No New York and broken toe :(

Ok, this was my fall break weekend, Matt & I were supposed to go to NYC however, we were not able to because I spend to much money. So we decided to take the kids to columbus to stay with my G'ma and go to the columbus zoo for boo at the zoo. We got to aggie's house yesterday and ordered Zamerellies pizza (which is the best pizza EVER) anyway, after that my aunt came over and I talked her and matt into going to Jeffersonville outlet malls (kate spade & J crew) now we didn't go to NYC because I spend to much and then he takes me to kate spade & J crew :) I think he felt bad. Anyway, I got a beautiful purse for fall, refills for my date book and some lovely clothing at J crew. I love Kate & J Crew. LOVE THEM.
Ok, so we get to the zoo today at 1 by 1:15 Connor had broken my toe. Seriously, he ran right in front of my and stopped dead in his tracks. I of course, since it is not below 20 degrees outside have my flip flops on and because my feet aren't ugly enough I know have a pinky toe that has a sort of bluish hugh to it and is really fat. Ok, now if you remember we got to the zoo at 1 and now it is only 1:15 so we still have about 3 more hours of walking. I sucked it up, however, I am pretty sure my family was out to get me. They could have put me out of my misery and just thrown me into the tiger exhibit but no, they continued to step on my foot like 3 times, connor kicked me while jumping out of matt's arms 2 times and Maddy kicked my broken toe. Seriously.
The kids had a good time though, which I suppose made it worth it. My toe (since I had flip flops on) was nice a numb for most of the time (see it does come in handy to wear them year round :) So now I am sitting here trying to warm up because my mom came to my house and let the dog out and decided to turn my heat off, so my house is a nice 62 degrees, it's good for my toe I suppose.
:)

CaNAdA

The kids & I drove with my mom to our cabin in Canada last Wednesday. They were all excited and I was just tired. We got there around 3:30pm after leaving at 5am. They were good in the car for the most part. I have gone up there since I was 6 years old and I was excited to take my kids up there. Emily has been up several times but the rest have only been up twice and they were all to little to really remember. They had a blast! It is amazing up there. We don't have a toilet (only an outhouse) my dad installed an out-door shower last summer (we always just bathed in the lake). We fish, swim, water ski and eat... a lot! Ben tried to water ski, he basically face planted into the water, cried and informed me that he "will NEVER get on those things again." I was so proud that he tried though and that his little stick arms didn't get pulled out of socket with the huge boat took off. I got to ski all over the lake so needless to say I can barely walk right now. My butt hurts so bad, but not as bad as my thighs or my arms or my knees. I am pretty sure that I popped one of my fingers out of socket also, however being the medical profession (almost) that I am I easily got it back in. It is so relaxing and we really had a good time. The drive back was a little crazy. My dad came up later in the week so my mom stayed up there with him, which meant that I got to drive all the way back home by myself with all four kids. Potty breaks were a little tough. Ben basically REFUSED to go to the bathroom because we all went into the women's bathroom. No way was I letting my 6 year old go to the bathroom by himself. These rest stops are huge! They have food courts and little stores, they are way busy. Finally after about 5 hours he couldn't take it anymore and did finally pee in a women's restroom. I also had the grand idea of stopping at Niagara Falls. It was basically at the half-way point and I really wanted the kids to see them. I haven't been there since I was probably 10 years old. Ewww is all I can say. The Falls themselves are amazing creations of God but the city is a mix between Times Square and Universal Studios and it stinks like trash. The kids did like The Falls and couldn't believe how big they are and how fast & how much water there is (God is AMAZING!). After that we made it across the boarder in about 20 minutes they did let us back in and the rest of the trip was pretty calm. All in all it was a very good vacation. Where was Matt you ask? Well he stayed home and painted the house, no no don't feel sorry for him. This was HIS choice. I am pretty sure that next year he will be in Canada with us though. Ok, I need a nap, my vacation wore me out.
PS - I read this AMAZING book called "The Shack" you should read it.

New Friend

Ok, I made a new friend this weekend. Her name is Stephanie. We have the same favorite color, the same favorite number, love peanut-butter M&Ms, we like to fight sometimes but have no one who will fight with us... :) I had so much fun with her and I really miss her. She is an amazing person who has such a passion for Christ. I miss you Steph, hopefully we'll see you soon!

Secret Keeper Girl

Hello World!
I feel like I need to blog about this past weekend. It was amazing! I coordinated a Secret Keeper Girl event at my church and it was probably the greatest thing I have ever been a part of. I know that this weekend was all a plan of God, He did amazing things this weekend, with me, my family and my friends. Not to mention the 224 moms & daughters that were there. Here are some pictures of the weekend. God Rocks!

what a long time!

Ok, this is going to be quick. It has truly been a long time and for those of you that have been holding your breath until my next post well....by now you're probably dead. Sorry about that :)
I am back though at least I am going to try to be. Lots to talk about but my AWESOME husband just bought me the Wii Trauma game and I really want to go play it. So I'll be back later and I promise to catch up.
God Bless!

Madelyn

Well, Tuesday was starting off to be a crazy day. What day isn't crazy in my house? Anyway, Matt took the day off from work because we were getting our dog spayed. She had to be there around 7:30 so he took her to the vet, I got Emily, myself, and Ben ready to go. Emily was going to school, Me to work and Ben was going to Bible Study with my mom to play with his best friend Brett, while Matt stayed home with Connor and Maddy. I talked to Matt a couple of times and he took Ben to Pre-K I called as he was pulling into the driveway from dropping Ben off, I called about something stupid I saw on the Internet and then I hear this screaming wail. Matt said Madelyn fell out of the car, we hung up and I sat there with a sick feeling in my stomach. I almost left work, almost. I called right back and he said she was crying but seemed to be ok. She walked up to the porch on her own and had a bump but was ok. So after work I went to vote, then I ran home quick and Madelyn was asleep on the couch, which for Madelyn is a little odd, if there is any sort of activity going on in our house she is in the midst of it. Connor was watching Toy Story and she just fell asleep. I chalked it up to her just being tired from the day before. So I left, picked up Ben from school and went to the grocery. We got a couple of things and as we were pulling out I called Matt to check on Maddy, he said she was awake but crying that her head hurt. He had just called my Mom (she is an RN) and she said if her pupils are equal and responsive she should be ok. By this time I am a little worried that her head still hurts, but I was on my way home and I figured once I got there she would be ok, because I had yet to be around her since she fell. Sometimes a kid just needs their Mommy! I literally was right around the corner when Matt called my cell, Madelyn just threw up everywhere, my heart dropped...this is not good at all. I raced around the corner, told Ben to get out of the car quick, we ran inside and sure enough she threw up everywhere and was bawling. My mom was on her way and we needed to get to the ER immediately. I threw Ben's sweat pants and a sweatshirt on her and raced (really fast) to the hospital. My best friends husband is a surgeon, a very good one, and I called her and told her we were on our way to the ER and asked if she could page Jeff to meet us there. We got there and got her into the ER and of course they have to do stupid stuff like take her temp. Now I ask you if her brain is bleeding who the hell cares what her temp is? And for those of you who know Maddy, she is a very will full child, and it took two nurses, me and Matt to hold her down to get her temp under her arm. Yes four of us, and I'm looking at the nurse going how bad do you really need this because she is going to have an aneurysm from fighting us off. Anyway we go back to a room and wait...I'm sitting there thinking of all the articles I have read about kids hitting their heads and having to have surgery to relieve the pressure, all the hospital shows I have watched, at this point it doesn't matter if it was true or not. I am holding my baby girl, who is just laying there with her eyes half closed wondering if our whole world had just changed. She continued to throw up which I took as a bad sign, the ER doctor came in and said they were going to do a CAT scan and get her some medicine. Jeff showed up and checked her out and went to check something. Now I am sitting there, having gotten a CAT Scan once, wondering how in the hell this child who 45 minutes before had to have 4 adults hold her down to get her temp was going to lie still in a big machine by herself. Luckily Jeff knows Maddy and her determination not to do anything that she doesn't want to do, and got her in with the nice new CAT Scan machine that you don't have to hold perfectly still for. So they finally take us back to radiology and I got to stay in the room with her, it only took us 10 minutes to pry her off of my body and onto the board, I also told her we would get her 10 barbies, but I am pretty sure she heard nothing over the high pitch screams that were echoing throughout the room. I basically laid on her and we talked about Disney World (her favorite place) and the rides there. For starting out the way she did, she laid still and did a really good job. The Techs were telling her how good she did and in reply she gave them what could only be described as the look of death. We walked back to our room where they were cutting a guys knee open, I pretty much almost passed out, the doctor said we could go to a different room (thanks doc) so they put us into a room with a television, thank goodness for Elmo! Maddy laid there watching Elmo, and I sat there staring at my baby I couldn't even consider the possibilities of what could happen. Finally I hear Jeff walking down the hallway, he comes in and says that everything looks really good, no bleeding in her head. The relief that swept through my body was unexplainable. We had to wait for the ER doctor to come in and give her some medicine to help with the puking and dismissal papers then we could go. Finally she started to talk and said she wanted to go home, we got home and her brothers and sister and g'ma and aunt and uncle were all waiting on the porch for her. She got really excited and told them about the cool machine she got to go into and the cool tv she got to watch and Jeff came to see her and she just kept talking about everything. We ordered pizza and watched Cars and everything was back to normal, well as normal as they can get in our house! I pray everyday for my kids, that they will stay safe and nothing bad would happen to them. I love my kids more than anything and can't imagine my life without one of them. They are my greatest gift. (I did this in purple because it is Maddy's favorite color!)

Vanity

Ok this is my first blog ever! The first thought that goes through my head is "Am I that vain as to think that people will want to take time out of their lives to read what I have to say?" My answer... Probably ;)

Anyway I have decided to start this mostly so I can vent, not to anyone in particular, but just to vent. My life is incredibly crazy. My four children (yes four) are wonderful and amazing and I love them but I'm pretty sure that most of my sanity has been lost. Maybe I will find it again, maybe...
We do pretty well, my husband and I. He helps me a lot... of course not tonight. No tonight he went to the Browns game (holy shit they won) with his Mom, Dad and brother. Where was I you ask, well I was getting four children (yes mine) ready for a Halloween party. Does anyone realize what it takes to get four children ready in costume? Let's just say it's not easy. It only took two @ 1/2 hours. Two and one half hours of absolute chaos. CHAOS. First they took baths...only about 3 gallons ended up on the bathroom floor, mostly done by the baby chucking cups of water across the bathroom. Where was I you ask, trying not to get electrocute while drying Madelyn's hair. Once bath time was over my dad popped in so of course everyone had to go downstairs and jump all over him. The whole time everyone is whining "when do we get to put our costumes on?" Finally, Finally we get to put them on, remember Matt is just now getting to the Browns game, did I mention that they won? Anyway, Emily is a Pioneer girl, Ben is a ninja, Madelyn is Sleeping Beauty, and Connor is an Elephant. Now everyone is good we're all ready to leave we only had to make one trip back to the house for Ben's sword. We are on our way to the church. Everything is good, we get there they had games and candy and more games and more candy. About an hour passes and I look at Connor's little gray elephant feet and notice that they are ripping. This poor baby has been wearing a costume that is what I thought a little to small, well it turns out it is a lot to small because his toes are now ripping through the feet of this costume. What a terrible mom I am. So we're leaving, they had food there for dinner but I had promised the kids Wendy's so we're heading to Wendy's Ben turns up with two pieced of cheese. Madelyn wants a piece of cheese, so instead of going and getting one of her own she steals Ben's. The two of them are literally screaming at the top of their lungs about this stupid piece of cheese. Now they are both holding huge bags of candy, yet they are fighting over cheese. Ben is going "GIVE ME MY CHEESE BACK" and Madelyn's is screaming something that I can't understand. The children's minister is standing right there so I have to remain calm and collected and I only slightly raise my voice at them. They get into the car and they are toast! Eventually I get them calm, because that is my job, and we get dinner, we get home and it only took me 3o minutes to get them into bed. Now I am typing this post and my husband is eating at Friday's still 2 hours away. But it's ok, right?! I get to do fun stuff all the time...well some times...once in a while...once every 2 months...well occasionally I get to do fun things like go to Wal Mart and the Grocery Store.