Emma gone wild.

About two weeks ago my darling daughter decided she would like to go and get her ears pierced. Great! We talked all about it. How the procedure would go, how it would hurt just a little but then she could wear all the cute little earrings her heart desired!

Last night we brought her to the mall to get it done. Mind you, the mall is an hour from us so we made sure this is what she wanted to do before we left.
"Yes mom, I WANT to get it done." Ok then, off we went.

We got to the store and picked out the earrings, signed all the forms, and turned in all the necessary form of ID. Geez, it's just ear piercing...you'd think I was applying for a passport or something.

Anyway she got all ready, and we put her up in the chair. She got her ears all cleaned up, the circles drawn...we were in business. Until, the earring "gun" appeared. Emma freaked. She shrugged her shoulders tight against her ears and would not put them down.

I turned to the piercing girl and told her that I was sorry but she was not going to get this done. We took Emma out of the chair. She stood feet firmly planted on the ground, refusing to leave the store because "she wanted those earrings."

Ok fine, attempt two. We explained to her that if she was going to do this she had to do it. "Yes I will, I really want them." Back up in the chair. Lady comes near her with the gun and freaking out again. Shoulders shrugged firmly against the ears. Now let me tell you, this girl is strong when she doesn't want to do something. I have had to restrain her in the doctors office before while she got shots and boy oh boy was that hard. She could have easily taken me out. After trying to calm her down, talk her down, there was still no progress. Again, nice lady we are not doing this.

Emma gets off the chair and suddenly wants earring again. LAST TIME! Seriously this is the LAST TIME WE ARE ATTEMPTING THIS! YOU BETTER DO IT! LOL! Ok mom I will. This time she sat on my lap. Daddy held her hands and I bear hugged her. This time when the lady even thought about coming near her she had a mental break down. She was screaming at the top of her lungs " get away from me, I changed my mind, no NO NO!"

Now don't get me wrong. I understand how scary this must have been. But another part of me was thinking "you are 6, you hurl yourself down mountains in skiis.....GET OVER IT!" How embarrassing it was!

So after many dirty looks, and a woman who was waiting at the register to check out decided to chime in her two cents "you really need to tell her that it's ok she didn't get them, and stop forcing her to do this!" Hello my child......we are not forcing her. This child refused to leave the store 10 minutes ago because SHE WANTED EARRINGS! Do not judge me....lady at the counter. I did not ask for any change!

So really, I do not know how Emma thought they were going to get into her ears. She didn't want them to be put in the traditional way, but she didn't want to leave without them....as if magical fairies would come and gently place them in her ears.

Needless to say this was our first and last attempt at this. If she wants them now, she will have to wait until she's 16 or something cause mama, is not going through that again.

But we ended on a high note. We indeed told her it was ok not to get the earrings, but ridiculous to scream as if she was being murdered. Then we went and got ice cream!

Great expectations

I went to bed very early last night with the bar raised really high in hope that I would wake up and not encounter puke today. WRONG! Ethan is still waking up every morning and puking his brains out. I don't like this. They are trying to tell me that post nasal drip in filling his little belly up at night and then making him puke all over the place in the morning. How is one supposed to stop post nasal drip? Pray really, really hard for summer? Is this going to be the new "thing he does" every winter?

I don't DO puke. I know no one really "does" puke but I am the kind of gal who has a very weak stomach. If I see puke, I have to use every ounce of self control so that I don't add to the pile. And I have seen quite a few piles in the past 2 weeks.

Oh yah, and the hubby is gone. Not that this is a new occurrence, but what pisses me off is his work can't get their stuff together so he sat at one shop and wasted 3 days. 3 days! He could have been here cleaning up puke for me. :)

I am tired. Tired of living like this. He is too, buy the way. He does not enjoy leaving us week after week. He is especially getting fed up with the company. I am still praying that one of the many resume's he has sent out will produce something.

We have been married for ten years this July. I have known him for 13. He had just gotten out of boot camp when I met him. So he has been away most of our marriage.

Shore duty was such a great thing. This was the year I had Emma. He was home all the time. And don't get me wrong we went through a lot of growing pains trying to work it out so that we could coincide together. But it was nice. And here we are it's supposed to be slow for the company, they have cut everyone's pay and require 1 day off a week. Guess what? HE is not slow. They still want him everywhere. They complain when he tries to take his day off (because he's not getting paid for it afterall)
He comes home late tonight. I have to pick him up at 10 pm with the kids...oh joy. Not that i don't want him to come home, it's just dragging 2 kids out in the middle of the night that I am not looking forward to.
He flies out on Sunday at 10 am to go to California. Because it's "slow" they want him to go out there and help out in the office. They actually told all the technicians they had to do this. So we won't have him here Sunday and he doesn't get home until Friday. Then back out Monday because there are angry customers waiting for him. UGH!

Sorry for the complaining. The puke set me off this morning. Plus I feel a migraine coming on and I am really ticked off. And guess what? It's only 5:50 am! I have a long day ahead of me.

I got mail! My encouraging word for today:

Encouraging Word

Thursday 2/26/2009

Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

~ Luke 6:38, NLT

Now it's time to get Emma ready for school. Thankfully, she is feeling better.

Nap....a dirty word

I have children who sleep, but don't. By that I mean I am blessed that every night at 6:30 they are peacefully off to dreamland. And my two yr old still takes a 3 hour nap everyday.
Generally the napping stops by age 3 in this house. They will no longer close even one eye for 5 mins. not even when they are sick. So, when I saw this I knew I had to capture it on film. Emma was up all night throwing up. She puked 5 times last night and got very little sleep. I encouraged her to take a nap today and all I got in return was hassle..so I dropped it. Then at 4:30 I walk in the living room and find her all cuddled up with her blanket fast asleep. And BOY is she out. Ethan is making so much noise and she is not even flinching! I kind of wanted her to wake up so that she would sleep tonight, but now I am thinking that she is so out of it I may just carry her to her room now, at 5, and put her to bed for the night.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a puke free day.

Emma at Ethan's age.

I was going through some old emails and found these pics of Emma that I sent Phil while he was in the Navy. Emma was just a little over 2 in these pics and we were living on our own for a year since the trailer park closed and had no where to go. We only saw Phil on the weekends. Pretty much how life is now. No wonder we are sick of this traveling now! We have been living this way since Emma was 2!

Goodbye old friend

I haven't posted in a while. 1. because last Thursday we lost power for a total of 60 hours. We decided to pack up and go with Phil and enjoy a hotel for a night. 2. My brother was here for a few days. We didn't get to do much since the baby was sick, but it was nice to see him again. He is 17 and going off to college in the fall. He is the baby of my family and though I am 11 yrs older than him, we get along pretty well.

Tomorrow will mark 1 week without Haley. I don't want to go into details, but needless to say she isn't here with us anymore. I feel awful because quite honestly I feel a big sense of relief. We miss her, but we knew this was best.
Anyway, Cooper arrives in a month from Sunday. We have been busy preparing for his arrival. Setting up the cages, getting puppy pads, and stain removers. What was I thinking? Oye! Just like having a baby all over again.

Anyway, today we are spending the day chilling out at home. We are supposed to get 9 inches of snow. I had a grooming appointment for Gracie today 1/2 hour from my house but I am going to cancel. I don't want to drag Ethan out and trek through all this snow, so she can get a haircut. It can wait until next week.

Which Bible Woman are you most like

You are most like SARAH:
Dedicated to your spouse/boyfriend, you would do anything for them. You also are a woman of faith, who takes God at His word. You have much wisdom, and are a role model to many other women, both young and old. Your life is filled with adventure, oft times and is unpredictable as you live a kind of "nomadic" existence as the Spirit leads.


This is cool. I like this. I wanted to remember it. I got it off of face book and this was my result.

Baby waa....waa

Here are some pics of Ethan. He is BIG into pretending. He either pretends he is a dog--which he does very well--or a baby. He will come up to me say "baby" and lay on my shoulder and pretend to cry....waa....waa...for a long time! Here is a pic of him today pretending he is a baby. BTW he doesn't use pacifiers anymore. He found this one at the bottom of the toy box....it just adds to the "baby" act. He hasn't used a paci since he was 4 months old!




And now...the boy who pretends is really crying. I better go get him!!!

Nostaligia

So I was looking back at pics today of my kids because I can't believe how old they are already! Here is a pic of Emma holding Ethan soon after he was born.



And here is one of her holding him today!





What a difference two years makes!

They grow up so fast!!!!!

Phil and I are going on a trip next month! We are flying my sister Ashley out here to watch the kiddos and we are packing up and going to Tennessee! Strange right? haha!

First of all this will be a great trip since Phil and I have not gone away ALONE together since Emma was about 3yrs old. This is long over due. We can sleep in and not worry about little kids...we can go out to eat without wiping faces, and running to the potty, and changing stinky diapers! I cannot wait until Ethan is potty trained..then I won't be the only one making potty runs!!!

Secondly we are adding a new member to our family. NO I am not pregnant! As many of you know we have to put Haley down. This is getting harder and harder for Phil to deal with he is even suggesting that we don't do it. He is in total denial at this point. He is even suggesting that we don't put her down at all. Which can't be a reality. We can't have her biting. He tried to bring her to a shelter but they said the same thing. "They can't take a dog that bites anyone, never mind someone they have grown up with." This is going to be so hard on him and we still haven't decided when to do it.

I read up on how they put a dog to sleep and I feel sad that we have to do it, but at peace at the same time since it seems like it is rather easy on the animal. Anyway, Emma is going to be a mess (she cries now at the thought of finding her a new home) and so isn't Phil. One of they ways they suggest "dealing" with the loss, is to get a new puppy. So crazy us....this is what we are doing.

***Side note...why is it that kids decide to poop in their diaper right after you have changed them? I don't understand? I just changed his diaper and now he STINKS! YUCK!***

We still will have Gracie our pomapoo. We don't want another lab....too painful I think. Then it will really seem as if we are replacing Haley for the new dog. So Phil picked out a Brittany Spaniel. He has wanted one for a long time, but I think two dogs is enough! Now that we will only have one, I gave in. This dog is hunting dog which Phil loves, and it will help Emma deal with the loss of Haley.

Here is a picture of what one looks like.



Ours is a boy and his name is Cooper.

The best part is that he is with a breeder in Tennessee!! Phil was originally gonna take his free plane ticket and go fly there and drive home with his free car rental days. Instead, we decided to fly Ashley out here with our free plane ticket, have her stay with the kids and the two of us go on a road trip to get him with our free car rental days!!! We also have credit card points that will pay for ALL of our gas for the trip. The only thing we have to pay for is hotels! Which are very cheap in Tennessee. Phil says I am going to want to move there once I see it. I am up for it, to be completely honest. I would love to be in warmer weather year round. I don't want somewhere that gets so hot you can't breathe, but Tennessee does seem like it has "ideal" weather. It gets up to around 87 degrees in the summer, and 50-60's in the winter! Sign me up! Plus it would help my circulation problems as well. What a relief to not be in constant pain in the winter.

E-man's second haircut!!!

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I love him!

Sad news

Haley is getting worse and worse. She bit again. We brought her to the vet and he said that it would be best if we put her out of her misery and put her down.

I am tearing up just thinking about it. We know this is the right thing to do, yet it's still hard.

I have had my issues with her, and I may act like I don't like her sometimes but I am a big softy. I will be balling my eyes out when we have to do it.

I stayed up with her all night when she hurt her leg to be sure she was ok. I am the one who cares for her everyday. I do love her, even if she's a pain sometimes.

I wish there was another way, but the boy is more important than the dog. Emma would disagree i am sure! When we told her we were looking for a new home for Haley she asked if we could just find Ethan a new home! haha!

This will be hard on all of us. We all tear up thinking about it. Part of you feels guilty for essentially killing your dog, but what can we do. We can't give her to another family when she is becoming so aggressive. She is biting our little dog Gracie now too. She can't do the things she loves (run, swim, play, jump, fetch a ball) she can barely walk for crying out loud.

You still feel guilt though. It's going to be a sad day when we say goodbye.

Ugh...now I am crying...I hate this.

Could I be the mule?

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

~ Romans 12:12, NLT

Delivered this morning. So that's what I will do...keep on praying.

I have to admit I am having some growing pains here. I like the fact the Phil is around more. It's nice to not have to get up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire. It's nice to wake up with someone in the mornings. It's nice to have him bring Emma to the bus stop on freezing cold mornings. It's nice that the kids are enjoying daddy more than ever!!!

It's not so nice, that I am used to running the show and now there is another adult who has an opinion about things! Don't get me wrong, this is good, this is how it should be. It's just...I guess I feel like we are in the Navy again. You know how it is, when you get used to doing things a certain way....I mean your way..and then your hubby gets home from being out to sea and at first it's all hearts and stars in your eyes. Then after about 2 days...you start butting heads. I mean really butting heads. For 4 years life has been like this, and generally I could do things the way I wanted. BUT NOW.....I have to be submissive sometimes. I have to take direction. I AM NOT always right! YIKES! Someone has been knocked off her throne! Remember I said he was stubborn, but so am I. And I like to get my way. But then again, who doesn't?

I also have to remember to be gracious at times and make my man feel like a man. For instance, I can haul wood in the house...no problem. In the past I have had no choice I had to do it. Now he's here to do it. I will go and get wood and stoke the fire and he's like "why didn't you tell me? I can do that." DUH! What am I doing?

So I have to realize to back down every once and a while, and maybe even play maiden in distress. Because whether they admit to it or not...men love to come to a woman's rescue...even if it is just stoking a fire!

A New Day

Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! Proverbs 8:34 NLT

Today I woke up and after the initial feeling of "just 5 more minutes" wore off, I was quite happy. I got Emma ready for school and walked her to the bus stop. And guess what, today at 7:10 am the sun was out! It was such a nice change to walk to the end of the driveway (we have a very long driveway) and see the sun. It's been months since it was light out when she left for school. Oh yah and did I mention it was warm? Well ok you got me, it's not really warm but 21 degrees feels like Florida after it's been zero for 3 weeks!

I know I probably sound like the biggest nut job in the world but all the world seems right today. And I don't know why, I just have peace, I am happy and the sun is shining what more could you want?

Now for something that happened this weekend. A couple of years ago our Lab Haley hurt her back leg. There is not much we can do for it unless we want to spend $4000 + on a hip replacement. I am sorry I love our dogs, but we just cannot spend $4000 to fix her. That may sound awful, but she is just a dog. Anyway, so she has always been protective of her leg....understandable. It does cause her pain and we try to help her out by giving her Aspirin on days it gets bad.
A couple of weeks ago Ethan stepped on her back leg by accident and Haley freaked out and growled. Now every time Ethan goes near her she growls and snaps at him. It's gotten to the point where we cannot trust them alone. Those of you who have little boys understand that they are rough with animals. This is just the way it is. And Ethan thinks it's funny when she growls so he tries to provoke it out of her.
Unfortunately, things went to far yesterday. Phil was upstairs with Ethan and Haley and went to Ethan's room to get something. Just as he did that Ethan walked to close to Haley and she growled. Just as she growled Phil yelled for her to stop and she flung around and bit Ethan in the head. Nothing major, but she did break the skin and there was blood.
Now Phil has made one of the hardest decisions of his life. We need to find a new home for Haley. It kills him to have to do this, but we either have to keep Haley locked up while Ethan is awake or visa versa. This is no life for either animal...lol! He feels guilty cause he was already in the process of purchasing another dog (a hunting dog, as Haley is a whimp and runs from the gun) and he feels like he is replacing her.
She is still a great dog. She just turned 5, is up to date on all her shots, she is still active, just not as active as she used to be because of her leg. She cannot walk more than 2 miles without being in pain. We feel really bad because we love her and there are no issues with any other family member and her (she has NEVER bitten before) it's just that she feels threatened when Ethan gets around her and she does what any normal animal would do to protect itself.
This is just not going to work out with Ethan being so little and we know we want more kids so it's just not fair to her. Anyway, hopefully we will find someone who either has older kids (6 and up), or no kids who would be willing to give her a good home. Who would love her. We don't want to give her to a shelter because we know that they will probably kill her. We are just praying that we find something soon, before something worse happens. Until then I am like a hawk watching both of them so closely. And if I can't be around, Haley gets locked up :(

My encouraging word for Saturday

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!

~ Isaiah 65:24, NLT

God is good. Phil just talked to his work and they said because he has no salesman that they would put him on a guaranteed commission for 6 months. That means he will make at least that amount, and if he gets a salesman and they happen to sell something he will also earn that on top of the guarantee. It's not a lot of money, but it will allow us to get by. We still have the $500 pay cut every month from the mandatory unpaid day off each pay period but that's ok.

We canceled our home phone and also downgraded to the lowest cable possible saving ourselves $70 a month. There really are no other bills we can cut back on except for food so I am trying to do my best to pinch every penny while food shopping.

I was praying about this and the thought popped into my head that this WAS indeed an answer to my prayer. You see, I have been really stressed out doing all of this child rearing pretty much on my own. I had been praying for some help because I did not know how much longer I could continue this way before I lost my mind. Phil was gone 5 days a week, it really put stress on all of us. Now that things are slowing down he is around more. In fact he was here everyday last week except for Friday. I really can't complain about that. I asked for help...so what am I complaining about? It's just not the way I thought my prayer would be answered.

So today, I am thankful for answered prayer. I am thankful that God knows what He is doing in our lives. He knows what's best for us, even when we think WE do. He is answering my prayers in unexpected ways, but answering none the less...and I believe He will take care of us no matter what. It's hard to see that all the time...I am human afterall. :) I am just glad it dawned on me sooner than later.