"Here dey IS!"

Jacob's Second Birthday!

Jacob fishing on his 2nd birthday


Jacob chasing the ducks

On my last post we were trying to decide what Jacob would want to do for his second birthday. He wanted to go fishing! So last Thursday, we packed up the spider man poles and headed to the LSU lakes. Jacob loves to "fish". He has a different technique than most and as of today, it has never been sucessful. He likes to just use the pole to hit the water and make it splash. He did a great job of scaring away any potential fish. We also brought some bread out to feed the ducks and he did a great job of scaring them away too! After fishing, feeding the ducks and playing in the sand on the LSU "beach" we headed to Cheeburger Cheeburger for dinner and then over to the pet shop. It was a fun evening. Arton Celebration season has officially ended until a brief August birthday celebration for Brad and then back in full swing in for birthdays, anniversary, Christmas and Valentines from December - February!

Jacob's special fishing "technique".


In the past few weeks, Jacob and Christopher have totally changed their little personalities. They are maturing and have learned to work together as a good team. We (well I) still have not totally potty trained Christopher. One day, he was wearing underwear and I reminded him to go and potty. He came back wanting to wear a pull up. I reminded him again that he is not wearing pull ups and that he needed to go back and get underwear. He told me he didn't have anymore. Christopher's underwear is one thing that is overstocked and under used! I keep them in the drawer in the bathroom for him so I went to show him that he has plenty. When I opened the drawer, it was empty. My heart sank...my immediate thought was that he put them down the toilet! Thankfully, Jacob pulled the shower curtain back and said "Here dey is!" Christopher just wanted to wear a pull up!

"Here dey is!!"

Christopher's 3rd Birthday Party

Jacob's 2nd Birthday PartyLast weekend we celebrated Christopher and Jacob's birthdays together. We ended up doing it at the same place jumping place that David had his. It is just so much easier to let them take care of everything and not have to stress about cleaning up the house before, organizing games and stuff and then having to clean up again after the party. The kids had a good time (well I think they did...at least mine did!) and it was fun to jump and slide too!

Note to self: NO MORE party horns!!!!

Enjoying My Ten Day Break Between Terrible Two Episodes...Christopher is now 3 and Jacob won't be 2 until Thursday!!

Christopher blowing out his birthday cupcake and jamin' on his birthday guitar and microphone

Last Monday was Christopher's third birthday. Brad and I were in California, so we celebrated his birthday before we left. On the kids birthdays we let them choose to do whatever they want. Since Christopher is scared to death of Chuck E. Cheese, Hugo (Hornet's mascot), Chick-fil-A cow or any type of mascot type thing - our choices were limited. The only thing I could think of to suggest to him for his birthday was Celebration Station. A local place where we go and ride go-carts. They also have a little train ride, mini golf and arcade games. The kids usually have a good time there and they don't have any thing that Christopher is scared of. I just assumed that is where he would want to go. He did not want to go there. I suggested a local pizza place he likes and the ice cream place that has fun rides he likes too. He did not want any of them. I could not think of anything else for him so I just asked him where he wanted to go for his birthday. He wanted to go to the kangaroo restaurant and then go to the camping store...So for his birthday we went and ate at Outback Steakhouse and then headed over to Cabela's. Not your typical three year old birthday destinations, but that is what HE wanted!

Cathy and the boys brought us to the airport. Brad and I about to leave...David insisted that he was going too...until Cathy told him they were going to the zoo after dropping us off! Cathy and the boys leaving the airport.

Brad, Dave Ramsey and Julie at Champions Club Recognition Dinner

Brad and I went to Los Angeles last week. I agreed last year that I would go with him if he were to win another Symbol of Success award for Chick-fil-A. Three years ago he won the truck as a "Symbol of Success" for his exceptional increase in sales. This year he had his best year in sales and profits (even with the economy hoopla, hurricane closures and then the snow storm in December). WARNING...Bragging Wife Here...Instead of winning the Symbol award he won the most prestigious award for Chick-fil-A...he is now a member of the Champions Club. He not only increased his sales significantly but also the profit percentage increase. He is superb!! :) I am super proud of him and after sitting next to him at his recognition dinner, I realized that he really is the best of the best and a super businessman! Actually I've been knowing that from working with him professionally ten years ago. I was reminded of that business side of him this past week. To help honor him, we were invited to a special dinner Chick-fil-A had coordinated with Dave Ramsey. He is a national speaker and author of a few books that promote financial freedom with biblical references. Brad has been listening and following his plan for a few years now...before it was "cool" to be debt free. We really enjoyed spending some time with him and seeing how down to earth he is. And he is oooohhh sooooo funny! I thought I was going to wet my pants I was laughing so hard. While we were there I also got to see Kirk Cameron...yep, a few months ago it was New Kids on the Block and now Kirk Cameron. Next it will be Paula Abdul or Zack from Saved by the Bell! :) ...speaking of meeting celebrities - on our flight from LA to Dallas we had some guy that was booted off of American Idol the night before. I haven't been watching this season so I had no clue who he was. We were also on the same flight as Jessica Simpson. She was acting very diva like in her first class seat...as I passed her on my way to the back of the plane! :)

Julie and Kirk Cameron...No, he had no clue we took the picture -especially since he just told us NO pictures! OOPS!!!

The Oscars were being set up while we were at the Kodak Theater. We had gone a few years ago and were able to take our pictures in front of the statue Oscars. This year they were covered. I guess because of the yucky weather. We still had a good time even with the rainy cold weather. While we were in California, Cathy (my twin sis) and Chris stayed with the boys. The first night we were there Cathy called quite a few times and I was a bit nervous. After I answered they were all for very minor things and I calmed down. Actually one of the times she called to see if I would mind if she washed the bathroom rugs...of course not, but why do they need to be cleaned since they were just cleaned the day before we left?? She said because Christopher and Jacob just peed all over them! :) That is when I really started relaxing and enjoyed my time away from the potty messes! :) The boys had a great time and loved that Cathy would do or buy anything for them that they asked. She brought them to the zoo and even fell for the pleas to go into the gift shop. I never let them go in and if they do...we certainly don't buy anything ...unless they break it! :) Cathy and Chris both seemed to be all in one piece too and hopefully they enjoyed it as much as the boys did. They said they'd come back!?! Next time we are heading to D.C. and will try to stay gone longer than five days!

Julie and Cathy acting silly in Grand Isle. We were behind the last car in the parade so we acted like unknown celebrities at the conclusion.

Cathy and Chris live on a little island off the coast of Maine. Most of the people on the island are lobster fishermen (including both of them). After Hurricane Katrina, Cathy organized a fundraiser to help the fishermen in Grand Isle. She raised over $10,000 in just a few weeks. None of us have ever been to Grand Isle so we took a road trip down on Sunday and ended up getting at the tail end of their Mardi Gras parade. If you can't beat 'em - join 'em...and that is just what we did. We had a good time and are hoping to go back a day early next year and rent a beach house so we don't miss the parade.

Master C (Christopher) on the parade route

The parades Grand Finale...David Arton! :)

After a couple of blocks of us being silly and taking turns being the finale...we stopped the car and watched the parade. The kids loaded up on goodies from the last two floats.


Thursday is Jacob's second birthday. I am enjoying my ten day between Christopher and Jacob's birthday without a 'terrible' two year old. I asked Jacob what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said he wants to ride in an airplane. I asked him where he wanted to go on the airplane and he just said, 'bye bye'. I mentioned earlier in this post that we pretty much let them do what they want on their birthday...this is an example of where I will have to guide him on what 'he' wants...I foresee a trip to celebration station, New Orleans children's museum, zoo, aquarium, the ice cream shop or pizza place...NOT an airplane ride!

David and Jacob at the Hornet's game. Christopher is too scared of Hugo (their mascot) to even go to the Hornet's games. He and I hung out shopping together this night while Brad, David and Jacob high fived the players going to their locker room.

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!