Earth Day

I've really come to love the Chatthoochee Nature Center here in Georgia. We went for the second time for Earth Day and I was once again amazed at how wonderful it was. I took a lot of pictures but can't really post them all here. I did post them all on my facebook page so hopefully you can see them there.


The trip once again started with a fun bus ride to the center. Matthew and Emma were so excited! There were so many activities to do there. We made fun crafts out of recycled items and planted our very own seeds in small pots. We got to meet Captain Planet and members of the Atlanta Falcons. We made bird feeders out of used water bottles. We got to see and pet a snake and visit the regular animals at the center - the Beaver and birds like the Bald Eagle, Owls and Falcons. Emma got her face painted and while we waited on her Matthew ate some of the free fruit and organic pizza they were promoting. Emma made the coolest necklace out of a plastic grocery bag and Matthew's favorite thing was listening to the Billy Jonas Band. They were amazing!

The children behaved like perfect Angels. It was perfect weather and another unforgettable day!

bus ride!

Captain Planet

SNAKE!

Face Painting

Falcon Football Recycle Relay (with some real Pro football players helping out!)

Grocery Bag Necklace

Billy Jonas Band

Such a FUN day!

Doctor Visit

I think it is so funny how Emma is such a petite little thing and although Matthew is not huge - he definitely isn't little. We took the kids for their annual check-up and they told us Emma was in the 30th percentile for height and Matthew was in the 75th. Overall they are about the same height. I wonder how long that will last!

I was also proud of both of them for not crying with their shots. Emma took it like a champ and Matthew yelled out "Ouch! I don't want that!" but really didn't cry. They are growing up so big so quickly.

Catch Up - Part 2

I love Holidays where I can do fun crafts with the kids! For Easter last year Emma picked out a Disney Princess kit but this year I convinced her to pick something that she could enjoy with Matthew. We picked out silly faces and had lots of fun putting the faces on our eggs and then making some faces of our own!

Another fun thing we got to do this Spring was go on our first Family campout. Emma has gone on several campouts with her Daddy but I had been hesitant to take Matthew out camping. We went to the nearby campground less than 3 miles away on lake Allatoona. The kids had lots of fun especially with the campfire! They really enjoyed roasting their hotdogs and making S'mores. Unfortunately it stormed pretty bad that night but our awesome tent kept us dry. Matthew slept right thru the terrible weather and Emma only woke up a couple of times. Overall I think it was a pretty successful campout.

Catch Up - Part 1

I have been horrible keeping up with the blog but here is part one of catching up...

The main event in March was Emma turning 5!! She had a wonderful birthday and got a lot more Barbies to add to her collection. Ben was out of town for the weekend with drumline so we had a little dinner at Chick Fil A (her favorite!) with Matthew and her cousin Micheal. Then the next week when Ben was home we had a small get together at Chuck E Cheese where she played with her best friend/cousin Angelina! She was so happy to be five and feels so grown up. She was ready to ride the school bus the day of her birthday and was bummed when we told her she had to wait for next year. But we did just register her for Kindergarten at Bascomb Elementary so she is ready to ride the school bus next year.

Emma and Michael at Chick Fil A

Cheese!
Dinner at Chuck E Cheese

This little conversation the morning of Emma's 5th Birthday- March 25, 2010 -will stay in my memory for a while:

First thing in the morning I went into Emma's room to say Happy Bday - it was still dark out.
Me: "Happy Birthay Emma Love you!'
Emma: " Love you mommy. Hey.....what about my clothes?"
Me: "What clothes?"
Emma:"We need to go shopping for clothes"
Me:"What are you talking about Emma?"
Emma:"Well, all my clothes say 4T and now I am 5 so we need to go shopping for new clothes!"

I am guessing she went to bed thinking about going shopping for new clothes and that is the first thing that she thought of when she woke up. That's is SO Emma!

On a more serious note, March 20th 2010 was another significant date:
Matthew had previously had a bad cold but was finally getting over it. That night after the kids had been asleep for a while I heard him coughing and since he hadn't had any cough medicine in a few days I went to give him some and found that he had thrown up all over his bed. At first I figured it was no big deal - kids throw up sometimes. Oh well. The mess was pretty yucky so I decided to give a quick rinse in the shower. I saw that his eyes were open but he wasn't really looking at me. I assumed he was just still half asleep. But then after the shower and getting him changed I noticed he was still looking off to the side with his eyes wide open and he was barely blinking. His breathing was also unsteady. I tried to talk to him and although he made small responses he was not his normal self. Finally when I asked him "Are you ok?" and he gave me a weak "uh uhh" meaning No, I started to panic. I called Ben who was in Tennessee and told him I thought Matthew was having another siezure. He said to keep an eye on him and make sure he wasn't just sleepy and then we could decide what to do. Fortunately at the same moment a good friend of mine called me just to talk (how random for her to call in the middle of the night! But thank goodness she did) In tears, I told her what was going on and she reminded me how my Motherly Instinct has always been good to me and that I should follow it again this time if I thought something was wrong. So I called Ben back and he agreed that I should get Matthew to the hospital. He called my folks to meet me there so I wouldn't be alone.

I remember going into Emma's room to wake her up and to tell her we needed to go to the hospital and I remember her sweet voice telling me "Okay Mommy, I'll get my shoes on right now!" She did not complain or whine or put up a fight. I am so blessed to have a wonderful daughter. The kids have been growing up around doctors and hospitals and unfortunately Emergency Rooms, but in a way it is good that they are not afraid and are so comfortable going there.

I quickly went back to Matthew and noticed his breathing was still not normal and his color was pasty. He was still staring off into space. After his last seizure in August, the doctor prescriped DIASTAT to use in an emergency for long seizures. I was not sure what it was or what it did and was nervous to use it, but after seeing him in this position I quickly administered it to him. I called a friend to drive me to the hospital ( I couldn't get myself to put him alone in his carseat ) and we drove to the children's hospital. The medicine worked like a charm and Matthew was breathing normal and sleeping peacefully by the time we got to the ER. We still got a good look over by the doctors and it was determined that perhaps due to Matthew's severe cold he had just had and a recent growth spurt, the dosage of his seizure medication was just not enough for him. The Diastat had done it's job and he was fine. We went home with a new dosage of medicine prescriped and the next morning he was happy as can be! I on the other hand, was not myself for three days after. I am crushed that we have to reset the timer for him to get off his seizure medication (He has to be seizure free for 2 years before they will consider taking him off) but I am once again grateful that all was well in the end.

Field Trip #2

Emma had her second field trip with her Pre-School today. They all went to the local Fire Station. The trip was short but very sweet. They spent a lot of the time just asking the Fire Fighters questions. The questions ranged from typical PreK things like "Do you have a fire dog?" to more serious questions like "What do you do if there is a fire at the front door?" After the questions, they toured the Fire House and then they got to see the Fire Trucks up close and personal.

The kids were extremely well behaved and I enjoyed seeing them all get along together so well. Emma really does have great teachers and a wonderful class.

Trying on their fire hats

Checking out the Fire Trucks

Emma's Class

Snow Day

It snowed this past weekend. A rare thing in Georgia, but one of mine and Emma's favorite things! Ben took these wonderful pictures of the kids in the snow.

Our snow covered home

snow kisses

snowball fight

Shadow loves the snow too

building a snowman

Emma's snowman before Matthew kicked it over

Trying to get warm after playing in the snow

Can't play in the snow and NOT have hot chocolate afterwards!

Notice the chocolate on her forhead too....must have been good stuff.

Wanna Dance?!

My dear cousin Nancy handed down her daughter's old bedroom set to Emma when she got a new one from her Grandma as a Christmas gift. Matthew got Emma's old bed and she got the pretty new bed with a matching desk. They even provided some cute new sheets and a comforter. Emma has been in Heaven with her new "Princess" bed. Matthew has been enjoying his "big boy" bed with his new Handy Manny sheets he got from my Mom.

Emma had been asking for a clock in her room for a while now. I let her have an old clock radio of mine that I did not use. She loves turning it on to listen to the music!

A couple weeks ago I overheard the following conversation between my kids:

Emma: " Hey Matthew?!"
Matthew: "Yes, my Emma?"
Emma: "Come here please!"
Matthew: "Okay my Emma. Here I am!"
Emma: "Matthew....you wanna dance?!"
Matthew: "Yeah!!!!!"

And I walked in to see the both of them in Emma's room with her radio turned up loud. They were holding hands and dancing around the room. It was a beautiful sight to see.

Dance partners for life

Handy Manny bed spread from Mami Olgui
Wearing her Princess dress that Grandma Jett made