Giveaways

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is giving away a Bosch MIXXO™ Cordless Immersion Blender along with a bunch of other great stuff!

She Knows Parties is having a Betty Crocker Decorating Cookie Icing Giveaway.

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is giving away a Keurig Coffee Maker!

MomDot is giving away a set of Harry Potter books!

The Cutest Little Sickies Ever...

Update on the Sickies...

Thanks so much everyone for all the prayers and well wishes for the girls! Ava seems to be doing much better! She is her usual smiley self! It takes an awful lot to get that little one down! She is taking her medicine like a champ and seems to be feeling just fine! She is getting into lots of trouble without her Sissy to play with! Lily finally slept through the night last night (first time in about a week) and she's actually still asleep right now at 8:00, which is late for my girls, so yay! Hopefully, the sleep will help her feel better! She is not a fan of the medicine and it's this big drama whenever she has to take it (twice a day, fun), but I am just hoping she is feeling better by next week before our trip to St. Auggie! Thanks again, everyone!

Update

Well, after our fun filled night, Lily took a nap this morning and then puked...twice. I took both her and Ava to the doc this morning and he gave them both a script for antibiotics. Ava has a sinus infection and Lily has ear infections in both ears. Anyhow, I will not be doing much blogging until they are better...probably won't be a whole lot until after Thanksgiving. Sorry, and please pray for my little ones to get better quick!

My Pity Party Post

So, while I was up at 2:00 in the morning with my sick daughter I was thinking about all the crappy things going on for us lately and I decided to do a post about it basically just to complain about my lot in life. You know, have my own little pity party via blog world. But, later last night, around probably 4:30 when I was still up with my sick daughter who refused to go to sleep, I decided it would probably be better for my sanity and just my all around well being to not dwell on the crap. So, I decided to go ahead an do my Thanksgiving post a week early and share with you all the things I am grateful for in my life. All the good stuff. So, here is my list of what I am thankful for(in no particular order):

1. We have a roof over our head. It's not the prettiest roof, but we are (mostly) warm and we have a place to call home.

2. My kids are (usually) healthy. They get the odd sickness here and there and the last few weeks have been trying, but they do not have any serious illnesses that require us to run to the hospital all the time or that are threatening their lives.

3. Ava is my snuggle bug. I wanted a snuggly baby so badly and I got one. Yay!

4. My husband. Goodness knows he can make me crazy, but he is an excellent Daddy and he will always make sure we are taken care of.

5. Our amazingly generous family. Both my husband's family and my family have been extremely generous to us. They help out with the kids when we are in town, they take us out to eat, they give gifts to the kids for no special reason, they have sent and taken us on vacations, they are all just great to us.

6. My kids (usually) love each other. It's so amazing to see them play together. (Lily is screaming at Ava right now because she is tired and cranky from being up all night, so that's why I say usually...we are not feeling the love right now).

7. Dental school is almost over. The end is in sight! We have only 16 month left! WooHoo!

8. MOPS. My MOPS group has been such a lifesaver while we have been here in Gainesville and I am thankful for each and every one of the women I have come in contact with in that group. They are all amazing and they all encourage me and give me strength.

I'm sure there is more and I will keep posting as I come up with stuff. I have a feeling I will need to keep looking at this list to remind myself of the positive things we have going on so as not to dwell on the negative. I am sorry if any of this post is unclear (I am thankful for spell check this morning) as I am running on like 5 hours of sleep, part of which happened on my kids floor. Anyhow, it is so easy to get bogged down in the all challenges that come with the holidays. I would just encourage you all to try to focus on the positive this holiday season.

Another Giveaway Post

I know, I know...but, I am trying to win some more Christmas presents. So, please, bare (is that the right one?) with me and I promise I will get some more pics of the little ones up soon.

Berrie Sweet Picks is giving away a nifty kids CD.

SAHM Reviews is giving away a Chex "Basket of Indulgence."

Mom Fuse is giving away a beautiful set of ear buds.

Old Red Barn Co. is giving away three amazing quilts.

Does Mommy Love it? is doing a bunch of giveaways including an adorable outfit, a pretty necklace, and eco-friendly cleaning supplies.

Peanut Butter and Pickles is giving away a Munchie Mug.

Everything Up Close is giving away a super nice shower head.

MomDot is giving away an awesome cell phone!

MomDot Blog Party - Day 2

Here are today's sponsors and VIP blogs and today's question:

Sponsors: LaPlates and Lets Go Strolling and Natitys Design

VIP BLOGGERS: Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

DAY TWO QUESTION

Traditions, what are some of your favorite family traditions? What are some that you want to begin?

We don't really have many traditions. Our Christmases are still kinda spent on the run visiting all our relatives, so we haven't really had a chance to form our own traditions yet. Someday, I'd like to be bale to spend Christmas morning with just us and then maybe do some visiting int he afternoon. I'd like to have the morning to eat a nice breakfast and open presents and watch my kis play before the whirlwind of family begins...maybe someday :)

MomDot Blog Party - Day 1

Okay, so I am a day behind, but I figured I'd go ahead and do my post anyhow. So, for all of you who don't know, MomDots Blog Party going on From Nov 12th-Nov 27th. Every day during this time, they will bring a holiday question for us to answer. IT's all ending in a huge drawing with lots of prizes at the end of the months. Anyhow, here's the first question and the sponsors and VIP blogs for the day:

Sponsors: Day One Blog Party Question is Brought to you by La Belle Toile and This and That by Randi

VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

DAY ONE QUESTION

Introduce us to your family and share Holiday pics of years past

Well, I have two baby girls and am married to my wonderful husband, Nathan. Christmases for us tend to be pretty hectic. All our family (including all grandparents) lives about two hours away and so, we make the drive and spend the holidays with everyone. It can be pretty hectic. Both my daughters were born on December 21st. They were born two years apart, but those Christmases were even more hectic than usual. I had c-sections with both of them but we still made it in to visit family. Like I said...interesting. Well, here are some pics:

Christmas eve (our first night home with our first baby).

My oldest in her little hospital Christmas hat.

This was last year's thank you note to everyone.

Giveaways

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is giving away a blog makeover by Sweet Cheeky Designs.
The Write Gal is giving away a custom photo notepad from Couture Invito .
Berrie Sweet Picks has a ton of great giveaways going on, including one for a Boon Squirt and a bunch of stuff from Kiss My Face.
Maria's Space is giving away an interesting work-out DVD.

It’s Tea Party Week at Mom Most Traveled! Enter here for your chance to win a Baby-G watch from Casio!

Wordless Wednesday: Mischief Makers

The Sebastian Ferrero Foundation

This morning at MOPS a group of women from The Sebastian Ferrero Foundation came to speak to us. The foundation was started by a family whose 3-year old son tragically died last year due to medical errors. Here is their story:

"Our happy and healthy 3-year old son Sebastian died at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida in October 2007 as a result of a medication overdose followed by a series of preventable medical errors.

After Sebastian’s death, we heard from many concerned pediatricians and parents in the community about improvements that could be made in patient safety and pediatric care.

To honor our son and to turn our tragedy into something positive, we established the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation to serve as a catalyst for profound change in the way hospitals and health care professionals care for children and their families.

Since forming our Foundation, we have received widespread support and we are encouraged by the progress we have made in a very short time.In fact, many community leaders, parents and more than 150 local pediatricians and pediatric, have come together with many others from Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida College of Medicine to support our cause.

The mission of the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation is to advocate and fundraise for a state-of-the-art, full service children's hospital in Gainesville, Florida while promoting excellence in patient safety and insuring that all families are treated with compassion, courtesy and dignity.

Our ultimate goal is to build a state-of-the-art, full service children’s hospital in Gainesville. While we are advocating and fundraising for our dream, we are partnering with Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida College of Medicine to develop a nationally recognized, comprehensive patient safety program that will be implemented as part of the Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality and Safety. The safety programs implemented as part of this new office in memory of Sebastian will benefit all patients at Shands HealthCare, not just children.

Sebastian's mother was one of the women who spoke to us. There was not a dry eye in the room. All of us could relate to her and could feel her loss. Sebastian had been brought into Shands for an out-patient test. He was not growing as much as his doctors would have liked and they wanted to test his Human Growth Hormone levels. The test required him to be given some medication and then sent home. The nurse who administered his medication gave him 10 times as much as he needed, due in part to a mistake made by the pharmacy who labeled the vials of medication wrongly. When Sebastian's parents became concerned by the amount of medication he was given and by the later side effects caused by the over dose, they were simply reassured that everything was fine. Obviously, it wasn't. Sebastian died later that night. Sebastian's mother and the other women there (including a local pediatrician) spoke to us about being an advocate for your child and making sure to speak up if you are not sure about a procedure or medication that is being given to you child. It was amazing to me how many other moms in the room had stories involving mistakes that doctors had made or that the pharmacy had made filling their prescriptions, none them ended as catastrophically as the Ferrero's case, but the number of mistakes was startling. I guess I don't have much other purpose to this post than to let people know about the Ferrero's story and to just tell parents to be aware of what is going with your kids at the doctor's office. Don't just ignore your intuition that something is wrong just because someone in a white coat tells you it's not. Doctors, just like the rest of us, are only human and they do make mistakes. So, just don't be afraid to ask questions and push for answers you understand.

Super Cute Baby for Sale

10 1/2 months old baby girl for sale. She is cute and cuddly and sleeps through the night! Loves climbing, falling, pulling out everything she can reach, eating everything in sight, and screaming at the top of her lungs. Is extremely skilled in ankle biting, skipping naps, and knocking over drinks. Includes a poopy diaper and runny nose action! She is perfect for crumbling up food and spreading it all around your house! Capable of completely not caring that her mother's vacuum cleaner is broken while she happily pulls dirt out of the house plant's pot. A great Christmas present for anyone! Available for immediate delivery.

***Not really, we love Ava, but she is driving me crazy today***

Scarves and Hats

I got some super cute scarves and hats for the girls at Old Navy last weekend. They had an awesome sale so, I got them hats and scarves for $1.00 each! How stinking cute is Ava? Now, if only we can get her to keep the hat on!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

The kids and I had a very fun day yesterday. It started, unfortunately, at around 5:30...the girls have been sick and I think Lily coughed herself awake. After everyone had gotten up and gotten dressed, Lily wanted to go outside and "play catch." It was nice and cool, so I was happy to oblige her sudden desire for outdoor play.

Here she is playing catch...we still have a lot to work on!

Ava playing with her shoe...the best toy ever!

This little guy kept staring at us like we were crazy.

Off to explore the great big world!

Lily "hiding" from Ava...behind the chain link fence.

My little super model!

Here's Ava trying to eat an acorn...

And the fit she threw when I took the acorn away...

Luckily, babies are a little bi-polar and she snapped back to her happy self pretty quickly.

Here is a video of a game Lily was playing. She was cracking me up. She always makes up these little spinning and jumping games.

Once Aunt Carey got there, we decided to do a little shopping and headed to the mall. Of course, we let the kiddos play on the playground. I figured they were already sick, so they probably wouldn't catch anything else, right? Ava had so much fun. She love climbing and she discovered the giant tree in the middle that she could climb up into. Fun stuff!

Chillin' by the boat.

Ava loving being up in the tree.

Showing some cute little leg.

Climbing on the rock.

Checking out all the other kids from her perch in tree.

'This is Lily showing us her "eye patch."

Lily is trying to convince Ava to go through the tunnel.

And, she's in!

And, she's out!

Lily was Queen of the Playground.

Ava taking a little rest in the tree.

I could not get Lily to look at me to get a picture of the two of them, so this is what we ended up with.

Once we were all done shopping and playing, Lily took a little ride on the kangaroo. She was so cute.

We ended our mall trip with one of Lily's favorite things...a quick ride up and down the escalator with Aunt Carey.

Wordless Wednesday: We Voted!

Halloween

We went into St. Augustine last weekend to let Lily go trick-or-treating for the first time ever. After weeks of trying to choose between a butterfly, cat, and princess, she finally settled on being a cat (nice and easy for Momma!). So, Friday night, we decided to practice our whole trick-or-treat deal. I was hoping to get her to remember to say thank you. Well, I go into my mom's bedroom and have Lily knock on the door. I told her say trick-or-treat...but, well...it went more like this:

Lily: *knock*knock*
Mommy: Hello, little girl! What a beautiful costume!
Lily: Happy Anniversary!
Mommy: ?

Now, I have no idea where the anniversary thing came from, but we could not get her to shake it. She said some very funny things to people throughout the night. Happy Anniversary...Happy Trick-or-Treat...it was really fun. She made it around the whole neighborhood and got quite a lot of candy. Poor Ava had to stay home because she was sick. Luckily, Uncle Elijah helped Lily go up to the all the doors. What a good uncle!

Here she is getting Pa to put on her make-up.

My little kitty cat!

Lily with her uncles (Elijah is on the left as Hades and Ian is on the right as "The Right to Bear Arms").

Here she is at her first house. "Happy Anniversary!"

Let the candy feast begin!

Mmmmm...chocolate!

Check out the double lollipop action. I pretty much just let her have at the candy...and she took full advantage of it!

Ahhh...here comes that sugar coma...

This pretty much sums up the rest of the weekend. One big long sugar high!