Happy Friday

Who doesn't love Friday?

The Doctor's

Today was Arden's 18th month check up and to follow up about her ruptured eardrum. As soon as we turned the corner to go to the exam room she started pitching a fit. She's never acted like that in public. She didn't quit screaming until after the nurse left the room. Then she asked for Pa-Paw. It was out of the blue.

The doctor stated that Arden is growing great and is making great progress...you can't even tell that she was a preemie. Praise God. Her eardrum has not healed and she has to go another round on a different antibiotic.

After we left the doctor's office she pointed to my phone and said Pa-Paw so we called my Dad and she happy to hear his voice. She didn't talk to him but just held the phone to her head. He's always asking if she wants to come and see him so I guess today she was ready to take a vacation.

100 Posts!

I can't believe that I have posted over a 100 about our crazy life. In honor of 100 posts here are a few random facts about our family.

1. Even though I am an extrovert (ESFJ). I do have introverted tendencies where I have to be alone for a while to regroup.
2. Dave is a true extrovert (ESTJ) and he has to be around people. He could not live by himself. He would go crazy.
3. Dave shared a room with his two brothers while he was growing up.
4. If you ask Arden if she needs a diaper change she will do a shoulder roll onto the floor like a gorilla. It is so funny. She does this even if she has a clean diaper.
5. Dave loves camping while I prefer to sleep in a nice warm bed.
6. I ski very slow.
7. I have a very good sense of geographic location. When lost my husband asks me which direction we should go.
8. When I first got my mountain bike Dave took me to the toughest trail at the park and figured that if I could handle it I could handle any trail. I thought I would throw the bike at him that day. But we have enjoyed some great rides on our bikes together since then.
9. Dave helps me shop for clothes. (He has a bachelors in Fashion Merchandising)
10. We love to take day trips.

I'm looking forward to the next 100 posts. Please join us as we journal our lives.

One Little Monkey

Today Arden was talking to her Grammy (Dave's mom) and she told Arden she was a sweet girl (or something like that) and on this end of the phone Arden shook her head NO and did the monkey sign.

It was pretty funny. I'm starting to wonder if Dave and I call her a little monkey (because she is a climber) too much.

A Scare

Today was is something that I have not thought about since I quit working outside the home. Over the past 14 years I either worked or lived in residence halls and planned for every type of emergency thinkable. I have responded to so many different types of emergencies and situations (which are some great posts for another time)...I just forgot that it happens to adults in homes not just highrise buildings with hundreds of people living in them.

This morning while we were at church our neighbors from down the street called Dave on his cell phone. He called to tell us our neighbor's house was on fire. He thought we would want to know because it was on fire on the side that is closest to our house.

Dave came and found me and we left right away. The car ride home was an eerie anticipation to find out what happened or what was happening as we drove home. We prayed as we drove home for our house and for our neighbor's and their safety. It seemed as if we got behind the slowest traffic on our way to the house. We passed by the fire station and the fire trucks were still out. We were hoping they would be nestled back in their garages after a small fire. The feelings intensified as we pulled down our street. There was a police car blocking the street about 6-7 houses up from our neighbors. We were asked to park further up the street encase more fire trucks needed to arrive. From where I was I could see 4 fire trucks that were not from our fire house. Around the corner we saw the two from our fire station. There were 3 ladder and 3 engine fire trucks stretching down the street where the last one stopped in front of our house.

As we walked towards our house I could see our neighbor's house and it looked fine, nothing wrong. As we got closer we saw our neighbor stopped and talked to her and she told us her building (which is attached to her house) was gone. Her children were out safely and were inside the neighbor's house. There were about 30 firemen working on the trucks and in the yard doing what they do best. I took Arden in to put her down for her nap and then I saw the damage. It was horrible.

The entire backside of her house was charred. The building was just a black skeleton of ashes and the wall facing our house was charred as well as the backside of the top floor of her house. The sight of it brought tears of thankfulness to my eyes that my house had been spared and tears for my neighbor as I realized everything she now has to do to get her house back together.

After getting Arden settled I stood outside taking in all in. Dave and I talked about how we know the Lord protected our house. I've been studying the Psalms of Ascents and Psalm 125:2 tells us how the Lord surrounds his people like the mountains surround Jerusalem. I truly see where he surrounded our house. It is amazing how the picket fence was 3 feet from the flames charred on her side but looked like new on the side facing our house never caught fire but the umbrella did on the back deck. I am so thankful for the Lord's protection.

The firemen were here about 3 and half hours after we got home. I hated to stare but I stood in the window watching the firemen do their job. (I would have been outside but I had been out there for a while and it was cold plus with all the water it was wet and damp.) It is amazing how they each have a specific job to do and yet it all flows like teamwork. Watching them roll the hoses back in the truck fascinated me so. They stretched the hoses from the truck all through our front yard and down to the bottom of our back yard. Then I watched as they cleaned up the charred building tearing down what had been destroyed throwing out the damaged goods out the window and still spraying down all corners of the house to ensure the fire was completely out. Not only did the firemen talk to our neighbor about what happened they also talked to us and told us how luckily we were that our houses have space between them. I am so thankful that we have a paid fire department who is able to respond quickly and is only 4-5 blocks away from our house.

Dave spend the afternoon working with a few guys in the neighborhood helping clean up the mess. The good news is nobody was injured or hurt, the house is fixable and I know that we live in a neighborhood where people lookout for each other and pitch in and help.

I did take some pictures of the day to document what happened.

The fire trucks lined up our street.

The fireman working with the hoses on the truck.

This picture does not even begain to show how many firemen were around the house.

The side that is beside our house.

A picture of the side of the house taken from my back door...it's all maybe 20-30 feet away.

Shower Musings

Today as I was taking a shower or as I like to refer to it my 5 minutes alone. I heard the following taking place outside the bathroom.

Dave: "Arden, where's the plastic piece you just had?"

Arden: lots of loud jibber-jabber and then the sound of little feet pitter-patting across the floor with lot of laughter.

Dave: "No Arden, that's not it. What did you do with it?"

Arden: Again enthusiastic jibber-jabber and her running to another area.

Dave: "No that's not it either. What did you do with it?"

This continued on the entire time I was in the shower. I have no idea what they were looking for and if they ever found it. It just made me laugh because I wasn't the person trying to figure what happened to what she had and I got to enjoy her mischievousness from a distance without having to do anything.

That was Easy

Last night around 7:15 Dave and I were planning on heading over to the mall to walk around and just get out of the house. We asked Arden if she wanted to go bye-bye or to bed thinking that she would run to the door saying "bye-bye".

Boy were we wrong. She jetted up the stairs, ran into her room over to the pajama drawer and laid down ready to be changed. Dave and I looked at each other and said well I think we have our answer. She laid down and went to asleep and we were able to enjoy a nice quiet evening together.

Leaving on an Jet Plane

My friend Jenny from Michigan was here all week with us. We had such a great visit. Jenny has been a great friend since we both lived in Nashville and we have done a great job keeping in touch. (Thanks Jen for all the calls that first year in Aiken and making the trip down here). Back in the day (before we were both married and moved to different cities) we would go to great restaurants for dinner and would normally follow it up with a great movie. We can talk for hours about everything and nothing at the same time.

Her husband was unable to make the trip because of work. He is one of the funniest people we have ever met. These two can tell the best stories and have you laughing so hard that your stomach hurts. They came to visit us while I was pregnant and we had too much to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath and I'm sure the baby had to wonder while my stomach was giggling so much. Everyone needs friends like Jen and Chad.

Arden just loved having Jenny around all week. Jen brought one of Arden's favorite books to life by acting out the story. They watched Dragon Tales and Sesame Street every morning together on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. Arden also managed to climb her way onto Jen's lap for every meal and of course asked for a bite of whatever Jenny was eating. Arden also told Jen the longest and loudest story the other night. She wanted Jenny to carry and chase her around the mall and before we would go anywhere she would grab Jenny's shoes and throw them to her. They must have read every book Arden has at least 10 times a day.

Today we took Jenny back to the airport to catch her plane. It is always hard to say see you later when you know that later might be longer than a year but the time together was so worth the trip. Arden was silent the entire way home. Later this evening we ran an errand and I really think she thought that we were going to pick up Jen. The house is a little emptier tonight we'll miss having Jen around. It was a great week and I hope to see her again soon.

Got Milk?

Arden is a true milk drinker. She prefers it to pretty much anything. Case in point today we went out to lunch with Jen and I packed her some kool-aid in her sippy cup. (I know that my parents are shocked because I very rarely give Arden any sweet treats.)

Well at the restaurant she took a couple of sip and then signed milk. I gave her sippy cup with the kool-aid in it and she didn't want it. She wanted her milk. Tonight at dinner she gulped her milk down and was very happy that she finally got to drink her milk.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

On Monday I was feeding Arden lunch and she ate her peaches and I gave her some applesauce. She pushed the applesauce away and I asked her want she wanted. She replied "I want some bread." It was as plain as day. I'm not joking. My friend Jen from Michigan is here visiting us for the week. I looked at her and said did you just hear that. Jen sharing my disbelief replied "It sounded like she said I want some bread".

I had made some cranberry orange bread on Sunday and I gave Arden a slice of the bread and she ate it happily. Later the day Jen and I both tried to get her to say any of the words she said earlier and off course we could not understand a word she was saying.

I think that kids can talk but just hold back on us because they like watching us try to figure out what they are saying. I think that it is only a matter of weeks before I will have a little chatter box.

Question of the Week

What do you think she's confessing to?

On the Go

As I suspected Arden is back to herself today. She was running through the house and the park since it was almost 70 degrees today. She was also chattering up a storm. I am starting to have to decipher her comments to Dave. She has a couple of words that only I understand until I translate them for her.

Obey is one that I usually have to translate for Dave. When she disobeys I tell her that she needs to obey mommy. Tonight she after she disobeyed Dave she walked up to Dave and said "obey" which means that she realizes that she did not obey. It is very sweet.

Here are pictures of her running around in her daddy's cycling cap on this morning. She is so full of life. I'm glad she's feeling much more like herself.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day at our house was a little out of sorts. Arden woke up ringing wet...she had a fever of over 101 degrees, screaming and very upset if you touched her ears. We ended up in the doctor's office about an hour later and found out that she had an ear infection in her right ear and a ruptured ear drum in her left ear!

She had been running a fever the day before but I thought she was just fighting something off because she slept most of the day and wasn't fussy and definitely wasn't complaining at all so I was really surprised when I found out that her ear drum ruptured. According to the doctor a ruptured ear drum will relieve the pressure and actual hear the ear faster. This girl has a high tolerance for pain.

Arden even as she feels terrible is still on the go. She woke up from a nap and felt much better even though she was still very hot. She went into her room and grabbed her shoes and said bye-bye. I asked her if she wanted to go some where to which she replied bye-bye.

As we were waiting on her prescriptions refilled we went to the grocery store and she loved all of the Valentine's balloons and the flowers. I really think she just liked being out of the house.

She has watched a lot of PBS Kids and did manage to look fierce during all of this. Today she is much better and back on the amends. She should be as good as new tomorrow.

Arden watching PBS kids

Arden knows that the key to feeling better is looking good.

Arden has to catch up on her messages now that she is feeling better.

Toasty

While in West Virginia it was a little cold and Arden wanted to be outside playing with Jackson or Jack as she calls him. She was all bundled up and after she was done she came inside to enjoy the warm fire.

The Work is Never Done

My parents gave Arden her own little vacuum cleaner it is even red and makes noise like mine. She loved it which really surprised me because she hates the one the in house. Well, she is learning to tolerate the one in the house. She has learned to just go into the other room until I'm done vacuuming.

However, at my parents she just loved her little vacuum. She "vacuumed" the kitchen and living room for my folks. It was so funny to watch her. She was so determined to do it right. She even adjusted the pile settings on her vacuum to make sure that she got it perfect.

Today was great. I pulled out Arden's vacuum when I got out mine and she vacuumed the house right along side of me. It was nice having a little help as I cleaned up.

3 Little Monkeys

Dave, Arden and I traveled to see Dave's family this weekend. We had a great trip. We were also able to stop by and see my parents and brother for a little while and wish my Granny a happy 86th birthday.

Dave's Dad looked better than we expected and is in very good spirits. Arden and her cousins Ella and Luke hung out together for most of the day on Saturday. We are very fortunate that they all play so well together and entertain each other. Here is one of our favorite pictures of the three of them hanging out on the stairs.

Grape Juice Gone!

I wanted to share one of the best tips that I have ever gotten. It is how to remove grape juice (or any other hard to remove juice) from clothing.

Before you pre-treat it with any chemicals or soap...take boiling water (a small rapid boil is what I use) and have the garment spread out over something like a coat hanger tight. Pour the boiling water directly over the stain and watch it disappear. For larger deeper stains it may take a couple of treatments of the boiling water. Disclaimer: Please be careful because you are using boiling water the garment will become instantly hot...so precede with caution.

If you pre-treat the clothes this will not work...it can be used on fresh or stains that have sat for a while. I just did a shirt of Arden's yesterday that had sat for a week and like magic it was gone.

Nap Time

My life has been turned upside down the past couple of days because Arden is in the process of dropping her morning nap. One day she'll sleep 4 hours and another day she'll only sleep an hour. She is such a great sleeper and this change in schedule is crazy. She's fussy and fighting sleep. I hope that she will get back into a routine soon.

Daddy Will You Read to Me?

Arden is learning all about personal space as she has Dave read her a good night story. Dave would have prefered to have her sit on his lap while he read the story but this is where she wanted to be.

Community

Dave and I were looking up his high school's basketball schedule for the 08 season tonight and came across this article. Note: Dave's high school mascot is "The Dots". He's from Poca, WV. Yes, that's right he's a Poca Dot.

Anyway, we came across this great article about his Dad. Apparently, the local rivalry played each other this weekend and honored Dave's Dad with the game basketball. Craig spends a lot of time with the high school football and basketball teams. Dave and his brothers were all outstanding basketball players and his Dad still does not miss a game. He prayers for the teams before each game and does a bible study for the players. He's known across the area for his boys and their athleticism and support of integrity and honor in high school sports.

This article is really neat to see the community come together and honor Dave's dad. He was very recently diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer and fighting to beat it.

Click here to see the article.

Question of the Week

Do you think she's too young to get her hair done and sending text messages to her friends?

5 Random Things

1. I like salty food but never salt my food.
2. I love to read but don't have the time too.
3. Dave has started wearing black socks with his shorts...(should I be concerned?)
4. Arden's favorite word is baby.
5. I love listening to Arden talk to herself in the morning in her bed before we go in to get her.

Bye-Bye

Arden has starting playing the bye-bye game this week. It is really funny to watch. She has several versions of how she likes to play. The first one is she will stand on her tippy-toes and feel around the sofa table until she is able to find some keys and then she will grab her diaper bag and come up to me and say "bye-bye" and then heads for the door.

The other version is my favorite because it is so fun and occupies her for anywhere from 10-15 minutes. We will be in her room and she will look at me and say "bye-bye"(pronounced bub-bye). She will grab the closet door and shut herself in her closet, while saying bye-bye. She will hang out in her closet (yes it is dark in there) for anywhere from 15 seconds to about a minute depending on my response.

If she hangs out in there for more than a few seconds I normally say something like "Where's Arden? I can't find her anywhere." She will fling the doors open and come out laughing or sometimes she will quietly peak out to see if I'm watching her, other times she just waits until she is ready to come out. Then the process starts all over again. It's her large scale version of bye-bye crossed with peekaboo. I love it!

Starting out....

Telling me bye-bye

Heading out... or in...

Notice her little fingers in the door. This is all her idea.

Her hanging out in the closet....only God knows what she's doing or thinking in there.

There she is...ready to go again.