My funny little smart boy!

I have to blog this so I don't forget this cute little story........ Okkkkk, so this morning I was working with Andrew on saying all of his colors and I picked up something yellow and I said yellow over & over and he said it (which I might add..... he says it VERY well), then we did the same thing with black, then green............then we got to blue and I said "Andrew, can you say blue......blue" & he immediately started "blowing"! Then I said again, "Andrew, can you say "blue" & he started "blowing" again.......then it hit me that I always say, "Let mommy, blow on it" for his food and then after I hand it to him, I say "Mommy **blew** on it and now it is ready"!! I laughed so hard! Now everytime I ask him if he will say the word "blue", he just starts "blowing". He is just too smart & too funny! I love kids! Their little brains are always thinking!!

Our snow days......

Living in Texas is just crazy! Last week we had record highs and this week we had really crazy and messy weather. Hayden's & Kelsey's teacher's called on Monday morning about 10:00 saying that school was getting out early at 12:30 because the roads were getting bad. Heath ended up going to get them, since we really do not like them riding the bus when the roads are bad. It started raining and sleeting and getting really icy that afternoon and turning really bad for the last few days. So, the kids have had "snow days" on Tuesday and today. However, after lunch today the sun came very bright, so it is all melting away very fast now! When I woke up this morning it was 12 deg. YIKKKKESSS......that is COOOLLLLDDD!!! Thank you God for our warm house! Here are some pictures I took of the kids, our house, and our "ice-skating" rink. (The one of Hayden was taken thru the window.....it was too cold for me to go out:) Kelsey keeps asking me if they are going to go to school tomorrow.....I think she is getting used to being home all day. I guess it all depends if it is going to freeze tonight to make the roads icy. Sleeping late and just hanging out and not getting ready for the day has actually been kinda nice. However, I just hate that when I can sleep late, I always wake up early......really early.....like before 6 and I can not go back to sleep.

25 Things About Me!

1. I LOVE being a stay at home mom.....even thou I don't really ever stay at home that much!
2. I love my new camera & I love to take a ton of pictures daily! Glad it is digital since I take at least a hundred a week.
3. I love my basement, since I am scared of storms! (And I need a place to have my scrapbook room, a dark place to watch movies, my treadmill & desktop computer!)
4. As much as I wanted an inground pool, I hate keeping it vacuumed, cleaned and the expensive chemicals right! Pools are ALOT of work!
5. I love my kids & my husband! As crazy as they both make me, I can not imagine my life without them and that I did not know I could love someone so much!
6. I always wanted to be a teacher or nurse.
7. I am scared of snakes, rats and mice.
8. I am addicted to Ralph Lauren Polo clothes and anything Polo! (Even for the whole family!)
9. I love to entertain & have parties and get together's at our home!
10. I am really looking forward to learning how to play golf better this summer instead of just driving the cart around since Heath, Hayden and Kelsey all play! (However, it is fun to drive the cart around the neighborhood!)
11. I am so thankful to know and have a relationship with God and that we are bringing our children up in a Christian home.
12. I did not pick out any of my kids names! I actually had other names picked out!
13. We have a VERY large jar in Heath's bathroom for change that we call my "boob jar", so that I can get them and lippo in a year or so! (Thank you......breastfeeding!! LOL :)
14. I will never have or let Kelsey have short hair since my mom made me look like a boy when I was younger!
15. I went to many many schools in k-12th and I HATED it! (That is why my kids are going to stay at Northside till the graduate!)
16. I think about death/dying all the time or something bad happening to a loved one. Is that a bad thing?????
17. I am so thankful that Heath finally opened his own car sales business and that we did not end up buying the Ford/Dodge dealership. He is so much happier, healthier & less stressed now and is it is going GREAT!!! (Call him if you are in need of a new car!)
18. I can not believe that I have been driving my same car for over 2 years! I have had ALOT of cars in my 11 1/2 yrs of being married. Imagine that???
19. My parents were married for 28 years before getting divorced so...........it can happen to anyone........at any age!
20. I am really looking forward to another trip to Mexico or a beach somewhere like that again when Andrew gets older and I get my surgery! (See #13)
21. I dream & think about what kind of business that I would like to open since we bought the old Canton Cafe, but then I remember that I love my freedom & not having to be tied down to a job!
22. I hate my stomach problem and can't believe that I have not had a coke, soft drink or caffeine (except chocolate of course---am I crazy??) in over a year! I used to drink at LEAST 2-3 a day. Water and Gatorade ONLY for me, baby....ohhhh and a Strawberry Daq. with LOTS of cream too!
23. I think I am getting really addicted to this blog and facebook thing..yikes!
24. I can not believe I am so obsessed about my house being clean, since I swore I would never be like my mom.
25. I LOVE to SHOP! My favorite stores are Hobby Lobby, Ross, Marshall's, Kirkland's, Costco, Sam's & Scrapbook stores. I even love to shop online and Ebay. (See # 8).

It's finally paid off.......

Well.....all the money, driving her too and from and sitting there for all this time to gymnastics has finally really paid off! Kelsey is able to do a back hand-spring on the trampoline by herself! In fact, not just one or two but over and over and over! She has been doing them for awhile by herself at the gym, but has been scared without Ms. Amy or Mrs. Kim here to "spot" her. I am so glad that she is enjoying doing gymnastics! I always wanted to do it when I was her age! Hopefully, she will enjoy it for many years to come as much as I enjoy watching her!

Kelsey's new "hat" & "picture frame"!

Here is a picture of Kelsey's cute "hat" and "picture frame" that she made herself a couple weeks ago. It came from the box of her Karaoke machine that she got from Papa & Grandog for Christmas. She asked for the markers and a little while later she walks into the living room with her new "decorated" hat and frame. I did not even know she was making it. I thought it was so cute that she put on there "Daddy's Girl" and "Princess Kelsey". And of course, you can see her little brother wanted to wear it too!I am so glad that she is so creative!

Rewarded for grades

While the kids were out for the extended Christmas break, their report cards came in the mail! I was so excited when I opened them up and both of the kids had straight A's. Last 6 wks, Hayden only had one "B"..........and it was in P.E..............Yes, I said that correct.......He had a 88 in P.E. How do you get a "B" in P.E????....Well you get 3 points taken off your grade everytime you forget your tennis shoes.......Needless to say, Hayden does not want to wear boots to school that much anymore!! LOL I think I was more upset at the fact that now this year he is on "A-B" honor roll instead of just "A" honor roll. Anyway, last Monday morning before school, I decided to take them to get doughnuts and go to Walmart and let them pick out something special. After much debate, Hayden choose a Nerf gun called a "Automatic Tommy 20!" (which I might add is REALLY cool!) and Kelsey picked out this pack-n-play for her babies! (Too be honest, I really don't know why she wanted this so bad, because she does not play with dolls that much, but she thought it was cute since Andrew sleeps in his!) Oh well...they are happy and that is all that matters! I am REALLY trying to work hard at ONLY buying them something for a "special" (holiday, birthday, grades, ect.) reason and not just anytime we go to the store! It is one of those things, that we are so blessed that we can........but they are getting spoiled to it! I am trying to teach them that they get rewarded for doing good things and getting good grades and you get "punished" if you do not! Even though both of their colleges are paid for 4 years (THANKS Papa & Grandog--my dad & step-mom), it is VERY VERY important to me that they do their VERY VERY best in school! Hayden is all ready talking about what he wants to get next time, so maybe it is a good incentive after all!

Sick baby!

Here are some pictures I took of Andrew last week while he was sick. I tried to have him sit in the highchair with us while we were eating since he was sleeping so much, but as you can tell, it did not help! He was so sleepy! You can see the picture of him in the navy blue in the kitchen was on Friday when he "wanted" to feel better. He would get up and play for a few minutes, then sit down for a little while. We are so glad that he is back to his normal busy self this week!

Eating pan-pan's & playing peek-a-boo!

Andrew enjoys eating a pan-pan almost every day for Breakfast. If you notice, Mackie does too:) She does not go to far when Andrew is in his highchair any time of the day! And it cracks me up that no matter what age a kid/baby is that they still love to play peek-a-boo! I just love how they put their little hands across their face to hide! Awww, I wish these times would just last forever!

17 mths!!

 

My beautiful & healthy 17 month old baby boy!!

Announcing.....Timothy Isaac McLennan

Here is a picture of our new little nephew, Timothy Issac McLennan. This is Heath's middle sister, Emily and her husband, Tony's new baby. He was born on December 13th in Wichita Falls. He weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 8 oz. In Wichita Falls, they have a "rule" that you can only have 3 people in the delivery room and she all ready had her husband..(of course!), her sister, Molly Beth and her mom, Molly (who is actually a ...and was my....doula that I HIGHLY recommend!:) I went in there just to say hello, but she was in alot of pain and things just started progressing really fast. I kept "motioning" to Molly Beth that I was going to leave, but she kept giving me the signal to be quiet and just stay! I am soooo glad I did! It was such a wonderful blessing to be in there to see a miracle be born (not to mention my tough sister-in-law, had NO....yes I repeat.....NO drugs!). We were so afraid that they were going to ask me to leave! I stood over there very quietly and out of the way, just writing down what time everything was happening. In fact... Dr. Lamar did stop while Emily was pushing and asked who I was! I was so embarrassed and was laughing so hard that my face turned bright red! I also got to take all the pictures of him after he was born! His birth was sooooo special, because it is the first birth I actually got to be in the delivery room.....well....on that side of the bed!! He was so cute, alert and the best little baby! He is now doing great and when I talked to Emily yesterday she had taken him for his 4 week check-up and he is weighing in at a healthy 10 lbs! He is joined by big brother, Luke Anthony 4, and Lydia Joy, 2. (Oh, these pictures were scanned in my computer is why they look like this!)

Me......the "worry wart".....

You know, I have to admit something! I completely have a "little" mixed feelings! Heath started his own business in the fall and is doing unbelievably well. I can almost say things are just PERFECT....his health is so much better, no high blood pressure or medicine for it, no emergency room visits, less migraines, less worry, SO MUCH less stress, nobody that talks "down" to him, he's not drinking at all, nobody to answer too, no anixety.......nothing.....nothing but wonderful blessings ....not to mention his salary has completely doubled from his other job as a GM since he started (THANK YOU GOD for providing!! We pray it stays that way!!), he is being so much nicer to be around & back to being his old self...oh and don't forget about his "hot" co-worker----"ME"!! LOL Just kidding!! So, your wondering what the problem is....well, the "only" problem is the really long hours during the week, every week going to all the auctions! He has to get up early to make it to them (Ft. Worth, OKC, Dallas, ect.). Which alot of times means, coming home late from them. Like right now it is 10:00 p.m. and he has been gone since 5:45 a.m, he is still about an hour and half away from W.F. Not to mention he has had to go to Colorado once and Utah once to pick-up vehicles he has bought there. PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG..........I am so blessed to have such a wonderful hard working husband and father that spoils me (us) more than I have ever imagined, but I WORRY SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much about him being out on the road so much. You have to understand, Heath does not do good at staying awake while driving or even being in the car. He has ALWAYS been like this, ever since I met him! I ALWAYS drive home from W.F. or Ft. Worth or where ever we have been, especially if it is the evening or night time. He did this while we were dating too. I remember times that were on our way to W.F. late and I would be driving there and he would fall asleep and I would just turn around and come home and not even go, because I knew I would have to drive all the way home, being the only one awake after what ever we did that night. I am so proud of him for doing so good with the business, being so happy and loving what he is doing, but the price of worry is "very hard for me!". Please pray that I will just be able to turn it over to God and "try" not to worry so much. (I am just like my wonderful loving late Granny, that I "worry" about what to "worry" about!:) Anyway, I would just like to hope and pray that the worry will go away, but I guess that is part of the "business"...........of being a wife (and a mother!).

Not out of the woods yet....

Well, I guess we are not completely out of the woods yet with the sickness. Hayden called from school earlier and said he was dizzy and his stomach hurt. So, I went and picked him up and he is in bed with Phernagan on his wrist watching T.V. The principal said it is going around really bad out at the school. They are reporting bad headaches, feeling dizzy and upset stomach. If you know Hayden at all, he is NOT one to complain! He is the kid that I know he can be sick and when I ask him, he just says, "No mom, I'm fine!". While I was out at the school, I had them peak in on Kelsey to make sure she "looked" ok and they said she was probably the "perkiest" in the class. Hopefully, she stays good! I sure hope it does not last long with Hayden!

Tag............your it...............:)

My friend, Shalyn, tagged me on her blog. The instructions were: 1. Go to your photo folders and open the 4th folder. 2. Choose the 4th photo. 3. Explain the photo. 4. Tag 4 other people!

I have to admit, I was kinda scared when I read this as to what photo would come up, not that I have anything nasty or anything, but it just got me to wondering! Actually, I was kinda glad that this one came up! Mine goes under A to Z on my laptop (which is what I am on) and on my desktop they go by dates! (The title is Andrew & the envelopes!).

Anyway, this is a picture of Andrew that I took on August 11, 08. Andrew always loves to play in the kitchen drawers and when I went to go put some laundry away, I came back and this is the mess he had made! He took all the envelopes out of the box and had them all over the floor and was playing with the box! Needless to say, that kitchen drawer is now his and not the "office" supplies!

Now I need to tag 4 people, so I tag Teresa, Molly Beth, Courtney & Amy! Have fun!

Well...........we did it!

Well, we actually went a full day today without Andrew having vomit, fever, diarrhea and GREEN poop! Actually, he did not poop at all today. I am happy with that. He even ate pretty good. He had french toast, cereal, crackers, a cheese stick & peas today. I have had a very busy day today, so we had just slam-it for dinner. (If you don't know what slam it is..........it is where you get what ever you can find to eat and "slam" it together!) Heath and Kelsey had cereal, I had 1 left over quesadilla and some refried beans from Hayden's lunch with his grandparents that he went to church with and Hayden had Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup!) We took down the Christmas lights, put stuff up in the attic, cleaned the garage, raked all the leaves in the backyard, cleaned out Andrew's toy bins, cleaned out our master closet and FINALLY finished Hayden's Science Fair project......yeah........it is done.....and it is going to school with him tomorrow! I am so glad to have all of that done, however I have not taken a shower yet......so I am off to a HOT "needed" shower!

Update on Andrew's illness...

Well, I just wanted to give a update on Andrew. Today is Saturday and this is the first day since Monday, he has not had diarrhea, fever OR vomitting..........HOWEVER.......he did have 3 large GREEN "Guacamole" looking diapers! I did not know if that was a good thing or not so I looked online and I read that it is his BILE! This happens when babies do not eat very much and have no food in their stomach. I have not decided if this is a good or bad thing. Good, because he does not have horrible runny diarrhea like he has had continuously since Wednesday after the doctor's visit, even with the Children's Imodium. We are talking "pure water" diarrhea. But bad because it is his BILE! Online where I was reading it says to go ahead and feed them what ever they want as long as they are eating. So, tonight he had 2 bites of chicken and a good helping of mashed potatoes that I made. He has been really weak, taking REALLY REALLY long naps and sleeping really late & not up running around very much, but hey what do you expect after having this for 6 days. Tomorrow is Sunday and we started a new lesson in Sunday School last Sunday called "Fireproofing your Marriage". It is based on the movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron. It is about the differences in husbands and wives. I strongly advise you and your spouse to see this movie if you have not. It is REALLY worth it! I think it comes out on DVD on the 27th, so at least try to rent it! I really hate to miss tomorrow's lesson, but there is no way that Andrew needs to get out and of course, my children come FIRST! My doctor did give him an antibiotic to start taking because he said his immune system will be down after all this, but I have not started giving it to him because...it of course.........causes diarrhea! I am so ready for that poor little guy to be up and going again! There is nothing worse than seeing your children sick. Not to mention, I am about to go stir crazy staying at home. However, I have got alot of organizing (more on that later!!!) and cleaning done! Our house smells like a Lysol and bleach factory! Heath went to the OKC & DFW auto auction and his normal Wednesday night Poker group, so on Thursday night, I took a shower and I told him I was leaving to go to Wal-mart. He wanted to know what I could possibly need since he has gone 3 times for me this week. What do I need.........I need sanity!!! I need to get out to go anywhere....I don't care as long as I get out. Well, Kelsey and I did go to Wal-mart and I guess I did need something, because I spent $155! :) Anyway, thanks for all the prayers & thoughts of us during this illness with him. We are still keeping our fingers crossed that we do not come down with this, especially since the kids go back to school on Monday.

What Andrew was doing........

Here are some pictures I took of Andrew while we were making the Gingerbread house on Sunday evening! He was doing some "cooking" and "eating" of his own with his play food! He also had fun crawling under the bar stool, stood on his head and took a rest on the 18 wheeler while drinking some milk! And as you can see, he threw a "fit" in there too! (It was too cute not to take a picture....:)

More gingerbread pictures....

Ok, I am still learning how to blog (and loving it...if you can't tell) and I guess it only lets you load 5 pictures at a time, so here are the rest! Enjoy!

Making "gingerbread" memories

Growing up, while living in Arlington, TX I remember one of my friend's bringing me a homemade Gingerbread house at Christmas! It was the prettiest I have ever seen, even to this day. In fact, I thought it was so nice that I never ate it. I had it in my room until the candy started falling off (MANY months later) and my parents made me throw it away. I have always wanted to make one with my kids, and never have. I actually bought one a few years ago and we never did get around to it. Well, I guess it has been staying on my mind, so I was bound & determined to make one with the kids during the Christmas break. So, on Sunday we were fixing to have family time and Kelsey thought it would be a good time to do it. We really had alot of fun making it, the gingerbread men that came with it and making the memories, that we decided to do this every year from now on! In the one picture of the gingerbread men it is Heath's, mine, Hayden's and Kelsey's from left to right that we made and Kelsey made Andrew one so we would have the "whole" family! Too make it fair, Hayden had his own side of the house, Kelsey had her's and I had the back and it was team effort for the front. In one of the pictures you see the kids eating it the next morning.........ohhhh well, even thou it did not last long, hopefully the memories will! :) (Oh...by the way, I bought it after Christmas at Sam's for 1/2 off!!!)

My poor little guy('s)!?!

Well, it is 4:56am on Wednesday morning & I am up watching Little Einsteins with Andrew in my bed with Daddy sleeping next to us. I have not been to bed yet or as I should say, asleep yet....My poor little man has been sick ever since Monday. It all started with diarrhea, then he vomited REALLY REALLY bad in the car after we dropped off Kelsey at gymnastics & were on our way to Walmart to get some Pedilite. So, we ended up at home in the bathtub. He then came down with high fever & that & the vomitting rotated off & on ever since Monday evening! We have been giving him Phenergan as needed as well as Tylenol & Motrin. I have been trying to give him little sips of Pedilite, but every time I do, it comes back up. He finally took some Pedilite last night around 11:00 & I thought we were doing good, so I put him to bed & I got in bed. I started watching TV trying to fall asleep & around 12:30 & as I was getting sleepy, he kept "coughing" funny, so I would jump up to make sure he was ok, then the next thing I knew he vomited again & I went to pick him & put him on our bed so I could get a washcloth to wash his hands & face. I then went to rinse out the washcloth & then he started vomiting alot more all over our comforter! I guess he had to much Pedilite too fast last night. (He only had 1/2 of a sippy cup.) So, as you can see it has been a really rough night for us. What you have to understand is I am not one of those people that just fall right back to sleep if I get woke up (unlike my husband who is next to us snoring!). So, then I get ready to fall back asleep & he starts coughing so I jump up again, & again, & again to check on him. By this time I am wide awake & I start thinking about how he has not had a wet diaper since I got him in the tub earlier in the day to bath him from getting sick. And with texting back & forth with Molly Beth earlier in the evening talking about Rotovirus, it gets my mind to racing....So, I get on the internet & start reading & get really scared about him being dehydrated. I thought about taking him to the E.R, but I then decided to wake him up & give him 1/2 to 1 tsp. of Pedilite every 10 minutes or so, so here we are..........Well, I am........he has fallen back asleep in the middle of our bed. Well...now to be completely honest with you, Heath just got up & is in the bathroom & not feeling good at all. He is suppost to be getting up & leaving for OKC to the auction around 5:45, so I guess we will see if that happens with time....Ohhh Lordy, I pray that this is not going to be a "family" thing! I am worn out with one having it. I can't imagine with it going thru the rest of us. However, it makes me think of the Bible verse that says....."He will not give you more than you can handle!!".....with that being said....I just want to make sure He is paying attention.....LOL LOL! I am kinda glad that Hayden & Kelsey are on the "flex" week & don't go back to school until next Monday in case they do come down with it, but it would be good for them to stay away from Andrew (and maybe Heath too??) as much as possible. Sickness is so hard....just not knowing what it is; Rotovirus, Strep-throat (my sister says her boys have these symptoms when they have it!), Stomach virus, something else??? Who knows....... Well, it is now 5:40 & I am going to decide if I want to get a few hours of rest before I take Andrew into sick time at 8:00 or stay up since Heath is up & running back & forth to the bathroom & snorning in between LOL.....As I close, please say a little prayer for our "sick" (& tired) family and I will say one for all who read this that you will not get "whatever" this is................:)p.s. If you would please either leave me a comment or send me an email at tecardwell@sbcglobal.net to let me know who is reading this!! It was nice that some all ready have (especially the ones that live out of town!)to let me know that they are enjoying the update:)

I am the computer "goo-roo" now!!!

Well, believe it or not......I actually taught my sister how to do a blog! What you don't understand is that she is normally the next person when Heath is not available that I ask when I can not figure something out when I have a computer problem! And it also helps that my brother-in-law, Eddie is what Hayden calls a "Teck-no-geek".....please don't think I am making fun of him......as he is one of Hayden's inspirations being a "Teck-no-Geek"! LOL! Anyway, after a few hours on the phone with her on Sunday afternoon, her blog is up and running! She did a really good job....but then again....she had a wonderful teacher! LOL! Take a look when you can www.wendorfworld.blogspot.com P.S. It took me lots of hours of trial and error until after midnight for me to figure it all out!! :)

Kelsey laying in the Leaves!

 

Here is a picture of Kelsey laying in the leaves! Ever since I got my new AWESOME camera for Christmas from my wonderful husband, I am going around the house just trying to find things to take pictures of! I decided since I have a really cute one of Andrew in the leaves, that I wanted one of Kelsey and Hayden too! (Hayden had a friend over and didn't really want to do a picture!LOL!)So, here is Kelsey's!

Two Peas in a Pod

Here are some pictures I took of Kelsey and her "other half", Natalie last night. Believe it or not, Kelsey's room was spotless before they started playing. Kelsey and Natalie are both in 1st grade together and their birthday's are only one day apart. (Kelsey is "older"!) They love to spend the night with each other. They always have so much fun playing the Wii, playing with Polly Pockets and jumping on the trampoline! I pray they are friends forever!