Our New Fish Friend

Joel never got any better, so we took him (and Gabe) to the Dr.'s yesterday for a look. Gabriel's fine...just a cold and possibly the croup. Joel's ears looked great...thank goodness for the new tubes!!! His breathing was another story. He's been wheezing off and on since August so our Dr. thought it was about time that we just purchased a nebulizer of our own. We're on treatments every 4 hours for the next 5 days and hopefully we'll be feeling better! Our Dr. thinks it may be asthma and that we'll have to start daily steroid treatments with the machine. I'm all for it if it makes my little sweetie feel better! Isn't his machine the cutest?! The mask is a fish and his machine is bright green...it even comes with a story about Bubbles, the fish with asthma, and stickers, too! He sits so nice to do his treatments. I think he knows it makes him feel better. Hey, must have worked 'cause he slept last night for the first time in 2 days...HOORAY!!!

Poor Little Guy

This happy little fella that you see in this picture (taken last week) was not so happy today. He had a 104 degree temperature and no appetite (Joel, not hungry? must be sick!). After some Motrin, he managed a popsicle and some cheese curls...works for me! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a happier (and healthier) little guy.

The Birthday Boy

Who would've known that this pitiful little red-faced newborn would make me laugh and smile each and every day?! 3 years ago today, I was blessed with a sweet little 7lb. 3 oz. boy. He's not so little anymore, and not always sweet, but he brings such happiness and humor to our household.Yesterday was his "special" day...we drove him downtown to see the Batman building (something you could only understand if you have a 3-yr old boy and live in Nashville), took him to Build A Bear, and ate lunch at the Aquarium restaurant. Oh what fun!
Brushing his new pony, Nina.

Posing for the camera...can you tell he's a goof-ball?!

Stuffed with mac&cheese and smiley at the Aquarium.

He woke up this morning to a room full of balloons, some Spiderman gifts, and pink chocolate-chip pancakes (thanks Mimi & Papa!). He had a Spiderman party at school with mini ice cream sandwiches and goodie bags filled with Spidey gummies & bandaids and hershey kisses. He made sure to wear his talking Spidey sweatshirt and Spidey crocs...boy did he think he was cool!!! He even had a surprise visit tonight from his BFF Ethan. He brought him a delicious little fudge cake from Publix, Little Debbie Valentine's Brownies, and lots & lots of Moon Sand (thanks Mare!) Oh, and I got a soy chai from Starbucks...I think I made out better in the end! He had the best birthday any 3-year-old little guy could ask for!

We Love You Gabriel...Happy Birthday Buddy!!!

Stay tuned for his Snowman party...it's gonna be great!

The Week In Review

Well, it's Sunday night and I'm gearing up for another week. Actually I'm a little happy and a bit hesitant at the same time. See, Jay and I were going to write our resolutions last week and start off fresh last Monday, but thanks to my dear friend Jennifer and her chocolate chip pie, Monday came and went. And so did the rest of the week. The little "snow storm" set me back a bit, too.

Cabin Fever + PJ's All Day = Eating Way Too Much!

Anywho, tomorrow starts a new week and a fresh start at 2010...I know, how did I get to the second week of 2010 and screw up?! Very easy if you're me. Well, we wrote our resolutions this afternoon and I think we've made good choices in what we want to work on. Some of my favorites:

Be patient and consistent with the kids.

Make special time for each child.

More date nights.

Learning to say "no" when we are overwhelmed.

As much as I hate the idea of resolutions (Jay feels the same way, too), I do like the feeling of a fresh start. Its like the first week back at school when you get all new supplies and everything looks shiny and new. The possibilities are endless and you feel motivated. Let's hope I still feel that way in a few weeks...ha, ha!

I did get some shopping, organizing, and cooking done this weekend. We headed over to Costco yesterday morning and stocked up on LOTS of stuff. I then went to Kroger while the kids were napping to round out the groceries. I cleaned out the pantry and reorganized it. I'm giving each kid their own snack bin for their daily snacks...more on that this week. I threw away a lot of expired stuff...nothing like way old cans of olives! Today I cooked a pot of yummy Italian soup and a huge batch of chili. I also browned the meat to whip up a lasagna tomorrow...trying to freeze some stuff to make life a bit easier. I let you know how that goes :-)

We had some special birthdays in our family this week...including Jay. BIG 33! Thank goodness I'm not that old (for another 4 months). Jay ended up at the Dr.'s for an ear infection on his birthday and our family plans of pizza and cupcakes kind of got squashed due to the dogs stomach issues and a last minute vet appt. They're both doing better...Jay feels great and the dog is thankfully going potty outside again! The kid's Mimi (Jay's stepmom) celebrated her birthday this week, too. The kids wished her a happy birthday over the phone and Jenna picked something really cute out for her at Costco yesterday. Hope you had a great day Deb...we love you and miss you!!

Well, I better go clean up the kitchen and get to bed. Don't want to start off the New Year (again) on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

I'm still here...hope to have a new post later today. Doesn't the background look cute?! I'm so slow when it comes to stuff like that, so I'm really proud of myself for figuring it out (okay, it was just copying and pasting, but still).