R.S.V

Deagan has R.S.V. Yuck. The poor little guy is coughing and wheezing like crazy. We had to give him breathing treatments every 3-4 hours last night and I have to take hims back this afternoon to have him checked again. I swear, these poor kids have been continuously sick for the past 4 months!

Miss Chitlin' Strut 2011?

Do you think in a year or so, we could go from this:

To this?

"On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash.

The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful."

Toddlers & Tiaras, Tuesday nights on TLC (Contact your local cable carrier for time and listing information) :-)

Yes, my friends, I have witnessed the finest in youth pageant hysteria on this reality T.V. show. It walks a thin line between disturbing and hilarious.

Disturbing: A 10 year old girl gets spray tanned, eyebrows done, and teeth whitened for the Miss Chitlin' Strut pageant. (There is also a Miss Collard Queen, in case you were wondering.)...The mothers (and a "father" or two) living vicariously through their children at a frightening intensity...

Hilarious:

He was also quoted as saying, "If you want to change a tire, go talk to my wife. If you want to bead a gown or win Miss Universe, come talk to me." Hmmm. Interesting.

Toddlers & Tiaras: David Perez
Uploaded by TheDlisted

BTW, I did score a 90% on the TLC pageant quiz :-)

In other news...Kennedy & Deagan went to their friend Avery's 2nd birthday party this weekend. Kennedy had lots of fun...and Deagan just start there and smiled :-)

And then we all got sick. Again. Yay.

But here are cute pictures of Deagan when he was not sick. :-)

Viva Las Vegas

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted. I’ve started to write some posts in word documents so I could copy/paste them with the pictures when I have time, but I never seem to have the time! Two weekends ago Devin and I went to Vegas for a short, cheap getaway. It was actually a pretty nice time. The weather was just a little warmer than here, but being sunny and 50 felt like a heat wave to us. We some exciting moments because we saw the director Kevin Smith in the Cincinnati airport, we got to meet Wayne Brady, and I saw one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta with her football player husband in the Las Vegas airport on the way home! It was cool because the hotel was a freaking deal but was super nice. I felt very cool in the hotel room….and then I would walk out and see all the glamorous, and remember who I really was :-) (And now I have the Fergie song in my head…g-l-a-m…)

Deagan is just as cute as can be! He smiles & laughs all the time and it is adorable!!! He doesn’t nap too well during the day, but she sleeps pretty well at night so that is awesome. He is very close to rolling over from his back to his tummy. He pushes himself around with his legs a lot. He has rolled from his tummy to his back twice, but the rest of the time he gets one arm stuck underneath him.

I can’t believe he is 5 months old already!!! He still looks so little to me, and I can’t believe how quickly the past months have flown by. He has started eating rice cereal- and I use the term “eating” very loosely. For such a little guy he can really chug back the milk, so I figured he would be excited to get something more feeling. I don’t think he realizes what it is yet!

Kennedy is becoming a bigger goober by the minute! She’s a little stinker and likes to test the limits by doing things she knows she is not supposed to and then laugh about it. She has also found a new fun hobby of putting her butt in Deagan’s face when he is playing on the floor, farting, and then giggling about it. Ahhh, she is such a lady. J She has also started screaming/squealing when she doesn’t get something she wants. Do the terrible two’s start at 16 months?

I am excited because she has started doing the signs for “eat” and “more”. Her verbal skills seem a little behind, so I’m excited that she is communicating in other ways.

I don't think Kennedy is happy with Deagan using "her" toys...well, she kinda thinks any toy is her toy. Anyway, when he is "playing" with (i.e.- lying underneath) something she thinks is hers, she has to use it with him or try to move him out of the way. I think Deagan is over it.


Kennedy has been really into her toes lately. It's funny. She only takes off one sock, though. She will take off one, mess with her foot, and then continue playing with just one sock on. She's a crazy girl.

We have a gate up. She hates it. I take pictures of her and her misery. :-)


I had to take them to have their weight checked last weekend. Kennedy rang in at a hefty 18 lbs 10 oz which is awesome because she was down in 18 when she was sick. Deagan was up to 12 lbs 5 oz which is excellent since he is over 5 months old and 3-6 month clothes, allegedly, start at 12/12.5 lbs.

Grossed out Blessed

I have been puked on and pooped on more times this week that I really feel is acceptable. Kennedy was super sick on Tuesday and we spent several hours in the ER, just so they could tell me that they really couldn't do anything and I just needed to watch her for dehydration. (While we were at the ER Degan puked on me- and I mean projectile puking, not just a little spit up- twice and then did it again Tuesday night, all over my pants. It was awesome.) The vomiting finally stopped, and then she had diarrhea. Now she's started vomiting again. And so has Devin. And so has his mom. And so has my mom. I have not. Yet- if God lets me clean up all this puke and poop AND lets me get sick and have to clean up my own, I will be very sad with him. ;-) I am leaving work a little early this afternoon to take K to the doctor. I believe this will be my 4th or 5th visit to her in about 1.5 months. Mimi was awesome enough to help out by taking Deagan for a few hours this afternoon since both K & Devin are sick....but I have the car seat base in my car at work and our extra one is in Devin's mom's car!!! Will the madness never cease?!?!?!?!

With all the pooping and puking going on at home and work being AWFUL, Wednesday night I thought I would indulge in a glass of wine. Red wine. (Yes, you know where this is going) I needed it. No, I just wanted it. Well, guess what. It spilled. On the carpet. Wine. Red wine. I was super excited about that.

However, with all of the stinky stuff that has been going on this week, I still realize that I am extremely blessed. Even though they are sick now, it is a sickness that will pass soon. There are many parents who have children with horrible diseases that haunt them everyday. There are parents who have lost children or who will lose their children in the near future. As I read the blogs about children and families who are suffering, watch the news footage about the elementary child killed by the bus, and listen to the Riley Radio-athon, I do realize that I am very lucky....but I still complain sometimes. (I never said I was perfect.) :-)

My Blog Stalking Has Risen to a Whole New Level

I have been in the middle of the night for several nights now. This has unlocked a whole new world of blog stalking! It's amazing how just clicking on a few links can introduce you to millions of new people! Some are hilarious, some are thought provoking, some are heartbreaking. Being a relatively new mother, who is already emotionally unstable AND up late at night, is not a good thing when you are reading about tragic losses and struggles. It makes more aware of how blessed a really am. Even when it seems like everything sucks, I have two snotty-nosed beautiful children who I love more than anything in the world. If you feel the need for a good cry, or would like to send some prayers up, feel free to check out the following:

Heartbreaking story of Cynthia and her little boy Aiden, who was taken before she got to know him.

This tragic story of a beautiful life cut short by cancer. I will be participating in the virtual wagon parade this weekend. You can learn more by clicking on the button below.



And then when you need to laugh, you can check out:

Big Momma- she cracks me up! I know I would want her to be my friend if I knew her in real life.

MckMama is pretty funny as well, plus her kids are adorable. I'm still trying to figure out how she gets Small Fry to let her put her hair up.

I also had an experience last night that made me giggle with delight when I was in a pretty yucky mood. If aliens landed and said "Take me to your mothership!" they would be directed to this sight. Hello, it's like they created the site just for me! I really think I need to look for a local chapter of B.A. (bloggers anonymous) to help me with my B.V.D. Time really does fly when you are blog stalking in the middle of the night.

Alright, back to makin' copies.

Not Me Monday

Two posts in a day! Sweet.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I do NOT have a child who freaks out when I try to change her diaper by yelling and screaming and trying to flip away from me (think about pulling a fish out of the water and trying to hold on to it.) And I definitely did NOT let her play with a dog bone this weekend while I changed her diaper because it was the only thing that would make her stay still long enough.

I did NOT become super proud of myself because I figured out how to "edit HTML" and turn my previously two column blog into a three column blog. I'm NOT nerd like that.

I did NOT consume my entire daily calorie limit in one meal of pizza hut pizza this weekend and proceed to still eat the rest of the day.

I definitely did NOT pretend like I was on So You Think You Can Dance while I was at my hip hop/workout class on Sunday.

I did NOT put Kenna's hair into a faux hawk last night after her bath because it was funny and I needed to amuse myself, and then forget to fix it before bed, so I did NOT find her hair looking like the infamous scene from Something About Mary.

I did NOT get very disappointed the The Boss didn't sing Born in the U.S.A last night because I did NOT want to relive my toddler days of running around, throwing my fist in the air and shouting, "Boooorrrn in the U.S.A.!"

I did NOT laugh so hard last night at The Office, ("The fire is shooting at us!!!") that I woke Deagan up.

Finally, I did NOT let Kennedy play with the CD-ROM drive on the computer yesterday, opening and closing it over and over and over, so that I could finish my paper that was due (because I definitely would NOT wait til the last minute to finish the paper.)

Bad Day for Heart Gone Walking??

**Warning to Katie @ Heart Gone Walking.... this image in this post might be disturbing.**

As I clicked on a link about Punxsutawney Phil to hear his "verdict" on the season, I saw this picture

and my heart went out to Katie M. She has had some unfortunate incidents with rodent-like animals. And while they are hilarious to read about (you can do so here and here and here...and kinda here too) I have to admit that I pause for a moment each time I get in my oven. :-) Anyway, as I was thinking about Groundhogs Day and looking at this picture that I found distrubing, I thought it must be Katie's least favorite day of the year. Seriously. A National Holiday honoring an immortal rodent (he is immortal because he sips the "elixr of life" at the summer ground hog pinic. The magical elixr adds another seven years of his life.) who speaks with the Groundhog Club President, in "Groundhogese" no less, to give his seasonal predicitions. I just don't think that sounds like her cup of tea. Especially since the internet and news stations are cluttered with images like the one above, which probably give her horrible flashbacks to the Matilda incident! So, today, Katie M., my thoughts and prayers go out to you as you get through this difficult day, especially since this is coming after your first trip away from your darling daughter.

**I do not actually posses a vast knowledge of Groundhog's Day trivia. My reference source was The Offical Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. It was quite informative, but I question their date since they claim to have a 120 year old groundhog, who speaks Groundhogese & has a 100% success rate. **