Christmas Travels

Christmas seemed like a whirl wind for us this year, but I don't think we'd have it any other way. We drove to TN on the Tuesday before Christmas. We enjoyed lots of activities while we were there. We found some amazing Christmas lights like nothing we had ever seen. The kids loved to watch the lights dance. We visited with Nanny and Grandaddy and Grandpa Ed and Grandma Sue. We saw aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. The kids got to play with their second cousin Will and Cole was so excited that he wasn't the only boy! We even went to Cookeville and had breakfast with Uncle Joe-joe and Aunt Amanda.







We drove home Christmas Eve so we could have Santa at home. Christmas morning we opened presents and then had a Birthday Party for Jesus. We read the Christmas story and sang Happy Birthday, then we had cupcakes, of course. The kids got bikes and pillow pets from Santa.





After eating some muffins for breakfast we packed the car and headed to Cullman. We had a big time there too.






We even found time while we were there to play in the snow. Jonathan's friend Jared got his car hood he bought last winter and they pulled it with the truck around the field. Summer drove and was good when the kids were riding, but not so much when Jared and Jonathan would ride. She of course made sure their life insurance was up to date first. I won't mention the fact that she almost ran over my husband. Anyeay, here's the snow.








Poor Cole didn't know what to think about the snow. He finally got to run in it and the next time we went out it was so windy that he was miserable. Sarah was too once her hands got cold.

We had so much fun over Christmas break that I think we need more break!

A fun day

Normally I would not call a day of driving to TN with my kids a fun day even if Shedd is here to help, but yesterday wasn't bad at all. We stopped in Decatur to eat lunch and go to the bathroom and Elizabeth was telling us about a friend who had pulled a tooth. She went on to say that it hurt to eat when you have a loose tooth. I asked her is she had one and she bent one of her bottom front teeth down to her lip. Sure enough it's loose and today it is still barely hanging on. I must however not forget to mention that her father tried to pull it while we were eating lunch at McDonald's. He would stop short every time because he was afraid he would hurt her. He does have a heart after all.

Once we got to TN we spent a little time with my parents before he and I headedd out for date night. We went to Murfreesboro to Red Lobster and then to the Vandy/Middle Tennessee game. Yes, we watched basketball, but we had fun. After we ate we were headed back to the van and Shedd went to the passenger side I of course asked if he wanted me to drive. He said no, so I asked what was going on. He said he was opening the door for me. I sweetly informed him that the last time he did that was on our wedding day. We laughed and then headed to the ball game. Vandy won, of course. It was fun. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get some stocking stuffers for the kiddos.

Everyone was sleeping when we got home.

Blessings

My kids (although very wild at times) have been such a blessing to me lately. Elizabeth has been wanting to learn how to fold clothes lately, so the other day she helped me fold the basketball laundry. She folded the girls' uniforms and all the basketball towels. The she asked if she could fold our towel. I let her fold as much as she wanted and I didn't fix it when it wasn't perfect because I was so touched that she wanted to help.
Sarah Grace has been singing up a storm lately and she has such a precious little voice. I'm not sure what songs she's been singing. I think she's making them up, but they are so incredibly sweet.
I'm not sure what was going on with Cole the other day, but he climbed up in my lap and let me hold him for a long time while we watched Shrek. It was really sweet. He's usually entirely too busy to sit with me for more than a second, so it was such a sweet time.
Today is Elizabeth's last day of school before Christmas break. She has a program at 11:30 and then we get to bring her home.
Jonathan has a boys' basketball tournament this weekend, so I see lots of basketball in our future this weekend. Just hoping to squeeze in a bit of family time too.
The kids are so excited about Christmas. We went to protablenorthpole.com and had Santa send them video messages to my email and the absolutely loved it. If you have young children it's really neat. He'll call them by name and talk about a special toy they might be getting. You just have to do the leg work when they aren't around. It's going to be a busy time with lots of traveling, but if we get to see everyone it will be well worth it.

Parenting Milestones

Children have developmental milestones, but it wasn't until the last week or so that I realize that parents have them too.
There's the first night you bring home your new bundle of joy home. If everyone survived you feel like you've really accomplished something. You feel the same way when that same bundle of joy reaches their first birthday. You've kept the child alive for a whole year!
There are other milestones too like the first time one of your children has surgery or your first trip to the ER.
Every person in the world has heard the screams of a child in Wal-Mart because they didn't get what they wanted. Everyone in the world has started at THAT mom and wondered what terrible act she has committed to make her child act so terrible or even worse what kind of mother is she that her child would act that way. Last week I got to be THAT mom. I was at Wal-Mart with Sarah Grace and Cole and Sarah pitched the worst fit in the entire history of Wal-Mart. I have proof from a friend that was there that she could be heard from the back of the store while we were in the check out line. It was the single worst parenting experience I have ever had. As soon as I got to the van I called Jonathan and proceeded to tell him how terribly HIS daughter had behaved.
Today I have reached another milestone. I received a phone call from Elizabeth's school and was told that she might have pink eye. So today I am THAT mom that unknowingly sent her daughter to school with pink eye in order to infect the entire student population at Verbena. We aren't sure if it's pink eye or not. She feel fine and says her eye isn't bothering her. She did wake up in the night crying because it was hurting. I gave her Tylenol and Jonathan took her to school and said he would have the nurse check it out. Since a nurse cannot confirm a diagnosis I had to go get her. This of course was upsetting to me because I was about to head to the gym.
Oh well, I'm sure I have many more first coming on my parenting journey.

I'm Thankful

I am always thankful this time of year. I am thankful for my friends, my family, and all the other things God has blessed me with. I think most of all though I am thankful for my Coley Bear this time of year. It was around Thanksgiving 2 years ago that we almost lost him.
I can remember when he was born looking at his tiny hands and telling Jonathan that I don't see how nurses can put IV's in those tiny little veins. I did't know it then, but I think God was preparing me for the sight of an IV in my tiny baby's hand.
The week of Thanksgiving 2 years ago Cole got really sick. After each bottle he would vomit. This was much more than just "spit up" it was the absolute real deal. We did lots of traveling that weekend. We saw family in GA and after each feeding we would get towel and wait for "Old Faithful" to blow. He did it every time and would cry a terrible unconsolable cry.
We took him to the doctor on Monday and she said she thought it was just reflux and wanted us to change his formula, but she sent us to Children's South for an ultrasound of his stomach just in case it was something else. The first time we went in for the ultrasound we were told his stomah was too full. We couldn't figure that one out since he's just tossed everything he had eaten. We went to McDonald's and had lunch for us and the girls and went back to try again and they confirmed that Cole had Pyloric Stenosis. The muscle flap that allows food to go into his stomach was too thick, so it couldn't move to let food in. He wasn't getting any nourishment.
We were told to go home and wait for the doctor to call. We waited forever. Jonathan went to a basketball game and I had all the kids by myself at home. I called my mother-in-law and had her to come stay with the girls since we would get the call to go to Children's at any minute.
He sat in his carseat the entire time I packed and prepared for the trip. I was told we would be there for at least 2 nights. My mother-in-law got there and Cole was still in his carseat. It had been several hours and there were no wet diapers or crying. He was getting very dehydrated. We never got a call from the surgeon telling us to come in, but our doctor told us to go on. I took Cole to Children's by myself. I tried to stay on the phone the whole way because I didn't want to think about the possibility of losing my son. When I couldn't get someone on the phone I prayed. I know that I hadn't wanted another child when I got pregnant with Cole, but now that I had him I didn't want to lose him.
We registered and they took us to a room. A nurse attempted to do his IV, but had trouble. They sent for a NICU nurse who still had trouble because he was so dehdrated. He never cried the entire time at that point I don't think he could cry. They finally got the IV in, but didn't start fluids. It was 10 pm before they started getting him fluids. His last feeding had been around 11 am. We didn't see the point in feeding him since he wasn't able to digest anything.
The next morning we got up and got ready for surgery. It was around noon before they came and got us. I carried him to the surgical floor and we went to a room where they explained again exactly what would happen and they said it was time for him to go. My heart broke. I had to hand him over to complete strangers and trust that he would be ok. This was my baby. He wasn't even 2 months old. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I handed him over and we headed to the waiting room. There were times I felt really bad for being at Children's. Although he was very sick it was just a simple surgery and there are kids there that are going through things that are so much worse. In the waiting room they gave us a pager like they do at restaraunts. It went off about 45 minutes later. They were through and the doctor said he had done very well. We stayed another night to make sure he could hold down food. He did well. He had been sleeping through the night (he did that at 6 weeks), so getting up every few hours was difficult.
We went home the next day, but this time every year I think about that experience a lot. I guess I am thinking about it more this year because of the seizures he had a few weeks ago. I think that makes me even more thankful for him than ever.
He may be a boy and get into everything. He may try to beat up on his sisters and push babies down in the nursery at church, but he's my baby boy and I am thankful to my God for giving him to me and allowing me to keep him.
I like my girls too by the way!
Happy Thanksgiving!

New Normal and life in General

Since Cole's seizures there are things that I do regularly that were not a part of my regular schedule. I check his temperature before we leave to go anywhere and I always carry a thermometer and Motrin in the diaper bag. When we're at home I check his forehead every time he runs by me. It's just part of my routine now which seem strange because it's not something I used to think about on a daily basis.

In other news he's been fine. No fevers or seizures in well over a week!

As a mom of 2 girls before I had Cole there are certain things I haven't had to deal with. The girls pitch their share of fits, but Cole tends to become a bit violent (biting and hitting) when he doesn't get his way and it's not just at home. He's started doing it other places too. Up to now we've been spanking him, but I think I'm going to start trying time out if I can keep him there. We'll see how it works. He can be the sweetest child, but not when he's mad. I think it started when preschool started for Sarah. I kinda think he's having trouble being by himself. Hopefully he'll get out of that soon. He got a haircut yesterday and he looks so cute. He looks so sweet. He's all boy though, so he's into EVERYTHING. I've never dealt with a child that climbed and jumped quite as much as he does. He loves to help. His favorite thing to do is help empty the dishwasher. He is quite the helper when it's just me and him. He loves to watch Elmo. Not Sesame Street just Elmo, so we have to record it and fast forward to Elmo's world at the end. He had ADD just like his mother.

Sarah is doing great. She absolutely loves preschool! She really seems to be doing well. Her first preschool Sunday is coming up and I can't wait to see her up on stage. She's such a ham! She's full of all kinds of personality and is never afraid to show it. Sarah loves to watch the Wiggles. They tend to be too much for me after a while though.

Elizabeth is loving kindergarten. She calls me Mrs. Pike and she raises her hand to ask if she can go to the bathroom. The discipline sheet in the folder she brings home is full of green smiley faces and we like green. She says she's the smartest in her class (she's so very humble) and she told me the other day that all the kids in her class need her help. She says she even has to help the teacher some times. I really think we have a future teacher on our hands. She has OCD. Toys have to be in just the right spot and if things aren't just so she can't handle it.

That about sums it up for now. Jonathan has started basketball and I am attempting to continue my Master's. He's working on his too, so life is pretty busy.

Seizures suck

For those who are wondering here is the full story of what's hapened over the last 24 hours or so here at the Shedd house.
Yesterday was a normal day. We went to church. Came home. Took naps (my favorite part of Sunday afternoon). Just had a restful family day.
Last night around 8:00 Cole was jumping like a mad man which is completely normal for him. He fell and hit his head on a table leg. He laid in the floor and cried and I picked him up and held him. He fell asleep almost immediately which is quite strange for him. He's slept only in his bed from day one. I held him since I am having a hard time with my baby growing up. I just though he was tired and wanted him Mommy to hold him. We got the kids ready for bed and resumed our normal routine. I went to the bathroom and Jonathan took the kids upstairs to put them to bed. Mr. Cole climbed up on his rocking horse by his bed in an attempt to climb in while Jonathan was helping Sarah. He fell and hit his face on his bed. He has a cut on his eyebrow and one on his cheek. He was really sleepy again then, so we prayed with him real fast and put him to bed. He went right to sleep.
Around 10:15 I heard him cry out real loud and start making a really strange sound. I went upstairs to check on him and he was having a Grand mal seizure. I rubbed his back and called his name while Jonathan called 911. When the seizure was over I picked him up and brought him downstairs. We noticed then that he felt feverish. The EMTs arrived and suggested he be taken to Children's in Birmingham, so he and Jonathan hopped in the ambulance and away they went.
I stayed and waited on someone to sit with the girls so they could rest. I had to get gas before starting to Children's. I drove faster than normal especially in construction zones, but I didn't go over 80. I called a friend that is a Respritory Therapist at Children's and she was waiting for me when I got there. She took me straight to the ER. Jonathan and Cole had been there for a few minutes but hadn't seen a doctor. She came in and we told her the whole story. She said that normally she would say this was our "freebie" febrile seizure and let us go home, but since he hit his head 2 times she wanted to do a CT Scan. She asked a supervising doctor and they began to get the CT ready. I went out to make phone calls (it's about 12:30 am). When I got back to the room they were already gone to the CT. I asked the nurser where I could go to be with them and they told me that they would be back in a few minutes that I could wait in the room. As hard as it was that's exactly what I did. I sat and sang and prayed and tried to keep the thoughts of brain tumors and other terrible things the devil was putting in my mind. Sure enough they were back in about 15 minutes.
We waited till about 2:30 am to get the results of the CT. They came back normal and they let us come home. We got home around 4 am.
This morning was as normal as possible. He ate breakfast. Watched Elmo and hit his Sarah in the head (normal morning). He still had a bit of a fever, so I gave him more Motrin. Everything was fine until after lunch. He ate, had more Motrin and while I was holding him he started another seizure. It lasted 4 minutes. His temperature after the seizure was 100.8 just like it was when we got to Children's. I called the doctor and she told us what the told us at Children's. Really there isn't anything to do unless he has 3 or they last more than 10 minutes.
This afternoon he and I took a nice long nap. I was on the edge of the bed and he was laying across the bed with his head right at my stomach. I couldn't move, but was so tired it really didn't matter.
This evening has been ok. He's running wild and playing. Hoping tonight will stay "normal".

Sarah Grace Shedd

Exactly three years ago I was sitting in a hospital room in Cullman, AL starring at my second beautiful daughter. It all started when we were living in Auburn. I wasn't feeling good and thought I'd take a pregnancy test. Sure enough we were pregnant. Honestly I think those stinking tests are positive when I take them out of the box. I wasn't sure what to think Elizabeth was 2 and she and I were starting to get a routine of our own having just moved to Auburn. Jonathan decided not to go back to Smiths Station where he was teaching and coaching, so it was on with the job and housing search yet again. He was offered 2 jobs one at Verbena and one at Rudd Middle School. He took the middle school job and we found a house to rent in Cullman so that we would be close to family.We moved to Cullman in August and we had Sarah Grace in October.
Mom and Dad came and spent the night with us the night before we went to the hospital. We let Elizabeth spend some time with them before we took her to her Nanna's house. I cried like crazy when we left her. I felt terrible. I'm not sure why. I think I was a little scared about being induced and I guess I felt guilty for leaving her and changing her life. I knew the next time I saw her our family would be different. We were at the hospital before 5am the next morning. I went in and told them that I was checking in to be induced. I think I remember telling them that I was their first victim. We went back and I suited up and got all hooked up then they started the drugs. Everything went so fast that it's really hard to remember. I know that I went from 4 cm to 8 cm in 30 minutes and from there to delivery in about 15 minutes. Like I said it was really fast. I was glad it was fast because I remember them telling me to roll over. The combination of the petocin and the epidural caused her heart rate to drop. When I rolled over the epidural came out, so from there on it was a very painful experience. I remember thinking that it probably wouldn't be bad if I had prepared for child birth without drugs (You'll see how ironic that thought was next Saturday.) Sarah Grace was born on October 23, 2007 at 12:07 PM. She weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She was beautiful! And once she was born her dad almost passed out. Instead of my mom taking care of me she was taking care of him while I was getting stitches. I do remember that part being pretty funny. I remember Nanna bringing Elizabeth after she took her to the doctor. She had a bad ear infection. Elizabeth held Sarah and fed her a bottle. She was a good big sister from day one! I was so glad to have my two sweet girls!
Here's a picture of my Sarah girl the day she was born and today on her third birthday!

Everyday life

Everyday when I go to work I get hit, kicked, stepped on, bit and even called a poo poo. I work 18 hour days and sometime a few hours at night, but I wouldn't change my job for anything in the world because I get to be mom. I have stayed at home with my kids for the last 4 years and as time for me to find a job (if all goes well I should student teach next fall) I get sadder and sadder. Even though I have LONG hours and don't ever really have time to relax I have thoroughly enjoyed most all of the last 4 years. Although they are not always little angels I think I have 3 of the best children in the world.
With that being said here's a glimpse of my every day life.
The alarm goes off at 5:40 am and slowly we roll out of bed. I make muffins or fix some type of breakfast for the kids. Sometimes I fix something for Elizabeth to eat when she gets to school since she goes so early (she's usually there by 6:45 because she rides with her dad).
I try with all my might to get them out the door without waking Sarah, but that doesn't always happen. Most mornings she's up between 6 and 6:30. We wave bye to Daddy and Elizabeth and we crawl back in bed for a few minutes of rest ( I rest she watches the Wiggles). When it's time for us to get up we get Cole and feed him breakfast. We get ready and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we take Sarah to preschool and head to the gym. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we go straight to the gym.
When we get home it's time to clean then lunch and naps.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we pick up Elizabeth from school, so we postpone naps till we get her home. That way all the kids can rest. Nap time is my time to shower, clean and do a little school work. If nobody naps there's no time for any of that.
When nap time is over it's time to work on supper. After supper it's time to have quality family time for a while before baths and bed.
Of course there's never a dull moment here. The three little monkeys make sure of that and sometime routine is sometimes thrown right out the window, but that's our day. In between are times of giggles, cries, shouts, and of course whines, but somehow or another we always get through it. There are of course days where I watch the clock and wait on time for Daddy to get home so that I have some help, but there are other days where we are absolutely fine, but we still miss our Daddy.

Picture time

I remember how hard it was to get a picture of Elizabeth when she was smaller. The truth is the more kids you add to the mix the harder it is to get the picture you want unless you want kids with thumbs in their mouth and sippy cups in there face. Here's proof! We work so hard to get one good picture of the kids! I usually shoot videos and then pull out still shots.

Dolphin Cruise

We went on a Dolphin Cruise with the Cold Mil Fleet. They took two ships out and when one ship found dolphins the other would come along beside it and the dolphins would jump and play in the wake of the boats. It was absolutely amazing. The first dolphins we found did beautiful jumps and while we were trying to find more Cole and Sarah fell asleep. The second set of dolphins did belly flops in the water. I kid you not on the video you can hear the dolphins hit the water! It was the most amazing thing I've ever done at the beach! I would recommend a dolphin cruise to anyone going to the beach.

Orange Beach

We went to Orange Beach for 3 days and 2 nights. It was so much fun. The kids loved playing in the sand and the gulf. My favorite thing on the beach was watching them sit in the sand right by the shore and squealing with delight as the waves washed over their laps. It was a beautiful few days and we did not want to leave.

Tinkerbell Cake

For almost a year now our Sarah has been saying, "I had a Tinkerbell cake. I was a little baby." She's never had one and she has prayed for one since last Christmas, so today we went to Publix and ordered her a Tinkerbell cake for her upcoming 3rd birthday. I'm excited for her, but sad that all my little babies are growing up.
We took Jonathan to the doctor and then went to get something to eat and we put Cole in a high chair. I thought about it and then told Jonathan that this time last year Sarah was in a regular chair. We talked about wanting him to stay a baby for a while, but with his 2nd birthday coming up I don't think that's possible. Truth is all my babies are growing up. That's a sad thing for this momma to admit. I want them to grow up and be men and women of God, but at the same time I want them to need me. I don't guess I can have my cake and eat it too this time.

The fair

As is the Yother custom we ate chili on Monday night and headed to the fair. There was a petting zoo that was pretty cute, so we did that and let the kids ride some rides. A great time was had by all I do believe. Here are the pictures....

The Tooth Fairy and the ATM

We bought Tooth Fairy pillows for the girls not to long ago thinking that we had lots of time before we would need them. Needles to say we were more than wrong.



We went to the fair tonight and the FFA from Thorsby had a petting zoo. At the end of the petting zoo you could pick an apple (paper apples from a tree, but if you got one of each color they'd give you a real apple). All 3 of my kids came out with apples. We tried to discourage apple eating at the fair since we hadn't washed them, but sweet Sarah had other plans and when Cole saw her he joined in the apple eating fun. Elizabeth couldn't be left out, so she had to have her apple too. She said that it was too hard and she couldn't bite it. I told her to try again and bite harder. She did and I turned around and she was handing me what I thought was a piece of apple. I told her I didn't want any apple and she said, "No, it's my tooth, Mommy!".

Wow! At this point my head is spinning a bit and I show Jonathan. He was quite puzzled and I told him what it was. Now that it is sinking in I don't think either one of us like the idea of her growing up like this very much. See yesterday she was just a baby, but with a tooth missing she looks so big. It breaks my heart!

The tooth fairy had to do some making up because she spent all her cash at the fair. I believe she did a good job of covering though.

She was so excited and is talking a little funny, but that's ok. She was a trooper. No crying, no drama, she just said hey, here's my tooth! Such a big girl!

How could I forget!

I am absolutely terrible because Elizabeth got her first progress report from Kindergarten on Monday and here it is Thursday and I haven't even mentioned it to grandparents! Well here it is.



In case you can't read it she was tested on printing her first name, reciting the alphabet, recognizing shapes, counting to 10, positional words, recognizing colors, conduct and knowing her right and left. She had excellent marks on all except for printing her name. She just had good on that one because she doesn't keep her letters on the line. We're working on it though.
She seems to be doing really well and her teacher says she is wonderful!

Blessed by my kids

Yesterday I wasn't feeling very well, but I got up after lunch and started cleaning the kitchen. When Sarah got done she asked for a wipe so she could help. Cole did the same thing. They moped the floor and helped clean the table and the cabinets. It was so nice to have such good little helper. When I really sat down and thought about how hard they worked to help me I almost cried. I was so blessed by them that I won't mention the fact that after we finished they messed up the computer while I was in the bathroom. Love these little rascals!

Bess it to our bodies

Cole and I took Sarah to preschool today and then went to the gym. He had been having some anxiety about me leaving him lately, but today the first day he was there without one of his sisters he didn't have a problem at all. I asked how he did when I went to get him and they said he had been hitting. Well, I know from when Elizabeth started school that hitting seems to be his way of letting us know he's having a hard time, so we came home and he fell asleep on me. I NEVER get to hold sleeping babies anymore, so it was really hard to get up and go get Sarah.

Mrs. Linda said that Sarah had another good day. I don't get much information from Sarah though. I asked her what she learned about today and her answer was, "Tinkerbell". I asked her what her job was and got the same answer. I did manage to get her to tell me that she played outside, but other than that everything was Tinkerbell. She has been singing part of a new prayer she's learning at preschool though. The only part she remembers is, "Bless it to our bodies". Works for me though. It just come out as "bess it to our bodies".

Elizabeth seems to be doing really well. She gets her first progress report next week. After her first 2 weeks her teacher sent home some work with a list of things she needed to work on at home and the last time we got a packet of work there were only 3 things to work on, so I guess we're improving.

WARNING! POTTY TRAINING UPDATE!!!! DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE INFORMATION AND DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

Sarah Grace has been wearing real panties since she started preschool on Tuesday. I think she's done pretty good. She had a small accident Tuesday and was good for the rest of the day. She did the same thing Wednesday and was wonderful until she had an accident at church. Today she did good until she pooped in her panties after lunch. We changed panties and have done well ever since. I really think that panties might have been the key. I think she likes it so much better.

END POTTY TRAINING UPDATE!

The Shedds are doing well. Hope you are too!

Sarah's first day

We've talked about it for quite some time and it finally came. Today was Sarah's first day of preschool. Although she hasn't said too much (I think she's really tired) she really seemed to like it.
On the way to preschool she told me that she didn't want to go. I knew that she was probably a little nervous, so I asked her if she was and she said yes. She asked me to say a prayer and we did and she said that made her feel better.
It was her first day in real panties. We've been working on this for quite some time now and we're hoping that this step will finally end the potty training process. She was a little wet when we got home, so we changed and seem to be ok.
Her teacher said that the only problem was that she wanted to call Sarah by Elizabeth's name. I think that of all the problems we could have had that will do just fine. Especially since she gets that at home on occasion.
I will be honest. I forgot the camera in the midst of the mad rush we have trying to get Elizabeth to kindergarten on time and I hate that. I don't want Sarah to feel like she isn't special because she really is. I did take pictures of her on my cell phone before I left her and remembered to take the camera when I went to get her and took pictures then. We'll just say that I am backwards. The important this is that there are pictures of her first day of preschool.
Now, you might ask how I did at home with just one kid. Let me tell you I think I can get used to this! We had a great time. We read some books and he started talking more which really impressed me. I think this one on one time will help him start talking more. We were reading one of those baby word book which has long since been torn to pieces, but he likes to read the pages that are still in tact. I pointed to the pictures and he said, "cup, spoon, cookie, apple, choo choo, drum, car, ball, duck, toothbrush, hairbrush, and towel". Some of the words I've heard him say before, but I was impressed that he told me what they were without help this time. Maybe it's just the noise in the house that hinders him when everyone's at home.
All in all it seems like everyone had a good morning!

August in a nut shell

Well, Elizabeth is doing very well in Kindergarten. Except for the one time she had to move her card to yellow she has only had green dot days! We are very proud of her. She seems to be ahead of schedule academically, but needs to work on fine motor stuff like coloring in the lines and using scissors.

Sarah Grace went to preschool orientation and I believe she loved it. She wanted to go again on Friday and today, but she only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has the same teacher that Elizabeth had her first year AND the same cubby. She had a friend from church in her class and I think there are 3 kids from our neighborhood in her class.

Cole is still adjusting to Elizabeth being in school. I am hoping that when Sarah Grace starts preschool he will really enjoy some time with just him and Mommy. It's been a LONG time since I've just had one baby with me. When Elizabeth started preschool 2 years ago I just had Sarah at home with me, but I was pregnant with Cole and had him in October of that year. Cole got his chin glued this week. We went to McDonald's after preschool Thursday and the kids were playing after we ate. Cole climbed up into one of the chairs and fell somehow and busted his poor chin on the bricks bellow. I being the weenie I am struggling to wipe his chin because I don't want to mess up the glue. He has it down his neck, but I don't want to pick at it because I don't want him picking at his chin. What's a mom to do?

Jonathan is away today at his first cross country meet. I think he was excited about it, but it was hard to tell at 5:45 am. His cross country kids have been working very hard and I really hope they do well! He did send me a text that said that they made it to the meet, but that he hit a deer on the way, but missed the turkeys. Apparently they saw some turkeys flying low and one of his kids said that turkeys don't fly. In the midst of the discussion the deer jumped out and hit the van. HE KILLED BAMBI!

I have been taking Elizabeth to school and going straight to the gym. Cole and Sarah Grace love having a place to go and I enjoy it too. It's nice to have something to do to break up the day and I've met some pretty great people there. I am 3 weeks in to my 3rd masters class and Shedd has started back too. I could student teach as soon as next fall. We just have to figure out how that will work financially.

Well, I talked about kindergarten, preschool, and Cole's chin. I think that's about all of the big news we have here at the Shedd house.

Hope all is well at your house.

D-Day

Today was THE DAY. The day that Elizabeth started Kindergarten. All summer long I have absolutely dreaded this day and despite my tireless efforts it came anyway.

Last night when putting her to bed I asked if she would laugh at me if I cried when I took her to kindergarten. Of course she told me that she wouldn't and that she was sure I would be ok. When I was sure all the babes were sleeping I went back upstairs and as I got to the top I could see her sleeping in her bed. I bawled like a baby. I never imagined that any of this would hurt as bad as it is.




This morning we got up extremely early. I made chocolate chip muffins and got snacks and all her paper work together. Sarah Grace was already awake, so she went upstairs with me to wake up Elizabeth and Cole. When Elizabeth finally woke up she jumped up and said, "It's my first day of kindergarten!" and ran downstairs for breakfast. Cole on the other hand was not so excited to be awoken this early. We had a breakfast, brushed our teeth, fixed our hair, took our first day of school pictures, and headed to Verbena to pick up Daddy so we could all take Elizabeth to kindergarten.

She was quite upset when we passed the Annex on our way to Verbena. We picked up Daddy and headed toward the Annex. We all got out and filed in. She hung her snack box up on her hook and we started to look around. We found her name tag and she showed Sarah Grace some things in her classroom. All of a sudden Daddy decided it was time for him to get back to his school. I maintained composure till I got to the van. That's when Sarah Grace started crying for her "sissy". There was no holding it back then. We all buckled up and headed to Verbena to drop Daddy off. By the way he laughed at me for crying.

We left him at Verbena and the babies and I headed to the playroom at Cornerstone and this made Sarah Grace feel much better. After getting my bootay kicked I got the kids and headed home. At this point I feel emotionally drained, but physically I'm feeling pretty good. Lunch time however was a different story. Sweet Coley sat in Elizabeth's seat which is beside Sarah Grace. The table felt very empty without Elizabeth, so of course I started crying all over again. Sarah asked me what was wrong and I told her that I missed Elizabeth. She kindly told me that I should not have left her at kindergarten.

This afternoon Elizabeth was going to ride the bus to the big Verbena to meet her Daddy and be his junior assistant coach as he works out his basketball girls and runs his cross country team. I know she'll be a great junior assistant. Not sure how much Daddy will appreciate it though. I am currently awaiting a phone call from her letting me know how things went. I don't guess it will be long now before she will be able to make posts about her own experiences.

Life happens so fast

Seems like all I did was turn around and already it's the middle of July.

The 21st of June was Elizabeth's 5th birthday. I'm still not ok with it and don't know that I will be. We took her and her brother and sister to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday so we could celebrate with Nanna, Grammy, Peepaw, Grandpa Ed, Grandma Sue, Nandie and Michael. The kids had a BLAST!

The 26th was her birthday party and she had lots of friends to come and celebrate. She had a princess cake (of course) and although it was outside and very hot a quick rain shower cooled us off. The kids ran up and down the stairs and played on the swing set. She got lots of wonderful presents.

Elizabeth and Sarah Grace have each spent some time at their Nanna's house. They always come back rotten. Cole will have his turn later on.

Grandpa Shedd passed away, so we had to make a surprise trip to Cullman. We did however get to see Popaw (Shedd's dad that lives in Utah).

The kids and I met Grammy and Peepaw in Montgomery for a swim last week and the girls stayed the night in the hotel with them. They had a night swim and slept very well. The next day they came and picked me and Coley up for a trip to TN. Shedd had a coach's conference in Huntsville, so he come up to get us. That brings us back to today. We are finally all together again in TN, but we are also very tired. We miss our beds and just being "the 5 Shedds".

Summer seems to have gone by entirely too fast. Elizabeth starts Kindergarten August 9th and in September Sarah Grace will start preschool. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings it will just be me and my Coley. We won't even know how to act.

As crazy as this summer seems to have been I know that as these rascals grow up it will only get crazier, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I love these rascals!

Lunch

Meal times are always interesting here at the Shedd house. We eat all of our meals around the table for whoever is here. Most of the time during the day it's me and the kids, but yesterday Jonathan was here to join in the fun. I don't even remember what we ate, but I remember hearing Sarah Grace sing, "Glory. Glory. Hallelujah.Thank you for the cross." And somehow we got to Elizabeth saying, "Anybody need a knuckle sandwich because I'm ready to make a delivery." I don't know how we got there, but we all laughed. Sometimes I don't see how we entertained ourselves before these kiddos!

5 years ago!

Five years ago I was sitting in our apartment in the back of Cascade Market when I started getting pains in my back. Around 10 I decided I should go on and try to get some rest. My loving husband was up playing X Box at the time. I'm not sure when he came to bed, but I was still awake and was in pain. I remember going on the front doors of the market ever so quietly and sitting on a bench outside and calling my mom. I think this was around 1 am. I told her that my back was really starting to hurt and asked her what I should to. She told me to go to the hospital. I went back inside and woke my loving husband who proceeded to get on to me telling me that he'd only been in bed for an hour. I told him that I was very sorry, but that I thought I was in labor and needed to go to the hospital. We drove to Bedford County Medical Center where it was confirmed that I was in labor and far enough along to admit. I remember the nurse coming in and telling me that there was someone there to see me. When she told me it was my parents I told her to go tell my father that he drove too fast. I went upstairs and they started my IV and not long after that my brother got there. As soon as he walked in the door I was sick to my stomach. I threw up and my brother left the room quickly. I think he told me later that he went outside to lay on the grass. I remember the nurses telling me to get some rest. I don't understand why they tell you this. You're in labor and rest is not exactly an option. I do remember watching everyone else in the room sleep though. I did my best to try, but I don't think it worked very well. I remember being moved to the labor room and getting my epidural. From there things seemed to move fast. I asked for ice chips at some point, but did not get to eat them because it was time to push. The doctor told the Labor and Delivery nurse that she wanted the head of the baby to be partially out before she was page to come up. We got the that point and the nurse told me to quit pushing. I did and the call was made. She turned around just in time to catch the baby. All our family was out in the hall looking in and I remember hearing my sister in law saying, "It's a baby!" We didn't know what we were having. I have stubborn children like their father and this one would not cooperate when I had my ultrasound. In fact when we got to that point I seem to remember her crossing her legs and turning around. We were so excited that she was here that we didn't check to see if we had a baby boy or a baby girl until the voices from the hallway asked what it was. We had a baby girl! We named her Elizabeth Michelle and it was love at first sight.
Elizabeth,
You're 5 years old now. It seems like only yesterday that I held you in my arms at the hospital in Shelbyville. You had so many wonderful visitors that day. There are so many people that love you and care about you and I am truly blessed to be one of them. God gave me a precious gift the day you were born. I love you so much and though you're much more like you father than I would like you to be at times (she's stubborn just like him) I love you more than words can say. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. There are no more diapers, no more bottles, and now no more preschool. I can't believe you're about to start kindergarten. Even though you're nervous about it I know you will love it because you love to learn. I hope you never loose that. I hope you always love books just as much as you do now. I know how much you love princesses and I hope that one day (far, far away of course) you meet a prince that sweeps you off your feet. I hope that you have the joy of having beautiful children just like I do (again, this is far, far away). I love you, Elizabeth. Thanks so much for letting me be your Mommy. It's the best job I've ever had!

The Changing of the Beds

As a mom one of the first major purchases you make for your child is a baby bed. This is apparently one choice that I absolutely stink at. Poor little Cole's bed was recalled. This was the bed that we bought before we had Elizabeth, so it's been around. Even Sarah Grace slept in it. We wanted to keep it, but had to turn it in to get a new one since the mattress supports could break and cause some serious damage. If he didn't jump in that bed like a little monkey I wouldn't have taken it in! I managed to get his bed into manageable pieces and get it down stairs and in the van. We got out money and picked up a new bed. By 3:15 groceries were put away, lunch had been consumed, the bed was put together courtesy of my own skills of course and Cole was asleep on the couch! I really like his new bed, but I really don't think he cares too much one way or the other.
Sarah Grace's bed completely fell apart on me. The bracket that holds the mattress supports to the bed (which is metal) snapped in two and broke the mattress support. I am currently going rounds with the manufacturer trying to get the parts. They first told me I would have to pay for the parts. I then went online and found that the parts in question had been recalled. Yes I picked out 2 beds that have recalls in one form or another. I called the company back and told them that I had found the parts I needed had been recalled. After much conflict I was told to email the parts department. They want me to purchase the mattress support bar that broke as a result of the faulty bracket. I say no way. It broke when the support broke! Today I found that another part of her bed has been recalled as well.
What a day!

Surgery

This past week went by so fast I think my head is still spinning. Jonathan hurt his knee dancing at a wedding and it's gotten progressively worse. Monday he went to see the orthopedic who sent him to have an MRI done the next day. We got the results from that Wednesday and scheduled surgery on Thursday. Cole got really sick Wednesday night and I had to take him to the ER. He slept downstairs with us which meant that I go NO sleep. Thursday was surgery day and there was no rest there, but Jonathan got a good nap. They fixed the tear in his meniscus and drilled holes in his femur to set up scar tissue. In layman's terms he's on crutches for 3-4 weeks and can't put any weight on his left leg. He also got a shot in his right leg because he's getting old (cortisone for arthritis). I don't think we'll be doing any more dancing for a while.
Cole is doing much better. He had a great day Thursday and has done really good since.
I registered Elizabeth for Kindergarten Friday. Still can't believe that we're ready for that. Maybe it's just me that isn't ready for that.
Sarah Grace is getting ready for preschool! Two mornings a week it will be just me and Cole! I have no clue how to act with just one kid, but I guess we'll figure it out together.
The patient (Jonathan) is doing well. He's sore from just using his right leg,but he's ok. Apparently there's little pain unless Cole smacks his knee.
I'm looking forward to getting Jonathan off crutches as soon as possible. I don't like doing bath time and bed time by myself!

Busy Little Bees

We've been a busy little family the last few weeks. What a busy few weeks it's been around here. I'm working on my Masters in Special Ed and it seems like I doing something with that every day, which I guess is how it should be when you're in school. We went to a wedding a few weeks ago and then went to visit some friends. While at their house my purse was stolen. I finally got replacement social security cards figured out and got a new license yesterday! It was a busy day in itself. We've visited kindergarten, been to the zoo, gotten shots and worked desperately on several projects in the back yard. We got a swing set for the kids. I don't know if you've ever put one of these together or not, but it's much more worth it to pay someone to come do it. We didn't have all the parts we needed, but as of now the slide and the swings are functional and that's all the kids really care about! We got a table and chairs for outside with a "bigella" or umbrella as most people would say. We also got several flowers to plant and a fountain. Long story short we're skipping church tonight to try to get everything finished before everyone comes in for Elizabeth's last preschool program tomorrow. By the way if anyone has any medication that might help keep me from crying my eyes out throughout the program please send it my way. I'm still having trouble with it. We've been so busy in the mornings that I haven't been able to go to the gym, so when I go to Tennessee with the kids this weekend I'll need a good run! Hope all is well with you!

God Bless!

The Shedds

Kindergarten, Driving, Weddings, and Babies

I took Elizabeth to school today and received her last preschool calendar. Every time I think about her being in Kindergarten I want to cry, but today I did. I'm sure there's much more of this to come with us touring Kindergarten next week and her final preschool program coming up and then her last day of preschool. I know for a fact there are many more tears to come in the next few weeks and then in August when I take her to Kindergarten for the first time. I guess I didn't realize that it would all happen so fast. All of a sudden it all seems like a blur and even though I stay at home I feel as though I've missed it. I know that I haven't because I've been here day in and day out in happy times and times I thought I really needed medication. But Kindergarten! Seems like her going to school should still be so far off and like a friend of mine said in her blog not to long ago I feel like Kindergarten leads to her getting her driver's license, going to college, getting married and her having babies of her own and it all seems to be happening so fast. It's not like my preschool days are over. I still have Sarah Grace and Cole to go, so you'd think I'd be ok with this and for the most part I "play it cool" like I am, but truth is I'm not! I never thought I'd be like this by Elizabeth since I had 2 more "babies" at home with me, but apparently someone told them it was ok for them to grow up too! Seems like yesterday I was fixing bottles and staying up all night feeding babies. Now I wake up at 6:30 am to the sound of Sarah Grace and Cole jumping up and down in their beds and laughing and I think about how blessed I am to have these 3 kids. I never asked for them. I never decided I was ready to have babies, but the Lord had other plans. He saw it fit for me to have them and I guess He will see me through, but that isn't making it any easier for me right now. I know that I am blessed to have them I just wish they wouldn't grow up so fast!

Growing Up

I have been constantly reminded at how much my children are growing up lately. I don't know for sure what started it, but all of a sudden it seems like there kids and not babies. Maybe it's the length of the girls' ponytails or the length of Cole's hair. Maybe it's their vocabulary or the timing of their jokes, but these kids are really growing up.

Cole loves to play basketball (ba ball) outside. He constantly asks for you to hold him up so he can shoot.

This is Sarah Grace with her baby. It's really a baseball bat which upset her sister because she wanted to play baseball.


And last but not least is my big girl, Elizabeth. I can hardly believe that she'll be in kindergarten next year. It just doesn't seem right. I remember holding her when she was just born. The last 4 (almost 5) years have absolutely flown by.

Like I said they've really grown. I love them even though they're growing though.