Raccoons Love Dog Food

Well, my diagnosis was accurate in that the clogged tear ducts are creating infections and they should clear on their own, but we did get a prescription should they not clear up given the weekend. So, time will tell the proper course to take.

RACCOONS!!!!!! We have been leaving the dogs food on the patio outside our bedroom to keep Cody out of it.... well, behind our new house is nothing but woods. We see deer on a regular basis and the other night we were awaken by growling barking dogs. When we went to investigate we found a HUGE raccoon eating the dog food. It was reluctant to leave, but Jerry ran him off only to have him return every hour to see if we put the food back out and he brought a friend. Two raccoons right outside our bedroom door!!! YIKES!!!! Fortunately, they haven't returned since that night.

Off to See the Doctor....

Today, Kaylee goes to the doctor... she has had some nasal congestion and yesterday woke with a goopy puffy eye which got better throughout the day. She was funny, after I cleaned up her eye I got a "Thanks Mom, Thanks for cleaning up my eye. It's not stuck aaannnyyymmmorrreee." Not sure where she picked up calling me Mom instead of Mommy, but I think it's cute. I know it's due to the congestion putting pressure on her tear duct and trapping the bacteria irritating the eye, but last night she was up several times asking to blow her nose and just crying. Fortunately, a quick nose blow and a few kisses and she goes right back down. Once again, I am sooooo glad we sleep trained our children. They have never given us any problems with regard to sleep and they have never slept anywhere except their beds (or designated spots in hotel rooms) so we don't get any whining when it's time for bed.... ahhhh, one thing we did right.... food is another issue though. Well, I digress. Needless to say, we are off to see the doctor.

Update.... just woke the kids and Kaylee seems ok, but Addison has goopy eyes.... gesh, I just don't know.....

Too Many Flowers??? Stop and smell the roses!!

"How can you say there are too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers." - Blessed Mother Teresa

My Mom and I were talking the other day in the McDonald's drive through about how peoples 1st reaction most of the time is "OH MY... these are all your children... UGHHH, you have your hands full...." What they see is the work and don't get me wrong, the work is never ending and fills every minute of my day, but once in a while someone will say, "What a lovely family, you are so blessed." Somehow, these few individuals see beyond the work and see the joy which far outweighs the work. One of my favorite tasks is waking the kids each morning. I love to see what strange sleeping positions they have chosen; laying right atop the big dog toy, or head and feet hanging over the sides of the bed. I love the 1st words of the day. Sometimes it's an "I love you Mommy" or a "The ants were eating something" obviously from their dream. Jadon usually doesn't say anything, but rolls out of his bed and sleepily stumbles out of the room. I love watching them try to get their little bodies working as they wake from a long nights sleep. So many little things make my heart burn with love and awe each day that it's all worth while and a blessing. I am so privileged that God would entrust me with these little souls. So thank you to those special people who are able to see beyond the work and offer a warm... "What a lovely family, you are so blessed."

After pulling out of McDonald's I parked to hand out food.... Jadon, "I don't want french fries, I want a drink...." Kaylee, "I want chicken nuggets".... Addison, "I want a cheeseburger" and Cody, "Dink, Dink, Dink, Dink".... all this was bombarding my ears all at once.... over and over and over..... My Mom and I couldn't help but laugh as I responded, "Yes, Masters.... do you also need me to wipe your noses and your bottoms"?

My Brother is Flying to Help Out Haiti

My brother is a corporate pilot and his boss volunteered his plane to take doctors and supplies to Haiti. His 1st trip was today and it made the Dallas News (see attached link). My brother is the tall guy in the white vest. Please keep them all in your prayers.

http://www.dallasnews.com/video/index.html?nvid=412917

Triplets A Plenty

Forgot to mention... we have triplet girls living two houses down from us. We met them a long time ago before we ever dreamt of buying this new house, but thought it was a cool coincidence. The kids met the other day, but I can't say they paid each other much attention. My triplets are use to playing with a 6 year old girl at our old house and the triplets are 4 months younger than them, but they play great with other kids their age at Mom's Day Out, so I think it will just take some time.

Just One Of Those Days

I have to say, I haven't had a horrible meltdown day in a while, so I guess I was due. Today started like any other Thursday, I woke at 6:00 to get the triplets off to Mom's Day Out at 9:00. I had lined up a painter to paint the girls room pink (like our old house) (also this is the 1st time I've paid a painter, I actually enjoy painting, but no longer have time). They showed up at 8:30 and wrapped things up about 12:30. When I returned home with the kids, the smell was way too bad to let the girls sleep in their room, so I made a spot in the gameroom where they could lay down and rest.... I would watch TV quietly in the recliner and "supervise" them. Oh, forgot to mention the baby, "Cody" has a cold and was up on and off during the night. I didn't have to get up for him at all, but he woke me several times and unlike my husband, I don't fall right back to sleep. Well, with the cold, he didn't want to nap.... So, 2 hours later I have 3 of the 4 kids unnapped.... it's been crying, fighting, fussing, cranking, etc. ever since. My ears are bleeding and I'm exhausted. I just finished the dinner dishes and decided to escape into a blog..... While it wasn't our best day, I have to say it was worth it since the girls room looks great.

OH!!!!!! I also received our 1st "Blog to Book" and it's FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!! blog2print.sharedbook.com

Out with the Old

As part of our move, we are cleaning out and much to my husbands dismay... he is getting rid of old Halloween costumes. This may put a little smile on the faces of those who attended his "famous" or "infamous" annual Halloween parties.... The Pimps and Ho's Party, the Pajama Party, the Rocky Horror party among the many themes.... While Jerry is mourning the loss of his costumes... the kids are having a great time playing with them (although Jadon's pout may lead one to think otherwise.)

Needless to say, these crazy parties came to an end in 2006 when late night parties were replaced with late night feeds and diaper changes... gave new meaning to "Party at My Crib 2:00 am, Bring Your Own Bottle." We are soooo blessed to have our children and our wonderful friends!!!

If you attended these parties, please take a moment for Scott and say a little prayer for one of our most beloved friends.

Home Is Where the Heart Is....

We are moved in as well as we can be until the old house sells (we still have furniture to show the house over there). We put in on the market yesterday and now we sit and wait. The kids have handled the move without too much difficulty. The 1st few days the girls didn't sleep at naptime although naps are mandatory, so they sat in their rooms and read books. I hadn't darkened their rooms which may have been part of the problem. But now, I have their old dark out shades pinned up until we get our shutters. A couple times they've said they want to go to their old house, but for the most part they are fine. While our new house is "fancier", it's hard leaving the old house. It functioned well and it holds a lot of memories. The kids rooms were close together and shared a Jack&Jane bathroom in the old house, but the girls got a much bigger room in the new house which they needed. The kitchen in the new house is huge and functions great, so I'm trying to cook more... ugh!! It will take some time to break in the new house and make it feel like home, but we are in!!!!
Our Old House (winter photo, brown grass)

Our New House (summer photo, pretty green grass)

No time to post, just a couple pics

Our Christmas - Part Four.. the finale

On Saturday morning (the day after Christmas) everyone went to one of my cousin's houses for an after Christmas family gathering and we had a lovely time. It has been a CRAZY BUSY month with the kids, Christmas, and a move. I feel like Cody in the attached video which is a RIOT!!!! Poor guy was just worn out after opening all those gifts and crashed in Lane's swing....

This went on a LONG TIME before I grabbed the camera so we were in hysterics at this point. I did lay him back once he fell asleep and I stopped laughing...












Here are a couple pictures of my nephew Lane

Our Christmas - Part Three and lots of pics

Well, we are officially in our new house... hence my delay in posting... so to catch up on Christmas. After Church Christmas Eve we put out milk and cookies for Santa and put the babies to bed. The next morning, we woke at our regular time and brought the kids down. If you watched the 6 minute video in our last post, you got to see waking to stockings. We then loaded up and headed over to Mawmaw and Pawpaws house where we joined up with David, Kerri, Lane, and GG. Had a little breakfast and opened a lot of presents. PERFECT!!! As usual, my Mom did it up right. When it comes to making events special, she wins the prize. I think Martha Stewart herself would have trouble keeping up with my Mom. The house was beautiful and each gift wrapped with a special touch of decor. The kids finished up their gifts with big wheels or as they call them motorcycles and a little car, both gifts are requiring a lot of practice and parental supervision/assistance. Cody hung in great with just a brief nap and spent most of the day playing in Lane's baby swing where he finally gave in and fell asleep. We ended with a Christmas feast... I read How the Grinch Stole Christmas a lot this year and I just kept thinking "And they'll feast, and they'll feast, and they'll feast feast feast feast.... along with the noise, the noise, the noise noise noise noise...."