Lil' Miss Singer

One of Alyson's Christmas gifts was a sewing machine from her Nana and Paw-paw. As luck would have it-the machine was backordered. Alyson has anxiously, but patiently waited for her gift to arrive. Friday, when she got home from school (which is going very well), she had a package waiting on her. Excited is an understatement. We spent the next couple of hours undoing all the tape, twisty ties and straps that were holding the machine captive. We did manage to get it set up and run a few test seams to let her get the feel of it before bedtime. She seemed to really enjoy it and anxiously began to plan her first project. She had a birthday party to attend today and she was insistent that she was going to make something for her friend~and she did. She made her a sash/belt and even attached a little heart to it. She was quite proud of herself and so was I.

I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

School Girl!

Today was Alyson's first day at her new school and from all accounts she had a great day. She was all smiles when I left her and picked her up. She made several new friends, including one named Natalie :) and got a green light today. She told me that she liked it well enough that she wanted to go back tomorrow. Good thing ;).

Alyson and Mrs. Leah

Aly all ready for the day!

HI HO! HI HO! It's Off to Work I Go.....

Well, it's back to the grind! Can you feel my enthusiasm? Nah, it's not really that bad.

I am sure that you have already figured it out, but I am going back to work. Just part time though. I have taken a job at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center here in Meridian working on the OB unit. As much as I have enjoyed the flexibility of being home, I think we will all benefit from this. Alyson enjoys being home but she gets so bored. She will be starting in a Pre-K program next week and she is so excited about it. We visited the school this week and we were very impressed. Natalie's schedule won't change much. Instead of me picking her up, she will go home with a neighbor. Once my orientation is over, I hope to work my schedule so that I am only working a couple of partial shifts in the evenings and one weekend a month so I can still do things with the girls and we can still have plenty of family time. Maybe wishful thinking, but my supervisor at the hospital seems to think we can work it out. I still hope to do my monogramming and hopefully continue to build that business.

I can't promise you that I will keep the blog current in the next few weeks since I will be working full time during orientation but I will update you when I have a chance.

One Tough Cookie!

Today had many makings of a not so great day when we started out. On the agenda - a yucky, cold and rainy day, a visit to Alyson's new pre-K school she will be starting soon (more later on that), a Wal-Mart trip (ugh!) and a visit to the pediatrician with Alyson for a check up and SHOTS!

Alyson was aware she was going to the doctor but I was waiting until just the right moment (and the last minute) to tell her she was going to get shots. I was anticipating the worst - it took 4 of us to hold Natalie down when she got hers. Those of you who really know Alyson will appreciate the humor in the next comment. Once in the exam room, I sat her in my lap and told her I needed to tell her something about our visit to the doctor. She looked at me and very matter-of-factly said, "What, I'm getting a shot?" and that was essentially the end of it. Wait, where is the screaming and crying I am braced for? We talked briefly about how things would take place but she never said anything else about it. When the moment actually arrived she was amazing. She sat still as a statue and "blew out her candles" as she received 5 shots in her arms. Not a tear was shed. Not a whimper was heard. I only noticed one small grimace. We had far more drama tonight when we went to remove the 5 bandaids on her arms!

We are ready for school now!

We never made it to Wal-mart. Mom was too tired!

Natalie's choir sang again in church Sunday night and they did a wonderful job. Natalie was in a trio that had their own part in the song. She was so excited about it and practiced very hard for it. She even had a surprise visit from Paw-paw and Nana for the occassion. I definitely see showchoir or something along those lines in her future since she is always singing and choreographing something. She jumps for a chance in front of a mic any chance she gets. The dominant voice you hear in her trio is not hers - sorry. She is wearing the red shirt.

Table for Two

Friday night the GA's at our church 'hosted' a Valentines banquet for the A.W.E. group (Adults with experience/55+) and their families that also served as a 'fundraiser' for the Annie Armstrong Easter offering. It was really a neat experience. The girls and mothers got together Thursday night to decorate their tables and get things organized. Friday night they all looked so cute in their waitress type outfits and Valentines aprons as they waited tables and took orders (moms were scattered around supervising and in the kitchen fixing plates). As the the girls families arrived, they were allowed to serve them, then with their mother, join them for the meal. When Frankie and Alyson arrived, we proceeded with the above plan. Natalie was taking their order when I came out and asked if I could join them for supper. Alyson was quick to tell me that this was hers and Frankie's date (that is what I told her was going to happen and I guess I should have taken the hint when there were only 2 chairs at the table). Needless to say, Frankie and Aly enjoyed their date night. After seeing the two of them there, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Savannah, Kellye, Emma, Autumn, Natalie
Cortney, Erin, Lexie

Natalie had as much fun waiting on them as they had on the date. The GA girls were so cute waiting the tables and they all enjoyed their evening. Natalie and I had our own little dinner date after the rush was over.

Update

I promised you updates and here they are. Fortunately, much less graphic than the last post.

I wish I could tell you that the drama ended with Kerri's accident and ER trip, but it didn't. Friday night was a little difficult as Kerri obviously didn't feel very well, but the twins had a difficult time settling in as well. Saturday dawned cold, rainy and yucky! Natalie attended a dance clinic at her school Saturday morning. She even had her hands autographed by "Danny" and "Sandy" which she insisted I take a picture of before she washed them off. She really enjoyed her morning. While she was gone, the rest of us just hung out at the house and did your typical Saturday morning stuff. That is when the drama kicked up again. Hailey was having a meltdown so Kerri put her in Natalie's room to "regroup" and closed the door. I am sure you can figure out what happened next - she locked herself in the room. We thought, no big deal - just stick something in the little hole and release the lock. If only it were that easy. We tried everything to no avail. We even tried getting to the window, via ladder - in the rain, but of course that wasn't successful either. Frankie was out of town with a dead cell phone so we called my dad and Travis (Kerri's husband) for advice. Nothing they suggested worked either. Finally I broke down and called the contractor who built our house to see if he knew how to get them open. Jackpot! It wasn't a push button release - you have to have a small (precision) screwdriver and actually turn something inside the doorknob. Fortunately, Hailey was basically clueless about what was happening. She was just mad because she was being punished! Not long after that, they were working on cleaning up the TinkerToys in the living room when Harrison lost his balance and fell - with a stick in his mouth. More blood. Fortunately, this was very minor and had only scraped the roof of his mouth. Enough already. I can say that the remainder of the day Saturday was relatively quiet (injury wise) as has been today. I took another picture of Kerri this afternoon so you can see her progress ;). Surprisingly, the swelling has been minimal and unless you knew better, you probably wouldn't notice it. Some bruising is starting to appear on her eyelids (you really can't see it in this picture since she has make up on) and that will probably worsen as the days pass.

We are looking forward to a good day tomorrow - thinking positive! Suzan and Gracie are planning to come for a visit so we can't wait. We promised them there wouldn't be any drama! Keep your fingers crossed.