Friday, December 31, 2010

2011

Happy New Years Everyone!
Have a great night ringing in the new year
and
BE SAFE!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Book Review – Little Star

Little Star is a charming little story about the true meaning of Christmas.  While the story line is close to the real story of the Christmas story, it's not exact, however this story does make it relateable to real life for children.

The first thing I always notice when reading childrens books, are the illustrations.  The pictures in Little star are semi-real life, however still cartoonish enough to keep the attention of little ones.  The illustrator uses dark hues and tones, but with the addition of the yellow star, the mood is brightened. 

The story line itself is very easy to follow and my 2 year old enjoyed this book and was attentive for the most part.  Older children will be able to relate the story in a more mature manner, however it was still interesting enough for a young child.  I like how the end of the story ties the little star to the star on the top of a Christmas Tree, giving a real life connection for the children listening.

Overall, this book will make a good addition to your Christmas book collection and leads for some great discussions about the True Meaning of the Season.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
May everyone have safe travels, good company, and great memories!
See you next week!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Update

So not to leave everyone hanging after my last post on Thursday.....Rylee's appointment went very well. We really liked this ENT doctor and he was very knowledgeable about CF. His recommendation was to put tubes in the ears and check out the adenoids while he was there. If they were inflamed, large, and/or infected he would remove them. If not, he would leave them alone. Tonsils were a no go as he said if they aren't infected or causing her to stop breathing while sleeping then there was no reason to put her through the painful recovery and risk of bleeding/infection.

We met with the scheduler to try and find a date to do the procedures. Well, the only day before the end of the year, was Monday. So we took it, and my little precious baby went under the knife on Monday afternoon. She did really well and they removed her adenoids as they were very very infected and also put the tubes in the ears. She recovered very well and by today was completely back to normal.....naughtiness and all.

Hopefully this will solve our ear infection issues and keep us off of antibiotics for a little longer. I am also hoping that by removing the infected adenoids that we will get rid of these nasty green drippings from her nose. TMI - :)

So now on to our new adventure - Rylee's friend Haven is going to start coming over a couple of days a week, and Miles will be dropping down to one day a week as his mommy started working a different schedule and now gets to spend more time with her baby boy! Rylee will love having her friend around more. Her mommy may be crazy - 3 two year olds is just plum crazy! but we love it and so on to our next adventure. :)

Friday, December 17, 2010

nervous nellie

You would think that after spending 2 years going in and out of doctors offices, that a new appointment wouldn't be that stressful. But that couldn't be any farther from the truth. I am a nervous nellie about our appointment today.

Normally we just have appointments with our CF team to check Rylee over and make sure she is doing well. These aren't ever too stressful until we have to wait for her throat culture to come back. Then we are always very nervous about what she is growing inside her little 2 year old body. We also worry about her weight during these visits and if her lungs sound good and clear or not.

Today's visit is a little different. Let's backtrack to right before Halloween. Rylee was experiencing so major allergy symptoms. Runny nose, congestion, coughing...all brought on after a trip to our local pumpkin patch which just happens to be located in the middle of a soybean field. The last trip out there, they were combining the field and dust was flying. We quick picked our pumpkins and went on our merry way only to wake up that night to a stuffy congested coughing little girl. We had a routine appointment with our CF team and we all concurred that this was probably allergies......until we looked in her ears. Full blown double ear infection. This is the first ear infection in over a year - She had only had 2 ear infections in her 2 years of life. So on antibiotics we went - Bactrim for 10 days.

Fastforward to the end of the 10 days - right before Halloween. We were happy and all cleared up. We trick or treated, played and all was well - until 2 weeks later. She again woke up with a snotty, stuffy, congested cough and we thought man, I figured these allergies were gone. We waited a few days, giving her a chance to clear this on her own. Nope, down it traveled to her chest. We had a little weezing, lots of coughing, and lots of mucous (TMI I know) So back to the doctor for what we thought was a chest cold. One look in the ears and guess what - Full blown Double Ear Infection. So back on antibiotics...AGAIN...UGH UGH UGH - This time, Augementin for 10 days.

One more fastforward to right before thanksgiving. We were all clear again and went on our merry way. We ate lots of yummy food, played, shopped, we were good to go. Until 10 days ago. We woke up to a whiny crying stuffed up, snotty, congested, little 2 year old. I immediately told my husband - It's another ear infection. We propped her up on some pillows and laid with her all night. Of course this was a Saturday night - So we had to take her to urgent care on Sunday. I told the doctor her symptoms and that I thought it was an ear infection. She didn't believe a word I said until she looked in that little ear of hers - FULL BLOWN DOUBLE EAR INFECTION. - 10 Days of OMNICEF.....10 days later - still stuffy, still congested - so I called our CF Team again and they extended her OMNICEF for 10 more days.

In the mean time, We saw a ENT at our local clinic - He immediately wanted to do Tubes, and take out her tonsils and adenoids. The next day. I wanted a second opinion just to verify. Also, the CF clinic where Rylee is seen likes procedures done in their hospital in case of any issues that may arise (totally understandable). So today we are off to the ENT for our second opinion. I am nervous that they too will want to take her large tonsils and adenoids out. I know this is a fairly common surgery, however anytime a little one has to be put under for a procedure it is nerve racking.

Hopefully they can help us find an answer to these ear infections and if it means surgery - it means surgery and we will do anything to stop this cycle of antibiotics that we have needed in the last 3 months.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Book Review – God Loves Me More Than That by Dandi Daley Mackall

 

I am review a book for blogging for books.

The first thing I always notice in childrens books are the illustrations.  This book was illustrated by David Hohn and the pictures are very "real Like" verses being cartoonish.  I really think this helps the overall message in the book.  Also, the colors used are very calming. 

The book discusses the different ways that God loves me.  I love the fact that the verses rhyme and each verse ends with "God Loves Me More Then That". 

The final thing I look at when reading childrens books are how the children respond to the book.  I read this book to 4 children ages 9 months to 4 years.  The older child seemed to grasp the message in the book a little more, however the book kept the interest of the two 2 year olds very well with it's short phrases and repetition. The 9 month old really enjoyed the pictures.

 

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday - Flashback


It seems lately I am slacking a bit in the blog posting area - This time of year has been crazy for me and this is the area I push aside. We will be back in full force in January hopefully, but for now enjoy my little (or not so little anymore) peanut from last year at this time - fun in her new ball pit from christmas!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

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A wordless flashback from last january.  Wordless….Messy…Self-explanatory….Love IT!

Stay tuned as tonight marks the beginning of our 25 days of christmas celebration.

Friday, November 26, 2010

gma card

I Love Grandma Mother's Day 5x7 folded card
Find unique and elegant Mother's day cards at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Thankful Giveaway at A to Zebra Celebrations

Click on over to A to Zebra Celebrations to check out her giveaway worth over $170.00! Such cute products and businesses! A little something for everyone. Entering is as easy as "liking" each business on facebook or picking out a fave product on their etsy store or website.

I have my eye on some bows so if I don't win (which I don't usually) I might just have to order some bows for my sweety's christmas outfit!
Go check it out.....not to mention that Nancy is totally awesome at what she does. :)

Updates

 

So once again, we have been MIA for awhile with the exception of a wordless Wednesday here or a flashback Friday there.  It’s been hectic here again.  So hoping to actually get the pictures off of my camera and loaded onto the computer so I can upload some.

Rylee came down with what we thought was a cold last weekend.  We upped treatments and were prepared to ride it out until the night of extreme coughing occurred.  So the next morning (Monday) I made a quick call to the clinic who so graciously let us come in for a check up.  Turns out the little cold that Rylee was nursing was due to a double ear infection and a moderate growth of H-flu.  So back on antibiotics we go – hoping to really kick the ear infection and H-flu that are taking up residence in my little girls body right now. 

Things didn’t seem to be getting better, however I believe it was the worse before the better part that I was experiencing.  The antibiotics loosened everything up and she was able to cough up some junk.  She now seems to be on the mend.  Way less coughing going on and the nose isn’t a fountain of snot like it was 3 days ago.

So back to normalcy we go.  For now anyways.

Other updates from our house – Rylee officially kicked the paci habit.  She has been paci free for 2 weeks and she did amazing with it.  However we possibly think that the lack of sucking may have lead to the ear infection….but thats just our theory.

Other then that, we don’t have too much more happening here.  We have a trip to the museum planned for Tuesday with the girls and then Wednesday is sure to be busy with gymnastics in the morning followed by a pizza party and then off to the movies to watch Tangled.  The girls are off until Monday then and we are more then excited to see all our family for Thanksgiving this year.

Sad to announce that there are no pictures for this post.  like I said above, they are all still on my cameras card and I haven’t had time to upload them to the computer.  So no fun pictures but there will be some soon.  I promise! 

Happy Monday Everyone!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Shutterfly

 

I have always been a fan of shopping on www.shutterfly.com for a variety of photo prints ranging from individual 4x6 prints to 20x20 photo books or also 12 month calendars.  I have never ordered Christmas cards through there and this year seems to be the year. 

I always look forward to sending out Christmas cards, spreading the cheer for a merry and bright holiday season.  I also love picking out the perfect picture to place on the cards and coming up with the best wording for the message we want to deliver.  www.shutterfly.com has made this task so much easier and I really look forward to picking out my cards from there this year.

I believe I want to go with a Merry and Bright theme consisting of bright colors, black and white photos or muted aged photos, however I am indecisive on if I want one photo or more then one.

I have browsed through www.shutterfly.com searching for the perfect card to send to my family and friends showcasing my little darling.  There are so many options and I am super excited to get my order in.

Visit www.shutterfly.com and check out there huge selection of christmas cards here

I absolutely adore this card

Found Here

I also really love the simplicity and the colors of this one:

Found Here

I also think that the snowflakes on this one are so appealing.

Found Here

I really think I could go on all day about the cards that i like.  There are so many different designs that it’s time for me to just start putting my own pictures in them to see which one I truly like the best. 

Head over to www.shutterfly.com and check them out for yourselves.  Not only do they have Christmas cards, but they also have desk calendars, mugs, and a variety of other products also.

www.shutterfly.com is running a promotion for 50 free holiday cards to bloggers.  Sign up now here.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fall Photo Fun

Tehya Standing p1 Jaelynn tree standing p1 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sisters leaves p1

Haven Mouth Wide Open P1 Haven 2 p1 Haven Look Up P1 

A quick sneak peak at some cute little girls that I have shot this fall.  Lots of little girls! :)  I am loving the fall colors during this time of year!  It’s beautiful out there.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Flashback Friday

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

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Monday, November 1, 2010

Howdy Partner!

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We spent our Halloween decked out like a cowgirl!  We took in the Halloween Event at the Children’s Museum and then headed out trick or treating.  Rylee I think picked skittles at every house!  I must say that she is my favorite cowgirl out there!

I hope everyone had a wonderfully safe Halloween night and the sugar highs are wore off for the start of the week! Happy Monday!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Flashback Friday 2009 Halloween

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Shout Out

 

A Shout Out is going to Jodee over at Follow the Leaders!  She hosted a giveaway for her 3 year bloggervisary and for the first time ever since I started blogging, I won a giveaway. 

I was able to choose a custom banner from A to Zebra Celebrations.  Nancy does wonderful work and has some great party planning ideas.  I love looking at all of her stuff in her etsy store.

I of course chose a Happy Birthday Rylee banner for her birthday next year.  We are going with a Pink, Orange, and Brown Giraffe Theme!  I am so excited to see Nancy’s work! :)

Thank you so much Jodee!  Head over to Jodee’s blog and see all the fun stuff she does with her kiddos.  She is an amazing mom and equally amazing at documenting their every adventure. 

 

Friday, October 22, 2010

Flashback Friday – Tired Little Girl

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Apparently this was an exhausting day.  This was taken almost a year ago.  Look at the round chubby face she had!  Awe!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Storytime

 

We have been attending the storytime at the local library.  Although Rylee really doesn’t care to sit and listen to the stories very nicely, She loves the dancing and the craft time. 

At the end of the storytime they always sing and dance to a song.  And after that there is a simple craft that they get to do.  We have made necklaces, a picture frame, a weaved pumpkin and colored a picture.

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard

 

We are back officially!  After 3 weeks of adjusting and getting a new routine settled in, we are back.  Adding 2 extra girls to the daily agenda is quite a bit.

So now time for some catch up.  October has been filled with pumpkin painting, pumpkin painting, museum visits, zoo fun, painting, playing, photo-shoots and doctors trips.  Lots to catch up on here about.

At the beginning of October we headed to an Apple Orchard and Pumpkin patch with the girls and their mommy.   The patch is about an hour away and it was hosting Harvest fest.  They had train rides, hay rides, pony rides, inflatable's, yummy apple turnovers, cotton candy, balloon animals, a petting zoo and of course apple picking and pumpkin picking. 

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Right away we jumped onto the horse drawn hay ride out to the apple orchard.  We picked a small bag of apples and Rylee had her first taste of an apple straight off the tree (Well as straight off the tree as it can get after mom wipes it off with a baby wipe).  Next we went and looked at the pumpkins.  They were a tad overpriced so we held off and just snapped some pics with the pumpkins.

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Next up was the all the fun.  We saw the animals, watched the balloon animal guy and ran on the hay bails.  We also enjoyed some yummy apple turnovers.  Yummo!

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It was quite the day and Rylee was exhausted but refused to give into a nap.  I think she was officially in bed by like 7:30pm.  Now that’s a record in our house!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Flash Back Friday: Apple Orchard

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Adjusting

So for a lack of better words, we are totally adjusting.  With this, comes less time for me to upload pictures, edit pictures, type up a blog post, and everything else I normally do during the day.  It’s more like, making breakfast for 3, load the dishwasher, wipe the table, circle time, playtime, break up disagreements, storytime, park, make lunch, load dishwasher again, rest time, park/outdoor time, snack time, load dishwasher again, and finally pick up time.  Throw in a few dirty diapers, a potty training 2 year old – attempting to potty train another 2 year old, bottle feeding for miles, and preschool pick up and drop off three days a week, you’ll see how busy we really are and how much adjusting is actually taking place.

Luckily for us, Miles was only scheduled to come 1 day this week, which means we do have a period of adjustments with just the girls for the most part and then we can add him in more in the coming weeks. 

It seems to be going pretty good.  The girls are having fun, not to many disagreements, and they are adjusting good to being over here all the time. 

So basically, as of now, during this adjustment period, the posts will be fewer and further in between.  I have a little time at night, but hate to take away from family, so hopefully after we get into a better/more structured routine here, I can get back into my “bloggy time” during nap/rest time.  Until then, don’t worry and be surprised if there is a couple days in between blog entries!  It’s life man!

Monday, September 27, 2010

A New Adventure!

 

Beginning today….Monday…..We are having two little friends join us during the day!  Our friend was in need of daycare for her 2.5 year old and 4 year old and we decided since Rylee and Mya were already friends, that they would have fun playing together all day. 

Madeline (4yr old) has preschool a couple of days a week in the afternoons and Mya (2.5 yr old) will be here all day Monday thru Friday.

We really think this will be good for Rylee to have friends around all the time.  It will also help to keep us busy throughout the winter months that get sooooooo long. 

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Children’s Museum of South Dakota

Last Sunday, The new Children’s Museum of South Dakota opened in town.  It is located in the old elementary school building and has been renovated and is pretty amazing.

Rylee invited her friend Mya to join us for the day on Friday and take in the new museum.  It was perfect as we went at 10:00 am when it opened and not too many others were there at the time.  I love the fact that I will be able to take her during the day without the fear of massive crowds and germs from snotty nosed little kids. 

To say Rylee and Mya enjoyed the museum was a little bit of an understatement.  They didn’t want to leave the grocery store (which I must say is a little brand specific – as it was stocked with all things HyVee.  DSCN2984DSCN2982

 

Next we moved into the farm.  Can we say that these two girls are city-girls.  They refused to pick the veggies from the stalk or ground, but instead headed to the troughs where all the extra plastic veggies were stored.  There is a big pig with piglets that can nurse,  a cow that can be milked and chickens that you can pick eggs from (they have a whole under the chicken where eggs can be placed so it appears as tho they have layed eggs). 

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After the farm we headed over to the sod house.  This was complete with a old stove and cow pies to heat them.  The girls absolutely loved the sod house and played in it for a good 30 minutes. 

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We also took in the band/music area, the art area, the water area, the tv studio, and the mini-explorer area.  We didn’t make it to the cafe, the post office, or the cloud climber other for a quick photo on the lowest platform.  Back by the band/music/sensory area there was a giant light bright.  Rylee really enjoyed sticking the large colored pegs into the slots and watching them glow.

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Last February, We painted a ceramic tile that they were going to use in the new museum.  They made three giant murals using all of the tiles that they had painted.  Rylee’s is the blue purple and pinkish/red on in the center.  Its pretty cool to think she will always be a part of the museum.

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We will be heading back soon to take in another days worth.  We are going to be purchasing season passes so we can take the museum in whenever we would like to this winter.

Wordless Wednesday – Big Kid Story Time

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