was busy practicing for a possible career as a artist doing wall murals. I've attached a photo of his first wall drawing. He not only does walls, but also bed linens and furniture. You may also remember his try on ceramic tiles too! If not, see the "How 'bout Jakey" post. Christopher doesn't take naps anymore but he has to stay in his room for quiet time until we go and pick David up from school. I went to go and tell him it was time to go and get David and he was super proud of his artwork. I asked him who did it and he showed me everywhere that he drew (carpet, chair, ottoman, sheets, wall, train table, trains, etc...). I asked him where he got the marker and he went straight to his bookshelf and showed me the book that had a dry erase marker in it that was suppose to be used for writing in the special book.

In other mess making news, Jacob decided to pour the entire bag of Doritos mix out. I'm not sure how he was able to reach up in the cabinet to get the bag down. I have a good idea, but I'm not sure! :) ...David...

On Thursday, David had Grandparent's Day at school. Brad's parents were busy with the Chick-fil-A opening and my parents didn't attend either so David went with us to Lafayette. Since he missed school, I tried to make it a somewhat educational day. After performing his very important job of quality control of the Chick-fil-A playground, we went to the Children's Museum in Lafayette. The boys had a fun time. Their favorite part was the ambulance inside the museum. David and Christopher enjoyed playing in the back of the ambulance. While Jacob loved being the e driver. I've attached a picture of David performing CPR on Christopher.

Saturday morning was the AHA Heart Walk in Lake Charles. We went over and spent the night with my parents Friday night since the Heart Walk was early in the morning. It was not like the one in Baton Rouge. I think the boys had fun, but I was a little disappointed. It appeared as though they didn't know children are affected by heart disease too! I did meet one other Mom of a CHD child, she mentioned that they don't have any type of support groups or events for kids. I told her about our foundation...and that my friends, is another reason you should support http://www.lpcf.com/ :) We have started working on the annual tennis tournament fundraiser for LPCF. If you have an item that you'd like to donate for our silent auction or would like to be a sponsor, please let me know!! :) We appreciate everyone's help in making the fundraisers so successful. Last year we were one of the top fundraisers for Baton Rouge and had a lot of fun doing it!

David was super excited to hear that my dad got a four wheeler! The boys rode around the yard many times.

After the Heart Walk and visiting my Grandparents, Brad headed back to Lafayette to work. The boys and I headed out to Sam Houston State Park for a picnic with my mom and dad. Christopher kept running ahead and so my dad picked out a stick for him to hold one end and my dad to hold the other side. It worked for a while. Jacob on the other hand had to be held the entire time. He was heading straight for the water or the road. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had a good time being outside - even though we missed the LSU/Bama game! I like this picture of David, Christopher and my dad walking on the nature trail.

My Target Shopping Experience on Election Night!!

WAAAHOOOOO AMERICA - We are getting a dog!

Last night after David's tennis lessons, I decided to run into Target to try and grab a few items. I RARELY take all three of the boys shopping with me (especially that late at night) - but Brad was working in Lafayette and we needed some things, so... I'm grabbing some diapers and all of a sudden I hear a woman yell from across the store "OBAMA'S PRESIDENT". Then through out the store everyone was clapping and screaming (I did hear a few moans!) I tried to remain calm and prayed that my little David would not voice his opinion since it was VERY obvious that the people in Target did not vote the way I did. I have heard all kinds of rumors in the media that riots would occur if he was not elected. Oh no...I freaked out...Is there about to be a "joyous" riot in Target right in front of my young children???? I could imagine people grabbing can goods and throwing them across the store, unrolling the toilet tissue and "rolling" the store, shaking bottles of champagne and opening them in celebration... And then David asks in his loud big boy voice. "Mom, why are they yelling?" Trying to keep him quiet and not alert everyone that we seem to be in the minority I respond that "I don't know. ...Let's just grab the diapers and head home." Once we got in the car, I told David that Barack Obama is going to be the next president. He was upset. David is very competitive. He knew who we wanted to win and was upset because "our" Maverick didn't win. He wanted to know if Daddy was going to have to pay "Rock" more (that is what he called Barack). Oops - at that point, it was obvious that we have talked too much politics in front of David! :) I tried to explain the election process to him. I told him that "Rock" had more people that wanted him to be president (I didn't explain the ACORN stuff to him!!). The person that gets the most people, wins! He was OK after I explained that "everyone" else wanted "Rock" to win.

I will try not to get on a political rant...but as a wife of a self-employed "small business owner" that will be affected by Obama's tax plan and as a mother of a "special needs" child that has weekly therapy and long-term medical expenses and as someone that has to pay OVER $1,000 a MONTH for health insurance (not including co-pays and prescriptions)..I am looking forward to finding out what "Rock" will be doing for us as we are handing him our hard earned cash!.... The really sad thing is that this is not only affecting us as "self-employed" people. This is going to cause the price of everything to go up. Do you think Joe the Plumber is going to keep his rates the same? Nope...he will be increasing his service charges to cover the increase in taxes that he will be paying. And those taxes will be paying for the "First Dog", dog food and steam cleaning the house training of it! :)

On a more positive note...A few weeks ago we were looking at houses. We asked David if he would rather live in a neighborhood or have a house with a big yard. He told us he wanted to live in the White House. I told him that is where the president lives and that Daddy will not be the president. He wanted to know why Daddy would not be the president. One really good thing about Obama becoming our next president is that he truly does show that anyone can be president. I am not talking about just the color of his skin. In just the past few years, he has gone from a typical American to the White House (with a few questionable financial donations). I must admit that I am excited that he is not a "professional" politician. On the other hand, I hope his lack of experience (political and age) does not hurt him make good decisions. Hopefully he will choose good people to be on his cabinet that will reassure the public that he is not only "changing" America, but changing it for the better! Change is not hard - and after our current prez, the bar has not been set too high! :) Make us proud "Rock" and prove me wrong! I wasn't in front of you last night, but now that you are the Prez- I'll get behind and support you! :) I do however, request the same from you...think about ME and my family sometime!! :)

Here is a picture of Christopher and his favorite Speech Therapist, Ms. Alyssa.

In other news, I brought Christopher to the ENT last week for the vocal cord scope. He was unable to do it because (much to my surprise!) Christopher was too congested and had ear infections in both ears. So we ended up leaving with four prescriptions (antibotics, steroids, ear drops and decongestant) along with another appointment in two weeks to try and do the scope then. Since I already was ranting earlier....I'll continue :) Do you ever get the feeling that the Doctor creates prescriptions for those trips and prizes that the drug companies offer them? And what about scheduling follow-ups? Now he gets two office visits!! I mean really!?! Christopher was not in ANY pain, showed NO signs or symptoms of even the common cold and I left with four prescriptions to fill. I filled the ear drops and the decongestant (just in case we needed it), but I'm not big on unnecessary antibiotics and since he is a cardiac patient I didn't want to give him a steroid to increase his heart rate even more -so I didn't get them. I hope I'm not the one that prevents the Doc from the cruise that the pharmaceutical company is offering! :) But I am the one having to pay for the prescriptions. :)

Anyway, I'll update on Tuesday when we try again to do the scope to check for vocal cord damage from him being intubated during his heart surgery. His therapist seems to think that the "physical therapy" he was doing while he was in the coma may have also affected his tonsils. It is pretty common problem with kids who have been intubated for an extended period of time. At this point, I'm not worried about it. I hate to sound like I'm not concerned, but really...at this point, I am thankful he is just able to speak. Remember earlier this year, at two years of age he couldn't even say "Moma"?!?! My prayers for him to speak have defiantly been answered...and Christopher LOVES to constantly show me!! :) Maybe I am naive or in denial, but I really don't even notice the voice problem everyone is pointing out. Then again, if I listened to everything that his medical team has try to scare me with in the past, he wouldn't be able to talk, walk or even be alive.