A GREAT Holiday Weekend

We just had the most wonderful holiday weekend!  Mike had a 4 day weekend, which is HUGE since he works so much and we don't get to spend much time together other than weekends.  Friday was spent putting together Mike's chief package, which was pretty stressful for him!  But, it's done and on it's way and fingers crossed he makes it this year!  God knows he deserves it, and the extra money would be so nice.  :-)

Saturday was super fun!  While there was a little disappointment when we tried to go strawberry picking with Mickey because the field closed early for being picked out, the rest of the day was completely awesome!  We went and met my cousin Linsi and her fiance, Carson, at their campground in Virginia Beach.  They were camping at North Landing Beach on the North Landing River.  It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day.  We took the kids for a swim in the river first, where Haley and Mickey were splashing each other and really playing, which is kind of rare given the huge age difference!  It was fun to watch.  ♥

Then we went to their campsite for a snack before heading to the campground pool.  Carly was eating an apple and a clementine on Linsi's lap and loving life!

On the way back to the campsite Mickey played on the playground for a little bit and then a water balloon fight!  Mike and Mickey versus Linsi and Haley.

Back at the campsite, the girls were helping Linsi and Carson start the fire so we could have a weiner roast and make smores, of course!  Carly slept through the fire making, but Callie watched intently!

Afterwards, we decided to take a walk around the campground as the sun was setting, and there was the most beautiful sunset over the river!  Just gorgeous.

My beautiful Mickey silhouette ♥

We then had a blasty blast people watching on our walk around the campground.  People are so funny ... especially the people who were camping there this weekend!  LOL  We had a great time just hanging out with Linsi and Carson.  They are really cool people.  So glad they decided to come here and go camping!

Sunday we had Mickey's birthday party.  It wasn't as grand as I had planned it in my head, but she said it was the best day ever, so that's all that really matters!  ♥  She got her strawberry cupcakes, so she was happy.  :-)

 

Finally, on Monday (after my morning Zumba!) we gathered up all the kids and headed to the pool at the YMCA!  It was Carly and Callie's first time at the pool.  Callie absolutely LOVED it!  She was just a splashing and trying to crawl away from us in the baby pool!  She's crazy.  LOL  Carly wasn't so sure about it all, and just clung to me the whole time.  She was happy as long as I was holding her or she was sitting in my lap.  My friend (and AWESOME Zumba instructor!) Jessica took a picture of all of us since it was their first time at the pool.  I realized later, sadly, I think this is the first family picture of ALL of us!  I have GOT to remedy that situation ASAP!

The babies are so good!  They totally just go with the flow of whatever we are doing, sleeping in their stroller when they are tired.  Although, little Miss Carly was SO tired, that she fell asleep on me IN THE POOL!  LOL  After we left the pool, we went home to cook out a yummy dinner.  We just had a super great weekend.  I am so thankful for my family.  They are my whole world, and I amd SO lucky!  ♥

4 and 34 - Happy Birthday to US!

4 years ago, I got the most amazing birthday gift one could ever receive.  My Mickey was born on my 30th birthday.  There are so many reasons this is poignant.  That day as I was in labor, I thought of my own mother 30 years prior in labor with me, anticipating the birth of her daughter.  I felt like she was there in spirit that day!  Mikaela was a gift in so many ways.  We had been trying for 6 years for a second child.  We had experienced 3 miscarriages and I had been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a result.  Getting pregnant and staying pregnant was not going to be easy.  With the help of Femara, a fertility drug, we were blessed with the pregnancy that finally worked and gave us Mickey.  I spent a lot of months on bedrest thanks to my ever present preterm labor, but I made it to 36 weeks 4 days, my 30th birthday, and was blessed with the gift of Mikaela Debra, our little miracle!  She was a dream come true, such a gorgeous little baby.  ♥

Photo courtesy Purple Pickles & Cupcake Sprinkles

Photo courtesy Purple Pickles & Cupcake Sprinkles

Photo courtesy Purple Pickles & Cupcake Sprinkles

This bible verse couldn't be any more true:

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has
granted me what I asked of him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Now, here we are 4 years later and I can't believe my baby is 4!  She is sassy, spunky, naughty, cute, smart and strong willed!  She tries my patience on a daily basis, but she always keeps life interesting!  I can't imagine a world without my Mickey Mouse.  ♥

I am now 34 years old, and I LOVE LIFE!!!  Some people are scared of getting older - it honestly doesn't bother me.  Life just gets sweeter and sweeter.  I don't feel old at all ... still feel like a kid myself!  Just living the miracle over here!  :-)  Me on my 34th ...

Crazy Storm!

Most of today was just gorgeous.  Sunny, hot, playing outside weather!  Then right around 4pm, when I was getting the kids ready to head out to pick Haley up from school, it got really dark outside.  Then this CRAZY wind came out of nowhere!  I got Mickey and Carly in the car before the rain started, but poor Callie and I got SOAKED because it had started pouring rain when I brought her out to the car.  As soon as I got her buckled and myself into the car (soaked as I was!) it started hailing!  The hail was pretty good size too - like bouncy ball size.  I was sitting in my car needing to go pick up Haley, but terrified to go anywhere!  I called Mike to ask him if I should be worried, not sure if there were tornado warnings or anything as the power was knocked out pretty much immediately from the wind so I wasn't sure.  I read later this evening that the winds were 60-70mph!  I don't doubt it.  It was just sever thunderstorm warning.  So, I just sat in the driveway until the rain settled down some.  When I finally did leave, I was blown away by all the tree limbs and power lines down!  It was only 10 minutes max, but it did quite a bit of damage!  WOW!

So when Mike got home from work, a little earlier than usual to assess any storm damage, he and Mickey were cleaning up all the debris from the yard.  Mickey was so cute with her little wagon helping daddy!  ♥

Our power was only out for about 6 hours or so, GO Dominion VA Power!  I was expecting a few days, because there were a LOT of people without power in the area ... like 160,000+!  With all the destruction and devastation from storms lately, I am so thankful this wasn't so bad.  A little yard cleanup and a few hours without power are no big deal!  :-)

If you ♥ your freedom ...

Mike's sister got these shirts for Carly and Callie since their daddy is in the Navy - they say, "If you ♥ your freedom, thank my DAD!"  So cute.  Callie always looks so serious in the pictures?  Guess it's the crazy things Mommy tries to do to get them both to STAY for a picture together!  LOL

Have I mentioned how difficult it is to keep them both sitting together for a picture now?  Damn near IMPOSSIBLE!  Someone always gets mad that they have to be still.  Thought this was pretty cute though - I love how Callie is looking at Carly!  LOL

I can't get over how curly Carly's hair is getting the more it grows!  So cute.  Callie's is flat as a pancake!  So funny how they are so opposite!

Mickey is still having fevers, but she will feel better intermittently with the ibuprofen.  I hope she will just feel better by her birthday on Wednesday!  Poor baby.  :-(  

My nephew, Taylor, had his surgery on his knee today at CHKD.  He ended up with pins and screws in his knee to repair one of his fractures.  He had 3!  Poor kid.  He also tore his meniscus which they just had to shave to fix.  He is in quite a bit of pain and feeling pretty emotional.  he has a long road to recovery ahead of him!  I feel so bad for him.  It's always heartbreaking to see a kid suffering.  Praying he heals quickly!

As for me, I am enjoying a coconut rum and cranberry cocktail, hanging out with my Mikey and looking forward to Zumba in the morning!  :-)

Mickey and I were in the paper!

So I got an email this morning from a woman who writes for the "Your Corner" section of the Virginia Pilot letting me know that Mickey and I were in the paper yesterday!  Remember when we went to Healthy Kids Day at the YMCA a few weeks ago?  Well, she took our picture and gave us her card and said she might write about us in the paper.  So I had emailed her to ask when and if she was planning to write about us, and she said she would let me know.  Glad she emailed me, or I would have missed it.  :-)  It's not the most flattering picture of me in the world, but what a fun momento to keep fro Mickey anyway!  We had fun, and Mickey looks ADORABLE!  ♥

I also took poor, pitiful Mickey to the doctor today because she is still running a fever, but they couldn't find a source for the fever and said it must just be from the cold.  While we were in the waiting room waiting to be called back, she threw up ALL OVER the waiting room floor.  YUCK!  Someone was in the bathroom (and taking FOREVER I might add!) so I just stood there with it all over my hands and all over poor Mickey's feet and all over the floor.  The girls behind the desk gave me some sanitizer wipes to clean it up, but it was so watery that I needed paper towels to wipe it up.  What a nightmare.  At least Carly and Callie were being good little babies!  I guess it is the mucous that is making her sick.  She keeps crying and holding onto her puke bag, but she hasn't thrown up again even though she keeps feeling like it.  Poor baby!  Never a dull moment around here.  Hoping to get back to more FUN moments once our herd gets to feeling better.

It's been a long day taking care of poor little sick Mickey and Callie's hiney decided to flair up again, so she and Carly had to soak in the tub with baking soda just as dinner was ready.  Cold dinner for me!  Ah, such is the glamorous life of a Mommy!  ;-)  I'm exhausted and ready to just relax.  But alas, I go, go, go every day until my head hits the pillow usually around 11 or 12 every night!  My 13 year old nephew is having surgery on his knee tomorrow, so I am praying that goes well.

"Can we paint my toenails?"

Mickey wanted to play outside this afternoon, but it was getting ready to thunderstorm, so we couldn't go outside.  She was having a fit about it, as she had been extremely whiny all day and yesterday too - even moreso than usual!  She had asked me this morning if I would paint her toenails today and I said I would, but that it would have to be later.  Mickey still doesn't get the concept of later, because every time I tell her that, she says, "No! Today!"  LOL  So, I painted Mickey's toes in a cute pinky purple and she wanted lots of colors on her hands.  So cute!  Then she sat and talked to me while I painted my toes! The last time they were painted I was in the hospital on bedrest and my sister in law painted them for me - it was around Mickey and I's birthday!  So just about a year.  Long overdue.  We had fun.  :-)

Then around 5, just after the doctors office closed, I discovered why Mickey was so whiny!  She had a fever of 102.2.  Poor Mickey!  She wasn't feeling good.  MORE SICKIES!  I'm so over it.  Now I am the only one to not get it.  Fingers crossed I can keep healthy!

Carly and Callie are feeling much better now.  I am giving them probiotics in their yogurt every morning which seems to be helping with the diarrhea (don't get me wrong, Callie is still having multiple blowouts a day, they just aren't as watery and bad for her bum now!  LOL) and Callie's hiney looks MUCH better.  Still not 100% perfect, but a LOT better than it did.  She doesn't scream with diaper changes anymore.  That was so pitiful.  Carly is teething hard core - her top left tooth has broke through and the right one isn't far behind.  They both have super swollen gums, but it doesn't seem to be bothering Callie so much.  They are back to playing - crawling all over the place (thank goodness I have 2 gates now so I can at least keep them out of the kitchen!  LOL) and pulling up on everything.

They wore their first set of "Big Sister/Little Sister" shirts today!  It totally cracks me up that Carly is the "big" sister since she is much smaller!  hehe  On a side note, trying to get a picture of them sitting together now and is damn near IMPOSSIBLE!  LOL

1 week until Mickey's 4th birthday!  I can hardly believe my baby is going to be 4 already.  Time sure does fly.  This means it is 1 week until I am 34!!  I still can't believe I had her on my 30th birthday.  Crazy!  So, I am birthday shopping and party planning.  She is having a strawberry themed birthday party this year because she is obsessed with strawberries this year!  :-)

Mike made a point to try to get home "early" tonight (meaning he was here around 6:30 versus 8 or 9 like usual) so I could go to Zumba.  My girl Jessica is the instructor on Wednesday nights so he knows I really wanted to try to make it at least tonight.  So I got to go do some much need booty shakin' and calorie burnin! YAY!  Here is my golden ticket, even though it's orange!  LOL  (You have to get tickets early for the evening classes because it is so popular and they only have so many spots.)

I'll leave you with some lyrics from one of the songs in her class.  It's the song "Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez.

"If you wanna live your life
 Live it all the way and don't you waste it 
Every feelin' every beat
Can be so very sweet you gotta taste it
You gotta do it, you gotta do it your way"