What a year!

So it has been really busy around our house. Ally's tests came back fine so we have taken cow milk out of her diet and she seems to be doing pretty well. Matt broke his leg during spring break and with in 24 hours Ally had a massive head injury during a Girl Scout outing. She is fine and so is he, no permanant damage on either counts.

John had surgery last month and has fully recovered. I am a Junior at Linfield and am loving it. Mom and Dad are getting ready to head to Baja again, lucky boogers.


Till later

Tests are done.

Today John and I had to take Ally to Emanuel Hospital to have an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. She did really well, they didn't find anything in her bowels or her intestines, thats good. However they found a few red spots in her upper gi or esophogous. They have taken some biopsies and we will know more in 24 to 48 hours. I am a little nerve wracked John is too. I guess it is time to go to bed.
'til later.

Crazy time

I am finally getting back to using my hands. At the beginning of the year I had carpel tunnel surgery on both hands. John, the most wonderful man in the world (my opinion!), was taking care of both kids and me, basically an infant. I couldn't feed myself or anything, ANYTHING! He took almost two weeks of of work and took care of everything and me! He is so wonderful. He made home cooked meals everyday, made sure that Ally was ready for school everyday, set an alarm so that he could stay on top of my pain medication, ice, the kit-and-caboodle.
Now we are moving in to Ally's tummy issues. Last week we went to see a gastrointestinal doctor about all the tummy and intestinal pain that she has been having. He has ordered a round of blood work and samples and actually took her off one medication and brought her off a double dose a day one down to a single dose, and gave us something to actually help with her tummy pain that should work since nothing else is. I hope that everything comes out ok and that it is just a little sensitivity to the interior of her tummy from being sick three weeks before everything started.
We are getting ready for spring time business. I have classes at Linfield starting soon, my photography class I am teaching with a friend is getting ready to start, Girl Scouts are in full role, and sports are going to be kicking in soon. phew that is a lot, not including Matt's things or John and I. lol
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Merry Christmas to ME!!

I just bought my first point and shoot camera! I have been saving for awhile and not been able to get it. Every time I have gotten within $5.00 I have used the money for something else that the family needed and this time I was able to get it!!!!
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is the season over yet?

So this last week I have been all over the place with the terrible two's and the sick child.
Matthew has been REALLY pushing my last nerve with his two's. Tuesday, while I was trying to get ready for work, he undressed himself down to his pull-up, not once, not twice, but three times! I finally said I gotta go threw his clothes in the diaper bag and took him to the daycare as it. Then yesterday as I was trying to get him dressed he ran out the front door with no shirt on and booked it down the driveway. I am so done with the twos.
Ally has been sick for awhile. Since about mid September, with intestinal pain and problems. Now it has compounded with what the doctor says is a "virus". Ally's birthday was Monday and we had to cancel her birthday party because she was sick with a fever from the "virus". Now we are looking at having postponing Christmas because we are pretty sure she has the flu. I am sitting on the couch while she is FINALLY sleeping soundly and relaxed, thank you Tylenol Flu for kids!

Ho, ho, ho

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Birthday GIrl!

I can't believe that my baby girl is eight years old! Today is Ally's birthday and I am sitting here remembering what that day was like and where I was. I was surrounded by the one's I love, my kindred spirits and nurses. I can't remember what my life was like with out her.
The last couple of months she hasn't felt good due to intestinal problems and now she has a virus and is sick, poor baby. We had to cancel Ally's birthday party and her Wii party. I think she is okay, she seems to just be happy with mom and dad being home with her. I still can't believe that she is eight!
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Long time...

It has really been a while, hasn't it? Well a lot has happened but nothing too big. Matt is potty training and almost there! Thank goodness. Ally is in Girl Scouts again and getting busy, I applied to Linfield for my bachelor degree and John is really looking into getting his training certificate.

Tonight I got Ally's patches sewn on, a good thing for me (so I don't loose them), and got my purse cleaned out. It's amazing the little things that make me happy. I spent the day with my best friend Sarah. We went up to the Girl Scout Store and picked up some patches for the girls and a girl in Ally's troop.
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too pooped to move

Yesterday was a fun and intense shopping day. I took Ally school close shopping at the outlet mall. That was about as much fun as shooting myself in the foot. I did get A LOT of clothes for a little money! Then we went to a anniversary party for my good friends and tubed, ate, swam, and partied as those with little children can! We had a blast, ended up spending more time driving than shopping and I think that today we all have a little fun hangover. As I type now I thank God for spellcheck, ha ha.
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Matt has a big boy bed!

So this weekend was crazy busy with working, getting pictures ready for fair, birthday party, friends and trying to do it all at once...let me tell you it doesn't work! Last night was the judging at the fair for the photography department. I did okay, pretty consistent. I got a second place in Macro/close-up and an honorable mention, 4Th.


Diamonds are a girls best friend, 2ND.

Shades of Wheat,
Honorable Mention











Today I got Matt's big boy bed put up and right at this moment he and Daddy are sleeping and snoring. It is so sweet!

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Fair Time!

It has been a busy summer. John and Ally have done some fishing but I have been working! Tomorrow I am entering some pictures of mine into the County Fair for a competition, wish me luck!
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SO MUCH FUN!

This last weekend I had a mother's night out with some "old" girlfriends and some "new" girlfriends, there were six in all and we had a BLAST! At least that is what I left thinking the next day! We went to the movies and then out for dinner. Fun, fun, fun! Thank you to my wonderful hubby for letting me get away for a little while without so much as a call or text.

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Pics as promised!

Here are the pictures of Ally's Girl Scout Bridging.

Ally has earned almost all of her petals! There are ten and she has earned seven! The patch on the lower part is her Daisy Journey's patch. She completed the entire book and her service project and earned it.


On the back she has some participation patches. Starting left to right she has her newest one, bridging to brownies, the big one in the center is an Ice Skating trip her troop earned for selling almost 3000 boxes of cookies!, next is a Cancer awareness patch for helping at a relay for life event. The second row is her world thinking day, she went and participated and learned about Ireland, the center yellow one is for participating in cookie sales, then the cookie sales patch she earned for selling cookies and an amount + patch.
Finally she had her sleepover patch she earned, and then a camp-in patch.




She bridged from Daisy's to Brownie's!

She is all set for this coming year! She has her troop insignia on and she has earned some try-it's already and I got those on for her.
You go girl!






Also she had her last game of the year tonight and I was able to catch her hitting the last ball of the year for her!!










She is so cute!!

'till later!

Still sick

Last week I went to the doctor on Thursday because of being sick. I missed two days of work and my graduation. Well Monday morning John called the doctor, unannounced to me, and made me an appointment to go back. So we went and the doctor gave me a shot of steroids, a breathing treatment, and took x--rays. I have bronchial pneumonia in both lungs with matching infections ta-boot! Whoopee! I get to stay home until Thursday. If I can breath I get to go to work then.
On a happy note! Ally has bridged from Daisy Girl Scouts to Brownies! She is so big! I will post pics tomorrow.
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Irony wins out

Today I was supposed to walk in my graduation with my Associates of Arts degree. However I am TOO sick to be able to go outside without having breathing issues. I hate this. So I am very sick and very disappointed. This bites.
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irony at it's meanist

So I am sick. Not throwing up sick but really sick. I have pneumonia and an infection in my lung, I am off work for three days at least and if I don't get better I have to go back to the doc. Irony is I am supposed to walk in my graduation tomorrow. I can't hardly breath and go into coughing fits! That is what I call the definition of irony.

Check lists done!

Today was they day for checklists! So nothing would be forgotten. I woke up to making another doc. appointment, everything is great, Ally is getting better!, then final time, and driving to Salem to turn in school books and science lab stuff, to race home to get said child to appointment, then picking up snacks for a game that she isn't even able to go to and getting those to someone who can take them,...then getting home to finish putting the final project for Ally's service project done, the proof and pictures, then finally off to the last Girl Scout meeting of the year! WHEW, that is a list!!
Ally turned in her project and the troop leader had her stand on a chair in front of everyone to tell about what she did. I am so proud of her! She told about what she did and how it made her feel. Good job baby girl!!
Next week she has her bridging ceremony and will bridge into Brownies, she is so excited. She can't wait to earn badges!!
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Relay for Life and a little Daisy

Tonight Ally was volunteering to help with setting up luminaries for the Relay for life. She was a little skittish at first, she didn't like walking up to the moving vehicle to grab luminaries but I walked behind the vehicle, carrying Matt, and handed her the bags. She did so good. Other than the troop leaders daughter who was there for the night with the team, Ally was the only other one from our troop that showed up. She is so pooped.
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Ally completes her first service project for Girl Scouts!!

Ally is bridging to the Brownie level soon and it is important to teach her follow through with things that she has started. One of those is her Journey's badge in Daisy's. Part of that completion is a service project in the community. When I asked her about this she said she wanted to garden. So we went over to the Amity Public Library and spoke to the Librarian about her doing some weeding and picking up around the building. She said that would be great and we planned it for Sunday.Ally doesn't really like to do anything small so when I asked her if she was ready for this she said she wanted to get flowers and make it a garden. I told her that she needed to come up with a way to earn the money needed to purchase the flowers and she came up with the idea to collect cans. Friday she went with Grandma and collected $13.00 worth of cans! She and I went Sunday morning and rounded up some more and got another $7.00, that was $20.00 worth of can's!Then we went to Bi-Mart and bought $20.00 worth of flowers, they were having a sale so that was a bonus!

We went to the library and got started. That was at 12:45; at 4:45 we were finally done, pulling weeds, planting, laying mulch, and cleaning up. That was a BIG job for that little girl but she did so awesome!! We went to the library tonight to get a signature sign off for her project and
the librarian was so ex
cited and surprised by all that Ally did!I am so very proud of her! She collected the cans, turned them in (not us), bought the plants and did the rest. She is so proud of herself!!


Before Ally got her Daisy hands on it!









Ally collected bottles and cans and turned them in for money for the next step!
















Picking out the flowers and buying them.






















Cleaning up and weeding.





























Finally Done!









Before and after!













Good Job Baby Girl!!
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A lot has gone on!

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post! Girl Scout cookies are over and Ally has started pitching machine ball. She is doing really good. Last year on her team she averaged one hit for the entire season during a game, this year she is averaging two points a game! She is doing really well! They are selling candy, cookie dough, and meet sticks and she didn't want to sell them because she just finished cookies, can't say that I blame her though.
John's mom was in the hospital for a few days. Everything is okay now, she has to change a few things, but she is feeling better. She got out the day before Mother's day. Mother's day John and the kids took me out to breakfast, then we went shopping and I got a set of Adirondack chairs with a table that I have been wanting for about three years, I haven't had a chance to sit in them yet but I will!
We have all been so busy around here. Yesterday I worked, then photographed a senior, came home for dinner, changed and went back into town for class, came home worked on the pictures and then tried to get some homework done. Ally, bless her heart wanted to help and she did a load of laundry. Small amount of clothes - entire lid full (large lid) of Woolite laundry soap. I am running it for the second time of just a water cycle to make sure all the soap is out!
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Ally got her first patches!!

Monday night was Ally's Girl Scout meeting and they had all the cookie awards there and patches that the girls have earned in the last few months. Ally got a 1st Cookie Sales patch, a cookie participation patch, a 100+ patch, and a camp-in patch! She is also well on her way to earning her watering can patch, a Daisy only patch, and it really stoked!!
Once I get them sewn on (one is already, just need thread for the other three) I will get a picture up, she is so proud and I am too!
'till later