First Dentist Visit!

Monday, April 27, was a "holiday" here in the South, known as Confederate Memorial Day (I think it may only be a "holiday" to Georgia State Employees, in fact). Trust me, no one is more shocked and horrified by that than me....... BUT it is a paid day of.....and virtually EVERYONE else is working so its a good time to do things like Dr's appointments, bank errands, etc. I scheduled a dental appointment for Jaydan a few months back, because he's a finger-sucker and he's got some staining on his front teeth and well, they say you should. I have to say, I've been dreading it......the melt-down potential is through the roof and given the fact that brushing his teeth is like WWF smackdown every single day I didn't have a lot of hope that things would go smoothly. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm a big subsciber to the "when in doubt, look in a book" school-of-thought so my fist plan of attack was to check out every single kids book on going to the dentist I could find and you know what? IT WORKED! Jaydan was a champ! When we first got there the receptionist was like "you know we usually don't start actually cleaning their teeth until they are at least three because they just won't usually tolerate it much before then". He not only let them clean his teeth and count them, check for cavities and look closer with the mirror, but he did most of it with a smile on his face! He introduced himself to the dentist and was such a good boy!
Naturally, as a reward I took him to McDonalds to play. Apparently he can handle a stranger's hand in his mouth better than he can handle being told that No, he may not take his juice box down the slide. He pitched his first ever public tantrum and had to be carried to the car (where he got spanked) kicking and screaming. Apparently his good behavior was taxed completely at that point!

Quick Trip to Boise

Jaydan and I were truly Jet-Setters this past weekend, flying to Boise on Friday and back on Sunday. My beautiful God-Daughter, Amya was baptized on Saturday and I was blessed to be able to attend. I hadn't seen her in about 4 years..... she has grown into such a lovely young lady and I am very proud of her!
Of course, Granny and Grandpa couldn't resist the opportuntity to spend some time with J while we were in the "neighborhood" so they drove down and kept him busy on Saturday while I was busy with baptism stuff. My sister-in-law Priscilla and darling neice, Jazmyn also ventured down to spend some time with us. Jaz and Jaydan are only 6 months apart and they have a very special relationship and it gets more and more fun to watch them together as they grow! Jazzy is very nurturing and protective.......which is good since she is about to become a Big Sis, but Jaydan gives the poor little thing a run for her money! Granny and Grandpa took the babies to the zoo and all of those fun things and fun was had by all.
We stayed at my oldest and dearest friend Sunny's house in Boise, but sadly she and her new hubby Darrin were out of town! Their house is wonderfully cozy and welcoming and it was very easy to make ourselves at home...... the only thing missing was them! We were also able to catch up with our old friends the Wilsons (Cindy and Zack, anyway) for dinner on Friday and my Aunt Sherie and Uncle Aaron and cousin Angela on Saturday. It was wonderful to see everyone and as always, the trip went way too fast! We are in recovery mode this week...... it takes a lot out of you to travel that far with an almost-two-year old for just a few days, but wonderful memories were made and it was well worth the jet-lag!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Jaydan and I took a trip to Montgomery this weekend to celebrate Gavin's birthday. Those of you who are regular followers may remember me telling you that my best friend Jill and her family were moving to Japan last fall. Well, shortly after their arrival, the got the news that her hubby Matt was being sent to Iraq...... did I mention that just BEFORE they left, she discovered that she's expecting baby #2. Babies and Iraq seem to go hand-in-hand for them..... Matt was there for most of her first pregnancy too! So, long story short, she decided that she would come home, rather than trying to manage having a new baby and juggling a two year old in a foreign country..... by herself. So, they are back! We had a wonderful time, and the boys played great, just like they'd never been apart.
Please keep their little family in your prayers. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to go throught any of these things, one at a time.....but all at once...... thats a lot. I'm so glad that she decided to come home so that her friends and family can better support her, but I know its got to be really tough. Happy Birthday, G-Unit, we love you and it was so good to see you and get to play with you!

Snow Day in Georgia!

Can you believe it? We got EIGHT INCHES OF SNOW!!! Let me tell you, eight inches here translates roughly to about 4 feet in Idaho....... schools, stores and business close, power goes off, trees break and fall, roof collapse and the roads are deadly...... it was really something.
Of course having a rowdy 21 month old makes it a little more fun (NO, I do NOT miss the snow). Jaydan was really mesmerized by it all and had a lot of fun eating it and building a tiny snow man. And then, once his hands got cold, it was over and he quickly dissolved into screaming, bawling hysterics convinced he was freezing to death...... like me! My office did NOT close.....thank you Governor Perdue (again) but I decided that taking a vacation day was worth not having to be anywhere near 4 million idiots on the road who have never driven in snow and don't know what snow tires are. Here are some fun (?) pics of us playing in the snow! I couldn't resisit including one from last year when it "snowed" about 1/2 an inch!


I think we can all agree that warming up with a movie, popcorn and hot cocoa is the best part!

Mama's Nightmare

One of my ultimate worst fears as a mother came true on Thursday. I got a phone call from Kate (our WONDERFUL) sitter at about 9:15 in the morning saying that Jaydan was having trouble breathing. As if that's not horrifying enough, right?
Every since Jaydan was born I have lived in fear that he would get sick and I am so far away at my job...... and I wouldn't be able to get to him. So, I enrolled in a "Guaranteed Ride Home" program that is sponsored by the State for employees who carpool, ride buses, etc....... to get us home if there is an emergency and we don't have a vehicle. Well, it was a comedy of errors (except not funny) and long-story-short, it took me about two hours to get out of my building! We live about another 1 1/2 hours away.....so, I couldn't get to my child, knowing he was sick, and miserable and probably scared to death! I can tell you, it was the single worst feeling I've ever experienced in my entire life!
The end result was an all-afteroon visit to the ER. Jaydan had a virus that caused him to have "reactive airways".....for some stupid reason, they are reluctant to diagnose "asthma" in kids his age..... I'm pretty sure thats what it is. We all survivied, but there were many tears shed that day and many asses chewed the next day! Don't mess with a Mama when her baby is sick!!
This pic is Jaydan @ the hospital playing w/ his Valentine's loot from Ms. Kate and Mr. Clyde. We have spend WAY too much in this hospital over the past couple of years and the nurses and I joked that they should dedicate this room to us (I'm sure we've paid for it)!

Prayers for Kyle

Our family's "baby" re-enlisted in the Army last week and is set to embark today. His first four years with the Army were rough, he did several over-seas tours and was injured in the line of duty more than once and I know we were all relieved when he finally got out. Now, he has decided that this is the best move for his newly established family. It is somewhat hard to imagine our funny, goofy, sweet little Kyle doing such important, serious work but he is very good at what he does and seems to enjoy it! It was a surprise to learn Kyle was on the way and he's been surprising us every since...... and this is no exception. Please include him and his new wife, Drea and the rest of the family in your prayers. Kyle has always been a hero to us and though its hard for us to let him go, now he'll get the opportunity to be a hero......... again, for America. God Bless you Kyle, we love you and are sooooooo proud of the man you've become!

Stomach Bug

Many of you know that we've been battling a stomach bug at our house. Jaydan started it Saturday night. He started throwing up at about 9 Saturday night and threw up about every 15 minutes or so all night. We ended up making a quick trip to the ER on Sunday where they confirmed that it was a stomach bug, gave him some icee pops and sent us on our way. He hasn't thrown up since then, but its now Wednesday and he still isn't eating much or drinking as much as I'd like him to be. Yesterday Daddy came down with it...... luckily his seems less intense and shorter lived! I'm praying that this one misses me........who will take care of everyone if Mama is THAT sick? You all pray with me, will you?