Dentist

The girls got to visit their favorite dentist today. They both had x-rays which was a first for Ashley because she has not wanted to do that. She also sat in the big chair by herself and let them clean her teeth without me holding her.
Abbey does great. She jumps right onto the chair and opens wide. They are so different when it comes to doctors. Abbey hates needles while Ashley does okay. Ashley doesn't like the dentist but Abbey likes it.
Both girls have great teeth and were told that they do a great job cleaning their teeth. They did such a great job they got two toys this time and they got princess toothbrushes.

Insomnia

After taking nyquil all of last week, I decided last night I was okay to try and sleep with out it. I must have been going through withdrawal's or something because I was up until 4 am! I couldn't fall asleep. I was being a nice wife and sleeping downstairs again for Shannon and it was horrible. I was hot, cold, anxious, wired.....finally I started watching reruns of The Brady Bunch and I fell asleep. The girls let me "sleep in" until 8:30. It has been a long day.

I am asking you to keep my Uncle Dan in your prayers. He is married to my mom's sister Shirley and they live in Pine City. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and is going to be having surgery this week to see what is actually going on in there. I have a hard time when I hear that anyone is diagnosed with lung cancer since that is what killed my dad, I pray that God gives Dan the strength to make the decisions that he needs to, the doctors have the right information to give him the best diagnostic and the family to let God lead their decision. It is a rocky road and faith is what got me through this journey with my dad.

The girls are getting out of the bath (Shannon is giving them their bath so don't think they are in their alone). This is one of my favorite times after their bath. The water makes them silly, they will now get out and then start running around and dancing and singing. Then that will all change when Ashley needs to have her hair blown dry and her hair combed.

Here are birthday party pictures from the girls party. They had a lot of fun.

A very long long week

So today was the last day of Vacation Bible School. Abbey was very sad that we were done with it. Both girls did a great job at the VBS concert last night. I was fortunate enough to help out in their class however I was not in the class hardly at all.
A few weeks ago Shannon had both hand, foot and mouth disease and a viral infection. He was miserable. Well last Friday after swimming at the beach, I had a sore throat. I didn't think too much of it...I thought it had something to do with the water. My throat was sore on Saturday and by Sunday it was getting very hoarse. On Monday after VBS, I wasn't feeling well at all then by the afternoon I was wiped out. I had to do two errands and almost fell asleep on the way home from Maplewood. Shannon called his mom to come and get the girls and I slept with three blankets on me. I was running a temp of 102.7. Well that night was miserable, the next two days were the same. I was in bed running a low grade fever with a sore throat that was horrible. Then the shooting pains started happening in my head whenever I coughed.
Shannon finally convinced me to see the doctor on Wednesday. They tested me for mono and for strep but they came back fine. Just in case it was bacterial, the dr gave me an antibiotic, which I don't think has helped. I was able to help out at the end of VBS yesterday and then at their concert last night. Today I made it through the entire session of VBS but I feel like I have a horrific cold.
The sad thing is we are suppose to be going camping tonight with Auntie Karla, Sam and Katie. I haven't told the girls that we aren't going and I am hoping that they don't remember it. I know life is full of disappointments but this would have been fun.
Shannon has been a saint. He has run back and forth from work to get the girls to VBS and me to the doctor. He has put up with my snoring (Yes this will be the only time I admit that I snore). I even slept on the couch last night so he could have a quiet bedroom all to himself.....and Ashley ended up in bed with him.

Como Park Zoo

Today we went to Como Park zoo with Nana, Papa, Auntie Tania and Uncle BJ. It was a blast! It was very hot and very long but we all had a good time. We started out in the butterfly exhibit and that was neat to see all of the different butterflies. My favorite one was a blue butterfly.
After checking out the monkey's/apes, we sat and watched Sparky the Seal. The girls really enjoyed the show. We walked around to the rest of the animals and then went for a picnic lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the park for rides. The girls loved going on the rides. Ashley was brave and went on a couple of rides herself. She rode the swings and the frog hopper by herself. Nana and mommy even did the bumper cars.....

We continued on all of the kid rides and then came home. It was about 89 degrees out so we were all hot. Shannon looks like a racoon.

The girls and I had to go to church to get things ready for VBS. Mommy got hit in the head pretty good with a car port pipe. That hurt!

Ashley's hearing checkup

Today we visited Dr. Malone and Ashley's hearing is the same as it was after her surgery. So we had a mold done of her ear and are starting the process of getting the hearing aid. It is crazy to me that our insurance doesn't cover something that is congenital. They only cover $750 for a hearing aid every three years (the molds cost about $50). If she was born with it, then I think they should cover it. I am researching to see if we have any other help in covering the cost. The hearing aid costs about $1400. That is a lot of money!
Ashley was worried about getting shots and freaked out when they went to make the mold. She thought it was a shot but it was a special light. She did great in the actual testing part. I am so proud of her. She is such a trooper.
Abbey won a DQ cake over the weekend in a drawing. She has been so excited to get it so today we headed out and picked it up. She wants to eat it all by herself! I have managed to talk her into sharing it with others. :-)

Happy 95th Birthday Grandma!

Today Grandma turns 95 years old. We had a fun family gathering on Sunday at Aunt Susan's house. It was great seeing family especially for Abbey and Ashley who were excited that their cousin Colton came.

Grandma is still has sweet and beautiful as ever. We are all very lucky to have her in our lives.

Strawberry Picking

Today we headed to Afton Apple Orchard for our first time picking strawberries (okay really my first time as the girls picked some at Nana's). It was a lot of fun. They ate a lot of strawberries before we made it to the counter to pay. Then on the way home they ate a 1/2 pint each. I made strawberry rhubard pie and muffins.

Now I have to figure out how to get all of the strawberry juice out of their shirts.

July 9, 2008 Booster Seat

The day is finally here....we are transitioning to Booster Seats. We have been looking at them for some time and they finally got them. They were so excited to get them. The car seats pink and have princess symbols on them. They love them.
Shannon went to the doctor today because of his breathing issues. The doctor thinks that he also has another viral infection. He is doing much better. They have him using a inhaler and it seems to have started to help.
Today was library story time. The girls really enjoy going to the library and seeing Baby Bear and hearing the stories. Our librarian is so wonderful.
Last week I forgot to add something about Sam. The girls know that there are times when mommy has "happy" tears and "sad" tears. Last week Sam was driving a car (moving it) and I started to cry. It was tears of happiness and sadness...my little Sam is growing up and now he can drive. It seems like yesterday that he was born and now he is a sophomore, driving and playing football. Time sure goes by fast.

Birthday Pictures

Weekend and then shots!

It was definitely a long weekend for all of us.
Saturday morning we all got up and Karla and I went and put chairs down for the parade. Katie now has HFMD too. The girls watched the parade and got lots of candy. It was very very hot out. Then in the afternoon we went to Karla's for a cookout and then Karla, Katie, the girls and myself all walked down to the fireworks. While we were there, daddy surprised us and came down to watch the fireworks. We didn't get home until after 10:30.

On Sunday morning Shannon wasn't feeling any better, in fact he was worse, so we called his parents to see if they could watch the girls and I took him to Urgent Care. After killing over two hours in the doctors office we were told there was nothing for him to do but not work. He is still contagious for 7 days. We were suppose to go to our friends house for supper but had cancelled earlier in the day for which I am very glad we did. We put the girls to bed a little early and Shannon and I relaxed on the couch and watched "House".

Today was our 4 year old check up with the best pediatrician ever....we all love Dr. Cress.
The appointment went well and both girls are doing great. Ashley's height has really gone up since last year. Abbey is right on track. We decided to do two of the four shots that they will need to have by the time they start kindergarten. Wow that was a lot of drama. Ashley did okay but Abbey freaked out. She hit the nurse's hand and that cause the needle to scratch her leg and bend the needle head. She was bleeding pretty bad. She got one shot done but still needed to have the other one done. She screamed the loudest scream I had ever heard. Dr. Cress even had to come back to check on her and her new owie. I had always prided myself that the girls were good about shots, blood draws, etc but not today. Abbey cried the entire way home and then some. She kept telling us she doesn't want anymore shots ever. Poor Abbey.

I don't know what it is about going to the doctor but my girls go crazy. They do goofy things like try to put stickers on their body parts, won't let Dr. Cress leave the room, jump on him...just crazy things. They love going and I am glad for that but it is also a bit embarrassing how out of control they get. He said it happens all the time. I am just glad we have a great doctor who makes the girls feel at ease going. It's the same with their dentist, he is so laid back and friendly. We never feel like we are just a name on a board with Dr. Cress. We trust him completely and even today he joked that he has ruined it for all other pediatricians because we like him so much.

Shannon stayed home today from work because he is contagious and technically isn't suppose to work until Thursday. I just hope he starts to feel better. I also hope that I don't get it!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!
The girls were in their first parade ever. We participated in the Afton parade and walked with LindySpring Systems. It was a lot of fun. We even ran into their friend from school and their teacher and her family.
They walked most of the way down the route but got tired (plus it was hot) and they wanted to ride with Craig in the van...they loved that. Afterwards we were treated to lunch at DQ.
Then we came home to rest up quickly and headed off to Nana and Papa's for a BBQ, Bon-fire and fireworks. It was a blast. The girls brought their new skates out with them and had a lot of fun rollerskating. They played in the pool, we played hide and seek and we roasted marshmellows. The girls also were able to use sparklers for the first time ever. It was a day of many firsts.
After 10:00 p.m. (which is way past our 8:00 bedtime) Abbey looked at me and asked if we could go home because she was tired. Ashley wanted to stay but we were able to get her to come home.
We missed Uncle BJ and hope he is feeling better. It now looks like Daddy has the same crud the girls had. Daddy came out for a while but was not feeling well at all.
Happy Fourth of July and a great big thank you to our soldiers from the past all the way to the future....thank you isn't enough for what you have done.

July 3,2008

Abbey is finally starting to be her old self again. She has resumed her eating and isn't waking up from nightmares anymore. We think the nightmares were actually caused by her tongue. She was so excited this morning when she ate her french toast bites and they didn't hurt her tongue.

Ashley is doing great. She didn't have the issues that Abbey had. She has some sores on her body but nothing like Abbey. We have been talking to her about having to wear a hearing aid. From her last surgery, it was recommended that she get a hearing aid to assist her hearing in the left ear. She has 30-40 percent hearing loss. They want to retest the ear in 4 weeks to verify the information but it looks like that is our next step. She seems to understand what will be happening and is okay with it. I have been checking out books at the library for her to look at.

One night the girls and I were talking about their favorite tv shows. I told them that one of my favorite cartoons was The Flinstones. They had no idea what that was and so, thanks to the wonders of YouTube and the internet, we watched old cartoon clips. Shannon found this site called : www.retrojunk.com and after clicking on television, you can click on the era that you want and up they all come. The girls loved "Captain Caveman". They ask me to play it all the time! I just like finding old tv shows that I used to watch! I added my favorite 70's shows to the blog.

Tomorrow (actually now today since it's 12:04 am) the girls are going to be in a parade in Afton. I will share how that goes later.