2010

Well I guess my first resolution will be to update the blog...I really want to keep it up for myself to make sure I remember things as they happen. So I will try to update more often than once a year.
2010 was an interesting year. Of course it had its ups and downs. I have enjoyed watching my two wonderful children grow.
Addison turned 1 on Dec 3rd. She is such a wonderful baby...well little girl. She loves to dance and to cuddle. She loves her soft blankets and animals. She can give kisses and say some words...mostly people's names. She started walking right before her birthday. She adores her big brother and knows exactly when Mommy needs a hug. I am so blessed to have such a sweet girl.

Tucker turned 3 in July. He is such a little smartie. He can be very rambunctious ( I know I didnt spell that right) and can stretch Mommy's nerves at times but he is such a sweetie at heart. He is sensitive and quick to let you know when you have hurt his feelings. He loves four wheelers and Woody and playing in the dirt. He is a Mommy's boy and I intend to keep him that way.

One of the downs this year was the loss of my Mam-aw on December 5th. She spent the 4th at my house for Addie's birthday and I was heartbroken to receive the phone call the next day. She was such a wonderful lady and a great example to so many. So many times in the past month, I have wanted to call or thought of something she needed or something I wanted to ask her. I know she is happy to be with my Papa and I know she no longer hurts or is tired but it is so hard for me and my family to be without her. I wish my Addison could have known her a little longer. When Tucker was born, she told me she must have been mistaken about her dreams. She had been dreaming of me holding a blonde little girl. Well, along came Addison and Mam-aw said...yep there she is! Mam-aw loved her grandkids and great grandkids and would do anything for any one who needed it. I will miss her greatly.

So 2010 had lots of memories and I can only hope that 2011 will be great as well.

Little Princess

Well... Addison arrived on December 3 at 4:41 pm. I was induced that morning and things didnt really start progressing until about 1 or so. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is a gorgeous baby-and I do not think I am just biased because all the nurses thought so too! Poor thing has my feet...with super long toes and she has very long fingers. The first couple weeks have been interesting. It is a big difference going from one kid to two. She has had her days and nights confused so we do not get a lot of sleep. Tucker wants to help with her but his little two year old boy self makes it hard. We are still working with him on being gentle and sweet and talking at least below a yelling level. I am already wishing I did not have to go back to work in January. I can't believe that I was blessed with twice with such beautiful children.

Update

Well...life is busy! With school starting back things have gotten super crazy. I feel completely exhausted all of the time, I think that is the combination of school, being pregnant, and having a two year old! I have some pretty rambunctious (is that how its spelled) students this year. It always seems as if the class I have twice (because I teach them science and math) is full of "personality." They are a bit challenging for me. As for the pregnant thing, we are expecting our little girl around the beginning of December. I am really hoping for late November so I will have more time home but I want things to go well and for her to be healthy. I already put in for my leave at school and said I will not be going back after Thanksgiving Break-I may change my mind before then but we shall see how things progress. I went to the doctor today and things are looking good. I now start going every two weeks which will make school even more hectic.
Things with Tucker the last couple weeks have been interesting and stressful. He has decided he does not want to go to sleep. I put him back in bed at least 50 times a night. It is taking on average of 1.5 to 2 hours to get him to sleep. I do not know what is going on with that. We have tried everything-night lights, stuffed animals, new pjs, bribes...it is so tiring. He has never slept in our bed-ever- and last week he decided one night that 'tucker needs sleep in mama's bed.' I do not know where that came from. I just can't figure out what to do with him. So all in all things are busy!

Girl!!

Well...I found out I was pregnant in April but decided to wait to make the announcement since it was so early. As time went by-we told a few people-mostly family but really didnt talk much about it. Then Monday I went for my official ultrasound. I always had wanted a girl but knew I was much more suited to have boys. My mom has no granddaughters except for Trinity-my step daughter and we did not get her in the family until she was almost 4-so they have not had a baby girl to dress up. They have really wanted a girl. On my husbands side-their are 2 girls with Trinity being the youngest and 5 boys...so they kind of were hoping for a girl too. While that one part of me wanted a girl so bad-I know it would be a whole lot easier for another boy to come along. He could share a room with Tucker and Tucker would have someone to play with. We wouldnt have to buy all new things...just easier. But i was super excited and 'shocked' when the ultrasound tech told me it was a girl. I went straight to the store and bought two pink nightgowns! My family are crazy excited. Trinity is excited-when she found out I was pregnant with Tucker, she said if it was a boy-we would take it back to walmart because they take anything back. There are going to be a lot of things to get ready. We do not have another bedroom. So after the baby moves out of our room, I think we are still going to move her in with tucker until they are a little older. Then eventually they will share rooms with the older ones. I just hate doing that because the older two are only here every other weekend and I know when they get a little older-it will be a big crazy fight having to get them to compromise. If we just had one more bedroom-it would be great! I also have to get a new car. Just lots of things to do. We did find out really early that I was pregnant so in a way this has been torture waiting...but now that I am almost 20 weeks, it is beginning to seem more real. I can feel her move around-which is a wonderful feeling. I just can't wait for my little girl-she has got to be calmer and easier than rough old Tucker!

Surgery

Well..I figured I would update about Tucker's tonsil and adenoid removal last Wed. THe actual surgery went well. The doctor said that Tucker's nose was almost completely covered up by the adenoids and that his tonsils were very abnormally large so he was glad we opted to go ahead and do the surgery and not wait until he was older. He had to stay the night in the hospital which was interesting. He hated the IV. I think if it wouldve been out-he wouldve been a lot better. He was a very cranky boy that day and throughout the night. The only thing we could get him to eat/drink was dr pepper and ice chips! Once we got home, he was still a pretty cranky boy. He had to take meds for pain every 2 hours. He would have a pretty good hour or so of playing and being in a good mood and then a few hours of absolute cranky whining. The last couple days, he really started hating the meds. He cried so much yesterday that he threw up. He did the same thing today. He has lots of snot-I guess because of the swelling. Today is the first day the doctor said he did not need to take the pain meds...he just has to take the anitbiotic three times a day. He is really cranky and kind of 'hungover' I think. I am hoping he doesnt get the bleeding that would usually happen on the 7th day (tomorrow). It has been rough but I think it will be much better for him in the long run.

Workshop

Well..Being a teacher-I have to have like 150 hours of development every 3 years or so. We do get some through the school, but we have to do some on our own. I decided to sign up for this resources and the environment workshop when I was at CAST this year. The workshop was for 5 days and was in Longview. So it was a pretty busy week. It was SOOOO hard being away from Tucker that long-I missed him like crazy. The week was really awesome though. Most of it was at the Sabine Mining Company-a coal mine outside of Longview. We hear so many negative things in the media about coal-it was neat to see their side. I was super amazed at how much they do to protect the environment. The do tons of reclamation and make the land so much better. We got to tour a power plant-climbing up(or riding the elevator) to like 350 ft but the neatest part was touring the actual coal mine. We got to see the big equipment and even got to get on the drag line-which is the big crane thing they use to dig out the dirt. It is over 400 feet long and we got to be in the cab while the guy was operating it-very cool. Each link on the chain that holds the bucket weighs 150 pounds. The bucket...is HUGE. We had 16 people just on the opening where the digging teeth are. They fed us really great while we were there and the Texas Mining and Reclamation Association-who put on the workshop-put us in areally nice hotel for the 5 nights. They gave us some goodies and we got to bring coal back for our classrooms. It was a great week even though it was hard to be away from my boy. I may put some pics up soon!

UGHHHHHH!!!!!

You know how things always get worse before they get better??? Well , around here, they get worse before they get AWFUL!!!! As if there was not enough stress with the end of school-we had to do the stupid flexible year end plan which we did not have a clue about. I get like 3 days off and then I have a week long workshop...which yes I signed up for...but out of necessity. Then Tucker will have his surgery on the 17th-so there is a deductible due for that before he can register at the hospital. I have not been feeling well and have been stressed for some other reasons and now today...our air conditioning goes out!!!!!In the process of trying to help figure out what was going on with the a/c...a window was broken and glass got everywhere so I have had that to clean up-with three kids running around...while we try to figure out what is going on with the a/c. We so cannot afford a new unit right now...we just cannot get ahead. I just feel overwhelmed and keep waiting for the next thing to happen or go wrong. I need a vacation from life!