The great computer crash

My computer crashed & has been sent into Gateway to be fixed. I won't be able to download pictures until then because I don't want to have to put them on Ron's computer & then remember later to move them to mine. So, I am going to take a break from blogging for 1-2 weeks while I wait patiently for the worst customer service I've ever seen to fix my freakin' laptop! So many pictures on my camera that I want to share. We have had Ronnie's birthday, pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, & just being plain silly. Forgot the camera for our Chuck E Cheese adventure, but it was a ton of fun. I'll catch up soon. Until then, try desperately not to miss me! :)

Congratulations Walmart!

I'm so proud of Walmart. They FINALLY figured out that they misspelled "yield" on the pavement in their parking lot & repainted the other day. I must say, it made me proud. Way to go!!!

Missing My Girl!

Gracie is staying with Grandma & Grandpa this weekend & we are all missing her dearly. Gracie has been going on walks with them, to the AU Homecoming fair, & playing in the leaves. Well, according to Grandma, she preferred raking the leaves instead of playing in them. She was good at church & was described as "busy!" That made me laugh. It sounds like she is having so much fun on her visit, & I'm getting so much done around the house. Ronnie's party is next weekend. My baby will be 6! He is so excited to get his presents & have his friends & cousins over to play. Ugh, my house is such a mess! Ron & I went to Ikea in Cincinnati Saturday. It was a ton of fun & we bought a lot of organizational stuff for the kids' playroom. Today I have moved all of the kids toys upstairs. I now have my grown up living area downstairs. Ronnie was not thrilled. I miss my girl & will get to see her tomorrow. She will be coming home to a completely organized & clean home! Ahh what a feeling. Now why can't I keep it that way!!!???

Gracie loves going to Jennifer's during the day & playing with her new friends, Layla (2) and Addison, (9 months?). She is learning to talk now & really enjoys going over there. It has been wonderful. I'm posting pictures that Jennifer took of the 3 playing together. Enjoy!

Ronnie - minus tonsils, adenoids, etc...

Most people know by now that Ronnie's surgery went well. We were released from the surgery center on Friday at 3pm. It was a long day & very emotional for me. It's a horrible feeling to see your baby laying there in pain & there is absolutely nothing to do except love on him as much as possible. He had trouble coming out of the anesthesia & was so disoriented & in tremendous pain. He later asked me when he was getting his tonsils back. I imagine he figured that would cure his pain. The nurses at the surgery center were fantastic! They said Ronnie was one of the best patients they have ever had. He was extremely polite & never complained a bit.

Ron & I never let our kids sleep with us unless they are sick. So, night #1, Ronnie was in my bed & Ron got the couch! Turned out to be a wise move for Ron who got the most sleep. We went to bed at 9pm. I was exhausted & wanted to go to sleep, but poor Ronnie was not tired. He had slept most of the day. I asked him if I could get him anything. Downstairs I went to get him some ice water. Back up I came & then told him I would be turning off the lights. He could stay up & watch TV, but Mommy was going to sleep. He informed me that he had to rest his "froat". No problem. I told him to tap me if he needed anything. Slowly, I began to drift to sleep. Tap, tap, tap. Ronnie needed some more ice water. It HAD to be completely frozen. I informed him that there were still a ton of ice cubes in his cup, but alas, they were beginning to thaw, so downstairs I went for more water. Back upstairs & to sleep I started. Tap, tap, tap. Poor Ronnie needed ice cream for his sore "froat". Another trip downstairs. Back upstairs I came & now the light had to be on so he could see to eat. He had to eat VERY slowly because of his poor sore "froat". Finally, 10:30, I'm off to sleep. Tap, tap, tap. Now he needed pain meds. Back downstairs to get the meds & back upstairs to give them to my poor baby. (Boy, there are times I wish for a smaller house!) This went on several times throughout the night. At 5:30am, Ronnie woke me up to ask when morning was coming. He was not tired anymore. I told him he could go ahead & get up & go visit Daddy!

Night number 2 was a repeat of the same. Last night, he moaned all night long, but only asked us for water & meds once. However, I got up this morning & let him sleep in. Since he had such a restless night, I figured he could use more sleep. Wrong choice on my part. He cried so hard because I "left him" & he hurt his "froat" from all the crying. I calmly explained that I wanted him to get rest & he could come downstairs when he awoke. He told me that he couldn't walk because his "froat" hurt so much.

After writing all of this, I do have to admit that for the most part, he has not complained at all. Nights are the worst for him & I imagine laying down makes things worse. During the day, he is up & playing playstation & seems to feel okay. I just want him to feel better & I know that he will by the 10th day & that this will help him feel better in the long run. I just don't cope well with my children feeling bad. So keep Ronnie in your prayers as he still has a long road ahead before this is all over. He is not eating & is barely drinking & yesterday was a puke fest for him. I worry about dehydration. We are going to get some nausea meds & different pain meds for him since he can't take them on an empty stomach.

On a quick side note, Gracie has learned to climb up on our tall bar stool chairs. I was on the phone this morning & I glanced in the kitchen to check on her. She was sitting atop the kitchen island playing with a bottle of lotion! I need to chain her up so she will stay safe. Another mother-of-the-year moment for me!!!

Update on Ronnie

I took Ronnie to an ENT today for a checkup. He has had strep throat 3 times this year as well as many ear infections. It's so sad to see him sick all of the time. He has been complaining that he can't hear. The ENT did a hearing test & the good news is that he is not showing any permanent hearing loss, but he did show hearing deficits due to a large amount of fluid in his ears. The news: he has to have his tonsils & adenoids removed, new tubes put back in his ears, & something with his nasal passageway to open up his nose so he can breathe better. It is 4 different procedures in all (however it only takes 45 minutes to complete these procedures). Ronnie will have a 7-10 day recuperation & will have to miss school. They scheduled this for October 10th (Next Friday!!!) That was much quicker than I anticipated & I'm a little scared for him. It's tough to see my son feeling sick. As if that isn't enough, Gracie woke up at 3:30am this morning with a pretty high fever & she had some minor shaking (maybe more febrile seizures). Boy, I need to purchase a BIG thermometer because at 3:30 in the morning, those things are hard to find. I have to take her to the doctor today. Pray she gets better quickly so I only have 1 sick kid next week! :) Oh the joys of having more than one child!!! Any prayers would be appreciated. Thanks all!

Here Comes Fall!

School is in full swing & football is going well. All of this means one thing - Fall has arrived. The weather has been so perfect today. Halloween is approaching & so is Ronnie's birthday. I have been snapping a lot of pictures lately, so this is a random post of random pics. Not much new to report. Gracie is getting so smart! The other day, she was carrying around a hand mixer (I was not watching her as closely as I should have). She was taking the cord over to an outlet to plug it in. She never ceases to amaze & scare the heck out of me! Ronnie is loving football & is also doing well in school. He got all smiles on his first report card. She isn't talking yet, but she babbles all the time. I imagine that once she starts, she will never quit! Gracie LOVES her "big sis" Tiffany & tries to mimic everything Tiffany does. The pictures below are proof of that!

Ronnie actually got to carry the ball in the last game (I didn't get that on film...)

Ronnie's favortie part of the game is shoving people! (He's #6 in the yellow)
Too sweet for words!

Gracie LOVES swinging!

Ronnie is doing his Spiderman pose
Ronnie LOVES to act goofy when the camera is rolling
Look how high he can swing!
Gracie is trying to imitate Tiffy

Being Silly!

Gracie must do what big brother does! Hilarious!

Wee! Daddy dressed me. Don't I match well?

Isn't this funny? Gracie is such a copy cat!!!

Student of the Week!

Ronnie was picked first in his class to be student of the week! Of course, it's probably a random drawing, but if you ask Ronnie, he was CHOSEN! He feels extremely special this week. Mommy thinks it's fun, but boy is it a lot more work. Monday he got to take in Show-N-Tell & he chose to take the Wii remote, Nun-chuk, & Mario Kart steering wheel! Tuesday he got to take in his favorite book! This was a challenge because we go to the library & get new books quite often, so he has many favorites, but we were able to narrow it down. He has the class mascot for the week (a white teddy bear named Snowball). Ronnie has been very into this! For today, we get to make a poster board of Ronnie & things that are important to him. He chose - his Webkinz & playstation. I had to encourage him to add Gracie to the board. Man, toys are extremely important to him. That reminds me of a story at Holiday World. We sat down for lunch & Ronnie said prayer. He thanked God for his Daddy, Tiffany, & "this table!" Umm, what about Mommy? I felt so very special to be ranked below a table - or not even ranked for that matter (since I was left out of his very important prayer!)

Gracie is doing okay at the sitter's. I guess she whines & follows my friend around everywhere. She does that here too, which is why I so desperately wanted a sitter! Sorry Jennifer! Hopefully, she will adjust & enjoy playing with her new friends. Onto the pics...

Ronnie, Snowball, & his 65 Webkinz. We need addiction counseling!

Ronnie & Snowball
Snowball needed his own picture!
Ronnie & Snowball playing Ronnie's NEW Lego Batman Game!
Tiffy & Gracie being goofy!




Gracie's new game on the Wii - Running!