Cat and Dog

Since I shared pictures of our bat ~ I thought I should share our cat and dog with you all!




Their costumes where just threw together this afternoon. For some reason I just hadn't put much thought into it. I knew we had plenty of dress up clothes so I knew we could figure something out. These made them happy!

I usually buy lots of dress up clothes (halloween costumes) after halloween when they are on clearance. . .can't wait to see what we find this year!

Day of Play

The weather here in Haughton, Louisiana is so beautiful now. Earlier this week I was thinking how many more day's of almost 90 degree's are we going to have? As of now I can say that looks to be over. The last several days have been so nice! Friday I even completed the very big task of changed out summer clothes for Fall/winter clothing!

So this morning my husband pulled the van and truck to the bottom of the driveway and we decided to get busy on some fall crafts.




First the kids sat on the ground then I thought why not set up the table! hmm. . .So then we had the table and we used big ice chest's for seats.





This morning Caden did a whole lot more playing and less coloring, cutting and gluing.



After the craft time got old the girls used their new sidewalk chalk (I say new but Caylea got it for her birthday from her Grandparents but we just hadn't opened it yet) and on their bikes.

After lunch and naps we went back outside. Caden actually sat down and did a few crafts. So cute. The neighbor girl and her Mom also came over for a bit this evening. So fun and nice to chat with the neighbor. Samantha (the Mom) invited us to go with her and some of her friends trick-or-treating tomorrow night after church. I am not sure what we will do I need to talk with Anthony about it. Either way it was nice to be invited :)



Then he was right back to one of his cars. Such fun for that little boy!



The neighbors have brought over vegetable soup (among other things) a few times. I loved the soup so I called my sisters today and got some help on how to attempt to make some.

See since I am on the atkins I have been eating a lot of salads with my meat and cheese but it's getting old.

So I bought Celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, onion and cabbage. I also bought broccoli for it however because Anthony pretty much hates broccoli I left it out and will use it for something else. I also put hamburger meat in it. We normally eat ground turkey however I bought beef this time.

This is what we started out with all ingredients minus cabbage it went in later.



This is the finished product. It was so very yummy my husband even said it was good. I think that maybe the first thing I have ever made that he didn't have a negative comment about. I was so super excited!



I did this for the kids. They had sunflower seed butter (like pb) sandwiches and noodles with the veggie soup juice over it. I figured that most of the vitamins were in there by then and that they would more likely eat it since they love macaroni and tomatoes. I think I can add a little of the veggies to theirs later after they have had it a few times.



My sister is coming down in a few weeks and I plan on getting some lessons from her on cooking different things.

My Batboy!

Half Bat and half boy.



This is my bat boy!



Faster than lightening!



He thinks he is a monster!



I just think he is so stinkin' cute!



Love him!

Eight Years Ago

This last Sunday my husband and I celebrated our 8 year Anniversary. This year we didn't get to go out alone together because we are now in Louisiana away from family to watch the children.

It was still a very nice day and we all enjoyed each other very much. I am so thankful to God for giving me a wonderful husband to spend my life with and raise our family together.

Eight years in one way seems like forever ago and then in another seems like just yesterday. So crazy how fast time flies on by!



Our three precious blessings that God blessed us with. I am so thankful for all three of them. Each one of them holds a very special place in my heart and any one of them could never be replaced . . .Thank you God for giving me the 3 most perfect and precious children to raise, love and squeeze each and everyday!

Hair Cut Day

Today Anthony and the girls got up early to go to Starbucks and get their coffee. The girls of course didn't get coffee they love the vanilla bean drink. It is more like an ice cream really. Yum!

After that Anthony came home he picked up Caden and they went to get hair cut and then they went to taco bell for lunch. I took the girls to run around and do a little shopping. We had lunch then went to get our hair cut also.

The girls always choose how they want their hair cut and I am always happy with their choice. I got my hair cut also. So today everyone in the house got hair cut. I find that funny I don't think that has ever happened before.

Anyways here are my girls. I so wish I had thought about taking a picture earlier in the day when their hair was styled. This was taken right before bed after they had showers and jammies on.

Halloween 1980

Halloween 1980 Brandy and I dressed up. I am assuming that we went trick-or-treating. This picture looks like it was taken at my Grandparents house. I was woody woodpecker and I think Brandy was the clown from that kids game show I can't remember his name. Maybe one of you can jog it for me. (Thanks for the reminder Michelle. . .I think you are right I think it is Bozo the clown)

In October 1980 I was 3 years old and Brandy was almost 2. Amanda was about 5 months old so there for probably not dressed up since 30 years ago I bet infant costumes were hard to come by.

Caden's story

For Caden's food allergy story I do not have any pictures. Well I probably do if I go and look but for now I am just going to tell the story.

We had no idea that Caden had any allergies at all until he started solid foods. He started solids at about 8 months and quickly we realized something was up. Sometimes I would give him a bite of something and he would just gag and throw up. Loudly gag.

Now Carolina would gag and spit out food when she was a baby. She wouldn't eat baby food till after 9 months old. But once she started eating she was fine. The doctor said it was texture aversion so we just assumed that was what was up with Caden.

I remember in May at my Mom's bday celebration at Inspirations Tea Room I spoke with my Aunt Vickie about this. I honestly wasn't super concerned about it. However she was and we had just gone thru the allergy testing and finding out about Caylea's allergies the month before in April.

I thought his throwing up, constant rash to the point of bleeding in some places on his back, his snotty nose and fussiness was all seasonal allergy related. I thought this because when we went to S. Padre for vacation is all cleared right up with no problem.

I emailed our Pediatrician he said if it didn't clear up bring him in. However a few days later I had a follow up appointment with our allergist for Caylea and I asked her if Caden could have bad seasonal allergies. After I told her all about how he was acting she said bring him in.

We had to wait till he was 11 months old. So in June we took him in to be skin tested. By this time he was only nursing and eating graham crackers. He had not lost weight but hadn't gained any either. He would not eat any other food at all. He wouldn't even try it. They say it was because so many foods made him sick he just didn't want to eat them anymore but he knew graham crackers were okay.

When I went to his appointment in early June well first off he had eczema all over his back and there were actually soars in a few places that he was able to reach and scratch. It was so hard to hold him down when they cleaned off his back with alcohol. I hated that for him because it hurt him. But that wasn't it. Next was holding him still while they poked him over 80 times with the "allergens". I don't mean to make the doctors sound like bad guys but that day Caden did think so!

After holding him still for 15 minutes so the test could then be read. I had to hold him still while they read each and every poke. Needless to say after this appointment Caden hated two things for sure. Doctors offices and being held down! (clipping nails even became almost impossible!)

The doctor then informed me that his egg reaction was a +4 which she said ment that it was off the charts, he also tested positive for peanuts, soy and several tree nuts. She said we needed an epi-pen for him.

I was numb and in shock at this moment. Yes I wanted to know what was wrong with my baby and get help but no this was all way too overwhelming since I wasn't adjusted to finding out about Caylea's allergies yet just 2 months prior.

She told me that she thought the soy maybe a cross reaction with peanut and that he may not be actually allergic to it. Unfortunately after a few more weeks of throwing up and a positive blood test to soy it was confirmed as an allergy. The other symptoms cleared after egg was removed.

He was only 11 months old so he had not actually been fed an egg it was the egg in the baby food (pasta types) that was making him sick. He has not to this day had a nut of any type so I have no idea how he would react if at all for the first exposure.

A few months after his testing my sister and I took the kids to McDonald's. We had been at the zoo and left because of the heat. I sat Caden in the high chair and gave him a chicken nugget and next thing I know he is throwing up, has a rash and is wheezing and short of breath.

I gave him zyrtec and took him home. The allergist scared me when I told her because she said I should of went to the ER. Thankfully God was watching over my boy when his mommy made that mistake. His face wasn't swollen so I assumed okay. However she said breathing difficulties with food allergies should always be watched closely by a medical team. I was told to watch him closely give zyrtec (which by the way was 2 tsp-an adult dose) every 2 hours, a few times, then every 4, then every 6 and finally every 12 for 3 days.

I guess with food allergies sometimes the med's can wear off then another reaction follows. Thankfully God took care of him and I stayed on top of it. He was fine.

I spoke with her about the day to see if we could figure out what happened she said most likely a child had eaten egg in that high chair recently and he reacted off of that.

Caden survived on Graham crackers for several months (well I was still nursing also) He has always been hard to get to try new things. They say that is normal for a child with his past it is just etched in his brain now to not trust new foods. He is also my most spoiled child. Part of that is being my last baby. Partly how bad he felt for so long I held him a lot when he wasn't feeling well. Also he is a super duper daddies boy now which makes Anthony oh so happy. However this fact makes him even more rotten! LOL

A few months ago I took Caylea and Caden to be skin tested again. It was not fun. Caylea was such a trooper laid on the table like a big girl and stayed still. For Caden it took 3 of us to hold his body still against me and the other nurse to do the testing. Not so fun. But thankfully over. The test said that Caylea was still allergic to all tree nuts and some of them she has became more sensitive to. Caden still tested the same but after an accidental egg exposure we knew he was no longer reacting so she said we could give egg. . .the same with soy. So for this family we are content with just avoiding nuts.

(and super blessed)

We moved to Louisiana a few months ago and finding a church was of course a very important thing for us. We prayed about it our family and church family in Oklahoma supported us in prayer on this matter. God found the perfect place for us. It is a small church but oh so friendly.

They have been more accommodating than I could of imagined with the food allergies. We had lunch with the Pastor and his wife soon after we joined and I mentioned that I would bring a bag of safe snacks. She said she would go buy some and keep them in the kitchen for everyone to use. That was so sweet. They are in there and it's nice to not have to worry about it.

Also my kids are in love with the people there. Caylea has a great little friend named Olivia that is her age. Carolina and Caden have a little boy that is right between their age. There are a few other kids that come that they play with. But all of their favorites are the teen age girls! It is so nice to not have to worry where they are when we have to be there early for Anthony to practice because I know those girls have them somewhere doing something fun with them.

Right now we are still homeschooling. We are praying about school next year for the girls. We are in a great school district. Carolina wants to go so bad! I think she would love it! Caylea is on the fence about it I think she would do okay. She is super smart (not to brag but she does do very well). . .it is socially that I worry about and just missing being home. We just have to figure out what God wants before we move forward.

This ended up longer than I expected. If you made it this far your amazing. Enjoy your day my friends!

Our Introduction To Nut Allgeries

Caylea use to throw up all of the time just when we ate out like Chinese or church functions. She never liked nuts but I never suspected it was an allergy. Now I know they were making her throw up and probably making her mouth feel funny.

I found out one day when she was about 4 1/2 (the doctors were surprised her allergy was so severe and I was just figuring it out- they said she was a great self avoider).

I knew she didn't like nuts but Carolina and I did so we were eating some cashews getting into the van in the parking lot at target in Edmond. I gave caylea a tiny piece and she spit it out. I said see you don't like nuts. We were meeting my sister Brandy at hafer park right across from target. She fussed and whined all of the way there. I felt awful because I was short with her telling her if she didn't quit she wouldn't get to play. She was still fussing for a drink. When we pulled into the park I looked in my rear view mirror to my daughters face covered in hives and so severally swollen she couldn't really talk anymore only cry. Brandy was there so she took Carolina and I headed across the street to the Edmond Hospital ER. They were asking me why I was there I said I think my daughter is allergic to cashews they looked at her and took her back immediately and said I had to finish paper work. Less than a minute later the nurses came running to the window saying we need her Mom we have to start IV immediately her airway is closing. She got IV and med's. I of course didn't think about taking any pictures until after a lot of the swelling went down and the hives were gone.

We were there over 4 hours and she was put on a steroid for several days. I was told follow up immediately with our Pediatrician.

Our pediatrician helped us get into a wonderful allergist quickly. We then found out she was anaphylactic to all tree nuts.

So we have been carrying twinject epi-pens every since.

It was hard in the beginning I felt like I was going to kill her every time I fed her. The hardest was trusting other people to feed her. Especially people who didn't think it was a big deal. Of course it is a big deal it's my daughters life. Even if she does not die from an exposure (which is possible) she is effected with a traumatic trip to the ER and who wants that for their child. Thankfully time heals and we have learned how to deal with this.

It's not always easy but being around supportive people makes the biggest difference.

My position on the subject of people who think we are over reacting. Is and always will be to try to educate them. However if that is impossible then I will do what I need to protect the children God has placed my care. Unfortunately I can't say that I don't care what people think because I do. I am way to sensitive to not care. Regardless I have to do what I feel is right for my children just like any other parent about any old subject out there. Our subject is just life and death.

The not being able to not care part unfortunately has only hurt myself and caused a lot of sadness the last few years. I have had the time to think to let go of that and realize the people that love us and the one's who don't. An important life lesson for sure. One I probably learned a little late in life. Those people have fallen into the place they belong in our life. Either way I don't care what they think anymore. I can't afford to for my (and my families) happiness.

I am so thankful to God that the day of the reaction we were basically across the street from a hospital. I am also so thankful to God for putting people in my life who understand . . .maybe everyone doesn't and some won't even try. However when I really needed to talk or vent there was some understanding person and several times people who really even GET IT right there right when I needed the support.

I personally do not know anyone else who has a small child that is anaphylactic but I know they are out there and I pray one day I can be helpful to someone else.

Here are the few pictures I took of Caylea after her reaction had gone away significantly. Still looks bad to this Mommy but trust me it is much better than it was just 10 minutes previous.




To Caylea this is now just a distant memory. She does remember it and I think she does have a healthy fear of nuts. She is 7 so still needs supervising but over all I can say she will ask before she eats in a class kind of situation. It is the uninformed adults I have to worry about. I am so thankful to say that March of 2008 was her last reaction. It has not been easy to avoid all exposure but it is possible and it is what is BEST for Caylea.

This is Caylea's story I will write Caden's soon. It is much different and thankfully caught a lot earlier in fact I don't know if he would even react at this point to a nut. . .which gives me hope he will outgrow it.

Caylea is given 0% possibility to outgrow her allergies. Although she still asks often and I tell her God can do anything pray about it. He may just do it. . .

Tired out after a long day

Garden transformation

When we moved into our home here in Louisiana there was a garden in the backyard. This garden had mostly tomato plants. However when we moved in the plants were mostly dead. . . So the garden got over run by weeds and such. I didn't really want the kids or even the dogs in there because there was the medal things people put around plants in there. However this morning Caylea asked her daddy just the right number of times and he went out there and helped her clean it all up. He even got out the weed eater and trimmed everything down.

My Mom bought the kids The Little Rascal movie and they talk about it all the time. I think that is why she got so interested in making a play house.







I did over hear Caylea and her daddy talking about putting something over the top to make shade and making a sandbox out of it in the spring. I guess we shall see what the garden truely transforms into next year.

I haven't shared a picture of Maxx on here lately. We have had him for over 2 months now. He is a full blown mess. Needless to say he has turned into an outside dog. At least for now. The weather is nice and he is happy out there. Once it gets cold I am not sure if we will make him stay outside or not but he is a chewer and a lets just say very active puppy so it is best for now.




Also wanted to share this picture so you can see how big he is getting. His back is higher than Misty's now! The vet said she is short for a Beagle but the picture gives you an idea how big he has gotten. He is growing oh so fast! I am curious to see how big he ends up being :)

Roomies

My latest trip to Oklahoma we stayed a few days with my Mom and then the rest of the almost 2 weeks with My husbands Cousin and her family. We were so blessed as Ryan gave his room up for our things and Me to sleep in. Taylor gave her room up for the kids to sleep in. So where did Ryan and Taylor sleep you may ask? They slept in the living room most of the time until their parents left to go to Dallas the last few nights they slept in there. I know it was hard on them because they had to get up early for school. I am so thankful that they made the sacrifice for us. I feel as though I was able to grow closer to Melissa and her Mom Patsy while we were there. It was nice . . .They are family and even though they are my in-laws it doesn't feel like it. It just feels like family!

I wanted to share a few pictures of my roommates while I was at Melissa and Daniels house. These guys are the life of the party once darkness hits. They get so loud it sounds like they are turning flips and hitting the side of their cage (I never saw it only heard it). They have little squeaks and also another noise not sure if it is a purr or what but it's quite.







Guinea pigs

Caylea wants one of these guys so bad! I am not sure I am ready for that. Plus ummm. . .yeah we already have 3 dogs! LOL

Probably not having one in the near future but I enjoyed my time being roommates with these guys and getting to "know" them a little bit.

On to another subject if you read my blog a few weeks ago I posted a picture of some potatoes my neighbor gave us. Contrary to my normal self and what most others believe I decided to actually cook a few of them in stead of just looking at (and photographing) them.

So this is what a purple potato looks like on the inside. The greenish ones were light on the inside which all the others were also.



They were yummy and all tasted the same to me. I just boiled them and added a little salt and pepper.

Home Again

The kids and I drove back home to Louisiana yesterday. Left Melissa's at about 930 AM. (Thanks so much Daniel, Melissa, Patsy, Taylor and Ryan for letting us stay there and Taylor and Ryan for letting us use their rooms!) We went my my Mom's to get a few things and Misty (thanks Mom for the help with Misty and Laundry).

Sometime between the drive from my Mom's house to my Grandparents house in Moore there was an earthquake. We didn't feel it but we got a text from my Sister In Law, Rachel. My Grandma filled me in when I got there.

We left my Grandparents house a little before 11AM. Picked up lunch and hit the road. The kids did great we did not stop until about 4 hours into the drive. We pulled into a McDonald's off of the highway had a potty break. We then grabbed the kids some apples and hit the road again. I was impressed we only lost 10 minutes according to my GPS. We pulled into the garage about 10 till 5. I think that may just be my best time!

When we were about an hour from the house I noticed Caden's eyes were pinkish. At first I was thinking Allergies. I gave him Zyrtec and we got ready and went to church.




When I picked him up from his class I saw a little discharge so I was worried it was pink eye. We warned everyone so they could wash their hands and be on the look out. This morning when he got up his eyes were matted shut. So I put in a call to our Ped. at 930. They squeezed us in at 1030. I was a little nervous since no one was dressed and the Internet was down. I needed the address for my GPS. Dr. Mack is in Shreveport which is about 30 minutes away from our home in Haughton. Thankfully by the time everyone was dressed the Internet decided to work I got the address and ran out the door with time to spare. We actually got there 10 minutes early. (GO ME!)

Dr. Mack said it looks like Allergies or a cold so he said it is not contagious. WOO HOO!!

The kids were so good I told Caden we would go by and get him a cookie. So since I had a shop and whrrl to do for CB. I decided to stop at Murphy's. That was super great since I went by wal-mart first to pick up a few things. I am a little nervous about this as I have never done one before. I will be completing it this afternoon.

So that was our trip home and first day back. I have to say I have enjoyed being home and am enjoying spending time with my husband 2 weeks is a long time to be away. Most likely we won't be taking that long of trip to Oklahoma again for a long time.

I have a lot of posts and pictures to share from our trip but that will wait. Right now I have to finish unpacking and get this house back to normal.

PS right now the kids are outside playing with the neighbor it's so great to hear them out in their yard enjoying this beautiful weather!

Five Years Old

Today is my nephew Elijah's 5th Birthday. It sure doesn't not seem like he should be 5. That being fact means that my little Carolina will be 5 in a few short weeks. Now that seems impossible! However it is very true!



Today I also got to snuggle with my 1 week old nephew Caleb. In all honesty it seems like just yesterday that all three of my little one's were this tiny. I know it is not true by looking at the sweet little people they have become.

Those memories just make me snuggle Caleb a little tighter and take a million pictures to capture the memories. For soon enough little Caleb will be running around with his brother, sister and cousins. I think then my sisters and I will be sitting around and wondering where the time went. (Oh and looking back at all of these millions of pictures I took all through the years)

Caleb Walker

After my last post I realized I hadn't posted on my blog in several days. Therefore I had not introduced my newest little nephew Caleb. He was born on Monday weighted 7 lbs 12 oz and he was 19 1/2 inches long. Judging by how well he is eating I would have to say that he has grown in the few short days since he was born. He and his Mommy are doing well. Brandy had a c-section so there is a lot of healing and soreness that comes along with that but all things considered they are both doing well.




This one was taken the day after he was born. Caleb is such a sweet little guy. He is so snugly and warm.



Caleb and his Mommy came home yesterday. Elijah and Sarah were so happy to see Mommy, Daddy and Caleb at their house. Though I do think they had a great time with their Nana. I think Elijah is doing great and will be the most awesome big brother. Yesterday while we were there Sarah mostly ran around and played with the her brother and cousins. She loves her Baby Caleb and was carrying around a baby doll yesterday. It is yet to be seen how she will truly respond to him. I imagine considering her age there will be some challenges but over all she will do great and love her Baby brother!




You must know there are more pic's to come. . .I also have some other posts to make that I may or may not have time for until we get back to Louisiana.

This boy loves his Auntie!

Oh why does my Auntie Chan have to leave and go all the way to Louisiana I am so devastated . . .or maybe he is just upset because his Mommy stepped out of the room? Not sure which :)

Sweet Sarah

Boy how I have missed getting to see my nieces and nephews (almost) everyday. I sure do miss them! They grow up so fast! It seems like little Sarah is turning into a little girl and not quite as much a baby as she was a just few short months ago. This is probably a good thing since she is going to be a big sister (and a great one at that) in just a little over 24 hours.

I love how this little lady even after not seeing me for a month still runs up and gives me hugs and kisses when I am in Oklahoma. Just like we never skipped a beat! That means so much to this Aunt. . .Sadly enough soon her Family will not be in Oklahoma every time we come to visit. I am not looking forward to those days but so excited about what the Lord has in store for them.

No! Not the Bug!

The kids and I drove down here to Oklahoma Thursday for a visit. We got here and spent some time with my mom, Brandy and her kids. Brandy had plans so had to leave after a few hours.

It is so much fun to watch the kids excitement to see everyone they love. The most exciting meeting is defiantly with Elijah! The girls and Elijah have so much excitement they just can't control it so super cute! I need to be prepared and video it next time. Brandy always meets me when I come into town at my mom's so I just need to have the camera ready when I pull in.

Friday we went to the zoo it was such a beautiful day. Enjoying the zoo just came naturally! With Friday came more hanging out with family till late in the night.

Today (Saturday) we did more hanging . . .that is until Carolina got sick. That was at about 4. So we came home and laid down. I am sad that we are going to have to miss my Brother-in-Law Chris present their ministry at the church I grew up in tomorrow. I guess that is part of having kids though and going with the flow.

I am just praying now that Carolina is done being sick. She seems much better only really got sick one time. She ate a normal dinner this evening. Last time she got a bug was when we came to Oklahoma in July and no one else in our house got it. I was so surprised because we all traveled home together that same day in the van. I am hoping we are that blessed this time.

I want to be at the hospital early Monday morning when my nephew is born. I guess only time will tell if the bug is going to travel around our family.

Either way I suppose we will all meet Caleb sooner or later right?

I will close this post with a few pictures from the zoo yesterday.