House fires really do suck...

Well I don't know where to really start. It happened to us on August 15, 2006 around 3 am. Jerry had fallen asleep on the couch & woke up because he smelt smoke. When he got up & looked, he saw a red glare on our wall from our garage. He ran & looked & thought it was the mower on fire so he ran woke me up & we got the kids up & ran out the front door. The smoke detectors went off just as we were running outside. I just thank God that he woke Jerry up with the smell because we wouldn't have been able to get out the front door had we waited for the detectors to go off.

As soon as we ran out the doors we had grabbed keys & moved our vehicles across the street. By time we were across the street our whole garage was gone and the flames were coming out of the roof. Jerry had called 911 as we were running out but by time they got there, the fire had already went through our south side of the house. It was the most horrible thing to sit across the street unable to do anything & no one there to just stop it. They were able to stop it before it reached the entire north side with the 3 bedrooms but everything that did not burn up is water, heat, or so far smoke damaged it's not salvagable.

At first all I could do was cry. Now that I've not been to the house every day, it's getting easier. What I just focus on now is that WE ALL GOT OUT SAFE & THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! We can replace stuff, we can't replace people.

We finally found out last week that the insurance adjuster totaled the house. Which is good - because that pays off our mortgage and gives us money for a down payment on a new home. It just really stinks to have to wait though. Apartment life is really not for us. The kids have had a hard time just because there is no where to play out here (besides the parking lots & street - which I won't let them play on). But - it is a place to live and we've only signed a 3-month lease so we are not stuck here forever.

We are still inventorying everything which really SUCKS! I mean, you would think when they total a house, they'd be like okay - total contents too & give them the total coverage on that but nope. Real bummer that they don't do it that way because the spreadsheet we have to put everything is seems like a never ending job. And we have to replace everything within a year to get the depreciation back - okay this stuff has accumulated over 8 years and yet you're supposed to get it all back in one.

But all in all - this has been nothing but an eye-opening and learning experience for us. We have seen so much generosity in people that truly is unimaginable. It truly is amazing the help that everyone has provided us. People who didn't even know us offered to help. It really is amazing how generous and loving people are.

So I've been slacking....again...

Not much up since the last post except I JUST GOT BACK FROM MY VACATION TO CANCUN.

Me & Tiffany flew out on July 26 from the Springfield airport. We had a connecting flight so we hit Memphis & then straight to Mexico we went. Definately a whole new world out there. The most amazing was how stinkin' HOT it was. Like you would walk outside & immediately be sweating & feeling like your cheeks were burning. Yet people who live there were walking around fully clothed in jeans & long sleeved shirts.

Our hotel was really awesome.
We had a beautiful oceanfront view from our 7th floor room & were able to capture some really cool photos.
Only thing we didn't care for was the toliet not working the first two days (which we kept on them until finally we were in working order) and the food was really not that great at all.

We had thought with it being all inclusive, we'd eat like crazy & try all kinds of yummy new things. That wasn't what happened. We actually ate less than normal (lived on the chips and guacamole) and drank less too (pop, that is). And we didn't even have mexican food at our hotel (okay besides the chips & guacamole). Is that not completely crazy? We're in Mexico and don't even get to pig out on Mexican food. I did, however, finally get some fajitas when we went out one night & ate at Planet Hollywood.

Funniest was that we were always questioned on if we spoke spanish. We had a couple times the waiter would come up to us, say something in Spanish, & we'd be like "yeah, we're done with our plates, you can take them" but as we found out - that wasn't what he was even saying. He was actually complimenting us "pretty chicos".

Another funny was when we both seriously got worried that we were going to get scammed. We had been walking along the beach when some guy came down and gave us a price list for a massage. They were offering a free 5 minute massage and tried to entice you into buying the full body massage (which wasn't bad - 1 hr for a full body massage = $45). Well after our 5 minutes we were all into getting our massages, right there in a hut on the beach. So, without thinking, we both strip down to bathing suits and stack clothes and wallets on a seat at the end of the massage tables (YEAH! NOW I KNOW HOW CRAZY WE WERE!). Then we both hop right up on the tables face down without even thinking about what may happen to our stuff. The massage was AWESOME and felt so good but we were like grease balls walking out of there.

All in all, it was a great trip. I really missed my kids but it was nice to get away too & just relax. We got to see some pretty sights and just take time for ourselves so that was awesome.

Huh??

What's this?

I am like the worst blogger ever...

I seriously forget this thing is here. I had every intention to use it frequently just to have events jotted down with dates but it just doesn't happen.

Anywho, I guess I can write about my upcoming trip. Me & Tiffany have booked our vacation for Cancun, Mexico for July 26-31, 2006. We are both so friggin' excited we can hardly contain ourselves. After much worrying & fretting, we are now booked in the Riu Caribe Hotel there. From all the pics, it looks really nice so we're hoping it is as nice as it seems. The trip is all inclusive so we're super excited about all the food we can eat - nice huh? we go on vacation & get all excited about chowing down. Oh well! It'll be fun. I just hope we can do a lot & get a lot of great pictures. Woo hoo! I can't wait. 28 days left!

Kalli & Dylan are in their last week of summer school. They are excited. I'm excited just not that they are going to be in 2nd and 1st grade. My babies are getting big. :( They've both found out their teachers for next year. Kalli has Mrs. Hoesch (formerly Sapienza) who was her summer school teacher KG year - which she loved & Dylan has Mr. Brown who both kids love.

What else? What else? Well there's not been anymore accidents. No broken bones, split open eyes, etc. and we haven't really been to the doctor's for anything really major (THANK GOD). We just hope it stays this way!

This must be my bad news bulletin board...

I just realized tonight that I haven't posted in a while & that I had a few things I could write about but when I got to thinking about what to post, I realized it's all not so fun things. :-(

First was our encounter with Kalli & her hospital visit for her stomach pain. I had put her off for 2 days thinking it was just the stomach bug. Finally though when her pain became so unbearable, I loaded her up to go to the Monett Urgent Care. We were finally seen & from the position of her pain, we were told to immediately go to the ER (in Aurora). Her pain was located where her appendix is located & therefore they were worried she was having problems with it. Well about 3 hours later, we find out she doesn't have appendicites but that she had a cyst on her ovary. Yeah - that's real odd for a 7 yr old. I called her regular doctor the next day. He had reviewed her charts & although he did see the cyst, he felt she probably did have a stomach bug along with her cyst causing the pain. :-( She was feeling fine and back to normal 2 days after the ER visit and hasn't complained since. :-)

Hmm, let's see what's next? Oh yeah - our remodeling. Yeah it sucks. Not that we will have our bathroom & laundry area remodeled but that we are even having to do it. Turns out our crappy washer ruined our laundry floor - gross black mold on the sub floor AND it turns out that our crappy cracked tub has ruined our bathroom floor - once again - BLACK MOLD :-(. Odd thing about that is the cracked end of the tub wasn't the end that was nasty, it was the opposite end. I do think it's good that we'll get to get it all fixed but I really am not looking forward to it especially if Jerry thinks he'll be Mr. Fix It. We'll probably end up putting the ceramic tile in the bathrooms and doing wood laminate flooring through the laundry, dining, kitchen, living area, and hallway & then eventually into the rooms too. Good deal of that will be NO CARPET to stain.

Next thing is I've got pink eye - once again in my left eye. I went to the doctor yesterday & got some drops that really seem to be clearing it up BUT he recommended 6 days of clear eyes before using contacts again. Now this IS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT! I hate my glasses & not to mention I can't hardly see in them. The prescription is old & no where near as defined as my contacts are. PLUS I look like I'm peeking out of pop bottles - SERIOUSLY! Oh yeah, & I get told the other day - "You look smarter with glasses." Okay thanks - now does that make me dumb looking without them?? Everybody says I look good in them but they are all LYING. I look like crap & I know it. I think as soon as my new contacts come in, I'm switching so I don't have to wear these dang glasses anymore. {Maybe I should put a rush on the order}

Not a lot happening with Dylan - surprisingly enough although tonight he tried to kill himself. We've always had a problem with him trying to open the car doors as soon as we barely get the car stopped but tonight he goes so far as falling out (landed on his feet thank God!) as I'm pulling in our driveway. What astonishes me is that it takes this same child 45 minutes to get in the vehicle but he's out of it in 2.0 seconds. What's up with that??

Mother is having her cataract surgery Thursday so I just hope & pray that helps her with her vision. I know the feeling of almost being blind & I would never wish that on anyone. I just hope she heals quick & can see better once it's all over.

Good news - which I haven't even gotten full definite time yet - is that Jim (my brother) is coming back from Iraq either end of this month or next. He'll go straight to California when he gets back but he'll get leave time to come home. The kids are really looking forward to that. They love their dorky Uncle Jimmy.

Oh yeah, & little brother, Thomas, is coming home this weekend. He's been away at college for a full 2 months & finally gets some time off for his spring break. Kalli & Dylan are ready to see him too.

That in a nutshell has been my life lately. Kinda crazy, kinda chaotic, but then that's NORMAL I guess for me. I just hope we can make it through this month without any major problems. :)

Hmmm.. What's up now?

See I've fallen behind on my blogging. I really forget about doing it. I need to like plan on making a post at least weekly but we'll see how that goes.

I forgot to post about Dylan's spots {now that was nice & stressful}. The week before Christmas Dylan broke out with this rash like thing with blistery bumps wherever he would scratch. I was totally freaked out & ended up calling Urgent Care. The nurse had figured he had a mild case of chicken pox (although he had the shot). Well then like 2 days later, Kalli gets this red rash all over her back & has a super sore throat. We go to the doctor & find out Dylan probably had an allergic reaction to something but Kalli had strep throat & scarlet fever. Ugghh! That stunk because like two days later, I got strep throat & ended up in Urgent Care so I could get something so I could actually swallow. Jerry thought he got it too but didn't find out until after it cleared up on it's own, that in fact, his was strep too. Thankfully Dylan never got it!

Kalli's had a blast on her birthday (actually the day after - a Saturday). We took her to Springfield's Incredible Pizza and let her chow down & play all sorts of games. Plus she got to see Grandma in Branson, Grandma, Tommy, Jessie, & Grandpee - so that made her birthday even better too.

Well since I forgot to post about it, I'll post it now: Kalli got the okay to return to her regular activities on January 25. The first thing out of her mouth? "YES! Monkeybars!" Not exactly the kind of thing a mom wants to hear after this whole ordeal. She kept telling people that day - "I'm free, I'm free" so apparently she's pretty pleased that she can be a regular kid again. Her scar is definitely noticeable and huge (compared to the size of her small arm) but we can live with that as long as she doesn't have problems with her arm. Dr. Aston said what happens now is her bone just starts growing up around the plate & screws {kinda gross to think of that} and that nothing will need to be removed unless it becomes really irritating and itchy {which I hope & pray to God that it doesn't!}. We'll just have to do some explainin' whenever we go to the airport because she'll set off the metal detectors.

Not much else happening. We've had some fun doing taxes and getting money back but really it's just disappointing. Disappointing to know that you get so much back & then it just goes right back to paying the darn bills. Maybe one of these days we'll be debt free though {or at least we can dream of that}.

The Holidays are now Officially over!!

And I'm actually kind of glad. Don't get me wrong - I love family & getting together but this year just wasn't as cheery as usual. I don't know if it's been because of all the stress with ER visits & sicknesses, or what - but it hasn't been the same. Christmas was a blast for the kids but Dylan's little phrase "last Christmas our whole floor was covered in presents", bummed me a little. This year was probably one when we've had the smallest funds to cover everything. :( Although they were happy - I still feel guilty. I still wish we could've done more. And now with Kalli's birthday in 5 days. I'm going to be saying that then too. I just hope & {PRAY} that this new year brings easier and smoother times for us!! We definitely would appreciate that!

The cast is gone...

After what seemed like forever, Kalli finally got her cast off yesterday. The doctor done the x-rays and really felt like her arm was healing good enough to have the cast removed. He mentioned how Kalli had such a high pain tolerance and that she was definitely "not a complainer" which of course made me proud! He removed the cast to something neither Kalli nor I was prepared to see - a icky looking wound. The Dermabound that was used to help glue the wound together had been put on while there was blood- so it dried looking like crusty blood the length of the scar. He said not to worry though because it would flake off in no time. She's not quite able to completely straighten it but she's working on it. We have a follow-up appointment in 3 weeks and at that time, he'll determine if she's gotten her full mobility back or if she'll need physical therapy. Our prayers our that it all comes back to her on it's own.

Man I'm pooped...

I am so worn out. I just wish I had all my work stuff caught up so I wouldn't have to work on it every night. Heck - tonight alone I've put in 3 hrs of overtime. Definitely NOT my idea of a relaxing evening. Oh well though, maybe if I bust my butt now, I'll not have to do much over our 2 week off holiday. I absolutely CANNOT WAIT! Hmmm, let's see -- 2 more curriculas to put in, a ton more maps, & oh yeah those darn pilot tests. Good thing is after all this working tonight, I think I'm actually beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel so maybe that'll kick me even more into gear to get stuff done. What's bad is I still don't have all of Christmas taken care of. Actually I don't have much at all done. I've got..hmm.. let's see - Jerry's whole family, Tom, Jess, Jim, Dad & Marsha, & Lexie & Riley to do. Good gawd - so much for seeing that light at the end of that tunnel - I'm winding up in another tunnel.

Kalli's follow-up appointment

Today Kalli had her follow-up appointment with Dr. Aston. They re-xrayed her arm {with the cast on - Thank Goodness!} and then removed the split cast. Dr. Aston said her x-ray looked great & that it was already looking like it was moving into the right position. I was prepared to see her wound but ended up getting light-headed & not being able to watch. The doctor said he had tried to get her arm back together as a plastic surgeon would do to try to avoid an ugly scar. They had used disolving stitches and then sealed in up with Dermabound {the same stuff that was used to glue Dylan's eye together}. Jerry said the wound was super thin & hardly recognizable (although it is still the whole length of her arm). The doctor recasted her in a green cast - just as she wanted. He had us schedule for a 3 week check up where he's hoping that it'll be doing so well healing that they'll remove the cast & she can get to moving it. He did say there was a slight chance she may need physical therapy but that he thought she'd do just fine. Jerry asked about if she'd need it removed & he said only if it causes her problems (itching, irritation, etc.) so we're hoping that doesn't happen. If it stays like it is - the bone will just grow up around it {which still sounds kinda gross}.

I've never seen a kid so popular. Kalli was ready to go back to school as soon as we left the appointment. I brought her down to her class to have all her classmates cheering that she was back. She's got a plan to get tons of signatures on her cast tomorrow so I'm wondering if we'll even be able to tell it was green.

Black Friday

So today we did our Black Friday shopping. We were at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Republic at 4:30 a.m. and finally finished up at Michaels around 8:00 a.m. We ended up with some really good deals on DVDs but that was about pretty much it. Seemed like {NO ONE} really had anything super priced except probably Circuit City or Best Buy but there was no way we were going to even attempt that! Jerry ended up getting a little huffy with Wal-Mart because they wouldn't price match like they advertise just for the simple fact that they didn't want to loose $600 on the deal (laptop that Circuit City had for $199). So, that's my next mission - to look up their policy online so that we can find out what all it says. Really I knew they wouldn't do it because it was $600 but the computer matched perfectly. They just kept trying to put it off that it was a gimmick - YEAH RIGHT the freaking price matching is a gimmick {if you ask me}.

Anyways, all in all - I've decided:

1. If DVDs are pretty much the best deal, then I won't be spending my money on Black Friday (at least at Wal-Mart - I may have to if Michaels or Joann's has a good sale ad though)
2. Standing in line for over 5 minutes totally & royally SUCKS!
3. People are crazy - why would anyone sleep outside in 30 degree weather just to get a good deal at Best Buy? NOT ME {for sure}
4. My planned routine/list is not going to be easy to do next year. Now that Kalli can read she made sure to read all that I had wrote down {and add her comment -- "OH YEAH" next to the Bratz she wanted.}
5. Boys are never happy with early surprises when those surprises happen to be clothes. I got a good deal on Kalli some jeans so I figured I'd let her have them early to wear now, so I had to give Dylan something early too & that bubble jacket was just not pleasing to him. Kalli on the other hand was thrilled to death for a pair of jeans.
6. Jerry can be a real bear during BF. Okay so I could've guessed that but at least he did the driving & was really good at holding stuff. :) Actually though - I would NOT attempt BF by myself!
7. Oh yeah & I've realized no matter what line we get in at Sears, we will almost UNDOUBTLY get some checker that has no clue how to check & therefore we will stand in line for an hour for Christmas tree lights.

Anyways, I'm off to eat me some more pumpkin pie & forget the fun that we've had today.

Week from HELL...

This seriously has been a week from hell for me & my family. Tuesday I had to take Dylan to the ER to get his eye glued back together. Well Friday topped that off. I had just went over to see Dylan's Thanksgiving Feast & had went back to work when I get a call from the school saying Kalli had hurt her arm & I might want to come. I run over to find her in a wrap, crying because her left arm was killing her. She had a sweatshirt so they hadn't even really looked at her & pretty much assumed she was wanting to make out for an early weekend (even though Kalli is the most studious 1st grader I know). As I found out the whole story later, Kalli had been in gym & running when another little girl shoved her down, landing on her left elbow.

Well I go ahead & run her to the ER in town. Doesn't take long & we're in the back & they have to take off her sweatshirt. They gently remove it to the most horrible looking thing I'd ever seen {Kalli's arm clearly broken}. I could seriously see her arm deformed with the lower half of her forearm completely limp. My baby even opted to get a shot (in her butt for that fact) just to help her with the pain. After that I had to see my poor baby go through excrutiating pain when they stretched her arm for the x-ray. From the x-ray she had a broken ulna & a dislocated elbow. I'm telling you - this girl is brave. Anytime anyone would ask her how she was - she'd say "Good".

Well the ER doctor looks at the x-rays & decides that it's something he doesn't feel comfortable resetting & that she should be seen by a pediatric orthepedic surgeon. So he sends us up to a major hospital about 45 min away with x-rays in hand. We walk in that ER for them to call her by name & take her straight in. They told us that they would put her out but they were 95% sure they'd have to do surgery - that setting wouldn't fix it. So within this short amount of time, I find out not only will they have to put her out but also reset her elbow & open her arm to fix it & put in a plate with screws. An hour and 20 min later (which seemed like eternity because surgery was only suppose to take an hour), the doctor came out to let me know how it went. THANK GOD - EVERYTHING WENT GREAT. He said the break (called a Monteggia fracture) was very uncommon - rare for adults & even rarer in children. They put her in a split cast & after 40 more nail-bitting min, I finally got to see her. We spent all night Friday night in the hospital & finally got to leave around 1 pm yesterday.

I've got a release for Kalli & me for school/work for us through Thanksgiving break so at least I can be home with her. Tomorrow I make the follow-up appt when they'll remove the split cast, check on her stitching & put her in a new cast. Kalli's really taking it well but I just hope & pray everything stays clean & okay with her arm so there is no risk for infection & everything goes well with the plate & screws.

Here's what Dylan looks like a day after his encounter with the evil coffee table...

Poor guy... just looking at his eye turns my stomach. It actually looked worse the day after because of all the bruising and swelling. He seems to be taking it all well though. He told me yesterday that he got to stand up in front of the kids in his class & tell them about his run-in with the coffee table. It was hilarious when I asked if any of them had asked anything or said anything about it & he just replied - "they went like this -- (with his mouth gapping open)". Apparently they were in shock.

Well I came to the realization today that we probably won't be having family pictures as I was really hoping we would. {believe it or not - we own NO professionally-taken family pictures, which is really, really sad}. I figure even if his eye heals super quick, that'll be around the time Kalli loses her bottom two front teeth. She's been working really hard to get them worked loose but they won't fall out until we get ready for the family pics - I just know it - that's how things {always} happen.

She has got to be the most hardest working 1st grader I know...

It's only 7:00 p.m. & Kalli's already sacked out for the night. Spongebob couldn't even keep her awake.

Here's our very exciting Tuesday night...

Well last night we came home as usual & started to kick off our shoes & relax. Dylan decided that he wanted to do a little jig while taking off his shoes & fell right into the coffee table where he hit his right eye. {OUCH!!!} He hit it below his eye brow but not quite to his eyelid. It immediately was bleeding and scared me to death but by the looks of it, I couldn't tell if it was something they'd be able to fix or if they'd just have me bandage it up. I called Urgent Care for them to tell me that if it was gaping at all - to go immediately to the ER (where later we find ourselves sitting an hour later). We get over to the ER & finally after sitting an hour, Dylan gets seen. They look at the wound, clean it up & then ask - "Would you prefer glue or stitches?" & I opted for the glue. I never knew they could do that sort of thing but I figured it had to be better than watching them stitch my son's eye together. Dylan was being such a brave boy - I was so proud of him! Anyways, they get the glue ready, each the nurse & doctor get on each side of the bed & then squeeze his wound closed on both sides. I was doing fine being the supportive mommy until they did that - then was when I knew I better go sit down or I was going to pass out. Dylan was saying the glue was cold and then all of a sudden it started burning. It was all I could do to listen to my poor baby screaming. We finally left 2 hrs after we had first arrived & finally got to eat dinner. Needless to say, Dylan woke up this morning looking ten times worse than he did the night before. Now his eye is entirely swollen & bruised and pretty much looks as if he were in a fight.

So... for my first post...

my {first} blog-- hmm, what to say? This whole blogging thing is new to me but it's kind of cool to think that I can document my thoughts/pictures so I'm giving it a try. I don't know that I'll be too successful but I'll try {i will}.