Boy oh Boy!

So, I'm really AWFUL at keeping up on this!

Here's a bit of a run down on what's been going on since the LAST time I posted.

Elleh & I went to see Dr Todd, an Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist. After 4 severe ear infections in less than a month, (she had one while we were seeing him by the way,) he said that it wouldn't be a matter of if, but when she would need tubes. He told me to talk it over with Rob & let them know. There's wasn't a whole lot of talking to be done. It needs to be done. Now we just need to get it scheduled, but need to have her ear infection/antiobiotic free first. Hopefully we're on that road & can get it scheduled soon. She has 8 teeth now, is on the verge of walking & will be 1 in less than 3 weeks! I can't believe how the time flies!

Rob & I made a trip to Kingsport TN in March. We got to spend some great time with family & I FINALLY got to see a race at BMS! It was amazing! Everyone should experience it at least once. We went to the Nationwide Race on Saturday (and picked up a nice sun burn), and the Sprint Cup Series on Sunday (wearing our poncho's & long sleeves, trying to stay dry & warm). Our seats were great & we got a smokin deal on tickets thanks to my husbands crafty skills. We paid $50 for the pair of tickets on Saturday, (box office price was $80 for one), and we paid $80 for a pair of tickets on Sunday (box office price of 1 of the tickets was $120)! WOO-HOO. Although, he wasn't very impressed that we paid $30 to park on Sunday, then walked another 2 miles to the track! We had a great time seeing Grandpa, Grandma, Mike & Jake. It's BEAUTIFUL out there. The weather reminded me a little of good ole' South Dakota. It was sunny & 70's on Saturday, low 50's & rainy on Sunday & then 37 & snow on Monday. I wasn't planning on snow for my birthday!

Ava wants to be outside or at Grandma & Grandpa's 24 hours a day. She doesn't understand why she can't go to Sunday School, play soccer, and do all the other things that Mollie does. It's really hard to understand that you have to wait until you're 4 to do those things. Especially when you're only 3! Four is a long time away! She loves to be my "Big Helper". I think she's getting a bit excited to ride a big girl bike, but still a bit scared!

Mollie lost her first tooth! She was bound & determined to pull that tooth. She went to my dad & said "just yank it out Grandpa!" They tried & tried, but no luck. I jokingly said to her, "Mollie, why don't you tie a string around Ava's remote control car, the other end around your tooth & then make the car go!" Wouldn't you know it, Mollie disappeared & 5 minutes later came back with the car, floss tied around the axel of the car, the remote for the car, and asking my dad for help tying the other end of the floss around her tooth. They worked & worked at getting the floss tied around her tooth & finally, it "popped"right out. Dad didn't know that it had come out. We had to look for it & found it in the cushion of the couch.

Mollie & Daddy started Spring Soccer. They really seem to like it! Their first game was last Saturday. The weather was beautiful. Girl Scout Cookie sales are done & Mollie did a great job! She sold 116 boxes of cookies. Her goal was to sell 50 boxes. What a little salesman! Maybe a future in Insurance, haha!

We are putting a new roof on the house next weekend, and sometime after that, we will be putting new tile on the foyer. We got a piano & when it was moved in, it cracked a few of the tiles that are down now, so it needs to be replaced. Rob wants to build a snadbox around the playset for the kids, put a fence up & do some landscaping. Should be a busy Spring/Summer for us. Expensive too!

We have been busy helping Jill & Patrick get their house ready to put on the market. Lots of removing wall paper, painting, packing, cleaning & storing! Hopefully they can have their house on the market sometime next week & will have a quick sell!

Matt is about finished with the walls in dad's lower garage, so hopefully they can get the electrical done before the permit expires at the end of the month. They also bought cupboards, cabinets & counter tops for the pantry & will be installing that sometime soon. It's going to be a busy summer!

Dad is running for re-election for District 11 House of Representatives. He has a Primary in June & then the General Election in November. Wish us luck! If you're looking to volunteer, I could sure use you!

Oh MY~ More exciting news. Not only is Jill having twins, but Matt & Rachel are expecting a baby in October! Christmas is going to be so much fun this year!!!!

~Until next time~

I'm SICK of SICKNESS!

LORD HELP ME!!!

Well, Mollie didn't get to go to her Birthday Party that I talked about last time. She wound up with Strep. That was only the beginning.... We got her the antibiotic for the strep, got her healed up, then found out that Elleh had a SEVERE ear infection. It was so bad that the Dr was worried that her eardrum might burst. Got her an antibiotic & healed up.















She healed up just in time for Ava's 3 birthday party. That was a BLAST. Thanks to my in-laws, and my mother-in-laws connections, we went to the Ramkota Hotel & had a swimming party. The girls had SO much fun swimming with all of their friends. Ava wasn't happy when we told her that she had to get out to eat something, but could get back in later. She wasn't buying it. We had her family party on Sunday, her actual birthday & she was spoiled beyond belief!

















Then the following week, back to the Dr. Tink & I both wound up with Strep. Back to the Pharmacy. I had to laugh when the Pharmacist asked me if I had any questions about the antibiotic. The two of us healed up just fine.

Today, after 4 days of dealing with Elleh being miserable & things only getting worse for her and a temp of 102 under her arm this morning, we took her back to the Dr. I was near panicked. She had such a high fever & was so lethargic. I was scarred that they were going to tell me that she had RSV & needed to be hospitalized. Dr Carrie ran the RSV & Influenza tests, both of which came back negative thank goodness. That's the good news. The bad news is that Little Miss Elleh has a double ear infection, a sinus infection, bronchitis, two bottom teeth poking through & diaper rash from hell! That little thing is so miserable. Mom & Dad are too! Dr Carrie gave her a stronger antibiotic & set us up with an appointment to see Dr Todd, an ENT specialist to see about tubes for Elleh. Please say some prayers that whatever she needs done, happens. What ever is best for her.
Hopefully we're on the road to recovery..........
Here's hoping that all of you are happy & HEALTHY. Bring on SPRING!!!
Until next time~

~TGIF~

Well, it's FRIDAY! Thank goodness for that. I'm done with this week. It' seems that there's always something going on & never time to just relax!
Monday night, Rob & I had our Dave Ramsey class, Tuesday night Mollie & I had girl scouts, Wednesday & Thursday Rob and I took turns being home with a sick Mollie, and here we are at Friday already! I'm going to make up for the hectic week this weekend though! Tomorrow Mollie has a birthday party to go to, then Mom & Dad are having a Chili Bowl/Birthday/Valentine's Day party at their house, then Sunday, we are having a DAYTONA 500 party at our place. YEAH NASCAR!!!! I can't wait. The truck race is tonight, Busch race is on Saturday & the 500 is Sunday!!! WOO-HOO. Can ya tell I'm excited!
Mollie is out of school until Tuesday of next week. President's break. She wasn't very impressed about the break from school, but had a GREAT time at the Valentine's Day party at school.
Ava hasn't caught the bug yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me! She's still as ornery as ever. Her birthday is next week. I can't believe she'll be 3!
Elleh is teething & not very happy about that. She has 2 on the bottom & 4 on top. I'm not sure where the other ones are coming through just yet, but she is drooling non-stop, chews on everything, had a low grade fever, diaper rash & teething tablets are our best friends! Poor Baby! She's also found that she isn't very good friends with the stairs at the house. Going up is alright, but she can't understand why she can't "fly" down them like Mollie & Ava without getting hurt. Man does she get mad & scream when that happens.
OH~OH~OH~OH I finally get to share some exciting news! My sister Jill & her husband Patrick decided that they would add to their family. Little did they know that they would double the intended #. Yep. Jill is expecting twins! The little Glovers are due August 31st! Aunt Laura is VERY excited, but then again, I'm not the one going through it!
Well, that's all for this week.
~Until next time!

I jinxed myself!

Well, I said it in the last post. I jinxed myself. In my defense, not entirely my fault. As many of you know, my dad's youngest brother Jeff was diagnosed with cancer at the end of July. He fought so valiantly, but on December 2nd, Jeff's 46th Birthday, he took a turn for the worst. He passed away with his family by his side. I have to thank Rachel! Jeff's fiancee Rachel was our Angel! She is one of the most AMAZING, loving, caring & gentle souls I have ever known. I don't know what any of us would have done with out her. She is a blessing to all of us & I think that I speak for my ENTIRE family when I say that she & her kids are a PERFECT addition & fit to our family! Willie & I were pretty close while I was growing up. I always wanted to spend time with him & do everything that he did. I'll never forget my 6th birthday. He gave me a ride on his new 4 wheeler, and we melted my brand new moon boots. We grew apart the older we got, but the bond was never broken. NO matter what...... Willie NEVER forgot my birthday. He called me every year on March 22nd, the conversation always started the same...."Hey Little Willie! Happy Birthday!" This year is going to be tough! I miss him deeply & think of him often. Jeff loved so many people & so many people loved him!

December came & went in the blink of an eye for us. It was tough to get back into the swing of things, but slowly, we're getting there. There isn't a whole lot to report on Rob & me. Oh wait, there are 2 big things for us this year.

The first: Rob is taking me to Tennessee in March for the Bristol Spring race! Happy Birthday to me. I've been to NASCAR races & tracks before, but never an actual race at Bristol! I can't wait!!!

Second: Rob & I are going on a Caribbean Cruise with the rest of his family in October of 2010 to help celebrate some milestone birthdays. I won't mention the actual number just in case my in-laws read this, but let's just say that I'm excited the temperature will be over 50 degrees!

Mollie: LOVES school. I am amazed at how much she has changed in such a short time. Back in January, over Martin Luther King Day, she was upset with me because I wouldn't let her go to school. I couldn't convince her that no one would be at school because of the holiday. We have 3rd quarter conferences tonight already. Before I know it, summer break will be here. She's making all kinds of friends and is having a blast with Girl Scouts. Any one interested in cookies??? She's also decided that she wants to play soccer again this Spring, bible school, swimming lessons & golf this summer. No wonder the kid doesn't gain any weight! I wish running after her & her sisters had that effect on me!!

Tink: She's a spitfire! We're gearing up for her 3rd Birthday! I can't believe it's here already. I'm not real sure what to get for her birthday. Tink loves to play with little Matchbox cars, Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop animals & put puzzles together. She also loves to read. I found her this morning reading a story to Elleh when she was supposed to be getting dressed. She keeps asking when she gets to go to school & Sunday School. It's hard to explain to a 2, almost 3 year old that she can go next year!~

Elleh: Well, Elleh is nine months old today & mobile! She finally figured out how to crawl, forward I might add. She pulls herself up on everything & if she's in her walker, watch your ankles! She's on a mission. She has more hair than both of the other two girls combined at this age, 4 teeth on top & 2 on the bottom and has decided that baby food is NOT an option for her anymore. She says "da da dad" & gets SUPER excited when she sees Rob or the girl's.

That's us in a nut shell over the last 2 months. I will do my best to make sure that I post on a regular basis in the future. I hope that everyone is happy, healthy & doing well.

~Until next time~

WOO-HOO 2 Weeks in a row

Wow. I'm proud of myself. Posting 2 weeks in a row! I just jinxed myself!

Well, I survived my week as a single parent! I'm glad he got to go, and I'm happy he had a good time, I'm happy that he got his deer, (even if it is a bit small) but I'm even more happy that he's HOME! It's funny. I had these plans to get all kinds of scrapbooking done while he was gone & guess what.... I didn't even look at my scrapbooking! The house was cleaned, the kids were fed & bathed, I played referee & stopped LOTS of fights, played Barbies, Polly Pockets, little cars, beauty shop & read TONS of stories. Oh yeah, we watched a few movies too. UP is a great Disney/Pixar film. All 4 of us were really glad to have him home on Sunday night. I'm not sure who missed him more. Me or the girls! Now to plan a MOM's night out!!

Everything else is going well! Mollie has been busy with school. Her class is taking a field trip to one of the Nursing Homes next Tuesday. They will be singing some songs, (did you know that there's an Albuquerque Turkey?) reading some poems, and giving each of the residents a turkey that they made. Mollie finished hers last night. It was supposed to be a family project, but it turned out to be mostly mom & Mollie working on it.

Ava had a bit of a fever last night. I gave her some Tylenol & within a few minutes, the fever was broken & she was back to her ornery little self. We call her "Tink" for a reason!

Elleh is moments away from crawling. I haven't decided if she's going to crawl or walk first. She scoots backwards, hasn't figured out the forward part yet, but she would rather hold onto your fingers, stand up & try to move forward that way! Little stinker. I found out this morning, that if something is sitting in front of her, that she isn't supposed to have, and you push it just out of her reach, she gets mad. It's funny. "Ggggrrrrr" she says!

I'm trying to get a picture of the 3 of them for Christmas Pictures. That's easier said than done! I'll post some of the funny ones!

The holidays are right around the corner. I can't believe it! Thanksgiving next week, Christmas will be here before I know it.

I'm AWFUL at this!

Hi Everyone,


So, I'm not Super woman. I sure get myself into a mess of things, thinking that I'll be able to accomplish everything & I'm proving very quickly that I can't. It's been forever since I've updated this Blog. (No thanks to my husband, who offered to help I might add. Haha)


First things first.....All of the Browns are doing very well & have managed to fend off the "plague". So far, knock on wood, we're all healthy. All 5 of us had the first dose of the H1N1 vaccine last Thursday. Elleh was the only one that had to have the shot, the rest of us were able to have the mist. What a relief! The kids have to have a 2nd dose in 30 days.


Here's a little update on each of us.


Rob~Work is going well. He's getting ready to head out to the Hills for Deer Hunting on Wednesday. He's so excited, he's worse than a kid on Christmas morning.


I'm working, trying to be a mom, & wife, doing Girl Scouts with Mollie and trying to keep up with everything in between. Two Fridays ago, I was able to go out with my friend Michelle to a Scrapbooking overnight. I had a blast. It was the first time I've scrapbooked in over a year and a half! I have the itch, just need the time to sit down & do it!


Mollie~She is busy at school, and doing very well I might add. We had our very first Parent Teacher confrences last week. It's really hard not to scream "YES" when the teacher tells you that your daughter is the most polite 5 year old she knows. Mollie loves school & I am AMAZED at everything she has learned so far! She's still in Sunday School, but soccer is done for the season. I think that she & Rob had a really good time doing that together this year. Mollie & I started a Girl Scout troop together this Fall. She seems to enjoy it & is making new friends. Look out, we'll hit you up for cookies in February!


Ava~ Surgery went very well. The recovery took a bit longer than we expected. She had to stay an extra day in the hospital because she wasn't taking any fluids & her oxygen levels would drop while she was sleeping. They got both of those under control & we were able to go home on Saturday. She has healed up nicely & is eating better & better everyday. She was super excited to go back to Char's after she was healed up. I think that mom's, dad's & Grandma's are fun, but other kids are always best!

Elleh~ 6 months already! Where does the time go?!? We have 2 pearly whites that poked through on the bottom over the weekend. I caught her up on all fours the other day. It won't be long. She is such a happy baby. Well most of the time. When she's teething, has wet pants, or is hungry, look out world!

Well, that's our story in a nut shell. I'll update more as often as I can! I hope that everyone is doing well & is happy & healthy!

Love to all!

Update

Hi Everyone~

Well, first off, I have to start by letting you all know that my husband said that he would start posting things if I gave him the log in information. Well, he has the info........ (Haha. Had to give him some grief) but seriously, he said that he will help with the postings, so I'm going to hold him to it.

I have an update on Ava this time. As many of you know, when she was born, she took in a lot of fluid & had to be taken to the NICU after she was born. (Hardest & longest time of my life!) As she grew, she was always very raspy & snored really loud, louder than her dad. We visited with Dr Carlson about it & she said that it was due to the fluid that she took in & that she would grow out of it. When we went to her 2 year check up, Dr Carlson gave her a clean bill of health & then asked if we had any other questions. My first question was, "When is she going to grow out of this raspyness?" "Huumm" Dr Carlson said, "she should have grown out of that by now. Let me take a look." She looked in Ava's mouth & referred us to a Specialist for her tonsils.

We met with Dr Cink at the Ear Nose & Throat clinic. He visited with us & said that he doesn't like to do surgery until the child is 3 - 4 years old, (Ava is 2) and most of the time, when he sees a child, their tonsils are between a 2 and a 3. (Tonsil sizes are determined on a scale from 1 - 4. 1 being the smallest, 4 the largest) He said that he would take a look & we would go from there. He took one look in her mouth and then in her ears & said, "well, they are a 4+, we'll do surgery and remove both the tonsils & the adenoids". There is an opening in the back of her mouth that is about the size of a fingernail, that half moon shape. He asked us if she snored, if she quit breathing in her sleep, & how she ate. We haven't witnessed her not breathing while sleeping, but the other two are definitely things she has issues with. Anyway, surgery is scheduled for Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at Avera. Thanks to Grandma Lynne, Ava will have the best surgical team & the best care the hospital can offer.

I'm OK with the fact that she will have surgery. I know that in the long run, it's the best thing for her. What I'm having issues with is the fact that it's my little girl & that they will be putting her under. I know that she will be in great hands, it's just the "worry wart" mom in me. My head tells me she'll be fine, my heart says, "that's your baby".

I'll keep everyone posted on how everything goes! Wish us luck & send lots of prayers please.

~until next time~